#I also want to read Howl's Moving Castle but I don't own it

[furrama]

I should try to read Earthsea again. I have the complete works hardback brick next to my bed. The last time I tried to read it I didn't like the way it was written, it was too zoomed out. Maybe I'll try again.

[cynthiav06]

Ok, so I am HOWLING with laughter.

So, have you heard? People are comparing Percy and Annabeth to................Odysseus and Penelope.

When I heard this, you don't know how funny it was to me. I almost choked on my spit. LMAOOOOOOOOOOO

Penelope would NEVER hit or insult Odysseus. She doesn't play mind games with him and they communicate properly.

Odysseus and Penelope are not toxic. Percabeth is.

Also, Rick Riordan is LEAGUES worse than Homer. Like, the guy cannot even compare to the ACTUAL GREEK POET.

And people are actually comparing the two.

Percy Jackson IS good at times, but it will NEVER compare to Homer's compositions. Literally never.

TBH that's just my personal opinion.

Also, Homer actually composed many of the Greek epics that we still read today.

I get why people would want to compare them, but there is no comparison, really. It's so fucking funny to me.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on Percabeth compared to Odysseus and Penelope?

That comparison alone has ruined the New Year for me. It's an insult to the Odyssey. Hell, it's an insult to the recently released Ithaca Saga of Epic the Musical.

But seriously, are these things actually being said? Cause that puts Percabeth stans from delusional category to brain dead.

Homer's Iliad and The Odyssey are one of history's most reputed myths of all time. And the primary source of Greek mythology for many people. I am certain Rick himself referred Homer's works for ideas and references. Even Riordan himself would be ashamed to compare his writing to Homer, in even the slightest manner.

Now to Odysseus and Penelope; the greatest couple of all time, truly and undeniably. The orignal eternal love. Even Hera, the goddess of marriage and family, considers Odysseus and Penelope's marriage bed sacred. Which Odysseus carved out of a living tree as a symbol of their undying love and so that it could never be moved.

Odysseus crawled through hell to get to Penelope and Telemachus. He survived and won the 10 year long Trojan war, defeated/ tricked a Cyclops, countless mythical monsters, Circe, Calypso, and even Zeus himself and at last Poseidon. That alone is beyond comprehension. Because Odysseus isn't a demigod or any specially blessed being. No, he is just an ordinary mortal, a genius mortal, one trained by the wisdom goddess but an ordinary mortal all the same. Yes, he is one of a kind genius, but these are literally eldritch creatures compared to him.

Let me put it this way, Odysseus is the OG Batman. He is who all smart fictional human characters aspire to be.

The Odyssey is literally about the all transcending power of human will. Of Odysseus's sheer fucking will to get back home, to his wife and son. That's it. A common desire of a common man, yet so miraculously burning and indomitable in Odysseus's mind that it alone outshines his extraordinary genius.

He quite literally died on his way there. Had to hitch a ride through the Underworld and then some.

Then he had to sacrifice his ENTIRE CREW, HIS FRIENDS, HIS COMRADES to get back to Ithaca. Mind you, Odysseus had the record of getting every single one of his 600 men alive out of Trojan War. The only one to have done so. And he had to lose some to the tragedies and then WILLINGLY SACRIFICE others to get back to Penelope.

I don't think there are words enough to encapsulate Odysseus's dedication.

Now Penelope. The thing is, she is just as bloody impressive. The Queen of Ithaca and a Spartan Princess, she is also one of a kind. Throughout Odysseus's departure and the suitors' invasion , not five, not ten, 108 SUITORS, Penelope held her own, keeping the castle, her son Telemachus and herself secure. All the while, raising Telemachus and running the kingdom on her own as well.

She tricked the suitors into an eternally futile game of trying to lift Odysseus's bow and shoot with it. Tricked them by telling them she was weaving Odysseus's shroud, which, when finished, would signify that she is picking a new husband. Each day, she would weave for all suitors to see, and each night, she would unravel the shroud. All in an attempt to stall. Among the many other ways, she did so. Including STEADFASTLY DENYING EACH AND EVERY SUITOR CONSTANTLY FOR YEARS AS THEY ASKED FOR HER HAND, NEVER ONCE LOSING HOPE OR FAITH IN ODYSSEUS.

When Odysseus returns, disguised as a beggar, she not only immediately recognizes him but subtly helps him in killing the suitors, which then Odysseus and Telemachus proceed to do.

All 108 suitors dead in a night. Add that to 600 men under Odysseus's command. 708 lives murdered and then some all for Odysseus and Penelope to reunite.

And this is me abridging the whole thing. Imagine the struggle, the suffering, the mental and physical trauma. 20 years straight. You can't fathom it.

I don't think I have words enough to state how repulsively disrespectfully wretched this comparison is. I would use an analogy, but it's so horrendous that I don't think there's one that suffices.

I literally have more than half the posts dedicated to dismantling the delusion of percabeth being a perfect ship, so I won't preach to the choir, but I mean Annabeth's fatal flaw is Hubris and Percy's is Personal Loyalty. Go figure.

If that isn't enough, Percy jumped in Tartarus for Annabeth. She fell, but Percy jumped, among the many other ways he has saved her from countless deaths. And Annabeth offers him what in return? It would have been alright if she gave him nothing in return, but somehow, the situation is EVEN WORSE.

Physical and mental demeaning. Toxic and controlling attitude and of course BLAMING HIM FOR GETTING KIDNAPPED AND HAVING HIS MEMORY WIPED BY A GODDESS. WOW, THAT SOUNDS SO SIMILAR TO PENELOPE AND ODYSSEUS.

Not to mention, Penelope accepted her husband, as he was. Even after being so completely changed by his tragic journey that he was quite literally NO LONGER HIMSELF.

And Percy when had to CHOKE AKHYLS WHO WAS DEFINITELY GOING TO KILL HIM AND ANNABETH, WAS KILLING HIM AND ANNABETH, OUT OF SELF DEFENSE AND SHE BLAMES HIM AND FORCES HIM TO PROMISE NOT TO USE HIS POWERS TO DEFEND HIMSELF???

WHAT THE FUCK??? And sure it would have been ignorable had it not had any long term effects. BUT NO PERCY ALMOST KILLS HIMSELF OUT OF KEEPING HIS PROMISE TO ANNABETH.

Call them whatever the hell you want but DON'T EVER COMPARE THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE.

PERCY DESERVES INFINITELY BETTER THAN ANNABETH. Enough said, really.

[olderthannetfic]

This isn't a complaint, just sort of a musing-- Yeah, if AO3 allowed monetization, it would cause the whole platform to become way shittier, not just for legal reasons. But this kind of reminds me of something I've thought about a lot.

I'm someone who's not a very strong or attentive reader, but the ease with which I can find thousands of appealing works on AO3 means I have ALSO found dozens of writers who grip me enough that I would read ANYTHING by them. I also find reviews and recs for popular book series' to be... very unreliable, but I can consistently find interesting works by looking at user bookmarks and by trawling tags. And I don't even mean in a "oh, this user doesn't want stories, they want tropes" way, because I'm with everyone else that reading the exact same enemies to lovers romance gets kind of boring after a while (no shade on people who enjoy that sort of thing). I mean that sometimes I find an idea and think 'oh, this is a VERY cool literary theme; I wonder how other writers have explored the same idea?' - and then find out that there's a canonical tag that sees very little use, and trawl through people exploring the same ideas about the nature of freedom when you have a duty to family (or whatever it is this time) until I find one that just NAILS it and sets my brain on fire.

In other words, AO3 is the only place I can get the same reading experience that I had in school where there were teachers and mentors who would not only do just about anything to help me find interesting stuff, but also knew me personally and would help me find extremely specific concepts like "I want a story that captures the feeling of being completely owned by another person and the oppressive surrendering of will that comes with it, but which isn't about slavery, religion, or marriage" or "I want a story that's just like Howl's Moving Castle but specifically in these three ways."

I don't wish AO3 was marketplace, but I wish there was marketplace that gave me the experience of AO3. The fact that there is SO MUCH free user generated content on AO3, and that it's so easy to explore with great specificity, means it's the only place I KNOW I'll find something fun. I wish it served as a platform to find professional artists doing silly stuff on their down time. (In fact, last time I fell in love with a fic, I got to talking to the author, who sent me a novel draft with all of the same themes but original characters and setting. That unpublished work is now one of my favorite books.)

I can think of a bunch of platform ideas that would scratch this itch for me, but I can't imagine any of them working out as well since the fandom experience and culture is such an integral part of why fanfic is different from original fic. (And also since monetization makes platforms get shitty fast.)

--

[deniigi]

Audiobooks

Ever since I learned that 54% of Americans have literacy below a 6th grade level (for the non-USA folks, that's like age 12ish), I've thought of pretty much nothing else.

I don't know how to fix it besides advocating for equitable education and more funding for education and reading and art programs.

But I got to wondering (and worrying), what is MY level of literacy?

The good news is that OxfordOnlineEnglish has a way for you to find out here.

And for those of us worried if we are forgetting our vocabulary, there's Freerice.com here which is run by the World Food Program.

For every question you get right, they donate rice to children in need (I believe the funding for that comes from the ad revenue of you being on the page.)

But mostly, I've just been thinking about how my life is bettered by reading. Books, I mean. Not just fanfic (though obviously I'm reading fanfic, who do you think I am???)

Anyways, I wanted to give folks some links to some audiobooks I've listened to lately, since I have a hard time finding time to sit and read and I imagine that a lot of you do too.

Here are some of my favorites. They're making me a better writer, I think, and I also think they're making me a better person in the aggregate.

Here is a link to sign up with Libby if you haven't. You'll need a library card to do so. It's totally free to sign up and listen/read once you've done that.

Moby Dick (audiobook on Youtube) - is it nearly 24 hours? Yes. Do I regret reading about these irate Quakers? Never, Mr. Stubbs. Never.

Howl's Moving Castle (audiobook on Youtube in parts) - Howl with a Welsh Accent? Sign me up.

Their Eyes Were Watching God (audiobook on Youtube in parts, also on Libby) - This fucked me up so bad. The reader does the accents perfectly, and it's so immersive I nearly cried at a red light.

Pride & Prejudice (audiobook on Youtube, also available on Libby) - there is nothing like 19th century English to grab you by the lapels and shake you.

Beloved (excerpt on Youtube, full book available on Libby) - This book changed everything I know about literature. If you go through Libby, Toni Morrison herself reads you the story and it is haunting.

Where the Crawdads Sing (available on Libby) - I love literature written about the south, and this one is a murder mystery for a self-made scientist. Don't bother with the movie.

Pachinko (available on Libby) - The atmosphere of this book digs itself into your guts like a knife. There are a lot of feelings about generational trauma and being forced into a role vs. taking on the role yourself.

Fat Talk (excerpt on Youtube, available on Libby) - The author reads her own book and really talks about how we approach body-talk with children.

Heartberries (excerpt on Youtube, available on Libby) - I very rarely do not like the narrator of the story in some capacity, but in this one, I didn't like them and I think that was important to me to experience as a writer and a person.

What are y'all reading these days?

If you reblog this, please include a link to the audiobook or tell us where to find it.

[writing-in-the-impala]

Secret Smokes (Part 12)

Pairing: Teacher! Remus Lupin x Reader

Series Summary: When the reader bumps into the new DADA professor on the bridge in Hogwarts she begins to build a friendship with him all thanks to their shared feeling of not belonging and love for muggle cigarettes. Their friendship blooms while they both fight internal battles deciding what is wrong and what is right leading to a lot of fluff, angst, flirting and a rollercoaster of emotions.

Warnings: Swearing, smoking, drinking, teacher-student relationship, angst, jealousy, fluff, smut.

Word Count: 3190

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's still reading and leaving lovely comments every time, you are literally my motivation and fuel to keep posting I truly love you all

 | SERIES MASTER LIST (All chapters) |

Previous Chapter, Part 12, Next Chapter

Remus's office had become your private safe space, you would go there as often as possible without raising suspicions that you weren't in your dorm. You wouldn't sleep there most night but you would sit and listen to music, chat and cuddle before reluctantly walking back to sleep in your own bed. It felt like everything was moving fast but at the same time the only thing that had changed since before Christmas was now you were allowed to cuddle, kiss and speak honestly about how you feel.

Lessons were interesting as you and Remus tried your hardest to avoid suspicions but sometimes you would get lost in each others eyes especially the days after you had just slept together and woken up next to each other. Your tutoring lessons became a lot more flirty as it was just the two of you, Remus started locking the door during them just in case. You still learnt a lot but he would often kiss your neck as he stood behind you helping to guide your hand to preform a spell correctly.

While approaching the first full moon of the year you noticed Remus became more possessive over you. It showed up in small things like telling off Sebastian when he got too touchy in Remus's classes, but he also became more protective, he would walk you back to your dorm at night just in case and he would make you tea and make sure you ate properly. It was as if Remus's emotions were dialled up. Sometime he would bite you when he kissed you, this would become a lot more common closer to the full moon, he would constantly express how he craved you in the days leading up to the full moon. He was less angsty which lead you to believe he was angsty with you because he was frustrated before over all the emotions he had felt in regards to you. The evening of the full moon you were sitting in his office with him, his body was aching and he was sitting on the sofa in pain as you made him a cup of tea with wolfbane inside to help dull it's bitter taste. You bought it over to him stroking his hair lightly. "Here drink this, the wolfbane is inside."

"I'm so lucky to have you." He said gently through the pain. You could tell he appreciated you taking care of him but also wished he didn't need to be taken care of. "I should probably head to the shrieking shack soon." He said looking at his watch.

"I can walk with you." You offered and he gave you a gentle smile.

"No dear, I don't want you anywhere near that place, besides Sirius will probably be there soon so I'll be in safe hands." He stood up masking the pain with a straight face and went to change into clothes that can get destroyed just in case. You walked with him up to the edge of the castle you couldn't kiss him goodbye as it was too risky so you simply opted for a wave as he gave you a longing look and wave back. You couldn't sleep all night, you just thought about Remus's pain. You could hear howls every so often throughout the night which made you feel somehow comfortable as you knew he was close and he was okay. The next day at lunchtime you went to visit his office to check on him. He slowly opened the door leaning most of his weight on his cane and his face changed from profesional to a look of shock and love as soon as he noticed you. "I bought you some chocolate cake from lunch." You said lifting up the small brown bag in your hand. He opened the door wider letting you in and slowly walked over to his desk, sitting down slowly as his body ached with every move. You noticed he was wearing pyjama trousers and a jumper that was more tattered than his usual choices.

"I really appreciate you thinking of me Y/N, but you didn't have to do this for me." He said ripping open the bag to use it as a plate for the cake. "Would you like some?" He offered to you and you shook your head.

"How was the transformation?" You asked as he picked at the cake.

"I don't remember much of it to be honest, I rarely do, I know I didn't get as scratched up this time, but my muscles ache a lot which usually means I moved around a lot."

"Does your human physique affect your wolf physique?" You asked also picking at his cake.

"I never thought about it that way, I think the muscles are linked in some way, no one really studies us." He admitted with a sad face.

"How's the pain?"

"My energy levels are extremely low, currently my bones and muscles ache so I've been simply reading my book in bed and catching up on sleep."

"Sorry for making you leave your bed,"

"Darling it's my pleasure to spend time with you thank you for remembering about me."

"I'm going to have to get back to my lessons but I'll come check on you in the evening." You explained standing up.

"You know you don't have to it's okay if you're busy, I won't be much fun in my condition." He said beginning to stand up but you quickly stopped him so he wouldn't strain himself too much. You pecked his lips lightly goodbye and let yourself out.

The rest of the day was uneventful, you headed over to visit Remus straight away after dinner, bar of chocolate in hand. He opened the door slowly again, you stood on the other side of the door holding up the chocolate bar, covering your face. You peeked to the side from it and he had a huge warm smile on his face.

"If you bring my gifts every time you should come here more often." He moved to the side and you almost hopped in filled with excitement to see Remus.

"Don't get used to it," you plopped yourself down on the sofa making yourself comfortable as Remus slowly walked over and sat down next to you using his cane for support. "What'cha reading?" You asked picking up the book that was laying besides you.

"You'll be glad to hear it's a muggle book, it's called an inspector calls."

"Oh I know that one it's a play."

"I like it, reading it feels like going to the theatre."

"We should go." You expressed not thinking through what you're saying just speaking.

"That's a wonderful idea, let me know a weekend you may be free or maybe we can do it over the a half term."

"Sounds like our next date is planned." You said going in to kiss him this time.

"Just let me heal first." You hugged him but only lightly as you didn't want to hurt him anywhere he may have scars. You sat down pulling out a book of your own while he grabbed a different one off the shelf. "Are you changing books already?"

"Well if we're going to the theatre I don't want to spoil the ending, plus it was beginning to get a little depressing." He slowly lowered himself to sit beside you.

"So you decided to go for?"

"Secrets of the Darkest Art." He replied.

"Because that's so much more enjoyable." You expressed sarcastically.

"I'm refreshing my memory,  what high brow work of fiction might you be reading?"

"Something intellectual." You stayed flashing him with the book cover of Breakfast at Tiffany's making him laugh. "Don't be so smug."

"It's your turn to change the record." He stated as the music finished.

"How did you know it's going to finish?"

"It's your turn to change it." He simply repeated without lifting his eyes from the page.

"Yeah I'm not changing it, it's your turn old man." You said starring at him and he lifted his eyes to meet your gaze.

"I see how much you care about my health when it really matters." He began to slowly stand up making sounds of pain just to tease you and you immediately stopped him and stood up to change it.

"Well maybe you should invest in a CD player or something that you don't have to flip every five seconds, something with a remote."

"Why? I've got you. Besides have you forgotten about magic dear?" He said and the record player shut nearly snapping your fingers and automatically it began to play. "I prefer the way records sound."

"How do you do it so naturally?"

"Do what?"

"Magic." You stated and he shut his book sitting up to face you. "It doesn't come naturally to me, I barely remember it's there, it feels so foreign to me."

"You need to be open to it, I'll teach you, just let me. Don't be so closed off." He said gently placing his hand on your leg and you nodded. "Promise me?" He pushed and you nodded. "You need to use your words Y/N." He said sending a hot flush to your cheeks.

"I promise." You said and he leaned in to kiss you.

The following weeks you kept your promise, you worked hard to learn everything, Remus pushed you to use magic in the evenings in his office making it all feel more natural to you. It took time but you were beginning to use magic for the small stuff. In his officially tutoring lessons you began to move on to learn your Patronus charm.

It was late in the evening on a Monday when you were still trying to get it right, you were so close the spark was coming out of your wand. "Just focus on a memory that is stronger than any other." Remus who was dripping in sweat almost shouted. It had been hours but you both knew you were so close. You tried again and it was close but it wasn't working. "I don't think I can do it." You said in almost defeat.

"That's okay my dear we can try again tomorrow." He said coming up to kiss you, he moved the hair out your face, put his arms around and leaned down placing a gentle kiss on your lips. "You're doing so well, you just need to find the right moment, try and search deeper." He explained and you lingered on his words, you tried many memories, even the one of your first kiss with him but none worked but that's the moment you thought of the day he took you to the lake to see the light bugs the vulnerability but the love you felt in that moment. "Can I try one last time?" You asked and he nodded letting go of you, his hand letting go of yours last as he was stepping back.

"It's okay if you can't do it today, you still have a lot of time to learn." He comforted you and that's when you tried the new memory. You focused your mind and cast the charm and a blinding light came out in front of you, you saw a wolf begin to run around the room but yours and Remus's faces were in utter joy but then you noticed his turn to confusion as he studied the animal. He looked at you with a new look, one filled with love but laced with a hint of fear as he came up to you, arm open putting them around you and pulling you into his chest. He leaned to kiss you and kept repeating. "I'm so proud of you." Between kisses. That night you didn't go back to your dorm but instead Remus decided it was a special enough occasion to open a new bottle of whiskey.

You left early morning to get back to your dorm, reluctantly peeling yourself out of Lupins arms. You tiptoed down the corridor in the direction of your dorm when you saw Percy. Panic set in. You thought about finding a way to avoid him but there was nothing you could do. "L/N." He said as walked past.

"Percy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" You shot him a forced grin.

"Why are you wandering around the halls this early?"

"I just went for a morning stroll." You averted his gaze.

"In last nights clothes?" He pointed out stepping closer to you, looking down his nose almost like Snape would do.

"Percy, please let it go, this doesn't concern you."

"As your prefect-" he began and you scoffed at him walking past but he quickly followed you. "It concerns me when it involves Lupin." You froze as Percy said the words.

"I don't know what you're talking about." You simply stated as Percy came up to you and leaned in tight.

"I've been watching you. He could get fired overnight with his condition, I don't even need to prove that you two are fucking." He whispered in your ear and you automatically went to slap him in the face and push him away from you.

"You're such a prick you don't deserve to be in Gryffindor." You said pulling out your wand and pointing it at him as he stumbled slightly back and pulled out his. You immediately disarmed him and hit him with a stunner. You kept hitting him until he fell on the ground. "I used to consider you my friend." You said trying not to cry.

He got his wand back and hit you with a stunner of his. "That's when I thought you were a nice girl not one that goes around fucking her professors."

His last word was muffled with a loud shout of  "Enough." And both your wands fell to the ground. You both looked in the direction of Lupin who was running up to you followed by McGonagall. He didn't have any words when he reached you but just stood starring at you with an unreadable look while McGonagall caught up behind him. "Mr Weasley, Miss L/N would either of you like to explain to me why you are duelling in the corridor first thing in the morning?" She began standing next to Lupin.

"We were practicing for our exams." You said without skipping a beat.

"Now however good that is of an excuse that doesn't explain why you are both shouting at each other and doing all this in the middle of the hall. I expected better of you both especially a prefect of my house." She caught your bluff.

"Professor may I speak to you in your office it's a personal matter." Percy said not looking at Lupin.

"Very well. Mr Weasley I will see you this afternoon in my office for detention where you can explain yourself and Miss L/N you will report to Professor Lupins office to serve your detention with him." She stated and then looked at Lupin. "If that is okay with you Remus?" She asked him gently and he nodded not taking his eyes off you.

"That's not detention for her, she likes going to his office," Percy protested.

"Then you will serve your detention with Professor Lupin and Miss L/N will report to me. Any more objections Mr Weasley?" She looked down his glasses at her and he shook his head no. "Okay, as you both were." She said waving her hand to signify letting you both go. You both scurried away, no more words exchanged between you and Percy. You looked back to see Lupin and McGonagall walking away side by side, his hands were in his pockets and he looked as if he was explaining something to her you wandered what it may be.

In the evening you went to see McGonagall, the tension was thick in the room as you entered. Her office was very different to Lupins, it had a similar shape but it was significantly bigger, it felt a lot more wooden and less comfortable but it still felt like it was full of love. Her personality came through in the small rug on the floor and the framed picture all over the wall behind her desk. When she questioned you as to what caused the fight with Percy you were most honest beginning with "You see Professor, Percy likes me as more than a friend and I've rejected his advances many times, I kissed a boy at a party on New Year's Eve and he's been annoyed with me ever since." She nodded to show she's following your story however you could tell she was lost as to how this is relevant. "So he's now in a vendetta to ruin my life because I don't like him." You finished and she nodded.

"How did this lead to you duelling in the hall?" She asked calmly.

"I'll admit something, I didn't go back to my own bed last night, I was heading back in the morning and Percy confronted me, started threatening to get me in trouble, his face was very close to mine like he was about to kiss me or spit on me so I slapped him to get him off me." She simply nodded.

"Miss L/N to me it sounds like things in terms of self defence, however why were you both still fighting when Professor Lupin and I approached."

"He was pissed off-"

"L/N." She warned.

"Sorry, he was annoyed. He kept shouting at me and he was holding his wand and I just thought I should disarm him, it all happened quite fast." You explained.

"I have to say Miss L/N I'm proud to hear you naturally used magic like that. I see Professor Lupins tutoring is very useful, I'm truly proud of the enormous progress you've made this year. After your exams you owe that man champagne." She said her tone was motherly, her last sentence made you smile.

"You are right professor, I owe Professor Lupin a lot for all his help this year." You felt comfort speaking with her about him and also quite excited to speak well of him with someone else.

"I don't know how much you know about him however I remember when he joined Hogwarts he was alike you in your early years, I think that's why you both get so well along."

"What do you mean professor?"

"Well you were both just as cautious and untrusting of magic-"

"He was untrusting of magic?" You questioned finding her words amusing.

"He has been hurt by magic at a young age and it meant he wanted very little to do with our world, it, being at Hogwarts didn't feel natural to him at first."

"I know about his condition." You blurted out.

"Well then he must trust you very much. He's a good man, we're very lucky to have him in the school, he cares a lot and wants to help." She said and you nodded feeling awkward, you didn't know what to say as a yes would be weird. "Anyway I've gotten chatty, I apologise, you're free to go, thank you for your honesty." She said dismissing you.

"Thank you professor and thank you for the chat." You said standing up.

"My pleasure." She had a warm smile as she looked back down at the paperwork in front of her and you left. You felt positive.

NEXT CHAPTER | More stuff I wrote

A/N: Yes Inspector Calls is a nod to David Thewlis being in the BBC adaptation of the play

Tags (if you aren't here but want to be leave a reply and I'll add you or DM me to get removed):

@thesoundresoundsecho @ahoyyharrington @merleisapartygod @sting-0f-ennui @starchaser-lily @ashisabitgay @livingordeadwhoknows @v0relino @evie-beanie @whotfskai @admiringyou @lily-mylove @kirubi @ghostbandghostcodghostface @rockymiles @99tech99 @almizz1

@standepechemode @lovingdilfss @artvoyager @sofacover @bubblegum9468 @spidermansolosurfav @harleyanderson2004 @kissmeunicornbaobei @marine-mayday @beelzebzb @universallyblizzardlove @liv2post @amoraneuro @xluansstuff @sizzlingthingnerd @bethsvrse @mrsgweasley @that1nerd-20

[maladaptivewriting]

marauders era characters and their favorite movies

if they lived in the muggle world circa 2024

remus: little miss sunshine brutal and disturbingly human, but intertwined with themes of love, family, support, and healing

james: talladega nights the theme of this movie is that friendship is magic. you know james was saying "if you're not first, you're last" for years after seeing this movie. also he tried to create a shake-and-bake thing with sirius

sirius: howl's moving castle "that howl is so fucking hot" "he literally just looks like you" "exactly" sirius sees himself as this main love interest (howl) and he sees remus as sophie, especially when she's an old woman that howl has to take care of. all he wants to do is take care of remus

peter: bridge to terabithia peter seems like the kind of person to find stories of tragical childhood friendships really compelling. he also loves josh hutcherson (who doesn't)

regulus: the secret life of walter mitty he relates to the main character - a man who is controlled and meticulous but longs to go on an adventure. he also wishes that sirius would pull him out of his monotonous life and into the unknowable but with complete acceptance of who he is.

lily: little women in the way that i feel like i've been shot every time i watch a movie involving complicated mother/daughter relationships, lily would be deeply compelled by stories about sisterhood. especially jo and amy who always feel second to each other

mary: princess mononoke she would relate to the main character and be very enthralled by ashitaka. definitely a comfort watch for her.

marlene: raising arizona or zoolander she loves absurdist comedies with lovable and endearing characters. she is also low-key attracted to nick cage when he was young, but don't tell anyone, it's a secret.

dorcas: arrival or parasite dorcas has unequivocally good movie tastes. she likes high concept stories with heavy thematic writing and devastating plots. she talks about them in detail for weeks afterward

pandora: midsommar and pan's labyrinth she loves movies with comically intense violence. she finds high control groups fascinating. she definitely loves pan's labyrinth because of the freaky monsters and the fact that it sounds like it could belong to her

xenophilius: the twilight saga he knows every detail and loves to examine the story from all sides. he and pandora bond over the fact that carlisle is a joseph smith archetype.

evan: deadpool evan sees deadpool as barty and loves the character because of it. he is also envious of the characters freedom to be himself

barty: the mummy he just thinks that everyone in this movie is really fucking hot

snape: pride and prejudice (2005) finds it super romantic and loves the way characters talk and deliver lines. he listens to the soundtrack as background music while he works.

frank longbottom: spiderman (no way home) no one was more excited than he was when the three spiderman characters interacted. he cried a lot when watching this movie

alice: narnia it was her sexual awakening ;)

narcissa: glass onion she loves a who-done-it story, she reads mystery novels all the time and she thought this one was the most exciting

bellatrix: barbarian or bones and all she watches bones and all like "when is it my turn to be happy?" and she watches barbarian like "what is it like to have a mother who loves you?" everyone thinks she's crazy

lucius: dune or the king he sees himself as the king. that scene where robert pattinson's character is slipping around in the mud and timmy's character is standing there unbothered - that's how lucius pictures himself and arthur weasley. he also thinks of his own family when he watches dune

also this came from a question that @wolfpadx asked in the discord and i just had to elaborate on my thoughts.

[introvertedfox]

nonsims interests

Thank you for the tag @nitrozem! 🧡

I have way too many, so I'll put it under the cut. 😅

Stardew Valley: The only other game in which I have hundreds of hours. I love it so much that I have it for pc, Nintendo, and mobile (even though I never played much on mobile). Just like the Sims, I go months without playing it, and then I obsess over it for months just to ignore it again. xD Still, it is one of my top 3 favourites, and it even made me come up with a challenge for the Sims based on the characters.

Horizon Zero Dawn: Another game that I obsessed over, and it actually helped me get my mind off things during a tough time in my life. It was the first game that I finally realized I could just play on the lowest difficulty setting and just enjoy the storytelling without feeling ashamed of it. I love the story, the world-building is amazing, and Aloy is just awesome. I've yet to finish Forbidden West, and someday I would love to replay Zero Dawn again, and the recent LEGO Nintendo game is on my wishlist too. xD

Drawing/Sculpting: I've been drawing since I can remember, but I don't do it as much as I would like. I recently got an iPad and got to try Procreate, which has made my drawing process a lot better. I love sketching on the iPad and then copying it to a sheet of paper and coloring it with my copics and watercolors. It has been my favourite way to do it lately. And I've been sculpting with cosclay, and I love it! I've done a few little things here and there over the years, but lately I've been doing a few sculptures for my scout friends, which got me super excited to do something bigger. Like the huge dragon I'm currently working on. I'll leave some of my social media here for anyone curious, cause I have art scattered everywhere xD [art blog] [instagram] [bluesky]

LEGO: The first thing I bought with my very first salary was Hagrid's Cabin LEGO set, and I'm proud of it. xD I just didn't know that soon enough LEGO was going to take over my house. I have a set on every shelf and an Ikea glass display full at this point. I guess you can say I'm a child with adult money now. 😅 Even though I don't buy half of the ones I'd like to have. My wishlist is way too big.

Fantasy Books: Two years ago, I decided to buy Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, cause I wanted to read the books before watching the series (and I'm glad I did that, the series is...something else), and I got my love for reading back! I used to read so much when I was in high school and college, and now I can say that I read twice as much. xD The only catch is that I only, well, almost only read fantasy books. Real life is already boring enough. Currently starting Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses, to see what the hype is about.

OC's and stories: I love creating OCs and coming up with stories. Right now, I have a few stories that I'd love to turn into comics someday, and maybe even post them somewhere. I just need to get to write them properly. This kind of goes with the drawing interest, cause all I've been drawing lately are my own characters.

Music: Not playing, but listening. (I tried learning guitar but never got the hang of it) I have music playing all day, whether I'm at work or just doing house chores, it keeps me focused. And recently I've started to go to concerts, cause before I never had anyone to go with and was a bit scared to do it alone, and my favourites don't come here too often either. I'm also one of the few people who still buy CDs, even though my player is busted and I have nowhere to play them atm.

Honorable mentions: Pokemon, Digimon, Planet Zoo, Avatar The Last Airbender, Legend of Zelda, Game of Thrones, Assassin's Creed, Arcane, Disney, Dragon Prince, How to Train Your Dragon, Loki, Helluva Boss, Good Omens, Howl's Moving Castle...

Sorry for the long post! 🦊

I have no idea who did this, so feel free to ignore! I'll tag @foxena, @minty-plumbob, @kissalopa, @tipsy-clouds, and anyone who wants to do this!

[crushcandles]

@likecastle tagged me to share 9 books I'm excited to read this year! Many of these are from this Polygon list, where they are speaking my language.

Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler, both out of a desire to read more Butler, but also based on @candybarrnerd going nuts over the sequel.

Kissing Carrion by Gemma Files. In 2024, I had a lot of fun with anthologies and short stories, and I'm looking forward to keeping that momentum up in 2025.

Corrupted Vessels by Briar Ripley Page. I must have picked this up off a different list – I don't know anything about it, but it sounds interesting!

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Both @candybarrnerd and I lost our minds over The Only Good Indians and I am READY for the story of "a Lutheran priest transcribing the life of a vampire member of the Blackfeet tribe, hell-bent on revenge after the death of 217 tribe members."

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker. I read the blurb for this on the Polygon list and am ready to be fucked up by it.

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (translated by Sarah Moses). Tender is the Flesh by the same author made me want to chew my own hand off – it was so grim and compelling. I hope this is similarly harsh.

The Lamb by Lucy Rose. You put meat on the cover of something and you can count me in.

Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation by Susan J. Napier. From my understanding, this is a bit out of date, but I heard someone on a podcast read a selection from it about Spirited Away and thought it sounded up my academic alley.

Semi-open slot for some undecided as of yet Junji Ito work(s). I've only really looked at Junji Ito stuff, never really engaged with it, because frankly, it makes me feel unwell. But I'm a brave toaster now! I can take it!

As a bonus, here's a book I wouldn't say I'm excited to read this year, but I'm gonna anyway: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I'm part of a casual three-way book (adaptation) club, and this was the latest selection. Not that excited to read it, but excited to examine the adaptation with some pals.

I'm clearly currently deep in my horror bag, but would love to see what anyone and everyone is reading. Not sure who's doing a lot of bookreading in 2025, so random pulls: @littlestsnicket @kuwdora @candybarrnerd @zambonirider @major-trouble. No pressure except for @candybarrnerd!

[downbaddetective]

Soooo... uh, this happened. The Cat King seems to have possessed me momentarily so as to wax poetics about his favorite ghost? This is also without much editing, so I'm sorry if it's kinda bad. All mistakes are my own, and so are all of my commas that you can try and pry from my cold, dead hands. (Please be nice, I haven't written anything but essays for the world to see in a looooooong time. The Howl's Moving Castle AU will probably benefit from me practicing a little before diving headfirst into it, so...) This can be read in any way you'd like, but I see this as pre-relationship Catwin.

Edwin had been at it for hours, staring into the void of... something. Something there in the middle distance that Thomas desperately wishes was him in moments only known to himself. Longing to be at the center focus of that gaze. Stupidly gorgeous, intelligent eyes that would without hesitation cut him down if the urge struck.

Thomas regrets the gift now. The stupid coin ('drachma', a familiar voice sounded in his mind. Even when in the same room, he still plagues his thoughts, unbelievable!). The coin has been worn smooth with handling, and age wasn't doing the damned thing any favors. But, oh, it was mesmerizing to watch quick fingers passing it amongst themselves. Edwin's hands were always busy, not unlike his own, so it only seemed natural to offer tribute to the force of nature that was and is Edwin Payne.

The coin itself wasn't anything of any significance; in fact, Edwin would probably be able to say more about it now with its smoothed over faces than Thomas would have had the day he obtained it. But significance has been bestowed upon the soft metal simply by making contact with just about the only deity that Thomas would pray to in this day and age, time only having made him jaded and guarded since the last time he dared.

"Thomas?" And no, he takes it back, green eyes sear through him once more, and he remembers why he shies away every time. And the name, gods that name, his name, in the possession of the first in his long, long life that he hoped would choose to keep him. The facade slips back into place quickly, but before he could respond, the ghost is already continuing, "Heads or tails?"

"Oh, talk dirty to me, kitten."

Edwin raises one unimpressed brow but merely asks once more, "Head or tails?"

The coin is still being woven between his fingers, but now the Cat King of Port Townsend has had his prayers answered, Edwin Payne's unwavering focus entirely trained on him. And he had meant it all those moons ago when he had told the detective that want and pleasure and punishment were not mutually exclusive. This right here had to be punishment, to want something, someone, so badly and yet have to look away or risk being blinded.

"Don't know what I'm playing for, sweetheart. You know I don't work like that."

Edwin's face shifted ever so slightly, just enough that Thomas could see the hellfire burning deep down within him, that thing that saved him, that got him out of hell the first time, alone. And, for a brief moment, Thomas took the time to pray again, this time to anyone listening that, for once, Thomas would be allowed to keep Edwin right back.

"Heads..." and in a movement too quick for even the cat in him to catch, the coin is flicked up in the air at an impressive height and is caught by Edwin's palm flat to the desk in front of him. "Or tails, Thomas? Or do you distrust me that much?"

It truly is pathetic how that gets his heart racing.

"You should know me by now, kitten."

"Tails then, is it?"

One slight nod of the head was sufficient enough for him, apparently, because Edwin's hand began to lift off... of nothing. He could feel his face contort in confusion before he could school his features. And looking back up to the ghost's face, he saw what he could only describe as childlike glee in place of the fire that had been there earlier.

"You think you're clever, don't you?"

" I happen to know I'm clever. I don't see how that has any relevance right now."

"Okay, so now what, hmm? Are you going to pull it out from behind my ear now?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You would know if it was behind your ear."

Would he, though? Edwin took up all of his senses when he was around so Edwin could drop a house on him, and he probably wouldn't notice (probably). But he looked at Thomas expectantly. Even through the playfulness, a challenge has been issued, a puzzle to be solved. 'Find it.' his eyes told him.

And so he closed his eyes. He had used magic that much was obvious, but Edwin was still novice on pockets and travel that didn't involve mirrors, so it couldn't have gone very far. And... no. No, that was too easy, probably a diversion to make him look foolish. But still, he could taste the faint ozone on his tongue.

Thomas stood and leaned over the desk, bracing himself with the arm that wasn't reaching for, arguably, the bigger trickster of the two. For his part, Edwin was keeping eye contact, his face not betraying him one bit. And Thomas is so very grateful to have witnessed this kitten learn that he has claws.

And the only thing Thomas, The Cat King of Port Townsend could do in this moment was once again pray to any and every deity listening that Edwin would want to keep him and that he would be able to keep him right back.

Edwin's eyes flutter closed momentarily when the heat of Thomas' hand passed close by the side of his face. He was right, though. There's a little bit of buzzing energy right behind his ear. He grabs the coin out of the pocket that Edwin had created, out from behind his ear.

He offered up the coin once more as tribute to this beautiful creature in front of him. Edwin took it carefully from his hand with a faint grin on his face.

[slowdripsunrise]

review time again i need to get through this backlog lol spoilers under the cut

howl's moving castle by diana wynne jones - OUHG. so much fun. loved it. i love that howl is such a bitch. i love that the only reason he's a wizard is because of tax evasion. he's welsh. he plays rugby. AND SOPHIEEEEEEE MY DARLING MY SOPHIE. she's so awesome in this its epic. like ouhg.

the golden raven by nora sakavic - what do i even say atp. i think you all know my feelings about it. i don't have to say anything else i don't think. i love you

clockwork angel by cassandra clare - LOLLLLLLLLL tbh i just wanted to see what the hype was about. not totally convinced. tried to read the second one couldnt get into it i really don't get the hype. mostly i was convinced by caricanread on yt and her forgot the plot series about the mortal instruments. so like. and i wasn't expecting to fall in Love with it obvs because i am a hater at heart and i didn't like tmi that much when i read it in middle school. and something that has been on my mind just in the back a bit recently is the whole like. and this isn't specific to cassie clare at all but how a lot of the times, the male love interest(s) feel more fully fleshed out/have more fun little quirky details about them than the female mc. like will has all this silly little lore/fandom in jokes that are about him and like the whole idk "cassie clare loves her boys" like okay i can tell. yeahhhh i can tell. very much so. idk tbh i did want to like this story because my absolute favorite kind of story ever and i know i said this before in my last post about crescent city but my fav story ever is the stories that are told, and then the stories that came before it are also told. like i wanna know the present. and then i wanna know the cause. the LORE. AUGH THATS ALL I WANT. and so a story like this where each kind of. time period has its own story but they are all connected to each other through generations like i do in fact eat that shit up. but this really did not capture me at all tbh.

evocation by s. t. gibson - cover is sick tbh thats why i picked it up mostly and the story was fun s. t. gibson usually hits. although i think a dowry of blood will always be my fave just bc of the narrator lol

the actual star by monica byrne - this was weird one. not sure how i feel about it. the different povs were interesting and i liked this fun look into the past and future. however with the way that the future people's pov made it seem the date that they were all leading up to was going to be way more impactful than it ended up being as in like a. it was anticlimactic is what im saying. tbh i did not really care about any of the characters actually that's not true i was interested in how the story played out. but ehhhhhhhhh. idk

the tainted cup by robert jackson bennett - okay THIS one i absolutely understand the hype ohhhkjlrmfdlkmewlkfmrklrmgeklf ohh my god i was in fact on the edge of my seat the whole time. im a sucker for dynamics like this and well the introduction to this world really did get me. weird plant magic? magically/biologically experimented on/enhanced people? SEA LEVIATHANS ?????? girl this book was made for me. and the characters did really bring it together as well. the intelligence of ana and how the story was crafted well i did really like it and it did make sense. so extremely excited about this series

arch-conspirator by veronica roth - i love antigone mostly because i was part of my high schools production of antigone now and that was such a good ass time. and this sci fi dystopian take on it was really cool. didn't capture me as much as when among crows did but i think it did it's job and i enjoyed it a lot.

into the riverlands by nghi vo - another banger. not as warm and fuzzy as the others in the series but i liked it and the new characters we met. excited to read the next one !

next i read a vampire in the batthouse by niko izuki and a land so wide by erin a. craig - both of which are netgalley e-arcs ! you can read my reviews of them here and here

foundryside by robert jackson bennett - the tainted cup changed me in fundamental ways so i started this series bc it is finished and well yeah the cover is cool. i didn't like it as much as the tainted cup but sancia as a character is like my everything. love her she's awesome and badass and a matter of fact and she's scared. a lot of the time. which makes sense obviously. and i do like the key thing and again that whole experimenting on humans and while this wasn't specifically a lab setting the aspects are still there and still evil i do want to see where this series goes ! esp with the lore around occidentals. and sancia of course.

a drop of corruption by robert jackson bennett !!! i saw that my library had this and well even tho i had just started another series of this i did have a NEED. for more of this series and this one the vibes were for sure different but i did really like the change of scenery like i was wary at first because the threat of the leviathans in the first book is so present everywhere bc of the setting, while in this second one it's not there really at all. however. LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE LEVIATHANS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yessss thats what i want. in the first book when it looked like one of them tried to talk well that wasn't answered in this one but oughgbhbgjdvndkfjnc i need more info. i wanna know more about that specifically. oh and din my disaster bisexual my boy i love you. and ana calling out his bullshit well i do love her too. i wanna find out more about her too like what is up with that. more experiments. lots of experiments going on in my life these days big fan.

iron widow (reread) and heavenly tyrant by xiran jay zhao - !!!!! fun. crazy. bonkers insane. i've never seen pacific rim but i feel like this is true to how it is fr fr. i could tell the author was having fun with this one which is awesome. did we go off the rails a bit at the end..... yeah...... did i like our illustrious emperor. no not at all really. but he was funny to read about. little bitch. and well did i miss our phoenix.... yeah.... but i had fun with the story. not itching for the next book but i will be reading it when it comes out probably.

the starving saints by caitlin starling - another netgalley e-arc !!! read my review for it here

water moon by samantha sotto yambao - Loved this. lived up to whatever hype it was getting and then some. on the edge of my seat just waiting for the characters to discover something new next. such a whimsical and magical world i loved it... definitely want to read more of this authors work.

daughter of the moon goddess by sue lynn tan - a fun and wild ride loved the folklore magical mystical feeling of it. tbh i was consumed by it and the beauty of the world and i liked how while the mc didnt really know what was going on the whole time she knew how to get what she wanted. deffo will be reading the second one

okay and onto the 2 most recent books i read probably going to become one of if not my favorite series of the year - legendborn and bloodmarked by tracy deonn !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AUGHGH. OUCH. AEOFROEIFJOERJFOERMFKM. bree is my favorite character let me make that clear. god i love her so much and like i really do connect with her. the way she feels guilt and shame so powerfully but pushes through anyway, how it does affect her so much, but keeps working at what she wants and protecting the people she loves is,,,,, really inspiring to me. like obviously. my and my loved ones lives are not in danger the way her's are. and well i really do not have a thousands year old legacy invading my brain. however. well to avoid being crazy 3 minutes before i need to leave for work i'll leave it at that. ough her relationship with nick is everything to me. seeing how he immediately cared for her, Not in an instalove way, at all. was really nice. just really really nice. not only because a lot of young Black girl readers feel seen by this and how lovely and refreshing it is to see a young Black girl feel so easily loved and cherished - tracy's words, but also because ifl a lot of books these days aren't doing the whole enemies to lovers thing, but there also not, Not doing that. water moon was like this too. the just surety of trust and the whole call and response OAUHG. and well i am in fact a selbreenick truther i do think that if i had to pick one, i would pick nick. easily. sorry sel. i just think its refreshing. god. i have so many more thoughts but there mostly just BRRRR right now around in my brain so i will refrain from saying more. can't wait to read oathmarked and thus feel the agonies of waiting for the next book.

[thesynthesist]

Foiled: How Do We React to Fate? Sophie vs Howl

So I just got around to reading the book Howl's Moving Castle, which I've meant to do for quite a while now and I have thoughts! This will have nothing to do with the movie so here's your warning to get off now if that's what you're looking for.

So our protagonist is Sophie, an Eldest Child, who worst than generally being the eldest, is also the eldest in a land that runs on fairy tale rules, where the eldest is often a failure in a quest, especially when you have two younger same gender siblings, as Sophie does.

One of the first things we learn about Sophie is that she has resigned herself to this and her life of labour and unimportance. We also learn that Sophie is kind and empathetic almost to the point of her own detriment - it appears part of the reason she has resigned herself to this fate is on behalf of her sisters whom she genuinely cares for. She doesn't begin to show any bitterness about her position until she is essentially the family hat shop's sole overworked employee who is not receiving a salary.

Once she confronts her step mother about this and truly doesn't receive an answer is one of the first times we see Sophie really experience a lasting negative emotion directed at another person but this doesn't really come to anything besides Sophie getting a bit rude with customers who are rude first. Sophie does not think of leaving the shop, in fact we don't even get any clear indication that she intends to bring the wage conversation back up with her step mother any time soon. In fact, when Sophie runs into her step mother again later in the book, she reacts with her usual empathy rather than feeling upset that being left alone in the shop was ultimately what got her cursed in the first place.

It's only once the Witch of the Wastes curses her that Sophie decides she's had all about the resignation she can manage and sets out of her own. While her change in form is both reflective of how Sophie sees herself - a person without a life before it's even begun - it also gives her an excuse within how she believes fate to work to go off. After all, once you've been cursed by a witch to be elderly when you've maybe lived the better part of two decades, how much more failing can you really do? Even as Sophie sets off to 'find her fortune' as she puts it, she's in part only doing so because now she believes fate will allow it. She has stepped out of the eldest sister role at the start of the story and into a completely different role entirely. This may also be why Howl remarks he decided Sophie 'liked being disguised'. If Sophie returns to her youth, to herself, even if that may have physical benefits and add 60 years back onto her life, in her mind she returns to being trapped by fate, destined to be lonely and overlooked. Even when she's doing magic and actively improving the lives around her, she internally laments how her efforts are not enough and doomed to failure because of her position as first born.

Then there's Howl.

Howl is immediately painted as someone on the run from everything. He doesn't like to answer questions directly and will ignore them or change the subject, he's only in love with women until they love him back and then he no longer cares. He reacts to responsibility and day to day concerns such as cleaning, with an air of flippancy and seems to put his appearance above all else.

In fact, he wants to be seen as so unreliable that he has rumours spread about himself so people will think he's evil and not bother coming around. Howl himself admits that he doesn't like to be pinned down and we find out later that he is both physically and metaphorically on the run from a curse.

Even as he treats his apprentice well and goes out of his way for Sophie, and returns to visit his family on a regular basis, he persistently puts on an air of irresponsibility. His sister despairs that he'll never clean up his act when he shows up at her house in a rugby jacket, but we see moments before that Howl magically changes the clothes that they're wearing. He could have presented himself to his sister with as much flair and vanity as he does in the world Sophie is from but he makes the consistent choice to show up to his sister's house as a bit of a shlub.

Despite appearing to be polar opposites Howl and Sophie have one very important thing in common, they have both accepted fate as a force that moves the world that they will be subject to. And even with the character growth they both experience, which appears to be largely switching perspectives on fate and responsibility with Howl stepping up to take responsibility for things that need doing even if that leaves him fated to ruination, while Sophie rages against the unfairness of it all and seeks a way out, even if it isn't for herself.

This shared view drastically shapes both Sophie and Howl's characters and how they interact with the world around them, even though this belief is not grounded in reality. The book presents Sophie's sisters and to some extent Howl's apprentice as examples of how this world despite its magic is not so much beholden to fate as it is to other people's expectations.

Sophie's sisters, instead of accepting their lots which Sophie feels are appropriate for their birth order and likely fated roles because of it, simply switch places and get along quite famously. To top it off, instead of the youngest falling in love with or even seeking to marry royalty she falls in love quite happily with Howl's orphaned apprentice, while the middle sister handily side steps her 'fate' of falling desperately in love with the disreputable wizard Howl.

Even with these examples right in front of them, Sophie and Howl cannot shake their internalized perceptions of what they should be.

Sophie, while visiting her sister's witchcraft tutor, is asked if she's where her sister gets magic from as it runs in families. Despite being told almost directly to her face that she has magical powers, it's not until chapters later after being told again that she accepts it, and even longer for her to fully claim it and begin actively working with the power she possesses.

Whereas Howl refuses to pay attention long enough to his curse or the Witch of the Waste to really do anything about it. He knew Sophie had magical powers and knew that his own were quite formidable, and his gallivanting about - in part to keep up the appearances that he was a good for nothing self indulgent irresponsible man - and in part to actually be self indulgent most likely worsened how bad the fight was as it gave the Witch of the Waste more time to prepare and gave the curse enough time catch up with him.

Yet this paradigm is also what allows Sophie and Howl help each other. While they might not understand why the other reacts like they do, on some level they recognize what they're reacting to is the same. While Sophie doesn't understand her magic enough to suggest anything direct, she does take the curse seriously because the way the story goes it will be a problem that needs dealing with. She might not be able to do magic but she can deal with problems head on, that's what being the eldest and responsible is about. Howl might not be able to understand why Sophie wants to look like an old woman but he understands why disguises are important and is willing to give her a place where she can escape the fate that she thinks is following her.

So while Howl and Sophie are incapable of seeing themselves and what they are truly capable of clearly, they are perhaps the only two people in the narrative who are capable of fully seeing each other.

[avionvadion]

For me personally, I'm somewhere in the middle with it, leaning towards the negative.

I understand what Disney is trying to do. I rewatched the movie a few times as research for my own fic rewrites. Snow White is a product of its time. The pacing is awful, it focuses too much on the wrong things and there are plenty of plot holes. (Seriously, why couldn't Queen Grimhilde just turn Snow White old? That would've accomplished her goals much easier. I genuinely wonder if Diana Wynne Jones had a similar thought, since something like that happened in the Howl's Moving Castle novel.) Snow White, while being fine at her core, needs to be fleshed out more to be a compelling protagonist in a modern movie.

It's understandable as to why. It's one of the first feature length animated movies, so they never fully worked out the kinks with it yet. Hell, I remember hearing from a few different places that Walt wanted to give the prince more screen time, but couldn't because he wasn't confident enough to animate a realistically, attractive human guy yet.

But on the flip side, they are still issues nevertheless. The story is in need of a massive overhaul in order for it to work for modern audiences.

However, the way Disney's going about it is not it. Vil is actually pretty close to how I imagine a modern Snow White to be like. (I would say Neige. Since I think Neige is a one dimensional and bland character in the canon, despite being the Snow White analog, I don't think he's the best example. Maybe if he had an actual personality outside of looking pretty and just being a piece of cardboard for Vil to sneer at.) He's adaptable, considerate and hardworking, wanting to help others become their best selves. He also lacks some of Snow White's glaring issues like her extreme naivety and lack of smarts. (Seriously, why did she let in the Evil Queen into the cottage, especially when she was told not to multiple times and the birds attacked her?) By that same token, he's not perfect and is super flawed. He's domineering, harsh, overly critical, impulsive, judgemental and sometimes is very cruel without meaning too.

Do something like that. Keep the heart of the character, but flesh her out more and make her more flawed and human. Not transform her into a girl boss! There is a strength in being kind in the face of adversity. Hell, she's pretty badass for being a 14 year old who was able to quickly gather herself after she was almost murdered. I wouldn't be able to do that as an adult.

That's not the movie's only issue. The CGI drawves in the movie look super creepy and uncanny valley. They should've used live action little people for those roles.

Frankly, Mirror Mirror looks like it'll be the better Snow White adaptation. (Seriously, go watch that if you haven't. It's actually really good.)

About Snow White, here’s a link to a super in depth character analysis: https://www.tumblr.com/darkspellmaster/179160919595/some-thoughts-regarding-the-disney-princesses-and

I wouldn’t necessarily say her being naive is a glaring issue. She is, as you said, just fourteen years old. She is a child. It’s not abnormal for kids to be naive- even those who are abused.

Snow is a lonely child who wants affection (having lost her bio mom and then later her father) and was holding onto the hope that her step-mother loved her, even if just a little bit, despite the harsh treatment, because sometimes that’s just how it goes, sadly. The truth can be staring you in the face, but you’re so desperate for affection from those that are supposed to love you that you ignore all the signs otherwise. She’s a child, one who is grieving the loss of her father and trying to fill the hole in her heart with the love of her step-mother, love she is painfully denied.

Snow isn’t unintelligent either. She cleaned the dwarves house as a BARGAINING CHIP to convince them to let her to stay. Snow may be trusting, but she isn’t stupid.

“I know! We’ll clean this house and surprise them! Maybe then they’ll let me stay?”

Snow has nowhere to go, she learned her step-mother (who she so dearly hoped held some tiny amount of love for her) is out to take her life, and while she isn’t one of my favorite princesses she is far from unintelligent. She was raised as a scullery maid, one of the hardest jobs someone can have. Cleaning is the one thing she KNOWS how to do. She’s taking advantage of that fact to win herself somewhere safe to stay.

And, being a scullery maid, she knows not to judge by appearances because she likely worked with a LOT of not pretty/very hideous people. (The analysis I linked goes into depth about this. Scullery maids had it ROUGH.)

It’s obvious she was uncomfortable by the old woman, but the hag feigned having a weak heart but because of her experiences she gave the benefit of the doubt. (You ask why Snow let her in, but do you really think she’d just let an old woman have a heart attack or stroke without trying to help??? The birds may have been sus of the hag but wild animals are still wild animals. Snow can only communicate through song, she likely thought they were just trying to cause mischief or were being jealous at the attention she was giving to the old woman. It’s yet another show of Snow being kind and doing her best not to judge someone she doesn’t yet know.) How was Snow supposed to guess the apple was poisoned??? She didn’t see the queen brew the evil potion. She didn’t even know the hag WAS the Evil Queen.

There are issues, yes, but not in her naivety or “lack of smarts”. Snow White did the best she could in the situation she was in with the talents she had and the experiences she was given.

Also, I will have to argue about Neige not being naive. Vil makes it VERY obvious he doesn’t like Neige, but Neige blatantly ignores it despite Vil reprimanding him time and again. He has this ideal of Vil in his head and projects it onto the real Vil, and thus does not suspect that the apple juice is poisoned. Heck, he doesn’t suspect bad of anyone- or even realize he’s being badmouthed.

Neige is just as much as Snow White as Snow White is Neige. But whereas Snow White grew up working as a scullery maid and thus was taught not to judge others by appearance, Neige instead projects an ideal onto Vil because he (like Snow White who craves love and affection) wants so badly to be friends with him.

One could make a modern Snow White. Could even give Florian (Prince Buckethead!) more screen time and personality. Do more with the relationship between the Evil Queen who hates her step-daughter and Snow who wants so badly to be loved by her step-mother that she ignores all the red flags.

But don’t erase what made the character who she is in the process.

Also, Disney needs to read up on Miner’s Lung. There’s a reason why the dwarves don’t clean and their house is so dusty. Snow cleaned the house as a bargaining chip to let her stay, as the house was so badly messy because the dwarves are MINERS who literally mine all day (first few lyrics of Heigh-ho) from dawn to dusk, and then spend (what is likely) a couple hours WALKING back home. They’re too tired to clean and inhale even MORE dust, and they are absolutely NOT going to let some lady they don’t know who barged into their home boss them into cleaning.

(Like. What even. What even were the new lyrics to the remake of that song. Disney, do you have any idea what you’re writing or what the plot of the original was??? The implied background stories???)

The remake is just. So bad. In so so so so so many ways.

Disney needs to STOP with the live-actions already.

[freakasaurus-rex]

FINALLY making an info post since so many of my mutuals have them

bright flashing lights be ahead! avast, ye sinners! this blog is not easy to look at if you are bothered by eyestrain!

Hello, welcome to my blog! I hope you have a fun time here :D

My name is Freak!

I am currently 17 years old, and my birthday is on September 5th

I am both other- and fictionkin. Talk to me about it if you want! I would lvoe to tell you about how I'm literally an ouppy

I regress sometimes. Interaction will be low at those times

I use neopronouns almost exclusively. You can learn more about my pronouns here and here

I am aromantic and questioning my sexuality. I am also very much nonbinary, and usually refer to myself either as agender or genderfluid

I regularly post bugs! I am looking to become an entomologist so they are very fascinating to me. Any posts including them will be tagged with #bugs, #insects, and the specific type of bug they are. I also consider arachnids and some shellfish to be bugs so those will be included in the #bugs tag, but they will not be tagged with #insects, obviously. Bugs and insects are different things

I rarely post art but when I do it is tagged with #art

Most fandoms are tagged but a few aren't [like pokemon and mario]

I have multiple little guys living in my askbox. Currently, we have Sneepsnorp, Jingle [and his plushie Bell], Mipmi, Brring, the computer kitty, and Smrrp [and its narrator!]. All of them have their own tags. You will see them often

Things I enjoy!

Games: Splatoon, Minecraft, Oxenfree, Spiritfarer, Roblox [all I play is Regretevator], The Sims, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Ace Attorney

Shows/Movies: Brooklyn 99, Arcane, Dungeon Meshi, Dandadan, Attack on Titan, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Howl's Moving Castle, most other Ghibli movies, Tank Girl, Chicago

Books: The Agony of Bun O'Keefe, 5 Worlds [graphic novels], Scott Pilgrim [only the comics]

Other media: Sanrio, Nevermore [webcomic], The Glass Scientists [webcomic], Blindsprings [webcomic]

General: VSynth, character design, story writing, bugs of all kinds

I have autism and ADHD. I may not understand the tone of posts or messages, but I usually do! If I don't, do not feel bad. Just LMK what you meant and we can both be on our merry way

I also might have OCD but heyyy lets not think about that for now

I frequently reblog political posts, and I do not tag them. I rarely reblog discourse, but this is 100% a space supporting of all good-faith identities. To me, this includes m-spec gays and lesbians. The split attraction model is for everyone

I occasionally reblog posts with queer slurs in them. I tag these with #f slur or similar. Whichever letter the word starts with and then "slur"

I will block you if I don't like you and I request that you do the same. It's easier to not get upset online if you just don't interact with people who piss you off. I understand it's important to see issues from all angles and to hear out varying opinions but a lot of people online are just insane

I am a frequent roleplayer but I am nowhere near cringe and free enough to talk about that. my ESC mutuals know what I mean however

I've been roleplaying online since I was literally like 10 years old. I did take like a 5-year long break but still. YK. Or maybe you don't IDK I just work here

Yes I always use the square brackets. No I don't know why I started. Yes it's muscle memory at this point

Thank you for reading! It was probably tough. My cringe. My cringeeee

[snobgoblin]

I have just been extremely chatty lately so anyway yapping to a character prompt part 3

1. How do they celebrate their birthday?

he usually just treats himself by shopping at red street. he would invite people but he doesn't really have friends

2. Who is the most important person in their life?

himself if I'm honest but whatever partner he may get definitely becomes the most important person to him

3. What to they wear when they're just at home hanging out?

it swings wildly between "he wears the most expensive outfit he owns just for funsies" and "he wears basically nothing because of texture issues"

4. What is their house like?

you've seen the shop! it's that. with a cozy upstairs with lots of pillows. very Howl's Moving Castle esque decor going on in there too

5. Any pets?

eventually Faunus, yeah! he tries very unsuccessfully to lure pigeons and stuff to him with pumpkin bread. he's definitely an animal lover and tries to pet anything

6. What will always make them smile?

things that bring him comfort. warm bread, little trinkets, and eventually, his friends

7. What will always make them cry?

if you ever make him feel like you don't like him he will get mad and then cry about it later

8. What's their favorite movie (presuming they life in a world with movies, if not, what would be their favorite movie)?

I watch the same 5 movies on loop so I'm not sure 😭 I'll say he's a ghibli kind of guy

9. Favorite book?

erm I don't read so idk but he loves reading up on mythology and magic and things like that

10. Do they get along with their parents?

despite feeling hurt by Mercurio they're definitely close. that's the reason WHY he's so mad at his dad for leaving- he loves being around him. his relationship with his mom is negative but nearly nonexistent, they hardly see each other

11. If you could put them into a different fictional universe, where would they go?

in my universe GET OVER HERE (I have fallen in love with him)

12. Favorite holiday?

he freaking loves the Winter Solstice bro, like he hates the cold but he loves the closeness that comes with it and the over the top decorations

13. Tattoos?

nope!

14. What was their first kiss like?

awkward 😭 but passionate. buddy tried his best but he is painfully socially awkward

15. Have they ever lost somebody they loved?

yes, his aunt Capra. it destroyed him

16. They find a genie and are granted three wishes, what do they wish for, and why?

1) he wishes for someone to be obsessed with him. he is extremely lonely and feels so much love that has nowhere to go, and his heart is so empty he needs something to fill it. 2) he would probably want his aunt back and 3) he wishes to be rich for personal reasons but also so his dad will quit his job and stay home with him (that's not how that works 😭 he loves what he does)

17. They're stranded on an island and can only have 4 items and one companion, who and what do they bring?

he brings Asra and doesn't have to worry about the other 4 items because Asra will portal through the water and get them to safety. er cheeky answer erm Asra brings a wand, a cup, a sword, and a pentacle

18. What's a quote (not from their universe), that you associate them with?

I had to google "quotes" to get this 💀 I think this one's fitting "be so good they can't ignore you" -Steve Martin

19. Any romantic interests?

too many

20. What kind of accent do they have?

it's hard to say because they would all be speaking a language I do not speak. (of course the devs say they're all fantasy languages but we can assume they would at least be similar to real life areas and languages) he would sound like a native Italian speaker for sure, where Nadia, Julian, and Lucio, might not

21. What is their most prized possession?

he has a couple... his rings are probably up there. he never takes them off

22. Have they ever stolen anything?

only a body!

[imagineee-123]

⟡₊⊹Introduction Post⊹₊⟡

Hello! I never do posts like this on any of my socials even though I mean to, so I'm gonna finally give this a shot! This might be really long Imao

About my blog:

This blog is about my helpol practices. I specifically post about visual kei at @bangyao-vkei and personal stuff @toastyghostiebroski

About me:

I go by many names, but my main username online is Imagineee. I most commonly use Lucian (Luci)/Ciel. My pronouns are he/him! I'm currently 17.

I'm on the aroace spectrum and pansexual, as well as a gender non-conforming transmasc. I don't really identify as anything specific when it comes to gender, but I'm definitely not a girl! (Don't she/her me... Pls. ╥﹏╥)

I've been practicing on and off for over a year now, but I still have lots I need/want to learn.

My interests/hobbies:

visual kei and j-fashion

reading up about bandmen I like

Japanese music

music in general

anime

Genshin Impact*

Project Sekai*

Honkai: Star Rail*

Twisted Wonderland*

Wuthering Waves*

Stardew Valley

art and painting

vocaloid

photography

storing things in my memory boxes

Howl's Moving Castle (book and movie)

collecting manga/figures of things I like

reading about dieties and others' practices

going to graveyards

watching YouTube

(* means I've lost a lot of interest over time but still enjoy these things)

Favorite music:

I listen to pretty much everything. But some of my favorite musicians/groups outside of vkei are Eve, Re:nG, takayan, Gesu No Kiwami Otome, Linkin Park, kikuo, MCR, Cage the Elephant, and Eyedress. I have too many favorites, but it's so hard to cut down because I listen to such a variety of music, and I love it all. Ahhhh

Favorite song atm:

Likes:

Rain

The beach

Fire

Graveyards

The moon

Sweets

Hades ofc

Sleeping in

Renaissance oil paintings

Bees

Crows (birds in general tbh)

Laying in the grass

Other:

My MBTI is ISFJ (used to be INFP-T) My star sign is leo. I use emoticons sometimes. I use :3 and >:3 unironically whenever I'm really happy or excited about something. I own four budgies and two dogs. I also have PTSD and really bad social anxiety. I really want to go to Japan and see a vkei band live one day.

݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ And that is (finally) my intro! I hope we can be friends! ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁

[bell3hound]

✦ Artist Introduction + Looking for Art Mutuals

+ I also write a bit too with photography on the side

A bit about me

✧My name is Bell3Hound or just Bell or 3? I am an traditional and digital artist who is soon moving to the middle of nowhere-ish (I'm a bit excited about it really)

✧ I am 20 and going to college to study concept art or phycology? (Is that how you spell it?)

✧ I started a new years resolution to draw at least a sketch or even doodle everyday, its been going pretty well so far

+ I also wanted to write a short paragraph story every week since why not?

✧ I want to write and/or draw a book one day of my own story or a comic (but I'm to much of a perfectionist to start...so fan-comics for now)

✧ I also watch random 1950's-2010's shows lost to time so yeah

+ While sometimes drawing my own oc's...of said show...

✧ I draw on Clip Studio + IbisPaintX (phone) + Gaomon Drawing tablet and Monitor and I also borrow Procreate (I have adult money now, someone should take my wallet)

Likes

Reading, Writing, and Drawing

Shows: Httyd, Running Man, Big Hero 6, Gravity Falls, EAH, Little Witch Academy, Winx, %100 Wolf, Merlin BBC, Miraculous Ladybug, TrollHunters, Sluggterra, Student Spirit, Ninjago, etc.

Anime: Overlord, Spy x Family, Mashle, Nanbaka, BNHA/MHA, Trigun/Vash the Stampede, The Vampire Dies in no time, Bakuman, etc.

Music: 1920's, Frank Sinatra, electro swing (caravan palace), and classical

Books: The Cruel Prince, Jonathan Strange & Mr.Norrel, Howls Moving Castle, etc.

I more than welcome/encourage art trades or just encouragement on any current or past drawings, so lets support each other!

if you have any similar interest of one of these just message me, don't be shy! I was/am nervous (and a bit embarrassed) writing all this to the internet to see, but I need to socialize a little or else I'm gonna start talking to the funko pop's I have in my room (and they might talk back sooner or later)

here my linktree but it pretty much has all of this stuff already