#getting into the life series in year of our lord 2024...

[modest-starr]

HOUNDS IN MY HEAD 🌖 🥀

[agneswarda]

golden girls is so amazing i even made a powerpoint

(I copy-pasted the main text under the cut. unfortunately, I can't find the time for a proper alt text. life is stressful rn)

-Picture it: Miami, late 80s/early 90s. four 60+ women

-living together.

-Sure, they talk a lot about (straight) sex

-but what we see on screen is their dynamic. Their deep friendship. Their love also they often act quite gay with eachother. amazing

-Did i mention they are old. They are old and deal with getting sick and aging. A lot.

-But their life isn‘t over. They might not be related. But they are family, and they are here for each other

-These four women are the Golden Girls.

-You are in for a treat. A 7 seasons 25 episodes long treat

Introducing the girls: Dorothy Zbornak

-not to be a lesbian but omg

-Tall soft butch

-quick-witted

-sarcastic

-her voice *swoons*

-would make numbers on tumblr

-> her idea of a good time is being Alone wiht a book in her room

-> Huge dorky nerd

- Being vulnerable is not her strength but when she is It‘s amazing. Soft. makes me cry

Introducing the girls: Blanche Devereaux

-slutty

-sexy

-selfish

-sensitive

-Sensual

-Did i mention slutty

-And proud of it

-All these things are her strenghts as well as her weaknesses

 -She is actually quite complex

Introducing the girls: Rose Nylund

-Sweet

-Loving

-Kind

-caring

-Everyone says she‘s Dumb

-I think she might just Be neurodivergent?!??!!!! With her special interest

-Being St. Olaf

-The place she comes from

-Has amazing st olaf stories for everything

-Can also be a judgy bitch sometimes

Introducing the girls: Sophia Petrillo

-SHE WOULD MAKE NUMBERS ON TUMBLR

-„You're a funny little gnome, and we feed you too much.”

-This quote describes her perfectly

-It’s Dorothy who says it to her

-Who is incidentally her daughter

-Trickster energy

-Don‘t know if she is gay. But she commits crimes

-It‘s her way of dealing with old age

-And all the limitations it brings

-The show would just be half as funny without her

But op. Is it really this good. It‘s so old

I will admit: not everything aged well. Be also prepared for:

-it‘s v white. If they have characters of color, they sometimes work well. And sometimes it‘s embarassing to watch bc harmful stereotypes (not often but yeah. It happens.)

-Bodyshaming: the girls tease each other about their height, weight etc. and sometimes it can really become a lot/too much.

-Rose is so often the butt of the joke for not understanding situations. I think a lot of neurodivergent folks can relate. And it can hurt to hear the same old mean comments again and again

BUT

-This is a series which was never afraid of complicated topics

-First and foremost: the queer advocacy and topics were and still are amazing. The found family of it all alone.

-Also: death,being sick, being disabled. Getting old. Not performing the gender The way one would like to (anymore) (so. yes. Dysphoria. In a way). The financial aspect of it all. These are important topics which are treated with humor (of course) but also with respect

-it‘s a kind show which has its heart in the right place

-And i mean

-4 old women who are „just“ friends living together, supporting eachother?

-That shit is still revolutionary in the year of our lord 2024

So give it a chance!!!!11!!!!!111

[charlottesbookclub]

like real people do (alistair x reader) 💜💜

Summary: honestly there's no real plot, just pure fluff. Alistair tries to adjust to having a human mate, and he's trying really hard 🥹

Warnings/Tags: gn!reader, mention of skipping a meal (not intentionally), mentions of eating, Alistair being awkward and a bit rude lol, basically just pure tooth-rotting fluff, but as always, let me know if I've missed anything!

Words: 1,634

Author’s Note: me, writing a twilight fanfic in the year of our lord 2024? it's more likely than you think. uhhh yeah I have no real explanation for this except that I have stumbled back into my Alistair obsession and I just wanted to write a cute little something for him. I don't think this is my best work, but at least it made me smile, so that's something. honestly I have no idea if there's anyone else out here reading fanfic for an incredibly minor twilight character, but if there is, I hope you enjoy whatever this is! I was thinking of making this a little series of Alistair trying his damndest to figure out human stuff, so do let me know if you have any interest in that. but okay I'll stop rambling now - enjoy! 💖

            A message pinged through on your computer, and you looked away from your work for a moment, pulling up the chatbox. It was Lucy from the front desk: 

hey – someone’s here to see you

who?

hard to describe – and i’m having a hard time getting his name

You chuckled softly to yourself, having a sneaking suspicion you knew exactly who it was. Odd that he would willingly put himself in a situation that forced him to speak with other people though. Your laughter turned into a small frown as you considered the fact that something might be wrong. You and Alistair hadn’t been together long, but you knew about his aversion to others well enough to wonder what could bring him into proximity of the possibility of needing to engage in small talk.

be right there

You pushed back from your desk and hurried down to the lobby. Lucy was obviously waiting for you to arrive, and she met you with a mildly panicked look, gesturing with her head toward the tall man standing awkwardly in the corner of the lobby. Thanks to his heightened senses, he had noticed your arrival long before Lucy, and was already striding across the floor toward you at a pace that was just barely slow enough to be considered human. You made a mental note to ask Carlisle to gently review normal human behaviors with him. You just managed to give Lucy a quick thumbs-up to indicate that you knew the tousled man before he bustled the two of you back toward your office.

“Alistair, what the hell?” you asked as he ushered you inside and closed the door behind him.

“What a truly awful system,” he muttered to himself, clearly continuing a rant he was already halfway through rather than answering your question. “I mean really, how many idiots should I have to go through to see my partner?” You just crossed your arms and leaned back against the edge of your desk, a bemused smile starting to fight its way onto your face. You knew it was no use interrupting him until he had gotten everything out. “’Would you like something do drink?’” He parroted Lucy’s question mockingly. “No I bloody well would not – unless you’ve got a few bags of blood stored away back there,” he retorted to this fictional Lucy sarcastically. “Zounds, how hard is it to just point me in the right direction and leave me in peace?” His words faded into muttering and soft curses in a version of English that hadn’t been spoken for hundreds of years.

“Alistair,” you said quietly, breaking him out of his monologue. His talking to himself had seemed strange at first, but the more you learned about his life before meeting you, the more it made sense. He had been his only company for so long and was only now slowly adjusting to speaking with other people again. You, however, found it incredibly endearing and hoped he didn’t break himself of the habit completely. 

His focus snapped to you instantly when he heard your voice, and he started murmuring apologies that you quickly brushed off.

“Alistair, it’s fine,” you assured him, sending him a warm smile and softly placing your hand on his forearm. Touch was another thing that was coming back to him only slowly. You had learned to proceed cautiously, gently, making sure he knew that you were about to touch him before making contact. The words stilled on his lips as his eyes focused in on the place where your warm palm met his cold skin.

“Alistair,” you said quietly after a moment of letting him adjust to the contact. His eyes traveled back up to your face at the sound of his name on your lips. “Is something wrong?”

“I—no,” the words tumbled out awkwardly, and you could almost see him trying to say three different sentences at the same time. If he still had blood under his skin, you were certain he would be blushing. Knowing that eye contact made conversation even more difficult for him, you flicked your eyes down toward your hand still on his arm, gently pulling it from where it hung limply at his side. You cradled his large hand in both of yours and began tracing mindless patterns on his skin, hoping this would give him enough of a reprieve to gather his thoughts. He took a deep breath and tried again. 

“Nothing is seriously wrong, but I— well I… worried about you.” This instantly caught your attention, and you looked up again almost without thinking, only to find his ruby eyes gazing back down at you with a softness you were just beginning to recognize.

“Alistair, I promise, I’m just fine,” you assure him.

“But… well… I noticed you didn’t eat breakfast this morning.” You tilted your head, wondering why that was such a cause for concern that he would willingly subject himself to the horror of checking in at your work.

“I was just running a little late and didn’t have time to make myself anything,” you explained, hoping that would ease his mind, “there’s always snacks in the break room, so I figured I’d have something when I got here.”

“I understand, but humans in your age group are supposed to eat three balanced meals per day, with the addition of one to three snacks. Lack of nutrients can result in many deficiencies, which in turn can lead to side effects like headache, dizziness, and trouble concentrating.”

You couldn’t stop the smile that was growing on your face as you listened to him recite this knowledge as though he had memorized it straight from a Wikipedia article. However, you seriously doubted Alistair’s ability to navigate the internet, since Carlisle had only recently convinced him to try using a flip phone.

“Where did you hear about this?” you asked, trying to remain serious and stifling the giggles that were rising in your throat.

“I’ve been reading Carlisle’s medical texts,” he responded with a furrowed brow, “I want to make sure I understand all the risks and ensure that I am prepared for every eventuality.”

If you hadn’t been completely in love with him yet, this would have undoubtably sealed the deal. He may be awkward and eccentric and even difficult at times, but he was trying so so hard to care for you in the best way he knew how. Although the whole situation was still incredibly amusing, you simply couldn’t bring yourself to laugh at him, even if it was all in affection. Instead, you raised yourself slowly to your tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you for thinking of me,” you said as you lowered yourself back onto your heels. Your chaste kiss seemed to have frozen him for a moment, as he stood there completely still, his soft squeeze of your hand the only indicator that he was still present in the room. You let him recalibrate, and as he came back himself, he made a soft exclamation as though he had just remembered something. Reluctantly releasing your hand, he swung a small backpack off his shoulder. 

“I brought you some breakfast,” he explained as he pulled a jumble of containers out of the bag and placed them on your desk, “I tried to make sure I balanced all the proper nutrients to ensure you wouldn’t suffer any adverse effects from not having eaten this morning.”

You busied yourself with looking at all the containers of food to hide the tears that were welling in your eyes. You had never had someone care for you so completely like this before. Unfortunately, your plan didn’t work, since the awkwardly yet earnestly prepared food only brought more tears to your eyes. You had never expected that strangely cut fruit, mangled pancakes, and soggy cereal sitting in its own milk would make you cry with joy, but the amount of thought and care that had clearly gone into each piece of the meal was about to reduce you to ugly sobs.

You could feel Alistair watching you intently as you opened each of the containers, seemingly trying to gauge your response. When he couldn’t bear it any longer, he finally broke the silence. 

“If you don’t like it, I—I’m happy to go out and buy you something. I haven’t had human food in so long and even—even then I didn’t actually prepare it so I tried reading some of Carlisle’s recipe books but I think I still didn’t get it right—” 

“Alistair,” you didn’t normally like to cut him off, but you refused to let his anxious rambling sew any seeds of doubt in his mind. “It’s absolutely perfect – I can’t wait to taste it all!”

Alistair beamed at you then, a rare sight, but a welcome one.

“I just have one question though,” you said, and he looked at you quizzically, waiting for your inquiry. “Can I give you a hug?”

Confusion turned to elation on his face, and he spread his arms in assent and anticipation. You threw yourself on him, wrapping your arms around his neck as you wiped away a few escaped tears. His arms closed around your back hesitantly, like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them, but his uncertainty seemed to fade as you melted into his grasp, and he wrapped you even more tightly in his embrace. 

Both of you were smiling when you finally pulled away. You settled into your desk chair and motioned to Alistair to pull up another. He sat just close enough that your knees could touch as you surveyed the feast before you. 

“What do you think I should start with?” you asked him.

“Maybe the pancakes? I’m rather proud of those.”

[zexalmonth]

Hello, Zexal fans! Zexal Month 2024 is just around the corner and, for this year, we're doing the ABCs of Zexal! That's right, this year, our prompts are just based on the letters of the alphabet. Feel free to just use the titles (like A is for Astral) as the prompt or look at the following text for ideas. We can’t wait to see what art/writing/edits/cosplay/etc you produce for us!

If you are joining us for the first time: we have a list of prompts with suggestions attached! They're not hard rules though, so you can freely skip some or combine them. Tag your creations #zexal month 2024 and we'll make sure to reblog them all! Make sure to @zexalmonth on your posts as well!

Week 1: Introductions We’re going straight into it this year! For this week, introduce yourself and share with us something you like about our favourite warring factions!

1st: A is for Astral Make something involving our favourite, naked protagonist. Alternatively, draw something related to the Astral World. You can draw a character as a resident of the Astral World if you like. 2nd: B is for Barian Share with us which Barian Lord is your favourite or something you like about the world! Maybe even make another character you like a Barian.

Week 2: C to G!

5th: C is for Chaos Chaos is both a force of evil and the essence of life in Zexal. For this prompt, you can go either way. Share the craziest thing you enjoyed about Zexal or put your favourite character in a chaotic situation. Alternatively, draw a character in Zexal getting corrupted by Chaos. 6th: D is for Duel What’s your favourite duel in the series? What characters would you have liked to see duel? 7th: E is for Enemy Oneshot villains like the Fallguys, the Arclights, Don Thousand? A hero’s journey is only as good as its bad guys so let’s give them some appreciation! What do you like about them? 8th: F is for Friendship What’s you favourite friendship in the series? Alternatively, what friendship would you have liked to see? What two characters would have had a good friendship? 9th: G is for Gate The gate to the Astral world can also link to other worlds. This is our crossover prompt! Throw the Zexal characters to another world/fandom you’re in at the moment or bring other characters to the world of Zexal.

Week 3: H to L!

12th: H is for Hobby Whether it’s a character doing your hobbies or what you have headcanoned for them, show a Zexal Character (or characters) enjoying themselves with a hobby outside of card games! 13th: I is for Icicles Whether it’s icicles because it’s winter right now or icicles as in the stuff you eat at the beach, it’s time to give our faves a treat! Throw everyone in a beach episode or in a cabin under the snow... 14th: J is for Justice (Or Jail) Tell us what you thought was unfair in Zexal or show us a character that you think should be punished. Maybe show us bringing it into your own hand… 15th: K is for KATTOBINGU Kattobingu is the will to never give up without giving it your all. It’s taking a chance and moving forward with courage. What’s something positive you’ve gained from Zexal? Good memories? Fun experiences in the fandom? Friends? Share us something good you’ve gotten from Zexal or just draw characters with the Kattobingu spirit! 16th: L is for location There are so many pretty places in Zexal. Scenery appreciation prompt. What’s a place in Zexal you’d like to go to or would have liked to see more of in Zexal.

Week 4: M to Q!

19th: M is for Monsters Whether it’s a literal Duel Monster or characters that are monsters (Black Mist, Don Thousand, Tron, Dr Faker, etc.), a monster is a monster. Sshow us what you like about them. 20th: N is for Numbers Let’s give our favourite MacGuffin some love. What’s your favourite Number? What design you like? Feel free to include non-Anime Numbers here. 21st: O is for Originality There are a lot of OCs in the Zexal. Share them with us and tell us about them. Alternatively, show us some new outfits for one or members of the Zexal crew! 22nd: P is for Powers Photon mode, Barian transformations, Arclight crests, ZEXAL. Zexal has so many powers in the show. What’s your favourite? If you have an OC, feel free to show their powers if they have any. 23rd: Q is for Quotes Zexal has both quotes that hit like a truck and lines like “You just summoned your mom.” Show the scene that has the Zexal quote you like!

Week 5: R to V!

26th: R is for Ruins Whether we’re talking about the literal ruins the characters go through the series or the past (the ruin of the self), it’s all about our characters’ history. How were the characters when they were young? How will they be in the future? How would they be if they had a past life? 27th: S is for Siblings The Arclight siblings, the Kamishiro Twins, Yuma and Akari, Haruto and Kaito. There are so many familial relationships in Zexal. Show your favourite sibling group being a family or combine them together! 28th: T is for Tag Duel Did you like the Tag Duels in Zexal? Who do you wish you could have seen Tag Duel? Show us two characters teaming up! 29th: U is for Utopia AU day! Show us your AUs! Alternatively, show us something you wish to have seen from Zexal. 30th: V is for Victory Today is the last day of Zexal Month! We made it to the end! What did you like about Zexal Month? Also share with us what you liked from Zexal.

Bonus Prompts:

W is for Wonderwing X is for Xyz Change Y is for Yesterday Z is for Zexal Æ is for Aeon Ȝ is for gift ð is for thoughts “Anyone can overlay if they try.” “This isn’t goodbye!” “I’d rather do this with anyone else.”

Can't wait to see what August has to bring! -Mod Fla

[foolondahill17]

Annual Favorite Supernatural Fic Rec List of 2023:

I bookmarked 66 fics in 2023 (and read…a lot more than that), but only 9 were written/updated in this year of our lord. SMH we gotta pump out more content, friends. Seriously though, I’ve got several more 2023 fic reads in my Marked for Later, but some are still WIPs or I just haven’t gotten around to picking them up yet. I’m sure some (like the much-hyped Lighthouse Keeper AU where there is darkness by the talented quiettewandering [@wanderingcas on tumblr]) will end up on my Bookmarked favs…but, alas, they’ll just have to wait for the 2024 recap.

The list below is in no particular order, barring the first, which has joined the ranks of one-of-my-favorite-fics-ever:

A Cliff That Knew Too Many Tides by luulapants (@luulapants)

E, early series Dean/others, 94,508 words

Partial Summary:

A canon rewrite AU diverging from the events of Some Cruel Tide, in which a shifter disguised as his father used Dean's blind obedience to molest him. By the start of S1, Dean's relationship with his father is more strained, his devotion more intense, and his life consumed by the need to hide the parts of himself he is most ashamed of.

My words:

If you’ve been looking for a gay!Dean manifesto, you’ve found it. Obviously, the subject matter is dark: warnings for past childhood sexual abuse, internal and external homophobia, past suicide attempt, and traumatic outing. It is also beautiful and heart-wrenching and scratches the swollen, itchy, weeping rash on my heart in a way that only the balm of good Dean angst can.  

Favorite part:

“I wasn’t acting out,” he blurted.

“What?”

“When I – I wasn’t trying to act out or anything.” Deacon’s presence hovered behind him like an aura, and Dean reminded himself, Don’t rock the boat. Don’t rock the boat.

Dad sighed. The line crackled, and Dean pictured him standing in a phone booth somewhere, probably huddled up against the cold. “Then what the hell would you call it?”

Dean tried out a few words in his head, imagining how they’d sound to Deacon. He ended up with, “I misunderstood. I thought I was supposed to.”

Asterism of an F-Series Ford Pick Up by disabled_dean (@disabled-dean)

M, Destiel, 17,408 words

Partial Summary:

When you've been to hell, desire is isolating and ugly.

Or: Cas drives his truck for a case and Dean is exceptionally horny about it

My words:

The way Dean’s PTSD is described in this fic, like a slow, oozing poison that awakens the longer he and Cas travel together, is tantalizing and masterful. Ostensibly, this fic is about Dean and Cas road-tripping to a case. It’s actually about how you, a monster-hunter, can come to terms (or not) with your body and soul when you think you’ve become the very thing you’re spent your whole life hunting.

 Favorite part:

"Like everything will be going fine and then all of a sudden I just. Can’t. I can't stand it. And the more fine everything is, the worse it gets and I feel-" he breaks off, eyes on his hands like they aren't his hands, thumb rubbing over and over the ring on his index finger, "It's like everyone else is living this normal fucking life and I'm still back in the pit."

Personal Space: The Final Frontier by botley

M, Destiel, Star Trek AU, WIP, 63,570 words

Partial summary

"Captain's Log, Stardate 10918.8. Captain Ellen Harvelle reporting, First Officer… Castiel… attending. After a month of bargaining with the Gehennian government, efforts to permit a search party within the Rack facilities still proved unsuccessful. Although Starfleet’s orders dictated we tuck tail and leave, I elected to disregard this decision and beam a rescue operations team down for the recovery of Lieutenant Commander Dean Winchester.”

My words:

This fic has been on my rec lists before. It’s still a WIP, but it very unexpectedly posted an update after a 3(?) year hiatus, so I’ll cling to hope until my fingernails leave a bloody, mauled mess.  This is basically a Star Trek AU where our favorite Supernatural gang are fucking around in Starfleet instead of the Midwest. Fantastic stuff – worth the read even if it does remain unfinished.

Favorite line:

"Dean made a face. Castiel decided the man was hideous."

Receding by minkmix

T, early season gen, 38,729 words

Summary:

After a visit to an old, abandoned theme park in the desert, Sam begins to notice strange lapses in Dean's memory. As his brother starts to disappear before his eyes, Sam must rush to find an answer before there isn't anything left to save... My words: A Lucky Charms fic if I’ve ever read one. Delicious, crunchy marshmallow goodness of some fantastic Dean!whump and panicked caretaker!Sam with the solid undercurrent of slightly sweetened amalgamized oat and corn cereal of a solid case fic. Yum.

 Favorite part:

“Sammy?” Dean cut him off.

“W-What is it?”

“What’s Dad’s name?”

Sam’s chest heaved as he fought himself from sounding as stunned as he felt.

“John.”

Swan Upon Leda by kelsstiel (@kelstiel)

E, Destiel real-world AU, 174,096 words

Summary:

Pediatric Surgery Fellow Dean Winchester meets baby Jack Kline and neuropsychologist Castiel Novak his first week on the job. Dean’s been accused a time or two of caring a little too much in the past and it’s hard not to care about the neurotic adoptive father and his medically needy preemie. After a series of run-ins between the pair, Dean and Cas develop a friendship that everyone else around them suspect more from immediately, though it takes them a little longer to get the memo. When Dean struggles with a particularly devastating patient loss, their mutual understanding of loss and love bring them closer in a way that neither of them could have expected.

My words: A solid, old-fashioned romantic AU. It’s unpretentious, fluffy, heart-warming, authentic and the kind of could-have-been-a-novel goodness that makes up the heart and breadth of fanfiction. Warning for infant illness and death (not Jack).

Favorite part:

"I know they say there’s a chance, but I’ve just got this feeling .” She shook her head and looked down for a moment. She looked up again and took a deep breath as if steadying herself. “I wish I could see you grow up.”

five minutes to six by saintedcastiel  (@saintedcastiel)

M, Destiel real-world AU, 23,383 words

Summary:

Castiel Novak has been the co-host of Good Morning, Lawrence! for a little over ten years when he stumbles across the story of a lifetime. But after a producer pulls the segment and tells him to forget it, Castiel begins to wonder who's really pulling the strings. Can he bring the truth to light while somehow managing to keep his co-host, and the man he loves, in the dark?

 My words: Another Goddamn quality AU. This one is a little quippier and fast paced than the Hospital AU above, but it’s full of fantastic characterization and even a last-minute breaking and entering romp. Fun that’s perfect for the whole family!

Favorite part:

“Been asking you out all week.” Dean tells him, and Castiel realizes all at once he’s right.

“Oh my god.” Castiel laughs. “You have.”

This Is Not My Beautiful Wife by luckshiptoshore (@luckshiptoshore)

T, Destiel, one-shot, 4,755 words

Summary:

“Dean,” says the man again. “This isn’t real. You need to come with me, now.”

Dean’s been zoning out again. But he can’t escape the feeling that something’s very, very wrong … and wherever he goes, a strange man in a trench coat follows.

My words: You gotta love the Djinn dream trope. This one has everything you want in a caught-in-a-fake-reality-while-your-lover-pleads-for-you-to-return-to-the-waking-world story, plus an extra dash of on-point characterization and some truly imaginative scenarios for Dean’s alternate realities.  

 Favorite part:

“We could look into adoption,” says Cas. “If you’d like. Of course we could also simply take a child, but I think that’s frowned on."

we really shouldn't be doing this by LoversAntiquities (@tragidean)

E, Destiel, 17,138 words

Summary:

After Castiel goes missing for a week, Dean finds him in an abandoned cemetery in the middle of nowhere Kansas, suffering from a mysterious welt. Only, as the hours go on, the deeper the curse grows—and Dean finds more than he bargained for, namely on every surface he and Castiel can find.

My words: This is more straight-up (not straight) porn than I usual rec, but this is a fantastic take on the from-sex-to-love fic where everyone was already in love to begin with. There’s a hefty sprinkle of idiots-to-lovers and sex-curse. Also angst, which is my bread and butter.

Favorite line:

Castiel stares up at him, his eyes gone soft, hooded. Dean thumbs over his eyelid, just to watch it flutter shut. “I’m not solely interested in you for your hands, or your mouth. They are wonderful attributes, but I don’t long for them so much as I long for you.” He leans into Dean’s palm and kisses the center. “I don’t know when I fell in love with you, but it would take the death of the universe to get me to stop.”

Postpartum Prometheus by babbyspanch, saltslimes (@dragqueenpentheus @nifedick)

E, Destiel, technically mpreg, WIP, 18,959 words

Summary

Welcome to the Supernatural renaissance. Welcome to Castiel and the terrible naissance.

My words: warning for the fact that this is technically an mpreg fic even though Castiel is an angel and not really a man. Warning, also, because this is another WIP that hasn’t been updated since the beginning of the year, so I don’t know if it’ll be finished. Basically, Dean and Cas bump uglies to unexpected results. Cas kinda freaks without telling Dean he’s his baby daddy. He also yanks out his intestines so said baby can be nice and comfortable in there. Funny and angsty.

Favorite part:

“Are those—?”

“Yeah.” He waves his hand at the door again, starting to feel like one of those used car lot inflatable men, limbs akimbo. “A total murderer looking guy just bolted that way. And not like— the regular murderer-looking people who come in.”

“And he left his organs.” Dennis thinks a moment, and then shrugs, as if this isn’t the weirdest thing he’s ever seen. He’s been working here longer than anyone Henry knows, maybe it isn’t. He opens his mouth and Henry can’t help hoping some miracle plan of action is going to fall out of it. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Um. What?”

“I don’t want to offend you.” He pauses, brows furrowed. He rolls Henry’s cup over in his hand. “What is a ‘FABINISTA’?”

Add your favorite written-in-2023 fics in the tags or a reblog!

[jariten]

April 2024 Roundup

A little delayed but I will try to keep it short. Did some quick catch up on stand alones and made some progress on various series. But I couldn't resist the siren call of the anthologies so I just have to mention those.

Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai I was really delighted to see licensed but when it dropped I forgot about it.... Or had to put it off for money reasons, I forget. But with a sweet discount code I finally grabbed all 5 volumes of part 1: Disciples of Avan starring the plucky Dai who was raised by monsters freed from the control of the evil lord who was defeated by the Hero and his party. Riku Sanjo's art also goes really well with Akira Toriyama's monster designs while overall having an identity of its own. With a story unique from the games it doesn't just feel like a quick buck manga tie on the game series but a representative work in RPG style fantasy manga from the 1980s and a great read for anyone who wants to be more familiar with manga from that decadeUnfortunately only 5 of 25 volumes of this edition are out for reasons Viz has not publicly disclosed so I will refrain from speculating. But it was comforting to know that Viz's release isn't the only international edition in limbo. Hopefully something gets worked out in the near future.

Okinawa by Susumu Higa also had a long and rocky path to the store shelves. I pre-ordered it I think in 2019 then that was cancelled, then the translation got a digital release then the print version was back on then, finally, in 2023 I saw it in stores. Finally read it and its a great companion to Shigeru Mizuki's Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths as a wartime criticism of the Japanese army, while the second part serving as a commentary and look into the recent history of Okinawa as a region still existing under soft occupation of the United States army.

Megami Tachi to (With Goddesses) is an anthology of stories written by Katsuo Kawai adapted by various female manga artists. I'm not familiar with his work so I won't go on to describe his style and oeuvre but the involvement of Yamaji Ebine made me want to check it out (her story is about a woman put in charge of taking care of a shrine and its kami, which turns out to be the bare empty basement of an apartment complex). I really liked the variety of stories taking place across various time periods and locations and how each manga artist's own individual styles stood out with the absurdist scripts. And to keep to the collaborative spirit while making his own contribution Kawai himself drew a story based on a script by movie director Satoko Yokohama about the day in the life of an old actor. Was also delighted to find out this collection contained the pro debut work of Yuriko Hara, who'd go on to make Cocoon Entwined!

Wakaba no Rhapsody is a companion to Hana to Waltz, two anthologies highlighting the new talents in the magazines Asuka and Aokishi. The big name draw is Kaoru Mori but I was very impressed by the artistic prowess of all the featured artists, whose impact was heightened by the HUGE trim size of the volumes. Featured in both volumes was Akira Shouno whose one shot collection Good Night Field I read last year and was very fascinated by. Especially the recurring immortal vampire and the yukionna he regularly visits. Really hoping the rest of the featured artists get their own one shot collection in the near future, but while waiting for those I might check out some of their long form series.

[queerstake]

As a queer drawn to the faith and trying to deal with the messiness of entering into everything, I've been trying hard to read more of the Book of Mormon because I only have a very vague understanding of it's Whole Deal, but executive dysfunction, ADHD, and honestly, a million other excuses are making it very difficult. Are there any good resources for walking through the fundamentals? Childish but I feel like I'm disappointing the Lord if I'm not more on top of this.

Hi anon! I totally get it and yes, I can think of a few ideas!

If you're looking for ways to understand the BoM (or even just general doctrine) from more of a bird's eye view:

I hope you don't find this silly, but when I was a kid, the church published an illustrated children's version of the BoM that's obviously way quicker to flip through. It might be harder for you to find those exact editions I read as a kid if you don't have ready access to a church library, BUT I found this!! It's (almost) the ENTIRE BoM illustrated and summarized and it's online!

Looks like they put out videos too that summarize the BoM beginning to end. Here's a link to the video series. I haven't seen these, so I can't vouch for them, but they might be helpful! Similarly, there's a BoM in 60 seconds video you might find helpful.

If you'd benefit from a schedule, the church is currently studying the BoM in sunday school! The past few years, we've been using a study guide called Come Follow Me with weekly assigned reading chapters. I've actually been working on posts about CFM as they relate to queer mormon theology, but I haven't had much posted yet since I've been having a rocky start to 2024. As things improve, I'll be able to hopefully even establish a schedule on this blog!

I'm not sure if missionary lessons is something you're interested in at this point, and it's definitely not something you ever need to do, but the missionary lessons themselves are a pretty good doctrine intro if you're looking for just Mormonism 101 in a digestible way. The missionaries teach out a book called Preach My Gospel, which is available right here. You'll be interested in the lessons, which are found in Chapter 3. If you just scroll down, you'll see some of the links are labeled Lesson instead of Chapter--just click on those bad boys. And if you have any doctrinal questions, I'm always MORE than happy to talk about the church! You'll probably get a faster answer DMing me personally at @logans-mormon-blog, but I'll always answer asks here as soon as time permits.

If you're looking for easier ways to finish the BoM from beginning to end:

The BoM on tape. The church has an audiobook version available on the Gospel Library app and other audio apps like Spotify.

The Reader's Edition. If you can get your hand on a reader's edition, a lot of people find this is an easier way to plow through the BoM. What's special about this one is that it's formatted not like scripture but like prose, and it really does change the reading experience!

I don't know if this helps any, but I struggle with some of the same issues as you and I'm always bitterly disappointed when I'm not able to move mountains. If I had my way, I'd be the most well-read scriptorian of all time and this blog would be updated constantly. But life often doesn't shake out that way. I spend way more time than I want to with my brain entirely burned out of my head. So you're not alone, if that's any comfort. I think God gets it--he made our brains, after all, and knows how hard it is to wrestle with. It's easier said than done, but don't beat yourself up. God loves the both of us and he's the most perfectly patient person who's ever lived. He's not frustrated or disappointed with our efforts. Religion exists, in my opinion, to help improve and enrich our lives, not make them more challenging OR even to make them perfect if we only could just run fast enough. I too wish I could be more diligent and on it, but shit happens, right? And we're not on earth to be perfect, we're here to be happy and to learn. When Joseph Smith was translating the BoM, God told him "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end." D&C 10:4. We're doing our damndest, and that's all God even wants from us.

If anyone else has more resource ideas, please let us know!

-Logan

[dailydemonspotlight]

I found out that you came back, so I wanted to request an interesting demon Yatsufusa, who I believe is a demon in literature than myth.

Yatsufusa - Day 109 (Request)

Race: Holy

Arcana: Hanged Man

Alignment: Light-Law

September 12th, 2024

The epic novel 'Nansō Satomi Hakkenden' is one of, if not the longest pieces of literature ever written in Japanese. Spanning 98 chapters and 106 booklets, the saga is an intense and winding read going over 8 separate people and how their stories each intersect, discovering their true origins and uniting together in Nansō. Among the many characters spanning the work's thousands of pages, however, one in particular caught the eye of ATLUS, it seems; a major character in the first act of the story, and one who is intrinsically connected to each of the 8 main characters- Yatsufusa.

The overall plot of Nansō Satomi Hakkenden is far too complicated to get into in this series, and I don't have the next few years to kill reading it, but it doesn't really matter for our purposes. Unfortunately, it's very hard for me to get a concrete English translation of the work, as I'm a broke high schooler who wretches at the prospect of spending over 10 dollars on something, so most of my knowledge and research about Yatsufusa is based primarily on summaries and analyses about the work. What we're focused on is the first act of the story, though, in which Yatsufusa makes his appearance, being the hound of Lord Yoshizane, and one to whom he offers his daughter's hand in marriage (seemingly in jest) if the dog could slay his enemy, Lord Anzai.

Surprisingly, the dog returns with the head of Anzai, and the lord begrudgingly offers his daughter's hand in marriage, to which the dog and her elope to a small cave. Naturally, neither of them really want to actually be married to each other- the dog likely did it just out of loyalty, and the young princess, named Fuse, doesn't want to be married to, y'know, a dog, but a curse sets in from years prior- a curse given to the Satomi lineage, the one that Fuse was part of, that the once noble and loyal heritage would become as depraved as dogs. However, Yatsufusa had formed quite the moral compass, and while the curse had set in and... well, they bore children (though seemingly not physically? It was just an aspect of the curse, so thank god no bestiality is involved. Still weird, though), said children were not born naturally and were instead given life as listless spirits, each of them seeming to represent different virtues of Confucianism belief.

The children were then set to possess separate beads, each of which being inscribed with said virtues, which are actually the eight beads surrounding Yatsufusa in his SMT design. Unfortunately, later down the line, the two were killed by one Daisuke, another major character in the story to my knowledge, who intended to shoot down Yatsufusa to free Fuse, though ended up killing them both. After the dog's death, the eight beads inscribed with each of the children's souls are scattered throughout Japan, and the story begins for real. Yeah, this was a prologue. You see what I mean by winding, right? I'll cut this short here so this doesn't become a straight up retelling of a summary, but despite being a somewhat minor character, this dog plays a major role in one of the most formative works in Japanese history.

In terms of design, in SMT, Yatsufusa is a rather simple case- a lot of the pieces of his design, such as the bell and the inscribed kanji on his head, each seem to be connected to separate aspects of the story, which I find to be a really nice touch. Of course, the primary focus outside of the dog itself, the beads, are each inscribed with the virtues in the design, though there's not much else to talk about. Still, it is a pretty damn good design, and one layered with symbolism. A really nice showing for this strange being originating from literature above all else.

[feyreweekofficial]

Announcing Feyre Week 2024 Prompts!

art by: niruskyart (twt)

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for your patience and waiting as we came up with our prompts for Feyre week 2024! We were sad that there was no Feyre week in 2023 so to make up for it we are making a super-week and offering two prompts a day!

All prompts are completely option and there is ZERO obligation or requirement to do both prompts each day or to follow any prompts super strictly. Please feel free to pick whichever prompt you prefer on any given day you're participating! You may all follow the prompts as loosely or closely as you desire!

Look below for a little blurb about each prompt and some questions to get you thinking!

Monday 3/18:

Lady of Many Faces: As our lady of many faces Feyre has numerous parts of her personality. She's a mother, a high lady, a friend, a sister. She's cunning, kind, mean, thoughtful, nosy, and all sorts of things! How would you like to explore the different facets of Feyre Archeron? What sides of her character do you think could be further explored, or should have been explored?

Immortal With a Mortal Heart: As a Made being who was born human, Feyre may be one with this magical, faerie world, but at her core her heart will always be human. Does she struggle with this? How does her humanity impact her outlook on life and her interactions with others? In 1000 years will her heart still be mortal, or will she lose that part of her?

Tuesday 3/19:

Starfall: What kind of Feyre week would we be without the obligatory Starfall day? Starfall is one of the most beloved scenes from Feyre's journey and signaled a great change in her life! Does Feyre come up with any new traditions for Starfall? How does she celebrate it with Nyx? As of ACOSF, both of her sisters will now be celebrating with her from now on, does she do anything special with them?

New Beginnings: Today (March 19th) is the spring equinox in the Northern hemisphere, and one of the main reasons we chose these dates for our week! There's some speculation that Starfall takes place around this time in the books, and we wanted to honor that. As the frost melts and the seasons change new life blooms for us and for our beloved Feyre. What were Feyre's new beginnings like? How has her life changed? What was it like for her to wake up from her depressive winter "slumber" and come into herself? How has she changed over the course of the series?

Wednesday 3/20:

Cursebreaker: Feyre is the cursebreaker who freed the land from 50 years of suffering. What is having this title like for her? Is it burdensome? Do you think we'll see her breaking any curses in the future? "Cursebreaker" also has quite the intense meaning in the series, how does Feyre feel about that? How could her cursebreaking be explored further?

First of Her Kind: Feyre has done a lot of firsts throughout the series! She is the first to be made as she was. She's the first to come back from the dead bearing the powers of 7 high lords. She is the first High Lady and the first to survive looking into the Ourobouros. Are there any more iconic firsts Feyre will explore? How far can she go?

Thursday 3/21:

Childhood: We know a few scarce details about Feyre's childhood that have been scattered through the books. What more do you wish we knew? What do you imagine her childhood to be like that perhaps wasn't stated in the books? Is there anything you wish happened? How did Feyre interact with people before they fell into poverty? Did she have any interactions with her mother? What about after poverty?

Found Family: Feyre has found a family for herself through the Court of Dreams that is different than the one she was born to. Does she have any special traditions with them? Are there aspects of her relationship with them you wish were added? What's Feyre's domestic life like? How will her relationship with her family grow and change?

Friday 3/22:

AU: What would Feyre be like in alternate universes? What would Feyre look like in our world, another fantasy world, a video game? Anything Feyre AU! There are a million different ways we can imagine Feyre.

Theories: Do you have any Feyre theories, or just theories you really like? Share them with us! What would it be like if those theories were true? What do you imagine for Feyre in future books?

Saturday 3/23:

Warrior: From slaying the Middengard Wyrm to training with Cassian to defending the Rainbow all the way to fighting in the Summer Court with Morrigan, Feyre is a warrior and a fighter. How can we explore this? Does she learn any new fighting styles, or will there possibly be a battle she's needed in?

Jack of all trades: Feyre has many skills and hobbies! She paints, teaches, reads. She's passionate about trade and her work as High Lady. She's redone the entire Night Court budget and was vital in the development of the treaty with Vallahan! She posesses many different skills! Is there any skill you think she's good at or would have that's not explicitly in the books? Do you see her trying to learn anything new? How will she continue growing as a painter? As a teacher? As a High Lady?

Sunday 3/24: FREE DAY!

Reminder, there is no obligation to do both prompts or hit both prompts in your post! Your post does not have to even match the prompts at all. All prompts are there to stimulate your thinking about Feyre and provide options for things you could possibly create!

Let us know if you have any questions!

[cryotrash]

DUDE OH MY GOD. I am so happy I found your comic again!!! I read it way back in the day and I have been thinking about it often especially with new sci-fi movies and games that come out & make me think of your concept (especially that Cyberpunk Edgerunners series that came out), except I could never remember the name of it. And then out of nowhere Alexis Flower talks about it on bluesky in this year of our lord 2024 and there you are!!! I just wanted to shoot you a message to say I am ridiculously happy to have found this comic again and I really wish you all the best because I love it :D

Hey thanks so much for reaching out, glad you found us again!💜

Hopefully the indefinite hiatus of the comic will make it easier to catch up. I still have an itch to finish it but after a year of Life Chaos I decided a quick revamp of our dating sim would be a good way to get into making things again and it kinda snowballed into quite an undertaking. But hey, let's see where D&Wverse goes after it's release!

[idkacatmonstermaybe]

okay hello @headfulloffeathers jess this is for you and the approximately two other people who might care about this meta breakdown but these are some of the parallels i see between look homeward and supernatural

(thank you for providing a distraction boot smut is stumping me i only have like 700 words written 😭)

(also uh supernatural spoilers? i guess? in the year of our lord 2024?)

okay so idk how much you know about supernatural so extremely surface level summary when dean is four and sam is like a few months old a demon kills their mom and then they spend their entire childhood on the road with their dad hunting supernatural monsters and searching for the demon who killed their mom. that’s like………. the bare bones basic premise of the show before they started delving hard into the angels/demons/biblical lore which gets really interesting and convoluted and tbh i stopped watching at a certain point bc i got bored and confused. SO basic vibes their mom (mary) is killed and their entire childhood they’re dragged around the entire country learning how to kill things bc their dad (john) is on a revenge bender.

so big overarching parallels: dean is a literal toddler when he is given the responsibility of caring for his baby brother which is so similar to a1 being 12 and assuming responsibility for sickly little 9 year old a2

sam is also like…. “assigned wrong at birth” lmfao bc the demon that kills their mom feeds him his blood to give him special powers? very confusing BUT there are moments where he’s ostracized for his powers and being born different and the way that parallels gods specialest boy a2 actually hurts me

follow up to that is sam goes through a phase where he is discovering these new abilities and goes a little power hungry and he starts drinking demon blood (lol don’t worry about it) and this gives me pretty strong serial killer era a2 vibes? but this one is a little looser bc sam and dean are still hunting together while this is going on and i’m pretty sure serial killer a2 is during the 92-01 separation? but they both have “dark” eras lmfao

okay also re: 92-01 when sam graduates high school he goes away to stanford for college and there’s a big falling out with john a “if you walk out that door don’t bother coming back” type moment so the boys don’t see each other for several years and there’s kind of the energy of really not knowing if they’re ever going to see each other again which parallels the very little we know about 92-01.

ALSO there are several moments throughout supernatural where sam is pushing to try to have a “normal” life—like going away to college to try and get a piece of normalcy that they never got to experience as kids. there’s also an arch in a later ish season where sam goes to hell (again……. don’t worry about it) and his like dying wish is that dean gets a chance at a normal life so dean shacks up with this woman lisa and her son ben but then when sam comes back he obviously ditches them lmfao. so there’s even an eden parallel sneaking in there lololol.

one thing that stays consistent throughout the series is also the way sam and dean are willing to do absolutely anything for each other like…… literally bring about the apocalypse if it means keeping each other safe which is The Dynamic of all time and is part of what makes a1/a2 so compelling

oh also sam is the vessel for the archangel lucifer and dean for michael which is flipped based on a1 and a2 but it’s also a fun little tidbit

obviously none of this means literally anything BUT early season supernatural was a fixation of mine for a while (obviously lmfao) so i find it so fitting that there are so many themes and motifs from one of my og hyperfixations are present in my current one

[wa3jetisbestpony]

okay spicy hot revolutionary girl utena take in the year of our lord 2024 but

I genuinely do not think Anthy likes roses/flowers. they're literally the symbol of the oppressive abuse controlling her life. and I see so so many people make like fan art and stuff of her post ending like growing a garden or working as a florist and truly dont think she'd want to do that once shes free. I think everyone is taking the line in the cantarella scene where shes like "I'll be happy as long as i can grow roses" at face value. but thats so baffling to me because the whole point of that scene is that she is not being honest about her feelings. and everyone seems to be on the same page about that? like its blatant. she promises to still be friends with utena in 10 years and then tries to kill herself almost immediately after. she's not being honest in that scene everyone talks about how much they love the tension and symbolism of that scene with neither of them telling the truth and they're saying one thing but they mean another, they say they poisoned the tea and cookies as a metaphorical way to admit theyd hurt eachother. but then they take the roses line at face value??

to me what shes saying in that line is basically "I'll be happy as long as I stay useful to Akio" because she still thinks thats what she wants, shes still telling herself thats what she wants. she cant bring herself to hate her brother despite how much hes hurt her (which is another thing is see get weirdly ignored by a lot of people BUT THATS NOT WHAT THIS POST IS ABOUT IM STOPPING MYSELF FROM A TANGENT) and thats like the whole reason shes going along with the duels and all that right? because she is trying to do what he wants.

If you were to ask me what I think she would actually want to do I think she would want to do something with animals. she seems to really like animals, an animal serves as a symbolic expression of her true feelings throughout the show, the moments where she seems most happy and at ease often involve animals in some way. if i were to pick something specific I think shed become a wildlife rehabber because i like what that would say symbolically about her character arc.

and it really seems to me that a lot of Anthys despair towards the end of the series comes from her seeing that Utena has a real chance of changing the status quo and that scares anthy. i dont think she has any hope of things getting better with akio or going back to the way they used to be with him as dios. I think she was trying to keep things the way they were, where she could cling to some sense of still being important to him, even if its just that hes using her. and thats what shes saying when she says "I'll be happy as long as I can grow roses"

and so if the revolution, the triumph at the end of the series is anthy finally accepting she doesnt have to let him hurt her anymore and walking away, her realizing there really is a whole world outside of him for her to find meaning and joy in, then why should she still want to grow roses?

anyways stop drawing utenathy reunion scenes where utena just like walks into a random flower shop and sees anthy and start drawing them where utena has like a fucking raccoon inside her apartment at 2am just absolutely trashing the place and calls animal control and anthy shows up to catch it

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #21: Shade

(A/n: Another sort of interaction piece for the role quest series, this time G'raha and Hien. Both my ranged quests so far have had this allusion to G'raha's long life and former duties and the weight that would leave on him...idk why, I think it just pairs well with Hien's troubles in the quest series, despite being a young man only new to the position of responsibility.

Having a duty of care to people as a leader, but also having to cope with the losses even if they're out of your control, but people also feeling like you shoudl've known how to prevent it.

Keeping this one short due to the time left to write but also, as I said last time, I already make these so long I should embrace the shorter writings as well.

Word count: 966)

It was a night not dissimilar to the night before the siege and recapture of Doma Castle - Hien sat by candlelight nursing a cup of sake, ruminating. The only difference was that there was no war on the horizon, no buzz of anticipation, just a heavy dread and uncertainty over a foe they couldn’t find.

And he was alone. No companions to join him and share in his musings. Yugiri was on patrol duty with her shinobi and Gosetsu…well.

He had a lot to think about - the fears of his people, the conflict in those that lost their loved ones to the Garleans, loved ones that never came home after conscription. Haunted by shades, and surely Minato had to count herself - the only reason she became their blasphemy was because he couldn’t ensure her beloved could return home.

In some way, he wanted to argue back, call out the unfairness of it all - he was only one man, and he couldn’t do everything. For all his training, he couldn’t face down the Empire on his own, lest he be cut down like his father before him. He couldn’t storm the camps and save the people all on his own.

But he couldn’t do that. A prince can’t argue back. As the figurehead of the people, he had to hold his head up and atone for the losses under his name.

A creak of the wood outside his room startled him from his thoughts. His door was still closed but he could hazard a guess at who it was - the servants and the shinobi knew where the weak spots were.

Indeed when he strode across the room and opened the door, G’raha jumped back at his arrival, looking sheepish to have been caught.

“My apologies, my lord, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he started.

“Not at all, I wasn’t even sleeping. Too much on my mind. Why are you awake?”

“I just…to be honest, sleep eludes me as well. I feel as though there’s more I should be able to do, more names to search through, and I can’t find rest until I do,” G’raha sighed, tail lashing behind him. “I got up for a drink. I didn’t want to bother your people at this late hour.”

Thinking it over, Hien dared to step aside, inviting access to his quarters, and asked, “Would sake do? Perhaps we can share our burdens together. Though if you’d prefer water instead, I can get you some.” G’raha’s ears perked up, surprised at the offer, but he nodded.

“Nay, I’ll manage with the sake. Thank you, my lord.”

Even once they’d settled down, chat was idle at first, Hien trying to find out how his guest had settled during his time at the Enclave before broaching the subject properly.

“If I may,” he said, finally making the move, “I obviously do not know you truly beyond what little Fhara told me, but I get an impression off of you.”

“Oh?”

“Like you’re much more experienced than one of your years would suggest. The way you take on the burden of the lost prisoners, the transformed peoples, as though it is something already familiar to you in some way. Am I wrong?”

G’raha sipped from his cup, then placed it down, letting Hien refill it again, giving him time to think of a response.

“You’re not wrong. Though forgive me if it isn’t something I would like to go into detail on. But yes, I’ve certainly lived a life experiencing loss, and feeling the burdens of one responsible for many peoples. Much like yourself.”

Hien downed his own cup in one go, but forewent a refill.

“I wouldn’t pry into your personal matters. But knowing we are of similar experiences, I would ask some advice of you. Though maybe it is less advice I ask for, and more just solace, given our current times.”

A flick of the ear.

“Whatever it is, I’ll provide what aid I can.”

“As it stands now, we know our quarry - a woman turned through the loss of her husband through conscription. He never came home, while many others are reunited with their loved ones. Those that turn are of similar despair to Lady Minato. Especially those that would’ve suffered personally at the hands of Yotsuyu, who they got to see roam free, even if in a highly compromised state. It was my decision that she lived, and the people would’ve known that. They resent me, as they should, and I know not how to appease them now.”

His hand tightened into a fist, frustrations brewing.

“This isn’t about appeasement though, is it?” G’raha asked, seeing this.

“Nay.Though I may vent to you, I wouldn’t ask you to solve my problem for me. It is my duty to bridge the gap between me and my people, especially after I burnt it in the first place. I suppose the problem I seek your help with is more a personal one.”

He was stalling. How unlike him. Hien knew if Gosetsu was here, he would’ve pried it out of him before any of the rambling could even begin. He sighed, trying to push aside the memory of his absent friend to focus on his guest in front of him, still aware he was making him wait.

“How does one cope with having shades to haunt your every hour, reminding you of your failures? How do you ignore them so that you may focus on the people in front of you, on moving into the future?”

G’raha didn’t respond for a long while, red piercing eyes seeming looking right through Hien a million miles away. And when he finally did respond, it was only two words, but they carried the weight of a lifetime upon them.

“You don’t.”

[e-adlirez]

Why are you this ick about the friendship things in the books? I mean, for a book series that aimed for preschooler shouldn't it be expected for the books to have a lot of corny messages about friendship and love? Like, I feel like you gave way too many expectations for a silly kid series

Okay yeah that's fair, maybe my expectations for the series is holding the bar a bit high, and it might just be a me thing (I could never get into MLP for the life of me)

But hear me okay

The reason I don't like the power of friendship being mentioned in the books is because it clashes with what I've seen of the series so far.

See one thing the books did very well was allow you to imagine that the girls are grown-ass adults in university. They are very good at selling the bit that the girls are adults, without infodumping the crap out of it. For the best look into how this is done, see graphic novels 1-4, as well as the main books that were done in the older artstyle. The way the books are written allows you to really believe these girls as grown adults-- there are occasions where the books' age sticks out a bit... too much, but most times, it's smooth sailing, and the girls are very believable as adults.

Case and point: I got into the books when I was eight years old, and one thing I appreciated and still appreciate about the older books is the fact that the immersion is on-point. The books are rated 6-10, but only in terms of the language level (it's short and easy to read is what I'm saying). The plots of the books are well-written, and most importantly, the books do not treat you like a kid as you're reading. You'd be surprised how valuable that is nowadays,,,

Even the friendship bits in the older books worked hard to sell the bit in a way that it fits with how the stories are written, which is very grounded and realistic, actually (minus the cheese puns):

The girls gave Thea a fancy jade and called her "the keeper of our friendship"? Friendship bracelet logic, which is a very valid logic. Colette's cousin mentions the girls' friendship? Well yeah, it makes sense in that scene because she's hosting a fashion walk, and the girls literally carried and were kinda the reason why Julie's finals project wasn't completely scrapped; that part where the friendship bit is mentioned is literally the perfect moment for a cheesy-ass speech. (There's a really good one in non-English Shipwreck too but that's a story for a whole 'nother day.) The way the plots are written is very down-to-earth and grounded, and the inclusions of the friendship bits back then reflect this. This was the way the bar was set for me, and thus it's how I judge the later books.

As the series progressed, things got more explicit with the age range. Nothing atrocious, but you could tell things were getting more and more openly kid-friendly. You know it's progressed when more than a handful of people mistake them for being highschoolers instead of grown-ass adults in university.

There is still action, and there is still adventure and shenanigans that you get fully immersed in, but if you're like me, you would be happily immersed in the adventure, trying to solve the mystery alongside the girls, but also hoping and praying to your holy deity of choice that a friendship bit doesn't come up in the year of our Lord 2024.

Only to die inside when it is brought up and the delivery sounds so blatantly sugary it can give you a cavity. The kind that hurts to see stick out like the sorest thumb.

So yeah, my standards might be high, but my standards are high because I've seen the series reach that bar before, and I know they can do it again. I am mentally ill for this franchise dammit /affectionate

[mothman-noises]

Just thought I'd pop over and say hi.

Letting you know that The Ongoing Case is still living rent-free in my brain in the year of our lord 2024.

Also, would it be crazy for me to use the series as a personal book binding project? I've been wanting to get into the hobby, and I just love The Ongoing Case so much! Though I wouldn't want to do it without your permission, of course 👉👈

holy shit yes you have my full permission as long as you keep me posted that sounds absolutely incredible!!! I'm so glad people are still enjoying it, it's a period of my life I look back on really fondly :')

[grayzeppelin281]

Kung Fu Panda 4 Review, by GrayZeppelin

Eight years later. 

2016 to 2024

It is so good to see the Dragon Warrior again after eight years, willing to anticipate what Po has been up to after General Kai's defeat. This review contains spoilers, so I hope most of the audience watched the film like me, and I would like to share my opinions about Kung Fu Panda 4. For those who have not seen it, I suggest you look away immediately! Otherwise, if you want to know what the big deal is about, then knock yourself out.

Now, depending on the taste of what I watched, I will list the likes and flaws that caught my eye. Okay, here it goes. 

— It's so good to be home.

The first thirty minutes of it feel like you have returned to the Valley of Peace, seeing your old friends again. From there, with a slight disappointment, that would have had the film include the tale with old school side characters who are now absent — The Furious Five. After Po clarifies with the fans in the Valley of Peace, we understand that the Five began to do their missions (each one) despite the film needing to expand new characters in the play. 

Okay. New characters! I'll mention the fox Zhen and the sorceress villain, the Chameleon. 

— First things first. The Hall of Heroes update.

The corsac fox blending in the Jade Palace is an interesting one, which she was from being a thief as Zhen could do the stealing skills for a living. We get to see her in the Jade Palace stealing the antiques at the Hall of Heroes, where you can see a few statues you remember old characters from the past three films (my favorite one is Master Storming Ox). One of the items that I did not leave my eyes on is the weapon I recognized from the first film, where Tai Lung kicked the sword, and Shifu caught it and sent the blade to the marble floor — the Dagger of Deng Wa. 

(Drags! There's our favorite weapon right in front of our noses the whole damn time! Holy shit!)

I wrote my fanfic about the blade that, in my version, served with evil creatures past by the badger sorcerer whom I named Deng Wa, using the ancient weapon (dagger-ax) from the old dynasty as if the blade passed through generations forged into different ones before a wielder before the last made one character that turned on his brother to despise Oogway — my favorite villain General Kai, who deserves more attention than Tai Lung and Lord Shen. 

— My favorite pot is there! The Urn of Whispering Warriors!

(And for the love of spirits, guys! Give Tenshu and his pack a break, will you?! Gosh dang it!)

Okay. I wrote lore from my fic series about the wolves who served with the warlord Tenshu before he and his army of a thousand men defeated the horde of darkness before many fell. All of whom they died fighting returned with a vengeance to vanquish every foe before the rest of the souls were freed and went to the Spirit Realm; only nine wolves stayed with their souls cremated in the pot that Tenshu wished for him and his pack to be summoned once more when needed. The rest of the tale will be put to the side as I am off-topic and should write about KFP 4.

— Now, where was I? Oh, yes! Zhen.

The fox looked great, indeed, but the character would have gotten much more into deep complexities. The story briefly shows her past life as a thief for years because Zhen had no other choice but to starve or steal yuans for food to survive. Zhen's background story needs to explain further what caused her to be the only child without her parents. What exactly happened to them? What made her obey with the Chameleon? 

Alright. I have too many thoughts about the new villain. Amanda Waller! I mean. . . The Chameleon! Oh, my. A shape-shifting sorceress who can turn into any form, like the old bad guys from the past three movies? Whoa. . . This shape-shifting trick sounds like Po would have been scared to see the old enemies again when the sorceress could have gotten her advantage and terrorized him. 

— Three villains (The Trinity)

I loved seeing Tai Lung, Lord Shen, and General Kai return, so I witnessed their arrival before the Spirit Warriors. (To be honest, I praised the Jade Slayer's return because he remains the underrated character throughout the franchise.) Now, if you hope villains will have a reunion, your expectations will not be that hopeful, even if you want to anticipate the impacts with familiar characters. Let me explain. 

Did you expect Tai Lung to come back? That's good for you because his appearance is nostalgic, which, in my experience, being an old KFP fan for years, has made me miss Tai Lung since 2008. There is a slight redemption for him as if you would like to know if he admitted that Oogway was right about Po as the Dragon Warrior. It was good to see him again, but his redemption arc was not satisfying after the film. Shifu would have known about his son's arrival at that time but often stayed at Jade Palace and waited for Po to choose his new successor. Quite a bummer if you would have loved to see them two reunited, but those damages will occur to them after Tai Lung was rejected, fragmenting Tai Lung's core into a thousand pieces. But I am sure he now lives in the Spirit Realm and no longer mind the title.

Did you expect Lord Shen and General Kai's return? Great, but there are significant disappointments. One: They don't speak. And two: They briefly appear like a minute or more. These two would have gotten more meaning when Lord Shen could have spoken to Po about the last time the panda mentioned the past to let go, and Kai would have talked before seeing Po as a respectable warrior. I would have wished the three dead villains to do something for Po by defeating the Chameleon as a team. Otherwise, I am certain a few of you would like me to see what they could do — similar to the No Way Home reference. 

— Bow controversy.

The bow part could have been better for the three villains to speak with Po. With this scene, knowing that there is much fuss about only one thing that bothers many, I am concerned about what many of you thought about Shen, who "bowed" him. How could Li Shan celebrate his son's victory while the peacock was down there? Why did the scene not show Li's reaction to seeing Lord Shen alive (but still dead)? As an old KFP fan, this felt strangely like an insult because many pandas were taken and executed, but most of them, like Li, survived the genocide. This part must explain why the late Lord Shen bestowed Po for a good reason. Could Oogway or other dead masters like Master Thundering Rhino prove him about Po? What exactly did Shen become the "Spirit Warrior" after being crushed to death by his cannon — the Kung Fu killer? How could the honorable dead warriors allow the genocidal peacock lord to be in the Spirit Realm after he murdered Master Thundering Rhino?

If, by any means, wanting to bring back Shen (which a few people loved, but not for everyone), DreamWorks better have a good reason for him to be there. If it were redemption, that would be a big no-no after what he did to the pandas. Us fanfic writers love bringing him back (I am hoping to decide what to do with Shen finishing his arc from my series in the meantime), but as the same goes for whatever reason you want him in your story, ask yourself about it. If it is before or during KFP 2, you could do it. If he is dead, and you plan to resurrect him from the dead, writing his next arc is tricky and beyond complications.

Most of his former army of wolves would know if Shen appeared but thank the heavens because neither emerged. I would have wanted to see Wolf Boss in Juniper City for whatever he could do for work or a change of heart if Po recognized him right away somewhere in one of the alleyways. Or Soothsayer, because she only appeared in Gongmen City the last time. A little reunion thing for Shen could have been shown, but that would never have happened either way because I think, in my theory, Soothsayer is in the Spirit Realm with him and his late parents. 

— Okay. About the new villain.

I liked the Chameleon. Her appearance is marvelous, her size being "small" before she could shift to any form. I have to spill the beans about her villainous role, which most of you know about the character's lack of depth. Compared to what General Kai was capable of, to claim qi from all the masters, we know she wanted to steal their skills to dominate the Realm as she did to the old foes before the Spirit Warriors. There's a major downside to that one. Tai Lung, Lord Shen, and General Kai have their tragic backstories; she does not have one. The only lack of writing is where Chameleon talks to Po about temples. She tried to be a student, but no one wanted her because she was small.

Small? Are you effing kidding me? Would you like to have a therapy and talk with Mantis about it? Because I do not doubt that anyone can become a kung fu master of any size. Where in the heck did that lazy writing come from?

If she was that small but refused to be a kung fu master, where is her backstory? Where did it end her from a curious character to a villainous sorceress? This story could have shown what exactly happened to the Chameleon; her reason for not being accepted made her turn against those who did not want her in the first place before advancing her way to steal every master's skill. A villain without a background story is a red flag right there.

I found a video for the Chameleon to fix her character as a tragic one. She deserves more screen time and digging into her past. Write this writing lesson suggestion. 

Every villain needs a background story. PERIOD. 

Look at what happened to three baddies. And hey! Look at what happened to Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender (animation one)! I would really love to write about that, but it will take thousands of words for me to convince you why you should care about Zuko. Mostly, everyone knows about him, and we feel bad to see Zuko as a broken prince!

— Fathers!!

Oh yes. Mr. Ping and Li Shan! The good old-timers who look after their son Po. Every parent's job is to ensure nothing happens to the child, and we all see what Li and Ping are worried about Po. They go to him because it is the right thing for fathers to protect their son. While many try to kill off Po, Mr. Ping and Li Shan will be the ones who die while protecting him. Talk about the fathers of the year! 

They did not die, so good heavens. Li Shan remains improving as a fighter but still has much time to enhance. As for Mr. Ping, you know he would do better to ensure Po is safe and always be there with him and Li Shan. They would have gotten a Double-Dad Defense scenario when dressing up the armor.

— Kung Fu fighting.

I like it a lot. Lots of flows we saw. There is no further explanation after we saw the awesomeness and Chameleon's shape-shifting abilities to mimic every master's skills. Wolf bite! OWW! That's gonna leave a mark. Now, Po is a victim of his butt being bitten. Ask Marty from Madagascar. He has a story about it.

— Peach seed.

Oh, my. I had high expectations to see what would happen to Grandmaster Shifu. I almost predicted it as far as many of us would see him disappear as Oogway did. I remember feeling nostalgic when I saw Shifu give Po a peach seed, which reminded me of Oogway's farewell. Well. . . Maybe KFP 5 will happen to Shifu? Who knows?

If only DreamWorks leads in the right direction where Po will be in charge of defending the Realm as the Spiritual Leader while Zhen takes the role as the new Dragon Warrior, The Furious Five deserve more screentime because we care about side characters, not wasteful, not ignored. Since you made Puss in Boots doing his thing, why won't you create a story about the Furious Five if they are absent from KFP 4? If you are making another villain, please create the background story to make more sense instead of plot holes one stone at a time. Do better. Returning old villains was good, but it felt like bait to see Tai Lung speak and fight back, and Lord Shen and General Kai did not, especially not doing anything at all.

Sighs.

The Valley of Peace had more buildings. What exactly happened to not replicating those in the past three films? Budget wise.

Last but not least!

— Stingray!

I am concerned about what comes next to see dolphins in the future (which I hope not) after the Stingray becomes the first aqua mammal to appear. I'll give it an average. It's likable, but I am confused at the same time.

A few jokes are great, but does comedy need to be there? 70 percent comedy? There are good ones and some flaws, and a few serious scenes don't need to put laughing moments to lighten up. Since KFP 2, there has been comedy halfway through, and dark moments have taken over, thanks to Shen. KFP 4 should have gotten that opportunity for Chameleon to be the serious one instead of pushing someone to the stairs. She would have done something worse instead of being a joke. I love the Chameleon, but the writing is. . .

I am lost at it.

I will give the film a fair 6/10.

KFP 4 should have used 2 to 3 hours if you are fleshing out most possibilities. Like dead old foes to do something rather than doing nothing and wasting their arc (Tai Lung deserves redemption because he believes Oogway is right about Po. Kai should deserve more after accepting his defeat and would have hung out with Oogway in the Spirit Realm, teasing each other like in the old times. What about Shen? Perhaps not, but he would do some favors for Po. The peacock's redemption arc is unnecessary). The Chameleon would have gotten her background story to expand because it was a crime not to show her beginning before she became a sorceress. Put a 2-D reference to fill her tragic story about her. Make the audience care more about the characters and the story instead of rushing and leaving plot holes. Zhen? Of course. Show us why we care about her when she becomes Po's friend.

One last thing. As if the film has changed for children and the new generation to like it, Kung Fu Panda remains for all ages, old and young. As an old fan of Kung Fu Panda since 2008, I will unveil my first feeling after the first time I saw Kung Fu Panda 4, with all the high expectations going downhill to the grave.

"Disappointed."

That is all I have to write about that.

(I'll be turning off the notifications, so don't bother nudging me because I am mostly inactive here on Tumblr.)