#high school king of savvy

[bubblegeon]

userdramas event 01: favorite roles (so far) of my favorite actor

LEE SOO HYUK

🍁 Park Joong Gil in TOMORROW (2022) 🍁 Cha Joo Ik in DOOM AT YOUR SERVICE (2021) 🍁 Gwi in THE SCHOLAR WHO WALKS THE NIGHT (2015) 🍁 Kim Joon in VALID LOVE (2014) 🍁 Yoo Jin Woo in HIGH SCHOOL KING OF SAVVY (2014)

[kalena-henden]

Shows I finished in 2024 so far...

A Good Day to be a Dog - A woman accidentally kisses her co-worker and turns into a dog during the night due to a family curse. She has to get her co-worker to kiss her as a dog to break stay human full-time or she will permanently remain a dog after 100 days. The first two-thirds were fun hijinks and a cute romance. The final third with the past life curse origin was a drag. Still upset the mountain god didn't apologize after wrongly punishing the wrong people due to his misunderstanding.

My Demon - A high powered business woman becomes entangled with a deal-making demon when she saves him and his powers transfer to her. This show stole plot heavily from shows like Goblin and Doom at Your Service and failed to do make those concepts their own. However, I still enjoyed it to the end, mostly due to the chemistry between the leads. They had such a fun and lively relationship.

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract - A Joseon-era bride who is widowed on her wedding day is transported to the future where she falls for a man who looks exactly like her dead husband. The story was okay but I was mainly here for the chemistry between the leads.

Fixer Upper: Hotel - Chip and Jo work their magic on an entire hotel. I love seeing the process and the design is beautiful as always.

Memorist - A detective who can see people's thoughts when he touches them teams up with a genius profiler to take down murders. As mysteries unfold and truths are revealed, everything is not as it seems forcing them to confront their traumatic pasts. I binged this in 4 days. The first half is dark but, just when I thought I had the villains pegged, the story opens up to explore the various sides of people to reveal the good, the bad, and the morally grey. I'm still thinking about this months later. I especially loved our detective/profiler team. I really want to rewatch.

Be Melodramatic - This a satire on the entertainment industry, grief, motherhood, and love that is done with 100% deadpan humor which is why I thought the concepts were interesting but fell flat due to not connecting with the humor. This took me almost 9 months to finish.

Death's Game - A man kills himself and then is given 12 chances to survive in someone else's body or he will be sent to hell. It's an anti-suicide version of A Christmas Carol. It was okay. While a host of great actors shine in their guest roles, it was maddening that the man didn't seem to learn along the way until the last body. Where the story ended felt like a copout. If this were a movie where you don't have much time, I would understand, but I wanted to see what would happen next. We needed just one more episode.

Marry My Husband - A woman with terminal cancer is murdered by her husband and best friend who were having an affair, when she is transported back in time before she was married to change her fate and find the love she deserves. This was such a great revenge story. Some of the best villains in kdramaland. A cute romance with a man who adores her. Real friendships. And the OSTs will stick with you.

Queen of Divorce - It started off okay but went downhill quickly. Honestly, such a waste of a great cast.

Daisy Jones & The Six - An interesting look at a fictional 70s rock band as they rise to the top before flaming out. I had listened to the audiobook but I liked the series better.

Doctor Slump - Two young doctors who were academic rivals in high school find themselves grappling with depression and fall in love as they heal together. This was a solid, even keel show for me. I enjoyed their healing journey and their romance.

Live Your Own Life - An outcast chaebol whose parents died in a mysterious car crash falls for his hardworking trainer who needs to learn to become independent from her family. I watched this 50-episode family drama for Ha Joon. There were some interesting things that kept me watching but it was just okay.

Princess Hours - The crown prince and a young artist, who are both high school seniors, navigate the complexities of an arranged marriage and court politics in modern day Korea. This was a really interesting study in how people can change and grow and fall in love as they grapple with the expectations of a nation. It's an old school kdrama and alot is meant to be inferred. It's almost as much about what is not shown or said as much as what is which was frustrating at times. However, when someone explained things, everything started to click for me and I saw all the things that were implied increasing my enjoyment.

Wedding Impossible - A gay chaebol asks his best friend to marry him to hide his sexuality from everyone. His brother who wants him to marry someone else for his own good decides to break them up by seducing his brother's fiance. It's a ridiculous premise with a fun, bickering enemies to lovers couple. It lags a bit in the last part but I still enjoyed this romance. Moon Sang Min is a new fave.

High School King of Savvy - A high school hockey player is asked by his older brother to pretend to be him at his job as a corporate executive while he investigates something nefarious. The high schooler then has to juggle both school and work life as he unexpectedly falls for his brother's secretary. This is a crazy, age-gap romance with Seo In Guk. The only reason the romance works is because both the leads are so pure hearted and kind. Lee Soo Hyuk is doing his best sexy, self-sabotaging second male lead, who even smiles! It was a bit much but it settled down in the second half and I loved the big found family feel of the cast.

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes - The first half was interesting with many characters’ selfish and dark intentions mixed with a little mystery were set up in contrast to our optimistic, self-sacrificing female lead. However, the second half drowned in major events happening and then being dismissed as if they never happened, multiple secret keepers refusing to tell the secret multiple times an episodes even when asked point blank when the answers could stop so many bad things from happening, and the existential dread I felt about what the big reveal was going to be only for it to completely dismissed. I knew this was a tragedy going in but still I felt angry and exhausted by the end.

Vigilante - A police university student decides to take the law into his own hands after his mother's murderer is let back on the streets to avenge her and other's like her who have been failed by the justice system. A manhunt for him ensues, bringing together an unlikely and at times unhinged group who decides to reveal the truth and bring justice. At 8 episode (six hours total), it felt like it was just starting to gel by the end. Definitely set up for more potential seasons after Nam Joo Hyuk gets out of the military.

Love Me Love Me Voice - A newer voice actor and singer is one day noticed online by her secretive voice acting idol and a whirlwind courtship begins. These are the sweetest, kindest people ever. I love how the dramatic readings and song performances are seamlessly woven into the story. Multiple romances, great friendships, mouthwatering food, and beautiful locals. This is a feel good story of first love.

[dailyasiandramas]

[figr0llmouse]

From cold, calculating and ruthless, to vulnerable, anxious and lonely. What can I say; I have a weakness for fictional characters that are intimidating, even dangerous yet are still painfully human.

[backhugtrope]

i always forget how much i love seo inguk until i'm watching a seo inguk drama and i'm like oh my god..........i love seo inguk........

[dramaswithasideofkimchi]

Podcast #247 Embracing the Umbrella Trope

Join The Fangirls as they discuss the importance of umbrellas in Kdramas. As well as their favorite dramas and scenes that involve this popular trope. Continue reading Podcast #247 Embracing the Umbrella Trope

[cyndalyssa]

Gnawpolis urban legend can be a crazy thing, and one such crazy tale is that of the fate of Oakley High School.

It's the story of a poor little guinea pig, who only wished for simple love and respect from those around her. Coming from a poor home, with a poor excuse of a single mother that partied it up and lay drunk on the couch, and bullied relentlessly for her shy, nerdy demeanor and unkempt appearance, Oakley High student Florence Hayber's wish was understandable.

She was somewhat of a scientist, having a fascination with biology and how living things--especially plants--tick, and watching them react to whatever stimuli she prodded them with. She was also fond of fairy tales, reading tales of of rags to riches, of kings and queens and princesses, of magic spells and grand adventures. Oh, to have a fairytale life instead of the garbage heap she lived, but daydreaming doesn't get you far.

On the recommendation of a teacher who noticed her science savvy, she was working on a science fair project, that of making her own homemade fertilizer... granted, she borrowed a few things from local farms, but it was in the name of science! How hard she worked, night after night, even missing the once-in-a-lifetime event of the Great Comet, hoping to make it perfect. If it was perfect, then perhaps she could win a great prize at the fair, and she could finally get some respect. And with respect, she could have friendship and perhaps even love.

Little did she realize, the Comet added an extra ingredient to her fertilizer, which made it more potent than she ever imagined.

All seemed to be going well on Science Fair night--judges were fascinated by the incredible rate plants grew with the fertilizer, almost like magic. Fellow students wondered if she was some sort of alchemist, and even her mother had begrudgingly come, even if she was calling her project "crap".

When she won first place for her project, it was as if she had been crowned prom queen. All the cheers for her as she went onstage to accept her ribbon, the radiant smile beaming to all in the room, the excitement over what could be coming next... she considered herself royalty in that moment.

Unfortunately, some of her bullies had pulled a switcheroo with her project with some other mixture, thinking it'd be hilarious to rain on her parade with her own project. From the catwalk, they dumped it on her head.

And there she was, covered from head to toe with fertilizer. As if the humiliation weren't enough, the fertilizer started having an effect on her... she was turning green!

When she heard the laughter (how much is not certain), she had a mental breakdown. To everyone's shock and horror, plants of every sort erupted in the gym, responding to her cries of anger and humiliation. Vines and flytraps and poison spewing flowers and angry trees... all were attacking the attendees at her command and without discrimination. They soon overtook the building and school grounds, making sure that no one attended Oakley ever again.

Rumor has it that she's still in the jungle that was once Oakley High, having now crowned herself Queen Flores, master of the plants, and lies in wait for anyone daring to enter her realm.

Whether you're friend or foe is entirely up to her.

~~~~~

Yes, her story is based on Carrie. But, she's got a little plant scientist twist courtesy of one of my favorite villains, Dr. Reginald Bushroot, another put upon soul who got fed up with being mistreated and got revenge after his mutation into a plant.

(And her mom's different, but still pretty cruddy)

[hughungrybear]

7 Comfort Movies

Tagged by @imlivingformyselfdontmindme (post here). I have to confess that I have not seen the inside of a cinema since the pandemic. However, I do have tons of subscriptions from different streaming services and most of my favourite movies are old anyway lol 😅

In no particular order

1. It Happened One Night (1934, United States)

Starring Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert

Synopsis: In Frank Capra's acclaimed romantic comedy, spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) impetuously marries the scheming King Westley, leading her tycoon father (Walter Connolly) to spirit her away on his yacht. After jumping ship, Ellie falls in with cynical newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who offers to help her reunite with her new husband in exchange for an exclusive story. But during their travels, the reporter finds himself falling for the feisty young heiress.

2. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (2010, Thailand)

Starring Baifern Pimchanok, Mario Maurer

Synopsis: A junior schoolgirl Nam (Pimchanok Luevisetpaiboon) falls in love with her schoolboy senior Chone (Mario Maurer) but is afraid to show her feelings to him, partly because Chone is everyone’s idol, and Nam regards herself as unpopular, homely-looking, and average. She has nothing that can make him notice her. But with the support of her three best friends, Nam revolutionizes herself, starting with her looks and activities to get him to notice her.

3. That Thing Called Tadhana [Fate] (2014, Philippines)

Starring Angelica Panganiban, JM de Guzman

Synopsis: A story about a broken-hearted girl who meets a boy in a not-so-normal way. Together, they go to places and find out "Where do broken hearts go?"

4. Koe no Katachi [A Silent Voice] (2016, Japan)

Starring Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami

Synopsis: As a wild youth, elementary school student, Shouya Ishida sought to beat boredom in the cruelest ways. When the deaf Shouko Nishimiya transfers into his class, Shouya and the rest of his class thoughtlessly bully her for fun. However, when her mother notifies the school, he is singled out and blamed for everything done to her. With Shouko transferring out of the school, Shouya is left at the mercy of his classmates. He is heartlessly ostracized all throughout elementary and middle school, while teachers turn a blind eye. Now in his third year of high school, Shouya is still plagued by his wrongdoings as a young boy. Sincerely regretting his past actions, he sets out on a journey of redemption: to meet Shouko once more and make amends.

5. While You Were Sleeping (1995, United States)

Starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman

Synopsis: Lonely transit worker Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) pulls her longtime crush, Peter (Peter Gallagher), from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that he's in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Lucy causes Peter's family to assume that she is his fiancée. When Lucy doesn't correct them, they take her into their home and confidence. Things get even more complicated when she finds herself falling for Peter's sheepish brother, Jack (Bill Pullman).

6. Empire Records (1995, United States)

Starring Ethan Embry, Rory Cochrane, Robin Tunney, Liv Tyler, Renee Zellweger, Anthony LaPaglia

Synopsis: Joe (Anthony LaPaglia) runs Empire Records, an independent Delaware store that employs a tight-knit group of music-savvy youths. Hearing that the shop may be sold to a big chain, slacker employee Lucas (Rory Cochrane) bets a chunk of the store's money, hoping to get a big return. When this plan fails, Empire Records falls into serious trouble, and the various other clerks, including lovely Corey (Liv Tyler) and gloomy Deb (Robin Tunney), must deal with the problem, among many other issues.

7. Clerks (1994, United States)

Starring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jay and Silent Bob

Synopsis: Dante (Brian O'Halloran) is called in to cover a shift at his New Jersey convenience store on his day off. His friend Randal (Jeff Anderson) helps him pass the time, neglecting his video-store customers next door to hang out in the Quick Stop. The uneventful day is disrupted by news that one of Dante's ex-girlfriends has died. After attending her memorial service, Dante muses over staying with current girlfriend Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti) or reuniting with ex Caitlin (Lisa Spoonhauer).

Tagging @lost-my-sanity1, @telomeke, @bengiyo @shortpplfedup and anyone who sees this and would want to play 😊

[book--brackets]

Future Competitions

In light of recent requests and submissions, once this competition is over, we'll be starting back up again with a whole new set of books! If you'd like to submit a title, check my pinned post and the list below to make sure your submission is eligible. I can no longer add to this list. Any further titles are being kept privately by me, but there are there, I promise! I am now tagging asks with the titles submitted.

A to Z Mysteries

Abhorsen

A Dog's Life

Adventure (Blyton)

Adventures of the Bailey School Kids

Adventurers Wanted

Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians

Alex Rider

All-of-a-Kind Family

The American Girl Books

Amulet

Anne of Green Gables

Animal Ark

Animorphs

Applewhites

The Babysitter's Club

The Bartimaeus Trilogy

Beacon Street Girls

Beatrice Bailey

The Belgariad

Bella Sara

Betsy-Tacy

Black Beauty

The Black Stallion

The Blackwell Pages

Books of Bayern

The Borrowers

Bridge to Terabithia

The Boxcar Children

Captain Underpants

Casson Family

The Cat Club

Catwings

Charlotte's Web

The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci

The Chronicles of Dragon

The Chronicles of Prydain

The Circle of Magic

Clementine

The Clique

The Cloak Society

Cobble Street Cousins

The Cooper Kids Adventures

Coraline

Damar (McKinley)

The Dark Hills Divide

The Dark Is Rising

Dear America

Dear Canada

Deltora Quest

The Divide (Kay)

Dork Diaries

Dragonbreath

The Dragonfly Pool

Dragonhaven

Dragon Rider

Dragon Slayer's Academy

Earthsea Cycle

East (Pattou)

Echo (Ryan)

Edgar & Ellen

Emily (Montgomery)

Emily Windsnap

The Enchanted Castle

Encyclopedia Brown

Esperanza Rising

The Ever Afters

The Faerie Realm

Fablehaven

Fairyland (Valente)

The Faraway Tree

Ferngully

First Light (Stead)

Five Children and It

Flat Stanley

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Gallagher Girls

Geronimo Stilton

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Giver

Goddess Girls

Goosebumps

Graceling

The Great Brain

The Greenglass House

Gunnerkrigg Court

Half Upon a Time

The Hardy Boys

Hatchet

Heist Society

Help, I'm Trapped...

His Dark Materials

Holes

How to Train Your Dragon

The Hunger Games

Igraine the Brave

The Immortals Quartet

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place

Ingo (Dunmore)

The Inheritance Cycle

Inkheart

Iron Hearted Violet

Island of the Aunts

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Ivy & Bean

Journey to the River Sea

Julie of the Wolves

Junie B. Jones

The Kane Chronicles

The Kid Who Ran for President

Kiki Strike

Killer Unicorns

Kingdom Keepers

The Last Apprentice

The Letter for the King

La Quête d’Ewilan (in French)

Legend (Lu)

Les Chevaliers d’Émeraude (in French)

Leven Thumps

Liesl & Po

Little House on the Prairie

A Little Princess

Little Women

Lockwood & Co.

The Lost Conspiracy

Macdonald Hall

The Magic Thief

Magic Treehouse

The Magisterium

Magnus Chase

Malory Towers

Matt Cruse

Maximum Ride

Melissa (Gino)

Merlin (Barron)

Michael Vey

Miri and Molly

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

The Missing (Haddix)

Mister Max

The Mistmantle Chronicles

Misty (Henry)

Molly Moon

The Moorchild

Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

The Music of Dolphins

My Secret Unicorn

My Side of the Mountain

My Teacher Is an Alien

Nancy Drew

Nevermoor

The Neverending Story

Nimona

The Ogre Downstairs

Out of My Mind

The Penderwicks

Pendragon

Peter and the Starcatchers

The Phantom Stallion

The Phantom Tollbooth

Pillage (Skye)

Pippi Longstocking

Pixie Tricks

Poison (Zinn)

Pony Pals

Princess Academy

Protector of the Small

Rainbow Magic

Rain Reign

Ramona

Regarding the...

The Roman Mysteries

Rose (Webb)

Rowan of Rin

The Royal Diaries

Running Out of Time

Sammy Keyes

Savvy

School of Fear

The Search for Wondla

The Secret Garden

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Secret Series

Septimus Heap

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Seventh Tower

Shadow Children (Haddix)

Silver Brumby

Silverwing

Skullduggery Pleasant

Song of the Lioness

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Stardust

Stargirl

The Strictest School in the World

Swallows and Amazons

Sweet Valley High

The Swiss Family Robinson

A Tale Dark & Grimm

The Tale of Despereaux

Tales of Alderley

Tales of Magic

Ten Kids, No Pets

The Thief Lord

Tiffany Aching

Tillerman Cycle

Time Hunters

The Trumpet of the Swan

Tuck Everlasting

Tuesday McGillycuddy

The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Uglies

Un Lun Dun

Undertow

Unicorn Chronicles

Upon a Marigold

Upside-Down Magic

The Vengekeep Prophecies

The View from Saturday

The War That Saved My Life

Wayside School

The Westing Game

When You Reach Me

Where the Red Fern Grows

Wildwood Chronicles

Windsingers

Wings & Co.

Winnie the Pooh

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Worst Witch

You Be the Jury

[bracketsoffear]

Web Leitner Reading List

The full list of submissions for the Web Leitner bracket. Bold titles are ones which were accepted to appear in the bracket. Synopses and propaganda can be found below the cut. Be warned, however, that these may contain spoilers!

Adams, Douglas: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Attanasio, A. A.: In Other Worlds Austen, Jane: Emma Awad, Mona: Bunny

Burlew, Rich: The Order of the Stick: Blood Runs in the Family

Chainani, Soman: The School for Good and Evil Christie, Agatha: Curtain Christie, Agatha: The ABC Murders Christie, Agatha: The Moving Finger Clark, Mary Higgins and Alafair Burke: The Cinderella Murder Collodi, Carlo: The Adventures of Pinocchio  

de Burgh Miller, Jon: Dying in the Sun Douglass, Ryan: The Taking of Jake Livingston

Fink, Joseph and Jeffery Cranor: The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home Frost, Robert: Design

Gaiman, Neil: American Gods Gran, Sara: Come Closer

Hale, Shannon & Dean Hale: Ever After High: The Legend of Shadow High Heller, Joseph: Catch-22 Howitt, Mary: The Spider and the Fly

Ibsen, Henrik: A Doll’s House

James, E.L.: 50 Shades of Gray James, M.R.: The Ash-Tree Jones, Diana Wynne: Black Maria

Katsu, Alma: The Fervor King, Stephen: Misery

Lermontov, Mikhail: A Hero of Our Time (Last Chapter) Lewis, Richard: The Spiders

Machiavelli, Niccolò: The Prince Maugham, Somerset: The Magician Muir, Tamsyn: Gideon the Ninth

Nabokov, Vladimir: Lolita

Orwell, George: Nineteen Eighty-Four

Pinborough, Sarah: Breeding Ground & Feeding Ground Pinkwater, Daniel: Young Adult Novel Pirandello, Luigi: Six Characters in Search of an Author Pratchett, Terry: Witches Abroad Pratchett, Terry and Neil Gaiman: Good Omens Punko: Stagtown

Shakespeare, William: Macbeth Sophocles: Oedipus Rex

White, E.B.: Charlotte's Web Wong, David: This Book is Full of Spiders

Adams, Douglas: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

"The fundamental interconnectedness of all things" is an extremely Webby concept.

Attanasio, A. A.: In Other Worlds

It's about a species of brain-earing alien spiders called Zotl who take over and control people by attaching to the back of their skulls and burrowing into the pain centre of their brains.

Austen, Jane: Emma

The story centers around Emma Woodhouse, a would-be matchmaker who delights in meddling with the lives of those around her -- with dire results.

Awad, Mona: Bunny

Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and seem to move and speak as one.

But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon," and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus "Workshop" where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.

The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.

Burlew, Rich: The Order of the Stick: Blood Runs in the Family

The Order heads to the Western Continent in search of Girard's Gate, only to get entangled with the Empire of Blood, a tyrannical draconian state--literally, it's ruled by a dragon. But the real power behind the throne is General Tarquin, who turns out to be the bard Elan's dad. Tarquin, being a diabolical mastermind who’s just as genre savvy as Elan, has figured out that ruling openly will only lead to being overthrown, and thus has engineered a grand scheme with his partners to take over the entire continent using their puppet states. He doesn't even mind that Elan wants to overthrow him for being an enslaving dictator--if he wins, he rules as a king, and if he loses, he goes down in history as a LEGEND. Tarquin follows the Order as they try to reach the Gate, using it as a test for his other son Nale--a scheming villain like him, who has continually dissapointed Tarquin. When the Gate is blown up, he meets up with Elan and Nale, finds out that Nale killed his best friend, confirms that Nale wants nothing more from him...and stabs his son dead right in front of Elan because he's an inconvenience. Then he decides to kill Elan's good friend Roy so Elan can be the leader of the party.

Tarquin is essentially a railroading DM in charge of a nation. He's an old white guy with self-centered, old-fashioned, and implicitly misogynistic and racist ideas of how the story is "supposed" to go--he's the Big Bad, Elan is the Hero, and they're destined to have a big epic showdown. But Tarquin isn't the main villain, Elan wants to be a support player, and Roy is the leader; so when Tarquin's plans are defied, he does everything in his power to steer things back on the rails by force, to the point of threatening to kill everyone Elan loves and chop off his hand just to properly motivate him.

Chainani, Soman: The School for Good and Evil

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

I think this series is extremely web-like because it presents a world where people have extremely predestined paths in life with either being a good or bad story character. And they are stuck on the path that is chosen for them even when trying to rebel. Also, there is the connection with children's stories(cough Mr Spider cough) and the series villains are very potting and manipulative.

Christie, Agatha: Curtain

Curtain has a serial killer known only as X before their identity is revealed. X has never actually killed anyone themselves — instead, they're a master of manipulation, preying on the fears of others and driving them into a state in which they decide to kill, but are completely unaware that they're being manipulated to do so.

Christie, Agatha: The ABC Murders

When Alice Asher is murdered in Andover, Hercule Poirot is already looking into the clues. Alphabetically speaking, it's one letter down, twenty-five to go. There's a serial killer on the loose. His macabre calling card is to leave the ABC Railway Guide beside each victim's body. But if A is for Alice Asher, bludgeoned to death in Andover, and B is for Betty Bernard, strangled with her belt on the beach at Bexhill, who will then be Victim C? More importantly, why is this happening?

Spoilers: the true murderer, Franklin Clarke tricks a mentally unstable man, Alexander Bonaparte Cust, into thinking he is a murderer. Making Cust feel trapped and controlled by his illness. Clarke also manipulates the entire country into thinking there is some out-of-control serial killer when he was just trying to cover up inheritance murder. So schemes, mass manipulation and control. Very Web book.

Christie, Agatha: The Moving Finger

Ok so the pollrunner themself has said that Miss Marple was their personal fave for the Web Avatar bracket, and this is definitely one of the webbiest Marple mysteries. It's about a bunch of poison-pen letters in a small village that drive the residents to suspect and accuse one another of committing the crime -- or guessing at what might have been in their neighbor's letter. Soon, accusations turn to blackmail and deaths as the culprit weaves their web around the peaceful village of Lymstock...

Clark, Mary Higgins and Alafair Burke: The Cinderella Murder

Actress Madison Meyer is obsessed with fame, to the point it's rumoured she helped cover up her friend's murder or even killed her herself to get her role, and she still has the nerve to act like a diva on Under Suspicion's set even though she hasn't had any significant roles in a decade and is supposed appearing on the show to solve her friend's murder. Actor Keith Ratner was a playboy with a drinking problem when he started out, though he's genuinely managed to clean up his act, albeit by getting involved with a shifty megachurch, and some people still think he murdered his girlfriend. Televangelist Martin Collins is a money-hungry Control Freak who rules his congregation with an iron fist and uses their donations to fund personal luxuries, and that's the least of his misdeeds. Frank Parker is known for being a demanding director who mostly gets involved in Under Suspicion because he doesn't want people to boycott his movies thinking he murdered a 19-year-old college student, although he did prevent his wife from starring in a sleazy movie that left the replacement actress humiliated and has stayed married for ten years (quite a record for Hollywood). And at the centre of it all is the so-called Cinderella Murder, with a young aspiring actress on her way to an audition ending up strangled to death and the crime going unsolved for twenty years, with all kinds of salacious rumours surrounding the case.

Collodi, Carlo: The Adventures of Pinocchio  

This is the story of Pinocchio, filled with harrowing yet inspiring adventures. Carved by a poor man named Geppetto, Pinocchio is a wooden puppet that comes to life. He soon leaves his maker and commences a journey of misadventures.

Pinocchio has a good heart, but he is disobedient and lazy and often has poor judgment. And when he lies, Pinocchio's nose grows longer! Follow this mischievous puppet as he goes to the "Field of Miracles", where he plants gold coins to try to make his wealth grow. Thrill as he is pursued by assassins. And marvel as he becomes the unwitting star of a circus show and lives a life of ease in the "Land of Boobies," where boys can play all day and never have to go to school. Of course, Pinocchio gets into trouble along the way.

From the villainous Cat and Fox, who try to steal his gold coins, to the gigantic Dogfish, a terrifying sea monster that swallows him, Pinocchio encounters menacing characters who often lead him to trouble. But Pinocchio also befriends a good Fairy who loves him and wants to help him escape his misfortunes. She even promises the puppet that if he learns to be good, to study, and to work hard, he will become a real boy. Can Pinocchio turn his life around? And will he ever see his "papa," Geppetto again?

de Burgh Miller, Jon: Dying in the Sun

Synopsis: "It was the city of angels, and the angels were screaming...

Los Angeles, 1947: multi-millionaire movie producer Harold Reitman has been murdered and the LAPD are convinced that drug dealer Robert Chate is the killer. Detective William Fletcher isn't so sure — he believes that the man who calls himself the Doctor has a stronger connection to the crime than he's letting on.

While the Doctor assists the police with their enquiries, Star Light Pictures are preparing to release their most eagerly anticipated movie yet, Dying in the Sun, a film that rumours say will change the motion-picture industry for ever. Suspecting that the film holds secrets more terrifying then anyone could ever have imagined, the Doctor decides to do everything in his power to stop it from being released. In Hollywood, however, it is the movie studios that hold all the power... "

Why it's Web: Well, we already know that TV and film are pretty Web-aligned (Lagorio, that one line from Annabelle), so that's a start. The villains of the series create film stars by chemically enhancing their charisma to the point where they can hypnotize people into doing unspeakable things just by asking them -- but the stars, in turn, are under the sway of their alien masters. It's a pretty good metaphor for Hollywood, and a pretty good plot for the Web.

Douglass, Ryan: The Taking of Jake Livingston

Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St. Clair Prep, one of the others being his infinitely more popular older brother. It’s hard enough fitting in but to make matters worse and definitely more complicated, Jake can see the dead. In fact he sees the dead around him all the time. Most are harmless. Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again, they don’t interact often with people. But then Jake meets Sawyer. A troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school last year before taking his own life. Now a powerful, vengeful ghost, he has plans for his afterlife–plans that include Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about ghosts and the rules to life itself go out the window as Sawyer begins haunting him and bodies turn up in his neighborhood. High school soon becomes a survival game–one Jake is not sure he’s going to win.

Fink, Joseph and Jeffery Cranor: The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home

It's framed like a biography that the Faceleed Old Woman is telling Craig, the descendant of the man who killed her. After she dies, as a sort of ghost, she haunts and attempts to kill her murderer, but she fails. She then spends the rest of time manipulating and killing all of his descendants. She is constantly doing things that they don't notice to get them to have kids, etc, and then when they get old enough, causes an accident so the first born son always dies. The villain, and TFOW murderer is also a manipulator. He gets her on a wild goose chase for years to find out who killed her father, and managed to trick her into a situation where he could kill her.

Frost, Robert: Design

"What brought the kindred spider to that height, Then steered the white moth thither in the night? What but design of darkness to appall?-- If design govern in a thing so small."

Link: https://poets.org/poem/design

Gaiman, Neil: American Gods

When a man named Shadow Moon gets out of prison, he finds that everything he planned to do as a free man has been destroyed. His wife and best friend are dead and he has no job prospects. Because of this, he is forced to accept work from a strange and enigmatic man named Mr. Wednesday.

Shadow soon learns of a brewing war in American between the old (religious and mythological) gods and the new (technological) gods. Both sides want him for their own.

Throughout the novel, Shadow is pulled along by different forces rather than through his own agency, and near the end he finds that the web he is caught in was spun before his birth.

Gran, Sara: Come Closer

A recurrent, unidentifiable noise in her apartment. A memo to her boss that's replaced by obscene insults. Amanda - a successful architect in a happy marriage - finds her life going off kilter by degrees. She starts smoking again, and one night for no reason, without even the knowledge that she's doing it, she burns her husband with a cigarette. At night she dreams of a beautiful woman with pointed teeth on the shore of a blood-red sea. The new voice in Amanda's head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. Is she possessed by a demon, or is she simply insane?

Hale, Shannon & Dean Hale: Ever After High: The Legend of Shadow High

Now, Ever After High itself is very Web. The children of famous fairytales being destiny-bound to relive their stories or go 'poof' is the driving force behind all the books' conflicts.

However, Shadow High takes it to another level. The narrators, who were present throughout the series, are more influential within the story. Even the straight-laced narrator parents who believe only in observing stories leave 'plop devices' to coerce characters in or out of making decisions. The titular Shadow High is a school for narrators run by antagonist Ms. Direction after a narrator schism between those who observe stories and those who control them. Ms. Direction uses 'unmaking lava' that turns characters and props into the words that compose them, destroying them so that they can be made again in her vision. She also uses narration to compel characters into doing her bidding. The narrator of the book, Brooke Page, is the daughter of the other books' narrators and has frequent arguments with her parents between chapters about why she can't intervene in the story to help the characters. Brooke ultimately does this in the book's climax by climbing the Fourth Wall and asking the reader for help, turning the book into a choose-your-own-adventure and having the reader write in how Ms. Direction is ultimately defeated.

Also, it's a crossover with Monster High so Frankie Stein and Draculaura are there.

Heller, Joseph: Catch-22

Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

Howitt, Mary: The Spider and the Fly

The poem itself was referenced in the podcast with regard to the Web on multiple occasions. Also, the illustrations? Fucking hell. This is the irl 'A Guest for Mr. Spider'.

Ibsen, Henrik: A Doll’s House

A Doll's House (Norwegian: Et dukkehjem; also translated as A Doll House) is a three-act play in prose by Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month. The play is significant for its critical attitude toward 19th century marriage norms. It aroused great controversy at the time, as it concludes with the protagonist, Nora, leaving her husband and children because she wants to discover herself. Ibsen was inspired by the belief that "a woman cannot be herself in modern society," since it is "an exclusively male society, with laws made by men and with prosecutors and judges who assess feminine conduct from a masculine standpoint." Its ideas can also be seen as having a wider application: Michael Meyer argued that the play's theme is not women's rights, but rather "the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is and to strive to become that person." In a speech given to the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights in 1898, Ibsen insisted that he "must disclaim the honor of having consciously worked for the women's rights movement," since he wrote "without any conscious thought of making propaganda," his task having been "the description of humanity."

James, E.L.: 50 Shades of Gray

okay not to get too blue, but BDSM is kinda web-coded, and that goes double for the deeply coercive and unsafe dynamics shown here.

James, M.R.: The Ash-Tree

Spiders with baby heads eat a dude.

Jones, Diana Wynne: Black Maria

On the surface, Aunt Maria seems like a cuddly old lady, all chit-chat and lace doilies and unadulterated NICEness!

When Mig and her family go for a short visit, they soon learn that Aunt Maria rules the place with a rod of sweetness that’s tougher than iron and deadlier than poison. Life revolves around tea parties, while the men are all grey-suited zombies who fade into the background, and the other children seem like clones.

The short visit becomes a long stay, and when all talk of going home ceases, Mig despairs! Things go from bad to worse when Mig’s brother Chris tries to rebel, but is changed into a wolf.

Mig is convinced that Aunt Maria must be a witch – but who will believe her? It’s up to Mig to figure out what’s going on. Maybe the ghost who haunts the downstairs bedroom holds the key?

Katsu, Alma: The Fervor

A psychological and supernatural twist on the horrors of the Japanese American internment camps in World War II.

1944: As World War II rages on, the threat has come to the home front. In a remote corner of Idaho, Meiko Briggs and her daughter, Aiko, are desperate to return home. Following Meiko's husband's enlistment as an air force pilot in the Pacific months prior, Meiko and Aiko were taken from their home in Seattle and sent to one of the internment camps in the West. It didn’t matter that Aiko was American-born: They were Japanese, and therefore considered a threat by the American government.

Mother and daughter attempt to hold on to elements of their old life in the camp when a mysterious disease begins to spread among those interned. What starts as a minor cold quickly becomes spontaneous fits of violence and aggression, even death. And when a disconcerting team of doctors arrive, nearly more threatening than the illness itself, Meiko and her daughter team up with a newspaper reporter and widowed missionary to investigate, and it becomes clear to them that something more sinister is afoot, a demon from the stories of Meiko’s childhood, hell-bent on infiltrating their already strange world.

Inspired by the Japanese yokai and the jorogumo spider demon, The Fervor explores a supernatural threat beyond what anyone saw coming; the danger of demonization, a mysterious contagion, and the search to stop its spread before it’s too late.

King, Stephen: Misery

Paul Sheldon, author of a series of historical romances, wakes up in a secluded farmhouse in Colorado with broken legs and Annie Wilkes, a disappointed fan, hovering over him with drugs, ax, and blowtorch and demanding he bring his heroine back to life

Lermontov, Mikhail: A Hero of Our Time (Last Chapter)

The last chapter of A Hero of Our Time is titled The Fatalist - someone who holds the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable. The characters in it are debating whether or not Fatalism is a valid worldview, and Lieutenant Vulic decides to test it. He states that everything is predetermined and our actions do not matter, loads the gun, points it at his forehead and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. Later that same night Vulic gets killed by a drunk Cossack.

In high school we had to write multiple essays on this chapter and argue whether or not we think free will exists and is Fatalism valid. It caused me a huge existential crisis. I recommend reading this chapter if you are in mood for a crisis, as it is short, free and available online here https://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/myl/hero.htm

Lewis, Richard: The Spiders

Imagine a spider as big as a Goliath bird-eater with masticating jaws, venom that first paralyzes and then kills, a hard crabshell-like exoskeleton, and two evil eyes that you can see looking at you. Now imagine that's just the drone in a social system similar to an ant or bee colony — its job is to find food and bring it back to the hive, which consists of some even larger spiders and an enormous queen. This is what the protagonists of the book have to deal with in order to save England, where the spiders are slowly advancing from the country into the cities.

Machiavelli, Niccolò: The Prince

The single most famous political treatise and the first entirely secular work of The Renaissance. At the time it was first published, The Prince was seen as extremely scandalous for its endorsement of ruthlessness and amorality. Nevertheless, it quickly became popular with politicians and remains highly influential in Western politics today. While best known for the quote "And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved," he also emphasized the importance of inspiring love and respect, or at least not inspiring hatred. It is not a guide to how to most effectively be an asshole; it is simply a treatise in exercising political pragmatism. The fact that people like to connect those two ideas, that is what makes this Webby.

Maugham, Somerset: The Magician

The Magician is about a soon-to-be-married couple, Margaret and Arthur, crossing paths with the titular magician, Oliver Haddo, and getting their lives turned upside down. Oliver uses his knowledge of arcane magic to seduce Margaret, get her to run away with him, and to completely suppress her free will. Her friends find her and help her escape but she is almost catatonic until one night she feels Oliver's call and runs away again, unable to resist. Throughout the novel Oliver Haddo is often described as weaving webs of lies and manipulation, and his charisma allows him to effectively manipulate any crowd.

Muir, Tamsyn: Gideon the Ninth

(Keeping it vague bc spoilers) one of the characters is not what they seem and has been pulling strings and manipulating people the whole time to get what they want. All the twists and turns in the book also feel very web adjacent.

Nabokov, Vladimir: Lolita

Awe and exhilaration—along with heartbreak and mordant wit—abound in Lolita, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsession for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America.

Most of all, it is a meditation on love—love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.

Orwell, George: Nineteen Eighty-Four

It tells the story of Winston Smith, a citizen of the miserable society of Oceania, who is trying to rebel against the Party and its omnipresent symbol, Big Brother.

 The Party desires absolute control over the citizens to the point where they try to change the language to make sure the people cannot even think of rebellion. That is extremely Web.

Pinborough, Sarah: Breeding Ground & Feeding Ground

The world is changing. Women everywhere are giving birth to a new life form — hideous spidery nightmares that live to kill — and feed. As England becomes a series of web-shrouded ghost towns, those left alive must band together in order to survive and find a way to fight back . . . In a sleepy English village Matt Edge and those he has gathered together head for a secret government facility in the hope of finding refuge and answers there, only to find some of their problems are just beginning. In London, a group of schoolboys must take on a crazed drugs lord, determined to create an empire from the wreckage of the city, in order to escape . . . . . . and everywhere, for each of them, the Widows are waiting . . .’

Pinkwater, Daniel: Young Adult Novel

The Wild Dada Ducks members cause all sorts of mischief around their junior high school, but although the boys are not bad, they like to pretend that they are true dadaists with unintentional and irrational behavior. This story centers around their ongoing story of Kevin Shapiro, a character they invented to explore nihilism and tragedy. When they discover that a student actually named Kevin Shapiro attends their school, they make it their mission to make him popular and succeed beyond their wildest dreams as Kevin becomes a dictator.

Pirandello, Luigi: Six Characters in Search of an Author

First performed in 1923, this intellectual comedy introduces six individuals to a stage where a company of actors has assembled for a rehearsal. Claiming to be the incomplete, unused creations of an author's imagination, they demand lines for a story that will explain the details of their lives. In ensuing scenes, these "real-life characters," all professing to be part of an extended family, produce a drama of sorts — punctuated by disagreements, interruptions, and arguments. In the end they are dismissed by the irate manager, their dilemma unsolved and the "truth" a matter of individual viewpoints.

A tour de force exploring the many faces of reality, this classic is now available in an inexpensive edition that will be welcomed by amateur theatrical groups as well as students of drama.

Pratchett, Terry: Witches Abroad

The villain rules her fairy-tale kingdom with an iron fist, using coercive magic and the force of law alike to ensure that everyone follows out the narrative threads she has assigned them. Toymakers must be cheerful and whistling, wolves must be lurking in the woods to assault guileless travelers, and cinder-sweeping girls must marry the prince -- whether they want to or not.

***

Once upon a time there was a fairy godmother named Desiderata who had a good heart, a wise head, and poor planning skills—which unfortunately left the Princess Emberella in the care of her other (not quite so good and wise) godmother when DEATH came for Desiderata. So now it's up to Magrat Garlick, Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg to hop on broomsticks and make for far-distant Genua to ensure the servant girl doesn't marry the Prince.

But the road to Genua is bumpy, and along the way the trio of witches encounters the occasional vampire, werewolf, and falling house (well this is a fairy tale, after all). The trouble really begins once these reluctant foster-godmothers arrive in Genua and must outwit their power-hungry counterpart who'll stop at nothing to achieve a proper "happy ending"—even if it means destroying a kingdom.

 What the bad guy in this book is trying to do, that is molding an entire kingdom into perfect fairy-tale roles, is imo extremely Web plan.

Pratchett, Terry and Neil Gaiman: Good Omens

The book is filled with references to double agents and Cold War era spying. Both sides of the angelic war are trying to manipulate the other, and everything is being predicted by a rare book passed down for generations. There's also continuous talk of G-d's ineffible plan, which is never fully explained but might be pulling some strings.

Punko: Stagtown

The goop below makes me do shit

Shakespeare, William: Macbeth

The play takes place in the Scottish Highlands. Fresh from putting down a rebellion against King Duncan, Lord Macbeth meets three witches who hail him as the future king. His scheming and ambitious wife convinces him to make the prophecy come true by killing Duncan.

 Well, it's a play so we already get Web theatre motives. And like is Macbeth in control of his life is he not controlled by witches, by fate, by his wife I think this is a Web story.

Sophocles: Oedipus Rex

The whole point of the tragedy is that no one can fight fate. No matter the lengths everyone goes through to avoid the prophecy, it still comes true.

White, E.B.: Charlotte's Web

Okay, so it's not the scariest book. However, the plot is ultimately about a spider using cunning words and showmanship to persuade a bunch of humans to do her bidding. That's statement material for sure.

***

The titular Charlotte saves Wilbur, a runt pig from slaughter by writing words in her web and making him famous. At the end of the novel, Wilbur wins a special prize at the country fair thanks to Charlotte, and she dies, leaving her spider eggs to Wilbur.

It's not just that Charlotte's a spider, she is actually a genuinely good web avatar. She manipulates a whole farm, and then a town into thinking Wilbur is something special so he doesn't get killed. She literally weaves a web. She is very dedicated to Wilbur's success, so much so that when she dies, it's sort implied that she kept herself alive until Wilbur was confirmed to be survive and the farm wouldn't kill her

Wong, David: This Book is Full of Spiders

It's all there in the title! The book is full of spiders that attack and control people, spreading through the population like a zombie plague.

[kalena-henden]

Seo In Guk Fan Meet 2024 | LA: SEP 26 | DC: SEP 28

[link for tickets in source]

[august-rivers]

August (he/him, cis man) was born on June 4, 1992 in Los Angeles, CA and arrived to Merrock in 2024. They prefer to be called Auggie, work as a chef at Evolution, and their stomping grounds are the downtown area.

CHARACTER INFORMATION:

full name: august graham rivers

nickname(s): auggie, gus, grammy

pronouns & gender: he/him, cis man

sexuality: homosexual

age: thirty-two

relationship status: it’s complicated but single

birth date: june 4 1992

birth place: los angeles, california

time in town: two weeks since june 13, 2024

occupation: chef

parents: logan & sarah rivers

siblings: sammy rivers, logan rivers, hunter rivers, & skylar rivers

personality: insecure, intelligent, reserved & savvy

pet: tabby cat named oli

APPEARANCE:

celebrity doppelgänger: oliver stark

height: 6'2"

hair color: brown

eye color: blue

FAVORITES:

color: navy blue

food: general tso’s chicken

non-alcoholic beverage: diet dr. pepper

alcoholic beverage: tequila seltzer with a splash of cranberry

season: autumn

candle scent: cranberry mandarin

book: addicted to you

video game: call of duty

tv show: anything hgtv

animated tv show: king of the hill

movie: anything marvel

holiday movie: national lampoon’s christmas vacation

disney movie: aladdin

pixar movie: ratatouille

disney original movie: minute men

candy: sweet tarts

chocolate candy: reeses peanut butter cups

Fruit: watermelon

Vegetable: broccoli

cuisine to eat: homemade macaroni and cheese

cuisine to make: risotto

genre of music: pop

artist: dua lipa

song: jaded by miley cyrus

BIOGRAPHY:

tw; drugs, parent illness, parent death

Being adopted was never something that bother August. As far as he knew, the family that he grew up with was his real family whether they were blood or not. Of course when he was young, he thought that everyone was truly family but then he learned that the world worked differently than that yet it still didn’t change the way he thought about the siblings that he grew up with. His biological parents were a young couple who were addicts and weren’t ready for a child and that’s how he ended up in foster care before ending up with his forever family. 

It was clear from a young age that August had a gift for cooking. He was constantly watching cooking shows on TV and wanted to recreate all of the different dishes with his parents. There were even times where he was preparing dinner in a masterchef style where they didn’t even know what they were getting. Once he was old enough and he was able to be trusted with the oven and stove on his own, he was cooking all of the holiday dinners, never feeling like he had to or being pressured to. He went to a school where being an athlete was very important and still he remained himself. He was pushed into a number of lockers and called multiple names, but it’s not something that ever got to him. 

August found James in high school and he thought that he met the man that he was going to spend the rest of his life with. It seemed like everything was perfect for them and there was nothing for them to worry about. When James went off to serve his country they decided that things needed to end so that they could focus on themselves.

It was no shocker that at the end of high school, August graduated at the top of his class and he was the valedictorian. College was completely different for him though. He wasn’t sure if it was just the atmosphere or his lack of caring what others thought of him but he felt a sort of solace with his cooking buddies. He made a friend in school, named Sadie and they became close to the point that others thought that the two of them were together romantically. They never were, but the best of friends.  

After graduating, he remained in Los Angeles and worked as hard as he could to gain a reputation for himself. He worked as well as he could and then James came home and the two of them reconnected and James had proposed. August was the happiest that he could be and then James left again. Everything seemed well with them then James came back after being hurt and he wasn’t sure if he could step up and be the man that James needed and so he ended things and was scared. 

Things happened at home that required August to have to be home with his family because his mom had fallen ill. He knew that he needed to step up and be the older brother that he knew his siblings needed and he was there for them and taking care of his mother. Unfortunately, she had passed in the beginning of June 2024 and that’s when August realized he couldn’t wait another minute to be sad and when he heard that James was in Merrock, Maine he decided he was going to go there and chase after James. 

[ozzyscollectiblehub]

LeBron James: The King of Basketball

LeBron James is more than just a basketball player — he is an icon whose influence transcends sports. Since entering the NBA in 2003, LeBron has consistently redefined the game, becoming one of the greatest athletes in history. With his unparalleled versatility on the court, commitment to excellence, and impact off the court, LeBron’s legacy is one of dominance, leadership, and social activism.

Early Life and the Making of a Star

Born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio, LeBron Raymone James was a basketball prodigy from a young age. Raised by his single mother, Gloria James, LeBron’s rise from humble beginnings to superstardom is nothing short of remarkable. His basketball talents were evident early on, as he led St. Vincent-St. Mary High School to multiple state championships and was dubbed “The Chosen One” by Sports Illustrated while still a teenager.

By the time the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him as the №1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, LeBron was already seen as the future of basketball. He entered the league with immense expectations and, remarkably, has exceeded them over his career.

Dominating the NBA

LeBron’s NBA journey has been marked by consistent greatness. He made an immediate impact as a rookie, averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, and winning the Rookie of the Year award. As his career progressed, LeBron evolved into the complete player — equally adept at scoring, passing, rebounding, and defending. He’s known for his incredible basketball IQ, ability to play all five positions, and making everyone around him better.

LeBron has played for three teams in his career: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, and the Los Angeles Lakers. His versatility and leadership have led him to four NBA championships (two with the Heat in 2012 and 2013, one with the Cavaliers in 2016, and one with the Lakers in 2020). His ability to adapt and dominate in different team environments is a testament to his greatness and work ethic.

In addition to his championships, LeBron has accumulated countless accolades, including four NBA MVP awards (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013), numerous All-Star appearances, and multiple All-NBA First Team selections. With over 38,000 career points (and counting), LeBron is on the verge of becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing record.

The Historic 2016 Championship

Perhaps LeBron’s most iconic moment came in 2016 when he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA championship. After falling behind 3–1 in the Finals to the Golden State Warriors, LeBron delivered an extraordinary performance, averaging a triple-double over the final three games and famously blocking Andre Iguodala’s shot in Game 7 — an iconic play that sealed Cleveland’s victory. This triumph was not just a championship; it was a moment of redemption and a testament to LeBron’s leadership and determination.

LeBron’s Impact Off the Court

While LeBron’s basketball legacy is secure, his impact off the court is just as significant. He has used his platform to advocate for social justice, education, and equality. In 2018, LeBron opened the I PROMISE School in his hometown of Akron, providing underprivileged students with education, mentorship, and resources. The school is a reflection of LeBron’s commitment to giving back and helping the next generation.

LeBron has also been an outspoken advocate for social justice issues, particularly regarding racial inequality, police brutality, and voting rights. He helped launch the More Than a Vote campaign in 2020, which aimed to combat voter suppression and encourage Black Americans to exercise their right to vote. In an era when athletes are increasingly expected to speak up on social issues, LeBron has embraced his role as a leader and role model.

The Business of LeBron

Beyond basketball and philanthropy, LeBron has become a savvy businessman. Through his company, SpringHill Entertainment, he has ventured into media production, creating films, documentaries, and television shows that highlight social issues and empower communities. He also co-produced the 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy, in which he starred as himself — a nod to Michael Jordan’s original Space Jam.

LeBron’s business acumen extends to partnerships with major brands like Nike, with whom he signed a lifetime contract reportedly worth over $1 billion. His entrepreneurial efforts have made him one of the wealthiest athletes in the world, and in 2022, he officially became a billionaire — a rare feat for an active athlete.

The Legacy of LeBron James

As LeBron James continues his career, his legacy is already cemented as one of the greatest players in NBA history. His ability to maintain elite performance deep into his career, playing at an MVP level in his 19th and 20th seasons, is unprecedented. Yet, his legacy goes beyond the numbers and championships. LeBron has redefined what it means to be an athlete in the modern era — an era where athletes are not just competitors but activists, entrepreneurs, and global icons.

When the day comes for LeBron to retire, he will leave behind an indelible mark on the game of basketball and society as a whole. His commitment to his craft, leadership on and off the court, and tireless efforts to uplift his community make him more than just a basketball player — LeBron James is truly a King.

LeBron James has reigned as one of the most dominant athletes of his generation. His journey from a young prodigy in Akron to an NBA superstar, global icon, philanthropist, and businessman is a story of greatness, perseverance, and purpose. Whether it’s on the basketball court, in the boardroom, or in his community, LeBron continues to push boundaries and inspire millions, ensuring his legacy will endure long after his playing days are over.

LeBron James, the King of Basketball, has changed the game forever — both on and off the court.

[nameofallteams]

223 Best Student Group Names (According to Grade Level)

A creative and memorable name can significantly enhance the sense of unity and motivation within student groups. Whether you’re in elementary school, middle school, high school, or college, having a name that reflects your group’s spirit and purpose can make your activities more engaging and enjoyable. Here are 223 student group names, organized by grade level, to help you find the perfect name for your group.

223 Best Student Group Names

Elementary School Group Names At the elementary level, names should be fun, imaginative, and appealing to younger students. These names are designed to inspire creativity and excitement in the early years of schooling. Kindergarten and Early Elementary Names - Tiny Trailblazers - The Little Explorers - Mini Marvels - Super Kids Squad - Creative Cubs - The Junior Jokers - Playful Pioneers - Bright Beginnings - The Wonder Whiz Kids - Happy Hoppers Late Elementary School Names - The Genius Group - Smarty Pants Squad - Brainy Bunch - The Mighty Munchkins - Future Leaders - The Knowledge Knights - Young Innovators - Creative Crew - Junior Jesters - Epic Explorers

Middle School Group Names

Middle school is a time of transition, and names should reflect a balance of fun and growing maturity. These names are meant to resonate with students who are developing their own identities and interests. Early Middle School Names - The Brilliant Brainiacs - Quest Quenchers - The Dynamic Dreamers - Trailblazers Team - Incredible Innovators - The Future Fantastic - Curious Cats - Wise Wizards - The Awesome Achievers - Sparkling Stars Late Middle School Names - The Scholarly Squad - Brainy Battalion - Top Thinkers - The Genius Guild - Elite Learners - Creative Crusaders - The Smart Cookies - Academic Avengers - Knowledge Nomads - The Success Seekers

High School Group Names

High school students often seek names that reflect their growing maturity, aspirations, and social dynamics. These names are designed to embody the energy and ambition of teenagers. Early High School Names - The Visionaries - Scholars of Tomorrow - The Insightful Innovators - High Achievers Club - The Brilliance Brigade - Future Stars - Trailblazers United - The Genius Generation - Academic All-Stars - The Prodigy Pack Late High School Names - The Elite Ensemble - Success Stories - The Peak Performers - Scholarship Seekers - The Powerhouse Group - Future Leaders Collective - Ambition Alliance - Intellectual Titans - The Top Tier Team - Knowledge Kings and Queens

College and University Group Names

At the college level, students often appreciate names that reflect their academic focus, professional aspirations, or social interests. These names are meant to convey sophistication, unity, and purpose. Early College Names - The Knowledge Navigators - The Future Innovators - Academic Achievers - Scholarly Seekers - The Insightful Scholars - The Achievement Alliance - Campus Champions - The Brilliant Minds - Innovative Initiatives - The Success Society Late College Names - Professional Pioneers - The Graduation Gurus - Career Crusaders - The Visionary League - Elite Academic Ensemble - Scholars of Excellence - The Legacy Leaders - The Future Builders - Success Syndicate - The Intellectual Collective

Group Names by Activity or Focus

For student groups focused on specific activities or goals, these names reflect the essence of their purpose and can help foster a sense of community and purpose. Academic Focus Groups - Math Masters - Science Savvy Squad - History Heroes - Literature Legends - The Creative Writers Club - The Debate Dynamos - The Research Rockstars - The Study Squad - The Genius Group - The Scholarly Society Sports and Fitness Groups - The Athletic Achievers - Fitness Fanatics - The Sports Stars - Champion Chargers - The Fitness Fusion - Victory Vanguards - The Team Titans - Endurance Experts - The Goal Getters - Dynamic Dynamos Arts and Music Groups - The Creative Cadre - Artistic Adventurers - Music Maestros - The Drama Dynamos - The Artful Artists - Harmonic Heroes - The Creative Ensemble - Melody Makers - The Performance Prodigies - The Artistic Alliance Community and Service Groups - The Volunteer Vanguard - Community Champions - The Helping Hands - Impact Innovators - Service Stars - The Outreach Operators - Charity Champions - The Service Squad - Civic Change Makers - The Giving Group

Fun and Creative Names for Any Age

These names are designed to be versatile and fun, making them suitable for any age group or grade level. They can add a touch of humor and creativity to your group’s identity. - The Fun Fanatics - The Creative Crew - The Brain Busters - Smarty Pants Party - The Learning Legends - Epic Explorers - The Knowledge Nuggets - The Happy Helpers - Dynamic Dreamers - The Cool Kids Club

Conclusion

Choosing the right name for your student group can significantly impact your group’s identity, cohesion, and motivation. Whether you’re aiming for something fun and lighthearted, or something more serious and focused, the perfect name helps set the tone and create a sense of unity among members. Read the full article

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Facts You Did Not Know About South Korea

South Korea, a dynamic country in East Asia and it is a full of fascinating variations. From its traditions to modern innovations, there is much to discover about South Korea.

Let’s explore some interesting facts about South Korea that make it truly unique.

20 Interesting Facts About South Korea

1. Technological Innovation

One of the countries with the most advanced technology systems in the world is South Korea. Large corporations that are leaders in electronics and telecommunications, like Samsung and LG, are based there.

2. Internet Speed

Some of the fastest internet speeds in the world are found in South Korea. The country is tech-savvy due to the widespread availability of high-speed broadband.

3. K-Pop Global Influence

K-pop, or pop music from South Korea, has become extremely popular worldwide. The large global followings of bands including BTS and BLACKPINK strengthen South Korea's cultural influence.

4. Education System

One of the strictest educational systems in the world is found in South Korea. Long school days and after-school tutoring sessions are common among students, which contributes to their excellent academic performance.

5. Language Fact about South Korea

King Sejong the Great created the unique Korean script, Hangul, in the 15th century. With 10 vowels and 14 consonants, it has a reputation for being rational and simple to learn.

6. Cuisine

Bold flavors are a hallmark of South Korean cuisine, which includes classics like bulgogi, or marinated beef, and kimchi, a fermented vegetable dish. Globally, Korean barbecue is also a popular culinary experience.

7. Respect for Elders

Respect for elders is very important in South Korean society. Language reflects this, using multiple phrases of speech based on the status and age of the person being addressed.

8. Unique Festivals

South Korea celebrates some interesting holidays, including Chuseok, a harvest celebration where family get together to eat together and honor their ancestors.

9. Military Service

For all South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 28, military duty is mandatory. Depending on the military branch, their mandatory service duration ranges from 18 to 21 months.

10. Beauty Industry Fact about South Korea

Global leaders in skincare and makeup are found in South Korea. The country is famous for its modern approaches to beauty, including its famous 10-step skincare routine and K-beauty products, which are loved across the globe.

Read: Hidden Facts About Secret Codes in Your Favorite Movies

11. Traditional Hanbok

The Hanbok, or traditional Korean apparel, stands out by its bright colors and simple design without pockets. Even now, it is worn on important occasions and national holidays like Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and Seollal (Lunar New Year).

12. Language Honorifics

The abundance of honorifics in Korean language reflects the significance of social hierarchy in Korean culture. Individuals address one another differently depending on their age, social standing, and type of connection.

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Article: School's In, Style's On: Fresh Looks for Every Vibe

The school bells are ringing, and it’s time to step into a new year with confidence and style. Whether you’re hitting the books or catching up with friends, your backpack is more than just a bag—it’s a statement. Let's explore the freshest looks that will keep you in style, no matter your vibe.

Effective Theme Your backpack sets the tone for your year. Choose a theme that reflects your personality, whether it's sleek and modern or colorful and playful. This is your chance to express who you are, even before you say a word.

Color Color speaks volumes. Go for bold hues if you want to stand out, or soft pastels for a more laid-back vibe. Neutral tones like black, gray, and navy are timeless, fitting seamlessly into any wardrobe.

Durability School life is tough on bags, so durability is key. Look for backpacks made from high-quality materials like nylon or polyester. Reinforced stitching and water-resistant fabrics will ensure your bag lasts all year long.

Size A good backpack should be spacious enough to hold all your essentials without overwhelming you. Consider the size and what you’ll need to carry daily—books, a laptop, maybe a lunch box.

Dimensions Think about the dimensions of the backpack, especially if you have specific storage needs. A slimmer profile might be ideal for a light day, while a more expansive bag could be perfect for those carrying more gear.

Mobility Mobility matters, especially when you're darting from class to class. Padded straps and ergonomic designs can make a huge difference, offering comfort during those long school days.

Expandability A little extra space can go a long way. Backpacks with expandable compartments give you the flexibility to pack more when needed, without compromising on style.

Security Features In today's world, security is more important than ever. Look for bags with anti-theft features like hidden zippers or RFID-blocking pockets to keep your belongings safe.

Security Weight Balance is crucial. Your backpack should distribute weight evenly to avoid strain on your shoulders and back. Look for padded back panels and adjustable straps to customize the fit.

Modern Touch Tech-savvy students need a bag that keeps up with them. Modern backpacks often come with built-in USB ports or headphone slots, blending style with convenience.

Design Design isn't just about looks—it's about functionality too. Sleek lines, multiple compartments, and smart layouts can make organizing your gear a breeze.

Packing Power A well-designed backpack maximizes packing power. Multiple pockets and compartments help you stay organized, so you can quickly grab what you need.

Ample Space Space is everything. A roomy main compartment with additional pockets for smaller items will keep everything in its place. You don't want to be digging around for a pen at the bottom of your bag.

Made Of The material your backpack is made of will affect its durability and style. Canvas, leather, or recycled materials—each offers something unique. Choose one that aligns with your style and needs.

Convenience Convenience is king. Easy-to-access pockets, quick-release buckles, and smooth zippers all add up to a hassle-free experience, especially when you're on the go.

Material The material impacts not just the look but the longevity of your backpack. Choose one that can withstand daily wear and tear, like ballistic nylon or eco-friendly fabrics.

Warranty A good warranty is a sign of confidence from the manufacturer. It’s worth considering, especially if you’re investing in a higher-end backpack.

Special Features Some backpacks come with special features that set them apart—built-in rain covers, detachable pouches, or even solar panels for charging devices. Think about what features would make your life easier.

Conclusion This school year, don’t just carry your stuff—carry your style. With the right backpack, you’ll not only be prepared but also ready to make a statement. Choose wisely, and let your bag do the talking.

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