#yaya I’m 25 now

[angiemaniac]

You know what’s funnier than 24? 25

[accio-victuuri]

This will be a short discussion of what I originally planned regarding yibo endorsing national / homegrown brands recently and what it all means when talking about the bigger picture. and by that I mean, the connection between celebrities in CHN & nationalism as well as the increasing tension between CHN and other countries. As much as we all wanna live in a bubble of fandom where it’s all pretty boys & happiness, real life isn’t going that way.

I think Yibo knows that too and it’s influencing his choices. He had a personal experience with this — the whole NIKE fiasco in 2020 definitely was a lesson to him and his team. The risk of endorsing big international brands as a Chinese celebrity is real. It happened before and it may ( or will ) happen again. You never know what issue is going to pop up and suddenly, it’s all gone. We have seen time and again how the CCP can quickly direct these celebrities to sing and dance in whatever tune they like.

Let’s start with the biggest one he signed on to right after the whole nike fiasco. ANTA. It’s on record that as soon as WYB dropped Nike, there was a bidding of sorts on who is the domestic brand that will get him. ANTA wasn’t the highest offer, but he chose them because they are a national brand.

Then the list just goes on. A couple of these are due for renewal this year but just to illustrate which brands he is working with since 2021:

(In no particular order)

Redmi, Lenovo, Youku, Pechoin, Chunzhen, Super X, Bananain, Master Kong Iced Tea, Kelly One, Linsy, Bottled Joy, IKIDE, Helen Keller Glasses, SKG, Stride, Tokit, Chando, Unicharm, Rotai

I could be missing 1 or 2 but it’s a lot. for someone who averages 25-30 brands in a year all holding his name as endorser, the number of domestic ones is a lot.

This trend became more evident when looking at his new endorsements this year (2023):

5 out of the 6 brands are domestic.

It’s the reason why I had the urge to make this post, especially with him being announced as YAYA’s chief spokesperson. Personally, the last domestic brand surge I remember was 2021 and there were a couple of articles written about that. This year, the domestic brands are at it again and tapping celebrities to get more attention. It says a lot that these brands picked Yibo to represent this growth. It’s easy to sign on to a well known brand with a string of high profile endorsers before you, so this is again, a testament to Yibo’s character. He is not afraid to lend his name and reputation to the Nameless/Unknown ( i had to reference it i’m sorry lol ). He takes into consideration not just his growth but also his people, these Chinese companies who are fighting with brand titans.

He is also the go-to choice because his good reputation and appeal to the younger generation.

I think Wang Yibo’s age is more in line with this social group. He is a very positive young man. Recently, Wang Yibo is in the process of transforming from an idol to a powerful actor. He is more in line with the youthfulness of our future brand. (quote from tailing’s president )

I have taken this screenshot from an article by jingdaily that is worth a read. another factor is the general population’s preference as well. whether this is something that yibo & his team is taking into consideration, we don’t know but with the choices they are making i guess the answer is obvious.

This year too, I have noticed a shift in c-ent with celebrities being courted by international brands who thinks it’s safe (for) now to be visible in the CHN market again. I have no beef with these celebrities, you gotta do what you gotta do. International brand deals are hella lucrative and some luxury ones are considered an honor to be a part of. I mean even Yibo is very visible in promoting Chanel.

I get the lure of big brand endorsements but that doesn’t take away the reality of what could happen and that planning ahead is important. Yibo is more capable than people give him credit for. I think a lot of people underestimate his ability to look at a situation and make decisions that will benefit his career in the long run. To put it simply, if and when things go south in the political side of things he is prepared and there won’t be much of a loss in the endorsement side of things. It’s a very smart business move and you can add patriotic points too so that makes it perfect.

Yibo is really the one who walks the talk. This saying really applies to him more than anyone cause that is his essence as a person — you will see the truth in him with what he does. His actions speaks volumes. He will take a stand on what he believes in even if everyone else is going the opposite direction. 🤍

DISCLAIMER: This post is very much about Yibo if you couldn’t already tell, and my observation as a fan. It’s not meant to compare him to other CHN celebrities cause I don’t have the time and interest in making a comparison study of who has the most domestic brand endorsements. If another stan finds this and is somehow offended in behalf of their fave, it’s not my fault. Feel free to make your own post talking about how great your fave is. Thank you!

[real-british-empire]

0: Height 151 cm

1: Age 16 :p

2: Shoe size 4-5

3: Do you smoke? I have, but don’t anymore

4: Do you drink? Whenever I have the chance 👁️👁️

5: Do you take drugs? No

6: Age you get mistaken for Depends, sometimes like 12, sometimes 17+

7: Have tattoos? No :(

8: Want any tattoos? YAYA

9: Got any piercings? Yup

10: Want any piercings? Ye

11: Best friend? Ya his name is Johnny

12: Relationship status Single, ready to mingle, no one wants to mingle with me though and I high key don’t blame them

13: Biggest turn ons biting, violence, literally anything sexual, being picked up

14: Biggest turn offs Discriminatory language, anything to do with trump and other such figures, not to kink shame but piss kinks and shit kinks (sorry)

15: Favorite movie DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE

16: I’ll love you if… You’re nice to me or at least willing to tolerate me and aren’t a trump supporter or homophobic/xenophobic etc, as well as wanting to make things work and I would LIKE physical affection (being a very physically affectionate person myself) but I can go without

17: Someone you miss My great nan—she died in January :(

18: Most traumatic experience Between June this year and October last year. October last year, I got caught doing SH for the second time that year and my mum beat the shit out of me 😍😍

and June this year, I’d got in trouble at school for being late with my art coursework not too long before, and had spent all day doing it that day, but wasn’t finished by the end of it, so my mum lost her shit and, again, beat the living crap out of me. So, after a lot of persuasion from my best friend, I decided to tell my councillor, who then told the school, who told social services, who told my mother. Of course, again, she went ape shit and started calling me manipulative and spoilt and a liar and blah blah blah and going on about how she’d lose her job (she’s a cop) and how we wouldn’t have any money and I’d never be allowed to go out with my friends again and I’d never get anymore birthday presents (because this was a week before my birthday) or have any privileges etc etc, making me feel bad for spilling even though I knew I’d get her in trouble (I thought my councillor wouldn’t tell if I asked her not to, but I was honestly too distressed when I did anyway). eventually she calmed down and promised not to hit me anymore and that she’d try to control her temper/what she says when she’s angry (she failed the second part VERY quickly) and I pretty much had to go back to school and lie, saying that what I said wasn’t true and I was doing it to get out of homework. And now I can’t open up to my new councillor, like, at all!! 😃😃😃

19: A fact about your personality Uh.. I’m INFP-T if that’s useful?

20: What I hate most about myself Most things, idk, looks, humour, personality, voice, stupid genitals

21: What I love most about myself I’m good at not getting angry ig?

22: What I want to be when I get older Literally anything to do with art because I can’t do anything else (well, I could, but I can’t do anything else and not hate my job)

23: My relationship with my sibling(s) Two half brothers on my dads side (I don’t see them much but I LOVW THEMMMM so so so so much I love them) and a little little sister (she’s a goblin and a little spoilt but oh well)

24: My relationship with my parent(s) I love my dad, even if he’s not here all the time

and my mum.. anything positive with her is like trying to light a fire with wet wood

25: My idea of a perfect date Literally anything, I won’t complain (please love me, I’m desperate)

26: My biggest pet peeves Trump 👁️👁️, again, discriminating, uh.. forcing your religion onto other people (love you religious girlies, you do you, especially if you find it fulfilling etc, but please don’t use it as an excuse to hate people or force other people into it—that’s not okay!! :( ) and eating kitkats wrong

27: A description of the girl/boy I like Uh.. strong chin, curtain bangs, brownish blond hair, nice boobs, he’s very nice and funny, he’s like pure English

and I also like this girl—she’s got bleach blond and brown hair, wears glasses, gets called emo a lot, very funny too, from turkey (we’ve done.. things, but I’m pretty sure I’m more of a side piece—not that I mind, I’ll take what I can get and I’m pleased with only being there when she wants me)

If never pursue anything with them though, I don’t want to tie them down (they can both do a lot better and deserve a lot better 💀)

28: A description of the person I dislike the most Frizzy brown hair, punchable face, kinda chubby, very heavy handed, annoying as hell and mixed race (got stuck in a friendship with them for 8 years, turns out they’re like really manipulative and just not a very nice person over all 😐)

29: A reason I’ve lied to a friend Because I don’t want to upset them/bother them with my problems :(

30: What I hate the most about work/school The constant demand for hard work and very little consideration for student wellbeing

31: What my last text message says

[Pic of me at comic con in cosplay, mext to someone in a blow up dinosaur suit that’s Deadpool themed] ”Johnny took a crappy photo but DINOPOOOOOL 😍😍😍😍”

32: What words upset me the most Honestly, can’t decide, but they’re all from my mum

33: What words make me feel the best about myself “You’re my best friend and I love you so so much”

34: What I find attractive in women

35: What I find attractive in men

^^for both of these, I have like literally NO criteria—I’m not one for looks, and can’t really afford to care regardless. I just like boobs (of all kinds)

36: Where I would like to live The countryside ☺️

37: One of my insecurities My boobs (I want to cHOP THEM OFFFF)

38: My childhood career choice Uh.. I didn’t work as a kid 🌚 but I wanted to be a scientist, a zoologist, an artist, a chef and a bunch of other things all at the same time (I was.. ambitious, let’s say—I only pursued art though£

39: My favorite ice cream flavor Caramel :P

40: Who I wish I could be Literally anyone close to Hugh Jackman (ONE CHANCE HUGH PLEASESEEE 😭😭😭)

41: Where I want to be right now The void

42: The last thing I ate A chocolate yoghurt

43: Sexiest person that comes to my mind immediately HUGH JACKMAN

44: A random fact about anything They say fuck 118 times in Deadpool and Wolverine… that’s a franchise record.

Are you ok?/gen

[slipinit]

TS/TV Escorts - Coventry UK - BirchPlace

Hi babe 

I have been trying your phone number but it’s not working, can you please text me 07788567855

[the-kk-crow]

Dreamtale Sans Update

As always make sure to check his website for the newest download links if you need them :D

This update was fun to do. It’s mostly a lot of polishing, and efforts into making the character feel more alive. Something something tomagachi.

Additions:

Sit mode - After 15 minutes of no interaction, Night will sit down and read through his book and have other sitting-specific dialogue. This means no more jarring standing/sitting up randomly while clicking through menus! Mildly related, he starts complaining if you leave him out for hours at a time.

New Main Pose - The new one has a lot more positions and will change expression depending on how much he likes you/how comfortable he is being there. [Old one for reference]

Stats Menu - The configuration menu has been reworked into a stats menu, where you can check all sorts of numbers and easily change things around. Most importantly it tells you stuff like your LV and relationship points.

More Item Dialogue - More responses to you giving him stuff! no more stuff added, though. Just like “give thing” has more responses.

More Random Dialogue - A lot of the old dialogue was contradictory with the LORE so it had to be replaced. + I made some new stuff as well, lol.

New Pick Up Pose - A new pick-up pose specifically for the good route! So now there are three, normal, bad, and good.

Shadow - Added a little shadow under all his pickup frames so it’s easier to tell where you’re going to set him! Idea from me and Zarla working on Spamton, lol

Updated to Newest Yaya - Not even I’m sure exactly what this means, but I know that the newest version has 69 in it’s current name, so

More Booting Dialogue - I added and reworked a bunch of the dialogue for when you close and open him. + One event added that’s locked to positive route.

More Questions - FINALLY geez. Three new questions added, one asking about his soul (which has different responses depending on your relationship with him), one about his crown (same deal), and a third asking about the weird boot sequence I mentioned ??

Bugfixes:

Positive Route FINALLY WORKS. There was a bunch of content that got locked off because I made some typos. Yep. Expect Night to complain about his name or something eventually.

Sleepmode - Basically there was supposed to be dialogue that’s supposed to play before he goes to sleep, but instead there’s none and he just RANDOMLY goes to sleep during the afternoon. This is fixed, so now there’s dialogue for it AND it happens less frequently.

Typo Fixes - Expected every update but especially this one because it’s mostly just polishing.

Sitting Talking - Sometimes when he talked while he was sitting it looked kind of weird.

Blushiemode Dialogue - A lot of the normal dialogue would become locked when you entered blushiemode. This is no longer an issue.

More Dialogue...? - WAIT you ask, WHY IS THIS IN THE BUGFIX SECTION?!? Well you SEE, much of my dialogue is relationship based! If he likes you enough, you unlock more things for him to say! If you have 15 relationship points, he’ll get five new things to say, if you get 25, there are more, ect ect.

Issue was, that SSP had a bug where that it would only pick ONE THING from each folder to say, before it looped and started repeating dialogue. Which meant that DOZENS of the pieces of dialogue I wrote were completely inaccessible! This included REQUIRED STORY PROGRESSION LOCKS, so that meant you could only get so far into the positive (and possibly negative) route before you were unable to progress anymore!

...This is fixed.

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[997]

Hi everyone or antyone who's gonna actually read all this

c’est moi Yaya FKA tumblr user @997 a non-presenting trans woman living with my non binary little sister and lesbian mom on the world’s 7th deadliest/most dangerous cities in the world, Fortaleza, and who's been thru hell and back the last few years as some of y'all may know and yes this is a donation post so if you’re familiar with our story and have some coin to spare scroll down to get my info but if you don’t and is willing to read all this here is why I need your help more than ever:

My mom never had a real job. She had me at 19 and my father who is a military promised to provide for her while she would take care of the baby and the house. It was old fashioned but here in northeast brazil people were still kinda living like it was the 40s in 1993. Everything she had that produced income was temporary and unstable and dangerous, like working on a drugstore and getting robbed thrice a week, convincing people to make credit cards on our town’s main square all day long walking by feet under a 90° sun to get paid like $600 a month… and it wasn't even close to enough to keep two kids (my little sis had just been born back then) and lead a decent life, since it was one my parent’s longest break ups. But that was when she was finally able to get a high school degree, at the age of 30.

Ten years later, in 2014, I convinced her, after 25 years married to my incredibly toxic father that blamed HER (who was drunk) for being sexually assaulted by his brother, and used this through my entire childhood and adolescence as an excuse to cheat on her many times with many different women. We also had to deal with my father being chemically dependent to drugs since he was 18yo, which led to many missed opportunities and irresponsibly spent money, which would always take its toll on our finances. tea is we never rlly spent a single month without hustling a lot to get basic living. Maybe once for 3 years exactly when I was born and he got into the army, but that was it.

Nowadays both me and my mom work part time at this place teaching little kids their home-works to get paid a little less than $180 dollars each/a month. Six months ago my father managed to cut my alimony off and now only pays my sister’s alimony which basically pays for our three bedroom half-house. The other bills & food & gas is paid by our salary + the graphic design freelance thingies I get every once in a while and when she has enough courage to UBER.

We’ve been living together for a year now, from 2010—2017 I was living with my father’s sister, an incredibly toxic aunt that would disguise her fatphobia and motherly issues that she has with her sociopathic daughter as overprotectiveness and control and compulsion towards me. So yeah, I’m just glad we’re finally getting this time to be an actual family together but it has been tough since our financial conditions been unstable. So thats why I am asking for yalls help: My mom needs money to start this radiography course that takes 2 years and it costs an amount of money that is completely out of our budget (like 2k dollars) but it can get discounted up to 45% if we pay everything in advance, or get like 20% off if we pay every month without delay. So yeah if you have any coin to spare, help would be much appreciated since a dollar/euro costs 3-4 times more than our money and a pound up to 5 times more! my paypall is j.freitasteixeira@gmail.com and you HAVE to use the "pay for good or services" option cause it’s still the only way some countries get to receive paypal transactions as of now (and yeah they tax over the transaction but what can I do)

if you dont have the coin but follow me and like my content or just empathize with my story please reblog this post! <3

[aion-rsa]

Robert Rodriguez on We Can Be Heroes and How Pedro Pascal Reminds Him of Harrison Ford

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Robert Rodriguez is a man of many hats – in every sense of the word.

While he has been known to rock a fedora or two down the years, the idiom is more a reflection of his “one-man film crew” approach to movie-making, with Rodriguez known for not only writing, and directing but also doing everything from editing to operating the camera.

It’s also a reflection of his ability to turn his hand to disparate genres and movies aimed and markedly different audiences. 

Having made his name with movies like El Mariachi and From Dusk till Dawn, the new millennium saw Rodriguez’s career take a surprising turn into the world of family-orientated action with Spy Kids. 

A major success with critics and audiences alike, the film spawned three further sequels, with Rodriguez even roping in Sylvester Stallone for the third and fourth efforts.

Since then, he has happily flipped back and forth between the two worlds, with 2005’s The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl sandwiched in between work on Sin City and Planet Terror.

It’s a pretty stark contrast in cinematic terms but one Rodriguez happily explains while speaking to Den of Geek about his latest movie, We Can Be Heroes, a superhero movie about a group of kids forced to do battle with alien invaders who have kidnapped their superhero parents.

“You are using the same skills. You just have a different mindset as far as tone. It’s just like if you’re at work or out with your buddies, you’ve got one way of talking and then when you go home and you’re with your kids it’s dad time. You have your dad hat on.

“When I make these movies, I have the dad hat on and then when I am out with my buddies that’s Sin City mode, that’s Machete mode. That’s when that other side of me comes out.”

While the kids take centre stage in We Can Be Heroes, they are ably supported by an impressive adult cast that includes Boyd Holbrook, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christian Slater and Pedro Pascal.

It was the first time Pascal and Rodriguez had worked together, but it wouldn’t be the last. While working post-production on We Can Be Heroes, Rodriguez was recruited by Jon Favreau to direct an episode of The Mandalorian.

As such, he knows more than most about what makes Pascal such an engaging and intriguing presence on the screen.

“He reminds me of Harrison Ford in a way, he’s like this everyman type guy. He can be funny, he can be really intense, he can be very heroic but in We Can Be Heroes he kind of has to be a dweebish dad where it’s just all about him and his daughter [YaYa Gosselin].” 

“He played that really well and was then also able to become this superhero. He can be very human and warm. In The Mandalorian he does a similar type of thing but with that heart. But he can play intense too. He’s got a wide range.” 

“He reminds me of some of my favourite actors that I have worked with before like George Clooney. That’s why he’s got such a big career right now. People can see that he’s very much able to do 180 degrees in any direction.”

Working on The Mandalorian served as a stark contrast to his efforts on We Can Be Heroes but Rodriguez believes it definitely informed the making of this film.

“The Mandalorian is wonderful because you’ve got such a great big crew and they all know what they are doing and it’s a well-oiled machine. Jon Favreau is there, Dave Filoni is there, so I can just go in and direct.  

“It was great to take a little break, go play with all the Star Wars toys and then come back and apply what I learned there to We Can Be Heroes, because they have a lot of cutting-edge technologies and techniques. I think this movie really benefited from side projects like that and Alita.”

We Can Be Heroes has been billed by some as a sequel to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl but Rodriguez is keen to stress that this film doesn’t take place in the same universe.

“I wrote this as an original story for Netflix because they found movies like Sky Kids and Shark Boy and Lava Girl played really well on their service. Also, it is so rare to have live-action kids adventures for the whole family.” 

“I love the genre so I came up with the idea for We Can Be Heroes where you have this adult Avengers-style team and then have little kids with superior powers but they don’t know how to use them.”

“I was surprised that there had never been superheroes that were kids, except for Shark Boy and Lava Girl back in the day, even after all these superhero movies and TV shows and spin-offs and reboots. I thought it was ripe for the taking.”

“The first script I turned in didn’t have Shark Boy or Lava Girl in it. But then I just thought let’s borrow their characters and bring them in as parents because it will help legitimise the adult team to have someone recognisable.  It was more like we borrowed them. It’s not set in that universe.”

Working on the film has certainly given Rodriguez an appreciation for the superhero genre, which he would be keen to explore in future movies though he does note that it’s a genre that could benefit from more diversity.

“I think superhero films are just like westerns. It’s really about the story being told through that genre.” 

“That’s why people live in there. It’s not because they’re superheroes it’s because the stories are relatable.” 

“The superhero genre is still really vital. There’s a lot of room to grow. I think it could use more diversity and I know I could bring that. So yeah, I would be interested in continuing with it.”

Rodriguez has always been a strong advocate for representation on the screen and once cited his biggest creative victory as having the kids in Spy Kids be part of a Latino family.

In that sense, We Can Be Heroes is another big win with the film’s cast of 11 child superheroes notable for featuring a female lead, several black and Asian characters and a boy with special abilities who uses a wheelchair.

“I’m always looking to do that in my films since the beginning and that was what I liked about this early,” Rodriguez explains.

“It’s just something that was very organic to the story because the adult superhero team would have been assembled from the best of the best all over the world. That works well with this audience too with Netflix movies going out all at once all over the world.”

Still, having such a large ensemble cast created something of a logistical nightmare when it came time to shoot the film.

“You ask any director what is the most difficult scene to do and they will say a dinner scene. A dinner scene where there are like 10 people around a table because you have got to shoot a wide shot and then you have got to shoot everybody in there talking to each other. Close ups of everybody. “

“It’s very tedious because you have got 10 or 11 people and that’s what this whole movie was because there are 11 kids in every scene because they are all together, they’re not split up. 

“I had to wrangle them for every shot and make sure they all had a very specific thing to do.  We only had six hours a day, that’s like half a work day. So that was a challenge.”

While Rodriguez insists he makes kids films “purely for the innocence of children” with no adult jokes that go over their heads, We Can Be Heroes does feature a US President, played by Happy Gilmore’s Christopher McDonald, who audiences are initially told sleeps in until 12 and struggles to put a sentence together. Could this be a reference to anyone in particular?

Rodriguez laughs at this suggestion. 

“It’s funny because I really did think maybe the adults would laugh at that but when we tested it to an audience in one of the earliest versions before the pandemic hit, kids laughed the most. So, they all thought they knew what we were talking about.”

Ultimately, he insists that was simply “misdirection” as part of the film’s wider message about the importance of parents being role models to their kids in order to ensure they make the world a better place because, as Rodriguez puts it, “obviously we’ve screwed this place up.”

“It’s designed to be something to inspire the next generation. It’s supposed to show that the world is kind of falling apart. That adults are not working together – just like the adult superhero team shows. 

“There are constant battles within the group and this only underlines the problems in not being able to see eye to eye, to make a compromise, to make concessions, to make things work.”

Rodriguez hopes that while We Can Be Heroes entertains it also encourages better communication among parents and children to ensure the same mistakes found in society today, which have been drawn into sharp focus over the past 12 months, are not repeated.

“The kids need mentors; they need role models. Parents have to step up and be better examples and kids have to know that they are the future. They have to do things a better way and they are going to have better ideas.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

We Can Be Heroes is available on Netflix from 25th December.

The post Robert Rodriguez on We Can Be Heroes and How Pedro Pascal Reminds Him of Harrison Ford appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/34AHbf6

[coffeebased]

Would it be terrible if I kept doing this: popping onto WordPress once a year, for a week, just to chirp energetically about the things I’d done the previous year, before disappearing into the aether? Who would sanction me? Other than myself, of course, but I think that I have enough things to distract my conscience. My annually-updated reading blog hardly takes precedence over my other responsibilities and the reparations that have swallowed up my life.

  I know that I was due one more blog post in January 2019, about reading stats being compared across the years. How convenient it is that that is exactly what I shall be doing now, here in January 2020.

  My ideal posting schedule for 2020 will be as follows:

  2019 Books I have read and my 10 favourite ones (right now! Oh, happy day!)

2019 Reading Statistics (1/11)

Reading Statistics: 2013-2019 (1/18)

Goal-setting for 2020 (1/25)

  This was the system I tried to implement last year. Two out of three posts completed is still a failing mark. And goodness knows if I will manage to stick to that schedule this year, let alone what happens after those posts. That’s every Saturday for January settled. In previous years I used to do everything in one big post and that was great, like, very cathartic, but posts had gotten more and more unwieldy.

  This is such a heartening beginning to a blog post: complete abandonment to the four winds. No commitment! Just my own satisfaction. In 2020, forget overpromising, we are lackadaisically mentioning that we have some ideas that may or may not push through.

  I read 126 books in 2019! You can view the complete list: here. It’s the second least number of books I’ve read since I started documenting my reading habits in 2013. I’m not really surprised since I spent most of the year gathering data in the field or studying. More on that in succeeding blog posts.

  Previous year-end reading posts are here: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 a b|.

  My Ten Favourite Books from Those I Read in 2019

    The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

  In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet that will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question what it means to be “human”.

Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley

  If you work hard enough, if you want it enough, if you’re smart and talented and “good enough,” you can do anything.Except get pregnant.Her whole life, Lucy Knisley wanted to be a mother. But when it was finally the perfect time, conceiving turned out to be harder than anything she’d ever attempted. Fertility problems were followed by miscarriages, and her eventual successful pregnancy plagued by health issues, up to a dramatic, near-death experience during labor and delivery.This moving, hilarious, and surprisingly informative memoir not only follows Lucy’s personal transition into motherhood but also illustrates the history and science of reproductive health from all angles, including curious facts and inspiring (and notorious) figures in medicine and midwifery. Whether you’ve got kids, want them, or want nothing to do with them, there’s something in this graphic memoir to open your mind and heart.

    The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie

  For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven’s Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven’s watch, the city flourishes.

But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods.

It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo–aide to Mawat, the true Lease–arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven’s Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself…and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever.

    Lent by Jo Walton

  Young Girolamo’s life is a series of miracles.

It’s a miracle that he can see demons, plain as day, and that he can cast them out with the force of his will. It’s a miracle that he’s friends with Pico della Mirandola, the Count of Concordia. It’s a miracle that when Girolamo visits the deathbed of Lorenzo “the Magnificent,” the dying Medici is wreathed in celestial light, a surprise to everyone, Lorenzo included. It’s a miracle that when Charles VIII of France invades northern Italy, Girolamo meets him in the field, and convinces him to not only spare Florence but also protect it. It’s a miracle than whenever Girolamo preaches, crowds swoon. It’s a miracle that, despite the Pope’s determination to bring young Girolamo to heel, he’s still on the loose… and, now, running Florence in all but name.

That’s only the beginning. Because Girolamo Savanarola is not who—or what—he thinks he is. He will discover the truth about himself at the most startling possible time. And this will be only the beginning of his many lives.

    A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

  Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn’t an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan’s unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

    Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero O’Connell

  Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.

Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever.

Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.

    Tiempo Muerto by Caroline Hau

  Two women meet on the island where they shared a childhood. One is looking for her mother, the other her yaya. One is an Overseas Filipino Worker, the other an heiress. In an old bahay na bato haunted by scandal and tragedy, secrets and ghosts, the women find their lives entangled and face the challenge of refusing their predetermined fates and embracing their open futures.

    Gideon the Ninth, The Locked Tomb #1 by Tamsyn Muir

  The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

    Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker

  This is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten.

A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all.

To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge-building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.

    Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino

  Trick Mirror is an enlightening, unforgettable trip through the river of self-delusion that surges just beneath the surface of our lives. This is a book about the incentives that shape us, and about how hard it is to see ourselves clearly in a culture that revolves around the self. In each essay, Jia writes about the cultural prisms that have shaped her: the rise of the nightmare social internet; the American scammer as millennial hero; the literary heroine’s journey from brave to blank to bitter; the mandate that everything, including our bodies, should always be getting more efficient and beautiful until we die.

  Thanks for bearing with me. Keep a weather eye for the next post.

[Reading] My 10 favourite books from 2019 Would it be terrible if I kept doing this: popping onto Wordpress once a year, for a week, just to chirp energetically about the things I'd done the previous year, before disappearing into the aether?

[excellynt]

Ukagaka Dreams and Shining Support

The Ukagaka Dream Team community has come a long ways in the last year. We started out with just a handful of us on discord, surviving on @zarla-s​ ghost template+guide, google translate, and raw determination. We’ve grown to around 200 members, including 50 people currently working on a ghost, 25 of which have published a ghost of their own! Some already published their first ghost, but many began their ghost dev journey within our community, and cite the support of the UDT as a major contributor to their project’s completion and even as a source of personal growth. 

Last November we even made contact with the JP Ghost Dev community, including the creator of SSP and maintainer of the AYA/YAYA language we program ghosts with! Ponapalt has been awesome in helping us catch up to our JP dev counterparts and even updating SSP with new features on our behalf! 

A while ago I started a Patreon to help offset the costs of buying FTP hosting for the @ukagakadreamteam server’s ghost devs, to have in-house hosting available for those without their own website. It’s also a way for members and friends to show their appreciation for all the effort I’ve put into making our community as wonderful as it is. 

I didn’t advertise it too much because I feel weird accepting money for stuff I consider a hobby, so it was just to cover the server costs. But... 

Money is really tight right now. 

I had to drop all of my patreon subscriptions last month. I barely scraped enough to pay for rent, my credit card is close to maxing out, and things are looking grim for the coming months. 

Getting evicted would definitely put a delay on any ghost development, heh. I’d move in with my parents so I wouldn’t be homeless. Even then, I may end up on a few months hiatus due to my depressed anxiety brain telling me I’m useless and incompetent, if I don’t get some financial support from somewhere. 

I have so much planned for MVSans, YBFFlowey, and even The Little Prince ghost. But I can’t see them through without help from all of you. I appreciate all of the User Reports, like I can’t even express how much they aid my development process! But screenshots won’t put food on my table, keep a roof over my head, or pay for my cat’s and my own medical bills, and ultimately that’s the biggest determination in whether I can keep up development. 

Patreon is a fantastic platform for creators such as myself, to receive financial assistance from followers like you, in order to keep creating the content that you love. You pledge a few dollars a month as a subscription of support and you’ll receive some awesome benefits based on how much you choose to pledge! 

These are the benefit tiers I offer for those able to give financial support! 

—Your name appears here as a Candlelight Patron! —Access to patron-only posts and previews of future updates on Patreon! —Instant invite to the Ukagaka Dream Team Discord Server, with special username colors! —Access to Patrons-Only discord channel and Ghost Dev streams!

your name could be here

...

—Your name appears here as a Sunlight Patron! —All of the previous tiers benefits with patron-exclusive content and Discord perks! —You fund hosting for a Ghost Dev (including yourself!) Every $5 is another slot. —Can participate in Patron-only polls to determine the next ghost dev focus.

Feenie @gaignunkukai​

your name could be here

...

—Your name appears here as a Moonbeam Patron! —All of the previous tiers patron-exclusive content, polls, and Discord perks! —You fund hosting for 2+ Ghost Dev (including yourself!) Every $5 is another slot. —Access to Tester-Only MVSans builds and behind-the-scenes of YBFFlowey! 

Fursie @fursie-does-art

Korofel @snakeandapples 

DJ Dusk @datonegaimidnight​ 

PlantCat @cat-from-the-void 

your name could be here 

...

—Your name appears here as a Shining Star Patron! (Limit 2) —All of the previous tiers patron-exclusive content, polls, and Discord perks! —You fund hosting for 10+ Ghost Dev (including yourself!) Every $5 is another slot. —Access to top-secret beta content of any of my other ghosts including YBFFlowey, something otherwise limited to hand-selected testers on the UDT server. —You can request a custom fork of MVSans, tailored to your preferences with anything you want and updated monthly, only for you, in addition to regular MVSans content updates. —Alternative to custom fork: you can pick a simple accessory to support next in public release, or the next AU Shell to support.

your name could be here 

your name could be here (Limit 2)

—Your name permanently appears here as a Ghosts and Dreams Patron.  —You fund hosting for 20+ Ghost Dev (including yourself!) Every $5 is another slot. —All of the previous tiers patron-exclusive and access top-secret beta content, discord rewards, and MVSans development influence. —You can have a ghost made to your custom order. This may take more than a month to complete if it's a complex order.

your name could be here (Limit 1 active)

I want to continue sharing my passion for ghosts, but I can’t do that if I’m overworking myself trying to make ends meet. If you like what I do, please consider sponsoring me so I can continue doing it.

Want to support, but can’t commit to a monthly subscription? Buy me a Ko-Fi! It’s just $3! 

Ko-Fi Supporters: 

Victoria @boomable​ (special thanks for helping me set Ko-Fi up right!)

Brarb @thelibrarbian 

SarahCake @smallsarahcake

PlantCat @cat-from-the-void (special thanks for over $100 of Ko-Fi!!!)

KFC @characteroulette 

DJ Dusk @datonegaimidnight​

Fursie @fursie-does-art

your name could be here

... 

Since every one of my ongoing supporters have been a member of the UDT server, I kept my patrons up-to-date on an individual day to day basis in Discord rather than Patreon itself. Once I get some off-server patrons I’ll have a need to post special content on Patreon again, and I’ve got some fun ideas for that! 

Support me via Patreon | Ko-Fi today!

Can’t even spare a Ko-Fi? You can still help by reblogging and sharing this post, and share your enjoyment of ALL ukagaka ghosts with your friends! 

[cameoamalthea]

Reblog if Older Fans Are Welcome In Fandom

For many fandom is a life long passion that starts young, but being a geek isn’t something you have to grow out of and put away. I didn’t start cosplaying until my 20s (I couldn’t have, and probably won’t be financially secure enough to do all the things I want until my 30s (Celeb cosplayers are all in their late twenties to late 30s - 

Jessica Nigri is 28 Marie‑Claude Bourbonna is 38  Monika Lee is 25 Yaya Han is 35-

Hollywood might not cast women in their 30s (Maggie Gyllenhall was told at 37 she was too old to play a 55 year old) But this is our hobby. We’re allowed to play dress up if we want! 

Being in fandom takes many forms. Cosplay, fanfic, fan art, meta, streaming, youtubing being a creator or being a fan of creators. Giving writers kudos, comments and prompts. Giving artists commissions and revenue for pints and shirt designs, likes, comments and shares. Watching streamers and youtubers talk about fan stuff.  

You don’t have to grow out of it.

It’s also ok if adults like some adult content (as long as it’s clearly marked adults only). For many fandom was the first place we explored fantasies, imaginary crushes and the idea of sexuality and kink. We weren’t supposed to look at adult things as teens (some did, I didn’t - I followed rules and my guardians might have kicked me out for breaking any) and once we turned 18 it was a free for all. 

Even though I don’t particularly enjoy writing or reading sex scenes myself, I can say I’m probably a better writer now than I was at 18, and probably better at writing erotica now that I’m married than I was when as a virgin 20 something. And while fandom isn’t just adult-content (the majority of fanfic and fan art is clean) it’s fine for adults to use fandom to explore adult things. 

However, there are many who believe that if you’re passed 25 and a woman you should have no hobbies, have no sex drive, only like suitably adult things that are considered appropriate for women to enjoy. Innocent, sexless, without passion or real enjoyment. 

It should also be your job to be a mother. Adults are welcome to stay in the fandom’s they built but only if they take responsibility for the children here. If you are a woman, you should be concerned for children and it should be your job to take care of children. What if by being an adult in fandom you’re a bad role-model for children or you make children uncomfortable because old women passed 25 don’t belong here. What if children lie about their age and look at adult content you post and feel uncomfortable.

You shouldn’t be imagining what’s like to be a teenager and experience first love, so what if you didn’t discover your sexuality until your mid-twenties due to a conservative upbringing, no fantasy. You missed your chance. The idea of being a teen belongs only to teens. 

At 25 you’re an old woman and should only want to be a good motherly figure.

My main fandom is Kingdom Hearts. A game about 14 and 15 year olds that came out almost 16 years ago. If you were anywhere near these characters ages and liked these games/were in these fandom when he games came out, you’re in your mid-20s or early 30s.

So if you believe fandom ends at 25 a lot of fans are out of luck. 

Sometimes you’re lucky, like with Harry Potter, and characters grow up with you. Sometimes they grow up with you and then take over a decade to release the third game. So you’re still invested in the characters and story and ships, and maybe fictional crushes you’ve loved since middle school.

KH3 takes me back, I listened to Dashboard Confessional on the way to work and thought about Sora and Riku and felt connected to happy memories. And I think about artist and writers whose writing and style has improved who want to take another shot at redrawing or exploring things they wanted to explore then.

Women in fandom aren’t sexual predators. Sexually harassing an real teenager would of course be creepy and all kinds of wrong and it’s not compariable to liking anime or video game characters. Fictional crushes are imaginary. 

I was in love with Legolas at 13 but that didn’t mean I’d actually date Orlando Bloom (who’s like over a decade my senior).

If I love Riku, and ship him with Xion or Sora or think his new design is sexy, that doesn’t mean I’d actually date a teenager.

Many fans have loved these characters since they were young teens. One friend put it “I fell in love with Riku when I was 15, he’ll always be that cool older guy fantasy boyfriend” My friend should be allowed to continue to make art of Riku. Fandom is made richer by having older fans (getting good at art or writing takes years of practice). 

With the release of KH3 on the horizon (finally) we are probably going to get some new fans and some old fans may return/become active again. I hope that this fandom doesn’t devolve into Christmas Cake debates (if you’re over 25, we don’t want you here, you’re too old).

Of course, fandom is a shared space. There are minors and adults in all fandoms, and specially fandoms that span generations. That is why 18+ content should be flagged/tagged and minors under 18 should utilize safe mode/not lie about their age to look at inappropriate content. (You can wait, I promise, it’s not that long to wait. Once you’re 18 you can look at whatever you want). And once you’re 18 you have your whole life, not until you turn 25 or whatever age young people on tumblr say you have retire to an old woman’s home.

Reblog if you think you’re never too old to be a fangirl. 

If you disagree please take the time to read this.

[cle-levanter]

🌸Tag🌸

I was tagged by @ddaengyoongz ! (thank youuuu :3 )

Rules: answer these questions and then tag 20 people you want to get to know bette

Nickname: Lia, Clé, Lilia, grandma (oops), Salty Queen (no kidding), Mirou, Mimi (thanks to the kids i’m in charge of lol), Yaya... this time i think i have everything (for once)

Gender: i checked once again, and i’m still a gurl

Zodiac: pisces 

Height: 161 cm or 5′3 ithink

Time: 10:42am

Favourite band/solo artist: kpop: too much lol other: mostly Imagine Dragons, twenty one pilots, Panic! at the Disco and Ed Sheehan and a bunch of old groups from the 60′s --> 90′s lol thanksdad

Song stuck in my head: strangely enough, nothing as for now

Last movie I saw: x+y (it’s really cute why did it take me so long to watch it? ;-;)

Last thing I googled: “op-ed on racism and media” (thanks uni lol and i don’t use google that much)

Other blogs: i have two! one for girl groups ( @yuqiyeah ) and one for aesthetics lol ( @cbsaes ) (shameless self promo here)

Do I get asks: not really often... mostly ask chains and sometimes mica comes and says hi uwu ( @ohhstraykids hello <3)

Why I chose this username: bc i’m a confused potato 25/8

Following: 338 

Amount of sleep I get: goes from 4/5 to 10/11 lol but i still love sleeping

Lucky number: 5 and 10

What I’m wearing: my pyjamas :’) (a mini-short and a t-shirt)

Dream Job: singer language teacher

Dream trip: Asia, New Zealand and Northern Europe

Favourite foods: PASTAAAAAA, bread and chocolate

Instruments: i learned to play the flute for 5 years and the piano for 4 (had to stop bc too much school-work sadly) and i sing (i miss music damn give me more free time please)

Favourite song: ahhhhhh i have so many fav songs! but now i feel the urge to listen to El Tango de Roxanne (the soundtrack from the movie “Moulin Rouge”) so that’s what i’m going to do (i just love Ewan McGregor’s voice please forgive me andidancedtothatsongtoosoyeah)

Tagging: @tea-with-hyuck @chuu-bacca @renjunslaugh @ohhstraykids @ultrasoftstraykids @jaehuynstiddies @stray-kids-dork @felixspotato (i feel like i’m always tagging the same people :’) sorry to bother youuuu ;-; also you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to)

[seven--secrets]

Mermaid Mystery || Shigure || Trial 2.1 || Re: Riley, Chioko

This trial already had a million red flags and it had only just started. From the onryo’s cryptic words at the start, to some of the newer information that had just come out. This trial really wasn’t going to have a satisfying ending, was it? Even though now she had some suspicions and theories, she would keep that to herself for now. It wasn’t going to benefit anyone if she just jumped the gun before they had all of the information.

But there were some things she could talk about with certainty, and that was about her day. And, more importantly, being able to clear herself and her beloved friend.

“It seems like for this case, we’re going to have to rely on mostly testimony again,” Shigure said. “That definitely makes it harder, since people can lie, but the onryo did sort of give us a hint. But anyway, before I get into my alibi, we saw what was under the medicine cabinet too, Wakachu. It was divorce papers, between Kentan’s parents. But there was something off about them. From the looks of it, someone forged a lot of signatures on there to make sure Kentan’s father really won out in the divorce. All of the handwriting was the same, except for Makinu Kowata, and just so conveniently Kentan’s father not only got full custody, but also child support payments. I can at least imagine that would’ve been a shock for Kentan to see if he did, at some point.”

With that aside, Shigure still wasn’t sure if it was related to the case, but considering its place near the medicine cabinet, she couldn’t help but wonder a few things. Regardless, onto her alibi.

“As for what I was doing, I spent the whole day with Yaya. Ever since Yaya told me about it coming up during the tanabata party, I couldn’t get it out of my head how fun it would be to try and dye our hair. Yaya and I decided to try it yesterday using kool-aid. We went to the kitchen around 11 AM to get some Kool-Aid mix. We didn’t really spend a long time there, but I saw Ricchan making some weird Sonic the Hedghog creation, Wakachu, Kacchan, and Koko. We left around the same time as Koko, like 11:10, I think? Anyway, Koko went off towards the Auditorium, and Yaya and I went to the bathroom. There wasn’t anyone else there while we went, unless you count Tohru-chan and Neo-kun. We spent a lot of time messing around with our hair. It was really fun! I…” Shigure, remember where you are. She deflated, looking a lot sadder than before. “Anyway, you can see from Yaya’s hair that we were at it for a while, but I did a few strips too.”

To prove her point, Shigure turned her head so they could see the back and moved some strands out of the way, to reveal a few dark blue stripes.

“I couldn’t do as much as I like since I’m not allowed to dye my hair, but I wanted to try it out a little.” She let out a little sigh. “We finished up around 1 PM. By then we were pretty hungry, so we decided to head back to the canteen to get some lunch and just hang out. On our way to the canteen, we saw Rokkun heading back to the Sports Hall. We got to the kitchen, like, five minutes later. Chicchan was there, and so was Himetan and Kacchan. They were arguing, but I didn’t hear what it was about at that time. I think Wakachu and Yukkun were trying to cook something. We saw Kentan, too, it kind of looked like he was in deep thought, but he let us take slices of strawberry cake. Anyway, once we got a bite, Yaya and I went back into the canteen and just hung out. Himetan and Kacchan were being really loud about their argument, so it was sort of hard not to eavesdrop. Sorry, but I can confirm it was definitely about magical girls.” As though anyone doubted it.

“At like 1:25-ish, Kentan came out with a huge plastic bag and just left. I guess according to Wakachu, that was salmon and oranges. I know Inko-chan said Kentan fed them salmon, but I wonder what he did with the oranges?” Squids didn’t eat oranges, as far as she recalled. “At like 1:45, Eikkun came into the kitchen to get a drink and sat down. At around 2, Yukkun and Wakachu came out with some chocolate chip cookies and left, Chicchan went with them. I don’t know where they went after that. From there, Yaya and I just hung out in the canteen with Himetan, Kacchan, and Eikkun until Mimi came to get us. Eikkun went to find the others, while we rushed to the pool. We ran into Koko and Yucchan coming out of the auditorium on the way, and…that’s pretty much it.”

“Truthfully, I’m not really sure how much help all of that is, but…”

“At the very least, I can confirm Yaya’s innocence in all of this. We were together the entire day and I never took my eyes off of them. They never would have had the opportunity to do something to Kentan, drugging or otherwise. Not that Yaya would ever even hurt a fly, but it’s just nice to clear them and not have to worry about it.”

[saturnmyg]

get to know me meme

I was tagged by @itskimtaehyung  (thanks kiwi 💛)

LAST

1. drink: ice tea

2. phone call: ... my dealer lmao

3. text: ‘’its a cold, its a broken despacito’’ 

4. song you listened to: 1999 wildfire- brockhampton

4. time you cried: bruh idk 

HAVE YOU EVER

6. dated someone twice: no

7. kissed someone & regretted it: yes

8. been cheated on: no

9. lost someone special: yes

10. been depressed: yes

11. gotten drunk and thrown up: Lmao yes

FAVOURITE COLOURS

12. black

13. orange

14. yellow

15. gray

in the last year have you

16. made new friends: yes

17. fallen out of love: no (was never in love to begin with)

18. laughed until you cried: yes

19. found out someone was talking about you: lmao yeah

20. met someone who changed you: nah

21. found out who your friends were: yes

22. kissed someone on your facebook friends list: no

GENERAL

23. how many friends from your facebook friends list do you know irl: bruh not a lot, i used to be popular on this one site and everyone later on kept asking for my fb so they could add me 

24. do you have any pets: no but i used to have two dogs, four cats, two bunnies and fishes

25. do you want to change your middle name: nah

26. what did you do for your last birthday: babushka squad and i went to the korean restaurant nd had korean bbq

27. what time did you wake up today: never went to sleep

28. what were you doing last night at midnight: researching for school

29. what is something you can’t wait for: H A L L O W E E N 

30. what are you listening to right now:  love and hip hop miami is playing in the background

31. have you every talked to a person named tom: does thomas count???

32. something that gets on your nerves: not having manners and chewing with your mouth open

33. most visited website: tumblr

34. hair color: dark brown, since summer its been getting lighter idk why

35. long hair or short hair: my hair length rn slightly past my breast

36. do you have a crush on someone: nah

37. what do you like about yourself: ... iont know

38. want any piercings: septum and both sides of my nose pierced also more ear piercings

39. blood type: idk

40. nicknames: sorago, yaya

41. relationship status: single

42. zodiac: aquarius

43. pronouns: any pronouns

44. favorite tv show: any reality tv 

45. tattoos: one on my arm, planning to get on the other arm a moon that matches with my besties

46. right handed or left: left

47. ever had surgery: yes

48. piercings: not anymore, used to have snake bites piercings though 

49. sports: used to dance for 6 years

50. vacation: italy

51. trainers: addidas 

MORE GENERAL

52. eating: macadamia nut cookie

53. drinking: water

54. i’m about to watch: idk have to see

55. waiting for: tattoo and nails 

56. want: being happy with myself

57. get married: no

58. career: either creative director, film director or actress

WHICH IS BETTER

59. kisses or hugs: hugs

60. lips or eyes: lips

61. shorter or taller: taller

62. older or younger: neither , same age

63. nice arms or stomach: arms

64. hookup or relationship: either 

65. troublemaker or hesitant: both, we love a chaotic neutral

HAVE YOU EVER

66. kissed a stranger: yes

67. drank hard liquor: yes

68. lost glasses: yes

69. turned someone down: yes

70. sex on a first date: yea

71. broken someone’s love: nah

72. had your heartbroken: nah

73. been arrested: nah

74. cried when someone died: yeah

75. fallen for a friend: yeah

DO YOU BELIEVE IN

76. yourself: lmao no

77. miracles: sure

78. love at first sight: eh maybe

79. santa: no

80. kissing on a first date: maybe

81. angels: not really

OTHER

82. best friends name: amanda

83. eye color: dark brown

84. favorite movie: spirited away

85. favorite actor: ... i literally dont have a fav actor

i tag: @jungoongi @hobiminkooksprincess1990 @cloudyandhopeful @blackbeautiesandkpop @boijimin

also tag anyone who wants to do this! 

ofc yall dont have to do this!!

[templeofgeek]

Building cosplay can be a fun but challenging craft. This cosplayer takes it to a whole new level! Meet Amanda aka Rumplestilt Seam. She is a Texas based cosplayer that builds elaborate costumes that are quite frankly stunning to look at in person. Amanda is a seamstress who does commission work which you should go take a look at. I reached out to Amanda and asked her some questions in regards to her cosplay hobby.

(Danniel Slade) Can you start off by telling me a little bit about yourself?

(Amanda Phillips) My name is Amanda, I’m 25 years old and I’m from The Woodlands Texas. I go by Rumplestilt_seam in the cosplay community and I have over eight years of stage and theater experience under my belt, so naturally it was the obvious progression to move onto cosplay. I’ve been doing cosplay and costuming for a little over seven years; I’ve created award-winning costumes and skits, as well as having a piece accepted in the Dallas A-Kon 28 Cosplay Museum. I enjoy cosplay from different genres including anime, video games, comics, TV shows, and Movies. I tend to lean more towards DC Comics heroines and video game characters as well as a plethora of mashup and crossover pieces.

(DS) How did you come up with the name Rumplestilt Seam?

(AP) It’s kind of a funny story. I was for the longest time going under the alias “Adnamana12” which is my name backwards and the number twelve, and not so surprisingly people had a hard time pronouncing that. So, one evening I was posting about a costume I had finished recently, and I had a friend comment, “Wow! Girl, you spin out costumes faster than Rumplestiltskin spins gold!” and then it clicked. I came up with a play on Rumplestiltskin, RumplestiltSeam since I sew/am a seamstress.

  (DS) What fandoms are you into?

(AP) So MANY! To name a few though would be: Supernatural, Game of Thrones, Marvel/DC, Harry Potter, Stranger Things, Anime, and some old school 90’s-00’s sci-fi like Stargate SG1 (and Atlantis), as well as Farscape. But really, I’m into a lot of different stuff including Video Game famndoms, if I were to keep going this whole interview would be about Fandoms haha.

(DS) When did you get into cosplay?

(AP) VBS of 2011. It was video game themed and they allowed the volunteers to dress up and I went as the cheapest looking thrift shop Princess Peach in a Dolly Parton wig (I kid you not) haha! But the kids loved it, and I loved it, so I started to do it more often and put more thought into my costumes. Eventually I took the big leap and started making my own costumes from scratch and the rest is history.

  (DS) How do you choose what you are going to create for cosplay?

(AP) That’s a question with a very dull answer haha. I usually just choose things on Impulse. I’ll see something I like A LOT and just BOOM that’s what you’re cosplaying next. Unless it’s for a competition, then I listen to a bunch of different music/song tracks and try to narrow down who would fit what best, figure out a routine, and then choose.

  (DS) In total, how many costumes have you created over the years?

(AP) It’s somewhere around 20ish.

  (DS) Do you have a favorite costume that you want to wear over and over?

(AP) Sith Snow White definitely! I also love wearing Ciri, but she’s so dang hot to wear here in Texas with our Summers.

(DS) What was your easiest build?

(AP) Easiest build was Genderbent Meriln (BBC) I made for TRF last year. It was easy because I literally made it from fabric scraps I already had, I only needed to buy the fabric dye (Blue dress wasn’t always blue) and the jacket.

  (DS) Now on the flip side, what was your hardest build?

(AP) Hardest was an all foam armored Cat Woman that I hand sculpted and built up the motorcycle style helmet with long angular cat ears. Took me almost 9 months to complete, mainly because I didn’t know squat about foam smithing at the time.

(DS) What is your favorite convention to cosplay at?

(AP) Right now, it’s Comicpalooza in Houston. It’s local to me so it’s almost guaranteed that I will attend every year, I also usually compete in the Cosplay Contest.

  (DS) That was my next question! So you have competed in a cosplay competition, have you ever placed?

AP: I have! I’ve competed six times and placed in five of them! I usually compete in the skit division (as I mentioned before I used to be a pro dancer) since I like entertaining, but that doesn’t mean I skimp on craftsmanship! I always do prejudging and try to make at least 80% of my costumes for professionality sake.

  (DS) What is your next convention that fans will see you at?

(AP) The Texas Renaissance Festival (Unsure of which weekend(s) right now), and Oni-Con in Galveston Texas on November 9th- 11th (Oni-Con: https://oni-con.net/ , TRF: https://www.texrenfest.com/)

  (DS) You recently acquired an embroidery machine. How has your life changed now that you have it, what are your plans with all that power?

(AP) I feel like He-Man “I have the POWER!!” haha! But for real, I’m still only learning how to use it. Right now, I’ve been making Dice Bags; but as I familiarize myself with it I do plan to use in I’m my commissioning business as well as personal projects. I feel it’s a game changer for any cosplayer to invest in an embroidery machine for sure.

  (DS) What is on your cosplay bucket list?

(AP) SO MANY THINGS. Flame Atronach from Skyrim with lights and smoke effects. Anything designs from Artist(s) Noflutter, Hannah Alexander, or Sunset Dragon. I LOVE detailed pieces, and those artists make DETAILED pieces.

(DS) Outside of cosplay, what do you do for fun?

AP: Not much really. I know that sounds kind of lackluster, but what I mean is I’m a pretty simple and easily entertained person. I’m satisfied to sit and watch Netflix all day or read a book (Currently engrossed with The Witcher series). I’m seriously awkwardest of potatoes in real life haha.

  (DS) Are there any other cosplayers that inspire you?

(AP) Yaya Han, Kamui Cosplay, Jessica Nigri, and Cowbuttcrunchies are my biggest Cosplayer inspirations in craft and business models. They’re all such strong women of the cosplay community, and I want to be like them when I grow up.

  (DS) What would you say to someone who might want to build their first costume but don’t know how to get started?

(AP) Find your niche and grow with that until you’re ready to build a new skill. For example, I am a pretty solid seamstress, it’s what I’m good at. But I can’t really craft with Worbla or foam at the same skill level, but it’s one I currently working on. It may not be the same for everyone, some may start out being a makeup/wigs wizard but can’t figure out the working end of a sewing machine or start out with people thinking you’re part Tolkien Dwarf because you can craft armor like one, but you don’t know the first thing about styling a wig. And vice versa. Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to learn and do everything all at once, ease into it and learn it all at a healthy comfortable pace.

(DS) How can our readers find out more about you? (please plug away)

(EP) Here are my links!

Facebook: Cosplay – https://www.facebook.com/RumpleandCatcosplay Commissions – https://www.facebook.com/RumplestiltSeamCosplayCommisions Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rumplestilt_seam Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RumplestiltSeam Blog: https://rumplestiltseam.wordpress.com

  Temple of Geek’s Featured #Cosplay – Rumplestilt Seam Building cosplay can be a fun but challenging craft. This cosplayer takes it to a whole new level!

[tiredemotionalandconfused]

85 question thing?

I was Tagged by @umnobro​

Rules: answer these 85 questions and tag 20 people

note: there are 84 questions lol

— what was your last…

1. drink: water, hydrate or die-drate am i right? 

2. phone call: Layla the Egyptian.

text message: My childhood bestie, about denver being better than detroit 

4. song you listened to: Devil Eyes by Hippie Sabotage 

5. time you cried: Honestly can't remember? probably late december?

— have you ever…

6. dated someone twice: no 

7. kissed someone and regretted it: nope 

8. been cheated on: no 

9. lost someone special: yes 10. been depressed: yes. 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: Nope not my thing

— fave colours

12. blue 13. forest green 14. dark red

— in the last year have you…

15. made new friends: Sooo many 16. fallen out of love: uh no

17. laughed until you cried:  definitely

18. found out someone was talking about you: yes and cut that bitch off  

19. met someone who changed you: oh my gosh yes

20. found out who your friends are: This was the year for that for sure 

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list: nah

— general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl: i could say a good 98% 

23. do you have any pets: Sadly no 

24. do you want to change your name: nah 25. what did you do for your last birthday: went for a sunrise hike and got breakfast with two of my best friends  

26. what time did you wake up today:  8:30 am  

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: either taking a shower or watching parks and rec 

28. what is something you can’t wait for: to see my best friend again

30. what are you listening to right now : Warrior by steve james (zephure remix) 

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom: no 

32. something that’s getting on your nerves: the selfishness of people my age.

33. most visited website: ive been getting bored at work so addictinggames.com 

34. hair colour:naturally brown but i dyed the bottom blonde its ombre  

35. long or short hair: long 

36. do you have a crush on someone: Yes 

37. what do you like about yourself: idk stuff? 

38. want any piercings: Yee39. blood type: o+  40. nicknames: yaya, iowa, iquiqua, the tiger, detroit, white arab, smurf, hor  

41. relationship status: single 

42. sign: Capricorn 43. pronouns: she/her

44. fave tv show: unbreakable jimmy schmidt 

45. tattoos: I have one planned with my best friend 

46. right or left handed: right-handed

47: ever had surgery: yeah 5 actually 4 on the same thing 

48. piercings: yeah

49. sport: hockey, ultimate frisbee, soccer 

50. vacation: Anywhere beachy or Norway

51. trainers: does this mean shoes? Vans

— more general

52. eating: Fruit salad

 53. drinking: homemade smoothies  

54. i’m about to Watch: Parks and rec  

55. waiting for: my best friend to get her ass back to America  

56. want: to completely design a private jet, build it and then buy that jet  

57. get married: Maybe idk

58. Career: Mechanical Engineer either for cars or planes

— which is better

59. hugs or kisses: Hugs are so great  

60. lips or eyes: eyes

61. shorter or taller: shorter 

62. older or younger: depends 

63. nice arms or stomach: who tf looks at arms 

64. hookup or relationships: relationships

65. troublemaker or hesitant: i’ve been told im a trouble maker? @myBitchAssFrenchTeacher

— have you ever

66. kissed a stranger: no

67. drank hard liquor: nah

68. turned someone down: yes

69. sex on first date: no  

70: broken someone’s heart: I don't think so 

71. had your heart broken: somewhat 

72. been arrested: nah  

73. cried when someone died: yes

74. fallen for a friend: yeaaaa

— do you believe in

75. yourself: nah  

76. miracles: yeah 

77. love at first sight:no

78. santa claus: who? no 

79. angels: maybe?

— misc

80. eye colour: brown

81. best friend’s name: Ronja

82. favorite movie: Madeas big happy family: tyler perry 

83. favorite actor: Emma watson 

84. favorite cartoon: Scooby doo 

85. (Since they forgot the 85th one) Favorite things to do for fun: Hike, play some frisbee, longboard, snowboard, anything that involves a board lol

(feel free to ignore this) also thats only 15 people but thats all the blogs i could think of 

@youaretheoneichoose @justlookatthatsky @ohyoureinmyveins @damn--b @kinda-vivacious @svnbvm-an @togayther @stumblingthruheaven @cryym @margo-elliot @mountainsandsea @crashingintoyouu @macinmontana @thoughts-on-marz

[thefishthatdiedofthirst]

Answer all the numbers from previous post :p

Right ! Haha, it’s super long though haha

1. Are looks important in a relationship? To a certain extent yeah.

2. Are relationships ever worth it? Yeah, you learn alot even if it goes to shit

3. Are you a virgin? Nope

4. Are you in a relationship? Yes

5. Are you in love? Yes

6. Are you single this year? Nope

7. Can you commit to one person? 100%

8. Describe your crush - Cute and speaks Russian

9. Describe your perfect mate - Not an asshole?

10. Do you believe in love at first sight? To an extent i guess...

11. Do you ever want to get married? I’m not sure, currently no, i don’t think it’s a big deal for me

12. Do you forgive betrayal? Depends on the betrayal, don’t forgive anyone who steals your cookies

13. Do you get jealous easily? Again it depends on the situation, normally no.

14. Do you have a crush on anyone? I have a boyfriend

15. Do you have any piercings? I have 7 - Angelbites, Snakebites, Tragus in the right ear, Left lobe stretched and Navel

16. Do you have any tattoos? 2 - Both cats

17. Do you like kissing in public? Not really bothered by it, i don’t mind it

20. Do you shower every day? Yes

21. Do you think someone has feelings for you? Other than my boyfriend i have no idea, i don’t tend to take much notice.

22. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? Probably not

23. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat? I’ve lasted my whole life without cheating on anyone cause i’m not an arsehole. “If you’re not happy, leave.” are words to live by.

24. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years? Probably not...

25. Do you want to be in a relationship this year? Already in one

26. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you? No idea.

27. Has someone ever written a song or poem for you? I’ve poems in valentines cards so i guess?

28. Have you ever been cheated on? Oh yes.

29. Have you ever cheated on someone? No

30. Have you ever considered plastic surgery? If so, what would you change about your body? Not really

31. Have you ever cried over a guy/girl? I’m sure everyone has at some point, if you say no you’re lying.

32. Have you ever experienced unrequited love? Yes in both ways

33. Have you ever had sex with a man? Yes

34. Have you ever had sex with a woman? Yes

35. Have you ever kissed someone older than you? Pretty much everyone i’ve dated has been older

36. Have you ever liked one of your best friends? Yes along time ago

37. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated? Yeah, it was drama all day long

38. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to? Yes

39. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have? Probably at some point

40. Have you ever written a song or poem for someone? God no, i’m awful at both. I’m also not a soppy/romantic person in the slightest.

41. Have you had sex so far this year? No cause i have a long distance relationship

42. How long can you just kiss until your hands start to wander? No idea tbh, don’t tend to think about it

43. How long was your longest relationship? My current one which is 2+ years

44. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? That is a tricky one... 10 maybe.. that i remember D: there could be more who knows...

45. How many people did you kiss in 2012/2013? Oh jesus... Fuck knows tbh, probably too many....

46. How many times did you have sex last year? Once again, fuck knows, i don’t tend to count haha

47. How old are you? 24

48. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say? “Bollocks...”

49. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her? Definitely the chocolate brown eyes

50. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept? Awh hell no.

51. Is there a boy/girl who you would do absolutely everything for? Yeah

52. Is there anyone you’ve given up on? Why? Probably afew cause they were massive dicks

53. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are? Not that i’m aware of

54. Is there someone you will never forget? More than likely

55. Share a relationship story -Can’t think of one at the moment that would be appropriate...

56. State 8 facts about your body - 1. I’m short. 2. I have double joints 3. I have tiny hands? That’s one right... 4. I have a super weird rib cage. Errrm... 5. My circulation is crap. 6. My hands & arms have a few scars from working with animals. 7. I have green eyes 8.My natural hair colour is light brown but it hasn’t been that colour for about 9 years.... Thats the best i could think of, i have nothing interesting sorry D:

57. Things you want to say to an ex - I don’t think i have anything to say to them, no regrets and all that.

58. What are five ways to win your heart? Chocolate, Pets, More food, Anything final fantasy, cuddly bears

59. What do you look like? (Post a picture!)

60. What is the biggest age difference between you and any of your partners? Probably 4-5 years

61. What is the first thing you notice in someone? Kindness or the lack of it

62. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you? Anything involving body oil i think haha, splitting fishnets is always satisfying

63. What is your definition of “having sex”? Usually the usual definition of sex?

64. What is your definition of cheating? Anything intimate with another person i guess, like kissing etc

65. What is your favourite foreplay routine? I don’t have a routine, i roll with whatever happens

66. What is your favourite roleplay? I don’t really roleplay i don’t think... 

67. What is your idea of the perfect date? Anything that involves food and stroking cats = Purfect

68. What is your sexual orientation? Bi

69. What turns you off? Cringey dirty talk during anything sexual, aint my thing

70. What turns you on? Biting, some good old choking, fishnet ripping etc

71. What was your kinkiest wet dream? Probably far too long to write out haha

72. What words do you like to hear during sex? Anything thats not really cringey

73. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you? No idea

74. What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for? Good facial features 

75. What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for you? I have no idea

76. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone? Again i have no idea, i’m not the most romantic...

77. What’s your opinion on age differences in relationships? It’s not a issue unless you’re late teens/earlier 20′s chatting up young teenagers, then you’re a creep.

78. What’s your dirtiest secret? If i posted it, it wouldn’t be a secret?

79. When was the last time you felt jealous? Why? Fuck knows

80. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?Today

81. Who are five people you find attractive? Billy Idol, bruce dickinson, Milla Jovovich,YaYa Han, Mark Ruffalo

82. Who is the last person you hugged? My father

83. Who was your first kiss with? A Moron

84. Why did your last relationship fail?I wasn’t attractive enough? Fuck knows, shit happens

85. Would you ever date someone off of the Internet? Depends on the situation