#a year in review was still good tho i would have loved to know more about how they spent the year in quarantine outside of their businesses

[nerinefy]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ A LIFE WITH HIM ; FT. some OVERBLOT BOYS .𖥔 ݁ ˖

★ synopsis: how will they be like as your partner?

★ details: you/yours | headcanon | too much fluff | 1,000+ words

✦ ┊RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS

PHYSICAL AFFECTION (GIVING & RECEIVING)

★ not too big on PDA, so expect that the most skin-to-skin contact you two can have outside is the occasional hand-holding. he likes it when he's the one initiating the gesture whenever you two are out and about since he still can't help but have the need to be in control even after his overblot (like leading you to places and making sure ur still by his side).

★ he doesn't admit it but he loves when you link your arm with his and nuzzle your face into his shoulder (although he will still scold you if you do it) ESPECIALLY when he's in a mood and is almost about to off the heads of some rule-breakers OR maybe when you're giving too much attention to a rando because he may not admit it but he's greedy and wants your eyes on him only (but he's a gentleman and will never speak about it, only dismissing his inappropriate thoughts.)

★ in private though he's just a snuggly little cuddle bug, even more so if he's tired or stressed or most likely both. so many responsibilities are piled up on his plate just in his second year so the only thing that keeps his shit together is your warm and loving embrace. HE'S A SMALL SPOON. NO BACKSIES, okay maybe he's a big spoon if you're the one who needs a little more loving.

GIFT-GIVING

★ i mean from the name itself ROSEHEARTS, roses are his go-to (he's corny but we love him like that), but if you have a different favorite flower then he'll get those, and if you're allergic he'll try to make those handmade ones! although a little sloppy, pretty successful for his first try. overall he likes giving the traditional gifts like bouquets, stuffed animals, and chocolates :) but if he gets to know you more it might be more personal and intimate stuff that fits your tastes, and of course, should be of use to you too.

THE SIMPLE THINGS

★ whenever you're stuck on a study session late at night he likes inviting you to take a break and brew some tea for you. he'll even share some sweets that Trey gave him. although he won't leave you alone after he finds you like that, instead he pulls out some reviewers he has and helps you work on whatever you find difficult to understand.

WORD AFFIRMATIONS

★ "Our race is nowhere near finished, so please my rose, stay strong, I know you can and want to do so. I am always by your side okay?"

✦ ┊LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

PHYSICAL AFFECTION (GIVING & RECEIVING)

★ hugs, hugs, and MORE HUGS. just lots of hugs! doesn't matter if he's a big spoon or small spoon, he needs you by his side 24/7, 365. he just has to have his scent all over you u know, half-breed things. this man is just lazing around anywhere so might as well bring his favorite pillow with him. and no, he doesn't care if you have class and need to take a test worth half your grade, he needs you more! ★ of course, he doesn't have long-ass hair for nothing, go be his peasant and brush it, most preferably with your fingers if he's having a good hair day. your soft fingers massaging his scalp are quite literally going to take him to heaven, and he'll have no regrets tho so go pocket something if that happens. ★ he doesn't pick favorites when it comes to giving and receiving physical affection, he just wants his hands all over you and if the job is done then he's good.

GIFT-GIVING

★ honestly man, i don't know with him. he's raised right so of course he gives you stuff like flowers and so on. on the other hand tho he isn't the type to know what you like and will most likely just ask you what you want him to give you. maybe he'll just take you to go fetch them at the store itself if he isn't sure. but on special days like your birthday or your anniversary (assuming ya'll would last more than a week), he actually tries and it's pretty sweet and more elaborate.

THE SIMPLE THINGS

★ whenever he's forcibly on a call with his brother, which surprisingly is turning into a regular thing, if Farena asks about how he's doing, Leona likely ends up only yapping about you. i mean yeah he missed his last test and he spent his allowance for the month in a week but does Farena know about the time you were mumbling Leona's name in your sleep? he will deny it if he's called out for doing so. NO, HE DID NOT PERIOD. *hangs up*

WORD AFFIRMATIONS

★ "Whatever you're thinking of, don't. It's stupid. As much as I don't like admitting this, you're strong, and even more than most beastmen if you set your mind to your goals."

✦ ┊AZUL ASHENGROTTO

PHYSICAL AFFECTION (GIVING & RECEIVING)

★ man's busy all the time so it's hard to get your hands on him. even if he's not busy, he will sprint for his life just to get away from you. not that he dislikes your affection, the concept is just a little foreign to him. give him time to adjust, then you'll find out how soft his tentacles are! ★ when he's actually busy and working on stuff in his office (when the time comes and he's comfortable) he likes it when you flop yourself on his lap and nuzzle into his chest. he feels guilty that he can't give full focus to you since his schedule truly is packed but you inviting yourself into his office at late hours of the day just to snuggle comforts and assures him in some way. he'll definitely find more time for you, he's trying his best lol! ★ overall he isn't one to initiate the touching even if he's fully vulnerable for you. idk too ask him about it. he's just happy you like him enough that you cling unto him. but if you ask him he may favor hand-holding the most, it may be the least contact but feeling your hand on his is enough for him.

GIFT-GIVING

★ HE KNOWS EVERYTHING. i'm not even kidding, even when it's no special day he'd likely buy stuff just because it reminded him of you or when you coincidentally need it which is pretty cute but can be a little creepy.

THE SIMPLE THINGS

★ i saw a fic back then that said he gives you some coupons and by some i mean a TON in hopes that you visit the Lounge and that is absolutely true. though he forgets you two are together and he can ask you nicely to come over but who can say no to 30% off all menu items?

WORD AFFIRMATIONS

★ "My, how could I ever deny what that cute head of yours and those strong arms of yours can do! You are a valuable asset to me...what kind of asset? Well...it's up to you to decide."

✦ ┊JAMIL VIPER

PHYSICAL AFFECTION (GIVING & RECIEVING)

★ he's also busy, honestly might be one of the, or if not the busiest of all of these guys. when you two have time to be together tho, even if he's knocked out and drained, he'll never show it. but i can say that's only during the early stages of your relationship with him and depending on how you two met. he likes to present himself in his best state and he really can't do so with his schedule so eventually he just melts and the next thing you know he's hugging you from the back any chance he gets and you feel his heartbeat turn slower by the minute. ★ for those moments that he sees you out and about though he likes patting your cute lil head, no matter what your height is. though he is trying to be a little adventurous with you so he leans in to caress your hair gently and suddenly you're met with a quick smooch. (only when there's no one else in sight so yeah adventurous my ass) ★ like leona, he loves it when you play with his hair, and he does not like to admit it. just remember to keep it neat and use a brush while you're at it, plus a facial and maybe a massage because i know those muscles are TIGHT.

GIFT-GIVING

★ his gifts reek of HANDMADE. idk he has those vibes. handmade flowers, or some origami of cute animals, but he likes giving you handwritten letters the most. it can be hard to communicate his real feelings to you so writing is a way for him to freely and easily express those feelings.

THE SIMPLE THINGS

★ whenever he cooks for Kalim or just whenever he cooks, he suddenly has some leftovers that he decided he'd pack up for you. can't bring himself up to say that excuse so he just gives it to you and walks away.

WORD AFFIRMATIONS

★ "Whining is useless. Do the things you're good at, stop worrying about the things you can't. Oh, I'm sorry...did that come off too harsh?"

★ author's note: congratulate me for coming back. BASK IN MY GLORIOUS PRESCENCE. (i missed u guys too ig)

©nerinefy 2023-2024 all rights reserved. do not plagiarize, repost, or translate.

[agirlwithglam]

📚 It girl's guide to school 📚

hiii girls! this is part of the big Guide to being the It Girl. this section will be all about school, studying and academics. i'll teach you how to tackle school, get the highest grades effortlessly, and look chic and gorgeous doing it! the rest of the ultimate it girl series is linked! 🎀

guide to getting good grades:

LISTEN IN CLASS. one of the best tips ever. if you would actually listen to what your teachers teaching in class, you’d get to spend a lot less time studying.

ask if you need help! these teachers are qualified for the job, they’re meant to be good at it. so if you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid to ask. and if you’re really too much of a chicken, ask once the class is over or email the teacher. but honestly? half the kids probably aren’t even listening tbh so u do ur thing!

participate in class. actually participating in class will help you so much in recalling the information. it’s a great way to actively revise. you don’t have to be a teachers pet or anything, but if you know the answer, put yourself out there. anyone who judges you simply judges themselves and their inability to speak up.

change up your environment so that you're still interested and excited to learn! you could go to a coffee shop, set up a mini picnic in the woods, go to a library, etc.

use alter egos!! i will never stop recommending this because it really is an amazing tip. either you can create your own alter ego who loves to study and gets high grades, or you could pretend you're rory gilmore or hermione granger!

revision/ study techniques:

feynman technique: teach it to someone else/ to plushies. try not to look at your notes too much, pretend ur a teacher.

use practice questions/ practice exams! trust me this can be so helpful! try and find past exams and go over them in exam conditions so you can see what u missed later. or, you can get all the info and ask an AI like chatgpt to write questions based on it and go through them!

BLURTING! love this method! basically, you write all the information you know about the topic on one page (optional: set a time limit) and then go over it with a different colour pen and add in what you missed. do this a couple times until you haven't missed anything! - you can do this by creating a mind-map, or literally just scribbling down everything you know.

SQ3R method: survey/ skim over the text, question- make questions on it, read- begin reading to find the answers to the questions, recite- summarise the words in a section in your own words, review- quiz yourself on what you just learnt

organise/ prioritise what you need to study using the traffic light method. first, identify the topics, then highlight them according to these 3 colors: red- struggling a lot/ no idea , yellow- okay ish, need to work on it a bit tho , green- good understanding & confident on the topic.

make associations. this is especially helpful for when you need to memorise things. the thing you need to memorise- link it to stuff that you already know.

⭐️ use mnemonics, songs, raps to remember! a couple years back, my science teacher made us create a rap on osmosis (a biology term). and not even kidding, i still remember the simple definition of what it does because of that rap! so create songs or rap and maybe even make a whole music video on it! trust me, not only is it so fun but it really does help keep the information in your mind!

more resources:

huge big list of studying and school

another big study masterpost

100 reasons to study

how to be a whole new student this year

ACE your exams -by me!

study icons:

as i mentioned earlier, channelling the energy of a character who already studies and gets good grades is an amazing way of getting yourself motivated! here are some of my favs & tips to study like them! (p.s i've also added links to the names for a more in depth guide on each person!)

♡ rory gilmore

she loves studying- develop that mindset! have a passion for learning more.

"i can go from 0 to studying in less than 60 seconds"

switch between different subjects when you get bored

ask someone to test you with flashcards

♡ elle woods:

study while you exercise- take care of ur body too!

"what, like its hard?"- i love her sm for this!! if anyone else can do something, of course you can do it too!

be ambitious + have strong source of motivation

get into study groups

♡ paris geller

have the discipline and ambition to do the things that will get you to where you want.

"i want to win, and i'm going to win." - love this, she's sure of herself and confident in her abilities.

prioritise & use to do lists

start early to be the top of your class!

♡ blair waldorf

honestly its so fun to embody her energy of high value, cares about her education, so confident and takes no sh*t from others!

"anything you can do, i can do better"

always have a plan

have flash cards, take notes

♡ hermione granger

always participate in class!

read more about the material. + learn more!

teach others & help them study

finish the hw/ work quickly and do the extra credit!

stylish in school 101:

SURVIVING SCHOOL AIR: here are some tips to staying/ looking pretty and refreshed all day at school bc u and i both know the horrors of school air 🙀 :)

DRINK WATER. stay hydrated - very important. always drink water. this keeps your lips hydrated, face hydrated, and just makes you look a lil less dead.

lip gloss/ lip balm to reapply throughout the day, esp for my girlies with chapped lips! i keep lip balm in my pocket so its always there when needed, but you can also keep it in your locker/ bag/ pencil case.

perfume. you can keep it in your locker/ bag/ pencil case to spray whenever needed and smell sweet and amazing the entire day <3

stop touching your face!! your hands have so much crusty dust and bacteria that can give pimples on your face.

keep hair away from your face. leave it out if you want, but try to make sure it doesn't touch your face too much- it also has tons of crusty musty dusty germs

keep a hairbrush in your locker. listen, i know how messy hair can get during school so keeping it in school is SO helpful to maintain the tidyness and cleanliness

waterproof makeup - if you wear makeup.

sunscreen!! keep. applying. SUNSCREENN!! i'm not going to elaborate further on this point.

ACCESSORISING YOUR UNIFORM!!

this is for the girlies who have a school uniform! i understand it can be so annoying so to have more fun and feel more confident, ACCESSORIZEE everything as much as you're allowed! here are some ideas!

♡ necklesses

♡ bracelets

♡ bows in your hair

♡ bows in your bag

♡ bows everywhere basically 🎀

♡ decorate your ipad/ pencilcase with stickers

♡ headbands

♡ rings

♡ cute earrings

♡ cute watch

♡ nails

♡ a cute clip!

the ultimate it girl series

xoxo, vanilla!

[whalesforhands]

This is the same anon with the truth or dare idea and I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT!! Got me all giggling and kicking my feet (from the quick reply AND the fic hehe) wanna say rq that I love how wholesome and cute your fics are❤️😭😭 they're healing my soul from the manga

Anyways I was thinking of something similar but with 7 minutes in heaven😗

Imagine playing 7 minutes in heaven with the trio in the classroom after class (I doubt the closets in their dorm is big enough) and stsg are both picked to go into the supply closet first, leaving reader and shoko alone. While the duo are doing god knows what in that closet, reader and shoko are just casually flirting and the longer it went on the handsier (is that even a word) she got. She couldn't really help it with the way that stocking was hugging the fat of your thighs, you can't blame her for wanting to give it a good squeeze, to which she eventually did. Reader just let out a whine of shokos name and brushed it off, though it did fluster her a little with how bold shoko is.

After the 7 minutes, stsg came out with their hair and clothes a bit disheveled (nobody questions it). Though they both had this look, lowkey glaring at shoko for getting to spend alone time with you and even getting you to let out such a cute call of her name. Cue their usual banter with shoko fighting over who gets to spend time with you and eventually everyone does get back to the game, this time reader and suguru getting paired up.

If there was anyone you'd wanna be locked in a dark closet with, it's probably suguru. He's so nice and thoughtful, always making sure you're feeling comfortable and that you're not too tensed. Though with how small the closet it, the both of you are pressed up against each other. Now usually suguru is one to keep his composure, but it's just a tad bit hard to do so when he can feel your soft breathing, and your chest pressed against his. Whenever you squirmed, he'd tell you to stay still, but the more you tried not to do something the more you couldn't help but do it😭 so now we have a fustered suguru trying to keep his hands to himself and reader who's squirming around and apologizing profusely. Eventually tho, suguru hugs reader in place to stop the squirming, tho I think he underestimated your height a little, seeing as how his arms are wrapped around your ass and not your waist, with his hands resting at the back of your thighs, and a surprised reader lets out a loud cry, which surprised suguru as much as you, and the two outside of the closet, who opened the closet door immediately after only to be greeted with the sight of your compromising position. Needless to say it took both you and suguru a while to actually look each other in the eye afterwards.

This is kinda long sry😓

this ask brings me back to 2014 creepypasta boyfriend scenario core. but it’s totally something that stsg would pull though LMFAO. and sorry, i picked the closet. a whole spacious classroom vs a tiny, dark enclosed space, which would u pick? hehe

party games are my way into your heart ii (shoko x reader, geto x gojo, gojo x reader x geto)

warnings: gets kind of spicy, 17+, third year au, i got slightly carried away writing, i am definitely showing favouritism towards geto in recent fics, gojo stans time to step up that creativity of yours and not just in porn, reader is a loser virgin

‘Party @ MY room!!! tell shoko too!! btw if u both miss it i’m eating all the pudding in the fridge!!’ - The Great Gojo Satoru

Two options were given for you to circle.

Yes or YES

Satoru had surreptitiously handed the note to you.

By that, he rolled a ball of crushed up paper towards you via the ground, past Suguru’s legs and eventually hitting your shoe as you slightly jolted from the sudden distraction from your literature review of The Tale of Genji.

He had coughed, albeit a bit loudly into his hand when you ignored it, choosing to focus on your essay, until you heard him cough even louder.

“Gojo, are you experiencing a cold?” Yaga-sensei had asked, out of concern for his student as a teacher, and out of worried annoyance because it was Gojo.

“Ahhh~ Sensei, ahem! Just feeling under the weather today!” He had coughed out, the back of his hand pressed to his forehead for melodramatic effect, leaning back and slumping down in his seat.

“You seem perfectly fine if you’re playing up such theatrics. Focus on your work.”

“Yes sir!”

You saw Suguru roll his eyes as Shoko audibly snickers at the situation.

(You smile just a little at his silliness. Maybe you will pick up his note.)

You snatch up the paper, gently unfolding it as Shoko peeks at it from beside you.

She smirked, reading the note before mouthing something to you.

“See you there.”

(Anything for Shoko.)

——

“Ugh, of course I get you.”

“Pfft, you should be proud, darling!” Gojo leaned against a huffing Geto’s shoulder, snuggling his head against him.

“I’ll be sure to show you a good time, sweetie~!” Gojo had puckered his lips, aiming to land an obnoxiously wet kiss on Geto’s cheek before his forehead was held back by the said victim’s palm.

“Save it.” Suguru grimaced, getting up.

Wrapping his arm around Suguru’s waist, Satoru lead them both to the closet, sending a wink towards you and Shoko before he slid the closet door shut.

…

…

…

“Ahnnn! Suguru you’re such a naughty boy!”

“Good god- Shut the fuck up!”

“Ooh~, I like it when you’re so mean to m- Ack!”

You heard fumbling, cursing from Suguru when he whacked his arm against something, Satoru growing strangely quiet.

You turned to Shoko, cheeks burning and embarrassment written all over your face as you tried to ignore, tried to stop your mind from imagining what was happening in there.

“Is… Is this normal for people our age…?” Your hands were pressed bashfully to your face, your shame apparent as Shoko downed another sip from her glass.

(“It’s special grape juice, don’t worry.” She had smiled, “You can have a sip, though.”)

“Totally normal if you’re as ‘active’ as those two. Haven’t seen them go a day without touching each other.”

(“Is it… Really that good?” You watch her down it. It looked kind of sweet.)

“…”

“Aren’t you curious about what it would feel like?” She paused, a devious smirk overtaking her face. “With me, of course.”

(“Try it, babe.” She had pressed the rim of the glass against your lips gently, about a single sip left inside. “Maybe you’ll like it.”)

——

Perhaps that was how you ended up in this situation.

Sitting on the ground, your thighs parted just enough for Shoko to be inbetween them, her lips pressed against your neck, her hand on your thigh as you squirmed at the feeling of her sweet tongue on your bare skin.

It felt good.

“Shoko…” Your hand comes up to her shoulder, gripping and trying to pull her closer as you felt her knee inch closer to your core.

It made you feel so… Warm and fuzzy. You can’t tell if it was the sip of alcohol you had, or maybe it was Shoko herself.

“Ah, Shoko!” You felt her bite down as your voice came out unexpectedly loudly in the form of a moan.

The closet door slammed open.

A haphazardly dressed Satoru and Suguru stepping out, almost hurriedly, causing Shoko to smirk, slowly separating from you but not without ensuring that your unbuttoned dress shirt exposed the mark she had left on you.

Satoru’s smile was tight eyes flitting between your neck and your face behind his sunglasses as Suguru kept his usual serene expression, albeit it looked a little forced.

A little angry.

“Why don’t we have our beloved (name) go next?”

——

“Suguru? I-I’m sorry I got you… I-I know you prefer Satoru so-“

“No, no.” He sounded a bit panicked, his hands pressed against the wall to prevent any ‘accidents’.

“You’re… Wonderful. I’m actually quite glad I got you.”

You perked up, your heart jumping at his words.

“R…really?”

You hear him chuckle. “Really. I’m fine with just chatting with you for the next 7 minutes.”

You hope he couldn’t tell that you were blushing.

Pressing your head against his chest, you uttered your soft thanks, feeling his hand gently stroking your head.

Your hands blindly shifted around, trying to feel for something to hold on to so that you could give Suguru some space, so that he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable touching you.

“Ah, p-please don’t move around so much.”

“S-sorry-! I’m trying to- ah!” You fell forward, your chest pressing even closer to Suguru, your thigh brushing against a certain area that causes him to freeze up.

You continue to squirm as you try to regain your balance, unknowingly rubbing against a slowly hardening-

“I’m sorry-! I’m going to hold you, okay?” You hear his hands moving away from the wall, trying to politely find purchase on your body before-

“S-Suguru…! That’s- That’s…!” His hands had unfortunately settled themselves on the globes of your ass, almost as if he had forgotten the height difference between the both of you.

“I-I’m very sorry!” His hands aimed to move up to your waist, but with your squirming, his hands only slipped further down, brushing against the skin of your exposed inner thighs as you suddenly moaned at the euphoric sensation.

(Another embarrassing sound from you…! Are you trying to kill off your social life?!)

The door is suddenly jolted open, a pouty, flustered Satoru gulping as he took in the sight.

The hem of your skirt had caught onto one of the many hangers, leaving it slightly flipped up, giving Satoru an eyeful of your panties.

Suguru’s face was bright red, his hands still on the back of your upper thigh, his grip had tightened protectively on instinct when the door was slid open, as if trying to defend you.

(It didn’t work. If anything, it added more tension to the scene.)

You were doing no better, panting and slightly sweaty, your hair a mess as you leaned against Suguru’s chest, hands wrapped around his waist.

You looked euphoric. Your eyes unfocused, the embarrassment making you cling even more onto Suguru, hiding your face in his chest.

“Get out, Satoru!” You felt Suguru’s chest rumble with displeasure, your face burning bright.

masterlist

Notes:

You and Suguru found it hard to look at each other without blushing up a storm for 3 days straight.

Shoko couldn’t stop laughing with every awkward interaction she watched between you 2.

You accidentally fell on top of him during one of the 3 days. Suguru nearly passed out.

Satoru was extremely pouty. He begged for a final round after you and Suguru got out of the closet. Just before it could land on you, Yaga had burst in, asking what all the racket was. That was the end of the party.

Satoru was refusing to cuddle with Suguru for a whole day out of pettiness.

Satoru, out of pettiness yet again, refused to talk to you civilly. You ended up cuddling with him in place of Suguru to, in his words ‘Make it even!’.

[noahsbookhoard]

📚November 2024 Book Review📚

November was a bit less busy that October and varies from jawdropping to very meh.

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone (Ernest Cunningham #1) by Benjamin Stevenson

That one is definitely in the jawdropping category. A great murder mystery in which you have all the keys and the author is right there telling you to "go ahead and solve it". I didn't. I had fun anyway. Just as darkly funny as the title announces.

Wintersmith (Discworld #34) by Terry Pratchett

I think sofar it is my favorite Tifanny Aching story: she is growing up and that shows, she is more responsible, she owns up to what she does wrong, she is still whip smart and I never get tired of the Nac Mac Feegle.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

This count as a novel read since I completed Dracula Daily like everyone on nov 8. The audio drama version by Bloody FM production is so good and a great plus because some of Van Helsing lecture at John are really just too long.

Une belle vie by Virginie Grimaldi

I don't know why but I ended up reading 3 Grimaldi in as many months, maybe because they are rather easy to read, funny and generally have a hopeful vives even when dealing with heavy themes. This one is the story of two estranged sister who reconnect by coming for one last vacation in their grand mother house before they sell it. They rebuilt their relationship and draw back childhood memories, some good and some bad. The part where I got confused is that the author tries to tackle a lot of subjects (bipolarity, depression, domestic violence and cancer are the ones I remember but there are many) instead of just one are two. It was a lot to handle at times but a good read nonetheless.

The Restaurang at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #2) by Douglas Adams

Book 2 is just as crazy as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I found it a little more coherent, as in I knew approximately where we were going (a restaurant) and the convoluted adventure that leads to and from it made more sense to me than in book 1. I'm really excited for the rest of the series.

L'amant by Marguerite Duras

I admit, I don't see the appeal. The writing is good but not incredibly so. The story itself is rambling, I guess it was intentional but it makes it harder to follow. The relationship between the author as a girl and her lover at least 10 years older is very disturbing when judge by modern standards and I was a little put off by the casual way she talks about her brother's death. I must have missed the literary qualities here but I might try another of her novel later on.

La Dame du manoir de Wildfell Hall (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall) by Anne Brontë

I felt so much fucking rage reading this novel! It has some of the most heinous male characters I have ever read and even the main love interest has a hell of a journey to stop being an entitled jealous violent piece of shit. That said it is very well written otherwise I would have either given up or thrown the whole thing through the window. Helen, the main character is strong minded and brave, I loved her from the start and grew even warmer. I strongly recommend it.

Tw for domestic abuse and alcoholism.

The Sword Catcher (Chronicles of Castelane #1) by Cassandra Clare

This was an indulgence: I said I wanted to read less traditional medieval heroic fantasy and it falls right into it. It is good tho! I liked the concept of the Sword Catcher and the Ragpicker King amd especially how the two characters interact. I really hope the relationship between Connor and Kel is explored more too in the future books because the homoerotic subtext deserve to be more text than that!

Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean #2) T J Klune

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea so I was excited for the sequel, but a little weary too. I was afraid not to find what made book 1 so dear to me. But there it was! The kids and their shenanigans, Arthur and Linus being their lovey dovey selves, Zoey and Helen are all the village had kept its newly opened mind from the end of book 1 and that was very comforting. The story is hard, the hate and fear they face hits a little too close. But they overcome it and everything ends well which is just what I wanted to read.

The kids calling Arthur and Linus Dad and Papa was extremely cute. I really loved David and how he bonded with Lucy. Not a comfort book as much as the first one but I had a great time reading it

My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

I stumbled upon this one because I watched this video of a person who read all the Rylo fanfic turned novels out of morbid curiosity and this one seemed intriguing enough for me to try, open mind and all that. I was promised some whimsy, a shopping montage and a heist.

Well there's comedy (an kumquats for some reason) The shopping montage wasn't much of a montage, they just went and tried t-shirts on. But the end was just stupid: female lead went ahead with a plan she deems stupid and unlikely to work, us reader with even the tiniest bit of social media experience know that the plan is stupid and can't possibly work. And it works. Just genuinely first degree work. When you go with that in a comedy setting at least make your stupid plan work in a funny way, WWDITS style! Some bits are tedious, I understand your 400 year old don't know how to use Instagram but I do and I don't need a full chapter of tutorial (same chapter as my newest fight with my nemesis, the possessiveness trope, you don't get to storm off and brood just cause she posted bikini pics dude!)

Overall it was quite fun if you don't think to much about it.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

I listen to the audio book and the accents were *chef kiss*: it is a novella with slavic folklore creatures in an modern setting and I wasn't expecting to love it so much!! It's a story about monsters and family and duty. Angsty, a bit gay, the characters relationship work very well. It will be a reread in the future.Greatest of news for me today! I discovered by googling the spelling of characters names that a second book is coming this year!

[stevethehairington]

okay so. overall review:

actually not as bad as i expected it to be! and not as bad as i thought it was going to turn out while i was in the trenches there lol. i still wished it focused a little more on eddie's home life/relationship with his dad and uncle AND his friends, and had way less of the romance stuff (read: none), BUT i will admit that there ended up being a lot less of the romance stuff than i initially expected and a lot less than it seemed like there would be while still in the middle of the book.

the paige stuff still made me uncomfy bc i didn't like the power dynamics there (paige had something eddie wanted desperately, and i don't like the idea that that could have had something to do with his "feelings" for her/why he engaged with them ((esp bc let's be real — he didn't seem super torn up over not getting to be with her in the end)) or that she used that to her advantage bc there was ALSO something in it for her) BUT i will say they did make it slightly less skeezy than i expected bc she was only a couple years older than him instead of like. significantly older like i expected.

i do wish there was more about eddie's friends and their fallout and reconciliation. his friends were super important to him and he just. dropped them. like that. and there was BARELY any blowback. like yeah there was a fight with ronnie, but we never actually got to see the reactions of any of the other hellfire/corroded coffin guys, and i would've liked to see that. same with the reconciliation, it felt very minimal — i would've liked to see more of how that played out too.

I LOVED EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN SECOND OF WAYNE MUNSON CONTENT, THAT MAN IS A GIFT HE IS AN ANGEL I ADORE HIM WITH EVERYTHING IN ME. IF THERE IS ONE THING THIS BOOK HAS DONE IT HAS SOLIDIFIED MY STANCE THAT WAYNE MUNSON IS THE BEST GOD DAMN CHARACTER AND I WOULD DIE FOR HIM.

as for eddie — i think the author did an alright job finding his voice. there were times where i thought she really nailed it, but there were also A LOT of times where i thought "he would never say that!!" "he would never do that!!". it wasn't very consistent, but overall it wasn't awful and there were some good parts!

the other characters we know and love that made cameos — VERY fun to see them (gareth, chrissy, jason, hopper, will, jonathan!!!) gareth was ESPECIALLY fun to see because they really embraced that feral chihuahua boy energy we love to assign to him. BUT. i am SO incredibly upset with how badly they massacred my boy tommy h (whOSE LAST NAME THEY COULDNT EVEN GET RIGHT I MEAN W H A T!?) they fucking. got his characterization SO BAD. it was awful. i am. personally offended by it (joking, mostly rhsjsi). (as a tommy lover i am. devastated tho. HE WOULD NOT DO THAT!!!)

OH ALSO — reefer rick. WHAT a fun dude. hes out here in his robe and bunny slippers drinking darjeeling tea, living it up. what a guy.

id like to give a huge FUCK YOU to principal higgins too! they made that dude a straight up MONSTER. he was unnecessarily CRUEL and some of the things he said straight up to eddies face,,,,,,, sir what the FUCK. i know the 80s was a different time but jesus fucking cHRIST was casual cruelty and bullying from grown ass ADULTS commonplace? i sure hope not.

ALSO FUCK AL MUNSON LIVES ALL MY HOMIES HATE AL MUNSON LIVES. that man was AWFUL, TRULY HONESTLY GENUINELY THE WORST. neglectful and cruel and downright AWFUL. NOT ONLY DID HE CONSISTENTLY ABANDON EDDIE THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE BUT THEN HE DREW EDDIE INTO HIS SCHEMES, CONNED HIM, FUCKED UP REAL BIG, AND THEN LEFT EDDIE IN THE ASHES OF THEIR — OF HIS — HOME AS THE ONLY PERSON LEFT WITH THE COP WHO GOT SHOT AND IS LIKE SLOWLY BLEEDING OUT. TALK ABOUT FUCKING TRAUMA WHAT THE FUCK. i hope he got flayed ALIVE by charlie greene lmao it would serve him right that absolute twat waffle.

also, im gonna be real. the end of that book was actually INSANELY depressing. like, it tried to be positive because you gotta end on a positive note right? but it just fell. COMPLETELY flat. bc we all know what happens to eddie in canon. he's sitting there reenrolling in school, peacoking around about how he's GOING to finish high school and he's GOING to graduate and he's GOING to show principal higgins that he CAN do it and that he ISNT the fuckup deliquent he's convinced he is. BUT WE ALL KNOW HE DOESNT FUCKING GET THAT IN CANON. he's taking waynes advice and fully embracing who he is and he's learning to be comfortable in his own skin and to rise above all the noise of people who don't like him and think he's a freak. ONLY WE KNOW HE NEVER TRULY GETS TO DO THAT EITHER BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW HOW IT ENDS IN CANON. so yeah it just ends up being a REALLY fucking BLEAK ending because all of that "positivity" is absolutely tainted. it's fucking soured. and i am once again INSANELY INFURIATED about eddies death. so fuck the duffers, again.

also, eddie munson literally never caught a fucking break. not one fucking break. his ENTIRE life was just one series of tragedies after the other and it truly just continued on that way until he fucking died. honestly, its a goddamn MIRACLE that he has ANY ounce of positivity and optimism and hope left in his life when we get to him in s4. thatd how utter dogshit a hand he has been dealt in life. and it only.got worse from there. and i will NEVER forgive ANYONE involved in his creation for that.

so yeah! that concludes my journey reading flight of icarus. it was a wild ride lol.

[triphimi]

Arcane season 2 review and opinions (spoilers obv):

As a show by itself it was good... not as good as 1st season I feel tho? Obviously the biggest problems s2 has are pacing issues and lack of time which resulted in a very rushed story in the whole season but especially episodes 8 and 9.

The ending is bittersweet which was expected, but the lack of connections between characters in act 3 was lame. Yes, I'm bitter about Sevika not having a single line throughout the whole act and Isha not being mentioned by name at all.

That sex scene felt so forced too ngl. I wish we still got it but in different settings cuz like Vi, your sister kinda went to kill herself. The scene itself was cool ig but why did it have to be in a prison cell bro.

I liked what they did with Viktor, Ekko was carrying the plot of act 3 and saved the day as usually, Singed got the happiest ending out of everyone which is funny and fitting to his gameplay in lol. You know, fuck around everywhere, piss off everyone and get away. Isha despite being just a plot device was a nice addition still, loved the dynamic between her and Jinx and Sevika.

Making Singed Orianna's father and the Doctor Reveck was something people were speculating about for a long time already.

Now speaking as a league of legends fan after they decided to make Arcane a main canon...

Why? Things were perfectly fine with how they were before. Sure, some things being canon are cool maybe but it sacrifices so much of the already existing story for this. And it messes up the timeline so bad. Mostly because Singed seemed to stay in P&Z and it doesn't seem like he has any more ties with Noxus after Ambessas death and he didn't seem to have any before so... who made the gas for Noxian invasion of Ionia? Did that even happen anymore. The Invasion had to happen bc Swain seemingly already has a deal with Raum (unless we want to speculate that the crow was just Raum before he made a deal with Swain but who tf knows now?)

If the invasion did happen already then either:

a) Singed did make a gas for Noxus before Arcane and it's just never mentioned that he had previous connections with them?

b) Singed didn't make the gas Noxus used in the invasion. Takes away some importance Singed had in lore but with that new one, he at least has something. With that half of Ionian champions lore isn't fucked at least

c) The invasion did happen but they didn't use the gas which messes up SO MUCH. Half of Ionian champs lore is not canon now? Did something different happen to them, who tf knows?

I know the next series will probably be set in Noxus which might explain some thing (pls timeline) but that's like another 3 years or so of waiting.

Sorry if it felt mostly negative. I don't think that season sucked completely and would still rate it 8/10, ig I was just holding it up to a higher standard than i should've. Its also bc I focused mostly on act 3 here and kinda wanted to rant about the all the main canon lore from before Arcane is now in limbo of what's canon and what's not, and unfortunately it doesn't just include P&Z and Noxus.

[bisexualhobi]

exo - exist review

i just wanna start by saying that this comeback is the highlight of my year already. i did have high expectations because after all, this is exo and their discography is easily at the top of the entire industry... and for groups that debuted over a decade ago they're one of the last still standing, so after a 4 year old hiatus the expectations were high to say the least. did they manage to meet them? let's find out!

the title track deserves a whole paragraph so:

cream soda - a high paced r&b pop song with a luscious instrumental and a collection of high notes that flex the strengths of the group. it definitely packs a punch and i think it would benefit from getting a slower intro but even so, the song doesn't disappoint. it kinda reminds me of a maroon 5 song during their golden years and i think it's the perfect balance of "grown men r&b" and playfulness (coupled with less than subtle sexual innuendos about popping like a soda bottle this is a great evolution for exo, who have been known to always make pussy popping music but have struggled to shed the high school boys image sm is so fixated on giving them). rating: 9/10

regret it - literally straight out of the pcy1 vault and you can't convince me otherwise. soooo happy to hear an r&b jam straight out of the 90s since that is literally exo's blueprint. i love the production on this track because it has enough elements to keep it interesting and the chorus is super catchy. chanyeol takes the crown for me for obvious biased reasons but i love kyungsoo and jongdae's runs in this. rating: 10/10

hear me out - sounds much better like this. like now i get 100% the reasoning behind this song and the style it has. it's really such a chill vibe and a welcome breather after the one two punch of the previous songs. i feel like the prechorus and post chorus of this song could have been amped up way more and a breakdown for the bridge would've made it ten times more fun tho. rating: 9/10

random observation i noticed: the resting silences between songs are a tad too short for my liking. we need to let this marinate and sometimes it does feel like the album is sprinting towards the end.

private party - chanyeol opening the song AS HE FUCKING SHOULD. this beat is nasty... it's the perfect combination of exo's r&b sultry side and a hot sexy beat to shake ass to. it's just fun and good and takes you on a sonic ride from start to finish. i did expect the weeknd vibes from the title alone but i'm glad with the result here. rating: 10/10

cinderella - oh marz. oh you.... i knew exactly what the beat drop was gonna sound like from the second the song started and i'm not mad about it! this is another old school r&b infused serenade song while giving it a fresh modern style with the synth arrangements. taking a point off just because the mixing is too compressed and the synth takes over the landscape in an overbearing way (happens all the time with flume too so i get it but i feel like this could've been prevented here). rating: 9/10

no makeup - okay so the whore music run of this album from private party to no makeup is insane. we get it. these men fuck. they made sure to let us know they're in their 30s and it was about DAMN time. that post that's like they melted their dick and balls into a flashdrive and fucked the console in the recording studio.... yeah. the background harmonies are TOP TIER too but i didn't expect anything less from exo. props to jongdae, minseok and chanyeol cause they were working overtime layering these vocals. rating: 10/10

love fool - deadass was expecting this to be the slower snoozefest of the album... but exo are intent on making every track off this album COUNT. this is such a classic exo jam... every element of this song works in their favor. great melody, great instrumentals, great topline, great chorus. this is PURE quintessential exo. rating: 10/10

another day - this is good song! a great song even. my notes for this one just say "good song. really like it" it's just not something that stuck out to me enough to analyze it further. i think that's fine. the layering of vocals is once again great. i don't love the topline specially for the chorus (feels super nct 127 past their peak) but it's still a good song. rating: 8/10

let me in - this is their boyz ii men serve of the year. perfect closer. perfect slow ballad and i'm not a fan of those in the first place. definitely the vocal highlight of the album. that's all i can say. exo did it once again kids. rating: 9/10

[megatruxfr]

Reviewing Dutch versions as a Dutch bc i can lol - Dinotrux

A kids show that is already very high quality for its targeted audience, also has great voice actors.. but in Dutch?

I am Dutch myself and i personally like watching Dutch versions, i don't think they are so bad as everyone in our country says, i even know lots of them and i am a big fan of some of their works as they try to grow in a country that constantly bashes them for their work even tho they have such good voices most of the time. And i am just a teen ���

The Dutch voices

Ty

Voiced by: Jelle Amersfoort

The first thing i like about Jelle's job on Ty's Dutch voice is how he doesnt at all sound like Andrew Francis - he sounds much deeper, also a bit older hihi and he has less voice breaks. Jelle is very good at working with his voice, especially depicting emotions. In Dutch Ty sounds (in my opinion) more realistic instead of like a character. He sounds very mature. You can hear how hard Jelle worked for this and how much work he is willing to put in this. Ty has one of my favourite Dutch voices.

Dozer

Voiced by: Frans Limburg

Frans Limburg is just one of those voices that everyone in our country recognizes. I garantee you that everyone in the Netherlands has heard Frans Limburg in an animated movie / series at least 2 times. No one just knows his name. And that is a HUGE shame, because Frans is a national treasure, mark my words. The passion and the energy he puts into everything he does is just amazing to listen to! Dozers Dutch voice REALLY sticks out with the rest of the crew. Frans Limburg's raggedy, screamy acting voice fits Dozers character and personality so well and it also sounds a lot like Brian Drummond. But unlike what we see with Ty, Dozers voice is in Dutch slightly higher and screams more, unlike Brian Drummonds lower, often more calm voice. And the VOICE CRACKS - They are GENIUS!! Idk how else to describe it. Frans Limburg sometimes cracks his voice when Dozer is screaming or yelling, it really adds to the animated character and makes it very fun to watch and hear. Dozer had a few episodes where he was voiced by someone else (in at least the pounder episode) all i knew is that i wanted Frans back. Frans does such amazing jobs and i loved his depiction of Dozer! Continuing with...

Skya

Voiced by: Yael van Rosmalen

Skya is voiced by Yael van Rosmalen, who has worked with DW and Netflix before with Dragons: Race to the Edge where she played Astrid in Dutch. And as soon as you hear Yael's confident, sharp voice, its hard to forget it. Even though she isnt in a lot of productions, Yael clearly puts a lot of effort in her roles and really gets the characters she voices. Her voice is very memorable and its sounds absolutely great. She fits Skya better then i would expect, i heard her only once before as Astrid in the Dutch version of Dragons: Race To The Edge, wich i watched when i was like 8 or something, (15 now) ALL the time in between i have never watched RTTE again, and as soon as i heard Skya speak in Dutch i immediatly regocnized the voice, even after 7-8 years of not hearing it + not even thinking of it. Almost a DECADE later and i still immediatly remembered the voice. To me that really says something about how good this actress really is in her work, especially if i only remembered her from a show when i was, point 1, a young girl just looking at my screen and not paying that much attention to how a character sounds, but point 2, also not even liking the show that much and after being done watching it pretty much forgetting what it was about. Skya's Dutch voice doesnt only sound memorable, it also fits her character ridiculously well and Yael van Rosmalen, AGAIN, does not sound that much like the original English actor, in this case Ashleigh Ball, and yet she manages to fit into the character so well. I love her voice, i think she is very underrated and she deserves to be in more projects. We need more of this girl, she steals the show! Now lets go further with..

Ton Ton

Voiced by Hein Gerrits

I never really thought about Hein Gerrits and how he played Ton Ton, but something i definitley regocnize is how he does not sound like Matt Hill at all. Matt Hill and Hein Gerrits, their voices are worlds apart, but this isnt bad. I loved both of the impressions, in the case of Ton Ton and his Dutch and English voices i dont really have one i necesarrily prefer, or like more, but i do think Ton Ton sounds good in both languages. When i first heard Ton Tons Dutch voice i didnt really know what to think of it and to be honest i still kinda don't, but its really not bad. I do not think Hein Gerrits sounds bad. I think he portrays Ton Ton quite well, he sounds like he's having fun, his voice fits Ton Ton well too. Heins voice fits Ton Ton pretty well if you ask me, especially when Ton Ton yells, whoops or screams or says the word dude, like Hein knows what Ton Ton is about, he sounds very enthousiastic and like he's having fun. Also i am so glad they kept the word dude in the Dutch version •_> •

D Structs

Voiced by: Paul Kloote

This man. This man right here. This mother ffing man.

Paul's job on this show was just... wow. His work in general is so good i'm not even kidding. D Structs sounds amazing in Dutch. Paul Kloote is already good at voicing villains, i have heard him in more animated shows, like Kulipari where he was the Dutch voice of lord Marmoo, and he sounds exactly like D Structs does (wich made me giggle a bit uhrm) but Pauls acting and the way he fits into his characters is AMAZING.

You know a voice actor is good when they use the exact same voice for each character they voice, yet they still manage to fit into the character perfectly and making them sound realistic. Thats how i know Paul Kloote is good at his job. This man has an awesome acting voice for villains. He makes D Structs sound so realistic and dangerous, like he should be portrayed. Paul Kloote perfectly keeps up with Paul Dobson's original voice for D Structs. From D Structs' angry roars and dialogue to his scared / angry screams and definitley his evil laughs, Paul Kloote can do it all. He made D Structs so real and so amazing in this dub. I had pretty low expectations of Dutch D Structs, but boy was i blown away by Paul Klootes job. Just another underrated actor that deserves more attention. Someones gotta point it out! 🫠

(Final character!)

D Stroy

Voiced by: Paul Donkers

(Whats with all the Pauls in this cast lol)

Digging a little deeper here. Uhm.

Okay, being completely honest, i didnt really like Paul Donkers as D Stroy. His voice doesnt really add anything to the character. Brian Dobson made D Stroy sound like the sadistic, intelligent psycho he is, but Paul Donkers' job was just kind of bland. Ntm he sounds waaaay deeper then Brian, and it doesnt really fit D Stroy as a character. Paul Donkers is a good actor, but his voice just doesnt really suit D Stroy if you ask me, if i think of Dutch voice for him i would rather think of Rutger Le Poole (Dutch voice for Hawkmoth in Miraculous Ladybug) or Simon Zwiers (really good voice actor, was Mattis in the new Ronja - series on Netflix i think) also i am 100% sure i have heard Paul Donkers multiple times before. His voice sounds familiar, but i dont know from where.

Dinotrux in Dutch: is it worth a watch?

It definitley is!

The Dutch actors suit the characters very well and really add their own layer and vibe to each character! I would definitley recommend you give it a try and i hope you like it as much as i did!

🇳🇱Stop met klagen over nederlandse versies! Ze klinken vaak gewoon goed!

Anyways, this was my review! I will do this more often. Thanks for being here! :]

[jadetheblueartist]

IM SO SORRY I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED YOUR TEGAN ASK

I feel so bad :( you said it took you three hours and also I had written a huge response and now it’s gone ;-;

Okay so I’m going to rewrite my response but I’m really sorry if I get things wrong since now I can’t review what you sent ;-;

————

I LOVE THE IDEA SO MUCH!!!! And I would love to hear more about their training and life on the ship!

I may be obsessing over Talon and Megan a tad bit…

I love all the possibilities of how they passed the time in the car so much. It would be so awkward at the start and I’m all here for it!! I imagine Talon carried most of the conversation from the beginning until after they really got to know each other. I feel like at the start Talon would just awkwardly try to tell her what has happened to the earth while she was gone in hopes of starting some conversation. I’m imagining the parking lot picnic with them just drinking slushees and eating whatever gas station food seemed good (I’m assuming everything is kind of run down?)

Car karaoke. Oh it would be amazing. Talon trying to find songs Megan likes and trying to get her to sing along, windows rolled down, it’d be such a vibe.

With the race scene I can’t stop picturing the scene from princess bride where they both are rolling down the hill XD

Their relationship is so great, two strangers bonding in a long car ride… oh wait they already knew each other? They were already in love from book one? But Megan’s memory was wiped- WAIT NO THEY WERE IN LOVE AND HER MEMORY WAS WIPED!?!? Okay, okay, it’s fine at least they became close again, just a fresh start nothing to worry about… HER MEMORY WAS WIPED A SECOND TIME!?!? TALON THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD!?!?!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (this is so tragic but I love it so much)

Talon nooooo why the tragic backstory ;-; (I love it very much)

Oh and the art? I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! I love Talon’s design!!!!!! The drawing of him saying happy birthday to himself makes me so sad ;-;

Also question time!

Do you have designs for the sci fi ppl? Are they like aliens or just advanced humans chilling in space? Does Talon hide his tattoo? (I love that type of angst so much mhm hidden scars [in this case a tattoo tho]) and you said there was an image limit… could I see those drawing you couldn’t show? Also why is it called Tegan (is it bc Talon + Megan = Tegan…)? That should be all of my questions…

Anyway I absolutely love this story and please feel free to tell me more whenever! (I’d love to hear a lil more about Ivan too)

Again really sorry abt deleting the ask ;-; I hope you have an amazing day though!!

(I feel like I’m forgetting things I wanted to mention but idk)

Oh my I wrote out this whole thing and it deleted it for me hahaha let’s try this again

No worries about deleting the ask it happens hahaha and it doesn’t look like you got anything wrong so yay!

I’m gonna answer this paragraph by paragraph

-IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT and I’m pretty sure I have either the original google doc or a “Megan’s POV” doc that I can look into to give you those details :)

-I’m so glad you’re obsessing so we can be in the same boat

-I’ve been mulling over that car scene for years and somehow you managed to squeeze out even more serotonin for me to devour I thank thee. And I think it’s run down ish, like people are still there but WW3 is kind of happening/ just happened soooo you know

-it would be the vibiest ^^

-I’m so glad you said that bc I couldn’t connect the dots as to what that scene reminded me of but yeah that’s amazing

-IKR the mind wiping rocked my world. My friend was at the point where she was writing the post separation explosion and we were on face time and she casually mentioned “oh you know the cars weren’t the first time they met, right?” I went feral trying to get all the info out of her hahaha

-yes his backstory makes me so sad…

-I’m glad you like the design! It was our group’s “hot guy” design hahaha I’ve tried to make it more individualized to him over the years tho, and that happy birthday one gets me every time (especially since that’s probably how he spent most his birthdays…)

Yay Question Time!

-I believe I could at least get the designs for those people sometime soon. They are just random people who decided to work for big bad (aka the voice, bc they only heard his voice through speakers at first). The voice decided he could make some good money abducting children and forcing them to be assassins so he did that. The government doesn’t know about them bc they hide in space. The few organizations trying to take them down are the only ones who really know about it

-talon has a few different tattoos, the one he got initiated with is a tattoo/ permanent burn so it has to stay covered to protect it, the other is just on his neck and he leaves that one in the open (I can point it out in the pics below)

-and yes! Tegan is the ship name for Talon and Megan (it was that or Melon hahaha)

-Ivan didn’t really have much personality in the oh other than he was angry bc the scientist that snuck into the escape ship was dating his crush, I’ve made some personal modifications to him in my head though making him more protective rather than just angry (he’s also Megan’s cousin) and I just remembered I have a drawing of him? So cue the picture section :)

Picturesssss

Here’s Ivan, the permanent third wheel (he doesn’t know tho)

The first ever drawings of Talon and Megan 😬

Moving on… idk which of these are repeats so lemme know if they are and I could probably substitute them for new pics

And now the og Megan design vs the much needed redraw

Ughhhh the one on the left still haunts me…

I was struck by the limit again so I might reblog this with a few more, idk hahaha

But reading through this ask made me so happy you have no idea (insert the “I don’t normally feel things but that one got through” donnie gif)

Thank you so much and I’ll look into the daily life on the ship and the sci fi guy designs :)

[gxilgramore]

Jubilee is a lot!

Yes i know the quality of the photo is bad, i couldn't find an high quality version of the OG cover.

First listen of Jubilee, and i assume you already know why i gave it a chance, because the episode Dalek from series 1 with Eccleston is an adaptation, and of course being a Eccleston fan i was interested in how the story would work with a completely different Doctor and Companion.

Basic stuff first, Evelyn is delightful, ok, she is not a standout for me, she feels like other companions to some extent, but make no mistake i still love her and the relationship with the Doctor, their dialogue feels kind of Donna, kind of Sarah Jane, even kind of Charlie Pollard but she still feels like her own character because of her aspirations and objectives, you can also say that she feels like Rose, but I don't see it besides the compassion for the seemly good Dalek and the confrontation of the Doctor's own internal hatred, i think she is pretty good and I don't know if other stories showcase her in a different light but im curious, if you have any recs for other Evelyn stories id love to listen.

Also the Daleks here, my previous experiences with them in BF were the first 8th Doctor/Lucie Miller story that i forgot the name, i as you all know i think this story is mediocre at best, and i thought most Dalek stories from this era would be like that and I'm so happy of being wrong, the Daleks here are not only full of the threat that made me love them in Victory of the Doctor but also more thematic relevance than ever, because of how much they add to the whole "humans can also be bad if fed by propaganda" thing, also the "good" dalek has an personality so unique by how much Briggs (i think its Briggs) put these inflections and manical laughter to him, it really makes him feel so alien even in the other parts of the storie where he should have felt like a normal Dalek.

And speaking of the TV episode that adapted this story, yeah i can see where the similarities come, but it also feel like the TV episode reconstructs from the ground up the story to feel to the 9th Doctor character, Dalek is (at this moment, i need to rewatch series 1) my favorite episode of that season, so seeing an episode that expands on those themes is pretty amazing, im not complaining of course that Dalek is a watered down version of Jubillee, those stories care the same themes but Dalek adds his own spin on it with discussions of PTSD and the framing of the Doctor as a being that can villain due to his traumas instead of the humans so they compliment and expand on each other instead of the TV episode feeding on it's source material.

And another thing is the build up, in my Chimes of Midnight mini review i made clear that the way Sherman builds a mystery is so anxiety inducing and i want to know more because what the actual fuck is going on and Jubilee also carries exactly that, this fucked up world that it builds is so weird that it feels off-putting even to think about it but you really want to know why these people are this way, how that happened, the mystery of the TARDIS, the Doctor's visions, the second legless Doctor, it feels wicked, dark, disturbing, also because it's kind of gruesome, yeah i know, its the wilderness years, Doctor who was like that, but i was not expecting a beheading, the "Doctor" dying like a maniac, it feels really tense and the cliffhangers, god they are so good, i literally gasped at 2 of them because of how tense they are, Sherman is really climbing to be my favorite who writer, him, moffat and Davies are my big 3.

Thematically is where things get... Complicated, because yeah the point of the story is fair and the way it explores it is intense and hammer the point home a lot, i still feel a bit weird about the entire conclusion tho. Don't get me wrong i felt more rewarded in that conclusion than in Chimes, it's not about the narrative rather than the themes being portrayed, thats why Jubilee is a lot, because it is so many themes, from propaganda, the relativation of fascism (even a kind of meta joke on the Dalekmania, somehow), the hypocrisy of the way governments deal with the rise of fascism in the modern era, it's so many themes packed into a 2 hour audio drama that it gets really dificult to discuss right after listening to it, requires some listens and thinking to grasp to totality of its political themes, and im too tired to think and with too much adhd to relisten, thanks college for both of these.

Jubilee is good. 9/10

[esc-is-holding-me-hostage]

Okay, I'm finally done with the annual quick reviews. Overall opinion: it's 2020 all over again but the lows are not so low (and the highs are not as high either). The competition is very open, which is refreshing after last year's one-horse race disguised as a two-horse race. There are no songs I would listen to after the contest but as a Eurovision lineup it's pretty entertaining and varied. Also, the girl-bopocalypse of 2021 was much better. Albania The decision of translating the song into English is already questionable but did we really need a fucking dance beat in the last chorus?

Armenia I love how fun it is, but I wish there were, you know, lyrics in the chorus

Australia You couldn't have made a more unsettling music video if you've tried.

Austria I don't know why they've decided to go with bloody eurodance this year. It does not feel updated for the modern times, it's not a cheeky pastiche either. We Will Rave feels like it's been lying around in a vault for the past 20+ years and then the Austrian delegation accidentally stumbled upon it and decided that yes, it will be a perfect Eurovision pick. I still don't hate it though? It might become my guilty pleasure of the year even.

Azerbaijan Why would you bring a guy with such a charismatic moustache just to do a little 10-second chant near the end? He deserves better!

Belgium I should love it. It should've been my number 1, it's Belgium going back to Dark and Moody™, it's what I always want from them. And yet I only like it. The last minute or so is great, but the lead up to that is whatever and doesn't do anything for me.

Croatia The chorus is weak and kinda generic, but the verses are so good they make up for it. The "please meow back" line receives the award for the best lyric of the year.

Cyprus For a twice (or possibly thrice) recycled song it's surprisingly okay. Nothing groundbreaking, it's still a dance-pop song from Kontopoulos, but it's fine.

Czechia I have a complex love-hate relationship with this one. The melody is great, it's exactly the kind of music I listen to outside of ESC. But good lord, do I hate the repetitive self-empowerment lyrics in the chorus.

Denmark Ehhh... She's a good singer I guess.

Estonia I think it's my favorite song of the year? Similarly to Trenulețul it just activates some primal dance spirit in me. Suit jackets on the naked body are still a crime against humanity tho.

Finland Yeah, I'm sorry, but if you hate No Rules, then you hate fun.

France France keeps trying to hide from us what's actually popular in their country.

Georgia It's another generic girl-bop ESC song, we've got half-a-dozen of these this year, but goddamn Nutsa is a fucking powerhouse.

Germany Imagine Dragons-ass production aside, the elephant sounds are such a bizarre choice.

Greece ... I'm sorry but Zari sounds like a bunch of noises with no melody to me, I'm very much not the target audience for this one and I don't get why everyone seems to love it so much.

Iceland Yeah, it's dated and kinda lame but in a very charming way.

Ireland Doomsday Blues is great, but because of all the layering and vocal distortions the live version will always be very different from the studio one. What I'm trying to say is that the live version sounds like an off-off-Broadway villain song.

Israel It's boring as fuck.

Italy It's nice but similarly to Greece I have no idea why is it so beloved by the fandom.

Latvia The song is so boring, that the most talked about part of Latvia's entry is Dons' lack of hair.

Lithuania After I've reassured myself that no, Luktelk does NOT sound like a Ruki Vverkh song it became pretty good.

Luxembourg So much potential in Luxembourg's comeback and yet they went with the most mid(tempo) song ever.

Malta Another generic girl-bop, and the closest we've gotten to an actual SloMo copycat, but it's okay I guess.

Moldova I almost forgot to write anything about Moldova before posting it, which is all you need to know about my opinion on In The Middle.

Netherlands I hate to say it, but I kinda love it? Yeah, Joost has the most punchable face in the history of humanity and I've made several references to my comedically exaggerated hatred of 90s dance music, but Europapa just keeps getting better the more I listen to it.

Norway I like it, but can't really say anything about it other than that.

Poland Very "topped at number 37 in Billboard hot 100 in 2019 and then was featured in a couple ads"-coded

Portugal One of the Portuguese entries of all time (i still like it tho)

San Marino Not as good as Arcadia but I'm happy Megara have made it to Eurovision anyway :)

Serbia It's fine.

Slovenia Similarly to Belgium, I wish I loved it more than I do.

Spain Really fun entry, iconic journey to ESC, but the weak vocals will be the reason the juries will murder Zorra in the Grand Final.

Sweden Not as forgettable as everyone says it is but it's still polished Swedish pop entry #569328

Switzerland From testing the limits of my attention span two years ago to making the most ADHD song of the year, huh. The Code is so many things at once and yet it works without feeling like a disjointed mess.

Ukraine I miss the times when Jerry was making funny meme songs, now we're stuck with her religious awakening era. Alyona's verse is the highlight of the song, everything else is good if you don't think about the lyrics too much.

United Kingdom I don't know how, but the UK has managed to make a decent song that I kind of hate yet again. The production in Dizzy annoys me to no end, I fucking hate the bells and the synths in the chorus, why are they so fucking annoying.

[hikarry]

Oh, now we’re talking. The homosexuality undertones on this bitch were devilish (it was 2010. I know we complain a lot but, realistically, it's nice we even had undertones of gay in a big project like this back then with big house name actors like Benedict and Freeman).

Watson's dry humour on this one scratched such a good itch on my brain (*High stakes situation*: 'How would you describe me?'/'Late?'). God, he's delightful.

First, let’s address this little moment: Someone is shooting at you in a museum -> Your reaction: 'Careful! Some of those skulls are over 200,000 years old. Have a bit of respect. Thank you'. I know we in Sherlock territory here, but that scene is so fucking Aziraphale coded. In the Sherlock AU I'm writing, I have Aziraphale as Watson and Crowley as Sherlock, but that line made me stop on my tracks to reconsider my choices.

Anyway *clears throat* focus on the plot, shall we?

The episode opens with some threatening graffiti, and a string of murders. Promising start. Yet, sometimes it feel like Sherlock forgot to press fast-forward on his own brain on this one (but I choose to overlook that because of that little smile he pulls in this episode. You know the one. I said I was going to review everything, but I never said I would be fair or unbiased.)

I have very bad memory, so, even though this is one of my favorite shows and I've watched this more times than I care to count, I don't remember any of the resolutions of any case, so I just sit here trying to deduce things before Sherlock and usually I fall short (because I'm dumb, mostly. I have the brain power of an old steam train) but the cipher was child’s play—took me five minutes to cracked it with a cocktail in hand.

Sherlock and John are still the best part of the show tho (watch my tune change drastically when we get to season 2 and I lay my eyes once again in the masterpiece that is Irene Adler). Their bickering and banter carried this episode on its back. I particularly always enjoy Sherlock being utterly useless at basic human interaction. Watching him try to connect with other humans is like watching me trying to dance— can be endearing, but it's mostly awkward, and mildly painful.

That said, I did love the vibes. The shadowy atmosphere, the eerie museum, and Sherlock's limited combat skills? All excellent. I thrive on aesthetic chaos and incompetence, and this episode has enough to keep me entertained.

Final verdict? Gave it 5 out of 5 even though I should have given 4 again cause I always offer bonus points for sword fighting.

[taegularities]

i mean this in the nicest way possible because i truly love you, but i wish writers in general wouldnt try to force reader engagement. i often reply with feedback, but at the end of the day, you should be writing because you want to, not because you want validation. i dont know if its just me who feels this way, but when writers constantly mention needing feedback or they wont write/will stop writing a popular series, it feels like a threat. i dont want reading to feel like a chore, where i need to constantly be validating my favorites so they dont get taken away from me. i love you and your writing and i wish my likes were enough. sometimes i, as a reader, dont feel like engaging/leaving notes. sometimes i just want to read and move forward. i feel like many writers have turned appreciative comments from readers into an obligation.

again in no way is this meant to be hateful towards you, i feel like this can apply to many of my favs. i just needed to get it off my chest and hopefully assure you that we like your writing, even if there's less engagement. if you disagree with any of my points, please tell me/ask me to clarify. i dont want to hurt your feelings and i would love to hear from the writer's side!

hiii! no worries, thank you so much for being respectful and wanting to hear my opinion, as well. i know some people let these things out in the rudest manner possible, so i appreciate that <3

so, the reason i haven't been writing atm is because i lack the time and energy to write :') this year has been crazyyyy busy, so i just don't get to it anymore – and since i've been away/less present for a while, i guess i also drifted away from tumblr, too, and then felt like people might've forgotten about taegularities, and then i wasn't sure if the effort would still be worth it (i get insecure at times, but that's a me-problem). now, the reason i (and many other writers) have this worry is bc writing requires an insane amount of energy and brainpower – when i tell you that so many of us actually slave over just a scene or even a paragraph for ages 😭 (example: the last cmi update was far shorter than what i usually drop, but it took me days to just edit one scene). we ache to write all the time, but life also gets in our way – i barely get time to sit down and work on my fics these days… so when i do get time, i want to put it out there into the world and then see the reactions, too… i write for myself, ofc, but for you guys, too, so i can share that joy; or else i'd keep the fics in my docs, right?

and in that sense, when we write something in the rare free time that we get and that we hope others will love just as much as we do, we do seek some sense of validation, even if that sounds odd. it's like – imagine you studied for a test for like 2 weeks, but then don't get the results you hoped for (which might be a weird example, but effort-wise, it's similar, even if fics don't affect writers' lives in that sense). i know there are many who just write and don't care for feedback (even tho i've seen even those who say this be sad about reader engagement which – very valid), but i think that most who expose their soul and heart like this, do want to see people enjoying it/speaking about it/hyping it up. every creator, be it in the movie, music or art industry, loves to see reactions! and think about it – most writers get so genuinely excited when someone sends an ask that doesn't say more than "i loved this so much!! you're such a good writer!!" which is insane?! like, i know that i do – i get so happy and remember these comments 5ever, and it's a 2 sentence review as opposed to thousands of words. the effort here is unbalanced, but we still love it so much. and you don't need to write an essay, you never never do!! i swear, it's always enough to even get a few words or sentences <3 which, in the end, isn't a lot to ask for, you know?

i'm not saying i will stop writing my series. i would stop if it got 0 reactions OR if my life stood in its way too much; i'll keep loving what i write and write out of joy, no doubt. and tbh, i don't care about notes either. like, i remember "ruin you" getting way less notes than cmi but GOSH we had so much fun back then bc of the interaction and the craze made me so happy hahaha and yeah that's what it's essentially about – community. does that make sense? it's tumblr where likes don't make a post circulate – reblogs do, so yeah, unfortunately, likes are not enough :( i wish they were. i totally get what you mean, though. even feedback shouldn't be an obligation, but if you truly like somebody's work, it never hurts to send a tiny message. it really means the world to us when something we adore and are so proud of – creating art, sharing our heart, wanting everybody to see this love – is met with so much joy. and it's fics, you know – we love love love writing, but it's something that can be read. and we want people to read it and we're legit sitting there like "👀 and?? aaaand?" lol it's so nice to know when someone truly appreciates something… ofc you don't have to comment on my stuff, but i promise feedback makes a difference. it's why so many do leave :/ i hope that made sense!! once again, thank you for being respectful!! i love you, too, and am truly grateful that you're here and enjoying my stuff!! <3

[noahsbookhoard]

📚October 2024 Book Review📚

October has been productive for reading but absolutely not for Reviews so as new year approaches like a derailed train I am trying to cram the last months of review! Expect three post like this back to back, sorry.

Le Crime d'Halloween (Hallowe'en Party) by Agatha Christie

A good mystery but I admit I read it jusr after seeing the newest adaptation and I did not feel the vibes the film had which were just perfect for Halloween. That one's on me.

La vie meilleure by Étienne Kern

Absolutely delightful writing and I am not saying this because the author is one of my old french teacher and I have great memories of his classes, no no sir, nothing but impartiality here. This is part biography of Emile Coue (the inventor of the famous "everyday in every way I am getting better and better" mentality) and part journey of discovery for the author.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Great comedy, loved it. I watch the 1970 tv adaptation alongside so some bits are missing but I had a good laugh. Act 2 scene 5 still makes me smile just thinking about it.

Assassin's Apprentice (Realm of the Elderlings #01) by Robin Hobb

I was intimidated by this series because of it being a 16 books monster but I really enjoyed this first one so I will definitely read it further. I love my fantasy a little on the political side and that's right what this book offers me. I see why the rote fandom on tumblr has a thing for the Fool and I am with you in this.

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J Taylor

I was really intrigued by the premise, I though the hotel magic travel thingy would have a bigger role to play but the hotel itself being a magic entity is more than compensation enough. Loved the magic system, loved the plot, the romance was neither a bonus nor a malus. A really good YA fantasy novel.

Les Dragons by Jérôme Colin

This one definitely falls into the Dead Dove Do Not Eat category: The main character has to spend time in an institute for teenagers where he meets other youth like him, children who are angry at everything and everybody, who can't fit anywhere and many who turns it upon themselves. It is short but really really hard to read.

Rule of Two (Darth Bane trilogy #02) by Drew Karpyshyn

Book 2 of the Darth Bane series and I love that it ties up really well with book 1 and anchors it in the universe. Zhanna turns out to be an interesting character but by the nature of Bane's Rule of Two you already knows she is going to fail her goal (in this book at least) which kinda defeats the tension that was so high in book 1 (not saying more I'm already halfway through a spoiler). I look forward to book 3 tho.

I am however saddened to inform everyone that "flies through the void of space sans space suit and survives because of the Force" in episode VIII has a precursor so... is it valid no? Jurisprudence and all that? I hope not

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

I expected this one to be funny but it turned out to also be a really self indugent story of the kind we all need post covid (and that's exactly how the author wrote it). On top of that it manages to have natural nuclear reactor Kaiju from a parallel dimension that Actually Makes Sense. Go read it, you deserve a break.

The Outsider by Stephen King

I have really mixed feelings about this one. I loved the first part but was so frustrated with the way the first part ended it I was disappointed with the rest.

The story starts as an investigation with both sides fighting with contradicting evidences but I was invested! There was tension! I was cheering for Terry and his family against Ralph, the cop who arrested him. And then the scene at the courtroom happened and my hopes for the main character went down the drain.

It took me a very long time to warm up to Ralph as the NEW main character, especially because he was set up as the Cop With Good Intention and Bad Results in the first part of the novel. Like, you put this man against Jesus Christ if he was a little league baseball coach and expect us to empathise with him for the rest of the story?

If you can go past that it's a good thriller, plenty spooky and tension just like King likes it.

A Close and Common Orbit (Wayfarer #2) by Becky Chambers

I adored The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and this second book hits just where book 1 did. Pepper is really touching and I hope we get to see her again in the rest of the series. But I especially enjoyed Sidra's journey to figuring herself and her friendship with Tak. I had to look up the species a little at the beginning because I was completely lost in who was what and from where.

Les Possibles by Virginie Grimaldi

A story about two sisters and their father who suffer from Alzheimer. And also their road trip on route 66 as a last family trip. Tender and sad and happy and a lot of things in one. Virginie Grimaldi just has the knack to write touching family that don't really work but work all the same. I really liked it.

Le dieu d'automne et d'hiver by Pauline Sidre

A tale about the weight of immortality and godhood and an investigation all in one! I really loved it, I had it on my shelf since spring bit I wanted to way for the right weather for it and September had been too mild but it was worth the wait! It has an unusual pantheon, strange worship and summoning rules and very compelling characters, especially Helkeziro, our grumpy and weary God of justice and vengeance who really could use a break but cannot seem to catch one. Tumblr would love him.

War and Peace by Leon Tolstoi

I have beaten the monster. It took me 6 months but I did it. Some aspects and plots are interesting (even if I lack thd cultural and historical context to really enjoy it) but the battle of Borodino was almost too much to handle.

If We Were Villains by M L Rio

Strong contender for my favorite book of the year, it pains me to give the W to booktok but here I am!

I loved I might have enjoyed it even more maybe if I had a better knowledge of Shakespeare that I do now, but that's only a motivation to catching up on the Bard and reread the book!

I don't know how to feel about the very very end tho. Either I love it because that's the teeniest amount of comfort on the fuckload of hurt (my balance of choice) or I hate it because come on, you chose tragedy so own up to it! Jury is still out.

Le Bastion des Larmes by Abdellah Taïa

I picked this one in my continued quest of microdosing on price winning novels: at the start of fall the Goncourt academy published its list of nominees so I went and picked whatever inspired me. La vie meilleure and this one were on it, as well as others I did not get to read before the end of 2024. This one also has the bonus of making me read an author who is neither French, British or American which is the bulk of what I read. The story itself is that of a man returning to his native town in Morocco after his mother died to sell the childhood hose and also come to terms with the death of his lover and the abuse he suffered as a gay child in his home town. Not an easy read but an important one.

What Feast at Night (Sworn Soldier #2) by T Kingfisher

I really loved book 1, What Moves at Night but I think I even prefer this one. Creepy in just the right way, Alex is still kan sassy self and Eugenia and Angus are adorable.

Kiss Kiss by Roal Dahl

I always loved his children book but his short stories are amazing. I particularly love his way of wrapping up the ending, how it stops just before disaster and right when you realise what said disaster is going to be.

Trois battements un silence by Anne Fakhouri

Kinda wierd but in a good way. It reminded my a little of October Daye series as it I also centered around fae and changeling in a modern setting but totally different treatment. Tw for child abuse.

Tous les silence ne font pas le même bruit by Baptiste Beaulieu

The memoir of a gay man, general practitioner and father of a little boy, narrating how he got there, what he had to live through. It's hard, it's full of fear and fighting spirit and hope and I recommend it to everybody. I wish I could make it read to my entire family.

Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

A good and interesting novel but in my opinion, slightly too long for its story. I admire the writing and the characters but a work of fiction about sisters and witches doesn't have to deal with every single aspect of womanhood and feminism ever (especially if it means some of them are barely mentioned, as in "this character which you know since chapter 3 is trans btw now back to Avalon")

[simplylove101]

2024 Horror Challenge: [26/?]

↳“Do you know what happened to the last person who tried to kill me? I crushed her fucking head.” MaXXXine (2024) dir. Ti West

Plot: In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.

Starring: Mia Goth with Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Sophie Thatcher, Giancarlo Esposito & Kevin Bacon

I think it's safe to say, this was quite possibly the most anticipated horror movie of the year (at least since it's the ending of a trilogy and its release date kept being up in the air) X was an unexpected hit and Pearl was such a great prequel that it was always gonna be interesting to see how Ti West chose to end this trilogy and how people would feel about it. And well, as expected, the reviews I saw were mixed, which made me nervous before watching since I really wanted to love it myself. Sadly, I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it either. There were still plenty of things to enjoy I think since overall, I think the cast did rather well (obviously Mia was lovely as Maxine once again remaining the scream queen she is) and it has memorable enough moments. I just didn't love the overall direction that the story took since it does feel as though it goes off the rails a bit. But also, I wanted Maxine to feel less damsel-y than she does at times here (tho she does have two solid moments of being a badass) since that's what made her such an iconic final girl the first time. Kevin Bacon had me dying with his scenes. I did feel a little annoyed each time that Elizabeth Debicki's character was on the screen since all she ever did was rant to Maxine about Hollywood in a way that felt like it never contributed enough to warrant it in repeated scenes since I wanted more stuff about the actual mystery, which honestly will seem quite far-fetched to most people. I didn't mind that part as much personally but narratively, that was definitely a choice by Ti. lol I do appreciate that he stuck to the 80's aesthetic the way he did because it made the movie lovely to look at. Music cues were good. It felt like the proper makings of a good slasher in those departments, just certain choices in the actual story made this one not be as good as it possibly could have been I think. That said, I still love this trilogy. I still enjoyed things about this entry so it's not all bad. Just keep the expectations low. Should Ti have made a third movie? Probably not. But I don't hate the fact that he did.

[sillygoofyqueer]

Here’s my review of chapt. 15 of losing hope!!! I’m sorry it’s so late! Slide has kinda been kicking my ass lately tho your stories do make it significantly better (probably gonna do a reread soon) ANYHOW, on with my thoughts

Wwx and LQR’s interactions are so painfully awkward but that’s kinda what makes it adorable. LQR being like “he’s clearly hurt and has been through some shit. I should help” meanwhile Wwx is like “he hates me and I shouldn’t do anything to piss him off” and then they get started bonding over music and get significantly more comfortable and FOUR YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WAS SCREAMING OF HAPPINESS!! Legitimately I was a little scared someone would ask what was going on because how do I explain that I’m making noises like I’m dying because of two fictional characters in my friend’s fic that are bonding?? Especially with the confusion on WWX’s part. Ugh it’s so bittersweet and I love reading every second of it.

Wwx talking to LQR about more serious things and reflecting on how things went when he was a kid. Also LQR pointing out that all WWX wanted was to be seen and then Wwx being like ‘how did you know that?? You’re not wrong but…’ . UGH, HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD AT WRITING THIS???

Wwx getting the approval of LQR was not on my bingo card but I will 100% take it and enjoy every second of it. I really enjoy fics where LQR realizes he kinda fucked up all those years ago and makes an effort to make it up to WWX and LWJ in his own way and your fic has done that spectacularly. Especially with talking abt baby LWJ because dear LORD, THAT SOUNDS ADORABLE.

The whole thing with Suibian had me and still has me in tears. I hope you know that.

The little interlude with the juniors going to what I assume is Puqi shrine is fucking hilarious. Especially with HC just standing there like :3 while Jin Ling is freaking out.

10/10 chapter and is probably in the running for my favorite so far. Thank you for writing and as always I wish I could give you more kudos. Also please remember to take breaks and take care of yourself!!

DON'T EVEN APOLOGISE!!! I can completely relate and I'm just glad to see you in my inbox - I mean, it would be hypocritical of me to be upset because this has been sat in my inbox for a little itty bit as well. ANYWHOSLES, I'm literally so giggly because I can make Lan Qiren feel remorse for what happened and NOBODY CAN STOP ME. It would make sense to me that they'd bond over music because Wei Wuxian had to use it to survive and loves it, and Lan Qiren should be a big fan of it because he's proud of the Lan Clan. Meaning he's proud of their musical cultivation, so of course he has an ear for music! Even if he wants to pretend it's all for cultivation, he loves it really. So they get to bond over it!! You know I have to slide in little bits of angst and you KNOW I love making him be called out over things he knows are true like '😧 what do you MEAN you can be remorseful and understand my point of view??!!?' He's not used to that stuff, it's scary. Lan Qiren, on the other hand, can be introspective over the years - he thinks about it idly because Wei Wuxian (to his knowledge) is dead, so there is naught that can be done no matter what he finds out. Until there is. I'm coming at it from the idea of a sympathetic Lan Qiren that didn't learn about Lan Wangji's crush through Lan Wangji actively defying him and squaring up against his own clan to defend a violent, abhorrent demonic cultivator that has just murdered people in grief-stricken fury. I dunno about you, but I do genuinely think it would help the situation because of previously mentioned points. Now he's just exasperated and determined to embarrass Lan Wangji as payback for walking in on them making out. Subian and Wei Wuxian's relationship will literally never not mean everything to me and them reuniting is also everything to me. They deserve it, goddamn it. I'm glad you liked the interlude, I myself was wondering what was going on with them and so decided to write about it - yes, of course Hua Cheng is being a little shit, like "resentful energy? Could not be me." Fun fact, Lan Sizhui playing Inquiry is actually why Hua Cheng wandered into the shrine (he was supposed to be shopping for more gifts for gege, and heard the call). How will Jin Ling deal with Jiujiu showing up? Will Jiang Cheng actually pop a blood vessel out of rage? How will Wei Wuxian deal with training with a sword for the first time in years upon years? FIND OUT IN CHAPTER SIXTEEN!!!! (I'm glad you enjoyed chapter fifteen, I was worried that it didn't feel right, if that makes sense.) I love you so much, and hope you feel better soon!!!!!