#ic | oh i've got that pretty privilege.

[seraphicstrings-a]

u ready for this comeback?

ic | oh i've got that pretty privilege.

bond: angel (eshire) | i'll make you sing like it's a concert!

bond: delun | i'll be lucifer so you be my lilith.

bond: nefeloma | rule the world with eyeliner like blades.

aesthetic | sugar sugar oh gimme the sugar crash!

thoughts | dollar store remedies and homegrown demons.

self promo | may the birds ever fly.

promotion | little big boy is going to see how big he really is.

canon | i want to believe you're somebody's unholy hoax.

visage | appearances can be so appealing; so deceiving!

spirit: c | an urge you can't ignore

castle town | you're not alone this is your home.

bond: amarin | a fish inside a birdcage.

[oneatlatime]

The Waterbending Master

Finally! Only took the whole season to find one.

This one apparently also has commentary. I'll leave it off for now.

After countless episodes without, we finally have another hybrid animal. Behold:

A koala Sea-otter? That makes noises like a Raven. Alright.

Sokka saying "I'm not one to complain" is a) pretty damning evidence of his amount of self-awareness b) self-deprecating sarcasm c) a funny line that I'm reading too deeply into

Why is Appa flying so low anyway?

Subtle signs that these guys are way too used to relying on bending: -no railings -no alternate propulsion source (seriously, not even an oar?) -no emergency supplies in case a trip runs long (I don't even see an emergency sandwich, and come on guys, it's not like waterbending controls the weather)

Random pinball bumper style ice stabbies does seem like a good defense though.

Not so subtle exposition dump from Zhao the asshole. Avatar writers are usually better at integrating catch-up dialogue. Looks like Aang will be arriving just in time to defend the Water tribe from the invasion that, ironically, he summoned. Talk about self-inflicted problems. Do you think if Aang had found a waterbending teacher somewhere else, the Fire Nation would have left the water tribe alone for another hundred years? Aang's been learning on the run; they could have picked up a single waterbender and hightailed it back to some cave in the earth kingdom to learn there. Or the water tribe could have sent a waterbender out to find the gaang as soon as rumours of the avatar reached them. See? This was avoidable.

Always love me some sea-bison.

They have bending doors like Omashu. Actually is this a door or a lock? I think the water level is changing.

Is this a hybrid animal? The yak thing, not the two legger.

Last time you got a hero's welcome, Suki's village burnt down. Foreshadowing?

How often does this lady see sea-bisons? She just passed by one and didn't even bat an eye. Is there a secret sea-bison colony that's spent the last 100 years hiding from the fire nation in the north pole?

Music Night! Need a better lyricist.

What's going on here? Did they roast a giant turtle thing and now they're cooling it to serve by dunking it in water? Did they feel the need for a steam effect for the guy's speech so they heated up a giant thingy and dunked it in water? Is it a weird boat thing? It looks like it has a face. I bet it's a ritual object.

Are these pot stacks the water tribe version of Totem Poles?

Oh nuh uh. Nope. 16 is way too young to marry.

This girl is so into him I can feel it through the screen, the dvd player, and the 15+ years since this aired.

Even the head guy's like "yeah, he's an asshole, What can you do?" Let's put this asshole and Zhao the asshole in a room together. They can out-asshole each other. Should be fun.

Remember back in episode three when I said that Zuko needed to learn how to lie? This is why.

Nevermind, we don't need to put Zhao and Paku in a room together to out-asshole each other. Paku wins. As far as I've seen, bending is not gender specific, either in who gets it or how it's taught/used. What kind of idiot would tell someone born with the ability to wield an incredible weapon that, actually, they aren't allowed to? How did this attitude get instilled in the first place? Why didn't the first guy who ever said this get slashed to death by ice stabbies thrown by the ten nearest female benders? Are these northern water tribe people so unbothered by the war that they can afford to sideline 50% of their forces? More than sideline, render incapable of defending themselves or others? Obviously this tribe is far too privileged if they can afford this attitude. And also far too bored. I guess hiding behind that giant ice wall for 100 years left them so understimulated that they turned on themselves.

Bad attitude? Fucking bad attitude!?! There's only one guy in this episode with a bad attitude and it isn't Katara. Zhao looks downright pleasant compared to this Paku guy.

Question for Paku: why would the Northern Water Tribe's rules apply to a Southern Water Tribe member?

My god these two are so cute. Sokka could propose they disembowel whale carcasses for their activity and the princess would say yes.

So the parrot lizard did survive the fall over the waterfall.

They're little tiny children. Katara, who has spent her whole life wanting to learn to bend to fight, has literally been shoved back into the igloo with a bunch of babies to learn lady-bending (no offence to the babies). How how HOW is she so calm right now? If I were in her situation, I think I'd be so angry I'd be ugly crying. And also plotting how to murder that Paku guy.

WHAT.

Paku the asshole is apparently a proponent of the tell don't show philosophy of teaching. The Tell-while-doing-unspeakable-things-to-my-lunch don't show philosophy.

Unexpected backstory. This lady must have been pretty close to Gran Gran if she recognises a carving she presumably wore for maybe a few months about 50 years ago or more. Also this lady is shockingly dumb if she can't see why Gran Gran left this misogynistic hellhole, but I guess it can be hard to see it while you're in it.

Nitpick time: How does the teacher recognise this? Isn't this just the water tribe symbol? Probably the most common symbol in the whole north pole?

Nosferatu Zuko. Nosferzuko. Zukoratu? Iroh's pause here was so long that I checked in case I had muted by accident. And how does your crew being taken by Zhao the asshole make your crew traitors Zuko? Orders are orders.

So we're adding asassinating royals to our list of reasons Zhao is an asshole. I think he's won the title back from Paku.

Fuck this port I guess.

Zuko's dead. Huh. Bye then. Gotta say I don't get why he's so big in the fandom.

This princess sure does send some mixed messages. At least she didn't ghost him.

"Master Poophead." My God. It's perfect. Why didn't I think of that?

Aang passing on what he learns to Katara. Why didn't I think of that either? My plan was to get Katara to launch unprovoked attacks on Paku's students and study how they defend themselves until she can copy / surpass them. Mostly so I could watch Katara beat the crap out of sexists.

Die mad about it you troglodyte. Disrespect? How nice it must be to have enough of your culture left that it can be disrespected. And you're going to deny the avatar training, thus dooming the whole world to death via fire nation, because you're butthurt? Freakin manbaby.

YES! YES! BEAT HIS ASS! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!

"I know. I don't care." + "I'm not doing it for you." = I'm officially in love with Katara. I took a while to warm up to her, I admit the first few episodes were a little rough, but this seals the deal.

This screenshot sparks joy. Last episode Aang bitchslapped a fire nation guy with air. This episode it's Katara's turn with water. The Firelord Uber-Bitchslapped Zuko with fire a few years ago. All I need is an earth bitchslap and my collection will be complete. Avatar: master of all four bitchslaps. Also this wouldn't have worked to goad Paku into fighting if he was half as mature as he thinks he is. Although he gets points for being harder to goad than Zhao in the Deserter.

In an episode where the A plot is Katara, the B plot is Aang, the C plot is Zuko, and the D plot is Sokka's love life, the writers still manage to fulfill the Beat up Sokka quota. Good job guys.

If only she'd aimed a couple of inches to the left. This show already includes a kid getting his face burned off. Surely a Poophead being separated from his nose is ok?

That's twice now she's lost her necklace. If the carving has lasted 50+ years, surely it's earned a metal chain rather than a hair ribbon?

Gran Gran! Bullet dodged! Excellent call!

That's a lot less beat up than I was expecting. And Iroh has never once given the impression that he isn't quietly ride or die for Zuko, so why would Zuko not expect Iroh to help him? Because Zuko isn't terribly perceptive? Because the writers needed a way to deliver yet more exposition?

I did notice that the healing lady specified that Gran gran was in an arranged marriage but Poophead was talking about love. Again, why was Gran Gran leaving a mystery?

Underrated moment of wisdom from Aang here. He gets why the princess is upset and he's twelve! But I'd bet good money that the idiot on the right has no clue what's going on.

Princess ran so far away that it's night time now. This episode is not subtle anywhere, so I figured that the princess being engaged was the cause of this whole blowing hot and cold thing. Despite being 16 and fictional, Sokka handles mixed signals and rejection with 10000% more maturity and kindness than many unfortunately non-fictional grown men I've met. Kudos to Sokka for being honest and respectful.

Even redeemed, Poophead is still an asshole.

Well that's a problem.

Fire Nation ships would be a lot more intimidating if they didn't look like shoes.

Final Thoughts

This episode was a lot of exposition, a lot of set up, and even some catch up. And it was not done as gracefully as this show usually does it. More than once the dialogue between characters felt like two actors lecturing the audience rather than the characters we know.

This episode also had twice the concentration of assholes. A Zhao episode I can deal with. An episode with a one shot asshole where Zhao doesn't appear? I could also deal with. But TWO grade A assholes in ONE episode? No. Too much.

My whole-hearted congratulations to Gran Gran for seeing Poophead for what he was, and refusing to put up with it. Leaving his ass didn't make him get the message. 50+ years alone didn't make him get the message. The granddaughter that ought to have been his being so disgusted by his conduct that she attempts to cut his face off didn't make him get the message. There was no way that this idiot was going to change. So congrats to Gran Gran for making an excellent call, leaving his ass to freeze, and getting two most excellent grandchildren instead.

I also have to applaud Sokka and Katara for not being bitter about the Northern Water Tribe. I can't help but notice the spectacular architecture, complete with embellishments and unnecessary non-structural doodads. Let's do a quick comparison (ignore the ship):

Left has one waterbender. Right has all the waterbenders. We know that Northerners can travel south thanks to Gran Gran. The North couldn't have sent one sneaky waterbender to at least make the south a ship-proof wall? That chief guy has some audacity calling Katara and Sokka their brother and sister or whatever when they've evidently left the south to rot for a century. And I know the Fire Nation, the War, bla bla, but you guys are so bored behind your walls that you're cannibalising your own capabilities based on gender just for fun.

RANT INCOMING

Since I'm on the topic, can we talk about how STOOOPID it is to separate your combatants from your medics? Here's a secret about combat medics: they're both. They learn the basics of combat, and they learn the basics of emergency medicine (And a LOT of other stuff besides). Basic training includes basic first aid for EVERYONE.

Because here's the thing. People who get hurt beating the shit out of other people are usually hurt in an environment where beating the shit out of people occurs. If they are injured enough that they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then unless they can treat themselves on the spot or their fellow soldiers can administer first aid or get them out, they die.

Alternatively, if they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then medics have to be sent in. A medic who doesn't know how to fight who gets sent into the zone will - guess what? - get the shit beaten out of them. Now you're two men down at present, and who knows how many more you're going to lose over the next few days because you're down a medic. So unless every single waterbending fighter in the Northern water tribe is going to go into combat with a waterbending healer literally attached to them, there will be mountains of unnecessary losses and avoidable injuries.

Now let's look at this from the other angle. What happens if the enemy breaches your defences (because all your defenders are merrily bleeding out from wounds their bending could heal if only they'd learned how) and then makes their way to your combat hospitals? Which are full of soldiers who are too injured to fight and healers who don't know how to defend themselves? Apart from the whole living surrounded by their element thing, waterbenders' greatest advantage in a fight appears (to me) be to be their miraculous healing powers. Katara completely healed her burnt hands to the point where there wasn't even scar tissue and she had no training at all. A skill that can erase burns (the thing firebenders give you) negates the fire nation's greatest weapon - their fire. Any fire nation general who's not an idiot would therefore target waterbending healers, maybe even over waterbending fighters. So any fire nation commander would absolutely put 'capture field hospitals' as one of their top priorities. This is a kids' cartoon, so let's ignore historical precedent as to what happens to nurses caught in field hospitals behind enemy lines and say that the fire nation would defeat the waterbending healers.

Let's paint a quick picture here: in the background, a field full of waterbending fighters sidelined by treatable injury. In the middle ground, an inexorably advancing wall of firebenders. In the foreground, a field hospital full of defenseless waterbending healers. Just peachy isn't it?

How fucking UNSTOPPABLE would a bender able to shrug off a fireball to the face then turn around and take out a firebending platoon be? Get one hundred - no fifty - benders who can both heal and fight, have them advance in two rows: Front row fights, switches with back row when they're injured, gets healed up, rotates back up to front row as a replacement. Functionally unstoppable barring the need to eat and sleep (so long as they bring their own water). The Northern Water Tribe had decades to develop that. Unlike the south, they had the time, the resources, and apparently so little going on that they took up sexism to pass the time. The wasted opportunity here burns. See kids? Sexism hurts the sexists too.

This northern attitude is just dumb. It's illogical. It's stupid. I'd call it a ham-fisted unsubtle after school special of a plotline if it weren't a fictionalised version of something that's literally baked into to many cultures worldwide, past and present.

RANT CONCLUDED

What else can I say about this episode? Aang and Sokka had like three lines each, but they were very in character. Sokka and the princess are cute together. Zuko and Iroh had a good dynamic when they weren't acting in service to exposition. This whole episode really feels like part one of a two parter.

I think something might have been off with the narrative weighting of this episode. There was an honest to god assassination attempt and I forgot.

While the shot of Paku looking put out that the ice disk landed so close to his face was funny, I would have preferred it if Katara had gotten in one hit beyond her bitchslap. Just one. His ego needed the beating which it got via the necklace thing, but I would have liked to see actual beating too.

If I had seen this episode as a child I absolutely would have lost my mind over Katara getting to beat up a sexist. I'd bet good money that this episode did lots of good for the self-esteem of little girls who saw it.

Katara's plot line is like the plot of the Waterbending Scroll episode, but in a positive light. In that episode her selfishness regarding bending got them in trouble; in this one it helped. Seen in that light, the fact that it's the necklace rather than Katara's skill that gets through to Paku is a bit undermining, but if "magical girl has such impressive skills that the sexist dinosaur throws away decades of sexism for the chance to be her teacher" had been the plot instead, I'd probably be complaining about cliches instead.

All in all, a bit clunky, a lot of set up, and too many assholes and frustrating idiocy for it to go on my rewatch list. Feminist beat downs are good for the soul, but I'm not sure they outweigh Poopheads.

[ratatatastic]

there is nothing more delightful than hearing forsy talk about fishing absolutely nothing more delightful than that so behold. forsy talking about fishing.

"More than just hockey, you're also a big fisherman. Why fishing?" "I don't know, it's something that I did growing up with my grandpa, my dad and my two brothers. It's a good way to relax and get your mind off hockey—Everything really in life. You're focusing on fishing and that's it." "So, when are you buying your boat here in South Florida?" "Well...we'll see. It's mostly a summer thing but I wouldn't mind a boat. I'm pretty simple like that! It's hockey, fishing and family-life. Yeah, that is pretty much it for me." "You're a simple man!" "Yep!" "It's good! It's probably why you're a good player 'cuz you got your focuses. You're locked in!" "Yeah, yeah."

WSFL Inside South Florida | 4.11.24 (x)

"When you disconnect—When you step away from the rink, what are some of the things you like to do over the course of the summer?" "I'm a big fishing guy, so that's pretty much all I do when I'm working out back home." "Where do you go to fish? Where are the big spots in Sweden?" "Can't tell you the best spots. Just around—We actually—Me and my fiancée just bought a house back home. We haven't seen it yet so it's gonna be fun to see the house by the lake...I'm gonna fish that way." "It is furnished? Or are you walking into an empty house?" "No, it's gonna be empty!" "Oh, that's a summer project!" "Yeah, so we got a lot of things to do." "What do you go for? What's the most exciting thing you've pulled in?" "I enjoy pike fishing. I love big pikes. That's probably my favourite." "Is that part of the off-season workout? I mean, the upperbody gets a good workout fishing." "Oh, yeah. I think it's a lot of mental, too! Like, a mental game. So, you know, you gotta stay patient. It's a lot of fun."

Territory Talk | 6.15.22 (x)

"First question, I gotta ask you. What's something recently—off the ice, outside of hockey—that's brought you joy?" "Ooh! When I'm home during summer usually I fish a lot. So, that's something I really enjoy. I've been doing a lot this summer...Yeah, fishing, I would say." "Fishing. That's something you do with friends, with family, by yourself?" "Yeah. Actually both. I fish with my brothers and my dad, and a lot of buddies." "That sounds great! That sounds like a nice way to unwind!" "It is!" "—And the total opposite sort-of mentality of hockey which is so 'go-go-go-go!' physical in-your-face." "Yeah, it's still very competitive. Fishing it's—but it's fun!" "When you're dealing with a professional athlete I can't imagine theres anything that's not at least a little competitive." "Exactly!"

Miami Mic'd Up | 10.12.23 (x)

"We're seeing you're a big outdoorsman... ya like fishing?" "Yeah. I love—I'm a big fisherman." "Yeah? Do you have any—Have you been on a big fishing trip? Or you've just been fishing in Sweden? Down there in Florida? Where you at and what do you like to fish?" "In Florida it's mostly deep sea fishing. I'm more a lake guy. I mean, I'm starting to get into it more here in Florida. Ekblad is fishing a lot, so, he took me out a couple times. It's pretty cool to get a big Tuna and stuff like that...but I'm more of a lake guy, I would say." "Does Ekky make you pull in the big fish? 'Cuz he already said how big and strong you are, 'throwing a 250'... He's like—he gives it over to you or what?" "Yeah, but he's got the whole electric stuff so he's—" "Oh, he's cheating! With the big rod riggers!" "Yeah! He rigs—" "He got into that a few years ago when I was down there with him. He's still into it, he's still on that deep sea stuff. I can never do it, it made me sick." "Yeah. Yeah, he is."

NHL Network | 3.14.24 (x)

man who absolutely wanted to be asked to reel in a big one by his partner but absolutely did not get the privilege because ekkys gone electric mourn for him hes want to be a big strongman and useful but now he cant because of technology.

but also the lakeguy vs seaguy fishing fued we got here is utterly delightful im not surprised if ekky took him out fishing just to try and convince him that its better can you imagine the amount of squabbles theyve got in over fishing. but also ekky took him out fishing. several times. like that happened. okay im gonna normal about that 👍

also not them damsel in distressing ekky like ohhhhh does he make you do the heavy stuff he talks soooooo much about how big and strong you are does he put you to work *bats eyelashes*

forsy, who really desperately wants to be put to work: no no he doesnt 😔😔

and here are just the multitude of photos of forsy fishing (redfin perches and northern pikes) over the years and posting it to ig and the captions are all filled with the weight and length of the fish like oh hes a real fishin boi give me those numbers (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

[flannelepicurean]

Mmmmrrrrgggghhhh okay. So. I generally don't like talking about weight, when tied to health things, in general, but I feel like it's important to boost stuff like this. Because the way people talk about bodies, and weight, and fat, is absolute bullshit in general, and it reminds me a whole, whole bunch about the ways in which I've struggled with mental health issues, and the ways in which that has gone hand in hand with stuff that's affected my body, and I just....turn into a 3-D Celtic knotwork when this shit comes up.

I spent a bunch of my life being really underweight, because I was either so goddamn depressed I couldn't do more than force myself to drink three glasses of milk a day to keep my body functional on a basic level, or so buzzing with manic energy I couldn't sit still long enough to eat. I've legit collapsed and gone to the ER because of this. But people around me still made really unhelpful comments about my body, and ignored the shit I said about my mind and my emotions, and the old, "You need to JUST [insert dismissive advice here]," rolled in over and over and over.

After I had a baby, and went into severe postpartum depression and anxiety, and my OCD went into the goddamn stratosphere, and the pandemic hit and isolated us all in the house together for two fucking years, I was the heaviest I'd ever been. The BMI scale (unreliable, I knew) told me I'd tipped over the line into Obese, and I got even more depressed, but I was determined to do something about it.

And I tried. And I tried. And I tried. And it took forever. And it was extremely non-linear. And it was never enough. And I was never happy. And I just kept being super depressed.

And then I got sick.

My meds got fucked up, and I went into a bipolar episode bad enough that I had to take two fucking months off work, after trying to keep it together for six goddamn weeks while things spiraled worse and worse real fucking fast. I couldn't tolerate ANYTHING. Light. Sound. Textures...And tastes. Sugar, salt, acid, spices...all of it hit my senses like a blast of rock salt from a shotgun. Like a medieval peasant being killed by a Sour Skittle, if I tried even the blandest tomato sauce. And it made me want to throw fists. And I couldn't sit still.

More than a year ago, and I still can't deal with a lot of flavors, and I still can't eat more than two fists' worth of food at a go, so I gotta just eat like seven small meals a day and a few snacks here and there. I eat on a hobbit schedule.

I lost weight. Got back down to numbers on the scale I hadn't seen in decades, that had been "target" and "goal" and a fucking dream of the future, when I was actually trying. And I felt like shit. People in my life tell me things like, "Well, eating that way is actually healthier! Spacing it out is better for you! Oh, it's great that you don't really eat sugar anymore!" And it makes me want to scream, because it feels like that, "Well, that trauma made you stronger!" bullshit.

And you know what? I'm still sick. There are a bunch of mystery fucking problems going on with my body and my mind. And I've been eating "right," more than ever before. I've been taking in way more fruits and vegetables and whole grains and complex carbs. I drink a cup of coffee and half a glass of unsweet iced tea a day, and the rest is water. I've been exercising more than ever before. I'm steady maintaining a weight that's probably pretty "healthy" for my age and size and all that. AND I FEEL LIKE TRASH.

So like...yeah. It pisses me off when people moralize weight and fatness and food and dieting and shit, and dismiss and discount and demonize all the complex realities that actually go into what human bodies look like and how they work. And it may be a privileged thing to say, and I will fully acknowledge that, but having anyone applaud a weight loss that came out of this much suffering, even after I fucking explain that shit to them, burns me up. Not just because of what it means to me and reflects about my experience, but because of the attitude it reflects for the whole subject in general. That something that painful, that traumatic, is an acceptable price to pay, an acceptable way to get to a new baseline.

Fucking awful.

Just found out that the dietary calorie is still measured by burning food in a "bomb calorimeter" and then measuring the heat produced. There's no solid evidence that this method is at all equivalent to how our bodies process food (an entirely different chemical process from combustion), the accuracy of this system has been disputed for as long as it's existed, and there are no available alternatives

There are 4800 calories in a kilogram of dry sawdust even though wood is completely indigestible to humans, because calories don't measure nutritional value, just how well something burns

Nutritional "science" is pure bullshit

[dogboymutual]

hi have some random things i've quoted that i could not explain the context of if i fucking tried

hey morpheus! come over here! i want you to experience TERRIBLE THINGS with me! *short, pained scream*

i know a thing or two about killing my own father

i am going to eat this ice cream with my tactical shovel

mfs be like nsfw (not safe for work) BITCH I'M UNEMPLOYED

OHH YEAHHH BabeY!!!!!! S W A G

"did you ever wear a condom?" "no, but i always had a gun"

to your surprise she is not a lesbian at all, but Ireland's Sweetheart Niall Horan who had mistakenly thought you were a cute twink!

flirting subtly with your crush. Shawty,

Kevin I'm Dying. Please Stop Beatboxing.

imagine: you and troy bolton are gay

pumped up kicks except it's not pumped up kicks and i eat a shoe box

*starts crying* *sees a motorcycle* *thinks* hmmmmmm *goes and hotwires it* *drives off*

my man matt gettin wild with the fanta

sonic how do i juju on that beat?

your nae nae privileges. hand 'em over

it is 3:54 hand me your ribosomes. "oh father please 5 more minutes"

li'l bastard travelling kit

yeehaw where all the antidepressants at pardner

what have you done to deserve your legs?

it's purple. i love purple. looks like a smushed grape.

sex not real. havnt seen it

yeah i looked both ways before crossing the street. i looked both "handsome" and "radiant." too bad i got hit by that car

i'm just a dad on the internet having a great time

physically, i think you're beautiful. mentally, i think you're a bitch.

who's a milky piggy? me! me! me!

OKIE DOKIE ARTICHOKE ME

i am often seized by the fatal American need to have a pretty good time.

"what is love?" who cares, i'm going to Cabo! whoo!!! i hate myself, i hate myself, i hate myself!

now i am the one who is bitch

i would never hurt a drug and i would never do a bro

no matter how deep a friendship is, it's really easy to end it quickly with a sledgehammer

can't stop, won't stop, might stop

having a great time being in immeasurable pain

i'm going to kick your children into the ocean

BUH BUH. BREASTKILLUH??????? YEET! heheheheheheheehe she DOIED.

[musicallisto]

Oh wow! I cannot imagine a universe where physics is my favourite subject 😅 but I definitely know how you feel about the endless tunnel that is university! Fingers crossed you get some time to have a break over this festive period! 🤞

Also an exam on a Saturday? That feels morally illegal 😖 but i’m glad its a subject you enjoy! I feel like those are much easier to revise for so I’m sure you’ll smash it!

Oooh! I would say send me a picture of your tree when its complete if you like but im not really sure how the logistics of that will work with the whole 25 days of anonymity! I’m sure it will be really pretty though! I got to decorate a tree at work last night and it was so much fun!

A carousel! That sounds actually magical! We’ve got a Ferris Wheel in our main square but they weren’t able to put the ice rink up under the tree because of covid regulations :(

No way! They ATL were my #2 this year as well! I only used Spotify for the first 3 months of this year though so my wrapped is a little off 😂

I’m exactly the same! I swear these past few years people have been listening to all their comfort bands from when they were 14 and I can’t tell if its pandemic blues or because we’re all turning 20 soon 😖

Favourite song is literally impossible but I listen to the Nothing Personal the most I think, quickly followed by Don’t Panic - how about you?

I’ve never seen them live! But a girl I went to school with did so she recorded part of weightless for me which was so sweet! I hope I can see them one day! How about you? Have you seen them live or are you hoping to?

Sending all my love in the very long message! ❤️❄️

* ˚ ✦ sorry for how long I took to answer this ask, I've been very busy! it's always nice to see you in my ask box though and I hope you're doing great xx

an exam on Saturday feels morally illegal and extremely reprehensible but it is what it is unfortunately, and I can def tell you they're starting to take their toll. all I want is to crawl in bed with a hot chocolate and a good movie... which makes me think: do you have any movie recs? specifically comforting movies, like romcoms or musicals or just nostalgic movies? I think I'm going to need a little bit of fuel for the rest of the month and I've run out of ideas. and you have great taste in music, so I'm assuming it's the case as well for movies!

I have seen them live, back in 2017! one of the most magical moments in my entire life, I've rarely felt as happy and free as I did that night. man, I miss concerts so bad 😢 my favorite album is undoubtedly Don't Panic, and I listen to Future Hearts and Nothing Personal quite a lot as well. I'd say my favorite song by them is The Reckless & The Brave, which they didn't play when I saw them unfortunately... but at least they replaced it with Take Cover and I felt privileged to hear such an underrated song live. also, Weightless live was definitely an amazing moment, but so was Therapy! and Kids in the dark! all of their songs are incredible tbh and I hope you are able to see them live someday!

and about the Christmas installations - an ice skating ring sounds so cool! I've never gone iceskating, but I suspect I would be absolute garbage at it. A friend of mine tried teaching me how to rollerblade when I was a kid and I couldn't for the life of me stand upright, so if iceskating is anything like it I don't think it's my true calling lol. but I'd love to try it!

[housewarningparty]

Buddy, you're shit out of luck asking me, unless you're into milves or uhhh I guess witches?

But if you ARE into that

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner - boss/employee romance between a television showrunner and her PA. You will either find the extremely low stakes conflict refreshing or you'll be annoyed by the amount of misunderstanding. I think it's sweet

The Music and the Mirror by Lola Keeley - a troubled former ballet star whose career ended after she sustained an injury is now directing a ballet company and takes a promising but inexperienced young upstart under her wing. And then they fall in love. The forbidden romance factor is upped a bit further here. Very dramatic and engaging tho, I love this one.

Truth and Measure / Above All Things by Roslyn Sinclair - yet another boss/employee romance, this time between a magazine editor and her PA. Full disclosure that I haven't read this one yet, but I HAVE read the fanfic it was based off of. Multiple friends have vouched that the original fiction adaption is just as good, if not better. Major Ice Queen factor here - if you like older women who are professionally competent but socially/romantically destitute, this is a great pick.

Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan - this is a historical romance novella featuring two women in their 60s (no age gap this time! They're both older women!) teaming up to take down a guy who sucks. If you're into historicals and you also like M/F romance, Milan is a great author to check out more of. But anyway this one's really focused on class and privilege disparity, which is cool.

Payback's A Witch by Lana Harper - no weird power dynamics here. A young woman heads back to her home town for an event and teams up against her shitty ex with a few other women he's wronged. Turns out she's got really good chemistry with one of them. You can probably tell where this is going. Oh, also, they're witches.

If you're interested in fantasy, I can recommend a few books outside of the romance genre that (nonetheless) had some of my favorite romantic storylines

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - this is a really slow slow burn with a great payoff. The romance here is great because it has all the tortured longing of a regent/handmaiden romance but the handmaiden is also a secret bodyguard with her own agenda. There's dragons. Multiple POV characters and really great world building, but the F/F romance I'm talking about is really central to the story and gets a lot of development and screentime. There's a hefty page count here but the book flies by, imo.

Engelsfors Trilogy by Mats Strandberg and Sara B. Elfgren - if you can read swedish you're really in luck bc I have it on good authority that the original text is a bit better than the English translation. I still enjoyed it though! A lot! I don't often read YA, but this series really got me. It follows an ensemble cast of high school girls who discover they're witches and are forced to band together to prevent an apocalypse of sorts. This is another very slow slow burn with a massive page count, though that plays into a lot of why I enjoy it. The F/F romance doesn't happen on the page until book three (pretty early in the book iirc), but it's set up and developed in the preceding two books quite a bit. I'm a sucker for popular cool girl/weirdo goth and this book REALLY delivers. Fair warning, there's a subplot that involves one of the teen girls in the cast and a male teacher attempting flirting and attempting a romance - it doesn't happen due to reasons that are spoilers, but if you're very sensitive to that kind of content be warned or steer clear.

That's all I've got off the top of my head! Despite finding romance as a genre fascinating, I often struggle to get engaged in romance books. I think I'm kind of a harsh audience, it's very easy to lose me.

If anyone else wants to jump in with further recommendations, feel free!

I've only got 100 pages left on The Blacktongue Thief but I've felt kinda lousy all day and work was so rough that like. I feel like I'm too tired to finish it tonight. Like I don't have Enough Brainpower for that. I am going to read a dumb little romance novel instead

[ausietigerqueen]

There are multiple some that aren't finished

We have Black to Blue

Shance is the ship

It's about how the corrupted wormhole switches our canon blue Lance with a lance from another reality that's the black paladin. It's so fucking good and I reread it every chance I get. It's written by @puppetmaster55

It's one of my all time favorite fics and it always will be

Prettier than Most

Another Shance fic

Here's the summary:

Shiro has fallen hard for the pretty blue paladin he woke up to in Keith's shack. There's no denying it. But while trying to keep those feelings in check, he notices how the beautiful young man slowly distances himself from the team.

When Lance overhears some of his team-mates talking about him behind his back, he finds himself crumbling under the pressure of the responsibilities he has as a paladin. Will he ever be enough? Will he ever be as good as his team?

It's got flirty as shit Shiro in it and I'd literally die for that

It's so good and I keep rereading it.

Into You

This one is where pretty much everything is the same except all galra find Lance irresistible. It's finished as well and it's Klance. Every galra is just smitten with him and it's hilarious how the others react to it.

I always laugh my ass off while reading it

The Amazon of Voltron

Klance is the ship and it's where Lance is the princess of the amazons and it's genderbent Lance

I'm not usually one to read gender bend BC I love Lance as he is, but it's so fucking good.

It's a WIP but it's so amazing. You all should check it out.

One of my absolute favorite fics is

Skin Privileges

It's kolivance

One of my fave ships honestly cause it's so adorable

But it's a fic just building on the relationship with the Blade of marmora and it's got so many blades and I just love the way trulywicked writes the Blade and the blade OCs it's just so so good

It's not finished, probably far from it, but I find myself going back and rereading it a hundred times over and over because I just love it so so much

And lastly because if I did all of them there'd be a million of them

Goodnight, Travel Well

It's Klance and it's

It's fucking amazing

If you want a fic that's suspenseful and mysterious and has such cool backstory and information and it's got some good horror and is just a fucking fantastically well written fic, this is the one for you

Here is the summary:

There's something wrong with Lance; his blood feels like it's turning to ice, and the nightmares he has feel more like warnings than dreams. The black lion might help, but it's not responding.

“Quit being stressed?" Lance stuttered, disbelief marring his features. "I’m sorry, can we revisit this weeks events? I’m the new black paladin, Allura’s pregnant, Pidge just got poisoned by a freaking… Chihuahua, the castle took us to a haunted star system and stopped working, and Keith is… okay, where the hell is Keith?”

“Oh yeah,” said Pidge, peering at him through puffy red eyes. “You know that unidentified ship that was hanging around and you were all, don’t approach the unidentified ship, well Keith just left the hanger and is approaching the unidentified ship.”

OR

When the castle seemingly wormholes itself to a distant star system, the team, with Lance as their newly appointed black paladin, don't think much of it. Until the wormhole returns to take them the next night, and the next, and they find themselves drawn relentlessly back to a dark pocket of space, where the pull of the sole planet and the cave entrenched within it taunt Lance with the awful truth of his family's past.

It's so fucking worth it just

All of these I have reread multiple times, black to blue I've read over 110 times lol

They're all absolutely worth your time

I'd die for the writers

What are you guys favorite voltron fanfictions? Everyone has that one fic that they are still obsessed with after finishing. Let me know what yours is!!