#still haven’t made a new one for 2023 tbh

[rosicheeks]

12. Name of your favourite playlist?

18. Ideal weather? 💖💖

12. 2022 🎶🎆💋

18. Ooooo I have two hope that’s ok 🥰

💖 a chilly autumn day. Sun is peeking through fluffy clouds and I’m wrapped up in a cozy sweater. Not cold just chilly. Cuddle weather 🥰

💖 the beginning of spring. When the snow is melting and everything feels new and clean. Maybe the flowers are even starting to grow and bloom 😊 the reminder that even after a cold and brutal winter there’s always a sunny spring that will melt all the snow and bring back some warmth ☀️

[f1-stuff]

Can you give us a glimpse into what winter break/preseason/etc was like between a tale of 2022 and a tale of 2023? I’m reading them for like the 4th time at this point 🫣 so I’m just curious what things we might’ve missed!

Hi! I’m so glad you like the series!! In terms of what happened in the break, tbh I haven’t given much thought to it but at the end of ‘22 they closed things off basically, and ‘23 kinda picks up from there. I’d say they spent some time with family and took a much needed break from F1, and then met back up in Maranello and explored each other’s bodies 😅✌🏻 LOL - more thots below the cut…

I imagine they just enjoyed knowing that the other wasn’t sleeping with anyone else. Carlos posted thirst traps of his workouts on his insta (as he does), driving Charles insane…

Maybe they met up between the Dolomites pre-season training, since they practically overlapped…

Maybe they got up to shenanigans in Carlos’ new car…

Carlos went to his sister’s wedding solo and posted this photo just to be like ‘here I am….all alone….’

Carlos definitely texted and made fun of Charles for this:

Charles got a little jealous of this:

And Carlos got jealous of Charles with some other dude’s name plastered all over him:

All in all, they had a nice break from everything but still missed one another, then came together for the car launch on Valentine’s Day and made up for lost time ❤️☺️

[redhotchilisimblr]

rant about the sims 4

new roadmap unpopular opinion :

i’m quite satisfied with this roadmap. i mean, we got so many EPs in 2023 that I can barely catch up (I haven’t fully explored growing together, not finished my ranch and still setting residential lots..) there are so many things to do and a lot of simmers want “content for having content”, and are not actually playing the game. i know that we don’t play at the same speed (I'm very slow, I don’t age my Sims, haven’t finished Willow Creek.. so it says a lot), but how can you complain that EA releases too many packs, but at the same time request for more and more expensive packs? lmao it doesn’t make any sense. 

also, I don’t consider kits as packs. they are add-ons for people who want to expand some collections, but are not really essential to get (let alone the fact that some cc creators made some kits available as base game items). despite being a GC, I have purchased some of them with my own money and I regret some kits lmao. now, they are better quality content (for the price I mean) but at a time it was like.. yeah, I don’t want this but I still want all the DLCs. 

I live in France and here we have a powerful currency with the euros. But a lot of simmers tend to forget that many players are living with minimum wage or in a country where even 5$ USD means a lot on their salary/earnings. Now, imagine how players from “weaker currency” (let them called like that bc I don’t want to be biased, or let people think that everyone is poor in some countries when its totally not the case) are dealing with 40$ USD EP coming back to back ??? I mean, in some countries, 40$ USD is a monthly salary or not far away. Which means, getting 3 EPs is out of pocket - literally. 

The Sims 4 is now a luxury to play - because of EA’s greed, for sure, but also bc some players are pushing this agenda of “we need more packs, now!” and bc there’s a high demand, they do not care if the product is exactly want people want. I’m not trying to blame anyone in particular. Tbh, I used to be this kind of player (mostly bc at the launch, the game feeled empty and like a let down compare to previous edition). But now, I fully understand that we are responsible for this never ending issue. As a Game Changers, I know that some people might not believe me, or think it’s not genuine but, clearly, I’m not paid by EA for doing anything. I just playtest most of the time in very short period. I have a great job, I also have some passive income. I don’t need to be influencer to earn money and its a blessing.   

don’t forget that we are all waiting for updates to fix For Rent. it will be mad to launch a new EP if the previous one is still broken for so many players. there’s a lot of things changing for the influencers also and this “slow” time could be used to discover new gameplay, new players, new cc for those who used them and explore all the things we missed in the packs we already have. i still discover new options to this day and I play quite a lot so, you know, we are going to chill together and it will be good. 

as for my suspicion, I really do think as simmers we shouldn’t be worried about upcoming contents. with new competitors launching their game in 2024, EA will be more cautious about the kind of content they release, and they might release more in a shorter time period. I BET we will be flooded with DLCs by the end of the year... 

Now, I really do hope that more Game Changers will be more vocal about the issues (its starting but with caution). we really have nothing to lose. Not bc TS4 is going to be fixed (it won’t, as the BG have so many structural/coding issue) but for Project Rene. We need collectively to point out all the things we do love about TS4 (bc it’s a really beautiful game with a lot of potential) and also the things we don’t like. Loving something or someone is always about honesty : if you friend smells bad, please, tell him. if your friends is in the wrong, tell him! So if you care that much about the Sims, please, tell politely whats is wrong with the game without harassing the creators/workers. 

someone should just open a public file with all the complains compile and give it to the Project Rene team bc we do not want to miss this one for sure.

with all my love always, 

Red

[magpiefngrl]

mid-year book freak out tag

Let's talk about books! Thanks for tagging me @bloody-wonder ❤️😘

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2023?

I've read 48 books till now but nothing leaps to mind as The Best. Like a novel that knocked me out, you know? If I had to choose one, I'd say Seven Summer Nights, a romance by Harper Fox, because I adored the first half and because it's the only book so far that gave me a book hangover.

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2023?

The 2nd novel of Alexis Hall's trilogy, How To Blow It With A Billionaire, was delightful. Judging by the title I'd braced myself for angst, but instead 90-95% of the book was Arden and Caspian falling in love and getting closer (until the last chapter and the inevitable heartbreak). It is one of the most skillful, heartwarming and sexy relationship progressions I've read.

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To?

This has been on my sights since 2021 but still haven't got around to it: She Who Became The Sun.

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2023?

There's nothing that I'm truly impatient about. The first that comes to mind is KJ Charles's A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel.

Also, A Power Unbound by Freya Marske. I can't say I was blown away by the first two novels, but I have a feeling the ship in this one is my kind of ship.

I'm curious for a lot of books, but not eagerly anticipating them.

5. Biggest Disappointment?

Oh boy. I left a long review on GR about it and I still cry bitter tears about how let down I was by Alexis Hall's third installment of his Billionaire series. Like I said above, I really enjoyed the second book. It ended in heartbreak but I assumed we'd see the pairing work their way through their issues together and end up HEA. What I did NOT expect was that they'd be apart for most of the novel, only getting together at 90%. I don't want to be (even more) spoilery so I'll say nothing more. Just that this book had the promise of being truly spectacular and it turned out all over the place, and it hurts.

6. Biggest Surprise?

The Lodestar of Ys by Amy Rae Durreson, a short novel I got because a GR pal left an enthusiastic review and said that it was available for free. I don't know the author and mostly read it for research and was not prepared to enjoy it as much as I did. The writing is solid, the worldbuilding fascinating, the rivalry between the ship is realistic and convincing as is their growing attraction to each other. Good smut, which isn't normally the case with pub romance. Becomes a tad too cute for my tastes towards the end, but still a great read. And free!

7. Favourite New Author?

No one stands out. I guess Amy Rae Durreson (see above) is a new to me author that made me go and check out her other books, so let's go with her.

Oh I'm also really enjoying The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi so her too.

8. Newest Favourite Character?

Bucky Iain from The Scottish Boy, I guess?

9. Newest Fictional Crush?

No one. How weak has my reading year been??

💕Best Ship💕

Richard and Alec from Swordspoint. I refuse to read the sequels where they (I think?) break up. NOPE.

10. Book That Made You Cry?

I cry pretty easily and I'm sure I cried at a novel this year (if not more) but for the life of me I can't remember which.

11. Book That Made You Happy?

I had the most fun during my reread of Scum Villain's Self-Saving System. Gods, what I wouldn't give for more authors having so much fun with their stories.

12. Favourite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year?

I watched the final season of BBC's The Dark Materials early this year. It makes me happy to have such a great adaptation of one of my fave series of all times.

13. Favourite Review You’ve Written This Year?

I haven't written a lot of reviews this year. In the past there were times when I'd write long essays; now I'm all for short and sweet. Can't be arsed for more tbh. Unless I disliked the book and I need to rant.

14. Most Beautiful Cover?

I mostly read ebooks and I rarely notice covers. I did, however, notice the stunning cover of A Taste of Gold and Iron, which turned out to be a book I hated, so I'm even more distrustful of covers now.

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year?

I have a bunch of unfinished series to complete (see 2023 reading goals), so that's my first goal. My second target is reading some of the dozens of unread books I own (both on the shelves and my ereader). I do need to finish Checkmate, this is getting ridiculous, but I keep getting distracted by romance.

++++++

Overall, it hasn't been a spectacular year. I've read a LOT--esp in June I couldn't stop reading--but I've reread a few series to complete them, which ranged from meh (The Nikolai trilogy and Darker Shades of Magic) to flawed-but-interesting (The Dreamer trilogy) to seriously uneven (the Billionaire series). Early in the year I finished JS&MN and Spinning Silver which were great, but they feel a long time away and nothing amazing has come since. Idk. Some of my reads were unusual and made an impression, but can't say I enjoyed them fully. The most satisfying books these past few months have been a few romance novels. Fingers crossed for a more exciting second half of 2023.

++++++

follow me on goodreads!

2022 mid year book tag

++++++

tagging: @lettersbyelise @tackytigerfic @julcheninred @lqtraintracks @shealwaysreads @the-starryknight @wolfpants @violetclarity

[divorceblogger]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

Thank you for the tag @kazz-brekker! 🌻

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

This is a hard one but I'm going to rule out the various re-reads I did this year (three!) and pick Rebecca.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

It's easily Dune Messiah - I don't think it's perfect, but I think I discovered lots of nuances in the series after re-reading the first book and dissecting Dune Messiah in that context has been really fun. The sequel also picks up the thread of the gothic atmosphere the first book was cultivating and continues to delve into that with greater detail which is probably why I grew fond it very quickly. Also Frank Herbert really got his shit together for it and committed to the criticism of empire that he was only really hinting at in the first book without forgetting to care for the characters and sympathise with them which I think really did something for me.

The series has a very TLT-esque balance of narrating the story, now that I think of it, in the sense that there are larger events happening in the universe around the characters while the narrative chooses to zero in on the personal tragedies of a select cast of characters in order to effectively convey the themes that it’s dealing with.

3. New release you haven’t read yet

I haven't really been keeping track of new releases much since I didn't care for a lot of the queer fiction Tor was marketing lately - but Our Wives Under the Sea has been on my radar for a while and it's the latest release I can think of at the moment because the rest of my tbr fully dips into books published pre-2000. I did read A Day of Fallen Night recently though, and it was published in Feb 2023, iirc.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

I'm going to cheat and say Alecto the Ninth although Tamsyn Muir said that release was probably going to be delayed. The only other release I'm looking forward to is The Bone Season #5 coming out next year-ish? (probably 2025 tbh).

5. Biggest disappointment

Books #2 and #3 in the Southern Reach trilogy were rather poorly done. I don't think Jeff Vandermeer is a very good storyteller, but instead has a lot to say about sci-fi and horror as genres - and those things are interesting but I'm not certain they can act as stand-ins for the actual act of storytelling.

I did still enjoy my reread of Annihilation though, but it was probably just nostalgia.

6. Biggest surprise

Wuthering Heights, although I'm not quite certain why. I think I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Daphne du Maurier - I'd tried to read and finish Rebecca before, but I really got around to finishing the book this year and it was very, very good. I enjoyed Rebecca so much that I kind of wanted to started My Cousin Rachel immediately; but I might have to put that off for a while because my tbr is very long at the moment.

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

I'm in Alia Atreides hell currently and I'm uncertain that there's any cure for it.

9. Book that made you cry

Harrow the Ninth! Books rarely make me cry and this was a reread but I still felt plenty emotional.

10. Book that made you happy

Solaris :) I distinctly remember smiling very broadly while I was reading the last couple paragraphs of the book. I think more people should read Solaris and also watch the film that Andrei Tarkovsky made based off of the book. It falls roughly under a category that I like to refer to as sci-fi horror, but it's also very Nona-esque, in the sense that it discusses the human condition of love with brutal honesty (I think basically all the sci-fi books I’ve read this year have dealt with very similar themes, especially with respect to their criticisms of imperial hegemony and environmentalism).

uhh tagging @phantomxblood @jaqobis @jelli-ace @wishesofeternity @honey-and-hibiscus-kingdom @iliyanaofcasimir and anybody else who might be interested in doing the game!

[depressedhatakekakashi]

This Year has been full of a lot of cheer and way too many changes, but I’m glad it has happened. I’m hoping that 2023 is a little kinder on the world and that there’s a lot of changes for the better.

Until then, this year has been good. I’ve pushed through a lot of struggles and made my way back home. Spent time with family for the first time in three years, and written so many fics.

The mskt important part of this year, though, is all the friends I’ve made or the friends who have stuck by my side. So i want to say a huge thank you to all of them.

@shinobimagpie who always lets me gush about fic’s at her and is the absolute sweetest person

@crypticsummons who spoils me with gifts and lends me a shoulder to cry on over fic’s or life in general

@wind-becomes-lightning who makes every day a little bit sweeter with her kind personality

@yamanaka-shin who is there to push me and let’s me vent about dumb things

@animetrashmuffin who reminds me to give some love to KakaIru and draws me the prettiest commissions 🥰🥰🥰

@whatshernameis who i haven’t talked to as much as i wish, but is still one of the most amazing friends i could ask for.

@konoha-interrogation who always has cute Ibiki and Ibikashi headcannons to share and supports my unhealthy love for the god of storms au.

@alumort who is just the sweetest tbh and deserves all of the cute nejilee

@spellcasterlight who reminds me to give Tenten and Shinoten the love the deserve and lets me sneak in some Kakagai for extra fluffyness

@kankuroplease who’s just so kind and make’s such beautiful art of wonderful OC’s

@kakashihasibs who always has top tier opinions and let’s me chuck some random GaiYama content at him

@skykashi who is always talking to me about our boy Kakashi and giving him the love we both think he deserves

@bougiebutchbitch who i don’t speak to a lot but gives us top tier good Kakagai content AND seems to be having the time of their lives as they should 💜💜💜

And every single other person i speak to, on anon or off. You’re all beautiful and I hope you have a Happy Wonderful New Year.

[tinx-methinks]

43, 44, 45, and 49! 💕

Thank you lovely~! I was hoping I'd get more than one of these. <3 Hope you're ready for this answer lol

43. Title of a book you own that’s in the worst physical condition you have. Explain what happened to it. Post a picture if you want.

I waited till now to answer this cause I wanted to include a picture of my shame and these books were tucked safely away in the back of my bedroom bookshelf where my partner was sleeping so I couldn’t get them. Confession time: I love reading in the bath. And in the days before my waterproof ereader I have destroyed a book or two simply by rereading it and exposing it to my wet and wild habit over and over. Please don’t judge me for the severity of these pictures, it was a different time.

All trigger warnings for severely abused books apply.

That is my copy of The Good the Bad and The Undead by Kim Harrison which is the second book in her The Hollows/Rachel Morgan series and the first one I read after finding it in my dad’s rejected books pile. It’s probably the book I’ve reread the most besides Reaper Man by Terry Prachett as I recall finishing it on occasions and immediately restarting it. I loved it. I actually own three copies of this book. This one. A digital copy in a full series omnibus. And another copy of the paperback bought recently as I’d love to own the entire series so I’m trying to pick the ones I’m lacking. 

The second is my copy of Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning this is the first book in her Fever series which I to this day haven’t finished but at the time it was a favored because of its interesting world building, angst ridden characters, and of course the sexy potential of its (poorly aged!) love to hate ‘em alpha-male romantic interests. Still I used to wait for each new book of the series to be available at the library and while I waited I used to reread my copy of this one to keep the characters fresh in my mind. Funfact: I also bought a digital bundle of this series which I was reading as my “work book” (the book I only read at work) for a while. And I made it all the way to where I originally stopped. The last book in the original series, book five: Shadowfever. I made it halfway through it when the lockdowns hit and at that point I didn’t want to start reading my work book at home so I still haven’t finished it. That’s probably ok though, while I enjoy the nostalgia of the characters and world it’s not so great in 2023! 

So yeah I think they’re both pretty banged up but I think Darkfever might be a little worse? It certainly feels worse to the touch! Pages clumped and stuck together and edges destroyed. Its more waterdamaged at least, but the other one is split down the middle so I guess that’s also pretty bad! I'm posting both tho because the other one def looks worse.

44. The book(s) whose stories have become part of your very makeup.

Reaper Man. Dragonlance: Chronicles, Legends, Tales, the Lost Chronicles, and the Raistlin Duology in particular. The Count of Monte Cristo. Cyrano De Bergerac, The Art of Asking. American Gods. Countless short stories, fairy tales, myths and legends. The first six books of The Hollows series by Kim Harrison also need to be mentioned. Particularly the one above. You can’t imagine how mortified I was when I got my partner to read them and he commented “Hey, you, like, took some of your personality from these didn’t you?” Yeah. Probably bruh. But you don’t have to call me out like that.  Books five, seven, and eight of the Women of the Otherworld Series probably deserve an honorable mention for the same reason tbh. More recently I think the series of Bring Me Their Hearts, and The Library of the Unwritten definitely rewrote something in my brain. 

45. What book(s) would you sell your soul to get a TV or movie adaptation of?

Listen the other day I was imagining a Monty Python style variety show adaption of Daniel M Lavery’s book Something that May Shock and Discredit You which a WILD PULL but the only answer I have for you right now. I think it would have animated parts like Python did but they’d be stylized like The Simpson’s animation. I don’t fantasize about adaptations but I think they really work best for children’s books so if you made me answer seriously I guess I’d go with The Tales of the Frog Princess by E.D. Baker and maybe that should’ve been in the question above too lol. 

49. Do you prefer hopeful, humorous, very emotional or darker books?

I think I tend to err toward darker and angstier books. I get a lot of catharsis from them but I think most of the time books like The Bone Orchard or Leech or Iron Widow or whatever I’m reading that deals with dark topics usually benefit from that undercurrent of hope. I don’t think dark and emotional needs to lack hope and I tend to most enjoy ones that allow space for both. 

That being said I read a lot and I think what I like most is having options and variety.

Asks for Bookworms here

[lgcichika]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

nam here! after this interaction, i decided it’s within my best interest to re-introduce myself and my 3 children. i have been in lgc since 2020, though my “eldest” was actually my second muse and the fact she’s lasted this long still shocks me.

this turned out longer than i expected, but i hope it sort of works re-introduce myself to you, and work towards more plotting!! i used to loooove plotting but life... ANYWAY!

Yamashita Ichika ( fc; miyawaki sakura - le sserafim )

*sobs softly* i remember when i first brought her her fc was listed as iz*one. based off her fc, ichika was a japanese idol who decided to leave it all to come to s.korea to challenge herself and to capitalize on the growing popularity of k-pop worldwide. however, due to the toxic culture within her former group, what was a nice but introverted girl turned hard, and self-serving. over time, however, she not only managed to debut legacy’s crystallis, she’s started to open her heart to making friends and trusting others. though she can be a bit awkward but she’s trying. while she did manage to get a boyfriend despite hating him at first, her main goal for me has always been growing her trust in others and having friends. due to personal irl stuff this last year, i haven’t been as active with this and just been trying to get requirements done, but she has made some progress. in 2023 let’s plot more okay?

Okada Taiyou ( fc; adachi yuto - pentagon )

in all honesty, taiyou was made when lgc was having a model drought but i love my boy. taiyou never planned to be famous, but decided to come to korea as a way to break out of his shell. initially he wanted to be an idol but his own fears and problems with his confidence seemed to dilute whatever promise he held to debut. after he failed to join fd4, he sort of gave up on being an idol (he was aging out tbh), and decided to try modeling instead of packing his bags completely. as a model he’s gotten hosting opportunities and has started his own sunglasses brand called SOLA. he was also made to be a foil to ichika, who was blunt and standoffish but looked pretty and nice. taiyou looks like a cold emo boy but he’s very sweet, and kind. he especially has a soft spot for the japanese trainees.

Parker Su ( fc; xiao dejun/xiaojun - nct/wayv )

while ichika and taiyou are my introverts, parker is my extrovert. he’s friendly and outgoing, and has the ability to talk a wall— or perhaps sing to it. parker is from san francisco, california, usa, and just wants to sing day and night. he’s just a romantic who loves to sing love songs, and used to fall in love with a new girl every week because girls are a gift and he loved the idea of love. even if he’s short, he’s too confident in himself to care— though i wouldnt call him full of himself or egotistical. parker knows he’s playful and fun loving, and believes in the end his personality will always overshadow his shortcomings. that said, he did end up falling for a tsundere model but she left the company (aka was accidentally cleared) before he could tell her how he felt so he’s a bit in his sad boy era right now. which is hard since he just debuted as type zero’s new main vocalist and just finished up his debut promotion so he should be on the top of the world.

the mun;

you can call me nam. my pronouns are she/her, and my mood is typically tired. my timezone is usually pst (utc -8:00) or pdt (utc -7:00) depending on daylight savings. i would say i’m very friendly and laid back but insanely absentminded, so i apologize in advance. you can reach me on twt or dc.

[kannagar]

Update 7/16/2023

Hello! Just wanted to make a post to say I really hope to become much more active here, but I just haven’t been able to keep up making content on a regular basis. Hopefully I can find some stuff to post here soon but I really don’t want my tumblr to become like my twitter where I just spew random meaningless posts. I was hoping to make this more art-geared at least. I’ve tried to avoid reblogging things that aren’t related to the content I post. I’d like to be consistent but I am just curious if I should give in and mix my art with silly things I just want to share, or if it would be work looking into making a more spammy blog.

That being said I do have some ideas for other side blogs that I’m happy to share. I am so close to cracking and making a blog dedicated to my OC lore which would include posts going over lore ideas and concepts I have. As well as asks perhaps or in-character posting? Not sure what all that might include but that’s what I have in mind so far. One of the biggest issues I have for that right now though is, I have no clue what I’d name that blog. I’ll try and think of something.

There’s also the possibility that I separate the in-character posting as it’s own blog, and just have a blog where I post, interact and act in-character. But idk if that justifies it’s own blog or not.

And lastly, I would love to have a blog dedicated solely to comics I’d like to make, as i feel they would be easier to sort through and read if anyone would want to read them. Only trouble is, I have not made a comic in a year lol. I could start by posting my OCT entries from a year ago, but IDK the next time I will be making any comics. I know I want to, but getting myself to actually do it is another story.

I think that should be all! But yes I’m still around, and tbh still learning how to use this site. I really hope I can be more active and meet some new people as well as find some people I’ve followed elsewhere to enjoy their content.

[montdargent]

mid-year book freak out tag

thank you @pinkasrenzo for tagging me (? maybe accidentally? was it just a mention who knows)

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2023? The wee free men, by Terry Pratchett: witches, scottish fairies and a coming of age story set in the discworld universe. what's not to like? officially my new favourite discworld series

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2023? A hat full of sky, by Terry Pratchett: these are just excuses to talk about the tiffany aching series tbh. also granny weatherwax is back, so that's easy money

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To? Deadly ever after (Rivers of London graphic novels), by Ben Aaronovitch: the rivers of london novels, novellas and short stories are not enough. i need to inhale these graphic novels too. i can't wait for chaotic river goddess twins shanenigans!

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2023? The deep sky, by Yume Kitasei: not many anticipated releases for that time, but it was reccomanded to me and the synopsis sounds right up my alley

5. Biggest Disappointment? Leave the world behind, by Rumaan Alam: a cool premise but incredibly boring execution and not my preferred writing style. a disappointment mostly because it was so amped up

6. Biggest Surprise? No exit, by Taylor Adams: i'm not usually into thrillers, so i didn't have particularly high expectations. but it was really good at building tension, delivered a satisfying ending and had a badass final girl that was easy to root for

7. Favorite New Author? Alison Bechdel: read "Fun home" because a friend of mine wanted to show me the musical and fell in love with it. i can already tell why her works are considered queer classics and i plan to read everything i can find by her

8. Newest Favorite Character? Tiffany Aching: see point 2. most children protagonists fall a bit flat for me or they have at least a couple of moments where their actions or internal monologue feel just unauthentic. and then an adult british cis man writes a smart, lonely, strange little girl and he makes me feel like he knew my child-self better than most family members. and that's why i love terry pratchett (among many things) and why i would die and kill for tiffany aching. she is the one true heir of esme weatherwax and i can't wait to read more of her

9. Newest Fictional Crush? Jordan Baker (from The chosen and the beautiful by Nghi Vo): what can i say, i could never resist a bisexual brunette who was too smart for anyone's good and falls a bit in love with everyone <3

💕Best Ship💕 Blue/Hamal (from Taproot by Keezy Young): just some cute friends-to-lovers fluff with plants and ghosts. honourable mentions are: the extremely toxic polycule from tcatb. that's for new ships, but i have to mention peter/beverly: they're still the best power couple in the greater metropolitan london area (i know i cheated and said three but i can't choose)

10. Book That Made You Cry? I'm glad my mom died, by Jeanette McCurdy: a very tough read, especially with the audiobook narrated by the author herself with all the emotion she puts into the reading. not for the faint of heart, but the pain is absolutely worth it

11. Book That Made You Happy? The fey and the furious (Rivers of London graphic novels) by Ben Aaronovitch: it's a comic version of a series i love, about fairies and drag racing. the pun in the title! i was smiling ear to ear the whole time

12. Favorite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year? Nimona (2023): i just finsihed rewatching it and i will do it again. i was obsessed with the gn at 18 and i'm obsessed with the movie now. between this and she-ra nd stevenson just owns my ass at this point. even with all the changes from the original, it still captures the spirit of it beautifully, with all the added layers of how the author changed and grew since then. i love it with my whole queer heart <3

13. Favorite Review You’ve Written This Year? i don't write reviews anymore, but maybe i should start again just for myself

14. Most Beautiful Cover? The priory of the orange tree, by Samantha Shannon: colour scheme? on point. lettering? beautiful. a dragon? fuck yeah

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year? ideally i'll complete my reading challenge, but for now i just hope i finish the ones i already started, so "One hundred years of solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez "Cemetery boys" by Aiden Thomas and "Circe" by Madeline Miller

[arijensineink]

ari jensine ink 2022 writing wrapped

2022 was by far my weirdest year for writing. 

Honestly, this is less of a “wrapped” post and more like a reflection of what I began to build and rebuild this year, as well as what I did not give up on.

The Wolfena

Putting this manuscript aside for 2 years while I focused on healing my body was the hardest decision I ever had to make. The Wolfena is my heart-story, and the characters in it give me strength, so reaching a place where I couldn’t work on it... wasn’t heartbreaking it almost destroyed me. Tbh if I hadn't found BTS when I did, I'm not sure I would be here.

But this year I was able to pick The Wolfena (and myself) back up. I had a goal for NaNo to rewrite all of Jimian’s chapters, but didn’t accomplish that because I got so focused on my blog/website. Even so, I’m really excited for where the manuscript is headed, and this is going to be a clean rewrite/edit with all sensitivity reader and alpha reader feedback already applied.

What matters most is that I’m organized, and the moment I want to hop back on that WIP it’s ready to go.

Rotten Candy/The Candy King

I started developing these stories both within the last 6 months so they’re super fresh, but I’m somehow proud of what I accomplished in terms of brainstorming and rough drafting for this world though it's minimal. 

Rotten Candy will be the main novel and I have a three characters for it—Cherry, Seujinne, and Mezereon—who I think have huge potential. I'm still working on developing them.

The Candy King is an Ateez (K-Pop) fic I’ll rewrite into original fic and man… I have to say. I think it’s actually something. I haven’t felt so inspired on a rough draft since I started writing again, and I didn’t even realize it was the perfect prequel to Rotten Candy until I was already writing it. A couple of my favorite lines from Captain Hongjoong:

"Feed him to the squids!"

"We need some fuckin' horses."

Fighting For Writing Blog/Medium

Truthfully, my biggest writing accomplishments this year had little to do with fiction. My experience as an SEO Ghostwriter isn’t exactly glamorous, but the tools it provided for me to launch my website and blog were invaluable. 

I set up a project for my blog to write 10 articles based on how to maintain your writing practice and integrate it more deeply into your life, and I accomplished that. I’m in the process of revising those articles right now, and I am beyond proud of them and excited to share them with the amazing writing community I’ve rebuilt around myself in 2022. 

On top of that, I reactivated my Medium account and have been publishing consistently on there. This is just… such a huge accomplishment for me. Again, it might seem small to others, but it means a lot to me. I remember looking at that account a few years ago and thinking “100 followers to the Partner Program? Puh. I'll never be able to do that.”

Now I’m at 142 followers on Medium and counting, and am approaching my first dollar of revenue made from people reading my articles.

2022 - Year of the Phoenix

2022 was all about rebirth for me and my writing. In a lot of ways I felt like I was starting from square one. I have to say, it means a lot to me that others in my Discord server are also working on getting back into writing regularly.

I realized this year that I have no one to place a silver spoon in my mouth, so it’s up to me to polish all the metal in my life until it’s glowing. I got paid to write, I picked my big projects back up, I reconnected with my writing community and made tons of new amazing writer friends, started a blog I’m deeply passionate about, won NaNoWriMo, and submitted my first short story to a pub in 4 years. 

I often refer to writing as my Ikigai, but only now that I’ve committed to it in all facets of life do I truly understand what that means. Some nights I literally can’t sleep because I’m just so excited to work on my book or blog. 

I don’t know what more I could ask for on my way into 2023. 

[animereaderinsertwriter]

A New Year’s PSA!

I can’t believe how much this blog has grown in the past year. I’ve been putting more and more into it to keep it going, participating in events and making friends along the way, and I’m happy to announce that I officially have fallen in love with using tumblr as a platform for my fanfiction. However, because of the kind of person I am, I’ve managed to pile up a lot of WIP things that need to be finished, and because it will take me longer than anticipated to do so, I felt I needed to communicate a bit to help clarify my blog goals for 2023!

WIP Update

I've spent a long time working very hard on my Dread Pirate Deku fic; however, I have been forced by life and other inconveniences to take a break from writing it. It will still be finished, but I have made the executive decision to actually finish it first and then begin to post it weekly because that works best with my upcoming schedule. The same thing goes for Touch-Me-Not. I’m in my senior year of college, and shit is about to hit the fan, but know that I am thinking and working all the time to create these two fics.

Additionally, I am also working on a fic that I have not announced yet. In all likelihood, I will finish it before I finish Dread Pirate Deku and Touch-Me-Not— it has been a passion project of mine, and I’m happy to say that The Vices and Virtues of Jason Todd will be my first foray into what I’m going to tentatively call a hybrid social media fic

What I’m Doing In The Meantime

For January, I’m doing a series called “Hannah’s Throwback Thursdays,” which will involve using a song from the past (probably 80s songs tbh) as inspiration for one-shots and drabbles for every Thursday in January. I haven’t thought ahead to February, so if anyone has any ideas about a theme or event that I could do weekly, dm me and let’s brainstorm!

To conclude

I am looking forward to the new year, and I wish all of you health, happiness, and love for 2023!

[greenvillainredemption]

Thanksgiving 2023 absolutely rules. I was vaguely aware that it was a remake and/or based on a fake trailer in a movie but I haven’t seen either. I do know that the movie with the fake trailer was done by eli roth in collaboration with a tarantino movie (unfortunately I’d already seen mr tarantino’s movie before I knew they were meant to be a double feature oof) which is relevant because mr roth also directed and/or produced this new movie. I heard people saying it looks nothing like that fake trailer, but that’s irrelevant to me because I haven’t seen it. I’d like to tho, but then I’d probably be mad too lol. I like the way the movie looks, it’s decorated a lot like the holiday which I’ve never seen irl (I’m canadian and we do have it, it’s just in october and probably commemorates some other similar event in the colonizing era idk maybe I should look it up because I was never taught it in school but idk we never really decorate, we just have a basic turkey dinner n pie) point is I hate when a holiday themed movie isn’t adequately decorated/costumed but this one served. Haha.

Also I’m not usually a huge fan of slashers but this one just hit for me. It had a few too many loud noise scares but the actual horror and gore made wayyy up for it. I find I don’t actually mind useless jumpscares if they’re not the only form of scare. When the actual content is a delicious cake, those jumpscares are just useless sprinkles that don’t exactly take away, but still don’t add anything. But on their own they fucking suck. You feel.

But what surprised me most was addison rae. I’d heard people theorizing that her casting was kinda like paris hilton in house of wax because she was an influencer people loved to hate on and they wanted to see her die. But miss rae was totally good and fine and she didn’t even die!! Which is not only kinda subversive and iconic, it makes me wonder, since she wasn’t cast just to die, did she want the role because she wants to be in horror? I know she acts, she was in he’s all that but tbh that’s all I know about her other than she had a bad doll line. But yeah she did her job and I’m cackling in the faces of at every lame ass who only went to the movie to jerk off to her death. Consider me a stan.

[kudamono94]

Hello everyone!  As promised in my last post I made prior to the premiere of the 1st episode of the new Futurama revival, I have decided to share some of my favorite screenshots I took since watching it myself~  That said, I have seen some of these scenes already shared but I still wanted to post all of what I had taken in one place for myself just for fun, so if you see something in this post that you’ve already seen 1000 times by this point feel free to ignore lol

Tbh I’ve never tried live blogging anything before, let alone tried to edit and share screenshots I didn’t plan on keeping for myself, so I hope these turned out okay!  I did my best to clean them up and crop to what I wanted, so if they don’t show up well I apologize in advance ^^;

Otherwise, if you’re interested in reading past this point, I hope you enjoy what I have to share as well as what little commentary I have to accompany my pictures :3 

Okay, so just to get this out of the way first and foremost, while I have seen mixed reviews in regards to the first episode, imo I honestly thought it was pretty good!  A lot of the jokes definitely landed and even had me laughing out loud, and with the easter eggs scattered throughout combined with seeing all of these characters once again, I couldn’t stop smiling at several points just because I was so happy lol

That said, while I wouldn’t say this is up there as one of my fav episodes of all time in the series overall, I say it definitely did what it set out to accomplish as far as bringing the series back after 10 years off the air in terms of animation, voice acting, etc.  So to anyone that felt as if The Impossible Stream was a let down, I would recommend giving it a few episodes into the new season before coming to a solid conclusion on whether the revival lives up to the hype or not/forming a firm opinion on the new season as a whole.  Again, as far as plots are concerned, this episode isn’t anywhere in my top 10 list, but at the same time, it was pretty good and served as a nice welcome back to long time fans since 2013 when Meanwhile aired, so I want to believe things will only get better from here~

Any who, with all of that out of the way, on to the screenshots:

1. First, Idk if this has been pointed out already, but since I haven’t seen anyone else post this, I thought I’d do it myself~  I honestly thought this was pretty cute lol, and considering that the new season is on a streaming service as opposed to tv (meaning that they most likely can have both the OP and ED be as long as they want without it being cut off by ad time), I hope they include new stuff like this in the OP in addition to the cartoons being displayed on the jumbo tv Leela always crashes into again :)

2. This scene right here was too cute for me~  I love these two so much, and I’m so happy to see them again :3  They just want each other to be happy, and it’s precious :3

Also Fry looks so adorable here (´◡`)  Look at him! 

3. I know this scene speaks for itself, but still enjoy this quote none the less :3

4. If I had a nickle for every time one of my special interests was cancelled because of corporate incompetence/bad judgement, I’d have at least 2 but it’s weird it happened twice - let alone that it happened to two shows that technically aired on the same block (I.E. adult swim, Metalocalypse I’m looking at you :( ).

And yes, I know this is prob a jab at streaming services like Netflix but I think my point still stands, you know?  I wish things were different but...

5. Hey, at least we’re getting Futurama AND Metalocalypse back this year, right? I guess that’s a small victory, at least for me?  Idk, the fact both these series ended back in 2013 just to be revived in the ye old year of 2023 seems like fate to me tbh, so if the latter’s direct-to-dvd film does well, here’s hoping it can get picked up on Hulu alongside Futurama so I can get back into my high school era~  In the meantime, have this which reminded me of the revival campaigns I have seen over the years dedicated to bringing these 2 wonderful shows back:

Too bad Leela’s not a Dethklok fan :(

6.  I figured we’d see Calculon come back sooner or later, but I sure as hell wasn’t expecting him to return like this in the first episode no less XD That said, I’m not a huge fan of either him or the Robot Devil, but this scene was gold~

And last but not least:

Once I learn how to make good quality GIFS, this is the first scene I’m uploading as a GIF ｡^‿^｡

7. Oh!  Speaking of Calculon, over these past 15+ years of my life, I had always figured he was either Bi or Pan, so alongside my ship with him and Bender potentially being given more fuel, it was nice to see the writers had the same idea :3 In this house we stan a Bi and/or Pan Calculon~

And let’s not forget about this:

Idk man, I think I might reconsider my Calculon dislike if this continues O////O Never thought I’d say that after reaching my 20s but ye, this was pretty good

Also, this scene was another gem in my opinion:

Technically, yes

Bender x Fry x Leela parallels aside, it’s always nice to see this as a multi shipper~  Keep in mind, as well, that this was originally also written BY BENDER HIMSELF, so ye, a lot to talk about another day 

8. I almost choked on my drink watching this lol Looks like the old man yaoi group of Farnsworth, Hermes, and Zoidberg has trouble in paradise (this is a JOKE, pls don’t take this seriously!)

His face is priceless XD

9. Finally, I know this last scene was prob meant to be a tongue-in-cheek joke about both reboots and the writers, but at the same time all I could think of was that one quote from Fry in When Aliens Attack when Leela asked him about his script writing?  Idk if it was mean to be a call back to this scene too, but was I the only one reminded of this during the end?  Also, Bender sure is one to call the kettle black XD

Compare these exchanges and see what I mean:

And that’s about it tbh, so if you’ve read this far, thank you so much!  As thanks, here’s some bonus screenshots of Leela and Fry being cute, and I can’t wait to post again about next week’s episode :3  Have a great day and good night~

[metamorphi]

sʜɪᴛ ɪɴ ʟɪғᴇ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ᴍᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴛᴏ ᴀʙsᴏʟᴜᴛʟʏ ʟᴏsᴇ ᴍʏ ᴍɪɴᴅ.

Took me awhile to even want to look at this story. The people that know, will know but I haven’t gave up on it.

I really should have but it’s the one story I can continuously think and pursue. It makes me happy and if I’m stupid I’m just stupid.

I don’t really care if the people I once knew see this, not gonna change anything. That and i don’t exactly give a shit anymore; I’m off medication and im the happiest I can be woo/yay I guess.

Back into the story I haven’t let go, to theirs who had made characters. They don’t exist here anymore, I used to think I’d have them but I really don’t care for them not only that I ain’t trying to piss y’all off. If you leave me alone I’ll leave you alone.

Lethal Wire evolved a few times to the point it’s not even the same story. Empire still exists but let the tyranny rain down all of the children the of the shitty emperor.

For those that don’t know, I had a main in the book and rp I had going with platinum blonde / white hair and bright golden eyes he was honestly a little shit who could not pull his own weight.

His name was Cyrus, and he was a bitch, who really deserved all the times a {redacted} character punched him.

He doesn’t exist anymore, least the person he once was. Think of him as the copy paste version of his father but worse and his little brother once has been {Redacted}. As I didn’t play him in the rp. I didn’t think it be fair for me to keep him.

Cyrus ii does have siblings but the characters are different and are all like mini assholes, who abuse power. (Magnus will not be making any appearance)

The tattoo I have on my forearm is a character that will stay as a permanent resident of the book now. Giovanni W. His younger brother {redacted} doesn’t exist. As his name has changed slightly but he’s still just as full as vengeance and hate.

The mercenary group that many were apart of in the Rp > has been {redacted} and doesn’t exist as it’s mostly purely just about the Terrors and the Empire. And the people that dwell amongst the chaos.

Giovanni’s new personality can be found in a song I personally like “Friends” by Veridian

As his name has been changed as he’s has became the main.

Many of the characters I personally made their names have been changed, and a big help.

A few Unlike Pluto songs helped: ‘Gaze; Lavender; Origami.

As well as a the band Turmion Kätilöt < hope I spelt it right.

I also just like the song Lambada (Dabro Remix).

Tbh what ever works. I’m planning on publishing later in 2023.

To the people that let me go you are like this song:

Marvin Brooks - ‘Ghosts’ 2WEI Remix