#book narrator moment fr

[phin-tastic]

unlike the narrator, I didn’t get a kiss before I was accosted by the pain😮‍💨

[prettyboypistol]

TF2 Mercs Reacting to You Telling Them You're Autistic || TF2 x Reader (shitpost kinda)

(dw i can write this i got the 'tism)

Scout

IMMEDIATELY regrets saying the r slur in front of you a lot.

Will beat up anyone who makes fun of you for not being social.

As soon as you start listing the symptoms of autism everything makes a lot more sense.

Is a lot more accomidating for your meltdowns.

Engineer

"lmao same, you think a neurotypical could get 11 PhDs?"

Kinda already knew you were autistic, but waited for you to tell him to actualy speak about it.

Likes listening to your hyperfxations like a podcast while he works. (if he pays full attention he can't help but kiss you until you stop talking, god, you're just so cute when you get excited!!!!)

Demoman

"tf is autism"

"oooh ok i thought you were just cooky." /pos

honestly doesn't really react or care, but he keeps it in mind when he does things that might cause an adverse reaction.

Tavish just treats you like another human, which is honestly a breath of fresh air.

Heavy

"tf is autism" pt.2

probably doesn't understand what you mean, but gets the jist of it.

likes watching you stim/hyperfocus natural geographic style

has narrated over you without you noticing.

Pyro

that mf autism incarnate

makes the most offensive jokes about being autistic that only you two would understand.

they're so happy you understand their texture aversion to anything but thier suit.

"damn, you're gay AND autistic? pick a struggle"

Soldier

"AUTISM? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

after getting it explained "THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE, EVERYONE ACTS LIKE THAT"

ADHD/Autism friend dynamic fr

He gets frustrated easily with aversions, but will be understanding.

Spy

"I could tell the moment you walked into the room for the first time."

can 100% read your needs when you can't verbalize.

he doesn't surprise you and likes the fact the he knows vaguely where you are at all times because of your routines.

Medic

"oh shit me too"

hyperfixates on your hyperfixations

highkey wants to study you

Sniper

Doesn't really get it, but is mindful of it, def picks up books from the library to read up on how to make someone feel more comfortable when they have autism.

understands social aversions, he completely gets it.

picky eating is the biggest vibe, snipes wouldnt care if he ate the same meal every day for the rest of his life.

[tokuvivor]

For this past Saturday’s final Halloween Movie Night of the month (this one focusing on the holiday itself, as well as Day of the Dead), once again, you’ll be getting highlights from both me and @violetganache42! So, here you have ��em:

"Trick or Treat":

The triplets in their iconic Halloween costumes!

The rip having so much fucking camera movement and low volume

The Trick or Treat song!

@puffyducks: "she hurt his fragile masculinity"

The triplets watching Witch Hazel mess with Donald like: "Oh, boy! Violence!"

This fucking panel lmao

"The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!" (Rewatch):

"Have you ever been to Bahia?"

Panchito and José appearance!

Saludos Amigos easter egg!

The whole scene about Donald accidentally dropping Dewey's egg 😂

Scrooge still being a hater lol

Huey: "Uncle Donald, you're very successful. You raised three boys and are rich in love. Isn't that the true measure of success?"

Scrooge and Donald: "No!"

Violet: "How is that not successful?!"

Violet sharing GIFs of various moments from the episode like last time:

Autism diet (Donald's just like us FR!) (i.e. macaroni and cheese)

@alex31624: "Webby has fallen"

Violet: "in Lego City"

Puffy and Violet making FNAF jokes, from the Bite of '87 to Bonnie on the burro tour sign

Dewey's words of wisdom (screenshot from when we first watched this episode together last November):

Puffy wanting to throw Dewey and Louie into the sun a la Storkules

Violet upon seeing Scrooge's reaction to Donald taking his wallet:

@fantasticenthusiasttale: “Webby please we literally know only 3 phrases of english stop asking”

Alex: “is amazing that a brasilian plant knows english at all”

@writebackatya: “I just realized that both episodes have a moment where Donald is being wrestled by someone and he starts tapping out”

Huey and Webby not sucking in this episode

Alex: “who hires a mariachi for a kids party”

Puffy: “they took the gay </3”

Briefly discussing Webby’s party in The Last Adventure!

The Trickening! (Rewatch)

Huey as Gizmoduck!

Louie sucking in both episodes we watched

Duck Twins!

Why do people hate this episode?

“WE’RE GONNA ROB A CANDY STORE?!”

Puffy: “not poor bluebert 😭”

“why didn't they send Webby first she's the one that can fight lmfao”

“what the hell is dewey gonna do if he finds a monster”

Poltergeist reference

“Donald, you’re the victim.”

Launchpad’s ridiculous Halloween backstory

Uno reference

The kid that looked like Timmy Jenkins😠

Donald, Della, and Launchpad being an amazing dynamic

Launchpad and Scrooge’s fight!

Chris P. Bacon being one of the names on the headstones

Dreamy: “‘Last halloween’ meanwhile scrooge is out there 150 y/o still doing it”

Creepy twins!

The Shining references

Launchpad reading the candy wrapper

Beakley as Darkwing!

“I love Hallowoon!”

The poll at the end for whose costume was the best

Puffy: “no it's foreshadowing that huey is gonna DIE”

¡Felíz Cumpleaños!

Panchito and José are back!

The evil piñatas

Puffy bringing up The Book of Life

Will: “I’ve only played the game and had the cereal”

Fin

The charm of Paul Rudish shorts that take place in other cultures

Puffy: “me at 4 years old watching José rattle off Portuguese in The Three Caballeros (I have no idea what he's saying but I am enthralled)”

Will: “damn you looked just like JFK when you were a kid”

Coco

Why do people make Dos jokes about Uno? (It’s Italian (Due), not Spanish)

The opening narration being visualized through papel picado

Puffy:

Ernesto de la Cruz

Puffy: “1942 HE DIED 2 YEARS BEFORE THE CABALLEROS NOOOO”

The mariachi player that Miguel is shining the shoes of being supportive of his dream

@teleportzz: “never name a street”

“Papá is home?”

Dante being the best boy throughout the movie

Miguel’s de la Cruz shrine

Puffy: “my room looks like this but with donald duck plushes”

Miguel getting grossed out by the romantic scenes

Mech: “aromantic moment”

Abuelita smashing Miguel’s guitar‼️

Don’t mess with the dead!

Will: “Cut him some slack he’s just a little kid”

“Thinking by the heart not the brain”

Puffy: “No he should be responsible for all of his actions ever we've established this for fictional characters”

“especially traumatized little boys”

“Your photo’s on your dentist’s ofrenda.”

The guy in question:

The long line for customs

Héctor as Frida Kahlo

Mamá Imelda! (And her frustrations with the computer)

Alex: “the dead use windows”

Dreamy: “Then he finds out he cant have a blessing because hes adopted”

Puffy: “found family is still family”

Pepita!

@spamtoon: “cog this movie's environments are so beautiful” (very, very true)

Dreamy: “Hot take: Ernesto de la cruz is Mariah Carey for dia de los muertos”

The mango scene

Chorizo bullying

Chicharrón’s final death (very sad, but also, this exchange):

Héctor: “And her…knuckles, they drag on the floor.”

Chicharrón: “Those aren’t the words.”

Héctor: “There are children present.”

Miguel and Héctor shouting like Panchito

UN POCO LOCO!

Mamá Imelda singing for the first time in the movie

Puffy: “gonna be awkward when he dies and then he's stuck with all his family forever”

Puffy getting Latinified

Miguel’s dog🤝de la Cruz’s horse

Dante

Miguel and de la Cruz meet

Puffy: “YAYYYY movie over!!”

Dreamy: “Frida kahlo number 2 is his drag name”

Héctor revealing de la Cruz’s true nature (plus the fact that he killed Héctor and put it in a movie, like wtf)

Puffy: “he just has like. a big scary pit outside his mansion”

Spam: “like all billionaires cmon mark installed his last week. real big vanity point (joke)”

The origins of Remember Me

Puffy: “I like the convenience of the whole plot twist working because nobody ever bothered to say each other's names”

Dante the spirit guide!

Sneaking into the Sunrise Spectacular (shades of A Goofy Movie, anyone?)

Me: “If I had a nickel for every time I 2 I was mentioned in the server this week…” (the first time being me showing the recent Dancing with the Stars team dance to the song)

“I don’t know, I’m still mad at you!”

Mamá Imelda singing reprise!

Me: “I’ve never seen this episode of DWTS”

Puffy: “imagine seeing this shit live”

Alex: “you mean dead”

The crowd booing de la Cruz (Puffy: ���WHO HAD THE TOMATO 😭”)

de la Cruz getting crushed by the bell again

Puffy: “well now he's gonna be on true crime podcasts so”

Me pointing out that Miguel left his sweatshirt behind

The scene where Mamá Coco remembers Héctor when Miguel sings Remember Me to her (and everyone loses their shit, despite saying they’re not (cont’d.))

One year later…Mamá Coco has died in the interim

Alex: “well, she was old as hell”

Miguel bringing it home with Proud Corazón

Dante and Pepita being friends in the human realm

Watching through the credits because yes

Me: “Hermosa. Una película muy hermosa”

Dreamy: “Another one for the latin-america Alex WOOHOOOOOO”

Me: “Hey, you gotta use 4 semesters’ worth of Spanish some time”

But yes, it was a fantastic movie.

[bubblin-trouble]

“Tell you a story? Well, of course I can, my dear! For the right price~”

“Seven stories, seven paths. Which one shall you pick?”

You’re wandering in the woods aimlessly, lost, in the depths of midnight. How did you end up here again? You can’t remember, it’s all so foggy, it’s so dark, you don’t know right from left or north from south…but wait, is that light in the distance?

Seeing no other option, you decide to venture towards it. Upon closer inspection as you draw nearer to this mysterious light, you find what looks like a tent. You smell the almost intoxicating air of incense being burned inside, and you can faintly hear someone humming. Surely, they’d let you in, wouldn’t they?

You decide to creep closer, hoping the stranger would offer you some protection from the night’s chill.

“Hello? Is someone in there…?”

“Oh! I’m comin’, give me a minute!” Came a voice from inside.

Just a few moments later, a woman emerged. Wrapped in black cloth as dark as the night itself, with purple as a stark contrast, and glittering with gold jewelry, her smile equally as bright.

“Ah, welcome, welcome, dear! Come inside, it must be chilly out there.”

She ushers you in, and you can finally take a good look at the tent, or the inside of it. It has an array of exotic things, all seemingly fantastic and unique in their own way. Some of the items make you wonder, how could this woman possibly have acquired these…?

“See somethin’ that catches your eye? By all means, take a look ‘round my shop, hun.”

The woman croons, sitting at some sort of table in the middle of the tent. Just how big was this place, anyway? It certainly didn’t look this way from the outside…

Then, you see a book. A story book, by the look of the cover alone. You start to reach for it, feeling as if it’s calling you…

“NO!”

Your hand jerks back at the sudden sharp tone of the woman’s voice behind you.

“This ain’t for sale, I’m afraid, darlin’…” the woman said, swiftly grabbing it and holding it in her hand.

“O-Oh…sorry…”

“Ah, no worries! How ‘bout this? I’ll tell ya a story or two — for the right peace. How’s that sound?”

You pause for a moment, unsure of what to think of this sudden arrangement. Last time you checked, you did have a good chunk of change in your wallet…a story or two couldn’t hurt, right?

“Uh, sure?”

“Wonderful! Now, sit down,” the woman said, ushering you over to sit at the table with her.

“What’s your name, Miss…?” you ask tentatively.

“Oh! Silly me, I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? Well, the folks ‘round these parts call me The Storyteller. I guess that’s what you can call me, too, if you’d like.”

The Storyteller…why does that seem familiar?

You can’t remember, not now, in this moment, but something about this woman makes you feel like you’ve seen her before. Heard her voice.

“The Storyteller…alright, then.”

“Now that that’s settled, let’s begin, shall we? Ahem…Once Upon a Time, in a far off world from our own, there lived seven great beings...or so the masses thought they were.”

Came up with this idea after having a 20 minute crying session

This version of Calypso is called “The Storyteller”. Fun fact, this version of her is inspired by/twisted from Scheherazade, go look her up, she’s hella cool love her fr.

I wonder what that book entails…hmm…mysterious indeed…🌚

Basically — think of this version of Calypso as a narrator of sorts. Illuminating the stories of our beloved heroes and villains, making them seemingly come to life. With each story, the listener is finding themselves more entranced by each word.

But, how did she manage to get her hand on this book? It certainly isn’t one you’d find in a library. Well, the answer to that lies in the dark for now. Possibly to be answered later.

Erm lowkey should I make this a thing?? Idk it seems cool lol

Taglist : @nrc-asteryn-crew @night-raven-miscellany @nrc-ramshackle-prefect @floyd-leech-thing @knightcoree

[yonderghostshistories]

Happy 12th Anniversary to “A Liar’s Autobiography” (2012) !

(aka my fave animated biopic about my fave Monty Python member, Graham Chapman!)

“A Liar’s Autobiography” (2012) was first theatrically released on this day (the 2nd of November, that is), and so I thought I would make a tribute post to this little beautifully bonkers animated film which ALSO changed my life (for the better and for the sillier too!).

I…..honestly don’t know what to say. I absolutely love, like, REALLY love this movie with my entire heart ❤️ , but I will admit, it was…quite a difficult watch tbh.

I don’t mean that in a bad way of course, in fact, I like to say that the film succeeded in that part, as it truly really made you feel and experience ALL the highs AND lows of Graham’s life, both in terms of him as a person and his struggles with alcoholism and his identity with finding himself. The scene, which was HAUNTINGLY and BEAUTIFULLY shown in a oil painting-esque animation, really showed Graham’s struggles with trying to go sober and eventually going cold turkey, and it really made me feel quite uneasy tbh, but I will reiterate by saying that the way the scene was done was just….amazing and beautiful.

However, the film (imo) also succeeds in showing Graham’s highs as well as his lows, and thankfully the film avoids portraying him as just a “tragic person”, because….to put it simply, that’s simply not true. Yes, Graham did had tragic elements to him and had tragic events that occurred in his life, but Graham IS NOT defined by his tragedies. He was and is, first and foremost, a comedian. He was silly. He was happy. He was wise. He was gay, and he was a proud one at that! He had a loving and supportive and sweet relationship with his partner David Sherlock, from the day they met in Ibiza to the day Graham passed away.

Graham was, to simply put, a human. A silly and bonkers human at that, but a human nonetheless.

The way the film portrayed Graham himself was also quite amazing tbh, utilising his voice in the form of his audiobook reading of the book ALA that he did in the 1980s and using it to, in a way, portray Graham as the Narrator of his film and him guiding us (the audience) through his life was quite clever tbh, I will admit! It did really make it seem like Graham really did come back from the Heavens to speak to us for the first (and last) time and, as true to the spirit of Graham, him almost taking the piss out of it, and in the most affectionate and loving way possible as well.

The animations were just….absolutely GORGEOUS to look at fr. Even with the supposedly “sub-par” animated segments of the film (such as the Monkey Pythons animation) really is quite charming and silly, which I think is done intentionally as to give the film some light hearted moments to balance out the otherwise dark moments in the film, in my opinion at least. My personal favourite animated segments were the animations of Graham’s childhood, the “Sit on My Face” and “Medical Love Song” musical number scenes, the Monkey Pythons animations, the Graham and David scenes, the Graham going Cold Turkey animation, and the Graham as Colin “Bomber” Harris animated scenes. They were all amazing and wonderful and charming and beautiful and tear-jerking and bittersweet fr!

Also, shoutout to the rest of the voice cast in ALA, they also did amazing here! The Pythons (minus Eric Idle ofc lol) were pretty great in here too! My personal favourites being Michael Palin and Terry Jones as Graham’s dad and Graham’s mum respectively and Cameron Diaz as Sigmund Freud, as they were quite hilarious tbh! But my fave voice performance would have to be Philip Bulcock as David Sherlock (aka Graham’s partner) as I loved his portrayal of David and his sweet and supportive nature fr, and his performance as David really made me genuinely believe that he truly loves Graham (and vice versa). Also, even if Graham and David don’t talk much (at least to each other) in the film, you can tell that JUST from their subtle body language ALONE that they both truly love and care for each other, and that’s truly what makes their relationship so beautiful to see imo 🥹❤️

Also, the clip of his funeral memorial service which was shown near the end of the film truly made me sob and cry internally (fsr I couldn’t cry tears externally at that moment but on the inside I was WEEPING HARD ASF AT THIS SCENE LIKE OMG 😭😭)

Honestly, the amount of love and care for this movie truly, like, TRULY warms my heart. Like, it really does show that this film was made with a labour of love, and that everyone enjoyed making and was passionate about this film fr. Hearing that just increases my love for the movie even more, and my respect for the team behind this film also increases fr. Plus this film truly is a visual marvel to look at, and it’s one of my main inspirations to go on a path towards animation, or at least graphic design, cuz I want to make something just as beautiful as this film, filled with passion and love just as this film too!

So, overall……thank you ALA. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me the chance to experience this silly and funny and beautiful and bittersweet love letter and tribute 💌 of an animated biopic about one of my favourite comedians, and in general just an absolutely wonderful person who graced this Earth with their wit and charm and bonkers attitude, and delivering it in the most beautiful and silly and bonkers way imaginable!

Just….thank you ALA. Thank you so much.

[corpsentry]

recent stories i have read or watched or vored sexily

1. so yesterday i was on page 139 of gideon the ninth and today i finished it. i did nothing until i finished it. i physically could not stop. i mean i should have known it from the moment it had the most epic characters page of all the houses and each house had cool as balls names like Hope Of The Emperor and Wisdom Of The Emperor and Rose Unblossomed or however that one goes but holy mother of god…………. they did not lie this book went hard as fuck. i was reminded of something and i’m going to reblog it shortly so you can read it but i saw a tumblr post that was talking about dungeon meshi’s character designs versus genshin impact’s and another where an author was like ok but where’s the gross part?? where’s the pathetic in the characters??? and gideon the ninth does this so well. god, gideon and harrow are trying to beat each other into the ground for the better part of the book but then you get this insane 180 flip and they’re in a POOL and mein gotte when harrow said i am undone without you my eyes cried Just A Little. i forget, i think, sometimes, that people are most beautiful when they are wretched and clumsy and honest. i think this particularly because i’ve been on a hetero chinese language dramas and movies binge lately and i turned off the part of my brain that revels in messy honest art and let the part that wants to stare at bailu for 30 hours stare at bailu for 30 hours. but maybe it is time to stop watching things only to look at beautiful women (who are, admittedly, very fucking beautiful). maybe it is time to GO TO THE FUCKASS FARAWAY LIBRARY TOMORROW TO BORROW HARROW THE NINTH. what da hell. the world building in this novel is motherfucking exquisite. you have to work so goddamn hard to make a line like Emperor the Necromancer Divine God Salvation The Resurrection with a bunch of little semicolons in between work but it works, it works because it’s cool, it’s cool because it’s grimey and gross and funny, i would do astounding things for all of these people (except silas, who can get fucked). and gideon is such a spectacular narrator, to be introduced to this world through her eyes is an honor and a gift, and harrow….. HARROWWWWWWW AOUUUUUUUU YAUUUUUUUUUUUU i’m obsessed. it’s over. i am officially down horrendous

2. now i’m gonna talk to you guys about amidst a snowstorm of love 在暴雪时分. my mom keeps being like so are you done with the helsinki drama yet and i have to keep being like no because There Is No Drama but anyway ok i started it because wulei…….. and now i am Bereft and Despaired fr that they put wulei in this when man has so much more to him. listen up my guys. i have never seen or read or heard or played a story that has so little….. story. it is remarkably, devastatingly substanceless. it is like watching a 3 hour chill lofi playlist. every once in a while the dog in the animated background runs around the armchair. the fire crackles through the same 5 frames. otherwise— nothing. i’m honestly amazed that they managed to do this, this, this is Not what slice of life is. this is also not what straight romance is??? i am a longtime purveyor of the hetero romance arts and this is hetero romance sans all of the misunderstandings and miscommunications that generate teary breakdowns and mismanaged fights. there is literally no conflict which can be fine except there isn’t even, like, admiration for the small things in life or familial love or friendship which Does Not A Story Make. now i don’t say this lightly as i am a strong believer that if the plot only advances because the cast is too fucking stupid to talk to each other then it’s a shit plot but for the first time in my life i wish there Would be a petty misunderstanding so we could at least see a fraction of the characters’ personalities. now see the Premise is that the protagonist goes to finland to participate in a 9-ball competition and pulls the brooding grad student she meets there back into the world of billiards or whatever but the 9-ball is just a vehicle in the purest sense for the romance. she will be like i practice now and then go practice and then wulei shows up with coffee and that’s it, the 9-ball table was there so wulei could lean on it and look hot in 4 shots. i’m genuinely astounded. nothing fucking HAPPENS in this drama. literally i will sit through an entire episode and it’s just like, zhao lusi wants coffee…., there is coffee…., romantic moments (6-7) insert song (2-3) close up slow mo gazing (399999). seriously i would commit unspeakable crimes for wulei but even i cannot watch this drama straight without falling asleep. it is the emptiest thing i have ever seen and it is so spectacularly committed to this absolutely void of writing. also wulei’s character is dirt poor but he spends all his money on taking zhao jinmai to expensive ass fuck restaurants and then gets sick from overwork and no one TALKS about it. it’s not even a decent straight romance because there is no communication or anything remotely interesting happening in the relationship. it’s not a drama, mein gott, it’s a medley of cute heartwarming moments between two very beautiful and very talented actors who have been kidnapped and locked in a snowy nightmare where all they can do is smile at each other shyly and sometimes hold hands. crazy…………….. wasted potential for my babygirls………. (bereft)

3. watched episode 2 of oh no here comes trouble不良执念清除师 i cannot get over the fact that pu yiyong draws digital art. it’s just so lovely a detail. the first time they showed his drawing tablet and the tablet pen i was like WOAA…. HES JUST LIKE ME FR i mean he’s just like me fr he has a goofy little mullet and he talks back like it’s his 9-5 it’s brilliant. this is excellent representation for brooding angsty teens who also like to draw with clip studio paint. Possibly watching this at 2 am was a mistake as i am prone to nightmares about godless things but it’s such a fun drama and it handles tonal shifts with a clarity that i rarely see in tv….. also pu yiyong’s actor is just great. i mean god, he has eyebrows and they’re mad at you. good for him. slay

4. we’re on episode, i dunno, 23 of the double墨雨云间 now i think and it’s great but it’s true, especially after binging 80% of gideon the ninth in one day that much like how genshin impact’s character designs are designed to be attractive to as many people as possible, the double’s characters are meant to be perfect and attentive to the maximum number of people. the catharsis of seeing the protagonist triumph over the evil conspiring antagonist is only cathartic so many times, and i think im running up against the ceiling of that catharsis. we know fangfei’s brilliant and we know xiaoheng won’t let anything happen to her so it just becomes 5d chess between the morally black and white chess players, it becomes watching schemes unfold and collapse like origami boats, over and over again. they don’t sink because there isn’t any water. they’re beautiful but they can’t bear weight. and after spending too much time in these homes, in the chinese dramas hole or the kpop gorilla groups hole or the mainstream shounen hole i have to punch myself in the dick and be like ok now you are re entering the world as a person amongst other people, because it gives you tunnel vision! they’re all conventionally attractive queens with snatched waists and perfectly managed profiles, variety show personalities but you see i remembered that I Want Harrowhark Nonagesimus. i want the grit and the dirt and the morning sunlight all at once. what i mean is i will be borrowing harrow the ninth from the public library tomorrow if it means i have to take a train 2 hours out to fuckass nowhere to get it. what i mean is i am going back into the game and i am going 2 Win

[word-wytch]

My thoughts on Flight of Icarus (so far!)

I finally got my hands on the book yesterday and also had time to read which hasn’t happened in a very hot minute.

These are just my first impressions, commentary, and takeaways from chapters 1-9.

More will come, but I am realizing that I have so much to say that I need to break it up ✨

I will start off by saying that I was skeptical, as all of us were, when this book was announced. Prior to reading it, I had been steering clear of spoilers and others’ reactions just so that I could go in completely unbiased and with an open mind and heart.

Within the first 10 pages, I was crying. Like, openly weeping. Something about Eddie talking first person about his childhood experiences and confirming what so many of us suspected hit me so suddenly. I was not prepared for the swell of emotions that bubbled over as a result of not only that, but reading his name printed on a real, hard bound book when I've only ever read it from a screen was something else as well. Something about it being officially licensed by ST and providing us with some concrete backstory (if we choose to take it) for so many things that we've been only speculating on for the last year and a half.

These are a few snippets that really had me going:

Anyway, I'm broken.

Onto the writing --

I genuinely think what I've read so far has been incredibly well-written. The first person narration sounds so much like Eddie, as does the dialogue. The insights and ways he describes things cleverly but also with that touch of dark humor that he deflects with so often is very present. I do feel like I'm stepping into his curly noggin and viewing the world through his bambi eyes. It's such a treat.

Also, I have noticed her using many words that he frequently uses in his limited dialogue on the show in her narration, the main one I can think of right now being "not exactly". It's touches like these that let me know how closely she's paying attention.

I am also impressed with the general quality of prose, how she seamlessly integrates setting and character description into the scene. Also clever and creative ways to describe objects that still stay very in character. This one stands out:

Also this. This hyper-awareness that his home life is different than his peers, something I try to illustrate in my own writing and appreciate that this author did as well:

As a writer, I learn so much from reading. I can honestly say that I am learning from this experience as well, and dare I say it, am inspired.

The chapter I am working on now for DSSCTM deals heavily with similar themes and questions that FOI covers, such as Eddie's motivations for staying in school, his relationship to his dad, and how he views himself. So I feel a lucky sense of coincidence that this book was released during the time I am writing it. I, like everyone else, invented my own backstory for his parents that suited the story I was trying to tell and will keep it for consistency going forward.

Characters that stuck out to me --

Gareth -- OH. MY GOD. BABY GARETH. Little fluffy ball of rage. I cannot. My heart is going to explode fr. Also the tenderness with which Eddie handles him is just too much for me.

Ronnie -- Stan her. You know, this character really makes me wonder how much of our fics the author has read because I feel like it is one of the most common and earliest tropes for our Reader characters to be best friends of his that grew up in the trailer park along side him. Maybe it's just an obvious trope? But interesting she included it. Also making her the book-smart one who's got a golden ticket out is another very common thing I see in our stories.

Chrissy -- I love the bit of backstory I've read so far and how sympathetic she writes her. I love that we get the whole scene of them before the talent show and them bonding for a short moment.

Al -- There aren't enough words for how big a piece of shit this man is. When he said this to Wayne I almost yeeted my book across the room. Nobody talks to Wayne Munson like this in my house. 😤

Paige -- Eh. Not sold tbh. Although I do appreciate reading through Eddie's first person narration about him having a crush on someone though. It's cute. Just the crush part, not Paige specifically. She's mid so far.

Principal Higgins -- I had to suspend my disbelief a bit for how strong he came on tbh. I mean, I think she made a somewhat believable case for his absolutely unhinged behavior but it still struck me as borderline unbelievable how Higgins spoke to Eddie like that. What it did confirm for me was something I had suspected from the beginning, which is that Eddie's dad never graduated high school. Also, I appreciate the question being asked about why he is still in school BUT my issue is that this question isn't as applicable in his first senior year as it is in his third. I think the author was trying to find a reason for Higgins to be asking it and had to dig a little to try and make it believable. It's a question I have asked myself, one that I had Teach ask him in the first chapter of DSSCTM, and one I will be exploring in ch. 16.

One final theme-related thing I noticed and appreciate:

How chapter 4 ends with his dad telling him to sleep on the idea of pulling off a heist with him and chapter 5 begins with "The question is pretty simple. At the end of the day, who do you want to be?" and proceeds to a scene of him building a character with Gareth. Likewise in real life, Eddie is figuring out who he wants to be, and I think using this as a metaphor is really clever and beautiful.

ALSO. A theory. Illian died right? Illian wasn't Gareth's he was Jeff's. What if this is alluding to the possibility of another character we all know and love who supposedly died in canon to be able to come back and re-invent themselves? 👀

Could just be my delusional ass reading into this way too much but it was just a thought I had.

Anyway, onward. ✨

[cloudwhisper23]

Trick or treat ✨ฅ(•ㅅ•❀)ฅ

Depends on your interpretation of a treat, Pix. You get an excerpt.

The new school was interesting, at least in Chris’ opinion. Sure, people still gawked at his scar all the time, but it was so much better than where he was before. His English teacher immediately assigned reading partners, explaining that discussing the readings was just as important as drawing conclusions individually.

Chris glanced at his reading partner with disinterest. Her name was Millie Fitzsimmons, and she did not speak sign language. Her last name reminded him of Jeremy, which was the only reason he bothered to take an interest in her at all.

She was staring right back at him, seeming very interested in his dyed hair and scarred face. Chris didn’t take it personally. He did look interesting to an outside observer. His hair hadn’t really grown back yet either.

Millie leaned toward him as she spoke, “So, Chris. What types of books do you like to read?”

Chris tapped his pencil against his notebook for a moment, considering her question. His mother’s house had a wider selection of novels, and since she was gone all the time – albeit seeming more apologetic than his father or sister had been – he was allowed full access to her bookshelves.

Chris wondered if she was the reason his father’s house had absolutely no books or interesting material. It explained a lot, especially after he’d found his own name scribbled in the front cover of several books. He determined that they were definitely above his age-range when he’d originally read them, probably explaining his nightmares.

Finally, he remembered that Millie was waiting for a response. He shrugged, writing, “A bit of everything, to be honest. I prefer short stories to anything else.”

He wished he could explain better. That he loved seeing how writers wrote such wonderful stories without needing a whole book or even a series to capture it all.

While Millie skimmed the words he’d written, Chris quickly added, “Poe’s my favorite author though.”

“The Cask of Amontillado” was Chris’ favorite story to read since the Bite. The implied betrayal and potential for the narrator’s guilt at having killed Fortunato was all too familiar to Chris.

“Edgar Allan Poe is your favorite author?” Millie raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed. “What’s your favorite work by him?”

Chris stared at her for a moment. Should he be completely honest? Truth be told, no one had tried to hold a conversation with him this long before. He gave a so-so gesture before writing, “If I have to pick one, I’d say ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’ What about you?”

She hummed for a moment. “I’d say… ‘Annabel Lee.’ The love shared between her and the speaker transcends heaven and hell, Chris. Isn’t that amazing?”

Chris shrugged. He found the poem depressing, truth be told. He couldn’t even imagine understanding what it could feel like to care for someone like that, only to lose them to others’ jealousy. But Jeremy would, a voice muttered in the back of his mind. He frowned slightly as that came up. It was private information, and whomever Jeremy chose to be with was none of his business.

Millie was carefully watching his expression, and she frowned back at him. “Do you hate romance or something?”

Chris shook his head. He wrote, “I just don’t get it.”

“Huh. Maybe you should read more,” Millie said, patting him gently on the shoulder as the bell rang for the end of class.

He decided he didn’t really like Millie, after that moment. Maybe it was something he should’ve blamed the Bite for instead of her overwhelming emotional attachment to a piece of poetry, but really. Did people actually develop obsessions with other people’s relationships?

Unfortunately, the rest of his morning didn’t go very well, and he found himself stuck eating lunch with Millie that day. And the next day, and the next day.

He didn’t understand how the entire school just decided they weren’t worth the effort of getting to know, and he expressed it in his letters to Fritz. Fritz would write back, saying the social circles must’ve closed before he was ready for it.

Chris always scowled after he read that. So eventually, he gave up, instead asking Fritz how Susie was doing. Funnily enough, his responses to that were much lighter and more cheerful. Fritz had succeeded in getting her to spend more time with him at lunch, and apparently, they ate together every day.

Fritz talked about how much she loved baking and how cool she found his ability to run. Fritz was excited about his friendship with Susie, and Chris was certain he wanted to push it further. If he’d had any advice for Fritz, he’d tell him to slow down and make sure they were close enough that their friendship could handle it if things went downhill. But Fritz was his best friend, so he just pretended to be happy for him.

The next week, he decided to be nicer to Millie about her whole thing with romance. “So,” he wrote in his notebook during lunch, something Millie never ate. “I’ve attempted to figure out what you mean by the transcending romance, and I just don’t get it.”

Millie frowned as he started eating. “Well,” she said with severe emphasis, “I prefer the stories where they’re willing to die for each other. When one dies for the other, you really see how things are. Like, depending on how they grieve, you can tell whether they actually loved each other, or if something was amiss.”

Chris considered that for a moment. “So if they don’t mourn properly, they don’t love each other?”

“Exactly.” Millie’s frown faded. “See, you kind of get it.”

Chris frowned. “Well, if that’s how it works, then my family probably would prefer if I was dead.”

Millie stiffened. “What?”

Chris shrugged. “I don’t mean my mom. I just mean that my dad and my sister probably couldn’t care less if I was alive. So I left to live with my mom.”

“Oh.” Millie blinked at him. “I thought you meant they’d try to kill you or something.”

“Well, someone actually did do that too,” Chris wrote. “But it was an accident.”

“You’re a strange guy, Chris.”

Chris just shrugged. He didn’t really care either way what she thought. Pointedly taking a bite of his sandwich, Chris successfully ended the conversation.

“Got any plans for winter break?” Millie asked him a few days later.

Chris considered the question for a moment, before shaking his head. “Fritz wants me to come visit, but I don’t particularly feel like going back there.”

Especially since Fritz was talking about all the kids who’d gone missing. Each time it happened, Fritz sent a letter dedicated to all the information he knew about the kid who’d gone missing. Every time, Chris could tell right away, and he’d put it in his desk, unread. Fritz wasn’t sending those for a response anyway. It was just a way to cope, or so Chris believed.

He sent letters back asking about school and Fritz’s relationship with Susie. Fritz constantly shot back encouragement to come visit and see for himself, but Chris didn’t think he was ready to go back.

[1-h4v3-wr1t3rs-bl0ck]

Did the first 10 chapters of fight club. Here are my thoughts:

SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE AND THE BOOK!!

1. This is a dangerous book if you're an incel.

This is actually such a dangerous book if you go into it being an incel/ violent guy who watched the movie. Tyler describes how to literally blow up buildings, make dynamite, how to make your own silencer on a gun... This is a fucking amazing book and I'm having a great time but... Majority of the people in the fan base are people who heavily romanticise the graphic imagery and say shit like "I'm so Tyler Durden fr." And that kinda worries me when you literally give us a step by step into making napalm.

2. This is a queer book.

Think I'm joking? Here some reason I think it's a gay book. Again, I'm only on chapter 10/30.

The narrator essentially comparing his want for Tyler and Tyler's want for Marla as if they're even on the same level. Tyler and Marla have a strong sexual relationship... Why would the narrator compare that to what he has with Tyler, why would he describe it as a triangle?

Knowing that Tyler is a figment of his imagination is a weird perspective to have going into the book, but it helps. If Tyler is just made up by the narrator then... Me when I casually just start seeing this hot sweaty man on a nude beach.

The narrator is was more vulnerable with men than he is with women. He can't cry at the clubs, not until Bob shows up. Also I'm going to note that when Marla shows up to the clubs, he stoped crying and he can't sleep... He hates the thought of being vulnerable with a woman but he has no problem with crying in front of multiple men.

He repeats a lot of things Tyler says and does, Tyler heavily influences the narrator.

Tyler is vulnerable with the narrator.

Also just this line. Not honest women, he only says strangers. And he says this while being hugged by a man who's being vulnerable with him and sharing extremely sensitive details about his life. And as soon as he meets Tyler, Tyler starts over sharing immediately.

And this line about not needing to be married to a woman. They both bond over having daddy issues and then talk about "I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer I need." ... interesting... This obviously isn't inherently queer, but just to note, this scene in the movie is really um... Tyler's taking a bath while the narrator just sits in the bathroom and talks to him. Again, Tyler's made up. Why would his mind go to those kinds of places with a man?

3. The main characters are obsessed with death.

I think it's really interesting reading a book where the main characters are passively suicidal. I have read books before about suicidal characters but never passively suicidal characters. Both The Narrator and Marla have this going on. When The Narrators in the aeroplane he's hoping that it would crash and that he'd die, he never acts on his want to die though. Marla is slightly different in the sense that she does act on it occasionally. "Marla's philosophy of life, she told me, is that she can die at any moment. The tragedy of her life is that she doesn't."

Overall so far, fucking amazing book. I recommend this to anyone who has an interest in the movie or social commentaries or how toxic masculinity ruins men. 10/10 so far.

I'll post more notes when I get to chapter 20

[shabdforwriting]

7 Key Points while Writing a Horror Story

These are great foundational points for crafting a compelling horror story! Let’s break them down a bit further to maximize their impact on your narrative:

1- Create Relatable Characters and Pace the Suspense

Start by developing characters that the reader can empathize with. When readers care about the characters, they become more emotionally invested, amplifying the tension. Gradually escalate the stakes by introducing eerie situations or subtle hints of danger. The pacing should build slowly before climaxing with intense moments, balancing quiet dread and bursts of action.

2- Develop a Strong Concept

A unique, well-thought-out premise is key to any good horror story. This could be a fresh twist on a classic theme (e.g., haunted house, supernatural entities, or psychological horror), but with a new angle or deeper layer of meaning. Consider what fears your story concept taps into—whether societal, existential, or personal—and how to present them in a way that resonates with modern readers.

3- Play on Psychological Fear

Fear of the mind often lingers longer than external threats. Manipulate emotions, blur the line between reality and delusion, and keep readers questioning what is real. Use psychological horror techniques like isolation, paranoia, or unreliable narration to instill a sense of unease. This creates an intimate terror that gets under the skin.

4- Effective Use of Violence/Gore

Violence and gore can be potent tools but should be used sparingly and strategically. Overloading a story with graphic content can desensitize the reader, while well-timed, shocking moments of brutality can be highly effective in heightening fear. Subtle, implied violence often has a stronger psychological impact than overly explicit scenes.

5- Twists and Surprises

Keep readers on their toes by introducing unexpected twists. These can range from character betrayals to the revelation of the true nature of the threat. Subverting expectations with well-crafted surprises will leave a lasting impression. However, these twists should feel earned, not contrived, to maintain believability and coherence.

6- Use the Unknown

The fear of the unknown is one of the most primal. Leave certain elements of your story unexplained to heighten this fear. Let the reader’s imagination fill in the blanks, as often what they envision is far scarier than what you could explicitly describe. Whether it’s an unidentifiable monster or a mysterious force, maintaining an air of mystery enhances dread.

7- Strong Ending Description

Your ending is crucial in leaving a lasting impact. Avoid neat resolutions unless necessary for your plot; ambiguous or unsettling conclusions often work better in horror. Whether the evil is vanquished or the characters are left in despair, make sure the final moments are vivid and impactful, sticking with the reader long after they’ve finished the story. This could be through a haunting image, a last shocking reveal, or an open-ended question.

By blending these elements, you’ll create a horror story that grips readers, evokes terror, and keeps them on edge from start to finish.

Source -

[betelgo0ze]

What is your favorite moment in Wings of fire?

Imma be so fr rn I haven’t actually read WOF in years lmao, I think I first read them when I was nine and I still have them but my tastes have definitely changed.

there a good comfort read during exams and a good throwback but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s something that I enjoy outside of nostalgic purposes. Now that I’m older I can appreciate the concept though I don’t like the way it was executed. Not saying there badly written, simply that their not my cup of tea.

That being said I do remember REALLY loving any scene with Peril. She’s just such an unreliable narrator and even before we got a book w her POV it was clear to see her mental state and how far gone Scarlet had caused her to spiral. Her and Clays relationship is toxic and sort of icky and as a kid I recognized that but I liked it. At that age I hadn’t seen many characters written in complex ways, I was nine or ten when I first read it. Now that I’m older I LOVE toxic relationships. Hand me a darkly written romance novel and I’m set. Ofc these books were aimed towards younger audiences which wouldn’t let for Tui to go FULL toxic, but it was a good introduction to what would become my favorite genre. Unreliable narrators, toxic relationships, everything that makes a story interesting. Bad characters written perfectly.

Sorry that was a ramble lol. I remember also loving that one scene where Morrowseer(I deff spelled that wrong didn’t I)took Starflight hunting. I wish we got to see more of them, there such foils to each other.

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

slides into your inbox

hi i uh. drank a sinister potion (dr. pepper) on the way to school this morning and the problem with perfection filled my head for the fiftieth time so. i'm here now. soooo uh, warning for a very crazy caffeine induced audhd rant. 👍

i just like.... kinda wanna let u know how much this fic means to me. like fr. like seriously. it means a lot to me. we've been mutuals for a while so i feel like now's def a good time (and a long time coming lmao)

iirc i found ur fic when i was in the danganronpa trenches in like, 2021/2022 i think? it was summer and i had nothing better to do with my free time and i was super bored and ishimondo was my personality and i found it while going thru ao3 and was like "yeah. this sounds cool"

and i did NOT know what i was getting into let me tell you. adored the writing really fast. ur skill level actually blew me the fuck away like. instantly. all the characters were incredibly in character, everything was so detailed and i LOVED the fact that you made your writing very emotion driven. like you wrote a lot with like, exaggerated punctuation and pauses and spaces and stuff that i rarely ever see but i feel like your writing was like, so much better for that??? its something i've started to use in my writing because it just draws you in so much and just. puts you into their shoes almost instantly. like it sounds like you're in their head. like i think like that (got that narrator brain in me) and it was just so cool to see someone write like that. got a lot of good moments

and i honest to god binged that fic because it had me by a chokehold. like i'm talking i barely got sleep because i was so excited to read the next chapter the next day that my body would wake me up earlier. and i'd pull it out and binge the next chapter. and when i got to a point where the chapters where still being updated, i remember checking like. every sunday night or so every week to see if it got updated. so many cliffhangers that i was not normal about..........

and i recommended it to EVERYONE i knew that was into danganronpa. like i did not care if they usually read fanfiction or not i would sit there and go on infodump rants about this gay fanfiction i found on the gay fanfiction site and ik i confused them but like. that was how good it was to me. felt like it was a real book. and not only that i honest to god felt like i was reading about me.

like the way you wrote taka meant and continues to mean so much to me to this fucking day because i rarely ever see characters that are like me, at least in an honest to god way. and i was already connected to taka and loved him but i think you made him feel like an extension of me in a way and it just like. idk. it spoke to me man. ik i sound dramatic but it did.

like an autistic queer kid with a strict parent being thrown into so many situations where you just automatically assume everyone else is watching you, judging you, based on past trauma and experiences and just. at the same time so emotional and passionate and just genuine for lack of a better term. and the panic attacks that were written i actually almost had some during reading it because i felt it. that felt like me honest to god (not a bad thing btw!!! i am ok!! but that's a compliment because that's how accurate it was!!)

and during a time where i was dating people who just. idk its hard to explain. i knew they cared about me but there were so many times where there were disconnects. sexuality and gender (gender's not really a part of the story ik but yk what i mean) was a big one. and i felt how he would feel when mondo wasn't exactly the best when it came to his behaviors and expressions of love.

and now i'm with someone who is like. mondo at all his best moments. and even when he matches mondo's lower ones it feels like, there's more times where we can do what they did in the fic and work through it. be there for each other because even if we're both fucked up yk we can like. work through it. and that's so cool honestly?? its not transactional, it means something. i've felt both sides and it's so. crazy to me. it's just wild.

and while i didn't read a lot of it (mental health was NOT in a space where i could i'm gonna be so real) the other installment, the one where mondo comes over to taka's house and they gotta hide and stuff? i've felt that. god i've felt that. my current boyfriend (also a trans man) and i have had so many times where we've had to act as "friends" and hide our romantic gestures and being so deathly afraid of getting caught yk?

idk this fic made me feel seen, and i wonder if there's like... anyone else that feels that way. idk i feel like their definitely is. and i just kinda wanna like. thank you for writing something that just. made me feel heard in a time when i really really needed it. even if we didn't know each other it felt so wild to have a stranger sit there and give me and indirect hug and let me know that i am not the only guy struggling out there with this stuff. it's changed the way i view myself and how i view the world and it's so cool to me that even fanfiction of all things can do that. that's nuts man. you did that and i really wanna emphasize that you should be proud of that. that's so cool. you're writing is so fucking cool man.

and also another thing i. love. that you also wrote about sex being a form of like. expressing love for some people. i am demisexual so like. seeing a character that seemed to also exhibit that and really only feel and have that strong attraction to someone they love romantically and have a connection with, and do it to let the other person know they love them. it's like. that's cool. that's so cool. i'm shaking you that's so cool /pos

and while i'm not fixated on dr right now (as you can. probably tell. (btw obligatory "watch lego monkie kid but also you do not have to i just wanna let you know its cool" plug because of Tha Autism(tm)), and while my comic i was going to make is on a very long hiatus bc adhd is beating the shit out of me, i really want you to know how much i appreciate this fic and how much it just. lives in my brain. how much it makes me emotional to this day because it spoke to me; some random dude who was just getting out of high school who fucking needed that really really bad. and also i want you to know how excited i was when we become mutuals and i'm really really lucky to have someone so cool as my mutual, and you've become even cooler in my brain now that we're kinda yk. in a vaguely similar circle.

anyways i appreciate you so much!!!! and even if we're in different fandoms and stuff, and even if tpwp is also not being continued/on a hiatus i still appreciate what you did with it, and what you do now. don't understand all the fandoms you post but i got that respect for it. i'm in the corner with pom poms cheering u on.

so um. yeah! that was long. but i'm hyped up on caffeine and neurodivergent so ujhm. yea. hopefully this made sense lmao

~ your very much not normal mutual tyler 👍

Okay, sorry for the late response, I saw this when I got up this morning and needed the day to figure how to respond because this was. So much (in a good way I promise!!!!)

So, first of all, THANK YOU FOR THIS!! It's easy as a fic writer to feel discouraged with your writing, or to feel like you're not as "good" as other people, and it's things like this that remind me that whether or not I'm a "good writer," what I write does matter to people. And that's just... really special to me, so thank you for writing this all. It means so much to me.

I'm glad you like the dramatic pauses and the way I write, though! When I was younger, I always tried to limit doing that sort of thing, since I knew it wasn't considered "good" or "proper" writing. But with TPWP I just... decided to let myself write how I wanted to write and not think too much about it. I wrote TPWP kind of how I think, because I wanted it to feel like it was Taka's thoughts and emotions, even if it wasn't in first person. And I'm really glad that came across!

I've always been really big into psychology and introspection, which is one of the main reasons I write about things like that a lot. I like to get into characters heads and try to figure them out. See what they'd be like if this thing happened, or if this thing hadn't happened, etc. I write about struggles, because I struggled as a kid, but in more quiet ways. I mean, all things considered I had a good life. supportive, loving parents and older brother, good grades, people generally liked me and I never got in trouble. But I was so determined to do well that I psyched myself out. I was terrified of disappointing people and losing what I had, and I crumbled in middle and high school. Luckily I had good parents so I was able to stumble through it, but it always left me feeling isolated, since I could never articulate why I felt so off inside. It wasn't until I took an "abnormal psych" class in college that I even realized I had intense anxiety.

All of this to say that I'm glad I was able to resonate with you through my writing. I could never find the words to articulate myself when I was younger, so I took to writing to try and connect with people, to get a message across. Most of my stories have some form of "moral" or "lesson" that I'm trying to get across, lessons that I had to learn myself growing up. TPWP's was that perfection is impossible and that you have to learn to accept yourself for who you are. Honestly, I put the most of myself into Taka, since while I never had a distant parental figure who wanted me to be absolutely perfect, I was kinda that figure to myself. I wanted so badly to be "perfect" and "the favorite" and when I wasn't, I freaked out. I shut down and couldn't even explain to my parents why. So, with TPWP, I wanted to let other people know that it's okay to just... be you.

I don't know if any of this is making any sense, sorry. I had a long day at work and my head is a bit jumbled. Mostly just... thanks for writing this. Things have been tough lately between school and work, and it's nice to be reminded that my stories do matter to people. I never wanted to be a professional writer, but I did always want to write something that made someone, somewhere, feel something. Hopefully something good, something cathartic.

Oh, and as for the sex thing... that was honestly unintended, ha. But I'm Ace, so to me, that's what sex is. Or what it should be. A way to connect emotionally with your partner above all else. Honestly, the only reason I wrote sex into TPWP was to explore the way it would interact with their friendship, not to be like... sexual, ha. Glad you liked how I wrote it!

Anyway, thanks again for writing this!! And I'm glad we're mutuals too! Yeah, I am part of some interesting fandoms on my main blog, but I'm glad it's not too off-putting, ha. I'll try and check out that show some day, though! I don't have a lot of emotional energy to get into a new show at the moment (as I'm sure some people can understand, since starting a new fandom can be a lot at times), but maybe once (IF) things calm down for me I'll take a look! I have seen a lot of posts about the monkie kid show, not just from you, so it's something I might check out one of these days. I'm mostly waiting for Our Flag Means Death season 2 to air tomorrow so I can get washed away into Pirate Town for the next month or so, while the episodes release. 😅😅😅

[yssjj]

american psycho: he's just like me fr

In No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, there’s a passage where the main character, Yozo, who is ostensibly Dazai (it is a semi-autobiographical book), struggles to figure out exactly what the hell his Sister wants from him in a fairly obvious situation:

“One autumn evening as I was lying in bed reading a book, the older of my cousins–I always called her Sister–suddenly darted into my room quick as a bird, and collapsed over my bed. She whispered through her tears, “Yozo, you’ll help me, I know. I know you will. Let’s run away from this terrible house together. Oh, help me, please.” She continued in this hysterical vein for a while only to burst into tears again. This was not the first time that a woman had put on such a scene before me, and Sister’s excessively emotional words did not surprise me much. I felt instead a certain boredom at their banality and emptiness. I slipped out of bed, went to my desk and picked up a persimmon. I peeled it and offered my Sister a section. She ate it, still sobbing, and said, “Have you any interesting books? Lend me something.” I chose Soseki’s I am a Cat from my bookshelf and handed it to her. “Thanks for the persimmon,” Sister said as she left the room, an embarrassed smile on her face…”

At this moment, Dazai/Yozo provides an accidentally hilarious moment through his lack of empathy. Even though Yozo faces similar despair, he is unable to connect sadness to the sadness of others. After several trials of this sort of situation where a girl comes to him crying for support (which despite his wishes is a recurring theme in his life), he has figured out a simple, effective solution—distract them with sweets, books, anything at hand, even a suicide pact.

Of course, this isn’t the correct “answer” to these situations. He could have just… talked to her! But this is impossible for Yozo because claims to be completely disconnected from her. And he’s too terrified to try to reach out. He imagines that all other people have a monster behind their mask, ready to attack him at will.

The entire book is like this, a person who doesn’t know how to interact with other people because he is actually terrified of everyone around him, which is all rooted in his feeling of spiritual isolation. The title is a direct statement of the narrator’s feeling towards the world around him—as someone who is just faking being human, what point did he have in existing when he has to live in fear of everyone around him, who is ostensibly better at this being “human” thing than him?

American Psycho was this to me, an attempt by another alien (Patrick Bateman) to decipher exactly what the hell is happening in 80’s yuppie corporate NYC. Or as he aptly puts it:

EVELYN  Well, you hate that job anyway. Why don't you just quit? You don't have to work. BATEMAN  Because I...want...to...fit...in. I think he wants to fit in!

Patrick Bateman has decided, unlike Yozo, that he will fit in. He—at least, consciously—believes that he is stronger than everyone around him. Christian Bale does an awesome job monologuing with the emphasis on monotone, dry, and powerful from his ability to seemingly separate himself from the riff-raff around him. This might be why a lot of men (from what I have heard, no citation given in this article) take from this movie that this is the way of a “sigma” male, one who is different from the rest of the pack.

(This is where I would submit my sigma male test score but I couldn’t find the screenshot.)

fear and anxiety

Because of all the (wrong) takes on American Psycho being anti-feminist because of its violence against women, or the idolization of Patrick Bateman because he can cull his competition, you would think Patrick is good at killing people. This is not true in the movie. Patrick Bateman is actually very, very bad at killing people. When he kills Paul Allen, he becomes a total wreck, running through his apartment to come up with some sort of alibi, slamming open closets and desperately packing together a cute little travel set. Not that I would know how to commit a murder, but you would think for someone who considers himself to be in control Patrick would have a better idea on how to proceed with this kind of thing. His answers to Detective Donald Kimball’s questions range from guilty to insane. When Detective Kimball asks him if he knew Paul Allen was missing, Patrick jumps to asking him if the “homicide squad” is deployed on the case.

He even panics out of a murder when Luis Carruthers hits on him because it’s so unexpected, ending with Patrick desperately looking for any reason to just leave (“I’ve gotta… I’ve gotta… return some videotapes.”—as a bonus, he uses this SEVERAL times in the movie to leave uncomfortable situations). He then washes his gloved hands in the bathroom in an attempt to try to return to a “normal” interaction. It’s not pride and power pushing him forward. It’s anxiety!

Like Yozo, Patrick is also afraid. When he lies to Jean that he got a reservation for two at Dorsia (his trigger word apparently), he decides that the only course of action is to kill Jean before they make it to the restaurant. To directly discuss the traditional idea of toxic masculinity (as referenced by the men who want to be Patrick), theory would say that Patrick kills to gain power over women or to flex his masculinity. But his pride isn’t on the line when he tells Jean that he got a reservation to Dorsia. And he’s not trying to be powerful and masculine when he decides that killing Jean is the only solution. His decision is a panicked answer to stay disconnected from Jean at any cost.

Just as Yozo accepts a suicide pact from a woman because he doesn’t know how else to comfort her while avoiding connection to her, Patrick decides with how smoothly he handled Paul Owen’s murder that staging another murder is a get-out-of-jail-free card from the impending doom of having to admit that he actually can’t get a reservation for Dorsia.

And his Dorsia fear manifests in reality as a personal hell when the maître d’ hysterically laughs at him, screeching, when he first calls for a reservation that night at 8:30 for a date with Courtney. The second time he calls he gets a normal response, with the maître d’ telling him that the restaurant is completely booked for the night. But Patrick’s fear response is already baked in from the first interaction he created with his own anxiety.

societal normalcy and self-acceptance

There’s something deeply relatable to the need to try to figure out what is “normal.” Especially, the further you might naturally be from “societal normal,” the harder it is to try to figure out how to get there. At this point, the proverb “be true to yourself” might seem to come into play. But our urge to be normal is because we want to connect to others. We want to not be alone, even if that’s at the cost of suppressing our true selves.

Patrick manages to fit in at the boy’s club at work by performing all of the gestures of the others, at lunch, at Christmas parties. But his true self is completely isolated from his coworkers. He’s someone who is unrecognized as his own person to the point that people mistake his identity for others in the group. His fiance knows nothing about him and doesn’t care to, even when Patrick is trying to tell her that he has homicidal urges. The only reason she’s even getting married to him is because they have the same friends and breaking up “wouldn’t work.” Even Carruthers only hits on him because of the clothing he wears.

But even when you fit in, you want people to understand you. So Patrick tries to connect with people over and over again. But when he does try,  it’s unreciprocated. The only time he can talk about his interest in pop music is with prostitutes he hires for sex—almost as if the sex is just an excuse (which might be why his violence is also focused on them). His jokes constantly fall flat with his peers. His joke about Ed Gein sticking women’s heads on sticks could be inappropriate (and is given the rest of the context of Patrick’s personality), but it’s a very vulnerable moment for Patrick. He is purposefully revealing part of who he is and receives worse than a bad reaction—no reaction. When your friends rebuke you, it’s a decision to reach out and connect out of care. No reaction is the choice to pull away.

And when he finally does meet someone who is genuinely interested in him as who he is and is willing to reach out to him, he is unable to complete the connection. Jean is the only woman in the movie who isn’t willing to mask to just “fit in.” When Patrick takes her out and talks to her in his condo, we can immediately get a sense of who she is because she’s telling the truth. But Patrick takes this vulnerability and tries to push it away from him—thus the attempt to kill her with a nail gun—and fails as his own vulnerability (he’s cheating on his fiancee) is revealed via inopportune phone call (from said fiancee).

Silence. Jean is obviously embarrassed and upset. JEAN  Was that...Evelyn? Silence. JEAN  Are you still seeing her? Silence. JEAN  I'm sorry, I have no right to ask that. Silence. JEAN  Do you want me to go? A long pause. BATEMAN  Yes. I don’t think I can...control myself. JEAN  I know I should go. I know I have a tendency to get  involved with unavailable men, and...I mean, do you  want me to go? Another long pause. BATEMAN  If you stay, I think something bad will happen. I  think I might hurt you.  (Almost hopefully)  You don't want to get hurt, do you? JEAN  No. No, I guess not. I don't want to get bruised.  You're right, I should go.

And at the end of the movie, Jean is the only one who is able to find Patrick’s “true nature” because she is worried about him after he calls her. Patrick doesn’t reveal who he is to her. She’s the one who searches his desk and finds the drawings he has made of his compulsions, of his real or imagined crimes against humanity.

violence

After violence, Patrick responds with desperation and panic. We even see this in Paul Allen’s murder, the one murder Patrick seemed to really enjoy, where Patrick scrambles to come up with something so that he avoids getting caught. Patrick claims to have killed Christie only because “she almost got away.” In the final chase scene, the consequences come for him at an amazing tempo; police cars surround him after the sound of the first shot dissipates into the air, he escapes but is surrounded again and forced into a shoot-off, then is chased down by helicopters.

But that’s ridiculous—it’s totally fantastical. Because these scenes are in Patrick’s view of reality, it suggests that he wants to get caught. Patrick wants to be held accountable because it’s the only way he could imagine others understanding the immense amount of pain he’s in.

Part of our connection to people who really like us for who we are is that they can help us understand when we feel off. We want our pain to be vindicated as something that’s not okay. In times of desperation, we want to be able to reach out to others and hear sympathy, or reassurance that we are right to feel that something is wrong and that we should go get it checked out.

Patrick describes his need to hurt other people as a consequence of being in pain in the first place at the end of the movie. It’s a call for help for someone to notice and get him arrested so he can get fixed. But Patrick is completely alienated. Beyond Jean, nobody else cares about him to bother being concerned. When he tells a woman that he’s into “murders and executions,” she mishears it as “mergers and acquisitions” due to the level of attention she’s giving that conversation. When he leaves a long, rambling confession of all of his murders to his lawyer, his lawyer first mistakes him for someone else, and then laughs it off as a silly joke. Even as Patrick tries to double down and tell him that he was telling the truth, his lawyer takes the reality of the situation (that Patrick is at least delusional, since Paul Allen is alive and kicking) and decides to tell Patrick off for taking the joke “too far.”

In Patrick’s last monologue after his conversation with his lawyer, he “surpasses” having anything in common with the least sympathizable people.

BATEMAN (V.O.) There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with  the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil,  all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward  it, I have now surpassed... INT. BATEMAN'S OFFICE - DAY Jean is alone in Bateman's office, looking through his diary.  We see the pages that she is looking at. They are filled with  doodles of mutilated women and their names...Jean looks lost  and frightened, and begins to cry. BATEMAN (V.O.) My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better  world for anyone. I fact I want my pain to be inflicted on  others. I want no escape. INT. HARRY'S BAR - EARLY EVENING  As the film ends the camera moves CLOSE on Bateman. He is  leaning back in his leather armchair, drinking a double Scotch,  his eyes blank. BATEMAN (V.O.) But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis. I gain no  deeper knowledge about myself, no new knowledge can be extracted  from my telling. There has been no reason for me to tell you any  of this. This confession has meant nothing...

He knows that losing his connection with even the most insane people will mean his internal pain will find no catharsis. Nobody can reach him and soothe his pain. So he inflicts his pain on others, even though it doesn’t help his pain, because it’s better than not doing anything. All he has left are the drawings that Jean has discovered, his last call for help.

Pain will always exist. But connection makes us understand that our pain is human, even our pain seems to come out of us in terrifying ways. In this way, Mary Harron has created a feminist movie by simply letting guys have emotions. The consequence of allowing men to have feelings is that they want to find other people who truly understand them. Patrick and his coworkers simply “fit in” but they don’t belong to each other, to anything at all beyond a sheer facade, a mask that can be put on and peeled off at the end of each day.

Then maybe we can rework toxic masculinity from being a way to have power in social situations to wanting to just “fit in” as a way to get some sort of connection to others, even if the people you hang out with don’t really understand you. But the consequence of this is that these shallow connections don’t fulfill us, and when we undergo pain, it becomes easier to take it out on these people that you don’t even like anyway, or people who aren’t even in your ingroup. When men see Patrick Bateman as a sigma male, is it that they see someone in control? Or is it that they see someone who shows a way to cope with the pain they feel, even if the method is violent and doesn’t even work, but at least it seems cathartic on the movie screen?

[reviewsthatburn]

As the sixteenth book in a long-running series, BE THE SERPENT represents a new status quo. The change from Simon as a villain to someone in the process of healing was teased in NIGHT AND SILENCE, established in A KILLING FROST, doubled down upon in various short stories, and confirmed in WHEN SORROWS COME during Toby's wedding. This span also is responsible for Rayseline Torquill's current condition and the request which kicks off BE THE SERPENT. Her elf-shot slumber and former misdeeds need to be addressed in a way that leaves her room to get better now that her blood is no longer fighting within her. Once that's addressed, there's a new storyline which, while some aspects of it were teased in the previous several books, has its inciting incident within these pages. The main storyline features several things which are introduced and resolved, plus a very stressful cliffhanger and final pages which promise a very interesting start to the next book. This is definitely not the end of the series, and it explicitly leaves several things (beyond the cliffhanger) which future books will need to address.

Full review at link.

[belayapolosa1444]

Idk if its ventpost or smth if you want to then read my stupid ass complaining! Grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee (or even lean if you want to) and take a look at list of things that i hate in writing/reading a book.

I FUCKING HATE WRITING MY BOOK.

I was a wattpad writer for 5 years. From 2022 im writing a book for serious. I want it to be published in the future, so im trying very hard to be actually good and enjoyable. BUT i have a few... Problems i guess?? Obviously im not suggesting that i could be neurodivergent, nor i am selfdiagnosing.

I SEE PATTERNS VERY SHARPLY. I dont know if its autism or other typa shit but when i write or read im always pissed at "patterns" in writing. Not that are genual like repeated, not creative adjectives, but verbs, words that emphasize that a character is saying something at the moment - like if i was literally skipping them and reading 50% of the book instead. I love books (stfu tiktok problematic romance novels) but i feel like something is wrong with me.

For the past couple of months i havent updated any story on wattpad, only writing and creating the lore behind actions in story. I feel tired, because of how the lore is comming out - things that characters (based on countries, yes i come from countryhumans) are doing are repetitive and boring.

(probably because im introverted lil bitch) Dialogs in my book come in three types: type one is this funny dialogs that are coloring my story up; type two being "deep" and "sad" dialogs that i still cant properly write😭 and so edgy that im throwing up fr; and three - i dont even know what are them but maybe are two i wrote above in one kind.

The easiest thing in writing my book is narrator. Third person, knows everything and sometimes says brilliant, or as you from the new generation says "silly" things. Cant explain them rn because it would be hard.

★

Honestly? I dont know what i have wrote. I was never reading my vents/complaints again. Theyre only in my life because i dont want to impose myself on people, bother them or worry about me. And because i want to stay as happy as i can! Im gonna leave it there, please share your opinions or even help me if you want to. Sincerely, belayapolosa.

Of course i will complete my list later, so stay tuned or smth.

[auseryoumayknow]

These Two Windows!!!

Alamo!

YEEAAAAHH 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 OMG HIS VOICE IS JUST WOW AND LIKE AAAAAAA DUDE LIKE WHOS BEEN GATEKEEPING THIS FROM ME

AND THE TALKING? LIKE OMG THE WAY HE JUST “let me out so I can just live my life” 🫢 MIC. FUCKING. DROP.

2. “The book of you and I”

“Well it all began in the back of her car” - 👴🏻

I’m joking, it’s definitely a chill song. I’m def not in the mood for that type of music rn XD. The chorus really hit.

3. “Oh My God”

one of my favourites!!!!!! Literally I relate so much to this song

4. “Mind is a prison”

fucking LOVE this song bro

I I I I I I I I

Me fr

5. “Must have been the wind”

this one tho!!!! Cuz like it brings such a powerful message and such visuals

also am I the only one who thought it was “with my boombox on the roof”

NO

it’s “aim my boombox at the roof”

I’ve been lied to?????

ur always welcome to come in :)

6. “I’m not a cynic”

damn. That’s all I have to say.

7. “Demons”

this song is literally my favourite song at the moment. If you haven’t listened to it you should. The lyrics are meaningful, the melody is for any time of day. Blastin it in my car whenever I get my license

8. “Just like you”

definitely not one of my favourites melodywise but it’s still really good and honestly there’s some lessons in the lyrics, and it’s interesting

9. “Jesus in LA”

I love this one /srs

I’m not even Christian but it’s a banger 🤘

10. “Match in the rain”

if Apple Music has a music vid on it, you know it’s good.

it is good. Like, I can see myself sitting on a windowsill while it rains and just sitting here listening to it :)

that was my review of These Two Windows 😌 I’ll get to Narrated For You as soon as I can :) could be tomorrow, could be next week XD