#the children are a different story but i still appreciate how my adult parts have integrated

[mermaidsirennikita]

I feel I should say I’m one of those people who read Wuthering Heights as a full-grown adult and was like, “How in the hell is this romantic? Cathy married someone else to get away from Heathcliff, and then her murderous ghost kills him for what he did to her children.”

To only focus on young Cathy and Heathcliff’s doomed romance is to seriously miss the point of the book.

I don't think the novel was ever intended to be romantic (... in a conventional sense), but it has a very compelling romantic relationship between two people that influenced later straightforward fictional love stories, which is why it is what it is today.

However, I will disagree on the take on Cathy's motives for marrying Linton. She doesn't marry Linton to escape Heathcliff; she marries Linton to go TO a level of status that she does not currently have. She does love Linton, in her way, and appreciates the gentleness and stability her offers.

However, Cathy does not present Heathcliff as someone she "will not" marry when explaining her mindset to Nelly. She presents him as someone she CANNOT marry because he's too "low" for her. At this point, he doesn't have the wealth he'll have when he comes back, and I would also say: Heathcliff is NOT the degree of fucked up that he is when he returns. He's super abused and angry... but he's a teenager. He doesn't have shit. He's not angry at Cathy the way he is when he returns, because though he knows she's heading towards something with Linton and is acting differently, she has not married Linton YET. He's possessive of her, but the relationship is not in the place that it is in when he returns from his mysterious absence.

If Heathcliff was not low, Cathy would quite possibly (probably?) marry him. Her big speech is telling Nelly that she loves both men, but her "pretty" love for Linton will fade. Her love for Heathcliff is an "ugly" love, but it is enduring and will always endure. Cathy doesn't see him as something to run from as a person; she sees him as an extension of herself. Catherine and Heathcliff, especially Catherine because she dies so young, lack separate identities. They are basically one person growing up—and in fact, at points Catherine is the worse one, as she takes part, as a child, in the abuse of Heathcliff before growing to love him. (I mean, she's a child motivated in part by jealousy... but still.) She's also manipulative , abusive to Nelly (the "help"), and basically puts on a good face to Edgar Linton that disguises how fucked up she actually is.

Catherine Earnshaw is essentially denying her actual self (not necessarily her best self, but who she is at her core) when she marries Linton. She is turning her back on whatever identity she has, however fractured and enmeshed with Heathcliff's it may be.

Catherine has become somewhat tamed when Heathcliff returns, and she's fully aware of how bad his behavior is (see: Isabella Linton). But that doesn't mean she doesn't want him around. She wants him and Linton to settle their conflict, she wants him to be "her" Heathcliff again (versus who he is when he returns successful and even more embittered) and it reads as very "have my cake and eat it too". Which is consistent with the selfishness that seems inherent to her even in childhood.

She wants her marriage to Linton. She also wants Heathcliff to settle down (emotionally speaking... not with another woman lol) so that she doesn't have to worry about their conflict anymore and clearly has much more passion for Heathcliff. Her death is linked in part to that passion; she's mentally ill, she's stressed about Linton barring her from Heathcliff, she's not eating and isolating herself, all while pregnant. She declares her love for him right before she dies and basically gives him shit for like... not at the same time... because she can't handle the idea of him being alive when she's not. She basically screams at him to stay with her when he's about to dip because Linton is returning from his errand (while Nelly sits there like OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK as her super pregnant and super dying mistress like... basically makes out with Heathcliff.... and her husband is heading up the stairs about to burst into the room....).

And Heathcliff in turn wastes away (maybe self-starvation?) because he wants to be with Cathy's ghost. The description of his corpse indicates that he looks happy to die and be with Cathy. I don't think her ghost killed him by any means—but if she did, it was exactly what both of them wanted. Eternity together in death.

I mean, who knows what Catherine Earnshaw would've bene like as a mom to Cathy II. But I kind of highly doubt she would've been a good one. As soon as Heathcliff was back on the scene, she started denying her husband and obsessing over him, and if she'd made it past the birth, I don't think that would've changed at all. Catherine is, from jump, a shitty person, and I feel that her ability to be shitty and passionate and very much a partial architect of her own destruction (mutually with Heathcliff, and she in turn his a mutual architect of his downfall like, she and Heathcliff are essentially planning their long game suicide pact in their last scene together lol... and it's Heathcliff's bitterness and determination for vengeance that keeps him dying sooner, versus a lack of desire to be dead with Cathy) is what makes Catherine such a fabulous character.

Heathcliff is a horrible person, but Catherine isn't THAT much better, and she does not seem to truly WANT to be that much better when we take away what she thinks she should be.

[ever-go-on]

im such a complex person. there is so much to me. and thats really cool

[yonemurishiroku]

Take a seat. The point of romeo and juliet is not the romance. Though it's a part of it. The point is it's a tragedy. And all this tragedy happening because all these dumb rich grown ass adults couldn't get over themselves and had to drag everyone including their own children into their bullshit. I hate when in Romeo and Juliet people focus too much on the romance(sex) aspects. Because that's not the point. The point was that they were so young, and had to hide, and only new each other for such a little time. That the world around them became so horrible. That they thought they had no other option but to kill themselves. Fate is also an aspect of the book. Fate is purposely punishing the two families by making the only heirs in their family fall in love and then commit suicide in such a brutal way. Causing both lines to die out. So when you think about all that. That why I'd love a Percy and Nico aus with this concept. Because god does the universe play with fate and tragedy so much. Because you know its Greek and Roman mythology. But also the gods already having so much horrible petty drama with each other that it affects there kids. I feel like it fits with Percico ship really well.

Oh my. I didn't expect a Romeo and Juliet lesson in my askbox but this is much appreciated, thank you! 🤗

Tbh I have never actually read Romeo and Juliet. Mainly because I'm not particularly interested in romances, and again not capable of Shakespear-level English. I know bits of it through the mainstream media, and that's that. In many ways, I enjoy the concept of tragedy. Heaven knows how I always go for the tragic tales. On the other hand, though, I'm a little averse to romance as a whole, so a story that (supposedly) revolves around young love just loses me from the summary. I don't know how it differs with ships, either, it probably has st with my interpretation of it.

Anyway. Percico and tragedy is indeed a match made in heaven. The gods' petty dramas, as frustrating as they are, can be stimulating purely because of their meaninglessness - bc it means things can just be completely out of your control, sometimes all those dramas just came knocking on your door, worse yet demanding a heavy price you don't want to pay. It's the helplessness that pushes them to keep trying - or just my inclination to tear Percy and Nico apart to see them suffer. Probably the latter.

Percy and Nico's dymanic is also a funny thing, if you get what I mean? I mean. They try so hard to make it right, but as they do so, they fail to catch the other's wavelength, fail to pull the other to their own orbit, so they keep following their own thoughts and ideas, which have been derailing since forever. They try - gods know they try - but it hardly pays off. It feels like the universe conspires to separate them.

And maybe it's the vanity that characterizes Percy and Nico's relationship IMO. I want to see them try, fail, and then try again. It sounds like hopelessness, which it is, but there is beauty in trying, even in hopelessness. And that's what is beautiful to me - when there's no hope, but you'll still go on.

[animalinvestigator]

hey! i havent had tumblr for a while but ive been thinking about cathys eldest sister who wants to run away when she turns 18. is she equipped at all to deal with the outside world? all of the kids seem pretty isolated. ty!

hello anonymous -- first of all let me just say, i am really touched that you remembered my story, and even a pretty minor character in it, and remained so interested that you sent this ask even after being away. really it means a lot more to me than i could ever articulate, i was so stunned and happy that you would. i appreciate it a lot. i really hope someday i can make the story real so that you'll be able to have all these answers without tumblr asks, LOL.

which made me think about -- how mysterious do i want to be to make sure everything still stays fresh if i ever do write it , lol. i thought for a bit about this, and i think i can still say plenty of things without giving away any plot beats or information i havent already shared. espescially about the character youre inquiring on ! so: about bridget.

even though bridget is a side character whose arc plays out largely incidentally in the background of the story, she's definitely the supporting cast member i've thought about most, because she shares a lot in common with catherine, but her motivation to escape is from a completely different perspective, and her approach is entirely different as well because of that.... i'm not sure how much i've talked about catherine's family's history, but they haven't always lived where they live, and they haven't always been as isolated as they are ; bridget is one of the few kids in the family who is old enough to remember a time when she was marginally less secluded from the world, where she was permitted to have relationships among a slightly broader community, instead of having no one and nothing outside of the nuclear family. this, combined with the amount of time she's spent living the way that she does, and the increased responsibility /mistreatment she incurred by being born first, leads her to a feeling that is shared between only her and cathy among her siblings, that something is deeply, implacably wrong with the only world she's ever known, and an abstract need to "run away" as a result.

UNLIKE cathy, bridget has the perspective to know that there does exist a world outside(though she's never been part of it) that she can run away to. because of this, and due to the repertoire she has built up over the years by adequately obeying her parents and avoiding their scrutiny, and her general grew-up-too-fast big sister maturity, she has the increased freedom and general skills she needs to actually enact an escape plan . to get to the meat of your question, though, that definitely does not translate exactly to being able to survive well and easily when she leaves. basically the only thing bridget has ever been is a homemaker, essentially; her days are commanded by the needs of her siblings and the demands of her parents, and there's little room for developing any sense of agency outside of her role as fill-in mother to the younger children in the family. i can't imagine there's anything she even wants to do when she gets out -- she wouldn't have any idea how to want things in the first place -- she has been actively discouraged from learning administrative adult tasks even as mundane as shopping for herself or driving a car out of a desire to keep her subserviant, and she has no safe grown-ups in her life to teach her these skills. she has no education outside of her family's """"homeschooling"""", and when she leaves, she will have no access to her legal paperwork, and no funds or resources whatsoever. which is all to say: bridget knows how to take care of herself and take care of her siblings and take care of her household, but she doesn't know how to be a human being, and she has none of the prerequesites that society would expect from her. even as the /least/ isolated member of the household, she's been completely cut off from any ability to develop as a person, form external relationships, and live without relying on her parents, because that's how catherine's parents maintain their sense of control.

so, the long and short of it is this: the reason that catherine's family is the way it is (and ESPESCIALLY in the case of bridget, whose obedience they rely upon to keep the household running smoothly) is that catherine's parents want to raise adult children, who are simultaneously competent enough to personally benefit the parents in keeping up appearances and in putting in less work themselves, and also so completley reliant on them ideologically, financially, and emotionally that they have no hope of surviving in the outside world. thta's the situation bridget is in when she decides to escape.

that being said, i think she's alright... much like cathy, i try to keep my own ideas for "what happens to this character" private, because i would really like to leave it at "there's no right answer". the main emotion i'm writing this story from is a feeling of lack of closure -- a story where nothing good happens, everyone is worse off at the end, and the main character is left all alone with her memories, wondering for the rest of her life if any of it even happened, not knowing if anything turned out okay, and having to carve out a place to live in that painful ambiguity... that being said, my hope for my own characters is that they'll have a happy ending in the audience's head.. and i feel like i can strongly picture bridget living in a big city somewhere very far away long after catherine's story ends, coming home after work to a tiny , mostly empty apartment, her own space, and thinking for the first time that she can finally breathe.

thank you so much again for your inquiry <3

[kayetra-spade-queen]

Because @drawnfamiliarfaces got me into their AU rabbit hole of a variant version of the Teen Heroes™, I hope they don't mind of me making my own variant (I'm self-conscious, please excuse me-).

First and foremost, I can't draw, at least not to the extent of completely fleshing out a sketch out of my ass (ok- I can, but only a single eye, and even then it looks like shit to me-). I can draw clothing better than making a full body to make a whole ass scene. Comics are out the window cuz I will suffer.

Second, it'll probably be more on writing than making fanarts.

Third, I didn't watch the majority of the other characters' respective shows. I watched Danny Phantom a bit because of Nicktoons, and Ben 10 because of the same person who got me into starting this whole thing. I'll probably get my own snips and bits of necessary info from the wiki, but don't expect any accuracy, and I'd appreciate if anyone could dump some info that could prove to be very necessary for me.

Fourth, this is an entire AU itself, so I'm mostly not gonna follow canon at most. There will be stories I will try to twist to my liking.

Fifth, ships. Yes, but bear with me here; thanks to my overconsumption of media, I will be putting just a few ships that I think are neat, but if anyone disagrees with me or didn't like how I didn't mention a ship they like (cuz I barely knew shit about the characters), then please just either move away from my blog, or block me entirely to avoid unwanted conflict. We all have our interests that make us happy, the least you could do is to respect and/or completely don't interact.

Sixth, the clothing are gonna filled with my own personal headcanons, mostly their clothing when they battle (the characters themselves too, but I'm gonna focus more on the clothes because I'm a fashion illustrator). Danny, Ben, and Randy are gonna wear heels because yes.

The ships involved;

Tigerghost (Manny Rivera from El Tigre x Danny Fenton from Danny Phantom) (I completely blame izbubbles for this one)

Benrex (Rex Salazar from Generator Rex x Ben Tennyson from Ben 10) (surprised? Probably not lmfao-)

Jimmytimmy (Timmy Turner x Jimmy Neutron) (first and foremost; no, none of the Nicktoons (Jimmy, Timmy, SpongeBob, and Manny) except Danny and Jenny are part of this team. Danny and Jenny still go on missions with the NU team because duh. And second; they're only here as some sort of filler and cuz I really love Nicktoons since most of them I have watched)

Headcanons involved (will get expanded in due time I swear-);

Trans Danny

Anodite Ben (still wields the Omnitrix. His anodite powers are pink too)

Dani and Dan are Danny's kids (under a different name because they have to go through a re-birth process that I'll touch upon later)

Ben's necrofriggian children now comes to earth to live with their mom (like I said, I'm not following canon)

Randy is still ninja, but because this AU involves a 3rd power/skill, I'll have to twist a bit of the canon my way, especially when it comes to the Ultimate Lesson and memory wipe

There will be some Genshin Impact references here and there, because I do play them, and I love it-

Ghost King Danny (by extent, Ghost Princess Dani and Ghost Prince Dan)

Fashion designer Ben (his sassy and confident nature could be more of a use tbh)

Primal Iudex Randy (he and Furina would get along nicely-)

Pearl Keeper Jake

Side gig magician Rex (leave me be, I think it's neat-)

Engaged Rex and Ben (all of the members are adults over 20, so don't be surprised)

Sandra Tennyson is French, so that makes Ben half-French by heritage

Ben and Randy are pen pals turned close friends by the time Ben moved to France (yes, I made Randy somewhat French here for this reason, but I'll have to put in more details later)

Rex won't lose his memories, but he'll get short-term amnesia often, which just need something to trigger the old memories back

Everyone is under the same universe

Danny's ghost team are Sam-Tucker-Valerie-Jazz and his parents (Valerie deserves better than what was given to her by canon)

Yes, Maddie and Jack knew Danny became a ghost from the very start, but they didn't treat him any differently than he was before; if anything, they felt guilty that their son had paid the price for their ignorance and neglect

Phantom Planet do not exist, and it shouldn't have been to begin with, but whatever

Valerie had always been part of Danny's gang. In terms of Shades of Gray, I'll have to change a lot of things, that includes her father's job (he didn't get fired), so I have other things in mind regarding Cujo

Cujo became Danny's pet dog later on, cuz you can't tell me these two aren't made for each other

Members from oldest to youngest, I do hope @drawnfamiliarfaces wouldn't mind me using their headcanon as well (eldest Kim, youngest Randy). I think they're really neat.

Please keep in mind that none of this follow canon whatsoever, they follow my headcanons and versions. Character backstories are written purely by my own personal headcanons too. I'll probably add actual canon when I didn't have anything good to offer, but this is what I could put for now.

[juliasdowntonstuff]

The beauty of The Little Prince

Those who know me a bit are aware of the fact that I absolutely LOVE Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince". I bring it up any chance I get and because today has shown me again just how much this book means to me, I thought I'd use Tumblr as a journal and share at least a few of the reasons why. It is currently 2 am as I am writing this, so I don't guarantee for any of this to make any sense.

Apart from being the book my mum used to read to me when I was very little, apart from being the book I learned to read with and being the first book I ever read in every language I speak, "The Little Prince" is also just such a wonderfully poignant book that, for me, is just as important nowadays as it was back when it was first released in 1943.

It deals with themes we all encounter on a daily. It talks about greed, love, friendship, sadness, vainness, and wisdom — just to name a few of them. And it does so very endearingly. Part of this book's charm is not just that utterly beautiful and simplistic style of its illustrations, but also that it can be read by children and adults alike. It's generally easy enough to understand for children while also being so descriptive of the themes mentioned without the so usual moralising undertone that is often apparent in comparable works. And there are so many layers to the quite simple story itself that I find something new to focus on every time I read it.

There are sequences that did not really interest me as a kid because I did not understand the full extent of what they meant. Sure, I knew there was something to take away from every sequence, but I did not always know what it was. And as I keep going back again and again, I keep finding new layers to uncover.

Take the sequence about watching the sunset 42/43/44 times, for example (depending on what edition/ language you're reading). It only gained my interest when I was about sixteen, because it suddenly spoke to me on another level that was not just about describing a pretty sky. It expressed exactly what I felt at the time but never managed to put into words, and it helped me understand what it was I was feeling. Before then, I only thought the short chapter was about the nice colours that make up a sunset, about the hues that are usually quite warm and can feel comforting. But it is really so much more.

Sadness can cause many things; for me, it makes me lose interest in most things I used to enjoy greatly. That one page that discusses the little prince feeling sad and watching the sunset so often told me to go outside and look at the sunset, and so I did that. After that, I began to appreciate the beauty in nature around me more. The sense of calmness and clarity that I get when I walk in nature and listen to the birds or sit and watch the sunset (or sunrise, occasionally) is something I never managed to replicate otherwise. People rarely talk about how they are truly feeling in everyday life, and there is still some sort of stigma around talking about mental health, depression, etc., which I think shouldn't be (but that's an entirely different discussion). We all are happy to talk about the things that fill us with joy, that excite us, so why can't we talk about the bad feelings we have in the same way? It is easy to feel that being sad or even depressed is simply not allowed in society, that one is alone with all the bad thoughts spinning around and around, because we never talk about them.

That short sequence about sunsets taught sixteen-year-old me that it was okay to be sad, that it was okay to be okay one day and a total mess the next, only to be better again. It taught me that sometimes, you just need to take a second to sit down, breathe deeply, and look around, try to find the beauty in things you usually overlook or see the beauty you have become blind to. It also taught me that extreme sadness does not last forever, which is what I keep clinging to, now that I feel myself slowly slipping back into that seemingly bottomless pit of sadness.

Another sequence that has greatly influenced the way I see things in life is the part about the fox. The taming. Because that is just such a vivid depiction of what making a friend is. It is a metaphor even kids understand. And it is so true to the core. You have to reveal who you are as a person to become friends with someone, you have to share your thoughts and beliefs. You have to get over that "being friendly strangers" phase, and for that, you need to find out more about the other person, their likes and dislikes. And only then you can determine whether you like the person enough to become friends with them. That seems pretty straightforward.

Sadly, though, we tend to skip parts. We don't get to know each other enough to get to the "being tamed"-part. We consider someone a friend too soon, when all they likely are is a friendly acquaintance and nothing more. I realised recently that I did not know some of my friends as well as I thought I did and it caused a lot of unnecessary added heartbreak. You know, when you find people you like and you get along with them splendidly whenever you see them, which might be frequent or sometimes not so much, it's easy to feel as though you're friends. But do they still message you when things get rough? Do they try to include you when they do not see you around as much as before? Likely, they do not. Or at least that is what I have experienced.

This goes hand in hand with what the fox says to the little prince about the rose. “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

Because that's what true friendships are like, or at least they should be. They don't just end, they don't just fizzle out. You can't just up and leave when you're bored or when you disagree. Unless there is a real reason for you to stop talking or stop being friends, you should always keep an eye out for your friends. You got to know them, you tamed them, and you are at least a tiny bit responsible for them, too. Certainly not for everything they do, no, but for the part of their lives that intertwines with yours. That is what you are responsible for.  

And there are some more quotes that have influenced me greatly. I won't go deeper into them now, because, frankly… if I did, I would never shut up. I will just leave them here to read and ponder for anyone who wants to. 

Maybe they speak to you as much as they do to me, maybe they don't. That's the beauty of literature.

“I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.”

“Then you shall judge yourself," the king answered. "That is the most difficult thing of all. It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.” (Chapter X)

“Where are the people?” resumed the little prince at last. “It's a little lonely in the desert…”

“It is lonely when you're among people, too,” said the snake. (Chapter XVII)

“Language is the source of misunderstandings.” (Chapter XXI)

“Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” (Chapter XXI)

“What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well.” (Chapter XXV)

“In one of those stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night. And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend… I shall not leave you.” (Chapter XXVI)

And last, but certainly not least:

 “All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”

On that note…

[scaryspears]

Cassie and Jacqui: Opinions and Thoughts

These are my thoughts and opinions on Mortal Kombat that a bunch of people probably won't care about, but I thought I should post them here. Now I will be using past games as reference, even though every character's interpretation/counterpart is different, they still play part to the canon storyline.

Okay, so these two are besties. Now before I get into any details, this is just theories and opinions. I just want to quickly say that I like Jacqui's character, and not just because I was able to play as a black female character, but I found her interesting and liked her romance with Takeda.

I'll start with Cassie. She is a nice enough blend of Sonya and Johnny, I guess. I found her a little annoying in mkx but only because of her intros, and to be fair a lot of character dialogue kind of sucked in that game. I found her very relatable when I was younger though, because I said a lot of cringey things when it came out. Other than that she was pretty cool, and was a different kind of case where a character voices out what everyone else is thinking. To be fair, Johnny has that as well but Cassie is Gen Z levels of voice (or an everyman). I also appreciate that they made her more girly, although I do miss the tomboyish Cassie from mkx.

Thing is, I don't like how they made it into a thing where they made Cassie feel like a main character, and while I understand that's how it must be done with next generation games, I get the impression that she was treated better than her teammates. That impression was solidified in the mk11 storyline where Cassie was chosen to be the new general with the addition of Takeda and Kung Jin being cut from the game. I get that she defeated Shinnok and whatever, but seriously? It was also a situation where Sonya was choosing randomly, so I think she should've chosen Jacqui simply because Jacqui is genuinely into being a soldier. For a moment the audience is shown the pain on Jacqui's face, and I was honestly anticipating some kind of rivalry to take place where Cassie and Jacqui end up fighting about something within the story mode.

I wrote in another post that I think Cassie joined the special forces because she wanted to impress Sonya. We know that from mkx Sonya was neglective, and if Cassie is much closer to Johnny then I don't think it would make sense for her to not have some appreciation for the creative arts. Meaning, Cassie yearns for Sonya's approval. It was also hinted that Sonya may have been abusive, randomly attacking Cassie and Jacqui with arm bars. Even while Cassie is an adult Sonya is still neglective, as noted in the last game, not even caring about Cassie's love life. It's very clear the two of them have problems with each other. One thing for sure, Cassie has inherited Sonya's cruelty which makes her snark different from Johnny's. A nice blend of seriousness and un-serious = obvious sarcasm. I'm also calling back to the 'Johnny pee pants' incident that she was told about.

"So how are things between you and Bob?" - Sonya

"For the last time his name is Dylan." - Cassie

"Why learn his name if he's not sticking around?" - Sonya

----

"I'm the new improved you." - Cassie

"(Scoff) Improved how?" - Sonya

Well for one thing, she's got powers.

----

"Jacqui says as kids you were scared of me." - Sonya

"You'd randomly attack us with arm bars." - Cassie

"And you learned to always be ready." - Sonya

The fact that she says this with a smug smile shows she sees nothing wrong with the fact that she went out of her way to scare and hurt children. Characters have been drilling in on Johnny but had nothing to say to Sonya about her parenting. Johnny made it his mission to change into a better person, even in his ending he didn't need people to tell him that he was doing something wrong because he realised it by himself. Sonya for whatever reason lacks that same awareness.

----

"Growing up I always wanted a sister." - Sonya

"To exchange style tips and dish on boys?" - Cassie

"No! To spar with." - Sonya

You can do that too, Sonya. Jeez.

----

"You are Johnny Cage's daughter." - Robocop

"Ha! Shocked I'm not some Beverly Hills brat?" - Cassie

Beverly Hills kids: Well... that hurts. I think it's somehow been engraved in Cassie that being any old normal girl is a terrible thing, and I don't support that "I'm not like other girls" nonsense. I think it was Sonya's influence, and potentially Jax.

----

"I am honoured to fight you." - Liu Kang

"I'm no chosen one, Li Kang." - Cassie

"You fought shinnok and won." - Liu Kang

Oh he's mad. He is so mad. Bro died because of Raiden.

----

Now with Jacqui.

I think Jacqui is in Cassie's shadow, hell they even erased her from her own ending. Even when she was given screen time it still felt like she was brushed to the side. Cassie was chosen to be the leader of the friend group, and in hindsight that was a bit predictable. In comparison to her Jacqui is rational and doesn't turn things into a joke. I know Cassie is serious as well, but Jacqui is more passionate about fighting for Earthrealm and being in the special forces while Cassie is more of a show off.

"Leave dad in peace." - Jacqui (mkx)

"There's things only Jax can do." - Sonya (mkx)

---

"What do you see when you look at me?" - Frost

"A cheap second gen knock off." - Jacqui

"I said look at me, not you." - Frost

These two are love and hate, two sides of the same coin. Frost wants recognition and goes against the Lin Kuei to have that, while Jacqui wants to make people proud and carry on a legacy. Both have a male counterpart of some kind. Frost disappointed Sub Zero for not being patient and she became a villain, while Jax doesn't want Jacqui to even be involved in anything kombat related. Jacqui follows, Frost demands command.

---

"Cassandra Cage overshadows you." - Cetrion

"In her own mind maybe." - Jacqui

"Do not deny your jealousy." - Cetrion

---

"It's time to pass on your mantel." - Nightwolf

"Baby girl's good, but she's not me yet." - Jax

"Don't underestimate your daughter, Jax." - Nightwolf

Notice the edge in Nightwolf's voice? Also, Jacqui doesn't have to be Jax. Not to mention she was trained by Johnny and not Jax, so it's weird of him to say that. I think she should be trained by Scorpion as a wedding gift and have a few Shirai Ryu inspired outfits if she's introduced to the franchise in future games. Anything that distances her from Jax.

---

Jacqui is called "unproven" and a "knock off" when she has in fact proven herself, she just hasn't beaten an elder God- oh wait, what is this? Jacqui defeated Cetrion? (Do not bring jax into this, I chose Jacqui). In mkx she beat Reptile and Ermac, the very same Ermac that Jax lost his arms to because he was caught lacking, and held her own against the revenants.

The characters constantly compare her to Jax, which is problematic in my opinion. As a person who was constantly compared to my older siblings growing up it felt like my identity as my own person was being stripped away from me, and I think it's the same case with Jacqui. Jacqui should be recognised more for who she is rather than who her father is, because Jacqui is just as good if not better.

"Such beauty in Kombat is rare." - Shang Tsung. Oh Shang Tsung, you pervert.

Now onto her friendship with Cassie. It's very obvious that these two grew up together and even went to the same school, which must've meant that they lived close to one another, like the same town or city. I don't think the two have always been buddy buddy, in terms of problems coming up. If it weren't for circumstances I think these two wouldn't even be close or in the same vicinity. Cassie went and dated Jacqui's love interest for prom knowing Jacqui liked him. I'm surprised these two are even friends.

Moving onto her relationship with Jax, I liked Jacqui bonding with the younger version of her dad during story mode, and seeing the differences between older Jax and young Jax.

I always saw Jax as an a-hole, but jeez. I understand being a protective father but he needed to accept that he couldn't breathe down her neck for too long. What ticks me off even more is his disapproval of Takeda. I think one of the reasons Jax isn't very fond of Takeda is because he mildly reminds him of Johnny. Takeda has that charisma about him and makes jokes as well and overall has this easy going air about him. Even after Johnny and Sonya got married, meaning Jax saw Johnny a lot more, I don't think Jax grew a liking to Johnny. I'm not sure if Jax truly had feelings for Sonya, but I do think it's a possibility if Johnny not only did not want to get between them under the suspicion that they were together, but also because he thought they would end up together.

I have a bunch of stuff to say. I believe Cassie should've done MMA fighting or something around there, that way Cassie wouldn't just be another copy of her parents.

If Jax and Sonya did end up together then I think the turn out would be more extreme. An overprotective father and a neglectful mother.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

There are many factors to consider when judging a film’s merit. An important but often overlooked factor is the film’s ambition. How many chances does it take and how far does it push the envelope? Under that criteria, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs couldn’t possibly score higher. If there was a full-length animated film released in American cinemas before this one, it's been forgotten to time and it certainly didn't leave the same mark as this one. Now approaching 100 years old, there's no other movie quite like Snow White. You watch it as a child and enjoy the familiar story. You appreciate it for wholly different reasons as an adult.

In a faraway land lives the beautiful and kind Princess Snow White (voiced by Adriana Caselotti), the envy of her wicked and vain stepmother (Lucille La Verne). When the Queen’s magic mirror reveals that Snow White has become more beautiful than she, the Queen sends the young princess to the woods to be murdered. Following her escape, Snow White stumbles upon a small cottage and is taken in by the seven little men who live there.

Traditionally animated films age incredibly gracefully. Whereas you can see the limitations Toy Story and its early descendants had to struggle with, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs looks as sharp as the day it was released. Snow White is not like the rubber-limbed Olive Oil from Popeye’s cartoons or any character from the many Disney animated shorts that preceded her. The fact that she can move alongside the decidedly anthropomorphized woodland creatures she befriends and the seven dwarves - all of which have cartoonish faces to match their outlandish personalities - is impressive.

Also helping the film remain timeless are the story and writing. There are no pop culture references, no fourth wall breaks, no ironic twists or subversions of the source material. There doesn’t need to be. Snow White simply is. Similarly, the songs are not the kind you’d hear playing on the top charts. They weren't made to sell records. They were made for the story. They’re used to develop the characters and move the plot forward. That doesn't mean they're not catchy. I think anyone who’s seen the film will be tempted to play Whistle While You Work whenever they begin cleaning and once you hear the dwarves’ Heigh Ho!, it becomes a part of your vocabulary. Nothing in Snow White feels like it was made to be more than part of the movie. There are no characters made to be turned into toys, for example. In that way, it feels more earnest than any other Disney film.

That's nice, but what really matters is how entertaining the film is. While this is a straightforward telling of a well-known, story (assuming you don't call the musical numbers "twists"), “Snow White” finds plenty of ways to make you care about its animated characters. There are many laughs throughout, courtesy of the seven dwarves. Her animal friends also provide memorable chuckles as they figure out inventive ways to help despite their limited sizes or limbs. My favorite has to be the deer who uses his antlers as a way to transport dirty laundry.

There's also drama and romance, courtesy of Snow White herself. Our heroine is so sweet and innocent your heart just can’t resist. When she talks about the handsome prince she dreams of meeting once again, it’s hard not to get as swept up in the emotions of the scene. There’s also a little bit of horror thrown in too - though only small children would be actually frightened. It makes the scenes when Snow White makes her escape in the dark woods and later, when the wicked Queen comes looking for her particularly memorable. On top of the emotions are the outstanding visuals. Even if you don't "know", I think a part of you knows or can tell everything you see was hand-painted and painstakingly put together. If there’s one criticism I can throw towards the movie, it’s that the ending feels abrupt. It still fits within the fairytale motif, but I wouldn’t mind if it was even 30 seconds longer.

There is so much to say about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The visuals, the characters, the direction, the story, the songs… every aspect of the filmmaking could be the subject of a thesis. It's a film that was destined for immortality and I think people knew it as soon as it was released. Even today, it still stands triumphant as one of the greatest films - animated or otherwise- ever made for its place in history, but also for the way it brings a particular kind of story to life. (November 12, 2022)

[dewphox]

I can’t believe people would use a being that is a homage to the late Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, as uwu-waifu bullshit.

So disrespectful.

I see where you're coming from, though I don't think that the way you are going about it is constructive or appropiate at all. Since you're on anon I can't say for sure if you're like 10 or 30, but I'm not mad either way.

So yeah I wanna give an honest answer to this, if anyone else feels the same way and maybe wants to have a discussion (though the whole anon thing feels like talking to a wall) you can really just talk to me. Ngl I am incredibly emotional and quick to get defensive, but the beauty of messages on the internet is is that I can give myself time to calm down and be rational and process these emotions before I respond. So Anon I hope that once you've hopefully seen my response that if you still feel a certain type of way about it that you can maybe give me the same courtesy. I just think that there's enough hate to hate communication on the internet already and I'd honestly truly appreciate the effort.

To start of I think it's ignorant to say that how I choose to enjoy my favourite media is ''uwuw-waifu bullshit''. People enjoy different things in many different ways. The way I do it is no different from D&D. There is a world with lore and characters that i adore and I love it so much that I want to experience it through something I've made. Making a character for a franchise is connected to so much research on the source material, as careful as it was crafted I take the time to think of many different ways to integrate a whole new person that hypothetically could fit like a DLC or you know, my player character (sometime it is more indepth than other times, but I always do research one way or the other).

Being put into Links shoes is a predetermined lens which i can enjoy as it's own story, but to me, I like to be a part of it either with a straight insert or an otherwise character of my own making. A tale of legend and heroic deeds is but one perspective and I love to see in what different ways this story or world can be enjoyed and looked at. And i don't think that this is wrong or something to look down upon. Just as is romance within that world and other bonds and relationships one will create and connect to their creation. Like how I made the windfish my OC's Father.

It is so much more than you make it out to be and I have had so many people throuought my art journey come to me and grief because they were bullied for simply having an oc be romantic with a canon character or god forbid a selfinsert or mary sue (and most of them were children, though I was more sad about the adults who's passion was taken from them before they could fully explore it). It is makebelief and hurts no one just because these people decided to share these scenarios with other people. I hope that in the future you can be less dismissive about that. I think it's important that we take the time to be kind, even if there's something we might disagree with and want to debate.

Now to the main point. To put it simply I think a character is allowed to be it's own entity regardless of intent, if ofcourse the intent isn't explicitly stated. (Like for example when they literally have Barack obama as a character in South park etc. Then that's not a refrence but a depicition) Which in this case it isn't actually. While researching what came up was filled with ''maybe'', ''possibly'', ''probably'' etc. More importantly though the game itself never states it and a game and franchise should always be able to be judged on it's contents alone wihtout outside remarks people may or may not have made.

Then there's also another character within the game. Botrick. His wiki also eludes to the fact that he might be a homage to Satoru. Wikis however are all written by fans and we can all just speculate even if the probability is very likely. The difference however is that Botrick shares a similar appearance with Satoru while the lord of the mountain has a similar name and I think both are tributes in their own right. Though Botrick may be a physical reference while Satori is a sort of spiritual tribute to him as a mentor and guardian figure. But it's still it's own character. Both of these characters aren't Satoru, the same as how actors aren't synonymous with the characters they play.

Also what if someone doesn't do deep dives into wikis and articles and forums? What if someone simply plays the game, enjoys it and make characters, contents AU's for it? What if had only read the genral wiki and not scrolled down to the trivia section where people first brought up it might be a tribute? I don't think that it should be neccessary to first get a bachelors degree in order to enjoy a game in fear of missing a detail that although never mentioned in the game was once maybe hinted at by someone. It feels like a roundabout and tiring way to enjoy a medium. And you should give people a fair chance and not come at them so aggressively, even if you're emotionally charged.

Having said all that, I was actually hesitant to make this idea I had using Satori for the same reason haha. Since I generally don't like characters that are meant to be real life people ( the same I don't like to ship with characters that are in canon relationships (hence i dropped Sidon UU ). With Satori however I felt it's removed enough that it's not an issue for me as explained above.

But I'm not opposed to the idea of changing a few things up! Names are changed in the blink of an eye and i am not uncreative enough to be incabalbe of thinking of different ways to incorporate my design into the lore. I could make it a blupee instead, or a descendant, or otherwise further removed entity with close ties to Satori. (My OC Dreem was close to being something like that before I thought of the windfish!) I simply adore these nature god archetypes like the forest god in princess mononoke and since in it's lore Satori was a sage before that died the idea of a humanoid version wasn't too far off for me.

So yeah, tell me what you think, I'm open for discussion and how other people see it as long as you give me the same courtesy and time that I did to formulate an appropiate response! I hope that we can all be kind to eachother and I wish you all a wonderful day!

[zucchinibread777books]

Pageboy Book Review

Pageboy by Elliot Page Book Review

Summary:

This memoir takes us through Elliot Page’s struggles, thoughts, and career as he finds who he was meant to be. He tells us about his past and family situation, along with the different stages of his career and movies he has done. Throughout all of it, he tells us about his relationships and coming out. As with most memoirs by actors, there is mention of a lot of really difficult experiences, and Page recalls them in vivid detail. Please look up trigger warnings before picking up this memoir because it is a lot.

As always, SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The Good:

This memoir is a hard read. Because of that, I think it’s really important. Every memoir I have read by celebrities has reminded me just how hard it is to live such a public life. They also reinforce my belief that paparazzi and digging into celebrities’ public lives should be illegal. And that there aren’t nearly enough laws to help children who enter these spaces from a young age. These are topics that deserve more focus.

I really connected with the way Elliot Page spoke about his journey into finding himself. The ways that he was constantly pushing those feelings down, assuming everyone felt that way or was hiding some part of themselves. It is so hard for us to accept who we are in a society that constantly wants us to play at something else, especially when there is no room to even explore without criticism. His journey is one that most, if not all, queer people experience at some point. He is only highlighting just how important it is to pay attention to yourself and do what you need to without worrying about how others will react. If you don’t, you’ll always feel some level of discomfort like he did.

I also really appreciated the way Page talked about his relationship with his parents. It is a good reminder that parents don’t have to be physical to be abusive, and that it’s okay to step away from them when they make no effort to change. After the way he was treated as a child and the intentional ignorance even after he became an adult, the healthiest option was for Page to cut his father’s family out of his life. Some people prevent growth rather than foster it. These are feelings that I have been facing lately as well, so it was nice to know there are others who have acted similarly.

The Bad:

I know it was intentional, but this memoir was all over the place. It was hard to keep track of what stage of Page’s life was being discussed, and sometimes he would include flashbacks within flashbacks without acknowledging when we return. He spoke at the beginning about how it was purposeful that he leapt between memories so often, but it would’ve been helpful to be able to place those stories on a more clear timeline compared to one another. One moment he would go from talking about his marriage to talking about an ex to talking about his first relationship, and it was hard to follow.

At the beginning of this memoir, Page mentions a lot of history of the places he talked about. They weren’t fully connected to his story, but they felt important. Then suddenly he stops and doesn’t bring up anything like it again. A lot of the focus was pulled away from the places he want to and lived, and I was left wondering why he brought up those topics in the first place?

In addition to that, the history that he focused on was all very heavy. The first half of the book was the same. Every bad and traumatic story felt like it was condensed into the beginning in horrifying detail. I had opened this book at work and had to close it very soon after due to the language used. While I don’t mind NSFW content, it was a lot. Children need queer role models, but I really hope they don’t pick up this book until they’re at an age where they can properly process such traumatic stories. It lightened up towards the end, but I was still left feeling there was no hope.

That brings me to my main point. Why do people write memoirs? Is it just to tell their story, or is it to teach the audience something? Memoirs like this one tend to end with signs of hope, proof that things do get better if you don’t give up. I didn’t feel that way with this one. It was close, with the end of the second-to-last chapter, but there wasn’t a lot about Elliot Page as he is now. Now that he is out to himself and the world, he says he is excited and content, but the only stories he tells are of “friends” and their microaggressions after his surgery. Personally, I wanted him to at least mention the changes that The Umbrella Academy made for him during this time.

Overall:

It’s hard to judge memoirs because this was the author’s life, not just some story they made up. I love that he publicly talked about his experiences, especially as a queer person, because we need more media discussing everything that comes along with finding yourself. That being said, it was a really difficult read both because of the style and the extreme detail. I think it’s important to read stories like this and remember that the people on the other side of the screen go through more than we can ever imagine, but this is not a memoir I would want to read again. Please remember that my personal rating does not reflect everyone’s feelings, and it is good to form your own opinions as well!

3 Stars

[thecrusadercomrade]

Hey! I had an idea for a what-if What if Clementine went backwards! So like she starts at Ericson's and ends in Atlanta, with the groups that she ends up with/in the areas she ends up in.

So it's kinda like a road back home, something happens to Ericson's which makes her and whoever is alive leave

To be honest, this feels like it would work a lot better as a full-length fic than as a simple oneshot! I don't think I could do this justice as a part of my What If series.

Plus, if I wanted to follow the usual plot progression of TWDG, except in reverse, the "first" season would have to involve a LOT of dead children, which I don't think I'm really up to doing XD.

I've been thinking about how it would work though, and I think it could be a very interesting story! In canon, the story ends with Clementine finding a community of her peers, other kids and teens she can be comfortable with and lead as an equal. Meanwhile, in this AU, the story would end with Clementine finding a group of adults (the motel group) that can look out for her, a place where she doesn't have to worry about survival all the time and instead let other people take the reigns. Plus she also gets a father figure in Lee instead of a love interest. Not to mention that, if she's still caring for a kid in this timeline, she'd no longer have to carry the burden of acting as a parent, instead able to rely on the adults to help.

It's a very different ending than in canon, with different themes, but I honestly really like it! I think as a teenager I liked canon season four better, but now that I'm out of university I think I appreciate much more the idea of Clementine finding a group of adults she can trust and rely on, so she doesn't have to be the one making the hard decisions all the time. She's still a kid herself, she deserves to be looked after.

Anyway, got a bit off track, but again, I really like the idea! It's just a really big time commitment, and I'm not sure it's something I would write. Thanks for the idea though!

[kassil]

Callsign: Archon

Chapter One, Part Five

"Ah. You must be Archon's newest pet." The words, coming from behind Julie as she cautiously explored the space outside her berth, caused her to spin sharply on her heel. Behind her, having apparently just come out of a lift, were two women who were almost identical; both just a little shorter than her, both with short-cropped hair the color of frost, both with identical pale blue eyes, both with the same lean and muscular build, both wearing tights and a crop top that left their muscular torso exposed. The only clear difference between them that she could see was the ill-healed scar twisting up and across the left one's abdomen, as if something had tried to disembowel her and she had kept the scar as a proof of her survival.

"Well, even if she is, she is still our crewmate. Let us introduce ourselves, yes?" The one without the scar made a dramatic bow as she spoke. "I am Merwyn, callsign of Knight. I am the vanguard when Archon is not deciding to lead by example in the worst of ways." The other bowed as well, the motion just a little stiffer than the other's. "And I am Merwyn, callsign of Ashes. I am close-quarter specialist for squadron, you let me go first if we are expecting to fight in tight spaces."

"Uh. I- I'm Julie. I guess my callsign is Mirror?" She made herself relax; these two were supposed to be here, they were her coworkers, and they weren't going to eat her despite the whispering from the primal part of her brain that they were dangerous.

"Mirror. Good callsign. Do you have a specialty for your role, or is it not decided yet?" The first one - Knight, I guess? If they're really named the same thing I guess I need to memorize the callsigns. - tipped her head to the side slightly. "Ah, we are missing electronic warfare specialist. 'Mirror' is a good callsign for someone who will baffle and confound the opposition. Perhaps this is what you will do, even if you do not know it yet. As much as it annoys, Archon has a gift for telling when someone can fill a need for her squad."

Ashes nodded once. "This is why we are both here, as sisters of blood, and not as a girl and her replaced innards. Archon saw us as two people, and helped us fake our deaths in the procedure that would mark Merwyn an adult, with healthy innards and no childhood cancers left, and saw us healed with the medicines of Union." She grinned, a sharp thing holding something deeply unpleasant. "I keep the scar, I say, to remind us that Merwyn of the Ashes was meant as no more than a purse to carry some health for her sister, to see her to being an adult."

"Enough. She does not need to know our story to know we are good to fight alongside." Knight elbowed her sister - clone, Julie realized belatedly, Ashes is a clone. She'd heard that some of the settled worlds relied on clones so that some people could replace failing organs without waiting, but she hadn't heard of any where it was expected that children would need clones for such. "Come! New as you are, it will be important to get your bay filled with your engine of war."

Ashes sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. "Sister, please. It is a mech. She will not be impressed by such archaic terms - not even when you call yours a steed of steel and fire that you ride to battle. It is silly." She turned to Julie, shaking her head. "Forgive my sister, she read the histories growing up, with all the romance of the phrasing, and is determined to make it how everyone refers to things."

"Just because you neglected your education, sister, does not mean others cannot appreciate the beauty of the words!" Knight sniffed dramatically. "If she wishes me to cease, like Mask, she can ask me as an adult does, not whine like a child."

The pair bracketed her even as they continued bickering, each one looping an arm through her own, and her choice became one of walking with them or being carried - and she had no doubt that they would carry her slim stationer form without even noticing, even if she tried to go limp. Julie chose to at least pretend that she had a say in the matter, and matched their pace, trying not to think too hard about how incredibly warm each of them felt alongside her.

A very small part of her wondered if they were as agile as their appearance suggested, in addition to being just as strong as they looked.

Intro | Previous | Next

[continuing-studies]

Go to Asia with your family: Today was a good day

Since departing with a baby and a toddler on a three month journey far away from home, a lot of people have been asking my partner and me what it's like to do all this traveling with two small kids. It's not just our friends asking. We've often gotten the same questions from people we've met while we're out and about wearing our kids on our bodies, carrying all their stuff, and doing whatever we've decided to do that day.

Like most aspects of having children, traveling with them is.... different. For a start, as two working people, neither of us is used to spending the whole day with our kids. As troubling as this may sound, that was actually what I was the most worried about before the trip. In Berlin we rely heavily on daycare to store positive parenting energy that can then be discharged in the afternoons and evenings when we see our daughter for the first time in 7 hours.

Turns out, spending every day together has mostly been really fun (phew). Looking after a 2 1/2 year-old and her baby brother all day is still a lot of work. The thing is, the hard parts really aren't that much different whether we're at home or somewhere else in the world. So while each day for us still typically includes its fair share of little kid problems, we've still been enjoying a lot of what travel typically has to offer. If you are the type of person who likes the experience of traveling (we both are, not everyone is and that's okay too!), doing it with your kids is just another thing about your life that changes when you have them.

This next post talks about the experience coming to terms with that realization while on a beautiful island in Thailand. Be sure to read until the end for the true story of what happened at the end of one of our beach days last month. I think it sums everything up quite nicely.

Sunday 12 February 2023

Koh Lanta

The great sage Ice Cube dedicated one of the most famous hip hop songs in history to the importance of appreciating when one has had a truly good day.  A lesson to live by — especially when one’s days consist of looking after small children and all of their attendant hopes, dreams, and physical needs.

Going on a beach vacation with kids has necessitated coming to a new understanding of the word “relaxation”.  To begin with, Zara and I aren’t really used to taking trips where the goal is do nothing.  Before kids, it was common for us to fill a weekend or 5 day or 10 day trip with as many highlights as we could comfortably (and sometimes not-so-comfortably) see during the time available.  Maya slowed us down a bit, but not that much if we are being honest.  On the trips we've taken since she was born, we were consistently going on some adventure or another almost every other day.  Partly out of circumstance, both of our trips back to the US with only one child have featured significant to-ing and fro-ing, as we try to pack in as much time with family and friends and other special people as possible.  And the first month of this trip was like the Pakistan version of those visits to the US.

So as much as we were looking forward by the end of January to the promise of our month on this very relaxing island, I think it took us a few days to really come down.  The same may well have been true for Maya and Camino.  What I can say is that few things feel less conventionally relaxing to an adult than feeling irritable while cajoling a misbehaving toddler through a succession of beautiful and interesting places where you can’t stop thinking about how you really should be having a better time.  For all the heroes out there who cast dirty looks at parents struggling to manage their kids in public situations, I can guarantee that no one is having a worse time than the parent who is the object of such foolish and undiscerning scorn.  

After a few days of feeling this frustrating dynamic repeat itself (minus the dirty looks — people here are nice), I think a few things happened.  First, I asked myself if I really wanted to be the person I was seeing myself become.  Toddlers need boundaries, but at the same time I knew that we had to find an outlet for Maya’s physical energy that would be more fun than getting annoyed over and over at her frequent testing of limits.  Second, I think we had to discover a good routine here.  We started doing some "yoga" on the beach in the morning, which involved some actual yoga and a lot of redirected toddler energy, but overall it set a good tone for the day.  Hanging out at the beach and doing yoga were two things that I was looking forward to about being on this island before we came here.  Each day spent without doing yoga and without enough beach time therefore made me feel as if I was missing out, further fueling my cycle of being a grumpy papa on vacation.  

Finally, I think it dawned on Zara and me that we had to accept the pace of this trip for what it is.  I spent the first few days here feeling various additional levels of FOMO from looking around at all the interesting places to see on this island that would be either impractical or impossible to explore with our children at their current age.  The best way to get around Koh Lanta is via motorbike, which plenty of families do but is not really something that we have a desire to try.  We needed to acknowledge that against all of our previous traveling impulses, we would have to be okay with not doing as much on this trip and just be a little bit more strategic about what we do want to see. 

Which brings me back to Ice Cube.  Since adjusting our expectations of what we will manage to see and do while we’re here, we’ve discovered more of the charms of Khong Klong than ever.  On Friday (maybe it was Friday?) we decided that our big adventure would be to walk slightly further down the beach to a slightly different beach bar with slightly different loungers and hammocks, affordably priced food and drinks, and all of the other key features of just about every beach bar in Koh Lanta.  Zara had spotted this one a few days earlier after yoga and noted that the abundance of umbrellas would make it a good place to try if we wanted to go for a full day at the beach.  So we left in the morning with all of our beach stuff in hand, and a plan to stay out as long as we were all still having a good time.  I brought Maya’s backpack so she would have a place to take her nap in the middle of the afternoon. We prepared as many things for both Maya and Camino as we could possibly think of.  And I gotta say it was a good day!

Maya is a lot of fun right now at the beach.  She’s really into her sand toys, and loves filling the bucket with anything from sand to rocks to water to, naturally, a combination of all three.  She also really likes going into the water with us, and so far it’s been a good place to teach her about some important boundaries.  It would be interesting if there were any scientific information on how many times various guidelines about safety must be repeated to a child between the ages of 2 and 4 for them to reliably internalize it.  But it’s been cute and reassuring to hear the way that Maya, who is repeating everything right now, repeats lessons like “watch out for rocks in the water!” and “only with mama and papa in the water!” to herself even when I am not putting her on the spot.  In all, the combination of perfect sea temperatures and Maya’s general willingness to take safety guidance has made going into the ocean together a great experience that we can share.  When I’m lucky, after we’ve been in the water for a while Maya will go play with her sand toys on her own and I can submerge my entire body in the waist-high shallows of the water while watching her from a distance.  I keep hearing that parenting does get easier.

We went on like this for the entirety of Friday (?) afternoon - me getting into the water with Maya, us playing in the sand together, me washing off again in the ocean and relaxing while she busies herself with sand, us going into the water together again, walking back eventually to Zara after I’ve had enough and then letting them repeat the process together after a while.  We had managed to score a great home base on two loungers underneath an overhang, where we were fully shaded until the sun started to dip over the western-facing sea in the mid-afternoon and gradually chased us back.  All day we ordered a succession of fruit shakes and pad Thai and had a nice view of the comings and goings of this interesting beach.  Camino, for his part, seemed to have an enjoyable day lying in the shade while playing with sensory toys and getting his bare body cooled off with water every hour or so.  He got to go in the ocean a couple of times too.  Like his sister, he seems to really enjoy water.

That night I brought Maya back from the beach far past her bedtime, carrying both her and the backpack (why?) and also pushing our stroller.  Zara had gone home earlier with Camino, wearing him home in the wrap after he’d had some trouble going to sleep.  Maya and I had stayed late at the place we had wandered to for dinner, running around with Nola and Juno and the nice Swedish-American kids that we met on the beach earlier that same day.  By the time we walked up the hill to Pinky it was almost 21:30 and I was tired physically from carrying Maya and the stuff home for almost 20 minutes, but lifted by the adrenaline of a day where almost everything went right.  We read books and had a nice bedtime together. 

The next morning we continued our beach routine and had another really lovely time under the shade of a banyan tree at Meeting Point, the closest beach spot to us at the opposite end of Klong Khong.  In the evening, we went back to the beach to get some barbecued tuna.  We let Maya roam naked on the beach for awhile as she played with her toys.  We ate at a table in the sand.

At some point I stood up and saw what looked to be a small brown turd.  I immediately thought the worst, but Zara confidently reassured me that it was not from Maya.  She pointed toward the three dogs from one of the beach bars that were running around.  Both of our stress levels were starting to rise with the sound of Camino fussing from again being overtired.  It must have been one of the dogs, she insisted.   Zara said she was sure Maya hadn’t pooped on the beach.  I thought it unwise to push back any further.  

Clearly not fully sure of herself, Zara went to ask Maya if she needed to make poo poo.  It was at this point that Maya pointed back in the direction of the turd and Zara’s adamant denial was overridden by the rapid realization that Maya really had pooped on the beach.  She came back and told me the news.  I tried not to gloat about being right.  I was busy soothing Camino, so she was the one who had to use Maya’s toys to clean the turd from the sand.

Parenting.  Sometimes you have a great day and sometimes your kid takes a poo on the beach.  Sometimes, these two things happen in the same 24 hours.

What better metaphor exists for the experience of having small children?

[confinedmadness]

My Top 10 Movies

Chosen based completely on personal preferences, emotional attachment, and life impact, listed in no particular order. Spoiler warning for the movies listed.

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The Sound of Music

Almost 3 hours long, but I was completely focused the whole movie even as a child. I used to sing along to every song and practiced Edelweiss on the piano because I thought it was the most beautiful song ever. Granted, I used to turn away from the the TV screen during “Something Good” because apparently my kid self had very little appreciation for romance. But re-watching the movie as an adult really changes your perspective and I have even more appreciation for the different parts of this movie.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The whole Harry Potter film series was such a big part of my childhood that there was absolutely no way I wouldn’t list at least one movie. I decided on the first one not only because it started the whole thing, but also because it is the one Harry Potter movie I can recite all the lines for from memory. I watch all Harry Potter movies every year during Christmas with my sister. By virtue of being first, the first movie just happens to be the one we’ve repeated the most.

You are the Apple of My Eye

那些年，我們一起追的女孩

I first saw this movie when I was in college. I think, perhaps, it was the perfect age to watch this because everything was so relatable and so close to my reality that everything just hit that much harder. The story is beautiful and realistic. I just think this was so, so precious. When I’m feeling emotional, I love re-watching this movie and shedding a few tears here and there.

The Kite Runner

I wasn’t even in high school yet when I first saw this film. I remember the rape scene leaving such a big impact on me that “boys can get raped too” and “children can get raped too” was my biggest take away from this movie for the longest time. It wasn’t until I re-watched the movie in my last year of high school that the movie really left an impression on me as a story/film as a whole instead of just that one scene. The ending still gets me every single time.

Enter the Dragon

龍爭虎鬥

One of my first foreign-language films was Enter the Dragon. My dad is a big Bruce Lee fan and when the age of DVDs came, he bought a bunch of Bruce Lee movie DVDs and we all watched them together as a family. Enter the Dragon was probably the one we watched the most times. It was my first time having to read subtitles. I remember having such a hard time keeping up with the speed as a kid. In fact, watching Bruce Lee movies really helped me learn to read fast because otherwise I couldn’t understand the dialogue.

Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper

Barbie movies were a big part of my childhood. The Princess and the Pauper was my favorite among all of them and still is to this day. I will never tire of the music from this movie. I still remember all the songs. I even still remember the bloopers scenes they showed at the end of the movie.

Whisper of the Heart

耳をすませば

My favorite Ghibli movie is, without a doubt, Whisper of the Heart. Music and writing, two of my favorite things both in one movie. The lead girl is still one of the most relatable characters in any movie for me and maybe that’s why it is very close to my heart. No matter how great the other Ghibli films are and how much I also love them, Whisper of the Heart is dear to me because of my emotional attachment to it.

Haba-baba-doo! Puti-puti-poo!

A childhood staple, I remember watching this movie so many times as a kid. We have no CDs or DVDs of it, then and now. I only ever saw this when I happened to be watching TV when they showed this movie. But I still saw it enough times for it to stick with me until adulthood. I remember watching this with my siblings, my cousins, and our house helpers. I’ve watched this at our house, my grandma’s house, my aunt’s house, and even at a hotel room. A lot of chaos, comedy, and good feels.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

If I associated the Harry Potter films with Christmas, then New Year was for Narnia. I liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so much that I remember being not so impressed with the second and third movie that followed. As I grow older, I found that I have more and more appreciation for the later movies, but the first one does indeed have a special place in my heart.

Hercules

Another childhood film. To be honest, it wasn’t until after I entered college that I revisited this movie. I knew I enjoyed it as a kid but by then I didn’t even know the story anymore, just the songs that I kept hearing, as you do any other Disney song. I loved it so much on my re-watch that I kept repeating it, until my dad saw me watching it one day and commented how I used to memorize all the lines Hercules said as a kid. I don’t remember, but if dad is to be believed, I guess my taste in movies haven’t changed at all since then.

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Other movies I love, still in no particular order.

Joseph: King of Dreams was shown in my elementary school and I have loved it since.

White Chicks was a favorite to watch with my cousins at their house and good for laughs.

Rurouni Kenshin is, in my opinion, the best manga/anime live-action adaptation ever.

Heneral Luna is a great historical film with perfectly modernized dialogue, to appeal to a younger audience without destroying its essence.

High School Musical was a huge part of my youth and still a great film musical to watch even as an adult.

[gisellelx]

Twilight Advent, Day 14

Masterpost/prompts

Dec. 14 - Tell us something Bella loves about Edward and something Edward loves about Bella (not mentioned in the saga).

Count me, too, among the "really, you two?" shippers. I am Team Everybody Needs To Grow Up and Probably Also Go To Therapy. I am just fundamentally not here for that part of the story (and yes I have the gall to call the central romance a part of the story!). But I am here for the larger story, which means I've had to think about the role these two play

But again with my "sticking to 2022 for these headcanons" attempt, here's a thing that I hope happens for them in the intervening years. Parenthood (or so I understand from watching siblings and friends because I'll be damned if I'm having children) usually causes people to have a reckoning about who their partner is. Sometimes that's for the bad, but often it's just a new way to appreciate things you love about your partner.

So I think they both love seeing the other interact with Renesmee. Bella thinks it's silly the way that Edward spoils her when she's young, but finds it endearing the way he still slips her $100 cash when she comes to visit even though she has just as much money as any other Cullen. Edward likes how much his daughter has grown up to look like his wife, and every one of her mannerisms that she picks up from Bella causes him to appreciate that mannerism even more He likes how stern she is, and how she worries sometimes even more than he does; he liked the way Renesmee brought out Bella's silly side as she grew.

My hope, as Team Everybody Needs to Grow Up is that Renesmee did exactly that. She forced Edward and Bella to grow up; to see more of each other's faults (Edward spoiled her but also had a short fuse and sometimes had outbursts of frustration; Bella often overlooked Renesmee's needs in favor of Edward's or Jacob's and failed to take a longer view of childrearing) and to actually talk about them on the surface instead. They fought to the point of screaming and crying over differences in their parenting styles; they were forced to acknowledge that they would actually have to compromise or gasp! agree to not agree. This let them actually mature beyond the still-besotted seventeen-year-olds they are at the end of Breaking Dawn—made them wiser, more resilient, and let them move into a more adult form of love.

[measuringbliss]

Reading through His Dark Materials (Book 2) 2/2 (Chapters 10 to 15)

Check the first part if you haven't.

CH10

On one hand I'm still not really interested in Lee Scoresby, but if it means we also get to see Ruta's confrontation with Lord Asriel...

I wonder if Pullman had planned for this whole Grumman plot thingie when he wrote the first book. Is it wise of Lee to tell Grumman everything, though? I thought Asriel was protecting Grumman by faking the latter's death, which would imply they're allies.

So Grumman comes from another world right? He was probably part of John's expedition. I guess we can assume he *is* John. ...Oh, the next line literally says that. Okay. WAIT A SECOND. JOPARI? JOHN PARRY? OH MY GOD HOW COULD I MISS THAT?! Gosh I hope Will gets to reunite with him but I have a feeling he won't. So Lord Asriel was *not* part of the expedition. Huh. SO PARRY *IS* AN ALLY OF ASRIEL. OH MY GOD. PARRY REJECTING THE WITCH MAKES SENSE NOW.

CH11

Dear Mr. Pullman I do not need to see another description about Will's hurt hand.

I appreciate how real Lyra feels; she talks a lot about killing so-and-so and yeah, that's something a child would say. Talking about real, the scene of the children attacking Will and Lyra reminds me a lot of those happy times I was bullied. Masterful.

OMG SERAFINA ;-; Separating the children from the adults vertically is an interesting idea...

CH12

Are the Spectres the manifestation of repressed Dust from our world?

*Of course* he'd want to make military use of their research. Of course. Fuck. I hate this conundrum.

OH MY GOD. THE DUST IS ANGELS?!?!?!?!?!?! OH. SO. THIS MEANS A LOT OF THINGS. WHAT THE HELL. So I was right to think about the alethiometer's goal! It must be on Asriel's side. Wow. WOW. OH WOW. OH MY GOD. THIS IS SO COOL. I'M SO HYPED.

CH13

I'm not sure we (the readers) needed that much recap, it's happened a few times in the book by now and I guess it's also to keep the reader aware of what transpired, but still.

I'm disappointed we didn't get to see Ruta's meeting with Asriel! A summary doesn't satisfy my thirst. So did they fuck? I think it's a central question. An essential question. It's implied but it's weird, isn't it? Why would Ruta do that? We know she had a relationship with him, but she had *business*. With that said, it would explain why Pullman didn't show us the meeting proper...

Will and Lord Asriel are of the same race? Huh. Hmm.

So Mrs Coulter was Asriel's mistress? That's why their union was shameful, then.

CH14

I have ADHD, the Specters would never attack me lmao

See, THIS is a chapter I would have been satisfied seeing summarized. Lee Scoresby and his adventures continually fail to interest me, in part I think because they seem like your typical adventure story. Also, we're almost at the end of the book!!!! Is this really the time? I didn't need an action climax.

Well at least he's dead, so this issue shouldn't be present in the next book. Also, Serafina did fuck all. I thought she was going to help Lee but nope.

CH15

I HATE THIS MOTHERFUCKING APE.

(Mrs. Coulter is protected by The Plot. Lena can't harm her because The Plot dictates that Mrs. Coulter survives. IT'S THE PLOT!!!!!! I'm beginning to think she has a divine protection.)

Seeing ~Marisa~ seduce ~Carlo~ might be the most disgusting thing I've ever read.

Oh. So Æsahættr is just the subtle knife. I was expecting more but alright. I guess it's the only weapon that can harm God.

It's the second time a member of the Church tries to poison someone, I'm beginning to think it's a commentary, but surely the author wouldn't do that...

EVE? LYRA IS GONNA BECOME EVE? WHAT? THE SNAKE??? DIDN'T SOMEONE ASK SOMEONE ELSE TO BE THE SNAKE???? Wait. I thought Lyra would kill God but she's not supposed to?

...IS THIS JOHN? Wait, but Mrs Coulter and the dude both want a different outcome for the war. Is Mrs. Coulter on Asriel's side or not? YES. IT'S JOHN. TELL HIM, JOHN. FUCKING TELL HIM.

NO

FUCK THIS

OH MY GOD THIS WITCH

THIS FUCKING WITCH

I KNEW SHE'D BE TROUBLE. I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!!!!!

aaaaaaaah fuckkkkk

OH MY GOD *THIS* IS HOW IT ENDS?! ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh

______________________________________________

I have to let things simmer a bit, but overall I really enjoyed the book. Can't see myself waiting for long before reading the third. What a sudden ending. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!