#mostly i wanted the vibes to be deceptively cute

[nguyenfinity]

More school stuff!!

These are spreads from a type specimen booklet, the objective was to make an 8-page 5″x5″ booklet showcasing the many uses and variations of only 1 typeface on any topic of your choice

So I once again decided to get silly with it--

My other topics in consideration were:

A full summary of all 16 seasons of Ninjago (scrapped because I’d have to write that summary myself and I did not have that kind of time [we were allowed to copy paste as long as we included our source])

The entire national Pokédex. All 1015 of them. Just 8 pages of listing every single Pokémon. It was funny until I realized that’s way way too much.

Narrowed it down to the full dex of just one region but that was still too much-- (body copy requirement was just 5 paragraphs and too much text would be too cluttered)

[rollinouttahere-writes]

I've got an interesting idea for a bug race for a one piece au! Since there is Fishmen and Minks with many distinct animal and fish features in their appearance so how about a race with insect, arachnid and other invertebrate features! 🐌🦋🐛🐜🐝🪲🐞🦗🪳🕷️🕸️🦂🦟🪰🪱 And what kind of bug would each straw hat member be in this AU?

Okay so fun fact about me, I was an entomology major in college before I dropped out. So thank you for this request because it was very self indulgent!

Insect AU

Luffy would be a jack jumper ant (Myrmecia Pilosula). This ant is very strong even by ant standards. Like their name suggests, they can leap up to 76 millimeters, which is extremely impressive when you take into account that they range from 11 - 14 millimeters in size. On top of that, they possess a potent venom that kills other insects with ease. They are notably aggressive, even towards things much larger than themselves, and can reliably kill prey much larger than themselves. Truly a fierce fighter that can go toe to toe with many enemies.

Zoro would be a centipede, specifically the Scolopendra Polymorpha. This centipede varies a lot in color, and can even be green. These guys pack some pretty serious venom with necrotic properties, not something you want to experience. Centipedes are extremely agile predators that can take down all kinds of prey with ease thanks to their strength and ability to contort their body.

Nami would be a velvet ant (Dasymutilla Occidentalis). Despite the name, these guys are not ants, but are ground dwelling wasps that happen to resemble ants. They have a deceptively cute reddish-orange fuzzy appearance, that makes their venomous sting all the more surprising. While only males of the species can fly, females have a stinger that delivers a devastating venom to whatever has it on the defense. While the effects of it are excruciating, it is not fatal. 

Usopp would be a spiny leaf insect (Extatosoma Tiaratum). Despite the name, males don’t have many spikes beyond the ones on their face and some defensive ones on the legs, but they can fly so at least they have that going for them. One of their means of defense is to do a threat pose that makes them resemble a scorpion (and the nymphs mimic the appearance of a toxic species of ants), which sounds like a very Usopp thing to do in my humble opinion. 

Sanji would be a budwing mantis (Parasphendale Affinis). This is widely considered to be the most aggressive mantid species. I will preface this by saying that this mostly applies to females, but for the sake of the AU, I’m going to ignore that and allow Sanji to have these qualities. The budwing mantis is a voracious predator that regularly kills prey three times the size of themselves, and will do their damnedest to intimidate even bigger animals. These guys are ambush predators with insanely fast reflexes. Males are especially eager to find a mate (however fatal that may be). 

Chopper is a bumblebee, specifically the Bombus Balteatus. Why did I choose that one, you ask? Because it was the fluffiest looking one I could find. As for the rest of the reasoning, Chopper just has cute bumblebee vibes to me. He likes using his honey in his medicine when applicable. This is another case of us ignoring insect gender-roles.

Robin is a noble false widow spider (Steatoda Nobilis). This spider is commonly mistaken for black widows even though I don’t get how because they look nothing alike I mean really it’s like saying wolf spiders look like a brown recluse, so they have an unfairly bad reputation. While their venom is medically significant, it’s on par with a bee sting and nothing to worry about.

Franky is an atlas beetle (Chalcosoma Atlas). These are massive beetles with a very tough shell and most notably, have three long horns both for defense and mating purposes. Despite their intimidating size, they are actually quite friendly and make for great pets.

Brook would be a prairie mole cricket (Gryllotalpa Major). Despite the name, these aren’t true crickets, just a close relative. Lacking the specialized legs that crickets use to chirp, they instead rub their wings together to make noise. They dig burrows specifically designed to have excellent acoustics so as to help more females hear their “music”, which is surprisingly complex and can have up to five harmonics.

Jinbei would be a lobster. Not really an insect, but a relative of them no less.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

MACKERELMORE hii good morning i hope u r goodddd :] anyway. staring up at u w/ my big sopping wet shark eyes.... do u have any new haven wards costume opinions & thoughts. ik a while ago u said smth abt imprint showing an Inadvisable amount of skin considering his power bc he's cocky & it's an intimidation thing..... wraith with the whisperer cloak... what else!!!

AH hello!!! I have been. underwater all morning <3 I will be underwater again all afternoon but it's lunch time first :] I will say hi 2 the sharks for u . blow the grouper a kiss etc etc

UHHHHHHHH I DONT HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF THOUGHTS OTHER THAN WHAT WE'VE SAID BEFORE especially because. outfit design is not my strong suit idk how to talk about clothes lmao. but! the generals:

wraith: big loose fitting clothes that conceal a layer of body armor. they let him move and give him a bigger silhouette than he actually has and look deceptively weak? you go to kick a guy in a hoodie and your foot hits a kevlar vest instead. whisperer cape is a must. i dont think he knows the similarity. william was never big into capes i think if he ever saw anything of the whisperer it was only in passing and not enough to stick in his mind. full-face mask (which i would assume is like.... built into the hood somehow? to keep it up on his head better as hes moving), undecided on whether he would keep his hair fully covered or let some of it out from under the hood. i think at first his costume would be white with blue accents ("ghostly" vibes without being too scary) but as time goes on i think it would be cool if it got darker and darker until the white parts have gone from grey-dark grey-black (idk how that would work mechanically but. nudges greyscale implications)

failsafe: HONESTLYYYYY I REALLY LIKE WHAT YOU HAVE FOR HIM SO FAR. crop top is essential. failsafe has way more skin showing than imprint. i think hed keep his knuckles/forearms taped bc his fighting style is very physical? i know dakotas whole thing is kicks only but i think failsafe should get to punch things super hard too like cmon. hes got the likee.... headband mask . i like what u have for him a lot. i think his pants are a lot like wraiths thing where theyre loose and mobile but hes wearing armor under them.

imprint: tactical. his stuff is mostly black i dont think he would budge on that for anything. i do think he should have skin showing like. in case they get caught off guard by a fight i dont think hed want to take the time to have to pull off sleeves or gloves or whatever in case he needed to use his powers in a snap. i DO however think he has gloves just for convenience's sake. but i think he keeps specific body parts uncovered? majority of his arms for sure. he has the half-face mask. idk if this is something the prt would necessarily allow but i think he has a lot of straps and belts and things for holding weapons. i feel like hes trained in so many ways to fight he would probably always want at least a knife or gun on him at all times. the purple accents were the PR teams additions so he wouldnt be totally black. since he wanted to keep his shitty dyed purple hair, theyd at least make the costume match so it looked somewhat cohesive and intentional

OH YEAH u didnt ask abt tide but its very important to me that his costume is like a wetsuit. i havent made my post about tide and wetsuits yet but i think abt him a lot. also i think the ear fins are cosmetic and not a result of weird clone things but i do think he should keep them bc i think theyre cute. ive been imagining wavelengths costume pretty much the exact same as in pd . and i have. no ideas for auxiliary but whenever i think abt him i think abt ur timeline art so thats canon 2 me

[alectology-archive]

do you have any recommendations for people who are a fan of soft, healthy ships? 😅 or characters (male/female/non binary) who are kind hearted and it’s not kind of looked down on or forced out of them. even in the darkest times kinda thing. i don’t care whether it’s f/m, f/f, m/m. all is good. i just want something soft and sweet and something to admire bc i’m tired of all the thinly veiled abusive ships that so many people seem to swoon over. can be fantasy, contemporary, whatever ☺️

oh sure! I'm admittedly a fan of very hostile ships and I rarely seek out books based on the kind of romance in them but I do tend to gravitate towards enemies to lovers and messy relationships a lot so I don't have a lot of recs:

defy the stars (young adult m/f - the best communication that a couple has had in ya. I promise it's worth it even if it’s a little cheesy.)

the priory of the orange tree (adult f/f, m/m - the f/f pairing doesn't really vibe initially but once the romance starts blossoming it's really warm and loving, and so is the mlm couple whose story is mostly told through flashbacks)

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo (adult f/f - evelyn and celia are really complex humans and are portrayed as such which sometimes makes people draw the conclusion that they're hostile but I personally don't feel so)

daughter of smoke and bone (young adult m/f - one of my favourites)

the long way to a small, angry planet (adult m/f, f/f [poly-ish] - possibly the warmest book I've ever read to date)

sabriel (young adult m/f - books 2 & 3 specifically were kind of cute. I'm not really sure how to describe the relationship between sabriel and her love interest in book 1)

the jasmine throne (adult f/f)

the song of achilles (adult m/m - I oscillate between hating it and grudgingly liking it but I think it's worth a read for its lovely prose and I'd definitely describe it as a warm book even if it's wildly inaccurate)

little knife and ayama and the thorn wood from the language of thorns also sort of fit the description (young adult f/f)

I generally have warm memories about these relationships although I can’t say how accurate my memories are:

the kiss of deception (young adult m/f)

the glittering court (young adult m/f)

[amy-issen]

ok so here it is!! i spent the last week solely making and listening to this playlist like i was POSSESED because this ship is lovely and deserved a nice playlist!  if anyone wants to know why i picked each song, i’m going to ramble about it extensively in the read more, so check that out if you want! hope you enjoy it! also thanks again to @birbwell​ for letting me use her art for the cover!

i divided this playlist in a few sections so let’s start with the first one (section one: first meeting/pining) i. in the rain - joe hisaishi i wanted to start with a short instrumental track to set the mood, and i looooove howl’s moving castle score, so i had to pick this one! the fact that it has rain in the title also helps to reference how their relationship began! ii. with every breath i take - frank sinatra “every breath that I take is a prayer that i’ll make you mine” my sister is a big sinatra/jazz fan (and also a yakuza fan) so she helped me with picking a few of the songs here! this one is very romantic, elegant and beautiful and i thought it fit the mood (and it’s what i think tachibana listens to in his free time lmao).

iii. gold rush - taylor swift “what must it be like to grow up that beautiful? with your hair falling into place like dominoes my mind turns your life into folklore i can't dare to dream about you anymore” this one is my FAVORITE song on this playlist, and one of the first i picked because this song just fits them like a glove. it’s basically pining 101, and i love that what taylor said this song is about “daydreaming about someone then snapping out of it.” i feel like the first part could be from tachibana’s perspective and the second one from kiryu’s (also giving a bit of a glimpse into the future, with the mention of a coastal town they’ll never find together) iv. first love/late spring - mitski “so please, hurry, leave me, i can't breathe please don't say you love me mune ga hachikire-sōde (my heart seems like it’s going to burst)” this one was another song i picked very early on because i love mitski, and i needed to include her here. i just wanted something to symbolize the trust that tachibana and kiryu have to share to work together, and the feelings that emerge from it, if that makes any sense. i don’t think this has a specific perspective, because i feel like this could work from both kiryu’s and tachibana’s (mostly kiryu though) v. real estate - adam melchor “every time I wonder how i'd carry on without you i'm runnin' out of real estate tryna make all the right moves i don't wanna hesitate i would bet the house on you “ do you UNDERSTAND how satisfying it was to find a song named real estate for them?? come ooon. ok that’s not all of my reasoning for it but it’s like. most of it, lmao another song i felt was about trust and feelings. (also a bit of a glimpse into the future, because i’m sad) vi. i get a kick out of you - ella fitzgerald “i get no kick from champagne mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all so tell me why should it be true that i get a kick out of you?” another one my sister recommended. i originally was gonna go with sinatra’s version of this, but i love this one and it just wouldn’t leave my brain. again, one from mostly tachibana’s perspective, get this man to sing this on karaoke night right now. vii. like real people do - hozier  “i will not ask you where you came from i would not ask and neither would you honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips we could just kiss like real people do” this is one of my all time favorites from hozier and, again, it just fit perfectly. tachibana and kiryu have both lived some very... troubled lives so far, and while they’re depending on this trust they have in eachother, none of them really care to know about what they’ve done or who they are. this is mostly from kiryu’s perspective, specially with this metaphor of being rescued/dug up from the earth with the whole being found in the rain and saved by tachibana and his poor driving skills. viii. delicate - taylor swift “this ain't for the best my reputation's never been worse, so you must like me for me... we can't make any promises now, can we, babe? but you can make me a drink” y’all are going to have to forgive me for picking TWO taylor swift songs but COME OOOON this is another one that i picked early on because i could draw so many parallels between the lyrics and things that they both said in that car scene on chapter 9 (mostly tachibana though) and i kept harassing my sister with screenshots to prove my point and i’m gonna do it again

ANYWAYS i’ve made my case, and now we enter the second section of the playlist at last ( section 2: actual romantic/fluffy songs because this is a ship playlist) i. good old-fashioned lover boy - queen “dining at the ritz we'll meet at nine (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 o'clock) precisely i will pay the bill, you taste the wine driving back in style in my saloon will do quite nicely just take me back to yours that will be fine” is this a bit of a cliché? yes. did i want to include it because it’s very cute and i’d like to imagine kiryu and tachibana having a nice date night with no people trying to kill them all the time? also yes. i love this song.

ii. stay with me/mayonaka no door - miki matsuraba “you in your gray jacket with that oh-so-familiar coffee stain just as you always are the two of us reflect in the window display stay with me knocking on midnight's door i beg you not to go home tonight” (translated lyrics) is anyone not obsessed with this song lately? this is the only song here i’m blaming tiktok for making me listen to it lol. in any way, this song is deceptive because it sounds really happy but is actually quite melancholic. i thought it fit their relationship well, and it seemed like a good addition to the playlist with it’s 80′s city pop vibes.

iii. on melancholy hill - gorillaz (covered by matt forbes) “just looking out on the day of another dream where you can't get what you want, but you can get me so let's set out to sea, love 'cause you are my medicine when you're close to me" this is a gorillaz song but i went with this cover because it fit the feeling of the playlist a little better. another song that i just love very deeply and i thought fit the sentiment of kiryu being like “hey i know we have Big problems and you’re very sad in the moment but i’m here for you” iv. (i love you) for sentimental reasons - nat king cole "i think of you every morning dream of you every night darling, i'm never lonely whenever you are in sight" surprisingly, not one that my sister recommended, but one i found for myself while looking for quiet  romantic songs. i feel like this is tachibana's reply to kiryu being there for him and helping him. plus, idk i just wanted to imagine them slow dancing to this. v. positions - ariana grande (covered by travis atreo) "perfect, perfect you're too good to be true but I get tired of runnin', fuck it now, i’m runnin' with you" i picked this cover because i felt like using ariana's one would be a little goofy for this section lmao, but i really like this song and how it's about commitment and doing everything to make a relationship work. i just wanted to throw some sexy vibes before this playlist delved into depressing stuff. also if you telling me tachibana wouldn't absolute body a tiktok set to this song you're lying to yourself. (section 3: oh no this is getting sad) i. forever - labrinth "i'll live forever" i love everything labrinth makes, the euphoria soundtrack lives in my mind rent free and this is my favorite one. this barely has any lyrics so, again, mostly a track i picked for its intrumentals and feeling overall. mostly preparing you for the sad stuff ahead. ii. hong kong - gorillaz "you swallow me i'm a pill on your tongue here on the nineteenth floor the neon lights make me calm" this is my favorite gorillaz song, by FAR, and i think it's introspective vibe really fits tachibana's character. not really a song about relationship but i really wanted to include it because it's just such a GORGEOUS song. iii. fragments - severon another instrumental track! this one i stole from a playlist my sister made for a fic i wrote last year. again. sad vibes. iv. sign of the times - harry styles (covered by LANY) "remember everything will be alright we can meet again somewhere somewhere far away from here" i loved the synth-y vibe this cover had, while still keeping this song's sad "our lives are dangerous and i'm about to die" vibes. i mostly wanted to evoke the vibe from the scene where tachibana agrees to go with lao gui after kiryu gets shot. just really sad all around. v. so close - jon mclaughlin "we're so close to reaching that famous happy end almost believing this one's not pretend let's go on dreaming though we know we are so close, so close, and still so far" me? picking a song from disney's enchanted??? for a playlist??? it's more likely than you think. idk this song just gives me that vibe of being so close to being happy and together, almost reminiscing and wondering what could have been. but it just... won't happen. vi. as the world caves in - matt maltese "yes, it's you i welcome death with as the world, as the world caves in" oops, yes, i had to go there. just couldn't resist including this song, and i feel like it's really self-explanatory. vii. places we won't walk - bruno major "neon lights shine bold and bright buildings grow to dizzy heights people come alive at night in places we won't walk" again, i feel like this song speaks for itself. a bit of a meditation on kiryu's perspective on things that could have happened, things they would have done, that kiryu will just have to do alone from now on. viii. carry me out - mitski "i drive when it rains at night, when it rains, i drive and the headlight spirits they lead me down the styx so black it shines and carry me out carry me out"

possibly the saddest and the most powerful song in this playlist, because i just had to put a mitski song again. the image of kiryu carrying tachibana's body is just constantly in my mind when i listen to this, but i could also see this song being from the perspective of tachibana's spirit. ix. arms tonite - mother mother "i died in your arms tonight i slipped through into the afterlife it was nice" lmao this felt a bit like a cruel joke to include, but i didn't want this playlist to end TOO depressingly. it's a nod to tachibana dying in kiryu's arms, sure, but also it's romantic and possibly a little hopeful (tachibana lives au!!! orpheus and eurydice au!!! fuck it, idk!!)  xi. everybody wants to rule the world - tears for fears "there's a room where the light won't find you holding hands while the walls come tumbling down when they do, i'll be right behind you so glad we've almost made it so sad they had to fade it everybody wants to rule the world" not a recommendation from my sister, but it is her favorite song, and she was happy that i included it. another 80's bop with sad lyrics! i feel like this is a lovely summary of their story together and it feels like a nice little bow to wrap up the playlist.  i hope you enjoyed my long ass explanations! i might add songs later (or make an entire second playlist altogether for the fic i'm writing rn, but let's not get ahead of ourselves)

[nouru-vi]

Headcanons for my AFK Arena gang buckle the f up

Disclaimer: I take canon lore/relationships and throw out what I don’t like thank you have a nice day

Starter pack: Estrilda, Mirael and Nemora

Nemora is sent by the Wilders to help out Ranhorn City and these three stick together going forward

Estrilda and Mirael are in idiot lesbians with each other. They constantly try to impress the other and Nemora is in the bg facepalming but she also ships them hard secretly

The gang is sent to hunt down Lucretia who is rampaging indiscriminately through the countryside and they manage to subdue and capture her. As they’re bringing her back to Ranhorn, Nemora keeps drawing info out of her through treating her kindly, and learns her story. Then they’re attacked by a large group of Maulers or sg, and Lucy demands that they unchain her if they want to live (lbr she has to be chained and not tied), adding that she also refuses to die tied up. Nemora chooses to trust her and she helps them make it out alive. Then they’re like “okay this Zaphrael dude sounds like a complete dick and we’ll help you confront him when we find him and also you can stay with us, we won’t bring you to Ranhorn to be imprisoned/executed. No more rampaging tho” and that’s how Lucy becomes the local goth mom

Silvina is sent to assassinate Estrilda, to finish off the job of destroying the Raynes, but when she sees her, memories come back to her from before her death, when she saw the young Estrilda as the girl she never got to be. She is like “fuck this I’m not doing this” and realises it’s time to stand up to Vedan’s exploitation of her and Isabella, if not for her own sake but her sister’s. She confronts Estrilda and pleads her to help remove Isabella from Vedan’s clutches. Her and the team go to do that and Isabella doesn’t really understand at first but when Vedan hurts Silvina she’s like “Back off. I made you what you are, don’t think I can’t unmake you just the same.” Now outclassed, Vedan is forced to let them go, and the sisters join the gang. Lucretia is immediately like “I’m your mom now”

Bonus: months later Vedan shows up to be like “Please forgive me. I never knew what I had until I lost it, I treated you two like crap even though you were the closest thing to family I had! Pls come back to me T_T” and although they don’t do that they agree to let him visit sometimes, so he becomes their weird weekend dad. Lucy watches him like a hawk every single time but he tries his best (I added this HC as an afterthought because the official comics with Vedan and the girls are just too fucking funny to be non-canon)

Wu Kong helps out the team on and off and Lucy hates him because he’s a FILTHY CELESTIAL while he’s just like, lady im am just leetl monky. I’m new to being a Celestial actually and don’t even know this Zaphirel or whatshisface. I’m just here to punch bad guys and have a good time. But he also annoys her for fun because he’s just like that

Lyca joins the team as a somewhat more competent co-leader to Mirael. To Nemora’s relief, because she’s the only other person so far who is not a mess or dumb or both. Silvina develops a mega gay crush on her because she’s the bouncy nerd prep to her emo jock goth. It probably takes a very long time for this to come to the surface because she is a Disgusting Graveborn and Lyca is a Beautiful and Ethereal Wilder, according to Silvina, that is. Her concerns turn out to be baseless, of course, and then they’re cute and gay, The End

Solise joins to swell the ranks of people who are both dumb and a mess. She’s powerful though and a great alchemist, and adorable and everyone else is sapphic so go figure

Flora also shows up often to help the group and Lucy is like HISS GRRR CELESTIAL HRRR GRRR at her too, while she’s just like, lady. It’s gonna be alright. You will find justice one day. Calm down. Here’s a flower bigger than your head. Have a nice day :) ~flies off on her gay little flower broom into the sunset gayly~

Certain groups catch wind of Lucretia travelling with the group and as a result, Cecilia is sent after them. Since Lucy is family by this point, they’re forced to fight and subdue Cecilia. She gets injured and they’re unwilling to leave her to her fate, so they bring her along as she recovers. For a long time, she keeps going on about heretics cavorting with Hypogean filth and whatnot, but what’s this? Lucy is around, and although Cecilia can’t see her, her voice is inexplicably pleasant to hear, and she’s just so nice to those two girls! But surely that is the insidious deception of a treacherous Hypogean, seeking to corrupt every innocent soul, right? Surely she is not a loving mother, nor a valiant woman who will do anything for the sake of justice? Right??? (yeah spoiler they end up in gays and the sisters now have two mothers and a dad. They deserve all the parents)

One day the gang stumbles upon Torne and they collectively adopt them immediately. They’re big and smad and in need of hugs and therapy so the group is happy to provide.

Nara joins from time to time, apparently because she just enjoys carnage, regardless of the target. She’s a gross and unhinged gremlin who’s somehow still hot, and her idea of humour is “bet I can kick a dead baby further than any of you”, but she’s pretty upbeat and more or less tolerated by the others. Things become awkward when the group finds out she used to be a crime boss and would-be slaver in life. She says something like “well, am I not allowed to make a new start?”, but she does have the decency to look embarrassed at least. Someone says “maybe she just wanted friends for once” and Nara throws them the most maybe so look of the century

There are some other heroes that I have yet to figure out how to work into the group dynamics and story, like Grezhul for example, as he’s one of my most used heroes now, or Oden, who has also become one of my faves. I do know Oden absolutely makes dad jokes, for a start.

That’s it so far, notice how all of these are wholesome and mostly gay? Yea that is how I roll. The AFK heroes have suffered enough in canon, only positive vibes around here and also I’m queer as shit bye

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Fireworks, paper lanterns, and glittering stardust

The Sea of Lights is so beautiful! Lanterns and fireworks decorate the sky like constellations, little specks of stardust scattered about. I enjoy taking the time to craft a lantern, make a wish, and watching the lantern float away until it's nothing but a little speck in the sky.

Prepping for the Sea of Lights was a lot of work. Once again, the camp has held the honor of hosting a big event so naturally, we had to go all out. Luckily, we have some friends helping out with the festivities - two who happen to be a part of the committee.

Rika and Elowyn have been part of the Sea of Lights crew since last year so they pretty much know how to make the festivities a hit. Alma and Milana aren't directly part of the crew but they've been to the festival a few times so they were also able to chime in.

Elowyn hopes to get the couple to volunteer for next year but since they have to do a lot of work for the annual cherry blossom festival at their hometown, I don't think they're too interested in helping run another big event. Let's be honest, Alma and Milana are mostly here for the food - I mean, who isn't? That, and also the fact that they're finally visiting the camp after all this time!

Things have been pretty much the same at Corentine, well for the most part. Alma said there's some new guy who's been scouting the outskirts of the village due to rumored abnormal supernatural activity. It's not unusual for them to have strangers walking around these areas though it's frustrating for everyone - especially the stranger - when the mission's unclear. Despite suspicions nothing's been confirmed so the poor guy's been scouting the woods for weeks with absolutely no progress or direction. And since he's gonna stick around for a while, the town council insisted on providing him a place to stay so he's staying in Alma's old room.

Rika hasn't had too much of a chance to get to know the guy but from what she and the others learned, he acts all tough but gets startled easily. Knowing these girls, they've been messing around with him quite a bit. Alma says he's cool, probably a bit shy and prideful, but once his guard's down he has a good sense of humor. Milana wants to use him to test out her latest contraptions as she's in need of a newbie to critique her inventions. RIP (or good luck?) to the new guy.

Alma and Milana are enjoying their new house, which is only about five minutes from Alma's family house. They both figured that now they've been married for over a year, it's probably time to leave the nest and finally give Alma's father some peace of mind. However that still doesn't stop Alma from using him to occasionally get away with chores. Milana says that if Alma keeps this up, they might as well hire him as a housekeeper and pay him by the hour. Then Alma promised that she'll try to do her share of the chores so they could instead use that money to either dine out in a fancy place or go on a fun vacation.

There's never a dull moment with these two. They can be a bit much, especially when you throw in Rika, Elowyn, Emerald, Jade, and Kei into the mix. It's been forever since I've seen the latter three - last I've heard, they joined Rika in Jamie's entourage for a bit before it disbanded. I think all three transferred to Seashore Path so I guess Emerald and Jade probably graduated or will be soon by now while Kei's probably got another year to go.

Rika's been working on some new projects, teasing us as usual. They're always up to something. As of last week Rika now goes by she/they, which feels right for them. The elders are a bit out of touch but they try to be supportive. Ojiichan started complimenting Rika by saying they look gnc af and now all the other elders are saying it, which is sweet! The big mystery though is who taught Ojiichan that and whether or not he fully knows what it means. Still, it's nice to hear how supportive everyone is.

They have also taken up pickling veggies, which sounds kinda surprising but isn't at the same time. Given how much she loves kimchi, it makes sense that she'd want to make her own. My mom sometimes makes her own kimchi and she says it can be a hit or miss. It also looks like a lot of work so kudos for Rika for being successful! It also takes some patience and even then you never know how they'll turn out until they're ready. They plan on doing beets next. After that it's daikon and carrots, and then garlic - all which sound good.

As for the kimchi, it's great! They like it super spicy though so I was only able to eat a little bit before I couldn't handle the heat anymore, but it's tasty. The veggies are perfectly crisp and it's not too liquidy and salty. Rika plans on refining the recipe as well as make a mild version for those who can't take the heat - she means a weakling like me - which is something to look forward to, Buuut Rika's definition of mildly spicy and mine's is probably very different so either way I'll be chugging a lot of water or tea between every bite.

Rika's also been helping Elowyn start her own Patreon, which is exciting! A friend's friend of theirs is also gonna launch a Patreon too so I'm gonna keep an eye out for that as her work seems interesting. The friend had just moved from Japan a few months ago and she's an artist who has an ongoing manga/webcomic about a high school girl who becomes bonded with a young ghost whose job is to keep order between spirits and mortals. According to Rika and Miki - who knows her as well - the story's inspired by true events that happened to the author.

The premise sounds interesting and an english translation by a friend of hers who also serves as an editor/beta reader is usually uploaded the day after so when I have time, I'll definitely read it. From first glance, the art style looks nice so I'm intrigued. It definitely has the vibes of a deceptively cute and lighthearted story that's complex and tragic underneath. The manga's ongoing and usually updates twice a month.

Elowyn's also gonna be in a short fantasy murder mystery film directed by her brother called The Scythe. A few weeks ago she appeared in a music video as a backup dancer for Avery Ronnie. In between gigs Elowyn practices magic with Rika by going on various missions. Though Elowyn says it's no different than being an unpaid intern, except with an increased risk of dying and things going terribly wrong.

Rika and Alma are alike as they're hard working but also kinda lazy. Without prompting they can accomplish something cool and badass but ask them to pick their things up from the floor or do some cleaning around the house and they'll make up some excuse. We roast them for it but at the same time we get it - and it's not like they can't take care of themselves but sometimes they do need a bit of prodding. Both also have this charm that let them get away with it half the time so it's kinda on us too.

We've been hard at work setting up the stalls and decor as well as making lanterns and planning out the fireworks show. To our surprise, Rika and Alma have been pulling their weight, though I think bribing them with food helped with that.

Rika got some glittering stardust from a friend and wanted to put that to good use by adding some spark to the lights. We tested out the fireworks with it and it produced some dazzling effects. Problem is that glittering stardust is super flammable so we have to be super careful. So that's why I left fireworks duty to Rika while the rest of us kept our distance.

Making lanterns was a lot of fun! A while back Pai and Connie sent me a lantern they made for a similar festival in Bonsai Harbor. Apparently the two really got into making lanterns so they started giving away a bunch of them to friends.

Yeah, I think we also kinda went overboard with our lanterns. But they're so much fun to make! Well, I could just give them away too - I know a bunch of people who would love to have a souvenir from a festival. I'm gonna keep a bunch to decorate the camp and cabin when we're in a festive decorating mood. As for the inevitable surplus - I'll figure that out later.

The fireworks and lanterns were easily the highlights of the night, second to the food. Thankfully there were no incidents with the glittering stardust - we did a bunch of test runs to make absolutely sure that there's no chance of the lanterns and fireworks colliding to create a possibly catastrophic explosion as glittering stardust is dangerous around anything that involves flames.

(I mean it turned out to be a great idea, but why the hell did we take such a risk by using flammable stuff around fireworks? Then again, it's Rika and when they overlook something, we tend to follow suit too because it's too easy to get caught up and carried away. It's not our fault that she makes it easy to get away with a lot of dangerous stunts - but it all worked out for the better so it's good.)

Being surrounded by fireworks and lanterns, I feel light on my feet. Wishes floating up in the sky, finding their way into the black night sky. I wonder how far will the lanterns fly before their lights go out.

I wonder how many wishes were released throughout the night.

[theboywhocriedbooks]

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

[Goodreads]

It's 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.

Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He's terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he's gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media's images of men dying of AIDS.

Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating.

Art is Judy's best friend, their school's only out and proud teen. He'll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs.

As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won't break Judy's heart--and destroy the most meaningful friendship he's ever known.

Thoughts:

Spoiler-Free Thoughts:

This was a book that I instantly became excited for when I learned what it was about. It discusses queer love, HIV/AIDS, NYC, the late 80’s, and those are all right up my alley. I’ve personally spent a lot of time educating myself about this history, be it in classes such as the one I took that focused on QPoC and HIV/AIDS specifically, or online, so you can say I’m pretty invested. I even wrote my own short story that focuses on similar themes (more on that some other time). Those parts of this book were so great, to an extent. One of my favorite historical moments is the St Patrick's Cathedral protest in the late 80’s, the die-in, where an individual can be heard screaming ‘You’re killing us!” and that made it into this book. So many other important historical moments made it into this book and I think that is its strongest aspect. 

I was also excited about this book because it discusses this topic AND is by a person of color, an Iranian American specifically and one of the main characters is Iranian American as well. I felt like, ‘who better to explore themes of love and friendship during this time than someone who was alive during that time and also is a person of color’, aka, a voice I don’t hear enough of when discussing this topic. So much of this book is important! The queer Iranian representation, the queer youth rep during this time in history, queer sex + safe sex, the iconic activism, and even just some of the general references. I respect this book for that alone, for attempting to tackle it all and doing some of it very well.

Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems throughout the book. I know one or two might be very biased and personal things, but I know there are some I would like others to know or talk about. This includes: love triangle/melodrama?, general pacing, Madonna, the white characters, cis-normativity, privilege, the pov’s, and more. I will discuss that below, so run to read the book (if you want) or continue to read my spoiler-ful thoughts!

Spoiler-ful Thoughts:

I feel like some of what I have to say might be controversial so bear with me. For context, I am a young queer Mexican-American writer from Los Angeles, and that’s where I’m coming from with this, identity wise.

I was so stoked to hear this history told in a PoC perspective but aside from the author being of color, I don’t actually think I got a PoC perspective??? Let me break that down. First of all, the story is a multi-pov that alternates each chapter from Reza, Art, and Judy. Realistically, 1/3 of the story is told from the Iranian American character’s eyes. Then the other two are white characters. That itself is where I began being a little iffy (because, again, I was excited about a young PoC pov on this topic) but I was open, especially because I enjoyed them all in the beginning. I just didn’t understand why we needed a straight ally’s point of view? Overall her arc fell flat, aside from the cute moments of fashion design or that moment with Reza’s brother surprisingly. I would have been okay/would have preferred if it was just Reza and Art’s pov though.

In relation to Judy, the whole romance between her and Reza and then Reza and Art was so overblown and unnecessary. Reza didn’t need to date her, though that is a valid and relatable gay teen feels. I wish it ended in that “oh!!! you’re gay, wait!! lol let’s be friends then!” thing. Instead, she’s in love with him for half the book, super pushy with sex and gets extremely upset with Art for… liking Reza, and then you don’t ‘see’ her much throughout the rest of the novel anyway? It just felt so unnecessary, and so love-triangle-y. I did really like Art’s “you don’t understand how it is to like someone and be gay” speech cos felt valid to gay teen vibes, but that could have just been said in a way less dramatic argument? It really made no sense to me.

Before we leave Judy, lets touch on privilege, specifically white privilege and class privilege. Reza’s family, was once poor but now filthy rich. Art’s family, filthy rich and white. Judy’s family, allegedly shown to not be ‘rich’ by the two lines that say “my friends’ rich parents gifted us that cos we’re not as rich as my rich friends” and yet there is really no discussion on that any deeper than that. Like why are her parents not shown working, her mother especially? And her uncle? He lives alone in an apartment in the upper east side or whatever, and doesn’t work anymore? I might have missed that but I shouldn’t be able to just ‘miss that.’ Like, how did they pay to go to PARIS. It just didn’t at all feel like a story I could relate to or one that this history could relate to entirely. Like, even them having a whole ass wake/party thing for her uncle in a night club? Most people who died of AIDS complications didn’t get that, especially not ones who aren’t from ‘not-rich-families’. It was subtle and yet the smell of privilege was everywhere.

Then even Art and Reza’s relationship was also weird? It was forbidden then it immediately wasn’t and they were in love, due to one or two time jumps that really did not help to build their relationship at all. Okay though, some teens love easily, especially gay teens who don’t know many other gay teens so it could slide? Then, however, there is this really real and valid fear ingrained in Reza regarding AIDS and gay sex. He is terrified, and I loved (and hurt) for how terrified he was because it felt reasonable. What I didn’t love was, knowing this, Art was also super pushy sexually? Do you realize he, at multiple times, tried to pressure Reza into sex and once even got naked and pushed his body against him? Doing this after full well knowing how uncomfortable Reza was? No, thank you. From the author’s note in the book, I felt like MAYBE this could have been intentional and not meant to be an extremely positive? While that could be a stretch, it also doesn’t at all criticize or directly address this toxic behavior so boop.

This brings me back to not feeling like I get a QPoC perspective. Reza is our main queer person of color, and really the only prominent one (Jimmy was a rather flat character). Yet, everything else revolves around whiteness. I already addressed Judy taking up space as a narrator. Then there is Art, the super queer activist teen. He is mostly where Reza learns all the queer things from, and he is mostly the perspective where we see the queer action/activism from. Then, who is the elder HE learned everything from? Stephen, the gay white poz uncle of Judy. THEN, who do they frame EVERYTHING around? Madonna, the straight white woman. 

Sure we hear about Stephan’s deceased Latino boyfriend and, as I said, Jimmy didn’t have much character to him aside from wearing a fur coat, saying “my black ass,” and helping move Stephan’s character along. He also has one of the few lines that directly addressed qpoc, where he says qpoc are disproportionally affected by AIDS but no one is talking about it. Ironic. It almost rarely addressed PoC throughout the rest of the novel. Heck, it almost never addressed trans characters either. What about the qpoc and trans woc who were foundational to queer rights movements that take place before this book? Sure he name drops Marsha P. Johnson, in passing, on the last page of this 400 page book, but why not mention them in depth even in one section?

Someone asked me, why does the author HAVE to do all of this. Why do they have to representing everyone, like Black trans women. Isn’t that unfair? My answer is no, it’s not unfair in situations like this. This author isn’t writing just a casual romance/friendship story. No, he is heavily touching on so much literal queer history and yet leaving out so many key players that are so often left out because of white-washing that happens in history. He didn’t even have to name these people, but just addressing that they are there as a community. Instead we get two or three throwaway lines about Ball culture after they “went to a ball that one time,” a random line from Jimmy, and a Marsha P. Johnson name drop at the end. It is honestly disappointing. 

Even framing everything in the words of Madonna was a bit much for me. Sure, I know of her history and importance to queers so this is one of the more biased parts of this review. I just don’t think we needed several references to her every other page. I then screamed when, not only did we time jump like 20+ years (gays don’t do math, sorry) and the last quote is Lady Gaga! Oh, my god. I won’t linger on the white popstar allies because it’s not worth it. In regards to that time jump, though. It felt unnecessary as well, just trying to tie it all up with a bow. It’s reference to Pulse seemed random, and honestly felt a bit cheap, but so did lots of the things I’ve referenced. 

Lastly, why did Art abruptly lick Reza’s lips out of nowhere, or when he was angry it was shown by saying “ and his brow sweats”? Anyway, I’m bummed out. I haven’t been reading as much this year or writing reviews but here I am, writing a novel-sized review basically dragging this book. I liked it enough to finish, and I think it’s important. I know some queer kids reading this will love it and learn from it but I just couldn’t help but realize that right under the surface, this book was sort of a let-down.

Thanks if you read all of this, and also sorry at the same time. Share your thoughts!

[hyphypmic]

@significant other of babe asked: hypmic bois in the pokémon universe please :3c

Okay just saying, I don’t know as much as you do so we’re keeping it to Kanto/Jyoto/Sinnoh/Hoenn  yay but idk abt who goes where so anyway!

Ichiro

Fire type! He loves the fire type Pokémon

And he would definitely choose Charmander as his starter because he’s Ichiro like that

And later on in life he’s like Red (if you know him) or like a very strong trainer

Because he had his Delinquent days (and he highkey detached himself from his brothers so he could go around and win battles and get money for them you know kinda like TDD) so he had his edgy fire squad

And like he explored everywhere, kind of being a general badass and earning his reputation by beating the gyms and all that

but then he matured over the course of his journey (and he learned a ton of new shit) and went back to go around with his brothers and willingly goes through the journey with them so he can help them out

Plus he missed them so he needs to make up for it and they forgive him later on yay

But yes, loves fire type and is very very skilled when it comes to training, battling, motivating, LOVING, and taking care of Pokemon

And okay like I rly see him being a mentor for his brothers and just one day showing off his moves with his fucking charizard and letting saburo uwu ride on it AHHHH

I don’t think he would go for gym leader because he’s more of an adventure boy

Jiro

He tries to live up to his brother and stuff even if he’s kinda resentful he left for a bit, but he’s over it you know

Ichiro would give him the starter pokemon

Like tbh I think Ichiro would give him a Piplup (I’m basic I’m sorry) and like really give him tons of advice

And yes he does challenge saburo on a near daily basis

And ichiro allows this because training, though Jiro won’t get it through his head that a full out offensive isn’t the way to go, though Ichiro figures that he’ll get over it

Anyway, moving on, that’s basically Jiro’s arc and like the buster bros would become like a unit and it would be so cool to see them battle around

And he’s also an adventure boy and really hates it when Saburo delays for some knowledge pursuit

Like he would bring out his also eager Pokemon to drag saburo away like even the piplup gets unto it and tries to drag saburo away from the pursuit of knowledge

Saburo

Quite literally a Pokemon nerd

No really he would probably be the first of the bros to complete his Pokédex like he would finish it

And his goal isn’t like to BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE or WAR WAR WAR it’s literally to gotta catch them all because he’s in the pursuit of knowledge that way

I rly see him having like an Eevee (if any of you play let’s go Eevee) or just not a typical starter Pokemon you know

Ichiro would probably end up giving him an eevee anyway because he knows an Eevee would appeal to like Saburo because it’s an extraordinary type of pokemon

He would love his eevee to the death and would dress it up in all these cute outfits

And yeah he’s a tough guy to battle, but you’ll more likely find him just enjoying the actual pokemon instead of battling

And he’s also p good at strategising when it comes to pokemon and he helps out his brothers

Is very happy with the journey and all that  

Samatoki

Definitely a gym leader, like really because reasons I rly see him being one

And oh my god I see him with a fucking Lucario like!!!!!

And he would love his pokemon to the death and all

And yeah he would be in charge of a fighting type of Pokemon or like that would be his specialty because he’s Samatoki sama aka mr ha ko on the microphone

And yeah he would probably have a side job as a yakuza, but like gym is life and he’s really aggressive but also very very smart when it comes to his attacks

Like even if he’s up against a higher level or like a psychic type, he will come out on top and beat the opposition

Anyway, his origin story is like he just wants to show everyone how strong he is and how that no matter how many times you get beat down, you have to keep going back up

And when he roams around or like helps people train in his own gym, he has a strict way of teaching, but also somewhat understanding and his tips really do help those who visit his gym

Very much open to receiving challenges because he needs to fight oh yeah

He also explored a lot of places and has a shit ton of influence, but the gym and his city is really his home

Team rocket aint fucking with him

Jyuto

Electric type! Is his type!

And yeah srsly just imagine him in that blue Pokemon police uniform hmmm

Also glasses are tilted and touched a lot because that’s the Pokemon trope with the eyeglass glare and everything

Though he’s a kind of corrupt cop, but doesn’t associate with team rocket because you know, exploitation of Pokemon

Though he spies a lot so he has a lot of connections and he’s like the in10se police spy that would be able to find his way in the underground

Like a spy with a position in team rocket oh yeah

And how he meets Samatoki is that Samatoki got into a fight with a team rocket and Jyuto had to subtly subdue said team rocket member

Anyway, yes electric type Pokemon and I really see him with a Luxray because he be cool like that

But seeing him with a shinx you can RIP my soul and send me to heaven because that shit is adorable

Riou

He’s probably also a gym leader

Basically MTC consists of two gym leaders and a cop

Literally Lt. Surge and except he would most likely love grass type pokemon or bug type, or anything you can find in the woods because survival life

Because he’s a woods kind of boy and he spends most of his time with wild pokemon and befriending them before catching them

DO YOU SEE HIM WITH A FUCKING BULBASAUR???? Like???? I really do and it would be so fucking cute to see him with all the little oddish and the Butterfree and the Beautifly and the weedles

This man can have my soul because I can really see him with his flower Pokemon like Venusaur and Meganium and a Vileplume and a Tropius (I know banana but still)

He would love him the grass Pokemon and the bug type

Anyway, yeah he’s all about that survival so his gym is quite the labyrinth, complete with traps

And sometimes he just goes out to roam and spend time with the Pokemon while shirtless :>>>

Ramuda

“Anything cute!” Like he would have a cue Pokemon out and walking with him

But when he brings out his arsenal it’s like really strong Pokemon, though he would probably favor fairy type Pokemon, though there would be a mix of dark type also

I really see him with a Gengar and causing little mischiefs because why not

He also loves fashion so he would really be the champion of those beauty pageants with all his deceptively cute Pokemon like wigglytuff and everyone thinks he’s just superficial and can’t battle for shit

But then face him off and it���s just a complete disaster and you’re going to be wrecked

Like he knows how to deceive and use his Pokemon’s weaknesses to their advantages and he knows the tricks of the trade, all while looking great

i don’t think he would be in the elite four, he would just be one of those freakishly strong trainers that would just pop in every once in a while

Mostly occupies his time with designing, but yeah, pretty good in battle as well

Gentaro

Ghost type!!!! Like he would love the ghost type pokemon or the psychic type because he’s mysterious that way

Or like psychic

Because I see him with an Alakazam and in general probably live in a quiet house with all of his Pokemon

And he would have a soft spot for his mimikyu because he’s the type

Probably would stay in Lavender town because he’s lavender jk no it’s because he’s the type to chill out in the outskirts and have these mystic Pokemon

Still pretty focused on his writing and some training philosophy and what not

And he would be really just calm and cool, but very defensive of his Pokemon because he will protect them with his life

But he houses this garbage rat (dice) who is completely hopeless but yeah Pokemon

And he would be p respectful of Pokemon and be pretty spiritual about it

But in battle he’s pretty dangerous because he’s an author and knows what he’s doing

Dice

I see him having a Persian or a Meowth because he’s nyaaa that way

But in general he would favor normal type Pokemon because there quite intriguing

Also I rly see him chilling around with a rattata because he’s such a garbage rat himself

And he probably doesn’t have a lot of Pokemon because he’s broke and can’t afford poke balls

But very much like Riou, he makes friends with the stray Pokemon or those neglected by their owners

Can do well in battle, but is unfortunately addicted to the gaming places even if his Pokemon try to drag him away from it

It doesn’t help that meowth is dragging him inside and everyone is just trying to stop him

Though dice would have a very unorthodox fighting style and would probably nickname all his Pokemon because he’s dice that way

Jakurai

I see this fucker as an elite four member so they become elite five

And like okay basically!!! You know how you have to fight all the elite four, he would be like the surprise level at the end and he’s very much god tier, like he would specialise in psychic/dragon/dark/flying type, you know that kind of mystic vibe

And he’s just on a level of his own!!! So like he’s very cool and that, and he’s kind as well, like he doesn’t spend most of his time in his seat of power or whatever and he goes around helping people and being a doctor because he likes helping people and Pokemon

But srsly, most people are in such awe of him and he’s just slaying by walking around with a Salamence or a Dragonair or a Dragonite or a fucking Charizard but rly anyway its just me

Or also like an Absol that would be awesome too

Anyway, yeah he really looks so cool, but if you get to meet him, he’s very down to earth and will sit down with you if you want some advice

Doppo

Dark Pokemon like, probably or ghost type of pokemon

I see him with a houndoom! Or like something like that

And he’s pretty anxious and unsure of battling

But if his Pokemon are threatened you have unlocked the beast and he will go on a rampage

Mostly a stressed worker that needs some time to sleep

Usually sleeps with his snorlax or on his slowbro

Like I rly see him just collapsing with a snorlax and sleeping for the entries day

But he would also run and his ghastly would chase after him and his houndoom would prevent him from falling on the tracks and impaling himself

He also shares a room with Hifumi, with his fairy type Pokemon

Srsly, this household has the polar opposites getting along together like the houndoom would take care of the little Pokemon and its pretty wholesome

Probably not that invested in collecting Pokemon and he’s happy with the ones he has

Hifumi

“Anything cute!” No legit he would really have beautiful and cute pokemon like rly pretty but also freakishly strong Pokemon

His clefairy is a thing of legend

And he’s into all that beauty pageant stuff too

And in his club he has his cute electric type Pokemon do their thing along with fairy sparkles and what not

Hifumi with a minun and plusle that’s all that’s all you need to know

Anyway, he loves dressing up his Pokemon, but in host mode, have fun trying to best him in battle because he is really confident in his Pokemon and all that

He might wipe your ass on the floor, unless you’re a girl of course and he’s out of host mode

But in general, all he wants to do is cuddle and play with his Pokemon along with sleeping on the snorlax that doppo sleeps on after a long day at work

[spidercrimes]

if it's not too much to write, how about All even numbers for the OC asks for either character of your choice! or both if you're feelin wild whatever works : ]

wheezes this took so long but im finally done holy shit

2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them?

Echo doesn’t have any official titles, and isn’t really planning on getting any, unless Champion of Sune counts?

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents?

Echo has a very good relationship with her moms! To their knowledge, things were a bit tense after leaving Ivydome, but plenty of letters and visiting when they could helped with smoothing over their relationship. A good memory would be when her moms taught Echo how to bake! They can really only bake cupcakes and cookies but theyre like. Hella good ones. They dont really have any bad memories with/of their parents, since like. They will forcibly forget or repress anything that upsets them, as long as it only affected them. If the memory is something bad that affected others it will linger for however long Echo deems necessary(read: an extremely long time)

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

They were there and graduated fantasy high school what more do you want from them jkdxxjndk.  They started working at the local sweets shop after school, so no higher level of education here! They like history a bit, but that’s about it tbh!

8. Did they have pets as a child? Do they have pets as an adult? Do they like animals?

Yes! Echo had a pet cat back at Ivydome with her moms, and before the campaign she didn’t really have the money to keep another, so they settled for feeding and playing with the stray cats in Summervale.

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect?

Hmmm, Echo doesn’t mind children?? but there’s only so long they can be around them before she gets overwhelmed. Children like them well enough since Echo is always up for playing songs or messing around with cantrips. Echo would be the fun parent/godparent/babysitter, but. Please dont make them look after children they dont want any.

12. What is their favourite food?

Give my child spicy noodles or give him death

14. Do they have any specific memories of food/a restaurant/meal?

Their first cake made without supervision was. A disaster to put it lightly since someone was feeling ambitious.(it turned out like rubber and after that he was too flustered n frustrated to focus so everything else turned out badly too) So they dont bother with that anymore! Cake mistakes who i dont know her sdkjjkdbs. So half the time they pass by anything with some type of airy sponge cake they cringe lololol

16. Do they collect anything? What do they do with it? Where do they keep it?

She had a rock and shiny things collection back at Summervale! They’re mostly for decoration, although some with certain textures are used for stimming. Some rocks are kept on shelves, but most are stored in cool jars to save space

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else

Echo is a sucker for romance novels and fun, upbeat music! Idk if video games, films, or video games exist in-universe, but if they did, they’d like dramas and baking shows, rpgs, and more character focused games like nitw

20. Do they like musicals? Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes?

They love music, and they’d like musicals too! They will grab their lute and play along if their favorite song came on, and if nobody was around then maybe they’d sing too. Maybe. 

22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back?

tbh their go-to insult is calling someone a prick or a bastard, and it’s usually for whenever someone’s done something particularly scummy. Or if someone is just. The Absolute Worst. It’s a leftover habit from when they used to live in Ivydome, but Echo usually sticks to talking shit when the target is. Very far away/not in the area.

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress?

They try and get around six hours, to varying success, and to their knowledge they dont snore! Echo loves soft things and would prefer to sleep on a soft mattress with So Many blankets and pillows and maybe a cuddle buddy

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?

Fun fact echo does a tounge blep when she’s happy!! They tend to do lil happy claps and bounce up and down in place when they’re really excited, but when it’s a more calm-type of happy he purrs loudly and smiles a lot more than usual! 

28. What is their biggest fear? What in general scares them? How do they act when they’re scared?

He’s claustrophobic and is terrified of being alone again or having to leave people behind even when the situation calls for it. So like. He aint copin too well after the last session! They get very flustered and panicked and freeze when theyre scared

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out?

Does going on champion quests and running from his problems count as exercise or???

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like?

Crop tops with long sleeves, shorts, and boots make up most of their wardrobe and they love it. Theyd go to like the fantasy equivalent of marshalls i think? Somewhere with good deals and a lot of options. Overlarge shirts, tank top crop tops, and more shorts make up their pjs. They dont really wear makeup, mostly bc they touch their face a lot and it feels weird the whole time, but they wouldnt be opposed to wear a lil bit every now and then! Their hair is floofy and a bit of a controlled mess since they cut it themselves

34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body?

Echo is 5’9”/ 175.26 cm! Theyre on the average side i think? Like theyre not super skinny but not fat either so just. Avergae. And yeah, Echo likes their body, theyre so bright! And their horns are so cute and having a tail is very handy and claw maintenance can be a bit of a pain but like. Aesthetic am i right folks

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing?

Hes good at playing the lute and generally being very cute and giving out good vibes, and he likes baking and playing music! They can sing, but really only do that when theyre playing their lute ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

38. What do they admire in others? What talents do they wish they had?

Echo admires passion and creativity the most, and dont let anyone from the party know but he wishes he could be just. A bit smarter and know what to say + ask. Theyd also really like to be able to make a decent genoise sponge too like theyre not picky

40. Do they like energy drinks? Coffee? Sugary food? Or can they naturally stay awake and alert?

Theyre a tea drinker all the way, and arent the biggest fan of sweet things. He used to use more tart or mellow flavors when baking. They def arent alert after being tired for a while, and will space out a bit

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition?

No secret ambitions here, Echo is an open book(unless they roll high on deception dvdjxb)! Becoming Sune’s champion, making a decent sponge cake, and protecting his friends with his life/in any way they can are all their current goals. Echo doesn’t care too much if they get hurt, so physical well-being and maybe mental are things they wouldn't mind sacrificing, but as a whole they don’t really want to think about what they’d have to give up. He’ll burn that bridge when he gets to it. 

44. What is their favourite season? Type of weather? Are they good in the cold or the heat? What weather do they complain in the most?

If its cold, wet, or humid echo is not a happy camper lol. They prefer summer and the beginning of fall the most, and sunny days with lots of puffy white clouds are the best! They think its fun watching the clouds shadows on the ground. They’re better in hot weather than cold, since clothes for that type of weather are easier to dress for and they dont have to account for their tail or horns as much

46. Do they make a good first impression? Does their first impression reflect them accurately? How do they introduce themselves?

God i hope they make a good first impression im dying over here xjkxdk but honestly it depends! They try to make a good first impression and i think they usually do? But if theyve just finished with a job w the gang or theyre just. So tired they wont really introduce themselves at all.  Its pretty accurate of how they are, and their go-to greeting is “I’m Echo Barquiel, a pleasure to meet you dearie~” 

48. Do they enjoy any parties? If so what kind? Do they organise the party or just turn up? How do they act? What if they didn’t want to go but were dragged along by a friend?

In theory they’d like parties but being around so many people with that much noise for an unknown amount of time would not be. Ideal so smaller get-togethers with friends would be the most enjoyable! Echo doesnt really have the uh, space to host anything so theyd just turn up to other’s parties. Theyd be in a constant state of switching between ‘holy shit im so gay’ and ‘oh my god theres so many people/internal screaming’. If they were dragged to a party, theyd mingle for a leelte bit before stepping out

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?

A bedroll, waterskin, food supplies, rope, knives, a lute, matches, money- yknow regular survival stuff!

[ionizedyeast]

2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 19, 24, 27, 43, 45, 47, 48, 59, 61, 64, 72, 74 For the ask meme about Nelson. I'm sorry, I know it's a lot, but I really love the boi? 😬

THIS IS DELICIOUS THANK YOU!!!!!

2. Nelson has a classic mediterranean complexion -- olive skin, dark hair and hazel-green eyes. Hair’s a bit more on the auburn side though due to influence from his father being a redhead.

3. Nelson is about 5′7″ He’s a little short. He and Michael are classic height difference boyfriends.

5. Nelson cannot dress himself very well. He’s usually business casual -- sweaters, blazers, button downs, vests. He doesn’t know what casual wear is. For a special occasion, he’s very much a suit vest and nice trousers sort. He likes to keep his sleeves rolled up because he has very very nice arms. If it’s cold enough he three-piece suits it up to high heaven.

8. He’s American! Specifically he’s from New England and he has a slight Bostonian accent. He grew up moving all around New England, having been born in Manchester, NH, but moved between Waltham, MA (area outside Boston), Freeport, Maine and Manchester. His parents still live Waltham.

9. Before Nelson moved in with Michael, he was living in Lukas housing. In fact, it wasn’t even a multi-room apartment. He was living in a studio apartment with the world’s smallest kitchen and living space. All his belongings were mostly contained to the four boxes he had mailed over from the States. He never totally unpacked because he and Michael got together only about six months after he moved to the UK. He still has boxes packed even now.

19. He likes children but they’re not for him. He doesn’t mind being around them, in fact he used to offer to babysit for some of the children of the non-bound employees of the Institute. At least until the Spiral started to mess with him. How would he explain to someone that their baby got eaten by a fear entity should one of them wander through one of the doors?

24. He’s not too fond of anyone in the Lukas family particularly because now, after discovering things about the fear entities, he’s noticed how strong the Lonely was in his apartment. He was positively livid when Peter took over the Institute and on more than one occasion tried to lock him in the Spiral. It did not work. He hasn’t met many of the other avatars, but I’m quite sure he would loathe Michael Crew and Simon Fairchild -- Nelson requires an inhaler and he wouldn’t like being around them much. Though I imagine Simon would probably enjoy antagonizing Nelson.

27. Aww this one’s cute. I think he admired how dedicated Michael was to his work. After he learned about what it is Michael had set out for with Gertrude, he found his dedication and his sacrifice to be something rather beautiful. Stupid, but beautiful. Also how he never let his stress show and could actually manage it rather well. And how even though he was so strained from work he never let it affect their relationship negatively.

43. He has CLASSIC millennial humor. Jokes about being dead inside, being overworked, the economy, the world ending. Quintessential millennial humor. Makes comments about how joining with the Spiral is going to damage him a LOT less than his student debt.

45. Oh my god, he’s such a hypocrite, but he’s so annoyed by disorganization. And yet he has a Pepe Silvia display in his office over all his walls and ceiling. And being a Spiral Avatar, it’s almost laughable. He also is highly annoyed about people giving non-answers to questions. Hates it. Absolutely hates it. He hates insincerity and deception. And he is the worst Spiral avatar ever. Worst.

47. Not easily. He wasn’t sad when Gertrude died. He holds her responsible for Michael’s merging with the Distortion and never forgave her. He can only forgive if he can understands what someone has endured to suddenly realize they need to apologize. 

48. When he was younger, he used a fair bit of drugs. Primarily weed, but he was known to use coke on occasion, but if only to energize him during his work. But most of his vices now involve energy drinks and caffeine pills. He doesn’t sleep much anymore due to insomnia. I would also call wandering the Spiral’s hallways a vice. He gets the same sorta high from being in there that he used to get from drugs. Actually the Spiral itself messing with him is kind of one of his vices. He actually enjoys it now.

59. He used to have quite a bit of self-loathing but as he’s proven himself as an academic, he actually kind of thinks he’s hot shit? Sometimes. He’s still a nervous wreck and constantly aware he’s making an ass of himself. But when he’s not mentally telling himself he is the most awkward person in existence he’s like ‘Hey. I’m the best shit in this entire Institute.’

61. To people meeting him for the first time? Probably one of the only normal people to work in the Magnus Institute. Seems very educated, very charming and well put together. Knows how to speak to others without the indication he’s a wreck of a man. To those who knew him. He’s one of those people who gives off wild conspiracy theorist vibes about, but in the way where the shit he talks about is actually very sound logic and he’s a bit of an eccentric genius because of this. Both sides of the coin will agree he is very sociable and very pleasant in conversation.

64. Recording his research. Picked it up from Jon and now he can’t get out of it. Also bugging Helen when he needs answers. Unlike Jon, Helen gives him more legitimate answers because they’re sort of hiveminded together. Also constantly asking people if they want tea. He picked up putting hands on the shoulders of people he’s talking to, and he got that from Michael.

72. Projecting a little here -- he loves synth music. Namely the Alan Parson’s Project and Musical Miracle. The Mind Electric is one of his favorite songs.

74. His favorite color is one that humans outside of the Spiral’s influence can’t see. It’s quite lovely. :)

[stvlti]

S2E12

【season finale liveblogging ; spoilers below】

Nice, we finally get to revisit a scene but from Mr. Robot's POV. I believe this is the first instance this show has done this.

Aww cute they had Elliot start off repeating the same lines. Not sure what Sam told Rami, like how they wanted him to portray this side of Elliot, but it's still not as outwardly cavalier and cheeky as Christian's take on Mr. Robot... This is more like manipulative!Elliot at Steel Mountain. It's just interesting to note the difference between the 2 actors' body language while they're taking on the same persona more or less. I'm sure that difference is intentional tho, because no doubt Christian and Rami could bag that role (if it was required of their roles that they needed to adopt the same body language).

Ahh, fate. The heavy f word. [side eyes Lex's meta about fate and Lawlight in Death Note **Lawlight-Tyrelliot comparison intensifies**]

Hey! William Carlos Williams is not silly! Watch it, Tyrell

Hey this ain't the first time a brownout moment occurs at a moment when something suspicious is happening / about to happen. I like that visual motif.

Hhhh Elliot looking confused in the elevator and Tyrell's just slightly smiling indulgently next to him

Ooh that dusty wide shot of Elliot's silhouette approaching the desk at the warehouse. Nice shot!!

"You are not on some TV show ... characters like you are not welcome here" oh, meta. Sam you sly dog you

Lmaooo Joanna drag him

Self-awareness - Joanna: 1 | Scott: 0 

(fr tho really happy to see Joanna's growth this season beyond power through money)

Honestly tho... The actor for Scott... He's got range. His posture, how much more frail he looks too (did he lose weight for this scene??)

Methinks Joanna was gunning for Scott to attack her so she could have some dirt on him

Did Darlene just... admit to loving Cisco all this time after all?? Omg poor dude. Too little said, too late. 

(The Redditors were right about episode 9 - when she let Cisco steal her food and she smiled at Cisco that was as close to normal and her admitting her love for him as she could get - while he was still alive anyway ;__; Cisco you poor dude)

If Darlene isn't the ringleader and neither is Elliot (the one that's fronting rn) THEN WHO WAS PHONE 

(ok fr I really liked that they echoed that word back-to-back in these 2 scenes. Smooth transition.)

Oh Tyrell and his dramatic metaphors. Boy should've gone into theatre and poetry instead of tech tufjejfjdjkdk (honestly tho who does that? Speak like he's gonna start a dramatic monologue and then stalk away...?)

"the paper records ... titles and deeds, the bloodline of all real property in this country" I really like that line. 'bloodline', huh. Peculiar choice of words, seems like it could be something significant hmm

Omg that dream sequence in S2E04 fucking foreshadowed this!! And there I thought it was just a symbolic callback to Fight Club. And how ironic is it, that Elliot tried to stop an explosion in S1, yet here we are. When Mr. Robot wants to blow things up there's nothing that can stop him djfjjcdjc

They’re finishing each other’s sentences asdkfjalskfja

Oh so that's her play... And with those bruises around her neck it's gonna be an easy manoeuvre

(sometimes I wonder how on earth someone as stone cold and transparently snake-like as Joanna, who clearly says things and does things with an agenda all the time, could get men to fall in love with her and do her bidding. First Tyrell, now Derek. But then I remembered that majority of the time when we see her in a scene the scene occupies her POV - like the case with Light in DN, the audience knows everything he knows. We know all the ways Joanna is deceptive and always manipulative, but the other characters she interacts with do not know the whole story. Terrifying to think if I run into her on a street I'd probably be completely fooled by her too.)

Oh wow turns out Dom has some bite in her! The way she lays out all the incriminating evidence pointing to Darlene in succession... This whole season I thought she was a bit vanilla and boring of a character as her arc so far has mostly been a procedural... But all that time spent following her around the breadcrumb trail? Indispensable. Without that buildup of information we wouldn't have this terrific scene now. And she truly is so capable and formidable of a detective.

(And the way she reads Darlene and gets inside her head. There's this interesting rivalry/connection between them almost parallels the Tyrelliot dynamic)

"The patient predator" -- while she stares at Darlene!! Bitch. That line has major Domlene vibes don't @ me

Dom's saying what we all thought happened to Romero (that is, being a victim of Dark Army's hit list) ajdjdjdjkf Sam being meta again and literally shouting out this subversion of expectations. Romero's death is a macguffin...

WHAT. SAM. HOW COULD YOU END A SEASON LIKE THIS.

that post-credit scene isn’t even satisfying... like, no intrigue unlike S3... i guess there was some closure knowing Mobley and Trenton are safe... and it’s interesting too i suppose since Leon is never supposed to cross paths with other (ex)fsociety members.... Can’t say I didn’t see that coming though because I knew he was gonna be in the post-credits scene (since his name came up during credits and he wasn’t in the whole episode)

[gothicmilktea]

Life line ref ♡

I'm so happy to have a ref for here now

Also I know it's cringe

But lifeline is a self insert/sona but is her own characters in ways.

Ok time to name off the facts about her and her design

She likes stickers she uses them as a form of expression

Her beast mode is a capybara mostly because I vibe with them.

I also wanted more water based deceptions

She's a energon vampire ( also I will be making a post on my head canons about energon vampires)

She's 122 years which is the human equivalent of 16.

(im going off something stated in rescuebots but I don't remember exactly what they said about cybertronians aging)

She not the type to commit crimes she mostly goes with the flow she's on no one's side. She ended up on the alchmore because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and did something she wished she hadn't.

She also has no plans to go back to cybertron because it's government is bigoted and unfair.

She joined a group Of female deceptions.

She has a mini con named night bite who ill be coming up with a design that will be probably based of a bed bug alsoa energon vampire.

So when I was con up with her design I gave her a look for when she's smiling she looks cute and normal but when she rest her face or is actually mad she looks spiteful and shows she can have a lot of attitude.

She also has a gap in her front teeth with sharp fangs.

I used round square shapes to differ from most decepticon designs.

She has a smaller bust and a thicker chubber frame to differ from most female designs.

Her neck thing and the curls on her face are to make her have this cutesy fancy look.

Ref without stickers

[redstarbonky]

tfatws ep 1 not-really-live liveblog (SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS HERE! HERE BE SPOILERS!)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ok calm down

SAM SAM SAM SAM SAM SAMSAM SASMASAMSMASMASMAMSMSASMSMSSM

oh no is this a funeral scene? pls i'm going to vomit

when did they invent zippers? sorry, irrelevant question

please stop reminding me of endgame steve I KNOW IT'S UNAVOIDABLE i just can't emotionally rn

tunisia?! a pretty country

this was edited deceptively for the trailer >:| why would you lie to me like that!!!

dang they're only doing desert stuff. tunisia's coast is gorgeous and you should google it

"OMG," screamed the frenchman

oh batroc, we meet again!

redwing REDWING AAAAAAAAA redwing FIRING LASERS ekjsndkfgn. sorry i’m excited

GET EM SAM!!!!!!

freefall firefight wheeee

batroc has powerful legs

do a barrel roll!

i feel bad for vasant here...

oh heck choppers. go redwing go

jeez sam just murdered that dude

sam has powerful legs. yeah i know i just typed that.

this cliffy area is super cool, very star wars

is it hot to have that kind of thruster/jet/whatever fire near your butt? does falcon have specialty pants that protect his butt from the fire? i hope so

goodbye batroc. knowing that guy he's probably gonna show up later totally fine and working for another evil organization

urban tunisia is pretty too!

a lot of US military of a certain age know a little arabic...

a world without borders? sounds cool and good, can’t wait for anarchists to be the bad guys in this show funded by the united states military (i assume) 😗

stop talking about steve pls

"what are you doing there?" y'know. going to a funeral or something...

though maybe it’s not a funeral. otherwise i feel like bucky would be here in this crowd shot LIKE RHODEY?!?!

RHOOODEEYYYYYYYYYYyyyyyyyyYYYYYYY

no sam that shield is yours. sam. sam. your self-worth should be better than this. you must have that shield. NO. STOP GIVING IT AWAY. THAT SHIELD IS YOURS. HE WANTED YOU TO HAVE IT. SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM

SFBNDJFBDJBSDKGNFKHB SAM I LOVE YOU BUT YOU'RE BRINGING ME DOWN

we're gonna meet sam's family and i'm excited for it! i love portrayals of sibling relationships in fiction! it seems like in terms of numbers they always end up lagging behind romantic/sexual relationships, parent-child relationships, and regular friendships

rhodey come back...you’re the only part of any iron man movie that i’ve liked...oh i guess i shouldn’t just insult the mandarin like that huh

now that that my horrific incident of terror is over, how about some yellow filter to signify that we're in the past?

!!!!!! WHAT THE

SKFNDHJ?? AWEIUHGFDG?? FKJNBMVBNM??????@?!1? kshndfg.

tfw you try to reason with a brainwashed murder machine

alright that was dreadful. cool beans

i'm imagining that the winter soldier was handing out campaign fliers and buttons and stuff to help this corrupt person become a senator

lmao that smile looked painful

of course bucky is the mfer who leaves you on read for days. you’re supposed to be better than me, bucky.

is bucky pals with a grumpy elderly man? love it

PINOCHLE *dies instantly*

mm, mochi

oh no now the mochi is sad?! stop it i’m already sad

well bucky totally murdered that guy's kid...

sam is absolutely the cool uncle, and i love that he's UNCLE SAM!!!! so good

is sam not getting paid enough to help his sister???

it's cool they grew up fishing. the gulf is a real sweaty place to go fishing though

rubber ducky / you're the one...

does - does she know he's a million years old and has killed who knows how many people? at least he didn't lie when he said how old he was lol. be forthcoming with your murders, buckaroo

bucky has a sister??? had a sister??? if she’s still alive she’s got to be extremely old

this girl seems very sweet and has no idea she's psychologically demolishing him

OH NO IT'S HIM. THAT'S THE GUY. COOL COOL COOL

i want to eat the food.

the nephews are cute

man this episode is really globe-trotting. will all the episodes be like this? guess i don’t mind

i think ‘renn’ means ‘run’ but idk

that person has powers of some kind i see...

sam: [flap flap flap] banker: “:OOOO FALCON?!”

do banks in this world really not account for the fact that billions of humans were GONE. awful. imagine being in a job interview. “hm i see you have an employment gap here of five years, can you explain that?” “yeah i literally ceased to exist?” maybe it should be one of those protected questions they’re not allowed to ask you like your age or marital status. they’re not allowed to ask you if you were blipped

being in a boat basement (???) is pretty scary irl. little bit claustrophobic

i hope they don’t have to sell their parents’ boat :[

i don't read the comics much so idk who this villain could be! the super strength makes me pretty nervous!

ohhh dear...unhand that shield you eleventh-doctor-looking toolshed, it belongs to sam >:|

this new captain america, has he been dosed with the serum? maybe a new version of it? or is he nonpowered like sam? i’m aware that this guy is in the comics but i know literally nothing else beyond that fact. if he’s all serum’d up i’m really worried about the outcome of this show rofl

further thoughts

just checking real quick...yeah i’m still mad about IW/EG. mostly EG

sam should have the shield. i feel this is a completely uncontroversial opinion but it has to be said

sam’s poor sister seems sooooo stressed out :[

maybe sam didn’t feel he was ready to take up the shield, but he should’ve known the US government wasn’t just going to put that thing in storage, right? idk though i definitely understand not wanting to take on so much responsibility and publicity

the politician guy is totally hydra or whatever

batroc’s totally coming back, right? otherwise why have sam dealing with him in act 1 of the ep

i was waiting for zemo to show up for a while and...he never did? or at least i don’t think he did. i wish he had because zemo’s actor is really good. also there are only six episodes, they’d better show him to us quick :T

the therapist gave me bad vibes in the trailer but as the session went on the bad vibes went away mostly

bucky doesn’t talk like he’s from the 40s, but then again neither did steve very often. i just wish they had more old-fashioned turns of phrase now and then

winter soldier theme babey!!!!!!!!!!!!! the original music from black panther + the theme for the prowler from spider-verse + avengers theme + winter soldier theme are the only pieces of marvel music that stand out to me at all, it’s a really musically impoverished franchise which is a horrible shame

now begins my LONG, PAINFUL WAIT for next friday 😭 kill me

[itspileofgoodthings]

Things I loved about Anastasia (1997)

the colors and music and overall aesthetic of the movie was so specific and intentional. I don’t know much about Russia at the time of the Romanovs so I can’t judge its historical accuracy, but the world of the movie felt very grounded and real to me. 

Anya is sweet and sassy and red-haired and I lOVE HER (I also love her get-up most of the movie because it’s genuinely unimpressive.)

the voice cast is spectacular !! I recognized the lead actors almost right away. Meg Ryan! John Cusack! Angela Lansbury! Very solid choices. (Hank Azaria is always enjoyable too.)

I love the themes of family and the importance of your past in relation to your future. Not that that’s a new theme for movies but I thought it was handled so thoughtfully without being heavy-handed. it does matter where you come from.

Her grandmother is a beautiful, stately character with so much inherent dignity. It’s touching and heartbreaking how long she looked for Anastasia but you really sympathize with why she decided to stop and the pain all these cons cost her.

the whole set up is so funny and perfect and delightful! I love cons in movies and I love them even more when they turn out to be true. It’s like the fake married AU. It’s deception that’s used to reveal a truth and it’s awesome!

“Grandma it’s me! Anastasia!” CAPE DROP

Anya and Dimitri learning to waltz on the ship!!!!!!! This whole scene gave me major Stardust vibes (kind of the whole movie actually?) and I love scenes where characters who may or may not be in love have to dance with each other! Yes! Tip that questioning attraction into full-blown love. 

I’m so attached to the love story! Anya and Dimitri are amazing and instantly iconic. GOSH. I love their fighting and their equal give-and-take. They’re both stubborn, and they’re both spit-fires. They have a very classic princess-and-pirate spark. I love their protestations (especially his) that he could never!!! like her!!!! yeah okay buddy.

but no, genuinely they’re so cute together and ALSO VERY REAL BECAUSE THEY ARE BOTH STUBBORN IDIOTS

the final act of the movie where neither of them will admit what they’re feeling/do anything about it is so great because with her doubts and his insecurities it makes sense that they’re stuck. but also asdfsASDFSDF THEY’RE SO CUTE AND UNCOMMUNICATIVE. I died at the scene when he talked to her grandmother and didn’t take the reward money and then didn’t tell Anastasia that he’d turned it down, because it’s such a mixture of pride and genuine love.

 “i have concluded my business here” YEAH OKAY BUDDY. He is incredibly noble (in that he’s not going to tell her that he didn’t take the money and make her feel weird about it) and incredibly stubborn (because he’s not going to clear up the misunderstanding) and if that isn’t my absolute jAM I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS

considering the fact that both of them are so stubborn, the final “Dimitri saves Anastasia” scene makes so much sense because there’s probably no way they would ever have gotten over themselves if the stakes weren’t so high and he had to come save her. That final sequence makes both of them admit, “okay we love each other!” so POINTS TO YOU RASPUTIN

(I also enjoyed Rasputin as a villain and was mostly entertained by the running gag of pieces of him literally falling off. I appreciate when villains make me laugh.)

overall i just really loved the way it blent its familial and romantic love stories in a way where you understood the importance of both. the movie doesn’t make you choose one (which is good because this girl loves romance!!!). That’s why Marie is so great. She knows that Anya needs Dimitri as much as he needs her. Anya’s story is how she’s formed and changed by her relationship with her grandmother and with Dimitri. it’s a beautiful balance. 

i can’t remember anything else but it’s so cute and pretty and sweet and funny and ahhhh I want to see it again!!!!!

[escher-room-with-a-view]

YES ABSOLUTELYYYYY you are SO RIGHT

i don’t know much about the minuscule stats of smash bros so for this i’ll be going off what i know from my own playstyle, which basically amounts to “fuck around and find out”

so if we assume this is ultimate:

sarah mains zelda because she really likes the whole princess aesthetic and her design elements. she’d also gravitate a lot toward being a magic user and i imagine her being the type to refuse a loss and demand rematches every. single. time. she’s not the best player but she isn’t terrible either, i feel like she would try to stick to some form of strategy and would take advantage of opportunities (such as items) but would mostly play for fun. she finds it most fun when her friends underestimate her and have no idea what they’re in for. she also uses the stage to her advantage and will sometimes deliberately pick stages that are bigger so that it’s more challenging or so that the others run into more obstacles. if not zelda, she also kind of gives me isabelle vibes because 1) cute dog and 2) deceptively cute dog. she’d be a big fan of the story mode option and would try to save everyone and get the good ending

meanwhile i think of jareth and i IMMEDIATELY think of either marth, robin, or palutena. like he would definitely insist on playing as a gorgeous entity and especially one who can use magic. i don’t think he would even care that much about stats so long as he has the opportunity to play dirty and get away with it. he spams moves, he shields and deflects at every opportunity (which is admittedly a smart thing to do), and you’d better believe he taunts. like, all the time. he probably spends more time dodging attacks and taunting his opponents than he does actually fighting. jareth could be at like 300% damage and he’d still refuse to throw in the towel until he got side b’d off the stage, at which point he would rage quit

something sarah and jareth would have in common is that theyd like to experiment with different skins and color variants

as for hoggle i am certain he’d want to play a character who is either completely broken stats wise or just visually intimidating. this is purely to strike fear into jareth, and since he actually takes stats into consideration, it kind of works. this is why i associate him with sephiroth, mostly; but i also think a heavyweight like incineroar, bowser, or ridley would work well with this idea. hoggle tends to take it a bit more seriously. while not a sore loser, he doesn’t take kindly to the rest of the gang just goofing off and repeatedly crouching or something as the timer is ticking away. he prefers it when they just get on with the game. also, if there’s one thing that motivates him to pummel an opponent, it’s taunting.

ludo also seems on the surface like the type to prefer a heavyweight, but part of me wants to say he’d choose a main like isabelle, kirby, pikachu, or duck hunt just because he finds them cute. the kirby idea is especially entertaining to me because of how he might radically alter his playstyle once he figures out that kirby can absorb abilities, and soon that just becomes all he does. he strikes me as that one player who wins solely by virtue of staying out of trouble and thus not taking a lick of damage. when he does go on the offensive it’s to keep possible threats away from him, and those threats quickly learn their lesson. ludo probably likes collecting spirits a lot and attempts to get to every item first

finally didymus is ABSOLUTELY a sword user. no doubt about it. it’s either link or pretty much anyone from fire emblem, with the possible exception of robin because i don’t see him relying on magic that much. he makes up for his lack of a sword irl with the ability to go absolutely berserk ingame. speaking of going berserk, that’s exactly what he does whenever the smash ball appears. make no mistake: didymus is going to get that final smash (at least in his mind), and he doesn’t care what he has to do to accomplish that. given his fearlessness, he refuses to use shields or items if he can help it, instead preferring to fight in a way he perceives as noble. like jareth, he doesn’t give up until his main can be obliterated if someone breathes on them the wrong way

i don’t personally feel like any of them would like online play very much, mostly because of the community (although didymus would be enticed by the phrase “for glory”). they’d just fight against each other and it would be the funniest shit. however the idea of them actually going online and no one on the other end knowing that they’re actually fantastical creatures is ALSO really funny so do with these HCs what you will

now that i’ve mentioned isabelle i feel an inexplicable urge to talk about how they’d play animal crossing but that’s another game for another day

i see your d&d headcanons (which i love let’s make that clear) and i raise you the fact that the idea of sarah and co. playing video games together is way too good to pass up

like in immediate post-canon i imagine her playing the first zelda or dragon quest or some other fantasy RPG that she bought without her parents knowing and her friends crowding around the screen, staring at it in complete awe. not only have they never seen such vivid moving images before, but they’ve never seen anyone directly control them before without the use of magic; even though sarah doesn’t know the first thing about code and is clearly learning the gameplay as she goes along, to her friends she may as well be a computer genius. from then on they start taking turns with the controller and didymus quickly becomes obsessed because he loves playing the role of a hero. but he’s also drawn to the colors and pixels so there’s that too. hoggle is reluctant because he’s worried he might do it wrong and ludo is very curious about the whole thing but didymus takes it upon himself to explain any given game to everyone else in the group. up to and including sarah, who usually already knows, but allows him to ramble because she likes to see him be passionate about something

BUT ALSO if you want an idea that’s more crack in nature i’ve been thinking like all day about them playing minecraft or something. and that includes jareth too. because this man’s posture is bad enough on his throne imagine how much worse it’d be in a gaming chair /lh

just. man. it would be complete chaos but what is literally everyone in this universe if not unwaveringly chaotic