#not traditionally one of my favourite months

[healthproduct95]

NeuroActiv6 Supplements - Health

[temis-de-leon]

Day 15 - Kiss while being carried

Characters: Asmodeus x male!MC

25 kisses challenge Masterlist

Main Masterlist

CW: drunk Asmo, MC implied to be taller, pure fluff, established relationship

A/N: happy birthday, Asmo! You may be my least favourite, but I know a bad bitch when I see one <3 (also happy birthday to twst Silver)

.

When MC opened his eyes all those months ago and found himself in the presence of the Demon Prince, he’d honestly thought he’d died. He’d thought his religious neighbour was right all along and his soul belonged to Hell, that he would receive an eternity of punishment for his heinous sins.

Loving men, that is.

And he didn’t even know how the wretched woman was aware of his sexuality given that she viciously avoided talking to him. Had it been that obvious? MC had always believed his appearance was traditionally masculine enough, almost painfully bland, like an average 9-5 office worker. Also, he had never brought a boyfriend home before. Was the closet he came from wide open and he just didn’t know?

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter anymore.

MC never would’ve thought that being in literal hell not only wasn’t actually that bad, but he also enjoyed it quite a lot. He made friends, learnt magic and, in a turn of events that shook his core, fell in love. With Asmodeus, to say the least.

At the beginning he felt uncomfortable around the demon, not used to such a demanding personality. It was something artificial and impersonal that didn’t tug his heartstrings until it slowly evolved into an honest friendship. He discovered the good and the bad, the narcissistic tendencies and the sweet generosity, the begging and the devotion. They’d go shopping or partying and in their laziest days they’d stay home and gossip about everything and anything while doing each other’s skincare routines.

Romance appeared at a steady rhythm and none of them needed to confess to be with each other. Their relationship just happened, no questions asked. One day, MC had enough courage to lean over and kiss the demon and he hadn’t stop doing it ever since.

So, when he found himself carrying his boyfriend bridal style, because how else would he do it, and staring into his drunken state with a loving gaze, MC hadn’t really been surprised. He could only enjoy the warmth Asmo’s body radiated and the way his long nails scratched the skin of MC’s nape, strands of hair twisted between his fingers and face and neck completely stained with lipstick.

Asmo was giggling, whispering sweet nothings in his ear and swinging his legs like a child on a swing, his heels clicking against each other with every step MC took.

“So you enjoyed the party?” murmured MC, feeling more satisfied than every.

He tilted his head to the side, offering more skin for Asmo to kiss and cover in hot pink, but his movements were growing slower by the second and MC feared he’d fallen asleep. To his disappointment, however, he leaned back and stared at him, eyes glossy from the alcohol. MC stopped walking.

“Of course I did! You were there, hon’!” he laughed, curling even closer against him and trying to kiss his lips, unfortunately missing “You make everything so much better…”

His words immediately made him fluster and then it was his turn to hide his face and bury his nose in Asmo’s soft hair.

“I’m serious!”

Asmo cradled his jaw, slowly making him raise his head. Although deeply inebriated, he looked determined and sincere and MC’s heart skipped a beat at the sight, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep with him and wake up to his features every morning.

“I’ve had a lot of birthdays, MC, but none of them made me happier than the ones I’ve shared with you… Please, let’s celebrate the rest of them together! Forever! Me and you, we don’t need anyone else!”

MC laughed, not sure at what. He knew he looked completely dumbstruck, smitten and lost in thought. He wanted to give the rest of eternity to Asmodeus, but his mortality would probably upset the demon, especially in his current state.

“I’ll be here for the rest of my life and beyond”

He wanted it to be true and, judging by his boyfriend’s delighted smile and teary eyes, so did Asmo.

Before he knew it they were kissing again, teeth clashing and hands grasping everywhere they could reach with desperation. MC slowly stopped a few seconds later, right after tasting the sweetness of the beverage in Asmo’s tongue while he sneaked his hands under MC’s shirt. Laughing at his pouting expression, he placed a tender kiss on the demon’s forehead.

They could pick it up in the morning. For now, cuddles would be more than enough.

.

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Taglist: @ourfinalisation  @owlisbuffering  @chizukimp4  @ravenredwine @darkflowerav  @beatlebeesstuff   @mehkers

[peachy-skies-writings]

Moonlight Jellies

Pairing: Sebastian (SDV) x f!Reader

A/N: Based on an interaction between my married farmer and Sebastian in the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies where he said, "I remember the first Moonlight Jellies festival that you came to. You didn't notice, but I was watching you when the jellies came up. You looked beautiful in that blue light..."

I think it's from the new 1.6 update but it was too cute. I felt inspired.

Not proofread but I will in the morning and update on ao3 too :)

------

Summer was coming to an end, with the weather cooling down significantly over the past few days. It was your first Summer in Pelican Farm, having moved to the town only one season ago for a fresh start. Mayor Lewis had excitedly told you about the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies and how it was a must-see on the final day of the Summer season.

Pelican Town traditionally saw out the Summer months with this festival every year, with the entire of the town coming to witness the spectacle at the beach. Even Abby, Sam and Sebastian were going to be there.

The four of you had made fast friends, being around the same age, and having similar interests made it all the more easier to join their friendship group. Fortunately you fit in incredibly well.

Unfortunately, however, you'd developed a crush on Sebastian. The dark-haired emo boy who lived in his mother's basement. Yup, that's the one.

It had been unexpected. And you were pretty sure he didn't like you back. And it's not like the crush was even that strong, right?

Yeah, sure you had thought he was cute when you first met him. And yeah, sure you had thought about him every day at least twice. Oh, and sure, you were often seen heading to his house to drop off a Frozen Tear but you didn't mean anything by it, right?

Genuinely, you thought you had everyone fooled until Abby pulled you aside at the saloon the night before the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies.

"What are you going to wear tomorrow night?" She asked.

"Probably some jeans and a shirt... why? Do I need to dress up? Will I need a swimsuit?" You started to panic, fearing you weren't quite as prepared for the festival as you thought you were.

"No... I just- It's one of Sebastian's favourite holidays and... I think it'd be nice if you dressed in that dress Emily made for you." She stuttered out.

"Huh? What's that black dress got to do with.... Abby..."

"What? I know you like him. And I see how he looks at you. Why don't you give him something new to look at?" She wiggled her eyebrows, gesturing to your body.

Not sure if it was the alcohol in your veins or if it was a newfound surge of confidence, you agreed. Well, Abby made you swear that if you didn't then you had to give all your pumpkins to her for the entire of the Fall season. Nevertheless, you agreed.

The next day, you arrived at the beach at 10pm exactly, excited to see an age-old traditional in your new town. As promised, you were wearing your new (f/c) dress, and you had to admit: you looked damned good.

You made your way around the townspeople, speaking to everyone where you could, finally landing on your three friends.

"Whoa, you look nice!" Sam exclaimed.

"You wore it! It looks great!" Abby smiled, pulling you closer to the edge of the pier.

"Thanks guys." You blushed, looking at your friends. Sebastian hadn't said anything but you could see a faint tint of red on his cheeks, which only served to make your face flush more.

He looked at you and gave a shy smile, before turning back towards the sea. The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies began, illuminating the beach with their iridescent blue glow.

It was breath-takingly beautiful.

Sebastian felt the same as he looked at you, bathed in the blue light from the jellyfish. It gave you an ethereal glow, like a goddess.

"I see a green one!" Abby yelled.

You lean forward to see if you can make out the rare green one you'd heard so much about.

"Oh! I see it! Abby, I see it!" You exclaimed excitedly back at her.

Sebastian smiled to himself, another blush creeping up on his face. That night made him realise that he had to tell you how he felt.

[spikulec]

Ravi - Isopod People

Today I bring you a trip down the memory lane. This is the first species I've ever designed, for completely different private fan-project that I finally abandoned as I lost my love for the source material. Now, after a few years, I decided to revisit them and redesign my favourite isopod people - the Ravi. So, have yourself another creature for my DnD 5e setting! Meet Tsaan (the smaller one) and Ari, her friend.

Ravi come from the north of Gaol, tho you can meet them living in the all northern lands of Io. Their people are extremely sturdy and prepared to fight any weather, from freezing cold to magical thunderstorms and even volcanic activity. In the worst of circumstances, they expand their exoskeleton, creating a pupa in which they can hibernate for long months without food or air. Once the conditions are clearer, Ravi can emerge out of the cocoon and begin life anew as if nothing wrong ever happened. .Ravis' bodies are naturally armed with a thick layer of segmented carapace, resembling the one found on isopods. If you were to touch their "hair" it would be like poking an earth worm. Those long "braids" are fully capable of movement and serve as temperature regulation system. They expel excess heat or isolate the head from freezing cold. In other words, Ravi have natural hats :3

Ravi rarely settle down. Their people are wanderers, always looking for a better place to live. They migrate with the weather, visiting Gaol every four years, when the north completely freezes down. They are also respected as warriors, hunting both for animals and for the Ylfe. the best of warriors wear winter coats made from Pookas, the terrifying winter spiders. Traditionally in their culture, Ravi wear belts with strings attached to them. Every knot on a string means another Great Winter survived, marking four years in the life of a Ravi.

[oneknightstand-if]

So, uhhh, first ever message on tumblr, here's to hoping this is actually the place to post that stuff?

It's great, As a Game Master (mostly for rpgs on discord) I'm a big fan of the freedom of expression when it comes to characters. I just finished a run I'm pretty happy with, so I figured I should do as asked and share the results below.

(A word of warning, since I can only draw anime-style, this is now an anime.)

As a bonus, here's some design I doodled up for the character, to help myself visualize her.

Additional Data:

Adrian: Crush Merlin: To Befriend Pet: Cat (Roland)(Like the Paladin of Charlemagne) Wears: Frilly blouse and long skirt (She started wearing those to get reactions out of Adrian while avoiding more extreme outfits) Camelot Sequence: Lucid dreamer, talked to Merlin in the past (monty python reference to prove she's from the future), got directed to Arthur, asked Past!Arthur about lucid dreaming, Caught Current!Arthur about Lucid Dreaming (He now knows who she is), then spilled all the beans to Merlin after waking up (He knows who she is). Items: Magic 8-Ball, Cat memento, pouch of pearls, miniature garden (Audrey III!) Gas Station: Followed Merlin, Destroy Cameras, Clean traces, Get matches.

And now, for the wall of texts that nobody asked for but that you're all getting anyway!

Character Design

The design I went with was 'the super sussy character who actually is kinda hiding the least'.

Physically, she's basically hopeless, with her teeny tiny 10% on physical, which puts her firmly into the 'dead weight' category. Considering what's going on in here, it's a bit sus.

Even more sus is the amnesia background, because here's that girl popping out of seemingly nowhere with no memories right around the time the failed Lesser Circle happened, who just so happens to be a potential harbinger? Sus.

Appearance wise, her best features are her eyes (my dice determined they should be violet), but they are downturned (Tareme) ones, that usually express either gentleness, or belong to suspicious people, with a gentle, caring and overall traditionally feminine/motherly behavior (wears frilly outfits, cooks gourmet food, tends to her (mutant) plants). In other words, she's very much an 'ara ara'-type character. (The cuckoo is mostly limited to the confines of her mind).

However, she is an imposter whose special move consists of spilling all the tea (ironic, her favourite drink is Jasmine…), all the time. Had a weird dream (Part 1)? Write a report and drop it on Adrian's lap, almost shoving the marked arm under his nose. Freak encounter in a horse trailer? Write a report and drop it on the club leader's lap. Meet a strange but weirdly helpful stranger? Drop the Weird dream Dossier (part 1) on his lap. Questions about the self medication? Ha! She's got her entire (albeit short) life written in a folder ready for perusal! Had a weird dream (Part 2)? You better bet she's writing it down and dropping it on Merlin and Adrian's laps.

…

This is probably a side-effect of being overworked all the time and getting in the habit of making biology reports for everything, isn't it?

IC Thoughts on characters:

Merlin: Super strong incubus who may or may not be the actual Antichrist, may or may not want to cause the Apocalypse themselves to put humanity out of their misery if the Arthur plan doesn't pan out, and yet may very well be the most trustworthy person in this entire group, if only because waking Arthur up seems to be their number 1 priority. After all, all they needed to do was stand aside and do nothing if they wanted the Lesser Circle to fail, right?

Adrian: 'Friend' for several years, eventually got a crush on him a few months ago, but his ambiguous way of almost-but-not-quite friendzoning her is beginning to wear her down. Slightly suspicious due to his being much too prepared for the crisis at hand for a random bystander, but he had all the opportunities in the world to get rid of/corrupt her in all the years they knew each other, and she herself has this 'tiny' Impostor secret going on so she's trusting him so far.

IC thoughts about the adventure: 4 (Reluctant/panicking, but not forced)

What is there to be said. The end of the world, man-eating monsters, plagues, the end of the world, homicides, abductions, did she forget to mention the end of the world? For a woman with little inclination toward physical fighting and who would rather read a book in a corner, this is very much outside of her field of competence.

With that said, she almost got eaten by the monster under her bed and Merlin healed her when she was at Death's Doors, so she's giving them the benefit of doubt, for now.

Character affinities:

Probably Percival (cuckoo connection), Arthur (dream shenanigans) or Broderick (this entire thing is crazy!) would work best?

Here's to hoping this didn't get too long, I tend to get too verbose when I become enthusiastic about something.

It's impossible to be too verbose, especially compared to me. Also, my imagination runs in 4K surround-sound anime-style, so it was anime all along! Olwen fits in perfectly!

[deathclassic]

ART TAG

I just want to see more art and creatives

-

Have you always been interested in creating art? Yes! I've been drawing for as long as I can remember

What's your favourite medium to use? If digital, what programs do you like? I really enjoy drawing traditionally, a lot of the time i sketch and then take a photo to finish it digitally on photoshop (that i pirated)

Do you create outside of fandom? Yes, I draw for myself a lot but I don't really share them

Share something you haven't finished and/or never got around to posting mickey eating vegemite toast which i sent to nosho and never posted here haha

Favourite piece you've made?

ive always liked my beer bottle and carton design

Draw your icon in a minute or less

An underrated piece you've made in your opinion

any of my stranger things fanart bc i dont have any stranger things mutuals <3

Do you do art in a professional setting? kinda? im a qualified graphic designer and im working on a logo for a boxing trainer now

A piece you don't like but did really well on social media

100% this one, dan posted it on his ig story and tagged me in it and used it as his header on twitter for a while too

Post an old piece and compare it to your most recent, what are the similarites?

still doing outfit challenges, still adding a splash of colour in the bg, colour, details and adding waves to hair! also the shading is similar on the stomachs

Have you ever collaborated with another artist/s? yes!! ive done a dan and phil poster with other phan artists, a calendar that @pseudophan organised years ago (i still have it) and some cool one on one stuff with other artists in various fandoms <3

What piece has the most notes? Are you surprised?

this series, very surprised tbh currently at 12k+ notes

Who/What is your favourite subject matter?

People/characters i love, i just love drawing people i enjoy watching ya know

Show us something not from fandom you've made

a modernised take on shakespeares 'Taming of the Shrew', the badge is currently on my battle vest

Where do you like to create? in my bedroom at my desk, i feel inspired in my art corner

Do you have a tag that you use to group your creations? Tell us so people can follow it

'm does art' is my art tag!

Give yourself a shoutout, where can we commission/buy/follow you for more pieces?

commissions - unavailable but will open in a month or so instagram redbubble

tagging: @doshiart @gallapiech @spookygingerr @konaiiro

@michellemisfit @heymrspatel @vintagelacerosette @ghoulish-art-tendencies

@sgtmickeyslaughter @creepkinginc @kiennilove @burninface

@darlingian @suzy-queued

[calciumdeficientt]

Cal !! Saw the previous ask about Bryce and I absolutely loved your ideas- do you have anything in mind for Gord dearest?

Please, call me milky!

Anyway …Gorrrrrrrd! Gord was my first love, he was the first NPC i heard speak when i played the game (past this is your school,obvs) and he’s the one that hit me over the head with the autism sledgehammer. i want to scrunch him up and throw him in a wood chipper

GORD VENDOME HCS

He’s the cuntiest bitch on the bullworth academy campus and I’m literally not going to accept any form of argument, he came out of the womb wearing aquaberry. He lives and breathes it, its his lifeblood. He plans his walk around school to and from each class, checking the weather to make sure he if needs to tweak any parts of the route so that’s he has the best chance of getting every student to see how effortless, demure and graceful he is in his choice of fine clothes, jewellery and hair care. No one is fooled by him, they know it takes a hell of a lot of effort.

Gord does a closet reshuffle every 6 months or so, just to make sure all his clothes are on trend and in season. This is standard prep procedure, but what makes Gord’s rearranging so special is that he literally cannot bear to throw anything away. He attaches memories to every stitch of fabric he’s ever put on his body, he’s a work of art and therefore every single outfit he’s ever worn simply has to be memorialised, he can’t throw it all away. His father has dedicated several houses just to the backlog of Gord’s discarded clothing. There’s more than enough in there to fully stock several Aquaberry locations for literal decades.

He gets dreadful hay fever, its actually kind of disgusting to look at him if he hasn’t taken an antihistamine. Luckily very few people have ever seen him like that, he has several boxes on his person at all times during the spring and summer. He just doesnt have the heart to tell Jimmy about his pollen allergy, so when he’s given flowers he has to hold all of his sneezes in. This then makes his eyes water, and therefore makes Jimmy think he’s so overjoyed with the gift that he’s moved to tears. Luckily for gord he keeps several hand stitched silk handkerchiefs on his person at all times, initialled with thread made of spun gold, he’s not some kind of common mutt that uses disposable tissues.

Gord is a rather talented pianist, he was given the choice as a child to either play polo with his father, or take piano lessons. The thought of the latter made him so lightheaded he thought that he was having a heart attack so he chose to play piano instead. His family have a very nice grand piano in their house’s foyer, but a separate, dedicated room for music practice with an equally expensive, but less aesthetically pleasing piano. On special occasions when the Vendomes wanted to show off, they’d plonk Gord in front of the piano and set him loose. It was usually Schubert or Bach to show how deeply cultured their young son was; but in his personal time, Gord found he much preferred to play the works of more modern classical composers, Leonard Cohen was a particular favourite in his early teens. He doesn’t play all that often nowadays, he’s much too busy, but every time he thinks he might be forgetting he’ll spend an hour or so playing through the giant stack of sheet music he’s accumulated over the years.

His cologne is one of a kind, hand mixed by a company in Milan, its tailored to him and only him and was originally a gift for his 10th birthday. It’s more feminine smelling than most colognes but he thinks it makes him stand out more, he’s not a traditionally masculine guy, so he likes that his cologne reflects that. He’s been gifted many other scents, usually from distant relatives or prospective marriage candidates that dont really know him but they’re just not the same.

Actually got bullied so insanely hard for his ears when he was a kid that he refused to leave the house without a hat on. Even when he first came to bullworth kids weren’t the nicest to him. His ears are a big source of insecurity for him and he is in the process of convincing his father to let him get surgery to tuck them in. His satellite dishes are so cute and he should never get rid of them but its not really up to me.

Comforts Pinky when Derby forgets about every single one of their dates, he takes her shopping for whatever she wants, to dinner someplace exclusive (he always makes reservations on days when those two have dates, he just knows Derby will bail), and then back to Harrington house to watch movies. He openly cries at the sad parts of the romcoms they inevitably end up watching, often more so than Pinky.

Holds a fondness for poor people that not even he himself can fully explain. If he had to pinpoint it, its their freedoms. They’re free to be content with nothing, or to work to fix it, they dont start at an advantage in life and therefore get to enjoy the ride a little bit more. Thats his rose tinted view of it anyway, obviously he hasn’t the time to spend creating a nuanced understanding of his infatuation, he just accepts it as part of his psyche and moves on with his own, utterly fabulous life.

[littleplasticrat]

Behind the canvas: Painting 'Finally getting that drink'

This is a post about some of my thoughts while painting Rugan's pin-up for this month. Some technical ideas, rambling and mild nudity below the cut.

Inspo and references

The pin-ups of Gil Elvgren are on the left, and 'Elspeth Resplendent' by Anna Steinbauer is on the right.

Elvgren is one of my favourite artists and I spent some time looking through a book of his collected work to see what ideas I could take for this pin-up project. The things that jumped out at me were:

The women felt like 'subjects' rather than 'objects'. There's some implication of hobbies, an inner life. They're often in the middle of doing something when they're captured on the canvas.

The subjects know they're being looked at, and they are taking it as an opportunity to flirt (signalled through eye contact, coquettish facial expressions and body language). It feels like a conversation between viewer and viewed.

Parts of the body may be exposed, but the eye is drawn back and forth between the subject's face and more titillating parts of the image.

I knew that I wanted to show Rugan in a similar setup, then; in this case, he's halfway through dinner and then catches sight of the viewer. His eye contact and smirk are flirtatious and mirror what you see of him in Act 1.

I initially wanted the pose to mirror Elspeth's in this beautiful Magic the Gathering planeswalker art by Anna Steinbauer, whose work I am obsessed with. Since I started taking art seriously, it's been my goal to paint for MtG, so I often try to study from artists whose illustrations I admire.

However, I didn't want to copy her pose or the composition of the piece. Don't get me wrong, I'm not above doing this - but I felt it just didn't work with the subject. The horizon line (shown in red) is very low. This is a gnome-level view of Elspeth. And I didn't want to place the viewer at the eye level of Rugan's penis.

I kept the composition similar in some other aspects though - there's still a T shape (pale green) that draws the eye to the focal point (pink). I did some sketches where Rugan is leaning forwards/sideways in the same way as Elspeth is, but I feel that this final leaning-back pose demonstrates more dominant body language and allows me to paint the musculature of his torso in more detail. This acts almost as a 'ladder' that draws the viewer's eye up and down between the two focal points of the nude variant.

Painting

I've already said quite a lot on a post that was supposed to be short, so I'll keep it brief here and write more about the painting of Gortash and Raphael (February and March respectively).

It's been quite a while since I've tackled such a detailed painting, so I had to do some research/studies to remind myself of some helpful rendering rules:

Veins beneath pale skin might look blue, but they're actually just a desaturated version of the same colour. There are other parts of this image where the veins are particularly lovely. I'll leave that to your imagination.

2. Highlights on leather are not as saturated as you'd expect until you get to the most reflective part of the material. Also, a good texture brush can work wonders.

3. I try to use as few layers as possible when painting, but I remembered the importance of putting design detail on a separate Multiply layer. Multiply allows the layer to modify/darken the layers below, so you can more easily add detail that follows the shape of the object. For example, the body hair or the snake's head going over the chest. If I were painting traditionally, I'd have had to put in a lot more effort. With Multiply layers, it's one colour. Nice! I got a great tip from @dustdeepsea about the blue-ish tint that tattoos, particularly older ones, can get. I felt like this massive tat is not something that Rugan has had done recently, so I added a Gaussian blur as well.

Well, if you got this far, thanks for reading! This is a great way for me to reflect and record what I've learned from the painting. I want to paint sexy stuff, but I also want to keep improving as an artist!

Keep an eye out for updates on my next pin-up, who will be Lord Enver Gortash. Time to practice using my hair/fur brushes 🥵🥵

[44-mr-midnight-44]

Now, I have the dilemma of being both a scrawny Heart and a chubby Heart fan.

My taste in men is scrawny, short and meek, don't get me wrong; and my only taste for chubbier people is very specific, so naturally making my second-favourite character of all time be the latter option seems rather unlikely, but believe it or not I'm capable of liking a character even if they're not my type! Just because I love pathetic twinks doesn't mean rounder characters aren't cool and deserving of love too. :)

However, strangely I just love chubby Heart. I love it when depressed characters are overweight because it adds a special layer of realism; depression can cause overeating, depression can cause a lack of exercise, antidepressants can cause someone to gain weight, someone can become depressed because of insecurities about their weight, etc.

I think we need more characters that are chubby for reasons besides loving food, because there's a lot of complex reasoning behind it! Plus, representation for bigger people is wonderful. But while I could rant about this for hours, that's not what I'm here to talk about!

I made a compromise for my Heart with my love for both headcanons. However, it's not in a way that would be traditionally realistic for humans, it's written with fictional evolution in-mind!

Ids, Heart and Mind (and kind of Soul)'s species in my little canon-divergent AU I share with Grimm Grimm, are strange animals meant to survive in mild conditions, namely forests.

They are not meant to survive the cold; in-fact, bundling up with several layers of clothing won't keep them warm enough, like how a human would.

Instead, they have two solutions that work in coordination: By eating a lot, ids can release a significant amount of that energy as heat, whilst also putting on a lot of weight to help insulate their bodies.

Ids do not have fur (in-fact, they somehow have less than a human does), nor do they know how to start fires in the wild, with their IQ-of-a-five-year-old in their natural habitat. So, they get plumper and spent the coldest hours of the day in a den, snuggling up to one another to preserve and share as much warmth as possible, and rest through much of the colder temperatures, before going out to hunt and forage for plant-based food to help maintain the weight and heat they need.

Heart and Mind are the rare case of civilised ids; ids raised by a human. This means that they don't technically need to do this, as a nicely-heated home can do the trick, but they still have the instinct to get chubbier to help warm, especially with the outside temperatures posing a threat, and the imminent risk of hypothermia even in good conditions.

Heart is not at all bothered by having a heavier size during the colder months, even having a bit of fondness of it due to sating his body's needs. With this compromise, half the year Heart is scrawny, and half the year he's a decent bit chubby– for a reason I think is pretty cool! He's an animal going by animal instincts.

I apologise if this is bad somehow! I have no intentions to hurt anyone's feelings. I just simply like the idea of Heart and Mind getting bigger in the winter months because, well, they're animals, and it's their way of keeping warm. I've always been a massive zoology nerd, so I thought it'd be pretty cool. :)

That's all! I hope you enjoy my little ramble about my little evolutionary anomalies. :)

[poetickisscs]

THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US - tricia levenseller

rating - ★★★★★

“my little hellion, you are a force to be reckoned with, aren’t you?”

other books ive read by this author - daughter of the pirate king (★★★)

final reading time - one week

Thoughts ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

I do not even know where to start with this book!!! I think it might be my favourite read of 2024 so far! It’s been a while since I’ve read a fantasy book like this so it was nice to get back into the genre that made me a reader. I’ve been in the biggest reading slump for about a month now and this was the perfect book to get out of it! The fast paced and easy to understand plot was absolutely hooking, and something about cringey classic fantasy romance just makes me feel so warm inside. Also the plot twist?! I would have never expected that, it was literally the last thing I would’ve thought would happen in this book!

Characters ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

alessandra stathos

first off, wife. I’m sorry someone had to say it!!! I loved her sm, it made me really happy that she was a total bad bitch and still had a traditionally femenine hobby (sewing) like wdym you killed the boy who broke your heart and you make all your own outfits??! Like that’s so cool! Anyways I wouldn’t really call alessandra a ‘villain’ like the book displayed her as but I still really loved her, like this girl had almost no one in this book 😭 her dad was such an asshole and LEANDROS!!? come on man I was rooting for you. Anyways I love her sm <3

kallias maheres

Another book man to add to my fictional boyfriend list, he probably had one of the best love confessions I’ve ever read it was so cute and amazing and just aaahhg!!! also this man was DOWN BAD for alessandra, like he really was in his knees for her fr, like the gentlemans club scene >>>> but the part where *spoilers* he thought she betrayed her made me so sad :( but tbh he had every right to feel that way I mean he’s a paranoid guy so whatever, he was basically the only good guy in this book other than rouhben.

[dark-bear-productions]

Oh I am very interested in anything you have to offer! Dutch food is one of my least known European cuisines, so I'll take anything 👀

Alright, let’s go over a few quintessentially Dutch dishes. I got this question when I mentioned hutspot, so let's start there. Hutspot has its own Wikipedia page, featuring this pic:

It's boiled potato, carrot, and onion mashed together. Wikipedia tells me its served with klapstuk, which is apparently a cut of beef from the ribs. To my knowledge I've never had that, but my parents used to serve their hutspot with hachée, which is a thick beef, onion (and apparently apple?), and herb stew, so that's pretty close I think. Hachée looks like this:

Keeping in line with this tradition of smashing potatoes and boiled vegetables together, our national dish is boerenkoolstamppot (like German, Dutch enjoys stitching words together; it means kale mash, basically). This looks thus:

As you can tell, the real star of the dish is the sausage. It's rookworst -- smoke sausage --; meat, spices and salt smoked in a horse shoe-shaped casing. I just learned that these were traditionally made in November, the Slaughter Month, which happens to be when kale is harvested, leading to this classic combo.

(By the way: keep in mind The Netherlands didn't have potatoes until the 16th Century. I'm not sure what we did with boerenkool, but hutspot was made with parsnips instead of potatoes.)

On the subject of making interesting sausages: the Dutch looove their fries (usually the thick kind, with mayo), and the best way to eat those is with either a frikandel or a kroket. A frikandel is mincemeat with spices, looking like this:

A kroket is essentially a thick ragout rolled in breading, looking like this (both sausages are popular on bread, too):

While we're talking about food from the snackbar, let’s talk about my favourite junkfood: frietje oorlog (literally war fries, but it means messy fries). These are fries served with mayo, raw onions, and saté, an Indonesian peanut sauce:

Note that having this is fully a result of colonialism. Indeed, the Indonesian rice table is official Dutch cultural heritage. But that's insane to me, so instead I'll use the raw onions to talk about Hollandse Nieuwe (Hollandish New One):

This is herring caught and sold at a specific time of year, eaten gutted, deboned, and decapitated but otherwise raw, with raw onions.

Now, as a final mention before I need to get up, let’s talk sweets. We Dutch love our pastries and cookies, and there's an absolute mass of local and regional cakes and waffles and what have you, but one sweet that actually serves as dinner is the Dutch pancakes:

They're thicker than crepes (and in a restaurant much bigger and thicker than the ones in this picture I got online), but they really are just flour, milk, and eggs fried in a frying pan. They're traditionally eaten with a very dark sugar syrup and powdered sugar, but people put on lots of stuff. A very popular variation has raisins and/or apple slices added in the pan before the batter to have them sit *in* the pancake. Another adds young cow's cheese and folds the pancake like a calzone, yet another fries bacon and pours batter over top. But the main take is that a sweet dinner isn't unusual in The Netherlands.

Alright, I believe these are our biggest hits. There's a bunch more, of course, including regional stuff and things influenced by former colonies, immigrants, etc. But these are some very very Dutch dishes that I have had very very often. Hope you enjoyed the read! Feel free to ask questions.

[theic-manic]

Weekend devotional plans:

Ares Altar

Recently, upon realising that Hermes was disguised as Hades & Hekate (I've previously covered in another post) I have to redo my bedside table altar since that was dedicated to Hades...

Hermes already has a bloody altar and before his "ta da! I'm that pokemon (bitch)!" Reveal he convinced me to LED the fuck out of his altar (my desk) & some wall art so he doesn't need another one.

Apollo has a tarot altar.

And I think that was partly why he had me recalculate my 4 core numbers for my soul deity parents (linked below) because Ares has been around, at a distance for a good while but he's big on consent so he... didn't push the relationship...

Now that I realise he's one of my core number deities, I've become more receptive & damn his presence is strong 😊

I recall wanting to create a "war deity altar" a few months ago when I briefly worked with Sekhmet (the Kemetic God Squad dipped out when I resumed my previous career) so I might will make a bedside Ares altar the adult massage devices nearby might be appreciated by him 😅 I was stuck on this because I don't have anything that might be traditionally associated with him but alas, ask the Gods to guide you & they shall deliver: I realised that I can use my Crow tarot & Oracle decks, among some other things instead so I'll do that

Start planning my Tarot Book of Shadows

As an Apollo & Hermes devotional I really need to start outlining my Tarot journal... while my Tumblr account & browser favourites are basically a digital BoS I have promised Apollo to reduce my screentime so that's a thing. Ares give me strength...

I started drafting this yesterday (Friday) and this morning Ares got my arse up to run arrands. Ares: "Wear the military jacket and the jewellery you've previously worn in my honour on Tuesdays when our relationship was more... formal" This includes an obsidian pendant shaped like a dog tag with a wolf. Upon wearing this I found myself talking to him more and when I bought a bunch of groceries (it was raining again too) I was worried I'd struggle to carry them all home. Ares: "You doubt yourself because you're not as physically strong as you think but remember that in addition to the childhood trauma that even some Spartans may wince at, you underwent major spinal surgery at age 14 and pushed yourself to walk again and recover faster than most. Carry on my Oracle-soldier, you've got this." So it was nice to be reminded that strength comes in various forms.

[longagoitwastuesday]

So so indebted to u for posting those lovely illustrations from Cyrano <333 & even more so for yr tags!! I'm completely in love w yr analysis, please feel free to ramble as long as u wish! Browsing through yr Cyrano de Bergerac tag has given me glimpses of so many adaptations & translations I'd never heard of before! I'll be watching the Solès version next, which I have only discovered today through u ^_^ As for translations, have u read many/all of them? I've only encountered the Renauld & Burgess translations in the wild, & I was curious to hear yr translation thoughts that they might guide my decision on which one I buy first (not necessarily Renauld or Burgess ofc). Have a splendid day & sorry for the likespam! 💙

Sorry for the delay. Don't mind the likespam, I'm glad you enjoyed my tags about Cyrano, and that they could contribute a bit to a further appreciation of the play. I loved it a lot, I got obsessed with it for months. It's always nice to know other people deeply love too that which is loved haha I hope you enjoy the Solès version, it may well be my favourite one!

About translations, I'm touched you're asking me, but I don't really know whether mine is the best opinion to ask. I have read... four or five English translations iirc, the ones I could find online, and I do (and especially did, back when I was reading them) have a lot of opinions about them. However, nor English nor French are my first languages (they are third and fourth respectively, so not even close). I just read and compare translations because that's one of my favourite things to do.

The fact is that no translation is perfect, of course. I barely remember Renauld's, but I think it was quite literal; that's good for understanding the basics of the text, concepts and characters, but form is subject, and there's always something that escapes too literal translations. Thomas and Guillemard's if I recall correctly is similar to Hooker's in cadence. It had some beautiful fragments, some I preferred over Hooker's, but overall I think to recall I liked Hooker's more. If memory serves, Hooker's was the most traditionally poetic and beautiful in my opinion. Burgess' is a whole different thing, with its perks and drawbacks.

Something noticeable in the other translations is that they are too... "epic". They do well the poetic, sorrowful, grief stricken, crushed by regrets aspects of Cyrano and the play in general, but they fall quite short in the funny and even pathetic aspects, and that too is key in Cyrano, both character and play. Given the characteristics of both languages, following the cadence of the French too literally, with those long verses, makes an English version sound far too solemn at times when the French text isn't. Thus Burgess changes the very cadence of the text, adapting it more to the English language. This translation is the one that best sets the different moods in the play, and as I said before form is subject, and that too is key: after all, the poetic aspect of Cyrano is as much true as his angry facet and his goofy one. If Cyrano isn't funny he isn't Cyrano, just as he wouldn't be Cyrano without his devotion to Roxane or his insecurities; Cyrano is who he is precisely because he has all these facets, because one side covers the other, because one trait is born from another, because one facet is used as weapon to protect the others, like a game of mirrors and smoke. We see them at different points through the play, often converging. Burgess' enhances that. He plays with the language itself in form and musicality, with words and absences, with truths masking other truths, with things stated but untold, much like Cyrano does. And the stage directions, poetic and with literary value in their own right in a way that reminded me of Valle Inclán and Oscar Wilde, interact with the text at times in an almost metatextual dimension that enhances that bond Cyrano has with words, giving them a sort of liminal air and strengthening that constant in the play: that words both conceal and unveil Cyrano, that in words he hides and words give him away.

But not all is good, at all. Unlike Hooker, Burgess reads to me as not entirely understanding every facet of the characters, and as if he didn't even like the play all that much, as if he had a bit of a disdainful attitude towards it, and found it too mushy. Which I can understand, but then why do you translate it? In my opinion the Burgess' translation does well bending English to transmit the different moods the French text does, and does pretty well understanding the more solemn, cool, funny, angry, poetic aspects of Cyrano, but less so his devotion, vulnerability, insecurities and his pathetism. It doesn't seem to get Roxane at all, how similar she is to Cyrano, nor why she has so many admirers. It does a very poor job at understanding Christian and his value, and writes him off as stupid imo. While I enjoyed the language aspect of the Burgess translation, I remember being quite angry at certain points reading it because of what it did to the characters and some changes he introduces. I think he did something very questionable with Le Bret and Castel-Jaloux, and I remember being incensed because of Roxane at times (for instance, she doesn't go to Arras in his version, which is a key scene to show just how much fire Roxane has, and that establishes several parallels with Cyrano, in attitude and words, but even in act since she does a bit what Cyrano later does with the nuns in the last act), and being very angry at several choices about Christian too. While not explicitly stated, I think the McAvoy production and the musical both follow this translation, because they too introduce these changes, and they make Christian as a character, and to an extent the entire play, not make sense.

For instance, once such change is that Christian is afraid that Roxane will be cultured (McAvoy's version has that infamous "shit"/"fuck" that I detest), when in the original French it's literally the opposite. He is not afraid she will be cultured, he is afraid she won't, because he does love and appreciate and admires those aspects of her, as he appreciates and admires them in Cyrano. That's key! Just as Cyrano longs to have what Christian has, Christian wants the same! That words escape him doesn't mean he doesn't understand or appreciate them. The dynamics make no sense without this aspect, and Burgess (and the productions that directly or indirectly follow him) constantly erases this core trait of Christian.

Another key moment of Christian Burgess butchers is the scene in Arras in which Christian discovers the truth. Burgess writes their discussion masterfully in form, it's both funny and poignant, but it falls short in concept: when Cyrano tells him the whole discussion about who does Roxane love and what will happen, what they'll do, is academic because they're both going to die, Christian states that dying is his role now. This destroys entirely the thing with Christian wanting Roxane to have the right to know, and the freedom to choose, or to refuse them both. As much as Cyrano proclaims his love for truth and not mincing words even in the face of authority, Cyrano is constantly drunk on lies and mirages, masks and metaphors. It's Christian who wants it all to end, the one who wants real things, the one who wants to risk his own happiness for the chance of his friend's, as well as for the woman he loves to stop living in a lie. That is a very interesting aspect of Christian, and another aspect in which he is written as both paralleling and contrasting Cyrano. It's interesting from a moral perspective and how that works with the characters, but it's also interesting from a conceptual point of view, both in text and metatextually: what they hold most dear, what they most want, what most fulfills them, what they most fear, their different approaches to life, but also metatextually another instance of that tears/blood motif and its ramifications constant through the whole text. Erasing that climatic decision and making him just simply suicidal erases those aspects of Christian and his place in the Christian/Cyrano/Roxane dynamic, all for plain superficial angst, that perhaps hits more in the moment, but holds less meaning.

Being more literal, and more solemn, Hooker's translation (or any of the others, but Hooker's seems to love the characters and understand them) doesn't make these conceptual mistakes. Now, would I not recommend reading Burgess' translation? I can't also say that. I had a lot of fun reading it, despite the occasional anger and indignation haha Would I recommend buying it? I recommend you give an eye to it first, if you're tempted and can initially only buy one.

You can read Burgess' translation entirely in archive.com. You can also find online the complete translations of Renauld, Hooker and Thomas and Guillemard. I also found a fifth one, iirc, but I can't recall it right now (I could give a look). You could read them before choosing, or read your favourite scenes and fragments in the different translations, and choose the one in which you like them better. That's often what I do.

Edit: I've checked to make sure and Roxane does appear in Arras in the translation. It's in the introduction in which it is stated that she doesn't appear in the production for which the translation was made. The conceptualisation of Roxane I criticise and that in my opinion is constant through the text does stay, though.

[carriagelamp]

I think I accidentally hit my reading quota in July because in August I ended up doing every else except reading! And then September just got too busy. But I managed to scrape up a handful of books for the pat few months a few quite good and some rather overwhelmingly lacklustre...

The Alchemy of Moonlight

Well, we’re off to an auspicious start because this book was genuinely awful. It was a complete impulse purchase and gave me a very sharp reminder about judging books by their covers. After reading A Marvellous Light last month I was in the mood for more queer period romance and this one had ALL that plus a werewolf to boot! Sounds fun! I could use a fun summer impulse read! But sadly it committed what is, in my opinion, the single greatest sin a historical fiction novel can do, which is that it read completely and entirely like a modern novel. 

There was almost zero effort to make the vocabulary or cadence fit that of novels from that time period (and like, I’m not expecting perfect, I'm hardly an expert, but I regularly read fanfiction written in better pastiche than this. Les Mis and Sherlock Holmes fandoms, you guys have spoiled me). The characters also don’t act in historically appropriate ways, they were allowed to get way too familiar with each other way too quickly with zero regard to social class. And I can’t believe I’m saying this but I could have actually used a touch more homophobia -- guys, just a bit of internalised homophobia, even just the acknowledgement that societal pressures affect people. 

(also this getting described as a gothic horror? fuck off gothic horror is more than a spoopy house, where is the absolute overwhelming terror of the vast Sublime?? i was not forced to read frankenstein three fucking times for school to accept something this lame trying to describe itself as "gothic".)

I tossed this one in my local little free library and I hope it goes to someone who is less of a picky bastard when it comes to historical narration.

American Girl: Kaya and Lone Dog // A Spy on the Homefront: A Molly Mystery

Two more American Girl novels that I’ve read, one about Kaya, an indigenous girl form the Nimíipuu tribe in 1764 and the story about her missing her sister and befriending a lone dog who gives birth to puppies. Like the other books I’ve read from this series, I thought it was quite well done. It didn’t shy away from challenging topics (her sister being enslaved and how that loss has affected Kaya) and drew me along for the entire plot of the book. It was charming.

The other one I read was another from the Mystery series of books. Sadly I’m thinking that the entire Mystery series of American Girl books may just be lacklustre. Like the Kit Mystery I read a while back, this one had a decent concept, explored the time period (WWII) in an interesting way, but had abysmal pacing for a mystery novel. It was not very good at creating or maintaining tension, and minimal effort to actually give a reader any clues to track. It wasn’t a bad story, especially for a kid, but it was nothing special.

Annie: An Old-Fashioned Story

After rewatching the musical Annie I decided I needed to read the novel, because I love a novelization! Me and my girlfriend have been slowly reading this together over the past few months and it’s been really enjoyable. Annie is a spunky orphan girl during the Depression is eventually taken in by billionaire industrialist Oliver Warbucks. This book gives a lot more backstory to Annie, and really stretches out the time between her running away from the orphanage and her meeting Warbucks. It was a pretty interesting and unflinching look at the hardships suffered by a parentless child like Annie during the Depression. It added a lot that the film didn’t have, and was well worth the read.

Camp Damascus

Possibly my favourite book from this review. I’d never read a Chuck Tingle book before, since I don’t tend to veer overmuch into erotica, but since this was his first “traditionally published” novel I thought now was the time to give it a go. And I have to say, I was genuinely amazed! Chuck Tingle is an incredibly compelling writer, his narration is just beautiful, I wanted to sink into it and get lost. I’m going to have to read more of his books now.

For those who haven’t heard of Camp Damascus, it’s a queer horror novel that’s based around religious horror. Normally religious horror doesn’t do it for me (I have zero interest in or fear of possession) but this one had a very different twist on that narrative. Though demons still featured in the story, the entire premise was built around the concept of religious trauma as horror, and the metaphors created by the demons as it explored themes of leaving religion, self-identity, indoctrination, queer identity and conversion therapy was honestly just breath-taking. My biggest recommendation this time around, I could hardly put it down.

Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man

Another fun Doctor Who novel with an enjoyable mystery about a mysterious political prisoner from space. It wasn’t a world changing novel, but it was a very solidly written 9 and Rose adventure, I enjoyed having the audiobook on while I drove.

Delicious Monsters

Another severe disappointment, unfortunately. I went in really wanting to like this book! I was in the mood for another horror novel after Camp Damascus, it was touted as being like The Haunting of Hill House (superb novel) with a House As Metaphor For Our Trauma And Horror which is a bend to horror I really enjoy. Sadly, despite a fairly interesting premise, the pacing and narrative voice was… rough. It was told from two different points of view, one in the future and one in the past that was slowly piecing together the mystery of what happened at this house, but the narrative voices were so similar it didn’t feel like two distinct entities. Neither made me excited for POV changes. The narration was also very heavy handed in the messages it was trying to send — all good messages, but with no faith that the reader would be able to interpret them on their own without it being repeated explicitly over and over. It all felt very bogged down and repetitive and frankly a little insulting to the reader's intelligence. I gave up on it about halfway through despite really liking the first quarter of the book.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation comic v2

More Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation! Because I’m hooked! Very much enjoying the comic version that’s been coming out, the art is very nice and it's fun to re-experience the beginning of the novel now that I know the characters and all the background information that was so mysterious the first time around.

Heaven Official’s Blessing v1

I have finished the main series of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation so I’ve decided to move on to another series by the same author since I’ve been enjoying the style. This series starts off with a “Laughingstock” of the gods, someone who has ascended to godhood twice already and been cast out of Heaven twice as well. The story starts with his third ascension and everyone in Heaven is pretty over it, especially when his third ascension ends up causing chaos in Heaven. He’s chronically unlucky but has an attitude that’s largely willing to go with the flow so when he's given a job to help repay the debt his ascension acrued him he agrees to descend to the Mortal Realm and investigate the disappearance of brides.

Along the way he picks up a couple junior officials who are reluctantly sent along to help and lend him spiritual power, since his own is sealed, as well as a strange youth in red who seems to know more than he should and is perhaps the only person who doesn't treat him scornfully.

The pacing of book one was interesting… it drew me along and had me chuckling frequently, especially with some of the interesting characters that are introduced, but I definitely didn’t feel fully “connected” with the characters or plot just yet. Still, I’m intrigued for book two and trust the author enough to go along for the ride until things start clicking!

James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl’s classic story about James Henry Trotter who, after the death of his parents, is forced to live with his two horrid aunts. Isolated from any potential friends, all alone at the top of the hill with his aunts and forced to slave away for them, James eventually meets a mysterious old man who offers him a glowing bag of crocodile tongues… something he claims has the power to grant happiness to whoever possesses them. Unfortunately before James can use them he trips and spills them at the roots of the old, dead peach tree… and awakens the magic regardless.

Just a fun September reread, I haven’t read James and the Giant Peach in years. It's definitely one of my favourite Dahl stories. I’m going to have to rewatch the movie now…

Monster and the Beast v4

The last volume of a yaoi series I’ve been reading for a while. This is a story that follows a rather callous, mysterious man known as Liam and the soft-hearted monster, Cavo, who he meets and befriends. This final volume wraps up Liam’s strange and somewhat sinister origin story and reveals what exactly the powers he wields are, and it lets Cavo come into his own. Honestly an excellent book for all the monsterfuckers out there. Overall it was a sweet ending and I enjoyed the series — honestly I wouldn’t mind one more volume of short stories that just explore the relationship dynamic they achieved by the end of this volume.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a graphic novel about a young noblewoman who has to disguise herself as a man if she is to inherit her late father’s estate. So she dismisses the old servants save for a single trusted one, changes her appearance, and moves to a city far away from where she grew up. From there, “he” begins making waves in a way that draws the attention of the princess… 

It was a… fine graphic novel. I’m not sure I have a lot to say besides that. It was a comedy, but it’s not the sort of comedy that I find particularly interesting… it definitely felt like a youth graphic novel. It was also very anachronistic (part of the humour) which I’m not always in the mood for and didn’t really land for me. Over all I don’t regret reading it, and the art was enjoyable enough, but I’m glad I got it from the library. When I had first heard of it I had been expecting something a bit… more.

Red, White, and Royal Blue

I was very skeptical about Red, White, and Royal Blue. I thought it looked tacky when it first came out and I resolutely ignored it. However as the Netflix film was due to come out I decided I had better bite the bullet and figure out what the hype was about. And I can admit, I was wrong! It was honestly a delightful read!

The politics are a bit Rough, as I expected, but the relationship was genuinely delightful and I really liked all the side characters they introduced. You really have to go into it like you would a Hallmark romcom because that’s exactly what it is — and you know what, the queers really do deserve some simple, cheesy (and occasionally surprisingly touching) romantic comedies. Contemporary romcom is normally REALLY not my genre but I highly enjoyed this book and am willing to eat my words.

[stargazinglesbian]

are ya ATSV mood!? Who is favorite character? What scen from the movie do u want to talk about? What appeal TO YOU about the movie?

-Legenderyboi🎇

oh my god!!! ok i'm gonna go write a long ass draft about this

i love all thee characters- so much. like even the ones without much screentime have such cool concepts behind them. i think i really like Miles G, the one from Earth 42. he wasn't around for long but his interactions with miles were really interesting and i'm super excited to see where that whole plot goes in the next movie. when it comes to characters that show up more i am very biased towards hobie. i love how at the end, the watch he gives gwen creates a portal that's so recognisably in his artstyle, i love the way the movie does those details.

as for favourite scene, i've got a really boring answer i'm gonna be honest. i think i have two. the first one is when miles is in his dorm and talking to ganke- i really wish we got to see more of their dynamic in the movie i loved their banter, and ganke is another favourite of mine. my other favourite scene is for a really stupid reason- the scene where gwen shows up in miles' room, specifically when she's looking through the sketchbook of drawings he's doing. i love the way the drawings are done, with the tiny little marker overlaps? it's stupid as hell but i remember when i noticed that detail for the first time i got hella excited. i can't even exactly express why but i love how real it feels- i always get upset whenever i draw something traditionally and it has those stupid little marks, but in the movie it really goes to show just how much effort was put into the entire production.

the art as a whole has got to be my favourite part of the whole film. i do like the multiverse elements and story, but it's just so beautiful as well. i would have killed to see it on the big screen when it first came out. the way each universe is so unique... ough i love it so much!!!! this movie has a hold on me, and i cannot believe i didn't get around to watching it until a couple of months ago.

thank you so much for the ask, i love ranting about random stuff

[lyndonriggall]

Tea and Coffee on a Winter’s Night: Psalm for the Wild Built, Legends and Lattes and the Welcome Rise of Cosy Fiction

Narrative structures in fiction have traditionally been fairly straightforward: give your audience stakes, the higher the better. If the entire world (or even universe) isn’t in peril, you’re probably not trying hard enough.

That said, as we reach the winter months here in Australia, like a lot of people I have begun to wonder if there isn’t demand for worlds in which the intensity level is set a little lower. During the lockdowns of Covid I sought solace from my fears in the world of the Nintendo videogame Animal Crossing, in which players are thrust into a new life on an idyllic tropical island, making friends with the creatures that live there and gradually improving the infrastructure of the town around them. Those who ask how to “win” the game have to be content with a non-committal shrug: Animal Crossing offers things to do and achieve, certainly, but the concept of ultimate victory is at odds with its essential nature. It is a safe place—all of the pressure of outcome washing away on a gentle tide. Similarly, for years the concept of “escapism” in literature has been a term of derision: a label that implies that both reader and writer are sharing a delusion in order to hide from their own realities. It is intriguing, then, that the genres of science fiction and fantasy—most commonly attacked with this charge—have embraced a recent turn towards an intensified version of this feeling. In “cosy” fiction, the danger is dramatically lowered, the tone is introspective and internally transformative, rather than externally so, and there is a focus on comfort: heart, hearth, armchair and hot beverage.

Cosy novels are cottagecore. They are the kinds of books you might read upon waking from a nightmare, the literary equivalent of a hot drink by the fire on a cold night.

I would love to introduce two of my favourites to you.

A Cup of Tea:

Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers’ glorious science fiction story (winner of the Hugo Award for Best novella) is the story of Dex, a non-binary tea monk who travels from town to town, composing bespoke blends and listening to the problems of the citizens that live in the places they visit. Dex always feels that something is missing, and one day they decide to brave the forbidden wilderness surrounding the urban areas. The wild is home to the world’s robots, who generations ago gained sentience and requested release from human society. One of them, Mosscap, finds and greets Dex. Together they continue their exploration and shared mission of helping soothe the ills of the troubled while finding purpose in their own lives.

Chamber’s book can be read in only a couple of hours, but its effect is longer-lasting. It is a tale that reminds us that acts of kindness may seem small, but their impact has echoes. Tea is the perfect symbol and metaphor for Psalm for the Wild-Built, a novella that is by turns soothing, meditative, and which never fails to warm some small forgotten corner of the human soul.

A Cup of Coffee: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Travis Baldree’s offering to the genre of cosy fiction takes readers to a very different landscape: the fantasy city of Thune. Here we meet Viv, an orc swordswoman and mercenary who has become weary of a life of violence and is captivated by an obsessive new vision: the possibility of starting a coffee shop. Her first hurdle, of course, is that no-one even knows what coffee is, but that is the least of her problems… her old life insists on trying to find a way to squeeze back in and drag her back to battle.

Like coffee, Legends and Lattes is similarly thawing but with a little more intensity of energy and a slightly sharper edge. Baldree creates a sense of community that is perhaps the book’s greatest asset, and both Viv and the reader form deep and enthusiastic connections with the novel’s diverse cast of characters: the hob Cal, the succubus Tandri, Thimble the baker, Pendry the bard and Amity the dire-cat. Watching Viv’s coffee-house gradually develop its menu, popularity and personality is a joy to behold. Quite simply, it allows for the reader to inhabit the part of living in a fantasy world that is lost to so many distant quests for forgotten treasures: community. If in most fantasy novels the reader finds a band of companion warriors, in Legends & Lattes they find friends: the kind that will sit with you quietly by the fire in an armchair, talking about nothing, with a freshly-baked cinnamon scroll to share between you. It is a story about friendship, love, and also about the fact that often in life it is the simplest of dreams that bring us the most satisfaction.

I love cosy fiction. As I explore the genre more, cosy books remind me, fundamentally, that it is okay for a story to just make us happy. We do not owe it to ourselves or anyone else that our literature is always an instrument and metaphor for struggle, personal improvement or academic deconstruction. What books can do—just as importantly—is give us a haven of respite from a chaotic world. A book can alleviate a small moment of human suffering. A book can heal a wound that you can’t see.

Many of us go to a cup of tea or coffee for a brief retreat and a touch of warmth in our bones.

If that’s the direction that fiction is heading in, pour me another.