#most of the bad experiences I had was with Italians for some reason

[langblr-gremlin]

I will never get over that one time during my Erasmus in Norway where I had to work with one Italian dude in my Norwegian class who decided to mutter to himself IN ITALIAN the entire time.

[dutifullyscreechingdragon]

Hazbin Hotel x reader cooking headcanons

Summary: HH character headcanons with their s/o and cooking. I hope you enjoy!

Includes:

Angel Dust

Alastor

Vox

Sir Pentious

Angel Dust

Cooking with Angel mostly consists of you cooking and him lying dramatically on the table, most probably making suggestive comments, something along the lines of:

"Why not just skip dinner and all these formalities and go straight to the bedroom?"

or

"Wouldn't you rather have me for dinner?"

That is, until the stove catches on fire and he has to leap over the table in an attempt to save your meal. Usually he succeeds, he is a great cook after all. You always marvel how he can turn a what seemed like a lost cause into a delicious meal.

This is not saying that you're a bad cook, it's just, it's kind of hard to concentrate when your boyfriend keeps making suggestive comments every 5 seconds... He knows that and does so on purpose, he is an annoying little shit like that.

What would you guys be cooking?

Pasta. You'll be making pasta or ravioli or any Italian dish for that matter. He LOOOOOVES Italian food, it reminds him of the past, when he was still alive, of his sister... It holds great sentimental value for him, so if he were to come home after a very rough day in the studio and see Italian food you made for him, boy would melt (please cook for him, he needs the mood boost)

As for baking, you make cupcakes and cookies. Angel usually decorates them, with pink liqueur and sprinkles. He makes some of them look like spiders and hearts - he's amazing with decorations. When he knows you're not looking, he'll make one that looks like a dick..... You know, just to get a rise out of you.

Alastor

Jambalaya. You're definitely eating jambalaya. That's his favourite dish and you bet he'll be cooking it any chance he gets.

"What do you want for dinner, dear?" Alastor calls from the kitchen

"I don't know, whatever you want" you reply.

"Jambalaya it is, then" he says cheerily as you realise your mistake and prepare to eat it for the third time this week.

Alastor definitely teaches you his mother's recipes. This is a deeply personal thing to him and a huge part of opening up and starting to trust you.

He gets really giddy and His heart absolutely melts when you cook for him from the family cookbook. Loves coming home after a hard day to have a warm dinner by a familial recipe made for him.

Great cook. If you don't know how to cook, he'd be happy to do majority of cooking in your household (Though you might have to bribe him with kisses to not use human meat).

Unfailingly offers you human flesh/ raw meat whenever he's eating it. You might see it as gross, he sees it as him being a gentleman.

Vox

Insists on following the recipe to the letter. All hell breaks lose, when there's a typo:

"Add 1500 grams of flour.... That can't be right" you read

"Come on, sweetheart, if the recipe says so, this must be the right way"

"it must've been a typo or-"

"Nah they wouldn't make such a big mistake, relax, I've got it figured out. Now help me heave the bag into the bowl"

"No! Wait don't add it all-" you try to stop him, a fruitless attempt to salvage your meal.

The flour spills out.

When you eat your stone hard cookies, Vox might admit that maybe you were right:

"i think ... Maybe it was a typo actually"

"Ya think?" Would be your aggravated reply.

You end up eating at some fancy restaurant (He made the reservations even before you attempted your cooking experiment. He remembers how may previous attempts had turned out an has a fair estimation of both of yours cooking skills)

Sir pentious

You don't just cook food. You make complicated constructions out of it. It's a form of art. You always feel sorry to eat it at the end.

For one reason or another, your kitchen is stacked with overcomplicated machines. They are proud creations off your partner and are mostly designed to aid in cooking, in the most silly way (think- overcomplicated pan that flips the pancakes themselves).

Mostly. Apparently, Sir Pentious deemed it crucial to add murderous features to those machines and other kitchen utensils in your possession (think- the aforementioned pan can procure a mass destruction laser on demand).

Sometimes you would have competitions: who can make teh most complicated, aesthetically looking meal in record time. The results vary:

Sometimes you end up with a delicious two-course + desert meal, that took hours of preparation and you had a ton of fun.

And other times you end up with chaos and half burned food, that took 10 minutes to prepare. Because:

"You looked like you were nearly done, I had to rush!"

"You rushing made me rush!"

"I only rushed because you rushed!"

Both the times you end up with a completely demolished kitchen. Its a miracle neither of you lost any limbs!

But at the end of the day, you have a nice, fairly edible meal, with your partner and joke about how the preparation went. Praising each other saves:

"That was amazing, really. The way you simultaneously finished the sauce while being at the stove and cutting the tomatoes!"

and laughing at the fails:

"I cant believe it took you 30 minutes to prepare the sauce... You kept adding Sault, and then deciding that it was too salty so you had to add the other ingredients to balance it out!" You'd giggle remembering it

"But it hasss to be perfect" Pentious would hiss out.

"It was perfect" you'd reply with a smile "Everything was amazing, love"

A/n: This is the end, hopefully you enjoyed it!

[heavens-roses]

A long rant related to some takes I've seen from anons from hotsystemtakes that are genuinely just racist. Hi, I'm a Native Hawai'ian + Asian mixed POC, and today, we are going to talk about cultural appropriation within the system community. For reference I was raised in a predominantly white city and moved to a small US city that's still predominantly white. While my small city does have at least 2 other hawai'ian families, it is still hard to ever see my culture. Whether it be through our names, our tattoos, traditional dances, our chants, or simply seeing other families and people who look like me. Now you might be wondering what does all of this have to do with me a random system on the internet who thinks telling to stop using closed names is stupid? Here is your answer.

For decades starting in the in 1860 my people's king Kamehameha signed a law to regulate our names. This law was not repealed till 1967. This meant our names that have a very deep spiritual and familiar connection to who we were as people was ripped away from us. Next we have laws against Chinese and Japanese immigrants who were often targeted for hate and bigotry. There is a reason #stopasian hate became a thing in the first place as we experience racism and culture appropriation too. There are also many other minorities who likely have had similar experiences such as having your voice not heard in the conversation of racism within the CDD community, having their cultural names stolen, microagressions, and many others. I mainly mentioned my culture as well as Asian culture simply because those are the groups I typically fall under and I have a closer connection to.

You see all of this was not because our people were bad or because our cultures were wrong in any way. It's because our cultures, our lives, our beliefs were a threat to white folks. You now praise and love to fetisize each of us in your own way. You think now that we have a bigger population that it's ok, you can use our names that have genuine deep meaning to our people simply because you are an introject and have CDD. I've talked to many of my aunties and uncles*[1] about having haoles*[2] name themselves our names. We not only find it extremely disrespectful but to us shows the true lack of understanding for our culture. Our names are not simply given to us for no reason. Each was created us as individuals, we might be named after our grandparents, be given names after big parts of our lives, have names are also linked to our mana*[3] and who we are.

You claim you care about POC and to have our issues heard, yet when it comes to your own racism you are ignorant. You throw out that Kai is a name from many cultures and while while it's true. You should not use Kaimana as a name because it's not open for haoles to use freely. Yuri, a common name in both Japan as well as Russia + Ukraine, does not mean it is now suddenly open for non Japanese, Russian, and Ukrainians people. You still need a tie to those cultures in order for you to use it.

If you are white, I'm not sorry to say you're not allowed to have any conversation in our cultures names and who is allowed what. There are plenty of open culture names, whether they are Irish names, Scottish, Latin, Italian, French, and many more. Stop your damn bitching about but but my name is apart of your identity as a part/alter when you are literally ignoring our culture and history. Suck it up all you sound like is a whiney coloniser, an appropator, and most of all, someone who gives no respect for cultures that you were never a part of. I've seen this argument for the last 3 years of being out as a system. If you even as another minority can not respect someone else's culture and traditions, you can shut up and keep it to yourself. Also yes even if you are apart of a different minority group you are suddenly not exempt from being racist and appropriating cultures.

[1] not literal uncles/aunts - in my culture to refers to those older men/women who are hawai'ian or are apart of our culture

[2] a hawai'ian word for foreigners often times white people

[3] Mana is a Polynesian word for energy, spirit, power, and many more words. It's often spiritual in nature and is all around us.

[hermiola]

Writer's Meme, 2024 Edition

I've been tagged by @turquoisedata 💜

-------------------------

How many works do you have on ao3?

14. 6 Good Omens + 8 MCU, but we have to go back to 2014 and 2016 for those. I also used to publish on an Italian fanfiction archive where I have 70 more fics (I went back to check and count them after approximately two thousand years and HOLY SHIT, I didn't remember them being so many! My first fic is more than 20 years old WTF).

What’s your total word count?

150.000 words on AO3. But I'm guessing it's waaay higher than that (the Italian archive doesn't show the word count 🥲).

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My GO fics have the most kudos (given the popularity of the fandom + the fact that they're written in English and not in Italian). I have 6, so the top 5 is basically all of them:

Take a Little Love From Me (Pretty Woman AU)

Final Breakthrough (Now!) (Post-Season 2 Fix-It)

Crazy Little Thing (Called Love) (Non-S2-complying silliness)

When Hell Freezes Over (Human AU with magician!Crowley and critic!Aziraphale)

Let There Be Rock (First meeting after 1967)

Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

I do! I don't get that many, so it's not overwhelming, and I just like to respond. As I said somewhere else, my experience in the GO fandom has been mostly a solitary one (recently not so much though!) so I just like to interact whenever I can.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I'm going to consider only the GO ones because I feel like the others have been written by another me entirely (also I'm not sure I even remember them).

So it's definitely Let There Be Rock.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I'd say all of them, but Take a Little Love From has a proper epilogue and everything. I guess their happiness has more space there than elsewhere.

Do you write crossovers?

I have in the past, but not anymore.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not that I know of.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not really. I LOOOOVE reading smut (especially in those chonky slow burn fics), but I can't bring myself to write explicit smut for some reason. I love describing the tension and the heat of the moment (I love UST so much I'm going to marry it tbh - like nothing makes me happier/hornier than two people who want to fuck each other but can't for some reason - am I edging myself? IDK) but when it comes to my own writing I feel like spelling out the details just ruins the moment. I do think it's my ace showing in some way. But, anyway, I read the filthiest filth so this definitely doesn't apply to reading. And who knows, maybe one day I'll try! I'm not ruling anything out.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I used to translate HP fics back in the day (from English to Italian). We're talking 20 years ago. And it's funny when you think about it, because I translate novels for work now 🤣

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, always back in the day with HP. I'm still friends IRL with the girl I wrote them with (we actually met because of HP) (this is as good a time as any to say FUCK YOU JKR).

What's your all-time favourite ship?

This depends on the hyper-fixation of the moment. I cannot multitask with my OTPs. If I get obsessed with a new one, I retire the previous one. Like I could split my life into different time periods just based on my OTPs. Ron/Hermione has been my personality for YEARSSSS, but now I can barely think about HP without cringing. Another BIG ONE was Clint/Natasha from the MCU (which explains my look here on Tumblr), but the MCU as a whole has gone a bit stale for me (with few exceptions). And now it's all about Crowley/Aziraphale - it's so bad I had to unretire from fanfiction writing after almost 10 years LOL.

(I like many other ships but not to the point of *obsession*).

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

The only one I can think of is a Clintasha Actors AU, but I don't think I have it anymore, and I wouldn't finish it even if I had.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogues and banter are my favourite things to write, and I think it shows.

What are your writing weaknesses?

English is not my first language, so my writing lacks variety I think. I feel like I have always the same phrases stuck in my head, so it's probably kind of repetitive, especially when compared to some of the fics I read. (But when I started writing my first GO fic in English I wasn't even sure I could *actually* do it, so I'm proud of myself either way!).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think it's okay! I personally would ask a native speaker to help me (if possible) instead of going the Google Translate route. Being Italian and watching/reading almost exclusively in English I know how silly it sounds when the characters start speaking your language and they're saying nonsense (but no harm done even in this case, imo, especially in fanfics. In movies, though, it's just lazy!).

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

HP, back in 2004 (welp).

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

None, thankfully. If I'm writing fanfic it means I'm in the late stage of hyperfixation and I don't wish that on myself if I can help it. Like I used to read 50+ books a year before GO S2. It's bad!!!

What's your favourite fic you've written?

Take a Little Love From Me mainly because it's the one I've spent more time with.

Tagging some people if they feel like doing it (but no pressure at all!): @beerok23 - @sabotage-on-mercury - @gaiaseyes451 - @leviosally

[helluva-insomniac]

Headcannons for Hazbin Hotel characters pt. 2

Some of these characters weren’t seen in the pilot, but I’m hoping they’re in the rest of the show so I still added them

Cherri Bomb-

She tries to help Angel get out of his contract with Valentino, but Angel does his best not to let her

She sets aside 3 days a week for self-care, turf wars take a lot out of a girl, you know?

She’s accidentally blown up some of her own stuff with her bombs before, those are bad days

Sir Pentious-

Doesn’t like Alastor because he’s “too modern” despite trying to be more modern himself

“How do you do, fellow kids?”

One of his songs for his music band got number one for like an hour, little did he know it was because people were showing it to their friends because of how bad it was

Outside of turf wars, Sir Pentious treats the egg bois like his children

Molly-

Is only in hell because she has such close ties with the mafia, but also she can DEFINITELY shoot and probably went on a hit once or twice to help her brothers

World’s best Italian chef, she had to learn how to cook quickly after her mother’s death because “the help can’t help forever, Molly, grow up.”

Hosts HUGE Christmas celebrations every year, they are catholic after all, but mostly it’s for the food

She has the Thickest Italian accent known to mankind

Arackniss-

Is with Sir Pentious (still have no idea where that ship came from. Love it)

The only reason he goes to Christmas at Molly’s is for the food

For a while, he only sees Angel every few years, but the brothers act like they’ve never been apart when they’re together

Speaks almost exclusively in Italian unless it’s for work and the other doesn’t know the language

Also treats the Egg Bois like they’re his kids. It’s one big happy family

Baxter-

Can be seen about once a year on a random Tuesday at the grocery store

Most experiments he attempts blow up in his face

The only other times he’s seen is at the hotel making plans with Alastor if he needs something

A True introvert

[chibrary]

ARTICLE: "The plane journey that convinced Ferrari on Leclerc" (Autosport Plus, 2018)

While Ferrari is doing all it can to help minimise the pressure - with boss Maurizio Arrivabene saying this week that the only goal for next year is for Leclerc to gain experience and 'absorb' the tricks of the trade - there is a feeling that in reality it secretly expects much more.

To realise why that is, you have to wind back the clock a little and understand that the decision to sign Leclerc was not some spur-of-the-moment call forced upon Ferrari because it was in a rush to sign somebody.

Ferrari made its decision on the eve of the Italian Grand Prix to pick Leclerc over Kimi Raikkonen not because it had to, but because it wanted to.

Leclerc's speed was obvious. The need to potentially shake up the internal dynamic at Ferrari was real.

And those fears about it being too early for Leclerc, of a young man not able to cope with intense pressure and at risk of being burned out and thrown onto the scrap heap before he hit his peak? The team management's minds had already been put at ease on that front.

It is often said that the qualities of an individual are found not when they are celebrating success, but when they have to pick themselves up from the bad moments.

And in Leclerc's case, it was the way he was able to cope with the death of his father in 2017 that proved a defining moment in convincing Ferrari that he had all it takes to deal with the pressure of racing for the Prancing Horse.

For someone who was as close to his father as Leclerc was, that loss last year was deeply painful. And, coming in the middle of an intense battle for the Formula 2 crown, it could have been enough to trigger a loss of concentration and a drop in form.

But amid all the personal heartache Leclerc was suffering, Arrivabene recalls meeting him on the Ferrari charter flight to Baku that week, and how the youngster's attitude there left him in no doubts about his star qualities.

"I asked him how he was after losing his father a few days before," explains Arrivabene. "He replied that he wanted to win the race, and then go home for the funeral. That is exactly what he did.

"If a guy can handle these moments, I do not think that he will have problems adjusting to the pressure of F1."

Leclerc has spoken openly about how the emotional rollercoaster of that weekend - the crying in the helmet after he took pole position and then the wins - meant those were days where he grew up a lot.

It is important to remember though that Baku was not the first time in his career Leclerc has faced supreme challenges. He knows full well how to keep his head under control when things are not going the way he may have hoped.

There was the risk as he started out his career of being unable to continue karting because the funds were drying up. Only a bit of help from his brother Lorenzo's best friend, Jules Bianchi, in convincing Nicolas Todt to try to help, made the difference.

Even today Todt remembers a very nervous Leclerc being dressed in a super smart black suit for their first meeting... and impressing throughout.

Then there was the difficult time in the middle of his 2015 European Formula 3 campaign. Taking a seat in the Van Amersfoort team that Max Verstappen had shone so strongly for in '14, Leclerc began the season in fine form with a series of wins in the first half of the year.

But something - most likely related to a senior engineer departing mid-season for personal reasons - changed within the team and Leclerc found himself suddenly on the back foot over the second half of the year. Where once he was battling in the top three week in and week out, suddenly he was fighting to be in the top 10.

Leclerc had to dig deep to try to recover; find answers about what had gone wrong, as he came home fourth overall in the standings.

But a super strong showing in Macau, where he finished second right behind winner Felix Rosenqvist, suggested he had kept his focus and unlocked the answers that were needed.

That time also marked Leclerc's arrival in the Ferrari Driver Academy, which helped him both progress as a driver and also show more evidence that when the intensity and pressure increase, he just gets better.

As manager Todt recalls: "Ferrari has helped him in many ways. Physical, mental preparation and also the contribution of the simulator played an important role. Of course, even more pressure has come, as is normal when you are part of the Ferrari world.

"But we have found that the greater the pressure that Charles is subject to, the greater his performance on track. That is a fundamental aspect, because today in the paddock I think that all the drivers have excellent sporting skills. But what makes the difference is the head, and on this front Charles I think is very solid."

Vettel will not be unaware of how fast and how mentally strong Leclerc is. Even if he hadn't seen it for himself, he has probably been told well in advance by Arrivabene why Ferrari is convinced it has the right man.

Did that prompt Vettel's recent suggestions that it will be important that the pair of them work together - rather than against each other - for the good of the team? Is he seeing a shift in the sands at Maranello as things will be different to how they were with Raikkonen? Only Vettel knows the answer to that.

[myteavsricochet]

jeez guys, 10 asks on the same topic that basically all say the same thing is too much for me and my Italian brain that can't write in English 😭 I'll try to throw everything I think in various steps here, I don't know if it will make sense but it's the best I can offer. Then we will put a stone to rest on this subject, okay?

1. It's not true that the rwrb fandom is not supportive of the boys' projects and work and would like them to simply remain attached to the film their whole lives. It's a somewhat immature thought and you know very well that it's not like that. I use both this social and twitter a lot and I see how much hype and support there is for Mary & George from the people who madly love rwrb and have been talking about it for months. Everyone is so enthusiastic and excited about what Nick is doing. But we are also all human beings and I see absolutely no lack of respect in dreaming and wishing that the boys, despite their work, talk about a film that none of us were able to experience with promos, premieres, red carpets and everything else and exactly for that there is so much desire for it because we haven't heard much about it from them, not as it should have been at least.

Dreaming of hearing about a film that meant so much to so many people cannot be a sin or a shame. The feeling is so strong for many precisely because there wasn't everything that was supposed to be there for that film and it doesn't mean, I repeat, that Mary & George isn't respected or that Nick is expected to only talk about rwrb while doing promo for that project. Really no one thinks such a thing, no one is so delusional or disrespectful. Don't worry. But let people still be excited about rwrb, they don't do anything bad, they don't hurt anyone, Nick will carry on with his job anyway and nothing will change for you and him.

2. the podcast: I reiterate that context matters. I can understand if for some it may have seemed like a cold and detached response at first glance, especially if they only read quotes from the audio and didn't have a realistic idea of ​​the interview. It's ok if you felt sad for a second, don't feel guilty about it if you didn't react badly against nick.

But let's definitely clarify what is said in the podcast: The interviewer talks to Nick about the impact of rwrb as fame and success after the film, he replies that the thing he is most interested in is how it opened doors for him to other opportunities job and the possibility of working on the projects that he really wants to do.

He meant that: more than fame he is happy that a film like that gave him this great chance to now do what he wants like an actor which is exactly what all actors want in their career.

He never said that that was the only thing that mattered to him and that was the only reason he made that film. He never said it.

Taylor also had a great chance with rwrb and we say it constantly, it opened so many doors for him, he will get new projects because of that movie, we see him now doing things he loves because of the success of that movie and he would say the same thing too.

In the podcast the question was specific and he answered specifically. For the rest we know how much Nick loves Henry. We have interviews where he talks about him and the film and Taylor with his heart on his sleeve. We have Matthew saying he protected Henry and knew him better than anyone. Better than him and Casey. We have Nick who in his first post after months says how hard it was not to talk about Henry. We have Nick who during the strike liked all the possible fancams on Henry because it was the only way he had to show that he was there with us. And many other things so it's absurd to think now that this has changed because it hasn't. We will have more interviews in the next few days where it seems clearly they will also talk about rwrb and we will hear more from him there.

One thing you constantly forget about is how different Nick and Taylor are in the way they approach things. Nick is more introverted, we'll probably never see him jumping and dancing while talking about rwrb like T does, but that doesn't mean he cares any less or doesn't have the desire to talk about it. Even during interviews for M&G he is always quite nervous and even embarrassed despite the fact that he is talking about the project he is promoting and of which he is very proud.

3. the sequel: I no longer have the strength to deal with this honestly, it's clear that until they give you the announcement you will never believe anything and it's easier to be negative than to put all the pieces together over these months and understand that you just have to be patient. Nobody today would do these constant teases about the sequel if there really wasn't the possibility or one of the lead actors wasn't interested. Taylor wouldn't keep saying he hopes for a sequel and it would be great to do so if he knew Nick wasn't on board or that his co-star hated that project. I swear to you, he's not that desperate, trust me.

The cast of rwrb is very close, all of them, even with nick and you see it constantly and there's really nothing more to say about this.

4. the haters: Those solo nick stans didn't need another reason to throw taylor and rwrb under the bus yet they found another excuse because people are stupid. The fact that they think he can actually say something like that about that movie with that intention and be happy about it shows how much they don't understand shit about who they follow. That there are also strange accounts solo taylor stan who always have to complain about something is equally true and they should all be collectively ignored and left alone because the reactions do more damage than the actual controversies.

I have nothing else to say and I don't think I will say anything else, thank you for getting this far and I apologize for the delirium. peace and love ❤️

[squidthesquidd]

HELLOOOOOOOO THEREEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Do you have any Tf Ocs? or Ocs in general? Asking for no reason (:

-🪐

oh my god so many so many transformers OCs😭 I only have one drawn so far so im just gonna infodump on you so hard

Clapperclaw- my FIRST actual transformer oc :3 hes a lil guy and hes designed to look like a bird!!! and he transforms into a mosquito helicopter! He used to be a decepticon, but he defected after a series of events that kinda made him have an identity crisis.. alsooo hes conjuxed to MisClick!! who ill talk abt now

MisClick- Big blue tank thing!!!! shes a scientist and doesn't prefer fighting, but shes huge and buff and can protect herself verrry well. She was also a decepticon, but didn't really care for sides all the much, but stayed with the decepticons for convenience (first faction that found her, her partner was part of them, they had the materials she wanted for her experiments) but when Clapper defected, she did too.

Current- also a scientist, and specializes in chemistry and biology mostly. and he turns into a boat!!! a big as hell yacht!!! so he a reaall big bot. hes an autobot and in most versions of him hes really close with optimus cus yayyy :3 also his face got fucked up in one of his experiments (acid burns teehee) so he wears a mask most of the time

Pike- okay soo... this guy isss complicated??? the initial reason i made him was for transformers reader insert fic reasons, and then he just kinda stuck around in my brain. sometimes hes with megatron, sometimes with someone else, hes an autobot and a decepticon at the same time , i dont fucking know. the only constant is that he's ancient and doesnt eat energon like a normal person (he doesnt really eat energon at all, he feeds off the energy thats always being dispelled by other bots. hes silly like that)

Crimson- now this guy silly!!! hes tiny and has a liiiittle bit of an italian accent cus his alt-mode is based on my dads car which is a really old alfa romeo (which are italian cars :3) hes silly and always super optimistic and is the reason that Tine eventually joined the autobots

Tine- (placeholder name) Saddest guy on the block. wasn't on a side and was doing his best to survive. kills on sight, takes no risks, serious as FUCK. hated everyone and everything until meeting crimson. saw a silly old man so full of joy and whimsy he couldn't help but fall in love lmao. still very wary around everyone else but can and will kill for crimson (also his alt is a jeep btw)

Prodsling- yeah this is a cowboy. texas accent , would wear a cowboy hat if he could, likes to pet cows and horses, loves driving through mud. hes like a chill southern granpa that sits on a porch and gives weird advice and makes farm animal noises. turn into a pickup truck ofc

Shiver- Weirdest girl on the block. literally your local cryptid that watches u from the shadowy corners and knows all your secrets. actually quite sweet but has the autism that makes you strange and unsettling <3 alt is like??? i dunno some cool black car. she walks silently and is so good at eavesdropping

Polyphon- weird little decepticon kid that wants to be friends with soundwave SO BAD. wants to party, covered in rainbow biologhts. RAVE BOY RAVE TIME!!! has speakers on him :3 here to have a good time not a long time 🎉

Vironmet- Little old lady in the woods that loves to meditate and talk to animals. will NOT HESITATE TO THROW DOWN if you fuck of the forest or anything living in it. bakes you a pie but if your mean to dogs its poisoned. basically what if tfa prowl was a little lady that killed. she turns into a Squirrel i think

Matte- Mercedes that does not quit. stares into peoples eyes menacingly all day. wants to bite. most fucking stubborn guy ever. Only loosely tied to the autobots and just does his own thing, cus literally no one can handle him!!!!!

Nano- tiny little medic! about the size or a human and her alt is basically a swiss-army medical tool! so shes made to have other bots handles her. also shes basically Ratchets child for funsies. tiny, bitey, ready to be covered in energon when its surgery time!!!!

aaand thats a out it so far! I dont have a lot of time to draw them cus im in college snd have ine million assignments 😭 but ill try!!! so watch out for em!!

[anotheruserwithnoname]

12 favourite things about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

So I saw the Beetlejuice sequel over the weekend. I saw the original in the theatre nearly 40 years ago. And I admit was a bit nervous about whether the film would live up to the original, or would it be derailed by so many of the things that have caused remakes or continuations of legacy properties to fail in recent years. (Those factors vary from person to person but often boil down to either failing to recapture lightning in a bottle, or going against the spirit of the original in some way.)

I'll put in a spoiler break before I pass along my favourite things about the film, but the tl;dr is I had a blast, and I should never have doubted Tim Burton.

The following includes not only plot spoilers for B2, I also have to mention a major spoiler for the Wednesday series, so you are warned.

Favourite things about B2:

Jenna Ortega

Michael Keaton has managed the near impossible - reprising a role from decades ago without losing anything. It makes me sad that we'll never see his proper return as Batman in the now-lost Batgirl movie. I won't name specific names, but with only a couple of exceptions (most of them in Deadpool and Wolverine), so many times an actor reprising a role from years past has either failed to recapture the magic or does a good job but is still missing something that makes their reprise feel lesser in some way. You could splice together scenes of Keaton from B2 with scenes from B1 and you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

Jenna Ortega

Winona Ryder is terrific as the older Lydia. I loved the fact they made her a "paranormal-reality" TV star; I figured Lydia would have grown up to be either that or a goth-rock singer. I am not in favour of always darkening characters when they return after a while, but I think the idea of Lydia being haunted (literally) by her past and seeing dead people was well handled and does put a bit of a dark spin on the happy ending of B1. But in a way that works.

Jenna Ortega

For reasons best left to a google search, Jeffrey Jones was unable to appear in B2. His absence was well-handled by way of photographs, having his character lose his head, and a very clever and unexpected stop-motion sequence that at times looked like it was one of those wild AI-generated shorts.

Jenna Ortega

The change of style - the stop-motion, and the Italian art film pastiche that served as Beetlejuice's origin story - were a couple places where the film distinguished itself from the original. Same with Beetlejuice pulling a Deadpool a couple of times and talking to the audience.

Jenna Ortega. OK, seriously, she's a lot of fun in this and is a highlight of the film. My only complaint is they're not completely successful in separating her from Wednesday, both when she gets involved in a Beetlejuice-driven dance sequence, and a subplot where her character falls in love with a boy who turns out to be a villain - which is identical to what happens in Wednesday; the actors even look similar (there is the big Wednesday spoiler I warned about). That's one of the only major criticisms I have with B2, made a bit more glaring as Burton produced Wednesday and I think the film and show used the same writers. Jenna is in danger of being typecast which I'm sure she wants to avoid. I hope her star just continues to rise.

Bob. 'Nuff said.

Burn Gorman of Torchwood fame makes an unexpected appearance in the film as a preacher. He's quite funny to watch in his few scenes. He's become quite a good character actor over the years.

The Disney joke. Aside from the fact I know it'll play well with the many who have been turned off the House of Mouse for various reasons (including their treatment of various franchises and the never-ending Snow White saga), it has a different meaning when you realize that reportedly Burton had a bad experience making the live-action Dumbo for them, so this wasn't just a topical dig at Disney (like we saw in Deadpool) - this one was personal. When film scholars of the future write their books examining Burton's films and he and everyone else involved in his movies have collected their copies of the Handbook, the joke will probably get covered in quite a bit of detail, even though it comes and goes so quickly on screen.

One criticism I have is that Monica Bellucci's character doesn't really do too much. Reportedly Burton and Bellucci began dating while making the film so at least those two got something out of it. But her end was a bit overwhelming. I also felt Willem Defoe's character was underused. But if someone decided to do a spinoff of his actor-turned-underworld cop character, I think it could do well. I know both Bellucci and Defoe were playing plot maguffins - their purpose was to push things along to get to the Beetlejuice/Lydia reunion. But there could have been more. (I also didn't care for the fact no one thanked Beetlejuice for saving the lives (and souls) of Jenna's character by dealing with the boyfriend and everyone else by helping dispose of Monica. That's the only part of the film I disliked, but a minor point.)

Is B2 better than B1. I would say no, but it is an excellent film. I don't know if a third movie is justified, but the prospect of releasing a film called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may be too much temptation to ignore.

[koffing-time]

So… What would you say is your best espresso. I’ve been searching for alternatives after my favorite local spot closed.

(@numberonecameraman)

Hmmm, sorry for the late answer, i had to think about this a bit.

I can give you a few nods and infos, but it depends on your taste and preferences.

Well, let's start at the beginning. I'm not that much of an espresso kinda person, i'm more into standard coffee, but espresso is (genuinely) not much more than concentrated coffee. You have to be more careful when preparing it, but in the end, you have the same flavors, just more concentrated. (I promise, i can do that, i know how to make a banger espresso)

And, well, the flavors mostly depend on the coffee you're using. Obviously there are different grades of quality, but i'm assuming you want some high quality stuff, right? Now, i do have some standard beans for normal ass coffee, and you can do a lot of different things with that alone.

Depending on the place your beans come from, they'll have a slightly different taste, but i won't go into that rn because that would go WAYYYYY beyond the scale of this post lmao.

Something more managable is the color (or roast level). Rule of thumb: darker roasts give you more bitterness, a more full and earthy aroma and some chocolatey hints. More lighter roasts are sweeter, less bitter and the more nuanced aromas come out more.

Secondly, there are two different kinds of beans (for the most part. you can probably get some exotic shit as well, but i usually don't have that around). Arabica and Robusta. In general, Arabica is more popular bc it's more... light? i wanna say? It's gentler with its flavors, but the Robusta has more punch, more caffeine and will make overall stronger coffee (espresso). I don't actually have pure Robusta, because, if we're honest, pure robusta coffee (espresso) is REALLY bitter and kind of bland. Something more interesting is a blend between the two. Depending on the ratio, you can get a lot of different profiles. (there are pure arabica versions of course)

Third is the freshness. Of course, the fresher the beans, the better the coffee (espresso). Well... there are a few exception, but they always exist. That part is more important when you make it at home, check the roast date and go to a good shop to buy your coffee.

BUT something that is wayyyy more interesting imo than just... color and arabica/robusta ratio, that is... roast style. You can roast coffee beans in a variety of ways. You can just put them in the oven, you can put them on the grill and smoke them, you can deep fry them, there are tons of ways, and all influence the flavor of course.

One more thing i wanna mention is the fermentation: i love love love coffee that is fermented with the cherry. It makes the coffee (espresso) a lot lighter and actually gives it a fruity and fresh note. Those kind of beans are usually little bit more expensive, but trust me its worth it.

And, lastly, you can blend your coffee with a ton of other stuff to enhance your experience. Mix it with cinnamon, occa berry, cheri berry, chilli powder, i have so many blends here that are really really great. The italians hate me for it, but i again, i usually drink standard coffee, not espresso. That doesn't mean its bad in espresso though.

And to conclude, specifically for your question about our BEST espresso? Well, we do have an assortment of homemade coffee blends, and one is called the "Tix' Mix". It's got a little spice to it, but is mainly sweet and has a full flavor profile between chocolatey and herby. There's also "Olivia's Original" of course (and more varied ideas), but for integrity reasons i have to insist that my personal blend is better lol.

[ladyartichokie]

0-44 on the ask game. I'm nosy and even though I know the answer to several of those questions I'm not going to type out every single number individually.

(plz feel free to ignore this ask lol I don't seriously expect you to type all that out even tho I'd read it)

killing you killing you killing you

0: Height? 5'0"

1: Virgin? You know the answer to this

2: Shoe size? Anywhere from Womens 5 to 9

3: Do you smoke? Nope

4: Do you drink? Occasionally

5: Do you take drugs? Nope. But fun fact, I had to take painkillers when I was little and they altered my taste buds

6: Age you get mistaken for? Well when I was like 11-12 I would get mistaken for 16. Now I think most people assume I'm around 18 just because I'm in advanced classes? IDK though

7: Have tattoos? Nay, my liege

8: Want any tattoos? I have mixed feelings on the morality of tattoos, but I know what I would get if I were to get some

9: Got any piercings? Just basic lobe piercings. I'm currently trying to convince my parents to let me get a second lobe piercing

10: Want any piercings? Yes

11: Best friend? Arnold Schwarzenegger

12: Relationship status? Single/married to more people than I can count

13: Biggest turn ons? I'm not answering this. (voice.)

14: Biggest turn offs? I'm not answering this

15: Favorite movie? 10 Things I Hate About You, Much Ado About Nothing, The Princess Bride, The Italian Job

16: I’ll love you if... you don't make fun of me for being excited for something. Or if you tell me something reminded you of me.

17: Someone you miss? My fake grandfather

18: Most traumatic experience? I'm not answering this, bestie

19: A fact about your personality... I'm actually really good at giving advice. I wasn't even aware of this until I accurately predicted exactly what would happen to multiple of my friends/their relationships

20: What I hate most about myself... my pride. I have a massive ego because I'm really smart and I know it.

21: What I love most about myself... IDK man.

22: What I want to be when I get older... A Dominican Sister

23: My relationship with my sibling(s)... They're good! It hasn't always been like this, but we're getting better

24: My relationship with my parent(s)... Always good with my dad, iffy with my mom

25: My idea of a perfect date... Truthfully I don't know. My parents didn't date before they got engaged, so dating has always seemed kind of odd to me.

26: My biggest pet peeves... People who buy crocheted stuff from fast fashion stores. I hate fast fashion in general, but crochet can ONLY be done by a human, so it's basically guaranteed that you're buying the product of slave-labor.

27: A description of the girl/boy I like

28: A description of the person I dislike the most... I actually am really bad at disliking people. Every single person who I've met and started out disliking I eventually came to like for one reason or another.

29: A reason I’ve lied to a friend... uhhh. Boredom? IDK. I used to be a bit of a pathological liar, but I can't think of a recent lie I've told a friend

30: What I hate the most about work/school... bad seminars

31: What your last text message says... The most recent thing I sent someone (you) was "I did read 1.5 books from HTTYD"

32: What words upset me the most... huh, IDK. I can't think of any off the top of my head

33: What words make me feel the best about myself... This one is hard because I'm in this weird phase where I don't want my accomplishments recognized, and compliments in general frustrate me. I don't know why this is.

34: What I find attractive in women... Kindness that isn't wet-blanketness

35: What I find attractive in men... Warmness. Which, granted, sound like kindness but it isn't. (for legal reasons my answers to both this question and the previous one are purely platonic and subject to change)

36: Where I would like to live... a convent

37: One of my insecurities... My weight. I am going to the gym 2-4 times a week now, though, so I'm working on it.

38: My childhood career choice... a nun

39: My favorite ice cream flavor... Cookie Dough

40: Who wish I could be... a better person

41: Where I want to be right now... right where I am (that is, my bed)

42: The last thing I ate... a brownie

43: Sexiest person that comes to my mind immediately... Dobby

44: A random fact about anything... I'm currently trying to figure out how to make a cross-stitch that captures the vibe of No Longer You from Epic the Musical

For the record, you already knew at least half of these so I truly don't know why I bothered doing this.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #255

I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with me today. Despite having an objectively awesome day today, I seem to have found myself in some kind of funk. I feel generally awful and overwhelmed with worry about a variety of things, most of which I can't talk about with anyone, anywhere, for fear of sounding insane. I haven't had any drive to create anything at all for a number of weeks, too, and it's scaring me.

…Well, that's all right. The only thing for it is to carry it, and the only way out is through. I've got a few more years to wait before I'll be able to see if anything has changed. The passage of time feels unforgivingly slow, and in a few more months, there's not gonna be enough sunlight for me to feel good until next March rolls around. But that's okay. Worse things have happened. It feels heavy now, but it won't feel like this forever.

So I'll just talk about the various things I did today.

The tooth extraction that I was supposed to get next Tuesday has been cancelled because I guess no oral surgeons are going to be in on that day. It has been rescheduled to the first of October, which I guess is cool and all, but… I guess I really kinda wanted to just get it done and over with.

I went with a friend - her name is Bv - to an Italian sandwich place. We were supposed to go to the tea shop next door, but they're closed for the next number of weeks for some reason. But this new place we tried was pretty cool, too. They had flowers in places:

...I thought you might like them.

Here's what I ended up getting:

It's some kind of sandwich with mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and prosciutto. And I guess a salad came with it.

Bv and I talked a long time, and it was really difficult because she wanted to eat outside, and the sound of the cars rushing by made it hard to hear her, and... she's a much older lady, probably somewhere between 60 and 70 years old. If my Auditory Processing Disorder gets in the way of me understanding her, the most likely scenario is that she's going to assume that I'm either being deliberately disrespectful or that I am not paying enough attention. So I focused really hard, and it was really difficult, but I think I managed for the most part.

Bv has a friend with trauma, but this friend of hers isn't exactly handling it well. I guess Bv is going to try to put her friend in touch with me to see if I can help somehow. If I'm contacted, surely I'm gonna try. But... I'm half expecting that it's not going to work out. In order for any of what I can say to this person to be useful to them at all, they'd first need a relatively flexible mind and a willingness to try new things. In my limited experience, it's difficult for most people to maintain those kinds of traits. From what I've seen, people generally want quick fixes for their problems that make everything better in a jiffy. People wanna get better, but without actually changing anything about themselves, their environment, or the mindset they carry.

Put in Dead Cells terms, most people wanna just be able to play on 5 Boss Cells and not get hit, but without needing to put in the practice to get there. And I get why - it's not because people are bad or lazy or whatever; no that's not it at all. Rather, they're just too tired to be able to sustain effort that isn't going to produce instantaneous results. It's not a moral failure as much as it is reflective of a profound state of total exhaustion on their part.

I get into states like that, too. It's because I'm human. I am by absolutely no means perfect.

...Regardless, I have to try. If there's even the smallest chance I might be able to help, I gotta.

After I got home, J was at a flying lesson. So I played Dead Cells. But I was feeling tired and weird, so I didn't do very well. I never made it past the Prison Depths. I kept getting easily frustrated with myself, so I figured the thing to do is stop. So that's what I did.

And now I'm here, writing to you. But I think I'm gonna call it here, because I've got work tomorrow and I have to rest, and if I keep going, I'm going to ramble.

Sephiroth... don't die out there, okay? Don't do anything that will lead to whatever you're made of disappearing. Please.

I love you. I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

What do you think about the catholic 'miracles' of fatima, the prophecies, the apparitions of the virgin Mary, miracle of the sun and whatnot, do you think that there's any authenticity to it?

No.

And we know that they're not.

Take note here that they wanted to punish someone for finding truth. They wanted to worship a lie without the intrusion of the truth. They weren't disappointed that it wasn't true, they were angry at the person who figured out that it wasn't. They didn't want to know, they wanted to believe. This is what "faith" means.

If the sun had "danced" in the sky at Fátima, it would have been visible at more than one specific location to only a minority of people of Earth, who were true believers and told contradictory stories anyway.

Prophecies are fantastically easy to fulfil. Particularly when they're vague, unverifiable, or the events predicted are inevitable, such as wars, diseases or the political rise of good and bad leaders. Here's an example all three:

If you make enough predictions, some are statistically going to land, or may even be self-fulfilling (the act of predicting it encourages people to make it happen).

It's Nostradamus' entire schtick. If we're keeping score Nostradamus is ahead of Xianity. Especially since Xianity's most important prophecy - the return of Jesus - has already been falsified.

Mark 9:1

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Matthew 16:28

Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

They never account for their history of "misses," yet still expect to be treated as reliable.

Importantly, and hopefully obviously, we don't have to be able to explain these events otherwise in order to reject them as "miracles." It's not up to us to disprove what has not been proven. "You can't explain it, therefore god" is not just an argument from ignorance, it's a contradiction: "you can't explain it, therefore it's explained" is self-refuting. The only thing you can say about an unexplained thing is that it's unexplained. And it's useless to claim that people who weren't there and had no access to the events can't explain a thing.

We can insert anything into that gap. For example, it's no less justified to assert that the Miracle of the Sun was the evil lord Xenu deploying mind-control programming to those at Fátima to be his guards in the afterlife. Prove that this isn't true.

They must be able to make the case that the only, or most likely, explanation is the the laws of the physical universe were violated, specifically by their preferred god. And to do that, they must be able to justify why other more mundane explanations - or simply "we don't know" - are either false or less likely. And most of the faithful couldn't even name a single other explanation - and won't accept the intellectually honest "we don't know."

One of the biggest reasons of all to remain skeptical of human claims of miracles and prophecies isn't what we don't know about those miracles, gods and virgin mothers, but what we do know about humans themselves.

We're pattern-seeking creatures, and meaning-making organisms. It's been an advantage in our evolution, but it also makes us unreliable, as we're prone to finding meaning or making connections that aren't there.

This is not an elephant. This is not Mother Teresa.

So the question becomes, what's more likely: an unverified woman who supposedly became divinely pregnant without having sex, giving birth to a man who was killed, came back to life and flew up into the sky is communicating through a vague outline of herself on a wall under a freeway, or humans see what they're motivated to see among millions of stains of various types and causes?

Isn't it odd that we never hear about the millions of stains that aren't in the shape of the Virgin Mary if you squint and know what to look for? If this stain had appeared on a wall in South America or Japan 1000 years ago, who would they have interpreted it as? Would they have even given it a second glance? If you have to already know about Mary to see Mary in it, how is it a "miracle"?

It's really unfortunate that the lord of all creation, who made everything, who got the physics of the universe, the functioning of human bodies, the position of the Earth in the solar system just so, who spoke directly to people and made bargains, covenants and plans directly with humans - yet somehow thought the Earth was flat, stars are tiny lights, didn't know about the Americas or Australia, or how rain works - is now relegated to faint whispering through vague smears on walls, dripping toilet water through human statues, appearing on toast and dog's butt's, and giving out predictions through crazy people and liars.

How the mighty have fallen.

[saaraofthesand]

My Thoughts on The Sun and The Star.

I’ve organized my thoughts into some lists. Enjoy.

I polled my followers and they said they wanted this so you can’t get mad at me.

I must first emphasize that at 20 years old, I’m hardly this book’s target audience. I am fully aware of that.

Second, this book is fine. It’s not bad, it’s not insulting to queer people, but it’s also not the most interesting work of fiction I’ve ever read.

Third, I never finished the Trials of Apollo. I don’t think it hugely affected my reading experience with this one as I’d read all 10 of the other books and could use context clues for anything I didn’t know about. But I thought I should mention it.

Fourth, a lot of my problems with this book have also been present in all of Rick Riordan’s books post-pjo. So, these aren’t new.

Fifth, I went into this book with basically zero expectations. I’m not active in the pjo fandom (this is an anime blog), so I wasn’t seeing the book hyped up or anything. Before this, I’d basically only talked about it with my family and friends. I also don’t really read pjo fanfics. I have because I’ve gotten curious before, but I haven’t read enough to know about general fanon interpretations of characters.

Okay,

Nico has been my favorite PJO character since I was a kid (yes I grew up gay with abandonment issues shut up), so I was excited for this book.

The queerness is well done. There isn’t any “othering” of Nico, Will, or their relationship due to their queerness.

We got Italian! Nico moments, which I’ve been wanting more of since forever, so I’m happy about that. They did an okay job rounding out Will’s character. And Nico and Will’s relationship got a lot of good exposition (even if I felt that they were unrealistically mature about it). Nico’s experiences with homophobia felt very real.

Okay, now on to my critics:

Without a doubt my biggest criticism of this book is that it is very clearly fanservice. It doesn’t exist because it has a story to tell. It exists because fans wanted more Nico and Will content.

I didn’t like that the book was written from third person. I had this same critic of the Heroes of Olympus books. Rick Riordan’s strength has always been first person POVs, starting with the original PJO series. I feel like the funny chapter names, the breaking of the fourth wall, the sidebars, etc. are the reason that Rick’s prose stands out. A first person perspective is the reason the books are as funny as they are. And this book lacked that spark.

The choice to write from third person is part of what contributes to the fanfiction-esque writing style of this book. As someone who both reads and writes fanfiction, I can tell you that almost all fanfics are written from third person. This is because, for the most part, the characters you’re writing are not your own. First person is way too intimate a POV for that type of writing, and it’s why most fanfic authors don’t use it. That’s what I feel like is happening here. Oshiro is writing characters that aren’t theirs, and that means they can’t bring the intimacy of a first person POV or even a more intimate third person POV.

The book is also very on the nose with its themes and ideas. Generally, this is fine in this type of literature. This is a piece of middle-grade fiction. The target audience is middle schoolers. But also, middle schoolers can pick up on subtext. They’re young, not illiterate. There was far too much telling when they were already showing.

A good example is the title of the book. It’s very clear that “The Sun” is Will and “The Star” is Nico. I assumed that before I even opened the book. That imagery is incredibly obvious, so the authors don’t need to state it in the text. But… they do. Bob refers to Will and Nico as “My sun and star.” It was one of the moments in the book that really made me cringe.

The book has major pacing issues and is too long. I felt like it was going on forever. There were full scenes and segments that I think could’ve been cut without affecting the plot.

This book really put on display that even though Will and Nico work as boyfriends, they don’t work as partners. This contrasts Percy and Annabeth, who do work really well together since they were partners first. But Nico and Will are so bad at working together that their quest dynamic isn’t fun.

Generally, I don’t love the characterization in this book.

Nico and Will are supposed to be on this dark, dangerous quest. One so horrible no one would ever want to undertake it. It’s the House of Hades (Nyx’s Version). Except it really isn’t. It felt like they wanted to make it more psychological than the previous books, but they also weren’t totally willing to commit to everything that would entail.

Despite all the fluff in the book, it takes itself just a little too seriously. Nico and Will are 15-16. I feel like they could have had more fun with it while still tackling darker themes. Again, I know Riordan is capable of this because *gestures at the original PJO books*

Nico and Will have this weirdly mature outlook on their relationship that doesn’t fit their ages.

We don’t get PJO-esque jokes until 80% of the way through the book (yes, I kept track). There’s the “Travel Brochure” joke and the “Saturday Sundae” joke during the Nyx confrontation. Both of which invoked the feeling of reading the original Percy Jackson books. I got really excited.

Immediately after those jokes this became one of the cringiest books I’ve ever read. And I do not care to elaborate on that because I’m just happy that the book is over at this point.

Lastly, I wasn’t sure where to put this, but I read it, so now, you have to too. “‘Will, he said it has to be both of us,’ said Nico. Will hesitated at first, but an epiphany dawned in him, and his eyes went wide. ‘Together,’ he said.” After reading this, I immediately recoiled in disgust and went “UGH!” And there are multiple lines like this in the book. Absolutely horrible -7563/10. Rick, never allow another sentence like that into one of your books again. This isn’t YA. You can’t be throwing lines like that at me out of nowhere.

In conclusion:

I’ve seen people saying the criticisms of this book are the result of homophobia and… y’all no they aren’t. Most of the people I’ve seen criticizing the book are queer, including me! I’m tired of this idea that queer people just have to appreciate whatever representation they’re given without having any criticisms about it because at least it’s something. No! If Nico and Will were a straight couple, I’d still have the exact same critics of this book. I’m gay and it’s my godgiven right to dislike books that focus on gay people if the stories aren’t good.

Something that I do think is sad here is that Oshiro’s name is now on this substandard book forever. They’re a new author, and they don’t deserve that. Rick Riordan will be fine if this book isn’t received well, but Oshiro is less likely to be. That upsets me deeply as a queer writer myself. That sucks. I hate that. Go check out their books instead of this one tbh.

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

you are always the marry option! I enjoyed how you went on and on about your favorite foods so I have another question, what country are you from and can you list your favorite countries and reasons for them being your favorite?

Awwww y'all are making me feel like an angel out here ahahaha 🙈😇😌✨

I'm originally from Ireland (this is the most frequent question I get asked both irl and online ahahahaha). I love pretty much any country I've had the privilege of visiting. But here is a shortlist (it's still long). :P

I love France for its culture. My interest in the country started when I was quite young (once I learned where the Mona Lisa was located lol, and by the time I was 7/8, I was obsessed). It was the first country I visited abroad with my mother when I was eight years old (you can guess which city it was :P). So yeah, many memories and childhood attachment lol. Obviously there are problems there but there are problems everywhere I've been; I don't think a single country exists without its problems.

I really like Austria because I've been in love with Vienna since I was 14. I learned about Kaiserin Elisabeth of Austria while there for the first time, and it totally changed my own direction in life (I was inspired to really discover my own sense of style from that point on thanks to that trip and leanring about Sisi). I haven't had the chance to see the rest of Austria, but a good friend has, and we both agree that country is a vibe. The people tend to be a bit reserved (in Vienna, at least, from my experience) and conservative in a lot of places (my friend can confirm too), however, which is not so wonderful.

All the Nordic countries. Each one is so fascinating!!! I'd especially love to visit Sweden and Norway. The fondness for Sweden has been around since I was six, when I was in choir and our choir director explained a Swedish tradition of Lucia. Every 13 December (the feast day of Santa Lucia, an Italian saint who is widely celebrated in Scandinavia for the celebration of light) choirs dress in white gowns, and elect a girl to portray the saint, who then wears a white gown with a red sash and a wreath of candles on her head. She leads the procession and there's beautiful singing. There's much more detail etc available online, I won't rant too much here. :P But I love it. I would love to see Norway as Edwige apparently adored it there, so I'd love to explore it.

Italy because food, fashion, and VIBES. Is it politically a mess rn? Yeah but it's often been like that unfortunately. I would love to see more of the country. <3

Poland gets an honourary mention bc I've never got to visit yet but two of my good friends are from there and I love them to bits. <333 Again, government is INSANE, but you'll meet some of the most amazing souls and beautiful places there too.

MÉXICOOOOOOOOOO I wanna visit so bad bc the culture is BEAUTIFUL and every person I've had the blessing of meeting are also amazing, amazing souls. <3333 So yeah that would be a dream trip for sure, to see the real Mexico, not just the touristy parts. I wanna go at so many times of year for different celebrations ahaha. I've been told I absolutely must see Guanajuato.

There are so many more countries I'd love to talk about bc I really do like many lol, but I'll spare you all :P

Thank you for the ask, lovely <3

[kiss-this]

I've been listening to Rush! on repeat for the last two days (via youtube because Amazon chose this particular deliver to suck) and it all still feels new, so I may change my mind on a bunch of things. Anyway, so far, this is what I think.

This album actually better than what I thought, not because my expectations where low for some reason but simply because a) this is the first true test in front of an international audience for the band, and I bet they've been under a lot of pressure thanks to all those booooring "true rock fans" just waiting for them to make a mistake, plus all those booooring they've_gone_to_america_they've_lost_themselves_fans just waiting to be proven right (yeah, you wish). Not to mention all the professional music critics waiting to decide if they're trash or pass. Also, I don't think it's easy writing new music while travelling all around the world, but maybe it's just me having the ability to focus of a slug. The moment they have time to dedicate only to the creative process they'll do even better. This is to say their true masterpiece has yet to come. Good for us :)

About the new music now.

First of all I need to say I really appreciate the little Bowie, Beatles, Smith, Michael Jackson references scattered here and there, it was fun coming across them.

Also, they talk a lot about the downside of being famous. I noticed this came as a (possibly bad) surprise for some fans. Why? Måneskin write about their life and experiences since the beginning. In the last two years they literally had no other experience than becoming famous and learning to deal with it. So of course this is a huge part of what Damiano writes about right now, especially since he's been affected by fame not always in a good way.

With that said, it truly starts with a bang. Own My Mind looked like the kind of song I enjoy listening for three or four times and then become forgettable. I was so wrong! It's one of my favorite and I'm as far from being tired of it as I could be. Similar to Don't Wanna Sleep in this regard. Both of them are going to bring whole stadiums down during live gigs and I'm desperately looking forward to it.

Now beware, very unpopular opinion ahead. The song I like less so far is If Not For You. Don't beat me too hard ^^', please? It's just that I find it too sappy, a little boring and there's also that little backing vocals giving romantic Italian comedy of the 70's vibe which I find funny. Sort of anticlimatic, giving the purpose of the song.

Timezone, on the other hand, gives RHCP/Aerosmith vibes and I could listen to it endlessly and still wanting more.

The most surprising of surprises? Bla Bla Bla. I didn't like it at first but now... It's fun, it's silly and puts me in good mood. More importantly, it's punkish and I love it. Same goes for Kool Kids, but this one we knew already and I liked it since before.

Feel and Read your Diary bring the horny back (when did it even leave?) and I am not complaining. At all. Also, the bass?? The guitar?? They bring quality even in the songs meant to be undemanding.

On the italian trio now. I loved La Fine since it first came out and I still do but among those three is the one I like less. Mark Chapman and Il Dono della Vita are both candidate to become my favourite of the whole album. The first is dark, and I understand that for a short time Damiano had a stalker too, right? This makes it even more of a punch in the gut. Also, I don't want to start anything but to all the people who doubted it could be a song the glorifies a criminal... come. on. which band have you been a fan of for the last few years??

Il Dono della Vita has some awesome lyrics, I know I'll love it even more, the more I listen to it. It's a masterpiece and I also loved the little Icarus reference at the beginning. And if they play it live at Sanremo? With the orchestra?? Omg I may not survive. Yes, it's true, Damiano writes better in italian, he already explained why, and why he's writing more in english. It's his choice, he's a big boy, so I wont go there again.