#accidentally spoiled the story for myself while scrolling

[lostjunjiitofan]

Was not prepared for the emotional roller coaster that this story was oml

Gonna have to translate 68 pages of this Junji Ito story from French to English so I can read it, someone pray for me

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Hey, Cinderella Boy fandom, do u guys have a spoiler tag I can block? 👉👈

I’m a peon who only reads the free chapters since I can’t afford fast pass, and I wanna make sure I don’t accidentally spoil the story for myself while scrolling through the tag

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 31: DANGEROUS EXILE (1957)

1. The Introduction

Hello, Citizens! Here I am, ready to commence our brand new meeting with a brand new review for everyone to (hopefully) enjoy!

So, “Dangerous Exile” is a swashbuckling Frev movie that is based on the alternative history premise: What if Louis 16th’s son (Louis 17th) survived Frev instead of meeting an untimely end in prison?

To be honest, I discovered the movie while scrolling through IMDb and got hooked on the premise since I have a soft spot for adventure stories. However, I ran into two problems.

Firstly, the movie was hard as fuck to find so I had to settle for a rather shitty Russian dub. Apparently the original English version does pop up on YouTube from time to time, but it’s mostly available on DVDs that have to be purchased. So yeah, not readily available at all and I couldn’t find the English version even on Russian sites…

Secondly, I know that the real Louis 17th was treated horribly in prison and, just to avoid royal family fans and anti Frev neighbors coming for my Montagnard ass, let me make something clear: While I’m not a fan of Louis 16th or Marie Antoinette as monarchs, I don’t think their children deserved to suffer and my admiration for Frev in general doesn’t automatically mean that I condone everything that was done by revolutionaries. Hopefully that’s out of the way now.

Anyway, this review is dedicated to @pobodleru , @lanterne , @anarchist-mariner and @revolutionfairies . Okay, now that I explained myself, we can officially proceed.

2. The Summary

Louis 17th gets rescued by a group of royalists and accidentally lands on an English island on a hot air balloon. There, in England, the boy is taken in by a woman called Virginia and her family.

However, royalists and jacobins alike are still looking for the boy to further their own agendas and will stop at nothing to find him.

To me this sounds like a cool premise, but let’s see if the execution is good.

3. The Story

It’s a pretty classic and formulaic swashbuckling movie and I happen to like those so I liked the story and was completely hooked. However, it’s definitely not for everyone and I wouldn’t recommend to look for something very original in the storyline.

While the premise spoils the twist on who the boy from the hot air balloon is, I did enjoy the way that mystery unfolded in the movie itself. It also has hints of my beloved “found family” trope as Virginia and Louis bond and he develops a precocious crush on her (innocent childlike crush) and they become close friends.

As usual, I didn’t care for the romantic subplot and I personally would prefer to cut out flashbacks and the nightmare sequences - “show, don’t tell” is a good thing, but it just doesn’t work this time and a bit of dialogue would replace it just fine. Who knows though, maybe the director needed to stretch out screen time. Maybe romance was there to stretch out screen time too…

Here’s something that surprised me though. The movie has nuanced characters on BOTH sides so we have sympathetic jacobins and asshole royalists AND vice versa. We even have an asshole IN THE ROYAL FAMILY itself! And FINALLY Robespierre isn’t the villain! Yay!

(Think what you want about the man, but having him as a villain is just fucking boring at this point.)

As a matter of fact, historical figures (except for the boy) don’t actually appear in the movie and the cast aside from the dauphin consists out of original characters only. A welcome break from the usual stuff we see, if you ask me!

4. The Characters

Louis is a sweetheart here. He’s understandably traumatized by his ordeal but he bonds with his found family (especially Virginia and her aunt) and, in spite of the wishes of the royalists, doesn’t want to be a king and take revenge. Honestly, I can’t blame him for not wanting to return to France.

Virginia is, surprisingly, not a flat character. She’s one of the few people who actually cares about what LOUIS wants and needs but she’s also in a difficult situation because the royalists and the jacobins are searching for the dauphin. Still, Virginia does her best to protect the boy from harm and stands up for him when royalists try to pressure him into becoming the next king of France.

Duke de Beauvais is… not an asshole, but I didn’t like him at all.

He will stop at nothing to help Louis become king and sacrifices HIS OWN SON for that cause (placing his son into the dauphin’s cell). He also seems to be really fanatical at times and doesn’t seem to actually consider what LOUIS wants.

I do understand that de Beauvais himself is in a difficult situation and he IS concerned about his kid, but I still have a feeling that sometimes he just goes a bit too far.

As for secondary characters, unfortunately most are flat but I liked Virginia’s aunt. She’s that one cool caring aunt who makes jokes and loves her family fiercely.

5. The Setting

It seems to me that the settings are more or less accurate, but accuracy isn’t the strongest point here. Not just because the movie is an AU, but also because of this:

Please, for the love of the Supreme Being, get your damn dates right! The monarchy got overthrown BEFORE the time you show!

(Editing Citizen Green Pixel (ECGP) here: Apparently this movie is an adaptation of a novel but I’ve no idea if this mistake is in the novel too or just in movie. The novel is called “A King Reluctant”.)

Other than that, though, the settings and the costumes are done quite well!

6. The Acting

Unfortunately, the absolutely atrocious dub prevented me from fully enjoying the acting but I think it was quite good.

7. The Music

Pretty good, but nothing outstanding, if I’m being honest.

8. The Conclusion

Honestly, this movie was packing quite a few pleasant surprises for me and I actually enjoyed it. Not my favorite and still doesn’t beat “The Black Tulip” when it comes to swashbuckling Frev movies, but still pretty good.

Please check out this movie if you like swashbuckling stories. It’s cheesy, somewhat predictable and cliché at times but it does have nuanced main characters, decent twists and an interesting premise.

On that note, I declare today’s meeting of Jacobin Fiction Convention to be over. Stay tuned for more updates, everyone!

Love,

- Citizen Green Pixel

[setsuntamew]

So, Persona 5 Royal, huh?

Full disclosure: I had gotten about halfway through November on Wednesday and finished it out Saturday night, which took uhhh about 65-70 hours? Some of that was sitting there waiting for the PS4 controller to recharge or listening to music in the Thieves Den while eating, but I still feel like I need to own up to how extremely bad I am at making good decisions with my life XD

MOVING ON, THOUGH, HOLY SHIT. P5 was a very good game, but Royal’s additions & changes made it incredible. I like the ending way more; I think it’s more emotionally fulfilling and meaningful, especially with everyone’s more defined future plans. Definitely felt like everyone had more growth in the end!! Which is something I’d always thought P5 was lacking.

Snip snip for spoilers and the fact that this post ended up being too damn long, oops! the last third is basically Akechi feels and analyzing his ending, so......yeah XD

Part of why I plowed through SO much of Royal in so little time is....Akechi XD Like okay, this is my stupid fandom blog, I can be excited about him all I want!!! I got to Sae’s Palace and just....I couldn’t put it down. @dragonofeternal​ and I ordered an embarrassing amount of takeout instead of cooking because we just had to see how everything with Maruki and the third semester was gonna go down. I’d already been dying along the way because Akechi’s confidant dates are so good, I just. Fuck!!!

Also, look, for the entirity of Shido’s boss fight and the depths of Mementos/Yaldabaoth/etc, we’d look at each other every few minutes and just be like AKECHI SHOULD BE HERE WITH US, HE DESERVES TO GET HIS VENGEANCE ON HIS SHITTY DAD AND FORCED DESTINY!!!!!

December 24th had to be the longest god damn day in Akira’s life because like. Final exam grades are posted in the morning! He goes to school and then dives into hell, crawls his way back out, briefly dies by fading from human cognition, fights an actual fucking god, and then....ends up dissociating in Shibuya until Sae shows up and is like “oh hey thanks for everything you did, please sign up for being arrested now.” And while he’s still reeling from that, Akechi walks up to take his place, like some kind of bullshit knight in shining armor schtick, and leaves no room for conversation.

AND THEN WE HAVE TO GO ON A DATE

I romanced Hifumi this time around, because I wanted Akria to bang a girl who is just so incredibly out of his league, but....it’s not necessarily that I forgot I was dating someone, more that it had been *so many hours of plot* that I was emotionally exhausted. Like, Hifumi texted me and I was just like. Right. RIGHT. It’s still Christmas Eve, somehow. I was at *school* this morning. The whole world merged with Mementos briefly in the middle of this, Akechi is somehow alive, and I guess I’m going on a date now????

I do appreciate how many “god I’m just dissociating my way through this” conversation options there were for the date, tbh. I feel bad though, I really like Hifumi, but I feel like Akira is not giving a date his full emotional attention at that specific time. It feels a bit like emotional whiplash, more so than I remember it being in P5? Maybe it’s because I played it 4 years ago and there wasn’t the added emotional weight of Akechi’s reappearance, but it was just like....a lot, in Royal.

AND THEN THE NEW YEAR HAPPENED. I’d been spoiled on large parts of the third semester, mostly because Royal’s been out for a year already and I’m too curious for my own good. I’d also somehow lied to myself, saying I didn’t have time to play another Persona game right now, and yet here I am, 171 hours of game play within exactly a month, kicking myself for not knowing how deep in Persona hell I would get XD

Which is to say, as soon as the new year started, it felt I was drowning in anxiety. I knew something was wrong, I knew they were in a false reality, but knowing that sure as fuck didn’t make it easier to go through. If anything, it was somehow worse, knowing that it was all gonna come crumbling down, but I didn’t yet know the exact details, only the broad strokes of it. Just. Every time someone talked about something that was wrong, my heart would clench.

God, I’m so fucking tired, I pulled an all-nighter on Friday so I could get through Royal before having to work on Sunday, and I am feeling it right now. Life tips: don’t do what I do XD

Every moment with Akechi felt like borrowed time, at least for me, because I knew what was coming. I spent so much time in Mementos with him; I ended up putting just him and Akira in my party and plowing through everything, including trouncing the Reaper over and over just for the hell of it. I got his ultimate weapons, I spent so many nights in the jazz club with him that he ran out of dialogue options, and I still took him back for more. I accidentally failed to EVER trigger Sumire’s Showtime because every fight was just Akira and Akechi against the world, because fuck it, I’m playing this for fun!! If I want to play with them in stupid costumes and no one else in the party, I’m gonna. Royal did such an incredible job giving Akechi more depth and development: it was all I could hope for, and it made it that much fucking worse to know what was in store for him.

Somehow, I thought it would be harder for me to make the decision to refuse Maruki’s deal, since fuck, fuck what I wouldn’t give for Akechi to be alive???? But I barely hesitated, only really stopping because I had to emotionally brace myself for it, because a reality where he can’t carve out his own fate would be a disrespect to everything their relationship is built on.

I have a whole shit ton of feelings about post-beating Maruki but they’re basically all Akechi related meta so somehow they ended up at the end of this post, I’m sorry XD

I understand that they had to keep the going to jail bit because 1) Akechi didn’t turn himself in, Akira did and 2) it leads to the final events of the game, but let me just say....the emotional roller coaster of fighting Maruki, almost failing multiple times, waking up in jail, the Phantom Thieves & friends getting Akira out of jail, celebrating that, and then getting thrown into Valentines Day was a LOT for my heart to take. Once again, didn’t forget I had a girlfriend, just got too invested in the plot to really be thinking about her. It’s less than two weeks after the fight with Maruki and somehow, everything is supposed to be okay????

The scene with everyone talking about their future plans is such good character growth, though. Everyone feels like they’ve truly grown and are making decisions that, even though they might be painful or hard at times, are ultimately very important to them. It’s a really good contrast to the “almost everyone goes to Shujin and they all stay in Tokyo forever without doing anything for themselves” Maruki’s perfect reality bad end.

Standing in the Underground Mall on White Day, being told I had to get flowers but finally being able to have control of Akira again was....so bittersweet. The fact that the location of the date is the aquarium is a low fucking blow, and I almost threw the controller across the room I was so upset. Like. THE AQUARIUM IS UNLOCKED BECAUSE AKECHI HAS TICKETS HOW FUCKING DARE SOJIRO SUGGEST IT LIKE MY HEART ISN’T STILL ACHING????? God, speaking of that: The fucking god damn Featherman video game tore my heart out because I ended up playing it WHILE WORKING ON SHIDO’S PALACE and I cried a ton about Gray Pigeon because of course they had to dig the emotional knife in even deeper!! Just fuck me up, it’s fine, I’m just dying!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ended up scrolling through his texts to find the group chats that still had Akechi in them, and fuck, it was a LOT. Like. Maybe it’s because I’m too invested in the two of them, but it was probably the worst emotional whiplash of the whole game. Like, how am I supposed to go play happy with anyone while staring at texts from a reality built of lies? It wasn’t real but the proof lives on in his phone and his heart, and I’m still fucked up over it.

HOWEVER. FUCKING. I SPENT LIKE HALF AN HOUR BEING EMOTIONALLY COMPROMISED ABOUT ALL THIS AND THEN DISCOVERED THE BASTARD STILL HAD ALL HIS EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING THE ULTIMATE MALE ARMOR!!! He returned his shit after Sae’s Palace even though he thought Akira was dead, but this time it didn’t get fucking returned to my inventory, so he must have fucking run off with all his shit!!!!!!! Why the hell did none of it get returned if he was never alive in the true reality? Like I know it'll be returned for a new game+ but I like to nitpick game mechanics for story reasons, because one of the things I love most about video games is the experience of them as another layer to the story. The texts from the third semester shouldn’t exist anymore, since they never really existed, but there they are. Akechi insisted that he has a gap in his memory after Shido’s Palace up until seeing Akira on Christmas Eve, but who can say that wasn’t related to Maruki tampering with reality or some other Persona-related reason?

I mean. I got the full and complete True Ending; I saw him in the train station. If that’s not Akechi, then who the fuck is it? Atlus made sure to put the work in to make him a part of not just the main story but also, especially, the third semester, and for what....to have his final time on screen be as the butt of the joke, squished underneath everyone in the Mona-copter? As much as it hurts, his end in Shido’s Palace matters; it fits his character and he gets to go out fighting- carving his own path, really. In Royal, barring the tiny glimpse of someone who’s probably him in the train station, the last we see of him is when he watches Joker let go of the rope to finish off Maruki. I know we got the heart to heart where Akira agrees to reject Maruki’s deal and Akechi insists that he’d rather be dead than live in a false reality, but.....no one even says goodbye to him. It’s tragic, it’s painfully lonely, but it doesn’t feel right for such a major character.

Also, as undignified as it is, for the first time ever, Akechi looks like he actually belongs in the Phantom Thieves in that final moment. He’s never been the butt of their jokes before; they always kept him at arms’ reach and he took himself too seriously to be included, but for that brief moment, it really felt like he was part of their group. He stopped lying about himself for their last month together, and so even if they don’t all like him, they can make that decision based on the truth, instead of layers of lies. His death is all the more tragic for this; a life cut short just when he’s finally finding a place he belongs. But his death was already painful; why make it so, so much worse?

Final thing: I’m gonna be spending a ton of time in the Thieves Den trying to find Akechi’s opinions on everything, but also....hey. HEY. What do those six stars that Jose (probably?) painted on the wall mean? Is it just a reference to Persona 6???? LIKE????? I HAVE QUESTIONS. SO, SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!

Anyway, I’ve gotta go cry into my Starbucks and desperately try to focus on actually doing my job at work, but I loved Royal deeply and cannot wait to drown in it ;w;

[scoobydoominuscoobydoo]

Alright, I guess we should talk about Scoob!

So Scoob! was digitally release nearly a month ago and Mod Silas and I finally got around to watching it. 

For anyone who liked it and don’t wanna read me heavily criticize it then I’ll just spoil you right now:

I did not like Scoob! at all.

And it was really disappointing because this is the first wide release film Scooby has gotten in 16 years. That’s a long time to think of bringing Scooby to the general public who don’t go out of their way to watch every single direct-to-video movie. The announcement of a new feature length film was two or three years ago and I was really excited to hear it because I was expecting some high-quality content.

My opinion of it quickly dropped a lot when it was revealed that the original voice cast wouldn’t be in it. That’s fine all on it’s own but they did it without even letting the original cast know they wouldn’t be a part of this (Besides Frank but he wasn’t even cast as who he originally played). Seeing both Matthew and Grey’s responses to this made me sad and I was significantly less excited for this movie. 

Suddenly the concept of this movie not being that good became very real to me. How much passion can you have for Scooby-Doo when you ignore the original cast and hire people who have never done anything for the franchise before that.

Despite all of that, I was giving Scoob! the benefit of the doubt because I really wanted this movie to be good. I wanted this movie to open up the potential for more major Scooby projects. And while this movie did well financially I find myself so disappointed that after 16 years this is what we got.

Since I hated almost everything about this movie I’m gonna break it up into a numbered list (otherwise I’ll be ranting endlessly).

#1: This movie fails at telling a story.

When the trailer was dropped I remember being like, “Great. Lets recycle the whole Scoob and Shag friendship as a central narrative. Not like they’ve done that a million times before.” And then next thing you know, they’re on the Falcon Fury and I was so not excited. That was two plot-lines they’ve played with before and I can’t remember the last time anyone cared about the Blue Falcon. It’s one of the weaker movies and nobody talks about that one episode of MI that he’s in.

But again, I was going to let it slide because it’s still possible to create a good story out of something recycled.

The movie opens up with them when they were kids and I was already bummed because this movie is taking place in present times and not the 70′s or the 80′s. They allude to the fact that Shaggy enjoys stuff from that time period (while he’s scrolling through a smartphone) but that’s not the same. This concept bugged me for the rest of the movie because the majority of scenes where the gang is solving something they just Google it and the the scene is over. As opposed to it taking place before the internet and writers would have to get creative. And while I love the gang as kids because when it’s done in the show they have so much charm and life the beginning scenes are kinda pointless and don’t establish anything major. I think they were trying to show that the gang have been really close since they were little but it doesn’t come off that way. Not to mention the whole scene with the gang together feels really stiff and I was salty that Shaggy wasn’t wearing a Commander Cool costume instead of his Blue Falcon outfit.

At this point I was waiting for the character conflict to be introduced because that’s a key convention in every Scooby movie. There’s always a man in a mask to chase but that’s not where the story comes together. The story comes from some sort internal conflict within the characters.

The phantom dinosaurs in Legend of the Phantosaur are awesome but that’s not what the movie is about. It’s about Shaggy overcoming his own internal hurdles.

That’s been a consistent pattern in the best of the Scooby films (even all four of the live action ones do this) and I was waiting for it to be identified. And then next thing I know we’re twenty minutes into the movie and I’m not sure what it’s even about. The scene where the gang talk about wanting to become a legitimate business happens so fast and it took me like five minutes to be like, “Wait is this our conflict?” A fight between the gang about Shaggy and Scooby’s usefulness to the cause? (Which is also a recycled plot but whatever.) Their fight happens so fast and isn’t taken all that seriously so Shag and Scoob’s anger seems more played for a laugh than anything else.

But then they cut to the bowling alley and the two of them seem genuinely upset. And I can’t help but think if you had let the earlier scene escalate into an actual argument that I would have bought the hurt feelings. But then none of it matters because Shag and Scoob are immediately attacked and rescued by the Blue Falcon and someone’s OC. And when the rest of the gang find out they instantly feel bad and so I guess the tension between the gang wasn’t supposed to be the central conflict.

Now it’s back to being about Shaggy and Scooby and their millionth time being the chosen one.

Shaggy becomes pretty upset because Scooby is getting into the whole superhero thing and isn’t giving Shag a second thought. But the thing is, none of this was built up. The villain and Simon Cowell tell Shag he isn’t special and both of those times aren’t even remotely emotional. They briefly mention that Shag has some self confidence issues and that turns into him getting mad at Scooby for taking off his collar and playing hero. Ignoring the fact that this is not in character at all it’s clear that the story is now forcing conflict because we’re 45 minutes into the movie and all we’ve done is slapstick.

Shaggy and Scooby’s falling out is ridiculous because they’ve only been mad at each other for like ten minutes of the whole movie so there aren’t any stakes at all. You know they’re gonna make up because this fight came out of nowhere and wasn’t built up at all. Shag and the gang reuniting isn’t emotional at all and Shaggy breaking up the fight could have been so much better if it was just done better.

And that’s how this whole movie is, this plot had the potential to be great scenes could have gotten something from me but nothing is built up and it can’t stay consistent.

By the final battle of the film we’ve only had two things resembling character arcs in Shag and the Blue Falcon and neither of them have any weight. The movie tells us what we already know, that Shaggy is indeed useful to the gang and I just want this movie to be over.

And I guess because they wanna tug on your heartstrings the writers threw in a little self-sacrifice. And I’m not against that at all I think that’s a good resolution to the arc they were trying to give Shaggy but the thing is there’s no stakes or tension in the scene. It just happens and we’re meant to be sad about it but I can’t because nobody else in the scene seems to think it’s all that depressing besides Scooby. And like two minutes later the conflict is resolved and we get our obligatory dance party at the end. 

That whole thing is not a story, nothing is really accomplished by the end and nobody has really gone anywhere. 

There was no Point A which takes us to Point B which brings us to Point C. This was an insane labyrinth of lines running through as many points as they could and then calling it a day. There was no natural progression and none of the conflicts presented even mattered because they were immediately resolved anyway. That makes sense for a TV show but this is a feature length film. I honestly could not believe they were going to release that in theaters because there is no way it’s worth the money. 

It was so devoid of the Scooby-Doo charm and this movie felt more lifeless than anything I’ve watched in a long time.

#2: The movie does a bad job of portraying the gang’s friendship.

One of the fandom’s favorite parts of the Scooby-Doo franchise is the friendship between the gang and the way their characters interact.

But in this movie they behave more like coworkers than anything else. They try to play up the gang feeling guilty and missing the guys but it’s really not convincing. And it’s clear that the fight was more or less to contribute to Velma, Daphne and Fred’s story rather than the whole gang. They spend most of their scenes talking about the mystery or what Shaggy and Scooby would be doing if they were there. The one time in the movie where I can buy them being best friends is when we watch that accidentally took a video instead of a selfie. I thought that was really cute and showed the gang’s dynamic effectively.

The end of the movie where Shaggy is supposedly sealed in the Underworld forever is so underwhelming because Scooby is the only one reacting. Like that’s supposed to be their best friend of ten years who they don’t think they’ll ever see again and they barely bat an eyelash until they go to comfort Scooby.

My first thought was, “There is no way the gang would just let Shaggy sacrifice himself.” And I kept wondering why no one else was trying to stop him or hold him back. 

It’s annoying because I like when the whole gang’s relationship a key part of the plot rather than just Shaggy and Scooby + the other three who are also here.

#3: The villain and the Blue Falcon are pointless.

You could have taken Brian and Dick Dastardly out of the movie and replaced them with anyone and the movie would not have changed at all.

The Blue Falcon squad add nothing to the story and are mainly just there for ......nostalgia I guess??? But nobody even remembers the Blue Falcon??? 

The scenes with Dastardly are easily the worst parts because he’s just a copy-paste villain who sometimes says semi relatable things and it’s meant to be hilarious. His whole plan to open the Underworld just to get his dog back could have been interesting but obviously it wasn’t because nothing is properly built up in this movie.

Their first mistake was immediately revealing who their villain was right off the bat. I won’t be salty that they used actual supernatural forces because Scooby has done that plenty of times. I am salty that they just up and tell you who the puppetmaster is without any goal at anonymity which just goes against everything Scooby is about.

And they’ve done this multiple times. Whenever real supernatural forces are brought into the mix that does change anything because the forces are almost always being controlled by a man in a mask. This sticks to the Scooby belief that the real evil in our world comes from man and not fictional monsters.

#4: This movie’s presentation is not good.

I will quickly say that I actually liked Shaggy’s design in the movie even though Mod Silas already drew Shag with a long sleeve under his shirt and I think that’s a lot better looking. Whatever, I thought he was cute.

I was talking about how stiff the opening scenes felt, well the whole movie looks pretty stiff as well. 

The character designs are distracting (every girl in this movie with their hair down looks like they’re just wearing a wig it looks so bad I don’t understand hair hasn’t looked back in animation for like a decade) and the animation is pretty sloppy. The directing and camera movements also don’t make any half the time and only make everything more jarring. I have nothing against CG animation but I feel like this movie was trying to be 2D in a 3D space and and was just not working out.

Also the voice acting in the movie is really not good. Like idk how this movie managed to get a bad performance out of these pretty renowned actors but none of them sound like they wanna be there or even really care. Which is funny because if they had kept the original cast you know they would have given it 110% since they actually have passion playing these roles. If the performances were actually good I feel like I would have enjoyed the movie a little more.

They also play some standard pop songs and that confused me because they literally played the original theme song at the beginning. Like you guys have the What’s New theme which everyone loves, a plethora of other theme songs, and two Hex Girls songs you could have played. 

When the dance party at the end happens Mod Silas pointed out that it was a wasted opportunity because instead of having the Blue Falcon be a DJ they could have just brought in the Hex Girls or Simple Plan.

But they didn’t do that and I honestly wonder if the people who made this movie care about Scooby-Doo at all.

#5: The things that I actually liked.

Again, I liked that scene where they do that cute selfie thing, I thought was adorable and accurately showed their dynamic.

I also liked that Daphne was the one to point out what Shag and Scoob contribute to the team because I’m biased.

When they address that Shag and Scoob are they ones that make sure the gang is eating I like that, I thought it was very in character and made a lot of sense.

I like when Captain Caveman showed up for literally no reason and was voiced by Tracy Morgan. Simply because it was so dumb I had to laugh.

I like the gang’s group hugs because those always showcase how tall Shag is compared to everyone and they all deserve a hug.

Any of the lines Fred said because they were the majority of the actually funny jokes in the movie.

The scene where Shag, Scoob and Daph are split off and she keeps getting her spare Scooby Snacks stolen by Scooby. I just love that trio for obvious reasons and it was the only part of the movie where I felt happy.

At the end when Shaggy yells at the gang and tells them what to do because I just always like it when he does that, it always throws the rest of the gang off and it’s funny.

The scene where they unmask Dastardly and it’s Simon Cowell and then they unmask Cowell and it’s Dastardly again. Like the smartest joke the movie had.

The Hex Girls poster at the carnival because it tricked me into thinking we’d see them at some point.

I liked DynoMutt, I though his design was cool and he got the other half of the actually funny jokes.

When Blue Falcon does that phone gag and is all like, “Adventure is calling!!” And the scene is supposed to be exciting but then Shag immediately is like, “No thanks.” I thought that was in character and pretty funny before being taken back because conflicts are resolved instantly in this movie.

Conclusion:

When you’re passionate with something as underground as Scooby-Doo you find yourself getting very protective of the legacy it leaves behind.

Granted this franchise has always had some black marks on it’s record but that’s to be expected since it’s a 50 year-old series.

Scoob was going to bring Scooby-Doo back into the limelight after such a long time remaining on CN or Boomerang respectively. And was just so devoid of the passion that even MI had, it felt like more of a cash grab than anything else. And it bums me out because there are so many good things that we could have gotten from an animated theatrical release.

But instead we got an hour and forty-five minutes of nothing and that isn’t what Scooby deserves at all. I can only hope that someone will want to try again and this time, they’ll actually care.

(Feel free to share your own thoughts on the movie and maybe discuss point I made that you agree/disagree with.)

[gwen-writes-stuff]

Secret Girlfriend

Imagine : You being old friends with Tom and you appear on his Livestream, Everyone thinks you're his secret girlfriend.

Word count : 2312

[ Note : I'm sorry but Famous! Y/N us my favorite to write. Btw, I accept requests.]

Y/N's POV

I was inside an uber watching the beautiful streets of London come into view, My plane landed and I immediately called an uber filled with excitement to meet my best friend.

We have both been away, him filming Civil War and me filming for a show under Syfy that's soon to be announced.

I was delighted to find out my best friend was Spider-Man! Heck, I'd do anything to play superhero roles. Have kids look up to you and wear cool costumes? I'm so in.

He's staying at his parents' house to my relief, I've missed Nikki, Dom and the boys. It's been a while and tho I fulfilled my dream of being an actress with Tom, we kind of drifted apart.

He was big now and famous, It's no surprise his fame will only grow bigger now that he's sure to have a solo movie.

Not long later I arrived and the sight of the house sent my heart racing, the memories I had in this house came flooding in.

I got reminded of the silly crush for Tom I formed when I was 14 and now I'm 20, I can't say I don't like him anymore.

We've called and texted each other but I never got around to ask him to FaceTime so I only ever saw his face on the internet, mostly because I'm following his Instagram and he grew up to be so fine.

I payed the driver and I glanced down at my luggage, Taking deep breaths to calm the beating of my heart I fixed my hair that was slightly messed up because of the strong wind.

I walked to the front door, Dragging my luggage behind and before I could even even knock, It opened. Paddy was grinning widely at me and he honestly looked taller than the did the last time I saw him.

"Y/N!!"He didn't even bother letting me in first and ran to hug me, he only managed to wrap his hands around my waist tho. I messed with this hair playfully.

I was chuckling loudly as I hug him back, "Paddy! Let Y/N in first." I hear Nikki scold her youngest. "I missed you too bud." I looked down at Paddy and he had the widest grin.

Eventually he let me go and I walked in, Almost forgetting about my luggage when Paddy gladly pushed it in but I laughed because he had to put in effort. It was heavy though I don't plan to stay that long.

I'm only gonna be having dinner and going to a hotel my mom booked for me, Unfortunately she's in the Bahamas with my dad but they did sent their love.

"Y/N let me get a good look at you." Nikki backed away to scan me before wrapping me in a warm hug, After she let go I turned to Dom and hugged him. “You're now a lady!”

"You've grown!" Dom exclaimed and I smiled sheepishly, "Sam, Harry, Tom get in here!" Nikki called out and I awkwardly stood in their living room waiting while Paddy curiously look at my luggage stickers.

"Is Y/N here?" I heard a familiar voice ask and before I know it I was again caged between someone's arms. That someone being Sam and it didn't help that Harry joined in, I coughed jokingly and they let go with wide eyes.

"You guys smell surprisingly pleasant." I joked and both smirked at my remark, "Easy, We might think you're getting a crush." Harry fired back and I scoffed faking offence.

"You're too young for me." I replied crossing my arms seeing the married couple watch us with genuine smiles in the corner of my eyes.

"You're only a year older." Sam replied, almost sounding like a question and I nodded.

"Exactly." Now I realised something, I looked around trying to find the only Holland who haven't greeted me yet and there I see him at the end of the staircase standing cooly.

Watching the exchange like he wasn't supposed to join in and I raised a brow, "Well someone didn't miss me.",Tom rolled his eyes and walked over to hug me tightly.

He even lifted me up a little and I slapped his back, looking over his shoulder I can see Sam and Harry make faces and I stifle a laugh.

I pulled away and Tom had grown Taller, my guess is I'm an inch shorter but I feel like he's towering over me for some reasons.

"Right. Dinner!" Paddy jumped and I frowned to check my watch,It was only 4pm.

***

I am helping Nikki in the kitchen with Paddy watching and assisting every now and then while the rest play in the living room.

That was how it went til Tom walked in to offer setting up the table, Nikki quickly shot me a look. "Y/N and Tom you set up the table." Tom nodded slowly narrowing his eyes at his mother and I noticed but thought nothing of it.

While I reached for spoons and forks I see Nikki send me a smile, a knowing smile that confused me.

"So how have you been Spidey?", I asked him while I set a few plates down the table with matching spoons and forks.

He chuckled lowly at the nickname and looked up to see I had a brow raised, "The same." He boringly replied and I rolled my eyes.

"So you're still 19 and feeling just a tad bit rebellious?" I asked with a teasing tone and he shot me a look, Glaring half-heartedly.

"I mean I'm still me. Charming and irresistible." I almost dropped the glass I was now moving and he laughed seeing the event unfold.

"I've been gone for a few years and I come back to have your head so big." I tsk'd jokingly while shaking my head.

If only he knew that's exactly how I looked at him. I was away for two years but that didn't change the way I feel about him, I thought it was for the best.

Knowing myself, I never stood a chance. His past ex-girlfriends when we were in high school are goddesses and I can't even compare, he's way hotter now so I'm saving myself the heartache.

But.

I didn't move on. Instead my feelings for him got stronger over the time I was away, I'm in for a big heartbreak!

During dinner we exchanged stories. I told them about the show I was in, It was about college students who discovered there was more to their stories, Studying in a school for magic they will learn that a man who calls himself the 'beast' is after them.

((This show actually exists, Please watch it. It's amazing. The Magicians on Syfy!))

"Tom's Spider-Man and you're a Magician?" Paddy asked with his eyes lit up like he was just told we're going to Disneyland and I nodded.

"Too bad I don't get a wand tho." Earning soft chuckles from the table. The food was great and Nikki really improved, not that her cooking was bad before.

Tom was sat next to me and I had to fight the urge to blush everytime our hands accidentally brush.

"So Y/N, Are you staying for the night?" Dom asked and I shook my head, Failing to miss Paddy pout and send his mom a pleading look which Nikki didn't need to see since her decision seems to be made in the first place.

"Why not stay with us? Your parents are away and you were gone for 2 years, stay." Nikki spoke up and there was silence.

I considered my options and nibbled on my lower lip unconciously doing so, I subtly sneaked a glance at Tom who seemed to be studying me and I gave in when he caught my eyes and he shortly nodded.

"Okay. But where will I sleep?" I practically grew up in this house so I know for a fact that the Hollands don't have a guest room. I reached for the glass of water and began to take sips when:

"In Tom's room of course." I almost spat it out and instead downed it real hard that I was a coughing mess. I can see Sam and Harry wiggle their eyebrows suggestively but I just literally drowned on a glass of water!

Tom was rubbing my back with his hand and I'm sorry but he's not helping because his touch is sending waves of electricity all over my body.

"You guys share a bed all the time?", Yes. When we were like 10 and we're both grown adults now?

"Uhh yea." I didn't bother to argue because the smile on Nikki's face suggested that I wasn't going to win anyways.

***

3rd Person's POV

The night ended awkwardly. Tom offered to sleep on the couch but Y/N insisted that it was his bed so he should sleep on it.

This went on for half an hour till Y/N made the bold move of suggesting they both sleep on the bed or not at all which ended with the two of them laying in bed, backs turned on each other with a pillow in the middle acting as a barricade.

The next morning was not any better when Tom woke up to find Y/N clinging to him in her sleep, he took pictures for leverage and slid off the bed.

Standing at the foot to stare at her for a moment noticing that she was wearing his hoodie, Y/N was too lazy to open her luggage so she digged through his closet not bothering to ask.

Tom went in the bathroom to do all he needed before starting the day. He planned to have breakfast with Y/N and contemplated waking her up.

If his memory served him right, she would throw you out the window if you even do as much as shake her to wake so instead he sat down on the space beside her, leaning against the headboard and scrolling through his Instagram.

Then an idea sparked up, he went on live to talk about the experience trying his best not to spoil any important scene in the movie. He was yelling too loud for 5 in the morning and talking animatedly sounding like a child on sugar.

While he was fanboying about rdj Y/N groaned and smacked Tom's side. "You're fucking loud." Tom was caught off guard that he forgot he was livestreaming and she got on the frame without both of their knowledge.

"Good Morning to you too sunshine." Tom cooed and Y/N laughed pushing herself up to look at Tom, "No good in the morning when you're yelling about Robert Downey Jr." She sassily remarked making Tom chuckle.

"What are you even doing anyways?" she asked trying to fix her disheveled hair and Tom shrugged, "Oh I was just live... streaming!" Tom jumped up and realized he has been broadcasting their exchange and Y/N looked up at him in horror.

Tom checked his phone to see his followers blowing up the comment section and he cursed under his breath, Turning it off without so much a goodbye.

"Shit." He muttered staring into nowhere like he was in a trance and Y/N threw a random pillow at him.

"I hate you." She was smiling nonetheless and Tom couldn't bring himself to tell her a few of what the comments said.

Did I see that right?

Tom has a girl on his bed!!

Oh no who's that?

Tangina sino yan?

Is that his girlfriend?

They look kinda cute together

She's kinds pretty

Same. Both a whole-ass mood.

Người nào?

SHE'S WEARING HIS HOODIE RED ALERT RED ALERT RED ALERT. THEY PROBABLY DID THE MONKEY DANCE OMGOMGOMG

***

The two had breakfast like Tom had originally planned and both went to McDonald's for breakfast of all places.

It wasn't crowded and none of them had to worry about fans or paparazzis for the whole two hours they spent just eating and talking while Y/N share experiences on set with Tom who did the same.

"I so wanna play a superhero." She exclaimed, "You can be my sidekick!" Tom offered and Y/N threw a balled up napkin and threw it at his head, it landed on his forehead.

"Spider-Man doesn't have a sidekick." But she blushed at the thought of playing in a movie together with Tom.

Both practiced and took classes together so they should be comfortable enough acting around one another.

Tom pulled out his phone and poked Y/N's cheek when she seemed to be deep in thoughts. "Hey let's take a picture."

She lifted her head and nodded shortly, Tom stretched his hand to have the phone directed at their faces and Y/N threw a peace sign while Tom had his tongue out.

"Please don't tell me you're posting that." She asked with a groan and Tom smirked at her. "Tom. I look like shit."

She didn't make an effort to dress up so she threw on a sweatpants and a (favorite band) t-shirt. Her hair was everywhere and she had too little energy to put on makeup.

"You look beautiful." His comment made her heart skip a beat and she was too flustered she couldn't retort when he posted the photo on his Instagram.

@tomholland2013 uploaded a photo on Instagram :

1 user tagged : @( your ig username)

[Photo]

tomholland2013 : Breakfast with my main g✌️

Comment section :

Y/N4life : Is that seriously @(Y/IG/U)???

hollander_love : Tom's got himself a girl woot woot

harryholland64 : That's why you two disappeared!

peterparkour.s : THE GIRL FROM THE LIVE

tom.holland.fans : The girl frkm the livestre ahhh !!

y/nstagra.m : They're childhood friends✌️

tommy.hollander : I ship it.

-

[beachbabywrites]

SFW A-Z Headcanons // Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt

A - Attractive what do they find attractive about the other?

Legs, legs, legs. She loves when you wear tight jeans or a short dress to show them off.

B - Baby do they want to have a family? why/why not?

There are times Coco thinks she would like to have children but those are fleeting. She knows she not mature enough to raise children, not to mention children terrify her.

C - Cat are they a cat or dog person?

She's a dog person, but a small dog person. If it is higher than her knees it makes her anxious.

D - Dates what are dates with them like?

From the outside, dates tend to appear perfect, intsa-ready and over the top, but there is always a moment where something goes wrong. Surprise thunderstorm that wouldn't have been a surprise if someone checked the local weather; a ticket for accidentally littering, losing the VIP area bracelet so you're refused re-entry at a concert, someone gets too drunk to walk home afterward.

E - Everything "you are my -------"

“You are my best friend.”

F - Feelings when did they know they were falling in love?

Coco realized she loved you when she began to think about you each time she listened to Taylor Swift. The love songs all related back to how she felt when she was around you.

G - Giggle what is their laugh like?

Her laugh is loud, she has a tendency to snort which she hates so she tries to change the way she laughs. Coco laughs at the most inappropriate thing, it's like hanging out with a middle-school-aged kid.

H - Hand/Hold how do they like to hold? how do they like to hold hands?

The only time she will hold your hand is when she's jealous. She prefers other methods of PDA.

I - Impressions first impressions

When you first met Coco at the Academy, you had heard several of the other girls talking about how spoiled and bratty she was, so you went in with guards up, already disliking her a bit. You were very short with her for a couple days until you realized, yeah she's spoiled, but she's funny.

Coco couldn't figure out what you'd done to make you not like her, so she was constantly on the offense, trying to hurt you before you hurt her. It stayed that way until one day in class, Zoe teamed you up with Coco instead of letting Coco work with Mallory. The tension melted away quickly and the two of you became quick friends.

J - Joker are they into pulling pranks?

She likes to pull pranks and they tend to be the most obnoxious kind.

K - Kisses how do they kiss?

Short and sweet kisses, her hand cupping your chin, but most often she gives butterfly kisses.

L - Little things what little things do they love/notice?

She loves when you take candid photos of her. When you text her first thing in the morning if you can't be with her, she loves that you answer your phone no matter what time she calls you.

M - Memory their favorite moment together

Her favorite memory of the two of you was the first time Mallory found out you were together. Mallory, after being prompted by Madison, asked about your relationship. Coco's heart glowed as you smiled over at her and confidently said, 'Yeah, I think we're dating?"

N - Nickel do they spoil the person they love?

She absolutely spoils you, with extravagant vacations, nice clothes, etc. Every time she goes out she ends up coming home with two bags of 'I thought of you when I saw these' items

O - Orange what color reminds them of their other half?

Yellow, bright, sunshiney yellow; But also millennial pink... and maybe lavender. An easier question to answer would be 'what color doesn't remind her of you?' The answer? gray.

P - Petnames what pet names do they use?

Outside of her relationships, Coco gloats that pet names make her sick. But she comes up with the worst pet names herself when she's in love. Honey bunny, sugar bear, angel cake, literally she uses the first two words to pop into her head at the moment.

Q - Questions what are the questions they're always asking?

"What are we doing for dinner?"

"Do we have to get out of bed?"

"Will you take a photo of me real quick for instagram?"

R - Romantic are they romantic?

She is very romantic. She plans the best dates.

S - Sad how do they cheer themselves up?

Coco makes a whole day out of cheering herself up. She will throw a face mask on, schedule a mani/pedi, order some lunch and pop open a bottle of wine while she sits on the couch in her 'gym clothes' watching either soap operas or reality tv.

T - Talking what do they love to talk about?

She can and will talk about everything for hours if she's given the chance. Specifically, things she wants to do with you. Somethings are mentioned once then never again. She likes to mention hobbies she would like to try while she scrolling mindlessly through Pinterest, 90 percent of the time she forgets about it within a matter of days.

U - Unbearable what habit do they have that's unbearable?

She is on her phone constantly, it especially bothers you when you're trying to spend time together and she's taking pictures for her Instagram story.

V - Very their thoughts about each other

Very Gorgeous, beautiful, funny, kind, intelligent. She thinks the world of you and she's not afraid to admit it. Except to Madison, when she senses weakness she goes in for the kill.

W - Why reasons they love each other

Coco knows she can be shallow and annoying sometimes, she is very insecure about how other people view her as, but you don't put up with her insecurities. You constantly, patiently, reassure her that you love her, that you would do anything in the world to keep her happy. She loves that you see her for who she really is, not just her father's money. She loves you because you love her.

X - Xylophone what's their song?

Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift or if she's feeling playful she will claim its Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez

Y - You "you're the ---- to my ----"

"You're the sun to my flower."  

Z - Zebra if they wanted a pet what would they get?

Fish. They are low maintenance.

[patheticphallacy]

This is a tag I always see making its rounds on YouTube and in the blogsphere, and while I don’t do many tags anymore (that aren’t related to music, you can pry the Playlist Book Tag from my cold, dead hands) I saw a few really great takes on the tag and looked at the questions and figured this is one for me!

A little about my reading history:

Since April of 2018, I’ve found myself enjoying reading more than I have since around 2013 when I first joined the book community. It’s become a lot more personal and just reading on a whim, not hesitating to DNF and leave things half-read until I’m interested in the book again. My memories of what I read is a lot stronger, even though I’m reading more.

At this point in the year I’ve read 170 things, mostly manga and comics, which I’m honestly really happy about as they make me happiest as I read them. That also means I have a lot to choose from in my answers.

Without further ado: the questions!

1) BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2019?

Okay, so a lot of my top books happen to be horror, and I promise you that’s purely accidental.

The Elementals by Michael McDowell: 80’s horror where two families journey to their Summer houses after the death of one of the matriarchs and find themselves at the hands of not just the elements, but forces that reside in the land.

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell: A gothic told across three different points of view centred around a widow who travels to her late husbands estate and is tormented by strange wood carvings who seemingly move by themselves.

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl: A year after the death of her boyfriend, a teenager journeys out to visit her estranged friends, only for them to end up stuck in a time loop repeating the same day until they can come to a unanimous decision on which one of them deserves to live.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: Horror classic where four people travel to Hill House and experience strange hauntings that begin to send them mad. Also highly recommend the Netflix show!

Teen Dog by Jake Lawrence: The coming-of-age graphic novel with anthropomorphic animals you never knew you needed. Full of innocent existentialism and themes of growing up!

2) BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2019?

They aren’t sequels, but these are my favourite volumes in longer series! It counts! They are all follow ups to previous volumes!

Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 9 by Hiromu Arakawa: If there was a Connie has to go more than 5 posts without mentioning FMA challenge, I would lose. Literally the best possible conclusion to this series, it broke my heart.

Haikyuu!! Volume 2 by Haruichi Furudate: My review for this on Goodreads was literally just ‘Oikawa AND Nishinoya?! In one volume?! I’m having a crisis!’ which sums up me reading this whole series.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Volume 3 by Hideyuku Furuhashi: Volume 2 of this series was an absolute goddamn mess but this volume? Wow. My review if you want to read me lose my mind. Some spoilers for extra content and some characters, but it’s not really overly spoiling plot points.

No.6 Volume 5 by Atsuko Asano: I have gone on so many spiels to my best friend about how amazing this series is. It honestly deserves recognition for being a very thought provoking and character driven dystopian, the character development is truly a work of art and I wish I could write a world and dynamics as well as Atsuko Asano does.

3) NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET, BUT WANT TO?

I can’t really give much information on these seeing as I haven’t read them, so sorry everyone!

Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia: I confess, I am getting this because of Gabriel’s artwork. I’ve been a huge fan for a while now, so it just felt right to have this in my collection, especially considering I want to learn more about the Titans.

Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner: Very mixed reviews on this one, but oh well!

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman: Everyone and their mother is talking about this book, honestly.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling: It’s like a space survival story but with these weird zombie creatures? I’ll be going for the audiobook with this one.

4) MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR?

I made a whole post about this that I worked very hard on so please check it out, but I guess I’ll include the only three I’ve been able to pre-order.

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab: This is the sequel to City of Ghosts, a middle-grade horror story I really love, and I’m looking forward to this one even more as it’s set in the catacombs of Paris!

Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker: Several people have described this as having some of the best mental health rep in young adult fiction, so I’ll be reading this for my dissertation that I’m starting in January.

The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen: I reallllly love the podcast this is based on (The Bright Sessions, also created by Lauren) and Adam and Caleb are my absolute favourites, so this book is my JAM.

5) BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT?

BOY DO I HAVE A LOT OF THESE. one of the cons of reading so much is that I end up being disappointed by significantly more books than others do, which sucks, but I honestly don’t find myself hating the reading experience. Even if i hate the book, for me, tearing it apart can become fun!

Slam Volume 1 by Pamela Ribon: I love roller derby, but the characters and the lack of narrative in this volume really didn’t do it for me. Maybe if more time was spent making sense of plot at the start I’d have enjoyed it, but there were so many time jumps I stopped caring.

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne: One day UKYA readers are gonna have to sit down and properly talk about how the first maybe 5 years of the decade were spent crowning titles and writers as the leads of UKYA despite the fact that their books aren’t really good. They contain thinly-veiled misogyny, really bad writing that uses chat speak in-text as if it’s normal, stereotyping of characters (they really love the bitchy mean girl trope) and what the kids would call racism that doesn’t explicitly state it’s racism, like, say, dropping slurs or having outwardly racist beliefs, but when a character says someone ‘might be Asian or Jewish’ and then laughs about it and never addresses it again, you kind of guess it’s some kind of internalised racism nobody feels comfortable addressing.

Trouble by Non Pratt: SEE ABOVE, only this one has the most terribly written step-incest subplot that never properly gets resolved or treated with the disgust it deserves!

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne: Weird possessive vibes, references to stalking, and shitty love triangles. This received the best rating of the bunch (3), but the general disappointment I feel is at the continued inclusion of uncomfortably possessive male love interests dehumanizing and treating women like they are better seen not heard in romance fiction. Tessa Dare doesn’t treat me like this!

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham: This one is less hate, more just disappointment. I was so bored reading this, honestly, it feels unbearably long, and the romance is so unneeded and dull.

  6) BIGGEST SURPRISE?

The Unsound by Cullen Bunn: I’ve learnt that my opinion on generally negatively rated comics and graphic novels is going to completely differ. This is very surreal, with a lot of graphic self harm and violence, and will definitely not be for everyone, but I very much enjoy it!

Sweet Blue Flowers Volume 1 by Takako Shimura: I literally heard about this, ordered the first volume day-of, and then read it as soon as it arrived and loved it. It’s predominantly a slice-of-life/romance following sapphic teenage girls!

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan: Everytime I think of this I feel soft. For a fantasy this is very easy to read, with snappy dialogue and a lot of wit from our main character. What surprised me most, however, was how deep and introspective it got exposing the fears of our main character, something not enough portal fantasies spend time doing, and I’m really grateful to have read this book!

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay: Can you really be surprised if you go into a book with no expectations? I knew vague details about plot, and a brief allusion to a dollhouse in a review I happened to scroll past, and I ended up loving this.

Lazaretto by Clay McLeod Chapman: This is an absolutely horrifying comic about a flesh eating virus that breaks out during the first few weeks of college and sends the campus into complete lockdown. It’s honestly tragic, and does not have a happy ending, but I love it? I usually hate endings that are bad for our main characters, but everything about this just really wrapped me in a blanket- horrified me, sure, yet it was weirdly comforting.

The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson: Again, I saw one person praise this book and listened to the audiobook immediately after and really enjoyed it. It’s very moving with some main characters that will test your patience but you’ll end up loving.

7) FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR?

Paul Tremblay and Michael McDowell!

8) NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH?

Kirie in Uzumaki by Junji Ito! Makoto in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes! Charlotte Holmes in A Study in Charlotte! I’m noticing these are all women, which is kind of on brand for me.

9) NEWEST FAVOURITE CHARACTER?

Seeing as all my crushes are on women, I’ll try and pick some other favourites here! I’ve really fallen in love with Tensei Iida in My Hero Academia and eternally love Thirteen, Teen Dog in Teen Dog, Shion in No.6 (the character development!!!!), and basically the whole cast of The Avant-Guards by Carly Usdin! Tom in the Memoirs of Lady Trent series has really grown on me after book one, too.

10) BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY?

BOY. I cry a lot. I cried reading Winnie the Pooh, which I finally picked up all the stories of earlier this year; Neverworld Wake; the Save Me Webtoon, a great webcomic based off of the BTS music video continuity; I Want To Eat Your Pancreas by Yoru Sumino, which beat me over the head with a frying pan while I was distracted. Sheets by Brenna Thummler didn’t make me cry but it did make me incredibly sad.

11) BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY?

A lot of what I read makes me happy! There’s Super Fun Sexy Times by Meredith McClaren, a small collection of 5 stories based on the sex lives of different superheroes/villains/etc.; My Love Story by Kazune Kawahara which makes me eternally happy and soft every time I pick up a volume; In Other Lands, which, while sad at times, is also very funny and has my exact brand of humour; and there’s the Haikyuu!! manga series, which I love and adore and all the characters are hilarious, even while being serious.

12) FAVOURITE BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION?

I haven’t really seen any? Does Boys Over Flowers count if I haven’t read the manga OR finished the show yet? Either way, Boys Over Flowers is great and so melodramatic. If you push through the drama and very strange and problematic behaviour, it’s honestly got a cute romance between two tsundere people and enough stupid hair to giggle at.

13) FAVOURITE REVIEW YOU’VE WRITTEN?

LOOOADS! I’m very proud of my reviews this year, and it seems like a lot of them are horror!

my review of haunting of hill house by shirley jackson

my review of a head full of ghosts by paul tremblay

my review of the elementals by michael mcdowell

my review of meddling kids, where i discussed harmful stereotypes and tropes within horror fiction

three horror reviews: this is not a test, the silent companions, uzumaki

my review of poetry book shame is an ocean i swim across, where i discuss body image issues

14) MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU BOUGHT THIS YEAR?

  Other Words For Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin! It’s really pretty and has beautiful pink sprayed edges, and I absolutely love the owl in the background. I think the mix of pink and gold on the cover is so striking, too, it really is a book that stands out.

      15) WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ BY 2020?

I actually have a Summer 2019 TBR if you want loads of information on everything I plan on reading.

However, other than all the books I kind of have to read for my first semester back at University, I really want to read Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz and When the Truth Unravels by RuthAnne Snow.

What would you pick for these questions? Please let me know in the comments if you made a post of this tag, I’d love to read them!

Thank you for reading!

If you liked this post, consider buying me a coffee? Ko-Fi. 

I also currently have a GoFundMe set up to help fund my third year of University, so any stray pound helps ❤

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Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag! This is a tag I always see making its rounds on YouTube and in the blogsphere, and while I don't do many tags anymore (