#just animated child versions of my favourite animated adults

[keef-a-corn]

*Cracks knuckles*

Okaaaay

*Creates doc called ‘Clone Force 99 (show) Script’*

[macncherries]

hello little art blog Hello Mario,

Shit on this blog is SUGGESTIVE IN NATURE. I post what i want. If it is explicit NSFW it is censored. I will draw porn/NSFW, only the ugly bits are covered. If you want to see the ugly bits check my Patreon.

DNI ➫

◘ If you are not 16+. Yes its redundant, but people still wont listen anyways. ◘ Pro/Anti fuckers. ◘ Fetish content. ◘ Shotacon fuckers, Lolicon fuckers, & the like. Dont fuck with me. I know what you are. ◘ Plantcest fuckers. ◘ Republicans ♡ ◘ Christians unless its the 'Bible Fandom' Christians. ◘ Adult/Minor shippers. ◘ Blogs dedicated to glorifying/romanticizing self-harm in any format. ◘ Zionists ◘ Obvious things; racists, homophobes, transphobes, radfems, terfs, incest shippers, pedos, etc.

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⃝𖤐 Anyways. Hello, i am Adam, you can call me "Mac" too if that tickles your fancy. I prefer Adam because it is my real name, but Mac is just the shortened version of my user, so both are ok. ⛧ I am technicality Queer-identifying, but i may use the MLM flag out of convenience. ⛧ I am transsexual, FTM. ⛧ I have autism (AUDHD), so i may respond to you in weird ways and/or not pick up on social queues. ⛧ I am Caucasian ദ്ദി(╹-╹) ⛧ I am not religious and do not like particularly like religions. ⛧ I have a cat. Her name is Stinky. ⛧ My boyfriend is @halfbakedpenguin he does neat stuff. (˶˘ ³˘(´͈ ᵕ `͈˶)

My first language is English. I can speak/understand Japanese "well" conversationally, but reading it is more difficult, as i am still learning more kanji. Please speak to me in Japanese, i enjoy it.

Because of the ADHD/'Tism wombo combo, i switch from fandom to fandom with great intensity. There is no promise that what you follow for i will draw forever. Some hyperfixes last weeks, some months, some years. I am sorry ૮๑ˊᯅˋ๑ა

Here is my Carrd.

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Hello. You made it to the bottom. Here are fun factz.

◘ · · ─ I have aphantasia (I cannot see things in my brain, what people call "an imagination") (Yes, it makes art difficult) (No, i cannot imagine books/written media when i read them) (No, i cannot see my dreams. Dreams do affect my other senses though) ◘ · · ─ I have 7 piercings and 2 tattoos. I had 8 piercings, until my 1-year-old, completely healed nostril piercing closed on a random Tuesday afternoon. So technically the one in my intro art is a Lie. I mourn the loss of her every day. ◘ · · ─ I really love the word 'Soup'. ◘ · · ─ My favourite animal (and favourite isopod) are Giant Isopods. Specifically Bathynomus Giganteus. My second favourite is Ukrainian Skycutter pigeons. ◘ · · ─ Ive owned two budgies before, Lance and Rin. Theyve both passed now, but my second ever special interest was birds, and i still hold occasional hyperfixes on them ^_^ So, I am planning to adopt/rescue a pigeon! ◘ · · ─ If youre wondering, my first ever special interest was Minecraft. Again, it still possesses me every so often. I am also very good at BedWars because of it. Ive been playing it since Version 1.2 (Not to be confused with 1.20). ◘ · · ─ I have an uncanny ability to pitch & tone-match. As long as it is within my vocal range, i can imitate it to the degree it sounds like a recording. Thank you autism, very cool

[whogirl42]

Finally watched the live action Little Mermaid and I just. The Little Mermaid was always my favourite Disney as a child, I watched it more times than I could ever count. I think I delayed watching the action version for so long cause I worried it would ruin the beloved story and songs that meant so much to me.

but now I finally watched it. and I'm just. filled with awe and gratitude. it's obvious that the people involved in making the movie loved the original animated movie almost as much as I do. rather than the cheapened imitation I feared, it's a beautiful BEAUTIFUL adaption that further fleshed out the characters and their emotions, whilst also adding new wonderful songs I just know child!me would have obsessed over. adult!me might still obsess over them

I just. I'm so so grateful for the labour of love that was this movie. To everyone involved - thank you!

[marilysugarcoated]

I have no words to describe how I feel right now

All i can really make out of this huge messy ball of unidentifiable emotion, is my unwavering gratitude.

Thank you. so much.

objectively, it sounds dumb and stupid that I’m getting so worked up over the ending of a “silly minecraft series”, but it is so much more than that. To me, this represents something so much bigger, -a hard truth i refused to confront.

Growth is inevitable, and childhood does not last forever. I knew that- I’ve always known that. and still, a part of me had always rejected the idea of change. I’d always described myself as an optimist who was open to change; someone who embraced and relished in it. I held a firm philosophy in not mulling over outcomes you couldn’t control, and i did whatever I could to keep myself in that ‘healthy’ positive mindset. I knew that if I’d done anything differently, the girl from my childhood would wander farther from my reach.

Eventually, the favourite foods id once adored as a kid began to lose its flavour, (I’d briefly wondered if they’d changed the recipe) I began to notice the slight changes in my behaviour and body language; more tentative- almost insecure. The results from personality quizzes did not match with those I’d taken in previous years, I never really realized exactly how withdrawn I’d become.

Reality was rearing it’s ugly head, and we couldn’t have that, could we? -so, I desperately clung to anything and everything that was reminiscent of the little girl I’d grown to know so well. Subconsciously, i started regressing- I found myself helplessly depending on others, unable to go out anywhere without a stuffed animal, frequently putting my hair in pigtails, and engaging in more child-like activities, (at least, more than usual.)

These past few years, I’d felt as though I had lost my sense of self. I would force myself to feel and act accordingly to this perceived version of me. ‘Turns out that this ‘version of myself’ was just the girl I was before. Before the pandemic, before high-school, before I’d learned that the world was not all cotton candy and sugar cookies.- before; where my worries consisted only of stardew and genshin- before; where being happy was my default.

Watching the final episode snapped me out of my delusional reverie, and it felt as though Stampy had allowed me a sense of closure. I was beguiled when his video popped up in my youtube recommendations, not to mention the fact that it was his FINAL episode.

In truth, I didn’t expect it to hit me as much as it did. I mean, I hadn’t exactly planned on spending my saturday night sobbing to a minecraft let’s play vid lmao. Sure, in retrospect this really isn’t as big of a deal as I’m making it seem. And to that I say; yea. lol im even cringing myself out a bit, but hey, i’ve always been one for theatrics. ;)

But really; as I scrolled through the comments (still crying btw), I’d finally allowed myself to mourn, and confront the fact that I have grown up. I could no longer consider myself a little kid,, and that’s okay. it will be okay.

This is the end of an era. further more, it is the start of something new. The real world awaits, and i have Stampy (and others) to thank for the person I am today:)

It has been such a privilege to be part of this community of others raised alongside me, and to have had the pleasure of little-me experiencing the elation she’d felt when Stampy posted a new video.

Sincerely, thank you. Thank you soso much Stampy, for bringing so much joy and laughter to us many young kids— turned young adults

It’s been an unforgettable ride:)

Now, all we can do is move forward.- Take life as it is, and carefully construct our own worlds so that maybe, (just maybe,) they can become as lovely as yours has. ❤️‍🩹🐈

[hjellacott]

Aladdin was a great story to begin with. A poor orphan who goes from zero to hero with the help of a funny, wicked, crazy genie, a stubborn and hot-headed but kind and sweet and compassionate princess WITH A FUCKING TIGER FOR A PET, a chubby, silly sultan, and a baddie who's at times simply histerical, with a parrot and all. Who wouldn't LOVE Aladdin? It was my favourite film since babyhood. I couldn't decide what I loved more, the animals, the landscapes, the catchy songs, the badass princess, the sweet and handsome Aladdin (and his awesome pants), or the blue, funny genie (Robbie Williams I'll always love you).

I loved the remake as well, which for me was interesting because I traditionally hate (and fear) remakes. But this one had interesting changes that kept the essence and everything I originally loved while offering a "how about we do this...?" that was quite fantastic. It was as if they'd taken the originally story, respected it, kept its essence, and then thought "you could've included this and not change the essence but enrichen it but I suppose it would've been too long for a cartoon film, how about we include it?" I mean the scene of the local dances? with the typical Arabian parties? my god that was awesome. And the idea of the princess being more badass and stronger and with political ambitions was actually fitting. The remake only took what was already there to begin with and pushed it to the next level.

And then take Snow White. Take Rapunzel. Cinderella. Beauty and the Beast. These stories are uninteresting in this day and age, and educate girls to be something we no longer feel like being, they're not empowering precisely. But we allow them, and read them to our children, and put the movies because 1) It's just cartoons, 2) they teach our children the world we used to live in, 3) they teach about European folklore and mythology 4) they teach about classic literature authors, 5) they allow us to show our children something they can judge for themselves as they grow and learn from, thinking for themselves instead of us planting our ideas and adult lenses on them and ruining the magic and fun for them.

What we don't do, or at least we SHOULDN'T do is try to transform them into modern, female-empowerment badass princess stories that they're not, with human remakes that look and feel far more real, and that attempt to erase history, clean the original story (only to ruin the little that was worthwhile of them) and shame anybody who enjoyed the original for some reason (like the magic, the songs, the pretty dresses or the funny dwarfs). The result will always suck, and it only gives the message of "if you look at children's stories with adult lenses and therefore find them horrible and problematic but you liked them as a child or read them to your children, them you're a racist, sexist asshole and you suck, here's our improved version".

[suckmybussy]

okay i got interesting take

in my opinion, like 90% of straight romances/ships are FUCKING BORING, and usually try to spice it up, by adding more girls, this opinion i hold so dear, that i was on verge from.trying to strangle my friend, for saying <insert harem name> was really good romance.

But why could that be so? because lots of straight romances just follows base line of, "cute/shy" or whatever girl, and more dominant than her guy with interests like "i literally just exist in this series with no other purpose than wanting gf", and follow most basic set gender standards, and most basic made up relationship dysmorphia where girl is clearly bottom, and guy is the top/he "leads" the relationship, you get what i mean? 100% not, it wont stop me tho.

While yuri/yaoi ships always derive from most boring version of relationship that church people gaslit us into thinking is only valid way, by sheer fact that either both character fill same role or one of them has to not follow the most basic made up gender rules, like bottom.guy, or maybe huge girl who searches for little bunny girl etc. Like, just taking most basic romance plot ever, and genderbending one of characters by itself changes whole vibe so much!

But ofc, not all straight romances are bad, that would imply any romance is bad (i mean, there are few bad romances, like wanting to date children, but for sake of this ride of a post, we are talking about 2 consenting people of either similar age for teenagers, or just 2 consenting adults ok?), but the only good straight romances i saw, were the ones that just didnt really gave much fuck about being the most generic romance plot, and doing that would make any romance good (m/m, m/f, f/f etc), one of my favourite examples, would be violet evergarden! yeah, it does for the most part follow the rules of strong protective man, and small fragile girl (except for the fact that violet absolutelly kicks ass), but series itself isnt about 2 charcaters dating, Its about violet learning what love is, and not just romantic one, she learns about sibling love, parent/child love, love for world, love for work and many more! What makes it good is not us seeing them dating, its how we togehder with Violet slowly learn more about love, slowly growing attached to him, this love story is very beautifull, because its not focusing on that part.

(at this point i had hard time finding more proof of good hetero romances, so i had to dig throught list if stuff i watched etc) Also, one of my fave mangas of all time, was domestic na kanojo, where the romance being interesting, was enforced by, lemme check my notes, 2 sisters competing for their step brother, where 1 is his teacher and other is girl he lost virginity with. You can see im streching my arguments at this point huh. Whatever, in this series, what makes it actually interesting love story and not easy porn material, is all the hardships charcaters go throught, and questions it gives! Natsuo wanting hina, but knowing its just some stupid kids love, constantly hurting rui as resoult of his inner conflict about hina, wanting to get close with rui, and suddenly cutting it off because he is just a kid who is scared, of what might be, as i used to be kid, i very much know the feeling od wanting to do something, but being scared to commit, constantly swinging between wanting it, and being afraid, only hurting other in process.

okay this one is quite boring romance, but in interesting way so as per last argument, lets talk about "Rascal does not dream about bunny girl senpai" where mc gets the girl after like 2 episodes, and then we just see them, chill like cute couple, or get a bit jealous, its not much, but i find it interesting to see quite realistic (from standpoint of someone who's longest relationship lasted 2 months, including 1 month breakup), but she anime isnt about it, so seeing them being nice, realistiy behaving couple is nice addition

In conclusion, straight romances fucking suck and dont recomend them to me without 3 pages explanation why it doesnt suck, harems get instant no-no tho

[thebisexualwreckoning]

Took over 24 hours to decide on every single book I am going to be reading but I have finally come back from a visit to my local indie bookseller and have the final prompt done so without further ado I present my reading list for the 2025 book bingo

First a hard copy of the bingo that I have managed to attach to my bookshelves using leftover stickers

Next, the actual reading list:

1. Literary Fiction: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori

I’ve been meaning to read sayaka murata’s books for quite some time now so this was a lovely little excuse to do so and I wanted to read some litfic that wasn’t the usual ‘female rage’ unhinged mid 20s white woman dark academia English major I kill people that has saturated the market recently

2. Short Story Collection: Lesser Known Monsters of the 20th Century by Kim Fu

I’ve been seeing this recced a lot and when mr batman decided to rec it as well for the short story prompt I thought what the hell why not? and decided to read it, no other special reason really

3. Sequel: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

I was planning on reading this either way and when I saw ms batman was also using it to fill the prompt I once again thought why not, there really isn’t much else you have been waiting to read

4. Reread a childhood favourite: Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

I haven’t decided which of the Malory towers books I’m going to be rereading but I loved this as a child and I wanted to see how it stands up now that I’m not 6-8 years old anymore

5. 20th century speculative fiction: The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

I wanted to read a Shirley Jackson book but I thought haunting of hill house was too popular and I already read we have always lived in the castle for a gothic lit Unit I did this year, so the sundial it was

6. Fantasy: Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas

Ngl I just happen to prefer ya fantasy over adult fantasy because it just makes me happy and I wanted one with a brown trans boy in it because duh, I’m a brown trans boy (though I’m Indian, not Latine)

7. Published before 1950: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

This is my palate cleanser because I love Louisa may alcott and I love Amy March with all my stunted little Little Sister heart and I need to read about her and Laurie again because they bring me so much joy

8. Independent Publisher: Rifqa by Mohammad El-Kurd

I had to involve a poetry collection and a Palestinian work and well, it’s easier to find poetry in indie pub and also easier to find Palestinian books in indie pub so it really was the obvious choice

9. Graphic Novel: Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh

Once again a recommendation from mx batman and well, I’m trans, I love mermaids, trans allegory of all time

10. Animal on the Cover: The Spider and Her Demons by Sydney Khoo

Another ya fantasy, this time aroace style and it has a spider on the cover. Also I have a copy of the book on my bookshelf and it was one of the few books I had with an animal on the cover. I was going to read the starless sea but that’s usually a fall read for me so I decided on this one

11. Set in a country you have never visited: Ekkatorer Dinguli by Jahanara Imam

So, this is embarrassing for me but despite being Bengali, I have never actually been to Bangladesh, mostly because of complicated family feelings on the matter due to my dad’s side of the family being one of the refugees from Bangladesh who fled to India. However, I wanted to read one Bengali book for the bingo at least so I decided on this memoir on the Bangladeshi liberation war. Also I hate myself right, we all know I hate myself. But this is the crowning feather in my cap of stupidity. Yes, I, person who takes 2 minutes to sound out Bengali words and then understand what the sentence is trying to say using context clues, am going to attempt to read it in the original Bangla instead of the translated version because I am trying to learn how to read and write in Bengali, which I somehow don’t know despite having spoken it my entire life

12. Science Fiction: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

It’s not yet released so I can’t say whether it’s sci-fi but wiki says it is and also it’s hunger games, obviously it’s sci-fi we know it’s sci-fi haymitch’s games involved technology not yet invented we know this obviously it’s sci-fi

13. 2025 Debut author: Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours

Found this book on a list of debut authors online and I love supporting debut authors of colour, especially black authors since it’s harder in the industry for them and tragically now that I’m thinking about it I don’t have too many black authors on this list

14. Memoir: Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom

Is this cheating? Probably. It’s more of a biomythography à la Audre Lord than a proper memoir but as Thom herself says, I think trans girls deserve a memoir not marketed to cis people to explain trans issues. So, I’m going to make an exception just this once for the trans girls. It’s in the spirit of the prompt at least

15. Read a zine, make a zine: I haven’t yet decided on what zine I’ll read but I’m planning to make one involving 6 entirely new poetry pieces I’ll write for it

16. Essay collection: Disability Visibility by Alice Wong

In this spirit of diverse reading, I’ve decided that I needed at least one book talking about and/or involving disabled characters and I’d already read one of the essays in this book so it only seemed like the logical choice

17. 2024 Award Winner: Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H.

Winner of the 2024 Stonewall awards, hijab butch blues deals with a topic very close to me heart, the reconciling of religion with queerness. I’m Hindu, not Muslim like the author but I too struggle with what god will think of my being queer so I thought why not turn to the community, to other people who struggle with the same problem so here I am now

18. Nonfiction: Learn something New: The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel

I love fashion, but most of my knowledge revolves around the styles and trends and patterns of clothing throughout the centuries, not how the fabric actually got made, so this seemed like a fun way to incorporate a personal hobby into the prompt while also learning about something I’d never before learned about

19. Social Justice: Revolting Prostitutes by Molly Smith

The last recommendation on this list taken from captain batman, I know a bit about social justice, especially involving queerness and indigeneinity and being poc so I wanted to learn social justice from an angle I have never really viewed it from before and that was sex work, so this seemed like a good choice

20. Romance Novel: Outdrawn by Deanna Grey

They’re sapphic, they’re black, they’re competing/rival webtoon artists and the cover’s cute, what more do you need

21. Read and make a recipe: Cinnamon Rolls

I love cinnamon rolls, they bring joy to my life, so I thought I might as well as learn to bake them so I don’t spend a fortune buying them from my local bakery. I don’t have a recipe yet but that is what I’ll be making. I wanted to chocolate lava cake at first but then I remembered I had all the ingredients at home already and that i had to use them before I left for India later this month.

22. Horror: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Anybody who knows me knows that a. Gothic horror is my favourite type of horror and b. I hate Jane eyre and love Rebecca. Well, to be fair I hate the parts with Mr Rochester in them and loved the parts without him so highs and lows. But back on track, I love Daphne du maurier, I love Rebecca, I’m reading this book

23. Published in the aughts: Persepolis by Marianne Satrapi

Honestly no other reason than the fact I wanted another graphic novel on the list because I know that my brain will have turned to mush after reading so many words and my eyes will be straining

24. Historical Fiction: Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

I just wanted historical lesbian butches and also the naked women on the cover convinced me because I’m a freak and a pervert

25. Bookseller or librarian recommendation: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, trans. Lucia Graves

I asked the bookseller what would she recommend I read, regardless of genre or any other boundaries and she recommend this to me which just so happens to be a translated text which works out great because one of my reading goals for next year has been to read more books written by mainlander poc instead of white or diaspora representation so that worked out pretty well

Anyway, that’s it for me. Barring anything truly egregious about any of the books I’m planning to read which causes a dnf and a replacement, I will be following this list in this order starting the first of jan and will report back periodically.

I also made a little physical checklist so that I can just carry it around and receive the joy of ticking things off

2025 book bingo time 📚

want a completely arbitrary set of reading goals for 2025? want to try something new in your literary diet but don't know where to start? just like a challenge for the sake of a challenge? just love a good game of bingo?

boy do I have something for you!

for anyone planning to participate, please know that I LOVE attention and talking about books, so I would be STOKED to be tagged on any and all updates about what you're reading or planning to read. I'm so, so excited to see all the different ways these prompts get filled, especially if and when they bring people away from the kinds of things they normally read. not to mention snag some new reading recs myself, hopefully!

and of course, I want to know whenever somebody gets a bingo - and ESPECIALLY if somebody fills the whole board! I don't have any prizes for you, but I can offer a sense of accomplishment :)

note that this is designed to be played as 1 book = 1 space, so even if you read, say, a fantasy graphic novel published in 1923 from an indie publisher that has a bat on the cover, you'd only cross off one space. I'm not a cop and I'm not in charge of what you read, so if it sparks more joy to check off multiple spaces per book then go nuts, but I am throwing that disclaimer out there.

EDIT: the 2025 book bingo challenge is now also on storygraph, thanks to @obi-wann-cannoli!

wondering what some of these spaces mean? seeking a couple recommendations to get you started? no idea what a zine even is, let alone how to make one? worry not! I have a guide to all 25 prompts, including recommendations + an example of what I'll be reading throughout the year to fulfill each space. read on beneath the cut!

Literary Fiction: I find that a lot of people are reluctant to check out literary fiction, as it’s often written off as not being about anything but adultery and divorce. If this is you, I implore you to take a chance, acknowledge that adultery and divorce are compelling sometimes, and also remember that lit fic has a lot more to offer than that. At Writer’s Digest, Michael Woodson describes literary fiction as “less of a genre than a category,” which “focuses on style, character, and theme over plot.” My recommendations include Raven Leilani’s Luster, Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and Melissa Broder’s Milk Fed. 

I’ll be reading: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

2. Short Story Collection: You know, a bunch of short stories together in one book? It doesn’t get much more self-explanatory than that. Could be a collection of stories by a single author or an anthology—it’s up to you! I recommend checking out Mariana Enríquez’s The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (translated by Megan McDowell), Nalo Hopkinson’s Falling in Love With Hominids, and Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century. 

I’ll be reading: Your Utopia by Bora Chung and translated by Anton Hur 

3. A Sequel: It could be one that you’ve been meaning to get around to, one that’s not releasing until 2025, or the sequel to something you read to cross off another space on this very bingo sheet!

I’ll be reading: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao, sequel to 2021’s Iron Widow 

4. Childhood Favorite: Go back and read a book you loved as a child, tween, or teen! There’s no wrong answer here; anything from a YA novel to a picture book would be just lovely, and I can’t wait to see what people pick for this option! I’m not sure which of my old favorites I’ll be revisiting yet—should I go for the warm and fuzzy Casson Family series, or straight towards the mindfucky sci-fi of Interstellar Piggy? Or maybe I’ll go see how Artemis Fowl holds up...

5. 20th Century Speculative Fiction: For those not familiar with the term, speculative fiction can encapsulate science fiction, fantasy, and anything else that falls into the unreal. You’re spoiled for iconic choices here: the 20th century gave us Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness, Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Kindred, L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, the beginning of Pratchett’s Discworld series, Diana Wynne Jones’ Howls’ Moving Castle, and countless others.

I’ll be reading: Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, love of my literary life 💜

6. Fantasy: Fantasy comes in a thousand different shades, from contemporary urban wizards with day jobs at the office to high fantasy spellslingers chasing dragons away from castles. Some examples I’ve adored are N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon, C.L. Polk’s Witchmark, Fonda Lee’s Jade City, and Nghi Vo’s Empress of Salt and Fortune.

I’ll be reading: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty  

7. Published Before 1950: This one could not be more straightforward if I tried. You have all of human history (or at least, all the parts that have surviving literature), just not the last 75 years. Dig deep! 

I’ll be reading: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1938 

8. Independent Publisher: Did you guys know that just five publishing companies (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette Book Group) are responsible for 80% of books published in the US each year, and 25% of books globally? Break away from the big five and see what some small presses are putting out! If you need some ideas about where to start, check out this list of nearly 300 independent publishers with notes on what kind of books they put out!

I’ll be reading: Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translated by Lin King, from Graywolf Press

9. Graphic Novel/Comic Book/Manga: Despite my personal obsession with Batman, the world of comic books is sooo much wider than Gotham City—or anything else that DC and Marvel have to offer. If superheroes aren’t your speed, check out the Southern gothic of Carmen Maria Machado and Dani Strips’ comic The Low, Low Woods, splash around in Kat Leyh’s graphic novel Thirsty Mermaids, or stop waiting for a new season of Dungeon Meshi and go read Ryoko Kui’s manga, translated to English by Taylor Engel. 

I’ll be reading: The Fade, by Aabria Iyengar and Mari Costa

10. Animal on the Cover: Yes, yes, don’t judge a book by its cover—but do go find one with a critter on the cover and give it a read! Absolutely no other requirements here, get silly with it.

I’ll be reading: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

11. Set in a Country You Have Never Visited: Fiction or nonfiction, doesn’t matter so long as it gives you a little glimpse of a country you’ve never visited in real life. If you’ve somehow visited every country currently recognized in the world, then I guess you get to go read something set in space.

I’ll be reading: A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon and Kim Sanho, translated by Anton Hur 

12. Science Fiction: A genre just as diverse as fantasy, with a little something for everybody! I recommend Becky Chambers’ Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for those who want to kiss an alien in the stars and Jessamine Chan’s The School for Good Mothers for those who want a surveillance state dystopia that hits much closer to home.  

I’ll be reading: Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

13. 2025 Debut Author: Read a book by someone who’s releasing their first book in 2025. Fic or nonfic, any genre, no further requirements. Not quite a free space, but pretty close!

I’ll be reading: Liquid: A Love Story by Mariam Rahmani, coming out March 11

14. Memoir: Per Wikipedia, a memoir is “any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author’s personal memories.” Some are funny, some are heartbreaking, some are both! I recommend Carman Maria Machado’s In the Dream House and Roxane Gay’s Hunger, because I tend to lean heartbreaking! 

I’ll be reading: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Again, I like heartbreaking!

15. Read a Zine, Make a Zine: Not familiar with zines? No problem! Check out some of these digital archives for inspiration, and then craft your own zine with this simple guide (or do it your own way, I’m not in charge of you). 

Internet Archives: https://archive.org/details/zines

Gay Zine Archive Project: https://gittings.qzap.org/ 

POC Zine Project: https://poczineproject.tumblr.com/ 

Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/zine-web-archive/ 

16. Essay Collection: Like a short story collection, but it’s nonfiction now. Some of my favorites include Samantha Irby’s We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, Elaine Castillo’s How to Read Now, Aimee Nezhukhumatathil’s World of Wonders, and Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings.

I’ll be reading: A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib 

17. 2024 Award Winner: What award? Any award you like! And boy, there are tons to pick from. Any book that won any award in the year 2024 is free game. If you need some places to start looking, check out some of these:

Lambda Literary Awards, for excellence in LGBT literature: https://lambdaliterary.org/awards__trashed/2024-winners/ 

The Alex Awards, for adult books with crossover appeal for teen readers: https://www.ala.org/yalsa/alex-awards 

Ignyte Awards, celebrating diversity in speculative fiction: https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/2024-results/  

Women's Prize for Fiction (self explanatory) https://womensprize.com/prizes/womens-prize-for-fiction/

Others: https://www.bookbrowse.com/awards/ 

I’ll be reading: Biography of X by Catherine Lacey, winner of the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction

18. Nonfiction: Learn Something New: I know very little about archaeology, anthropology, or any other fields that involve studying ancient cities, but Annalee Newitz’s Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age was some of the most fun I had with nonfiction in 2024, because every page brought a brand new discovery. For 2025, find a nonfiction book about a topic you don’t know ANYTHING about, and learn something new!

I’ll be reading: Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity, and Hawaiian Refreshment by Hi’ilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart

19. Social Justice & Activism: Read a book about a social issue, the history of an activist movement, or brush up on a guiding philosophy or ideology. Arm yourself with knowledge, besties, because I have a feeling we’re going to need it! if you need a good place to start, why not try Angela Davis' Race, Women & Class, Mariame Kaba's We Do This 'Til We Free Us, or Molly Smith and Juno Mac's Revolting Prostitutes?

I’ll be reading: White Feminism: From Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck

20. Romance Novel: Listen to me. Fucking listen to me. I mean a ROMANCE. NOVEL. Not a novel that incidentally has a romance in it. Romance novel, motherfucker. Go check out the romance section and have some whimsy as two people fall in love through the most contrived series of events ever conceived. If you really need a romance that makes you feel smart (that’s still sexy and messy as hell), try Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty.

I’ll be reading: Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasche  

21. Read and Make a Recipe: Could be a cookbook, could be a recipe you yoinked from the New York Times, could be something your grandparents lovingly wrote down by hand. Could be as complex or as simple as you like, just make something tasty! Some cookbooks I’ve enjoyed are Sohla El-Waylly’s Start Here, Dan Pashman’s Mission Impastable, and John Wang and Storm Garner’s The World Eats Here.

22. Horror: Slashers, zombies, haunted houses, creeping paranoia, you name it! It’s time to get spooky and scary with all kinds of things going bump in the night. Maybe this is the year to finally keep up with Dracula Daily? Not for me, I'm not doing that, but you could!

I’ll be reading: I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

23. Published in the Aughts: A throwback, but not too far back. Read something published between 2000 and 2009. Maybe it’s time to finally get into Twilight? (For legal reasons, that’s a joke.)

I’ll be reading: The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, published in 2004

24. Historical Fiction: You know, fiction that takes place in a bygone era! Please remember, this isn’t just about reading a book that’s old; we have a separate prompt for that! This is about reading something that takes place in the past relative to the time it was written. Pride and Prejudice is historical to us, but was contemporary when Austen wrote it. Think of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, or history + a bit of fantasy in book's like R.F. Kuang's Babel.

I’ll be reading: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Bookseller or Librarian Recommendation: This one is fun, and something I always like to do when I’m travelling and visiting a new bookstore. Ask a bookseller or librarian to recommend something they’ve liked, and check it out! If going in person isn’t feasible, many bookstores and libraries have staff picks on their websites, and the Indie Next List is a monthly list of independent booksellers’ favorite new releases. 

I’ll be reading: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich, which I bought at Erdrich’s bookstore, Birchbark Books, this summer :)

lastly: tagging people who asked to be tagged to make sure they didn't miss this! @thebisexualwreckoning @perfunctoryperfusions @reallyinkyhands come get your bingo sheet!

[gameanglia]

GAMES LINKED TO MENTAL HEALTH

LIMBO :

Limbo is a game which contains puzzle elements in the game, a place between life and death where your character is dead and he wakes up in his own Limbo, in a way, his own version of hell. It is a quiet world with no music or colour. Limbo is a game which demonstrates loss and grief with an attack to your senses of sight and sound. The game demonstrates how lonely it is within the game as it's a game which shows grief and depression. Within the game there is a city area which represents adulthood and within the city there is a hotel, symbolling one's first experience with adult relationships. This can correlate about how you can feel losing a loved one or to fall into depression and not know how to climb back out, only able to move within one direction. The character must find their way out of his depression, back into the light.

CHICORY: A COLORFUL TALE :

Chicory: a colourful tale is about a top-down adventure game in a colouring book world where you can draw on anything, however a terrible incident happens and Chicory, a superstar artist and wielder of 'the brush' is missing, and you fill in for her job. This game is about colouring the black and white lines and drawings into a colourful world using the magic brush, it is a game that makes it perfect for those who want to relax and are fighting with anxiety. The story is also about how Chicory's story is about fighting depression, a mental illness that turns into an enemy you have to beat within the game.

CHANGE: A HOMELESS SURVIVAL EXPERIENCE :

Change: a homeless survival game is about where you pick your character based on what story you want to express. Its a game where it is an emotional journey that displays realism on how it is like in real life and for many people (from official statistics, more than 300,000 people are homeless, yet there are many people who are on the verge of going homeless too, the world is a cruel place to be). In the game you explore, earn perks, find items and kindness to develop your character to create a new life and environment for yourself, but the most important is the fact you must survive. This game has probably been my favourite by far in research on mental health because you don't know anyone's story on why they may be homeless or what caused them to be in such a situation.

CHILD OF LIGHT

Child of light is about a character named Aurora, a young girl from 1895 Austria who wakes up on the lost fairytale continent of Lemuria. She falls into a cold sleep after the death of her mother and a re-marriage of her father. It is a game about how she arrives in a dreamlike fairy-tale and she must experience how to love, grow, learn and battle the grief of loss. This is a storybook styled game where it talks on adult topics. It's an emotional roller coaster in this game because each character she journeys with, all have a sad reason why they travel with her as her companions.

ACTUAL SUNLIGHT

This game is about Evan Winters who is a Canadian citizen, working a dull corporate job. The game itself isn't what you would predict in a normal game with melodies of music everywhere and amazing plot twists with eye-catching animations and gameplay movements, instead it tells the story of a person of a very bleak life routine; he wakes up, takes a shower, goes to work and goes home to sleep - rinse and repeat. This alone makes it already engaging alone because knowing the fact you play as this person, many people may already correlate to Evan and sympathise with him. But with this, Evan hates himself, his apartment, and his job. However he never has the energy to get angry or express his feelings, he's just trapped in nothingness yet determined to do something. The game's themes revolve around suicide, anxiety and depression which has an intense and heart breaking story.

MY COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS THROUGH THE RESEARCH: I felt like out of all these games that I looked up on, researched, tried to find ways to explain each game, the most which caught my eye was 'Actual Sunlight'. Yet it is the most simplistic game out of all five. I wanted to take more time into researching the game because reading about the game and watching some of the gameplay was more intriguing than the others. I couldn't pinpoint why out of all five it was the one which hit me the most, but it had the most captivating story to me. I say this because maybe even at my young age where life has barely started for me, i somehow correlate a little to the game? Of course in my own way with my own story but the similarities are probably what compelled me to the game itself. I also enjoyed researching about Limbo as well, between the five, i enjoyed most was Limbo and Actual Sunlight. I tried to write quite a bit for each game however through the research these two games most compelled me. Limbo resonated with my feelings because it is a story on losing a family member (the boy's sister). Losing family isn't easy and it's hard to get out the deep end once you're in it, especially with strong emotions; grief, depression, sadness, etc.

[rolo]

Hello, I miss you.

I don't post here anymore. Clearly. My last actual post was saying I don't post here. But I logged in the other day for funsies and saw that some people I knew back in the day still use Tumblr! It makes me really happy to see people I love still kicking it. And that people are still being passionate and creative. I miss being a part of this.

Anyway, it got me really nostalgic and I wanted to do something cathartic so I wrote a long ass letter thing to myself. I also wanted an easier way to send it to some people, so it's ended up here.

I really don't expect anyone will engage with this, but if you see this/do engage with it, hello!! I miss you! My life is chaos and I can scarcely believe I had the time to do this (it's because I have had 4 days off work with like, parainfluenza or some shit). If you can be arsed, I'd love to hear from you. One day, I will get time to send people messages to tell them that I still think fondly of them, but that is going to have to wait until after physician exams (which I better fucking pass or I will actually go insane) and can do it with the amount of time and dedication it actually takes to be sincere and heartfelt.

I still talk a lot of shit, hey?

I.

My life's changed so much compared to when I was active online. I have a wife, a son, a cat (I swore I'd never get a cat!), a different career, and a significant lack of free time. All of which explains why I am not active in fandom. I'm immensely satisfied with my life. I have so much to be thankful for, and so much that makes me happy each day (even though my son does not sleep (he is otherwise perfect) and I currently have a horrible cold). But I still miss fandom. I also miss consuming media! I just have minimal time. Between a full time job (which is actually more than full time; thanks, health care system), my wife, a child with seemingly boundless energy, maintaining a house, attending to the bare minimum of life admin and studying for physician exams, I generally have like, what, 30 minutes a day where I am not otherwise engaged? So I spend that time drinking tea with my wife and having an adult conversation, to stop her going insane from having to read Spot Goes to the Park for the umpteenth time. And, you know, she's my wife so I actually just enjoy hanging out with her.

So it leaves very little time for consuming new media. And thus no ability to engage in new fandoms. I don't really have time for fandom, anyway, even old ones. And a lot of my old fandoms have died, and I don't have the time to seek out the last bastions of fans and then try and make new friends. Which makes me sad because I love media! And I love talking about media with other people who also love media!

But I also feel as though I find it so hard nowadays to find something which appeals to me. Entertainment, for as long as I have been alive anyway, has always been a part of the capitalist machine. But in recent years, it feels as though it has become this way even moreso, with media designed specifically to be profitable at the expense of being creative or truly innovative. This has meant games are pivoting away from standalone stories to DLC models and live service models, anime is a lot of isekai shit (I am out of the loop, though, so maybe we're over that??). There is good stuff out there, but legally streaming it all would require me to take out a second mortgage. So I've just been relying on YouTube to watch random videos when I can, and have consumed the odd series or two.

It just all feels very lonely. And makes me wonder what the media landscape will look like when my son grows up. Will we be able to bond over a mutual appreciation for the media we enjoy, or am I going to look at what he consumes with bemusement? And if I try and share my favourite things with him, will he thing it's a load of shit and go off and play the latest version of Fortnite? I hope not. At the very least, I like to think that some of my favourite stuff can transcend generations a la Star Wars or Back to the Future, which I shared with my parents.

My other hope is books. Books are subject to trends, too, but there will always be large communities who enjoy particular genres, and thus always new, quality works in those genres. And my son loves books, so here is a glimmer of hope. Hopefully, we do move past Spot and onto something more robust.

(As an aside, the blurbs for children's books are hilarious. For example, in Spot Goes to the Park, he loses his ball since it goes into a lake (because Helen the hippo has butterfingers) and SPOILERS, a duck brings it back. But the blurb - which is just about as long as the damn book itself - makes it sound like you'll be reading some Agatha Christie level mystery. Love it. #parentthings #dopeoplestillusehashtags?)

II.

I logged into Dreamwidth and LiveJournal the other day, just for shits and giggles. It was partly to look at the icons I'd made (sidenote: I actually got pretty good at that? Like, I made some quality shit) and partly to reminisce. I clicked on a few old friend's profiles to reminisce. I noticed that someone I was really close to, but lost contact with, had posted 2 years ago! They had a link to their other socials, and they're actively posting there.

I always worried that something had happened to them, so it's wonderful to know they're okay (or at least, alive). I think the reason we lost contact was probably me. They were going through some heavy stuff - events in their life and significant mental health diagnoses - and their coping strategies were less than ideal (i.e. use of substances). Not a judgement, but it's well documented that substance use as a coping mechanism is not good for you and exacerbates concurrent mental health problems. Anyway, I thought I was being helpful by suggesting they wind back on the substances because of that and interactions with their meds. It was well intentioned, but I'm sure that it probably did not come across that way. I mean, I was a 21 year old who thought I knew how the world worked. Obviously I didn't. 

I think I'm still glad I tried, though. If something happened, and I hadn't, I'd have felt terribly guilty. I still do feel guilty for assumedly causing hurt, but I think it would pale in comparison to guilt for not having tried to help a friend in trouble, and then something awful happen.

Now that I know they're still around, part of me wants to reach out. Not to rekindle a friendship, but to let them know I still think of them from time to time, that they were an important person in my life, and I'm sorry if I hurt them. I wouldn't need a reply, it would just be to clear the air. But then, if they cut me out for a reason, does suddenly reappearing make them hurt all over again if they remember who I am and what I did? Largely I do want to reach out to try and lessen the hurt, but a small part of me hopes that they would forgive me and reply, and I'll feel better. Is having this guilt, and knowing they no longer want to be my friend, actually something I just need to live with a consequence of my action? Is my seeking to apologise and let them know they're important actually just self serving?

And again, is what I'm really after is them replying and us reminiscing about the good old days and we strike up a friendship again? I mean, that would be amazing. I truly loved this person. They were kind to me, they were wickedly funny and helped improve my self confidence. In their own way, they built me up. I remember many of our interactions leaving me in hysterics. We wrote letters to each other, and would talk endlessly about our shared passions. They were so dear to me, and I desperately hoped that to them, I was even fractionally as dear. So losing them was a big blow, and made me wonder if it was just one sided. Towards the time we cut off contact, they were making fast friends with a lot of new people, and I just wanted to be a part of that, too. Enjoying their company. I felt left out. Messages started to lack replies, until just nothing. 

But that's life, I suppose.

Anyway, I don't have the time to actually be that much of a friend to anyone at the moment. So even if I did get a reply, any exchange would probably be superficial and/or have significant amounts of time between replies. 

So I guess in the end, I'll probably just leave things as they are. But I'm still happier than I was, knowing they're okay.

III.

I mentioned before I primarily watch YouTube when I have a spare moment, or am holding a sleeping child. A lot of what I watch is actually let's plays or first watches of things I've played/watched before. It's easy to do as I don't have to pay super close attention as I know generally what's going on, and I can stop and start without too jarring a break (my wife reads and says it's really jarring/frustrating to have to drop it suddenly for a crying baby at the climax!). But I think the reason I have gravitated towards this as my primary "genre" for now is kind of an amalgamation of the above. It's something I know I enjoy, and it lets me participate in fandom in a passive kind of way, and share in the excitement over a piece of media like I used to back in the day, either during my first time with it, or when new members of a fandom arrived. The most recent series I completed after months was a first watch of Code Geass because I am predictable as fuck (I am the Code Geass meme. If Code Geass has 1 fan, it's me. If Code Geass has no fans, I'm dead). It was really nice seeing people excited about the show and theorising about what was coming just like back in the day! As opposed to now when people binge an entire series, or just post horny pictures on the Code Geass subreddit.

It made me really nostalgic for the days of LiveJournal (hence my login). I miss being a part of a community where people journeyed through media together, and there was the opportunity to get to know them outside of that setting through their journals. Not that you can't do that now, but platforms such as Reddit (and to a lesser extent, Tumblr), where fandom is now concentrated, make things much more impersonal and difficult to actually make friends. Again, not that I have the time, but I miss the magic of forums and LiveJournal and friending memes and knowing what was going on in the lives of my fellow fans! And making icons and graphics and reading fanfiction. It was such a magical time on the internet.

I don't think that will happen again in my lifetime. And I don't think I'll have the time again to engage in that until I retire, haha. But I miss it. I miss people being as excited as me about things. I miss memes. I miss making new friends from around the world.

IV.

Anyway, if you got this far, like wow?? Actually thank you?? I'm guessing if you did, it's probably because we were close in the past. I'm sorry I've been shit at staying in touch. I know I'm prone to exaggeration/melodrama, but it's actually accurate that I have minimal time available to me. This post has been brought to you by sick leave and the fact I'm too sick to properly study.

Please drop me a line if you want. I'd love it. Even if I don't know you, I'd love it.

I hope you're well.

[grad604-haydenmiddleton]

20 OBJECTS WRITING VER.2

(VERSION 2, CUT DOWN + GRAMMAR CHECKED)

seraph of the end

I watched the Seraph of the End anime for the first time when I was around 13, and ironically, I nearly didn’t finish it, but I’m really glad I stuck with it because now it’s one of my favourite pieces of media of all time. Here I’ve decided to showcase the 21st manga in the series, and you know that must mean I have manga 1 all the way through to 21. The characters are said to be born in the same year as I am so as a kid, it made me happy to think I was growing up alongside them.

burts bees

Lip balm might be a weird inclusion, but hear me out. I used to not take good care of my body at all. I’m not sure when it happened exactly, but at some point I realised I needed to make changes. I set up a routine for my life, including a wake-up and going-to-sleep routine. I was still depressed, which sucked but I think learning to have a routine and self-awareness about what my body and mind needed is a hugely important skill that I still have today. Lip balm is just a representation of the changes and routine I made.

washi tape

Washi tape is a staple at a lot of stationary shops, and I used to go a lot with my sister to check them out. She has always been a lot more careful with her money than me. I can't handle the temptation and usually leave a stationary shop with something. I have a stupid amount of washi tape and other kinds of stationary. I just like the aesthetics and patterns of washi tape that inspire some of my brightly coloured art, and sometimes I even digitally draw washi tape to emulate physical craft style.

tamagotchi

I bought myself a Sanrio edition tamagotchi, which only ever came out in Japanese. So with the help of a translation guide online, I take care of my little creature. You can probably tell by now that I like Sanrio characters. My sister and I both had tamagotchis around 2010 and back then they were in black and white, while the one I have now is in full colour! I watch videos about the timeline and all about the different versions of tamagotchis that were made. It's a nostalgia thing and reminds me to put a childish 2000s flair into my work.

stickers

I’m a bit of a collector, and my stack of sticker sheets is further proof. I have tons of stickers that I’ve collected over the years from a range of places. Although I get really nervous about using them. I want to keep all of them nice forever. I’m a bad hoarder and need to get better at using some of these things up. Since a lot of the stickers are made by artists, they inspire me a lot, and often they’re made as merchandise for a show or cartoon I watch. It's been my dream to sell things like stickers myself.

water cup

I have a love for water and hydrating, like all normal living things do. I genuinely believe drinking a lot more water and staying hydrated throughout the day has made me a happier, healthier person. This water cup was a Christmas gift from my sister one year ago. Everything just tastes better when drunk with a straw. It also features an animal crossing pattern, which I play with my sister. Being in a good mindset is really important for my creative process, so drinking water helps me feel good enough to work hard on creative projects.

pokemon cards

Despite actually finding a lot of the games boring, I have spent a crazy amount of money on my Pokémon card collection. But for me, it isn’t about pulling the crazy rare and expensive cards, it’s all about collecting the pretty cards or cards I find visually appealing. There are hundreds of different artists working for Pokémon, so each card is personalised and has its own style. I think collecting them now as an adult is a way to appease my child self because I was told they were a waste of money, and they are, but I just can't help myself from collecting things.

ticket stubs

Here are some of the ticket stubs or receipts I’ve collected from going to shows. I keep these to preserve the memory of going out with friends or family to watch something. My favourites are plays, and then also animated films. Some may think it’s childish for me to still be so invested in colourful movies typically catered towards kids or teens, but I really enjoy taking in the art and beauty of animation as inspiration for my own bright and bold creative style, which also in turn influences my graphic design practice.

keroppi figure

Keroppi is a frog from Sanrio, and I got this specific figure from a blind box, which means you’re not sure which design or character you’re going to get when you buy the box. My best friend Cat got me this box to open, and when I did, we both thought it was really cute that I got the one that is shown to be drawing. He has the same profession as me, so he sits on a shelf above my bed and can watch me do my own design work.

sonny angel

At first, I used to think Sonny Angels were creepy. I didn’t like the idea of having a smiling, naked baby on my shelf as a collectable, but the more I learned about them, the more I was swayed. Sonny Angels are cherubs made as a companion for working women in their mid-20s dealing with the stress of adulthood. Cherubs are also a sign of good luck, so they’re almost a charm of sorts to bring happiness and luck. Of course, they are also just a piece of expensive plastic that we buy and collect, but sometimes it’s about the simple pleasures in life.

wacom

I got my first Wacom tablet when I was around 12 after borrowing my sister's far too much. Weirdly enough, I wasn’t a fan of physically sketching before this and was much more drawn to digital art and the effects and style of this medium. Even now, I’m actually a horrible physical artist, despite all my time spent drawing digitally. Being part of these digital art and design communities helped me improve and be inspired. This was the first step in taking me down the path of graphic design and helped me realise what I wanted to do for work later in life.

testosterone

This is my medical prescription for testosterone. I go in every 3 weeks for an injection of this stuff. It took a lot of time to get to this point in my life, but I can confidently say it has made me a happier, more confident person to finally feel like I’m comfortable in my own skin. My gender is an extremely important part of me, as it is for anyone, cis or not. It’s important for us as people to express ourselves authentically to be perceived as how we want to be, and when someone misunderstands you, it can be uncomfortable.

fuggler box

This box once housed a fuggler, a funny, ugly creature. I wasn’t sure that it really stood for this at first since I’ve heard a more rude version of that saying. These toys are meant to be, well, ugly to an extent. They have interestingly shaped bodies, small beady eyeballs, and visible, semi-realistic-looking teeth! Despite the intent of them being made ugly, I find them quite endearing. I like this idea of finding the beautiful behind the ugly. I also like the mix of horror with cuteness. It mirrors some of my own work, where I draw something scary but do it with bright, bold colours.

grape fanta

This can is another probably weird thing to add to a list of my favourite objects, but my love for artificial grape flavouring knows no bounds. It’s ironic because I don’t even like actual grapes! Fizzy drinks, soda, pop, whatever you want to call it, is one of my favourite things to drink as a treat. When I’m feeling down or I’m working on homework and I’m losing motivation, I treat myself to full strength, full sugar, definitely bad for me, soda.

splatoon amiibo

Splatoon is a game where you play as a 'squid kid’ (a kid who can also turn into a squid) and hang out in Inkopolis Square, shop for colourful streetwear fashion with unique abilities, and play games of turf war where you and 3 other players go up against a team of 4 and try to paint the majority of the map in your team colour. It’s one of my favourite Nintendo games, and I’ve been playing since the second game. There’s a third game in the series now which I played every single day. Now I don’t have as much time to play it, but I still love the general aesthetics and gameplay.

dsi

The DSi was my first ever gaming console. I got it for Christmas one year from my nana when I was around 7. This began my love for Nintendo and video games. I played a lot of Zelda: Four Swords and Animal Crossing: Wild World, as well as others. But it is whenever I play with my sister that I remember most and hold closest to my heart. Video games are such a creatively stunning work of love, from the graphics to the music to the story they tell, and in a way, they go hand in hand with graphic design as they communicate a story visually and through a specific creative style.

tote bag

Tote bags are another thing I started using after witnessing my sister style them. When she went to university with one, I also decided that a tote bag for university would be cool and convenient. In actuality, it really hurt my left shoulder and was really inconvenient to rummage around to find what I was looking for. I still have a considerable collection of them, though, because I do think they add to an outfit in a way that is more stylish than just a basic bag. It’s also perhaps cliche, but you’ll typically see a tote bag as a creative bag of choice, so I guess I’m just doing my duty as a designer.

[salty-puppy]

I hate that I feel like I'm neglecting adult GB, considering 1. He's my favourite cyborg and 2. ALSO my husband, just to draw his inferior tiny version. Sorry Brain, but you've been very mean to me recently, so I'm drawing child GB since he's my comfort character (Or kin? Idk?) AND I unironically like drawing him, he's cute regardless.

Not to mention he's kinda fun to explore. Like, he was only in the 60s anime era of Cyborg 009 and I like to imagine what if they kept him as a child OR he always started out as one. So many possibilities and ideas!

And reminder; just because I call GB my husband, does NOT include kiddo GB! Only adult! Plus, I self-project myself onto little GB anyways, so shan't. (Don't ask how that works, because idunevenknow)

Another thing too, I love ALL forms of 74! All incarnations of it! However, I will confess 60s 74 is more cuter, hence why I draw it more! I still love regular adult 74 too!

All GBs and 74s are cute to me! There is just versions I happen to like drawing a lot, but that I does not mean I dislike any other versions (Unless it's RE or COJ GB).

[coffee-with-mint-syrup]

So it is a shameful shipbaiting then. Well, fuck.

I still think that they don't know what they gonna do yet because, you know, netflix didn't even confirm the second season. I'm sure they will, the show surely got its hype and semi-good ratings. Even despite the loud "it was not like the original series!" crowd. It's just they haven't said anything officially yet so, you know, anything could happen.

And even if they will go for kataang endgame - they are gonna have a handful of problems.

First of all, the main point of my previous post was "they know what they are doing with zutara" and it's just cruel at this point. The second time in a row? What for? To attract these few percents of the audience that watched natla only after discovering the scarf scene? (Well, netflix IS kinda evil, it's not like they are not able to do such thing).

But, you know, it's not like they JUST filmed that scene and let it flow, no, they are promoting it on their official account ("meanwhile in Omashu" post on twitter). Not to mention the tremendous load of photos of Dallas Liu and Kiawentiio together I've seen without even trying that hard. If it's just for shipbaiting zutara - the lengths they're going are crazy.

While Kataang - well, it's nice that they count the "I need you" line as foreshadowing but...how do I put it? You see, I've always believed that the bond Katara and Aang shared is much more then him being in love with her and getting the girl in the end. The show actually made a point of it and made her explain it to the audience (like they do with every little thing, just explain it in words and dialogues). For god's sake, she called him a family a few seconds before "I need you" line! I'm not saying that it means nothing - but I'd argue that could mean literally anything, not just the, you know, quite definite romance foreshadowing like in the animated series. Kataang fans went on their posts like "See? See? Kataang is happening, you filthy Zutarians, so lose all hope!" - only after that information from the creators dropped. It doesn't seem they paid it much attention before that. So I don't know man. If it's a foreshadowing - it doesn't do the foreshadowing thingy much.

Secondly - the age problem. Yes, one of the most favourite arguments Kataang usually use - Katara is two years older than Aang, it's the same age difference for Zutara too, what is the difference then? (Let's pretend for a second that I really do think there is no difference while romance between two teenagers of 14 and 16 is socially pretty much acceptable when romance between a 14 y.o. and a literal child of 12 is...well...have you seen 12 y.o. boys? Also while a mental development of 16 y.o. is kinda comparable to a mature 14 y.o. girl, I can't say the same for a 12 y.o. boy. Once again - have they even seen a preteen boy before?)

So in the animated series both Katara and Aang are drawn pretty much in a similar way, the only difference is their height. You look at them and see two children of approximately same age, so it kinda works if you don't think of it very hard. In the live-action version - yes, the cast is slightly older then their animated counterparts, but Kiawentiio is 17 going on 18 (her birthday is in april). In the next season she will be pretty much a legal adult. Gordon is 14. He looks like a baby. Yeah, he will look like an older teenager in later seasons but he will still remain a teenager. Can you imagine a bunch of Kataang videoedits with some romantic pop songs showing a young woman and this baby face from the first season? Well, it's internet, it's wild there, but let's not pretend that it won't be bothering anyone. It'll be hard to promote, you know.

I think netflix understands this too that's why the best foreshadowing they could do is "I need you!" line. But - what the hell? They do understand that this problem won't just go away a year or two later? They do, riiight? It's alright to have such age difference when it's adult actors, not when a literal teenager is involved.

And even then, they took away too much of Kataang's foundation. There is no "they're meant to be" basis they had in the animated series. They didn't have to do any kind of romance tones to lightly foreshadow it directly in the context of a show. Also Katara was kinda Aang's goal, his inner "want" from the very beginning in the original - so narratively it made sense for his arc to end up with either achieving that "want" or letting it go. So they took away this arc - and it robbed Aang ending up with Katara of any narrative purpose.

Compare this lack of establishment to all the Zutara heavily canonical stuff there still is that they will have trouble to get rid of (at least the events from "the crossroads of destiny" which are vital to both of their arcs and the ending fight with Azula) and all the ways the Kataang was not-so-great in the 3rd season. Of course they can change it, they probably will if they are still going for Kataang, but then what's even the point? To achieve the "original" ending that would be even less developed and robbed of any purpose? That's just stupid.

Point is, I really hope they won't go for it. I was alright with Zutara not happening before seeing the scarf scene, I will be alright after some shameful shipbaiting. Kataang however...This just won't look good, visually or narratively, I'm sorry.

It seems in the end we ought to repeat history. On the one hand we'll have hella underdeveloped canon pairing because the creators will still be uncomfortable to put them in any romantic setting and on the other - heavily implied and shipbaited non-canon Zutara. It's gonna suck for both sides. Nobody's winning.

I'm sorry for ranting under you post, it seems that I have troubles to keep it short. This whole situation is just so fucked up. I'm so frustrated.

P.S. By the way, I actually couldn't find the source of this information to fact-check. I've seen people talking about it on kataang tag, but there were no direct link or description of the source, just vague words. Not saying anything just...

EDIT: okay, found it, apparently was not looking for it very diligently. The exact quote is "we are obviously aware of where it goes in the original series, but it's more of a future issue and a future storyline to be dealt with". All he's saying is - we planted a hint, we know the canon, don't know what we're gonna do with it.

In reply to you 'zutara bait might not be bait' post. One of the Natla creators confirmed that katanga is happening and that Kataras 'I need you' in the final episode is foreshadowing is the start of their build up :(

I'd have loved zutara though

Well that's a crying shame. However. Delusion dies last and must I remind us all that there was probably a point during the original run of the show where the writers room was divided on whether Zutara or Kataang will become canon? Things like that are subject to change and I think that theorizing is fair game until the show ends.

But if they DO do this, then I just know that nobody will be happy because so much of their scenes and original build-up have been taken out. Which means they'd need to make up new ones and the sooner the better because s2 will run a tight schedule and s3 will almost certainly have to cut huge amounts of vital content.

It is genuinely, at this point, in their best interest to not go with Kataang. And I don't say this as a Zutara shipper but as a fellow writer. I'd rather have Katara end up with no one than tank the story by forcing Kataang to happen.

[roostertuftart]

Hey dude, just jumping onto that thing I brought up in your post about sp fandom being lost on tumblr. So I wanna start a little game to get us jiggy and excited. Worth a shot anyway, why the fuck not eh?

What's your dearest held sp headcanon? And what's your favourite ship and why? And when you answer, you have to ask someone else a question and reblog their answer, and they do the same to keep the game going. :)

Yessss I love this idea!!! Sorry for not replying sooner, I've been overwhelmed from college haha.

I have so many headcanons I love but one of my favorites is that Kyle isn't exactly an animal person- He doesn't dislike them, he just didn't really grow up around them enough to be super attached- UNTIL he's a young adult and somehow ends up with a cat that becomes his actual child (at least until he has his human kids) and he doesn't exactly baby it but he treats it almost like a little person and just... Loves it a lot.

Meanwhile Gerald is just like "Ah, Sheila, our poor son. He has the same addiction I have... It's a cursed passed on through our family..."

and poor Kyle is angrily sitting there when they hold an intervention like "dad first of all my cat is FEMALE and SECOND not everyone is shameless enough to fucking snort LITERAL PISS"

This might be too extensive to confine to the label of headcanon but ah well lmao, it's just a scenario that I can easily see playing out.

ANYWAY, my favorite ship is the poly Stendylenny because aghhhh I just love the four of them so much 1 on 1 with each other so all together they're just. PERFECT. They have such a fun dynamic and they're all really supportive and loving of each other and even each other's personalities out pretty well, I think.

But otherwise, my favorite of the usual South Park ships is probably Style. Idk, I just love their dynamic and I think it's critically underrated (not the ship itself) in this fandom how complex their relationship is and how much it goes beyond traditional best friends to lovers stuff like most people seem to play it down to. I see it called dull and basic sometimes for I guess not being riveting enough, maybe because there's not enough drama? and that's fine, I get liking spicy relationship dynamics more than the usual lovey perfect ones that people think Style is but what's great is that it isn't even just that (not to mention I don't think it's fair to narrow perfectly healthy ship dynamics down to being boring even if it's not your personal cup of tea but I digress)?? and at the same time it IS.

It's so diverse, even ignoring how much AUs can open up new ideas, their canon characters can so easily go from besties who never fight and love each other unconditionally to enemies who feel intense hatred for each other just based on some past drama or something and have to learn to get along or tolerate each other or whatever. There's just so much you can easily do with them just from the canon of the show itself and I love that so much, I love how complex they are relationship wise even when presented at the healthiest, most unproblematic versions of the ship SDFSDFSD ahhhh I just love it sm. Such a fun dynamic, and they're just so cute and attached and canonically their lives SUCK when they're with out each other, that's like. More gay than the queerbaiting versions of tweek and craig we got in the post covid special. They really went and beat TWEEK AND CRAIG IN THOSE SPECIALS LIKE... God, i love them.

[phoenixkaptain]

I don’t want to be negative, but I want more of Peter Parker being the absolute worst.

Like, he is a great guy, a wonderful friend, a superhero, yadda yadda yadda, where is Peter causing problems on purpose?? Where is the Peter who only talks to the Avengers to either a.) piss them off or b.) make them do something for him??? Where is the angriest boy, the man who is this fucking close at every point to committing crime and is only held back by the knowledge that Aunt May would be disappointed in him if he ever got arrested??

What’s up with this idea of Peter being an innocent baby? He is the opposite! He is sarcastic and a know-it-all and everyone he meets automatically hates him because he is so mean! Peter Parker considered letting Flash Thompson die!!! Peter Parker somehow has so many girlfriends!!! Peter Parker is not suave, but he is somehow the most seductive person in Marvel Comics! He literally has a crossover comic with Deadpool where Deadpool talks about his ass, my guy.

Peter is the biggest asshole on the planet! Why don’t we explore this? I demand exploration of the fact that Peter dislikes the majority of people! He is a ride or die friend, he will go to the ends of the earth for anyone he cares about, but he is also such a dick!!! Why can’t characters be dicks? Why can’t they be assholes? Peter would sooner die before he would ever even consider revealing his identity, except for very specific circumstances!

And okay. I can admit it. I’m sick and tired of seeing Peter Parker portrayed as a child. Look, there are so many variations of this beloved character who are all sorts of different ages. My personal favourite is literally all of the in-character versions. You know that animated show where Peter was a prick all the time to everybody? Yet he was still portrayed younger than the original comics?? Peter doesn’t HAVE to be an adult, of course I prefer him being an adult, if only because anybody in a skintight suit should be an adult, but like I don’t fucking care! I just want him to be Peter Parker! I want him to be mean and cruel and vicious and I want him to hit on the Thing and the Hulk and I want him to be scary and I want him to be the strongest fucker on the planet!!! Is that too much to ask? No, because that’s the comics!!!

Listen. Peter Parker is one of my favourite characters. I started reading comics because of Spiderman. I love comics now, and Spiderman is a huge influence on my humour, but there’s none of the love anymore. It’s disappointing! I’m tired of cookie-cutter superheroes always being morally in the right, even if they do fucked up shit. I want Peter to be portrayed as human. He isn’t an innocent little boy, he is a man who can crush someone’s skull like it’s fucking paper. He pulls his punches because he could kill someone. And of course, I’m exaggerating how mean he is, but not by much. Peter Parker Spiderman looked Doctor Doom in the face and basically told him to go suck a dick, like come on. Let Peter be the sarcastic flirt of a man that he is.

[rayanawolfer]

An analysis to SK8 the Infinity: Honne vs Tatemae, the power of Chuunibyou, and the expulsion from Paradise

Hello everybody! I am back to my analysis blog today to talk about SK8 the Infinity and hear me out: if you haven’t watched this show yet, by all means do it now and before you read this post! Because this will contain spoilers about themes and metaphors it addresses throughout the 12 episodes and I don’t intend to hold back. :)

In this post we will refer to the original Japanese version of the show and the ramifications of the themes it addresses I simply refuse to let fly through western audiences’s heads! Don’t worry, I got your backs folks~

Without further ado, let us talk about my most recent favourite show and why it won my 32-year-old heart so easy.

First things first: what on Earth is  Honne and Tatemae?

So, when I attented to the course of Art Studies in university, my class had an entire week devoted to studying History of Japanese Animation with professor Kei Suyama of Tokyo Kougei University - the only university at the time dedicated to studying manga, anime, and games. 

Right in the first day, the first thing Professor Suyama taught my class was about Honne and Tatemae, and the extremely difficult phase teenagers in particular go through when choosing their life careers in high school, conflicted between "following their hearts" and "pursuing realistic jobs".

Honne

“Honne” are a person's true feelings and desires, which are often associated with children. Children typically follow their hearts by default and have no filter when they talk, which is why they are considered honest and pure.

Tatemae

“Tatemae” are the behavior and opinions one displays in public, that are often associated with adults and the masks they need to wear around coorporations and society in general. Adults often need to let go of their inner desires to embrace harsh responsabilities (putting up with a nasty job you hate to get money out of it is one of such examples).

This conflict between Honne and Tatemae is of paramount importance for Japanese culture. You will find it everywhere when consuming Japanese media in fact.

This is also the real reason most anime is centered around young people and most protagonists happen to be adolescents living their dramatic first experiences with the conflict. It does not in fact have much to do with the demografics it seeks to target, the deal is audiences of all ages will easy connect with the characters' conflict, simply put, because:

 everybody has been a teenager at least once in their lifetime

 that inner child in you never actually dies...

No matter how hard you may try to completely ignore your true feelings, they will always lurk inside of your heart to trouble your most important life choices, even into adulthood

Knowing to ballance out both sides of this scale, boy, it’s really hard!! And you can mark my words here: this inner conflict will follow you to your grave, it will NEVER go away.

SK8 the Infinity: the Power of Chuunibyou

Or

“When adults embrace Honne without shame... except one (and Tadashi I guess xD)”

In a society where sacrificying your individual desires for the sake of the community’s best interests is practically the norm, of course those who don’t conform to conventional “adulting” and follow their desires can be considered selfish. Some derogatory terms exist to address such people.

- Otaku is one of such insults, when a person engages in a object of desire and obsession so deeply it’s all they talk about. Too immersed in their inner world, they may loose interest in real life just to completely indulge their passion for a given topic. 

In online western communities the term “otaku” has lost some of its original meaning and is often meant to address “anime fans” who overshare knowledge “normies” won’t give a darn about - something akin to the term “nerd” perhaps. But the term Otaku in Japan carries a much heavier and derogatory meaning, since it is meant to address the kind of creppy individuals who typically stalk the idols they love, collect their underwear, and marry fictional characters like Hatsune Miku as if they were real.

Another derogatory term Japan came up with is the Chuunibyou.

- Chuunibyou 厨二病 - can roughly be translated to "Seventh Grade Syndrome". It is a mocking term used to refer to the feelings and behavior adolescents go through when they reproduce elements of fiction in real life and feel like heros. 

Typically, everybody goes through a chuunibyou phase at least once in their lifetime. Is it embarrassing? Oh you bet! But everybody has lived it once. It is a delusional state of mind typical of teenagers where the person will behave or feel like a protagonist of an animated TV series, game, or manga, and cannot resist the urge of importing aspects of that pubescent fiction into their lives or routine: flashy clothes, names of techniques, quirks, looking down on adults, etc.

There are many ways of manifesting this energy in fact:

Performing dramatic poses typical of anime.

Speaking and behaving like fictional manga characters (The nyahs, the dattebayos, and even memes like Omae mou shindeiru).

Starting to practice a new sport because your favourite characters made it cool and fun (*wink*).

Coming up with a fictional persona or an alias of yourself, creating a cool edgy name and all, especifically meant to manifest this child-like cool energy (Steins;Gate is an anime series that has a protagonist suffering of these exact chunnibyou symptoms - check it out in the future if you can!)

It exists in various degrees and manifestations, some healthier than others but, in general... That is the chuunibyou.

You see, even adults can go through temporary chuuni-phases. In fact, a HUGE percentage of the anime and manga industry these days is crafted to appease people's "inner drive” and wish for this phenomenon.

SK8 the Infinity is no exception, with Shadow, Cherry, and Joe as the embodyment of functional adults who embrace the chunni without shame.

Amazing salarymen at day, silly skaters at night. Cherry and Jou call each other names like 10 year olds and surround themselves with very chuuni-things like the AI Carla that seems to transform into any form Cherry wants, impossible super-human skating techniques named absurd things like "POWER BREAK”, and jumping off cliffs because, well, that is cool as hell, not riddiculous at all (you could die, but, you know... details), it’s something edgy that they totally embrace thank you very much.

And that’s the point. Jumping off cliffs is in general irrelevant when you are drunk in the elixir of immortality and youth that being a teenager encompasses. So of course as you grow older you don’t want it gone. 

The grounds of the adandoned mine illegal skating “S” takes places at night, therefore, exists to indulge these people who like to live on the edge.  The S grounds are a festival of fun, of the illogical, of the absurd.

Of course there are no rules there. Why would they limit themselves with boring rules when, in the realm of fun, the sky in the limit?

An expulsion from paradise: when you repress your true feelings

The reason SK8 The Infinity stands out in the middle of thousands of anime powered by chunni-syndrome alone is precisely that it delivers a bit of an interest view about the issue of escapism itself, and why it happens for that matter.

While it never actually takes itself too serious, it also delivers an interesting commentary about the phenomenon. Which brings us to Aisonuke Shindo, Reki’s personal nemesis and Langa’s number one otaku fan.

Aisonuke does stand out as the caricature of the passionate individual who is denied the right of indulging his inner child and means of self-expression, because 1) of his conservative family, 2) the general expectations raised by adulting and 3) his hierarchical status because, well, social classes are kind of an animal of their own.

Ainosuke was denied the right of having fun and being himself even when he was still a child, the very age a person is expected to, duh, be childish and self-centred, which is of paramount importance for the individual to develop their own identity, sense of independence, and self-worth. No matter how silly. No matter how “cringy”. It doesn’t matter. Is it natural.

So what is unnatural is to expect adult behaviour from a child. And you know, Tadashi is also a victim of this educational system, for being encouraged to bow his head to Ainosuke’s father and “tatemae-oriented” mentality, instead of expressing his true feelings about the issue of Aisonuke being forced to stop skating. 

Being able to express your feelings and yourself is something pretty much any healthy teenager aged 17 should be allowed to do... but in Japanese society? Well, that isn’t always a luxury teenagers can afford to, not when the educational system there can be extremely competitive and goal-oriented, and the ways of the senpai are expected to dictate the norms. Excelent grades and success are taken rather serious, so naturally the pressure put on teenagers is huge.

Of course no teenager should be forced to grow up so fast they barely have any time to actual develop and mature. They need to be granted some degree of independence and freedom, more akin to the way Reki and Langa are allowed by their amazing mothers. And that is basicaly one of the issues SK8 refuses to gloss over.

Let children be children is one commentary to draw out of this, but the real tragedy isn’t so much that. It’s actually how much this impacts the very relationship between Tadashi and Ainosuke in result, and well as most relationships they once had with former-friends around them.

Tadashi bowed his head to Tatemae and refrained from supporting Adam at the time he most needed it. So of course Ainosuke fells betrayed by Tadashi at this point. Tadashi is the friend who has introduced him to the joy of Skating, but also the metaphorical Snake who has “expelled” him from the paradisiacal realm of true feelings he was allowed to taste for a brief period of time - but that he will never forget.

The birth of Adam: the Matador of Love

It is interesting to observe the true reason Ainosuke embraces the most twisted version of his ADAM persona isn’t so much the “Three aunts” that have haunted his life for years. On that topic, I laughed out loud when episode 12 revealed Ainosuke was the “secret source” that prompted the police investigation all along. Meaning he pretty much handled over the corrupt Takano guy to the police immediately after his aunts told him to cover for him instead. Takano’s arrest happened on episode 7, at a time audiences are supposed to think Ainosuke too is in trouble. This is an artifice of midsdirection Japanese entertainment does love to pull off, again and again, to betray audiences’ expectations - go google “Kishotenketsu” for more.

There is some commentary to be drawn in how ADAM's violent style of skating is themed after flamenco dancing and Spanish bullfighting, though. He's like a Spanish Matador who "teases" / "flirts" the Bull in an arena in front of an energetic audience for 15 minutes of epic agony and torture, before he finally kills the bull off.

Bullfighting is claimed to be a ritual of admiration for a bull's strength. Practiced in Spanish and Portugal for many centuries, it is a practice that is slowly becoming extinct.

But the ritual includes Matadors (Lit.: “Killers”), a role performed exclusively by males who wear flashy costume colours and perform coreography moves at the sound of a crowds “Olé!”, in an grotesque albeit elegant display of dominance over something as powerful and dangerous as a wild Bull, that can kill a person easy if angered afterall. These practices of course always ends with blood when the bull is finally killed off and made food of.

(As a Portuguese individual myself, perhaps back in ancient celtic times this kind of ritual made sense, but these days? It does feel disrespectful to the bull’s life)

Well, this perfectly encompasses Adam’s own twisted sense of love that his aunts insisted educating him into, that love and forceful dominance in the name of such love are somehow similar things or interchangable.

Several adults from all kinds of backgrounds may develop a nasty tendency to conflate the two and, just because their children are children, it doesn’t mean they don’t own them respect for the individuals they are or are trying to become. 

Children need to be educated in the name of love and a ballanced degree of orientation is always important, but they need to be respected and listened too as well, not simply being ordered around and punished if they happen to not obey. That in itself is not proper education. It’s suffocating the individual instead of nurturing the potential of said individual.

So of course there's a sense of Poetic Justice when our "Redhead" Reki Kyan ends up treating the matador like the bull. It’s like the ritual of love turns against ADAM this time, and Adam gets to experience a taste of his own remedy.

And since Ainosuke’s fall began with Snake, it is apropriate that Reki helps Tadashi realise his mistake. You see, Adam could have endured this hellish life if only he had Tadashi and skating by his side. The problem is that skating remained, but Tadashi’s support was suddenly gone. It is very telling that Ainosuke does not quit skating in spite and keeps seeking for someone else to fill in Tadashi’s shoes.

Ainosuke wants his best friend Tadashi to be bold and stop saying “yes” to social norms, even going as far as trolling him and daring him to take the blame for a crime he obviously did not commit. To which - disappointingly - Tadashi claims his opinions have no value.

It’s extremely ironic that the one time Tadashi dares and has some degree of initiative is the one time he tries take away something from Adam he has long ago taken away from him: the fun of skating. Tadashi doesn’t seem to comprehend the irony of this gesture either... until he’s confronted with Reki’s philosophy of skating.

Seeking Happiness

Ainosuke is a riddiculous over-dramatic character - as all chunnibyou characters are - so of course he would bring Christian symbology into this unprompted. 

Adam himself clears out by the end of episode 11 what’s the deal with his apparent obsession with this “Eve” (that, apparently, didn’t even need to be Langa in particular).

It turns out the whole Eve analogy is meant to be perceived like Ainosuke’s dramatic way of acknowledging,  "I have fallen, I have been expelled from the paradise, but I don't want to be alone in my personal hell". 

Things like Christian symbols are considered foreign and cool af in Japan, even when they have no clue what most of it even means (Evangelion is one of those anime guilty of using and overusing cool symbols without a very clear intention in mind xD). It really is no wonder to see it here, albeit refreshing that in SK8 it actually helps making sense of the TV show instead.

I’ve commented on streaming websites that a redemption arc for Adam would be welcome for me if nothing else because I really have a strong distaste for Augustine's manichaeistic gnostic-influenced interpretation of Eve and the original sin. The concept that people cannot atone for "sins" is too often an artifice used and abused to excert dominance over our true potential of growth.

People do have to be held accountable for mistakes (and this form of punishment manifests in how people who have been hurt may not forgive easy, as nothing hurts more than social ostracization), so of course Reki did punish Adam in his own way.

But that doesn't mean you should stop trying to get up and fix the mess you have created, thus owning up to your own mistakes like the responsabile adult you do need to become at some point in life. 

Killing off the archetype of the “evil guy” or literally punnishing evil does work in several forms of fiction as a metaphor for what facing and confronting your inner demons encompasses, especially in western fiction for kids. That said, this is a Japanese show released in a slightly nuanced cultural context, in a society where fear of failure and feelings of inferiority may lead to suicidal tendencies and depression, when it doesn’t simply develop into unhealthy copying mechanisms such as those embraced by Otaku who become isolated and lonely, lost in the wildest forms of escapism. Reality and social expectations can be crushing like that, overwhelming.

It is simply much more powerful to encourage audiences to Be brave, you cannot simply give up on yourself. 

It feels apropriate that the purest of the characters, Langa, who is the embodiment of Honne, honest feelings, and whom not even Reki had the guts to look in the eye during his darkest self-doubting phase, teaches us to not close the coffin’s lid on ourselves just yet and sheers us up. He is able to see Reki’s true worth, and finds even a sparkle of light behind Adam’s mask. Langa too had a dark phase he almost gave up, but then he found Reki.

Together, they help and encourage each other. And you know... this works for everything in life.

If you fall, you get up.

If you fail, you try again.

If it's broken? Fix it.

It's the same about skating; you will try and get hurt a lot but you still need to keep going in order to achieve something. Because as long as we remain alive and don’t give up on ourselves? We will always have a chance of achieving happiness... if properly surrounded by those we love and inspire us to push forwards, that is.

© All images used in this article belong to Project SK∞, courtesy of Studio Bones.

[commander-kirschtein]

warrior modern!au quirk headcanons

some random headcanons of our favourite warriors and what i think they’d be like in a modern!au (includes zeke, porco, pieck, colt, falco and gabi - reiner, annie and bertholdt are included in the 104th version which you can read here) hope you enjoy - mac

masterlist

zeke jaeger:

such a dick when it comes to driving - will pull out on people, refuses to give way, if he thinks you’re driving too slow he’ll tailgate behind you. and god forbid you’re a passenger in his car - at times you’ll be holding on for dear life because zeke decides the speed limit for himself. also don’t you dare eat or leave rubbish in his car unless you want him to kick you out on the side of the road.

does a lot of travelling - probably has a bucket list to visit so many countries in the world and visit all the heritage site. and you best believe he brings it up in every conversation.

when he’s busy doing something, he will mumble his internal monologue under his breath.

he is a ‘don’t talk to me until i’ve had my morning coffee’ kinda person.

has the most ineligible handwriting - like a doctor’s note/russian cursive kind of handwriting (so does grisha - it runs in the family.)

porco galliard:

definitely has a thing for tattoos - mainly in places where they’re not too noticeable - maybe one on his chest, one on his ankle, another near his hipbone (although i can also see him with a sleeve and it would look amazing.)

doesn’t smoke but he’s always carrying a lighter - he likes to play with it (which he thinks makes him look really intimating - it doesn’t, especially when he fumbles and struggles to get it to light properly.)

had an obsession with dinosaurs as a kid. literally his whole room was dinosaur themed and had a dinosaur birthday party for three years in a row (he pretends it didn’t happen but marcel would bring it up all the time.)

if he ever gets a slight pain in his body he goes straight to google - looks up all his symptoms and convinces himself that he’s dying.

porco has terrible eyesight. but he refuses to wear glasses in front of people so is always wearing contacts. but just imagine one day he realises he’s out of contacts and has to wear glasses for the whole day - his world would come crashing and it would take some major convincing for him to even get anything done that day.

pieck finger:

pieck is like a magpie - if she sees pretty things she will collect them. this will be anything from jewellery to loose buttons, cool looking coins, shells from the beach - she’ll put them all in a jar together.

she definitely had an emo phase. i can see her with black eyeliner, probably had a myspace page, definitely cried when my chemical romance broke up.

likes to doodle on things. when writing notes for a class, her page will be half notes and half little drawings of random things that have nothing to do with what she’s making notes about. especially likes to draw flowers and little sketches of things she can see out the window - and following from this, she probably spends a lot of time daydreaming.

has very vivid dreams and writes everything down in a dream journal - is able to lucid dream too. if she has a dream about you, no matter how weird, she will tell you with no shame.

very eco conscious - would probably buy a lot of clothes thrifted, would use shampoo/conditioner bars, would go to refill stores instead of buying brand new.

colt grice:

super sensible with money - like if he has the intention to save money he would actually do it and wouldn’t spend any of it.

owns several houseplants and would actually manage to keep them alive for longer than 2 months.

would always write people thank you cards if they gave him a present for his birthday or christmas - a text would not be sufficient, it would have to be a handwritten card.

when he was younger, he did a paper round and would walk people’s dogs for pocket money. he loves dogs and would definitely get one once he gets his own place.

but he also likes cats!! if he saw a cute cat on the road he would stop to pet and fuss it (would get super pouty if he did a pspsps and the cat ignored him and ran off.)

falco grice:

doesn’t like things to touch when he eats - also a very picky eater. one of those kids that will just have a diet of chicken nuggets and pizza (refuses to eat vegetables - colt would have to pay him $10 before he’d even consider putting a piece of broccoli in his mouth.)

would ask you if you have games on your phone.

never bothers unlacing his shoes and forces his feet into them - colt tells him off for it but he still does it (and consequently goes through too many pairs of shoes.)

does fornite dances in public. and definitely plays minecraft and watches minecraft/fornite youtubers - plays it at a really loud volume much to the annoyance of colt.

is that kid who’s broken every bone in his body - literally gets taken to the emergency department every 6 months for an injury he got while doing something stupid.

gabi braun:

threatens to fight everything - people, animals, inanimate objects - she wants to fight it (never actually would though, she just wants to seem tough.)

super snarky and sarcastic towards adults - if you’ve ever played the ‘last of us,’ i feel like gabi would be very similar to ellie in the fact that she’s got a retort back to everything. and despite being a kid has such a habit of swearing, like where did you learn all of those words child??

has an obsession with insects and creepy crawlies. when everyone is screaming because there’s a spider, gabi is screaming too but out of excitement. she’d pick it up and chase people with it (mainly falco who tries to run but gabi catches up too quick and shoves it in his face.)

despite being ‘tough’ she still sleeps with a night light and her stuffed animal she’s had since she was a baby.

halloween is her favourite time of the year. she loves everything about it - candy, dressing up, scaring the living daylights out of people - it’s her kinda holiday.