#I genuinely don't know if this is coherent I just love my cat

[tangledmelody]

Sometimes our pets are our biggest lifelines and that's okay. Honestly, my cat taught me how to love again. We both come from rough pasts and it took us probably two years to get used to each other, but now she's not afraid to run over to me or chirp from across the house, or even step on my face in the middle of the night and scream as loud as she can because she just misses me that much.

Now it's almost twelve years later and I've been able to move with her from my mom's place to a shitty trailer with 3 other people and a dog, to a tiny apartment with the most horrible neighbors, two other people, a dog, and another cat. After that was yet another apartment with my now husband, his cat and my sibling.

Now, we live in a beautiful house in the most wonderful neighborhood. I grew to consider my husband's cat my cat too and she's been gone for a few months now. We grieved together- all three of us. I finally feel like I can grow roots. My husband and I are working on fixing up the small things that need fixing when you're a first time home buyer, and my cat is slowly growing used to all the extra space.

She's always been part of my family. Always. I got her for my thirteenth birthday. I'm twenty four now, and she's an old lady. But I'll always remember when I brought her home from the shelter.

I told my mom that I wanted to visit the cats at our local Humane Society. Look them up if you've never heard of them because they do amazing work. We locked eyes from across the room and as I crept over to her in that gangly, awkward way all teenagers move a worker stopped me. "Be careful," she said. "That ones not very friendly."

But somehow I just knew- I looked at her and fell in love and as I finally stopped in front of her she took one look at me and chirped before rolling onto her back. I pet her for probably an hour and she was purring the whole time. I somehow convinced my mom to let me bring her home. "A birthday gift," I pleaded. "I won't ask for anything else." And I didn't. I didn't need to. She was all I ever wanted and more.

She's saved my life countless times. I can't even keep track of all the ways she's kept me alive. For the first five years, she showed me that it was okay to ask for space from family. I learned that my mom's behavior wasn't okay. And yes, animals can't talk. I'm not suggesting that my cat whispered my name and told me all the different forms of abuse that my mother did. That's simply not true.

But she communicated. All animals communicate if you just bother to listen and she told me that she didn't like my mom- didn't like the threatening way she invaded our room. She kept me company through countless nightmares. I'd wake up so many times gasping for air only to feel soft fur underneath my hands and I knew that I was okay, that it wasn't real, that I was safe. She made sure that I felt safe.

I went to the hospital twice, about 3 years apart and I felt so lost each time that when the staff asked me to list reasons to live I couldn't think of anything. My first reason every time that I've had a therapist ask me since has been to make sure that my cat is fed and warm and safe.

She's never been overly affectionate. She'll show her love in her own way, and she seeks me out more often now that she's slowing down. But she has never been a lap cat and she's never really been a fan of being too cuddly. Both times I was released from the mental hospital she pressed her fuzzy body as tightly against my side as she could possibly manage. She would stay like that for hours at a time for days afterward- as if she was afraid that I would go away again.

In my darkest moments, when I couldn't imagine living for myself, I chose to live for her and it was enough. She's kept me alive.

I'm doing better now. The nightmares still come out occasionally, and I still struggle to cope with stress. But when I'm home and the panic comes, I know that she will find me. She will mew and cry and beg to come with me under the blankets and she will sit there until I am able to become myself again.

And if that's not love than what is? If that's not a reason to live and love and embrace life than what would be?

It's okay to live for something small- for the mundane simple facts of life. It's okay to tell yourself "I will live for the sunset, for the cookie my friend gave me. I will choose to make it until this exam is over. I will push forward to listen to my favorite band in person. I will live, so that my pet may live."

Life is difficult and sometimes it's needlessly unfair. Why not live for your pet? Why not live for the funny little squirrel that lives in the neighborhood and somehow, always sounds like it's laughing when you walk past?

Nothing that saves your life should ever be dismissed. Nothing is too small to make a difference. A barely visible light is still a light, even in the darkness. One of my lights just happens to be in the shape of a cat.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

not relevant but i think that what kept me going this year was my dog lmao

every single night before i fall asleep i feel a soft push on the side of my bed and there she is just BEGGING to sleep next to me 😭 (shes very smol so she can't reach the bed on her own lol

[royalphantompain]

Man....... That's craaaazyyyy innit, mate. This scene is bonkers........

Like holy shit-

In the second episode, Pomni just looked so miserable for the first half of the episode.

Sopping wet cat of a woman

I mean, can you really blame her? After realizing that, basically, her old life is gone, and this is her new home now. Forever!!!! Yippie!!!! She had to come to terms with it yesterday. This honestly just sort of feels like she is dissociating.

But then, underneath the map, where Gummigoo demands to know what she is, and after he finds out the truth.

I think it's safe to say she is still not doing too well, but she sees this NPC in distress and still just feels wrong letting him stay that way. She knows he's fake but still goes to him.

Now, I also kind of like to interpret in a way that she can sort of relate to him finding out everything is not real. While she is a real person, does her life actually matter at this point? Is she even who she was when she was a human? She may have memories of her past like but she has a new face and a new name, and she can never go back to the real world, but that may be me reaching and maybe in the end she was only saying she related to feeling like nothing, and I just ranted about nothing and I am not normal.

Regradless, ever since she came here, this is the first person she actually has a real conversation with and actually confides in, and she offers him to stay in the circus with.

I mean, uhh, while that didn't go, uhhhhh, quite as planned, erm, awkwaaaaaard..... I do think this is a very important moment for Pomni and her development. Even though in the end, she did realize the other humans would care about her, the first person she connected with was this gelatin NPC, so he was still important to her, and probably meant a lot.

I absolutely adore episode 3 a lot, but I don't think it really adds anything here, so moving on.

God, she is such a pathetic fucking loser. She is so cringe and such a failure. I love her more than anything.

All of a sudden, someone who she considered a friend is now back after she aww him literally explode into confetti, but he just goes up to her and orders from her like it was nothing. How excatly do you react to that? Like she wanted to ask that, but do you just say, "Hey, remember that time I told you to come back home with me, but since you aren't real, I literally accidentally killed you?" But also, in his point of view, this stranger just comes up to him and can't even form a coherent sentence, and crawls on the floor, like huh???? Girl???? What is wrong with you???

LOOK JUST HOW UNCOMFORTABLE HE IS BECAUSE OF HER- LIKE IT IS GENUINELY SO SAD TO SEE POMNI TRYING TO BE BY SOMEONE SHE CONSIDERED A FRIEND BUT HE JUST FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE AROUND THIS WEIRD LITTLE JESTER- YOU CANNOT BLAME HIM FOR FEELING THIS WAY- AND SHE CAN SEE IT-

Before he opens the door, he still looks uncomfortable and just leaves her there, and he can not understand why she was acting this way.

Honestly it's this part that killed me the most.

That is not her friend. It's just a stranger using the same model. It isn't the Gummigoo she knew and had an important moment with.

This scene honestly was so cringey but in a way that was genuinely more sad than anything. I love it.

ANYWAY!!!!! I love this show, and I absolutely would love to spill my thoughts on absolutely everything in this new episode besides my beloved pathetic wet cat jester, but it's 2 AM, and I have to go to work at a job where sometimes I would rather eat glass and laundry detergent :']

[pink-tk-a-latte]

PYPYPYPY! (That is how I shall summon thee. Like a cat's PSPSPSPSP- HEHEHE-)

If you feel inspired by my prompt, can I please request lee! Sigma and ler! Dazai? (Tone, romantic but not established relationship (YET LMAO-). I really don't have a coherent plot idea, I just woke up to the thought of Dazai *geeeently* fluttering his digits against Sigma's ears, sides, etc, being extra soft as Sigma desperately tries to crawl away, only to get pulled back into Dazai's lap (He loves it, he just refuses to LET himself love it XD). Sigma bby needs some softness after the last 3 years of his life tbh... And Atsushi is now experienced enough to predict Dazai's tickle attacks so his new victim is Sigma XD.

Have an awesome dayyy~!

-🫧 Anon~!

So I’m a cat girl now? (PYPYPYPY is hilarious from now on I will respond only to that) /j

ANYWAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REQUEST!!! You’ve been such a pal bubble anon!! Genuinely I’m so sorry for how long this took :((( I’ll blame it on end of school year busyness but I’ve also just been generally waffling (I have no reference for how long it should take to finish a request… uhhhhhh…)

Warning for,,, a spattering of tildes (there’s like three)? I know it’s cringe but I think they’re fun~~~~~ lmaooo

Regardless!!! On with the Sigzai!!!!!

Sfw tickle fic!!!!!!! Pre-Relationship Sigzai 💜🤎

Gypsophila, Baby’s Breath

In his mind, Sigma felt weightless. As if he and gravity had become estranged, acquaintances who’d fallen out of touch over time. As if he were drifting, floating, falling through the sky.

But then there were clowns with sharp teeth and dove wings, and strange, pale men offering their hands, and sands and seas of red and orange, and pages, and elevators, and flooding ballrooms with classical music—

And he was riding a giraffe, for some reason?

Then Sigma awoke, gasping as though he'd been ripped from a freezing ocean, to a warm and fluttering breeze blown against the back of his neck. He slapped a hand against his nape, a shabby attempt to hide his reaction.

“Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty!”

Sigma whipped his head around, still achey and foggy as he tried to remember who he was and where he was and what universe this was supposed to be.

A dream? Sigma twisted his face and rubbed his bleary eyes. It felt so real.

Granted, he had no idea why he would think that.

“Come back to reality yet?” He thought he recognized that voice. It was bright and entirely unserious and brought a sinking sensation to his stomach. “It’s rare to see Sigma sleeping on the job~!”

“Huh?” Sigma surveyed his surroundings. The lights were off, the room lit solely by the tangerine rays stretching from the windows. He glanced down at his desk.

His desk. At the ADA. His not-quite-yet home, only because he had nowhere else to go for now.

He looked up. Dazai was leaning over him, eyes a soft and welcoming brown in the rusty sunlight.

The rusty sunlight…

How long was I asleep for!?

Dazai laughed in his frothy-bubbly way. “Don’t worry, you were only out for an hour or so. It was almost the end of the day already.” Pulling up a chair, he scooted beside Sigma. “Although I’m impressed you lasted that long! You were practically falling asleep at the wheel the whole day!”

I was? Abashedly, Sigma frowned and rubbed his forehead. He eyed Dazai from the corner of his vision. “How did you���?”

“—Know what you were going to ask?” Now, Dazai was leaning his chin on his hand and staring up at him. The tender, charmed amusement those coffee brown eyes fixed him with was too intense to stare at directly, like a solar eclipse. “It’s because you’re easy to read, Sig-ma.”

“Wh- You- I am not!” Sigma huffed. “I can’t help that I’m no superhuman.”

Suddenly quiet, Dazai hummed and smiled, brown eyes closer to black now that they were out of the light. “Is that so?” He reached for the long locks of purple and white that weaved around Sigma’s shoulders. “But you treat yourself like a work machine!” He twirled his hair around his fingers.

Sigma had noticed that — Dazai was always reaching to touch, whether it be patting Atsushi or Kyouka on the head, leaning on Yosano’s shoulder, stealing Kunikida’s glasses or Ranpo’s hat, or pinching Sigma’s cheeks (???). He was simply tactile, as though he did it without purpose or logic.

The accused work machine crossed his arms. “I like work, though.”

Dazai made a comically disgusted face, then smoothed his expression back into untouchable levity. “You’re strange.”

Sighing, Sigma ran a hand through his hair, peeved to find it frizzing in all directions. He adjusted the strands that clung to his cheeks and tangled in his earrings, tucking them behind his ear.

Dazai’s fingers followed immediately, curious toward his adornments. Feather-light, they brushed against the back of his ear.

Sigma’s disproportionate flinch did not go unnoticed.

He grabbed Dazai’s wrist. “Hey— Hands to yourself.” He couldn’t help how his tone wavered.

“Aww, but why?” he whined. “Your earrings are so shiny. I just want to see~ them, Sigma.”

Really, Sigma didn’t mind being touched, but the memory of Dazai’s fingers skirting the shell of his ear sent a crack of hot lightning down his skeleton.

Sigma nibbled on the dry skin of his lip. “I just don’t want you to pull them out or something…” His gaze trailed up.

When Sigma met Dazai’s eyes, his stomach dropped at their impish glint.

He should’ve known he’d been caught the moment he woke up.

“Your reactions are always so curious.” Dazai grinned, and then his arms were around Sigma’s waist.

"Wait!" While Sigma yelped, Dazai pulled him out of the chair and into his lap, skittering blunt nails into his sides. "WAIHAIhahait! StahaHAP!"

Dazai was being so darn soft, digits just barely making an imprint in his skin, that Sigma was embarrassed by how loud he was. It was more of the surprise than anything, but the gentleness and the premonition of it felt like colorful beams of energy erupting from his brain.

"Shh shh." Dazai's chin rested on Sigma's fluffy head. "Just relax. Don't fight it." Said hushly, as though he were speaking to a rowdy critter.

“Whahahat do you mehehehEAN?” He shoved at Dazai’s shoulders, gripping restlessly at the other rolly chair for succor, but it insisted only on rolling away.

Cheek squished against Sigma’s elbow, Dazai babbled placatingly, “Just that I think you would like this if you calmed down!” He wrapped one arm around the desperate man to secure him in his lap, then flurried his fingers in between his shoulder and neck. Sigma squealed and curled into himself, drive to escape lost.

It was as though all his thinking had floated away in a toasty bubble of mirth. All notions of his duties, his past, the wants of other people, erased and overpowered by touch in the guarded swaths of his skin.

“DAhahahazai! Ehehehieek!” Sigma rocked side to side uselessly. “NoHOhot thehehere!”

“It’s such a fun spot though!” Dazai sang. “You’re just so perfectly shaped for grabbing, hm?”

Sigma shook his head, hair swirling around his figure. “WHAhahahat the heheHE—!?” His face was euphorically warm, even at the affronting statement.

He felt moisture bead on his lashes from the force with which he lidded his eyes. Somehow, he’d turned to face Dazai, burying his face in his collar. Sigma noticed that Dazai’s skin was as acutely hot as he felt.

Easy access permitted, Dazai blew on his ear, then laughed at how Sigma bristled and shrieked. Sigma cursed him through loopy, frantic giggles; even so, Dazai put in the effort to look offended.

“It really hurts me that you still push me away!” He sniffled theatrically. “After the secrets and promises we shared? Don’t you trust me?”

Ridiculously, Sigma felt just a tad guilty. “IhihI dohoho, buhut- !”

“Aww, that’s nice of you.” Dazai leaned in close to his neck. Sigma felt those lips curl into a smile… and shivered. “Probably a mistake, though.”

Scritches at the spot beneath his ear and pinches at his hip fried his nerves until Sigma lost his mind. Such clement touches, such violent sensations. Confusion only made him more frantic: Did he want to run from the feeling, or melt into it?

Questions for another time. Right now he just wanted a break.

“OhohokAHAY! Thahahat’s ehehenough!” Sigma pushed weakly against Dazai’s shoulders.

“Fine, fine.” Dazai stopped shortly after, taking Sigma into his arms as all the tension evaporated from his limbs. He settled Sigma back in his own chair without separating. Though he flinched at the contact, Sigma stayed.

As Sigma wheezed and puffed, Dazai’s nose dug into his shoulder. “See? I’m only human too.” He trailed off. Then, cheekily, “I’m mere prey to my desire for you~!”

Sigma sighed and patted Dazai’s cheek, ignoring the flare of heat in his own. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that you were beyond human.” His mouth quirked oddly. “You told me yourself there’s no such thing.”

Dazai chuckled. “I don’t know, you’re pretty extraordinary.”

The pats turned into a (fond) slap.

“Ow!” He lifted his head and nursed his cheek. Sigma knew that pout was fake. “Mean, mean, mean! And I was just about to ask if you had fun.”

“What?” Sigma did not like how often he was becoming flushed.

That irritatingly brilliant mind waggled his eyebrow. “It’s nice, isn’t it? For a fleeting minute, you don’t have to think about anything. It’s bliss.”

Sigma played with his sleeve. “I… guess.” The admission made him warm all over again.

Dazai clapped and cheered and Sigma hit him again. There was a gasp from the man he was leaning against. “Oh, speaking of! Chuuya was asking how you were. He wanted to make sure you were taking it easy.”

Ah, well that was nice of him. Sigma grunted, still slumped against Dazai’s chest. “And here you are, holding me at work overtime.”

"Then let’s start heading back, shall we?" Dazai slid from his seat and halfway knelt on one knee, offering his hand (the same hand that a moment ago had been— nevermind). Sigma shook his head in exasperation but took it anyway.

Through the door and into the hallway, Dazai pulled Sigma by the hand, wrapped firmly but tenderly around his fingers. He met his eye with a smug, reminiscent look. "You know, this place is like a ballroom..."

"I swear, if you start dancing again, I’m leaving you here,” said Sigma, staring down the idea forming in Dazai's head.

"But our lives aren't in danger this time!" Unheeding, Dazai had flourished his free hand, ready to tango.

Against all odds, Sigma’s brow relaxed. He was right. There was no imminent doom in this moment, just the ADA's halls leading to nothing but stairs and an elevator that wasn't rigged (not that he was inclined to use it). Just Dazai, his warm, satiny, playful hands, and his invitation.

With a breath, Sigma loosened his shoulders. He let Dazai pull him into twirl, then a wrap, then a dip, and they began their dance once again.

༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝

Baby’s breath symbolism: Purity, innocence, everlasting love and devotion, and new beginnings.

[aesthetic-gamersnail]

General Thoughts and Feelings about Trolls Band Together (part 1)

So, I don't know if this counts as a review, this is going to be more my thoughts on the movie (what I liked, my nitpicks, my head canons and what I would like to see in the future). This will not be coherent, it is really going be just chaotic thoughts. But be warned, because spoilers will be mentioned here. Also, the quotes might not be 100 percent accurate since I am quoting them from my memory, so be warned about that too. Have fun:

I really liked the portrayal of Poppy's and Branch's relationship and their development, because they feel like an actual couple and they feel like super natural and comfortable with it? Like there is no awkwardness and no jealousy and they are confidently saying like 'yeah, this is my girlfriend/boyfriend', I loved to see it

Interesting to see that Branch is still struggling with expressing his feelings and emotions, but that he is working on it, and you can see genuine development from the previous two movies. He still tries to push people away when overwhelmed with emotions and he deals with abandonment issues, shown especially well in the scene when Poppy goes after him after the fight with his brothers and says that she will come with him but he says that what is the point, she is going to leave anyway like everyone else did. And Poppy tries to calm him down, which actually works and it shows that he is bettering himself in that and doesn't let himself be controlled by his frustration and anger anymore. Branch generally seems to feel more comfortable in his skin and seems to be happier, which is very nice to see. Nice development here

Poppy tries to be more understanding of Branch's emotions and feelings and she supports him throughout the whole movie, even after the fight she doesn't push him to go back to his brothers but instead comes with him. I really liked it and it was really sweet

'You are not a Branch anymore, you are a TRUNK. Still could lift you though.'

John scoops Branch up when he sees him the first time again and Branch reacts as well as you can imagine - like a cat stuck on a tree

Love how John arrives and scoops Branch up, Poppy is immediately like 'Get your hands off my boyfriend!'

'When I said before you should tell me about things, maybe you should have told me you have a BROTHER?' 'Former brother.' 'THAT IS NOT HOW DNA WORKS!'

'Sorry, he gets a little hangry if he didn't have breakfast.' 'I DID have breakfast. It was an avocado toast with two poached eggs and a little bit cayenne pepper for the kick and it was DELIGHTFUL!'

Bruce bolting towards Branch and hugging him was super cute

Bruce and his wife are soooo adorable, and he is such a dad and he cares so much about them, it's augh (also Branch smiled so happily when Bruce mentioned he was a dad, he was happy for his bro)

John in the movie was being really inconsiderate of his brother's feelings and thoughts and was just pushing them towards perfection and his ideals. He redeemed himself of course at the end, but he didn't apologize at all which I think was a pity (actually no one of the brother's apologized, except Clay at the end, which is actually really sad because I think Branch deserved an honest apology and EXPLANATION, but I will bounce back to Branch and his brothers in a bit)

Clay and Bruce being really casual with each other was nice to see, but also Clay being super happy to see Branch and smushing his face

Clay really speaks to me as a character because he shows that just because other people think you're fun doesn't mean you can't be serious, love that for him

Clay and Viva do not seem to be in a relationship which I think is actually quite nice to see two people co running a village who are platonic buddies, even though who knows what the future holds. Maybe they will become a couple (or are one) which would be cute too

The portrayal of Viva's trauma was super nice to see, it felt really genuine and I liked it a lot (like how she did not want to talk about it and made impulsive decisions based on her trauma and fear)

Poppy and Viva seem to have a fun dynamic going on, would love to see more of that in the future (especially also with Bridget, since she and Poppy are super close)

Peppy did not mention for 20 Years to his daughter that she had a sister and she might be dead? WHAT?

Viva and Branch have a interesting dynamic because they seem pretty alike, and I like how Branch tries to argue with her because he has been through the same thing

Branch was sometimes not wearing pants in the bunker, sooo, yeah. That's a fun fact from the movie

Bridget was just being a girlboss thoughout the movie

Gristle and Bridget on the verge of death being like 'Let's make out :)' (Gristle and Bridget, even though having short cameos, were very fun and cute when they were on screen)

Floyd saying to Veneer that just because someone is your family doesn't mean they can treat you like crap is such a reflection on his relationship with his brothers, omg

Floyd taught Crimp how to play the ukulele, awww

Continuation in part 2

[a-narcissists-warren]

haio still on a little anonvoid hiatus ^_^

i'mma just be posting screenshots of all the asks i got so i can clean my inbox and both have them like. go somewhere instead of losing them forever

post is long!!! so click keep reading if you wanna see all the silly stuff ^_^ starting from oldest to newest!

[5th July | </3 okay- like i'm never deleting this from my inbox ever]

[9th July | I'VE WANTED TO LIKE SIT DOWN AND ACTUALLY WRITE A COHERENT TIMELINE OF EVENTS FOR THIS ohuhghr maybe some day......]

[9th July | hhrggrhghrghrghjfdgfhjdbhgjrkhgkjrhgkrjhgkfdjuigj sorgy eye mod i love eye anon but i ain't drawin allat right now]

[10th July | OKAY THIS IS ACTUALLY SO WEIRD WITHOUT CONTEXT.... it was a whole thing from the discord server i don't even know how to begin to explain it. but it was all shits and giggles and i like to think my little self-insert keeps these asks under the bed to look at when feeling down ^_^]

[15th July | secret........ oOOoOoOo i actually don't know if i still wanna do this silly thing... gang should i make this the first magic anon when i get back?]

[18th July | oh shit ummmehhh urmmm also this is old their new anon sign off is a pineapple instead of a lemon because...proshitters be taking emoji combos for some reason. anyways you probably already made the design by now BUUUT.....]

[i wanna have some fun........oohh girrlss just wannna haaaveee fuuunn /lyr ............i still can't believe an anon gave birth canonically]

[20th July | i need to interact with badger more.. <3 warrior cats are literally real bro... vro.... vroanonvodi warrior cats au when]

[26th July | ouh pickly.......... save them. gang look over pickly while i go smoke a pack of cigarettes /silly /ref (i don't smoke) ]

[27th July | aw yeah we're going back to short sleeve tee and baggy pants!!!!!!!!]

[28th July | i think i forgot to reply... sorry aliem mod.........]

[28th July | BRO LITERALLY PREDICTED THE ICE ANON- but really </3 wanted to give him a blanket......ouh i'm sorry princess anon........]

[28th July | girl (gender neutral), i had no idea how to reply, i was not gonna draw myself holding onto a baby or whatever cat breed that is /silly..... so so cute art.........]

[28th July | i would've dropped it, screamed and ran away.... scary bugs]

[30th July | ,,very interesting ask i censored just in case i wanna actually reply to it when i'm back,,,,,, didn't reply at the time cuz it was getting close to august and i didn't feel like i should start something that would've probably taken me a week to complete]

[30th July | thisis part of the convo cupid and sleepy were having........ hgjhggfi]

[31st July | I GENUINELY FORGOT TO REPLY TO THIS ASK.]

[31st July | mermaid anon... no one could make me hate you mermaid anon.... i know a theater kid when i see one and i bow to you to continue the show one day..... sorgy for not replying you're so cool]

[31st July | dear GOD. (eye strain... image darkened.... giggles)]

[31st July | my mf doesn't know how to sew for SHIITT, ily cupid anon mwa mwa /p]

[31st July | licks da rock..........]

[31st July | i don't like bacon surprisingly! i don't like a lot of stuff, you'd be surprised]

[1st August | THIS ISN'T EVEN ANONVOID RELATED GANG??? STOP LOOKING AT MY OLD POSTS THEY'RE UGLY!!!]

[1st August | Dean, i can't believe you still ask]

[1st August | SATURN PIANO...... WAAHHH]

[1st August | SIGH.......................... anonvoid server inside joke]

[1st August | this is based off notepad's portal to earth!! if you guys wanna interact with that go to notepads blog since my self-insert is taking a nap]

[1st August | little do they know..........]

[1st August | they're together in this screenshot cuz i got nothing to say,,,, i'm tired]

[sorrinslays]

Why I think Fionna and Cake would benefit from a season 2

Okay before I go more in depth, I want to say I loved the ending and thought it was very beautiful and impactful. The writers managed to wrap up everything nicely, coherently and it was so emotional (just mwah!) and although it felt kinda rushed to me I don't blame the writers for that.

I think, however, that if the writers decided to make a season 2 they have a lot to explore. What I mean by that is that the writers have the opportunity to explore a really nice theme: finding/making your identity.

To explain what I mean let's start with Fionna:

At the start of the series we see that she's very unhappy with her life and longs for a change. Which is why when she learns her world was supposed to be magical she is ecstatic and doesn't pay attention to how morally questionable it is to have Simon put on the crown again until later in the series.

By the end, she learns to love her world even without magic, which is beautiful and shows that we too can learn how to love our own world even if it isn't magical escapism. She joins that one skating team or whatever it was (I genuinely don't remember) and her life is going well.

But that doesn't mean that her story is over. Accepting your world for what it is is one thing, but what that doesn't mean there isn't room for growth. I feel like we can see her struggle with who she is.

I mean, she knows what she's supposed to be, she's supposed to be an adventurer but she can't, which is fine because she loves her world as it is now but that doesn't stop her from questioning who she should be now. What are her talents? Can she find something that makes her happy? A job she can keep?

I'd love to see her questioning who is she and carving her own identity for herself.

Next up is Cake:

My girl Cake was a cat. A domesticated cat that now is a weird shapeshifting cat thing. And she loves it, obviously she loves it. But who is she now that she counts as a "human" (as in someone who can think, talk and acts like a human). Wouldn't it be nice to see her trying to find herself and who she is now that she has a chance?

Kinda like a sheltered kid having unsupervised and unlimited access to the internet, you know?

Moving forwards with... Betty!

It's been theorized that Betty is going to be incarnated, which is wonderful because it gives the writers the chance to be herself, someone who isn't connected to Simon anymore. She will be able to be herself and explore herself.

Give her a chance of life without Simon, a chance to do what she wants, not fix Simon. It would be wonderful to see her explore who she is as a person without Simon. She will be able to be herself without being tied up to Simon, something that will be very important to her as a person and an individual.

Can you imagine? A Betty without a Simon? What would that mean to her? How is she gonna live and cope with life in general?

Finishing up with Simon!

Lastly, I'd like to talk about Simon and how he can be explored more as a character. I like Simon's journey of learning about his self worth and how he matters but I also do think there's a lot more to explore.

The crown had taken something very important to him, his identity. So, naturally, it would make sense that once he learned that he matters and is free from the curse, he would be able to find the his identity once more.

He could make a "new" identity for himself, find a place to belong to in this new version of his world. Learning how to live and find new hobbies and a new passion since being an antiquarian doesn't seem to spark joy anymore.

(By the way I would love to see him struggle with guilt. My man finally realized that he unintentionally ruined Betty's life so, as much he appreciates his life and wants to make it count and as much as she assured him that she doesn't regret any of her choices, he can still deal with said guilt)

Lastly, and this might be a "hot take" but I don't want Betty and Simon to end up together. I think we should give them to be themselves without each other. I don't know I feel like that would add to their characters.

[i-like-anything-water]

Oh man, that fainting scene was PERFECT!! If my questions ever get to be a bother, don't hesitate to let me know; I'm just excited to find another Chloenette fan, and your thoughts are amazing to me. What do you think of these ideas?

AU where Marinette finds the Butterfly and basically becomes an anarchist passing out powers and is convinced she's the hero, Chloe gets the Ladybug and is struggling not to crack under the pressure of being a hero and unknowingly becoming a good person.

AU where the only change to canon is that, at the start of Origins, Chloe and Marinette are dating... but Chloe's the exact same brat she is in canon. The two are genuinely in love, but tend to feed each other's bad habits; for a dash of irony, Adrien and Marinette end up rivals due to Adrien's concerns that Marinette is enabling Chloe, and Marinette thinks Adrien is trying to get between her and Chloe.

Pure, fluffy Crack Chloenette where Chloe goes full Karen and channels her inner Audrey at a fast food restaurant when they screw up Marinette's order. Everyone is afraid, except for Marinette, who is just reminded why she loves this girl.

Like, again, I hope I'm not being a bother, and if I ever get to be, please let me know.

sup

no not all. i actually enjoying answering asks about my ships hjsizjajskskw. thank you, I try my best to make my thoughts coherent.

first one, I'm guessing this is aged up or when they're adults. young Marinette doesn't seem like the type to do that let alone have resources and time for that. Marinette one her twenties just trying to help people while also juggling life and its challenges. she thinks she's doing everyone a favor but with power comes consequences and humans have always had greed. so sometimes it does more annoyances than helping.

Chloe is always on the spotlight, especially now that she's prepared to take over their business. she's still young , around 24-27, but her family is anything but unprepared. becoming ladybug at age 20 was the biggest shock of her life and biggest blessing. if Tikki wasn't here she would have already lost her mind and said 'fuck it, all of you suck' and became her mother 2.0

there's drama, there's sexual tension and 'oh god she's my enemy I shouldn't be blushing like a teenager!' they get paired up in work together in their civilian forms and sparks fly (literally lmao). but they can't. because how could they when they still had someone to capture? someone to keep an eye on and capture? how can they think of each other when they should be thinking of someone else (which is still them lmao silly lesbians).

second one reminds me of that one wenclair fic I read where they're not even remotely good but god their romance was epic and lovely. Marinette is actually the more dominant and initiative in their relationship but she's so much better at hiding it. It thrills Chloe whenever they go on their dates and escapades where they beat up people they don't like (which in their defense are mostly sexist, pedo, homophobes etc.) after obtaining their miraculous. i have to do a bit of Kwami swap and have the ladybug, bee and cat on the same tier. still ladybug and queen bee though and they're a trio.

Adrien is just worried for his friend but he wasn't there when Chloe had no one, when Marinette was cornered, when Chloe had beaten up a guy that was way too close, when Marinette had talked Audrey shit in the face after Chloe's 13 bday. He wasn't there, so of course he didn't understand. It doesn't stop him though. He tries to reach out to his childhood friend only to be stopped with a glare from Marinette. He glares back.

"I think he's interested in you," there's a pout to her voice and Chloe smiles. She reaches a hand to brush the hair that's fallen on Marinette's face, cupping her cheek, "Nonsense. He only sees me as a friend. My best guess is he's worried I'm corrupting you."

Amusement flashes into the girl's eyes, "You? But you're an absolute angel, my love."

Chloe snorts as Marinette wraps an arm around her, "Screw you."

"Gladly."

this one could be connected to the second one in terms of their relationship. Marinette is kind and shy and still a bit clumsy, but she's also more confident with her love and doesn't have much inhibitions whenever she wants to know something or gets things done. Especially when it's for Chloe.

She watches in amusement as Chloe chews them out, garnering eyes from anyone inside the store. She should stop her girlfriend, tell her it was only a mistake. But her girlfriend is so damn attractive right now and it fills her with butterflies that Chloe would make sure she was pampered even at the smallest of things.

She does the same of course. She wouldn't hesitate to manipulate or blackmail anyone that comes too close to her liking. So far Adrien hasn't crossed the line, but the idea of toying with him crossed her mind. She wouldn't do it because Chloe is his friend and she doesn't want Chloe upset at her.

After they're done in the restaurant she pulls her girlfriend to the side, smirking at the blushing blonde. "You looked absolutely beautiful there, mon amour."

And that's all. I've been thinking about slightly darker/grey Marinette in my fics but I have yet to find the perfect formula on how to execute her. She's fun though, I like playing with her obsessive characteristics. Also, it's never a bother to me regarding asks about my ships or anything in particular long as it's respectful when asked. Thank you for the asks! Lovely aus indeed.

[ladyseidr]

vanessa headcanons / portrayal notes but i'm too lazy to make her headcanon banner or even write coherent thoughts so you just get a bullet point list:

definitely a reluctant follower but as things progress she gets more. . . attached might be a strong word, but she stops hating glitch so much. this does not last once she escapes him obv

like it's literally: oh funny rabbit guy but this is a glitch i need to figure out -> okay i hate his vibe -> get out of my head i hate you -> i might as well learn to live with you -> i've completely isolated myself from all friends except you so i guess that makes you. . . almost a friend -> post-game deeply traumatizing by the violating of like. literally having her autonomy taken away from her

still carries deep guilt and resentment for the murders during moments where she's fighting back / he's not in control at all

vanessa is the only fucking character in fn.af who would genuinely seek therapy after every thing and i think she should get an award for that

researches the franchise + william af.ton in a lot of detail when The Hell Begins and is horrified but also has to deal with glitch being very fond of his very dead creator

basically, not in the suit: glitch is like an annoying little voice in her head who she has to stop herself from arguing out loud with in the supermarket

in the suit: he's like. not Literally in control but heavily, heavily, heavily influences her thoughts and actions. can make her think almost anything is the right decision

( okay it's not as simple as "in the suit" and "out of the suit," but you catch my drift. she can absolutely "come out of it" while wearing the suit, and she can def be under his control while not )

i said it before but: scene girl in high school. like, she has rainbow extensions when not under glitch's control, of course she was a scene girl

genuinely loves the glamr.ocks, despite everything

generally i don't want to go with her owning / being in complete charge of the pizza.plex because that's silly to me, but i don't have an alternative, esp because like who would it be??? i just shrug.

genuinely concerned abt gregory or any other kid who gets in, esp because she Knows What's Going On. she literally knows that she's a threat herself.

favorite animals? cats and horses

took the help wa.nted job because, like. she needed the money + she's absolutely a gamer so it seemed fun. especially because she had never played VR before

doesn't have a favorite color and will argue if you try to get her to pick. definitely enjoys bright colors, though

absolutely thought fazb.ear entertainment was full of shit from the start, but she wasn't actually that familiar with the history, so

literally will adopt gregory post-game. tries to act kind of like a big sister but never had any siblings so she's incredibly lost fdhskfashfjdlsah

introvert, but enjoys having a small, close group of friends. she ghosts them during the glitch stuff, but the ones that matter are there for her when she gets back ( and def understand when she. . . kinda explains what was going on )

although "i adopted a kid" "you w h a t " FDHFKDSHJFHS

has absolutely nothing to do with her parents, for valid reasons

completely traumatized post-game to the point that she questions whether her own thoughts are "really" hers. she seriously doubts her own sanity at times, is often scared she didn't "actually" get rid of glitch, and questions her ability ( and worthiness, given her actions under brainwashing ) to take care of herself, much less gregory

like i mention on her page, i'm open to writing any ending and don't treat one as canon on this blog. however, it should be noted that i'm not a fan of the burnt.rap ending ( fully biased by the fact that i don't like burnt.rap's existence ). that's not to say i'm not willing to write it, but i'm prob not interested in writing directly with burnt.rap himself

as also mentioned on her page, she's a lesbian, so there won't be any shipping with her and glitch or william ( or any man lmao ). if glitch still wants to be weird, that's on him, but she won't be receptive period.

loves creative stuff!! is an artist ( esp with pencils or digital, but can paint a bit ), enjoys decorating her apartment, and adores dressing up in pretty clothes!

also genuinely enjoys programming. yes, it is soured for her post-game.

will self-sabotage herself even pre-game ( eating nothing but takeout, not getting outside enough, isolating, etc ). therapy helps post-game.

[fandomfluffandfuck]

Salut, S!

I’ve been thinking about this ONE thing, however no matter how hard I tried, it seemed impossible to put into (coherent) words. But, impossible n’est pas français. So S, here goes nothing :)

So, as you’ve pointed out many times, our Sebastian is like a cat. He’s sweet, cute, and just overall catlike. And Chris knows this, too. He sort of suspected it before they started dating (especially when he literally watched Seb bat a book off the table like a cat because he was bored).

He is sure of it though, pretty soon after they start dating. How does he realize this? Well, it starts when Sebastian comes home and makes a beeline for Chris and curls up into him.

“How was your day, honey?” Chris asks, nervous that maybe Seb is upset

“It was good. Missed you.” Seb replies, smile on his face where it’s buried in his neck.

Chris smiles, running his hands through his hair, and if he could, Chris is sure Sebastian would be purring. Seb presses kisses into Chris’s face, arms wrapped around the older.

The second time wonders if his boyfriend is actually just a cat in a person’s body is when he finds him sleeping in the sun. It’s at his New York apartment, and Sebastian is curled up in an armchair in the sun. Chris genuinely laughs at this, and scoops up Seb and brings him to the bed. And when he wakes up, there are a few protests.

“Chrisssss! I was warm…” He whines, and Chris kisses him and the words stop. Instead, they’re replaced by smiles and greedy hands. Holding Chris’s face, his shoulders, his waist.

“I adore you, darling.” Chris says, and Sebastian melts further into the bed. “And I love the fact that you are a cat.” Seb laughs, surprised.

“What?! I’m not a cat, Chris!” Chris looks at him with a look of ‘…are you sure?’

“Sweetness, I found you curled up in the sun. like a cat. And there was the time you also got so distracted by a laser pointer you ran into a table. And all the times you bonk my nose with yours.” He starts, and Seb interrupts him.

“So you don’t want me to do that anymore?” Chris’s eyes widen.

“No!”

Sebastian laughs, and kisses Chris again. Chris leans into the kiss, smiling into it because he loves this. He could never get enough of Seb, not if his life depended on it. He would spend the rest of his life with this man (who just so happens to be possessed by a cat), just to be able to hold and kiss him over and over. He loves Sebastian so, so much.

So, S, did I do okay? Was it at least a little bit coherent?

Yours, 🍒Anon

That was so coherent, 🍒, sweetheart! Coherent and I 👏🏻 Adore 👏🏻 This 👏🏻

I don't remember where the comparison of Sebastian to a kitten first came from, but whoever did it was a genius. He's such a cat. It's perfect. All the art and fiction and such that's out there of kitten Seb and/or Bucky always makes my day when it comes across my dash.

I love love love all those examples you have of Sebastian being cat-like but especially sleeping in the sun and curling up with Chris. Adorable! He's a little confused and sleepy and just a little guy. I love it. I'm sure Chris relates to the sentiment I have of just wanting to pick Seb up and put him in my pocket. Cutie!

Thank you for this wonderful little drabble!

[ihopesocomic]

Yeah, I watched the review and even rewatched the part about Quickmane to make sure I didn't miss anything. What's your point? Because it still felt like you didn't explain things coherently or maybe I'm just too stupid to understand. Authorial intent doesn't always mean everything (case in point: Hover supposedly being a good love interest when she's anything but), but has the creator ever said anything on someone like Quickmane not being a villain? And every antagonist has their fans, but as I don't lurk in the fandom often, is this out of a genuine like for Quickmane or is it that he's hated except for this or that specific thing they like about him? Hence why I brought up whether or not he was liked compared to more popular characters like Nothing or Feather. Hell, I even brought up that if the intention was to make him sympathetic, then it wasn't handled well at all! Seriously, I enjoyed the review otherwise and I'm sorry if I'm being rude, I just wish certain parts could've been elaborated on better.

There is a HUGE difference between "liking an antagonist" and people saying things like - and I quote - "wow, I wish Quickmane could be brought back because he was an utter cinnamon roll as opposed to Proudmane!" cue a legit YT comment argument as to how somebody who kills babies isn't as bad as a homophobe "because he has to do what he did to survive"

Like Cat said: we haven't made this shit up. People genuinely vibe with Quickmane because he wasn't homophobic. I know you keep saying "yea but he isn't popular as opposed to our main protagonists" but... that doesn't matter? Of course he's not going to be uber popular like Feather or Nothing? Still doesn't mean this isn't a major issue with the show. And another thing: how is a concerned parent who thought he lost his kids not supposed to be a completely sympathetic figure? Just ask yourself who you're gonna root for: that sort of figure or the individual who left kids unattended in the middle of the African wilderness?

The show tries to get us to feel bad for EVERYBODY. No asshole is exempt here. Quickmane, Proudmane, even Powerstrike who legit said looking at her disabled daughter makes her feel "weak" and Farleap who pulled /r/thathappened shit out of her ass to justify abusing her disabled sister. And this is simply because "sympathetic villains" are all the rage now. That's it. The creator felt it would make her villains "more complex" like the more well-handled examples she no doubt drew inspiration from and this came before hammering down that their actions - particularly abuse and murder - can never be justified or sympathised with. And that's why your argument that "villains have standards" is irrelevant here. Yes, they do. But most of the examples on TVTropes never have their actions diminished or justified through that trope? They are still portrayed as firmly wrong in their actions, especially if those actions concern abuse or murder. It's the same thing with Edge in our comic: yes, he's portrayed as somebody who cares for his kids but... he's still evil and has killed people. Which we choose to bring up and remind the audience of as opposed to just forgetting about it after the first episode like My Pride did. lol - RJ

[myfairkatiecat]

Hi! Dropping this here because I do not have the mental power to make a coherent post:

I may not have a lot of experience with most musicals other than just hearing some of the songs, but "The Pitiful Children" from Be More Chill and "Suddenly Seymour" (but, like, and evil version) from Little Shop of Horrors are very definitely Curtain songs. (Also maybe "Good For You" from DEH)

The energy of "I Don't Need Your Love" from SIX makes me think of Nicholas and Nathaniel, but of course the original lyrics wouldn't work.

"Come Alive" from The Greatest Showman sounds like something that Nicholas/the adults would sing when trying to get people to listen to them about the Emergency, and then also to the kids in the second half. It would be interesting to have Curtain sing "Macavity the Mystery Cat" from Cats as The Sender specifically, before we know who he is.

Curtain would sing "Never Enough" when he was alone in his office, I think, and also I really want him to sing ALL of "Agony" from Into the Woods by himself. He'd so definitely do that.

I really think it'd be hysterical to have Garrison and Curtain sing "A Lovely Night" from La La Land when they're working together. But. Like. Genuinely deadpan. No sarcasm. (Also maybe "It Takes Two" from Into the Woods as he's trying to convince her to put aside her morals and trust him?)

THE EXECUTIVES/MESSENGERS SING "The Jets Song" FROM WEST SIDE STORY

On another DEH note, maybe Reynie sings "If I Could Tell Her" to SQ about his dad.

"A Very Nice Prince" from ItW definitely makes me think of Sticky as he's trying to sort out what to do about Curtain making him a Messenger.

Curtain might sing "Johnny Can't Decide" from Tick, Tick... Boom! when he's still deliberating on whether or not to reform himself and join his brother.

"Santa Fe" from Newsies, of course, is something tiny Nathaniel and Nicholas would sing at the orphanage!

Okay! I know that ended up being about more than just Curtain, so I'm sorry, but I got super excited that I was able to put my sporadic knowledge to use! I hope this was at least somewhat helpful and not totally incoherent, since I am very tired as I write this up. Good luck, and I'm excited to see what you do!

Sophie YOU ARE A GENIUS.

The Pitiful Children DEFINITELY works. And I bet I can make an evil version of Suddenly Seymour as well! Also Good for You from DEH would be an AMAZING Curtain song for when Nicholas gets adopted? “So you got what you always wanted / so you got your dream come true / good for you / got a taste of a life so perfect / so you did what you had to do / good for you” asdfjgksldh

You have suddenly made me want to rewrite all the lyrics to I don’t need your love from six to make it about the Benedict twins—

Come Alive is SUCH a perfect song for trying to wake up the others from the emergency. Maybe I should just made all of TMBS into a musical or something 😂😂

Curtain singing macavity the mystery cat ahflfhakahfjsl

Never enough and Agony are Curtain’s perfect little theater kid solos. I love this idea more than I can phrase.

A Lovely Night, no sarcasm, would be absolutely HYSTERICAL. Especially since Garrison may in fact be a theater kid for my purposes as well… it takes two would also be fantastic.

THE JETS SONG. SOPHIE I LOVE YOU.

Reynie singing SQ “if I could tell her” about his dad 😭 “yes your dad loves you here are a hundred things I’ve noticed make you special” hmmm with some of these ideas I could turn ALL OF TMBS just into an unironic musical

A very nice prince—I would never have thought of that, but you’re totally right!

Curtain Can’t Decide would be an excellent song for him reforming himself AND fits neatly into the idea that Curtain is simply a theater kid.

SANTA FE WHILE THEYRE AT THE ORPHANAGE ASDFGHJKL

Ok Sophie so

Yes some of these were not Curtain

BUT WHAT IF

He uses the whisperer and accidentally gives everyone musical subliminal messages

And then suddenly LIVE is a complete musical for a day

That would be hysterical

I’d just need to get the society in front of a TV like once in order to get the messages into their head, that might be the hardest part, but then it’s all easy bc curtain would SO do that, even on accident.

THANK YOU SOPHIE!!!

[cultivating-wildflowers]

Books of 2023 - November

Still struggling to get through the books I want to read by the end of the year; but, on the plus side, I've marked off a few audiobooks I've had bookmarked on Hoopla!

Total books: 5  |  New reads: 5   |   2023 TBR completed: 0 (0 DNF) / 22/25 total   |   2023 Reading Goal: 85/50

October | December

#1 - The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen - 4/5 stars (audio)

“Hail His Majesty, the scourge of my life."

This was a bit of a surprise! I don't know how this book ended up on my tbr, and I had to force myself to give it 10% before I decided whether or not to dnf it. Fortunately, it became more interesting after a somewhat lackluster opening; and it ended up being a fun story, for all its faults. (And I did NOT like the narrator.)

My biggest complaint had to be the politics. More than once I paused while listening to yell "Really?!?" because so much of that didn't make sense. The nice thing is that the story itself was engaging enough that the fumbled attempts at political intrigue and court customs didn't ruin it, which is kind of miraculous considering it's a story about a treason plot.

I really became engaged once my finely-tuned suspicion was piqued. (Thanks Megan Whalen Turner.) The twists were a little predictable but entirely satisfying. Gonna recommend this one to my sister and brother-in-law.

#2 - To Each This World by Julie E. Czerneda - 4/5 stars (audio)

*content warnings for mild language and sexual content*

This book grabbed me from the first page. The exposition and world-building were well-balanced, especially considering all of the background and technology that needed to be coherently introduced. It may have been easier to physically read this one with all of the unfamiliar terms and name structures (I felt the same way with The Goblin Emperor); and one of the three narrators did a horrible job differentiating between characters when there was heavy dialogue. (The other two narrators were fantastic.) It was an entertaining read with just the right amount of twists to keep me guessing.

Also, I love it when an author's personal interests shine through like they did here (Czerneda is a biologist).

#3 - System Collapse by Martha Wells - 4/5 stars (audio)

Another fun installment! Personally I rank it near Fugitive Telemetry in terms of plot. Felt to me more like a bridge book than its own adventure. Some of that might be on me; I was really struggling to pay attention to this one.

Pros: Tarik! And major character development for Murderbot.

Cons: Not nearly enough of Three.

#4 - The Riverman by Aaron Starmer - 3/5 stars (audio)

Skim the reviews for this book and you’ll notice a theme: “Wait…. What???”

This book started out strong, tripped on its own shoelaces a couple of chapters in, and fell flat on its face. It then spent almost the rest of the story trying to convince you it was the cat’s fault—when there isn’t even a cat.

Why does the 12-year-old protagonist read as 15? Why do all of the reveals come out of left field with as much foreshadowing as a shadow puppet dog? How were there so many characters and yet almost no genuine human interactions between them? How does a person lose an index, middle, and ring finger but NOT the pinky or thumb on the same hand? Why was the story giving off fantasy signals at the start when it apparently meant to be magical realism/horror with way more ambiguity than it had earned? Was it set in the 80’s just to keep the main characters from conveniently googling all of their questions? HOW DOES A PERSON SPEND TWELVE YEARS ALL ALONE IN A MAGICAL WORLD AND STILL NEED ONE CONVERSATION WITH AN EXTREMELY CONFUSED CHILD TO FIGURE OUT THE BIG REVEAL??? Was she sitting on her hands talking to chartreuse giraffes for that entire period?

The most frustrating thing to me was that there was so much potential here, so many angles we could have explored, so many places we could have dropped a few clues; yet the portal fantasy aspect was blander than a cheese sandwich and Alistair’s obtuseness was the only thing keeping the real world story thread tangled long enough to make a book out of it.

#5 - The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings - 4/5 stars (audio)

I was about 80% of the way through this book, really enjoying it because I'd come across the audiobook and the narrator was great and it was a cozy, kind of idyllic, slice-of-life little classic and bam.

Told a friend what I was reading and she responded instantly with "oh I HATE that book".

And I realized I was definitely holding a tragedy in my hands. I'd suspected as much, but I didn't want to believe it. Now the question was how would that last 20% go down.

My friends, it went down like honey with a Worcestershire sauce chaser.

Of all of the ways I might have guessed it would end, I was honestly hoping for something more like Where the Red Fern Grows. And I expected it to happen a little sooner than right at the very end (minus what? a chapter?). Pain upon pain, woe upon woe.

I didn't hate it by any means. 98% of it I loved. It's just not quite what I was expecting and I'm still recovering from that.

DNF

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (tr. Ken Liu) - Solid writing and an interesting premise, but not my cup of tea.

[jocelynships]

I'd love a run-down of why your favourite characters are your favourites (note: doesn't have to be coherent) and maybe a few recs/tips on how to get started with the overall canon, if you don't mind?

Oh MAN where do I begin?

Okay so I adore so many of the characters, but Shadow and Silver are probably two of my favorites!

This is gonna be a long one so I'm putting everything under a readmore lol

Okay, lemme talk about Shadow first:

He's like. My favorite, FAVORITE Sonic character ever. I get that he's the "edgy" one, but he has so much depth to him and sometimes even SEGA themselves kind of forget that. Sometimes he's just written as a straight up jerk, but listen. If you watched your best friend get killed right in front of you, plummeted down to earth IMMEDIATELY after, then are manipulated by the grandson of the guy who created you to help him carry out his deeds for world domination, you're gonna be a bit bitter.

But honestly Shadow's backstory gets me. His best friend, Maria Robotnik, was a sickly young girl who he was originally created by Maria's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, as part of a way to find a cure for the rare disease she had. They have this really sweet sibling bond and I love them so much. She was born on this ship called Space Colony ARK, and due to her illness she wasn't able to go down to earth. For some reason, living in space like slowed the conditions of her illness? But Shadow was part of a project that would help find a cure for it. Unfortunately, the government got involved, deemed Shadow a threat, and shut the project down, and killed Maria in the process.

Before she died, she got Shadow in an escape pod and begged him to protect the people of earth, since it was always her dream to live on earth. And 50 years later, he's found by Eggman, or Ivo Robotnik. And Eggman wants to take over the world. So he pretty much manipulates Shadow into doing his bidding, but at the end of the day, Shadow joins Sonic and friends and saves the day.

And despite it all, while he's still an anti-hero, does what he thinks he has to do to achieve his goals, even if it's maybe not the BEST way, he still genuinely cares about Maria and keeps her promise. Poor kid's just traumatized and has gone through the ringer. But he DOES have a heart, despite what people say. He may not say it, but he definitely cares about his friends and I think he does care for Sonic in a way, despite them being rivals.

I could go on and on and on about how much I love Shadow, but this would get so much longer than it already is lol.

Now for Silver:

The ultimate son boy. Best boy. Sunshine boy. I love him, and despite his first appearence, he's utterly hellbent on killing Sonic because he thinks he's the bad guy, Silver is a huge sweetheart.

Silver is actually from the future, and it's... not a good one. His first Appearance was Sonic 06, which is... very infamous. The game sadly got rushed and isn't the best game, but I think it has a pretty decent storyline for Shadow and Silver. For Sonic... it could have been better. But Silver's whole thing is finding a way to save the future from becoming this bleak and dark place. And unfortunately, he also gets manipulated by Mephiles the Dark into trying to kill Sonic. And for most of the game, that's Silver's one and only goal. However he starts rethinking everything and wondering if he's actually doing the right thing. Eventually he finds out the truth, joins Sonic and Co. and saves the day!

However the events of Sonic 06 technically don't happen. Kind of bullshit if you ask me. Especially since he had this adorable friendship with Blaze the Cat (who is also really cool), but the altered timeline made them not know each other. However, they do end up getting close again! I shipped them pretty hardcore when I was younger, and tbh. Still kind of do.

But overall, Silver is a big sweetheart, and he is a little naive and insecure at times, he has the best intentions at heart and I truly think he's a very solid character and if they ever brought him into the movies, I would flip out. He deserves to have more of the spotlight!

Now for getting started with the franchise, there's a LOT of videos on YouTube that can explain the Sonic lore, and while you can definitely look into the old Sonic games from the Sega Genesis, I recommend starting with the Sonic Adventure games! They're not directly related to each other, so you can go straight to SA2, but I do recomment looking into SA1, just because it is genuinely a fun game (except for Big's fishing levels... love you, Big, but your game play was confusing). But I HIGHLY recommend looking into SA2, especially before watching the third Sonic movie whenever that comes out.

After that, I would look into Sonic Heroes (tbh. my fave Sonic game), Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic 06. Then Sonic Generations. There are more games in between 06 and Generations, but I think these games will give you the best introduction to most of the characters. I would also say the Sonic Advanced and Sonic Rush games are good to look into as well.

You can find the cutscenes for pretty much any Sonic game on youtube, that's how I "watched" them if I didn't have them.

Then games I like but you don't NEED to play them because they tie into the bigger story are Sonic Unleashed and the Sonic Riders series. Then Sonic and the Secret Rings, then The Black Knight are fun too!!

Also watch Sonic X! It's a genuinely good show despite what people say. And if you want some good laughs, Sonic Boom is great. I was surprised at how much it made me laugh, and actually got me to like the VAs since I used to be deadset on the 4kids cast (In my defense, I was 12 when the cast changed and didn't know anything about it until I got Sonic Colors for Christmas that year, and when Sonic and Tails sounded drastically different, I lost my shit. I love Roger and Colleen so fucking much now though!)

And then the IDW comics are apparently really good! I haven't read them yet because I'm trying to get into the TMNT comics as well and I'm overwhelmed on which to start haha. But my boyfriend reads them and loves them!

Again, I adore talking about Sonic so please feel free to send in more questions, or even DM me! If you want I can even give you my discord!

And that actually goes for anyone. You want Sonic or TMNT info? Don't hesitate to ask! I'll give whatever info I can!!!

[twenty-words-or-less]

Top 5 Best Films of 2019

Okay, so I don't normally do this, but I've seen so many films this year that I thought I would summarise them by making top 5 lists. This one deals with my top 5 best (or favourite) films of the year.

IMPORTANT: I shall keep these as spoiler-free and short as I can.

5. Midsommar

A film that feels like it was made by a 50+y/o European that was actually made by a 30+y/o American. I initially thought it was kind of 'eh'. However, it did lodge in my head, and the more I thought about it and the more analyses I read/ watched, the more I liked it. It grew on me much like grass grew on our poor beleaguered protagonist in the numerous hallucinations she has over the course of the film.

4. Booksmart

Like the female answer to Superbad only with zero period jokes (thank fuck). Legitimately funny, rewatchable, and the lead characters have great chemistry. Shame that only ten people saw it, but roughly seven of those people - including [REDACTED] and I - enjoyed it immensely. Special mention goes to Billie Lourd, who was a fucking delight to watch in every scene she was in.

3. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

A coherent, beautiful-looking action film that manages to be as good as its predecessors, which is highly unusual in a film series. I still care about the characters at this point, and I'd be happy to follow these characters through many more installments.

2. Doctor Sleep

The only TRULY good 2019 Stephen King adap, do not @ me. Despite one incredibly distressing scene, I would probably buy this on DVD or at least rewatch it. It's good to see Ewan McGregor get work again, especially as a ravaged, PTSD-ridden Dan Torrance, and it's fantastic to see Rebecca Ferguson get good work after the shitstorm that was "The Snowman" and the dull-as-fuck, grossly overrated "The Greatest Showman". Again, it's a shame that only five people saw it (basically). Genuinely good film.

Honourable mentions before we get to my #1, in no particular order:

Ready or Not: Samara Weaving gives it her all in this blackly comic slasher. I want to see her in more things. Also, on a more superficial note, her wedding dress in this was really pretty, even ripped to shreds and completely soaked in blood.

Crawl: A surprisingly good creature feature that was an absolute blast to watch. Also, the dog lives, which I am very happy about.

Knives Out: the best thing Rian Johnson has done since Looper. Strong cast and beautiful to look at (the film, I mean, not the cast), even if I did get a little lost near the end. Oh, and it automatically improves lad culture if you change the title to Get Your Knives Out For The Lads.

Child's Play: a remake that actually managed to update the setting and keep the things that made the original, well, the original? Holy shit. Also, the end credits song is incredibly catchy.

Avengers: Endgame: as anyone who knows me knows, I'm a slut for superhero films. Long as this was, it stuck the landing; it was a 3hr thank you for sticking with the franchise despite most of the films being 'eh'. Also, I LOVED Cap's ending, just saying.

And now, the most important one...

1. Brightburn

Or as I like to call it, We Need To Talk About Kal-El. Jackson A. Dunn was uncannily perfect for the titular role and the gore effects were fantastic (the car scene in particular). It works as a standalone film and the groundwork for any sequels, which I would happily go and watch, btw. I'd been looking forward to this for months, and I got exactly what I wanted from it. End of.

Whew, this turned out to be longer than I anticipated! Thanks for reading if you made it to the end. This has been my top 5 best; I shall post my top 5 worst later today (I'm seeing "Cats", and I anticipate it making the list). 🎵 Stay tuuuned... 🎵

~Mikey

[softguarnere]

Hi, Dove! I saw that you’ve been doing ships, and I wanted to try it! I've never done this before, so I'm a little nervous, but this seemed like fun and I’ve had a tough week at work soooo yeah (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

I’m Amber, she/her, from Louisiana. I’m around 5’8 and I have brown eyes and curly brown hair.

I’m an introvert, and it takes a while for me to feel comfortable around people, but once I do I’m pretty talkative and full of sarcasm and pop culture references. I’m also a terrible procrastinator (even with things that I want to do??? Idk) and a perfectionist; if i don’t think I can do something perfectly I just don’t do it at all, which is something that I’m really trying to work on. My love language is words of affirmation. If someone pays me a genuine compliment I will think about it for days! I’m an Enneagram type 9 (Peacemaker). I have a VERY hard time telling people ‘no’ and sometimes agree to do things just to keep others happy, another thing that I’m trying to work on.

I spend my free time watching tv/movies, reading, and making gifs. I always carry a book with me, in case I have a spare minute to read. I’ve been told that I’m a dramatic reader, I can’t keep my reactions to myself and I end up with people asking me what’s happening in my book! However, I’ve mastered my poker face when I read fanfiction 😌 I love driving places because I can have concerts in my car, although I’d rather have someone drive me around and just let me sing… I buy new journals and planners every year, sometimes multiple a year, but I’m not the best at actually using them….I just love how pretty they are and how put together they make me feel when I do use them!

I’m a teacher of two year olds at a childcare center, so my day is full of loud/energetic toddlers! I love my job, and while I do hope to be a mom one day, I’m also very happy when I get to go home to the quiet and my cat! I attend church every Sunday, and I also teach children’s church on Wednesday nights.

Ok, that’s all I can think of to put about myself….I hope this rambling is somewhat coherent! Thank you for taking the time to do this and for sharing your writing!! 🥰

Hi Amber! Thank you so much, I'm so glad that you've enjoyed what I've shard so far 🥰 I love your gifs, so I feel like I'm talking to a celebrity rn hehe 🙈 I'm sorry that you've had a tough week, and I hope it gets better soon! Sending some positive vibes your way ✨

I ship you with . . .

Joseph Liebgott!

I am once again on my introverts with extroverts agenda because I stand by it! When y'all first meet, he would be so determined to see if he could bring you out of your shell. And when he does he would just immediately be so head over heals for you. You guys would have so many inside jokes, and he's thrilled that someone finally gets all his witty references

He would be so supportive of all your endeavors, especially if it's something that you want to do but keep putting off (as someone whose executive dysfunction constantly holds her back, I really feel your pain babe!) One of his main love languages is touch, so if you need it he'll just kind of hold you and softly tell you positive affirmations until you feel like you're at a good place to get going, or at least to start

And omgggg, this man would be throwing compliments at you left and right, especially when you first meet, just because he knows it gets to you and he loves the way you light up when he does it

No but Joe is actually pretty good at communicating what he wants and needs, and that's the hill I will die on. If he sees that you're having a hard time telling someone no, he would be so willing to step in for you and make sure that you don't agree to something that you don't want to do

We all know he likes to read comics, but when you get together his favorite hobby becomes reading comics while he holds you. (Actually, maybe just holding you is his favorite hobby) Either way, if you're lying together on the couch to read, he feels like he's on cloud nine, just because it's so peaceful and makes him feel content. Sometimes he doesn't even read -- he just watches you read because he loves watching how expressive you are

He's a great driver. Does he sometimes get a little angry at everyone else on the road? Yeah, but he drives for a living, so we'll let him have this. Sometimes he gets fed up with driving and wishes that he could just stay home instead, especially if he has to drive out of his way for something on one of his days off. But if you're in the car, he can't even get mad at anyone, because he's too busy trying to sing duets with you, or letting you put on your own personal concert for him. Those are the moments when he thinks he might actually like driving, just because he gets to have fun with you

Okay but I feel like one day you pick up a journal, determined to finally use it, and your heart just drops because omg there's writing in it? Did I accidentally buy a used one somehow? But then you realize it's Lieb's handwriting, and he's written down little notes and drawn little doodles/comics so that you can enjoy them while you're working

Omg he would love your job and how passionate you are about working with kids. After all, he knows that he wants to be a dad some day. He definitely listens to you tell stories about funny things your kids have said and done and it just kinda makes his heart glow because he knows that if you guys decide to have kids that you would be an amazing mom, and he would be so excited to go on that journey with you

Thank you so much for the request! I hope you liked this 💕🕊️

[burningthetree]

Ooooooh for the Tea Writing Asks -- Ginger, Peppermint, and Earl Grey!

Cat <3 thank you for making me talk about my writing!! Much love to you mwah

ginger – most challenging part of my WIP

Either stringing the multiple POVs together to make one coherent story, or keeping track of where everyone is geographically & mentally. There is so much going on in my current sakuatsu fic that I have to keep track of it all on a map to not get lost myself, and it's a little overwhelming at times because I only have very limited time for it

peppermint – my favourite way to overcome writer's block

I like to go on a walk and step away from my laptop to think about where I want to go with my story. Usually, walking helps me clear my mind and get rid of the stress that piles up when I get stuck, and going outside almost always allows me to destress. Most often, this helps best when I'm stuck because of lack of motivation. If I'm stuck because I genuinely don't know what to write and I cannot figure out after mindmapping a bit, I try to switch POVs because that often helps get me out of a character's mindset and start anew. Sometimes, I also literally force myself to write one sentence at a time no matter how much I struggle with that, and while it is frustrating and aggravating, it often ends up being incredibly rewarding when I've managed to continue writing. If all of this fails, I resort to editing what has already been written. That helps refresh my memory and realise how much I've written already which usually inspires me to continue. Even if it doesn't end up inspiring me, I'll still have been productive without continuing the overall plot but by polishing the already existing text. And most important of all, I try not to beat myself up for being stuck but simply accept it, no matter how angry it might make me.

earl grey – favourite quote from my WIP

OOF. This is DIFFICULT. I have to go back and reread parts because I genuinely cannot think of one off the top of my head.

Nothing was a constant element in his life, but always fleeting and painfully ephemeral, no place on earth was destined to be his home, and as if no person on this planet was to become his friend, let alone his family.

I was too lazy to go through my WIP so I went through the comments instead. It just reflects the state of the world for many people and how precious memories are, but at the same time, how they are painful and difficult to cope with. Simultaneously, it shows the ties of being alone and wanting to be alone to avoid getting hurt whilst yearning for company and human companionship and, perhaps, love, whether it be platonic or romantic.