#I like to think it works like Sophie being old in Howls moving castle

[noodles-and-tea]

Returning home

[shebsart]

Ok I don't wanna be a joykill but I've been seeing a lot of posts about how Sophie made Howl and the Witch get together but that is not true. So I made a rough timeline.

First of all, in order for Sophie's magic hat to work, the Witch or Howl would have to wear it but the first and most likely the only time The Witch visits Sophie's shop is AFTER Howl already jilted her, because she is looking for information about him at this point. She puts a spell on Sophie thinking she is Lettie, whom Suliman-Justin mix(the dog man) cares about. Because he witholds information about Howl from her. (plus the witch has heard sophie works powerful magic so thats two birds one stone)

Second, Howl met the Witch a year before the main events but it doesn't add up with the time Sophie speaks this to the hat:

This is during Sophie is alone at the hat shop after Martha and Lettie left.

Howl later says this(which is hardly a month after May Day):

she says this on May Day:

Sophie has been working at the shop by herself for a few months before May Day, and around a week later she meets the Witch.(she says at least 3 days to around a week has passed after speaking to Martha on May Day)

Anyway here is the rough timeline of the main events:

1. The Witch threatens Princess Valeria, The King sends Suliman to her and he's caught by the Witch (a year prior the main events)

2. A few months later, Howl is possibly looking for Suliman and he meets the Witch in the process:

that's around the same time Howl settles his moving castle on Market Chipping Hills (this is a little while before Sophie's dad dies and the sisters go their seperate ways):

We actually don't knoew when exactly he made the moving castle or why, but if Michael is correct it's after Howl jilts the Witch:

buut Howl doesn't say anything about that so I assume he made it for convenience and to escape the responsibilities of being a good wizard lol but let me know if i'm missing something (to me, the castle phsically moving is only for the appearances, it doesn't actually do any good for running away from anyone. the real trick is the multiple portals and settlements of the castle)

3. around this time Prince Justin goes after Suliman

ok so when justin and count are looking for suliman, sophie is working at the hat shop because count meets jane when she was wearing sophie's hat

4. May Day comes, Sophie meets Howl without knowing it's him.

5. around 7-10 days later, The Witch visits Sophie's shop and puts a spell on her. She leaves the shop and enters Howl's castle on the hills.

6. Her stay at the Castle is around 1,5 months

she enters the castle on lets say 8-9th of May, until Howl's curse comes true on Midsummer's Day (which is mid july)

-Oh and, speaking of a common misconception, Howl didn't buy the guitar to impress girls, he thought it was related to Suliman somehow because it also came from Wales (so did the skull and Suliman). According to Calcifer, he uses it to impress girls but im not sure if that's true entirely:

So when he takes his guitar with him, he is probably looking for Justin and Suliman, maybe he thinks the guitar would help finding them. But probably it also works with the ladies so it doesn't hurt kfdls

-The Witch did curse Howl for jilting her, but she wasn't looking for him only because of that. She wanted his head (the second most powerful wizard next to her most likely) for her frankenstein's monster to rule with her dksl. Same with Suliman. She probably didn't want Mrs. Pentstemmon because she was also old and wasn't much use to her anymore. Or maybe Mrs Pentstemmon wasn't showing any weaknesses to the Witch which made it hard to capture her. not sure

[what-eats-owls]

Show vs Tell, Or: Please Stop Making Things Difficult for Yourself

I said a while ago that I'd write a brief essay about the most misused craft advice in writing once I wrote 10k words, and for once I actually held myself to that! So now, I'm here to tell you about Show vs Tell, or why people make it more complicated than it needs to be.

First, a basic primer for anyone who hasn't heard this term before: "Show vs Tell"/"Showing vs Telling" refers to "showing" the audience information instead of "telling" it to them. You may be thinking, gosh, that sounds unspecific to the point of being readily misapplied, and you would certainly be right! Lots of folks throw it around without fully grasping what it means, how to use it, or when it doesn't actually apply. And I'd really like everyone to stop making it harder on themselves when there's a very straightforward way to conceptualize it.

So for starters, Chuck Palahniuk has an old but good essay about eliminating "thought" verbs from prose that holds the hell up. But I'm going to tell you an even simpler way to conceptualize the difference between showing and telling:

Eliminate the inner thoughts entirely.

Ask yourself, if my narrator's interior monologue was inaccessible to the audience, how would I convey the same information—literally showing it?

Forget for a moment that your medium is the word, and imagine you only have dialogue and visuals. If this was taking place on the screen or in a graphic novel, how would you convey that this character has a crush on someone in their class? That they're hotheaded? That they're struggling with a decision?

Here's a perfect example of this from the opening scene of Howl's Moving Castle.

Devoid of context, we have a girl trying on a hat in a mirror, and also trying on a fake smile. Then her expression sours and she pulls the hat down over her face until we can only see her frown. She's wearing a plain dress and the hat is simple, despite the elaborate hats and ornaments on display around her.

You don't have to know anything about this character to understand what's being conveyed in this moment: This girl is deeply uncomfortable with trying to be pretty and flirty, but in the safety of privacy she wants that, even though she feels inept and self-conscious about it. She's in this world, but she's not part of it. Even brushing up against it for a moment makes her shut down and reject it with hostility.

More importantly, it's all communicated with a simple gesture and design choices. Not by Sophie thinking to herself, I wish someone would take me dancing—no I don't! I work too hard to have time for dancing!

That's showing. And it's more resonant, because we've all felt silly trying something on in a mirror! Or, say, if you want to show a character has a crush, having them get flustered and laughing too loud. Or showing that they're a hothead by having them snap at a simple disagreement, etc. etc.

This also extends to worldbuilding, dialogue, and stakes.

Worldbuilding: If your story is set in a town run by a crooked sheriff, you could have the narrator say "everyone knows Sheriff Smith is squeezing the shops for bribes." Or the sheriff can stop the narrator for "smelling like weed" while the sheriff's drunken son speeds by, about to total his third BMW.

Dialogue: If your character is angry, they can say "I'm furious." Or they can slam dishes in the sink and insist "I'm not angry" while openly crying. They can snap "I'm not discussing this again." They can demand "What is he doing here?"

Stakes: You can have an all-seeing oracle say "If you do not return the Mystic Orb to the Sunlight Altar by the solstice, the world will plunge forever into darkness." (And as we'll get into it below, sometimes you actually need that.) You can also have intermittent but increasing periods of total darkness occurring as the party travels to the Sunlight Altar. You can have the Mystic Orb start cracking the longer it takes, and the sun getting a little dimmer with every fracture. You can have people's shadows growing bigger and bigger and acting autonomously.

But showing isn't the end-all-be-all; telling absolutely has a place. Sometimes it's better to quickly and plainly state information and move on, such as a little earlier in the scene, when the other hat shop girls have spotted Howl's castle:

"Look, it's Howl's castle!"

"I've never seen it so close!"

“Do you think Howl will go into town?”

“He’s gone!”

“No, he’s just hiding in the fog from those planes.”

“Did you hear what happened to that girl, Martha, in South Haven? They say Howl has torn her heart out.”

“Now I’m too scared to go out!”

“Don’t worry. He only preys on pretty girls.”

This tells us some stuff directly: Who owns the castle we see in the first few seconds, that he's hiding from soldiers, that he has a reputation for preying on beautiful girls. We can infer also that he's a bit of a coward, he stays away from civilization, and that his reputation for cruelty has spread over multiple regions.

This happens so quickly, and it's couched in enough character between the teasing and the gossip, that it doesn't stand out as capital-t-Telling. That's exactly what expository dialogue should do. "Showing" us all that information would take a lot of screen time that can be saved in ten seconds of dialogue.

It's also not just about saving time; it's setting up an image that Howl initially fulfills when he helps Sophie escape the soldiers... only to be punctured when she actually goes to his castle and sees the real Howl. Telling is good for setting expectations that you know will be subverted later.

So yeah, tl;dr: If you're tied up in knots about "am I showing?? am I telling??" just ask yourself how you'd convey the same information in a movie or graphic novel, without access to interior monologue, and evaluate if that'd be better. Most of the time the answer is yes, but not always!

[cautiouslyyyoptimistic]

I find it funny to think that the usual set-up for a howl's moving castle au wouldn't work for the bingqiu pairing with Luo Binghe as Howl and Shen Qingqiu as Sophie because Shen Qingqiu would fucking love being an old man. He already acts like one normally. Now he looks the part and doesn't have to deal with people's crap anymore? He is sold.

[letters-to-rosie]

another fic idea: the timebomb Howl's Moving Castle AU

Ekko's Moving Treehouse!

blatantly inspired by @redrum-alice's FANTASTIC artwork and developed in collaboration with @lullabyes22-blog, because I've been fawning over the art since it was posted and I just knew there had to be a way this could work because it was so cute and the potential just jumped off the page for me

(you've probably seen it but go look at it if you haven't it's so good)

me and Lullabyes have both read the book and seen the movie, so we combined a lot of ideas from both versions, and this is the result so far:

so Silco is the Witch of the Waste lol

Jinx's curse turns her eyes pink (and they stay that way, like Sophie's hair turning white!)

our girl is on a journey of ✨self-discovery✨ and to find her family. Silco does not understand why and just wants her to come home for dinner lol

instead of happening upon Ekko, Jinx goes looking for him because she heard there's a wizard wandering around who helps people

Ekko's castle is a treehouse, and the roots walk!

Jinx: "What a stupid way to treat a tree!" DX (a book line lol)

Jinx keeps arguing with the curse and it weirds Ekko out but she's just arguing with Silco lol

Ekko is a big grump because he gave his heart away to protect it after so much loss 😭

Jinx does not clean his house. she just redecorates. she draws on everything, including the Wall of the Fallen, and Ekko is thisssss close to strangling her at all times but he's promised to help

Jinx: "Ya gotta inject some levity into this narrative!" /casually breaks 4th wall

Silco's henchpeople keep showing up and Ekko fights them off but they're just trying to get Jinx to come back for dinner

Silco: "Discover? What are you discovering? Gold? Dinner's getting cold!"

at some point Jinx will have to cut up Ekko's clothes mwahaha

Ekko has the Slime Meltdown™ because Jinx breaks his hoverboard and he needs to be airborne and free or else there's no point in living

Heimerdinger is Madame Sullivan/Suliman, Ekko's old magic teacher who tells Jinx she's a witch like in the book 🪄

he even has the intro that makes him appear all spooky at first before his furball nature is revealed

maybe instead of giving life to things she animates machines???

they have a cute breakfast scene in Ekko's treehouse where Jinx eats real fruit the first time

Vi leaves a flare lit for Jinx all this time, and Ekko helps her find it

we didn't discuss this, but I think it would be interesting if Vi was Turnip Head, trying to communicate through Jinx throughout the story and maybe pushing her into situations that she doesn't really want (which has to do with how we're imagining the ending; Vander could also be Warwick instead and serve the same purpose???? wait I'm cooking here)

I also want Ajuna to be Michael/Markl lol

the end of the story sees Jinx decide to be true to herself; even though she knows that Silco and Vi both love her, she's gotta do her own thing

despite being super annoying lol she helps Ekko live in the moment and get his heart back, and they fall for each other and it's mushy as hell okay

"She's like very decorative lichen growing on his tree and he can't get rid of her, so by the story's end she's just become part of the natural treescape."

and at the end they keep traveling in the treehouse to see the world and help people and so Jinx can come into her witch powers

probably would be easy to insert all the war themes

Jinx coming into her own and being cute, Ekko learning to love again after this woman just barges into his life, family themes, romance, what more could we want???

[fumifooms]

Howl’s moving castle dunmeshi AU

I’ve cracked the code I know why I love Marcille x Chilchuck so much. They’re literally just like Howl’s Moving Castle Howl and Sophie. Okok indulge me for a sec I’m about to dump so many pics and ramble for a bit. I want you to see my marchil vision. It’s fabulous extra cringefail hopeless romantic drama queen x grumpy old sad angry caring hardworking person cursed to be here & cursing fate and giving tough love to everything in a miles radius. No one is safe. From either of them. Calcifer or Micheal is Izutsumi. Wait wait no Calcifer is Senshi and Michael is Izutsumi. Senshi as Calcifer works bc Calcifer is just chained to Howl and is there reminding Howl to not die and take care of himself, giving hints about how to break the curse to Sophie, also the fire demon cooks the eggs and bacon checkmate. And then LAIOS IS TURNIP HEAD OH MY GOD THAT WORKS OUT PERFECTLY. Chilchuck & Marcille, screaming terrified of the weird scarecrow chasing after them, meanwhile the weird scarecrow that’s harmless: :(. Wizard Suliman is Falin and the second fire demon is Winged Lion, so bam everything comes full circle.

I’m assuming most people who’ll see this post maybe saw the movie but not the book, and what you need to know is that the movie makes Howl so much dreamier and collected and cool, whereas in the book he’s just a drama queen 24/7 that’s it. He’s a wet cat dressed in expensive sparkly glittery gowns that needs to be yelled at to do anything he needs to do. He complains. He bemoans. Meanwhile Sophie is, honestly pretty like in the movie? Less contrarian and anger issues but will grumble and yells while cleaning nonetheless. Hardworking but will pathetically sit down on a chair in a dark corner to cry about her aching bones and OHH this is ALL because she’s the eldest child and she was doomed for unhappiness and no one can ever love her… So she’ll whack everyone into order and purge her feelings through aggressive cleaning and using weed killer. IS THIS NOT GIVING MARCILLE & CHIL TO YOU?!

There’s this funny widespread take from the fandom:

And it couldn’t be more true in a marchil context either. Like come on. For all of this post just swap the names of Howl for Marcille and Sophie for Chilchuck.

(Last one with the art by Cookiekappa on Tumblr)

Tell me this isn’t so Marcille. Tell me Chil wouldn’t run away from home thinking he’s failed life and is no longer in shape to work and now has to waddle in self-pity, seeking out wizards which he hates and finds shady bc it’s his last option, and then end up a maid & cleans everything out of spite and also worry for the person living there. Tell me Marcille wouldn’t throw a depressed slime tantrum so bad that it causes a partial town evacuation because her wails summon unknown horrors, over her HAIR. Forget slime she’d blow up the house instantly. She would breakdance as refusal to go see the king. Chilchuck would call her a slitherer-outer and she would gasp in offense and they’d have a fight.

Marcille having full on poems laying around and then Chil & Izu seeing them and being like "Ah yes, this must be a spell, it makes no sense and is so extra, just like how silly our resident witch and her magic is". Izutsumi going "Okay peepaw I’ll teach you how to use a magical bucket just take one step forward-" and they immediately fuck it up and they’re left stranded in far unknown lands. Chilchuck complaining that HIS BACK HURTS. And at every turn or something mildly inconveniencing him "NOTHING GOOD EVER HAPPENS TO THE MIDDLE CHILD".

And can we talk about the aging motif, the curse… Marcille never letting herself grow close to someone even though she does all these grand gestures for them at first. Meanwhile her fear of loss stares at her straight in the eye whenever she looks at 90 years old Chilchuck, and her deciding to not run away from their relationship is what ends up healing both of them. She gets over her fear of intimacy and he grows over feeling like a terribly dull unlovable failure. Me sobbing when I remember how Sophie’s curse of being old is a self-inflicted manifestation of herself thinking she’s romantically unlovable and weak…….

This is it for now but rest assured that I want to make art of this, have these memes for now

[thequietkid-moonie]

Moonie's works in progress!

Here is the list of fics soon to be posted! If you are specially interested on any of them you can tell me, i will love to know

You can make a donation on ko-fi to make your request be posted as soon as posible!

WIPS counter: 69

× My hero academia

In love with their childhood friend (Izuku & Bakugo)

× Shuumatsu no Valkyrie

Sudden confesion from their carefree crush (Jack, Tesla)

Overhearing their crush admiting having feelings for them (Jack)

Meeting again his easily scared childhood friend (Tesla)

NSFW headcanons w/ Poseidon

Shy and chubby S/O hides behind him (Tesla)

Weaker!S/O tries to protect them (Tesla, Thor)

S/O in great danger (Thor, Tesla)

× Komi-san can't communicate

Sudden confesion from their carefree crush (Hitohito)

× Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon

S/O has trust issues because of family problems (Usagi, Rei)

Sailor Scouts with a crush (Michiru, Haruka, Setsuna, Hotaru)

Falling in love with their best friend (Ami, Minako)

× Puella Magi Madoka Magica

S/O constantly suffers from nightmares (Sayaka)

Finding reader's old photos (Madoka, Mami)

× Card Captor Sakura

Intimidating S/O gets clumsy and blushy around her (Sakura)

× Spy x Family

Their child calls them out for being overprotective (Loid & Yor)

× Kaguya-sama Love is war

Helping reader after a self-harm relapse (Shirogane)

× Romantic Killer

Horror fan S/O likes scaring others (Anzu, Junta, Tsukasa, Hijiri)

× Your lie in April

Sudden confesion from their carefree crush (Kousei)

× Ouran High School Host Club

A bet for your heart (Hikaru & Kaoru )

× My Dress-Up Darling

Lipstick kisses (Marin)

× Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Stealing kisses (Tohru)

NSFW headcanons w/ Fafnir

× Devilman Crybaby

Giving up but not loving them (Akira, Ryo)

× Ousama Ranking

Their little sibling call them out for being overprotective (Desha, Despa & Ouken)

× One Punch Man

Being like a family (Metal Bat & Seiko)

× A condition called love

Sudden confesion from their carefree crush (Hotaru)

× Brand New Animal

Late night confession (Shirou)

× Gakkou Gurashi!

Sudden confesion from their carefree crush (Kurumi)

× Magic Knight Rayeart

Helping their friend with their transition (Hikaru, Umi & Fuu)

× Howl's Moving Castle

Blind!S/O is always able to recognize them (Howl, Sophie)

× Clannad

Their crush is always taking care of stray animals (Nagisa, Okazaki)

Playing in the snow together (Kotomi)

× Ranma 1/2

Being the most beautiful person in their S/O's eyes (Akane, Ukyo)

Accidentally seeing their crush!best friend changing (f!Ranma, Akane)

× Danganronpa

S/O admit to wants to marry them in the future (Makoto)

× Omori

Comfortable date in a cold night (Sunny)

× Doki Doki Literature Club

Unrequited feelings for their best friend (Monika, Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki)

Loving someone they rejected in the past (Monika, Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki)

Poly relasionship headcanons (Monika, Sayori, Yuri & Natsuki)

× The Legend of Zelda

With the same crush (Link & Groose)

× Honkai Star Rail

Little things they do when they are in love (Argenti, Boothill)

Their best friend is their biggest supporter (Argenti)

Darling loves them just the way they are (Kafka, Ruan Mei)

Cheerful darling is full of life (Silver Wolf)

The last dance under the moonlight (Gallagher)

NSFW headcanons w/ Argenti

[ SUGGESTIVE ] The morning after (Aventurine)

Loving someone who's so close and yet so far (Sunday)

Everyone thinks you two are already together (Serval, Robin)

× Little goody two shoes

His favorite Golden Maiden (Ozzy)

Giving them a hug in sign of forgiveness (Freya)

With a supportive and understanding darling (Elise)

× Pocket Mirror GoldenerTraum

Giving them a hug in sign of forgiveness (Harpae)

× Reverse 1999

With an autistic darling (Tennant, Tooth Fairy)

Poly relasionship headcanons (Vertin & Sonetto)

Dating a high member of Manus Vindictae (Diggers)

× Genshin Impact

Darling loves them just the way they are (Furina)

Cheerful darling is full of life (Furina, Kuki Shinobu)

× Zenzless Zone Zero

Friends with benefits w/ Burnice White

Jealousy headcanons (Nicole, Jane)

Being a father figure for teen!reader (Lighter)

× Xenoblade Chronicles

Randomly telling them "i love you" (Melia, Shulk)

Finally confesing after a lot of failed attempts (Zeke)

[ SUGGESTIVE ] Being too embarrased to admit wanting to do it (Morag)

Taking care of their deceased enemy's child (Wulfric)

Their crush thinks they will never be loved (Vale)

Reader sacrifice themselfs to protect him (Nial)

Parenting headcanons (Vandham)

Reader sacrifice themselfs to protect her (Poppi)

Surprising reader with a birthday gift (Alvis)

A bet for a date (Mikhail)

× Persona 3

S/O makes a lot of self-depracation jokes (Akihiko, Mitsuru, Shinjiro)

Lipstick kisses (Mitsuru)

Not forgetting him until the end (Ryoji)

Sneaking to see her crush (Aigis)

[rorywritesjunk]

Be gentle with yourself as you uncover Your best kept secrets yet to be discovered

Buggy meets an infamous pirate who dabbles in magic that everyone seems to be after, but they only have eyes for Buggy. Why is he so special? Rating: PGish. Warning: None. Buggy is just grumpy. He is the character of Sophie but also still Buggy. A/N: My “Howl’s Moving Castle” fic based off the movie because I never read the book. It will have different moments than the movie just to omit some things. This story uses “You” but I couldn’t not give the character a name and for some reason “Shore” is what I thought of. And Shore is referred to as they/them, nonbinary, and breaks hearts wherever they go. Buggy is Sophie in this fic, is 22, and not always in a good mood. Enjoy!

Title comes from “Better In The Morning” by Birdtalker.

Taglist: @lostfirefly @fanaticsnail

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4

Chapter III

The flame waited until Buggy stopped screaming and calmed down. The poor old clown took a few deep breaths once he was done, hand over his heart as he tried to calm himself. What did he get himself into? Was it that person from yesterday, did they curse Buggy so all this happened to him at once? It wasn’t fair! 

It was too much for him, all too much. Walking in the air, the Witch of the Waste, the curse, the scarecrow, the rain, being old, the flying ship, and now a talking flame? Buggy would have thought he was hallucinating but he pinched himself again and realized that no, he was not dreaming at all. 

“Are you done?” The flame asked. Buggy nodded as he exhaled loudly through his nose. The flame grinned. “Good. Wanna talk about this curse you’re under?”

Buggy’s eyes narrowed at the flame. “Unless you can lift it, I don’t want to talk about it! That hag cursed me! Damn the Wi-”

It was like his mouth was glued shut all of a sudden. He couldn’t speak her name at all. Buggy recalled what Alvida had said to him, that he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about the curse. He clenched his fists and pounded them on the edge of the fireplace in frustration. “Dammit!”

“Hey, watch it!” The flame scolded as the log shifted from Buggy’s fists. The clown glared at the flame before sitting back down in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. The flame looked back at him as it secured itself back on the log, grinning once more at Buggy. “I’m Red Flamed Shanks, a scary powerful fire demon!”

“Maybe if I douse the fire with water it will shut up.” Buggy grumbled as he glanced around the room, looking for a sink. “I’d almost rather be back outside than listening to this thing talk to me.”

Buggy ignored the cries of protest from the flame as he stood up, wincing at the twinge in his lower back. Maybe there was a box of matches somewhere and a bucket of water. He wanted silence so he could think out a plan to fix this curse. The flame was getting under his skin already and the thought of doing any sort of deal with it was laughable. Buggy wasn’t that stupid. 

“You can’t let me go out!” The flame squawked as Buggy went to a nearby cabinet and started rooting around in the top drawer. “If I go out then the ship stops and Shore dies!” 

Buggy slammed the drawer shut and looked over at the flame with a frown. It was watching Buggy cautiously, waiting to see what the clown had in store for him. Was he going to get doused? 

“Shore? This is Shore's ship then?” Buggy asked as he walked back over to Shanks. The little flame nodded. “Where are they?”

“Out working.” Shanks told him. “Do you know who they are?”

Buggy thought about that for a moment. Did he? All he heard were little tidbits from others. He shook his head. “No, should I? Are they important? I’ve only heard the name.”

“They’re a very powerful pirate who knows magic, y’know!” Shanks grinned. “How often do you hear about that?”

“Don’t know too many pirates or wizards, so it doesn’t really concern me.” Buggy shrugged as he returned to his seat. He leaned back, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the flame. “So, you mentioned something about you lifting the curse I’m under? How can I trust you since you’re a demon?”

“Well, you can’t, now can you?” Shanks replied, grinning wide. “But who else could lift that curse you’re under but someone as powerful as me? If you help me get free from here, I’ll lift your curse. We’ll be even.”

“Maybe I’ll just let you go out.” Buggy grumbled as he looked for something to smother the fire with. “Then I can have a nap without some little thing chatting at me.”

“What did I just say about putting me out?! Shore will die!”

“I don’t know who that is! Why should I care?” Buggy snapped back. “No one else has bothered to care for me, why should I care about someone I don’t know?!”

“Didn’t think you were a selfish old man. What’s got your heart so clouded?” Shanks asked as he leaned forward on the log. “Can’t just be that curse.”

“I’ve always been cursed!” The old clown shot back. “I was cursed before that awful Wi-” He growled in frustration, stomping one of his feet on the floor as his mouth was shut again. He needed to calm down, getting angry wouldn’t help him even if it helped him feel a little better. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly before glaring at the flame. “Fine, how do you intend to lift the curse on me?”

“Help me get out from under my curse first and then I’ll help you.” The little flame told him. “Promise, demon’s honor. Shouldn’t be too hard, just give me something precious.” He looked Buggy over with a grin. “I’d ask for your heart but… I don’t think it would do any good. Your… hair, or your eyes! Either of those would suffice. Both are quite pretty.”

Buggy thought about the offer. Was this real or a trick from the demon? The old clown considered it, wondering what could be worse? If the demon could break his curse, what good would it actually do? Buggy didn’t think he’d return to the circus, there was nothing for him there but the old ringmaster’s legacy. There was no one else out there for Buggy. 

He sighed and rubbed his face. Honestly, he was too tired to try and outwit a flame right now. The last day was catching up to him, he was drained and he wanted a nap. Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a few minutes he would get some of his energy back. Shanks started talking to him but he ignored him, instead leaning back in his seat as he shut his eyes. It wasn’t hard to fall asleep.

~

He dreamed of stars dancing in the dark night sky, little flickering lights filling his vision. He was sitting in his chair, staring upwards, not noticing the figure that passed by him, their hand caressing his face. Buggy leaned towards the touch, trying to absorb the warmth he felt, but it disappeared.

Buggy woke up with a jolt. His chair almost tipped backwards but he was able to steady it. His heart was pounding, the warmth he dreamed about lingering on his cheek. Maybe it wasn’t… No, there was no one else around. If Shanks had touched him no doubt there would have been a burn.

There was a pounding at the door and someone was coming down the stairs. Were there actually stairs? There had to be, how else would anyone get to the upper levels of the ship? Buggy pretended to be asleep though cracking an eye open as he watched a little boy rush by, a straw hat perched on his head as he headed for the door. Buggy heard the boy say something, sounded like Loguetown Door, before he tapped his hat and opened the door. Buggy watched curiously as the boy spoke to someone, someone requesting the powerful wizard to help with the pending war.

The boy closed the door and sighed, turning around to face Buggy. The boy had a long white beard that dragged on the ground, giving him the appearance of a wizard. He patted himself on the head once more, the beard rolling up towards his face and disappearing before he looked up at Buggy. The two stared at each other for a moment, assessing if the other was a threat, before the boy pointed at him.

“Who are you?”

“I’m… Mister Buggy, the maintenance man.” He told the kid as he stood up from the chair. “This place is in a terrible state and needs some repairs! Bring me tools and I’ll have it back to pristine condition in no time!”

The boy looked over at Shanks. The little flame shrugged, so the boy looked back at Buggy. “Can you cook? I’m hungry. I want breakfast.”

“Cook?” Buggy could cook! Simple things but he could cook things without burning the food. “Of course I can cook! Where's the skillet? I'll cook you the most delicious breakfast you've ever had, kid!”

Buggy pushed past the kid to look for any kind of ingredient for breakfast - eggs, potatoes, bacon, bread. To his delight he found a carton of eggs and a pack of bacon. The kid found a skillet and held it out for Buggy who took it for him and went over to Shanks with a grin.

“Kid, what's your name?” 

“Luffy!” He said. “What's yours?”

Buggy looked at him incredulously for a moment. He just told the kid his name. “Mister Buggy. Now, Luffy, find me some butter.”

“Right!” He went about, searching for the butter dish. Buggy took in the sight of the room, noticing the mess of papers, dishware, everything that was scattered over every surface. Where would they eat? Buggy could fix things, he did not clean, but he may have to do some tidying up to make this place liveable.

“If you touch me with that skillet-”

“Let me cook, you little spark, or I'll put you out for sure and start a new fire.” Buggy grinned as he set the skillet on Shanks, but the little ember tried to hold him off until Buggy won. “There, that's not so bad.”

“I'm going to burn all of your food.” Shanks grumbled as the skillet heated up. Buggy tossed a bit of butter into the skillet, melting it around the surface before cracking two eggs. Luffy came over to watch before picking up another two eggs. Buggy said nothing, cracking them in before tossing in some bacon in as well. 

“Go find some plates, Luffy.” Buggy told him. The kid scampered off to do as he was told. Buggy sighed and poked at the bacon as it sizzled, lost in thought for a moment. Yesterday he was working for the circus, now he was making breakfast for himself and a kid on a land ship while an obnoxious flame talked with him. Why did his life suddenly change direction like this? 

“Oh! Captain Shore’s home!” Luffy said excitedly as he bounded towards the door. Buggy looked up from cooking, seeing a dial above the door spin. There were several colors painted on the dial, did they each stand for something? The dial moved to black as the door opened and someone stepped in. Buggy’s jaw dropped when he saw the silver hair come into sight as the person walked up the stairs. 

You paused when you saw Buggy before breaking out into a smile. “Hello, I didn’t know we had a new member of the crew.”

“Oh, well… I’m your maintenance man, Mister Buggy.” He told you as he turned his attention back to the breakfast cooking in the skillet. “Shanks hired me, asked me to fix up the place for you.” 

The flame glared at him while you chuckled. “Is that so? Well, I’m sure he made the right decision.” You watched Buggy for a moment before reaching for the skillet. “May I? Luffy has quite the appetite, we’ll need more bacon and eggs.”

“O-Oh, yea.” Buggy didn’t let go of the handle at first, your hand brushing over his, but he let you take it as you gently moved him aside while grabbing a few extra eggs to crack into the skillet. Luffy came over, looking excited about breakfast. As Buggy watched you cook, he wondered if you recognized him, or did you forget about helping him the night before? It wasn’t like he was memorable, you probably helped all kinds of people in situations, never meeting the same person twice, but here you were, cooking breakfast, and you smiled when you saw Buggy. It was just a friendly smile, he was sure of it, not a spark of recognition or anything. 

You finished the breakfast, taking the skillet over to the table to serve the food. Luffy had quite the mountain of food compared to yourself and Buggy, but the moment the food was plated, the boy was diving in. Buggy never saw such a sight and he mumbled something about the manners of pirates. Sure, some of the performers at the circus didn’t have the best table manners, and really, neither did Buggy, but at least he didn’t bite the plate while shoveling food into his mouth. He sighed and pulled the plate out of Luffy’s mouth, the plate now clean. 

“Is there more?” Luffy asked innocently. You hummed in amusement while Buggy wondered what he was getting himself into.

[witchlingcirce]

Okay so I’m real bored and I just want to give out some book recommendations by MWAH !!!!!!!

Howls moving castle

Synopsis: Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl-and herself-than first meets the eye.

Okay so now obviously everyone knows Howl’s moving castle from the movie (10/10 movie please watch). But honestly the book is so different!! I really feel like the book shines in a different way that the movies does. If you’ve seen the movie than the book is like if the movie versions of these characters do crack. This book was so light and easy, and if your able to get your hands on the audiobook I legit can’t recommend it enough. Howl is such a fun a character, and Sophie is just so silly. This book just remains so consistent and honestly I feel like the writing style almost makes these characters feel alive!!

The ocean at the end of the lane

Synopsis: A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

This book genuinely is not what I was expecting it to be but nonetheless was so exceptional. If you’re not familiar with Gaimens work, just know that’s a line. He wrote the novels for Good Omens and Coraline, which are both very famous movie/TV shows! The best way I can describe Gaimens work is literally that it’s so British. This book for me was consistently unexpected, in my mind I was like “this is going to happen!” And it didn’t! Not in like a plot-twisty way, in a “I was nottt expecting that”. This book takes an interesting approach on the concept of lost childhood memories. I think it’s a concept you don’t usually see but I feel like the way Gaimen handled it just made it so interesting. I truly felt for the narrator throughout this novel, this poor boy!

This is Amiko, do you copy?

Synopsis: Other people don't seem to understand Amiko. Whether eating curry rice with her hands at school or peeking through the sliding doors at her mother's calligraphy class, her curious, exuberant nature mostly meets with confusion. When her mother falls into a depression and her brother begins spending all his time with a motorcycle gang, Amiko is left increasingly alone to navigate a world where she doesn't quite fit.

AH!! This book was honestly so interesting to read and I highly recommend to anyone who is fond of Fujimoto's 'Goodbye Eri' and 'Look back'. The writing in this book was honestly top TIER. I think writing this book's perspective from a neurodivergent girl's POV in a society that doesn't really accept that is so interesting. Throw it into the context of her dysfunctional family who after a major event kind of fall part and no one is there to help her in some many different aspects of life is really interesting. I think this and the ocean at the end of the lane are the shortest here on this list but I really do recommend. Out of all the books I’ve recommended I will say this is the most depressing, but something about this book is soooo I don’t know how to put it. It’s definitely one of those books that will leave you thinking awhile after you’ve read it. I can stress enough how much of this book is worth to read!! It’s so tragic.

The space between here and now

Synopsis: Perfect for fans of They Both Die at the End and You've Reached Sam, this gripping, atmospheric YA novel follows a teen with a mysterious condition that transports her to the past when she smells certain scents linked to specific memories. Seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, a rare condition that causes her to time travel to a moment in her life when she smells something linked to that memory. Her dad is convinced she'll simply grow out of it if she tries hard enough, but Aimee's fear of vanishing at random has kept her from living a normal life. When Aimee disappears for nine hours into a memory of her estranged mom--a moment Aimee has never remembered before--she becomes distraught. Not only was this her longest disappearance yet, but the memory doesn't match up with the story of how her mom left--at least, not the version she's always heard from her dad. Desperate for answers, Aimee travels to Korea, where she unravels the mystery of her memories, the truth about her mother, and the reason she keeps returning to certain moments in her life. Along the way, she realizes she'll need to reconcile her past in order to save her present.

The concept of this book is really interesting and is executed in a really fun and new way. I feel like in a lot of 'time travel' books it gets too complicated or it just ends up lacking any sense and at some point stops making sense. This book didn't have that problem; having her 'time travel' be her going back to her memories was such a cool concept, and she executed it so well. I really enjoyed her descriptions of what it feels like to travel, and I'm glad she went into depth with it instead of leaving it up to the imagination. This book also did really well in showing that our main character was a teenager. Something about the way she wrote really made us feel like we were in a teenage girl's head-not in a choppy or bad way where it made you roll your eyes, but in a way that made you able to relate to the character. I also really liked how likable our main character was; it added to the reading experience! Also, I really liked how the main mystery of the plot was resolved; it was really interesting, and honestly, it wasn't expected! And to add onto what I said before, the time travel powers almost feel like they could be the powers of a life is strange protagonist if that makes any sense to anyone.

Immortal longings

Synopsis: Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er fight to the death to win unimaginable riches. Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty...and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa's forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him. Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he's deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he's one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning. Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa's adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin's ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton's partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she's playing for-her lover or her kingdom.

I remember I read this for the book club I was in last year and I am forever grateful. I was a little hesitant going into this book because I genuinely did not really like either these violent delight books. However this book is actually so good. If you’re in a reading slump I highly recommend this novel to get you out. This plot follows genuinely a really interesting concept, and I liked the way body hopping was kind of represented. I also do feel like it’s an interesting play on this kind of hunger games concept. However I will warn you the body hopping powers are confusing but just go along with it. The actual world of this is inspired by an old city in China (which name I have forgotten) but if you compare to what that city looked like and to what’s described in the book Chloe gets it down to a T. The plot twists of these books are genuinely just so much fun. There’s so many little hints scattered around it makes you want you get a bulletin board and put the little lines up. Not to mention the ENDINGG, I was gagged. The sequel is this novel is also coming out later this year as well!

Uhm anyways guys I love reading so much my Spotify told me to stop listening to audiobooks and get a life 😭😭😭 who wants to be my goodreads friend

[uwabbittuwabbit]

in my head these r what miyazaki ghibli pairings map onto what motogp ships:

-rosquez are obviously howl and sophie, which i go more into depth into here. its also important that sophie and howl get into the fight about howl's hair, because sophie ultimately does go back, puts on her business face etc. i think the timeline would work out like, they get into that big argument whatever its about but marc goes back, vale tries to make up for it with the ring and beautifying marc's clothes and eventually the house in the mountains but during that time its like their relationship is completely frozen even though they're living in the same house...marc considers moving out to live with alex etc. just becomes older with his withdrawal because of the curse. And then vale moves the castle to marc's old home. sophie is also like very much obligated to her family as the oldest daughter (which is why she stays in the hat shop) which is very marc! he wants to make his people happy...Also don't tell me fuck ass bob vale DOESN'T scream young howl to you. say it to my face. u can't.

-enea/casey are san and ashitaka from princess mononoke. just imagine the "im going to cut ur throat/ur beautiful" scene with them...i dont think casey necessarily gets cured from the illness that he gets from the corrupted forest god it just becomes part of him, so its no longer killing him after the forest god's head is returned but still ails him. hes from a super far secret civilization and cant go back after being banished (kind of like how u can't fade into obscurity after rising to fame). rides an antelope looking thing and is so so noble. enea is feral and living with the wolves. hates humans. but when this stranger comes and gets shot in his name he can't help but feel something other than that hatred he has felt all of his life. chews casey's food for him and delivers it mouth to mouth when he's too weak to eat...the same mouth that spat out the poisoned blood around the mother wolf's bullet wound. etc.

-cele/bezz r sosuke and ponyo, but they also have the potential to be kiki(bezz) and tombo(cele) and sheeta(cele) and pazu(bezz)...to me cele is sosuke, the weird kid who lives in the house on a hill (alone), signals ships at night just to talk to somebody and flies maritime flags. likes to fix stuff, has a tiny little dinky car. works as a daycare science teacher taking the kids on trips to catch bugs and frogs but also helps out at the nursing home next door, fixing the wheelchairs of the residents and like taking them out for fresh air while the kids tag along. thats summer though and in the winter he helps out at the dock and on fishing boats. he would love you if you were a worm, in short. bezz's misadventures get him stuck in a jar (he could cry he's so embarrassed) but cele finds him when testing his newest like little motorized toy boat prototype he wants to show the kids and bezz IMMEDIATELY falls in love, it's crazy. you bet he licked the blood off of cele's gashed finger just like that. is absolutely INDULGING in the attention he gets when cele brings him in for Show And Tell/Storytime and explains in his pondering voice how he found bezz. gets sloshed on that forbidden magic juice right after getting plopped back home and runs on giant fucking waves as cele commutes home to impress him. all cele feels is like, mild concern like damn do i have to detour home? i would have known if there was some major meteorological event coming my way. when the curly haired stranger with an earnest smile shows up at his home and engulfs him in a hug, he meets it with the same bewilderment but because bezz feels familiar. consequentially is not very impressed or surprised about bezz being a fish loool. i was just picturing the thumbnail of this video the entire time i wrote this and that's literally their whole vibe. that's bezz in cele's tub right there. this post is getting away from me more than it already is so ill like do a quick preface of the other premises...bezz is a witch and his familiar is rubik...flies away to a big city and meets cele with his homemade flying contraptions...gets tattoed for the first time by some random artist in the woods...becomes depressed...can't fly anymore...cele is the last member of a royal family and falls from the sky after being held on an airship, with bezz as the one to catch him...bezz has always wanted adventure because his father was one of the few people to have ever seen the fabled castle in the sky...wants to take his chances with cele...cele's billowing curls and tragic eyes...all bezz wants to do is make him happy...all cele wants is to go home.

-luca/pecco as haku and chihiro from spirited away. their whole vibe is childhood friends that grew apart and then rekindled imo. when they meet in the spirit world luca introduces himself as maro and to pecco he seems familiar; you how it was on a playground when you were young and you knew everything about someone except for their name? so maro it is, and he takes pecco's hand when he cries about his roommates (pecco's in college and ended up in an abandoned places exploration group with them) being turned into pigs and is panicking about not being able to go home and is generally a mess and tells him to get up from where he's been curled up into a ball and run with him to the bathhouse where he gets a job and becomes just pecco, no francesco because his name gets taken away. life is pretty tough for pecco at first and he's very lonely while luca is away doing missions for the boss, which is most of the time. hes also very insecure and fears luca leaving him because he's not good enough. but he puts his head down and slowly earns respect from his peers. starts standing up for himself and becoming more confident, and eventually has his standout moment for completely cleansing a polluted spirit. luca (a river spirit) fell in love with pecco when he fell into him and wasn't able to swim. even though that was very much an embarrassing moment what made it worse were pecco's flailing attempts to keep his head above water, but that was what endeared him to luca. it was his stupidly stubborn will to keep his nose to the grindstone even when it filled his mouth with water and got him nowhere. that is how a river thinks, and luca could never forget pecco's lanky straggling form as he struggled up the banks of the river, wretched and alive but triumphant for doing so.

[spidermanifested]

revisiting the greeds moving castle au post-hmc rewatch here are some new thoughts hmmmmmmm

in my Envisioning. "homunculi" in this world are created when an alchemist (wizard) makes a deal with a demon, gaining the ability to use human souls (hearts) as a power source in exchange for. well. feeding human souls to a demon

for this purpose, souls are gathered from enemy countries via Forever Wars and crystalized into stones which an alchemist can ingest. the military is dedicated to finding the most promising alchemists and grooming them to become homunculi

greed was trained in alchemy by his father from a young age, along with his siblings. their family has immense sway over the royal courts, to the extent that one of his brothers (bradley) wound up marrying into the ruling family. when he came of age his education was handed off to the royal alchemist dante and their relationship did not remain professional very long. he became a homunculus at her encouragement, and then found out he didnt really like the whole "we have to maintain our dominance as alchemists via a lot of murder all the time" thing, and rapidly Howls Moving'd out of that castle

the demon he made a pact with is obviously the dwarf in the flask who im debating making like. okay so what if his father had previously Also made a pact with the same demon.... and then he transferred it to greed.... like ohh he gave up his power and even his life because he ~Saw So Much Potential In His Son~. Except one of the factors leading to greed hitting the bricks is discovering that, no actually, the demon was fully in charge of (the husk of) his father for years, and he just swapped to greed because he wanted a younger swaggier puppet. thatd kind of make a guy rethink his circumstances right

Anyway its pretty similar to calcifer if he leaves his flask he dies, and greed will also die if anything happens to him. greed keeps him very strictly restrained but doesnt tell anybody why he hates this little bongwater bitch so much because hed have to explain hes kind of his dad and itd be awkward

so. we have dante in the role of both suleiman And the witch of the wastes vis a vis being greeds ex, but i think the other part of the witch of the wastes (the "gets more sympathetic as the movie progresses" part) i want to hand to lust, because pulling from her 03 arc she would work very well as someone greed knows whos initially working for the court but gets abandoned and made an example of and then switches sides. also her getting all her power sapped and reverted to her real age would mean Old Lady Lust which would rule

markl is ling (duh) but because i dont think ling would give a shit about a random old guy stumbling into his house, the parts of his character that are initially suspicious of sophie i am going to instead bestow upon. dolcetto, greeds Rescue Dog. aka he was cursed by a witch into the form of a dog and greed was like oh sick a talking dog and dolcetto was too pickupable to escape his fate

martel is also there. talking snake martel. her and dolcetto are there to provide sarcastic banter while bido loses his mind

i initially didnt know how to fit roa in but then i realized i needed a turniphead standin. roa cursed into the form of a cow but he CANT talk and everyone thinks hes just a weird ass magic cow who keeps showing up to help but then the power of friendship turns him human at the end and dolcetto and martel are like okay now how come we cant do that.

i realize ive barely said anything about bido in this post about my au where bido is the main character. but to be fair. i feel like just saying "sophie is bido" gets the entire gist across. humble townsperson with big beautiful brown eyes is transformed against their will into something that makes it impossible to live their life as normal, theyre short with a big nose and wear a long skirt and like to fuck with people now that theyve got nothing to lose, they start working for a weird sexy guy who hates the government wears tight pants and has a shiny black monster form. Is not that complicated

i am now rotating the mental image of lust chuffing back a fat dart on the sofa while immediately outside the window dublith is on fire

[ryanthel0ser]

I have a specific howls moving castle question and you were the second person i saw in the tag, so hello! Sorry if you’ve already answered this

Maybe I missed something, idk. But. Sophie changes age a few times where it seems almost random. Is it random? Does she turn young night? Does she just change age when it is Dramatically Fitting? Is there no rhyme or reason at all? You must have these answers. If you don’t that’s okay too thank you for your time

I do have an answer, and I don't mind answering this again it's one of my favorite things in the movie.

Sophie's age fluctuates in the movie to show her own self-esteem and self-confidence levels, and to a degree her own fear. She is at her oldest when she is first cursed because she not only is terrified from the Witch of the Waste but she's at her lowest at the time of the curse. Once she starts cleaning and getting to work, her insecurity in herself subsides some and she's just a bit younger than she was before. This is why at night, when she's asleep, she goes back to her actual age because that's when she is most at peace and her insecurity isn't present. When she stands up to Suliman about Howl, her confidence is incredibly high until Suliman says she's in love with Howl, which causes her to revert back to her old self because she can't even imagine her and Howl together because of her own insecurity (which is ironic knowing Howl at this point is head over heels for her). By the end of the movie she's young again, but her hair is still gray, or "starlight" as Howl says. While she does have self-confidence in herself, she's going to carry that bit of insecurity with her always which is something we all deal with. Having her keep the gray hair shows that she's grown as a person since the start of the movie. I highly recommend watching cinema therapy's video on this, it's highly entertaining and does a much better job at explaining it from an actual therapist perspective.

A small thing I personally believe is that Sophie is able to do magic like she does in the book. In the book, Sophie has magic from the start but she does not realize she can do magic until about halfway through the book. The curse on her actually wore off a while ago in the book and because she keeps calling herself an old woman, she's continuing the curse on herself. I think this is happening in the movie as well with her age fluctuation, with her own image of herself and feelings being what changes it by her magic. There are a couple of small things in the movie that line up with Sophie's magic in the book that make me believe this, but whether it is her magic or not doesn't matter or change the theme present.

Also small thing because I just remembered this detail. Howl knows Sophie is cursed from the moment he meets her as an old woman. This is the case in the book and it's probably the case in the movie. He's a powerful wizard, of course he can see there's a curse on her. If Calcifer knows she's cursed by looking at her and Howl can tell Turniphead is cursed by looking at him, then it's not a stretch to say he can see she's cursed too. Sophie finding this out in the book is one of my favorite scenes alsdjf

[hyperpotamianarch]

All right, I posted a couple of Jewish stuff, so maybe it's time for a nice Fantasy post. Also, Howl's Moving Castle and Anne of Green Gables. You'll get it by the end.

You see, I'm not a writer yet. Which seems like a bad beginning, but it's going to tie in soon. I do want to be a writer, and have attempted to write books multiple times. Usually I have an idea that I try to latch on and make into a good story, though that doesn't always work. And yes, I've seen that post about writing encyclopedias or annotated maps and am seriously considering it. But anyway, one of my latest ideas was: what if Anne of Green Gables, but Fantasy?

The cause for this idea is the fact I'm usually very locked on Fantasy. By which I mean, I usually refuse to read things outside of this genre, with maybe Sci-Fi added in. I have somewhat mellowed out since and will not immediately refuse any non-Fantasy book recommendation, but I'd still prefer Fantasy over all else. Anne of Green Gables has, to some degree, come to be an exception. By which I mean, it's almost unique among my favourite books in not being Fantasy.

It is thus that I thought, hey. What if I take that thing I really like and make a similar thing in the genre I really like? That'll be great, won't it?

Well, the jury is still out on that. I still didn't figure out the essence of what I liked about Anne of Green Gables, so I don't really know how I might take on this project. I currently have two story ideas that are supposedly under this umbrella - one is a crossover fic that I didn't manage to actually make to work, and another which is an attempt at Urban Fantasy that is vaguely in the works. I would focus on the fic for now, though, because it arose from a realization I had: the closest thing to Fantasy Anne of Green Gables I've ever read is probably Howl's Moving Castle.

It's important to note that this is not so in plot. In general plot, those books are vastly different. It's not in characters either - I believe the only things Sophie and Anne share are temper strong enough to hit their live interest on the head, hair that could roughly considered to be ginger and a general belief they're ugly. The latter isn't really accurate and manifests in vastly different ways in the two.

No, what I do believe those books share is some of their atmosphere. They are still far from identical, as Anne's character is central to her book and Sophie is very different, but there are similarities. Here is the antagonistic relationship with the love interest throughout the book, and there are the relatively lower, more personal stakes of this book. I mean, there are many large differences, but... basically, Anne of Green Gables in Fantasy would have to be (I think) Cozy Fantasy. And Howl's Moving Castle is, in a way, a Cozy Fantasy book: it mostly deals with the day to day life of the four inhabitants of the Moving Castle, from Sophie's PoV. Sure, there's a curse that drives the plot forward and a witch and her fire demon, both perfectly willing to kill anyone who stands in their way. But it's still about How Sophie Cleans the House; How Sophie Pushes Her Nose Into Howl's Relationship With Her Sister; and How Sophie Is Generally A Nosy Old Woman Living In The House Of The Flippant And Cowardly Wizard Howell Jenkins.

I may have lost it a bit there. But it really is about the daily life in the Castle, which I think puts it a step closer. So, I thought of a crossover fic named Katie of the House of Reflections. It didn't really work, though I think the idea has potential if only I developed it a little more.

That is it: a comparison of the stories of two ginger girls who had anime adaptations. Don't thank me yet. You still didn't see me add Princess Eilonwy and Shallan Davar into the mix.

[roskirambles]

(Archive) Animated movie of the day: Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no Ugoku Shiro, 2004)

Originally posted: January 7th, 2023 When adapting a book to the realm of cinema, the beauty of the work is often lost in translation: Missing characters, trimmed down side plots or simply a compact interpretation of the plot that loses all and any impact. In other cases, however, it's this compromise what lets the film find it's own unique beauty, and with a bit of luck one as powerful as the source material.

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and loosely based on the eponymous 1986 novel by Diana Wynne Jones(the first in the Wizard's Castle series), it tells the tale of homely hat maker Sophie Hatter, who gets cursed by the Witch of the Waste to become an old woman. In order to break the curse, she sets to find Howl the Wizard who travels across the land in a magic castle with the power to walk like a living creature. Adventure, self discovery and romance ensue.

And the similarities between the two stories kind of end there, as the film is in many ways nothing like the book. While some plots are missing and characters altered, the most notorious change has to be the war: a mere backdrop of the novel that was nothing but a few short sentences takes now a heavy spotlight that dramatically alters the thematic core of the story.

All of this would be a cardinal sin for most adaptations, a sentiment shared by some of the book fans. But I already presented my stance here: the beauty of this film comes from said differences. While the novel's critique of gender roles takes a back seat, a woman's self affirmation isn't a contradiction to this, nor is it the critique of war to the novel's exploration of social class, or the appeal for love and selflessness.

Even with its admittedly odd pacing, the romanticism is still enveloping, not hurt in the slightest by its jaw dropping visuals and Joe Hisaishi's melancholic yet uplifting score. Not for nothing it's Miyazaki's personal favorite: a film about why life is worth living.

I don't think I need to introduce this music piece to anyone, but the main theme of the film Merry-Go-Round is probably Joe Hisaishi's finest work and given his body of work that's a monumentally tall order. Capable of evoking a sense of nostalgia and longing for a place and era that don't even exist, it still manages to capture a wonderous sense of love and hope for the future. A seemingly impossible contradiction in musical form, it's waltz foundation is a delight to the ears.

And in case you're wondering… Diana Wynne Jones loved the movie, so any purism about her intentions being mangled or else seems trite.

[toomanycartoonswithnotenoughlove]

10 Characters, 10 Fandoms

RULES: List your ten favourite characters from ten separate fandoms then tag ten people!

Tagged by @boatswainscall

Thanks, I love being a part of these! Also, I'm not nessicarily involved in these fandoms, but I'm in a character appreciating mood, so...

Roz the Robot (The Wild Robot) (I am not going to shut up about it once this movie comes out, I swear on my library) She's friend shaped. She works to make her home. I can't stop trying to draw her and realizing how much more practice I should have with drawing circles before I try.

2. Brea (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) choosing one from this show is hard! But she's the one who gets put in the most mental animatics, so she's here.

3. Yfling (A Choir of Lies) (No last name given) (I probably shouldn't have even stated his first name, but he uses it.) Sad wet cat of a man. The most white man to ever realize how badly he broke a failing system in the wrong direction. He's the narrator. He's unreliable. He still works as a storyteller while writing, a cultural taboo. The book is certainly worthy of praise and criticism. This guy also needs a hug. Badly. That doesn't make any part of his actions OK.

4. Alinua (Aurora) One of my favorite uses of "Life Magic" as a character element without it being her entire character. Also, hair floofy. (all of the aurora characters with hair have floofy hair. Go read Aurora the webcomic, if you so choose. It's fun)

5. Mrs. Frisby (Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM) Only ever read the first book, but I've read it at least 8 times. One of my favorite examples of an almost flat character arc in a protagonist. Different in the film. Still good, but a different that I've learned to live with.

6. Martin Blackwood (The Magnus Archives) the themeeeees.

7. Amelia (Infinity Train) Hooooooo boy. Talk about backstory not justifying current actions but. She's trying. She's working towards a different ending to the self destruction she promised herself. She accidentally adopted someone who's technically her daughter. She needs to work on her personal issues SO much more than she already has. It was between her and The Cat, for I T, by the way.

8. Sophie Hatter (Howl's Moving Castle) Yes, you are in a story ma'am, but I am so glad by book 2 you've also learned that there are Consequences to your Actions and that causes you to change absolutely none of them. Yeah they got you turned into an old lady, but only the once!

9. The Pooka (Hilda) "I would like to borrow an egg cup" has become a familial in-joke. Shape changer that can only look like himself?

10. Jack Frost (RotG) This man took up Residence in my brain in 2012 and Has Not Left Since, and I have given up on trying to make him, and that whole world in general, for that matter, go away! Fanfiction of my own it is! (of the "Put this man in more situations" variety. I want to see how I think fantasy rules for TMA and ROTG interact. Also, separately, Danny Phantom)

I'm sorry, I don't know 10 people to tag, but I do have 5.

@kiwipigment , @hardcore-solangelo-19, @smolbonbon, @geektrashfan , @i-want-cheese , Care to take a swing at it?

[kidlit-queen-competition]

Round 2 poll 13: Alyss Mainwaring from Ranger's Apprentice vs Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle

Propaganda under the cut:

Alyss Mainwaring:

Graceful, intelligent and has a razor sharp wit. An orphan who's raised in the castle ward and works to become the apprentice and protege of one of the best couriers in the country. Also Alyss being super tall with a deep voice but proud of these things and canonically stunning not despite but often because of these things healed my little 10 year old heart

Sophie Hatter:

i think tumblr already knows and loves sophie hatter

Sophie Hatter is absolutely iconic. She’s quiet and soft-spoken, but the moment she becomes and old lady she’s like, might as well fit the role, and instantly starts speaking her mind. She breaks into a wizard’s castle to become his cleaning lady, she pretends to be his mother, she expresses her feelings with weed killer. She can talk magic into things and doesn’t realize Howl is completely head over heels in love with her until he risks his life for her and they proceed to confess to each other by bickering like an old married couple. She’s also the epitome of an eldest sister and I based my entire personality off of her.