#it’s been one heck of a year. this is just a list of the highlights

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hello, new to interacting with the fandom tbh. It's been a few years (1 year and a couple of months) since I've seen miraculous. Why did s4 and s5 so cluttered? Sentimonster Felix and Adrien? Shouldn't that complicate things? I mean, they're created with magic. And Kagami and Felix? After he kidnapped her and stole all of the miraculous to give it to Hawkmoth? He's even worse than Chloe, why did they make him into a hero? Like he should have been an anti-hero at best. And why Catwalker? Why all of the lovesquare shenanigans? It's so confusing. And did they seriously replace Chloe with Zoe (gosh even their names sound the same)? Half-sister? Who wasn't even there in episodes with Audrey? Zoe from New York, a better sister than Chloe with a heart of a hero? Am I reading a fanfic? And why did they make Alya and Zoe into ladynoir's replacement if Ladybug and Chat Noir are coming back anyway? What is this mess?? And did they seriously make Chloe into a mayoress? Uh hello? She's a minor? Minors aren't allowed in any government offices no matter their age or status. What happened to this show?? The early seasons were already cluttered in its writing but at least they're at least understandable. But what the heck is s4-s5? Heck even the powers of some of the kwamis don't make sense.

I obviously can't give you the real logic for why all of this happened since I'm not one of the show's writers, but I can give you my best guess based on what we know about the show. In my opinion, all of this nonsense happened because of poor planning and bad writing both of which were compounded by the fact that Miraculous is an episodic formula show where every episode is supposed to be able to stand alone as its own self-contained story.

This is not a bad thing in and of itself. There are many successful properties that use this format. The problem is that it's a terrible format for everything that Miraculous is trying to do because this format means that nothing can be properly developed. As an example from your list, Felix can't be a complex character who requires multiple episodes to properly understand. He has to be straight-forward enough that I can catch a random episode and understand who he is in that episode even if it massively contradicts other episodes. That's why his "redemption" is so wacky and nonsensical. It's not a coherent narrative. It's a highlight reel of the big moments in a narrative we never get to see in full because that would require some level of serialization.

This is the answer to basically everything you listed. For example, why did season five start with all of those awkward lovesquare shenanigans? Those happened because the square can't have a functional arc where the they get together as that would require a storyline that goes over multiple episodes, but the writers still wanted to make them getting together dramatic, so we get a disjointed mess of shenanigans where Ladynoir gets married in one episode, the crushes flip in the next episode, and Marinette is #Thirsty for Chat Noir in the episode after that even though it completely contradicts Marinette's emotional state in the crush flip episode (she wasn't #Thirsty, she was #Horrified!)

We don't even see the square actually get together! Kwamis' Choice gives us these two moments:

Alya: How did we go from “I’m pathetic and I’ll never love again” to “Yay! I’m going out with Adrien”? Marinette: I’m not going out with Adrien…

and

(Marinette attempts to reach out and hold Adrien's hand but shakes as she is a few inches away from his hand. She attempts to do it again, but this time forcibly reaching for his hand.) Adrien: Are you okay, Marinette? If you're not ready, you don't have to. Marinette: (while struggling to reach out for Adrien's hand) No! I can... do this!! (grunts aggressively) Adrien: You know, we can just be friends if you prefer. Marinette: No! No, I don't want to be friends with you! Adrien: (taken aback and gasps) I see... Marinette: No! I didn't mean it like that! Ugh, my hand... will obey me!!

And then the very next episode opens with Chat Noir and Ladybug telling each other about their new relationships:

Cat Noir: I'm super happy for you, m'lady. Can you believe it? I have a girlfriend, you have a boyfriend, and we can talk about it! Ladybug: Like real friends. Ladybug and Cat Noir: It's awesome. Pound it!

Which makes no sense because when did the relationship happen???? I thought you two weren't dating yet??? What is going on here???

The only answer I can come up with is what I said above: the writers need each episode to be self contained, but they also wanted the square getting together to be dramatic and have some semblance of an actual plot-line, so they tried to do both of those things by giving us a highlight reel instead of a coherent narrative. Does it work? Not really, but that's why a multi-episode romance plot is a terrible choice for an episodic formula show that vows to have each episode truly stand alone. There is a reason I keep pointing out that Kim Possible got its endgame couple together in an hour-long special that didn't follow the show's standard formula. That's about the only way to do it right while maintaining your status as an episodic formula show.

Pick a plot/plot point from your list and ask yourself: can I tell this properly in a self-contained 20 minute episode while also including an akuma fight? If the answer is no, then that's your answer for why it's bad. It's also the answer for why there's so much crap in seasons four and five. The writers are trying to advance their season-specific plot and their multi-season plot in disjointed chunks while also keeping the audience engaged. This led them to add in tons of random shit that will never be properly addressed, but that makes for solid cheap drama because, once again, everything the show gives us needs to be done in self-contained 20 minute stories that also include an akuma fight.

This is also why Marinette never tried to rescue the Kwamis. That would require her to be able to track down where they are and she couldn't succeed in doing that until the final. She also couldn't make slow progress throughout the season because that's too serialized. Because of those limitations, Marinette spends the season being cringe over Adrien because that doesn't need a ton of additional context for a viewer to understand what's going on. A line or two at the start of the episode tells you the current status quo even if that status quo doesn't feel like it makes much sense for the characters from the perspective of the ongoing narrative.

An example of this is Marinette going from crying over her crush on Chat Noir in Determination to being happy about her crush in Passion. Her being upset is way too complicated to explain and resolve, so instead we get this:

Alya: What do you mean you're in love with Chat Noir? Marinette: I don't see what's so weird about it. Alya: It's weird, because you were in love with Adrien just, like, yesterday. (points at the corkboard with photos on the wall next to them) Marinette:(covers the corkboard with her body) Adrien? Yeah, but being in love with Adrien was not a good idea.

I don't like any of this, but it is what it is. Expect more of the same in season six

[jokerislandgirl32]

Henry Here I wanted to say how the heck did Varina Get her name and also is there any Embarrassing baby pictures of Vari so that I can show it to Marissa?

Hey, Henry, Zach Varmitech here. Since I’m one of the people responsible for naming Varina, I’ll be answering this ask.

See below cut for full explanation ⬇️

Wellll, for starters it’s a bit of a complicated story. We knew Varina was going to be a girl early on, and this was hard for us since we had just lost Alexandria within the same year that we got pregnant with Varina.

Because of this Violet and I were very hesitant about picking out a name for Varina. Violet and I were both afraid of getting attached and losing her too if we named her, so we put it off until Mother’s Day of 2015, exactly 3 weeks before Varina was born, since she arrived early.

That morning Violet finally found the courage to go into the nursery the Zachbots and I had put together for Alexandria. Violet had not been in there since shortly after we lost Alexandria, so going in there was a big step for Violet in the mourning and healing process of losing our first child.

I found Violet asleep in a rocker with her mother’s Bible spread out on her lap. She had been reading it, taking solace in the following passage her mother had highlighted:

In the margins of the Bible her mother, Virginia “Dawn” Tyler, had written the names of Violet and all the babies she’d lost prior to and after having Violet. I knew then, kind of in the back of my mind, that Virginia should be part of Varina’s name.

For Violet’s mother, and for Violet herself, because Varina was the descendant of these two beautiful, strong, stubborn, loving, and unbelievably kind women, and she deserved to share a name with them.

After Violet and I spoke that morning; it was quite a long and heartfelt conversation about Varina, Alexandria, our relationship, Violet’s mother and father, and their similar struggles with having children; I hesitantly brought up the fact that we hadn’t picked out a name for Varina:

“I don’t wanna force you…it’s your choice, but we haven’t thought of a name for Baby Varmitech yet…last time we waited too, and then I ended up naming Alexandria after…after we lost her…that was hard. I just…I’d like to give Baby V a name now..but it’s up to you, we can wait…” I explained, tripping over my words, looking at Violet anxiously, hoping I had not upset her. Violet stared at her belly, rubbing a hand over the bump, she looked up at me with watery eyes, her lip trembling, “you’re right…she does need a name…I’m not sure if I am ready to name her, but maybe you can? You gave Alexandria a beautiful name, I trust your judgment.”

I felt myself relax, but I began to panic at the same time, “I-I don’t even know where to start…should I just look through the phone book and pick out a name or something?”

Violet laughed and pulled herself out of the rocker to go to a bookshelf in the nursery, “well, that’s an idea, but maybe a baby name book will be easier? The names are listed alphabetically with meaning, origin, and everything. This was the book my dad got for him and my mom when she was pregnant for the first time with Sterling. My mom ended up picking most of the names for my siblings and me, but they used this book a lot, it helped in their quest to find nature inspired names for all of us.”

I took the baby name book and started leafing through it. Me being me, I automatically went for the Z and V names. With Alexandria, I’d named her after my mom (my mom’s middle name is Alexandria) because she looked like my mom, and I used Rinella as her middle name because of the teacher who had helped keep Violet safe from her ex Travis on many occasions.

So, I didn’t get to use Z or V names the first go-around, but I wanted to…and with all our children after Alexandria they ended up getting Z or V names, but I digress, back to Varina…

As I was looking through the names my attention was drawn to two names in particular: Vera and Varina. These two names had been circled by Violet’s father with notes written in the margins expressing his interest in them.

Initially, Violet and I were hooked not on Varina, but Vera. Varina’s name was supposed to be Vera Vanica. We loved the meaning of Vera, which was: True. And the name Vanica means “gift of God.” So the name would have meant True gift of God. And since she was our rainbow baby after Alexandria, this would have been perfect.

But…this was not the name we used for her…we used it one child later…for Vera…for Varina we decided to go with her name for a few reasons: the meaning, the fact that as I mentioned before Varina would be partially named after her mother and grandmother, and the fact that Violet’s father had written this exact name in the margin of the baby book: Varina Virginia.

When we saw this name we read the meaning Violet’s father had come up with for the name, having scribbled it in the margins of the book: Varina - Strange, yet to be discovered; Virginia - Pure. The child, then, would have been named for the fact that she was a pure, unexpected gift. And our Varina was just that. She was our rainbow, a pure, unexpected gift after the storm of losing Alexandria and nearly our marriage.

And…because that all got a little heavy and depressing, here are some embarrassing baby photos…oh our child, our child…how we love thee…even when she’s too much like me…and her mommy.

(JIG Note: All images came from Pinterest, I tried to add the links to them but I, I mean the Zachbots, messed up. Btw I legitimately have a picture identical to the third image of me as a baby doing that, like mother like daughter).

Hope you enjoy, Henry, Marissa, and @bejeweled-wahlberg

-Zach V-

[cyberr-v0id]

I should probably make a proper introduction post so here goes

Hi hey hello wassup sup howdy hola hooray

My name is Leo but I also go by *lists a ton of names because I am genderfluid as hell, can’t choose just one, have a complicated relationship with my irl name, and eventually toss aside every name I go by* here’s the link to my full name post: https://www.tumblr.com/cyberr-v0id/731097944976228352/ok-so-as-i-apparently-use-a-lot-of-names-here-are

My main blog is @cyberr-v0id but I have a ton of side blogs, because who’s gonna stop me, the side blog police? I run a ton of gimmick blogs. You might know them. You might not.

I use he/she/they/fae and occasionally it sets of pronouns, and I am a genderfluid, afab, asexual, lesbian oriented demiromantic. Deal with it or leave :)

I currently have a crush on one of my awesome friends because I only develop crushes on people I have a strong bond with and/or have know for a while . Aka: my friends. It can be low-key awkward but we roll

I am Romani but don’t travel because reasons and I am kinda detached from my culture, but heck if I won’t defend it till my last breath

Now onto what I am interested in ehhehehehe

I AM SO GOSHDARN TOTALLY BRAIN IN THE SAND EYES GOUGED OUT INSANELY OBSESSED WITH ODYSSEUS RN. ITS A PROBLEM. IT KEEPS COMING BACK. IS THIS A HYPER FIXATION??? IS THIS A SPECIAL INTEREST? I HAVENT BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH (oh wait I should probably put that down as information then come back to my interests)

Ok so, I have never been diagnosed with anything ✨brain wise✨ however pretty much every autistic person I have ever met has said that they think I might be as well, without me even bringing it up, including my AuDHD brother. My mother has said repeatedly throughout my lifetime comments such as ‘are you sure you’re not autistic’ and ‘that is very autistic or you maybe we should get you diagnosed’ but then she denies it if i bring it up

My dad thinks I am adhd, my mum thinks I would be add rather than adhd because I am, to quote, ‘not hyperactive like [brothers name] is’. He is a twelve year old boy. I am a fifteen year old girl. I also take apart all my pens in lessons if I don’t have something less destructible to fidget with. Take that how you will

I personally have done a lot of of research into the both, and feel that I could be either, but slightly more likely adhd

I have a weird issue with my feet where the bones are too close together in places, which means I have really clicky ankle joints, am much more likely to have my ankles roll, twist, or give way, and often my legs hurt pretty bad, and my feet as well, while walking or standing for a long time. But hey! They’re getting better finally :D

OK SO NOW MY INTERESTS

I AM LITERALLY SO OBSESSED WITH ODYSSEUS HE IS ALL I HACE BEEN ABLE TO THINK ABOUT FOR LIKE THREE WEEKS NOW, I HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTING HIS NAME EVERY TIME I SEE IT IN THE ILIAD, I HAVE LISTENED TO THE EPIC MUSICAL EVERY NIGHT FOR OVER A WEEK, AND THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR THAT MY OBSESSION HAS APPEARED. AND IT GETS WORSE BY THE DAY.

I HAVE LITERALLY SAT AND RESEARCHED HIM AT BREAKFAST, I HAVE RANTED ABOUT HIM YO EVERY MEMBER OF MY FRIEND GROUP AND MY CRUSH SO MANY TIMES, MY ENGLISH TEACHER HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO TWO ODYSSEUS RANTS THIS WEEK AND I HAD TO RESTRAIN MYSELF FROM INFODUMPING ON ONE OF MY MUSICAL THEATRE TEACHERS.

THE ONLY THING STOPPING ME FROM CREATING ODYSSEUS FAN ART IS MY ART SKILLS

Ahem

Onto other interests:

• mythology in general but the one I know the most about and am obsessed with the most is Greek mythology

• the owl house

• Percy Jackson, obviously

• amphibia

• the inheritance cycle

• the dragon prince

• miss peregrines home for peculiar children

•avatar the last air bender

•dragon age absolution

• how to train your dragon (books, films, series)

•the wizards of once

•dragons themself as a thing

•folklore and faeries

• nimona

•Dracula

•redwall

•and a heck ton more that I cannot think of. I’ll rant about it eventually if I love it that much

The main sports I do rn are archery, paddle boarding, and skateboarding, as well as dance through my musical theatre group. Also lightsaber fighting in my street

I do art and writing and reading and acting and lots more I do a lot and then I abandon my hobbies for a while, and jewelry making and sewing and

I’ll link some more posts here that may be useful to y’all:

And remember, this blog is ran by an Odysseus obsessed teen above all else

[world-of-wales]

I was looking into where COP is going it be hosted because it can tie in to earthshot, and of course Brazil is next year. COP31 (2026) is likely to be in Australia which is also a strong contender for earthshot, India is bidding for COP33 in 2028….

My reasoning on a potential Indian Earthshot is below this.

India better stay away from cop33 & Earthshot, especially after their latest 'achievements' in the conservation sector. The govt is fantastic in making bold claims but in reality, can't do shit. And I for one don't want william anywhere near that dumpster fire of hypocrites.

There's so many examples of their sheer incompetence, there's a polluted river in india - yamuna. Between 2017 - 2021 (or 22) I believe more than ₹6,800 crores of taxpayer money was spent on cleaning that death trap and it still is as dirty as it was when all this first began. There's actual toxic foam of ammonia and phosphates that floats around it 24/7.

Then just this week news came out that 25 Tigers, (which are an endangered species btw and also part of a very ambitious conservation project 'Project Tiger' started in 1973) have been untraceable from a state run national park for the past year. The only reason this came out was because another tiger was found dead from that forest.

And just yesterday, it came out that 10 elephants died in another state run park last month because they were fed...fungal infected millets.

Heck, Delhi? The capital? It's consistently been one of the most polluted cities of the world for years. It's a literal gas chamber, which gets the worst around the current time coz of various issues. Now diwali falls around this time and because of the air quality, the Indian supreme court banned any sort of crackers/fireworks to be burnt in the area? Sounds amazing right? But guess what since crackers have come to be associated with Diwali which is a hindu festival. So the members of the ruling party within their agenda have turned this ban into an attack on religion and consistently provoke their supporters on this ground urging them to burn crackers and make delhi insufferable for all.

This is just 4 examples, there's so many that if I start listing them, we'll be here for a long time.

Moreover, the current ruling party will only twist the visit to fill into their own agenda of hate mongering & political capital as they have been known to do with every such visit.

Also the govt quite literally cordoned off low income neighborhoods that fell on route of the attendees in Delhi with plastic barriers and police personnel during the G20 in 2023, to make sure no world leader saw anything other than the rosy picture they were putting out.

Now imagine what would happen in case of something like COP33. Ofc they would do similar repulsive things then also and imagine how harmful being attached to something like this with a potential Earthshot will be for William and his public image!

I would love for him to come here, Earthshot is such a fabulous initiative, and there's such a booming environmental startup sector in India like Phool (I personally am aware of their situation. My mum's cousin runs a marketing firm and she's the one who handles everything for them, and she's told me so much about how Earthshot has helped them since 2022 with linking them to investors, other similar businesses, exposure etc) or Kheyti etc etc which deserve to be highlighted.

But in the past 10 years buisness and government have become so intrinsically linked in india that no matter what the ruling party will hijack the contributions of these organizations like they do.

So yeah maybe I'm being a narrow minded idiot but Earthshot in India rn? Will only lead to credibility issues.

Now let's hope I don't go to jail for putting all this here by exercising my fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a).

[faceglitchsworld]

It's the 20th of November, which means that today we're going to say farewell to the birthday letters for this year. It has been a pleasure managing to cover another K-pop group and I hope I'll manage to redo this tradition next year with a new group, new collages and new heartfelt letteers!

That's enough of the sad part, let's celebrate our little crocodile over there!

Happy Birthday Mujin! 🥳

As always, have the pleasure to look at the collage I made for him 🥺

Guess what? Instead of adding another member, I wanted to add his cat. I'm a genius, I must admit.

I confess that I always wanted to include idols' pets in the collages, but not every idol has a pet, and adding them would have made the collages a little…inconsistent, I think?

Maybe in future collages, I will add more pets, who knows.

And now, have the pleasure to read the last letter for this year.

Talking about Mujin is...complicated. The main reason is that if it wasn't for Ivan (especially Ivan) and Dann, Mujin would have been my bias. Don't worry, he still managed to enter into my list. He's one of my wreckers...which makes my life as a kingmaker pure hell bliss. I wanted to make this intro to highlight how Mujin had every requirement to get into my bias list. Heck, I think I would have made a lot of jokes about him being a sort of little brother because I'm older than him by only eight months. Eight months! Isn't it funny?

Anyway, you might wonder what requirements he had apart for the eight months thing. Well, let's start with the most "professional" ones.

First and foremost, his character and his own album on HOK. I think I'm becoming repetitive recently with HOK but when I say that Mujin's album is one of my favourites from HOK, I truly mean it. I'll keep repeating it over and over, but this album is in my top 3 and I don't think I'll ever get over this. And his album is also the first one where I experienced, during comeback season, keep in mind this, his writing skills. I confess that I didn't check the other albums' credits and see if he wrote other songs before My Wave, but if I tell you that My Wave is one of my favourite b-sides, I truly mean it. This boy has a huge writing talent and it deserves to shine more.

His character in Kingdom's story and lore is also one of my favourite ones. I think I'm starting to have a thing for tragic characters for real, especially if those ones were beloved heroes at first. As time as I write this letter, it seems that his character is turning to the dark side, although I prefer waiting for the next comeback to see if I'm right or not. And if he manages to become a dark side character...uhm, I don't know, I just hope he'll be fascinating.

And his voice? Heck, the people who listened to his covers will probably agree with me that he has a beautiful voice whether he's singing or rapping.

Of course, all these talents are also compensated by his duality. This talented boy is the same one who ends up making the cutest and the loudest noises ever. His dolphin scream has become one his most iconic sounds along with his laugh! They make him immediately recognisable.

And what about some of his hobbies? Some of you are probably thinking about some of his vlogs where he shared a huge interest in clothing. His latest birthday vlog is literally a behind scene of a photobook! But I was also thinking about his knitting. Even tho it's not shown that much nowadays in the videos, I always found his knitting hobby very fascinating. You don't always find your typical idol finding some time for knitting. And if the idol whose knitting is Mujin then the simple action of knitting becomes cute too.

And the last important thing that makes Mujin very dear and important to me is...his cat. I'm sorry, I'm a cat person and his cat is literally a fluffy white cloud that deserves all the love and cuddles from Mujin. I want more pics of that cat...or videos of Mujin cuddling his cat. Or both. Or anything with his cat in it. Just his cat. I love that cat.

Dear Mujin, your letter will close this year's tradition and even though I don't know if I'll manage to do it again, I want to say that I'm glad your letter will be the last entry. Your talents and your cute and fun personality deserved to be highlighted and shown. During the years, you managed to give us a lot of precious moments that Kingmakers will keep with them forever. Please, be always healthy, don't get hurt and keep chasing your dreams.

My birthday wish for you is that you'll manage to get a modelling contract. That's incredible, uh? But honestly, after seeing how much you're passionate about modeling and how, in recent vlogs, you were trying to fix your styling choice, I think becoming a model would fit you a lot. I can't wait to see you as a brand ambassador, it doesn't matter if the brand is little or not.

Happy birthday, my buffed alligator 🐊

[rockinlibrarian]

9 people tag game

Tagged by @e-louise-bates, who tagged only me (and no, I don't believe I've done this one, recently at least), so I'm assuming the "9 People" in the title isn't NECESSARILY how many people I have to tag.

last song: All I've been hearing for the past two hours is the background music to Splatoon, which my son is playing on the big tv in this room. Last song I actually listened to? I think it was Led Zeppelin. Yeah, when I turned my car off I left auxiliary on for a bit, as one does, and it was some Zeppelin-- "Whole Lotta Love," that was it.

last movie: Honestly, I am not sure when I last watched a movie? Possibly not since Arsenic and Old Lace at New Years. I just don't get around to it! Also, Splatoon is always running on the big tv.

currently watching: Okay, I almost thought of this as a movie, but I have been watching a TV show the past week or so! Muppets Mayhem, which is only 10 half-hour episodes long but I've still only watched 7, that's how much I'm not watching ANYTHING lately. Okay, I am unable to tell if it is objectively good to the average person-- I think it's mixed, some very good stuff, some eh-- because it is basically a made-for-me show (it got shuttled to the top of my watch list when a friend-- an online friend I've never met in real life even-- specifically tagged me on Facebook after she watched it because she thought of me the whole time). I have said, for the record, that The Electric Mayhem is my favorite fictional band. They genuinely do rock. And the music (and the music nerd references) is the highlight of the show. And the Get Back-themed episode was indeed an absolute delight.

currently reading: Kids and I are towards the middle of the end of The Sun and the Star, Mark Oshiro's Riordanverse book about Nico and Will in the Underworld, which isn't quite as delightful as Riordan's originals in voice, but still has some good stuff in it. I've also brought home Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh, which I am considering sampling for the older group at Summer Quest this week. Hence bringing it home to actually read those chapters before reading it to them. I also left off in the middle of a multichapter fanfic last night, something Umbrella Academy of course because I'm still only in the S's in my alphabetical by author browse-through. It's "the desperation murmur of a heartbeat" by slytherincosette-- good enough for me to keep reading beyond the first chapter (or even the first paragraph) at least. Haven't finished it yet.

last thing researched for writing purposes: Huh. Well, that depends on your definition of all those words, I suppose. I think, using the broadest definitions, the last thing I researched for my writing was synonyms for "flawless"-- I was looking for the word "foolproof" but couldn't think of it, so I put "flawless" in Thesaurus.com and browsed until I spotted it. Yay, thesaurus! And for this particular fic I also have looked up the transcripts to The Wizard of Oz (which is the AU) and various episodes of Legion (which it is a fanfic of), if THAT counts as research. I am looking at my google search history now but I don't think any of this was used for writing. A few minutes ago I looked up how many inches are 143 centimeters which I THINK was for some ART that @sunnymarbles was drawing, but that's drawing, not writing, and also not mine. I have researched various snack recipes from around the world so as to write up some handouts for Summer Quest, which was technically writing, and mine. Honestly the only research session for fictional-not-educational writing purposes that really stands out in my memory was the day (2 1/2 years ago) I spent researching electric guitars just so I could say what Marty McFly's dream guitar would have been in 1980, for one sentence in a less-than-900-word fanfic. But I learned a lot of interesting things about electric guitars, so there.

Who the heck should I tag. I usually tag Louise, but she got me first. @stephsageek, @alihahdnaid, @sharkneto, @rebel-by-default, @littlerit, @steeple-sinderby --those are the first I-know-are-writers in my notifications (not counting Louise) before the scrolldown makes me click "see more." There's also @dannypageoflight who draws more than he writes but who knows, maybe he's done some research for writing purposes lately. That's seven. And two more people! Have fun, two more people! @sunnymarbles! You were already technically tagged in this, and I already told everyone what you're reading and also probably what you're listening to right now because you are also in the room with Splatoon (can't tell if you have earbuds in) and also that I looked up the last thing you wanted to research half an hour ago or whenever it was! And you don't write! But you can also do this if you really wanted to!

[yestolerancepro]

Tolerance Project extra Blog 25 movies that are perfect from start to finish and the Tolerance project featured 3 of them well almost*

Introduction

Hello after last weeks blog called 25 Best movie posters of all time based on an article by the collider film website this blog continues on a simalar theme except this one is called 25 movies that are perfect from start to finish as before we are not going to concentrate on all 25 films in the collider website but just 3 that have Tolerance film links to read the original article click here  25 Movies That Are Perfect Throughout, Ranked (collider.com)

14 Rocky (1976)

Yep Rocky is here again and yes I know as I said last week it shouldn’t have been included in the article about the 25 greatest movie posters because of its status as a deleted scene in the Tolerance film I decided to include it anyway and I still stand by that lol enough of my rabbiting on like this here is what Callider said about the Italian station

 Underdog stories can be hard to resist, especially within the sports genre and particularly when they're as well-told as the one in Rocky. This wasn't Sylvester Stallone's first movie by any means, but it was the one that made him a star, and is perhaps the overall greatest film of his. On top of starring as the title character, he also wrote the screenplay, with the movie's story following a down-on-his-luck man in Philadelphia who strives for greatness when he's given the chance to fight the world's heavyweight boxing champion.

If anything about Rocky seems cheesy or clichéd, it's probably because the film was so influential that the vast majority of sports movies made in its wake likely took some inspiration from it, in one way or another. It's an underdog movie written by and starring an underdog, and the film's box office and awards success (it won three Oscars, including Best Picture) make it a stirring and inspiring film in more ways than one.

9 The Good the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

A spoof the actually appeared in the Tolerance film we used it to highlight Blue Badge abuse and one of the best scenes in the Tolerance anyway here is what Collider said about The Good The Bad and the Ugly the third Chapter in the Dollars trilogy.

 An iconic Western that stands as one of the best movies of the 1960s (Western or otherwise), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is riveting, exciting, and ridiculously entertaining for its lengthy runtime of nearly three hours. The three characters referred to in the title are all relatively selfish, albeit differ when it comes to the brutality of their actions, though all three have the same goal: finding a buried stash of gold somewhere in the desert while the American Civil War wages around them.

It's the most popular film directed by Sergio Leone, and might also be his best, functioning as a Western, a war film, a buddy comedy (at times), and an epic adventure movie all at once. With its memorable characters, quotable dialogue, unforgettable music (Ennio Morricone strikes again), and bursts of intense action, it's a rousing success from beginning to end. Even if you don't ordinarily like Westerns, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the absolute definition of a must-watch.

1 Jaws (1975)

The first and the best Jaws film I am not surprised it top of colliders list of perfect films lets face it has some classic music by John Williams heck we not only used the title music once but twice in the Tolerance film ourselves.

It also has the iconic poster designed by Roger Kastel see my last blog it also has soon to be Master Director Steven Speilberg to direct it anyway don’t just take my word for it here is what Callider had to say.

Predating Star Wars by two years, Jaws is often considered the original Hollywood blockbuster. It was a movie that established an already accomplished Steven Spielberg as an undisputed master filmmaker, and it remains his most exciting thriller. As far as the plot goes, it almost couldn't be simpler, as Jaws follows three men who set out to kill a monstrous shark that's been terrorizing a seaside town during the summer holiday season.

No dinosaur movie has ever been as good as Spielberg's Jurassic Park, and similarly, no other shark movie has ever come close to touching Jaws. It's a movie that works wonders with a direct premise that in lesser hands would feel generic, underwhelming, or predictable, and every minute here proves engrossing. It's a movie that's perfectly cast, perfectly paced, and perfectly directed by a remarkably young Spielberg (he wasn't even 30 at the time of its release). In essence, Jaws is - without a doubt - simply perfect.

Pictures

Rocky

The 3 men who are the good the bad and ugly of the classic 1967 western

Jaws attacks its director Steven Spielberg

If you have enjoyed this blog please consider giving a donation to the Tolerance project by clicking here

[mandssisters]

Where I belong

It’s been a while since I could last write. ✍️ dear diary. What a day!! #longday

I am not sure it has been mentioned before but flipping heck the weather was chilly. Despite all good efforts to stay warm even the Poundland hand warmers were not really hitting the spot. Thank god for hot chocolates and the Golden Arches.

The iconic venue O2 Kentish Town. Previously HMV forum holds dear memories to me. Back in 2009 it was the first time I saw Mumford live. At a New Year’s Eve party where we rocked up at doors and had the best spot in town. What a glorious ride it’s been. 16 years later here we are again. If they leave it another 16 I’ll be drawing a pension 😘.

Queuing highlights! Well generally I’ll give it a thumbs 👍 up. 😘. I’ve miss these days.

Did it get mentioned that Ted walked in and graciously said hello. Second only to Ted walking in was Greg James, his wife and the legendary Barney the dog 🐕 getting an evening walk! Busy man 👨 yesterday in Liverpool, today announcing Mumford as Sunday headliners for Radio 1s big weekend!! Manifesting at the very highest levels! Birthday weekend in Liverpool anyone?

Doors at 7pm stage time 2100 hrs? With no support we entertained ourselves by observing the tour crew family do their stuff.

The stage layout production very reflective of those 16 years. The string light 💡 bulbs, the red drapes. A warm hug of familiarity. Perfect for this tour.

The London crowd were great. Very respectful for the two off mic opener songs. Timshel and Ditmas. Then the evening really kicked in with Rushmere. I’ve been waiting 3 months to see this one live! It went down a storm . The set list blends and moves so well between albums and seems such a natural flow. What a treat hearing Where it belongs, Malibu is a sure fire vibe banger, as is Caroline. Simply can’t wait for the album.

Matt on banjo was a real treat, bringing a different sound element to awake my soul, also hats off to the new brass and drums section. Welcome to the family

Not a great deal of banter, Marcus also remembering the last time they play here, but said it was 2010 which was one year out!! Marcus also said he was hopeless at keeping secrets, (today being a big announcement) and once announced a new album by accident from arcade fire!

Let’s also all remember that Delta is a song about love. Security had to step in with an incident in the crowd during the song. Boys ah?!

The evening went far too fast, blink of an eye. A real hits mix. Let’s do this again soon! It felt so good to be back. London we thank you.

Quick tale of real or no real!! Purchased obligatory tour tee shirt. Not sure of the front loved the back. Step outside the venue enter a world of fake merch! However just the Graphic mix I was seeking ! £10 well spent and another to the collection!!

[takecareluv]

Happy New Year, Love!!! ✨✨✨

It’s almost 2023, so let’s celebrate the good things that happened to us in 2022! List ten amazing things that happened to you this year and then send this to ten people who brighten your day!

happy new year, darling !! 🤍✨

made this blog and met so many amazing people thru it ( i love u all )

visited paris and london & it was truly a DREAM come true !!!

met my work bestie who i am so grateful for and honestly would not survive my job without

went to see one of my favorite artists in concert

rekindled a friendship with an old childhood friend i hadn’t really seen or talked to in almost seven years

found a passion for writing that i never knew i had and it has now become one of my biggest outlets

spent so much time with my best friend , aka my momma <333

got my first tattoos hehe

fell down the rabbit hole that is the jack harlow fandom ( absolutely no regrets )

did soo many things i never thought my anxiety would let me do :’)

[just-like-playing-tag]

Aaaaaaand I messed up.

Long story short I assumed the 031145 at the start of episode 9 refered to the day the infermery scene took place, that filled most of the episode.

Checking the manga this morning though, turns out the day of Norman's fake escape and the consequential shipment is actually the 3rd of November, and the title was referring to the very end of the episode. Sorry for screwing up (╥﹏╥)

Well, happy Emma and Ray's depression and unavoidable desperation day I guess!

[marshmallowgoop]

heishin for the ship bingo!

Them!! 😭

They are EVERYTHING to me: Okay, so, I've been familiar with Detective Conan for about a decade, yeah? Ten years ago is around the time that I first started watching the anime, and let me tell you: I don't remember caring for Heishin—or even Heiji!—like, at all back then. (The Reveal (Episodes 57-58) was fun, but I wouldn't say my feelings really went much deeper than that.)

But I've been rewatching, and getting way further than I ever got the first time around, and my fictional taste buds must have changed because these two have now absolutely destroyed me. I wrote my very first DCMK meta about them, and, well, I put this together for another post also about them that I've been working on, the intention being to highlight all the Heiji-Shinichi relationship analyses on my Ramblings page in order emphasize my utter infatuation with this duo, and... yeah.

Of all the Detective Conan essays listed here, 17/43 of them concern Heiji and Shinichi to some extent... and since I only update this page periodically, this list doesn't even include my last Heishin post, which would make the count 18/44.

So, nearly 41% of my writing about this series involves discussion on them... and one of these characters is only included in maybe 10% of the story.

They really, truly are so much to me.

They drive me crazy/insane /pos: Clearly! "Miss Mystery," Opening 33, has me screaming, crying, and throwing up with its depiction of their relationship...

And I flipped through the manga version of Episode 174 for the first time recently (Files 225-230), and the way that Conan imagines Heiji's smiling face when he fears that the worst happened to his friend utterly destroyed me (File 228)...

And one of my GIFs (from Episode 277) got passed around some more a bit ago, and I was once again reminded of how gently Heiji places Conan on the ground, how careful he is regardless of the minimal distance, and I once again felt like the pleading face emoji...

And have I mentioned "Conan's Dream Vacation" enough yet?

I could go on and on and on. (And considering that I've, uh, written a whole Heishin masterpost, I guess I kind of already have.)

Relationship goals <3: They've got problems, absolutely, but the way they just... sync? The way they Vibe? #Goals for sure.

They get each other. Immensely. They finish each other's sentences, come to the same conclusions at once—they both serve as a reminder to the other that they're not alone.

It's easy to meme on this panel of Shinichi in the manga (File 520), but it is beyond sweet to me that he's so eager and excited at the notion of someone just like him.

Heiji and Shinichi are genuinely a place of comfort for each other, and that is the definition of "relationship goals."

I need a 30k hurt/comfort fic on my desk by Monday: Detective Conan seems all but entirely disinterested in depicting its heroic men as vulnerable. Heck, if the "Murderer Shinichi Kudo" case (Episodes 521-523) is any indication, there's the message that a person like Shinichi would never do something like cry. He's too "strong" to.

Needless to say, the sentiment leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Relying on others and crying aren't "weak" things but human things, and one of the biggest draws of Heishin—for me, anyway!—is that Heiji and Shinichi do allow themselves to be vulnerable with each other. Shinichi admits to some of the trauma he's suffered in as soon as his third encounter with Heiji (Episodes 77-78); later, he completely opens up about the pain of hiding his identity from Ran, and he even asks Heiji for advice (Episode 189). Heiji, similarly, isn't too afraid to reveal that he cares deeply for Shinichi to Shinichi's face. He easily conveys how haunted he was by a nightmare in which Shinichi dies, with minimal prompting, in Episode 118. In Episode 479, he also lays his insecurity bare in Shinichi's presence and asks if all the criticism and mockery he's received is warranted.

Canon gives us these crumbs. Fanon can take it so much further. Shinichi spilling out details of how scared he is to Heiji, trying desperately not to freak out or cry, all while Heiji tells him that he can cry when he feels like it, just as Shinichi told Ran when they were in preschool (Episode 854). Heiji actually working through his unhealthy tendency to make everything a competition with Shinichi's help and support.

I think the focus of my last Heishin post, about how the nasty attitude Conan gives Heiji on occasion stems from his resentment that he can't be Shinichi when they're together, also lends itself well to hurt/comfort fic. What if Heiji calls out Conan's cold behavior, and he doesn't act like it's a joke or a minor nuisance for once but really communicates that it hurts to be treated like that, and Shinichi reveals the truth? Or what if Shinichi has a moment of self-reflection and regrets his cruelty when Heiji winds up seriously injured or dead on his behalf?

If you throw in potential romantic feelings, other possibilities open up. It kills Shinichi that he can't hold Ran in his arms (FUNimation's English dub for Episode 42), that he can't tell her he loves her with his own voice (Episode 3), but he doesn't think Ran's aware of his predicament. With Ran, Conan can put on an act and lie and pretend like none of his romantic feelings for her exist, and maybe that provides relief.

But Heiji is well aware of Shinichi's predicament. There's no playing a completely separate, unrelated child with Heiji; Heiji's already broken the illusion, and there's no going back to it. When Shinichi's by Heiji's side, he's by someone whom he can be himself around, whom he can't be anything but himself around, and that's got to make the impossibility of a romantic relationship a pain that festers like an open sore. There's no putting a Band-Aid on this one. No separating himself from the situation. No covering up the sting with an invented personality.

Okay, maybe that's more hurt no comfort, but there is so much potential here, I swear! Heiji isn't just the goofy, silly comic relief guy with the Osaka accent, and his relationship with Shinichi deserves more serious exploration and treatment. I think there's especially a lot that could be done with Heiji's jealousy, and—in my eyes, anyway—it stinks that canon plays Heiji's obsession with one-upping Shinichi's confession to Ran as a joke rather than the sad, insecure thing that it comes off to me as.

They're going to be the death of me: I bought a movie guidebook for The Crimson Love Letter, the 21st Conan film, which I haven't even seen yet, purely because I liked the cover art (and included poster) showing Conan and Heiji being unabashedly happy together...

And I am so tempted to get this Heishin mug set...

And I'm looking to add some Treasured Selection Blu-rays to my largely DVD-comprised DetCo collection, and while I don't believe the Treasured Selection Blu-rays for traditionally animated episodes really increase the quality that much, I'm still thinking I'll get #5 because it has The Boys on the cover (and also includes one of my favorite cases, Episodes 277-278)...

And there's also that merch from Carddass...

If nothing else, these two might be the death of my wallet!

(It's maybe also worth noting that I mostly store my DVDs for this series in 6-DVD cases, so only a select few covers are actually displayed. I purposely ordered things in a way to display the majority of the Heiji-and-Conan covers—5 out of the 7 that I own. I'm love them.)

They,,, kimss,, holde handss,,,,: I used to be like, "I don't really ship them; I just like their relationship!" And got, "Sure, Jan" in response.

But heck with it—while it's never, ever my intention to undervalue platonic bonds, I do like romance, and I'm tired of being ashamed of it! Shinichi and Heiji should open up their own detective agency and also kiss and hold hands, yes.

Which can absolutely be platonic, too! I love them either way.

[p-receh]

For an April fool's game, they have no right to make this good...but they still did it.

IT'S SOOOO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD LIKE HOLY HECK?!

Where do I start? Okay, history-ish lesson time.

This is not the first time that Sonic's PR team make a game specifically for an april fool's joke. During Aaron's era, there was an infamous website game titled 'Big's Big Adventure 3'. And as the name suggests, it tells a story of how Big showed up in random places like you might/might not see him as a cameo during the SA2 event.

Same format as TMoSTH, a visual novel style game with uh....flappy bird-inspired game, and of course the fishing segment as sub content.

And that's it. I like the story not gonna lie. I enjoy playing it. Full of meme content. But the existence of the game itself was huge in 2016. It may not be the best thing to re-live it in this era in my opinion.

I bet the website is down now but you can still watch some playthroughs from youtube though.

And after seven years, the new Sonic PR team create a game for another april fool's joke. But this time....I don't think this is not full of memes to be laughing by the community. It's...unexpectedly something else.

Sure the highlight of the trailer first and foremost: "Sonic is dead" was a real deal. It was all over the internet even though you were not active on sonic at that time.

I personally didn't watch the trailer yet I knew that highlight. So I play it blindly without any knowledge of what the hell happened before this existed.

But as I open the game, I was shocked. It starts with deep and slow music like typical mystery games you played, great art designs, and a nice choice of colors that encapsulated the title itself. Simple, yet the qualities that represent are almost like it was not made for such a free game, even as a joke for that day.

I have yet to start the game but it left me with such an impression.

I love everything about this game. They nailed every. single. one! Even with each traits that were being misrepresented by fandom, somehow corrected to their very core! What is this? What in the world am living right now??

And this is one of the stories that I want to read in fan fiction. Just a group comes together creating unexpected events or just doing their normal life. Whether Eggman got in the way or not is up to you. It has silly and quirky moments freely.

The jokes landed perfectly without making them OOC. In fact, I got a bunch of new headcanon from that game. It has so many memorable scenes that you might already see most of them on the internet.

For the protagonist, yes I can confidently say I related to Barry that much. Even at some point, I felt I was inside the train surrounded by these extravagant abnormal people. I truly thought every response that Barry had was exactly like mine if I was in that scenario. (looking at you Tails)

For a mystery game, I kinda think how they summarize the whole case cooouuld have been better. The sub-ones did a great job to wrapped up the messes. I don't hate the whole problem tho. I actually adore it. Hmm, I might need to replay it again soon and see if it could change my mind about it.

Mini-games! It might be my personal bias so apologize for my taste. If I want to, they should add an additional setting to adjust Sonic's position. I struggled A LOT during mini-games. God why Tails had to toss every thinking section to me, please stop T_T.

For Music... wow I didn't prepare how well thought out this music has. The ost of this game is uniquely true to its theme and It still stuck in my head for days. The theme song and the interrogation section are my favorites. Some mini-game section is also catchy and upbeat!

Artstyle! Oh I loooove the design throughout the game. Each character got well design clothes that are creative and also stay true to their character with a bonus to the lore of the story! Deegeemin has my list as one of fav sonic artists.

Conclusion?

please play the game

[lily-blue]

Happy ending

�� characters: part-timer!soonyoung & chaebol!you ☆ genre: star-crossed lovers au, fluff ☆ request: F33. from this prompt list ☆ summary: Soonyoung wants nothing more than to convince your parents that he is good enough for you ☆ words: 1,4k ☆ dedicated to: @dat-town​ ♥

You were sitting on the fluffy carpet in BooSeokSoon’s living room, your pastel highlighters scattered around your boyfriend’s indecipherable notes, as you were staring at said boyfriend with a can of cheap beer in your hand and an endeared smile in the corner of your mouth. Soonyoung had that unusual, serious look on his face that you could only ever see when he was working on some choreography for those young teenagers whom he taught hip-hop in his free time beside his studies, and your heart was acting up again as though you hadn’t started dating a bit more than two years ago. Maybe, because you needed to do it in secret, but you were still in the honeymoon phase, neither of you quite ready to let go of the butterflies.

‘How can you set those fancy transitions again? Suddenly, I can’t find them,’ he furrowed his brows in confusion, slowly shifting his gaze from his laptop’s screen to his notes then back to the colourful slides. You bit back a chuckle at how adorable he looked before you carefully placed your drink in the base of the coffee table and crawled closer to the boy.

Needless to say, you had no idea why the two of you were wasting your precious alone time making a powerpoint presentation on such a fine Saturday night instead of munching on junk food and watching silly movies like you had agreed on in advance as soon as you had gotten to know that Soonyoung’s flatmates would go home for the weekend, but you had long given up on questioning your dates with the boy. What mattered was that you two were together and that he was doing what he was doing because he loved you dearly. He saw his future with you and you alone - he had confessed this to you way too many times for you to not be aware of it -, and while you tended to be less optimistic, the butterflies in your stomach didn’t let you tell him that you knew your parents wouldn’t make up their mind about your relationship because of a few slides, no matter how excellent of a presenter he was.

An overly pessimistic part of you believed that the only way your relationship could have ever gotten the green light would have been if your roles had been reversed. If out of the two of you, it had been him who had come from a filthy rich family. Because being the only child of a conservative, wealthy man in your country meant that you had to marry well for your family to acknowledge your existence. And a broken uni student with a part-time job was far from ideal, no matter how happy Soonyoung made you feel or how much you loved him.

‘Look, here! Click on that tab, honey,’ you pointed at the left corner of the screen, giggling when Soonyoung got so excited that his shoulder bumped into your chin. You should have known better than to make yourself comfortable behind him.

Shaking your head in amusement, you didn’t miss how your boyfriend’s smile grew as big as if you had just stolen the stars from the sky for him and the sight melted you from the inside. You wished his plan would have worked out as well as those that you two made whenever you had to ruin a blind date without turning it into a disaster that could have potentially angered your date or your parents. Heck! Soonyoung and the guys were frighteningly good at saving your ass from possible arranged marriages so far. You would be forever grateful for their effort, especially for Jeonghan and Joshua. Those two were on another level when one had to play dirty.

‘What do you think? Should we go with something extra or let’s be classic and chic?’ Your boyfriend asked and you put your chin atop of his shoulder while he tried out a few options like the vortex and the origami one. Goodness, they looked so ridiculous, you cringed at the possibility of your future depending on either of them.

‘I think the list of your strong points looks better with that one,’ you pointed at the icon with the name “fade” and smiled when you caught a glimpse of the tiger stripes on the first slide. Of course, he couldn’t have missed out on the opportunity to go with this certain design when he had found it an hour ago.

‘Maybe. Or maybe not…’ Soonyoung contemplated before he let out a loud groan and shook his head. ‘Agrr, I can’t think around you,’ he whined, dramatic as always, but you couldn’t have said that you minded. Still, you rolled your eyes in a playful manner and kissed his neck to soothe his nerves. You understood his feelings. You were just as nervous as he was, if not more, constantly on the edge ever since your father had given you that ultimate. You had two months left to find a worthy candidate or he would choose you a husband and based on those blind dates he had sent you on so far, you had a good reason to loathe that possibility.

‘Oh, yeah? And what’s your excuse for the laundry disaster on Wednesday? If I remember correctly, you were with Seokmin,’ you asked innocently, smiling against his skin because of the memories. You had never seen so many soap bubbles in your entire life, let alone pouring out of a perfectly fine washing machine.

Soonyoung turned towards you with his entire body, a betrayed expression on his face.

‘You promised we wouldn’t talk about it again like… EVER,’ he pointed at your chest with his index finger, sulking, but you leaned closer to him nevertheless so that you could kiss the pout off his lips. You were aware that he could never resist your fingers in his hair, especially with half a bottle of soju and a can of beer in his system, so you made sure to play with his messy locks while you were making up for the teasing.

‘Am I forgiven?’ You asked quietly when you pulled away, only a little, so that you could see his chocolate brown eyes. They shone with fondness and a pinch of mischief as he stole one more peck before he tilted his head to the right. 

‘Depends,’ he claimed and you raised a brow in question, wondering what he was thinking of that made him look so giddy. Was he bouncing from excitement in your arms or you were tipsier than you had thought? ‘Should I put a video on the slide where I talk about dancing or perform live?’ He inquired and that was it. You couldn’t play along with him anymore.

You nuzzled closer to him on the floor and buried your face in the croak of his neck so that he couldn’t see you.

‘Honestly, I really don’t think that this powerpoint presentation is the answer we’re looking for,’ your voice was barely above a whisper when the confession fell from your lips, but you knew that Soonyoung could have heard it because his shoulders had gotten tense. Hence, you quickly wrapped your arms around him tighter just for him to realize what you were playing at, and push you away gently.

‘Yah! But you said it’s a brilliant idea,’ he accused you, and you bit into your cheeks from the inside, unable to hide your amusement. He looked too adorable when he put his hands on his hips in pseudo-anger.

‘I’m taking it back. It’s actually a horrible idea,’ you retorted with a nonchalant shrug, which you really shouldn’t have done since it was the green light for Soonyoung to attack you with his tickles.

Unable to run away, you fell on the carpet sooner than you would have liked to and no matter how loudly you begged him to stop, he didn’t show you any mercy until you took back your words. Which meant that by the time he collapsed beside you, you were crying from laughing so hard and panting because of the war your words had brought upon you. But you couldn’t mind any of it, because it was Soonyoung. And when he pulled you closer to his chest and you heard him mumble affectionate little nothings against your hair, you knew that while being in his arms, you would always find at least one ounce of energy in your body to keep fighting. Against him, for him. Even if deep down you knew it was pointless.

➼ sequel - dinner with the reader’s parents

[clubatsumu]

dude ailments of the soul is so freaking good what the heck?? like that stuff is better than majority of published romance work. i'm so obsessed with your writing style! you're amazingly talented!! you're stunningly breathtakingly skilled at writing!!! please. can i ask for any recommendations from you that's similar to your writing, whether it be published work or fanfiction? i'm thoroughly obsessed. thanks for working hard to bless us with your writing, take care!

hiii thank u for all the compliments i feel thoroughly overwhelmed (blushing and kicking my feet under the blanket as we speak). hope u take care as well!

ok for fics — i cant recommend anyone who writes the exact same way, but i promise you theyre all 100% better. my favorites off the top of my head:

a cartography of love by themorninglark is a character study on oikawa that deals with his struggle of coming to terms with his identity, how much he can love one place and still be part of another, leaving and starting something new right after high school… if i could snort this, i would, no hesitation. a masterclass on prose. a masterclass on loving a character to the point of understanding him completely. it highlights argentina and japan and loneliness and being a part of something bigger than yourself. it gave oikawa so much justice and so much gravity, his decisions much more weight, and i honestly believe themorninglark should be knighted for the kindness they’ve shown oikawa. i was screaming to my friends for hours after i read it. i felt like a cow being air shuttled to new zealand.

He’s further south of Tokyo now than he’s ever been before. He has never felt smaller. The world has never felt more incredible. <;- one of the best lines i’ve read anywhere, but it’s not even making the best line list i’ve made for this fic. (i won’t tell you my favorite because i keep that shit to myself to cry about at night :)

meg (whose account name is @star-puff, where she’s archived all her works) is a writer you can trust (let me explain later). my favorite work of hers is a tendou fic, after the world has fallen (where do we lie), with an oikawa counterpart set in the same universe, before the world fell (you were there) that follows a this post apocalyptic world that’s reduced to gang alliances. it’s completely out of the box and you’ll pull your hair out the whole time. there is no instant gratification with this girl. she’ll drag you through mud, pain, anguish etc but you know what? she’s so incredibly talented that it’s worth it. (explaining it now) her fics are what quintessentially a fic should be like for me, if that makes sense… there’s so much color in them, the descriptors are so vivid and it’s so evident that she creates every single piece of hers with so much care. i can’t explain it in any way other than that. after the world has fallen literally starts with, You meet on a day where the sky burns yellow.

i feel like i win when i lose by flooruh partly because its title is an abba lyric but mainly because i feel like everybody should read this. to write the first interaction between oikawa and atsumu and for it to be this funny and witty and accurate????? my canon. it didn’t happen any other way. a ball of sunshine of a fic. everyone should read this. the type of fic you have to read alone because your face will be making so many expressions. (i was squealing like a dipshit)

book recs meanwhile… i have to make a disclaimer: my writing is probably similar to theirs instead of the other way around… because i cannot even begin to copy a quarter of how wonderful these books are.

i’m keeping it short and not gushing but please know i could talk for hours on end about all the books here.

a tale for the time being by ruth ozeki — a super sad, super hopeful story wrapped in this whimsical kind of storytelling as the author (ruth) reads 15 year-old nao’s diary that washed up on shore

strange weather in tokyo by hiromi kawakami — just. a string of conversations. i love it so much. half inspired the whole ailments chapter. i just. like reading about people talking to each other.

venetia by georgette heyer is romance romance. kind of jane austen, but romancier, less on the satire side of things and more on the men on top their horses and hosting their orgys in their estate etc side of things. i like reading the way they talk and exclaim for some reason. books that use exclamation >>>>

snow country by yasunari kawabata. i was reading this during writing ailments of the soul actually! it’s about a love affair between a businessman and a geisha that’s set in the snow country, and we see it start and slowly fall apart. it’s just amazing to me how someone can tell something and nothing all at once, and how kawabata trusted his readers so much he let himself write that way.

[thegingeralien]

Thought I might share my “doing homework with adhd” tips in case the might help even just one person (because that would make me feel happy).

Who am I to be giving you advice? Good point! I am still terrible at studying and I’m 26 and at University for the millionth time. But I have studied A LOT in my 22 years of schooling with varying degrees of success.

I see a lot of people, especially teenagers or first year university/college students, with ADHD asking for tips on how to study. But if you do a google search most of the websites and advice that comes up can be extremely ableist. So I hope I can help someone!

TIPS TO HELP YOU STUDY WHEN YOU HAVE AN ADHD GREMLIN BRAIN!:

1. Chewing gum!

- This might come across as a weird one, but it has actually really helped me. I use it as a form of stimming to help keep me focused and concentrating. Other forms of stimming can potentially end up being more of a distraction when you actually need to be reading or writing - but they can help if you just need to be listening. Try not to get a bubble gum or fun flavoured one though - as they can end up making your mouth feel dry, lose flavour quickly, and just give your brain way too many sensory things to become distracted with.

2. Buying colour coded stationary!

- New stationary can make me really excited to start studying, but that excitement never lasts long and the act of buying stationary can sometimes become it’s own hobby. That’s not what we are going for here. I really recommend, especially if you are a visual learner like me, to buy colour coded stationary. This means removable page markers, different coloured post it notes, highlighters, sometimes even pens. This way if your mind jumps from one topic to the other, it doesn’t matter. Go with the flow. Forcing your ADHD gremlin brain to focus can be extremely counter intuitive. So pick a colour for each topic, and stick to that system to find organisation among your own chaos!

3. Buy a really cheap, boring year diary with hardly any writing inside.

- Not sure if your school/university has their own diary but they can be perfect for what I am on about. Generally you can find them for really cheap, soft cover, no writing or designs within the dates. Just dates, days, weeks and lines where you can write your homework. This helped me a lot in High School. I wish I had kept doing it in University, but I am good with giving advice, and not so much with taking it. I used to decorate the outside of it however I wanted. Some years I would redecorate the same diary every semester. In the public holidays or holiday days I would colour those lines in with different highlighters to make it look like a rainbow. But every assignment due date, homework, draft, rewrite, form I had to bring back, library book due date, school activity days, ANYTHING to do with school I would write in there with reminds and check lists. Important due dates would be highlighted, general homework and daily to do lists t(o help me not leave my assignments to the last minute) would have a tick box beside them (because ticking tick boxes is free dopamine). Try to not put birthdays or fun things in it. This is a small way to stay on track so it helps you actually stay on track with the big things when you’re home.

4. Big whiteboards stuck on the wall where you can’t avoid it.

- This is not something I had in school, but I so wish I did. I have been using this recently to keep on top of house work (as maintaining your own house is tiring) and my small business or other things I really can’t avoid. If I physically write it down (not just in my phone) it psychologically does help you commit it to memory. Again, physically putting a line through a task you just completed is a hecking great rush of dopamine. But the biggest reason I love my white board, I can’t ignore it. It is stuck to the wall and is never out of sight, out of mind. I can’t put my phone or diary down and then refuse to look at it until I’m past the due date. Again, I’m not a perfect person, there are days where I don’t do anything I have written on the white board. But the great thing is, I don’t have to continuously feel like I failure, as I can wipe it all off the next morning or week and start fresh. I also put important things I have to remember that I’m doing during the week so I don’t forget them.

5. Icky Medication.

- I know not everyone wants to be on medication, and I understand. I am not forcing you to. No matter what your opinions are, you lovely gremlin who is still reading this post, regarding medication, you are valid and I respect you. My personal experience with medication has not been the best. I have been misdiagnosed for a severe chunk of my academic life which has seen me trying to focus and maintain school work under some even worse states then I am unmedicated! However, since receiving my diagnosis and finding the right ADHD medication for me, I have the ability to get so much work done without having to unnecessarily struggle. It’s unfortunately not magic, it will not turn me into a robot that makes me do work and turn out incredible, noble peace prize winning assignments (as much as I wish that were possible). I still have the ability to be a lump, doom scrolling through tumblr, forgetting to eat, and ignoring responsibilities. But it really helps me when I sit down and start that thing that isn’t fun. Yesterday it helped me hyperfocus on cleaning my office which was a terrifying room to be in. So it’s pretty close to magic in my opinion!

6. Accessing Disability Support at your place of learning.

- Not all of you taking the time to read this will have either a) an offical diagnosis or b) a good disability support available to you wherever you are completing your studies. And that is okay. This dot point just won’t be for you right now. But keep it in mind for a time when it might apply to you, as it’s something I never thought I would need, but will never take for granted ever again.

- If you have an offical diagnosis and Disability Support, make an appointment with the disability support adviser. DO IT NOW! Get your psychiatrist to write a diagnosis letter outlining that you have <enter superpower that makes you hilarious here> and that you are receiving <enter x,y,z treatment here> and that you would benefit from receiving <enter what you have always wished you had on the days you can’t make your ADHD gremlin brain do the thing here>. Now these benefits can be, but not limit to: automatic extensions on ALL assignments, extra time on exams, extra breaks to walk around while taking exams, special consideration when marking assignments, my university allows me to take exams in a separate room with only the other students in my subject who also have disability support (occasionally I have taken an exam alone with only a tutor present) so I don’t get distracted, permission to take fidget items into class or exam (I have the option to wear headphones, as long as I can display that they are not connected to anything). Maybe you can come up with some great ones for you with your disability advisor or your psychiatrist.

- The disability advisor will often go through your course outline with you at the start of each semester or year. This is annoying and a great time for disassociating, but can be useful in hindsight because you are made aware of everything that will come up during your class so you are not surprised. Because lets be honest, it is unlikely you are going to look at the course calendar too often.

- Side Note: I make an appointment every semester with my disability support officer for my area of study to make sure I have my special considerations for the year. Now I may go through the whole year without ever using my considerations. However, the fact that I know they are there takes an insane amount of pressure off of myself. If I’m having an insanely screwy loony tune mental health moment, I can email my coordinator my disability plan and say I need an extension due to personal reasons, and WHOOP, there it izzzzz.

7. Dedicated one thing or a few things that have nothing to do with food/alcohol/other substances to reward yourself with for doing the thing!

- This may not work for everyone. It doesn’t always work for me. I used to reward myself with food, but that only reinforced my stimming with overeating and my already bad relationship with food. And I feel as though that would be the same with any other substance that can be linked with addiction. (Addiction is a tough word, cause what aren’t I addicted to, I have ADHD, but hopefully you get what I mean!).

-Now, boring try and not choose this aside, lets think of somethings that work really well as rewards!

- My partner likes to come give me a kiss and a hug when ever they have written and reread a paragraph, you might buy a book when you get a really good mark, you might want to go make a cup of tea and watch an episode of your hyperfixation after studying for <enter a good period of time here>, you might allow yourself to partake in an activity you usually do while procrastinating (but at least this time you know you aren’t putting something off), talk to someone who you know will tell you they are proud of you as they understand the mental struggle you go through to concentrate (if you can’t think of anyone, it is 110% okay if that person are the amazing people on tumblr or the adhd tumblr chats. We will freaking pop a bottle of champagne for you cause we get it!).

- Try and make what ever you choose be something in a different room or away from your working space. Getting out can really calm you down.

8. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.

- This is true for anything, but I don’t mean just asking your teacher to give you extra help understanding the task and marking rubric. Many people online, tutors, librarians at your school, past or present students offer assistance rereading and making small edits (they won’t make it magical unfortunately) to your assignments. If you are like me and once you have written or completed the dreaded thing, you can not imagine or force your gremlin brain reread or edit the thing. So it can help to just delegate this to someone else, who hasn’t read it before, so they won’t disassociate or skim read it. They will often notice things you never would have even if you were neurotypical as that is just what happens when you have been working on something for so long.

9. Repetitive music.

- It generally helps if this has no lyrics. Lo-fi is amazing. Classical is alright too if it works for you, but both my partner and I agree that it can really assist you to keep up pace and focus when the beat is a high and repetitive (almost meditative) tempo.

10. Limit your screen space.

- This is a tip completely from my partner @dr-adhd who also has ADHD, is an avid PC gamer and is consistently in a battle with their gremlin brain to focus on completing their PhD. They have discovered that it really helps them to limit their screen space - simply put, work on one screen only. They have done more work more easily when they have their one screen on their laptop to focus on. Whereas their office has multiple screens so they could be playing runescape, watching YouTube, listening to lo-fi and doing work - which never worked (shocking right hahaha).

11. At the risk of sounding like a Mum... Put your phone and other electronics other than the assignment necessary one, away.

- I am a Mum, but to a fluffy puppy dog, so I hate to sound like my Mum when I was in high school, but she was right. Mobiles are the single easiest and biggest distraction in ADHD history. I often, even at coffee shops, have to turn my phone over so that I am not consistently looking at it every time the screen lights up to say the pizza place has sent me a coupon, or a carpet place that has been having a sale since I was born is... still having a sale, or a friend from school wants you to watch this TikTok. Even though you might not want to ignore your friends, because people pleasing, difficulting making/keeping friends and RSD are hecking real things, but they can all wait. Trust me, none of them are urgent. That TikTok will still be funny in an hour or two. And I’m probably completely right when I say that whomever just messaged you, never replies as quickly as you want them too. So I doubt they are going to think twice if you are MIA to finish your thing.

My partner or I might add to this later, but at the moment I already know that I probably wouldn’t read this wall of words if I was the one reading it, so if you are still with me, THANK YOU and I really hope I might have helped you. Sorry for the mound of words, but maybe you can reblog, screen shot, or save this and read a dot point at a time or refer to it when you need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, I promise what ever it is, I’ve asked the same thing once in my life or something MUCH stupider.

[citylighten]

With the recent negativity in the community, I figured we could use some uplifting. So I’m asking simblr to pick a blog or two, (or more if you want) and say why they inspire you, or what you admire about them. Or simply.. Why you think they’re cool. Whatever your heart desires. Let’s just spread some good. :)

With the recent negativity in the community, I figured we could use some uplifting. So I’m asking simblr to pick a blog or two, (or more if you want) and say why they inspire you, or what you admire about them. Or simply.. Why you think they’re cool. Whatever your heart desires. Let’s just spread some good. :) 

So, while I find it sweet that a few simblrs I follow have made overall compiled lists, I do want to highlight 2 blogs and get into the nitty-gritty of why they inspire me. Plus, this is basically an essay so, sit tight everybody!!

@beansbuilds is a big reason why I’m a builder, as well as a storyteller. I was still new to simblr and I was looking for lots for gameplay purposes, and when I stumbled across theirs I went on a downloading spree. I felt inspired, specifically by a 64x64 town they made for a commission. When I installed that build I thought two things - 1. The shops would be an amazing set for slice-of-life storytelling. 2. There was so much detail Bean placed inside the homes and I realized that when you create a build, you have to give homes a personality. Clutter and decoration tell a story about the sort of individual who lives there whether it be by the sort of fridge they use or welcome mats they have at their door. It’s something I’ve tried to apply to my own builds ever since moving forward.

I also admire how @beansbuilds has always tried to create lots that are functional. Throughout simblr there are so many lots that are gorgeous and stylish, but they aren’t meant for playing and moreso for editing purposes. Builds such as this have always kind of given me whiplash. Like, do I want to play this game or do I want this game to exclusively be a ‘digital comic creator’? Again, Bean has even inspired my builds in that way in the sense I want to always create something that’s real, that’s good looking AND has a degree of functionality if I just want to casually play the game. 

All and all, I just adore them and it’s hard to say what my content would even be looking like if I never downloaded their lots.

@cinamun is a simblr I’m capable of saying so much about. Over the course of…I want to say maybe two months, I read Indya/Things Fall Apart from the very beginning and there are two things I have to give her major props for; her characterization of the principal characters in her story and her progress in making edits. Indya, Darren, Juan, Elise and Jerri are not characters who are one note. Over many…many…many posts she allowed these characters to do good things, bad things - incredibly problematic things, and better yet she allows them to grow from it! Granted, no one's growth was instant. It was gradual and things were not instantly resolved once they made certain decisions. Heck, things still AREN’T resolved, but that just makes her characters feel more real.

In regards to cinnamon’s overall posted content, it is inspiring to see how she has progressed. Like, this woman has been a part of simblr since 2015. She does not hide her old content which, frankly, looks absolutely nothing like her present content. This shows that in order to make good, high-quality content you start from the very bottom. And if I’m going to be honest, I feel like a lot of people on social media hide that in the sense that they provide the illusion they were always on top, that they gained traction from the moment they started off. But this isn’t true. You ‘find’ your style after so many weeks, months, and years. and through reading Indya’s Beginnings, I literally watched how Cin’s style made all these gradual changes. It’s really inspiring to know that one day, eventually, if I keep moving forward I can be on her level of quality. Not to say I don’t think my stuff isn’t quality already, I just want to keep moving forward!