#Kim Brook

[meesherbeans]

OLBA Week: Day 1 - Merfolk

“Uncle Cove, Uncle Cove!”

At the excited shout, Cove turned to look at his ‘niece,’ Yukino’s daughter, as she bounded over the sand with long strides. She really could book it, considering she was only seven. He adjusted the glasses on his face and waved calmly.

Her long, thick braid of grey hair swung around to smack her in the neck when she stopped and stared up at him with a reckless smile. “Mama said I can look for shells! But I wanna look for hermit crabs. Can you help me?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle awkwardly at the question. “I, uh, don’t know. Did she say you couldn’t look for hermit crabs?” he asked as he scratched the back of his head. At the imagined sight of Yukino giving him a look after he helped bring yet another sea creature into her life, he quickly added a follow-up question. “Or that you couldn’t bring anything alive back?”

“That one!” Akiko jumped up and cheered, a finger aimed up at his chest. “So, pretty please, can you help me find them? We’ll leave them here!”

Cove sighed, relieved. “Well, I think we can do that. But… could you see if your brother wanted to join?” He glanced up toward the rest of her small family, who were still setting up their umbrellas and towels.

She nodded and turned to run back at a full tilt, arms lifting along with her voice. It seemed, like usual, Akiko was more interested in announcing her plans before she was even within reasonable earshot.

“Did you already agree to something?” His wife’s voice suddenly piped up behind him, making Cove jump in surprise. She laughed and placed a comforting hand on his side as she hooked her chin over his shoulder.

He sighed and tilted his head to gently rest it against hers. “Just some hermit crab searching,” he mumbled.

Kim hummed thoughtfully. “Did you at least tell her that they can’t take the hermit crabs home this time? I’m pretty sure Baxter had an existential crisis when he found it in the car.”

Cove couldn’t help but cough in an attempt to hide his laughter. That was pretty hilarious, even if his brother-in-law didn’t agree. “I… yeah. Aki knows.”

Their son cleared his throat and started to walk toward the Ward family. He gently called, “Dad, I’m going to go sit and help Kaito. He’ll probably want to build some sand castles instead of digging for crabs.”

“Wait, crabs??” Their daughter grabbed her twin’s hand and gently tried to keep him from walking away. “Dylan, you don’t want to miss that!”

Dylan rolled his eyes and sighed, stopping his retreat. He always gave in when Cordelia tried to goad him into something; they were still working with him on that.

Cove cleared his throat and corrected them. “Hermit crabs, not the ones you eat.”

Cordelia quietly acknowledged his point with a soft “Ohhh.”

“Oh! I… sorry, Cordy, but I don’t want to try and dig them up.” Dylan gave his sister an apologetic frown before extracting his hand from hers and continuing his trek up the beach.

Kim leaned over to kiss Cove’s cheek. “I’ll go see what they want to do for lunch,” she murmured in a whisper of breath against his cheek. He could feel his face turning bright red.

Both of them suppressed their laughter when Cordelia squealed in disapproval at the most disgusting sight ever: her parents being romantic! In public! “Ewww. I’ll get started now!” She ran a few dozen feet away and plopped into the damp sand, her long green hair cushioning her fall.

“I’ll handle these two for a bit, but someone else is on for after we eat.” Cove smiled softly at Kim, instinctively reaching to tuck a curl behind her ear.

She nodded and half-skipped after their son, giving Akiko a high five on the way as the vivacious young girl ran back down to the water.

“Aki!! Your mom said you could dig for hermit crabs this time?”

“Yeah, yeah! Just can’t take them in the car… dunno how, but Triton got out of the box and crawled up Daddy’s leg when we were driving back to the hotel.” Far from as repentant as one should be when they almost caused a car crash, Akiko slid into Cordelia and wrapped her arms around her ‘cousin.’

Although more energetic than Akiko, Cordelia was also nearly two years older. She blinked and looked appropriately alarmed. “Wait, really? Oh no!! You all were okay, though, right?”

Cove sighed and carefully squatted next to the chatty pair. “Everyone was fine, but we learned our lesson, right, Akiko?” He dug his hand into the sand and began excavating.

“Yeah! Of course, Uncle Cove. Hermit crabs live here, and we don’t want to kidnap them,” Akiko parroted proudly as she joined him in scraping away the sand.

Cordelia smiled and became the third person to sink her fingers into the sand. “I think that hermit crabs are like hamsters for mermaids! They’re about the same size, and they’re super cute.”

Akiko squealed happily at the thought of a mermaid with a little hermit crab pet.

Instantly struck with a memory, Cove couldn’t help his surprised laughter. He and Yukino had had a similar conversation – no, argument – when they were younger.

“What?” Cordelia asked, glancing up at her father curiously.

Cove gave her a gentle smile. “Oh, uh. Just thinking. I… your mom,” he gestured to Akiko with his elbow, “and I got into an argument about mermaid pets one time. As kids.”

Both girls gasped loudly and stopped digging, staring at him with wondrous stars in their eyes. Did they really do something the same as their parents??

“Who won?? Or what was it about?” Akiko lifted her sandy hands and rested them on her cheeks, their hermit crab hunt completely forgotten. She was about to get a story about Mama as a kid!

Cove looked at both girls, realizing that he had accidentally volunteered himself for a story. He sighed and smiled, then rocked back to sit in the sand with them. “We were trying to figure out which animal would be closest to a dog for mermaids. I thought that dolphins were the best choice, but she insisted it was a sea lion.”

Akiko and Cordelia turned to stare at each other with wide eyes. They had apparently just been handed a very serious choice.

“Oh, I don’t know! They call sea lions the ‘dogs of the sea,’ but… if I was a mermaid, it seems like dolphins would be way more fun to play with,” Cordelia murmured thoughtfully.

Akiko paused to absorb that fact. “That’s true,” she started, “but sea lions are squishier. That would probably be better to cuddle with!”

His gaze drifted out over the water as the girls began to debate which of those two animals was better suited to be a dog for a mermaid, and he couldn’t help smiling to himself. He wondered what 10-year-old Cove would say if he were told that almost 30 years later, he’d be on the same beach with Yukino and that their kids would be family, debating the same topic of merfolk and pets.

He'd probably just have shrugged and tried to ignore it, certain he wouldn’t ever feel truly at home in Sunset Bird.

Cove felt gratitude swell in his chest, and his eyes started to mist up at the sensation. He was never more glad to have been wrong.

[otherwindow]

me and who

[thecollectibles]

Art by Brooks Kim

[starkidsdaily]

[disventurecamptakes]

I think the problem with the All Stars merge is that they don't really let any positive relationships, especially newer ones, linger for too long.

Grett and Gabby defeat Yul and become friends! Gabby is eliminated the next episode.

Jake and Aiden work out their differences and become friends! Aiden is eliminated two episodes later.

Connor and Alec make up and become friends again! Alec is eliminated THAT SAME EPISODE.

Meanwhile, the negative relationships (shoutout Jake and Ally, shoutout Connor and Riya) get milked and dragged out for all they are worth. No wonder the show feels so miserable nowadays.

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[weirdlookindog]

The Seventh Victim (1943)

[jackwhiteprophetic]

We open for S8 and Amir turns up dressed as Bobby's dead wife as a funny revenge prank!!!

[coilerayfandom]

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[bookaddict24-7]

NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES! (APRIL 2ND, 2024)

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HAVE I MISSED ANY NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TBR? LET ME KNOW!

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NEW STANDALONES/FIRST IN A SERIES:

Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens

Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

The Misdirection of Fault Lines by Anna Gracia

The Black Girl Survives this One by Various

Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew

The Break-Up Lists by Adib Khorram

Trajectory by Cambria Gordon

Darker by Four by June C.L. Tan

Draw Down the Moon by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Something Kindred by Ciera Burch

No Going Back by Patrick Flores-Scott

Fate be Changed by Farrah Rochon

Call Forth a Fox by Markelle Grabo

Every Time You Hear that Song by Jenna Voris

What if...Loki was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux

NEW SEQUELS:

Wrath of the Talon (Talon #2) by Sophie Kim

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Happy reading!

[femmefataleart]

Vampirella: Year One by Brooks Kim

[garnets-stargeode2000]

By Aleth Romanillos

[thecollectibles]

Art by Brooks Kim

[disneytva]

Disney+ Scares Up "Mickey’s Spooky Stories" Stop-Motion Shorts For October 2nd

This spooky season, Disney+ and Hulu are conjuring up an exciting blend of scares for every Halloween enthusiast as the comprehensive streaming homes of Halloween with a thrilling variety of spine-tingling premieres, nostalgic classics, and heart-pounding horror for every family member and fan.

The Mickey Mouse Halloween stop-motion shorts are named "Mickey's Spooky Tales" and are set to drop on October 2nd on Disney+, the shorts by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and Disney Television Animation showcase Mickey and the gang getting in to the spooky spirit.

Mickey’s Spooky Stories - October 2, streaming on Disney+ Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy get back into the Halloween spirit in five all-new, spellbinding, stop-motion stories! Join the gang as they share Halloween stories around the campfire.

[disventurecamptakes]

Sorry for coming back so soon but I have some other things to say-

1. Episode 13 and 15 of DCAS was PEAK. The superpower episode genuinely felt fun to watch! And Yul getting his ass out was amazing! As much as Yul is a funny character sometimes, it was nice to have him finally get out! Episode 15 was great! I loved the challenge! I loved the way everyone acted! (Mostly) it was a fun watch! My boy Aiden got out, but it was still a peak episode! Plus! My baby Jake was actually HAPPY.

2. The last few episodes have been utter BS. Praying that Jake wins, because as a Jake Stan I need him to win. And as an Ally hater I need her to lose.

3. Can… can people stop hating Jake..? Like… he hasn’t done anything except be bratty. Which- I genuinely think Jake and Aiden are the best written characters in season 3. Jake has grown, Jake has a past that gave him trust issues. As a person with trust issues? I immediately assume the worst. People yell at him for “relapsing into a brat”… HE IS A HUMAN?! CHANGE IS HARD??? I understand that he has character traits that people can dislike- but sometimes I personally feel really upset because I also have those traits. I understand disliking a character- but sometimes I feel like people hate on Jake just to hate on him. At least from the people I’ve seen..

4. Ally is a stupid bitch. She literally watched Jake give Connor his hair tie- and went “ah yes this hair tie MUST mean Jake destroyed my game!” …NO? You obviously didn’t destroy it, Connor obviously didn’t do it, Jake is a maybe but his hair tie is not 100% proof, and Riya? ALWAYS BLAME THAT ACTRESS (T-T)

5. I used to love Connor- but my man needs to learn that Riya is not a good person. Actress or not, she pisses me off. I understand that issue, you see the good in someone once in the past, and believe you can bring it out of them. In my personal case? They aren’t constantly insulting me to my face.. RIYA IS DOING THIS, MY MAN, PLEASE LEAVE HER. Also why not.. talk to Ally? Explain to her “Hey, Riya broke your game, not Jake.” ????

6. Episode 16 onward feels like ONC has been pulling plot points and twists and everything straight out of their ass. Grett deserved to get to the final 3. Not Riya. Not Ally. I still hate Ally for the bear move. Because that would realistically get her more hate than anything?? Also I’m not mad at her for leaving Jake to die. I’m mad at her for getting him to trust him, AND THEN leaving him to die! #HunterDeservedBetter

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[weirdlookindog]

The Seventh Victim (1943)

[theboyatthebustop]

And people say we conquered racism a long time ago