#but watching the beast live action was such an experience lol; every time I started to question… the choices… just had to bonk myself on

[ivyithink]

mmmmmmmm, yes, watched “bungo stray dogs: beast live action” recently and WOW, they did just tell the most tragic goddamn love story like it’s okay and normal and allowed??? no amount of bad cgi is gonna help you cover up the undeniable queerness that was going on, movie, nuh-uh, not gonna work on me, I’ve seen stuff like this before!

translation! text from the 1st pic (from Ukrainian to, well, English, obv) :

oda’s asking “what have you done already?” and the text on the right says “find yourself someone who will look at you like etc.”

[sharkbait77]

The Sun Sets With You

Chapter Five: Just A Man

Summary: A simple yet despondent farm life suddenly sparks with new hope when an unusual traveler makes your town his latest stop and brings with him intriguing and promising viewpoints and no one to share them with. Until he meets you.

Pairing: Ezra Prospect x f!Reader

Rating: M

Warnings: Fluff! (It's getting cute y'all!), death of a parent, grief, smoking, food, Silas🤢, a little sad Ezra in this one

W/C: 4k (made it a little longer to make up for the wait! 🥺)

A/N: We are back! I'm so so so sorry this took so long to get out! What can I say, life happened & kept knocking me down & I couldn't find the strength to write for this fic. I'm still not even completely happy with this chapter, but after reading it so many times, I think it's okay lol a huge thanks to everyone for being so patient & lovely to me ♥️ okay, I'll shut up, hope you enjoy!

Series || Main || Taglist || AO3

Chapter Four || Chapter Six

~MAY EIGHTH OF EIGHTEEN SIXTY-SEVEN~

As the days and weeks passed, Ezra finally felt comfortable enough to join you and Pa for meals at your family table, sitting and eating quietly until responding to a thought or question of Pa’s. It felt nice. It felt…warm and natural. As opposed to the slight coldness you’ve felt sitting with Pa, without your mother. Though it was still as quiet as your meals alone with your father, the silence now was more comforting.

You realized shortly after that last evening under the tree with Ezra what exactly ails you when near him, why exactly your pulse quickens and you feel heat flush your neck and cheeks. It was a startling conclusion, given that you have been inexperienced when it comes to the term ‘love’, outside of the love you felt for Ma and Pa. This, with Ezra, contrasts immensely.

It had caught you off guard, a small infatuation with the man that you realized must have taken hold of your heart from the first moment you met him, when you simply could not remove your eyes from his face. You now find your eyes lingering on his features longer, learning the curve of his smile, the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, memorizing the tone of his voice and his laugh to be replayed in moments of silence.

It’s strange; a simple emotion that you had witnessed your whole childhood into adulthood from your Ma and Pa, an emotion you carry in your heart for each of them, though the way you experience it now, the strength in which it has grasped onto your very being – and so suddenly – has been enough to make the room spin whenever you lay your eyes on him. The idea of taking a husband has never been one of priority. Up until now, at least.

“Many thanks for the delicious meal, miss. I am grateful you have welcomed me into your home as such,” Ezra says as he stands, helping you take the soiled dishes to the wash basin.

“You have always been welcome, Mr. Prospect. I am glad you now feel comfortable joining us,” you say with a gentle smile, looking up at him as he approaches you with the dishes. You catch a faint hue of pink spreading across his sun kissed cheeks.

“Would you care for a pipe, Mr. Prospect?” Pa calls out as he sits in his chair by the fireplace, beginning to pack away tobacco in his own pipe.

“I very much appreciate the offer, sir, however I do not smoke,” Ezra replies kindly as he turns away from you to face Pa and you begin washing.

“Good man; do not start the nasty habit until you become old and worn as I am now,” Pa jests.

“I only see a wise man, years of strength and kindness the only evidence that you have lived a wonderful life thus far,” Ezra compliments and Pa releases a hearty laugh.

“As I said: ‘old’,” Pa replies and both Ezra and you laugh along.

The genuine and natural lightheartedness of the conversations Pa and Ezra shared tonight warms your heart and you realize tonight has been one of the few nights you’ve smiled so freely, so frequently, since Ma’s passing and you strongly sense her spirit surrounding the three of you. Almost as if you could hear her laughing along with you all.

Although a feeling of sadness lingers in your heart that she cannot be here physically, you remember Ezra’s kind words and let them ease you. The comfort you feel wash over you leaves you pondering if it’s a sign of acceptance from above, from Ma, that she welcomes Ezra’s presence amongst you and Pa.

“Can I be of any assistance, Sunflower?” Ezra turns and asks quietly, out of earshot of Pa and addressing you by his personal endearment he has bestowed upon you.

“Thank you for offering, Ezra,” you reply just as softly. His given name had nearly slipped from your lips on more than one occasion tonight, but you felt it best to remain coy in front of your father. “I’m nearly finished now.”

“Perhaps tomorrow night. I will not miss my chance then to be of service,” he smiles and the inside of your cheek stings from the bite you dealt to keep from grinning widely. “I will take my leave for the night. The lovely beasts I room with will be missing my presence, I fear,” he says, loud enough for Pa to hear as well and Pa chuckles at his statement.

“Always a pleasure to have you for dinner, Mr. Prospect,” Pa says and stands to shake Ezra’s hand. “Daughter, would you be so kind as to walk Mr. Prospect to the door?”

“Yes Pa,” you nod, abandoning the soapy dishes for the time being and you wipe your hands to dry on your apron as you head towards the door with Ezra.

Pa smiles again in Ezra’s direction as he walks past and takes his seat once again, watching the flames dance and flicker. Ezra opens the door, allowing you to walk through and step on the porch and he follows suit, shutting the door behind him.

“Shall I walk you to the barn?” You offer.

“No, Sunflower, I would prefer you to stay. The dark of night may carry with it many dangers lurking around the corner.”

“All the more reason I should walk with you,” you grin, wrapping your arms around the wooden support post as you watch him step down into the dirt.

“Then I would intend on escorting you back here and we will only find ourselves repeating the action for one another until daybreak,” he chuckles. “Until tomorrow, dear Sunflower.”

“Tomorrow,” you smile and nod. “Good night, Ezra.”

“Good night,” he bows his head in farewell and turns on his heels to head toward the barn. You linger a moment longer to assure he is well on his way, waving when he turns back to steal another glance at you.

You take a deep breath to calm your galloping heart and turn to walk back inside, Pa sitting quietly as he continues smoking. You head back to the wash basin to finish the chore, rinsing, drying, and putting away the dishes before heading over to sit next to Pa, grabbing a new book from your small collection.

You decided to leave Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland to read with Ezra under the tree and the image of the two of you lying in the grass as you read to him brings a contented smile to your face. After quite a bit of comfortable silence, you feel the curiosity inching through your brain like an insect and decide to give in to the itch.

“H-how are the crops faring, Pa?” You ask while picking at the corner of your book.

“They grow fine,” Pa replies simply. “Each and every week another inch to their lives added.”

“And… Mr. Prospect has been much help?” You continue carefully.

“Oh yes, he has taken on the majority of the labor. We are blessed that he sought to help us.”

“Yes,” you smile softly as you lower your head slightly, gathering the courage to continue the conversation. “And… How do you feel about… Mr. Prospect?”

“What do you mean, child?”

“The townspeople think him...odd.”

“They must reflect on themselves before passing that judgement onto an innocent man. Especially the four hens, as you like to call them,” you giggle and look up at Pa, a slight smirk hidden beneath his thick, grey beard as he lets out a deep chuckle.

“Yes, but… What do you think of Mr. Prospect?”

“Why the curiosity, daughter?” He asks, though no irritation is found in his voice; instead, a light-hearted tone, one of knowing. Knowing why you insist on finding out his opinion.

“Merely curious, Pa,” you say quietly, just loud enough for him to hear over the crackle of the fire.

“Hm,” he hums as he inhales smoke through his pipe, taking his time to retrieve an forthright answer from his mind while you gaze at him in anticipation.

“He is an honest man. Good and kind. A hard worker. I believe he is fit to be a lawful husband to any girl who seeks his affection,” he finally says, looking deep into your eyes and his words go straight to your fast beating heart.

You catch the smile on your face growing, evident in the strain you feel across your cheeks and you put your head down to face the book in your lap.

“That's nice,” you reply once you've cleared your throat and regained control of the muscles on your face.

“Yes. Yes it is,” Pa smirks as he inhales another puff from his pipe.

~MAY TENTH OF EIGHTEEN SIXTY-SEVEN~

Today is as exhilarating as the rest; you attempt to sort through the inventory of the shop, taking note of which supplies are dwindling while also marking down new items the townspeople have requested, such as candles and playing cards for the children. As you walk toward the back of the shop, beginning your count of products there, the shop bell dings and you hear boots stomping from whoever has stepped through the door.

“Just a moment, please,” you call out to the customer from over your shoulder, hoping not to lose track of the count in your head.

“Please, do not rush, Sunflower,” a gentle, familiar voice replies and you feel your heart thumping faster in your chest now as you turn quickly, inventory be damned.

“Ezra,” you greet the man standing meekly at the front of the shop. He takes a few steps forward to meet you beside the counter. “What brings you to town? Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh, no thank you, Sunflower. I needed to send a letter off at the post and thought that my day would be much brighter were I able to visit you as well,” he says with a soft grin and you lower your head to hide the bashful expression on your face.

“Well, my day has brightened now, too,” you reply, gaining the courage to look up at him again, the apples of his cheeks reddening. “I trust you were promptly taken care of then?”

“Yes, Mr. Williams is a kind man,” he nods. “The elderly woman who works there as well – she is quite the conversationalist,” he releases a soft laugh.

“Ah, yes. Mrs. Williams,” you shake your head. “She actually does not work there, just adores to be in the center of it all,” you jest and Ezra chuckles. “I do hope she was not too overbearing.”

“Only slightly,” he shrugs. “After you and your Pa, her and Mr. Williams have treated me the kindest since my arrival.”

“Oh Ezra,” you share a perturbed look. “I am truly sorry for the way the town has behaved.”

“Sunflower, you have no reason whatsoever to apologize for the actions of others. Unfortunately, this town has not been the most unpleasant I’ve come across. I was very lucky to have found you. And your Pa,” he rushes the last phrase and you smile knowingly, his mouth curving slightly as well.

You open your mouth to continue the conversation, the innocent coquetry between you, yet no sounds are released from your mouth before the shop bell dings again and you sigh at the interruption. You turn your head and your racing heart, caused by Ezra’s presence, races faster, only in anger now.

“And what do we have here?” Silas’s booming, uninvited voice resonates through the shop. “What business could a queer like you have to conduct in town?” He looks at Ezra and you step in front of him.

“I told you not to call him that, Silas.”

“It does not seem he’s made any purchase,” he says, making a show of looking in Ezra’s hands for any paper bag. “Yet he is allowed to stay and converse while you toss me in the dirt.”

“Go away, Silas.”

“Sunflower-” Ezra calls gently from behind you, unable to finish his thought.

“‘Sunflower’?!” Silas laughs. “She does not need a freak to endear her, not when she has a real man. Like me.”

“Silas, he is more of a man than you could ever hope to be,” you spit out.

Of all the times you had the opportunity to speak your mind to Silas, you held back. Though, now that it is directed to Ezra, you feel that innate protectiveness for him wash over you again, no matter the cost or consequence.

“You dare say such a thing to me, girl?” Silas takes a menacing step forward.

“She is not a girl and you will not speak to her as one,” Ezra moves to stand in front of you now. “And I do believe she has requested for you to take your leave.”

“And exactly who will force me out? You?” Silas puffs out his chest, as if he were attempting to assert his role as an alpha, and frustration grows on his face at Ezra’s lack of response to the tactic.

“If I must.” Ezra replies simply and calmly, the tone of his voice even, though underneath lies a hidden message that he would not back down from a brawl, if it were to come to that.

“Ezra, please, he isn’t worth it,” you say softly, reaching out to hold his forearm.

“Oh, aren’t I?” Silas scoffs.

“I will summon Sheriff Wilson here to collect you himself if you do not leave my shop right this instant,” you hold your unyielding gaze to Silas’s, raising your chin slightly so as to challenge him to defy your wishes.

Silas hmph’s, his thick brows arching menacingly as he glances down at where your hand rests firmly on Ezra’s arm, clearly displeased at the contact. You feel Ezra’s form tense next to you, and you use your free hand to lightly press against his back in an effort to calm him.

“Fine,” Silas finally says harshly as he turns his back to you and Ezra and stomps to the door.

He looks over his shoulder one more time at the two of you and something about his animalistic eyes sends a nasty shiver down your spine. Before he can see you falter, he rips the door open, walks through, and slams it shut, rattling the frame as he leaves. You exhale shakily and Ezra turns his body to face yours, his hands gripping onto your upper arms as his eyes rake over your face in concern.

“Are you alright, Sunflower?”

“Oh Ezra,” you gaze at him thoughtfully. “It should be me asking you that same question.”

“Please, don’t worry about me. My only concern is you,” he continues, his eyes trying to follow yours as you look away from him. “Does he come here unannounced often? Has he bothered you before?”

“Ezra, he has always been a thorn in my side, but it is nothing for you to concern yourself with. I promise,” you look in his eyes, hoping to convince him, but you suspect it does not work and his hands fall from your arms.

“Sunflower… I did not appreciate the way he looked at you and spoke to you.”

“It’s alright Ezra, it is not anything I can’t handle,” you smile and grasp one of his hands in both of yours, squeezing it gently as reassurance.

You’re unsure of what to say. What could you say? That up until now you have been cowardly when it came to Silas Taylor? That it was not until Ezra’s arrival to town that you have come to know a stronger side of yourself, willing to risk your already frail reputation to defend this man’s name?

Ezra sighs heavily, staring into your eyes a moment longer before looking away. You watch his eyebrows crinkle together, the worry wrinkles along his forehead becoming more prominent as he reflects on the situation that just passed.

“Are you alright? Please… Do not take anything he says to heart,” you say softly and your kind voice pulls him back from his thoughts and to this moment with you. He smirks and huffs a chuckle through his nose.

“No fear, Sunflower. It is not a trial I cannot handle,” he cocoons your hands in both of his and squeezes lightly, as if to reassure you he is alright. “I will go now, Sunflower.”

“I understand,” you nod. “Then… I will see you back at the farm for supper.”

He smiles to acknowledge your words, releasing your hands and heading to the door. He turns once more to nod his goodbye, places his hat back on his head, and walks out the door. You walk to the front of the shop to watch him through the window, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped forward as he walks swiftly to leave the area.

Your head feels on fire, ready to blow steam at any moment as you watch the townspeople around staring at him. They turn to each other, presumably whispering gossip amongst themselves about him. Unfortunately, as you have come to know Silas, you know he will be spreading word of the ‘threat’ he felt from Ezra, which you surmise will only result in the townspeople turning their backs on Ezra even further.

~MAY TWELFTH OF EIGHTEEN SIXTY-SEVEN~

Ezra had not shown up for supper that night or the night that followed. You had wanted to take supper to him, but Pa advised against it. He had heard on his last trip to town what transpired between you, Ezra, and Silas. You prepared yourself to, once again, defend Ezra, however, Pa’s unabated rancor of Silas all but guaranteed Pa would not believe a word from his mouth.

Pa informed you that when he returned and asked Ezra about the situation, he assured the man that he was not at risk of losing the job at the farm, and while he was grateful, he did not wish to speak on it further. Pa told you to leave him to gather his bearings and you complied.

On your way to the oak tree, you pick two apples as you had done the Sunday prior, and to your earnest disappointment, you do not see Ezra as the tree comes into view. You look left, then right, hoping it was possible he had just walked along the riverbank, but you were alone.

Heaving a sigh, you turn to face the way you came as you debate on heading back. Your weekly tradition almost seemed silly to continue alone, after having been in Ezra’s company the past few weeks. It almost felt...incorrect to spend time here without Ezra now. You take a few steps forward, now under the shade of the tree, sparing another moment in case you missed him.

“Sunflower,” his elated voice from above frightens you and you quickly turn your head to follow the sound, seeing his bright smile from where he sits on a thick branch.

“Ezra! You startled me!” You chuckle as you take a few breaths, covering your racing heart with your hand.

“My apologies,” he chuckles. “I did not hear you walk up otherwise I would have made my presence known sooner.”

“I did not expect to see you in the tree today,” you smile up at him.

“Come, join me,” he smiles, patting the bark to the side of him.

“I have not climbed a tree since I was a child, Ezra. I will fall,” you shake your head.

“I will never let you fall, Sunflower,” he smiles and your now settled heart begins to race again. “It’s simple, really. Nothing to it. I will guide your steps.”

You take a deep breath, pondering for a moment if the risk was truly worth it, but there’s an excitement in this small adventure that you feel your soul reaching for. You smile at Ezra and nod, removing your bag and placing it at the base of the tree.

You follow Ezra’s voice commands as he tells you where to step up and you use more muscles in your body than you have in so long. You heave yourself upwards, careful that your boots do not miss any section of the tree that will have you flying all the way back down.

Finally, you make it far enough for Ezra to take hold of your arm, using his strength now to help pull you up until you’re close enough to attempt to sit. He scoots over, keeping his hand tightly grasped on your arm to make sure you don’t fall. Though, at this point, if you were to fall, Ezra would certainly fall with you.

You plant your bottom firmly onto the branch, breathing heavily and smiling widely at the accomplishment and Ezra chuckles along with you. You try to settle yourself further and suddenly get the sense of falling, reaching out instinctively to hold onto Ezra’s arm and you practically glue yourself to his side for support.

“You will not fall, Sunflower,” he reassures and you feel him lean closer into you to comfort you.

“Pardon me,” you giggle, feeling steady enough now to remove yourself from him. You take a deep breath and look out ahead at the river and the grassland, spotting the other farms in the distance. “Wow,” you say breathlessly. “It’s a beautiful sight.”

“Yes, it is,” Ezra responds softly. You turn your head to him where you already meet his gaze and turn away again as you smile.

“Oh no,” you gasp as your eyes meet your bag down below. “I left the book… And the apples,” you turn to frown at Ezra.

“Do not fret, Sunflower,” he smiles. “I enjoy your company regardless.”

“Maybe...you could read me more of your prose?” You prod gently, hoping he will be willing.

“Yes,” he says wistfully as he glances down at his journal. “I do like when you read to me, however.”

You smile as he passes his journal to you and you cradle it with care in your hands. You move to open it and the binding opens automatically to one page, clearly still stiff from where he had it open, this addition to the pages only written just recently. You clear your throat and let your eyes dance as they pick up the words in his neat handwriting.

“‘A being from a different universe desires to live amongst the men in peace on Earth, for his purpose to be written in the stars. A nomad, an outcast on the run, desperate for a residence more suitable than his dreams. Soon, he will find home, and soon, he will find life’,” your voice trails towards the end of the passage, your heart wrenching at the meaning behind it.

“Ezra…” You call softly once you notice his head has lowered.

The silence stretches and you can almost visualize it expanding across the lands in front of your view, any helpful or comforting words escaping from your reach. The only conclusion your mind seems to come to is just to place a hand softly on his thigh. You feel his muscle twitch at the contact and he glances over at you, a light tint of pink beginning to spread across his cheeks.

You suddenly feel embarrassed to have placed your hand there and you immediately think to yourself that perhaps it was not welcomed, though before you can remove your hand, Ezra places his own, large and warm, over yours. Your mind settles while your heart beats rapidly. You still do not know what to say, but it does not seem Ezra is expecting for you to say anything at all.

“I’ve missed you at supper, Ezra,” you whisper and grin softly.

“Forgive me for my absence, I was not… I did not feel…” You sense him struggling as he lowers his head again and you place your other hand on top of your intertwined ones.

“I understand; you have no need to apologize.”

He looks at you again and you give him a reassuring smile and he returns the gesture. You two say nothing and let the comfortable silence blanket the air around you while you gaze out to your surroundings again, your hands not leaving each other’s grasp.

“Sunflower?” He calls and you turn to face him again.

“Yes, Ezra?”

“I’ve missed you as well.”

Chapter Four || Chapter Six

Series || Main || Taglist || AO3

Tags: @the-ginger-hedge-witch @asta-lily @honeymandos @pascalpanic @aliwritesfic @mandocrasis @hnt-escape @winter-fox-queen @sarahjkl82-blog @day-off-inkyoto @pedrocentric @astoryisaloveaffair @amandalovess @foli-vora @lucrezia-thoughts @chasingdreamer @quica-quica-quica @pedro4ever @mishasminion360 @wardenparker @librariantothejedi @fan-of-encouragement @javierpinme @writeforfandoms @ew-erin @you-got-me-starry-eyed @beskarboobs @andiesturgss @maryfanson @princessxkenobi @castleamc @magpie-to-the-morning @pbeatriz @radiowallet @stevie75 @honestly-shite @bison-writes @amneris21 @disgruntledspacedad

Ezra Prospect Tags: @quietpainter @grogusmum @tenderwhat

[coraline-coraline]

My thoughts on the Måneskin LA concert (2021.11.01)

After watching the recording on TikTok live, I just wanted to write down some thoughts I have on Må and their incredible show 😍

Their energy is just CRAZY. You can see it from the pics and the videos taken by the fans, but watching everything from start to end like this you can really feel how strong and explosive their performance is. I mean, I was just watching it on my phone from my couch at home and I just couldn't sit still, I had to move, dance, scream and sing. That proves just how powerful the atmosphere in their concerts is.

One thing that sets them apart from other artists is how authentic their music is. You can usually tell how good a singer/band/etc is by just watching them live. Some sound just the same as in a recording, which I think is amazing and I admire in many cases as well, but people like Måneskin just go beyond that. It's like they remake their music every time they play it. And that's SO GOOD. No matter how many times you've listened to their songs on repeat, it just feels like a new song when you see it in a concert like this, so fresh and genuine.

Damiano has such a great and effortless way of leading the crowd. He is just a natural. I know everybody knows this and he's shown it many times, but for me this was the first time I saw it in action like that. He's just aware of EVERYTHING. He even listens to the fans shouting when he's trying to speak, while others would just focus on what they're saying. He tries to make it a fun experience for everybody and also (something I really, really love about him) for Vic, Thomas and Ethan to shine just as much as he does and not be in the spotlight all the time. As the lead singer (and as charismatic as he is), he can't avoid attracting the attention most of the time, but you can see him making a conscious effort to divide it among his friends as well. And last but not least, his voice, oh my god. So raspy, powerful and raw. I just love it 🖤

Vic, as I usually say in my tags (lol), is just a goddess. I may sound biased (and I might be to some extent, I'm not gonna lie xD), but really, you just need to look at her and the way she moves, she's so divine. Just as Damiano seems to be aware of everything around him, I feel Vic goes into her own world and just plays and dances there, delighted, while we mortals just watch in awe. She's SO MUCH into the music, I love it. And she shares her passion with the boys and shines so brightly while doing so. I'm so in love with her, dammit. Apart form this, I must say that her outfit for this concert is one of my favorites ever, you just need to look at my pfp. Please, Victoria de Angelis, just marry me 🥺

Thomas is the embodiment of wild, pure talent. It simply seeps through his pores, like magic. One of the things I enjoyed a lot from watching this live are the different/extended versions they played of some songs, like IWBYS. Boy, that was amazing. You can really see how great he truly is as a guitarist. I know very little about playing music (I only know how to play the uke, and in a very basic way tbh), but it's obvious how much and how fast he's been improving. I mean, he's always been a genius, but let's not forget he's only 20, fgs. Imagine how far he can go from now on, he's gonna be a LEGEND.

Ethan, you beast of a man in that corset skskdkxfodkeifnkskd is incredibly vibrant as well. You can see he puts his soul into his playing and lets himself go. I'm so, so glad I could finally watch him playing properly, because in the pictures and fan videos he's just there in the back doing his thing and you usually don't get to see much of him, poor baby (same goes for the tv perfs usually). I guess he's more the Vic type and also plays in some sort of trance, but you can feel he's carrying and producing a lot of the energy of the music (idk if it's just because he's playing the drums, but I haven't felt the same watching other bands). What I mean is he's not just playing a base for the rest, he's like holding them up and elevating them. That's what I feel watching and listening to him. He's such a wonderful musician.

This got so much longer and deeper than I intended it to be 😂😂😂 I just want to finish with an opinion I've been holding for some time now and I was afraid of expressing because I know it's probably gonna be unpopular, but I need to say it. It's about the fans who are on their phones ALL THE TIME. Now, as I said, this is an opinion and I'm not trying to tell anybody what to do or how to enjoy themselves. But, you're at a Måneskin concert, first row, Damiano is singing in front of you, Vic is playing in front of you, Thomas is playing in front of you and Ethan too, a bit further away, and you insist on putting a device between them and you and probably end up watching them through a screen? Why? Maybe this is because I'm in the older spectrum of the fandom and phone cameras were really shitty when I started going to concerts, but I just don't get it. I mean, I'm really thankful to everybody who récords and shares their videos so we can see literally everything they do on stage, but tbh I wouldn't do the same. Call me an old lady if you like, but I would even forget I have a phone. I would try to absorb everything and save the moment in my mind and, above all, to interact directly with them. At times I've seen Damiano annoyed with people just pointing their phones at his face, and I would be too. In this concert he even had to ask them twice to put their phones away. Hello? It just baffles me.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my TED talk xD If you read up to here, I love you 😘 My ask is totally open if you want to talk about anything or just throw a brick at me

[being-worthy]

Saturday Home Cinema: Mulan (2020) - A very honest review!

I just had to write this review because Mulan is one of my heroes and I’m a huge fan of the original Disney Mulan (1998). I saw the movie for the first time as a kid when I had trouble feeling integrated and was daily bullied at school. I re-watched it again and again and again until I was able to learn by heart the script and all the songs in German (and later on, even in English). I just saw so much of myself in Mulan (maybe except for the fact that I’m not as beautiful or witty as she is). I too always felt out of place and I couldn’t be my true self and I was never very ladylike either. I also looked up at her and saw her as a role model. Sometimes I thought that if I stared long enough at my reflection in the mirror, it’d show me my true self - and I’m still waiting to this day… Disney’s 1998 version of Mulan was and still is my favourite Disney movie.

> SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!! <

The best thing about this movie is the soundtrack, especially at the end. Christina Aguilera was the right choice to sing Reflection and Loyal Brave True. The goosebumps her voice gives, I can’t even describe how extraordinary her voice is. In the end credits, you can listen to the English version of Reflection as well as the Chinese version (sadly sung by Liu Yifei  ¬¬). It’s worth to watch the end credits and listen to the songs.

*My suggestion: Stop whatever you’re doing. Put on some headphones (even better if they’re noise-cancelling), close your eyes, play the song Reflection song (and Loyal Brave True if you feel like it) by Christina Aguilera, no distractions no interruptions, forget about everything and everyone, let the song flow through your ears, mind, heart, body, and soul, and you will feel like you’re Mulan, especially when the drumming gets louder, it’s epically epic! (Sorry for the redundancy but it IS a remarkable song!)

I welcome the idea of wanting to take a classic and do something new, something fresh with it but humanity could’ve gone without this movie and they shouldn’t ask for $35 to watch it on Disney+ and sometimes a classical doesn’t need to be redone. Additionally, I can’t entirely understand what’s going on these past years not only with Disney but Hollywood and all other big movie production companies. It’s either remake of this classic or a 2nd/3rd sequel of a movie that doesn’t actually require a sequel but it’s still done anyway. Why even bother wasting big amounts of money to create a disaster? You’re better of donating that money to charity (or to me lol). The main thing that Disney has been doing lately are remakes of many of our childhood movies Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, among others, and now Mulan. Some have a few good parts in them but they still can’t and never will compare to the original. Why is there no originality and innovation anymore? Have they run out of ideas? Furthermore, let’s be honest people will always compare the remake (either consciously or unconsciously) with the original because there are less than a dozen movies where the remake either was (almost) as good as the original much less better than the original. The movie Mulan (2020) had a massive budget and is the most expensive film made by a female director (Niki Caro), yet how they made it, the battle sequences and CGI effects, etc. they’re all crappy.

Budgets of all Mulan interpretations:

Mulan (1998) - $90 million > Directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Made $304.3 million in the box office

Hua Mulan (2009) - $12 million > Directed by Jingle Ma. Sadly, made only $1.8 million in the box office. It deserved more love!

Mulan (2020) - $200 million(!!) > All that budget was a waste!

I’ve seen all three versions. The 1998 version is for everybody and it’s funny and you feel with the characters and the film. Let’s be honest, the granny is one of the best characters, most of us have or had a granny like that in our lives. The 2nd one is a 2-hour long movie, a more mature adaption which illustrates the ugly harsh truth about war and the loss and death it brings with it and that there’s nothing funny or cool about it. This one is not suitable for children. You feel with the characters and their sacrifices and they also develop along the movie. I can only recommend to watch this version if you haven’t. And the latest one is a disgrace.

I’m a bit confused as to what the message of the movie is. On one hand, it tells you shouldn’t hide your inner beauty, you shouldn’t hide who you are, you shouldn’t hide your abilities, you shouldn’t try to hide who you truly are in order to conform to what the world/society wants you to be or who you should be, let your true self shine and be yourself and don’t allow anyone to tell you that you’re inferior just because they think/say you are. This is something powerful and admirable but, on the other hand, at the same time, it tells you that you can only do that if you are the chosen one. Let me explain... In the beginning, we see Mulan as a little girl chasing a chicken up to the roofs of the houses at the village where she lives. Basically, she’s born as a one-woman army (almost deus ex machina) and doesn’t require any further training which is total and utter rubbish. She has all the skills because of her powerful chi (vital life force energy) but has to underplay them because it’s not very ladylike to behave like she wants to and she still underplays them when she trains with the soldiers so as to keep a low profile. Her being so powerful from the beginning makes me feel alienated from her and I can’t empathise with her. It’s also not very realistic, nobody is born with their abilities fully developed. For example, even Bruce Lee had to train hard to get where he got and he wasn’t the only one.

The original version shows us a regular girl, at times clumsy (which is a cliché but we still liked it) and when she’s confronted with new situations, she analyses them and finds a quick canny solution to them. She also has to train her body and mind to get to the peak of her potential and accomplish what nobody else could in her time, and here the character is done from the start of the movie and the only thing she has to do is choose not to hide her chi anymore. This tells us that you don’t have to work hard to achieve your dreams whereas in reality you actually do have to work your butt off!

I’m not a fan of the leading actress they chose for Mulan, aka Liu Yifei, not only because she’s a police brutality supporter according to her controversial tweets a while back - this already makes her unworthy to portray Mulan who is the complete opposite - but also because she didn’t do a good job at depicting this great role. Mulan is a role model for every girl and woman and it’s a massive contradiction if a woman who agrees to the atrocious police methods impersonates her role. What message do we send out to every girl out in the world? In her acting she’s this blank and hollow person through the movie and transmits no emotion whatsoever - not even when she cries. This also makes it difficult for me to identify myself with her. She’s this wooden plank, she is and stays a blank canvas through the whole movie with no growth in her character and it’s frustrating having to see this because the character of Mulan isn’t at all like this. Mulan experiences many emotions from the moment where she makes the decision to enlist so her father doesn’t have to or when she experiences the loss of her comrades or has to kill someone for the first time, etc. she suffers along her journey and all this changes her but you see nothing of it in Liu Yifei’s Mulan.

In the Disney version, there are some crucial moments that are missing in the new one. For instance, the most crucial one is the moment where Mulan decides to go to war. If you remember the animation one, she’s sitting in the rain by the dragon statue and at that moment makes a decision that could kill her or worse bring dishonour to herself and her entire family (including ancestors) which was far worse than death during that time! She gets up, marches to the altar of her ancestors, takes her father’s sword and cuts her hair (I know men had long hair back then too but still), puts on the armour and goes to war. All this while being accompanied by an epic song written by Jerry Goldsmith called Haircut. This is one of the most intense and dramatic moments in the movie and in all Disney movies! You can understand and feel the importance of this decision for the character and you feel the weight of it! In the 2020 one, she takes the sword and the next shot presents her already with the armour on - there’s zero dramatic impact here. That was a great missed opportunity!! By omitting important scenes and their dramatic impacts like this one that are essential to the story and to the characters, to their development and their journey throughout the story and you really need to rely on the original from 1998 to have this context.

The battle scenes are like many modern movies: lots of action, lots of moving (too fast-moving), a few amazing fighting moves and fights but not showed entirely. I at least expected some similar quality, like we’ve seen in films such as Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004), and Tiger & Dragon (2020) to name a few. Sadly, these movies had better fight scenes quality than Mulan which were filmed in high frame rate but over-edited with action that is negatively frenetic and have artificial CGI effects (even the CGI effects in Independence Day were better - I’m watching the movie while writing this). We’re in the 21st century with great advances in technology and movies are given big budgets (particularly Hollywood films), yet despite all this, most movies end up with CGI effects from another era. How come this happens over and over? In this one, we see people running too fast, horses running too fast, and they’re all like a big mass of headless chickens and you don’t know exactly what is happening where. All this fast running, the constant cut and paste of scenes looks all too modern and doesn’t fit the current time period of the movie and it surely doesn’t transmit the way of fighting of that period. 

Moreover, we get lots of flashback-lesson learning scenes throughout the movie. This is another fashion in movies lately, playing the film in the present time while at the same time jumping back and forth between flashbacks. It spends a good portion of the movie with these flashbacks. This is not a big issue and admirable per se but when these scenes are insignificant because they’re glossed over and transmitted without zilch emotion, then why even bother to include them in the first instance?

As a last comment, I like the fact that they hired Chinese actors and actresses for the movie (although I don’t know why it had to be in English, I’d have preferred it to be in Chinese, it’s not like we’re allergic to subtitles - unless they’re not done properly), some of them of renewed name, like Gong Li, Rosalind Chao (I loved her in The Joy Luck Club), Jet Li, Donnie Yen (legendary Ip Man), Jason Scott Lee (saw him in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), Tzi Ma but they won’t be able to save the movie even with a great cast like this one. 

[overthinkingkdrama]

Hi! So, I’ve just recently gotten into K-Dramas, and... I have a small issue, and that is though I LOVE them in the beginning, by the end they always disappoint me? Like, they start lighthearted and fun, and then by the end suddenly everyone’s in mortal peril, and I don’t care? Or they start all fantasy, and then it’s all about the romance in the end? So... Could you possibly recommend me ones that are good, or tone consistent, throughout? Please?

Hi! Thanks for dropping by for recs. These are some of my favorite asks. I just love going back through my watch list and finding dramas that fit a given criteria. It gets more fun the more dramas I've seen.

The thing about Kdramas that makes them a uniquely sticky beast is that many of them are live-shot week to week, at least for part of their run, and often the scripts are not fully written before filming begins. Popular Kdramas will also occasionally receive extensions which can cause further pacing and plot issues and (sometimes) cause a story to sputter out entirely. With the increasing prevalence of entirely preproduced dramas there's been an increase in overall drama quality and consistency in past years. That being said, Kdramas are still a decidedly mixed bag in terms of overall production quality. So it pays to either drop things with extreme prejudice if you stop enjoying them and watch widely, or to have a good drama filter friend (like me!) to give you vetted recs. As a genre a lot of the more "classic" feeling dramas have a tendency to start really light hearted and then swing super dramatic in the latter half. That's something I occasionally like, but lucky for you not all dramas are like that!

Your ask doesn't really tell me what genre of Kdrama most appeals to you, so I went through my list and tried to find you wide a variety of dramas that I think of as being well-paced and tonally consistent throughout. I've also tried to limit myself to dramas that I rated highly on MDL, although my primary criteria was "good and tonally consistent" so this list of dramas is kinda all over the map. But then, so are my tastes. Also, I kinda got the impression from your ask that you're not a fan of the uber-melodramatic side of kdramas and you want something a little more restrained and less soapy, so I tried to steer away from those more makjang dramas but did not entirely succeed, lol. I gave a couple sentences of description so you can more readily narrow down what you're interested in, and if you would like a more thorough review of the dramas some of these have full reviews on my blog which I went ahead linked where they exist.

Age of Youth: A well written slice-of-life ensemble drama about a group of 5 college age women who end up boarding together. There are a couple moments of high drama/trauma toward the end of the show that might be a turn off. But other than the finale the tone is consistent. 9/10 

Arang and the Magistrate: A dark fantasy fusion sageuk with a romance. I included this drama because it does a good job of developing the creepy worldbuilding and fantasy throughout. Though at points it can be a bit slow and the special effects are hella cheesy. 8/10

Argon: A tight, journalism driven suspense drama. Not always my genre but I found it very engaging, and at eight episodes it does not overstay its welcome. 8/10

Be Melodramatic: Another female-centric slice-of-life ensemble drama, though with an emphasis on fourth wall breaking comedy and clever dialogue. Very funny and heartfelt.  8.5/10

Cheese in the Trap: Maybe a controversial inclusion, but I very much enjoyed this drama. A slice-of-life college romance with psychological thriller elements. Some critics felt that the drama focused too heavily on the second male lead in the later half of the story, but YMMV. 8.5/10

Coffee Prince: Classic cross-dressing romance and still probably the best of its kind. A wonderfully nuanced and progressive handling of the subject matter, even after 13 years. Deals with serious subjects but doesn't go too melo with it. 8.5/10

Children of Nobody: My best of 2019, a dark psychological thriller about a child psychiatrist and a police detective who have to confront gray morality while attempting to track down a serial killer who only targets unrepentant child abusers. 9.5/10

Ex-Girlfriend Club: On the lighter side, a friends-to-lovers type romantic comedy about the writer of an autobiographical webtoon who has to figure out a way to get along with a group of his ex-girlfriends to make a movie based on his work. Only 12 episodes. 8.5/10

Go Back Couple: Also only 12 episodes (these shorter dramas tend to be better paced I find) a time-slip drama about a divorced couple who get the chance to relive their twenties and end up realizing they still have feelings for each other. This drama is both very funny and it had me bawling on multiple occasions. 9.5/10

Healer: A favorite of a lot of drama fans, this is an action-focused romance about an awkward soft boy with a secret identity as a highly skilled errand boy to criminals and an intrepid tabloid reporter who is his biggest fan. This drama is pretty tropey, but it's fun and the romance is great. 8.5/10

Hello Monster (aka I Remember You): A police procedural with a background love line about a criminal profiler looking for his lost brother and a detective looking for her father's murderer. One of my personal favorites. 10/10

Hit the Top (aka The Best Hit): A time-slip fish-out-of-water comedy about a 90s pop star who winds up in modern day Seoul and ends up befriending his biological son and meets old friends who his disappearance left in the lurch. 9/10

Incomplete Life (aka Misaeng): A realistic office drama that gave me real world work anxiety, focusing on a failed Go player who winds up an intern at a highly competitive shipping company and has to find a way to earn his keep even without the background and college education of his coworkers. Unbelievably well done ensemble drama. 9/10

Just Between Lovers: A romantic melodrama about two people whose lives were irrevocably changed by a tragic mall collapse that nearly killed them as children, meeting again as adults and finding comfort and healing in each other. A rough sit at times, but a wonderful love story with incredible acting. 9/10

Just Dance: High school, slice-of-life, drama about a dance club in a technical high school and a group of working class kids who reluctantly become involved in this club and befriend each other. Only 8 episodes (or 16 thirty minute episodes, depending on how you recon it.) 8.5/10

Life on Mars: Remake of the British show of the same name, this is a surreal time-slip police drama, about a forensics expert who gets shot in the head and wakes up in 1988. Or does he? He could also be dying on an operating table. It's hard to tell. Dark, suspenseful and trippy. 9/10

Matrimonial Chaos: An off-beat comedy about two dysfunctional couples who become inescapably mixed up in each others lives. One that's having a hard time getting divorced and another that's having a hard time getting married, and all the messy weird emotions that go along with that. This is another one of those, makes you laugh/makes you cry throughout dramas I have an affinity for. 9/10

Moment of Eighteen: A heartfelt high school drama about a straightforward but awkward loner who is forced to transfer to a new school, immediately earns the ire of a powerful student and experiences first love. Not my usual thing, but very well written with complex and likeable characters. 8/10

Mother: A cold and socially isolated woman becomes a temporary teacher and upon discovering one of her students is being severely abused and neglected, decides to pose as the child's mother and go on the run with her. Like Children of Nobody, this can be a bit of a rough watch because of the subject matter but it is very well done. 9.5/10

My Mister: A healing, human drama about a structural engineer in his 40s and a debt-ridden young woman in her 20s who end up crossing paths and saving each other from a miserable existence. My current all time favorite drama. Cannot say enough good things about it. Practically perfect in every way. 10/10

One Spring Night: A very restrained and naturalistic slow-burn romance about a woman who is about to get married and suddenly begins to question her relationship and a single father who had given up on love who find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another. 9/10

Prison Playbook: An ensemble slice-of-life drama centered on prisoners and correctional officers in their day to day lives. I find the actual het romances in this drama totally useless, but it's a large and talented cast playing a variety of lovable characters. 8/10

Psychopath Diary: Recent fave. A screwball black comedy about a mild mannered pushover who loses his memory and finds a diary that convinces him he's a psychopathic murderer, which gives him a huge boost of confidence from his new found identity, much to the chagrin of those around him and the actual owner of the diary himself. 8.5/10

Queen In Hyun's Man: A drama about a Joseon scholar who time travels to modern day Seoul and meets an actress who just landed a part playing the queen he served in the past. This one might be on the border line of too dramatic or tonally inconsistent, but it's got one of the most pitch perfect finales in Kdramas and the 45 min episodes keep it a snappy watch that doesn't drag or meander too much. 8/10

Reply 1988: A late 80s nostalgia drama about a group of families who all live off the same alley. Lovely family drama, comedy with a variety of romances. Long ass episodes especially later in the run, but I have rewatched the whole thing and I loved every minute of this show. 9.5/10

Save Me: A dark drama about a young woman who finds herself forced into a dangerous cult by her family, and is desperate to escape, and a group of 4 local young men who try to help her. One of the more unique and well done OCN thrillers. 9/10

School 2013: High school ensemble drama that launched a whole bunch of careers. In general I avoid school dramas (I know there have been three on this list so far, but those are like the only three, lol) but this show got me so invested in all these students and teachers. Also the two male leads are so shippable. 9.5/10

Secret Love Affair: A romantic melodrama about a piano prodigy from an underprivileged background who catches the eye of a married older woman and the two fall into a passionate affair. This drama involves cheating (obviously) but it's beautifully filmed and written and the music is to die for. 9.5/10

Signal: This is a supernatural crime thriller and a perennial favorite in the Kdrama community. An imbittered criminal profiler finds an antique police radio which allows him to speak with a police detective 15 years in the past, and uses this to crack cold cases and try to prevent brutal crimes from ever happening. 9/10

Six Flying Dragons: This one is a bit different from the others on the list, first of all because it's a more traditional historical drama, and secondly because it 50 episodes long. But it is so, so very good. And if you're looking for overall consistency in terms of storytelling and tone this drama has it in spades. 9/10

SKY Castle: A unique melodrama about a group of affluent competitive mothers who will go to any lengths to get they're children into the best medical schools, and a mysterious school coordinator with shady motives who gets brought in as a ringer to give them an edge. This show is kind of hard to sell but very entertaining and watchable. 7.5/10

Stranger (aka Secret Forest): The story of a stalwart prosecutor who, due to a childhood trauma is unable to feel the full spectrum of emotions, works with a bighearted police detective to root out corruption around a series of murders. This one’s rather cerebral and requires your full attention but the leads are amazing and there's a second season coming out this year I'm very much looking forward to! 9/10

The Nokdu Flower: Another sageuk drama about the latter years of the Joseon Dynasty surrounding three people who fall on different sides during the Donghak Peasant rebellion. Incredibly well written and involving historical drama. If you're not sure you're ready to commit to something like Six Flying Dragons, I think this would be another good entry point into the genre. The acting is amazing. 9/10

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes: A romantic melodrama and psychological thriller about a dangerous enigmatic young man on the cusp of becoming either a human being or a monster. He becomes involved in a fraught relationship with the sister of a police detective at the same time her protective older brother begins to focus on him as the prime suspect for a murder. High key moody and tragic if you're into that kind of thing (I am). 9/10

Touch Your Heart: On the complete other end of the drama spectrum, this show is pure unadulterated fluff, which managed to keep me giggling and swooning throughout the run, even though it's typically not my thing. An actress joins a law office as research for a role and falls for the ace attorney she's assisting. 8.5/10

WATCHER: Another OCN thriller about three different people with shady motivations who are connected to the same murder case and become involve in a corruption task force looking into dirty cops. One of those "trust nobody, everyone's a suspect" dramas with lovely complex characters and a fully engaging plot. 8.5/10

Sorry that got so out of hand! This is what happens when you don't give me a little more direction I guess. These are all dramas I quite enjoyed and I believe you will find something in there that will suit your fancy. This is a pretty accurate cross section of my tastes.

Happy watching!

Jona

[annaadamsauthor713]

What We Do in the Shadows Movie Review

Opening Thoughts

I am so excited to get to return to doing Movie Reviews! I wanted to start off with my most favorite vampire movie of all time; What We Do in the Shadows. This movie is, in my humble opinion, the overall best vampire movie ever made, and I will fill this post with my arguments for this.

Watching Thoughts (Spoiler Alert!)

Such detailed sets and costumes. Lots of love with into this. The first reason this is the overall best vampire movie is because so many different types of vampires are represented, meaning it doesn’t matter what kind of vampires you like, there’s a character in there for every vampire fan. Relate-able. I also have an extreme aversion to dishes. ‘Vampires don’t do Dishes’ is a new motto of mine. Vlad is definitely the most quotable vampire. So many hilarious lines like ‘I was known as Vladislav the Poker.’ I LOVE the opening music in this. Another great thing I love about this movie is the human emotion these vampires seem to explode with. Ah yes, gotta have the sweet vampire x human love story for those romance lovers. Perfectly punctuated with an awkward trumpet. Something that people like to try to hide is the fact that vampires are awkward. By removing all humor, most vampire movies come off as waaaay too hoity-toity. This movie doesn’t take itself so seriously that they can’t make us laugh and enjoy the story they are telling us. They also make fun of the trope that vampirism makes you immediately a hunk or babe. A Trope which I think is a damaging thing. It keeps vampires boring and gate-kept. Where’s my cleft lip vampires? My midget vampires? Vampires with acne scars? Vampires who aren’t the hottest hottie hot who ever hotted hot? What We Do in the Shadows doesn’t have a glass ceiling saying who can and can’ be a part of the hellish legions. I would like a more in-depth look into the media of this universe. If they can find a vampire feeding on a man in the street, what is daily life for humans like there other than needing door-men to keep vampires out of the bar? Why are humans still in town? Does the vampire hunter that comes in later get paid? Is that is day job? And is Anne Rice a vampire in this universe? (Jackie named her daughter Akasha so we have to assume Anne Rice was still famous but was she still human?????) Ah, pedo hunter. That is one of the jobs I would love to have if I was a vampire. Clean up those streets! How does Jackie’s hubby feel about his wife having a master? Viago is a wonderful vampire but I find his method of finding prey to be the creepiest of the flat-mates. He reminds me of the boys who would pretend to like you while they orchestrated how to get you in bed. Every moment had a motive, and no matter what you said about your wants or needs, he’s going to take what he wants. Especially in modern times, vampires are a way to hide our sexuality in fiction, and the manipulative undertones of the romantic vampire did not escape my notice. Peter moves so smoothly through the window all I can imagine is him being pushed on a skateboard to get that silhouette. Which makes me laugh every time. The dinner scene is my favorite. Absolutely hilarious notes on virginity, mispronunciation of spaghetti, a great and blatant theft from the Lost Boys, and some really great special effects. By far the funniest scene in the movie. Not to mention, it runs into the best dance sequence of all time lol. Deacon and I would be best buds. As you may end up noticing in my novels, I am HERE for vampire turning scenes. I love how different it is for every story and even every vampire. Such a personal and extreme experience. I love it. When I was a kid I loved the idea that vampires can fly, but now that I am an adult I can only accept it if vampirism is a magical infection, not a scientific one. Luckily, these vampires can do all kinds of magic tricks so it’s fine and doesn’t bother me. Stew tickles me pink. He’s so confused. What would a modern vampire story be without the dance club? Sad and without dancing, that’s what. What is the point of living forever if you don’t truly enjoy the arts? I like the idea that the arts move vampires differently than people because it is the only way they can truly connect to humans, and their eternal lives allow them to have deeper layers of emotions that are stroked by artistic immersion. We even get a little vampires vs werewolf action for those who like that enemy dynamic (even though vampires and werewolves are rooted in the exact same myths, let them keep imagining this fight. Says a lot about the nature of humans to fight the self.) If a lion can be friends with a gazelle when not starving, so can a vampire be friends with a person, and I am here for it. Go Stew. Deacon and Nick are so similar in the root of who they are. Deacon is jealous of Nick and Nick is jealous of Stew. Deacon is just older and more careful. I would be a terrible vampire. People already grow up too fast around me while I sit in my house in dark rooms lol. My human pets would die left and right while I just kinda lost sense of time. Enter the other reason this movie is so good. Up until now it has been very funny with a few moments of gore and questionable morality. But now we get to see some sadness, which no vampire movie should be without. This movie balances humor with some gut wrenching scenes, like here where Nick can’t eat his favorite food anymore. They take a funny puking scene and make it sad and relate-able. The romance of vampires is stripped in this movie and they are shown for us for what they truly are or can be if we just let them; complex, strange, sat monsters that can hold our secret human feelings. Vampires help us explore humanity, sexuality, and mortality. They are our fears and our desires. They are us. Death is what all vampires truly embody. Our fear of death and the inevitability of it. Our desire to live forever no matter the cost, and the horrid truth that no matter how long you live, the sun will find you one day. The head blur was a good and simple trick to simulate turning a head 180 degrees. Even the vampires reacting to a house visit from the police is relate-able. ‘You will not notice anything out of the ordinary,’ she said under her breath, scooting the bong under the couch with her foot. They are very good at softening very sad scenes with humor, and toning down funny scenes with sadness, another thing many vampire movies struggle to do. I would have loved a little promo pamphlet of Wellington Vampire Laws. I would have read that shit out of that. We all have our Beasts, lol. I love that the ball is held in just some rental hall like a regular ol wedding or something. Not in a cemetery or an old gothic hall. Nope, there’s finger sandwiches and banners. I wish they would have touched on the fact that they treat witches as inhuman? I wanna know more. Again, vampires embody our fear of death, which includes our fear of age. It is inevitable, that as you age, you will outlive your friends, or they will outlive you. No one escapes without losing someone. Vampires allow us to face and figure out that fear a little bit (hopefully) before it happens to us and our loved ones. Loss is universal. No vampire movie could contend for overall best without exploring loss and how it deeply effects our lives. And we can’t feel loss without first feeling love. Loss and love are at the heart of what a vampire needs to touch our hearts. Without it they are just monsters. But a perfect movie wouldn’t end on a sour or somber note, in my opinion, and What We Do in the Shadows delivers a lovely and light-hearted wrap-up to the best vampire movie ever made.  

Closing Thoughts

It doesn’t matter what kind of vampire fan you are, whether you’re an Anne Rice fan, only like pre-1900’s vamps, a fan of the vamp vs wolf stories, or a twi-hard, you have something for you in this movie. If you like romance, or the chase, or drama, or comedy, you have something for you here. If you like theater art or music, this movie has lots of special effects, acting tricks, and amazing music. It explores deep themes while never losing the pace of humor. It has adult jokes but not so many you couldn’t show it to your mom. And the credits aren’t boring, filled with more scenes and great jams. Leave a comment, reblog, or send me an ask and tell me; what do you think is overall the best vampire movie ever made. Do you agree with me or do you have something else in mind?

[straynstay]

this is my stupid “theory”

Alright, so here's my dumbass theory on 부작용 (Side Effects) M/V

DISCLAIMER: this is only my opinion and I might be completely wrong, so don't take it too seriously, this is just speculation, but bear with me and my weird mind cause this is gonna be a long trippy journey lol

First of all, Yellow Wood refers to a poem by Robert Frost called "The Road Not Taken" and this is my main source in trying to understand this whole concept of Clé 2. The poem refers to some existential questions that concern the human being, such as life and death, one's choices and the unscapable passing of time. The narrator faces two possible ways to go, but he has a hard time chosing one, feeling sorry that he can't travel both, but eventually he decides on one even though he spent a long time trying to see where the other leads to. Yellow Wood is mentioned right at the beginning [Two roads diverged in a yellow wood] and it’s considered a metaphor for our “autumn years”, when we get to "harvest" everything we "cultivated" when we were young, and it's also a time to remember and reflect upon our deeds. We see the yellow wood (a tree) that symbolizes this "passage" on the teaser as soon as they step out of the elevator. This means that SKZ is now more mature and wiser than they were before, and are looking back on their choices (Hellevator, anyone?). However, they know that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction, and these reactions are the Side Effects of their choices.

NOW THIS IS WHERE THIS GETS CHALLENGING BECAUSE I NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS MESS THAT'S INSIDE MY HEAD, HOLD MY HAND AND LET'S GO CRAZY TOGETHER!

we all know by now that this MV is focused on Hyunjin, right? we'll talk more about this later on, so let's analize the elements on the video first

The opening scene shows a bus with a lion (Miroh, anyone?) and a license plate that says "AD 2540". The only explanation for this in my point of view is that this is probably Anno Domini (referencing a long distant distopic future). Anyways... we also see some sort of security system being displayed on the screen as if they're being constantly watched (it shows up again when they trespassed the road and it reminds me of Miroh too)

We see them not taking the bus, since the MV is the development of their second choice on the teaser, and walking together with Hyunjin behind them. What called my attention is that not only we see two freaking moons (alternative universe, parallel universe, alternative reality??), but we see that the road is blocked!!! how did that bus stop there if there's no open road? Besides, the elevator seems to go down on the teaser, so they were actually up in the sky? it seems like it since it looks like there's more of that elevator structure upwards

It's morning when they begin their journey by themselves (there's reference to morning as well in the poem, and it symbolizes new beginnings, new things coming), and this is where SKZ are heading: a new path

We see them with nine dancers wearing black clothes and a mask, probably signifying their double selves that have taken a different path because they mirror their moves like a shadow

The cart's gas is almost ending, but what makes them stop is a flat tire, weird, huh? as if they were supposed to end up there somehow...

Felix sees something outside the cart that makes him happy and interested, but Hyujin seems to breakle his bubble (would he be hipnotized??) and they fight, probably because Hyunjin knows more than he shows... what could Felix see on an open field that's so appealing? Maybe whoever is watching them is also manipulating their reality? Don't know...

Throughout the MV we see the scenes changing to yellow shades and in this one we clearly see the duality between SKZ and their doubles

Don't know if it's on purpose, but here's another feline on the door

Moving on!!

After being forced to stop, they face a closed road and they seem to be pondering how to take this road. Seungmin grabs a camera and Hyujin is quite pissed that he's taking pics. Why? Here again I think that Hyunjin is probably the one that's more "lucid" in this whole alternate realities thing, but why taking pics would annoy Hyunjin so much? Would pictures mean evidence? Hmm....

Once they start fighting, we see shades of yellow again taking over the scene. In reality universe stories we know that once you decide something, other possibilities open while some close, and to me the yellow symbolizes the side effects of their actions, the paths they’re closing and opening according to their choices.

They step on a map that shows a yellow area, the elevator, open road, and the closed road they're at, so they're probably trying to figure out their own path without guidance of any sorts, they're gonna find out their way out by themselves

SKZ drives until it's dark, and Robert Frost has another poem that is called "Acquainted With The Night" that deals with themes such as isolation, insomnia, existence, and depression. The narrator says he's outwalked the furtest city light/ and he's heard an interrupted cry/ not to call me back or say good-bye/ and that a clock against the sky proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right/. According to the Owlcation website, the "poem echoes the descent into a dark place where time has no meaning and words are useless [...] there may be a sense of hopelessness, a sense that some kind of threshold has to be gone through to regain confidence and light". Jisung is looking at a city (light) that seems to be up in the clouds, probably the place from where they came down on the elevator, but now they have to face this hard dark path to reach the light again, to go up once more.

They see the bus they didn't take and they are seen by the driver through the rearview mirror, but the bus doesn't stop for them, showing they can't go back to walk the path they already left behind (although we see SKZ on the bus too, the ones on the left side of the screen on the teaser, I'll call them v.2). Some say that a bus is a metaphor for our own internal conflicts and experiences like our emotions, thoughts and memories that are "passengers" in our bus (= mind), but SKZ is not the one driving their bus, hence they're not in control of themselves. SKZ v. 1 is outside, being left behind while SKZ v.2 are just passive passengers, sleeping soundly and unaware of what’s happening on the outside.

We see them on the road with a storm behind them, symbolizing that a huge disturbance will happen. Frost also has a poem that can be related to this, it's entitled "Storm Fear" and it shows how the human mindset can be changed by the environment the person is in. We see this in Felix's part in Side Effects: I won't change, always yeh / I used to shout that, but why am I / According to my surroundings / Countlessly being changed? As a verb, we see storm on the dictionary as "moving angrily or forcefully in a specified direction", and that's how they run afterwards (although I don't get why Minho has his back turned - maybe denial? I don't know)

And here we can clearly see that there’s a distortion of their reality (and a fragmentation when  부작용 shows up on the screen). 

Soooo.... what does all of this mean? 

In my opinion, they're being affected by their choices. In Miroh we see them saying It's not hard in this rough jungle/ It was me who ran into it, I'm okay/, but in Side Effects we have I threw myself with trust in me/ But why am I being swayed?/ But why am I just being hurt?/, meaning that probably the path they chose was harder than they thought and they can't live up to their own expectations, wondering if they can actually do everything they screamed they could (we see this in Felix & Hyunjin's lines in Side Effect). In Miroh, Jisung says that they're running through the maze like a beast and avoiding all the familiar paths because it's a new challenge, but this challenge now is weighing them down and their bravado (atittude intended to intimidate) can't last anymore now that they're more experienced and going through hard times.

The way I see it, they're now in some sort of a limbo, an in between place (a maze, Miroh), constantly facing multiple paths that may lead them to the exit (they had an Entrance song in Clé 1), but they're on their own, trying to figure everything by themselves, and they're still lost and confused because they're chosing unfamiliar paths. They're changing, although they're trying to fight against it and remain the same as they were before, but it's impossible not be affected by the surroundings (they're being watched and controled). 

But in my interpretation, they're gonna figure out that taking the harder and uncommon path is gonna be worth it, and I say this because of Frost's "The Road Not Taken". The poem ends with the narrator saying that:  Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- (the man facing his own internal issues)   I took the one less traveled by, (he's breaking patterns for not walking the same road everyone else walked on)  And that has made all the difference (by 'rebelling' against the system, doing what few people has ever done, he's securing his individuality and free will).

 And that's how Stray Kids are gonna break free and be in control of themselves again.

If this long dumbass theory is right or not, Clé 2: Yellow Wood to me seems like SKZ is trying to show they're more mature and independent, even though they have to face hardships and confusion in a path they wanna take without help to show us their true colors (and that one of them is probably a huge Robert Frost fan lolololol)

Now a couple of things I don't quite get in this MV: why is Hyunjin the one that's more aware of everything? why was he on the grass on the last scene? was he dreaming? foreseeing their future? what?! and why SKZ is looking at him in a weird way? (especially Jeongin, who hugged him in the cart and smiled too much.. Jeongin was the one on the control room in Miroh, maybe he's working on both sides?). And the key at the end is another path they might walk? another road to "unlock"??? are they unlocking worlds?????

I NEED ANSWERS STRAY KIDS!

[ramblingguy54]

26, 29, 30, 36?

*cracks knuckles*Alright, let’s do this.

26: The late Robin Williams & Hayao Miyazaki are two particular people in my life I’ve idolized for what happiness/imagination they’ve brought into others lives. Robin Williams untimely passing still hurts for me to look back on because this man made it his mission to bring so much joy into other peoples lives through his acting on the big screen, whether it was dramatic or comedic. That’s what I found the most impressive about Robin’s range in acting. He could be an over the top funny individual, but Robin’s acting chops were in a league of their own. Whether he was behind the microphone having the time of his life as Genie on Aladdin or giving a powerful dramatic performance on Good Will Hunting as Will’s therapist, I could feel the unconditional kindness. There was something about Robin’s acting power that would usually manage to reel me in. Even if I never knew him in real life, obviously, this man just radiated with so much kindness that I felt from his entire presence on screen. It’s seriously unfortunate what became of Robin Williams in the end with his unexpected death, but his legacy has inspired me to be kinder to others in real life. As for Hayao Miyazaki, this guy is a huge factor in why I got into loving anime related stuff all the more, as his creations in storytelling and the art itself for the movies were beyond unlike anything I still have yet to seen be topped quite frankly. It’s so easy for me to get emotionally lost in his films like My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Castle In The Sky, and Spirited Away. This man never ceases to amaze me with how usually impactful and in depth his films are. They’re so full life that it’s easy to lose sight of whats happening in the actual story at times. Mayazaki understood how to breathe a ton of humanity into creating such resonating works of fiction. Have a much greater appreciation for them in my adult years. There’s a reason why they inspired companies, like Pixar, to create immersive stories of their own.

29: Favorite films range from Zootopia, Wreck It Ralph, M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, Aladdin (1992), The Secret Of NIMH, The Lion King (1994), The Incredibles, UP, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2, How To Train Your Dragon Trilogy, Toy Story 1-4, The Great Mouse Detective, Lilo & Stitch, The Emperors New Groove, A Goofy Movie, Good Will Hunting, The Fox And The Hound, The Land Before Time, The Brave Little Toaster, Frozen, Shrek 1 & 2, Coraline, Paranorman, Kubo And The Two Strings, The Muppets (2011), Princess Mononoke, Castle In The Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, Summer Wars, Beauty and the Beast (1991), Winnie The Pooh (1977 & 2011 iterations.), The Peanuts Movie, The Princess And The Frog, The Jungle Book (2016), Scooby Doo On Zombie Island, Harry Potters’ 1-7, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, Wonder Woman, Sam Raimi’s Spiderman 1 & 2, The Black Panther, Thor & Thor Ragnorok, The Avengers, Avengers Infinity War & Endgame, Spiderman Into the Spiderverse, Captain America Trilogy, Iron Man Trilogy, Star Wars Episodes 4-8, and The Breakfast Club to stop this list from getting any longer. =P

30: Favorite TV shows range from Cowboy Bebop, Avatar The Last Airbender, Yu Yu Hakusho, Digimon Adventure 01 & Tamers, Teen Titans (2003), Batman The Animated Series, Ed, Edd,& Eddy, Samurai Jack, Courage The Cowardly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls (Screw that garbage reboot.), Chowder, Bojack Horseman, DuckTales (1987), DuckTales (2017), Gravity Falls, Code Geass (This series has shaky writing in a number of areas, but that ending was beautiful.), Amphibia, Steven Universe, Oban Star Racers, Made In Abyss, Stranger Things, Gargoyles, My Hero Academia, Naruto (I’ve got a soft spot for this series despite my MANY problems with its story later on.), Pokemon (Serious nostalgia overload!), Dragonball Z (My very first anime series I got into through the Toonami block. A real shocker I know. LOL!), Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, The Promised Neverland, Death Note, Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers, Sonic SatAM, Talespin, Darkwing Duck, The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy, Robot Chicken, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Kim Possible, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and Fullmetal Alchemist (2003).

36: My three dream scenarios I’d like to fulfill? 

1: Become A Voice Actor

Been interested in voice acting since I was a young teen, but have been in a conflicted state over these recent passing years in my life on whether or not I’d like to approach that route. There’s a lot of commitment I’d have to put into auditioning my butt off for roles I may or not get. Then comes the consistent practicing to keep my vocal chords in shape, so I don’t get rusty whatsoever. The industry for this kind of job can be hard to get recognized in too by how many other notable well known VA’s there are already. Not to mention, from what I’ve researched up on being a voice actor doesn’t bring in the money naturally, as it’s more of a passion job which that’s terrific and all, but if I want to partake in this profession I’ll have to juggle a job along with that which putting all those factors in my head honestly makes me intimidated. Ahhh well, it’s just something I’ll have to wait and see on if I can make that idea into a reality or not. No need to rush myself, of course.

2: Taking Up The Mantle Of Reviewing Shows & Films For A Living

Fiction, just like for many people, has been a great deal of helping me in my life moments of stress, solitude, depression, and anger. I’d love nothing more than to further express that to anyone out there in reviewing in great detail certain films or shows that I’ve come to love over these years in my life so far. Mostly for animation though, as its been a gateway for finding many gems of quality films or series. It never ceases to surprise me on how creative and powerful animation can be with its inventive ways of getting me to become an emotional mess. While I do enjoy live action series and films they pale in comparison to the beauty animation has brought into my life, since my early childhood of watching shows on Cartoon Network, Toon Disney, and Nickelodeon to a smaller degree. I’d like to think I’m good enough with how I present my reasons on why I feel so strongly connected to these stories showcasing characters trying to find hope in their own hard times. I try my hardest to take moments of my own life and find ways to connect it with whatever story I’m getting into next, so it can be all the more a special experience for myself. It’s important to put whatever character resonates with you most in their shoes for why you feel their emotional journey connecting with your own life on every conceivable level possible. That will make it when you write these kinds of reviews a very empowering read for others to feel either heard in their own feelings or simply giving others a new perspective to consider on this piece of fiction you’re discussing. Seeing some of my own particular analytical posts in the past here on Tumblr garner some attention from people gives me a boost of feeling better about potentially making this choice.

3: Starting A Family Of My Own…?

I can’t begin to tell ya how many times I’ve gone back and forth for getting married in the distant future to become a father has sped through my mind. On one hand, it scares the crap out of me to be taking up that big of a responsibility. However, on the other hand its deeply fascinated me emotionally of creating life through love for your significant other in starting your own family tree. I’d love to be able to raise kids of my own to pass on the lessons I’ve learned in life to make them become better people in the distant future, while showering them with unconditional love and affection. That would fill me up with such an indescribable joyous feeling to hear their own dreams and desires on what they want to accomplish in life. While I’d be a strict parent, I wouldn’t be a hard headed one quick to dismiss their own complaints if they had problems with how I handled things, once they start to get older. The kind of parent I’d want to be is an understanding open minded one who doesn’t judge their son or daughter for when they have an issue with me. Just because I’m a parent in that scenario doesn’t put me on a pedestal of immunity from criticism. Granted, I certainly don’t want to be a doormat for them to try taking advantage of either, but it’s also important to not let your parental role go to your head, too.

Although, I don’t plan on even trying to make this last dream of mine happen anytime soon. This is something that is MUCH later down the road that I wish to have happen. However, I won’t lie and say that I haven’t considered just staying content as a single guy for the rest of my life relying on close friends to bring me joy equivalent to this dream. While I adore the concept of creating life through love and being a father, there’s a shit ton of responsibility that comes with it. The life of a parent is not just putting your all into it. You gotta give more than just 100% when wanting to be a parent. It’s a serious test of your spiritual endurance, which I’m not sure is something I’ll ever have the courage to do, but then again things can change in life on the flip of a dime, so I’ll see how this all plays out for myself. Maybe I’ll stay happily single or I’ll happily be raising kids.

Gee, I wonder why this dream of being a parent resurfaced in my head recently this year? Oh yeah, it was thanks to this character here.

Seriously, Della Duck holds a real special place in my heart for making me feel these kind of feelings yet again. Darn you space mom! LOL.

Thanks for the ask, man.

[empress-of-snark]

Cursed Child Review!

(this will contain only the vaguest spoilers--you have been warned)

(also tumblr is being dumb and refusing to let me upload this with pictures, so expect a second post later with pictures)

THE THEATRE

So first of all, the Lyric Theatre is gorgeous. It was renovated specifically for this show, so the design is full of all kinds of Harry Potter references. Inside, the carpet is red with a Hogwarts ‘H’ pattern, and the ceiling is blue with gold stars.

Also, directly across from the entrance, on the way to the gift shop, there’s a small, circular room with patronuses painted all over the walls! They got all the major characters (minus Albus and Scorpius, but we don’t know their patronuses, do we?), as well as play quotes from each:

Speaking of the gift shop, I absolutely bought a Ravenclaw scarf and iron-on patch for my denim jacket. I wanted so badly to buy a replica wand as well (if I remember correctly, they had Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus, Scorpius, and Voldemort), but they were pretty expensive and I couldn’t decide on a character anyway.

Also, funny thing, we got two playbills—one for Part One, and one for Part Two—and… they’re exactly alike. There’s nothing at all different except for a very slight alteration in cover art and the fact that they’re labeled Part One and Part Two. The insides are identical, lol. Weird.

THE PLOT

There’s really nothing to be said about the plot that hasn’t already been said. It’s not great. It’s not terrible either, honestly, but it’s not great. In terms of alternate HP content, I’d put it below Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but above Crimes of Grindelwald.

Part One is definitely the stronger half, plot-wise. Part Two is where everything goes a little off the rails and you start thinking “wait a second, did J.K. Rowling actually come up with this or is this just straight-up fanfiction that someone wrote in 2009?” Again, no spoilers, but… the Act III, Scene XXI plot twist is contrived and kind of ridiculous and seeing it played out on stage does nothing to improve my opinion on it.

THE CHARACTERS

Albus and Scorpius were phenomenal! To be honest, Albus has never really interested me as a character very much, he’s always just come across as a sullen teenager, but Nicholas Podany made me like him more than I did in my initial readings of the script.

Scorpius, though. SCORPIUS. I knew he was an adorable geek when I read the script, but seeing it on stage is just so much better. He’s the absolute cutest character and I adored him. Also, major props to Bubba Weiler’s physicality because it was awesome. His lounging awkwardly on the stairs and giving finger-guns to Rose in Act IV was priceless. Absolute cinnamon roll.

Speaking of Rose, I feel like I should talk about the whole shipping war thing of Rose/Scorpius vs. Albus/Scorpius, but honestly I don’t wanna drag this down into fandom wank, so maybe I’ll make a separate post later. Suffice it to say, I totally 100% understand why people ship Albus and Scorpius, but I also think we should be allowed to have other interpretations and sometimes people on the internet don’t understand what true friendship is supposed to be like despite constantly calling for more platonic friendships in the media.

Anyway.

Harry and Hermione were awesome. I know people complained about Harry’s characterization, but honestly, I think it’s similar to what happened with Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi. People don’t like watching their childhood heroes grow into flawed adults who make mistakes, and I understand. It’s hard to see Harry being such a strict father and saying or doing things that he regrets, but that’s what characters are supposed to be like. Harry is not perfect and he’s always had a bit of a temper. For the first eleven years of his life, he didn’t have a good father figure to guide him so as an adult, it makes sense that he would fumble a bit in fatherhood because he has no one to really base himself on, and he literally says this in Act IV.

Hermione didn’t have as much of a character arc, but she was excellent. Her characterization was on-point and I loved her. There was a moment I especially loved where she hugs Rose around the middle of Act III. There’s no dialogue and it’s only a brief moment, but it was beautiful. With context, it’ll make more sense why, but again, no spoilers.

Finally, my boy Ron Weasley, was… comic relief. Why am I not surprised. Functionally, he did almost nothing of any importance for the plot—they could’ve taken him out completely and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. While he did have some good, genuinely funny moments (they included his line from the book when, in answer to Albus saying that everyone is staring at them at King’s Cross, he said “It’s me. I’m extremely famous.”) but he also has some really dumb, out-of-character moments as well (at one point, in response to a threat, he… pulled out his wand… backwards… and had to fix it… get it? Cause he’s stupid!).

That’s not to say the actor did a bad job. He did the best he could with the terrible characterization. But the bright side is, we got several really good Ron/Hermione scenes that were stupidly adorable and made my heart happy. My two favorites were, of course, the staircase scene in Act II and the scene in Hermione’s office in Act III.

Draco was great, I loved his relationship with Scorpius and how it grew, and I loved his reluctant allegiance with the Golden Trio.

Ginny was pretty good, though I wish they had given her a bit more to do at times.

I also wish Rose had gotten to be more a part of the action, but I get why, for a lot of the play, she couldn’t be involved in the plot. For spoiler-y reasons.

THE SPECIAL EFFECTS

This is the real reason people see this play, and it is worth it! It’s worth sitting through the weirder parts of the plot. Some of the illusions I could figure out (a lot of them were either clever use of the fly system or two actors hiding in the same robe), but some I’m pretty sure were just genuine magic because I don’t know how they pulled them off.

Characters Polyjuice and Transfigure themselves into other characters, wands light up and even shoot fire (at one point, a lot of wands were shooting fire simultaneously during a multi-character duel and I don’t understand how the set didn’t catch on fire), a bookcase comes alive and eats three people and spits them back out again, and the DEMENTORS.

There were DEMENTORS and they were SPOOKY and AWESOME and I wish so badly that we had been in balcony seats because at one point, a dementor comes out over the audience and we were so far back that we could barely see it.

Also I don’t think it’s a huge spoiler to say that the show involves use of a Time Turner, and every time it was used, they did something really cool with the lights that gave the whole stage a ripple effect and I have no idea what it was they did, but it looked SO COOL.

IN SUMMARY

The building was gorgeous, the plot was just okay (better in the first half), the characters varied but were mostly good (all the actors were amazing), and the special effects are absolutely the best part of the show, hands down.

People have said that this show shouldn’t ever be professionally recorded because watching a DVD will never compare to seeing it live. I agree that the live experience is undoubtedly better, that’s the case with every play. Live is always better. But it’s not always possible for people to drop hundreds of dollars on a plane ride and Broadway tickets. Our tickets for Cursed Child were expensive, and we didn’t even get the best seats. I can’t believe how elitist people can be in thinking that if, for whatever reason, you can’t afford to see a Broadway show, then you shouldn’t be given a cheaper, more accessible option.

Also, like, I’m never going to be able to see the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods live because that show was running in 1987, but thanks to the professionally filmed DVD, I can watch it whenever I want and I love it. Money and time should not stop someone from experiencing theatre, ever.

Anyway, it was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I went! If anyone wants to talk more about it, or get my more spoiler-y opinions, shoot me a message! If you go anon, I’ll tag all responses with #cursed child spoilers.

[moonraccoon-exe]

More thoughts about DA: I so far!

I said I’d do this like a week or two ago but lol. Have mercy on me ;u;

But yeh! Just a lot of random thoughts to share about my experience so far:

EPIC

SO FUCKING EPIC OH MY G O D THIS HAS TO BEO NE OF THE MOST EPIC STORIES I’VE PLAYED OR SEEN/READ, THIS IS JUST SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOOOL

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

*HYSTERICALLY SQUEAKING*

Honestly from beginning to the point I’m in, it’s so EPIC, like- the SUMMIT of epic!!

The story and the lore and the world are all so vast, so impossibly vast, it’s mindblowing. The writers of this are true masterminds and I must applaude all this work, they created a full whole new universe that’s real and breathes and lives. Holy. Fuck. It’s truly mindblowing and mesmerizing, I can’t even put it into words so I won’t even try.

Leliana and Cassandra, though? FUCK ME, THEY’RE GLORIOUS.

I’m SO in love with this game’s portrait of women, because there are SO MANY, and all in actual PRACTICAL and realistic armor! Like, no giant anime tiddies protected only on the nipple, it’s full armors not even shaped to make them look attractive or “like women”. And not just your companions; throughout the story, you find women enemies and allies in armor, it’s AMAZING.

I love Cassandra’s accent/voice color. I want her to fuck me. But DAMN me, I went with female elf in the end, after SO MUCH thinking about every choice (as in, gender, race, and class. I took SO LONG picking one of everything).

DO WE AGREE THAT COLE IS A MISUNDERSTOOD SOUL AND HE  NEEDS PROTECC AND I LOVE HIM SO DEARLY AND SO MUCH HE JUST WANTS TO HELP DEAR COLE I LOVE YOU I’D TAKE A BULLET FOR YOU

Blackwall is charming? Like...I don’t know. I didn’t like him in a beginning but then he just. Went and spoke and FUCK HE’S CHARMING.

I really feel like praising more the lore and story-telling/writing but there’s just no putting it into words goddammit.

THE WHOLE SCENE OF THE ATTACK ON HAVEN AND THE ESCAPE TO SKYHOLD THOUGH?

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

E P I C

LIKE SOOOOOOOO EPIC THERE ARE NO WORDS ENOUGH TO DESCRIBE IT!!! BEST, MOST EXCITING, MOST EPIC CUTSCENE SO FAR AND ONE OF THE MOST EPIC I’VE SEEN LIKE HOLY SHIT, IT WAS GLORIOUSLY EPIC!!!!!! BEYOND WORDS! I STILL THINK ABOUT IT AND STILL GET ALL HYPED AND WORKED UP AND AKSLJDFAKGLJ

From the moment the attack starts I was like HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO COOL

Watching Cullen in action was GREAT, too! He gets so little screen time (in my opinion), like, he could have been given a bigger role, it’s sad to watch all his potential just standing there doing nothing. What I would give so he was a party member! But yeah, that’s why it was so cool to watch him act in that part.We’re used to Cassandra and Leliana by that point, so it was good to see Cullen in charge for once. Watch him give orders, raise the voice, command the army, GAWDS, IT STILL GIVES ME CHILLS

Surviving the whole thing was AMAZING, the thing with (I forgot the english word lkasjdlakdg) “bombing”/attacking the snow mountains to Mulan the whole thing and bury the bad guys in the avalanche was SO GLORIOUSLY EPIC.

And then Super Bad Guy appears and I was like ZOMG FUCK I AM GOING TO DIE AHA HSADJFAHDGJAD ZOMG THIS IS SO COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

I couldn’t save the people of Haven, though! I saved...the lady in charge of the...the one table that requests random things. Lady in armor? Forogt her name. Also saved Adan, I’m SO happy he made it!!! But Minaeve died lmao aah :’( And I think I lost someone else, but not sure who.

AND THEN WHEN YOU DECIDE TO GO BACK AND GIVE TIME FOR THE PEOPLE TO ESCAPE??? OMG CULLEN BEING THE ADORABLE MATURE IDIOT THAT I LOVE AND ROLLING WITH IT AKLSJDADKLGJ

AND THAT WHOLE SCENE WITH CORIPHEUS

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

*EXPLODES INTO A THOUSAND SNOWFLAKES*

AKSLJF KAL GJAILSJF ALKJF ALKJGALDKGJADLGKJ

SO

BADASS

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

*HYSTERICALLY SCREECHING*

IT WAS SO EPIC! SO SO DAMN EPIC OMG IT WAS SUPER COOL!!!

I wasn’t too scared of him, like, the design doesn’t look that scary. But he’s got a nice air of villain! And the way he grabs you and picks you up, and then when you fire the thing to cause the lastavalanche?

I WAS LIKE

ZOMG

HOW AM I GOING TO SURVIVE OH MY G O D NO WILL I JUST RUN!?!? PLS RUN LITTLE ELF YOU CAN DO IT I BELIEVE IN YOU

AND THEN YOU JUMP INTO THE GROUND AND YOU 

YOU ACTUALLY M A K E IT

AHA SADHGAD

*FANGASMS*

AND THE WHOLE WALK THROUGH THE SNOW DESERT episode Prompto anyone I WAS LIKEK OMG YES THIS TROPE I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS ABOUT THE HERO SURVIVING, BUT NO ONE KNOWING, AND MAKING IT THROUGH A SNOW DESERT ALONE BARELY SURVIVING BUT KEEPING ON

AND THE TROPE DIDN’T FAIL THE “HERO COLLAPSES WHEN THEY SEE THEIR FRIENDS AND THEIR FRIENDS YELLL “THERE THEY ARE!!!” AND RUN TO GO PICK YOU UP AND THEN

FUCK

FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

LIKE THE LORE AND WORLD AND UNIVERSE WASN’T MY JAM ALREADY

THEY THROW THIS AT ME!?!?!??!!?!?

PERFECT

BRILLIANT

GENIUS

I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS ONE BIT, I HAVE A SAVE JUST TO REPLAY ALL THAT SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE, THIS IS SO E X Q U I S I T E

And the best part personally is that it’s Cullen teddy bear who spots you aaah ;A; <3

And the next bit? When you wake up and the advisors are arguing. So you decide to chime in to try and ease it. But you have no idea what to say, so Mother Giselle comes in and starts singing?

And then Leliana joins?

And then Cassandra

And then CULLEN

AND THEN EVERYONE

AND EVERYONE IN CAMP GATHERS AROUND YOU AND SING THE MAIN THEME OF THE GAME AND YOU DISCOVER “OMG IT’S THE MAIN THEME OF THE TITLE SCREEN, OMG IT HAS LYRICS” AND THE WHOLE VISUALS LIKE AFTER THE TRAGEDY EVERYONE THAT SURVIVED GATHERING AROUND YOU AND SINGING AND SOLAS WATCHING IN ADMIRATION EVEN WHEN HE DOESN’T BELIEVE IN ANDRASTE/THE HUMAN RELIGION AND

GOOSEBUMPS

LITERAL GOOSEBUMPS AND CHILLS ALL OVER MY BODY, LIKE A DAMN BOLT, OM HY GOD THAT HAS TO BEO NE OF THE MOST IMPACTING SCENES SO FAR, IT JUST GIVES ME SO MUCH GOOSEBUMPS AND MAKES ME GO AKSLJF AKLGJADFLKA

*FANGASMS AGAIN*

OKAY BUT I FORGOT

THE WHOLE TIME TRAVEL THING WITH DORIAN!?!?!?!?

*sHRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK*

So I went mages instead of Templars. Because ya know, it felt better? Like, yes, I know mages have done bad things before, but templars are hunting for them like they’re “things” or beasts, so I felt that it was best to support mages instead of Templars.

Okay but sidenote; I thought Cullen was going to be upset at me, like MAD. Because, you know, he used to be a Templar, and he still is so in love with the Templars and always talks so nicely and excitedly about them, and tried to encourage you to go with Templars. So I chose Mages thinking he was going to rage at me.

And what did he do? “Oh well, yes, the mages are good, they may be able to help us close the rift. They’re good allies :)”

AND I LOSE IT

CULLEN. MY DEAR. MY LOVE. MY STUPID IDIOT, I LOVE YOU.

Seriously, I’m SO IN LOVE with how mature he is. That and his shyness are what convinced me to romance him. He took it so nicely, like, he doesn’t throw tantrums or argues; he knows what’s at risk, he wants the best to turn out of everything, and when things happen, he knows to just get over it and take it to his vantage and see it in a positive way and fUCK GODS HAVE MERCY ON ME, IT WAS GREAT

OKAY SO BACK TO TPOIC

MAGES

SO YOU GO TO THIS CASTLE and well I guess you know the whole thing already lmao, SO THAT TIME TRAVEL WITH DORIAN? 

FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK IT WAS THE SECOND OR THIRD MOST EPIC THING IS WEAR TO THE HEAVENS DEAR LORDS AOVE IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!!!!!d

Exploring the castle alone with him wasamazing (gotta talk about orian ina sec). And when you learn you were transported a  whole year into the future? I was like HAHAHAHAHAHAHA LOL TRY WAITING TEN (was definitely thinking about FFXV OTL these poor babies waited so much... :( ). I felt bad finding Cassandra and Varric poisoned/consumed by the lyrium, but when you find Leliana?

LIKE HOLY FUCK WHAT DID THEY DO TO HER ZOMG SHE AGED LIKE 90 YEARS IN JUST 1 IT WAS INCREDIBLE

AND THE WHOEL SCENE OF YOUR COMPANIONS DECIDING TO GIVE THEIR LIVES TO GIVE YOU TIME!?!?!?

SO EPIC. SO FUCKING EPIC GAWDS DAMN ME, ONEO F THE DEMONS CAME THROUGH THE DOOR WITH VARRIC’S CORPSES AND IT STILL HAUNTS ME

FROM AMONG EVERYONE THEY KILLED DEAR VARRICAND I DIE

AND THEN LELIANA...PROUDLY STANDING THERE, FEARLESS, BRAVE, SO BADASS AND SO COOL, SHOOTING ARROWS WHILE PRAYING AND GIVING YOU TIME

FUCK ME

I WANTED TO GO AFTER HER BUT I ALSO KNEW I DIDN’T HAVE TO FUCK UP BUT LIKE IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

EPIC

*sHRIEEEEEEEK*

*EXPLODES AGAIN*

AND DORIAN!?!?!?

FUCM KE M Y HEART HE’S ADORABLE AND I’M SO ABSURDLY IN LOVE WITH HIM

I had regretted making a female avatar int hemoment I learned  Cassandra doesn’t romance female. But I moved on. But when I learned Dorian only romances male??? INSTANT REGRET.

DORIAN THAT FUCKING IDIOT, I’M SO IN LOVE WITH HIM. There’s somethingabout the “guy that loves himself so much, it’s narcissistic”, because they’re fun. And like, eh’s not selfish, just narcissistic. Loves himself, but is kind and supportive. He’s so intelligent, wise, he’s so kind, he’s lots of fun, damn me, he’s elegant, and he’s a MAGE. I LOVE MAGES.

I love his voice, too. All of him is GREAT and I love him. Sassy little shit that loves himself, GAWDS. I have to romance him someday!

Also loved the whole thing with Solas when he’s like “I just casually happen to know this huge abandoned castle nearby here, maybe it can be of use c:” Solas you adorable idiot. But honestly, watching the Inquisitor and Solas lead the way to Skyhold was PHENOMENAL and so beautiful. I’m in love with snowy scenarios so I truly loved it, and Skyhold? MAGNIFICENT. A PIECE OF ART. SO BEAUTIFUL SUCH A BREATHTAKING SIGHT AKLSDJFAKDLGJ ALKFJA

The game sort of tried to incline me to romance Solas multiple times, and I for sure will do that in a second playthrough, because GODS HE’S CUTE. I love how profoundly wise and mature he is. And he has an air of melancholy that sort of attracts me, not like “ooh sexy!” but like...I want to comfort him, and love him, and clean him. He feels like such a melancolic character. Even Cole says Solas is sor tof a “sad creature” or something. It breaks my heart when Solas says bye because he says it so sadly like omg no pls ;A;

I LOVED going into the dream with him. It was just natural to go and kiss him but I didn’t aksldjdagk, I wanted to romance CUllen so badly XD But it was amazing!! And the way he asks the next day if you enjoyed your dreams, it was so cute. Solas is such a good and nice friend!!

I loved his quest rescuing his spirit friend. I felt sad in the conversation afterwards because, as I didn’t romance him, he ended the conversation with “It means I respect you profoundly, Inquisitor. And that I’ve taken too much of your time already” and left I was like NO SOLAS DARLING PLS I SWEAR INA  SECOND LIFE I WILL LOVE YOU AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

But yeh. Solas is amazing.

Also, Iron Bull and Dorian are flirting and I love it. There was a point, Dorian tried to argue with him about the Qunari attacking Tevinter and he was like “So would you prefer to see me ona leash?” to which Iron Bull replied “I’d take you out for dinner first”.

Omg Bull. Omg IRON BULL OMG THAT IS PRIVATE XD And today Dorian was like “Can you PLEASE be careful with that pointy thing and not direct it towards me?” and Bull was like “Lmao kkinky”, so Dorian was like “JESUS CHRIST, I meant your weapon!”

I WANT THEM TO FUCK. if I can’t fuck Dorian, then may the Bull fuck him for me DAMMIT

Josephine is adorable and so kind. I almost romanced her, too. Talked with her at the balcony and she was all gratitudde and joy ad shyness. 

Also Vivienne? First time we meet her I was like OH MY GOD SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL. OMG SHE’S GORGEOUS. SO FIRM, SO REGAL, SO MIPOSING, SO INDEPENDENT, SO BADASS.

Then at Haven when she’s finally off-mask I was like omg she’s bald AND SHE’S ROCKING THAT LOOK OMG SHE’S SO GOROUGES, LOOK AT TAHT SKIN COLOR, IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL, AND HER WHITE DRESS AND OMG I LOVE HER

And now it’s like “omg Vivienne cAN YOU PLEASE STOP! >:’(” because hahaha, BOY! She’s gorgeous and strong, but so difficult!! We just disagree morally. I’m all hero-like regarding “Everyone deserves peace/a chance/freedom, love and peace, do the right thing, spirits are friends” and Vivienne is all “WE NEED TO BE STRICT. LIKE IRON FIST STRICT. TELL THAT SPIRIT TO FUCK OFF. KILL THIS PERSON. FUCK THE MAGES” and like nooooooo!!! Vivienneeeeeeee, that’s not how you show mercy!!!!

I think she’s the only one I won’t be able to befriend...she’s disapproved of almost all that I’ve done... OTL

MORE NOTES

FIRST OF ALL

WHY THE FUCK CAN’T WE ROMANCE CULLENW ITH A MALE INQUISITOR!?!?!?! WHY. THE. FUCK

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

IT WOULD BE SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE

Also WHY CAN’T WE ROMANCE LELIANA!?!?! THAT IS A PUNISHMENT FROM THE HELLS, SHE’S AMAZING. And gay.

Also WHY THE FUCK CAN’T WE ROMANCE CASSANDRA WITH A FEMALE!?!??!?! ;^;

Also, why can’t weromance Varric with ANYONE? Honesly, he’s one of my favorites! He’s so charming, outgoing, so lighthearted. He’s so understanding and mature. I love that he has the heart of an artist and dedicates to writing. I love how he doesn’t take things personally. I love his sensibility. Honestly, he probably would have been my option 1 of romance if only he was romanceable. I’m so upset he’s not an available option!

SPEAKING OF ROMANCE

I JUST ROMANCED CULLENT ODAY AND 

HONESTLY I REGRET NOTHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

IT’S SO ABSURDLY ADORABLE, SUCH A VANILLA LOVE OMG IT WAS SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The reason he was my first option was because of that first reaction you get at Haven. When he goes all excited talking about protecting the weak and innocent and saving the world then he is like “Haha, sorry, I ranted and you’re not here so to hear me talk :)”

And you go “But I like your enthusiasm”. I picked that because I REALLY thought his enthusiasm was nice.

And his reaction??? HIS REATION!?!?!?!?

Like...you look at him. And you think “Oh, it’sa pretty boy. Charming and outgoing. He’ll probably just laugh it off, your casual, stereotyped Romeo”.

But???

TURNS OUT HE’S A DORK.

A DORK MADE OF SHYNESS THAT GETS EASILY FLUSTERED AND HAS NO IDEA HOW TO TALK TO OTHERS

THIS

ABSOLUTE

IDIOT

AKSJDFA KLGJA SKLDJAGL KAJDGALKDJA LKSJDA

THAT IS WHAT GOT ME

IT JUST

GOT ME

IT GOT ME SO BAD, I WAS ISNTANTLY HOOKED AS SOON AS HE CAME OUT AS THIS SHY DORK.

BECAUSE HONSTLY

THAT IS SO CUTE

I HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR SHY, QUIET PEOPLE BECAUSE IT CAN BE SO CUTE AND CULLEN DIDN’T DISAPPOINT.

The way he just stared at my elf like .____. *brain death* zomg what do I do what do I say pls halp I’m lost and he just stuttered and went shy and looked away and PANICKED

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HE’S SUCH AN IDIOT

I LOVE HIM

And all throughout the courting process with him, he’s all shyness and adorableness, I swear to the gods, I AM SO WEAK

I think at some point of the War Table, he’s staring at the Inquisitor? Like, before you are the Inquisitor. Because Leliana goes “So, you were telling us.........Cullen?”, and Cullen goes all “HM? OH- AH-...YES- AH...”and talks about something else, so like. Was he daydreaming OR was something in sight range, hm?

And then at Sky hold? That ADORABLE conversation when he’s staring and staring and tries to not say bye and right before you walk away he goes with what he has been containing about “You stayed behind, at Haven. You could have...” and then he swears it won’t happen again and he’s there for you AND I DIE, GIVE ME MY FAIRY TALE VANILLA LOVE, I LOVE IT.

And stuf stuff blah blah, AND WHEN YOU FINALLY ROMANCE HIM?

HONESTLY I’M JUST SO HAPPY BECAUSE HE’S THIS SHY STUTTERING IDIOT, YOU WOULD EXPECT HIM- LIKE YOU KNOW, strong warrior archetype, with the big armor, strong and badass, you would EXPECT him to be charmming, confident, utgoing, charming, flirty. But instead? Stuttering shy idiot that gets nervous. AND HONESTLY THAT MAKES ME FEEL SO HAPPYAND INLOVE WITH HIS CHARACTER GAWDS DAMN ME IT’S SO CUTE

So when you ask him to talk alone with him, is he confident now?

NAH MAN

He just stares away, gets nervous, and stutters” I-IT’S A NICE WEATHER, ISN’T IT? AHAH” like bruh. You nervous, anxious idiot PLS KISS ME ALREADY.

And that almost-kiss. IT WAS ADORABLE. And then the kiss-kiss. EVEN MORE ADORABLE. And they even give you soft piano music, aaaahhhh, I DIE ;A;

SO YEH. LOOKING FORWARDS TO MORE, BOTH ABOUT THE WHOLE STORY AND THE ROMANCE WITH CULLEN.

I could make the one quest...Wicked Hearts, something Eyes (I’M NOT PLAYING IT IN ENGLISH I’M SORRY), I think you go to a ball? But I have this habit of trying to complete as many sidequests as I can so you know. I’m taking long and doing it slow OTL

But enjoying it!!! And anyway, I spent too long writing this and now I feel guilty alksjdfkladjga

But yeh! My experience so far! C:

Thanks for reading!

[livingasaghost]

let’s talk about marie kondo!!

okay so as we know, i already binged all of her show tidying up and i ADORED it. super calming, very informative, and just really my kinda vibe. this year 2019 is all about change for me and forcing myself to become the best version i can be at this point in time. and so far...it’s working. like, granted i’m still THE WORST and i have a lot to work out, but i’ve already seen so much difference in who i was last year and who i am now. like i feel as if i’ve stopped living in fear like i once did. i still get some small usual anxieties, but now i don’t fear cooking or setting unrealistic goals or going to the gym or whatever. more than that i feel good. like, i think the no sugar thing is definitely showing some benefits, and i totally resisted a bunch of valentine’s day chocolates at a thing the other night so I AM QUEEN RIGHT NOW. i’ve also been really trying to embrace community like seeing friends and i started going to this small group that i should’ve gone to like 2 years ago (i suck) and it’s SO GOOD. i can’t believe i let myself sink so deep into my darkness -- it truly has felt like i’ve woken up from a coma or something. for so long i convinced myself that everything was fine and that i just had some minor depressive episodes but i’m good now, and like...sure it isn’t so much depression these days, but i can tell that there was something inside me that just was not clicking. and now i’m doing almost everything in my power to rewire my brain and redo my life. and it’s ACTUALLY WORKING!!! I’M SO HAPPY!! like, i still see glimpses of who i’ve always been, but i feel like i’m better at recognizing that and making myself do things that used to scare me. i changed my phone background to “if you know you can do better, do better” and reading that every day honestly does make me reconsider some of my actions. 

all that said, now is the PERFECT time for me to read marie kondo’s book. i just finished it today (the audiobook) and i ADORED IT. probably my favorite read of the year so far (isn’t that sad??? and this is book number 17 people!!!) but i just really loved it because not only does it give good advice, but it also just gave me some new thoughts and some new hope. like i found it fascinating to think about appreciating your possessions more and organizing things that should be together all in one place and truly creating a life that sparks joy. i don’t know if the concepts will actually made me a tidy person, we shall see, but i have hope that at the very least it will give me some big changes. marie says to do your tidying in a big marathon, and right now it looks like i’m going to spend march doing that. 

even though it’s all in my head, i really do feel like i’m at a point in my life where i’ve veered so far off the path of who i present myself to be that i’m starting to go in a different direction than what i really want. like i’ve been living in this messy little cave for like three years and it’s been dawning on me that i hate it. not all of it, probably not most of it, but i think if i can tackle all these areas in my life then i’ll find some new energy. and i know we can’t control everything in our lives, but i think for me this is less about feeling “in control” and more about me just taking control for once. for so long i’ve let things go on autopilot and that is just NOT GOOD. like god has been pulling me along, but i think he could tell that i needed to take the reigns back and nothing really forced me to do that...and i think this poetry book was the thing that actually did it. like now that it’s almost over, i’m closing this chapter and i feel like my headspace is already starting to clear. i’m starting to see who i bent myself to be all these years, and i want to stand up. i want to let go. i want to breathe new life into this body. 

marie kondo just really made me feel like i can do this. i was afraid that mid-year i’d hit my usual slumpy stride where i get depressed and creatively burnt out and i don’t know what to do to be better, but i can already tell that this year is a different beast. i may still have seasonal depression in august (probably, let’s be real) BUT i think the difference between this year and the last two is that 1) i have year-long projects to occupy my time -- i’m working on cooking and going to the gym and READING 100 books, so it’s like even if i don’t want to take photos or make videos or whatever, i know i can just pick up a book. or i can go for a run. or whatever. 2) i haven’t had a major binging episode in AGES. i watched tidying up, and i watched a little of ODAAT, and i think i had one or two movie nights, but other than that i’m really just avoiding tv and movies. and i feel so FREE. like it’s still fun, obviously, but i think this year i just need to chill and take a break and not stare at my tv so much. and most of the time in the summer that is my go-to. so if i can keep up this mindset, i might be safe. 3) since i’m planning on tidying up my room, and my room is where i spend the most time when i’m depressed, this could be a really great way to cleanse the energy in there and give it new life that will sustain me rather than drain me in the summer. i’m not sure how i’m going to do it yet, but i think i need to move some furniture around, even though i’ve already changed it about as much as i can with the layout i have right now. i just think if i get a different space around me, maybe if i condense my clothes and clear out my closet and move some books around, i can breathe my space back to life and i won’t feel so trapped when the heat is suffocating in a few months. 

of course, i say all of that, but i know that seasonal depression is just a think i’ll be dealing with until i move somewhere not so hot all the time. we shall see.

in any case, i felt so much peace listening to marie’s book. i felt like someone was out there thinking about me and trying to find a way to contribute to my new year’s goals. i already feel like march will be a new year. i was also afraid that i’d give up after a few months (last year i lasted until about april?) so i think if i can trick my brain into thinking that march is ACTUALLY when new year starts (lol) then it’ll give me a few more months of motivation. and maybe it’ll just help me feel more at peace as i prepare to go abroad in april for two weeks (I CANNOT WAIT!!!! LESS THAN 2 MONTHS!!!) i’m also going to cut my hair at the end of the month and i’ll have released my book at the beginning of it, and i just feel like march will be another fresh start for my new year. 

i think to me the most interesting part about all of it is that i’m learning how to forgive myself. forgive myself for taking a break, for not doing the thing, for staying up late, for being on my phone so much, whatever. so many times i do things and i think “UGH JENNA DO BETTER” and while that is accurate and i do spend a lot of my life failing to do well, i have been doing so good lately! like it’s month 2 of 2019 and ya girl has read SEVENTEEN BOOKS! SEVENTEEN! that’s like...unreal. and i don’t feel stressed. i don’t feel overwhelmed. it’s just like...chill. like, yeah i have time on my hands of COURSE i should have read almost 20 books in two months. that’s logical. and i am stressed about other things (this stupid poetry book UGH CAN IT BE DONE YET) like client projects, but not books. or cooking. or exercising. it just...is happening. and it makes me wonder why i wasn’t just doing it all along. it makes me wonder if i will keep doing this after this year is over. i’m so bad at sustaining anything (plants, a work ethic, habits, etc) that i fear in 2020 all this growth will be lost, but i think about marie kondo saying that when her clients experience such a dramatic emotional change/connection, they have almost no choice but to embrace this new life because they never want to go back. i don’t want to take two steps backward ever again. i want to go forward. i want to believe in myself, i want to support my body, and i want a space that won’t suffocate me. 

so that’s where we’re at. 

[frances048]

2018 Summary Of Art by Fran48

Blank meme here for any of you guys who want to try it :) I can't believe that it's just two days till 2019..Time goes so fast XD :) Here are the previous years memes : 2012: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/2012-Art-Summary-Fran48-343638908 2013: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/2013-Art-Summary-Fran48-422621435 2014: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/My-2014-Summary-Of-Art-Fran48-503896864 2015: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/My-2015-Summary-of-art-578886586 2016: https://fran48.deviantart.com/art/Fran48-s-2016-Summary-Of-Art-6540407232017 : My 2017 Summary Of Art Now I'll summarise my art of 2018 :)   This year has been full of its ups and downs, with struggles with mental health but still some very enjoyable and funny times too :) I think I've done quite a few pieces this year however maybe not as many as I'd like as my apprenticeship kept me busy :) The resources I used this year included The resources I used this year included Ms paint, gel pens, watercolour pencils, coloured pencils, mechanical pencils, fine liner pens, pencils, coloured pens, chalk , charcoal ,crayons, camera, phone, video camera, felt tip pens, Articulate, Windows Movie Maker, Paint tool sai, and on some occasions, Pixelmator which I purchased for my new imac I bought with my earnings.. I plan to use it more next year :) I have also done a few redraws this year (insert here) to help me work on developing my own art style ;3 I have also messed around with my phone a lot this year, adding silly filters to pics and my artwork :) January

This month, I started watching K-on and Fairy Tail again and drew quite a lot of digital pics from the shows including my Bickslow pic ,Erza pic(which I digitally edited using apps on my phone) and a Mio pic I also watched the Live action Disney film Maleficent which inspired me to draw the pic included in this meme:)https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Maleficent-723817285

February

This month I continued drawing Fairy tail pics and pics in digital software but also experimented using Articulate 360 and created an interactive Junko Enoshima soundboard. I however was unable to work out how to upload it here ^^;....so made a flash recording of what it was capable of https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Junko-thingy-730187122 (you will need Flash player to view this) MarchThis month I got into quite a few different animes, namely Persona, Pandora hearts  and Durarara and drew pieces from them. I also continued to draw pics from fairy tail, particulally pics of Erza Scarlet..lol it was in this month and April that I realised I had developed an obsession with her because she's so cool , beautiful, badass but also human and relatable as a person^_^       I also started including more youtube speedpaints, including a one of Sarada Uchiha..;3...https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Sarada-speedpaint-youtube-link-below-735619409

April

This month I continued to draw art of Erza lol and Persona art but also got into My hero academia ;3 and started drawing art from it ^_^ May

This month I continued to draw art from My hero academia , Fairy tail, and Naruto but also a piece from Durarara :) . I also went to see the Avengers film (which I didn't enjoy too much for obvious reasons if you guys have seen it ..It kind of felt like a weird fanfic..though that's just my feelings on it ^^' ) and somehow ended up drawing Gamora (see meme) https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Gamora-744789878 June

I took part in Narutoweek in that month https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/gallery/66581702/Narutoweek which I really loved :) I also created Youtube videos of drawings for Sunnycon guest voice actresses Caitlin Glass (who actually saw my videos and the pic on Twitter!!!!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s85fOvde9-4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZhkjbW5uHg&feature=youtu.be and Cherumi Leigh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr86aHtITyw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X59aytmWAoY They both loved my pics and signed them to my delight ^_^ Sunnycon itself was pretty awesome - I got to meet some of my friends again, see amazing cosplays but also cosplay as best girl...Erza ....:D <333333 (https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/gallery/66687467/Erza-Scarlet-cosplay which...in turn inspired more fanart....and memes of her over the rest of the months XDDDD...lolJulySo in July I watched through the first season of Sword art online and drew fanart...I now understand the controversy about it ^^;....I also got up to date with the 1st season of Toyko ghoul re and watched Persona 5...which I loved as much as Persona 4 but for different reasons....:D and drew fanart ;3... I also watched Miss Kobayashi's dragon maid which was so funny and thus came the fanart ;3... And then....coming back to Erza yet again...I made myself into a meme...XDDD......an Erza x cake senpai meme XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Yes I need to get a life..https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Cake-senpai-752605870

August

This month I drew a lot of traditional art including a piece of Akuro and Chanco from one of my fav youtube channels..ShiroYuki Productions https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1up9mKAfOJvbrl1vN02waQ I also started watching FMA brotherhood..which I have yet to fully completely get through....^^;..I also did a pic in honour of Stefan Karl Steffanson ..which although I knew he had sadly passed away a while ago, I didn't fully appreciate how amazing he was until then :(..Tbh I hadn't really found Lazytown appealing in my younger days and found it kind of creepy ^^;..but I have respect for that guy now :)I also kind of got obsessed with the songs from the band Fleetwood mac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ul-cZyuYq4&list=PLCC4CD5FD7684F0A3 ..and made this piece randomly https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Fleetwood-mac-761976020

September

This month, I got into the anime Seven deadly sins and drew fanart from it. I continued to do speedpaints for Youtube and use Paint tool sai :) though I did draw some traditional pieces ;3 I also heard my brother continously play Birdhouse in your soul by They might be giants...I looked into it and saw the official vid and created this piece https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Make-a-little-birdhouse-in-your-soul-764678942 I also created my own original piece of a deer girl which I was very proud of https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Deer-girl-765391080 OctoberThis month I continued to create both traditional and digital drawings including a piece of Nico Robin in her baroque works outfit https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Miss-All-Sunday-Nico-Robin-767252161 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Me-and-my-new-Nico-Robin-pic-767253230 , Froppy from My hero academia https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Froppy-speedpainting-link-below-768574612 , Fafnir from Miss Kobayashi's dragon maid https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Fafnir-speedpainting-see-link-below-768574727 and more ;3..I also continued creating Youtube speedpaintings. I also participated in Inktober ;3..https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/gallery/67321324/Inktober-2018

November I started watching more of Fairy Tail again https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Levy-and-Gajeel-chibis-Speedpaint-drawing-772478351  and continued watching the Boruto series..:) https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Six-paths-sage-mode-naruto-youtube-link-below-771541151 I continued drawing both traditionalhttps://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Monomi-speedpainting-link-below-773973512  and digital pieces   https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Ultimate-imposter-Ryota-Mitari-It-s-alright-now-771067838 but also started doing intial recorded sketches which were recorded on my phone, then photographed/scanned in and then further recorded digitally before being uploaded to Youtube, an example of this being my Gundham Tanaka pic.. https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Gundham-Tanaka-speedpaint-link-below-774096226 December

I spent pretty much most of this month creating Christmas artwork which was scheduled to be uploaded to Youtube every day till the 24th of December :) https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Sarada-as-an-angel-link-below-776968163 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Christmas-Rukia-link-below-776968200 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Alphonse-christmas-link-below-776968150 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Delibird-776573119 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Yuri-can-you-hear-my-heartbeat-775901800 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Olaf-775901553 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Victor-speed-drawing-link-below-775901681 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Glaceon-speedpaint-link-below-775775663 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Snoopy-Christmas-775499922 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Tobirama-speedpaint-774936436 https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Erza-christmas-drawing-775195304 . This for the most part went well but was pretty hard to do as things got busier at work..^^; These pieces were a combination of traditional and digital pieces :) I also started practising poses, firstly starting on this short Naruto and Jiraiyia manga thing https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Naruto-and-Jiraiya-reunion-short-manga-in-colour-777916676 .. I also drew a picture of the beast from Beauty and the beast after this https://www.deviantart.com/fran48/art/Beast-777789340 :) My family really loved this piece and want to have it framed ^_^ This has further encouraged me to create more disney pieces :) I have also started playing Pokemon moon and have already been preparing pokemon art for next year :) Overall I feel I have gotten into a few different animes this year but I want to get into so more being the anime obsessed nerd that I am XDD I also really want to cosplay more..XDD...I also want to work on more new art pieces next year but I'll have to see how busy I am and how life goes XDD...I'm not sure how much I've improved this year, I have been working really hard on improving my poses but I still need to improve , as with anatomy :) I may not say this enough and may not be very active all the time but you guys who have stuck with me through every anxiety journal , moan ( know I often sound like a broken record half of the time with my anxiety and everything else ^^;) and the spam posts of artwork, I want to say I appreciate every kind comment, like and watch I have been given, they honestly mean so much to me :hug: and also the patience of many of you who were waiting for replies from me and having to wait months and even years ^^;....XD..I honestly need to work on replies in the new year among a number of other things ^^;...I may have missed out details of this but this is just a general summary so yeah ^^;... Hope you all had a lovely christmas and Have a wonderful new 2019 when it comes :D ^_^Thanks again Frances/Fran/or whatever you want to call me lol

[wholelotofdeku]

Undertale - For Your 2nd Birthday

Undertale

Ah, I remember the days when I didn't really look into Undertale and disregarded it as another game surrounding the others which was about you killing enemies to save the princess or something, mostly because the very first part I saw of Undertale was the Sans fight, lol. But hooooo, the moment I actually went into it, man, did the everything explode in my face XD. I know it’s very late since Undertale's 2nd Birthday was a while ago, but I wanted to start out 2018 with just some of my thoughts on Undertale and a little something else you’ll find out in the end. Anyway, let’s get started.....

Honestly, Undertale has changed my life, despite only being in my life for only about a year or so. But just that much is enough to make me want to keep the fandom alive throughout the many years of my life. I truly love this game and it’s fandom, even if there are some dark and lusty AU's and AT's out there, *cough* Underlust, Undertail, Fontcest, Sanscest, Papycest, etc. *cough*, but even if that stuff is completely off of the original story, it does bring people into the fandom, surprisingly XD. My experience with the actual Undertale game isn’t very neat since I haven’t played the game myself and only watch most of the big boss battles in all three routes but don’t really pay attention to the small stuff in the game, but I do still love it all. I honestly only look to the boss battles because I want to experience the game itself with the rest of the story since the bosses are what most people care about. But, anyway, Undertale has impacted me and my life more than any other fandom, even topping Warriors and Naruto which were the fandoms I was previously, and still kinda, into! And I was a nerd for those fandoms! I created thousands of cats and stories for Warriors, and although I didn’t for Naruto, I couldn’t stop myself from watching the series over and over again, except for Banana Tree (Boruto). Honestly, I’ve dedicated more of my time and art on Undertale than when I drew Pokémon and Warriors a few years back! But enough of my past for now. Undertale may be a game, but like people say about the game: the game has real world meanings and real world consequences but in a game fashion since we don’t exactly see skeletons with magical powers to summon bones, animal-like skulls, or shift gravity on us. The game teaches us that our decisions impact the future, and each decision can lead to a good future or bad future. Undertale tells us that games aren’t just shooting zombies during an apocalypse and saving your true love, but it tells us that anything can make us see how the world works, whether we like it or not. We see that the human, us, makes decisions to either spare or kill monsters who appear and confront our character. It’s just like in a real world setting, such as when you encounter another person or animal, you have a variety of choices to choose from to determine your future and each decision counts.

The True Pacifist Route, this route is nothing but sparing and befriending every monster in the Underground, and in the end, leading to Asriel Dreemurr's battle. This route shows that if we keep striving, good things are to happen if we keep staying determined. But this also means that we must face the problems of life head on and refuse to give up unlike the other two routes. I don’t know much about this route specifically, so, I’ll just say that the True Pacifist Route is the path that most of us would want for our real lives so we can be successful yet, be strong enough to stand up for ourselves and others in the face of danger.

The Neutral Route, sure there’s sparing in this too, but there is some dusting of monsters within this route. I personally think that this is the path most people go in real life since sometimes, they just have things they can’t control and act out before they think it out. I don’t know much about this one either, but, I guess this route could show that being you if you’re not really nice or really mean can still lead to good things. It is you after all and no one should change that.

The Genocide Route, now this is the one that I know the most out of the three. The route of killing every monster in your path in cold-blood and leading to the final battle with my favorite character, Sans. I think this route shows the most lesson relatable in life than the others. I believe that this route, once you finish it and end up with Chara, it shows that your actions will have consequences, whether you like it or not, karma will come back and hit you. I personally believe in karma, and I believe that this is what comes at you when you finally defeat Sans and are forced to either erase the world or not to but end up being forced to by Chara. I personally don’t like it when people are just really happy and excited when they defeat Sans because, in a way, he’s the last line of defense for the Underground. It’s like, when I hear and watch people just say that "God dammit! That fight was fucking ridiculous! Finally, Sans is dead!", I get so irritated because you’re basically killing for glory and fun by the time you defeat Sans! He tries so hard to kill you and even tries to persuade you to go back, RESET, and start over and go onto a new route! Yet, he’s struck down mercilessly. I personally see that when people strike down Sans and are happy that he’s dead, they’ve become the true MONSTER (eh, get it? XD I’m stupid as hell). Anyway, he gives up his life to basically protect his home and all of his dead friends homes as well! And to fail, that is more painful than death itself. Sans went through all that suffering, in my opinion, by having to watch all of his friends and all of monster kind be killed, even his own brother, Papyrus, who he clearly loves dearly. There’s the reason as to why he’s the Judge in all three routes when you go into Judgement Hall, because he’s the only one who knows and remembers the RESETs and yet, he doesn’t kill you right away, even if that isn’t part of the game. But in a realistic setting, he doesn’t kill you right away because he in hoping that you, the human, give them all a happy ending by going onto the Surface World and bringing the monster and human race together. Sure, the other monsters such as Undyne and Mettaton step in your path during this route to stop you, but they are originally stronger than Sans. Everyone who knows Undertale knows that Sans is the character with the lowest stats with 1 HP, 1 ATK, and 1 DEF. When we first play without any outside influence, we don’t expect Sans to be the final and hardest boss in the entire game, but that’s because we judge a book by its cover! Almost all gamers always aim for the character with the highest stats, strongest strengths, and most overpowered abilities and attacks, we don’t pay any attention to the lower ones and disregard them as just items and tools, like in Naruto with the Jinchuriki's and their Tailed Beasts. It’s not surprising to see that Sans is the final boss and the hardest boss in the game. Most of our minds want us to go for the one with the most pros that help in specific situations such as strength, speed, defense, health, etc. and some could care less about the information of the character and their significance in the game and their role in the story. Toby wouldn’t have put in someone as weak as Sans in the game as one of the main characters that you encounter in each route towards the end of the game just because, most likely, Sans could’ve been a minor character for all we know, but, Toby changes that by making Sans seem weak and pointless at first, but swing back with karma and a lot of freakin anger and knowledge at the end of the Genocide Route.

I don’t wanna say too much so, I’m just gonna end with this; Undertale is a game that many people will remember even as they grow up, if they really pay attention to each character, the story, the game concepts and content, and most of all, the overall meaning to each ending. Undertale is a game that I will personally love for the rest of my life, and I hope that it keeps living on throughout the coming years. Toby truly made a masterpiece with this beloved game.

-Sanz

Also! To start out the year of 2018, ignore the fact that it’s in the beginning of February XD, I also wanna say a bit about what is going on with my username change. Just a little bit before I end this.

I had so much fun as Ask-Bluestar14, I even remember the first asks I did with Bluestar many months ago, and I miss it when life was a bit easier and I could draw more often. So, I will always love Ask-Bluestar14, but I think that it’s time to shed my old skin and form another new, colorful skin as my new self here on DeviantArt. I will never forget how much happiness and friends I made and had throughout the times with Ask-Bluestar14, and I hope to continue this with my new username and self. So, I just wanted to say this before I change to my new username and most likely, my permanent username from now on. I will never stop loving you, Ask-Bluestar14, and you’ll always be in my heart and SOUL through the happy, sad, and tough times ahead. See ya, Ask-Bluestar14, you’ll be honored and remembered forever through the new. You may take a rest now, I’ll be here for you still, and I always will be.

Stay DETERMINED, Ask-Bluestar14!

-Sanz

[sugawaras]

Banana Fish, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Haikyuu ofc so do what you want or all c:

tyyy!! id love to do all 3 haha 

banana fish:

haven’t heard of it | absolutely never watching | might watch | currently watching | dropped | hated it | meh | a positive okay | liked it | liked it a lot! | loved it | a favorite

don’t watch period | drop if not interested within 2-3 episodes | give it a go, could be your thing | 5 star recommendation 

fav characters: eiji, ash, singleast fav characters: golzine fav relationship: asheijifav moment: hmm i love the scene in the beginning where eiji pole vaults over the wall to get ash help like that was so badass, and also that scene in the museum where ash totally goes beast mode against some guys golzine sent after him (also a super badass scene haha) headcanons/theories: my fav hc is that a certain character (*no spoilers*) lives and him and eiji move to japan and live happily ever after with a dog and a bunch of adopted kids :’)unpopular opinion: idk if this counts but when I was reading the manga epilogue I was getting very romancey vibes from sing and eiji? and I kinda like the idea of them getting together after everything that happened, esp bc I think itd be hard for anyone except for sing to understand what eiji went through :( asheiji forever ofc but in the canon universe I can kinda see sing/eiji in the futurehow’d you find it: I think I just heard about it being an airing summer anime and it sounded p interesting so I decided to watch it! and the name definitely caught my intention LOLrandom thoughts: it was really good!! the ending definitely wrecked my soul and I was like shocked for days sdfhhdfsh but besides that, theres a lot of good action, character development, etc.! theres also a TON of trigger warnings that could apply tho (ex. sexual abuse, violence) but overall I rlly enjoyed it!! 

(haikyuu and kny are under the read more!)

haikyuu:

haven’t heard of it | absolutely never watching | might watch | currently watching | dropped | hated it | meh | a positive okay | liked it | liked it a lot! | loved it | a favorite

don’t watch period | drop if not interested within 2-3 episodes | give it a go, could be your thing | 5 star recommendation 

fav characters: hinata, suga, tendou to name a few, but honestly every character is a fave!!least fav characters: none?? I didn't really like washijou in the anime (including the ball boy arc) but hes gone through so much development in the manga I have no choice but to stan shhfsdfav relationship: kagehina!fav moment: omg theres so many, but to name a few: when hinata and kageyama finally get their new quick right at the training camp, yamaguchi’s serves in the 2nd seijou match, tsukki’s block against ushijima, nishinoya’s foot save against datekou, and the list goes on and on sfhdhfsdheadcanons/theories: I love the idea that haikyuu will end (well I hate the idea of it ending BUT) with kagehina at the 2020 Olympics on the japan national team playing together again, and some random kid sees hinata on the tv and the kid gets inspired to play vball bc of him just like how hinata started :’) ALSO manga spoilers but I saw this theory that udai tenma is like furudate’s self-insert and that that’s how he actually looks irl (which makes sense bc furudate based hq off his own hs vball experience AND tenma ends up becoming a mangaka soo...hmmm...)unpopular opinion: idk if I have any tbh! but (manga spoilers again) when the timeskip happened I saw a lot of ppl were really upset about it, and I was kinda sad we didn't get to see them as 3rd years, but I was actually so excited for the beach arc?? like holy crap it was such a plot twist and im so happy furudate took this direction, bc I honestly do think itd be kinda repetitive to see them go through second and third year and having to introduce tons of new characters would be a bit much :( how’d you find it: I had just finished watching yoi and I was like “ok im not gonna become obsessed w anime buuuut maybe ill just try another sports anime” and then i saw haikyuu and I was like “why not lol” and that was when I first started watching it!random thoughts: haikyuu is honestly my all-time fave!!! like it literally inspired me to start playing vball and hinata is such a great protagonist and its literally a work of art and actually super accurate and realistic gameplay (mostly, the quick attack is kinda out there BUT STILL) and yeah this show is just so dear to my heart :’))

kny:

haven’t heard of it | absolutely never watching | might watch | currently watching | dropped | hated it | meh | a positive okay | liked it | liked it a lot! | loved it | a favorite

don’t watch period | drop if not interested within 2-3 episodes | give it a go, could be your thing | 5 star recommendation (honestly I feel like almost anyone could get into kny)  

fav characters: inosuke, tanjirou, kanrojileast fav characters: muzan but even he;s rlly complex and fav relationship: shinazugawa/Tomioka and kanroji/iguro! (also zenitsu/tanjirou/inosuke/nezuko are squad goals haha)                                          fav moment: literally any fight scene fshfhsf, like theyre all so well animated and the demon backstories are so sad omg                                      headcanons/theories: sabito was tomioka's first love and the one that got away :’( but he ends up falling in love w shinazugawa and they help each other through the grief of losing their loved ones                                              unpopular opinion: none in particular!

how’d you find it: id heard a ton of good reviews about it, but I put off watching it mainly bc of school and whatnot, but then winter break came and I had a ton of free time and I ended up bingewatching it lmao random thoughts: ok kny gives me serious hxh chimera arc vibes?? i mean personally i would consider it a lot less tragic but the demon backstories are kinda like the ants and the invincible nature of muzan vs. meruem, and also tanjirou willing to die for nezuko being similar to killua and gon ...much to think about ssfshhf

[inkuisitivskins]

LivMiles werewolf AU. 👀

1) Give me a pairing.

2) Give me an AU setting.

3) I will write you a three-sentence fic. OOPS LOL

Under a read more because.. this was kind of a long drabble I’m sorry :’) I’ve just been wanting to write an AU like this for quite a while

Warning for slight blood and body horror

He had noticed her growing more distant during the last few weeks. Distant, and moody. 

Many of her soldiers would joke about the monthly cause of her heightened aggression, though Miles knew otherwise. He also couldn’t help but notice how it happened on every full moon, and when he would politely question her about it, she would always avoid the question– which was unlike her. He had noted how she was always able to tell him anything, save for the reasons behind her hostility every night leading up to, and the eventual leave she took from the fort, the night a full moon rose into the sky. 

Miles was never a man to jump to conclusions, but he would admit to himself that he was growing increasingly worried. Every episode of hers would grow more vicious until this last time, where her absence from the fort had last longer than a single night. Frankly, her leaving the fort without informing him, her adjutant, her personal assistant, and her best friend, worried him– but an unexplained extended leave terrified him to the core. What if something happened?

She had assured him one of the earlier times that her absence was merely a nightly walk, and she did not leave the confines of the area surrounded by the fort, on the Amestrian side of the border, of course. She never “took a walk” in the no-man’s-land between Briggs and the Drachman border, yet Miles still grew increasingly nervous. Even in Amestris where there were no human enemies, the snowy mountain range around Briggs was still inhospitable; being inhabited by dangerous wildlife and even more dangerous, unpredictable weather. 

Sure, the werewolf myth had crossed his thoughts, and wolf chimeras were absolutely a real thing, but he paid no mind to it. If his general had been a chimera, he would like to believe that she would have told him, since the existence of chimeras was tied directly to the military and experiments it had done. Come to think of it, if she was, she most likely wouldn’t have kept it any sort of secret, since the fort was of military purpose, after all.

Still, he found himself quietly making his way down the elevator of Briggs, almost precisely at midnight, when the fort was still, except for the few nightly workers and soldiers who were given the graveyard shift. He didn’t know why he held an unlit lantern in his grasp– he had been tossing the idea around for quite a while, but he supposed he was finally, actually, going to go out looking for her. An absence of two days was far too long for comfort. 

He made sure the fur on his coat was snugly against the back of his neck to keep out any cold as he lit the lantern, exiting the iron walls of Fort Briggs. The night was dark, but the full moon cast an eerie light that reflected off the snow and caused it to look blue rather than white. He lifted the lantern and started walking– in what direction, he was not even sure. He just had to find her. 

Not much time had passed when he happened upon an unusually large footprint in the snow. Normally, he paid no attention to the animal tracks that would litter the snow once one drew far enough away from the fort to find wildlife, but this was even larger than a bear’s. Twice as large, actually. 

Miles didn’t notice himself staring in dumbfounded awe down at the huge print, until he heard a deer cry out nearby. His red eyes snapped up in the direction of the noise, and he immediately hurried over. One again, he didn’t know why. Maybe it was because he loved animals, and if one was hurt, he may try to help. 

Maybe it was because something in the back of his mind knew what was going on. 

He topped a snowy hill, freezing in his footsteps when he saw it. A deer carcass sat in the snow, freshly killed, by what large, looming mass of fur hunkered over it. Its long, white fur stood out against the seemingly blue snow as it tore into its kill, too distracted to notice him.

Why, was unbeknownst to him, but he spoke out, “Hey!”

Immediately couldn’t even begin to describe how quickly the canine head swerved to stare at him. Its maw was bloodied, and its eyes seemed void of pupils in the way they reflected the light of Miles’s lantern. His heart stopped instantaneously, terrified. 

It lunged at him, knocking him onto his back with its long limbs– thankfully, the impact was soft due to the snow. The figure, however, pinned him, breathing heavily and snarling as its eyes remained locked on his, the iron stench of blood strong on on it as it clung to its fur. Heat seemed to be radiating angrily and dangerously off its large body, and Miles could only stare up at it in sheer horror. 

It was this moment, though, when it knocked the lantern from his hands, and he could fully see the color of its eyes. It’s pupils were visible slits now, but the irises were a bright, icy blue, that seemed to be glowing in the darkness of the night. There was only one living thing he knew that had eyes like that. 

“Olivier?” He breathed, chest heaving. Teeth still bared, the wolf sat up ever so slightly, its small ears pricking forward as he spoke. He watched in silence as its pupils widened and shrunk as it focused its sights on him, obviously in deep thought. It still seemed confused, so it bent down, frighteningly close to his face, and touched its nose gently to his cheek, sniffing deeply– the deep noise of its breathing loud in the major’s ear. 

In one motion, it straightened and leapt off of him, its heavy feet strangely quick in the snow as it fled. 

“W-wait, please!” The Ishvalan scrambled to his feet, losing his footing on the snow several times as he grabbed his lantern and hurried to pursue the creature. He caught a glimpse of it running along the treeline, noticing the moonlight on it– the light catching its white fur, seemingly reflecting off a golden hue. 

Thankfully, the snow was deep here, so it was not difficult for him to follow its tracks. Eventually, he came upon a clearing that was surrounded by snow-laden trees, where the footsteps seemed to stop due to the light snow that was now beginning to fall. 

“General?” He raised his voice, looking around. “Please, I want to help you! I’ve been so worried! I-I…” He continued, quieting down. In truth, he was always so protective of her because she was the person he loved most in this whole world. Not only had they slowly gained each other’s trust through their work, but they eventually became best friends, and around that time, Miles finally had the guts to admit to himself that he’d fallen in love with her.

And, in all honesty, if this was Olivier, this changed nothing. It was still her same soul, albeit clouded with a primal need to hunt, and he would give his life to keep her safe.

Heavy steps crunching in the snow behind him caused him to swing around, the force of which sent his lantern flying, since he didn’t have a good enough grip on it with his military-issue gloves. The beast was stalking him, its large paws seemingly moving in slow motion as it crouched. Even with knees bent, its height was that of a normal-sized bear. 

“Olivier,” Miles said again, his voice breaking slightly. He loved her, but he didn’t want it to end like this for him. He had grown up being told folktales by his mother, and one of the ones that stuck with him most to this day was the one about werewolves, where, when under transformation, they had no conscious control over any of their actions. He knew it wouldn’t be her fault, but he also knew that he had made a promise to himself long ago that he wouldn’t die before he told her that he loved her. 

“Please…”

It gained on him, still slowly, until it sank down into the snow, ready to lunge again. 

“Olivier, I love you…”

Instantly, it lifted its head, pupils dilating to circles. It yelped suddenly, the shrill noise not matching the large and powerful body, as it stumbled forward. It lost footing in the snow, tripping onto its stomach, yet already too weak to pick itself up again. Contorting in sharp pain, the beast seemingly began to shrink as the fur retreated into the skin. In a strangely human way, it hid its face in its large paws, its pointed muzzle still peering out between the paw pads, as the whole body lost fur and began to grow more human features once again. Bones were heard cracking as the spine realigned and the pelvis opened to also take on the shape of a person’s rather than that of a quadruped mammal; arm bones shortening from the length they were as not a pure wolf’s, but a monster’s. Blonde hair that matched the gold of the fur soon took over on the head as the canine snout disappeared. Soon, all that remained was the motionless figure of a woman, quickly being consumed by snow. 

Though he was in utter horror from what just transpired before his eyes, Miles shakily stood, urging his body to move despite the shock it was experiencing. Completely ignoring his lantern, he immediately undid the buttons on his coat and hurried to his superior, shedding it quickly. She was limp, so it was difficult, but he managed to prop her up enough to wrap his coat around her, swiftly lifting her bridal style, making sure all of her bare skin was covered by the heavy fabric. 

“Olivier?” He asked, panting due to the shock that remained, his breath leaving him as puffs of smoke in the cold air. He moved a hand to rest two fingers on the side of her neck, sensing a weak pulse– yet a pulse nonetheless. 

At his touch, her eyes fluttered, opening weakly. Though it was obvious how weak she was, his face immediately brightened at her sign of life. 

“I’m sorry,” were the first words that left her, her voice scratchy and soft.

“No, don’t,” Miles replied quickly, bending down to retrieve the lantern. She wasn’t very heavy, and he was rather strong, so he had no trouble carrying her. “Just please be okay…”

“I’ll be fine,” she rasped what sounded like a chuckle as the corners of her lips lifted into a weak smile. “Happens all the time. It’s always painful like this…”

“I’m sorry,” her adjutant responded, walking as quickly as he feet could carry him without fully breaking into a run. He smiled down at her gently, understandingly, “I just wish you told me.”

She shrugged gently, voice still faint, “Lycanthropy… runs in the family. Skips some members sometimes, though…”

“No shit?” Miles breathed, flashing her a small smile, just glad that she was making coherent conversation. He wanted to keep it up so that she didn’t slip back out of consciousness.

“Passed down the Armstrong line for generations,” she sighed shakily, to which he laughed softly. What he wasn’t expecting was the ginger, feather-light touch of her fingertips against his dark cheek, which drew his attention down to her and caused him to have somewhat of a surprised look on his face. 

She gave him the fondest smile she could possibly muster in the state she was currently in, “I love you too.”

—

I drew like all of the inspiration from this from that one post going around a bit ago about how in some legends, werewolves could be transformed back by confessing to them or throwing clothes on them or something like that? Even if that isn’t right and my memory’s failing me, that’s how it works in this AU HAHA

Anyway yeah, I already apologized but this drabble was so long x’D I’ve just been wanting to do a supernatural AU like this with them for a while so I was SO happy when you asked this haha. Either way, thank you so much, Katie!! I’ll be posting this in my Livmiles drabbles collection on ao3 if that’s cool!

ALSO I based the werewolf off the Wolf Beasts seen in Bloodborne. Basically wolves with long creepy limbs

Thank you so much!

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hey hun. So I am a Disney/fairytale/fantasy nut and was wondering if you could recommend any good Johnlock "Disney princess" or fairytale AU fics? Ta!

Hi Lovely!

I actually haven’t read any that come to mind immediately, other than these ones:

MOVIE /TV UNIVERSES

The Swan Triad Series by Pennin_Ink (T, 121,660 w. across 3 works || Swan Princess AU) – Sherlock and John grow up spending every summer together. Their mothers’ attempts to play matchmaker only fuel their mutual resentment and scorn. But then, one summer…

The Frost Child by twistedthicket1 (M, 9,944 w. || Frozen-ish AU || Angst, Fluff) – In a world where people are born with a Gift of varying levels, simple John Watson is the last person one might look at when thinking of any strong Magick capabilities. Hiding comfortably in the shadow of Sherlock’s brilliant deducing abilities, John is content to keep it that way…

Perdition’s Flames by i_ship_an_armada (E, 63,435 w., | Treklock AU) – Sherlock would do anything to save him. Risk anything. Give anything. His money, his life. His soul. What he does, though, is change both of their destinies forever. Genetic re-engineering is the only option left. It turns out researchers underestimated the life expectancy and potential abilities of genetically re-engineered subjects. The British government and what would eventually become the United Federation of Planets, however, had not. Part 1 of PF Universe

Coventry by standbygo (E, 52,020 w. || Dollhouse AU) – “Let me get this straight,” John said, wondering when his life had become a science fiction film. “Some guy orders up a personality, a person, to his specifications, and they program this into a real live person, who has consented to do this, and she goes to this person and acts as his wife, or lawyer, or Royal Marine, or Navy Seal or what have you, and she has all the skills, all the knowledge, everything? Then you say the magic words, and she follows you back to The House, and they erase it all until her next appointment?”

The Boy Who Drank Stars by kinklock (E, 36,187 w. || Howl’s Moving Castle | Slow Burn, Romance, Pining) – “I’m looking for a castle,” John informed the scarecrow. “A moving one.” Except that, as it turned out, it was not a moving one at all.

Impossible Improbable Truth by KaraRenee (M, 24,308 w. || Labyrinth AU) – John and Sherlock take a case investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl and her toddler half brother. What they find is an impossible adventure that leads them on a journey of discovery of their sexuality. {{I haven’t read this, but it’s on my Marked for Later and I remembered putting it on there LOL}}

Through Dangers Untold by hogwartswitch (E, 32,003 w. || Labyrinth AU) – The Goblin King has fallen in love with John Watson and visits him in dreams. But the evil wizard who cursed the Goblin King cannot allow that to continue. Will John survive the labyrinth? Or will he become a lost goblin like all the rest? {{I think I started this when it was a WiP, so I never finished it, hah. I don’t remember it all.}}

Malediction by MapleleafCameo (M, 36,680 w. || Ladyhawke AU) – Cursed to a half-life, John and Sherlock must fight the forces of evil to be reunited once again. {{I read this once a LONG time ago. I remember loving it.}}

Bel Canto by bendingsignpost (T, 96,751 w. || Phantom of the Opera AU || Major Character Death) – After years of waiting for wealthy patrons to faint, Dr John Watson discovers a far more interesting patient in the opera house basement. {{ Another I never finished, but this is the  “go to” PotO fic}}

The Dragon’s Soldier by twistedthicket1 (M, 154,667 w. || Smauglock || Past Rape/Non-con, H/C, Dragonlock) – When the dragons “came out” to the rest of the world, nobody expected the resulting War that broke out between Humans and Beasts. Both sides afraid and suspicious of each other, Humans drove Dragons into slavery, imprisoning them and turning their children into weapons for the military. Forced into hiding, many Dragons disguised themselves as Human and kept their secrets locked away, awaiting for the day when the royal blood line long since vanished would once again reappear and lay waste to the Humans that oppressed them. Can Dragon and Man really get along? Or even more, become friends? {{Another on my MFL list, haven’t read this yet so read at your own risk}}

The Soul Remembers by i_ship_an_armada (E, 43,636 w. || Oblivion AU || Dreams, Sci-Fi, Action/Adventure, Bittersweet Ending) – John Watson is the lone security repairman stationed on a desolate, nearly-ruined future Earth. His dreams are plagued by a tall, dark-haired man, and when his dreams meet reality, he will be forced to question everything he believes is the truth about his life.

Deducing Daisies by LlamaWithAPen (G, 144,583 w. WIP || Pushing Daisies AU || Friendship, Death, Humour) – What if you could touch someone and bring them back to life? Sherlock Holmes, the Detective, is a seemingly ordinary man with an extraordinary gift: he can bring the dead back to life with a single touch. {{Haven’t read this yet, it’s on my MFL list, read at own discretion}}

Once Upon a Beast Becoming by antietamfalls (T, 24,042 w. || Beauty and the Beast AU || Magical Realism, Romance) – An act of pride, a druid’s curse, an enchanted leaf; Sherlock’s torment has lasted an age. Hope arrives in the form of one John Watson, a man uniquely suited to break the spell. But with a single night to win his affections, Sherlock finds his carefully laid plans disrupted by a monstrous killer whose sights are set on the only thing he has left to lose: John. {{Haven’t read this yet, on MFL list. Read at your own discretion}}

SPECIAL ABILITIES

We Bleed into the Grey by QuinnAnderson (T, 4,989 w. | Fluff and Angst, Supernatural Elements) – It was stupid, really. What was the point of having an ability if it wasn’t even a useful one? Sherlock would just as soon be rid of his. Until he meets John Watson, that is. {{Sherlock can see Auras}}

An Experiment in Empathy Series by belovedmuerto (G to T, 62 397w across 13 stories) –  In which John is an empath, Sherlock is Sherlock, and an epic bromance happens. In the aftermath of The Great Game, John creates an unexpected bond between himself and Sherlock. Now they have to learn how to deal with it. John is better at this than Sherlock is. {{I LOVE this SERIES SO MUCH.}}

An Experiment in Apathy Series by belovedmuerto (G to E, 28,701 w. over 13 stories, WIP) – John and Sherlock navigate their complicated relationship. I adore this series, and it feels complete where it leaves off :)

Invisible by chappysmom (K+, 25+K w. || No Slash, semi-canon compliant) – John had had the knack for as long as he could remember. It wasn’t that he could become invisible, exactly. The laws of physics worked quite well in his vicinity, thank you very much. It was just that people tended … not to see him. {{This was one of the first AU’s I read, and I still love it to this day}}. SEQUELS: Still Invisible (ASiB) || Too Visible (THoB) || Invisible Once More (TRF) All are very good and should all be read.

Conductivity by Coquillage Atlas (K,11K+ w.|| Fantasy and Friendship) – John Watson, alone in London with a healing power he can hardly bear. A description of his life with magic, before and after Sherlock. {{Another really good AU!}} SEQUELS: Resistance || Reciprocity 

Left by lifeonmars (M, 45,153 w. || Magical Realism) – John Watson is left-handed. He’s tried not to let it affect his life, but as any Lefty knows, that’s almost impossible. (FAVE!!)

ANGELS AND DEMONS / WING!LOCK

I Used to Live Alone Before I Knew You by etothepii (T, 11,052 w. | Winglock) – Where Mycroft is an angel, Sherlock is a demon, and John is still John. {{I like this one because John is so perfect in it, and Sherlock cares so much about John}}

Fallen Series by Belladonna_Q & mamishka (T, 222,094 w. across 3 works, WiP || Angel!John, Fae & Fairies) – In a world where myth, mystery, and the supernatural flourish beneath the veneer of modern civilization, Sherlock is a master of magic as well as science and deduction. But there are some things that he cannot see, riddles he cannot unravel, even when they walk right beside him in the form of one John Watson…

A Certain Kind of Hunger by MapleleafCameo (E, 5,881w. || Somnophilia, Incubus!John, Tail Things) – A concerned Sherlock watches as John seems to be rapidly losing weight. What he discovers is that John really isn’t normal. And he is very, very hungry. The tail was the real surprise.

Angel by MrsNoggin (T, 1K+w. || Friendship, Winglock-ish) – John is an angel. That can be the only explanation. This is an interesting take on the Winglock universe.

Not The Hands That Kill by You_Light_The_Sky (M, 6,201 w. || Winglock, Implied Sex) – Having wings does not make Sherlock Holmes a guardian angel, not in the way that John Watson is his.

Guidelines by WithLoweredVoices (M, 43,018 w. || Winglock, Fantasy, BAMF!John) – The Good Soldier, one of the oldest and strongest of the fallen, is offered a bargain: to live as John Watson and to Guide a fledgling archangel so that he will stay on the path of good. Of course, Sherlock Holmes has different ideas about his destiny. Warnings for violence, occasional gore, and a whole load of hurt and angst.

It’s After That Hurts by jonnyluvssherlock (T, 2,791 w. || Winglock, Pining Sherlock, Minor Gore, Fallen Angel, Friends to Lovers) – Sherlock’s an angel stuck as a guardian to danger addict John Watson. Everything is fine until he gets too involved. Now he has to make the choice, eternity alone or one life time with a man who may or may not love him. {{This is only one chapter and it feels like it should be more… I love it but feels incomplete. Kind of an AU of City of Angels}}

VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES

John Watson’s Moon by patternofdefiance (E, 11,314 w. || Werewolf!John, First Time) – Sherlock finds out John is a werewold and wants to see the transformation. It, uh, gets really kinky.

An Acquired Taste by kinklock (E, 31,059 w. || Bat!Sherlock, Humour, Misunderstandings) – At Montague Street when Sherlock was forced to sate his body’s needs, he was at least able to wander about the flat as much as he pleased. At Baker Street, it was mini-bags in a mini-fridge and bedroom confinement.

Bleed Me Out by antietamfalls (E, 87,987 w. || Soul Bonding, John Whump, Fluff and Angst, H/C) – John isn’t exactly surprised to discover that Sherlock isn’t human. His vampirism doesn’t pose a problem, even when their relationship gradually grows into something more. That is, until a deadly revelation about John’s blood sends their lives spinning dangerously out of control.

MAGIC AND FANTASY

Shatter the Darkness (Let the Light In) by MojoFlower (E, 109,683 w. | GenieLock, Torture, H/C, Magical Realism) – Fairy tales are for those who remember how to dream; not John Watson, broken and hiding from his bleak future in a beige bedsit. But then he discovers a lamp and finds himself in the dangerous riptide of an enigmatic man whose very existence is unbelievable, murder charges against his sister, and the growing pains of feeling alive once more. {{This is a REALLY great story, which tears at your heart consistently}}.

De Veritate Unicornis Moderni by tepid sponge bath (T, 5K+ w. | Fantasy & Drama) – John Watson, a unicorn of this day and age, is trapped in a mortal body. Life as it is seems pretty pointless, almost unendurable, until he meets one Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective and very much a virgin. {{This is such an interesting take on unicorn mythology}}.

To Mend A Heart by dee-light (G, 1,472 w. || Magical Realism, H/C) – Hearts can be broken, and mended, and broken again. Good thing, then, that hearts are only the seat of all emotion, and not something Sherlock needs in order to live.

Winter of Life by You_Light_The_Sky (T, 5,178 w. || Magic Realism, Fluff, Christmas, Angst) – It was an experiment, really. On Christmas, Sherlock wrote to Santa asking for a friend. He got a broken toy soldier instead. This is the story of how he finds him again and again.

Software Malfunction by tiger_in_the_flightdeck (E, Tumblr fic || Android!lock, Jealous, Angst, Unhappy Ending) – Assigned as the head of Medical Research on the Baker, John Watson meets- and quickly falls in love with- Sherlock, a specially commissioned Companion android with a malfunction.

No Strings Attached by Elster (G, 2,714w. || Fae / Faeries, Love Confessions, Fairy Tales) – To save John from being spirited away Under the Hill, Sherlock challenges the fairy queen to a fiddle contest.

SUPERNATURAL AND UNEXPLAINED

The Semantics of Crop Circle Formation: a case study by Sherlock Holmes [unpublished] bycanolacrush (M, 41,710 w. || Sherlock POV, Aliens, Wordplay, Casefic) – “Look at these photographs,” I said, gesturing to the wall of crop circles. “What do you observe?”“Crop circles,” John replied.“Obvious. What else?”“Are…are those intestines surrounding them?”“Yes. The majority are bovine and ovine in origin. The farmers who have acquired these crop circles in their fields have also had a tenth of their livestock murdered and arranged thus.”“Why?” John said, presumably in a rhetorical fashion. I detest rhetorical questions. “That is what I must find out, John.”

The Red Dianthus by kinklock (T, 11,382 w. || BAMF!John, Misunderstandings, Halloween, Fluff) – The boys investigate a mysterious disappearance in a supposedly haunted house, and get much more than they bargained for.

Upon Waking by joolabee (E, 3,901 w. || Somnophilia, Mildly Dubious Consent, Angst) – It sets on slow: John can only be awake while Sherlock sleeps, and vice versa. Their lives are codependent, but never meeting. Like a set of scales.

London’s Ghost by JustlikeWater (K+, 5K+ w.|| Tragedy/Angst, MCD, TRF AU, Sherlock POV) – "Today, it’s been weeks since Sherlock died. Other times, years. He doesn’t know for sure, though. Time passes differently for the dead" 

Electric Potential by pygmymeese (T, 5K+ w. || Supernatural) – It’s not clear why everyone in the world suddenly gets a ghost only they can interact with. All John Watson knows is that he’s stuck with a brilliant, if smug, ex-consulting detective, and that life is definitely looking up.

Second Waltz by Atiki (T, 6,685 w. || MCD, Angst, Fluff, Cancer) – "The night I died, you wished I could wait for you.“

Where The Ghosts Have Voices by HappyJuicyfruit (M, 37,665 w. || John Whump, Magical Realism, Ghosts, Coma, Happy Ending) – John has lived his whole life as an outcast. It is only when he meets Sherlock, that be realizes being a freak might not be such a bad thing, and that the curse he has lived with his whole life may be a gift after all. {{Haven’t read this yet, it’s on my MFL list, read at your own discretion}}

SOULMATES / TATTOOS

The Heart On Your Sleeve by flawedamythyst (T, 5,441 w. || Heartmark, Stubborn Sherlock) –  Sherlock stared at the imperfect circle on his left wrist in horror, then sat down on his bed with a bit of a thump. After over thirty years, his heartmark was finally showing activity. This was not good.

The Best Picture of the Human Soul by SwissMiss (T, 5,776 w. || Tattoos, Finding Your True Love) – The stories of our lives are written on our skin. Every time you fall in love, you gain a mark. Part 1 of Imagines Moti

With All My Heart by QuinnAnderson (E, 19,257 w. || Tally Marks, Magical Realism, Fluff and Angst) – AU in which every time a person falls in love, a red line like a tally mark appears on their wrist. Sherlock is determined to keep himself from ever gaining one of these marks for fear that love will corrode his mental faculties. Then he meets John Watson.

Finding John by orphan_account (T, 5,456 w. || Symbolic Rings) – Sherlock Holmes has met exactly twenty-four Johns in his life. They have all been the wrong John. He’s getting tired of waiting, staring at the inscription on his finger and wondering when his John will turn up, if ever. Part 1 of Inscriptions

what’s in a name by flight815kitsune (NR, 1,285 w. || Soulmate Names) – There were some things you just knew. The name, if you were lucky enough to get one, was one of those things

the fearful passage of death-mark’d love by urcool91 (T, 1980 w. || Tattoos, H/C, Angst) – The first time that John meets Sherlock Holmes, the younger man has his sleeves pushed up to his elbows, wrists bare of any hint of ink. Within 48 hours, John has added “Jefferson Hope” to his clavicle. (Or: The One Where, When You Kill Someone, Their Name Shows Up On Your Arm)

OTHER

{{SEE ALSO: Johnlock Body Swap Fic Rec List}}

Bringing Colour to the World by SD_Ryan (G, 1,168w. || Est. Relationship, Sickfic, Fluff, Schmoop) – In which we encounter a sick detective, a snuggle on the couch, and a silly fairytale.

The Steadfast Tin Watson by what_alchemy  (T, 3,973 w. || Fairytales) – When the fairies left, they took their stories with them. But they left the characters behind.

Otherwise, I actually have a lot on my Marked for Later list, all of which have come from Alexx’s lists:

Sherlock & Beauty and the Beast Fusions

Disney & Sherlock

Magic, Monsters & Other Fairy Tales

Merlock, merfolk, mermaids

Ghosts