#absolutely my favorite comic passage

[evelili]

I just finished your Magnum Opus, and it was super great. I especially loved the Pinkie chapter (which surprised me because she’s my least favorite character!). Anyway, do you have any mlp fic recommendations?

oh boy do i have a list for you, strap in!

if you read my magnum opus writeup, you may have seen i mentioned three authors that dragged me back into mlp. if you're interested in sciset (and what's probably the most popular eqg fic on the entire site), Long Road to Friendship by Albi is a longfic that started after the first eqg movie and is a rlly lighthearted read. i don't normally care for OCs but gosh if i dont accept Albi's version of trixie's parents as canon in my heart haha. if you're interested in pony adventure fic, i also rlly liked Sunset of Time, another rlly well done longfic ive carried in my brain since i first read it xd

the second author, Monochromatic, aka the raritwi authority aka someone who has a GREAT taste in editors, has written three of the most formative longfic ive ever read: The Enchanted Library, its sequel The Enchanted Kingdom, and Crimson Lips which i unfortunately can no longer link since she's taken it down, but i believe you can still buy physically through PFP if you wanted to take a gamble on it (it would be a very good gamble). apart from her longfic though i also adore some of her shorter works, including but not limited to The Choices We Make, a really interesting Pinkie study that's definitely shaped how i view her, Your Own Worst Enemy, which is just. peak rarity content, and Injuring Eternity, which while being one of her older works still has certain passages that wreck me emotionally on sight.

and the third author responsible for my magnum opus is the one and only Aragon, who i can not only recommend for his fics but ALSO for his blog posts and comics (see the comic index on his profile for links to all of them, as well as this amazing blogpost about his neighbour that is just peak comedy). he's also the writer responsible for the banger longfic Crime and Funishment which absolutely defined my writing aspirations for a few years and is the definition of comedy if you looked it up in my heart, as well as In Hindsight, yet another banger rarity fic, and Love Is In Doom which is just bloody, silly, stupid fun (and has sunset shimmer in it)

and then if we want to talk fics i love written by other authors, Sleepless Knights by r5h has my favourite brand of scitwi written right into the margins, Administrative Angel by horizon has one of the most amazing endings to an opening chapter ive ever read AND an amazing celestia, The Best Night Ever by Capn_Chryssalid is a fandom classic with a groundhog day twist on the gala episode from s1, Side by Side by Krickis is a feel-good rarijack oneshot w a focus on lgbt (specifically trans) themes, Wax Earplugs by Reedhoarse has a dysfunctional mess of an adagio dazzle that i adore, Merge Request by FanOfMostEverything has all the scitwi/midnight shenanigans you could ask for wrapped up in the relatable content of github hell, Guppy Love by PaulAsaran is a rarijack longfic with an incredibly realistic setting and an interpretation of mermaids that i love so much, Doused Flame by heartlessons has me handshaking on the "sopping wet pathetic relatable guy" flash sentry interpretation that won me over recently, 80 Days 'Til the World's Farthest Shore by Cynewulf feels like reading a professionally published short story (and i mean that in the best of ways, it's enthralling), and finally if you'll allow me to be self-centred a bit i also am very proud of my two oneshots Heartstrings and Something About Midnights if you wanted to check em out too xd

oops long post!! im not sorry for it, i hope you can find something in here that catches your fancy (or even all of it haha), there's soooo many incredible fics in the fandom it floors me every day that i can read all these incredible works for free!!!

[icelynia]

Some tips to actually read the Bible!

If you’re like me and struggle with reading your Bible, here are some tips! Hopefully ADHD/Neurodivergent friendly ones.

Get a journal/study Bible- I cannot say how much this has helped me! Instead of having a separate notebook I need to take with me/open on my phone, I can just write right in it! Highly recommend.

Don’t judge versions- Now some versions are more accurate and overall better, that’s just the truth, but that doesn’t mean that the rest don’t have their places. The Message might absolutely suck for any hardcore Bible study, but it’s great for casual reading and beginners. If a version is boring you, difficult to understand, or just too familiar, don’t be afraid to switch it up! You can easily try out new versions digitally before committing to buying a physical copy of it!

Don’t be afraid to markup your Bible- I know that some feel like it is sacrilegious to write and highlight in a Bible, but it isn’t. Don’t go burning and defacing Bibles of course, but writing notes and highlighting to help further your Bible study are fine! Get different colored writing utensils, put tabs for each book, even doodle in the margins!

Studying the Bible should be fun, not stressful- If you need to put on music, sit in the bathtub, or put a sticker on the first page of every book you’ve finished, go ahead! This kind of goes along with the last point, but even if it’s not a conventional way to read the Bible, go wild (within reason)! If you need an audiobook version go ahead! If you voice act everyone, that’s great. What’s important is that you are consuming God’s word and grasping the message inside of it. Don’t go too overboard and let your method become a distraction though!

Get a children’s Bible- I was recently going through some bookshelves at home and found my old Veggietales Children’s Bible. I flipped through it and it grabbed my attention right away! Children’s Bibles usually have inserted points that are on a more basic level than “adult Bibles”. That’s fine! Some of us need that simplicity, especially if we are neurodivergent. The Veggietales Bible I have also has comics based on the movies which while sometimes weird, were a nice brain break from the sometimes overwhelming and long passages of scripture. It might seem silly/awkward at first, but finding a good children’s Bible can open up a whole new world in your Bible Study!

You don’t need a plan- It can be overwhelming to try those “Read the whole Bible in a year!” plans, so try something different. Maybe read through the minor prophets, read just Ester, or 5 Proverbs! Any amount is good, since it means you got into the Word! Maybe one day you’ll just open to a random passage and read that! You never know where you’ll end up and I’ve had some great moments just with doing that.

Join a Bible Study-Going through Scripture with someone else can be a game changer! From sharing different opinions on passages, holding each other accountable, to sharing prayer requests, there is nothing better than having at least one buddy to fellowship in the Lord with!

Play Bible Games-This can go along with the last one, but play Bible games! Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Sword Drills- This is a competition based on finding passages fast. It starts with someone (usually a leader, but can be anyone within the group) yelling, “Swords Up!” and then everyone lifts their Bibles in the air. If it is feasible, make sure everyone has the same copy of the Bible. If not, only rules are that the Bible has to be physical and no bookmarking sections to help you get to a passage faster. The same person that yelled “Swords Up!” will now say a passage (Eg: John 3:15) and the participants will say it back. They will all start looking for it when the person says “Go!” . The first person to get to the passage and read it allowed wins! This game helps with memorizing the books of the Bible, their order, and helps expose people to passages they might not read otherwise.

2. Bible Quizzing- This one is all about memorizing facts, passages, and trivia about the Bible. Now there are actual tournaments and Bible Quizzing championships, but you don’t need to do anything like that. Just get a few friends, task one with coming up with questions, and then compete to see who gets the most right! This could involve Jeopardy, multiple choice, and even a written portion. I’ve done both casual and actual tournaments and I’d recommend both! Both are fun and get people to learn the Bible, though the actual competitions can be an idol to some people.

Find Christian Online Influencers- Now, this one could lead you astray, but hear me out. Finding entertainment from Christian sources is leagues better than from some random person who is probably an atheist, woke, and believes in evolution. Now, I’m not saying “Don’t engage with and watch content from non Christian people!” what I am saying is to try and get some more Christians in there. My favorite Christian YouTube Channels are Red Pen Logic, Dude Perfect, JStu, Matthias, and Sean McDowell. Not all of these are content about Christianity, but they are all Christian YouTubers. The ones about Christianity are RPL and Sean McDowell. JStu member Justin does have a podcast called the Soul Mine Podcast that he runs with his father all about being a Christian boy/man in our modern society. Everyone (even girls) are allowed and encouraged to listen to it. The point with this one is that surrounding yourself with entertainment that won’t lead you astray is important and that these YouTubers are a great place to start.

Also if you are a Christian theatre nerd, check out Sight and Sound Theatres! I cannot recommend them enough. They do original musicals based on people from the Bible and I’d say are even better quality than Broadway. They are currently doing Daniel (1st run!) in Lancaster, PA and Queen Esther in Branson, MO. Enough people don’t know about them for how good their shows are! They have a 180° stage, live animal actors, and very impressive both practical and digital effects! Their sets also move and are very intricate and impressive.

This was all I could think of at the moment! Feel free to reblog/comment some more tips that have worked for you.

God bless!❤️✝️

[radicalbears]

Fun fact: I've started reading Star Trek TOS books this year, and they are a TRIP.

I've read six of them so far: The Vulcan Science Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah, Doctor's Orders by Diane Duane, Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno, Spock's World by Diane Duane, Sarek by A.C. Crispin, and The Motion Picture novelization by Gene Roddenberry (and also Harold Livingston and Alan Dean Foster since they wrote the screenplay)

I have some Thoughts but this may be long so opinions below the cut!

I can't pick an absolute favorite, they're all so much fun for their own reasons. Objectively, Spock's World and Sarek are the two best, with Spock's World being my favorite of the two. I love any story that takes a long look at the Vulcans- either individual characters or them as a group- and these two do a fantastic job.

The Vulcan Science Academy Murders is not objectively good- the mystery is so easily figured out, some of the book is just a little bit insane, and there's way too many exclamation points- but it is a LOT of fun. Also has a very sweet perspective of Vulcans and the way they care for eachother.

Doctor's Orders is literally just this: Kirk, thinking he'd only be gone an hour, makes McCoy acting captain. Kirk proceeds to go missing. Due to Starfleet regulations, McCoy is stuck as acting captain until Kirk or Starfleet relieves him. (It's very funny watching both McCoy and literally every bridge officer be stressed about this)

My least favorite is probably Strangers from the Sky. It's extremely convoluted- there's a plot where Kirk is having nightmares about a suppressed past memory (a memory that, is being remembered because the events of this memory were recently published as a book), and half of this book is us just. Real-time reading this past memory? Either way, the memory is of the Actual first human-Vulcan meeting- when a Vulcan ship crash landed on Earth before the official first contact. The surviving Vulcans were rescued by a couple kelp farmers, and the story surrounding them is actually really sweet. The Enterprise crew has almost nothing to do with this story, they're only there because of a time travel incident. It really just feels more like the author wanted to tell this story, but because it didn't have any known characters in it, they were forced to involve the TOS cast. Still a decent read, just Very convoluted.

Finally, the Motion Picture novelization. Boy, this really reminded me that there really is not much that happens in this movie, though somehow it's more interesting than the movie. This is not to completely dump on said movie- I don't hate it, but it certainly is my least favorite. The novelization is really cool though because it adds a LOT of context for what Spock is dealing with. We get more of his inner monologue- something I actually wish we could witness better in the movie. V'ger is a really good character foil for Spock- the way V'ger is was Spock's end goal, yet Spock realizes that V'ger nothing like how he actually wants to be.

The word T'hyla is also just. Casually invented in this novelization, with the explicit purpose of describing the relationship between Kirk and Spock. This book ALSO acknowledges rumors of Kirk and Spock dating in a footnote, and has Kirk "address" these rumors (aka make some weird statement that doesn't actually clarify anything). Beginning of this book is a Wild time for Spirk fans.

Anyway I'm waiting on my library to get in the novelization for Wrath of Khan and Search for Spock. I also just picked up the first two volumes of the Year Five comics. Idk how deep I'm gonna get into Star Trek novels, but I'm at the very least still going strong.

Oh yeah I also tend to take photos of passages/lines I enjoyed from these books, lmk if any of y'all want a deeper look into any of these books- I can post the photos of my favorite bits!

[tidalskii]

It was announced yesterday that LittleBigPlanet 3’s game servers would be closing indefinitely, putting an end to the remaining online support the original LBP trilogy still had. I’ve managed to collect my thoughts and pay my tributes to the series before I part ways with it.

This game series means the world to me, and I am extremely proud and honored to have been apart of it’s community. I started playing the games in 2010 with the demo for LittleBigPlanet on PS3 and… I wasn’t impressed. I got stuck before I even played the game! I had a second controller turned on somewhere so 6 y/o me was presented with the “Select Profile” screen.

Having no clue why none of the buttons on my controller were working, I think I just turned it off and didn’t play it for months. Idk what got me to play it again, but I’m glad I did because I fell in LOVE with the game. Everything about how it controlled just… clicked with me. I thought it was genius, the sheer amount of expressiveness you could display; tilting the controller to move your head or your hips, using the D-Pad to change your facial expression, moving each individual arm with both sticks and the limb buttons on the back, it was all so intuitive and fun to do. Although, once me and my cousin learned how to slap each other in-game, it was over for my parents’ ears lol, we’d be screaming and yelling at each other. Sure enough that Christmas, I got the full game, specifically the special kind with some of the DLC pre-installed. That’s where the REAL fun began. Nearly every night after school I’d bring a couple of friends over and we’d try to play through as many levels as we could in one-sitting. The Metal Gear Solid DLC levels I often died immediately in and I would wait for an older kid I knew to get to a checkpoint and revive me. Regardless of how bad I was at the game, it was so much fun, especially now that we were able to experience the create mode. My mom actually started playing it, too. I don’t have any pictures of it sadly but she made a really expansive house with separate rooms and secret passages everywhere, it was really cool. I’d say I spent a good year or so playing the first game, then Christmas 2011 arrived. That’s when I got LittleBigPlanet 2.

LBP2 is my favorite video game of all time, it does what every good sequel should do: expand on what made the first game so amazing without straying too far away from its core appeal. For starters, if you already owned LBP the game will ask you right off the bat if you wish to import all of your collected items, costumes, and levels into LBP2. This absolutely BLEW MY MIND and in a weird way it kind of made playing the first game obsolete. You mean to tell me EVERYTHING I’ve ever made is already here, I can just… continue working on it?! I can still rock the same costumes I had, I can play music from the FIRST game in the SECOND game?!?! That alone made LBP2 so much of a gem in my eyes, it was LITERALLY the first game and MORE. But the fun didn’t end there! It was around this time I got a PSN account, so I was able to experience everyone else’s creations online and… wow. A whole new world just opened up, a whole community to engage and interact with. I met so many amazing people, some of whom are my closest friends to this day, over a decade later. It was through a group of some older kids that I often tagged along with that started getting into anime and comics more. 2011-2014 was a magical time to be on LBP, those years really felt like “The Golden Years” of the online community. Oh yeah and LBP Karting and the portable games existed too, I guess. I played LBPK, I thought it was fun… I still own it, but I’ve barely touched it after all these years. From what I’ve heard PSP and Vita seemed like a lot of fun, I’ve just never played them. Around early-mid 2014, it was announced that there would be a third LBP game for both the PS3 and the newly-released PS4. New characters, 16-LAYERS in create-mode (!!!), and a weird purple lightbulb as the new main-antagonist of the story mode… “Newton”. I remember being so excited for it to release. We were FINALLY getting a THIRD LittleBigPlanet, for a new console, too! We sure did, alright.

To this day, I’m still not sure how to feel about LittleBigPlanet 3, and it feels like the greater community more or less can’t ether. This game… SHOULD be better than the 2nd game, and you know what? Catch me on a good day and I might say that I prefer LBP3 to LBP2. Everything’s there, a new story, cross-compatibility with LBP and LBP2, a fleshed-out create mode, all of it’s there and what we have in the game is phenomenal, however there’s one big, glaring issue that distracts it from being superior to its predecessors… this game is BROKEN. I know people like to throw out that term a lot with somewhat buggy games but oh my god, LBP3 is DANGEROUSLY glitchy and exploitative. By this point, Media Molecule had moved on from the LBP series to continue developing new games, leaving Sumo Digital to oversee LBP3’s development. I feel so bad for Sumo Digital because it’s painfully obvious Sony rushed their time to complete the game for a holiday 2014 release date… and the quality of the final game reflects the time-crunch they must’ve gone through. Joining friends can take you up to a half-hour if you’re unlucky, it’s a gamble if the game will even function properly. Often you’ll be sent back to your pod after the game rapid-fires it’s loading screen (btw serious warning for anyone with epilepsy: DON’T play LittleBigPlanet 3, it does stuff like this all the time), but when the screen fades in, Sackboy doesn’t respawn, soft-locking the game. Fun! I’m not sure if anyone else suffered from this one specific, GAME-BREAKING bug as I’ve never seen anyone else talk about it, but around 2015 or so my game’s gravity just… freaked out, regardless if you were in hover-mode or not, Sackboy would float off to the left of the screen and phase through all of the walls. I tried restarting the game, cleaning off the physical disc the sink, but nothing would fix it, I literally had to reset my game progress. Very fun! Another weird thing I ran into is the inability to place down stickers with the PS Eye Camera Tool. It just stopped working entirely at one point, even in previous games like LBP2. No idea how THAT happened, very strange bug. Despite all this… I powered through, because truthfully I do think the content in LBP3 is superior to the previous games. The music is great, I found myself genuinely invested in the story and it’s characters, the DLC packs introduced in LBP3 were all very fun, and the create mode is a GODSEND compared to the first 2 games. Honestly, that’s one of the 2 reasons why I chose to stick around with LBP3, there is SO MUCH you can do with the tools it provides you. For those of you who don’t know, for the last couple years or so I’ve been building full working models of the Thomas the Tank Engine characters in LBP3, and that’s led to me gaining a humble but amazingly awesome following in the game. I love Thomas, I love LBP, I just wanted to put those two interests together and I’m very happy people seemed to have liked what I made, which is very wholesome and sweet.

I am devastated that the game’s online services are now gone for good, but it was kind of inevitable. LBP3’s lack of quality opened the door for a lot of nasty exploitation and modifications people made to their games. The servers were hacked in 2021, and that led to the termination of the PS3’s servers. It wasn’t hard to deduce that PS4’s servers were running on borrowed-time. Regardless of how unfortunate it’s closure was, this franchise was supported for 16 years. That’s not a bad run at all. I would say I’m surprised it wasn’t closed sooner, but then again… I’m not surprised. The LittleBigPlanet community is so amazing and passionate over these games. When the 2021 server attacks happened we all rallied together online to keep it alive, if just for a little bit longer. Even at its very end, a lot of us had so much more creativity to share with the world. To all those out there listening, I hope you’re able to channel that creativity outlet even further beyond in the future, whenever and wherever that may be. As for me, I’m going to attempt to learn “Dreams”, Media Molecule’s spiritual successor to the LBP games, released on PS4/PS5. From what I’ve seen and played of that game, it scratches that itch LBP left on me. It’s so good.

Rest easy, Sackboy. Thank you for some of the best experiences I could have asked for in a video game. Here’s hoping for a LBP4 one day, old friend. 🌎

[charthanry]

OurSkyy2xBBS: My Initial Reaction to EP13

This will be full of spoilers, so please watch the episode first!

Ohm and Nanon seemlessly transitioned back into being Pat and Pran. Their chemistry was alive and thriving! 

The passage of time was well done. It felt like Pat and Pran continued on with their lives without us. These specials are just a peek into what they’ve been up to. Kudos to Ohm and Nanon for living these characters so believably. It felt like they were never gone.

The scenes felt a bit recycled from the series. I guess if it ain’t broke, why fix it? 

We got the fake fight with Pat ending up with a shiner and Pran there to nurse him back with some healing lovin’ instead of pharmacy bruise cream. Also, shout out to the curtain drop only this time much less dramatic and more comical. I loved the curtain-shadow misinterpretation by their dumbass friends, ha! Well played, BBS.

Pa’s uncanny skill at bad timing is hilarious and I love that Pran is the one who points it out. Pat’s not the only one getting thwarted here, though he consistently shows otherwise, Pran wants that loving from Pat too. It’s so in-character of them both.

Ohm’s high-pitched “Hia Pran” made me LOL, I had to replay it several times. Ohm really has awesome comedic timing. It’s more difficult to pull off than it looks and relies heavily on delivery.

They’re still competing with each other, but more so due to their environment than any hidden animosity between them. Just like in the OG series.

They consistently help each other and their open communication is still relationship goals. I love that this time it’s Pran that allows Pat to see things (e.g. the bench) in different ways. This calls back to their EP3 bus stop scene. I love how the communication and help goes both ways. Their’s is a true partnership. Neither taking more or giving less.

Pat still gives into Pran, but now it’s more thoughtful. It’s less about Pat winning or beating Pran at something and more about Pran’s success being Pat’s success. They are a team. When one is happy, they are both happy. Again, this shows maturity and relationship goals.

The livingroom tent camping called back to the end of EP4 only with happier results. Their conversation also calls back to the EP3′s bus stop scene where Pat asked Pran if he liked -it- and EP4′s “would you like me?” and now we get Pran’s answer: “I like you. You’re always there for me.” This might’ve been my FAVORITE call back of the episode.

Pat’s friends still gets Pat into shitty situations. The amount of times Pat got kiss-blocked in this episode alone can be its own drinking game. I love this running gag and feel like it’s leading up to a BIG PAYOFF.

Anyone catch Pat saying “you called me out for this” and Korn says “how else would I get you to leave your BOYFRIEND” right in front of Mo and Chang? Was that an NG because at this point Mo and Chang should still be in the dark about Pat and Pran, right?

Pran waiting up for Pat to come home from a night of drinking, did anyone else get EP5 vibes here? Where Pat sat in front of the dorm building waiting for Pran’s return? 

Pran calling Pat out on publicly shunning him while secretly apologizing was A+. There’s no repression of hurt feelings here. Open communication is the way of it. And I absolutely LOVE this for them.

Pat makes everything more fun. I imagine the trek up that hill would have been more entertaining for Pran if Pat were there teasing him and calling him an old man. They’d probably race to see who could get to the top first.

Unless it was mistranslated/subbed, they finally changed their caller IDs to each other’s names instead of “just a friend”. End of an era, sadly. But also, I wish it was more creative naming, like LOML or That 5-minute Guy or the one who FEEDS me, hell, I’d even settle for Dimples and Fierce Eyes.

Overall, the episode went by much too quickly. I wish we got a little bit more domestic Pat and Pran. I missed Pat’s scent kink except for the little mention of it in the elevator scene. I want to see them both waking up and getting ready in the morning as well as them turning in for the night. I want to see shared PJs (where Pran wears the top and Pat wears the bottom and nothing else). Them dividing the household chores where Pran comes up with an entire chart with a whole smiley-faced sticker reward system and Pat just stares at him lovingly like, that’s MY MAN with his charts. Going grocery shopping together where Pran has a checklist and Pat is throwing things willy-nilly into the cart. Making dinner together where they get distracted making out and dinner ends up ruined. I guess I’m greedy and want MORE.

I’m happy we got these specials. But I’m a greedy bitch and WON’T say I’m SATISFIED with what we were given (at least not yet). P’Aof has a special way of ending his episodes so my expectations are high, my hopes even higher, and I have zero doubts this team will stick the landing. They’ve been here before.

Also, I thought Ohm’s hair would bother me more than it did, but it grew on me. Ohm pulls it off. I’m a fan. Also, Ohm’s singing is so much improved, so proud of my guy for working on it because it shows.

Post-credit scene to beat the “Pran, it’s not a Porno!” in the works?! PLEASE. Have a feeling this is where we get Pat licking Pran’s finger from the promos.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

lies are only as good as the person telling them (and you've never claimed to be) part 8

Read on Ao3 Masterlist

Warnings: none

Pairings: nolan/john/sarah

Word Count: 1736

An epilogue of sorts for our three con artists.

”I don’t understand why I have to be the one crawling through the vents.”

“Because you’ve got the most experience doing it, you’re better built for it than John is, and I’m going to be wearing a dress.”

“I have so much faith that you could do this in a dress, you have no idea.”

“And as wonderful as your faith is, it would be better served making sure your trip through the vents is as quick and inconspicuous as possible.”

Nolan pouts, looking every bit the petulant child as John ruffles his hair. He lets out an indignant squeak and swats his hand.

“Hey, Baldy! Just because you aren’t blessed with a fine crop of hair that doesn’t mean you can take it out on those of us who do.”

“Tell that to this patch right back here.”

“You are a jealous liar, John Hartley, I have never had so much as a receding hairline in my entire life.” The both make noises of disbelief and he gasps, affronted. “I never! You two need to learn some manners.”

“You and your perfectly fine hair have had enough experiences crawling through a vent to major it out of there with your dignity intact,” she says, not bothering to resist the urge to pat his hand consolingly, “and you’ll come out right at the fourth floor bathroom where the spare suit will be waiting.”

“We’ll put your pomade in there too so you can touch it up.”

“Have you been snooping through my medicine cabinet again?”

“I don’t need to go snooping for it when you use enough that the smell radiates from you.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, how come you can recognize my pomade by smell alone? Huh? What about that?”

Sarah rolls her eyes fondly as the two of them continue bickering, going back to examining the layout of the mark’s corporate headquarters. The fundraiser is set to take place on the penthouse floor, which gives them access to most of the express systems, but not the ones they need to access the basement. If they ensure there are ‘accidental’ camera defects that hide their passage through some of the elevator junctions on the higher floors, they should be able to make it to at least the first vault door without issue.

“I’m just saying, I’m not the one who can walk into a room and immediately list the luxury perfumes and colognes everyone’s wearing.”

“Sometimes that’s your only clue. You’d be surprised how long smells can stick to people.”

“Oh, for—is this about the sewer dive I took three months ago? I showered as soon as I got back and you burned those clothes, remember?”

“I wasn’t sure if it was you or one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

“I’m Michelangelo and you’re Raphael and you know it.”

“Does that make me Leonardo or Donatello,” she asks, putting aside the blueprints and reaching for her coffee, “the…leader and the smart one, correct?”

“You’re April O’Neil.” He looks her up and down. “You could definitely pull off a yellow jumpsuit.”

“In your dreams, Nolan. Now, if you boys are done talking about your comic books and movies—“

“It’s the TV show, jeez—“

“—we have an appointment to get to.”

“Ooh, does this mean I get shot gun?”

“Hey, you had it last time,” John says, elbowing him out of the way, “and Sarah’s driving.”

“You two are absolutely no fun sometimes, you know that?”

“Tell that to the security officer who won’t be looking at either of you when we reach the checkpoint.”

Booth grumbles a little but concedes to her point as they pull out into the road. Next to her, John sticks a piece of hum in his mouth and wordlessly offers the pack to Nolan.

“Ooh, I love this flavor.”

“I know.”

“Aww, how romantic, you remembered my favorite flavor of gas station gum!”

Sarah laughs.

***

”You look fine,” John says, removing Nolan’s hands from his collar for the eighth time in as many minutes, “stop messing with it.”

“It’s so tight! How do you deal with this?”

“It’s a suit collar, Nolan, you’ve worn suits before.”

“None that doubled as hangman’s nooses!” He digs two fingers under the white material and pulls again. “And you’re—your neck is the size of most people’s thighs, you’re used to it.”

John just rolls his eyes, carefully moving Booth’s hand and fixing his tie. “You’re giving yourself a red mark, stop picking at it.”

“What if I just go without the tie? Open collar suits are all the rage these days, you know.”

”Then you won’t be able to wear the tie pin,” Sarah says, sidling up behind him in the mirror, “and you do look so very handsome with it.”

“Hey, look, flattery is not going to work this time, no matter how true it is.” She laughs, though, and John watches the defeated slump of Nolan’s shoulders. “Fine, fine, I’ll wear this torture device. Next time, you can wear the suit though.”

“Deal.”

“Wait. Really?”

“Of course.” Sarah turns to saunter out of the room, shooting a look over her shoulder. “You don’t think I could pull off a suit?”

“Well, I—uh—with the right tailor and the right fit, then, uh…”

She laughs again and leaves, leaving John to chuckle at Nolan’s expression.

”She wasn’t joking, was she?”

“No. No, she was not.”

“Wow. Okay. Note to self: figure out where her tailor is. God knows I need a better suit next time too. Or maybe you and I should be the ones in dresses.”

“Haven’t found one that compliments my shoulders yet.”

“Are you kidding? Do a high-neck halter with a low back and a slim silhouette, you’ll knock ‘em dead.”

John chuckles, smoothing one of Nolan’s lapels. “Are what’ll you wear?”

“Oh, my momma raised me to wear full skirts below my knees and my buttons all done up.”

“So you’ll be in a miniskirt, then?”

“Stripper heels to match.”

“Boys,” Sarah calls, “the party starts in half an hour, we need to go.”

“Have you ever fought in high heels?”

“Can’t say that I’ve had the chance, no.”

“They do wonders for your posture, let me tell you. Plus, excellent if you need to emergency stab someone’s eye out.”

John rolls his eyes fondly and puts his hand on Nolan’s back to walk him to the car.

***

”Evon,” Sarah says with a soft smile, opening her arms at the bustling pile of jewels moving toward them, “it’s been too long.”

“Roxanne, Arthur, Mademoiselle et Monsieur, it has been too long!” Nolan watches with no small amount of wonder as the man manages to kiss the both of them on the cheek without dislodging the gaudy thing on his head. “You did not respond to the invitation!”

‘We were traveling,” John says apologetically, “we did not have time.”

“No matter, no matter, you have come, that is all that is important.” Evon catches sight of Nolan, who waves bemusedly, and gasps, holding his hand to his mouth. “And is this your third? The lovely man who did not come to the little party in Paris?”

Hold on. Back up. What?

“This is him,” Sarah says, her voice infused with a warmth that still takes him by surprise, “in the flesh.”

“Evon Madripoor, at your service, Monsieur. If I had any lingering questions about your friends’ taste, they have all been answered.”

“It’s an honor. Warren Clearwater.”

“Ah, what a lovely name you have.” Something shifts in the man’s expression and he takes Nolan’s hand, smile softening. “I am relieved to see that your friends found you. You all deserve every happiness life can give you.”

Nolan blinks. And blinks again. “I, uh, I feel like I’m missing something here.”

“Oh! Oh—forgive me, Mademoiselle and Monsieur, I have said too much. I will take my leave, please, I am not a part of this conversation.”

Nolan watches with no small amount of confusion as the man scampers off back into the crowd. “Well, that was weird. Who knows what the hell he was…”

He turns to see expressions equal parts sheepish and…embarrassed?

“Uh, guys?”

“At the party in Paris,” John says, way too quiet and way, way too intimate for Nolan to be prepared for, “the night you left, he noticed how badly we missed you.”

“What do you mean, ‘how badly we missed you?’”

“We were leaving space for you in conversations,” Sarah says, like she isn’t blowing his mind, “and when John danced with Evon, then—“

“—he asked me who he was a stand-in for.”

Hi, sorry. Nolan’s offline right now, he’s gonna need a minute to reboot.

”It was never just about the job,” John continues, stepping closer, “and it wasn’t…we weren’t playing games.”

“Uh—you two—so that means—“

Sarah takes his hand and wraps it around her waist as John steps close enough to cup the back of his head. He’s fucking drowning.

“Not a game,” Sarah mumbles, “not a con. Not a ploy.”

“Just an offer.”

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

For a long moment, Nolan just stands there. Flashes of the beach, the pub, hell, even the prison race through his mind, along with every reason not to believe them. This is dangerous, this is more than dangerous, this is stupid. This is reckless, this is terrifying, this is…this is…

He takes a drop breath and lets it out very, very slowly.

“On one condition.”

“Which is?”

‘I get to drive on the way back.”

Both of them nearly slump in relief as breathless smiles overtake their faces. He feels his lips turning up too, the giddiness of a new job replaced by the high of whatever wonderful mess this will turn out to be. He holds Sarah close, reaches up to take John’s hand in his. Sarah looks at him for a moment, like he’s the most priceless artifact she’s ever seen, and then her smile sharpens.

“Are you sure you want to drive?” She leans close enough to murmur in his ear. “Think of all the fun we could have while we make John drive.”

His throat runs dry because fuck. “You have a point.”

“Or,” John says, voice as deep and smooth as…something really deep and smooth, shit, “we could make Sarah drive.”

“Tell you what, you both have until the end of the party to convince me.”

“Game on.”

And this time, everybody wins.

[dymond-dynamo]

ok, just finished rereading the Scott Pilgrim comic, and I can pretty confidently say that the show is easily my favorite version. there's a lot to like about the comic (it's def better than the movie, as much as I enjoy that too), but it really shot itself in the foot by removing the exes so quickly. and this isn't even me being on my Roxie bullshit (altho it's not not that, she really gets so little in the comic. you know she didn't actually have a proper backstory until the show??), all of the exes are such strong characters and letting them flourish is definitely one of the show's biggest strengths

there are two things that I'd kinda forgotten about with the comic that are very good, which I hope to see more of if they keep the show going:

1. just the passage of time. the comic takes place over the course of more than a year, and you can feel it in the way character dynamics grow and change, especially Scott and Ramona. they really feel like people who have actually been together for a while by the end, which is something the movie definitely never accomplishes (and the show couldn't if it wanted to, just by the nature of the thing). I really like that about it, and I understand that that's harder to do in a movie timeframe, but you absolutely could do something with it across multiple seasons of a show, so here's hoping

2. Envy. Envy honestly gets so fucking shafted in both the movie and the show compared to the comic. and considering the whole thesis of the show seems to be giving characters more depth, it's weird to not include it when it was already there (and it's not like there's nothing there to expand on, there's plenty there to build and expand). the best explanation I can come up with is that Envy's story is tied up with Scott, not Ramona, so with him being basically out of the show there wasn't a good opportunity. I'd love to see her get more in a potential second season tho. I'm so curious about the fight that broke her and Scott up, and obvi I can live my life without ever knowing, I've made it this far, but if we're adding things to characters anyway we might as well

I'd also really like to see Lisa in the show. she's a bit of a weird case, because she doesn't actually *do* all that much, she's mostly just there as an object in other characters' arcs. but I like her, and I think they could have a lot of fun with her if they want, especially with the exes as characters

soooo... yeah! imo show > comic > movie (but they're all worth consuming at least once). I never beat the game tbh. I know people like it, but I'm very much not about old-school beat em ups honestly

[theartofdreaming1]

For the weird writing asks and sorry I'm on mobile on the train, can't copy the questions right now but:

4, 15, 16, 35 aaaand 40

Sorry <3

4. What's a word that makes you absolutely feral?

Hmh, I don't know if I really have a specific word like that (or at least can't remember on the spot), but I guess the most recent time I felt like I'd go feral over a word was while watching episode 2 of Pushing Daisies, when we see Ned getting dumped at boarding school and his father's saying good-bye and we get this absolutely cutting narration:

"I'll be back," he lied.

I think I've never felt this strongly over the use of such a simple word as 'to lie" before, but this simple phrase (and word) really felt like a punch to the gut, damn.

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

No, I can't bring myself to write in books; I once just wrote my name on the very first empty page of a book (I think in pencil, even?) and I have felt absolutely horrible about it ever since (it doesn't help that my handwriting is atrocious). If I want to mark some phrases/passages from a book I'm reading, I write them down on a blank index card (complete with page citation) and put that in the book or I use some tiny sticky-notes 😅

The only exception I've ever made without a guilty conscience was writing the inscription of the ring from LOTR into my edition of Heinrich von Kleist's "Die Verlobung in St. Domingo" ("The Betrothal in Santo Domingo"), which I had to read for school xD

Similarly, I can't even fathom dog-earing any book on purpose! I try to keep my books as pristine as possible, even doing my darndest not to open my unabridged edition of Les Miserablés too widely, lest the spine gets more cracks and becomes even uglier (a very futile endeavour, since it is one of those boring black penguin paperback editions and the book is over a 1000 pages thick and you're inevitably gonna get some cracks in the spine, but I just cannot help myself)

And since I don't like taking baths and don't have a tub in my apartment, I don't read in the bath (I also would be terrified of getting my poor book wet).

But at this point in my life I'm mature enough to take a live-and-let-live stance on these things, so I won't judge people who do this to their books too harshly ;) (I can definitely see the appeal of handwritten margins in books, although the concept of dog-earing a book still makes me wince just thinking of it- but as long as it's not my book, it's fine)

16. What's the weirdest thing you've ever used as a bookmark?

Boy, I'll use anything at hand as a bookmark (although now that I have gotten some of the bookmarks I designed myself printed, I usually have something at hand) and since I'm quite messy, an improvised bookmark can be anything - grocery receipts, return receipts from library books, other books, whole comic book issues, empty envelopes, you name it 😅

35. What's your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Rules, what are rules? 😉🔨 Honestly, I don't think I consciously follow any rules when I sit down to write my little stories - I just bang my head against the keyboard until the words sound like the story that is lodged somewhere inside my brain;- I once had to take a "Writing" exam in which we had to write a strictly structured 250-300 word pro-contra-essay and it was absolute agony - I like my creative writing to be joyful and free (once it gets past my crippling perfectionism and debilitating procrastination, that is ;)

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

I'm always very fond of Emily Dickinson's "Hope":

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all - And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard - And sore must be the storm - That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm - I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea - Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.

[threeadventurers]

What have been the easiest passages of the story to create? Which have been the most challenging?

What does Link's voice sound like? ;-)

What's till tricky to draw even though ti appears over and over in these comments?

Favourite bits of dialogue so far?

Easiest passages of the story overall or of the current act? Because of the act it's the bit of confrontation between Mako and Guybrush after the big fight since I knew from the get go how the blowout to happen. But of the overall comic? It would probably hilariously be the quieter bonding moments that was the easiest, I like writing heart to hearts so with these three who are like a venn diagram in terms of characters, it's easy. That being said, most challenging, both in the act and over all, are the action sequences as well as overall pacing. I get too excited with what I want to share that I often times forget my own skill set and on top of that, I get impatient with moving along and getting to the good part that drawing/writing actions and pacing it all is uh.... challenging.

So this one I did think about for a long time, but Link's voice sounds like Max Mittleman! He has that youthful sounding, somewhat scratchy, voice that is calm and cool headed one moment but can at the drop of the hat being absolutely bombastic and wild which fits 3ADV!Link's personality, what with him being youthful and cool headed but still very much inexperienced with adventuring.

....Graham's bow and arrow and Link's Master Sword my beloathed. Seriously, you'd think seven years into this I would have mastered drawing either of their weapons (Guybrush just picks up whatever is nearby.... for now). But nope. No. Their weapons still elude me and still looks like a 6 year old drew it. Also Graham's hat. I just.... perspective with his hat goes over my head, reference and all.

Favorite bits of dialogue.... anytime Guybrush "bullies" and Link has a dry response to it is always something that has me delighted. But specifically? This bit:

[doublydaring]

3 & 4!

3. What are your top 5 books of the year?

My top five books are as follows:

1. The Night Watchmen by Louise Erdrich - this book was supposed to be assigned as part of a Native American Lit course I took 2 years ago but we never ended up reading it for the course so it just sat on my shelf for all that time. I finally picked it up and I am so happy I did, obviously it was my #1 book this year. This book has points where is gets so dark and points where it is light and airy. It is grounded and magical. It is part biography and part fiction and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I read it in early May and it has stuck with me so vividly.

2. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren - I wanted to put a little work into the classics, and I love political intrigue. Reading this book makes you feel like you're wading through the hot, thick air of the American south in your steel frame car before the advent of air conditioning. It is about sick and twisted people, and the prose is long and languid. It is a fictional story based on real-life political figure Huey Long, and I was obsessed.

3. The Once and Future King T.H. White - Unlike the two preceding novels, this book took me forever to finish. I bought it in April and finished it in November. It is technically a compilation of five books and is over 800 pages in my defense. The first book is reminiscent of the whimsy of Gullivers Travels, Merlin turns arthur in animals and such and he lives in ant society. Fun stuff like that. But the books grow up with Arthur. As he gets older the tone changes and the analysis gets deeper. The book is in conversation with Mallory's Le Morte D'Arthur and I think this makes it the quintessential Arthurian novel. It acknowledges the past which shaped it and reinterprets it beautifully for the modern reader.

4. A Passage to India E.M. Forster - full disclosure Forster is probably my favorite author of all time so I am biased but this book is so good! An incredibly nuanced take on race relations and colonialism from a white dude at the turn of the century. The movie is literally the worst thing ever. They completely change the plot to make the white girl the main character so she's more sympathetic than the Indian man she totally fucks over (he's the main character in the book).

5. The House with The Green Shutters George Douglas Brown - I had to read this for my intro to Scottish lit class and I got OBSESSED. Tumblr girlies you would eat thus up its about houses and haunting. An absolutely dismal and dreary interpretation of the classic kailyard novel this book is not short but if you open it you will want to take it in in one sitting. The story unfolds before you and you just have to watch in horror. Please read this book.

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

So firstly, all the authors listed above with the exception of Forster who I was previously familiar with. But to spice things up I'm going to say Lynda Barry. I read her semi-autobiographical writing advice book "What It Is" and I adored it. You are actually probably familiar with her work from her four panel comic about looking at art that goes around here every once and while, there's a big guy and a little guy looking at a painting and they say I don't get it and the big guy picks the little guy up to get a better look and they realize they're mirroring the pose of the painting. That's Lynda Barry. All of her work is like that. Simple, poignant, sort of makes you happy and sad at the same time. I highly recommend you read some of her stuff if can get your hands on it. It will make you laugh and cry.

Thank you so much!! Send me more asks about books!

[fernweh-s]

Definitely should it’s also got a bit of a steampunk vibe to it but not really. The Sanctuary is my fav cryptids based show. There was a similar show too called warehouse 13 but instead of cryptids they collected magical items.

So how do you typically spend your weekends/ free time ?

3 things you wish for?

3 things you like doing on a rainy day

3 drinks you consume the most

And what are some of your fav foods

I loved Warehouse 13!!! That and a show called Fringe. Also Stitchers.

How do I spend my free time: lmao usually sleeping, or reading comics, or watching something. 3 things I wish for: 100billion dollars. That I could eat absolutely anything with zero consequences, the ability to slow the passage of time because it has gone by wAY too quickly. 3 things I like doing on a rainy day: Pretty much the same as what I spend my free time doing lmao. 3 drinks I consume the most: Tbh, there's only really two; regular water, or pom iced tea(either the peach, or the green tea, which I guess can count as two since they're two different flavors) some of my favorite foods: All the carbs; bread, pasta, or any kind of potato-y thing.

[galacticlee3]

Heartstopper TK Scenario

Me and @whonnie-tks are obsessed with this so this is a snippet of my headcanons from our chat

Warnings: light angst and cute tickle fluff

I feel like throughout the series it’s a theme Charlie has a really hard time trusting people, and that’s why he has such a small friend Circle, when he meets Nick he doesn’t completely trust him at first especially because of what he goes through with Ben

But Nick is always very careful when he hangs around Charlie, and he’s never like rough with him, like always playful and caring, even before they started dating. Even though Charlie doesn’t usually display or receive affection through touch, the way that Nick touches him and is aware of him is one of his favorite things about the rugby lad. So, when they start becoming more affectionate in their relationship, Charlie feels himself craving touch from Nick for the first time and it makes him happy because Nick obviously loves to give it to him, make him feel validated because Ben never wanted to do that sort of thing and he feels like Nick really cares about him

so tk stuff now hehe

Slight spoilers for people who haven’t read the comics but nothing major!!!!

So Nick doesn’t have the greatest relationship with tickles because his brother always pushed him around and basically like he never really had fun when being tickled because it reminded him of his brother and his brother is an asshole

Charlie on the other hand loves it because its a great way to bond with his siblings and they have regular tickle fights (which is canon in the comics!)

So one day when Char is sitting in Nicks lap, they’re both relaxing and Charlie is like playing on his switch or smth while Nick is watching him and just idly tracing little shapes into his sides

Charlie hadn’t mentioned the little detail that he was ticklish to Nick yet and he knew that he would exploit it as soon as he found out, like any boyfriend would

So he’s just fighting the boss with frantic button clicking as he’s trying not to laugh and melt into Nicks hand at the same time

But as soon as Nick reaches the spot where his side meets his tummy he just can’t anymore and squirms into Nick with a little laugh but Nick is all like “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were ticklish” and just like puts his hands to the sides so Charlie can readjust

But Char is confused so he just goes back to playing his game. But Nick has now gone stiff and he is not holding Charlie anymore, there are no hands petting his hair or rubbing down his sides and this is a problem

So he just looks up at Nick and goes “you know you can touch me, right? I’m not going to break” and moves his hands back to his sides, snuggling back up, and Nick thinks this is the absolute cutest thing ever

From there Nick’s brain turns back on and he slips into gentle traces again just because he doesn’t think of it, and cue Charlie with these soft squeaks and hums when he reaches a sensitive spot, and again, Nick pulls away

And now Charlie is really confused and he straight up like turns around and looks at Nick, “You know you can tickle me right? It’s basically the boyfriend right of passage” (its totally not like he wanted Nick to do it or anything) but Nick is just like “wait, really?????”

Cause he’s like genuinely surprised because he didn’t want to make Charlie uncomfortable but here he is with a little pout literally asking for it

“Well, I definitely have to try this” and he just tackles Charlie back onto the floor and just gives him the most gentle of tickles, even though Nick has probably destroyed Charlie in rugby multiple times, this is where he decides to be gentle

And Charlie loves him for it

As for Nick, I feel like he would not be comfortable with anyone else doing it to him except Charlie, because Charlie can read him the best and he knows when to stop, but when its with him i feel like he feels comfortable and like he doesn’t have to put up a front about being strong, he can just laugh and be silly with his best friend you know

Anyway these two have my heart and I love this show so if anyone has any ideas or stuff please spam me with it

[cor-ardens-archive]

Do you have any favorite quotes from Lolita?

This is a difficult question because Lolita is one of my favorite books and the prose is so beautiful, I could easily quote the entire thing. But I chose some particular favorites that are both beautiful and personally meaningful. (I am omitting the funny passages even though I appreciate them a lot, and “picnic, lightning” never fails to make me laugh.)

[CW csa, rape]

The iconic beginning that everyone always quotes, because it truly is perfect. I tried to shorten it to my very first lines, but it’s pointless, the whole of it is superior:

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.

Did she have a precursor? She did, indeed she did. In point of fact, there might have been no Lolita at all had I not loved, one summer, a certain initial girl-child. In a princedom by the sea. Oh when? About as many years before Lolita was born as my age was that summer. You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.

Ladies, and gentlemen of the jury, exhibit number one is what the seraphs, the misinformed, simple, noble-winged seraphs, envied. Look at this tangle of thorns."

I'm sure my other choices are nothing out of the ordinary either, they're popular favorites for good reason:

"Nothing could have been more childish than her snubbed nose, freckled face or the purplish spot on her naked neck where a fairytale vampire had feasted..."

Later on, in Part Two, we have more vampire/parasite/blood sucking imagery: “A forest in Arkansas and, on her brown shoulder, a raised purple-pink swelling (the work of some gnat) which I eased between my long thumbnails and then sucked till I was gorged on her spicy blood.”

"More and more uncomfortable did Humbert feel. It was something quite special, that feeling: an oppressive, hideous constraint as if I were sitting with the small ghost of somebody I had just killed."

A very small ghost... it always gets to me. In fact, almost the entirety of the passages following the first time H.H. rapes Dolores, to the end of Part One, particularly when she "jokingly" accuses him of raping her. It's desperately miserable. And then, especially:

"In the gay town of Lepingville I bought her four books of comics, a box of candy, a box of sanitary pads, two cokes, a manicure set, a travel clock with a luminous dial, a ring with a real topaz, a tennis racket, roller skates with white high shoes, field glasses, a portable radio set, chewing gum, a transparent raincoat, sunglasses, some more garments—swooners, shorts, all kinds of summer frocks. At the hotel we had separate rooms, but in the middle of the night she came sobbing into mine, and we made it up very gently. You see, she had absolutely nowhere else to go."

It's maybe the most heartbreaking passage in the whole book for me. Dolores has been raped, she’s scared, bleeding and in pain. She asks to call her mother, and H.H. tells her her mother is dead (and Dolores is a “small ghost” — he links her and her mother, as he will do again later — “A kind of thoughtful Hegelian synthesis linking up two dead women”). He enumerates the items she bought her — items typical of an American childhood and tourist attractions. In the same paragraph, he tells us that she goes to him in the middle of the night, crying and seeking some form of comfort from the only person she has in the world; and that he rapes her again. “You see, she had absolutely nowhere else to go.” is such a great line to end the first part of the book. From there, it’s the American open road and “no point staying anywhere”.

“How sweet it was to bring that coffee to her, and then deny it until she had done her morning duty. And I was such a thoughtful friend, such a passionate father, such a good pediatrician, attending to all the wants of my little auburn brunette’s body! My only grudge against nature was that I could not turn my Lolita inside out and apply voracious lips to her young matrix, her unknown heart, her nacreous liver, the sea-grapes of her lungs, her comely twin kidneys.”

I really love the descriptions of her anatomy (unknown heart, nacreous liver, comely twin kidneys). The passage is followed by a scene where Dolores is reading a magazine article about sex crimes against children, and she reads out loud: “”If,” she repeated, “you don’t have a pencil, but are old enough to read and write—this is what the guy means, isn’t it, you dope—scratch the number somehow on the roadside.” / “With your little claws, Lolita.”

“We had been everywhere. We had really seen nothing. And I catch myself thinking today that our long journey had only defiled with a sinuous trail of slime the lovely, trustful, dreamy, enormous country that by then, in retrospect, was no more to us than a collection of dog-eared maps, ruined tour books, old tires, and her sobs in the night—every night, every night—the moment I feigned sleep.”

It’s just beautiful. The “defilement” of the country, her sobs (she wept every night), the very synthesis of their road life.

“One of the latticed squares in a small cobwebby casement window at the turn of the staircase was glazed with ruby, and that raw wound among the unstained rectangles and its asymmetrical position—a knight’s move from the top—always strangely disturbed me.”

This one I can’t quite explain. I marked it the very first time I read the book, and I’m not sure why it captured my attention so strongly. There’s just something about the way he describes the stain as a “raw wound”, its asymmetrical position, the reference to chess. Maybe it’s the blood-like red stain inside the home, “that parody of incest”. Or maybe it captures something about the book as a whole, the violence and raw wound underlying the story, America, the English language. Or maybe I’m just misreading it and making a whole thing.

I’m also always very disturbed by the scene when H.H. rapes Dolores while she is sick with a fever: “... and I could not resist the exquisite caloricity of unexpected delights—Venus febriculosa -- though it was a very languid Lolita that moaned and coughed and shivered in my embrace.”

When H.H. talks of his pedophilia and obsession with young girls:

“There was in the fiery phantasm a perfection which made my wild delight also perfect, just because the vision was out of reach, with no possibility of attainment to spoil it by the awareness of an appended taboo; indeed, it may well be that the very attraction immaturity has for me lies not so much in the limpidity of pure young forbidden fairy child beauty as in the security of a situation where infinite perfections fill the gap between the little given and the great promised—the great rosegray never-to-be-had. Mes fenětres! Hanging above blotched sunset and welling night, grinding my teeth, I would crowd all the demons of my desire against the railing of a throbbing balcony: it would be ready to take off in the apricot and black humid evening; did take off—whereupon the lighted image would move and Eve would revert to a rib, and there would be nothing in the window but an obese partly clad man reading the paper.”

I said I wouldn’t include funny passages, but I admit that last sentence is pretty funny. I also just like how well it captures one of the most important aspects of Lolita — we can see that Humbert cannot see; but we only have Humbert’s words, and so we cannot really see either. Dolores remains unattainable both to him and to us, and perhaps that’s part of our collective fascination with the book and the character. This is somewhat related to the absolutely gorgeous passages in chapter 20/Pt. 2 of H.H. watching Dolores play tennis. More than once he regrets not filming her (Quilty tries to film her, but she evades him), but paints the scene to the reader with the most beautiful strokes (he cannot have Lolita, we cannot have Dolores; but we can have his words). It’s too long to quote in full, but some snippets of note:

“The exquisite clarity of all her movements had its auditory counterpart in the pure ringing sound of her every stroke. The ball when it entered her aura of control became somehow whiter, its resilience somehow richer, and the instrument of precision she used upon it seemed inordinately prehensile and deliberate at the moment of clinging contact. Her form was, indeed, an absolutely perfect imitation of absolutely top-notch tennis—without any utilitarian results.“

"... on that particular day, in the pure air of Champion, Colorado, on that admirable court at the foot of steep stone stairs leading up to Champion Hotel where we had spent the night, I felt I could rest from the nightmare of unknown betrayals within the innocence of her style, of her soul, of her essential grace."

"... Did I ever mention that her bare arm bore the 8 of vaccination? That I loved her hopelessly? That she was only fourteen?

An inquisitive butterfly passed, dipping, between us."

And still, through the haze, there are moments when H.H. seems to see something real in Dolores. Even then, it’s never truly clear if those glimpses are real, but they’re nevertheless very touching. As false as Humbert is, as much as he lies and self-aggrandizes and plays at redemption for an imaginary jury, there may be kernels of truth to some of what he says.

“... [M]y Lolita remarked:

“You know, what’s so dreadful about dying is that you are completely on your own”; and it struck me, as my automaton knees went up and down, that I simply did not know a thing about my darling’s mind and that quite possibly, behind the awful juvenile clichés, there was in her a garden and a twilight, and a palace gate—dim and adorable regions which happened to be lucidly and absolutely forbidden to me, in my polluted rags and miserable convulsions.”

This one is heartbreaking:

“Once when Avis’s father had honked outside to signal papa had come to take his pet home, I felt obliged to invite him into the parlor, and he sat down for a minute, and while we conversed, Avis, a heavy, unattractive, affectionate child, drew up to him and eventually perched plumply on his knee. Now, I do not remember if I have mentioned that Lolita always had an absolutely enchanting smile for strangers, a tender furry slitting of the eyes, a dreamy sweet radiance of all her features which did not mean a thing of course, but was so beautiful, so endearing that one found it hard to reduce such sweetness to but a magic gene automatically lighting up her face in atavistic token of some ancient rite of welcome—hospitable prostitution, the coarse reader may say. Well, there she stood while Mr. Byrd twirled his hat and talked, and—yes, look how stupid of me, I have left out the main characteristic of the famous Lolita smile, namely: while the tender, nectared, dimpled brightness played, it was never directed at the stranger in the room but hung in its own remote flowered void, so to speak, or wandered with myopic softness over chance objects—and this is what was happening now: while fat Avis sidled up to her papa, Lolita gently beamed at a fruit knife that she fingered on the edge of the table, whereon she leaned, many miles away from me. Suddenly, as Avis clung to her father’s neck and ear while, with a casual arm, the man enveloped his lumpy and large offspring, I saw Lolita’s smile lose all its light and become a frozen little shadow of itself, and the fruit knife slipped off the table and struck her with its silver handle a freak blow on the ankle which made her gasp, and crouch head forward, and then, jumping on one leg, her face awful with the preparatory grimace which children hold till the tears gush, she was gone—to be followed at once and consoled in the kitchen by Avis who had such a wonderful fat pink dad and a small chubby brother, and a brand-new baby sister, and a home, and two grinning dogs, and Lolita had nothing.”

And this passage, too, never fails to bring tears to my eyes:

“What I heard was but the melody of children at play, nothing but that, and so limpid was the air that within this vapor of blended voices, majestic and minute, remote and magically near, frank and divinely enigmatic—one could hear now and then, as if released, an almost articulate spurt of vivid laughter, or the crack of a bat, or the clatter of a toy wagon, but it was all really too far for the eye to distinguish any movement in the lightly etched streets. I stood listening to that musical vibration from my lofty slope, to those flashes of separate cries with a kind of demure murmur for background, and then I knew that the hopelessly poignant thing was not Lolita’s absence from my side, but the absence of her voice from that concord.”

I’ll probably think of a dozen more favorites, but the post is long enough as it is, and it’s late. Hope this is something. Followers, if you want to add your own favorites in the replies, please do!

[nemo-of-house-hamartia]

Unpopular Opinion, but I think the first 2 Thor Movies were better than the last two directed by Taika, BUT LEMME EXPLAIN WHY.

I am ABSOLUTELY not dissing Taika as a director, not his take on the plot and characters.

In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed both "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Thor: Love and Thunder". I can personally say that I liked them quite a lot. They were entertaining, I cackled like an idiot for most of the movies and I did have a great time throughout the best part of them. (plus, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, Cate Blanchett as Hela -dear Gods, Hela fml - and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie...LIKE. THEY WERE *EVERYTHING. *E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G*)

What I DIDN'T LIKE was the STRIKING dissonance in vibes and mood between the first two movies and the last two.

We went from Kenneth Branagh's "Serious, almost Shakesperian motifs" in the first Thor (up to this date, still very much my favorite) to Loki's"Heavens, no. I've run out of favor with the Grandmaster, and in exchange for codes and access to a ship, I'm asking for safe passage... through the Anus."

I personally am not a fan of movies connected to a certain character, that are set up to have a certain motif and that start up with a certain vibe behind them, and then, one movie later, they get a turn left so sudden, I couldn't even brace myself because it didn't see it coming AT ALL.

And once more, I am absolutely not dissing Taika's take on the movies, but rather whoever thought it was a good idea to bring such dissonance into the continuum of the events connected to the Asgardians.

If Thor's whole story had been set up to evolve through a more comical lens FROM THE BEGINNING, such as in Taika's movie, I wouldn't have had a problem AT ALL with how the movies had subsequentially developed, because there was a thread that was followed, and it was consistent. On the contrary, I would have probably been equally pissed had they started on the comical path and then took a more serious, gloomier turn with the last two (so basically the opposite of what has happened instead).

So, I guess, what I am trying to say is that I failed to appreciate the last two movies 100% because of the lack of consistency in tones and also characterization of certain characters.

And this brings me to want to spend just a few words on Loki.

I adored Loki from the first Thor, how he was characterized in "The Avengers" and then how he still was himself in Thor 2, but with some growth to himself. Loki, from what I perceived, was set up to be a tragic villain bordering on the Anti-Hero territories, which was consistent with his mythologic counterpart, so, I truly failed to appreciate his evolution as the buttmonkey to Thor's jokes. While I appreciated that Taika kept Loki's mischievousness (I mean, Loki is THE God of Mischief), I didn't like the fact that he went from being considered a threat to being treated as a nuisance at best, and a buffoon at worst.

(don't let me start on the fact that Sygin was never brought into the MCU lore, because Gods forbid we bring someone that adds to Loki's whole character and bring even more depth to him. But that's precisely what fanfictions are for, fml.).

So, what I am trying to say is that I wish "Ragnarok" and "Love and Thunder" had been done with a little bit of criterium AND in correlations to how the whole Asgardian lore had been explored in the first two movies, rather than just deciding to throw all that to the nettles and go down another path altogether.

And I do realize that these movies have been done over the course of almost 15 years, so, of course, things change over time. But I still think that there was A LOT of potential to explore Thor and the Asgardians' lore in a more cohesive way.

that's my two cents right there.

HERE, LEMME LEAVE YOU WITH *THESE* DISNEY PRINCES, AFTER ALL THESE BABBLES.

[twelfth-harbinger]

A/n: So this happened... I simp for this archon god. Part two will be out soon! Pls enjoy!!

Mentions: A worried Zhongli— cares so much about your safety you entered a contract with him to ease his heart. Only to be reckless and well... break it. Xiao snitched. Now you must suffer the wrath of the rock and face a fitting punishment.

Warnings: None... yet. ;)

The Broken Contract Part 1

Being the absurdly lawful man that he is, Zhongli could not stand for a broken contract between you both. Even if it was a verbal contract it was a contract nonetheless.

How could he not be upset when you failed to follow through with your end of the contract. He sat across from you with tea, allowing the misty steam from the fine liyue crafted chinaware to fill his nostrils as he raised the cup to his lips. His eyes closed briefly to relax himself as he took his first sip. You stared at him, a bit awestruck at his composure being kept. What ever happened to ‘You will suffer the wrath of the rock?’ You wore a quaint smile on your lips, something he didn’t find all that amusing. Golden eyes settle on your face as he lowered the teacup. It was silent, the two of you could hear Mora drop with how still it was. You could tell he was pressed, the crease in his brow as he studied your nonchalant facial expression made it as clear as a refined and polished piece of cor lapis. Finally, he broke the silence with a question, one you didn’t think he’d ask so casually.

“How should we go about giving you the punishment you deserve?” He stated, your eyes widened a bit as he spoke. His voice was deep, smooth and firm and his eyes held the authority of a god you knew better than to cross. You simply couldn’t help it though, not when you knew he held a soft spot for you in his heart. As you part your lips to speak you noticed he looked at them momentarily before meeting your eyes again. He spoke further instead when you bit down on your bottom lip subconsciously. “You voided the contract and held disregard for your own life. Do you know what those treasure hoarders were going to do to you?” The irritation in his voice stagnated in the air and you felt a little apprehensive under his reprimanding gaze. His eyes glowed, amber-gold speckled with hints of deep copper brown; they were entrancing. “If it weren’t for a passing adventurer assisting you, you’d be dead or worse. Even he was worse for wear after the ordeal. Had I not been on my way to the Wangshu Inn, returning from Qingce Village; I wouldn’t have caught wind of your fate at all.”

He paused to let his words sink in, your nearly fatal encounter with a band of treasure hoarders left you severely injured for a few long weeks. You took up residence in the Wangshu Inn to rehabilitate. While you were recovering, you made it your mission to avoid Xiao. It didn’t help when you bumped into him in the kitchen upon making yourself one of your favorite meals from Monstadt. You made him promise not to tell Zhongli but, he simply told you he didn’t have to. It perplexed you nonetheless as he took his leave, only to later find out that Zhongli was just a few hours away from reaching the inn. He would’ve told him anyways. When he saw you and the state those greedy treasure hoarders left you in, he took a personalized trip to the East of Luhua Pool. Once he returned, he took very good care to you, until you were well enough to discuss the means of your broken contract back in Liyue. The time had come and so, there you both were. He placed his tea down in front of him and looked to you for a proper response, something you found quite difficult to do without saying something that would undoubtedly make this serious man irritable.

“I don’t think I did anything wrong.” You replied, Zhongli sat there, his eyes searching your face for any signs of a jest. You were serious, he couldn’t stop a faint laugh from moving past his lips as he took in what you said. You decided to follow up with it to not seem so stubborn in your ways, it didn’t really help. “Meaning, I took the commission well within the means to do so in our contract.” As you finished your statement, the Archon God stared at you blankly. It was mainly due to the astonishment of what you had just said; it left him a little speechless. Were you really trying to get through a loophole in this contract? While sitting in front of the God of Contracts himself— in the middle of the conversation no less; as well as being in the midst of discussing a fitting punishment? More importantly, was it a valid claim? Zhongli took a moment to ponder it over, his hand moving under his chin as you took a sip of your own tea. You had a sly smile on your face but it faded the moment he looked your way. He caught it in his peripheral though, but refrained from commenting on it.

“You aren’t wrong,” he began, lowering his hand and letting it rest flat on the table by his tea. “However, in the contract we made, it was stated that you would never throw away your life for a commission that would inevitably put you in a position where you can’t properly defend yourself. You did all of that to retrieve a worthless scroll for Lan? Did you really believe that facing an entire band of treasure hoarders in their hideout was worth more than your life?” He genuinely asked, knowing he caught you. You looked away from him with a light pout. When the scroll reached Lan, she told you it was the wrong one and after careful analysis by Zhongli and an Archeologist it was found out to also be a decoy and a fake. Which meant no reward for the commission and the initial request still being up for grabs for any other Adventurer out there. You could understand where Zhongli’s worry and vexation was stemming from. He sighed out and leaned back in his seat; arms folding over his chest as he looked at you. “I’m not angry at you but displeased by the way you don’t think things through. Which is why we made this contract in the first place, I worry about your safety more than you will ever know.” As you met his gaze his expression was soft, which made you feel warm inside. His eyes lowered a bit and a placid expression layered itself on his face. “So?” He said “How shall we go about giving you the proper punishment? It would seem you can only learn the hard way for this isn’t the first time.” He eyed you and under his stare rosy pink blush dusted your cheeks. In any case, he wanted an answer from you that you weren’t too sure how to give.

“I would rather you come up with it, I wouldn’t come up with anything just.” You admitted, he made you read a thick ancient text on the meaning of life once and it was absolute torture. You didn’t retain any of it having fallen asleep more times than you can count. However, when it was still fresh in your mind you were able to recite what Zhongli asked for when he mentioned something about the key points of the passage on the 600th page. When you proposed the idea, he was a bit unsure how he should go about admonition. As he pondered it over, he watched you take a sip from the warm tea he had brewed for you both prior to your current conversation. You licked your lips as you savored the taste of the flowery sweet minty beverage. A refined taste for those who partake in the ritual of tea time, it was then Zhongli realized something. You two hadn’t done anything promiscuous since before you took the commission on. Given his work and the fact that you were injured as well as the hiccups in finding out the authenticity of the scroll and dealing with treasure hoarders; it left little time to be intimate with each other. Zhongli had not thought about it until he was able to be alone with you. Pent up wasn’t even close to what he would describe what he was feeling in that very moment. As he shifted in his seat he let out an exasperated sigh, a gloved finger tapping down idly on the surface of the table you two sat across.

“I see, I’ve thought of something just now.” He said, faint smirk tugging shyly at the corner of his lips. You looked at him, your eyes searching his face for his usual stern and stoic expression. When you found something more playful you looked a little lost. He caught your stare the eye contact you made caused heat to rise to your face.

“What is it?” You asked, wanting to know. Zhongli stood and let his hands rest flat on the table as he did so, before folding them back over his chest.

“I have work to do, the day isn’t over yet.” He ignored your question, a crease formed in his brow as well as yours. What the hell was he thinking? You could rarely get a full read on this man. His mystique held the wisdom of someone who had lived for several millennia. He looked down at you, seeing you trying to figure him out was comical. “You should relax for the rest of the day, soak in a mineral bath with healing geo salt rocks, eat a nice meal. With the earnings from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, I’ve bought oils and incense. Use them at your leisure and I will see you later tonight; a bit after the sun sets over Liyue Harbor.” As he spoke he walked over to the door, you weren’t sure what he was getting at but, a day to yourself didn’t sound too bad.

“Zhongli.” You say, before he walked out the door you sent a smile his way, to thank him for his kindness and care and even for his worry. “I love you.” He paused in the doorway, staring back at you with eyes slightly ajar. Your words were exactly what he needed to hear. He strolled back over to you to place a kiss on the top of your head. Eyes closing as he breathed in your sweet scent, your hair tickling his nose and chin.

“I love you too, I’ll see you tonight.” He let out an ominously light chuckle and you looked up at him with quizzical eyes. Almost asking him what was so funny, he glanced down at you and his eyes narrowed slightly. “We’ll discuss your punishment then.” With one more kiss to the top of your head he left for the remainder of the day. You sat there in anticipation, you wondered why he was being so lenient about your punishment. You almost died, how was he still not vexed with you for being so careless? Maybe he was and your charm worked better then you gave yourself enough credit for. He’d likely just have you read again and that wasn’t so bad. Whatever the case may be, you took him up on all the things he had suggested before he left. Those geo salts were truly a blessing from the Geo Archon they soothed every ache and pain you had within minutes of soaking in a nice hot in ground bath. As you did, it made you wonder what Zhongli had in store for you. The sun was nearly close to setting over the horizon of Liyue Harbor, you missed his company and the way he’d look at you with such love and adoration. He may have been unhappy with your rather reckless behavior when it came to your adventuring but, you knew you could crack his stone exterior and weasel your way into a lenient punishment — his soft spot for you was ridiculous. You only wished that he’d touch you, with a little convincing and a bit of teasing you’d have him wrapped around your finger for the night. While you soaked in the in ground bath you plotted, the warm water relaxing your body as you waited for the Archon God to return home and into your arms.

[oscarwrites]

Tag 9 People You’d Like to Get to Know Better Game

I just noticed now that I got tagged by @manonamora-if lol. Thank you!

Favorite color: At the moment, green. I’m not immune to trends... But it’s been one of my favorites for a while. I use it a lot in art, and I think it’s a flattering color for me to wear.

Currently reading: Still Le Bossu, by Paul Féval, although I haven’t touched it for months at this point lol. Keeping up with reading has been hard lately. I’ve been reading IF regularly, though, I’m sure that counts! Lately I’ve started reading Heart of Battle, by Fay Ikin.

Last song: I have absolutely no idea djhfgsdfg. I can’t check right now either. The only thing I’m sure of is that it was from my fantasy playlist that I listen to when working on 8YR.

Last series: I started watching Sandman, but I’ve not watched all the episodes yet. It’s been fun! I’ve not read the comics, so I’m going in pretty much blind.

Last movie: Everything Everywhere All at Once. Had to hang on at the beginning, it was hard to focus on it at first, but it was a lot of fun in the end!

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: All three at once, preferably, lmao.

Currently working on: Editing and coding for 8YR. And it’s kicking my ass...

Tagging: @nyehilismwriting, @northern-passage, @roast-ifs, @asphodelgame, @idrellegames, @parkerlyn, @larkin-if, @gamesbyalbie, @theblackrivergame (no pressure ofc! and sorry if you’ve already been tagged)