#also the prettiest character in the movie by far

[mbrainspaz]

props to Jackson for carrying the colossal burden of being the comic relief character in the absence of Stiles. Valiant effort.

[siriusly-parker]

—ino takuma as a boyfriend.

requested! ino takuma bf head canons. ʚ m.list ᵎᵎ

ino would be such a loving and expressive boyfriend. he’s not scared to show his love, to you or to the world. he feeds off old ladies on the street voicing their awwww's and you guys are so cute's. he doesn’t mind being their image of young love. because that’s what he is, young, and deeply in love with you. ino’s into pda, but not in a “let’s make out in the middle of public transport” way, but small displays of affection that only matter to you (and those who are really looking for it). he’ll always have a hand on you, just to make sure he’s not dreaming of a perfect girl and you’re truly there. resting on your thigh, holding your hand, on the small of your back. it’s also a way to keep you safe, to show you the way to the right table through a small restaurant, or not to lose you in a big crowd. he’ll steal kisses here and there when no one’s looking (or at least he thinks, because he’s not that slick and the underclassmen always catch him, yuuji and nobara giggling and megumi and maki rolling their eyes). he’s the kind to stare, mainly whenever your own eyes are focused on something else. he loves watching your eyebrows pull together in confusion during one of nanami’s complicated explanations or your glimmering eyes as you impatiently wait for the two characters, in the shojo you barely forced him to watch with you, to finally share a kiss. he’ll always indulge in your every little desire, be it a late night snack or a romantic movie (not that he needed much convincing, he did quite enjoy those, but he’s never tell you that, loving the way you put on your prettiest doe eyes and pouty lips to beg him to join you). if he ever feels like you’re sitting a little too far from him during a movie (which for him means, anything other than you being impossibly close to him), he’ll pull you into his lap without a word. he does have the tendency to manhandle you like that, but you’ve become so used to it, your eyes don’t leave the tv. you may crack a smile or steal a kiss here and there. sometimes though, he still makes you nervous, so you giggle as you hide in the crook of his neck, not paying any mind to the flashing lights of the television in the after-shock of his quick motion. takuma lives for moments like these, where you’re so close he can smell your perfume and caress your hair. he just loves to take care of you. if ino takuma could merge his body with yours, he most definitely would. there’s no “being too close” to you. 

꩜ likes, comments + reblogs are very appreciated!!

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

A raggedy Ann/Andy reader sounds fun with some characters from the Barbie movie! A rag doll is a doll after all they just have more things they can do like being very flexible

Ohh I love raggedy ann! Tbh I've had a hc that other dolls/action figures can also inhabit Barbieland if their owner played with them alongside their Barbie toys.

They're rare but they do coexist with the Barbies and Kens!

........

Stereotypical Barbie (Ann!Reader)

At first, learning that a new type of doll was living in Barbieland bewildered her.

You're not like any Barbie she's ever seen before, with you being made entirely of cloth with yarn hair and a triangular nose.

Given how you've been around since 1915, you're stunned by how far dolls have evolved since then.

You're well-liked among the Barbies, although of course many of them had questions about what you could do as a rag doll.

For starters, your plastic-free body gives you more flexibility and freedom they couldn't even imagine having.

You never have to worry about breaking anything!

While you're susceptible to tearing, you know how to sew yourself back up.

Does it scare Stereo!Barbie sometimes when you suddenly produce a needle to fix a loose stitch in your arm? Sure.

But she's extremely accepting and welcoming.

She even invites you to sleepovers during girls' night where you learn more about the Barbies and listen to their gossip.

When she starts having her existential problems, you let her hug you and reassure her she's still the prettiest doll you've ever had the honor of meeting.

Beach Ken (Andy!Reader)

He doesn't usually pay much attention to other dolls aside from Stereotypical Barbie (and occasionally his buddy Allan).

But seeing a new non-Mattel doll enter the scene did pique his interest! Especially since you were the first to ask him why he was staring at her.

He always wonders what your job is...even though you're constantly reminding him you're just a kid.

When he eventually gets it, he'll try to show you the ropes of Beach, trying to act like a cool older brother figure(tm).

Part of him hopes that Barbie will see how sweet he is with kids and another hopes it'll make the other Kens jealous that they're not friends with a cool doll like yourself.

However like Film!Andy you do have a feisty attitude, always rolling your eyes when you see him gushing over her and making a fool out of himself.

Sometimes you think he's trying too hard to impress her.

Yet you have a softer side that comes out after Barbieland is taken back by the girls, and you comfort Ken by saying you did like all the cowboy stuff he brought back (and only the cowboy stuff).

You made the mistake of asking him about horses as he just infodumps random facts for the next ten minutes.

But you finally accepted him as your brother.

Weird Barbie (Ann!Reader)

When you first appeared in Barbieland, you were confused as to why all the dolls here weren't made of cloth like you.

You felt like you were misplaced, and eventually learned about Weird Barbie and sought advice from her.

She explains that your owner in the real world must've either played with you alongside their Barbie toys or shelved you in a collection of them.

Regardless, she assures you it's not a rare phenomenon and it's nothing to freak out over.

You just so-happened to be closer to Barbieland society than most non-Mattel dolls.

She lets you crash at her place anytime you want, and you get to meet all the other outcasted/discontinued dolls who lived with her.

They're curious about you and love how you're flexible enough to do just about anything!

If any of them are feeling sad, you'll give them hugs that help them feel better instantly.

Weird Barbie thinks you're cool 100%.

Plus, you're nice and clearly had manners as you didn't call her "weird" behind her back or to her face.

[stelly38]

I thought Cambridge Spies was *the* most British thing I’d ever seen, until I watched Maurice shortly after. I’m still on my Toby Stephens kick, which explains Cambridge Spies, and lord, is he pretty in it. But I also wanted to ogle the very young, stunningly beautiful Hugh Grant in Maurice, so I watched both.

I nursed a bit of a crush on Grant back in his Four Weddings days, around the same time as Maurice, but I’d honestly forgotten how incredibly, ethereally gorgeous he was, like some androgynous nymph out of a Waterhouse painting, smooth and luscious, too perfect to be real. For the record, I do love today's older, rougher Hugh, who has managed, over time, to turn ass-hole-ish curmudgeonliness into a charming brand all his own.

My overall impression of Merchant Ivory flicks is that they are much like paintings: pretty to look at, and if you stare long enough, something in your field of view eventually moves, but it takes, like, days. Days. I don’t know if my attention span has been worn down over the decades like everyone else’s, or if these movies need some tighter editing, but good lord, at two hours and twenty minutes, not much happens in Maurice. Or is it EM Forster?  Maurice is a Forster adaptation; and similarly, so is A Room with a View, which also flows like molasses. I’ll never know if it’s the writing or the editing, because I’ve never read anything of Forster’s except for Room, which I attempted when I was a teenager and quit halfway through, because what in the fuck was he going onnnnn about? And I even had a better attention span back then, in the nineties. I said to my husband after Maurice ended, perhaps he and I needed a course on Forster to truly appreciate the literature and the movie adaptations. It’s unlikely to happen, but there it is.

Maurice follows the lead character, played by James Wilby, as he discovers and wrestles with his latent homosexuality. Hugh Grant plays Clive Durham, Maurice’s good school friend and first (unconsummated) love. The two men pal around London and the countryside as they age well into their twenties, spending time together and apart, both grappling with their sexual identities in different ways. The movie also casts a very cute Rupert Graves as Maurice’s first lover, and Ben Kingsley (with hair and a weird American accent—what a hoot) appears in a cameo as a shrink who attempts to hypnotize Maurice into heterosexuality.

My bitching isn’t a condemnation of Forster or Merchant Ivory; the film was a rather pretty little trifle to look at. I thought the story was good, and I love that a major film studio was tackling the horrors of being gay in Edwardian England so long ago (1987, when AIDS was still considered “the gay cancer.” —Hats off to them.) And I’m always game to watch pretty boys cavorting about. There was a good deal of that, one scene with full frontal nudity (gasp!)

Speaking of pretty boys, several feature in Cambridge Spies, which takes place about thirty years after Maurice, shortly before WWII. The prettiest of them is Toby Stephens, who is just dashing dressed in wide leg trousers, fedoras, and the well-tailored suits of the era. He plays Kim Philby, one of the notorious Soviet spies that comprised the group known in real life as the Cambridge Five. Rupert Penry Jones plays Donald Maclean; Samuel West is Anthony Blunt, and Tom Hollander is Guy Burgess. Since American public-school curriculum doesn’t teach any history but its own, (much of which is white-washed lies, but that’s a kvetch for another day), I never knew about the British turncoats until I watched this, which was last week. Yay for me.

Spies is a four-part miniseries, the last two episodes of which are far, far more entertaining and engaging than the first two. It’s good they decided to balance the episodes thusly, as I was ready to throw in the towel after the second one. The only reason I continued on was because I’d already invested time in watching the first 50 percent—in for a penny, in for a pound. I think the writers wanted the first two episodes for back-story and character development, but there is little that reveals the principals’ various motivations for spying other than that they were all friends at Cambridge, and they shared a deep hatred of fascism. Weird that that was all it took, right? I dunno, maybe I missed something—these were the two most boring episodes.

The entire series really belongs to Tom Hollander. He steals every scene he’s in; he has the best lines, the most cuttingly funny remarks, and he’s the craziest and loosest cannon of the bunch, hence, the most entertaining. Previously, I’d only known his work from 2005’s Pride and Prejudice (the boiled potatoes), and from his creepily-repressed turn as art critic John Ruskin in Desperate Romantics. He’s great and memorable in those, but he is phenomenal in Spies.

Hollander’s Burgess, as well as West’s Anthony Blunt, are gay men, compelling because they'd opted into an overwhelmingly straight-male power structure: espionage. Spies doesn’t really speak to this much, rather than to have Hollander portray Burgess as an out and proud gay man, I suppose as much as one could be on the brink of WWII in England. But it is striking to see the difference just three decades made in how gays were perceived by English society (or not) when you compare the attitudes on display in Maurice to those in Spies. Homosexuality was the worst sin one could commit in the world of Maurice; but by the time we get to Spies, it’s barely an issue. I suspect that homosexuality was still offensive to many in England at the time, as that country’s decriminalization law only took effect in 1967, but for some reason unknown to me, the writers and producers of Spies made it mostly a non-issue.

Overall, Spies was a good series, educational for me, at least, and I got to stare at Toby Stephens for four hours, including a couple safe-for-granny sex scenes. Would I write home about the show? —probably not, but it was not wasted time.

Tom Hollander’s best scene (and they’re all good) is a tantrum he throws during a trip to the States, where he drives across suburban lawns, destroying several white picket fences, then stands atop his car screaming “God Bless America” (in a good American accent), and decries this country’s never-acknowledged social and political hypocrisy.

Brilliant. And funny.

[tendoujo]

Watched the remake's first episode twice ( original + latin spanish dub ) and let me say that I got some thoughts, most of them positive of course. But before I dive into that, I heavily recommend anyone who hasn't watched Ranma 1 / 2 to give the netflix remake a chance ! It got that 80s slice of life humor plus a bit of romance on the side lines. It's called a classic for a reason ! Now, my thoughts under the read more ( pictures included so be aware of possible spoilers ) :

First and furthermost, Mappa did not disappoint with the animation. The fighting scenes we got so far are very fluid, particularly the fighting scenes with Genma and Ranma. Although at first I was a bit hesitant of the chosen color palette, I have to admit that it has grown on me. Actually, the color palette plus the "manga-like" stylized kanjis throughout the explosive emotions gives it a certain unique style that is fits perfectly with Ranma's whole vibe. They just know when to use it and the Akane scream is the perfect example of that:

( Also please look at the AKANE CHIBIS in the background. Gosh, so cute ! I doubt Mappa will release them so I might make it my personal mission to make them HD ).

The stylization feels rather close to the manga so I have no comment on that as it's my favorite Rumiko style. I have to confess that I kinda do prefer the REMAKE'S STYLE over the original's ( and with the original one I mean the style they used in most of the anime and movies, not the style that the original had in the first ten episodes ). Not to mention that certain scenes have almost the exact same framing and reactions from the manga which gives me some hope that they will stay truthful to the comics. Also the rumiko stylized reactions and chibis having a come back 🥺. . .

Like, c'mon, this type of reactions + pastel palette are perfect 🙏 🙏 🙏

Now, what makes me the most excited : AKANE'S FOCUS in the remake. I have always been vocal about my dislike on how they managed Akane in the original anime. She went from a main character and co-protagonist to giving all the spotlight to Ranma. And what infuriates me the most : Rumiko has mentioned how Ranma and Akane ARE EQUALS yet the 90s anime made it their goal to turn Akane into some damsel in distress that never knew how defend himself, never letting her fight back and always be the annoying jealous weak girl that she never was in the manga. Gotta point out how it was clear that the 90s anime preferred heavily Shampoo over Akane. . . She always got the pretty dresses, clothes and screentime, Akane at best got a jealous scene. They painted Shampoo as the main rival for Akane when in reality, Akane truly never had a "real rival" and it was more of her vs the REST of the rivals in equal parts.

Don't get me wrong, I like the original anime but certain aspects push me far away from their Akane's portrayal. The remake, however, seems to have other plans. The first sign ( besides trying to be faithful to the manga lol ), is how they gave Akane her deserved black belt. Then in the first episode and in the opening we have clear instances where we are pointed that she IS the main love interest, THE MAIN CHARACTER ALONGSIDE RANMA :

Notice the height difference omg. The opening continuously frames the two as the main characters + showing in the sidelines their rivals or other characters that will grow some interest on them.

Also this type of framings. . . Mappa draws her like she's the prettiest girl in the world and they are so right. Someone on twitter said that this remake was for the Akane fans and I'm glad to announce that they might be right. THIS WAS MADE FOR ME.

If that wasn't enough to prove my point then THE AMAZING ENDING will do so. It's ENTIRELY AKANE FOCUSED ( might make it my new mobile banner lol ). Only time will prove me wrong but so far, even the confirmed merch and Akane figurines is telling me that this time, Akane will get her chance to be the star.

Alright, alright, enough Akane chit chat and back to the usual production opinions. About the seiyus, they did an amazing job and it feels that their voices haven't aged AT ALL. The latin spanish on the other hand. . . feels cheap. They left the seiyu's screams and reactions and only dubbed the phrases so it's pretty obvious that there's two VAs with completely different tones. I was disappointed that from the original cast, only Akane's VA ( Rossy Aguirre ) came back and yet, I was willing to give it a chance but nop, not anymore. The audio mixing is not so good that I'll have to watch the rest of the series in JP. If there's a second season I do hope that this gets fixed.

If you managed to read all that, THANK YOU so much, that was a lot of ramblings OOOPS. Ranma 1/2 has always been my favorite manga so expect rambles like this for every episode.

[youranemicvampire]

My favorite shows and movies that i've watched in 2023

Barbie (2023)

Always been a sucker for great production and costume design. Feminism aside, it’s so fun and smart with all the references. I just don’t like the Ken hype. He’s fun, sure, but a lot of fans are missing the point or just proving the message of the story.

Bottoms (2023)

Need more lesbian chaos as a comedy fan. Sapphic softcore is ok of course, but you know, there should be a variety of WLW cinema. Perfect also for the Y2K nostalgia. ‘Bring It On’ fan here!

Nocebo (2022)

I actually watched it last year, but it was too late to be on my 2022 list. Underrated political-horror film. Underrated cast! It should’ve had the same hype with Parasite and Triangle of Sadness. For me, it was simple and well-written. The structure of the story was smart but easy to absorb.

About Us But Not About Us (2022)

The first and last single-location film that I watched was Kisaragi (2007) and I’ve been waiting for something like that since then. One of the most important things i look for a media is the script so i really enjoyed it especially when they switched characters. Very intriguing.

The Little Mermaid (2023)

Been waiting for this since 2019! I’ve been a fan of Halle Bailey since that announcement. I rarely watch things on the cinema, but it’s something i couldn’t miss. Beautiful, pure and magical. Perfect casting and amazing chemistry!

Si Chedeng At Si Apple (2017)

Another chaotic lesbian film, but make it Filipino! It was funny and bloooody just like Bottoms so if you liked it then you should try this one. Not a spoiler, but part of the plot: That lady in yellow killed her abusive husband.

Maria Clara At Ibarra (2022)

I haven’t finished it yet! But i would recommend it! Brought back my trust and love for Filipino series. If you are not Filipino, it’s a good way to learn our history. Fun, written with passion + great set and costume design.

Mga Lihim Ni Urduja (2023)

After Maria Clara at Ibarra, i became more interested in Filipino series especially with historical fiction. This one is so underrated and empowering! Has the prettiest and hottest cast tbh and a queer undertone *wink*

Betcin (2021)

I have to say that this is the best Filo GL/WLW so far. It has an actual interesting story and interesting characters. Both leads are toxic AF, but it was sooooo entertaining. Top tier chemistry. Top tier acting!

Swarm (2023)

As a Beyhive, i don’t really like how they chose us coz there are more crazy fandoms out there, but still watched and finished it because of Dominique Fishback. SHE IS AMAZING. She deserves awards for this portrayal alone.

Ang Babae Sa Septik Tank 3: The Real Untold Story of Josephine Bracken (2011)

Another mockumentary that is to die (of laughter) for! I’ve always wanted to finish the trilogy, but i started with this because of history. Frustratingly funny. I don’t know if i would root for her or not lmao 

The ultimatum: Queer love (2023)

I admit, watching reality shows is my guilty pleasure so imagine my excitement when it’s full of queer women??? The dramaaaa lmao i need more seasons of just sapphics. It’s also a cool and chaotic concept tho. I thought it was just a normal dating show at first. 

Physical 100 (2023)

This is my kind of reality show! I hope it will have multiple versions from different countries. The best thing about it is how fitness is really measured by getting competitors from different backgroundsand giving them different challenges. 

Rookie (2023)

The most anticipated movie of the Filipino sapphics! And if you’re a volleyball fan? I’m sure this would be automatically on your list. It’s just so cute and wholesome. 

Ladies First: A story of women in Hip Hop (2023)

Must watch! Not only for the history of the rap girlies, but to trace back the struggles they faced and are still facing. You might discover talented women to stan in your music or lyrical style too.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

HIII I KNOW. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ANNIHILATION. PERIPHERALLY. ive seen like part of it but i do NOT remember much. except that its one of the prettiest movies ive ever seen. that being said im so eyes emoji abt ur au..... r there any specific scenes frm the movie ur thinking about?? how would the character dynamics differ from either canon?? etc etc etc!!!

GOD I FUCKING LOOOOOVE ANNIHILATION. ONE OF MY TOP 5 FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME EVER. yes yes yes yes yes OK. so this is. all encompassing crossover jrwi au which means I'm pulling characters from different campaigns. which. usually im not a huge fan of but i think i pulled it off rlly well in a limited sense here bc i have very specific reasoning behind why i put each character where. u will know at least two of them and they WILL cause you psychic damage so trust me when i say the other ones will too. putting this under a cut bc im gonna ramble

BASICALLYYYYY it's gonna follow the plot of the movie pretty closely just with slightly altered character dynamics + each of their reasons for going into the shimmer. so each person on the Current Team has lost someone on a previous expedition, and basically all of them are trying to find answers for what happened to their loved ones.

im gonna talk mainly about the ones you know because youll understand where I'm coming from the best with them but just know I am OBSESSED w the roles I have put gillion and chip in here. god I miss riptide every day .

DAKOTA COLE AS ANYA. Anya is the retired paramedic !! she's the one that. hold everything. gets killed by the fucked up bear. smile. that was just a fun little coincidence for me . ORIGINALLY I was dead set on having the pd representative be william bc im biased and I love him but after rewatching the movie I just think dakota fits in anyas place so perfectly. she's the most outgoing of the group, she's the one that initially invites Lena to join their team (also side note there is a pre-existing dynamic between dakota and chip because they've had MULTIPLE interactions in various what if crossover episodes and their dynamic is one of my favorite things ever). she's also the most aggressive. she's the first one to snap into action mode after finding the body in the pool, she's the one to take josie away from it and has a very protective stance over josie for the rest of the time after that (this is going to be relevant i am gonna talk about josie next) . once the group starts arguing about whether they want to continue further into the shimmer, anya shifts into a VERY black and white mentality, pinning ventress as The Bad Guy immediately for wanting to continue. and then when Lena shows some hesitancy over what she wants to do, anya snaps into a "youre either with me or against me" mindset. she also has this growing sense of paranoia ever since they find the tape of what appears to be the previous crew killing each other, and after she learns Lena is lying to them about her connection with Kane she goes way overboard with tying them to chairs and threatening to kill them. while i don't think dakota would necessarily go that far I DID say this to jonesy when we were rewatching the movie together so. bfu connecting two dots meme

anyway i think dakota is in the shimmer looking for william AND vyncent. parallels to the "dakota leaves for 10 months without telling them" which is why the three of them would be separated in the first place. william somehow finds out about the southern reach and his draw toward a mystery is what causes him to join the first expedition. vyncent goes with him because he can sense it's dangerous (and basically a suicide mission) and doesn't want william to go alone. I have. ideas. for what happens to them in the shimmer but they are vague at best right now and even then. dakota never finds out what happens to them before he's killed by the bear. the bear uses their voices to draw him out btw. smile. he dies protecting thr rest of the group even immediately after his paranoid breakdown.

OK THAT GOT LONG. OOPS. ONTO THE SECOND ONE

SHILO AS JOSIE. ohhhhh josie radek one of my favorite characters in media of all time. God I love her so much. anyway she's the only one of the current expedition with no previous combat training, so she's often seen by the rest of them as someone who needs to be protected. if I'm remembering correctly she's also the youngest. (in this. au. dakota would be older than shilo. feels better in my mind. none of them would be Kids they'd all be adults at this point but I'd put shilo in early 20s and dakota maybe in mid 20s. so . still young.) shilo is in the shimmer looking for his twin brother who went missing. somehow he was able to track down the southern reach and find out emizel was part of a previous expedition, and desperately wants to get him back. he's the one with the LEAST amount of knowledge going into the shimmer. he doesn't realize it's a suicide mission. he just wants his brother back. anyway when they get to the first outpost they find the remnants of the first team's base of operations, with names on a guard patrol rotation and leftover weapons and. a video camera. with a tape in a plastic bag labeled "for those who follow". josie is the one holding the camera when they watch it. the tape shows members of the previous party in the abandoned pool, one guy tied to a chair while the others cut open his abdomen to show his intestines moving around like snakes or worms. in the movie, the guy who cuts him open is Kane, Lena's husband. the rest of the party doesn't know her connection to kane, and she knows now if she tells them they won't trust her (and is proven correct by this when anya eventually finds out her connection) ANYWAY I'm going off track. sorry this is my favorite scene in the whole movie I get distracted. ANYWAY so when they see this, josie is the most immediately horrified by it because she's the only one who hasn't seen anything as gruesome as that before. for shilo. well. he gets to see the one being cut open is emizel. and then later when they get to the pool and find the body still there (again. josie is the one to find this. she's also the one who reaches down into the old dirty water and accidentally picks up the knife. which was still left in the same place they saw it be dropped in the tape) corpse plastered to the wall by all kinds of multicolored fungus and lichen, I think shilo doesn't immediately break down, he doesn't really. process it right away. I mean it's completely unrecognizable. it's not until he accidentally picks up the knife that it all clicks into place in his mind and he realizes "that thing right there used to be my fucking brother" and completely shuts down. runs out of the complex, dakota has to chase him down because they all know its dangerous to go anywhere alone, etc. after this he loses any sense of purpose, the only reason he came into the shimmer in the first place was to get emizel back and now seeing what happened I think he just gets. hopeless. which is the beginning of the end for him . i haven't decided if his exact death is the same as josies but i want it to be peaceful in the same sort of way. "imagine dying frightened and in pain and having that be the only part of you which survives... i wouldnt like that at all" "ventress wants to face it.. you want to fight it... im not sure i want either of those things...." josie radek i am in love with you. anyway. annihilation pool scene for you because I love this image more than anything

[dailyreverie]

Gifts

A/N - DISCLAIMER: This story is about reader who celebrates Christmas and Marc who obviously doesn't. Please, please know that in no way I want to minimize or romanticize Marc's childhood and his clearly complicated relationship with religion and religious holidays, which is also mentioned in the story. I am very aware of how this particular character grew up and it is never my intention to erase that, so if this comes across as disrespectful, tasteless, or rude, please let me know. That said, the two prompts used for this story were requested by @treasureswordsgirl55, thank you so so much!! I really hope you like it!!

☃️ December Writing Challenge! 🎄

Day 3: Rosy Cheeks + Day 11: "What do you want for Christmas?"

Pairing: Marc Spector x reader (she/her), mentions of Steven being there too.

Word Count: 694 words

The cold air was freezing your noses yet you couldn’t be bothered to walk away. Storefronts were covered in lights and holiday motifs, reds and silvers shining and guiding you from one window to the other; to say Christmas was your favorite holiday was an understatement, and that was why. 

With a warm coffee held in one hand and Marc holding the other. It’s not like you were planning to buy anything, you had a couple of weeks left for that, but the colorful street had seemed all to inviting to just go home. Marc walked beside you quietly sipping his coffee as you gushed excitedly about the decorations, listening to the argument you were having with yourself about which store was the prettiest so far, all too quiet as he is, taking one sip after the other just in an attempt to stop the smile that crept up to his lips every time you gasped and looked up to see the lights - it was that little “wow” you let out every time, squeezing his hand as you did it, what made him feel his heart beat a little bit faster.

Look at the way she’s looking at that necklace. Steven’s voice suddenly said, reflecting on the window from the jewelry you were now in front of. Oh boy, she’s looking at the ring section now.

Marc could only roll his eyes, but as annoying as Steven could be, he did have a point…

“You haven’t told me what you want for Christmas.” He spoke returning a squeeze to your hand, just to make sure you knew he was talking to you and not to the mannequin in front of you.

“What?” His question made you chuckle, maybe from nerves or maybe because you truly didn’t believe him. “What are you talking about?” you asked again.

“I’m talking about Christmas,” Marc replied after a beat, not knowing if your question was rhetoric or not. “We’ve seen a lot of things, but you haven’t really given me any clues.”

“Marc, you don’t celebrate Christmas. We never do.” You reminded him, still confused as to why he was asking. Marc’s upbringing was never something you took lightly, knowing how complicated it was for him, but for that same reason neither of you barely brought it up - religion, traditions, what to expect and what to do, it was all established very early in your relationship, so Marc bringing up something as delicate as Christmas… you were not sure what had gotten to him now. Until he replied…

"Yeah, but you do.” It was simple, just like that, as if it were the most logical thought, yet when you looked at him you were stunned. Your eyes were wide open and reflecting twinkling lights, and your silence made his cheeks begin to tint a light pink, not as they were before from the cold, but because something else was doing it for him. Yours were pink too, the smile you had pushing the color to your cheeks. “So… what do you want for Christmas?”

You turned to face him, making him do the same. Your hands reached up to hold his face and you pulled him down to kiss him with a smile still on your lips. “Okay… then I want a cheesy Hallmark movie, whatever takeout is open, and a bottle of wine.”

“That’s not fair, that’s what I got you last year.” He grinned, small and almost hidden, but a grin nonetheless.

“And I loved it, just as much as I did the year before.” With another kiss you assured him of it, not able to stop smiling. “I promise you, I love our tradition. You don’t need to buy me anything.” Your thumbs caressed his cheeks, hiding the rosy color from yourself.

Marc kissed your palm with a quick turn of his face, not breaking eye contact with you. “Alright,” he agreed, giving your lips a quick peck to seal the deal. You didn’t have to know, though, that he had visited that same jewelry a couple of days before to get the very same ring you were looking at just a few minutes ago.

🌙🎄❄️🌙🎄❄️🌙🎄❄️🌙🎄❄️🌙🎄❄️🌙🎄❄️

Thanks for reading! Please reblog and comment if you enjoyed it!

[seth-whumps]

i am currently working on your questions (i was so sos so excited to get them i missed answering em about my sillies) BUT i have a quick one for you while i do...

PLEASEEE tell me more about jj's midwesternisms. i find his upbringing SO FUN and i love it so so much

follow-up question: does he have any kind of accent/voice claim? same thing for morri!!!! i loveeeee voices for characters and accents so much it tells you so much about them

OK THANKS [viciously shaking your Guys by their shoulders in excitement]

AUGHHH an opportunity to talk about JJ's accent and Midwestern upbringing??? are you aware of the gift you have given me????? bug you are THE BEST

(a lot of this is me talking about growing up in the Midwest because I think JJ should get the good parts too)

JJ spent his time under the stars, a lot. Far away from the city, you get the prettiest view of the sky at night. He would start a bonfire with his brothers and sister, make smores under the night sky. It's some of his fondest memories. He really misses the stars sometimes.

So, JJ is from the outskirts of a very small town in South Dakota. Most of his time was spent either on farm chores or daydreaming during the drive to school, which took an hour at times. He knew how to drive tractor when he was eight; he rode horses and cared for chickens and spent his life doing the dirty work. When he was younger, he was tanned, sported sunburns, and had more freckles and muscle from the work.

Speaking of, he does have siblings! Two older brothers, and one younger sister who could kick any of their asses. There's a scrapbook of family photos somewhere in the boxes of his studio apartment in Chicago (the city may change in the future), and one of her sitting on his shoulders in a corn field. When life is hell, he finds that book.

Despite that, JJ wasn't The Farm Kid in his family. His oldest brother was supposed to take over the farm before he had a kid; then the second oldest moved to Georgia. He was a farm kid, but he didn't know it as well as his brothers. He left for Chicago anyway. Everyone knew why. He couldn't make a difference in a small town like that. He was "born for better things".

Some small midwesternisms!!!

He can drive manual, as said in another post

He can and will kick your ass at pool and at darts. And poker or gin rummy. Lots of bar games

His strength was never superhuman. He was just used to throwing hay bales

He feels very isolated in the city because he doesn't know everyone

He played sports in high school, mainly baseball, but he was also in some theater things. He loved expressions, and playing the heros

He got a box of all of his dad's old comic books and read them all the time

There is a Midwestern custom of if you're on time, you're late, and if you're early, you're on time. This is deeply instilled in JJ. He hates being late

He is very used to picking up problems. This is an odd phrase, but consider: you grow up on a farm that raises several baby animals. Those animals are problems? You pick them up. That habit carries over. He will just pick people up if they're being an issue

If a house isn't carpeted, he wears his shoes. Farm house floors aren't as clean as city houses. The habit is hard to break

His favorite road rage insult is "dipstick" because he didn't swear in the car when his parents drove with him

ACCENTS NOW!!!

For JJ, Midwestern accents are distinct in that they sound almost typical American with just a little bit of strange to it. Often you'll hear an 'e' sound before an 'a' (let's she'are something, can I te'ake that from you), and that is still mildly present in his accent. He also tends to crack down pretty hard on 'r' sounds--take a typical American accent and make all the vowels a little harsher, and you've got the classic Midwest. The faster he talks, the more harsh the vowels and rhotics get.

Morrigan's accent is much more West Coast or Washington. Not a movie popular "sahh dude" kind of accent, but if you took the harshness out of the Midwest and the roundness out of the Southern, you get a sort of California accent. There is a lightness on 'r's and vowels ever so slightly reminiscent of English accents (they also say "aye-ther" instead of "eether"). They're however able to change their accent depending on the situation. (It is hilarious to witness stuffy, professional Morrigan start ranting like they're from New Jersey.)

--

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THESE QUESTIONS rambling about his Midwestern experience was so cathartic you are the absolute best ily bug /p <33333

[violivs]

NMTDaily: A Wild Hero Appears

- It makes me a little sad that Bea tweets out this video with “meet the prettier version of me”. You’re beautiful in your own right, Beatrice, and I don’t think Hero would want you to compliment her by putting yourself down. This moment starts to show Beatrice’s insecurities, in a very teenage-girl way. It feels very accurate to that time of life for sure.

- What’s interesting, though, is that this tweet, where Bea thinks of herself as less pretty than Hero, is a direct parallel to and reversal of the moment in a future episode when Claudio tells Ben who he likes (Hero), and asks what Ben thinks of her, and Ben says he prefers her cousin, naming no names. These lines are adapted from the play. Now, I’m not going to say it’s good or ok for the guys to be comparing the girls to each other, even unintentionally, and of course Beatrice has to develop her own self-confidence outside of what anyone else thinks of her. But it is very sweet that at the time she makes that self-deprecating tweet, Beatrice already, unknown to her, has someone who looks at her before anyone else, who always thinks she’s the prettiest girl in the room. It’s just that even he doesn’t know it yet! Ben has thought Beatrice was gorgeous since long before he could admit it to himself, and that just makes me happy.

- I bet Hero’s “you’re not so bad looking yourself, Bea” is her answer to the tweet. She’s too sweet even to directly address it.

- Hero reading TFIOS is so incredibly 2014. (I can also tell she’s an actress and isn’t actually reading it right now because she’s that far into the book and she isn’t SOBBING. I’ll never forget how hard I cried and I’m not afraid to admit it.)

- “Hero it’s Darcy on a horse” being the thing to get her attention is hilarious and adorable and how many Jane Austen Movie Nights do we think she and Bea have had? Definitely some!

- Hero is adorable and we love her enthusiasm and many many video ideas 😆

- there are so many amazing quotes in this episode. “room tour. room tour. ROOM TOUR”; “I am very proud of the witty capabilities of 3-in-the-morning me” amazing.

- Bea is starting what’s essentially senior year in April at a new school. That has to be stressful. Good that she seems cheery about it. I’m sure she’s not at all worried about who else is in her classes…

- Now I want lemonade! Lol. But US lemonade for me. Research is telling me that NZ/Aotearoa lemonade is just basically lemon soda, like it is in the UK, as opposed to the US lemon juice + water + sugar situation. I hope Bea gets to try US lemonade on her travel year. It’s so good when it’s good.

- the Hersula origins! “She’s so lovely I catch myself wanting her to insult me” 💕

- Shoutout to the NMTD Fandom Revival Discord for catching the fact that Bea’s line “what is this cake even for” is a reference to the TARDIS cake Ursula shared on her tumblr, showing that Ursula and Hero surprised Bea with the cake for no reason at all, they’re just that sweet and lovely!

- A brief aside: Ursula’s tumblr has been lovely. She’s posted lots of desserts including one that she said is her dad’s specialty, so now I headcanon that she likes to bake because it’s something she and her dad do together. Ursula lore!

- Poor Meg. It’s tough to be an early bloomer, and you can tell the girls know they shouldn’t be making fun of her for it. I’m glad Hero told Bea to stop, but she was still going along with it and was the one who said the “Queen of Scream” line. We know they’ll learn, though.

- I also notice the link to Ursula’s first video in the description of this episode is now broken and goes to a page that says the video doesn’t exist. Fortunately VOX POPS is alive, well, and next in the playlist. Interesting how links break over time.

- This episode is apparently from before the characters start answering YouTube comments, I checked the comment section. That’s something I’m interested to see whether the NMTDaily emails will highlight, because I remember the characters’ comments being very fun to read! Good for immersion too!

- I’m embarrassed to even admit this, and I blame growing up without cable tv or video games, but I’m just now realizing this title is a Pokémon reference. This show was always even nerdier and more full of pop culture references than I realized! Excited to see if I find anything else I didn’t get before!

💖🥭🦩

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 10/24/2023

this post and this series not sponsored by hellofresh

listening

caravan palace's new single MAD. genuinely the song i've had on loop while working but i had a very strong "ugh can't use that one it's cringe" reaction while drafting this entry and am trying to sort of sit with myself for a bit and go okay WHY is it cringe? how can we talk about it being cringe other than the fact that steampunk and electroswing are no longer fashionable? some weeks the policy of No Such Thing As A Guilty Pleasure is easier than others

i would not classify this song as electro or swing, and it's considerably jazzier than their more recent dancey pop stuff. more of a languid stroll with enough brass to keep my brain interested while i peer at spreadsheets? spotify

-

reading

Alexis Hall's A Lady for a Duke. i liked this quite a bit but i have some longer form thoughts percolating that require a reread. it was a tense but fun read, i do not know that mr hall achieved the goal he set forth below. in a broad initial stroke, there is certainly a great deal of internal conflict not helped by our trans lead’s difficulty seeing her trans self in a loving relationship.

how this conflict resolves did genuinely keep me on the edge of my seat bc i could not fucking figure out how she was going to do it

-

watching

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951, dir Lewin). this is a movie where (in the immortal words of the switchblade sisters podcast) it’s not what happens, but how it happens. the movie opens with fishermen dredging up two star-crossed lovers. i will not be particularly concerned with spoilers here or in my letterboxd review.

age and a deft scorsese-backed restoration have been very kind to this sea-mist movie. cinnamon fucking topography, technicolor at some of its prettiest and best used. jack cardiff (also did Black Narcissius, The Red Shoes, The African Queen) you've fucking done it again. the restored version is on american tubi and it's so so lush and dreamy. the very first handful of scenes contains a church bell ringing wildly, giving you glimpses of commotion on the beach, and it just keeps getting better from there. the beach party, full of dutch angles and toppled statuary and debauchery and no one dancing the same, is exactly the same as every beach party i have ever been to.

james mason is at his hottest, wettest, and most brooding. not all of our main characters are as openly debauched as pandora, but all of them are just as selfish. i have a lot of fucking beef with some of the letterboxd reviewers, who are simply wrong. pandora is not supposed to be a likeable or redeemable character. i think one of the questions for YOU to answer is whether or not a flighty, homewrecking, irresponsible woman like pandora is redeemed through her willingness to die for true love-- this is generally an admirable quality in myths and fairy tales, but is it cancelled out as just another flight of her fancies that ultimately kills her?

also the people who don't "get" what the film's about and complain it's too slow. it's about insanity and the sea what's not to get!!!

thank u @dying-suffering-french-stalkers

-

playing

so we are mostly through the genshin 4.1 part 2 events. i am so tired of the past few battle events cycling through the same arenas; however, this is the first event where i read the directions and was like "augh that's too complicated we'll do that later" and did all my weekly bounties instead. speaking of bounties, i finally did enough to unlock the treasure chest locator and confirmed my suspicions that i have in fact picked over the region pretty well in the last ~two months. the liffey and research institute were at 85% and 95% respectively before i unlocked this thing, but i did almost immediately find two remarkable chests in the far south by the port. augh. would have bit me if they had teeth etc. i would prefer if the regions showed 100% when i have actually 100%ed them instead of whatever margin they have going now, but i recognize that i have brain problems.

-

making

im MAD bc i was given a singular hellofresh dinner by a friend going on vacation and it was fairly easy to make and tasted good and everything WORKED. and it was like a fun little after work project!!! and the directions said “here’s what to do to the peppers if you don’t want it super spicy” and it most importantly it all WORKED. this is a very expensive thing to have a sudden interest in. i feel like i fuck up most of the food i make and i know that's part of the learning curve but it's SO fucking expensive to fuck up food and i have such a limited amount of energy :<

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

So despite how much I like the first two Madagascars, I've never seen this one. I do vividly remember the trailers for it though, and based on those trailers, I thought this was going to be an annoying waste of time back when it came out, so I skipped it. Suffice to say, I was (for the most part) wrong. Cause the Madagascar trilogy ends on a fairly high note!

We pick up with our squad of animals leaving Africa, this time finding themselves in Europe, where they're hunted down by the intense animal control Captain DuBois. To escape her wrath, they join up with a traveling circus, hoping to impress a promoter in order to finally get back to New York. Along the way, we have the group befriending (and in some cases falling in love) with the circus animals as they try to keep up the act that they are circus animals themselves.

So yeah, there's a lot going on here, and the movie is rapidly paced to accomodate it, but I think that actually works in this movie's favor? Like, the tone here is a lot sillier and more out there than the first two, but the way it pulls off its own inherent zaniness just... works somehow. The humor is over the top yet still maintains more or less the same level of quality the first two Madagascars had (though I can't say it surpasses them in any real reguard).

The characters here are all just as fun as usual. Alex is once again our focal point of the group, and I am a little disappointed that some of the other more minor characters, the Penguins in particular, aren't really left with anything too plot significant to do (granted their own spinoff movie was probably in the works by this point so I'll give it a pass). The new characters are also pretty fun, with the embittered tiger Vitaly who comes around to the group in the end, the spirited jaguar Gia who is just a delightful love interest for Alex, and the absolute sweetheart sea lion Stefano. They're all great additions to the cast and have great chemistry with our established animal crew.

But I think its safe to say the best part of this movie is its villain, Captain DuBois. This woman is CRAZY, man. She is so utterly unhinged, so delightfully devious, and the way they animate her is so fucking funny. She had me cracking up every second she was on screen, like damn give this woman an award for most underrated Dreamworks villain or something. She deserves it.

The animation here is surprisingly beautiful. Like there are some scenes in this movie, particularly the circus performance scene, that were just a FEAST to the eyes. I dare say this is one of Dreamworks' prettiest movies I've seen in the watch so far. Yeah, I know, a Madagascar movie, of all things. But it's true! The colors just pop, the movements of the camera and the characters are so sweeping and refined, the score... is kind of forgettable, but visually, this movie is great.

When it comes to it's predecessors, I can't say I like this more than the first two. It lacks a good bit of heart that they had, and its humor does skew just a bit more juvenile than the first two. But when it shines, it really shines, and I'm really surprised at how much I ended up liking it! Turns out, you really can't judge a book by its cover, or a movie by its... rather poorly made trailer.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Verdict: Get mounted on DuBois' wall

Previous Review (Puss in Boots)

Next Review (Rise of the Guardians)

[cosmok13]

Skadi is the Norse Goddess of Winter. She was born as a Frost Giant, and the daughter of Thiasse. The Frost Giants were one of the most feared creatures in Norse Mythology, and they had a tense relationship with the Gods. Although, there were some instances that a Frost Giant could gain the rank of God, Loki being a prime example. Despite Skadi's ancestorial nature, she was considered beautiful to many and far more kind-hearted compared to her brethren. She was tough, but wasn't quick to anger so she rarely started a fight. She was admired by the gods for her strength, abilities and beauty. She was also associated as the goddess of the wilderness, bowhunting, skiing and mountains.

The most known myth involving Skadi was how she became a Goddess in the Norse Patheon. After the death of her father, she was the only remaining relative he had, which meant she inherited his kingdom on the mountains. While she was upset about the death of her father, who had been killed by one of the gods, she did not become vengeful. Instead, she requested an audience with their King, Odin. Skadi demanded compensation for her father's death, and because Odin was impressed with her even temper, he agreed. Skadi's request was to be wed to one of the gods, and the one she was in love with was none other than Baldur, who was the Norse God of Light and Peace. Baldur had quite a number of admirers, so it was no surprise that Skadi requested him to be her husband, as even she was smitten with his handsome features. While many young maidens and other goddesses wanted him, Skadi was wise enough to use her father's death as a compensational leverage to arrange a marriage with him.

Despite her beauty and reasonable request, none of the gods wished to marry her and live in the forsty mountains, not even Baldur himself. Skadi was determined to chose her own husband, and they had to comply to satisfy the polite giantess. So, Odin came up with a plan for her to choose a husband by random. The bachelors lined up and stood behind a curtain with only their feet showing. Skadi would pick her groom by the appearance of his feet, which she agreed to as she believed the prince would have the smoothest and prettiest feet of them all. After inspecting every set of feet, she picked the ones that were the least worn, believing it to be Baldur. But when the curtains rose up, the feet belonged to Njord, the god of the wind and the sea. He was an older god and already had two grown daughters, but possessed no wife. Because Skadi chose her own husband, they were forced to marry much to the begrudgement of both gods.

Njord couldn't stand living in the cold mountains, nor could Skadi dare to live by the sea. Because of their inability to live in their partner's respective places, the two ended up separating after 18 nights of marriage, nine of which they spent in Njord's home and the other nine in Skadi's home. Despite the two no longer being married, Skadi kept her Goddess title and was known as the Norse deity that represented Winter.

So, this was my first artwork I did with the leftover diamond dotz I had after a few of my projects. I was originally going to do some Greek deities, but I was watching some Marvel Movies with Thor and Loki at the time and thought: You know what? Why don't I test this out with some Norse Gods cause they don't get nearly enough love as the Greeks. Skadi was such a fascinating character to look up, and I enjoyed coloring her blue skin and giving her and outfit fit for winter and skiing. Honestly, despite her having a cold body, she seemed like such a catch. Any woman who could help you survive winter and give you the blessing of a hunt seemed like such a deal breaker, especially in such times. Though I guess she did get a better deal with the Gods than Loki, but that is up for debate.

I mostly used the dotz to show the title of the Goddess and added them as part of her outfit. I tried to use the other dotz for the environment, but I don't think I did that great of a job. But hey, live and learned. For a first time project, I'm glad it turned out well. And it only helped me learn what not to do for my other projects. I'll be posting more of these Gods/Goddesses/Deities later on. For now, I hope you enjoy Skadi!

[privilege-rpg]

JEMMA SYLVESTER

☆ FULL NAME: Jemma Sue Sylvester ☆ GENDER: Ciswoman ☆ PRONOUNS: She/They ☆ AGE: 27 (July 9th, 1997) ☆ BIRTH ORDER: Third ☆ TYPE: Adopted sibling; solo (open to twin) ☆ HOMETOWN: Cleveland, Ohio ☆ JOB: Lifeguard ☆ SCHOOL: Junior, Majoring in Marine Biology ☆ SEXUALITY: Polyamorous/Pansexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Dove Cameron

ABOUT JEMMA

The most seen that Jemma has felt in her entire life was when Ryan Gosling (as Ken) said that his job was Beach. (It was also when he thirsted after Margot Robbie the entire movie, because same). Jemma Sylvester, theoretically, should have been Sue's perfect child, the carbon copy of Susan Sue-Ann Sylvester, but alas, like Thomas Edison trying to make the lightbulb, she accidentally set her house on fire once. Jemma has never had a complex about being adopted. Her mom had a teenage pregnancy and honestly, had she been alive at the time, Jemma would have told her pal to give the baby up for adoption, too. If her mom's prefrontal cortex wasn't fully formed yet, there was no way that Jemma could have grown up into the silly, hilarious, and pretty young woman that she is, today. Childhood was relatively easy for Jemma, who always knew that she was in the best set of circumstances, even if Sue made her run laps every single morning to build character. In a lot of ways, Jemma knew that Sue meant well, and only wanted her daughter to be The Best, and Jemma never really minded it. Growing up in cheerleading was a lot of fun, and Jemma very quickly understood her athletic prowess, but things really changed for her when she joined the swim team in middle school. Jemma was compared, literally, to a fish, and all of her dreams of playing mermaids as a kid became reality. She was a far better swimmer than she was a cheerleader, and Jemma quickly realized that in being a Great Swimmer she was in turn being a Shitty Daughter. Jemma would never insinuate that Sue stopped caring about her once she became a champion swimmer, but Jemma became pretty desperate for her mom's attention and went too hard. She had to be the best-- the fastest, the prettiest, swim the hardest-- everything. She couldn't sustain it for very long, really, and eventually came crashing down very publicly at a swim meet. But, Sylvesters are not failures, and so Jemma was sent to a relaxation facility to get her head back on straight and then come out a winner again. Jemma was sent to the coast, and she found her true love and passion in animal rights. Literally save the whales. And the turtles. And Beach Ken.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Sue Sylvester is many things. A world-renowned cheerleading coach. Owner of one of the highest-grossing athleisure brands with brick-and-mortar stores in over 17 counties plus Greenland. Founder of multiple organizations dedicated to providing resources and education on Downs Syndrome. A serial lawsuit-sender (a Sue-er, if you will). And, the title she holds in the fifth highest regard, a mother.  Of course she couldn’t put her career on hold for the nine months it took to properly cook a baby, so for most of her children she went the adoption route. Much quicker that way, although it did give her the brilliant idea to add maternity tracksuits to Sue-perStar Athleisure’s line. Don’t get it twisted, though. Although few men have been worthy of fertilizing her award-winning uterus, Sue has had her fair share of relationships. Sure they all ended in her husbands mysteriously dying by unknown causes with her as the sole beneficiary. But the cops can’t prove anything, and she’s successfully shut down all the Reddits dedicated to the conspiracies, so mind your business.  There are also rumors that Sue’s hoard of children were taken in as a stunt to raise her public image, but anyone who has actually spoken to the family knows that to be false. It’s the one rumor Sue has never cared to clear up because, yet again, people need to mind their business. 

[lizziethereader]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

I was tagged by @bibliophilecats and @the-forest-library, thank you two lovelies! (sorry I couldn't get it done mid-year, haha)

1.Best book you’ve read so far this year Silver in the Wood Emily Tesh (a close second is probably Little Thieves + Painted Devils by Margaret Owen)

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

3. New release you haven’t read yet Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year I somehow forgot to look at new releases this year, so I don't even have a list, but I guess I'm always excited when a new Brandon Sanderson Secret Project comes out? (so, one more to go)

5. Biggest disappointment the one that won't get me cancelled: Wicked by Gregory Maguire (honestly, what a shitshow) the one that will get me cancelled: Babel by R.F. Kuang (I just don't like when a story is bleak and tragic with no hope…)

6. Biggest surprise Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which I picked up on a whim and which was delightful! but also Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, which went totally unexpected places (and was delightful as well)

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you) Margaret Owen and Tracy Deonn

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character both Vanja and Emeric from Little Thieves are great characters!!

9. Book that made you cry I don't think I've done that yet this year, but, weirdly, the one that got me closest might have been A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga

10. Book that made you happy I've enjoyed many great books so far this year, but I'm not sure enjoying is the same as making happy? I'm not sure a book has "made" me happy…. I do enjoy how gorgeous the leatherbound editions of the Brandon Sanderson Secret Projects are, though!

11. Favorite Adaptation well, thanks to @bookcub I know that Little Thieves is a Goose Girl adaptation, so I'll have to go with that! in terms of movie/series adaptations, I can't say I have a favorite yet

12. Prettiest Cover I can't just choose one, so I'll go for Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, and also the Graceling series editions I have

13. A book you need to read before the end of the year a great many! But Still Life by Sarah Winman is high on my list

I'm tagging anyone who, like me, just hasn't had the energy or time to do this one yet and feels like they can and want to do it now!

[13eyond13]

Don't know if it's late, but your top 5 fav books (fictions)?

Ahhh, a good yet very difficult question. I sometimes have very fond memories of books I read years ago, yet they do not hold up for me at all when I reread them again at an older age? So some of the ones I might put on this list in the past I might not feel the same about anymore, so unless I've revisited it recently I don't feel confident enough in my memories to really add them to the list. I went to my GoodReads account and looked at everything I had logged, but I'm quite fussy about the criteria I use for this? As in I feel like the book has to be so beloved by me that it almost feels like it's one of my oldest friends or something. And I just don't feel confident stating that about most of the books I have read, even the ones I've given 5/5 stars. In the end I might only be able to give a top 3 list, but other than 1. Death Note the other two I love the most are: 2. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith - I just have such a big crush on Patricia Highsmith's writing style, and I'd say she's probably my favourite writer right now. I don't know how to describe it other than it just draws me in every time with its deceptively soothing and understated prose, and I also love the aesthetics of her settings and characters and plots. This is by far my favourite work of hers. Tom Ripley is one of my all-time fictional characters, and if you're a fan of creepy conman stories and anxiety-inducing thrillers than you'll definitely enjoy reading this one. I had such a good time reading this entire series a few years back and grew really attached to hanging out with Tom, though he really is only at his best and most interesting and complex as a character in this first book, I think. (BONUS RECOMMENDATION: Both the American 1990s The Talented Mr. Ripley movie and the 1960s French movie Plein Soleil are worth a watch as well! I think the 90s one does some interesting things to translate the story from the page to the screen, and certainly doesn't shy away from the homoerotic undertones - also has a fun scene-stealing performance by Jude Law as Dickie. And the French one is just beautiful to look at - particularly because of Alain Delon at his prettiest and scariest, who I unfortunately developed a massive embarrassing crush on as soon as I laid eyes on him!) 3. Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice - There wasn't a book in the world I was ever more obsessed with at some point in my life than this one when I was 15/16! I created an elaborate comic adaptation of this story for a book report that took me entire months of my life to make, I was just that obsessed. It just hit the spot for me so perfectly at the time because I was a lonely and confused little thing that was still very much caught between the guilty obligation of my strict religious upbringing and the frightening burgeoning realization that MAYBE I wasn't actually that straight (because boy-oh-boy is the vampirism in this book and Louis's guilty wrestling with his nature very easily read as a metaphor for struggling with being gay, hahaha). I loved Louis so much, I identified with him so strongly and immediately, and I think Anne Rice is just great at painting a descriptive scene and fleshing out a unique universe full of colourful characters and worldbuilding/lore that stretches back for literally millennia. Upon rereading it again older I definitely found the prose to be a bit silly/purple and the melodrama a little eye-rolly at times, but you know what, that is exactly what a Byronic gothic novel is kind of supposed to sound like, too. Lestat is obviously the real star of the show in The Vampire Chronicles, and Claudia is also a stunner of a character, but Louis has my heart simply for being the one to initially invite me into that interesting world, and for feeling like the only bro who truly "got me" during that particularly angsty and guilt-ridden period of my life. (BONUS REC: the 90s movie starring Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Kirsten Dunst is a really good adaptation of it as well!)