#I also recommend finding somewhere to watch good quality version of it

[f-t-e]

I started watching SUPERNATURAL in November 2020. I know, I know. My partner and I had been isolating alone since March. The timing felt right. I went though a wild amount of upheaval and trauma over the next year and SPN was there for me through it all. It was THE show at THE time and it kept me afloat when I needed it the most. Since November 2021 I've written just about 110,000 words of SPN fanfic, a number that seems unbelievable to me, and that too has been a real blessing to my creative life, no matter what haters say. (why didn't I write my own novels in that time? Because I have a hobby, Karen, and I love it.) And I've read about 500000x that much fanfic, which has been the biggest blessing of all. (ETA: oh right, if you want to read my fic, you can find my stuff here, I wrote a fic where Dean reads books. Lots of books.)

I know I'm a nobody in this fandom but I thought on this, our #DestielDay, I would submit my own humble rec list. I've curated this very deliberately: every fic here has just about 4000 hits or less (most under 3000) and all were published in 2020 or after. So, sort of a rec list for some lesser known and newer fics, something you maybe haven't stumbled on yet. Especially thank you to @jewishcharliebradbury, her rec lists gave me a place to start back in the day and I have tried to model the depth and quality they brought to their lists. I tried to link to everyone's tumblr, but if I missed one, let me know.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who has EVER created something for this fandom, from 2005 to 2023. I am so thankful and, honestly, honored to be among your number. You're not supposed to be cringe and say a show saved your life...but SUPERNATURAL saved me, it really did. See y'all when the movie/reboot drops, to quote Ryan Gosling in The Notebook: IT WASN'T OVER, IT STILL ISN'T OVER. And I'm glad.

-----

Finale Fix-It & S15 and Beyond

What The Moon Was Saying by Amiril (@runawaymarbles)

This is hands-down one of the coolest “Dean Rescues Cas from the Empty” fics I have ever read and the concept is brilliantly structured to mirror the literal and metaphorical things Dean needs to give up and let go to get free. Every scenario is very satisfying and they make sense, is there any better feeling? Dean is very open in this, but in a believable way that still has edges. And, oh, the reunion is so good. Plus all the family stuff. Just excellent, exactly what you want in a fic like this: lovely, well-written, smart, fulfilling, all the pieces clicking, the show but better.

Awake and Annoying by skycruise

I love the use and passage of time in this one, it has some real impact, and I love the way Dean gets into the Empty (so smart, fits just right) and what I REALLY love in this one is the way it lets Dean be really clear-eyed and honest about his relationship with Sam, both the strengths and the weaknesses. And the last line, very clever and moving inverse of one of fandom’s favorite things. 

Living the life you chose by allthismusic

THEEEEE post finale Sam Winchester-Outsider-POV this fandom needs. Sam is absolutely awesome in this, the most believable, loving, realistic mix of “I knew all along” and “I had no idea” versions of Sam, landing somewhere I think that’s really true and in character. It fills in and develops so many gaps and silences in what the show let Sam know in the absolute best way. Best Brother Sam is a weakness of mine and he really shines here, there for Dean in the best ways but also coming into his own, I love it so very much. (this author also has a very great 2022 Big Bang fic, hugely recommend that one too.)

your ear to the wound that whispers by EmandFandems (@lazarusemma)

Who doesn’t love a HANDPRINT FIC?!? And boy this is such a good one. It follows Dean and his thoughts on the handprint from the first touch all the way to fixing the finale and it simply buzzes with longing and desire, tenderness and rawness. It’s great insight in lot of ways into Dean’s journey. It’s short but fulfilling and oh that very perfect last line. (this author also has a lot of great Jupernatural content.)  

Somewhere Off in the Dark by magickastiel 

Another awesome fic that traces Dean’s shifting/growing feelings for Cas from when he shows up in his hotel rooms to a HEA fix it after canon. Dean, again, is handled so deftly in this one, his confusion and sorrow at all the times Cas is slipping away from him all the way through the things he won’t let himself know. He feels really true in this one, sharp and tender in the best Dean ways. Also it has an agonizingly romantic end, you love to end up there.

Pins and Feathers by theskywasblue (@buttherewasnogod)

This author has so many freaking good SPN fics, omg it was almost impossible to pick just one to include on this list. Go treat yourself with their entire list because there’s so much good stuff there! But this one, oh I am a sucker for a finale fix-it that lets Dean be this tender. While I LOVE fics where he just jumps right into Cas’s arms (and write them lol) I also feel like this is so true to Dean too: that “maybe I misunderstood, maybe I shouldn’t say anything, maybe he doesn’t still –” And on top of all that, it’s a “they go the beach” fic and it gets the details of it so right, sand in your toes and all. Tender, amazing slow-burn, real, hot, full of heart and longing and everything unspoken and just waiting. Very satisfying!

i loved you first by kalmialatifolia

A set of four short fics that create an entire world of feeling and emotion. These feel like little whispered stories told under the covers, very atmospheric. There’s one very sexy one, a haircutting one (so good) and they’re just intimate. All together a great set and did I mention they’re in the “Cas saves himself” genre which is mmmm an underrated treasure.

no other faith is light enough for this place by anonymous 

A fix-it fic that has a particularly unique and beautiful visual of both how and why Cas comes back. The mechanics behind it are fairly standard but the way this author creates the visual of it, the sheer emotion and force behind it and how it happens, it really stood out to me and stuck with me. It’s Dean being brave enough to really feel and the way that just blossoms – lovely, aching, full-tilt wonderful.

 no proof, one touch by TakeThisWaltz (@watchinghimrakeleaves)

One thing I absolutely cannot get enough of is fic where Cas is hiding out from Dean in heaven. It just hits. And the only thing better is Dean chasing him down and the WAY he does it in this fic, methodically and – well the method (sobs) it is so endearing and OBVIOUS and gives Dean a chance to shout in all the best ways. This one is just real sweet and kind of goofy and if they have to be in heaven, I want them to still be these same two dorks.

Stay by redbrickrose

This is a post S15x18 from Cas’s POV and I think it’s very true to where he would be in the moment of getting yanked out of the Empty: resigned, hesitant about what he has in front of him, still a little in shock. And then. And then. Sweet and simple and Dean gets a chance to say, say, say it. This author has a good post series AU and a lovely little spate of S15 codas, all good. And then wrote this in real-time in the week after 15x18 Despair and right before 15x19 Inherit the Earth aired (could you just sob over the possibilities?!) and then hasn’t wrote anything since and that’s a shame but, like, yeah I get it.

like a one-two punch by Muir_Wolf (@muirmarie)

Don’t you love a short fic that feels like it’s a whole novel? This goes AU after 14x20 Moriah but it is a truly delightful twist on how Chuck could’ve reacted there and it makes Dean sharp as a knife, which is one really resonant image woven through this fic. Great imagery here and so many clever solutions for the lazy plotting of S15, including simply one of my all-time favorites in any fic ever solutions to Cas’s deal (genius) and getting rid of Chuck. Brilliant like a puzzle box yet still full of so much fucking joy.

maybe i like pleasure pain by tothewillofthepeople (@kvothes)

The fact that this was written in October 2023 and is so agonizingly good fills my heart with joy and tells me Destiel will never die lol. Cas, in particular, is great in this – he’s having a hard time adjusting to being in a body and with all the fuzz of the world. I love fics where Cas struggles with coming back from the Empty and this uses a really unique approach to it: Cas facing sensory overload and not knowing how to feel but wanting it all. Lovely, hot, Dean is just right in this too.

Earlier Canon (pre S15)

Proverbs 13:12 by starlingcas (@angelcasendgame)

Many might say I am biased because Renu has beta’ed everything I have written in the SPN fandom and they can read my brain and make everything I write better. But it’s not just that. Renu has done something beautiful and delicate in this fic, which is about Dean and Cas getting trapped in a net together (forced proximity trope, yes please) and weaves a web of its own; pulling you in just as they are pulled together. This is set mostly in early S14 (before fixing the finale in the most heart-healing way) and captures that feeling so well. There’s so much that’s unsaid between them yet still conveyed and Renu absolutely nails that, along with the tender longing that was always there. This is a fic to relish.

you may tire of me (as our december sun is setting) by deludedfantasy

You know how the show just sometimes is like “uh so anyway uh then Cas…uh…left.” and it just doesn’t make one lick of sense? FINALLY FINALLY a fic where Dean says “I’ll go with you,” and then goes because he actually would do that. This is a post Tombstone fic so it is exactly where/when he WOULD go and it is tender and hesitant and aching in just all the ways it would be between the two of them at this time. It’s about needing to keep someone in sight, it’s about having another chance to say something so important, it’s slow and soft and just right for the characters in this place. I could read this one about 100 times.

the anatomy of flightless birds by cowlovely (@dollhousemary)

This fic is basically the way you feel when you get all cozy and snug underneath your favorite blanket. This is a domestic-life-in-the Bunker S9 fic where everyone behaves like they are in character and not just like they have to get Cas off screen because the writers panicked. You’ll just want to curl up in this fic and savor it the way you wrap your fingers around a hot beverage on a very cold day, there’s no better way to describe it.

virtue by JenTheSweetie

I think I’ve read this about 100 times and it still gets me everytime? It’s a five things fic about Dean and Cas hooking up and it’s all you’ve ever wished for. This is set in an amorphous S8 and it is not just agonizingly hot but also romantic and very funny. It feels really in character! Sam is hilarious, Dean is clueless but bowled over and letting himself be swept up, Cas is delighting in every second and smarter than he lets on and it ALL feels fated and lovely and sexy and just splendid. (this author only has 3 SPN fics but they are all so good and if you try sometimes, well you just might find is an absolutely brilliant deconstruction of Dean learning the differences between “needing” and “wanting.”)

Romance at the Motel 6 by shelia_amour 

This fic makes me feel like Stefon from SNL. This fic has everything: Cas and Sam pretending to be married, just the right amount of jealous Dean, Dean randomly pretending to be married to Cas, Dean realizing maybe this isn’t so fake after all, motel vibes, Cas in Dean’s clothes, Cas getting bee slippers. If you are not sold on this already, we are very different people. So good, aches just right. (set in a kind of “whenever” of canon, but I like to put it somewhere in S8.)

que sera sera by Purple_Starflower (@hauntedpearl)

The epitome of how fanfic unfolds for us all the things that COULD happen. You can’t PROVE to me Dean and Cas never snuck off to snuggle and feed Dean’s touch-starvation early in S13. I had to check when I finished because I just couldn’t believe this fic was under 4000 words because it feels so full of touch, longing, the things unspoken, and all the ways Dean was reaching, reaching, reaching. The best kind of ache, and everything by this author is lovely. 

the hard edge that you’re settling for by lesspopped (@trekkiedean)

This is some S10 Demon!Dean that made my stomach hurt and my heart ache and I absolutely loved it and I absolutely hated it and it all felt so REAL with who Demon!Dean was and could have been. There’s a TW for mildly dubious consent in this, but to me, Cas was so agonizingly true to who he was/where he was at this point in canon too. This fic is gloriously, claustrophobically intimate. I say unbearable because as a reader you know that this closeness, this intimacy, is what Dean wants/craves/deserves but can only give himself as a demon and the author does an exquisite job at getting all that across. Hurts so good! 

four of swords by sundryvillians (eurythmix) (@perenial)

Can the world ever have enough post 12x12 fic? The answer is, of course, no. Dean and Cas bake bread and in the soft space of creating something with their own hands, get so close to the words Cas said. It’s about healing and anger and making something just because you are so tired of everything breaking. If that alone isn’t enough to convince you, let me also throw in this is another one of those “possible off-screen moments in canon” that gives them something honest and tender and raw and it feels so very possible. 

Fifteen Prayers From the Faithless by koyas_cat

Short, achy, that sweet sting. A set of prayers for Cas from the beginning to the end, full of all the things Dean doesn’t let himself say outloud and just reflecting the changes in their connection over alllll the years. So good.

[gffa]

Hey! Love your blog for the sw content but ngl you have me window shipping dickbabs more and more everyday. I’m not reeeeally a comics person unless it has quality online format but I have been known to enjoy cartoons. Do you have any show recs to get me into the batfam? Sorry if this has already been asked (and answered somewhere else). Thanks again for all your great content! Love your blog!

Hi! Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad to be helping to at least tempt you into this pit, and I wish I had better recs for you, but I've been turning this over in my head for the last couple of days and keep coming back to that I don't know that I would recommend most of the animated series or movies/TV series for DC. Even the best bets would be: - Young Justice 2010 cartoon, which is overall decent, but DickBabs doesn't happen until like season 3, I think? (And I think Dick dates Kory for awhile before that?) And they're a very minor part of the show, even the Batfam as a whole is only one aspect of the show, it's really a multi-fam kind of series. As long as you know that it will have some major differences in relationship and character dynamics (like Superboy in the show and Kon from the comics share certain aspects, but they are also vastly different and I'm not sure you'd recognize Kon as the same character), it's a fun show to watch overall! - Batman: The Animated Series 1992 + The New Batman Adventures 1997 was absolutely, incredibly groundbreaking at the time it came out, but that means it's 30 years old now and a lot of it is going to be incredibly dated compared to current stuff. I do still love it and the Dick/Babs episodes are TOP NOTCH (so much delicious yearning oh my god) and the flashback to when Dick was a kid are also great, but there's a LOT of basic cartoon action stuff that's not that exciting anymore and it might feel like a long haul. Cautiously recommended if you don't mind viewing it through an old-fashioned lens, don't mind that Dick tends to be more in his "angry teenage years" than his more settled 20s, and you're okay with zipping through any parts that bore you. - The Batman 2004 is another series that's pretty dated, but in a way I find deeply charming, because it really leaned into the gothic aesthetic and wasn't afraid to try some new things with the character designs. I usually suggest skipping forward to season 4 when Dick shows up (and I greatly enjoy his and Babs' dynamic, they're kids at the time, it's not a romance here, but it's not hard to see that one day they could grow up into the characters they'll be in other versions) but the whole show is just a good Batman cartoon! Honorable mentions: - Justice League: The Animated Series 2001 which I don't think Dick or Babs ever appeared in, but is still probably THE best DC animated series. It's not super complex, but what it did, it did very well, and is still pretty influential to this day. - If you don't mind reading an online comic, the Wayne Family Adventures webtoon is a very easy intro point, has very pretty art, and will get you reasonably familiar with the characters! (I sort of liken it to LEGO adaptations, it's meant to be light-hearted and occasionally genuinely touching, it focuses on extremes of the characters and memeable moments, rather than the more sharp-edged comics, but that makes it all the better for an entry point imo.) Beyond that, I can't really think of anything I would necessarily recommend to help get new fans into the Batfam characters (I wouldn't recommend the Harley Quinn show as a starting place for them, nor the Teen Titans cartoon, and I don't really personally care for any of the animated movies personally, other than maybe Super Sons, which was absolutely adorable and a great intro to Jon and Damian), because DC has a really weird track record on adapting them into non-comics mediums and I just enjoy the comics so much more. Though, if others have recs or would offer a rebuttal against some of the suggestions, feel free, because I would love to have easier ways into the comics

[crustacean-on-main]

Where/how do I start to get into more complex menswear? I see guys in 80s movies, vintage pics of Harrison Ford, Robert Redford, Kurt Russell, dudes like that, and they all look great, but it's a world I have very little knowledge of. And modern clothing is such ass quality.

Comparatively, getting ripped is pretty straightforward, and working out is something I was working on already. That Rick Owens quote about anything looking good on an elite physique isn't exactly wrong, but I suppose it is a bit reductive. And it's not Rick doesn't dress extremely intentionally lol

Yeah, by all means, work the fuck out. It's good for you in many, many ways -- if you're trying to maximize aesthetics, though, there's a point past which muscle development hurts. If you're a skinnier type you probably won't get there unless you're on the 'roids, but some people with more natural propensities towards bulk aren't so lucky (huge traps will cause most jackets to just float off of you, for example).

Anyway, there's a ton of resources out there if you want to care. If you read French, Stiff Collar and Parisian Gentleman come highly recommended, the latter particularly through their youtube channel, of which an English version exists. It actually has more content than the French version, but I find Hugo Jacomet's French accent in English incredibly grating so I tend to only watch the French version.

Switching to English, Permanent Style is a great blog-cum-website, particularly if you're less of a suit guy: there's a lot of content on how to do styles between workwear and business casual. On the other end of the spectrum, I like much of what Gentlemen's Gazette do, but it's definitely a fairly, shall we say, peacock-focused outlet. Also they're trying to sell you their products, which is always a bit annoying.

Obligatory mention to Die, Workwear. Man is an annoying californian but has solid opinions on clothes.

Finally, there are actual books on the subject. If you want to buy one and only one, get Dressing the Man by Alan Flusser. It's a pretty good guide to many of the accepted principles. Another author worth mentioning is G. Bruce Boyer, by whom I own a small collection of essays called True Style.

In the end, a lot of it is a question of personal experimentation, so if you're so inclined I encourage you to try more things and see what works. Make use of the internet if you live somewhere where you can't easily just visit nicer stores. If you're careful about how you buy, it works a lot better than you might think it does.

[athetos]

My loz tierlist

Thoughts under the cut!

Masterpiece: Ocarina of Time is my favorite Zelda game, and I know it is at least partially due to nostalgia, but it holds up so well today and is still an absolute joy to play. Personally I think it is the peak of 3D Zelda, i give it 10/10 in every category across the board - dungeon design, overworld, plot/dialogue/side quest stuff, music, gameplay… tears of the kingdom may also be one of my favorites due to recency, and not nostalgia, but I find it very difficult to believe it will ever diminish in quality greatly over time. There is so much to do, and it really took what was good about botw and made it even better. I was in awe the entire time I played, and I will only continue to play it as time goes on, coming back to it again and again. I think there are a couple nitpicks the game could improve upon but it is an excellent early swan song for the switch. Botw, truthfully should be somewhere between masterpiece and not quite perfect, simply because totk improved it so much it’s harder to go back to it. But it was also an amazing journey.

Not quite perfect, but amazing: wind waker is a game i so desperately wanted to put in the masterpiece tier, but simply was unable to do so. There are several frustrations I have with the game that stop me from calling it perfect. I only had the GCN copy, so perhaps the Wii U version fixed these issues, but slow sailing, the triforce fetch quest, and how aggravating getting all the pictobox collectables are dampened my enjoyment. However, I want to emphasize that the dungeons are nearly on par with ocarina of time here; that the graphics are beautiful and aged well even on GCN; and that the music is a true delight. It’s why I recommend it to everyone, if you can handle these annoyances littered throughout.

A link to the past is another game I wanted to call a masterpiece, but had to settle for second best. I replayed it 2 years ago and while I had as much fun as the first time, there were surprisingly a couple parts that did not hold up as well as I remembered! Mainly, a couple of dungeons (fuck skull woods) and overworld progression. However, like wind waker, the highlights of the game are unparalleled and when the dungeon design is good, it’s fantastic. Majora’s mask is a very unique Zelda game, one that I personally champion, and like wind waker, it just has some imperfections that do frustrate me going back to it. For example, the tight time limits on dungeons (especially that godawful great bay temple) were agonizing, especially if you were trying to get every fairy. It was also hard to keep track of all the side quests, even with the 3ds journal. But it is such a special game!

Skyward Sword is a game I’m glad is being reevaluated now that it’s on switch with options for no motion controls and less of Fi. Because it’s amazing! I will never forgive anyone who told me the game was bad! Unfortunately, after games like botw and totk it makes the “open-ness” of the world feel very small and limiting; the great sky is empty and barren, and the surface being separate regions kind of hurts. Late in the game, it also gives way to padding; I think the spirit trials were terrifying and very cool, but “you’re trapped and now you need to find your gear again!” And “find all the stupid little tadpole things I forgot what they were maybe they weren’t tadpoles!” Was just so unnecessary. And I do not want to even talk about the imprisoned’s toesie-woesies!!! Kill me!!! But the rest of the game is so good it nearly makes up for all of it!!

Great, better than your average game: the minish cap is a game I remember very fondly, although not without a few gripes. I think the npcs and hyrule town are some of my favs in the franchise, and I actually enjoyed for the most part the Kinstone quests. But after playing parts of it again recently, and watching videos on it, I acknowledge it has faults that stop it from achieving true greatness. Phantom hourglass is also a game I think was great, at least partially because you made your own maps. I love making maps! And the gameplay was good! But my god, the ocean tower…. An absolute slog! A nightmare! Evil! The first Zelda is so simple, but holds up as being very fun even today, despite its shortness; of course it belongs in this tier.

Links awakening dx/hd had some amazing moments, but a few bad ones too. I either loved or hated the dungeons, some of the side quests were mehhh, but the overall game is delightful. Hd is recommended because you can have more weapons equipped at once! A godsend! Spirit tracks, it didn’t particularly stand out to me much, but I did have fun with it! And the Oracle games I am a fan of, I think they’re good but have a couple limitations from the hardware that irk me. If they had remakes, I think they would actually go to near perfection tier for me! Who knows!

Good/Average: I have a confession: I am not a link between worlds lover. I enjoyed it quite a bit when it first came out, but going back to it has been hard; I don’t get very far before dropping it. It feels kind of like a lesser link to the past, but with a worse central mechanic. I liked the non-linearity, but disliked having to rent items, and it meant that the only upgrades found in dungeons couldn’t be items you need for progression, really. A shame, because the dungeons could be quite good. Four swords adventure is good, but it’s such a hassle finding 3 other players and setting it up! I was never able to complete it. The adventure of link is rather unique, but not bad; in fact I liked the metroidvania elements! It’s worth playing, but will not blow your mind. Lastly, twilight princess… this may surprise you, but I was never a big fan. It’s so slow! The opening makes me tired thinking about it. I also felt the graphics aged poorly, and while the dungeons are good, they aren’t nearly as great as other games have been. It’s all very disappointing.

Bad - tri force heroes was bad I am not explaining why. You agree.

[spartanxhunterx]

So I haven't watched the show yet but I have the sneaking suspicion that you're slowly turning the Couffaines into the family from "The Deep" cartoon you were posting about lol.

I was writing the crossover fic (subnautica/ The Deep, Not Miraculous Ladybug/ The Deep) and had the thought and decided to share it.

Also Anarka would better fit the role of Captain hammerhead then the Nektons.

Watch the show and you’ll understand why.

[breelandwalker]

Do you know spells for justice or protection for other people? Like the protesters?

I know a few, but it’s difficult to pick one exactly. Here’s everything I could find in my personal spellbook that I thought might be applicable.

Ninja Dust

Intent: To enable a person to make a quick unseen exit or go unnoticed; formulated to work in crowded places.

Ingredients:

1 pt White Oak

1 pt Bloodroot

1 pt Black Salt

1 pt Red Poppy

1 pt Mustard

1/2 pt Rosemary

1/2 pt Sage

1/2 pt Clove

1/2 pt Willow Bark

Optional:

Pinch of Galangal Root

Pinch of Heather Blossom

Pinch of Devil's Shoestring

Pinch of Black Cohosh

This powder was prepared for a friend of mine the night before she attended a large-scale protest march. It's meant to help you stay safe in a crowded situations and affect a quick exit when and if you have to.

Sprinkle a pinch or two on your shoes before you go out, or carry a small vial or packet with you. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to leave quickly, toss down the powder and step on it as you leave.

Of course, this should always go along with whatever practical safety measures are deemed prudent for your situation. If you find yourself in a position where you are in immediate physical danger, forget the powder, just get to safety however you can. Be careful out there!

Liza Hempstock’s Invisibility Charm

Inspired by The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman.

Use this charm when you want to pass unseen and unremarked in a crowd or need to escape a situation without being noticed.

Put a pinch of poppy seeds in your shoe or carry a packet of them in your pocket. When you need to make a quick exit, turn three times, spit over your left shoulder, and whisper:

Be hole, be dust, be dream, be wind Be night, be dark, be wish, be mind, Now slip, now slide, now move unseen, Above, beneath, betwixt, between

Gather yourself together, find your exit, and GO.

No Fear Here

To help dispel fear, ward off danger, and promote bravery. This blend is meant for a home ornament witchball, but it can also be put into a sachet or a bottle charm if mobile magic is needed.

Agrimony

Yarrow

Black Pepper

Thyme

Jasmine

Black Tea Leaves

Walking Ward Protection Oil

For personal warding spells of all kinds

Sweet Basil

Witch Hazel

Fennel Sprigs

Mix the herbs in equal parts and soak 1 tbsp of the blend in 1-2 cups of bland oil for about a week to make the infusion. Strain and bottle the oil. If desired, add a couple of drops of Basil or Rosemary essential oil.

Short Notice Travel Protection Charm

If you're called to make an unexpected trip and don't have time to prepare a full-sized bottle charm, making a braid or knot-string out of white yarn or string. As you tie it, say seven times over:

By water and fire, by sky and by stone, This charm will see me brought safely back home.

Tie the string around your wrist or ankle for the duration of the trip. You can remove it when you return home or let it fall off on its' own.

"Bibbity Bobbity Back Off" Banishing Spell

This spell grew out of a quip that I made in response to some hate mail that came my way. Some weeks of experimenting with word-activated protection magics later, this is what I came up with.

Intent: To repel or banish harmful things that attempt to accost you.

Materials:

Piece of Personal Jewelry

Small Jar with Flat Lid

Tealight Candle

Herbs: Angelica Root, Peppermint, Marjoram, Willow Bark

Make a potpourri blend out of the herbs and place it in the jar. For extra potency, spit in the jar. Place the piece of jewelry in the jar, close the lid, and shake gently. Set the jar somewhere level and safe, set the tealight on top of the lid, and burn it for a few minutes.

Focus on the flame of the tealight and chant, as many times as you feel you need to:

I cannot be snared, I cannot be caught However you try, no harm is wrought

When you've finished, blow out the candle. Wait for the candle cup and the lid to cool before opening the jar. Retrieve the jewelry and wear it when you need a little extra protection.

Should you need to activate the protection, simply breathe on your fingers, touch the charmed object, and whisper, "Invictus." (Latin, pron. in-VIK-toos; “invincible.”) The charm will last until you remove the piece and breathe on it again. You'll need to return it to the jar of herbs to recharge within 24 hours of use, or you'll have to cast the charm all over again. For best results, I recommend changing the herbs in the jar between charges.

This is a short-term heavy-duty banishing spell. It can't ensure physical safety, but it can help keep you safe from emotional and mental attack, and may provide an opportunity for escape if one is needed. It may also diffuse aggressive outside energy long enough for you to make a prudently-timed getaway if a confrontation seems imminent.

"Not On My Watch" Vinegar

 Intent: An all-purpose preventative potion for use in protective and binding spells.

 Ingredients:

Jar with Tight-fitting Lid

2 cups Vinegar

Coffee Filter

Funnel

Bottle for Storage

Knife and Cutting Board

Fresh Ginger or Horseradish Root

Peppermint Essential Oil

Herbs: Bay Leaves, Coriander, Lemon Peel, Cedar Tips, Pine Needles, Witch Hazel, Clover Leaves

This is a heavy-duty protective vinegar that I created in a fit of rage. If the ingredient list seems excessive, it's because I was angry enough about the situation to basically throw the book at it. I've used it a few times since then and it's been very effective.

To make this potion, you'll need a jar with a tight-fitting lid. A large brand-new mason jar is best for this. For some other spells and potions, you can use recycled food jars, but for this one, you want a fresh jar with no chance of leftover food particles.

First, clean your piece of ginger or horseradish root. For best results, you'll want a fresh root, not dried pieces, as you want the juice and oils to blend with the vinegar. Cut several slices from the root and place them in the mason jar. Wash and dry the knife before continuing.

Note: Fresh horseradish root has a very strong peppery-sour smell, and can produce fumes like onions do. The fumes may cause your nose to run and may irritate your eyes. (It's a great way to clear the sinuses though.) If you are sensitive to such things, you may want to wear a surgical mask and goggles, or just use ginger root instead.

To help your herbs fit more easily into the jar, you may want to carefully dice them into smaller, more manageable pieces. You can work with fresh or dried herbs for this potion, whichever works best with your available supplies. If you want additional aromatic qualities in your potion, I recommend using fresh Lemon Peel, Cedar Tips, and Pine Needles if possible. It adds a nice fresh, clean scent, a little bit like a certain name-brand floor cleaner, but less chemical. Using fresh versions of these ingredients will also help to cut the vinegar smell to a certain degree. But again, if you only have dried herbs, that will work just as well.

Dried or fresh, you'll need approximately 2 ½ ounces of chopped herbs altogether. That's about five tablespoons or 71 grams of herbs. Mix them together and add them to the jar. If you've used fresh herbs, you'll need to dry or discard any leftovers. If you used only dried herbs, put any extra mix into a container for future use. Waste not, want not.

Add two cups of vinegar to the jar. I used white vinegar, but cider vinegar or wine vinegar will do as well. Use whatever you have available. White vinegar may be less expensive, if you need to purchase a fresh bottle. Add 2-3 drops of Peppermint essential oil, close the lid tightly, and give the jar a good shake.

Leave the vinegar jar in a warm, dry place to steep for three full days. Strain the resulting liquid into a clean bottle using a funnel and coffee filter, and discard the herbs. The mason jar can be used again after it has been thoroughly cleaned and dried.

Use the potion in home protection magics, particularly if you need to repel unsavory persons, "accidents" which are not at all accidental, or harmful magics. It can also be an additive in spells meant to make the home a sanctuary for those who need it. Add a small amount to your washwater when you clean hard floors or your doorstep for additional protection. Splash a little on your front door or at your property line to discourage trespassers.

(I’m sure this could be put to use for keeping yourself safe during protests, keeping cops away from your home, blessing marchers and venues, and so forth.)

I’ll try and search up my post with magical measures for justice as well.

Hope this helps!

[thefloatingstone]

Where do you reccomend to pirate sailor moon? You've made me wanna watch ^^

Oh my oh my! This is a very no-no question!

Honestly, I am obligated to say that all 5 seasons have been released on DVD and Blu Ray and are easy to find on Amazon etc etc and that doesn’t help people like me where amazon doesn’t deliver!

You can also IN THEORY watch them on the VIZ website? But again that’s not something I can access from my country!!!

https://www.viz.com/sailor-moon

There’s probably also an official youtube channel where you can legally watch the episodes or something I don’t fukken know because apparently I’m not allowed to do things legally.

SO! Other places you can watch Sailor Moon if you live in an ass-crack country like me and literally cannot access it legally despite being willing to u_u

For the 90s anime!

This is the most iconic of the Sailor Moon media! And the one most people know and are familiar with. It’s usually the first thing people think of when they think of “Sailor Moon”. There’s 200 episodes spread across 5 seasons (the first season, R,S, Super S, and Sailor Stars)

This site has all episodes both dubbed and if you scroll down a little you get the subbed versions as well.

DO NOT WATCH THE DUB!!! This is the original 90s dub and it’s.... not good....

https://sailormoonepisodes.com/

as well as

https://gogoanime.so//search.html?keyword=Sailor%20Moon

You can also find torrents of the show. I haven’t updated my files in a long time but there’s probably been a Blu Ray version uploaded somewhere. I recommend checking Nyaatorrent

For the movies!

If you want to starts with the 3 movies instead just to see if you’d like the show, none of them are as good as the show but it’s how I first got into the whole thing so they can’t be THAT bad! The first one is the most iconic but the second movie (S) is probably acknowledged as the best of the three. They’re kind of disconnected from the show so you need to know very little going in and it doesn’t spoil anything in the show itself nor do you need to watch the movies to watch the show.

You can find the movies subbed here

https://gogoanime.so//search.html?keyword=Sailor%20Moon%20movie

For the manga!

The source material that most adaptations are based on (although most modern versions tend to rely a little more on the 90s anime as... let’s be honest... the anime had much better ideas in a lot of places) There are several places where you can find the manga, however, unlike a mass manga website, I recommend a Sailor Moon specific site which will have given much more care to the translation of the material.

The best place I’ve found is the ever reliable Miss Dream

https://missdream.org/sailor-moon-scanlations/sailor-moon-manga-scanlations/

For the Live action series! (PGSM)

I was a fool for ever thinking the live action series would be bad just because the effects are terrible and the CG is laughable and they made Luna a plushie. It’s turning out to be a GREAT version of the story! I wouldn’t start with this one at all, but I really do HIGHLY recommend checking it out because it’s writing and characters are far better than they have any right to be in all honesty.

PGSM has never seen an official translation.

You can find fan subbed episodes at both Miss Dream as well as Sea of Serenity. They have different translated versions of the show so you can pick which one you like. (I’m watching the Miss Dream subs but I’m following a blog whose watching the Sea of Serenity subs and both are good)

https://seaofserenity.net/drama/downloads/

https://missdream.org/fansubs/pretty-guardian-sailor-moon/

For the Crystal Reboot!

I actually don’t recommend this one, but I’m gonna mention it anyway because it DOES have its fans. (but again... I... I don’t recommend this one at all X’D)

It’s only done the first 3 seasons of the story and honestly only season 3 is considered passable to me. Season 4 is gonna be released next year as a movie (or 2 movies? It’s unclear).

The reboot was supposed to be a manga-accurate adaptation rather than the 90s show which did a lot of its own thing (for better and worse). However, poor animation quality, weird changes to the story, and making the girls lose a lot of their personality and turning Usagi into someone who is more a damsel in distress than anything, it’s not a great version of the story. I’m only mentioning it out of obligation tbh.

Although apparently Season 3 isn’t so bad. But still :/

You can watch the official release on Crunchyroll

https://www.crunchyroll.com/sailor-moon-crystal

You can also find subbed episodes at the bottom of

https://sailormoonepisodes.com/

as well as

https://gogoanime.so//search.html?keyword=Sailor%20Moon

For the Stage Musicals! (Sera Myu)

The Stage Musicals are a funny thing, being not canon to any of the other versions. Sometimes they tell stories from specific arcs in the manga, sometimes they tell story that don’t feature anywhere else, sometimes they’re about the Sailor Senshi fighting Dracula and Adam’s first wife Lilith who want to turn the world into vampires. Dude I don’t even know XD

I wouldn’t recommend starting here either, as these are more like fun bonus content than anything else.

HOWEVER, the Musicals have something that none of the other versions had, which is “La Soldier” which all Sailor Moon fans are required by law to lose their shit over.

(La Soldier is BRIEFLY in the anime but it was not used to its full potential)

I don’t know if they newer musicals still use La Soldier tho.

You can find fansubbed versions of the Sera Myu shows at Miss Dream

https://missdream.org/fansubs/sera-myu-fansubs/

And Sea of Serentiy

https://seaofserenity.net/

Sea of Serentiy has the more detailed break down of the musicals by year, distributor, and theater/idol group.

I am the least knowledgeable about Sera Myu so I’ll have to leave that over to them. Little to no Sera Myu shows have been released with official subs.

-

There is also the ice show but that’s been delayed to next year because of the... troubles.

And there’s a bunch of other stuff too like the SNES game and drama CDs and stuff but I think that starts getting off topic.

I know this is a super long explanation to a simple question but I wanted to be thorough because although the 90s anime is generally the go-to, there are people who prefer other versions more.

[loquaciousquark]

Hi! I think I remember you posting about "making" your own computer? I'm sorry to bother you with something like this, but was it difficult? Would you say you have to know a lot about how computers work to do it? Thanks!

Heck yeah!!! Oh man!! Gosh guys can I talk to you about building computers and how EVERYONE willing to do some basic googling is almost certainly capable of this I promise?

Welcome to:

Okay okay okay so let me spin you a li’l yarn: I was in optometry school in 2010-2011ish and I had been living up to now on prebuilts, mostly laptops, but DA2 was recently out and gosh darn it I wanted something I could play a proper game on. A friend of mine had a 10yo daughter who wanted to build a computer herself, and he told me if I’d buy the parts, he’d walk both of us through how to do it (what really happened was the 10yo built my first computer and I watched and brought drinks, so–no, I wouldn’t say you have to know a lot about how computers work to do it!).

The physical requirements are some basic manual dexterity & arm strength (you gotta be able to manipulate some tiny things and put some pressure on some connections) and you will most likely need to lift up to 15 pounds, although you can limit that if you go for smaller components. The ability to bend forward and twist and reach will also probably be necessary, although some careful planning can also likely mitigate that.

I think I have pictures of the actual build process somewhere, but regardless, it resulted in this bad boy that served me well for about nine years. I was shocked to see how easy it was to put together, honestly; if you can follow a Lego assembly book, you can put a computer together. With tools like PCPartPicker that have built-in compatibility checks to make sure all your pieces fit, it’s a piece of cake to put together a parts list that you can feel really good about. You just pick whether you want your motherboard to come with fancy lights or not (hint: rgb is unironically cool & i’ll fight anyone who says otherwise).

In the end, you’ll need a set of basic components. You’ll need:

A case to put all the pieces in

A motherboard, the circuit board of the computer that connects everything, basically the heart of the computer

A CPU, the brain of the computer that determines processing power, or basically how fast it can do math and direct traffic

a CPU cooling system, which can be either mechanical fans or liquid cooling, gotta keep that baby chill; may or may not come packaged with the CPU depending on what you get

A graphics card (aka GPU), the thing that makes video games look pretty (and what will probably be the single most expensive item in the build depending on how good you go)

RAM, a short-term memory processing component that comes in different amounts (4gb, 8gb, 16gb, 32gb, 64gb if you’re a madman) depending on how fast you need your short-term memory to work. Good RAM allows you to do things like open a bunch of Chrome tabs at once, run Photoshop at the same time you’re listening to youtube videos, or process the demand of loading up a host of enemies in Mass Effect. Most everyone these days can get by just fine with 16gb of RAM, which is what I have.

a hard drive (or the new, faster, more expensive version, a solid state drive) which functions as your long-term storage bins. This is where you save documents, images, and install your programs. These come in tons of sizes–the larger your files are, the more storage space you’ll want. I always put at least a terabyte of storage in my builds.

a power supply unit or PSU, which gives the electrical juice for everything to run

a monitor (the more hertz, the smoother the video will be - you’ll want either 60hz or 144hz depending on how much your number of frames-per-second matter to you)

a keyboard and mouse

speakers or headphones or both!

Optional addons:

RGB lighting for everything :O

an optical drive (aka something to put DVDs, Blurays, or other physical CD disks into)

fancy liquid cooling pipes

additional case fans; most cases come with adequate fans, but if you are using the computer in a room with poor ventilation or you find that certain components are running hot, you can install additional fans

coincidentally you can also get fans with RGB lighting too

cable extenders when you are going for a specific color scheme

So it can definitely all look overwhelming at first, but when you start to look at how everything is laid out, you’ll notice some trends. Look at these motherboards, for example.

These are just four random motherboards I pulled off Newegg, a commonly used computer parts purchasing site. Sure, the colors are a bit different, but the layout between them…is all basically the same! Here, I’ll draw it out.

In just about every modern motherboard you buy, this will be the rough layout. Everything else is window dressing–what kind of GPU you get, what kind of CPU you get, whether your RAM lights up cool colors or not. Your motherboard will ALWAYS include a map that has extensive descriptions of what each connection does.

Much, much, much more under the jump!

Most of these you won’t even need!

There are always some compatibility things to consider–as I mentioned, PCPartPicker can help you figure out a lot of these–but the biggest one to care about is the CPU. There are two major companies that make CPUs, AMD and Intel. They both have pros and cons on the chips they make, but right now, AMD makes a family of CPUs called Ryzen that both outperform and are cheaper than Intel’s current leading brands, the i7 and i9 lines. Intel was king of the hill for a long time, though, and their CPUs are still really good quality, so some people still go with them over the cheaper alternatives for now. (There are some reports of black screens with the new Ryzen lines, but as I’ve never owned one, I can’t personally speak to how common that is.)

Regardless, once you pick which family of CPUs you want to go with, AMD or Intel, you just have to pick an Intel-friendly or AMD-friendly motherboard. This is always specified in the description of the motherboard. I own the Asus z370 motherboard, so here’s what it says in the description for CPU:

Anyway, once you’ve picked all your parts and had everything shipped to you, it’s literally just a plug-n-play, step by step until everything’s plugged in. Your motherboard manual will also include recommended order of installations, too, and often how to install them.

It helps to remember that the manufacturers of all these parts understand that they are expensive, and they really DON’T want to make them hard to install! Broken or difficult pieces during installation means that the customer is upset, and upset customers ask for refunds and lose brand loyalty.

It also helps to understand that a lot of these connections are based on certain standards–I didn’t realize until I was rebuilding my current machine that these holes set for screws really do work with just about everything you get, as long as it’s the same generation, because motherboard manufactures WANT you to have the flexibility to go any attachment brand you like and still be able to use their board to mount them. 

So, you pick your case and open it up, and you put the motherboard down on top of all the little screw holes until they match, and then you screw all the screws down firmly.

Old rig, partially disassembled:

New, in approximately same state:

(One of the reasons I went with this larger white case than a smaller, slim case like my old one, is because this nicer case has what’s called “cable management;” that means there’s a built-in back area behind the motherboard where all my cables can be jammed without messing up the “aesthetic” of the glass window. My first build obviously did not have that, as seen in that first picture at the top of this post, so I had to just jam my cables wherever I could fit them so that the sides would close, haha.)

Anyway, you can see that the motherboard is just screwed in where it should be, and my CPU is already installed where it should be. I haven’t mounted the cooler for it yet because I needed to clean off the old thermal paste and install new thermal paste before doing so. My two sticks of RAM are also mounted in the top right in the motherboard’s recommended configuration & locations for two sticks (vs. one, vs. four).

Then, with the cooler in place, it looked like this:

So the cooler I have is liquid cooling in a closed system (the thick black tubes running right to left) which is attached to a fan that mounts in place of the white fan on the left from the previous picture. It was as simple as unscrewing the old fan and putting the new one in its place. I think I even used the same screws. The fan is powered by that thin cable running along the top of the case that plugs into a little socket on the motherboard labeled “CPU Fan.” It was as simple as just finding the right plug; it doesn’t even have directionality, just a three-pin socket, so it doesn’t even matter which way you plug.

Already it’s looking like a proper computer! And because this case has cable management, I took a picture of what it currently looked like from the backside.

This case is cool because it has a neat set of connectors mounted on the back of this little hideaway to connect the case fans. I could have run the white fan cables through to the front of the motherboard for them to get power/marching orders, but it was cleaner aesthetically to attach them here in the back. Nothing wrong with connecting them on the front, though–that’s what I did in my original build!

You also might have noticed I’ve mounted the PSU in that white case by now as well. It’s the large black and red box in the bottom corner, seen best from behind. The white case comes with what’s called a PSU shroud, which just means there’s a fancy white cover over it to keep the ~aesthetic~ when viewed from the front side.

The next step is to mount the graphics card!

There’s instructions in your manual as to exactly how these mount, but it really and truly is just removing the dust cover brackets where you need to, and then a delicate plug & play, pushing that big guy in until you hear the click! (Click good, snap bad. Haha. I’ve changed out these cards several dozen times and never broken one, though!)

You can also see the ugly red-tipped cables plugged into the GPU and the motherboard, both on the right side. These come from the Power Supply Unit (they are all permanently connected in most brands, and look basically like a squid’s tentacles–once you have your items mounted onto the motherboard, you just look for the connector from the PSU with the right number of pins and plug it in!)

This guy is the worst. He is fat and hard to maneuver and always requires SO MUCH FORCE to click into this delicate bendy board and your heart will ALWAYS be in your throat as your fingers shake from how hard you’re having to push to sink it, and it will ALWAYS eventually go in but you’ll hate every second of the doing. I hate you, 24-pin EATX. I hate you so much.)

The next thing I did was mount my optical drive (because yes, I still own one), my hard drive, and my solid state drive.

The hard drive and SSD both serve the same purpose (long-term data storage), but the SSD is much faster and uses newer technology. It’s also more expensive for the amount of storage you get, so I have a 256gb SSD that holds my operating system, my heavily-used programs like Firefox and Photoshop & Premiere, and one or two video games I play the most that I would like to load as fast as possible. This is the drive that can allow me to restart my whole system in less than five seconds.

The hard drive is 1.75 terabytes and holds everything else: fics, pictures, videos, music, other games, etc.They mount onto the racks with pre-drilled screws. The optical drive just slides into the socket snugly until it hits the back of the rack.

All of these use a standard connector called a SATA cable which runs between the back of the drive to a SATA socket on the motherboard. Most motherboards come with at LEAST six or seven of these connector slots, and some come with more. They look like this:

and are pretty universal. Any kind of extra storage or drive you want to add to your computer will probably connect with a SATA cable. I think my motherboard, my SSD & HD, and my case purchases all came with a pack of loose SATA cables of different lengths to be used for whatever I wanted.

The rack each drive is mounted to came installed with the case and pre-drilled with screw holes (and provided screws) for attaching either the HD or SSD in every slot. Because this case is all about aesthetic, it also comes with two vertical SSD mounts on the back of the case if you wanted to remove the right-side rack altogether, but as I mentioned, I have the optical drive, so I couldn’t go with that option.

So now we have all the major pieces mounted! The last set of connections are a collection of small fiddly pieces that all plug in roughly the same area and do things like light up the case’s LED, provide that startup beep, connect the USB sockets on the case’s front to power, etc. This is by far the section that takes me the longest because I guarantee I will ALWAYS plug at least two into the wrong socket and not have a beep, or my audio won’t work or something until I go back and reconnect them.

The next thing was to plug in my monitors and…see what happened when we hit the power button! (Monitor connections just plug directly into your graphics card in the back of the case.) And here’s what happened!

So it turned out when I was connecting my SSD (which has my OS on it), I was pushing on the little connector while sitting on the back side of the case. I thought I had the thing in the socket, but what I’d actually done was jam the connector just under the lip of the motherboard (that is, not connected to anything at all, just hanging in open space). Once I realized, though, it was an easy fix!

The last thing I wanted to do to complete the clean white look I wanted was to replace those UGHLY red PSU cables with what are called “cable extenders.” I bought some white ones on Amazon; because most PSUs’ cables are permanently attached at the box, you plug your cable extenders into the other end and then feed them through the case, so that’s the only portion visible. The ugly PSU cables are still there at the other end of the white cables, just hidden in the cable management area behind the motherboard.

I spent some time fixing up the cables to curve exactly how I wanted them to, then picked my LED RGB colors and closed up the open side with the glass wall. All that was left was to plug in my mouse/keyboard/speakers/headphones/mic/webcam, etc., and we were done!

Ta-daaaa!

The first build I did, the one in the blue & black case, took us about two days due to some unexpected problems. First, we were trying to salvage an old CPU from my HP prebuilt to save a little money. Unfortunately, they used basically no thermal paste to connect it to its fan, and when we were trying to get the fan off, it actually tore the CPU out of its socket and bent a bunch of its pins. I ended up going to Best Buy or something and getting a replacement off the shelf.

The other issue I had was that I foolishly didn’t back up my files, and lost a bunch of them in the rebuild (including my Hawke’s original run through the DA2 game :( :( :( ) Always back up your files before ever going in and messing with your case!

Over the years I replaced a bunch of components in it, which is why it lasted me so long, but the transfer into the new case only took me about three hours, and that was with a bunch of breaks throughout. I probably could have done it faster if I hadn’t wanted to savor it, haha. The cable management for the backless desk took a lot longer, though! (…and a LOT of zip ties.)

I do set my new build on a small glass stand (again, from Amazon) because Hamlet’s pretty sheddy and I wanted to keep airflow as good as possible. I’m limited on how many case fans I can install since I have the optical drive rack taking up a lot of space on the right, but I could install new fans on top if I wanted. My temperatures are great, though (I monitor with CoreTemp & GPUTemp, as well as my motherboard’s built-in temp monitoring software), so I don’t need to unless I decide I need more RGB.

Anything I might want to add, I run through PCPartPicker to make sure it’ll fit what I already have. For example, my parts list looks like this (full view and complete parts list available at this link): 

ANYWAY.

If you are patient, if you can fit small Lego-like pieces in labeled sockets, and you are a decent googler, you can build your own PC. It’s really, really hard to do serious damage to components nowadays, even if you plug something in wrong. There’s a bunch of resources, though, and I’d recommend the following places to start:

newegg.com - parts for sale, getcher parts here

pcpartpicker.com - put your list of components together, and it’ll flag any compatibility issues or known problems

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/ - great starting point for new builders, tons of advice and how-to’s for every step of the process, and a decently responsive community to help troubleshoot any issues you might have

And I obviously love doing this kind of thing, so if there’s anything I can help with, I’m more than happy to try! Just let me know, and I hope this was helpful!

[thefudge]

Do you have any Romanian (language or just content-wise) media recs? Particularly novels and poetry but really any must-sees/must-reads are welcome!

uuuu! 

my brain is too fried right now to do any kind of exhaustive list so i’m gonna rec a few things that i know you could get your hands on/available in translation:

for two thousand years, by mihail sebastian - really heartbreaking yet also lucid, adventurous and darkly humorous memoir of a Jewish writer in his youth at the height of nazism in romania (there’s even a Penguin classic of it)

diary of a short-sighted adolescent by mircea eliade - a funny and bittersweet bildungsroman about a bookish teenager who wants to read everything now and be the cleverest person alive while also struggling with being super lazy and unmotivated because he’s young and restless, it’s very #relatable. but it’s also fascinating to read this in opposition with “for two thousand years” because eliade entertained legionnaire nazi sympathies at one point. (also, you should check out his novellas too, especially the fantastic ones)

anything you can find in translation by gabriela adamesteanu - just lovely, delicate prose about growing up, being an adult, inhabiting your body and your feelings in an oppressive world 

the hatchet by mihail sadoveanu (apparently, there is a translation) - a lot of people give this novel flak, mostly because we had to read it in high school, but it’s a great and deceptively simple little novel that says a lot more about people than it cares to admit. the action takes you through several villages in the East-Carpathians, where a peasant woman goes in search of her missing husband. it’s a fascinating mixture of crime and folklore and mythology. 

any novella by costache negruzzi, but especially “alexandru lapusneanu”, another classic we had to read in school and which gets a lot of flak. it’s so bonkers and #quality-trash. let’s just say there’s a scene where the power-hungry voievod/prince lapusneanu enacts a red-wedding situation and builds a pyramid of freshly severed heads to impress his lady wife *swoon* 

the forest of the hanged by liviu rebreanu - i know people argue this isn’t his best novel, but it’s got the most heart. it’s the story of a soldier/philosopher in WW1 who falls in love with people again. that’s it. he falls in love with people, and the war and everything in between doesn’t matter anymore. or it matters only as it pertains to people, and people alone. 

gallants of the old court by mateiu caragiale - a bizarre gem of early 20th century Romanian nightlife, a wonderful, orgiastic fugue, feverish and infuriating. it’s mostly about rich men and social-climbers getting into existential trouble, but also into real trouble. normally, because the action takes place right before WW1, this would signify the end of an era. but we don’t really have a beginning or end. we are part-balkan, part-french imitators, part-whatever-sticks. nothing moves us, and everything does. and that’s why it’s a sort of love/hate letter to romanians 

in terms of poetry, some personal faves:  nichita stanescu, ana blandiana, monica pillat, marin sorescu,  a.e. baconsky, lucian blaga, emil brumaru, nora iuga, marta petreu, nina cassian. and yes, mihai eminescu, our national poet, though i’m often in two minds about him.  

poetry in translation is really hit and miss because of the “untranslatable”, so here’s two lines from a poem by nina cassian, because i want to show you what i mean:

            De când m-ai părăsit mă fac tot mai frumoasă             ca hoitul luminând în întuneric. 

this roughly and poetically translates to:

          Since you left me I’ve grown more beautiful

           like the corpse lighting the dark 

and this is sort of lovely on its own, but you’d need to know and hear and taste the word “hoit” in romanian to really feel the abjectness, because “hoit” is a smelly, ugly yet also alluring, already decomposing version of “cadavru” aka cadaver/corpse. also “ mă fac tot mai frumoasă” cannot be accurately summed up in “i’ve grown more beautiful”. a literal translation would be “I make myself more beautiful”. in romanian, this is obviously idiomatic and not literal. and yet, these strange self-reflexive valences make these lines strong and eerie, as if the speaker were authoring her beauty, shaping it out of clay and darkness and “hoit”,  like a butterfly cracking the corpse’s shell to get out, but also retaining some of its mesmerizing stench. why did i pause to do a close-reading of romanian poetry??? anyway, you catch my drift

in terms of movies, a recent one i really loved was sierranevada by cristi puiu, which is a neurotic family drama that drains you but also lifts you up 

and yeah, the hype is real, 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days by cristi mungiu really is that good (about two young women trying to get an illegal abortion in communist romania. it won the palme d’or for very legit reasons. it breaks you in small ways. the very last shot of the film you’ll carry with you forever). i also liked graduation by cristi mungiu, where a young overachieving girl is about to graduate high school and go on to study abroad, until a terrible event unmoors both her and her family. the movie turns almost hallucinatory at one point, filled with ambiguity and a kind of sleep-walking quality 

tales from the golden age by cristi mungiu (him again!) is also fantastic for anyone who wants to get a taste of communist romania and the sad-funny absurdities of everyday life. this movie is split in 2 parts and the format is that of an anthology, almost like watching several short films at once. and there is one film in the anthology that always turns me inside out, and it’s really silly, it’s this bonnie and clyde type story about this girl and boy who meet at a party and devise an ingenious get-rich scam and just run around a few neighborhoods trying to put it into practice and it’s...the sweetest, most incomplete thing. there is such a strange, lovely connection there that never gets realized, and there is a MOMENT between them where he helps her step down from this ledge and he holds her briefly to him and i remember being in the cinema and thinking THIS, this is THE MOMENT where i felt these people were real. it was such an honest, lovely moment. like the equivalent of this song. ANYWAY, why am i rambling so much??? this ask was supposed to be SHORT. 

aferim! by radu jude is also a really neat movie and provides a look into the historical romanian/rroma relationship and why it’s so messed up, yet also so organic

the death of mr. lazarescu by cristi puiu is also a great little film about a man who gets sick and goes to the hospital. and...dies, as you can tell from the title. on the surface, he dies because of institutional ineptness and a broken healthcare system. at a deeper level, he dies because we no longer know how to help people. various hospital staff in the film do try to help him and fail for various stupid or quietly heartbreaking reasons. it’s a movie about being physically unable to care. there’s indifference, sure, but also this great exhaustion of the human spirit. but the movie is also darkly funny. might not be a great pandemic watch, but then again it might be exactly what you need 

there are soooo many other classics in terms of books (morometii by marin preda, for instance, about a patriarch in a small village in the South who slowly realizes the world he used to live in doesn’t have room for him anymore, and maybe it never had) but i’m gonna end on a quote from ion creanga, one of the most cryptic classics of romanian lit:

“Şi eu eram vesel ca vremea cea mai bună şi şturlubatic şi copilăros ca vântul în tulburea sa”

my translation: “and I was cheerful like the best weather and frolicsome and childish like the wind in its cloudiness” 

and again, the words in romanian and their particular sound and bite (”şturlubatic”, “tulburea”) immediately take me elsewhere. creanga writes about childhood, but it’s never really childhood. he writes as an adult who, in my opinion, was never really a child, but a weird, small god of the land. i mean the word “tulburea” can mean both “turmoil” and “muddiness”. the wind can be anguished, but also just a little cloudy, just a little hazy, shrinking its agony, howling it in the child. it’s eerie and gorgeous. so, that’s what he does: creanga writes about children as if they were wind-like spirits. he writes stories about devils and the peasants who trick them and school books filled with spit and flies, and warm eggs stolen from nests and fairy-tales of a world that is buried somewhere inside us, but not too deep, things hidden under our clothes or nails or even in our hair. and it’s all so physical and convoluted, just like his prose. and i don’t think anyone will ever make sense of him and that’s what makes him so discombobulatingly great.

anyway, this was supposed to be...like, really short! and not gassy! i’m sorry. i love waxing about all this gay stuff. i’m so gay about it. 

realistically tho, the nearest thing you’ll find in your local bookshop is probably books by famous ‘theater of the absurd’ playwright, eugen ionesco, or novels in translation by contemporary author mircea cartarescu. both are pretty good, so go for it! (if you want to start small, i’d recommend REM by mircea cartarescu, because it’s so trippy and meta and captures that summer holiday eeriness so well. it goes well with this romanian song sung in english)

okay byeeeee 

[crowdvscritic]

round up // MARCH + APRIL 21

March and April were a whirlwind of vaccines and awards shows! A full year after we starting staying at home, the end of this weird chapter in recent history seems like it might finally be coming to a close, and this pop culture awards season—typically a time full of fun and glamour—captured our moment weirdly well. (Emphasis on the weird.) This month’s recommendations is filled with more Critic Picks than usual, so without further delay, let’s dive right in...

March + April Crowd-Pleasers

Double Feature — 2018 Action Thrillers: Bad Times at the El Royale + Den of Thieves

In Bad Times at the El Royale (Crowd: 9/10, // Critic: 8/10), Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, and Dakota Johnson are staying at a motel on the California-Nevada state line full of money, murder, and mystery. In Den of Thieves (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 6.5/10), Gerard Butler takes on some of the best bank robbers in the world. Whether you like your action with a dose of mystery or the thrills of plot twists, these will fit the bill.

Double Feature — ‘80s Comedies: Caddyshack (1980) + Splash (1984)

In the mood for pure silliness? Take your pick between a mermaid and a gopher! Five years before The Little Mermaid, Tom Hanks fell for Daryl Hannah’s blonde hair and scaly tail, and John Candy was his goofy brother in Splash (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10). And four years before Ghostbusters, Bill Murray was the goof on a golf course full of funny people like Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight in Caddyshack (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10).

Double Feature — 1980s Coming-of-Age Films Starring Corey Feldman, Kiefer Sutherland, and Challenging Brother Relationships That Influenced Stranger Things: Stand by Me (1986) + The Lost Boys (1987)

Believe it or not, I had no idea these two ‘80s classics had so much in common when I chose to watch them back-to-back. In Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Stand by Me (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10), four kids (Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, River Phoenix, and Wil Wheaton) are following train tracks to find a missing body. In The Lost Boys (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10), Corey Haim and Jason Patric move to a small California town and discover it’s full of ‘80s movie star cameos and…vampires? One is a thoughtful coming-of-age story and one is just bonkers, but both are a great time.

Spaceman by Nick Jonas (2021)

My love for the Jonas Brothers is well-documented, so instead of going down the rabbit hole I started digging at 15, I’ll talk about how Nick Jonas’s latest solo album will likely appeal to a wider audience than just the fans of the brothers’ bombastic pop records. It’s full of catchy tunes you’ll play on repeat and an R&B-influenced album experience about the loneliness we’ve experienced in the last year and how we try to make long-term relationships work.

Ted Lasso (2020- )

I love stories about nice people crushing cruelty and cynicism with relentless kindness, and Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) is the warmest, most dedicated leader this side of Leslie Knope. Be sure to catch up on these witty and sweet 10 episodes before season 2 drops later this summer.

Double Feature — Tony Scott Action Flicks: Enemy of the State (1998) + The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

Tony Scott’s movies have got explosions and excitement in spades. I love a good man-on-the-run movie, and in Enemy of the State (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10), Will Smith is running through the streets of D.C. after getting evidence of a politician’s (Jon Voight) part in a murder. I also love a tense story set in a confined space, which is what Denzel Washington is dealing with in The Taking of Pelham 123 (Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 7/10) after a hammy John Travolta takes a New York subway train hostage.

Double Feature — Baseball Movies: The Natural (1984) + Trouble With the Curve (2012)

Sue me—I love baseball movies. Robert Redford plays a fictional all-time great in the early days of the MLB in The Natural (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10), and Clint Eastwood plays a fictional all-time great scout in his late career in Trouble With the Curve (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10). If you love baseball or actors like Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, and Justin Timberlake, these movies are just right here waiting for you.

Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American (2021)

Sue me—I enjoy Netflix standup comedy specials that are safe enough to watch with your whole family. That’s exactly the crowd I laughed with over Easter weekend, and while the trailer captures Bargatze’s relaxed vibe, it doesn’t capture how funny he really is.

The Mighty Ducks (1992)

I thought somewhere in my childhood I’d seen at least one of The Mighty Ducks movies, but after watching all three, I think my memories must’ve come from previews on the VHS tapes for other Disney movies I watched over and over again. The original still holds up as an grown-ups, which is why even my parents got sucked in to this family movie while just passing through the living room. Bonus for ‘80s movies lovers: Emilio Estevez is basically continuing Andrew Clark’s story from The Breakfast Club as an adult. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

Double Feature — New, Dumb Action on Streaming: Godzilla vs. Kong + Thunder Force (2021)

If you want something intelligent, go ahead and skip to the next recommendation, but if you’re looking for something stupid fun, these are ready for you on HBO Max and Netflix. Thunder Force (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6/10) follows Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer as they train to become superheroes who take on superhuman sociopaths wreaking havoc on Chicago, and alongside Jason Bateman, they do it with a lot of laughs. Godzilla vs. Kong (Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 5/10) is, um, exactly what it sounds like, so I’ll skip a plot summary and just say it’s exactly what you want from this kind of movie. #TeamKong

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

All you need to know is Russell Crowe is an outlaw, and Christian Bale is the guy who’s got to get him on the train to prison. I also watched the 1957 version, which is also a solid watch if you love classic Westerns. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

Marvel’s newest series isn’t nearly as inventive as WandaVision, and it may not land every beat, but it’s worth a watch for the fun new gadgets, Sebastian Stan’s dry joke delivery, and its exploration into themes of what makes a hero and what governments owe their citizens. It’s a pretty satisfying entry in the MCU canon, but I’d also recommend re-watching Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War—the canon is getting expansive, and it’s getting trickier every year to keep up with all the backstory.

March + April Critic Picks

Best of 2020 Picks

As per usual, the months leading up to the Oscars becomes a binge period for potential Oscar nominees. In March and April, I watched many of the films that made my Top 20 of 2020, including Boys State, The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Let Them All Talk, Minari, Nomadland, On the Rocks, One Night in Miami…, Promising Young Woman, Soul, and Sound of Metal. You can read how I ranked them on my list for ZekeFilm, plus reviews of The Father, Minari, Promising Young Woman, and Soul.

Bonus: If you loved On the Rocks, don’t miss this feature and beautiful photography starring Sofia Coppola, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, and Rashida Jones for W Magazine. 

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

What would you do if you started hearing a voice who narrated your every thought and move? If you’re Will Ferrell, you’ll seek out a literary professor (Dustin Hoffman), fall in love (with Maggie Gyllenhaal), and track down the voice (Emma Thompson) who’s making ominous predictions about your future. Stranger Than Fiction is funny thought-provoking, and an unusual but welcome role for Ferrell. Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

All the Royal Family News

Speaking of stranger than fiction, it’s been a busy few months for the Royal Family. We’ve celebrated 95th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the 3rd birthday of Prince Louis, and the 10th anniversary of Will and Kate’s marriage. We also lost Prince Philip, and we watched the drama of Harry and Meaghan’s interview with Oprah. No matter what happens to their Crown, I don’t think we’ll ever get over our fascination with the Windsor family. A few pieces worth reading from the last few months:

“In Meghan and Harry’s Interview, Two TV Worlds Collided,” Vulture.com

“The Queen’s Man: Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Dies,” TIME.com

“Obituary: HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” BBC.com

Goodfellas (1990)

One of my film opinions that makes me feel like a phony is that Martin Scorsese just isn’t my cup of tea. He’s brilliant, but his films tend to be long and dark, two qualities that are never my first choice…and somehow Goodfellas still worked for me? Maybe it was the TV edit graciously toning down the violence or maybe it was that Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci were firing on all cylinders, but for some reason this ‘90s classic didn’t suck the joy out of my evening like Scorsese often does. (Bonus: For a Martin Scorsese/Robert De Niro I don’t really recommend, head to the last section of this Round Up.)

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021)

Her voice has only matured, so Taylor Swift revisiting her old albums is like upgrading a blast to the past. Plus, the six new tracks make me feel like 15 crushing on that boy in Spanish class again, and her Grammys performance (just before her third Album of the Year win) was magical and folklore-tastic.

Double Feature — ‘60s Action Classics: The Guns of Navarone (1961) + Planet of the Apes (1968)

The Guns of Navarone (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) follows Gregory Peck and David Niven as they destroy Nazi weapons in the Mediterranean. Planet of the Apes (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) follows Charlton Heston as he attempts to escape from, well, a planet full of apes. The pacing of ‘60s films doesn’t always hold up, but that’s not the case with this pair. Both are still full of suspense, and you can’t go wrong hanging with casts like these.

Let Him Go (2020)

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane play a farming couple who unexpectedly help raise a boy who lost his biological father—sound familiar? But instead of a superhero origin story, they’re part of a thrilling Western with performances nuanced (Costner and Lane) and showy (Lesley Manville). If I’d watched this before completing my Best of 2020 piece, it likely would’ve been on my list. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

The Oscars

I’m a ride-or-die fan of the Academy Awards, but I’ll admit even I found this year’s ceremony odd. Instead of focusing on what wasn’t so hot, I’ll recommend a few moments you don’t want to miss:

Emerald Fennell giving a shout-out to Saved by the Bell

Daniel Kaluuya acknowledging his parents’ sex life during his acceptance speech (??)

Yuh-Jung Yoon flirting with Brad Pitt and acknowledging she’s just “luckier” than her fellow nominees

Glenn Close dancing to…”Da Butt”?

You can also read about the historic wins and nominations from this year’s Oscar class and why the Golden Globes were an even stranger production weeks earlier.

Trailer-palooza!

Movies are on their way back, y’all! I’m counting down the days until I can get back to a theatre, and even if some of these movies are duds, I’m planning to see all of them on a big screen if possible:

Those Who Wish Me Dead (May 14)

Cruella (May 28)

In the Heights (June 11)

Space Jam 2 (July 16)

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3)

West Side Story (December 10)

Also in March + April…

To add to the Oscars love, you can listen to a conversation about what we learn about family, community, and society in some of the year’s biggest nominees on the Uncommon Voices podcast. I join regular hosts Michael and Kenneth in this episode, and I recommend all of their thoughtful discussions on their “What’s Streaming” episodes.

I’ve previously recommended the Do You Like Apples weekly newsletter, so I’m proud to share I contributed twice in March! I wrote about Love and Basketball, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, and one of my all-time favorite Julia Roberts rom-coms, Notting Hill. (I also tied to win their Oscars pool, but I suppose that’s less exciting for you than me.)

It was a busy couple of months on SO IT’S A SHOW! New logo, new email list, new Instagram, and a host of new episodes about a flop of a Madonna flick, a Swedish children’s TV show, an urban legend turned into a horror movie, one of the best films about journalism ever, and a Martin Scorsese movie about a real boxer.

Most of what I wrote for ZekeFilm in March and April was mentioned in Best of 2020 recommendations…except for The Nest, a film that couldn’t figure out what genre it wanted to be.

Photo credits: Nick Jonas, Royal Family. All others IMDb.com.

[ckret2]

So I've been deeply pulled into the Radiosnake pairing bc of your fantastic writing! Problem is, now I have fic ideas but no knowledge of the Hazbin background. Can you tellI me where I can get more Hazbin info? I've only watched the pilot and read your stuff. I heard there were comics??

That is an excellent question anon, because right now it is really hard to get Hazbin background easily.

Okay, so, the canon info on Hazbin Hotel can be sort of sorted into four tiers, from most to least canon.

Tier 1: The Definitely Canon

There is, of course, the pilot. And then there is an Angel Dust prequel comic, only seven pages of which have been released so far. We’ve been told it’s gonna be finished and we’ve had glimpses of in-progress prequel comics for a couple other characters—most prominently Alastor’s and Charlie’s—but so far that unfinished Angel Dust comic is the only one that’s been officially released.

Finding the in-progress comic pages is... a challenge. Nobody, as far as I can tell, has been specifically collecting all of the pages we’ve seen so far. I was able to scrounge up:

Couple more Angel pages

some Alastor pages

another Alastor page

a random Alastor panel

another random Alastor panel—I’ve seen the full page of this before, Alastor goes “Hello ladies!” and they go “HELLO ALASTOR~<3″ but I can’t find the full page now

There’s a smattering more canon panels on the artist faustisse’s twitter, but I haven’t dug them all out, and some of the posts I’m gonna link in a lil bit have a glimpse of another panel.

If you haven’t already heard of Helluva Boss, I recommend looking into it as well. It’s a second series being created by the same folks, different cast of characters but set in the same version of Hell, so any canon details we learn in Helluva also apply to Hazbin.

Helluva’s pilot is here. Plus a cute music video here.

Earlier this month, during a BLM charity stream hosted by show artist Ashley Nichols—she runs regular streams under the title “HuniCast”—they released a few sneak peaks of future Helluva scenes, all compiled here.

And that’s it for canon. Two pilots, a music video, a smattering of future scenes, part of one comic, a few WIP pages/panels from other comics.

Tier 2: Pseudo-Canon

Everything else we currently know about Hazbin (and Helluva) are things that the creators have told us. Consequently, they’re all pseudo-canon—and likely subject to change in the future as the shows and comics are further developed and released. Some details that were released/described in the past have been contradicted at other times, or else radically changed by the time the pilot came out.

(For example, when Alastor was first created years and years ago as an OC with no plans for Hazbin, he was a demon deer who could shapeshift into a human shape—now he’s a demonized human with a few deer traits. And Charlie and Cherri Bomb used to look very different.)

So until and unless they make it into canon, all these pseudo-canon details are subject to change and should be taken with a grain of salt—but, they also comprise most of what we know about the characters’ backstory and the as-yet-unaired characters.

Pseudo-canon info on Hazbin is scattered mainly between two sources: the creators’ twitter accounts, and livestreams where they take questions and talk about the making of the show. If you and livestreams do not get along (my ADHD and livestreams do not get along), or if you don’t want to wade years and years back into twitter accounts to dig up every scrap of info on the characters the creators have ever mentioned, collating all the pseudo-canon info is gonna be hard. (It’s gonna be hard even if you do want to sit through the streams and dig through all their tweets.) Lots of fans, me included, depend on the absolutely heroic work of various fans who are willing and able to watch hours-long streams and collate a list of canon factoids released during the streams. I’ve reblogged as many of these posts as I’ve been able to find:

Alastor’s sound design (on twitter)

Alastor's Sound Design (post I made with screenshots of weird—but very interesting—subtitles slipped into the aforementioned video)

Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb’s sound design

Niffty and Husk’s sound design

Charlie, Katie, and Tom’s sound design

Intro song’s sound design

Happy Hotel’s sound design

details from Faustisse (including a pic of a couple costume designs. Most of these posts come from zatyrlucy, who’s been doing a fantastic job of going stream-by-stream to get lists of details from the regular streams by Ashley Nichols and by comic artist Faustisse.)

more details from Faustisse (including a pic of the Von Eldritch family dining room)

Faustisse 3 (better look at that table)

Dollymoon’s Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART ONE (Shoutout again to dollymoon for compiling these, we’ve never spoken but I am eternally grateful for this service. Dollymoon’s posts are THE single most reliable compilation of Hazbin Hotel’s nebulous pseudo-canon facts that I have found to date, including both links to the sources and timestamps where applicable. Dollymoon’s URL has changed since making this post so the “read more” link doesn’t work but the “source” or “reblogged from” links direct correctly to the new blog. Incidentally, the risk of other blog creators deleting their blogs/posts or changing their URLs is why in info posts like these, I always link to my own reblogs rather than their original posts—their original posts might vanish without warning, but I know I ain’t gonna delete my posts, so these links will still work in the future.)

Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART TWO

Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART THREE

Faustisse 4

HuniCast - Australian Wildlife Relief charity stream

I think this was a faustisse stream (the original source deleted these posts, so the comic pages that were originally behind that read more cut are now gone.)

Faustisse stream 6?

And those are all the masterposts of factoids I’ve managed to collect. If anyone has more masterposts, chuck ‘em at me.

Even this isn’t all the knowledge that’s been released about the show. The posts that dig the farthest back are Dollymoon’s, and even they don’t comprehensively cover all of Hazbin’s production. A couple of these characters, Vivziepop created as a teenager, so there’s some truly ancient concept art floating around out there that will have details that probably aren’t canon anymore... but might still be until something happens to actively contradict them.

Tier 3: The Wiki

The wiki is kind of an absolute mess. It’s a chaotic blend of things actually seen in the pilots/comic, things mentioned at some point in some stream somewhere, and wild fan speculation based on what they headcanon as plausible based on the above, all mixed together with very little indication for which is canon, pseudo-canon, fanon, or speculation. Most of the statements on the wiki don’t have citations.

(And, on top of that, half the main characters’ info gets split up into separate tabs instead of just having a normal-ass wiki page, AND their image galleries are on COMPLETELY SEPARATE pages that are linked to in one of the tabs, and the most important characters all have TWO SEPARATE GALLERIES. Which doesn’t have anything to do with the quality of the facts hidden underneath those tabs, but nevertheless drives me up the wall.)

Some things on the wiki were added according to info released so long ago it’s probably changed by now. Some are possibilities that got reported as facts. Other things on the wiki have unambiguously changed, or else are just flat-out incorrect. (For instance, at this moment Alastor’s page still lists him as an overlord, even though it's been confirmed that Alastor is not an overlord despite his power level because he isn’t interested in and didn’t pursue that position, per this stream. For a little bit, somebody’s fanart of their headcanon human Alastor got added to the wiki as concept art.)

tl;dr: the wiki should never be trusted as a primary source. The wiki’s better than it used to be. Even so, at this time, it’s only trustworthy to fill in the gaps of what you already know is true from other, better sources.

The thing it’s good at is it more or less compiles all the known info all in one place. Trying to figure out who the hell this Vox guy is is really hard if you’re reading for mentions of him in compilations of a dozen different streams, much less if you’re trying to comb through those dozen streams yourself, plus a dozen more, plus three different artists’ twitters. In comparison, it’s really easy to, say, just go look at Vox’s wiki page, where all the trivia is compiled. (And Vox’s page is actually one of the better cited on the wiki. Look at all those numbers!)

So, if you need to find out who this character is you’ve never heard of before, if you want to see a full list of the thus far named characters, if you don’t remember whether Alastor likes coffee or tea, if you want to know what Angel’s twin sister looks like, if you need a reminder of Sir Pentious’s death year... check the wiki. It’s an okay starting point.

But, if you see a “fact” on the wiki that you yourself don’t remember from straight out of the pilot, and it doesn’t have a citation that links to a tweet or a stream... regard it suspiciously. And do not trust it unquestioningly as fact until and unless you have seen the source.

Tier 4: Noncanon Creator Shitposting

I’ve mentioned Ashley’s HuniCast streams a couple times. The biggest draw of them is that she usually gets several of the voice actors in the streams, where they’ll happily say nonsense in their character voices. For the most part, they’re not sharing any actual canon info they’ve been given on their characters, just goofing around pretending to be their characters. Nevertheless, a lot of the things that happen in streams get accepted as broad fandom headcanons, like Alastor being into dad jokes. (My favorite, for obvious reasons, is this one.)

It’s easy to find the source audio for all this wonderful nonsense by searching youtube for “HuniCast highlights,” and then rummaging around for animatics people make out of the audio. The only one noncanon video of this sort I can think of that didn’t originally come from HuniCast is a lone one from Alastor’s singing voice (who’s a different voice actor than his speaking voice).

So, obviously, none of these are canon. But they do come from some of the people actually involved in the creation of the show, and they are in the characters’ canon voices, so a whole lot of people treat them as semi-canon anyway. (Even the wiki lists “dad jokes” among Alastor’s likes, which to my knowledge hasn’t come up anywhere except for HuniCast streams.) Since they’re so broadly-known, they’re worth knowing about as important sources of fanon, even if you don’t want to adopt them into your own headcanons. They’re basically the same level of canon as blooper reels.

[frumfrumfroo]

Who are your favorite actors as the Phantom and Christine? I'm new to the POTO fandom and Ramin and Sierra are the only ones I've seen but I LOVE them, Ramin's voice especially feels perfect as the Phantom to me. I guess I'm just curious who other fans think were great in the roles, if I should watch other versions to compare (though I don't know if I can find somewhere to watch them; the sad thing about theatre for me is I live far away and can't actually go to see these shows).

Like I said, I’m really not a fan of the anniversary special, but it is currently the only legal way to watch the entire show without going to a live performance. You caaaaan find other versions, however. I don’t know what your tolerance threshold for bad quality bootleg video is, but versions are available. There is at least one full bootleg on youtube of a quite famous cast. The foundational recommendation would be to listen to the original West End cast recording (Crawford/Brightman) which has everything except the pure dialogue scenes.

I don't really have an ultimate fav ALW cast, but I have fav individual song performances:

Best MotN: Dave Willetts (he sings it so delicately, with such tenderness, and no one else come close. There's tremendous restraint and control, like a tentative caress, but he lets it soar to big bel canto heights exactly where it needs to before dropping it back to an intimate whisper. Lovely pure tenor voice, flawless emotive delivery. This is how it should be imo.) Best Final Lair: Michael Crawford, OCR (his delivery of The Line has never been equalled. It's the best/worst moment in the musical and it makes me sob uncontrollably, but a lot of actors sort of throw it away with their phrasing or lean too far into the ugly crying versus cry singing. The original is perfect. Beautifully sung, most heart-rending, a sob but a piercingly musical sob.) Best PoNR: Ben Lewis (it really suits his voice. That dark, velvety rich quality and his sharp diction enunciating every single syllable of all that smouldering sexual innuendo. Mmm. His singing is so disciplined but always hugely emotional, it's really great for Erik, the repressed and reserved passionate drama queen.) (He also does a gorgeous MotN, the incredible clarity and power he has in his upper register is all the more impressive to me given how dark his natural timbre is. Definitely one of the finest voices ever in the role, imo. Also also here he is singing the best song from LND in a much better version than the one on the final LND video because for some reason they thought post-processing live theatre actors was a good idea. I didn’t like this song right away but it kept growning on me more and more and then I heard this version and it was over for me.) I lean towards him as my overall fav, but on the other hand, he should not be allowed to talk because his line delivery is never short of hilariously bad and he's... doing a voice? I think? He sounds silly. But he is tall and slim and has nice hands, so he is waaaay further ahead of the game on casting for Erik than the VAST, depressing majority of official releases. Best Wandering Child: Colm Wilkinson (really kind of a tie between him and Michael Crawford, but I do love CW a lot) Perhaps weirdly, my favourite ever vocal performance for Erik is Peter Straker from Ken Hill's musical. He is far from being perfect technically and maybe that makes me a hypocrite as someone forever harping on ALW for casting under-trained singers as a musical prodigy and vocal virtuoso, but Straker's voice has a genuinely ethereal quality that is unlike any other voice I've ever heard. It's haunting and vaguely unearthly and thus his is the only performance where I can actually imagine that's really what Erik sounds like. It makes sense that everyone who hears it is immediately struck by this voice, it makes sense that it's absolutely unmistakable; as good as the above singers are, they pretty much just sound like normal dudes- not angels. Straker could be an angel. (Possible exception Colm Wilkinson who also has a unique tonal quality, but doesn't sound otherworldly to me in the same way.)

For Christine, no one has ever been on Sarah Brightman’s level technically. I’m not a huge fan of her voice in general and her acting is not great, to say the least, but it was written for her and you can tell. She has the roundist, warmest tone you will ever hear in the part. She doesn’t screech, she is bel canto all the way up. She’s powerful and comfortable on every song, never straining, never cheating, and you will basically never hear that kind of command from any other Christine. Not on official recordings, anyway. I’ve seen some live.

However, this is the best ever Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again imo.

I do really like Anna O’Byrne as Christine. She's beautiful and has the right sad dreamy quality, she looks like a porcelain doll and that's perfect. Her voice is very classic, which is what you want, and her acting is quite good. She's full of warmth and sweetness but has a deep well of emotional pain, slightly haunted and ready to throw down when pushed to heartbreak. It’s just her higher notes can be a bit thin and abrasive.

[zulkaif-riaz-blog]

All you need to know about FL Studio app

Info:

Full name

FL Studio

Publisher

Image-line

Genre

Entertainment, music

Operating System

Android

Official website

Image-line.com

What’s new?

Its transport panel is now available with MIDI input.

There was a bug in the previous version due to which we weren't able to record stereo sound. This bug is now fixed in the latest version.

Many other bugs are also fixed.

A number of new tracks and beats are added, many of them are paid.

About FL Studio Mobile app

FL Studio is a digital audio workstation software and multi-track producing mobile application developed by "Image-Line". FL Studio is available for android, IOS, Windows, and macOS operating systems. The word FL stands for ‘Fruity Loops’ and till 2003 it was known as "Fruity Loops Studio". That's why we see a mango-like fruit in its logo. This software was initially launched for windows and macOS computers but with an increase in the number of users, fl studio's mobile phone supporting versions were also launched till 2013. These apps are available on the apple app store (IOS devices) and google play store (Android devices).

Fl studio is one of the best audio editing and music creating apps available on the play store. FL Studio provides a GUI (Graphic User Interface) where users can perform several audio and music editing-related functions including making, mixing, cutting, and recording just by dragging and dropping. However, FL Studio is a professional android app that is used in audio editing. FL Studio mobile app has more than 130 instruments (musical instruments), drums, and beats which can be used to covert your simple sound into a music track. You can simply say that you aren’t going to install any app, you are going to own a full-featured music studio for yourself where all possible musical instruments, tools, and plugins are available within a platform. These musical instruments are very easy to use like you will see piano buttons on your screens. You just have to touch your fingers on piano buttons to produce a piano music track. The same method applies in the case of drums, beats, and other instruments.

You don't even need to use only your mobile phone to use the fl studio mobile app, you can synthesize your project on other operating systems like Windows, macOS, and IOS, etc. This feature allows you to share your customizable file on social media and other networks. You can also use this feature to ask someone to customize your work. You can simply create music with teamwork. If you become an expert in fl studio mobile, you will be able to earn money by helping other music creators on social media and freelancing platforms.

Yes, I do believe that fl studio mobile won't attract you if you are looking to work the same as you did on the desktop version, it is hard and it won't even work 10% of that of Pc version but still, it is much better in performance if you compare fl studio mobile with other audio editing android apps available on google play store. That’s why fl studio is one of the most used music creating over the internet. Fl studio mobile may include in-app purchases of two instruments groove machine and transistor bass. There are many sample players available for an in-app purchase.

You aren't familiar with the fl studio mobile app? And don't even want to watch lengthy tutorials. You don't need to worry. Unlike many other apps, fl studio mobile uses an optimal interface which makes this app easy to understand. FL Studio has also created a forum where users can discuss, share, and ask questions and answers, this forum is much helpful. A large number of fl studio users are using this forum, so you can get a quick response from the community. Claim your account here https://forum.image-line.com/

There are several features available in FL Studio's latest version. A few of its main features are listed below.

Features of FL Studio:

•FL Studio mobile supports many musical instruments. You can use these musical instruments to create music lyrics for your audio file. You can also play with musical tools like piano, drums, and much more.

•You can add synthesizer, drum, and beats easily. As discussed in the above point, this app can do almost everything we do in a real music studio.

•You can record audio and can easily export it in WAV, ACC, and MP3 formats. You can also record your audio first and edit it later instead of performing both things at the same time.

• Several audio effects are available which can make your audio perfect. You can simply select and customize them. These effects include auto ducks, chorus, reverb, flanger, phaser, delays, and much more.

•Audio compressor can be used to compress the whole or selected part of a recording. Here compressing means the compression of audio volume.

•GUI (graphic user interface) of this will provide you the best interface. As this app has the best user interface, you will be able to understand its use in no time

•You can also do collision programming with reliable sequencing using the fl studio mobile app.

•A graphical waveform editor available in this app can be used to edit sound wave professionally. Even a small issue in the track can be detected and is solved by this feature available in fl studio mobile app.

•Professional pitch changing, tempo changing, and speed changing options will make your audio different from the original one. However, these options can be found in many other apps.

• FL Studio provides a synchronization feature where you can edit your project on other operating systems such as android, iOS and windows etc. You can share your projects with other.

•Last as well as least feature i am going to discuss is its feature of “noise reduction”. FL Studio app can reduce background noise and unwanted sounds easily. Mostly on use of mobile mice or mice with low quality, we hear unwanted sounds in the background that we can remove by using this feature.

FL Studio mobile apk download

As i have already mentioned above that fl studio mobile is a paid tool and everybody can’t afford it and want to download this app free of costs. Another issue is that you don’t know whether this app is useful for you or not? Like that of fl studio’s desktop version which you can even use before payment by claiming its free trial. However free trial is’nt available in case of android app, that’s why many people prefer downloading it for free instead of paying to its publisher through play store. Here we are providing FL Studio mobile apk cracked to download for free with obb file. This apk file won’t harm your device. You can easily download fl studio apk latest version and obb file for free from here.

Before downloading fl studio mobile apk, you should know that it against the publisher's terms to download this app from a third party. However, this apk file is safe and is virus-free. You just need to click on the download option given below, and have to wait till apk file is downloading. When downloading completed, you just need to click on apk file (normally you can find this file in the Downloads folder) having .apk extension. And you will see an option to install or cancel, click on the install option to install this app. You will also find obb file here. First of all you need to extract/unzip that compressed folder (zip folder). Copy ‘folder with obb file’ and paste this folder in given pathway: Storage > Android> OBB> paste file here*. Now launch this app and enjoy. Didn’t understood? A simple method for installing Fl studio mobile apk is given below. Just follow this method to install fl studio mobile apk mod for free

·        Download all the files we have provided below and open “Downloads” folder in file manager.

·        Now you need to install the APK file. Read method of installation given in above paragraph.

·        Copy OBB file from here available in a folder named “com.imageline.FLM” and paste in the following directory: Storage / Android / OBB.

·        Above folder should be located in this directory;-

Android > OBB > com.imageline.FLM > main.302043.com.imageline.FLM.obb

All done! Now you can launch the application. I recommend you to visit this site regularly so that you don't miss any update of this app. Whenever image-line updated their app, the updated version will be uploaded to this site in no time. In this case, you don't need to uninstall the previously installed app as you w'll loose your data and files. You just need to downloaded the updated one and update your app by same method which you applied while installing apk file. If found error, then you must uninstall previously installed app and have to install newer version to enjoy fl studio mobile with a lot of new features and clean from bugs.

Users Reviews about FL Studio Mobile

Fl studio mobile has good rating that’s why i am here to share fl studio mobile apk full with you. I am going to mention a few pros and cons of this app.

PROS:

vIt allows creating multi track music.

Can export in many formats like ACC, wav, mp3 and other MIDI formats.

Can use a number of music instruments.

It has best graphic user interface.

It is easy to use.

CONS:

vIt is hard to use on devices having RAM and Storage less than it is required to run this app.

Sometimes it stops working due to bugs that are not fixed yet.

Some of the musical instruments are paid, and are available in-app purchase.

Its performance is not too good to compare it with Pc software.

You can’t use this on devices with Android 3.0 or less.

FL Studio is one of the most recommended apps as most expertise has experienced fl studio on desktop, IOS and macOS which are more reliable than apk. But actual thing is that you have an app with almost all features that any high level professional app should have. You don't need to find beats from somewhere. You don't even need to collect different instruments and to use all of them by mixing it one by one. It is a tiring work. You just need to sit at a place to create multi track music and to edit audio files. How simple this is?

But there are many things in this app which user don’t like. One of them is availability of premium tracks and beats whom you need to buy before using them. It is a multi operating system app and you may experience windows, IOS and macOS better than android. So many users prefer to use fl studio on mac or pc for better experience. This application also has age restrictions, the recommended age for using this app 3+ years. Their latest version has been installed on more than one lac devices till now. On a five point ratings scale, fl studio mobile is available with 4.2 out of 5 star ratings and a number of positive reviews on google app store. In short, fl studio mobile is providing all musical solutions, best user interface, high performance and much more on your mobile phone. Although this is paid (we have also solved this problem) but you can’t find such features for free. If you are music creator then i suggest you to give a try to this awesome app by downloading and installing from this site for totally free.

Have a query? Feel free to ask.

[tenchiforum]

For the first time ever, the Toonami versions of OVA1/2, Universe, and Tokyo are available online! On their respective archive.org pages you can access each episode easily.

Watch now: OVA1/2, Tenchi Universe, Tenchi in Tokyo.

For users who keep up with contemporary anime communities, we also have an upload for the entire run available on Nyaa.

It’s been quite a journey in getting these episodes from analog to digital. If you’re interested in reading about the process of how these almost lost-to-time edits came into our hands and how we’ve gone about preserving them before the tapes rot, then sit back and enjoy the story below!

Part 1: Toonami – A Love Story.

Tenchi Muyo! and Toonami are tied together like the red thread of fate often times referenced in many East Asian myths. For those who aren’t aware, Toonami was a programming block on the Cartoon Network channel. Starting in 1997, it did one thing for anime that no other channel in the English-speaking world had ever done: showcased anime during “PrimeTime” (In North America at least, this was 4pm to 7pm Eastern Standard time). Before the internet, having this block of time meant having the most eyes on your product, meaning exposure was huge. Oftentimes whoever got on this block, regardless of the channel, was “made.”

However, it wouldn’t be until mid 1999, with a soft-rebranding, a new host, and an almost entirely anime-focused block, that Toonami would take over the world.

And on July 3rd, 2000, an entire generation was introduced to Tenchi Muyo! for the first time.

- The now legendary two minute Toonami promo.

Thanks to the efforts of Jason DeMarco, Sean Akins, Gill Austin, Sean Polinski, and the rest of the Toonami crew, the “Toonami generation,” still to this day, is the largest block of Tenchi Muyo! fans. Whether it was Toonami US, UK, or Australia. Tenchiforum is a testament to this fact. I personally would not be here were it not for Toonami, so to say that fans of Tenchi Muyo! hold Toonami in a high regard is an understatement.

I had always wanted to somehow, some way, get the Toonami version of Tenchi up for everyone to see again, but my old Toonami VHS recordings were long gone, and I figured trying to piece together the Toonami version from other people’s tapes would just be too hard with how many episodes were broadcast, that was until… 2012

In mid-to-late 2012, I found out that Pioneer actually released a home video version of what was shown on Toonami. It was simply released as “Tenchi Muyo!” in those big, white, clam shell VHS cases (that most people probably remember for old Disney movies). I felt as though I had struck gold! I was able to get a hold of the first two OVA, and was able to rip them to my computer.

- Vol. 1 & Vol. 5 of “Tenchi Muyo!” – No distinction was made that they were separate series.

Though I was high on my endorphin-induced nostalgia, I ran into a couple of unforeseen problems.

First and foremost, the equipment I was using was not great. I used an old StarTech composite to USB dongle and the software that came with it. While this isn’t necessarily bad at first glance (it doesn’t support Windows 10), I had no experience whatsoever in the field of digital transfer. While I think my rips were okay for the time, I knew even then that they were too low of bit-rate and the quality of the rips suffered for it.

Because I also had no VCR at the time that had S-Video output, I was only able to output from composite, which meant the whopping 240p equivalent VHS tapes look fuzzier than they probably should. (I realize that VHS is technically an analog format, meaning that a 1:1 equivalent digital representation is hard to pin down or that someone might argue that it did technically output 480i over composite, but basically it was 240p.)

Another problem was the software itself, I had no idea about Virtualdub, AmaRecTV, or other helpful capture software, so I only recorded at a lower bit-rate, again producing an inferior quality rip.

I also ran into the problem of showcasing the videos. Funimation (who now owns the vast majority of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise in North America) had finally started really cracking down on people uploading videos to Youtube. Even though my videos were not completely the same, the algorithm immediately flagged and blocked them. This led me to uploading the videos to Facebook. I had to cut them in half because of Facebook’s restriction to roughly only 12 minutes of video. Somehow in the process, some of the videos had audio drop out for a minute or two, and for some the audio dropped out completely.

Arguably the biggest blow though, was when I learned that this set of Toonami tapes was incomplete. Pioneer stopped producing the Toonami version for home video after they finished releasing Universe. Meaning, the only way to get the Toonami version of Tenchi in Tokyo, was hope that someone, somewhere,  had taped it 11 years earlier.

While Tenchi in Tokyo has been getting more appreciation from fans as of late – thanks in part to most newer entries in the Tenchi OVA sucking harder than a vacuum – in the year 2000, it was the black sheep of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise. So expecting fans to have recorded any of it, let alone the entire series, was the long shot of all long shots. But even still, I made a post on the forum in 2013 asking if anyone knew anyone that might have anything.

Naturally, no one had any leads, and all of these previous problems meant that this project would, frustratingly, have to be shelved indefinitely.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

Part 2: Deferred Dreams Don’t Die.

On April 5th, 2019, a person by the name of Talos dropped into our Discord server, and posted an introduction. Like so many, they had gotten into Tenchi through Toonami, but what would change everything, was this.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading, someone actually had it!

Instinctively, I reached out to Talos via PM to ascertain how to go about acquiring these tapes, and admittedly, to see how legit this claim actually was. Because the fact of the matter is, when you’ve been around Tenchi fandom as long as I have, you’ll quickly realize the best bullshitters in the world come from this fandom.

But Talos was more than the genuine article! They sent over pictures and an incredibly detailed analysis of the quality of their tapes, watching through them all again to prove to me that their claim was valid.

It can’t be said enough that this all would not be possible without Talos, their willingness to work with me and send me their own personal tapes that they’ve kept for almost two decades just goes to show how awesome they are and how much they care about the fandom.

So the deal was struck, and the dream that laid deferred for almost six years lived again.

- A time capsule from another era.

But with dreams from the past, come the demons that plagued them way back when. I still only had the setup I once had, and at this time I was really trying to be tight with my finances for a number of different reasons, but this opportunity was too good to pass up, I wasn’t going to let this dream go, even if it wasn’t perfect.

Talos’ tapes showed up, and I rolled up my sleeves.

So I put in the first tape, the first seven episodes of Tokyo, into the old VCR I used to originally rip the Pioneer tapes, a JVC HR-VP650U….

And static…

Or rather, a tape that would play for 3 seconds, then immediately drop to static.

This wouldn’t work.

I then tried my other VCR, a Sony SLV-N50 from the mid-to-late 90’s that I was able to “fix” by removing the old Android Kikaider tape that got stuck in there many years prior.

It worked!…..but…..not all that well.

While it did actually play the tape relatively smoothly, the colors were completely washed out in comparison to the JVC, and it had this weird color flickering that was particularly noticeable when black backgrounds were on screen. (This was not unique to this tape, it did it with everything I put in there.)

As much as it pained me, there was no way I was going to rip it with this setup.

So the hunt began for not just a replacement VCR, but one that was high quality and recommended among enthusiasts for digital transfer. Which meant research and long winding rabbit holes of non-answers and vagueness, and unfortunately, money.

Without a doubt, the de facto list of best VCRs for transferring comes from digitalFAQ.com. This list is not only informative but gives you a broad range of ones to look for in the event you can’t find an “elite” one. However, this list has also become the de facto list used by people who are hawking their sets on eBay to try and get every penny from enthusiasts and new-comers as possible.

After three frustrating weeks of losing bid wars on eBay, someone finally put up one of the good sets, the JVC SR-V10U. I quickly sent them what I thought was a reasonable but not bank-breaking offer….

And they accepted! The beast was finally mine.

Immediately upon unwrapping and testing it, the quality difference between what I had then and what I was looking at now was staggering. The SR-V10U had beautiful color, while having the incredible ability to stabilize the old tapes with its TBC (Time Base Corrector), as well as onboard Video Stabilization option. Combined with the ability to output video via the superior S-Video cable, I now had something that, despite its age and typical old VHS wear, was way better than I could have imagined.

Part 3: No Need for Nostalgia.

You’re probably thinking to yourself “Dagon, why go through the trouble? The OVA has a beautiful Blu-ray release, and Universe and Tokyo have pretty decent DVD releases. Why would you ever want to rip old VHS tapes of an inferior quality release that was in some cases censored?”

- The now famous Toonami “bikinis”.

Because this version of Tenchi Muyo! is a piece of history. Not only is it a piece of Tenchi history, but a piece of Toonami history as well. Being able to preserve this in the best quality possible is being able to point to future generations and say “This is why I’m here.”

For a lot of us it’s about taking us back to a simpler time, grade school, high school, university. Taking us back to a time before the internet was what it is today.

So now we can, after almost 20 years, re-watch the version of Tenchi Muyo! that brought so many of us joy and wonder.

[peachymhaechan]

“You know, you have pretty good taste.”

Genre: fluff, a tiny bit of angst I suppose, travel!au

Pairing: Hyuck x reader

Warnings: language, my guy

A/N: i’m uploading this after junior year is finished, hell yeah!! also, happy birthday my full sun, we all love you so much!! unrelated but im trying something other than bullet point scenarios for once?? who IS she

   It was four in the morning, the sun wasn’t out and the birds were not chirping. Instead, the sun was in the process of rising and all that could be heard was shitty airport music and the overpowering sound of airplanes taking off. The people passing by you were an odd mix: some passing layover time by getting drunk off their asses, some hustling to the next gate, some excited to go on vacations (Example that everyone has seen before: that middle class family of four headed to Disney World with matching Mickey and Minnie Mouse T-shirts with their names on the back) or see their families. You, however, happened to be in the group of people who had just finished vacation and were now back home, and dreadfully so. Who would want to go back to the boring and mundane after being at the beach with a group of friends for two weeks? 

   Taking your time to pick up your luggage, you stopped in the bathroom to pass time, as you wanted to avoid the initial rush to at the baggage claim. The first ten to fifteen minutes at the baggage claim were the worst because you had to deal with cranky tourists, crying babies, and overly loud people talking on the phone. After it felt like enough time had passed, you went to the baggage claim for your flight and waited to pick up your suitcase. It was black, with a hard exterior and no really notable qualities other than a yellow tag with your personal information written on it. 

   The bags all went around the conveyor belt a few times and you finally spotted your bag. Well, what you assumed to be yours; it was the exact same suitcase with a yellow tag, so there was no real need to be suspicious of anything or doublecheck the tag. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed a boy who appeared to be your age grabbing a suitcase that matched yours to a T. He looked tired, like he had been running nonstop and was extremely exhausted, so you thought of complimenting his choice of travelling bags but stopped yourself. Just as you were about to leave, you felt a pair of eyes on you so you turned and found the boy with the same suitcase staring at you. He blushed at being caught but still gave you a small smile and bowing his head in a sleepy greeting. You did the same to him, giving him a small wave and saying, “You know, you have pretty good taste,” and gesturing to the bag. 

   He chuckled cutely, the noise making you blush immediately, and said, “You too.” With that, you both went on your merry ways, not thinking anything of the encounter or the fact that neither of you checked the damn tags to see if you took the other’s bag. Plot twist: you grabbed the wrong bag. 

   About one hour later you closed your apartment door behind you, slipping off your shoes and collapsing onto the couch. You threw your phone onto the charger and placed it onto the coffee table and as soon as your head hit your pillow, your eyes shut and you fell into a deep slumber, your body trying to get rid of the major jet lag. 

   The sun shining through the window and warming your skin woke you in the middle of the afternoon. Deciding that the amount of sleep you had gotten after getting home would be substantial enough for the time being, you got up and started to unpack. Laying the suitcase on your bed, you opened it up and it took you a second to realize it, but boy oh boy were you shocked. 

   That was not your suitcase. 

   How did you know? Well, because the last time you checked, you didn’t wear boxer briefs, especially not ones with lipstick kisses all over them. 

   “Fuck. Shit. Ass. Piss,” was all you could say as you closed it back up and went to check the tag tied around the handle. Lee Donghyuck, the name read, with a phone number scribbled next to it. You went into the living room to go and text the ever mysterious Lee Donghyuck, when the screen was illuminated with a text message from an unsaved number. 

   Hey Y/N, this is Lee Donghyuck from the airport. We had the same bag, remember? Well, I think you’ll find out pretty soon if you haven’t already that we have each other’s bags. Let me know when you’re free so we can swap, please!

   Sighing a breath of relief at the fact that at least the boy was polite and respectful about this awful situation, your fingers started moving over the keyboard to send a message back. 

   Hi Donghyuck, this is Y/N! I’m free all day, where would you like to meet up? We can go to a coffee shop by my house if that is okay with you. If it’s too far, no worries! We can just find somewhere else to go :)

   Not even seconds after you sent the message, Donghyuck sent a response asking which coffee shop you had in mind, and to send him the address. You happily obliged, wanting nothing more than to sort out this mess and get your stuff back. 

   Alright sounds good, I’ll see you there in about an hour !!

   It had almost been time to meet up when you started to head to the coffee shop you guys planned on. It was a little hole in the wall, mom and pop place that had stolen your heart (and money) ever since you moved to that little neighborhood. The best drink on the menu was their caramel macchiatos, the warmth from the beverage warming you to the core on the coldest winter days, and the ice in the cold version cooling you on the hottest summer afternoons. 

   The little bell above the door rang when you walked in, and the barista at the counter gave you a warm hello. “Y/N, how was your trip?” Jaehyun, the fulltime sweetheart and halftime barista, asked you, immediately making you your usual. Taking a seat at your normal spot by the window, you flashed him a grin and said, “Amazing. It felt so good to get away and worry about nothing other than putting on more sunscreen.” The tall boy handed you a steaming cup and before he could say anything else, the bell rang again. 

   Your eyes drifted to the door and you found yourself staring into the same eyes you had stared into earlier. Donghyuck stood in the doorway, not as recognizable, having changed from that morning. Rather than wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, he donned ripped jeans, a loose sweater, and clean sneakers. Rolling your suitcase right behind him, his eyes scanned the room for you, and you could pinpoint the exact moment he saw you. 

   “Y/N?” he hesitantly called, walking towards you. Jaehyun retreated to behind the counter, leaving you two to it. “Yes, hi, hello!” you confirmed, waving hello to the boy and finding yourself in shock when your heart skipped a beat at the sight of him running a hand through his faux golden locks. 

   “Ah, I’m sorry we had to meet like this,” he sheepishly told you, rubbing the back of his neck. He took a seat across from you, changing the view you normally got in your spot. Never in all your experiences at the shop had something or someone changed the view you had: the window to the outside, showing the little alleyway and any locals walking to some of the other shops. It came to you, then, that maybe you didn’t mind a bit of change if it was that cute. 

   “Oh, I don’t mind, really. I’m glad it happened with someone as respectful as you, though. You never know how people can be nowadays,” you said, taking a sip from your drink. “Would you like something to drink? Jaehyun is really good at what he does,” you said, nodding over to the barista who stood behind the bar, seeming bored out of his mind. 

   “Hmmmm…. what would you recommend?” he asked, stealing a glance at the bit of froth that gathered above your lip. 

   “The caramel macchiato is what I normally get. Both iced and warm, its great,” you said, gesturing to the beverage in your cup, a small smile on your face. 

   “Alright, then. I trust you. I’ll take a large caramel macchiato...” 

   Once Jaehyun had made the drink and refused any payment (and gave you a wink from behind Donghyuck, thank God he couldn’t see that), you two chatted for hours. The sun was starting to set before it dawned on you that you had been there for almost three hours, stomach sore from laughter and cheeks burning from smiling. Talking to Donghyuck felt like talking to an old friend, despite knowing him for less than twenty-four hours. In the short time you had spent together, you gathered that he was a sweet and caring boy, as he took care of his younger friends and his younger siblings, but that didn’t stop his whip-like tongue from throwing out witty remarks any time an opportunity arose. His sense of humor was very similar to yours, and his interests were the same as yours, so you two had endless topics to discuss. 

   “Oh my God, what time is it?” you asked, falling out of your stupor and dragging your gaze away from the boy’s beautiful curled lashes and the way they rested upon his cheekbones. You heard Jaehyun dramatically yawn behind the counter, causing you to roll your eyes as Donghyuck checked his watch and said, “It’s almost nine o’clock, I’m about to miss the next bus to get back to my house.” 

   “Well, I guess we should be leaving, then. Good night, Jaehyun, thank you for everything! The macchiato was great, as always.” You both stood up and gathered your things, switching suitcases and checking the tags this time just to be safe. You both shuffled out of the shop, sending a smile and a wave over your shoulder to the barista before standing in the middle of the doorway. 

   Standing there, you weren’t sure what to do or say, but then Donghyuck spoke up. “Thank you for agreeing to meet up with me, I appreciate it. A lot of people nowadays would have just mailed it to me or something, so I’m pretty grateful that you met up with me right away. Oh, and you’re pretty nice, too, so, um... maybe we can meet here again? If that’s okay with you, of course.” There was a crimson tint to his cheeks and you found it outright adorable that the boy blushed at the thought of seeing you again. 

   “I’d love that, Donghyuck! Thank you for not being a serial killer or something and recommending your house instead,” you told him, trying to lighten the atmosphere around you two and succeeding when you heard a little giggle escape his lips. “You really should be going now if you don’t want to miss that bus,” you said, giving him a smile. 

   “Yeah, you’re right... text me when you get home safe, okay? I feel terrible that I can’t walk you home.” He kicked at a rock on the ground, a small pout forming on his cherry red lips. 

   “I will, don’t feel bad! Have a nice night!” you exclaimed and, feeling particularly bold, leaned up to place a feather-light kiss on his already dusted cheeks. The seemingly outgoing boy froze on the spot, skin heating up and eyes widening and watching you pivot and wheel your suitcase away with energy in your step. 

   As soon as you got home, you flung yourself down on the bed and let your actions sink in finally. The memory of kissing his cheek made you all giddy and start giggling, before inevitably squealing into your pillow. Remembering what he told you before you were ever so adventurous, you pulled out your phone and sent him a quick text. 

   Okay, I’m glad you made it home safely! :)

   A few seconds later, you received another text, not giving you any time to recover form the first one.  

   Would you like to hangout tomorrow? If you’re available, that is! 

   Fingers flying over the keyboard and heart leaping out of your chest, you sent a reply right away. 

   I’d like that a lot, Hyuck

[thegreenwolf]

Why Pagans Need Field Guides

Originally posted at A Sense of Natural Wonder at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/why-pagans-need-field-guides/

I was talking to someone on Facebook today about how I’m a field guide nerd. I have an ever-growing collection of identification books on the fauna, flora and fungi of the Pacific Northwest, as well as its complicated geology, climate, and other natural features. I even collect vintage ones just for the fun of it. I’m also an avid iNaturalist user and spend a decent portion of my outdoor time taking photos of beings I meet along the way. And I love the challenge of trying to identify some critter or plant that I have never encountered before, just to put a name and a niche to it.

Now, I’ve spent the past couple of decades watching experienced pagans talk about how important history books are for pagans wishing to deepen their practice. They’re right, of course, at least if your path is in any way linked to historical cultures. But think of how many pagans invoke the elements without understanding anything about the earth, air, fire and water in their bioregion, or who call on deities of storm and forest and fertility with little comprehension of those natural forces. We can name entire pantheons of deities and list off magical correspondences for hours, and yet so many of us can’t identify more than a few native plant or bird species.  I’ve already asked why we can’t be as nerdy about nature as we are about history in a both/and rather than either/or manner. So consider this a continuation of that query.

Using Field Guides

First, what is a field guide? Simply put, it’s a book or website that lists a certain group of living beings found in an area. Bird guides are by far the most popular as birders are also generally pretty avid book fans, and when you’re trying to fill your Life List with positively identified new species it’s important to be very sure you know what you’re looking at through your binoculars. But field guides to flowers and other plants, mushrooms, wild mammals, and other beings abound. Some of these cover entire continents; others focus on a single state or region. The best have clear, full-color photos or high quality illustrations showing the field marks–distinguishing characteristics–of each species, along with pertinent info on behavior, habitat, and more.

The best way I’ve found to use one isn’t to cart it around with me all the time, but instead to take note of various beings I find in my day to day life. If I can get a picture, great! But sometimes that’s not possible, and so I need to either sketch or write down as many of the field marks I noticed as possible. For example, the first time I saw a varied thrush I noticed that it was a bird very much like a robin except it was yellow and black. When I got home I grabbed one of my Oregon bird guides and flipped through until I found a bird like the one I saw. The size, location and habits all matched up with what I observed, so it was a pretty safe bet that this was indeed a varied thrush.

I also read through my field guides, because there are many beings I have yet to see in the wild. There are several species which I had previously only seen in books and photos, and which I instantly recognized in person the first time because I was already aware of how they looked. Plus it’s fun to imagine what sorts of wildlife, plants and mushrooms I might find if I decide to go exploring somewhere new!

I’ve kept a journal of my nature sightings for several years, and I also have a pretty extensive collection on iNaturalist. Every time I find a new animal, plant or other being, I make note of it in the journal with what I saw, when and where. Then as I further research the ways in which my ecosystem is put together I can place this particular being into its niche and know how it’s a part of the greater whole. The varied thrush, for example, is food for hawks and other predators. As an insectivore it helps to keep insect populations in check. And like all birds its droppings are important fertilizer for plants and fungi, and because it eats berries it helps to distribute the seeds to new locations. I can appreciate the need to preserve forest habitats in particular since the numbers of this species have been declining due to habitat loss. And so now I think of those things whenever I see a varied thrush, rather than just saying “I see a bird. I wonder what it means?”

How Is This Useful to Pagans?

If you’re going to draw on nature in your path in any way, it’s a good idea to have at least a basic understanding of what it is you’re incorporating. Any introductory book on paganism will extol the virtues of getting to know the differences between various deities and spirits and the like so that you aren’t calling on Artemis in a men’s ritual or asking Dionysus to help with a safe ocean passage. In the same way, it’s important to be able to identify at least some of your non-human neighbors if you’re going to be asking them to join your rituals.

And I don’t mean just going with anthropocentric information. If I am going to learn about fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) I’m not just going to look at pictures of Smurf houses or try and pretend I’m a Siberian shaman by ingesting some of this hallucinogen. Instead I’m going to find out this fungi’s natural range, what sort of substrate its mycelium prefers, what sorts of trees it forms mycorrhizal relationships with, and whether there’s any animal that can safely eat it. All these tell me more about how it fits into the ecosystem I am also a part of, and gives me a greater appreciation for it as something other than “one of those mushrooms that can get you high.”

The more you get to know your community, human and otherwise, the more you come to value it. Just as knowing the names of your neighbors and store employees conveys a deeper sense of connectedness, so knowing the names of the animals, plants and other beings around you makes you more appreciative of them. And as you grow your awareness of how your human community works together in a web of inter-reliance, so your understanding of the complexity of your overall ecosystem shows you just how precious and important it is. And that, to me, is the center of truly nature-based paganism. Not how many Samhain decorations are on your altar or how many crystals you own, but how aware you are of just how entwined you are with everything around you and how much responsibility you have to it. If all you do is take, take, take and never give back, even in the simple act of knowing something’s name, then you are a parasite rather than a partner.

Field guides are a great way to begin this healthy and balanced relationship. Like a list of deities in a pantheon, they introduce you to who’s who. You don’t have to memorize every species in every book or website; just knowing which field guide to start with when researching a species is a great first step. And how much you explore is up to you. You may be content just knowing the data in the field guide entry for a given species so that you can name it the next time you see it. Or you may wish to get to know it better, along with the various other beings that it is inter-reliant with, so that you can place a few more pieces into the puzzle of your ecosystem and have a greater part of the whole picture.

How Do I Find Field Guides?

The easiest way I’ve found is to go online and search for “Oregon field guides” (you can substitute your state, region or country for Oregon.) Or go to Amazon and search for “field guides” and see what pops up, though I recommend actually buying your books from local independent bookstores. If you want to narrow it down, search for things like “Oregon plant field guides” or “books on birds of the Pacific Northwest.” If you’re more hands-on, go to your local bookstore and peruse their nature section. I’ve gotten almost all of my field guides from the gift shops at state and national parks and wildlife refuges as I like supporting them financially.

The same goes for websites. Let’s say I saw a salamander but didn’t know what it was. Searching for “Oregon salamanders” brings up several pages that showcase all the species of salamander found in this state. Some of these sites, like the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s wildlife viewing site, also include information on other sorts of animals, making them valuable for broader research. Here are a few more links to get you started (please notice some of these are US-based, though there are some non-US links as well):

Encyclopedia of Life’s list of online identification guides

Whatbird – the Search page allows you to narrow birds down by attributes like location, color, shape, etc.

Identify That Plant’s list of plant ID websites

MycoKey – the free online version only allows ID of some types of fungus. I haven’t been able to find a single good online reference for all fungi.

10+ Naturalist Resources for Identifying Wildlife – a few broken links but still a solid list

Does this post resonate with your idea of paganism? Then I bet you’ll enjoy my books! The titles from Llewellyn are particularly informed by my interest in natural history and include more details on how to connect more deeply with the nature around you. Check them out at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/books/