#also yes theres a lot of personal opinion about the books

[icarusredwings]

Getting deep into the x men fandom means seeing ships I don't agree with, so I don't interact, seeing posts that mischaraterizes one of the deepest charaters possible, so I don't interact, Seeing people actively say things that are blatantly wrong, so I don't interact.

Getting a large following is also kind of frustrating (Im not complaining I love you guys!) But I've had to block 2 people already today because they keep leaving rude replies to my comments on OTHER peoples posts or purposly come to my blog to tell me that how I view a charater is wrong. Had someone tell me that the stuff that happens in MY au is dumb because "that would never happen" like yeah bud. The writers at Marvel are too much of cowards for it to happen, hence why i'm here.

So my thing is... if im chosing not to interact with all of this- why is it still on my feed?

I feel like the more I ignore it the more I see and I do not wish to be the type to block someone simply because they make one post about a ship that personally isn't my cup of tea.

Also- I think Im starting to see the different sides of extremes, especially when it comes to one specifc charater.

Logan.

I have seen dozens of lovely stories, lovely rants, lovely head canons about this man-

But something that feels weird (to me at least) is people who are 45+ yelling at people who aren't even 18 that their story/headcanons are trash because they've "been enjoying Logan for 40+ years" as if this gives them any right to tell a 17 year old that they shouldnt write a charater how they see them.

It's also weird to me that there seems to be two sides.

Logan IS an animal and that's perfectly okay.

Or

Logan ISN'T an animal, and everyone who headcanons him as animalistic is fetishizing his mutation and are insulting him.

I get not liking a certain trope, but sir, that person is young enough to be your child. You have to accept that we all grew up with different versions of each charater. I Personally didn't grow up with any and get the luxury of indulging in all sorts of media all at once- therefore getting to see him from multiple sides and pictures.

I completely understand if you grew up with the original series and are upset to see that kids are headcanoning your stone cold angst biker man as wearing bow clips and 'making biscuits' on a pillow while watching gilmore girl with his boyfriend, and wearing pink fluffy hello kitty pants and a tight shirt that says "Milk"

I completely understand if you grew up with the movies and see him as a sexy gruff hot buff man and you love to write lots and lots of steamy x reader about him.

I completely understand if you LIKE logan wearing hello kitty pants and don't agree with the idea of him being a dark edgelord, lone wolf charater.

Do you know what I don't understand? Fighting over a charater when different timelines have been canon since the 80s. The Time Variance Authority (TVA) first appeared in Thor #372 (October 1986) which means ALL of your logans are the correct logan. Just not all the same.

Do I think Wolverine Orgins Logan would wear pink hello kitty pants? Nah.

Do I know that Deadpool and wolverine Logan is a whole different universe then Orgins Logan? Yes.

That's why people tag different logans and different aus. So what is all the fuss about?? What happened to the more the merrier?

Theres so many different versions of comic book logan, too, so don't even go there.

Feel free to ask my personal opinions but as far as I stand I could never be foolish enough to seriously go into someone elses post and genuinely be upset at them for how they perceive a charater. I get second hand embaressment when ever I see ANYONE doing it.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk. I don't care if I lose followers for this. Let the door hit you on the way out. There aint no reason to be harrassing folks.

[lilislegacy]

The way haters just boil Annabeth's character to just insulting Percy and not seeing theres more to her really shows how much they dont get her. Honestly Percy would hate them for this...

thanks for the ask @emilia9622!

agreed completely. like if you want to dislike a character, go for it. but don’t lie to yourself. don’t base it all off of one thing or flaw and make it 100x bigger than it is.

for instance, i don’t like luke. but it’s for a multitude of reasons. he knowingly betrayed all his friends several times, fought a deadly war against them, and intentionally poisoned the camp. he was percy’s first friend at camp and was a mentor to him, but had no issues lying to him and deceiving him. he literally was fine with the idea of 12 year old little percy being dragged down to tartarus. he also let annabeth be kidnapped and forced to hold up the world. when he finally saw thalia alive, he fought her and tried to harm her. yes i know that there is very complex trauma and history that led to all his actions, and i really do feel so bad for him, but i can’t respect someone who betrays his close friends like that. no matter what. i could go on and on, and don’t get me started about him having romantic feelings for annabeth… UGH. but that said, i understand why people love his character. he’s complex and has a lot of really good history. he also has a wonderful, yet tragic, redemption at the end. he really deserved better. i don’t have love for him, but his character deserves love. i’m happy that there are people to love him so that i don’t have to, because i have personal reasons for not liking him. i think luke is an amazingly well written character and i think rick wrote him beautifully. the truth is, besides the singular part where he admitted he had feelings for annabeth, i wouldn’t change anything about him or his story. so personally, i don’t like him, but i think he’s a great character and objectively, i can see why people love him.

it’s okay to dislike a character. but don’t pick their biggest flaws, strip away all the good parts of the character, and fool yourself into believing that’s all they are. (and then continue to go on tumblr and scream about how toxic and terrible the character is 🙄)

this is what “people can’t handle complex characters” actually means. people often throw that phrase around. people say that about readers not liking jason all the time, but the truth is, people are fully entitled to not like jason. it doesn’t make sense to me, because i LOVE jason. he’s my cutie patootie. but the people who dislike him simply don’t like him. they don’t usually make him out to be someone he’s not, they just don’t like him for who he is. they often just don’t find him interesting enough to break down the more complex parts of his character. it breaks my heart, and i don’t understand, but that’s okay. they just don’t like him. there’s nothing else to it. most annabeth haters, however, make her out to be someone she’s not and then proceed to hate on that one self-generated version of her. it’s so toxic. THAT is not being able to handle a complex character

no, annabeth is not perfect. if she was, she would be unrealistic, and people would hate her for that too. yes, she has excessive pride. she tends to think herself above others, and yes that even includes percy at times. but you know what? she admitted to having that issue all the way back in book 2. she was literally 13 when she explained to percy what hubris is and how it’s her biggest downfall. she’s a self aware queen. she knows it’s an issue and she works hard to correct it in little ways and make sure the people around her, especially percy, know she values them and their opinions. anyone who read the heroes of olympus series unbiased and got to read her POV knows that annabeth holds percy in the highest regard. she respects the hell out of him. even though sometimes she says things that aren’t nice, she doesn’t truly feel that way and always corrects it in some way. she’s not selfish, she’s just tragically intelligent, and it naturally gives her a bit of a complex. it wouldn’t make sense if it didn’t.

and i love her for it. the fact that she has a real flaw that can affect relationships, but that she is self aware of and actively works on, makes her legit one of my favorite characters ever. she’s SO realistic.

but people take that one flaw and make it her whole character. they call her cold and harsh, when in reality she’s one of the most warm and sensitive people in the series. she takes care of her friends. she’s strong and she’s often the leader, but it’s because she’s so loving and kind all the time. she works hard and looks out for everyone. she makes friends fast for a reason. she’s a wonderful person. she’s so, so sweet, and it breaks my heart that people choose to take that away from her.

anyway, sorry i just word vomited so much. basically i agree 100%.

[notedchampagne]

Trick or Treat! I haven't read tlt yet, and I'm sure I would like it, but my pet peeve is that most of the "synopses" I see are basically just "lesbian necromancers in space!" and even the back of the book that I've seen just doesn't give me much of an idea of the plot? I'm sure I would like it, but it's hard to know what it's actually About 😔

treat. thats a similar gripe i have as well! i think its good for attracting an audience but it doesnt do much to get them hooked aside from "it has lesbians in it". if you want to get a genuine tlt fic rec from me i wrote this in goodreads. yes sorry i started a goodreads i just needed to keep track of what books i read:

the locked tomb series is about the horrors of love, the tragedy of relationships beyond romance, why codependency is not as fun as you think, the joy of sacrifices, how imperialism affects culture affects people affects imperialism, and most importantly: the humor of not knowing what the fuck is going on. i PROMISE you that tamsyn ties all of these together perfectly.

gideon the ninth is about the intimacy of hating someone youve known your whole life, the all-consuming desire to make something out of yourself and how it can destroy you if youre not careful, how no man is an island, and how you are not immune to propaganda. it is also a murder mystery. i ALSO promise tamsyn writes this all in efficiently.

throughout the series, muir's gimmick is choosing the person least equipped to narrate objectively: the points of view are opinionated, ignorant, humorous, and challenging to get through if you're someone that asks "can this PLEASE be explained now??" she sets up dominoes in seemingly random places at random times, and then knocks it all over in a beautiful cascade of information that makes you feel thrilled and sick. the series is incredibly rereadable from the layers of foreshadowing and theming between all three (soon to be four) books, but for your first run you HAVE to be patient. you HAVE to be willing to be entertained. the payoff of being invested in this series is glorious; it's red-string 'am i crazy' hype. i have a google doc listing off theme connections and details that i started for fun. the characters are MEAN, which i value with my life. gideon and harrowhark are 17 and 18 years old and they act like it: they're funny, theyre self-flagellating, theyre bitchy, theyre unreasonable, etc etc. every character flaw is consistent with their being.

my biggest gripes with the series is that the worldbuilding is too weak for what i can see it being and the memes can be a little niche. the setting and necromancy is moreso a tool for the characters, so theres a lot of beautiful tidbits and descriptions, but you're not going to get any rules or meta beyond surface-level aesthetics. personally, "lesbian necromancers in space" does not cut it for me. if you were raised catholic though, this book might strike a chord with you. if you were raised catholic AND you are a lesbian, youre the target audience. i hope you have fun YOU WILL LIKE THIS SERIES/BOOK IF YOU LIKE: tragedy, character juxtaposition, the teen butch struggle, the exploration of love and toxic dynamics, mystery, sci-fi written like a fantasy novel, catholic theming, death theming, enemies to lovers but worse, freaky white girls, dyke drama, lesbians that have problems bigger than dyke drama, swordfighting, character duos, morally gray characters YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE THIS BOOK/SERIES IF YOU DISLIKE: being confused, being left in the dark for too long, unreliable narrators, morally gray characters, loose/light worldbuilding

[breadlover64]

BINGQIU VS LIUSHEN/ANY OTHER SHIP WITH SQQ PART 1

BEWARE I HAVENT READ SVSSS IN A WHILE AND I MIGHT’VE MISSED SOME STUFF! Feel free to correct and give your opinions about this.

Theres gonna be two parts to this bc tumblr can’t take all my writing sooooo 😛

In the SVSSS fandom, I’ve noticed that compared to other mxtx’s novels, the mc gets shipped with half of the cast more often and is more widely accepted in the fandom compared to the tgcf and mdzs fandoms (if you ship Hualian or Wangxian with anyone, it will get you death threats, istg 😓). However, with Shen Qingqiu, while of course he gets shipped with his love interests, another really popular one is him with Liu Qingge and many other characters in the novel. I do think this also has to do with the fact that the fandom is more chill than the other two fandoms. Shen Qingqiu in general is just VERY shippable. But why? Why do some people like liushen more than bingqiu? Obviously, I know this is simply a preference, but why do people prefer it more than the canon couple? Well, I have some speculations. First, while I love Bingqiu, I can admit that their relationship is not for everyone; even for me, they’re my least favorite main couple of the three (it's just my opinion, DONT ATTACK ME🙏) because their dynamic can be seen as somewhat toxic. Luo Binghe is very obsessive and kind of yandare like in the novel, and yes, he does have character development and regrets his actions and never really wanted to hurt Shen Qingqiu. I personally don’t feel like we see as much of this development until the very end. At least for me, I feel like we should’ve spent more time with a changed Luo Binghe, and I KNOW he was influenced by Xi Mo. I still didn’t feel completely satisfied with the Luo Binghe arc. I do think we see more of his development in the extras, which is what made me like Bingqiu a lot more, but I just wish we could’ve seen this in the main story instead of optional extras because I think the extras really show Luo Binghe’s growth and his love for Shen Qingqiu in a healthier way. I am aware this boy is very mentally ill. While I’m not a writer, as a reader, I think mxtx could’ve done more for him because he can end up more dislikable for some people and just less appealing of a love interest. I personally LOVE Luo Binghe and how chaotic he is, but again, that is not for everyone, so I can definitely see why some people don’t like him as much. With Shen Qingqiu, this is a bit different. I felt that by the end of the novel he had massive progress and huge development for his character; even if he still has his flaws, you can really tell he has changed and grown throughout the story, but he’s still himself if that makes sense. I felt wayyy more satisfied with his arc than Luo Binghe's; however, I will say that Shen Qingqiu has this sort of shame. While I wouldn’t necessarily call it internalized homophobia, he does have this sort of stigma towards gay people and him being gay himself. And while it can be funny, if you really think about it, even by the end of the novel and in the extras he still has this shame of sleeping with Binghe and showing basic affection, but I won’t really criticize this much because he does improve in this a lot by the extras. By that point, it really feels more like shyness than the shame he felt at the beginning when he first discovered Luo Binghe's feelings. So I will argue that Shen Qingqiu arc is pretty well done and concluded by the end of the book; at least to me, it really did feel like he changed. Okay, so the second reason is because Bingqiu got together when they were both still ‘not at their best’. What do I mean by this? Well in tgcf Xie lian had to endure a lot of torture and experience several traumatic situations and almost released face disease and killed a bunch of people with it. He was clearly very mentally unwell! And for Hua Cheng, he also went through a lot of trauma with his mom dying when he was young and the abuse he went through from his father and the kids who made fun of him to the point where he wanted to end his life, and then later he became a ghost with his parasocial attachment to a god. We see these characters at their worst, but when they get together, they are already 800+ years old and have lived a long life and matured and learned from their experiences.

[azuls-spare-contracts]

Do you have lgbt headcannons for the characters?

Yes I actually do have some! Now I don't hc all the cast as lgbt but I am not against or apposed to hcs that say otherwise but I do have some and here they are, also i will mention seuality hcs for everyone but i'm not against people who hc otherwise and i'm very fluid on my hcs but theres are ones i follow like 90% of the time in my content and even hc (also no one is homophobic)

Riddle: i personally Head cannon riddle as Transfem and i think riddle is into girls and is a sapphic, i just feel like riddle is into women and would like to date a girl overall.

Trey: i feel like trey is either bisexual or just acroace i don't think of him too much but h just gives me these vibes

Cater: Bisexual as this is kinda just a cannon fact at this point, i also actually hc cater as transmasc but its a hc i don't mind but i can also see cater as just a demi-boy

Ace: aroace i don't think ace is down to date

Deuce: he's either straight or forever questioning

Leona: straight most likely i don’t think he’d be into men but who knows with him

Jack: probably straight but i like the pan jack hc

Ruggie: demi-romantic demi-sexual and probably just anyone who has money but he's probably pan or Achillean i don't really think he'd date fr unless its for money. (i actually like the nonbinary ruggie hc too or the demi-boy one)

Azul: Bisexual just with strong catholic guilt and also he's in denial about it

Jade: Pansexual and just likes to admire beauty also is demi-romantic and demi-sexual

Floyd: Gay man just not stable enough to date to be fair but still is atttracted to men

Kalim: he's probably aroace or straight but either way knowing royals he probably already has a fiancé who he's like best friends with

Jamil: i hc jamil as transmasc and most people in nrc think he's either gay or aroace but no jamil in my hc is straight he's just a really big hater, he probably does get upset if people ask if he's gay (ace and floyd ask him on purpose to see him get upset)

Vil: i think vil is into girls i hv vil as just into women (also i don't mind any gender hcs for vil as to me vil is just vil and hcs are hcs for a reason as they aren't yk cannon and its just peoples opinions)

Epel: probably straight and was maybe once homophobic thinking it was cool, it was not, he's probably questioned once as well and theres a chance he'd get upset if you asked him a lot like questioning his sexuality.

Rook: he's attracted to beauty so just pan (despite most of them being men) so omni just prefers men

Idia: a bisexual mf who is the type so say he's never into men or just aroace. Idia and azul are like cut from the same cloth and both in denial about being into men, just idia's isn't over religious reasons

Malleus: pansexual he probably just looks more for a persons character as well as demi-sexual and demi-romantic he wants to make sure the person has a deep connection with him and fully understands him and that he understands them

Silver: pansexual i feel like he likes people more for how they treat him and others mainly animals rather than looks or gender, he's also demi-romantic and demi-sexual he needs that deep connection in order to yk fall in love really

Sebek: doesn't have time for relationships and is aroace in my hc

Lilia: Bisexual its cannon and i also don't think lilia cares about gender anymore at this rate so he could just be genderqueer in my book Neige: straight i think neige is straight as he does hint at it Che’nya: sapphic, gender non-conforming as i just think this fits but also i don't mind the nonbinary pansexual che'nya hc.

Najma: straight just barely into guys, like she doesn't have much attraction but theres still attraction to men Crowley: straight Trein: straight Sam: too busy on that grind Crewel: gay, or he's like that one sciene teacher who acts hella gay and then one day drops that "oh my wife" bomb or the "oh my daughter/son" bombshell and it shocks the entire class. Vargas: bisexual i have no idea just the vibe Rollo: disaster bisexual catholic guilt Fellow: aroace just swindles rich women/ straight Skully: Queer or just Gay extra: my oc: she's probably just straight or is omni Pretty much these are all my hcs but as i said sometimes i do say stuff that can go against my hcs but honestly that very rare but overall i follow these hcs for my content or like my hcs and posts 90% of the time but there could be a day where i kinda post stuff that doesn't follow these usually but overall these are what i hc but i don't mind other peoples hcs i just personally like these!!, i hope you liked this post and i hope it was satisfactory enough of an answer!!! i hope you all have a nice day!

[sooniebby]

FOR REAL LIKE . for example, i get having a teeny pain kink or liking being degraded or whatever, or even having a blood fetish even tho that confuses me personally but i mean i like being degraded UNDER MODERATION!! certain kinks that branch off of degradation, um. slut shaming, just to name names i guess... its um.

very...

easy.

to take that too far.

and then when its taken too far it gets into some of the stuff booktok girls like to read and i mean some of those books are pretty drool worthy but some of them are just traumatizing and/or making existing trauma worse than it already was. esp with me, bc i was heavily slut shamed in middle school by a guy that i really liked, and it really truly did traumatize me very heavily. i mean i can write it if someone requests it but if one does then bud ur fic is gonna take a few days to write, because i am a writer, and writers tend to be human beings. and human beings tend to have fragile feelings and fall onto a widely expanding spectrum of needs and methods for dealing with trauma.

and that leads me back to my point about the gojo stans. one: yes, poor normal gojo stans (even tho that species really never prospered much and theres not a lot of them left).

and for the other gojo stans-

i personally was being a little extreme, i might write for gojo, but gojo fics will be few and far between because one, physical attractiveness-wise, he just doesnt do it for me besides the eyes and white hair. and hes tall but thats it bc personality and mindset heavily affect physical attractiveness in my eyes.

and i personally cannot stand him because of that and a variety of other reasons, including that

hes annoying, cocky, and i agree with akutami in that he has absolutely no personality aside from his trauma, which yes is valid literally he lost his best friend to the dark side, but he doesnt deal with it well.

or at all honestly.

thank you for coming to my ted talk and im solly it was so long.

Lolol, I love Ted talks

Anyway, I understand what you’re saying. A lot of requests I get really makes me uncomfortable lmao.

Like, I actually kinda hate degradation as a kink, but I still write it cuz it’s nothing terrible. I can handle it

There has only been once that I got a kink that I just had to refuse, it was baby trapping (apparently that’s a kink 😒) I just can’t do that, I feel like there’s stuff that needs to have limits

I don’t call for people who write weird shit to be in jail or something… but in my opinion, you gotta be able to handle the judgement you get from people if you tell them. Cuz somethings are weird and gross and it’s really a wonder why you like that even if it’s just “fiction” lol

Also yeah.. gojo doesnt doesn’t do much for me tbh. I prefer reading him getting his cheeks clapped by Geto. My main man is Choso 🫶🏼😼 he beautiful or whatever

[roseworth]

Tried to follow only to discover I already am. Good job, past me. Thoughts on the changes made to Rose’s character with each reboot?

YES i have so many thoughts

first of all. the new 52 was the worst thing to ever happen to rose and im not exaggerating even a little. she started out as a superboy side character (???) as an assassin that was hired to kill him if he didnt do what they wanted ? then she became a ravager and hunted people down

but the WORST part of the new52 is that they either didnt know or didnt care about lillian worth and they just. made rose one of slade and adeline's kids. and had him raise her.

also she was the oldest child of her and joey, which is nowhere near the same level of awful as the whitewashing but still makes me uncomfortable

yeah so. new 52 was fucking terrible. that is not rose even a little i do not know this woman

but REBIRTH fixed so much <3 christopher priest my bff <3 i am once again recommending deathstroke 2016 bc it has so many good moments and i think its worth reading

the first time rose showed up lillian worth was mentioned!!!!! she was there!!!!! <33333 the timeline was changed a little but i can forgive that bc!!! LILI!!!!!

the problem is that the book made her hmong instead of cambodian and i dont really know why??? but also ive said it before but,,, as much as it makes me upset bc asian identities shouldnt just be interchangeable,,,, this was the first time it was even mentioned that she was half asian since the 90s!!!! and she had a whole arc about her hmong heritage and her family!!!!!!

AND she didnt kill anyone in that book iirc :') the closest she got to killing someone was when she was in the middle of a breakdown then shado killing him for her instead which!!!! i love so so much bc rose does not kill a lot despite what some writers want you to believe. pre52 she has like maybe 3 murders that i would consider in character so the fact that she doesnt kill anyone in ds2016 is so fucking real

anyways ill also count infinite frontier as a reboot bc i love to talk about my opinions

there werent a lot of clear changes in infinite frontier BUT. technically her cutting her eye out is canon rn. in deathstroke inc theres a flashback of her stabbing her eye, and also in dark knights death metal (?) shes drawn with an eyepatch

then she was in robin 2021 which was . eh. it wasnt BAD for her but it was just kinda her continuing to kill ppl ig :( but she was drawn so nice in that book so ill forgive it

side note i still hate the idea of respawn so that bothered me in this book. also what they did to connor hawke is unforgivable so its a net loss but whatever

anyways i think thats all my thoughts. in conclusion: new52 bad. rebirth mostly good. infinite frontier eh. and my own personal interpretation is perfect always.

[marisoft-paint-adventures]

Pgs. 385 - 445

TG: skepticism is the crutch of cinematic troglodytes TG: like hey mom dad theres a dinosaur or a ghost or whatever in my room. "yeah right junior go back to bed" TG: fuck you mom and dad how many times are we going to watch this trope unfold it wasnt goddamn funny the first time i saw it TG: just once id like to see dad crap his pants when a kid says theres a vampire in his closet TG: "OH SHIT EVERYONE IN THE MINIVAN" TG: be fuckin dad of the year right there

so fucking true Dave, keep spitting.

EB: that's fine, you are entitled to your opinion, i am just saying that being a white guy who is a rapper with a ventriloquist doll is not cool by any stretch of the imagination or by any definition of word cool, ironic or otherwise. that's all i'm saying.

ULTIMATE WHITE BOY BRO STRIDER.

oh hey it’s the page I used to showcase Hussie’s affinity for slurs.

uh

still bad.

me when I fucking sTAB MY MOTHER.

I’m having rough flashbacks to HS^2 and I don’t like it.

also I just gotta say that Mom is the coolest looking person in this entire comic I mean just look at this fucking POSE.

it just screams “hello daughter you are going to get fuckin served.”

yes. the pony. beloved Maplehoof.

I’ve always seen this idea that the process of creating Earth, and by extension Universe B, involved taking the attributes and interests of the 12 trolls and morphing them into brand new instances and ideas, like how Gamzee’s Juggalo religion manifested as ICP on Earth.

I like to think that the entirety of the For Assholes book series exists through a recycling of Karkat’s personality.

also that fucking Asshole Note is comedy gold.

aw yeah time to fucking beat the shit out of an imp let’s

shit.

W magnet.

alright for real this time let’s kick the shit out of this imp.

goddammit.

also another White John can be found in this flash, collect all 7 to turn Super White.

also the Egbert Centipede I guess.

Tip: I am so fucking mad.

OK 1 MORE TIME.

he did it. he destroyed the fucker. John man.

YES.

DO THE THING.

YEEEAAAAAAH.

yeah.

fuck you cat I am about to revive.

IT’S HER, CLOWN GRANDMA.

HI NANNA.

TG: i mean dont get me wrong i think its cool and all TG: the semi-ironic puppet thing or whatever TG: or semi-semi ironic TG: man i dont even know TG: im just starting to think some of this shit is going a little far and its kind of fucked up TT: I've seen his websites. TT: I like them.

what did she mean by this.

what did she mean by this?

what did she mean by this?!

TG: oh man i wish lil cal wouldnt look at me like that TG: with those dead eyes jesus TG: sometimes i dream that hes real and hes talking to me and i wake up in a cold sweat and basically flip the fuck out

not saying it.

Page 422, titled “[S] GO ON. ==>” completely underrated flash, just listen to this fuckin song.

it captures the feeling of a big expository RPG cutscene so damn well I love it, it’s like I’m a kid again.

this is also just one of my favorite Sburb mechanics, I love the concept of basically deciding the abilities and aesthetics of the NPCs via prototyping, it’s such a cool little thing and opens up a lot of possibility for any fan-sessions.

JOHN: ok, i think i get it now! JOHN: so i guess the battle against good and evil is sort of irrelevant? well, i don't know, that all sounds kind of weird, but in any case, we build the house to get to these gates, and then i can save my dad! NANNASPRITE: Yes, John! JOHN: and then after that, we solve this ultimate riddle thing and save earth from destruction!!! NANNASPRITE: Oh no, I'm afraid not!

NANNASPRITE: Your planet is done for, dear! There is nothing you can do about that! JOHN: oh...

I fucking love this sequence because John activates the Cheery Protagonist Mode ready to assemble a team of teens with attitude in order to save the world from Dark Chess and whatever only to hear that the entire world will end and his response is just “aw..... :(”

I went on this entire shpeel about the potential of writing an isolationist John based off of willy nilly prose narration at the beginning but MAN do the early versions of the kids not give a SHIT about what’s going on.

“John Egbert, the Earth is doomed, it is going to explode, all life will die, you and your friends will be the last living things remaining.”

“:(”

AND THEN HE JUST MOVES ON.

this is a very weird moment that sticks out when looking at the comic as a whole because the weight of literally all life dying at once is nonexistent, but at the same time, this is fucking hilarious.

it makes think about a lot of rewrites I’ve seen where they try, emphasis on try, to give the fact that world ends more emotional relevance, and they basically kinda force this by introducing random background characters who are obviously going to die immediately.

like “oh hi my name is Huma Nfriend I’ve been besties with John Egbert since childhood we’re very close and cool and we’re gonna play a game called Sburb!!!” and then they just

I understand y’all want to make the characters actually feel something in regards to the entire home blowing the fuck up but there’s gotta be better ways than inventing some characters just to fridge.

also John does this.

uh, yeah. I don’t know.

he’s having a moment.

just give him some space.

ok now that’s just rude.

god Rose’s house during the winter is so pretty.

holy shit a Jade and Rose conversation, I hope we get plenty of these! (we do not.)

Jade knows about Sburb??? and it could bring Jaspers back to life???? what could it me- ok this joke already fucking sucks.

ah yeah it’s time to beat the shit out of the local whiteboy.

this shit is so fucking cool oh my god.

also there are literally meteors falling as Dave looks out and I guess he does give a shit.

[darlingkirstein]

jean or mikasa 🫶

i'll do jean since he's one of my favs (love mikasa too ofc but it's probably fairly obvious from my username which one i gravitate to more LOL). can happily do mikasa too if someone wishes <3

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

i like how realistic he is!!! 🫶 like he's very relatable for me personally which sometimes is a good thing and other times is bad. i have always enjoyed that he's supposed to represent the everyman and doesn't have special abilities or anything but still excels anyways!! and it's such an obvious answer but his development 🩷

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

i love how he acts selfish and like he doesn't care about anything but actually really cares about great deal 😿😿 it's so endearing to me ugh

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

i guess when he yelled at his mom LMAO but also he was 15 and i was an awful teenager so that would be hypocritical. idk jean is so dear to me im not really sure if theres anything i dislike???

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

my first instinct was resident evil simply because it would be kinda funny but in actuality he deserves a nice calm rom-com movie 🧸

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

gonna go with please, please, please, let me get what i want by the smiths simply because i imagine it for him just wanting to live a simple life amongst all this hardship 😿

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

man where do we begin LMAO. there's a reason i had this man on my kin list back in the day 😭 the blunt honesty, being doubtful of situations, easily frustrated/overwhelmed, acting like im apathetic about everything but deeply caring too much 💔

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

making him a shipping bicycle

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I generally HATEEEE indulging in discourse but i hate how people sometimes reduce him to a teenage crush and ignoring everything else about his character and villainizing him like he's super evil 😭😭 he's a really great character with wonderful development and i wish that could be focused on a little more. BUT i also dislike some of his stans and the way they conduct themselves with people that don't like him. feel very much like That one girl from mean girls 🇨🇭🇨🇭 feel like the discourse kinda clouds a lovely character:((

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

yes maybe he could cook me dinner and cure my picky eating. idk i feel like he's a good cook. we could watch movies together. i feel like he'd make a really good roommate.. keeps his spaces clean and is pretty respectful and such 🫡

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

i think so definitely!!! we'd probably annoy each other sometimes but we'd get along well. maybe we're too similar sometimes?? feel like we'd get into silly arguments over differing opinions on a show we were watching LMAO and we both end up pouting but forgive the other eventually... even tho it takes a while since we're both stubborn

11. Would you date this character?

in a heartbeat LMAO

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

bisexual (this one is pretty universal) 🏳️‍🌈. but i also imagine him to be a very good cook, as i said earlier... idk i find that so sweet like he isn't always the best with words so if you're upset he tries to make you feel better by cooking/baking 😿

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

obsessed with the idea of him responding to any text from sasha or whoever asking him to do something with the 🫡 emoji idk it's funny LMAO

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

i wish i knew anything about fashion unfortunately i wear the same three sweatshirts every day of my life so im not qualified

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

anyone who knows me well is familiar with my not-so-guilty affinity for erejean UGHHHH i adore them they might be my favorite aot ship. definitely top three at least i love them sm. but ofc naturally i love jeanpiku a lot for post-canon i think they would be so great together 😿 they're so very fun to write too like aw so lovely

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

jean/annie irks me badly for irrational personal reasons. like seeing it annoys me horrendously and puts me in a bad mood im sorry to its 10 shippers but i cannot do it 😞

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

jeanhitch/dreystein. it's just Fine. like i dont hate it but i dont personally like it either. but shipping it doesn't annoy me or anything. i just prefer them as unlikely best friends who talk mad shit. i tend to like most jean ships he's very shippable. jeanmarco used to be my main ship LOL

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

obviously sasha and connie 😿 like my silly little trio they're so fun they deserved happiness. jean and connie as the fun uncles to niccosasha children idk i can yearn a little 💔

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

i cant really think of any??? idk i think his dynamic with the others is pretty good all around

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

he already has his ideal best friends but ofc Sasha died LMAO. this is silly since he's older but idk I kinda like to imagine him and onyankopon being absolute pals especially post-canon after all the fighting. i just want onyankapon to have nothing but happiness and companionship 😿😿

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

making him submissive in bed 👍👍

but in all serious i like making him kinda snarky and super stubborn LOL. my silly boy im always putting him into mildly embarrassing circumstances bc it's funny to me

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

don't really read enough fics to qualify!

23. Favorite picture of this character?

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

this probably doesn't match very well but just because i ALSO adore him im gonna say leon kennedy (specifically re4 version because re2 is a little too idealistic for jean). just hardened from the experiences and snarky/jokey but still willing to go the distance to help people. i find leon's attitude and subsequent personality change following the rc incident comparable to jean's shift following marco's death. also him in infinite darkness just bears a strong resemblance so the comparison is low hanging fruit there LMAO

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

can't fully remember but i remember finding him kinda embarrassing but in an endearing way LMAO like that's my favorite boyfailure truly. and now ofc i adore him he's fighting with erwin for the spot of my favorite aot character

[melis-writes]

i need your cognizance … im kind of new to the al pacino fandom and ive binged watched his filmography in over 3 days and i LOOOOVED EVERYTHINGGGG but mostly just staring at his gorgeous faaaace (im rolling my eyes and biting my fist as i type this)😮‍💨🥵😩 but im rlly having trouble finding my footing with the elephant in the room … and that is him having a baby at his present age and dating a woman 50+ yrs his junior… like im in too deep now, i just watched his nypd episode and that’s how far ive already went😭(not complaining👀) but im also at this stage where idk what or how to feel about him doing that. obviously ive acquired an above-average-more-than-wikipedia knowledge about him (i like him a normal amount, trust me) and i won’t willfully overlook the fact that he’s kind of a womanizer and one that is commitment-phobe, so i guess him having new girlfriends isn’t out of the blue but to date someone THAT young? like that could be ur daughter😭 in fact his eldest daughter is a few yrs older than his current gf

anyway what im rlly trying to say is, i need u to weigh in on this and pls tell me ur opinion. ive read ur impressive work and it encouraged and inspired me to read the godfather as a book, and not just settle on watching it. and with that in mind i thought u were the right person to provide insight on this. as u can see i love al so much, im actually thinking of making myself a bday cake with his picture on it, similar to a pic i reblogged a few days ago, but im soooo conflicted on this. like i truly am. i know it’s bad to have parasocial relationships w celebrities (especially younger versions of themselves OMG) (but im rlly not i just love him sm and admire him) but im at this phase where im afraid that finding out more of his humanly desires would disappoint me? and yes ppl might say i shld avoid putting celebrities on a pedestal bc they rlly dont give a fuck abt who u are😵‍💫 and i would definitely love to be one of those ppl that could simultaneously admire a person for their achievements and recognize their kind behavior but also acknowledge their wrongdoings … but if i do that isn’t it kind of telling on my end, of my behavior and shaky moral compass😫? or, now that im in too deep, maybe im just trying to maintain this idealized version of him in my head and this is simply a reality i refuse to accept😭? bc honestly when the news broke out a lot of ppl were divided, with most responses pandering to eerie and just odd reactions, but a small minority claims a different take, along the lines of ‘if two consenting adults wanna make a family then why not’ and this rlly bugs me bc ??? apart from it being an awfully lazy analysis there’s just SOO much to unpack about this situation. like theres just way too many layers and there’s nuances too. one of the replies actually said men at the age of 60 should already be neutered to prevent from procreating ever again and why i kinda agree to it ?? 😶 like im so conflicted … like i rlly am … this is eating me out and consuming me i honestly dont know what to do.

anyway IM SO SORRY FOR THE RAMBLING AND FOR HOW LONG THIS WAS … im sorry for the overcomplication … pls take ur time in answering this im rlly sorry id rlly appreciate ur stance on this … I LOVE UR WORK SO MUCH IT KEEPS ME SANE. especially with the gifs🥰🥰🥰🥰 bc of u i still get to fuel my indulgences. THANK YOU

Ah my dear, welcome to the Pacino fandom, first of all. 🤣❤️ We Pacino girlies welcome you with open arms here lmao I know exactly how that intense ass Pacino brainrot can hit and how hard too. 🥵

You're right first of all about the fact that there's a lot to unpack beyond the "it's two consenting adults in a relationship" piece but here's the thing, it's not meant for us to unpack. At the end of the day, all we can do is hear news, gossip and read articles about Al's relationship and this and that but we don't know how much of it is actually true and what's really going on, and we can't know. It really has nothing to do with any of us, and those two don't care what the public think either. It's Al and his gf's private life and judging on how shit broke out, they seem to have a lot more to worry about on their plate than anyone else's reactions.

Al is basically a womanizer from what I've read lmao. He always really has been and I know things obviously changed when he got older but an early article that came out saying Al and his gf are dating mentioned the age gap doesn't bother either of them and his gf has dated men around the same age and even older than Al. This is their personal and private life, after all. Men can have children at a very old age, this is just how science works lmao although it can be baffling at 80+, it's still a thing. From what the gossip online says, it looks like this was an unplanned thing and Al isn't doing so good. He doesn't seem to be jumping over the moon about everything from what I read either. I think this is hard for him, tbh.

And some people may think it's weird someone as old as Al is still having sex but given his track record, I'm not surprised at all lmao. To avoid disappointment from celebrity parasocial relationships and putting them on pedestals, you need to come to an understanding that you're also recognizing and putting up (in a way) their flaws on that pedestal too. Al is not a perfect human being, nobody is, but he isn't out here trying to be perfect or live up to anyone else's definitions either nor should he.

I love that you admire and love Al like the rest of us, but you also need to come to an understanding about the things he's done or said or whatnot that you don't agree with or necessarily like. He's just a human being at the end of the day, it's so complex. Don't think too hard on it, because everyone has their flaws and mistakes and as we recognize this, we can still love them for the great things they do. That's really the only thing you need to do.

I think the fandom as a whole looked way too far into this man's personal life. It does not effect us whatsoever and it's honestly none of our business. Al doesn't owe us anything and he's not trying to be a role model to us; we shouldn't be this held up about his personal life. I know it can be hard not to care, but sometimes all you need to do is acknowledge it, accept it, and move on.

I would also recommend reading the biography "A Life on The Wire" by Andrew Yule. It has a lot about Al's life from early days, to romance, to his personality and everything inbetween. It's seriously extremely detailed and gives you a whole new insight on just who that man is!

Feel however your heart wants to feel. You don't have to get held up in Al's personal life like others or form a strong opinion just because someone else has. Something like this doesn't need to stop you from admiring what a phenomenal actor Al is and how he's a fine ass man too. 😭

[darkcrowprincess]

Every time I see someone dissing on Colleen Hoover I want to roll my eyes. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. And I am most certainly bias because I genuinely like her books so far. But I wouldn't be so annoyed if they complained about her writing choices. And her flaws in her writing. Constructive criticism you know.

But no they complain about how she writers her characters. How 'toxic' their actions are. How 'toxic' the romance is. How toxic the plot is. Especially when it has dark twists. How you shouldn't write books like that because they're are "problematic". How you shouldn't like the characters because they're "problematic". How you shouldn't keep the dark twists secret because they can be triggering. That last bit I get, you shouldn't false advertise because people do have actual triggers to these things. But at the same time, it is not the job of the author to put a warning label on their book. Especially if it gives away a good twist that makes the book worth reading. Also its not the job of the writer to be your guide in morality, or write books with characters that can be good role models. The point in fiction, especially fiction by Colleen Hoover is to entertain. Thats it. If the characters are doing messed up things or have messed up romances, it's fine because its fiction. And if reading this piece of fiction messes up your morality and screws your sense of what is right and wrong, than dont read it! But dont judge other people who can tell the difference between reality and fiction and still enjoy it. If Colleen Hoover is this popular than theres probably a genuine reason in her books that resonates with a lot of people. I personally found it(though what do I know? I can't genuinely speak for everyone, and again I'm bias because I like her books). Her books are fun good reads. Easy good reads. A person like me who has adhd, who can't always keep her attention while reading difficult long books. Love these kind of books. So yes I love Colleen Hoover books, and I think its pretty shitty to shame someone about that. Especially when you have personally never read any of her books.

(Don't like don't read. Post hate and I'll block you)

[aesteasis]

do you have any brazilian literature recommendations :))?

ooohohoho yes i do, im glad you asked >:)) grab some snackies and a water bottle, this is gonna be a long post.

most of what i've read from brazilian literature are classics and like books that are at least decades old lol (uni life go brr), so my recommendations will probably rotate around that. so lets go!

first of all, of course, i recommend Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis (black author btw!), it wouldnt be a br lit rec if i didnt mention this one at some point. this is like the ultimate classic i'd say, but im not recommending just for that. i REALLY enjoy unreliable narrators and this book is all about it. its a novel about a guy who marries his childhood love, but suspects she's cheating on him, but yk, he's a white man from the 19th century, he thinks he's always right and is privileged af and it shows in the way he tells his story, so his opinions arent that trustworthy. and the author knew very much what he was doing, and he did it on purpose.

still about Machado, i must mention his short stories. i really really enjoy grotesque and gothic literature (think the vibes of poe, lovecraft, gogol, dostoevsky, etc) and Machado nails at it. he's also translated poe's works to portuguese back in the day, so we know for certain there's some influences in there. well, i recommend Machado in genereal, my guy really knew how to criticize society with some great witty and sarcastic comments if you know where to look.

if you want more grotesque but is tired of reading stuff written by men, i recommend Julia Lopes de Almeida (who isnt as known as she should be, she was done dirty and purposefully neglected by ABL - brazilian literary non-profit society) and Lygia Fagundes Telles. both of them have some reeeal creepy stories, just the way i like it.

now, if you're into authors who dissect the human mind and master the stream of consciousness and love to relate to the thoughts of the characters of your books, i highly recommend Clarice Linspector. no one does it like her, my girl knows how to transform thoughts into a narrative and its insane, her books are really endearing to read imo.

but if you want something that will thresh the brazilian society (or well, any third world country's society i'd say) and expose every flaw about the system, racism, misogyny, colonialism and class conflict, i recommend specifically the books Vidas Secas, by Graciliano Ramos (idk if theres a translation, but the title says Dry Lives), The Slum, by Aluísio Azevedo, and The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, by Guimarães Rosa (this one is sooo hard to read in portuguese bc it uses a lot of regionalisms from a region im not from, so hard that i actually got a copy in english to read for my finals lmao. but worry not, the english translation is much easier to understand. it also has some queer themes, both gender and sexuality wise, and its a literal masterpiece).

for poetry, i highly recommend Augusto dos Anjos, a personal favourite. im not that into poetry, but Carlos Drummond de Andrade and Cecilia Meireles are very good too.

there's so much more i could recommend, but these are the ones that come to my mind rn. idk if thats what you were thinking about, and sorry i coulnt bring anything contemporary, if thats more your vibes, but i really recommend all of these, for anyone, they're really enriching to read.

[aegori]

MY OPINIONS ON MUTANT MAYHEM (spoilers)

remember this is all just MY OPINION. whether you loved the movie or hated it, great, just as long as you give it a chance then whatever you feel about the movie is valid.

(yes i do have a rottmnt pfp but rottmnt is not my first or favorite tmnt, and even tho i am salty that rottmnt is paused ik that mutant mayhem is not the reason why rottmnt got paused in 2020. anything negative i have to say abt mutant mayhem has nothing to do with rottmnt. also this is not the only tmnt i have negative opinions on so please dont think im trying to single this movie out)

the good

the soundtrack, animation, action and character design was amazing.

 i loved the dynamic between the turtles and splinter, they really felt like a family. 

there were moments that were funny. i tally marked the moments i thought were funny and got 12 tallies.

 i enjoy superfly as a villain. the voice acting for superfly was great, the movie really started to improve for me when he was introduced. 

the bad

pop culture references. too many of them. i couldnt help but roll my eyes by the 5th celebrity name drop. i actually tally marked how many pop culture references there were, i mightve missed a few, but there were at least 7 celebrities mentioned and at least 8 pop culture references. it was a bit ridiculous. 

a lot of uncomfortable jokes. things like them speculating what splinters rectum might smell like, talking about being milked and having nipples, the puking, when splinter kissed the roach woman.... yea moments like that that made me wince in the movie theater and while watching at home. i also tally marked this, i was made uncomfortable about 17 times watching this movie. 

the bayverse movies get criticized for having a shitty method of them learning ninjutsu, but i thought mutant mayhem was worse. they learned ninjutsu through youtube videos? i mean maybe its not impossible but it seems a little more silly to me than learning through a book.

the turtles, while yes they do have different personalities, i felt like they were the most similar in this movie, personality wise. it often felt like they were merging into one character, with them constantly talking at the same time, and none of them having much time alone on screen. i had a hard time deciding which turtle i liked the best in the movie, because well they just seemed so similar to each other. 

i have mixed feelings on april. i actually really liked her design. i guess my problem comes from her seeming distant, as ive seen another say. also i hated the puke jokes.

im not sure why, but i felt bored for the majority of the movie. it wasnt until superfly was introduced 45 minutes into the movie where things started to pick up. but i think im in the minority here, as ive only seen one other person say they were bored by the movie. 

the mutants besides superfly were very forgettable. i dont remember any of the new mutants names even after watching for a second time. ofc i do remember bebop and rocksteady, leatherhead, mondo gecko.... but they arent new characters. i also dont like how all the mutants besides superfly are now allies with the turtles. 

i dont like how they are not secret and they start going to high school. i guess theres nothing wrong with it, i just prefer when the turtles are secret. 

ik this seems quite negative, its just easier for me to talk about things i dont like vs the things i do like. 

i thought the movie was decent, i give it a 6/10

i get that a lot of people are protective of this movie, and i understand why. i think that as long as you give it a chance, any opinion you have of it is valid

[slowdripsunrise]

ok here we go again spoilers under the cut

starting off with a banger i read The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. holy shit it was awesome. audiobook 10/10 narrator did a phenomenal job. there were some characters that confused me, where there were a couple names for the same person and i thought they were different people, and the opposite maybe im still not quite sure.... mainly with the queen of yscalin i believe? again not 100% sure but it didn't take away from the story at all. i did really like most if not all of the characters, they were all well fleshed out in my opinion. super interested in the prequel, my favorite thing ever ever ever in stories is like. well theres the story but what happened before years ago or even centuries ago is still there. she's haunting the narrative. she's present in every timeline there was no other ending to this story etc. etc. loved it excited to get my hands on the other one and maybe also try some of shannons other books? i heard about another series but it looked a lil confusing to get into but either way i will read it. trust

after that i read Yellowface by R. F. Kuang ! not my favorite of hers bc i am more of a fantasy/sci fi/historical fiction girlie rather than lit fic but there were parts of this that did make me laugh ! its been a while but i do remember the part where the mc talks about liking eminem or something in the beginning and thinking ok yeah she's got the character down good. like yeah. anyways i do see how it's a bit on the nose and some of it seems a little out there and cartoonishly evil. and i can definitely see how a lot of the characters mirror real life people, mainly athena/rebecca. and how a lot of the criticisms towards athena are criticisms r.f. kuang has gotten/gets in the past and does she kinda just write them off as haterisms. yeah. like thats a little funny sure queen. and while yes i dooooo think that its a bit over the top some times..... having seen all of the asian phishing and race faking and pretending to be someone ur not on twitter to get published irl these past few MOnths. like in 2024 ONLY. i do think Sometimes the obviousness is necessary !. like some of you bitches did NAWT get the message. anyways the book was pretty good not my personal favorite as its just not the type of story i typically read but i will continue to read Kuang's work ! it was fun it was silly i got to laugh at a racist white woman.... and i do think it was nice how a tiny little bit of sympathy would come up for the mc in the book and then just immediately be squandered by the next stupid thing she did like it was funny. like damn okay you watched a sorta friend acquaintance die thats traumatic. oh well you stole her entire manuscript okay nevermind. oh something bad happened to you in the past that sucks for you /gen sorry. oh okay no ur using it to fuel ur racist ideas and beliefs and how nothing is actually ur fault okay man yeah i dont feel bad anymore. like it was just kinda funny how every little chance she got to do better she absolutely squashed it. astronomically. and okay last thing i think but i do like in the acknowledgements Kuang said that a lot of this book is a horror story about loneliness in an isolating industry. and thats not a direct quote but i think its the jist and yeah like. so many problems the mc had could have been solved by having real friends that cared about her and her writing and supported her when she needed it, so she didn't go and blame every other person (and minority) in her vicinity on her problems. and people to hold her accountable when she did wrong. all of the people around her were basically just yes men (when she was making them money) and so nobody checked her when she was being a fucking idiot and a racist. so like. yeah i do see how it's a horror story about loneliness, and i like that outlook on the story. it is also primarily a silly ass look into a racist white woman's brain. like okay i can see how you got to this conclusion, if everything else you have ever thought and known and been taught was wrong. like its yeah a little funny. okay i need to stop on this one i am just saying words at this point like it does need to stop. recommend as a quick read if you wanna see how a lot of racist people in the publishing industry operate. (side note that part was interesting reading about the publishing industry like taking away the racism from the mc it was interesting to see the other characters and how they operate) okay done.

NEXT i read Ghost Music by An Yu. interesting, the mushrooms were throwing me a bit and like. i do see how there is a connection between the mushrooms and the mother and her hometown and her son but its been a bit long since i read this so i do not know what the connection is yet. and what exactly this connection is trying to say. i think if i reread it i would understand more but i'm not much of a rereader and i don't think im interested enough in this book to try. dont get me wrong it was good !! i just wasn't in the correct headspace to really take it all in when i read it. the story was fun, i liked most of the characters. tbh it is very short so i feel like i didn't sit with it long enough. i also dont understand the talking mushroom. but like the vibes were there.

ALMOST THERE !!!!! i read ough okay A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal ! so. i liked it thats for sure. the characters were fun and cute i particularly liked the relationship between Jin and Flick...... they were cute. i do think as i've grown out of YA and into adult books, my standards for YA have gotten lower and lower lol. like i have high standards for my adult novels because thats what i primarily read now, but going into YA i'm looking for maybe a more specific type of vibe and less like. i don't need the highest quality ever bc i have high quality in adult books now. if you get what i mean? so like no i don't think this was Faizal's best work we hunt the flame you will always be that girl to me. BUT. i read this for the vibes and the tea and the heist and not much else. my expectations were low -that the other thing i think a lot of people came into this book with super high expectations- and i had a really good time ! i am definitely interested in the sequel- i think a lot actually maybe not a lot but some of the moments in the book were specifically written to idk maybe go viral ? like some of the dialogue and scenes i could just tell some editor or publisher really wanted to highlight it. did i see a lot of the plot twists coming. yeah. did that make it less interesting....... not really? Could it have been better. yes absolutely i think theres always room for improvement especially in YA when a lot of things are more cookie cutter. BUT. this was still fun. and i liked how the worlds are connected, arawiya is present ! although. okay. am i stupid because Laith was making references to shit i feel like i should remember but i don't.... like yes arawiya was freed by the king yes i know vaguely.... but yeah. idk. I WILL READ THE SECOND ONE !!!!!! love how this post is just me trying to remind myself to read more books lol.

NEXT i read The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. fun book ! not much to say about it tbh i did like the vibes, don't remember the ending at all so overall i don't think this one like. really made me think or emote or whatever. i do think that the dual kinda. stories were cool i liked reading both, which is rare for me usually theres one that i like a lot more than the other. the world was cool. i had fun. i would recommend as a shorter little fantasy book....

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse... meh. I kinda went into this knowing absolutely nothing I SEE THE VISION. god i see the vision so hard but i really think Roanhorse shines when she has a larger page number and more room to really flesh out her ideas. like because the vibe was there, it wasn't like. Present but i could get just a little taste of it and god it would have gone so hard as a fully fledged story i feel like. this one, tho, fell way flat. i did NAWT care about any of the characters at all. like the mc and her sister. were just both not great people and like neither were the rest of them and i think that was the point but like even when characters are bad you kinda wanna have to root for them at some point. and i just did not at all. Sad !. well theres other stories.

okay. last one. i finally did it after so many people raving about it and one of my friends basically forcing it on me. i read The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemison. and well like i get it. LIKE OKAYYYY I FUCKING GET IT THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME. apparently the author is on tumblr and does look for fanart so like if u see this hai :3. really really fucking good. it took me one or two tries to get into it, first with just the book, second with just the audiobook, and once i had time to sit down and read them together it was like. just flew by. i tried to pace myself but hooo boy. did i see it coming how all the characters were actually one character yes. because well i had heard how everything was connected before and well the dots came together pretty quickly. did not take away from the story at all though! if anything it made me want to read more to see when and how it all came together !! 1000000000% recommend to anyone who likes fantasy (look up trigger warnings!). the characters OUGH. the worldbuilding OUGH. that last line like OUGH. the little interludes like explaining some stuff about the world OUGH. like okay when it was talking about how yknow. how will people know whats missing when they've never had it before? like they have the stars the planets the sun and i was like well Moon? any Moons queen? and then forgot about it until the very end like OKAY YEAH THE MOON. having a moon well it does control tides and things like that. so it being missing could have a large affect on the seasons. and well yeah. also. dude the whole premise of like having to go on what u think is a stupid ass assignment with some guy you don't like but are contractually obligated to have sex with. well its fucked up first of all. but also just a little bit funny like. the mc will just be describing her day and then just "yeah and when we set up camp for the night me and this stupid ass man i hate had sex it was really bad and then we went to bed" its just a little funny like man. yeah. the polyamory was cute !!!!!!! those little moments of bliss and then it switches to a different pov and ur like god how did it go so wrong. damn. okay last thing because well this is getting long. but god there was a post i think i reblogged it but comparing two passages, one of Alabaster saying he would destroy the world for his little family, and the other from the very beginning of the story where he breaks the world and that just. is so. OUGH TO ME LIKE FAWWWWK this book is kindof making me insane and also to that point of the part in the beginning where Alabaster is breaking The Stillness well that part in the audiobook. god the narrator did such a good job that will stick in my mind forever i think. just they way they said it OUGH. fucked me up. anyways thats all if u read all this good job happy reading.

[ts-witchy-archive]

Hi! 

I stumbled across your blog and I love it :)

So I don’t really know who to talk to you about this or how, but I have very vivid dreams every single night—

I can hear myself talk in them, I can make decisions in my dreams. It’s very much like reality.

My intuition is always very strong as well in the real world; I’ve been told that my gateway and my power, but I have trouble with knowing where to go with it. Knowing that dreaming and my intuition are two of my strongest qualities!

Any tips or ideas on how to blossom further? Or if these qualities are just considered normal?

Hi Anon!

Thank you so much for your ask and I'm so happy to hear you like my blog. It means the world, really!

I'm going to be completely honest, I'm probably the last person who you should ask about dreams because I don't actually remember my dream. I could list on 2 hand the amount of times I've remembered my dreams across my whole life. HOWEVER, I have researched it out of curiosity and listened to people talk about their experiences. Also, I have a pretty decent intuition.

Firstly, I wouldn't consider these qualities normal. Yes, everyone dreams (like 5-10 times per night) but not everyone has vivid ones that they remember. and yes, everyone has an intuition but not everyone is in tune with it. So, congrats! you've already done like, half the battle of figuring out how to connect with these.

As for taking these abilities a step further, I would honestly just recommend playing with them and trying to use them on a daily basis. After each vivid dream take note of what you see, write it down when you wake up then try to decipher the symbols without a guide book. Use your intuition to guess which song will play next on your playlist or who a text message is from before you check your phone. Psychic gifts are exactly the same as muscles, the more you use them the stronger they will get. Meditation is another great way to strengthen both of these.

If you want to go full hardcore psychic bootcamp, I would recommend Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn. It's a fantastic book with 93 exercises to strengthen and build your intuition. He explains everything better than I ever could.

You mentioned not knowing where to go with your intuition. I really want to emphasise playing with your abilities and having fun with them. Theres a lot of fear mongering in the witchcraft community of 'oh if you do this thing wrong slightly wrong your whole life will fall apart!' but that just simply isn't true. Have fun and see what peaks your interest. You're allowed to use your intuition and dreams for silly things. Play and enjoying yourself is a huge part of spirituality (in my opinion). Fly in your dreams, swim in a bath of money, become best friends with a talking bird! Who cares! Take bets with your friends on what the waitress's name is, play guess the number games, people watch and use your intuition to guess facts about them! It doesn't matter because ultimately, you're understanding yourself and your abilities better.

Finally, I just want to stress how important it is to be aware of your mental state. When dealing with very vivid dreams or a super strong intuition sometimes we can get intrusive thoughts or very vivid nightmares that we might confuse with our abilities. If you start to notice you're getting really anxious please talk to someone.

sorry this has been super long. I hope this help at least a little bit :)

[volixia669]

Vampire Chronicles Basics

Okay, with the new Interview with the Vampire show coming out, there’s probably going to be some folks who might be curious about the books and wondering why there’s so much disrespect towards the author. This probably isn’t the ONLY primer, but like, whatever.

Note: I never got around to reading all of her books, and some of this is drawing from memory though wikipedia is helpful.

Contextual History Lesson Time!

As a media criticism type person, I find it important to not examine media in a vacuum, and take into account what was happening at the time it was created.

The timing of the first three books is notable. Interview with a Vampire was released in 1976, The Vampire Lestat was released in 1985, and Queen of the Damned was released in 1988.

So we have one book with gay subtext released post free love movement but prior to gay folks becoming more known in society, then two more released during the aids crisis with the queer subtext/text still going strong. This? This is huge. Reportedly, there were people sending Anne Rice letters about how amazing it was to see themselves in the characters. Some these days might roll their eyes at how subtext might be revolutionary, but please understand. During the aids crisis, the queer community, particularly gay men, were being blamed and discriminated against to horrifying levels to the point gay men still can’t give blood.

So for a book series to have not only the metaphor of penetration and being an outbut but also have these characters seem very gay? It’s huge! It’s like a weight being lifted off, even just temporairly, while you go, “Someone sees me and my situation.”

The Vampire Lestat even had Lestat’s mother questioning her gender and deciding to dress and act more masculine. Sure, these days we’d call it “problematic” trans rep for many reasons, but back in 1985? Except for certain more indie films, trans people weren’t even talked about.

Which is a huge reason the series got big among the queer community, others caught wind, and eventually that movie with Brad Pitt was made.

And now we’re in the 90s with a few things happening. One of which being Anne Rice uh...Firing her editor? Not bothering with an editor? Whatever happened, the quality of writing goes downhill.

Additionally, Anne Rice was going through...a lot, and it shows in her writing. She started as one sect of Christianity, left it after a family member died, was athiest/agnostic for awhile, then went to a different sect of Christianity when another family member died, then eventually was in her own thing of believing in God & Jesus but not following any particular sect. Then she died.

This is relevant, as we see Lestat go from prissy rockstar to literally meeting Jesus. So. There’s that.

Another thing that happened in the 90s was the internet becoming bigger, resulting in things like forums, chatgroups, livejournal, and essentially online fandom. People in the Vampire Chronicles fandom began sharing their fanfiction.

Anne Rice hated that. It was her world, her property, her Gary-Stu, and therefore only she could write Vampire Chronicles. She began suing anyone who was writing fanfiction, yes, even the broke teenagers.

She wasn’t the only one doing this of course, but she was certainly adamant about it. Additionally, there’s an emotional element too. Because her work was one of the few popular media where queers could see themselves in, it was like a betrayal to have her say, “No, I hate anyone who loves this world so much they’d write fic.” (not a real quote btw just how it felt)

This is why many fanfic writers in the 2000s, early 2010s, and a few even today write disclaimers at the top of their fic. Because a “I do not own this property. This property belongs to blah blah blah” was one of the few defenses (however flimsy) fanfic writers had. It’s also why, as of the last time I checked ff.net, Anne Rice’s works are not allowed on that site.

That said, from this backlash against fandom, Archive of Our Own and its lawyers were born. The volunteers of OT3 are why y’all will be able to write Lestat fucking Louis into next week and post it there without worrying about Anne Rice’s estate hounding you.

The Books Themselves

So! With that lengthy history done, what about the books? To start off with, while the movie, and this new show are called “Interview with the Vampire”, that’s just the first book. The series as a whole are The Vampire Chronicles.

So we’ve got:

Interview with the Vampire (1976)

The Vampire Lestat (1985)

The Queen of the Damned (1988)

The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)

Memnoch the Devil (1995, the one where Lestat meets Jesus, a lot of people hate it, I think its hilarious with some interesting theological points)

New Tales of the Vampires-Pandora (1998, prequel about an older Roman vampire) New Tales of the Vampires-Vittorio the Vampire (1999, another prequel, about a 15th century Italian Nobleman vampire)

The Vampire Armand (1998, it’s Armand’s story and also I maintain the first 60 pages reads like an M-rated fanfic on ff.net, which is objectively hilarious imho)

Merrick (2000, crossover with another her series called the Mayfair Witches)

Blood and Gold (2001, now the ancient vampire Marius gets his own origin story.)

Blackwood Farm (2002, more Mayfair Witches crossover)

Blood Canticle (2003, EVEN MORE CROSSOVER also was originally gonna be a conclusion buuuuuuuuuuut)

Prince Lestat (2014, Lestat is back and is facing pressure to lead the vampires because I guess all the ones with enough of a brain cell to go that would be a TERRIBLE idea are dead)

Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantic (2016, I guess we’re now in Atlantis?)

Blood Communion (2018)

As you can see there’s a lot of books and content. Especially because Vampire Chronicles wasn’t her only series. On top of her erotic romance series that even my “sure you can watch Criminal Minds while 9 years old” mom was like, “Do not touch that,” she had her Tales of the Mayfair Witches series, which AMC incidentally also has the rights for. So...Lots of books, one world with vampires and witches and Jesus.

However, because of the drop in quality as well as the level of batshittery (no I’m still not over Lestat going to fucking Atlantis), last I checked the main reads are the first three, with Vampire Armand also being thrown in because I mean, after you see Antonio Banderas as Armand you want to know more about him.

Of course by all means! Read more of the books! Maybe you’ll get a laugh like I did! Maybe the quality doesn’t seem so bad to you! Maybe you enjoy batshittery! 

And if you don’t want to give the Anne Rice estate more money because she was a bad person, there’s plenty of libraries that have the books! Trust me. They do. Some might even have them in ebook version, so you can use apps like overdrive or libby to check them out without even leaving your house!

Appropriation in Vampire Chronicles

This is gonna be short since I’m sure there’s whole pieces about this and I don’t have the books in front of me nor am I part of any of these cultures, but I do want to run over that yes, there’s certainly some cultural appropriation in this series, particularly of Egyptian Culture, but also of voodoo and creole culture.

I want to warn of this, so it doesn’t catch anyone off guard, especially since “Merrick” and “Queen of the Damned” in particular are uh. Full of this. I also have no idea if the more recent books are any better in this regard.

That said, I’m curious about how the AMC tackles these aspects, as its already quite clear they’re not following the books 1:1, which is actually going to make for a better story.

Hopefully all that is helpful!