#also I haven't done a little review for the last one yet lol

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Hey guys! Unfortunately, I will not be liveblogging The Rookie tonight. I have something that ends at the same time The Rookie starts and I don't want to try and rush home early. I might be able to watch it later tonight, though :)!

See you later!

#the rookie #oasis's the rookie chatter #oasis's rookie chatter #also I haven't done a little review for the last one yet lol #and I can use that time slot after I get home to write one for the good doctor so I don't have to do it now slfjfhs #especially since I want to watch the beginning if the last episode that I missed #anyway lol! #see ya later :)

[trulybetty]

Sunday Week In Review XIV

How's everyone doing? I skipped out on last week's update since it was a really slow week on all fronts for all the things for me last week. Things picked up a bit this week - but I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time finding my feet around here at the moment and finding a groove to get into.

Not sure if it's that time of year, a bit of a writing lull or what - but I've been a little meh, not in the sad sense - more like I'm a petulant child offered six different things and I turn my nose up at all of them because I don't know what I want lol.

Also trying to figure out a system for getting through my TBR list, right now it feels like it's out of control and there are only so many I can read in a week. Especially since I want to get through some of my physical TBR pile and dedicate a couple nights a week to offline reading.

Anyway, enough about me seemingly channelling Baby Truly™️ - on with the recap of the last two weeks!

T R U L Y   U P D A T E S . . .

I did a second round of the 'First Sentence' ask game, which I absolutely adore! If you haven't done it before, I very much recommend it! If you do this, tag me so I can come throw a sentence at you!

Round 2

tim x cagney (f!reader)

jack x reader (f!reader)

joel x Charlotte (OFC)

dieter x bryony (OFC)

jack x reader (f!reader)

frankie x clementine (OFC)

W H A T   I   R E A D . . .

Delta Landscaping (Triple Frontier) by @rhoorl Jess' series has me on tenterhooks for every update and then on the edge of my seat waiting for more! This last update we entered the start of Frankie's arch and while it pulls at the heartstrings, I'm so here for it and what's to come next! Also, Benny entering his Rocky era (Jess didn't write this, I've decided it) is something I'm also very much ready for!

Paranoid Hearts (Javi P.) by @goodwithcheese This series. This series is just something else and I finally got my ass into gear to get caught up, and while on the one hand, I'm sorry I started so late on the other hand I enjoyed this smorgasbord of Javi and Tabitha.

he makes life better (Joel) by @wildemaven This is such a warm comforting hug of a fic that just seeps into your bones, that makes your toes curl in softness and you re-read more than once. This is everything fluff should make you feel and I adore each and every last part of this and will be re-reading this.

Headshots (Marcus P.) by @secretelephanttattoo I was not ready for this to end, but El gave our boy Marcus the ending he and his Ella deserved and it was both spicy and sweet. If you've not read this yet, I suggest you do. Also, peep her forthcoming wip... 🔎

Thrash Metal (Dieter) by @morallyinept Jett is back with another delectably mouthwatering smutty one-shot with our favourite deviant Dieter Bravo. This is sinfully indulgent and a must-read and one that lends itself to definitely more than one read.

Six and a half minutes - Frankie's version by @avastrasposts This one calls for a breakout of the Hot Ones gif for sure, because this was the mood the entire time I read this. If anything, Frankie is not one to back down from a challenge...

Medicine (Joel) by @goodwithcheese I was so excited to see Megan had written for Joel that I had to drop everything to read this over my coffee the other morning. I love everything about the dynamic between these two and how Megan illustrates the deep affection they have for one another through their actions as we all know our post-outbreak Miller is not one quick with his words. I hope this isn't the last we see of Joel here!

M E M O R A B L E   P O S T S . . .

Heidi’s amazing mood board inspired by Sequins! 😍 I’m still in absolute awe of it and I love it so much! I think it's going to get a spot on my work desk this week! 💕

These thots had started off as Joel Thots, but have now morphed into Tim Thots and I'm not mad about it... might share a little snippet later 😏

@morallyinept's 'Ode to Writers' this week - I'm going to refrain from getting on my soapbox here (I'd be here all day) - but the table is not finite, it's infinite. If you're not inching your chair down to make room for another chair, or pulling the spare chairs in from the garage, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your relationship with this community.

E N J O Y E D  T H I S  W E E K  . . .

Finally watching ‘Strange Way of Life’ and getting to live message my thots to @rhoorl as I watched - it was a cinematic dissection.

Date night with Mr. Truly - we spent the entire two hours wondering what people do on dates aside from watching their phones and waiting for a call to say your kids are out of control and have taken over Nakatomi Plaza. But needless to say, we had fun, I even ate a meal without someone else's hand in it.

Amazing moots being mooting awesome 🙌 - I'm thankful every day that I get to interact with some wonderful people and have found a lovely corner of this hell site to play in a sandbox with some amazing people 💕

S P E C I A L M E N T I O N . . .

Check out this writing challenge that myself and a group of people that I'm lucky to call moots created that we would love for you to join in on! Everything about it is random and everyone starts with the same parameters and everything else after that is up to you! So excited to see what everyone does with this!

Do I know anything about Javi Pēna? Nope. Am I going to join in? Yes I am! 🙌

See you January 1st to dive into all the fics this challenge I hope produces! 💛

T H I S  W E E K ' S  J A M . . .

Thank you to @gnpwdrnwhiskey for inspiring this week's selection after she pointed out the parallels to Chiffon that I haven't been able to get out of my head since.

Hope everyone has had a great week! Here's to a great week ahead and I hope its a good one full of obnoxious drinks of choice and soft places to land and enjoy.

#betty's sunday in review #sunday week in review #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #Spotify

[autumnsnuggling]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thanks for the tag @maesterchill! I haven't done something like this in so long lol.

I took a leaf from your book and put my answers under the cut :D

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Somehow I have 103 lol. Most of them drabbles, but a few mid-length fics.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

170,290. Told you lots of them are drabbles lol.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter!! And 99% of them are Drarry lol

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. It Began with a Royal Sticky Mess - 5.5k, T, too many adjectives lol. 2. The Boy Who Lived (To Not Be a Boy) - 26k, T, the long fic I'm probably proudest of. 3. Healing Scars - 2.2k, T, heed the warnings but I enjoyed writing it lol. 4. Then Time Stood Still - 4.2k, T, sequel to It Began with a Royal Sticky Mess, still too many adjectives lol. 5. Worth It - 8.7k, T, my last TransFest Fic, also super proud of it!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try, but I have failed epically for the last year or so lol. I always want to because I feel like it is so nice to hear back from authors, and because I want people to know how much I appreciate their comments, but I struggle to because life is busy and I find it a little draining, tbh

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ooh, good question. Um, probably He Didn't Know (270 words, T). It's from my early writing days so the style isn't great, but it's definitely angsty lol.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

God, somehow that's even harder. Um... okay, having reviewed my fics, the funny thing is, many of them don't have what I would consider to be 'happy' endings lol. I do lots of endings where the angst is resolved and they're comforted, but I wouldn't call it happy lol. It's because I'm a real sucker for showing life often continues so more is out to be resolved. That means that the main happy ending fic I have is The Boy Who Lived (To Not Be a Boy).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, no!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I am dabbling in it, but it's definitely not my comfort zone. I currently have 1 explicit fic, and 4 mature lol.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Absolutely not lol. I haven't ever really been interested in crossovers, or been passionate about another fandom to want one.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! A few, actually. It's always such an honour.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Definitely! @stargazing-enby and I have written a few, and I got to trade WIPs with a few others, which has always been fun and really helpful!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

No points for guessing lol.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I am yet to give up on ANY of mine lol

16. What are your writing strengths?

Um? Coming up with ideas? I have no idea lol

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Uuuhhhh... Genuinely feel this changes lol. Though I suppose a theme that's come up is figuring out how to translate the story into words...

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't think I have thoughts on it lol. I love the idea to provide diversity and depth to character, though!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stealing Maester's answer as it's the same lol Harry Potter. First and only!

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

A lot of my favourites have already been mentioned, but I really like Another Way! (1.1k, T)

Thanks so much for the tag, I don't know who's done this, but I'll tag @stargazing-enby, @ununquadius, and @nv-md (no pressure).

#non hp #tag game

[whysamwhy123]

✨Fic Writing Review 2023✨

Tagged by the wonderful dynamic duo that is @aerodaltonimperial and @perhapswhoknowsvamp and it's very fitting that those two lovely people tagged me because they're a big reason why I wrote much of anything this year! Took me a while to get this done because I wanted to get my last fic of the year out the door first. I'll put the rest below the cut, and fair warning - it's loooooong. This bitch doesn't shut up, so I rambled on. A lot.

Words and Fics

76, 222 words published on AO3 in 2023

15 fics published on AO3 (16 if you count that one kinkmeme prompt I filled and posted anonymously)

2 little tumblr ficlets

Top 3 by Kudos

Voice in the Dark - Hookhausen (not super surprising, considering it was a popular pairing at the time, and it was the fic I wrote for the anniversary event)

Kids These Days And Their Darn Phones - Hookhausen

Half Your Age Plus Seven - OrangeHook (I continue to be incredibly surprised how well this fic did, like...huh?!)

Top 3 by Hits

Voice in the Dark - Hookhausen

Voice in the Dark, Part Two - Hookhausen (how fitting, LOL)

Half Your Age Plus Seven - OrangeHook (Seriously, what was it about this fic that drew people in? More so than any of my other OrangeHook fics? Like, I'm grateful and all but also confused, like this fic is way too long?! And weird about the age difference?!)

Author's Favourite

As much as I'm loving writing OrangeHook now, I think Voice in the Dark, Part Two is probably the best thing I've written? Even though it's also overly long and gets weird at the end (very much did not expect it to go in that direction when I started writing it), I'm actually pretty proud of how that one turned out. I had a clear vision in my head for how each scene would play out and what I wanted to get across, and man, I remember how most of the Hook/Evilhausen dialogue popped into my brain late one night when I couldn't sleep, so I spat it out into a doc and then about a month later when I actually wrote the scene, I don't think I changed a single word? I just added everything else around it, all the not-dialogue parts. And it was just a lot of fun getting to carry on that story, especially as someone who hasn't managed to crank out a proper multi-chapter fic yet. Who knows, maybe I'll return to that world someday...

Fandom Events in 2023

Uh, well, I guess I did the whole Hookhausen Anniversary thing? And...that's about it. I'm pretty disconnected from the fandom at large, whoopsie daisy 😬

Upcoming Projects

Hoo boy.

I have over 5k words of a Ricky/Christian Sugar Baby AU thing written already. I haven't posted it because it kinda needs some smut and that's still not something I can really do. I might post it someday, if I can make something work, or alternatively do what I normally do and put an annoying fade to black in there. Or maybe I'll think better of it and never post it because it's very self-indulgent and I highly doubt anyone else would really be interested or want me to continue it or anything. But I have Ideas for it...so many ideas...

Also, in my ill-fated quest to try and make myself write smut, I kinda started a Ricky/Bill championship celebration fic. Maybe I'll revisit that? Try to get it done?

And then there's that one fic I really want to work on, but have barely started. I've vague-posted about it here before - it's an incredibly fucked-up Dead Dove fic about Daniel Garcia and a Very Bad, Not-Good thing that happens to him, and the subsequent complete mental breakdown that follows. I've had the idea rattling around in my brain for the better part of a year at this point, despite not making much actual progress on it. Every time I think about it though, I have new ideas for scenes or dialogue. I'd like to make it work, but I don't know if I have the writing chops to handle it, plus it would probably end up being super long and nobody would want to read it, so it'd feel like a huge waste of time on my part? And I've had the idea for so long, it's out-dated too. But still, the urge remains...

Oh, and I still have a ton of OrangeHook ideas I'd like to make happen. Some are, of course, about their age difference. Some would (ideally) involve smut. And others... *nervous laughter* Others would likely result in an ''Everyone disliked that'' situation...

Writing Reflection

I was thinking about making a sappy post about this and whoops, here's my excuse! I don't talk a lot on here about my tragic backstory because honestly, who cares? But I will say this - before January of this year, I hadn't written a word of anything in years. Fic or otherwise. I used to love writing, but Stuff Happened and it killed all enjoyment I got out of it, and I thought that's how it would be forever. Then, for reasons I can't even remember, I started reading fic again, specifically in this wild little fandom of ours, and y'all are just so talented that it made my untalented ass want to give it another shot. So...I did.

I remember when I posted my first fic in ages back in January, I thought ''Maybe about three people will read this and no one will leave a comment or anything, but whatever, I wrote a thing and that's something I haven't done in years so that's enough for me!'' And to be honest, I still think that whenever I post stuff now? It's crazy to me that anyone actually reads my stuff and gets some kind of kick out of it. But every kudos and comment floors me and brings me so much joy, I can't even express it properly. I have to say a huge thank you to anyone who's ever read one of my fics, left kudos or dropped a comment. Whoever and wherever you are, you made my day!

And look, I ain't delusional. I know that calling myself a small fish in the fandom would be too generous. But I'm fine with that - because I'm genuinely enjoying writing again and that's what matters most to me. Even though I've also rediscovered how stressful writing can be (🙂🙂🙂) when it comes down to it, there's joy and happiness in my life that wasn't there last year and that's all because I started writing again. And because some lovely folks here decided to let me know they liked what I was throwing out there. The years have not been kind to ol' Sammy Sam-Sam and this year was no exception, but getting to forget about all that shit and write my silly little wrestling fanfiction has been a great distraction and a comfort through this whole year.

So...yeah. Thanks to everyone who's ever commented on my writing, thanks to the folks who follow me on here (I don't know how you manage that though, I'm such an annoying bitch, aren't you sick of me yet?) and thanks to anyone who I've had the chance to chat with about writing and ships and whatever silly little ideas pop into my head (any of y'all feel free to message me at any time, I am always down to blab about whatever blorbos/ideas take your fancy). I'm hoping I can keep this train a-rollin' a little more next year. Still thinking back to when I started writing again, I made my new AO3 account expecting to write Dustjim only, but then I quickly decided I couldn't write those two well enough, and since then I've bounced around a bunch of different pairings, with a few rarepairs shoved in between for good measure. God only knows where my head will be at this time next year, LOL. I'd love to finally be able to attempt some of the bigger ideas I've been cooking up for a while now. Maybe I'll even write a proper multi-chapter fic? We'll see, but this bitch can dream, at least.

Rules:

Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please do eat glass, I’ve heard it’s good for your gums.

I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm pretty sure everyone I know who writes has already been tagged? So if you're reading this and you haven't, go ahead and do it! By which I mean, eat glass. Eat all the glass that you want. Accidents happen in the dark.

#What is wrong with you Sam you should not be allowed to write #Also you really need to learn to shut up dude #This bitch went onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and on #But it was kinda fun reflecting on The Year I Got Back Into Writing #It's been fun yo #Who knows what this next year will bring??

[frodo-with-glasses]

More friendship asks! If you haven't already done them, then 1, 3, 5, and 13 for Beregond and Faramir. - Princess of Words

YOOOOO MY FAVORITE PERSON AND HIS FAVORITE PERSON LOL Let's go!

1. "When I think they became friends"

Listen, if you learned that somebody put his life and honor and reputation on the line to save your butt from being flambéd while you were passed out with a fever, there is no way you wouldn't automatically like that person.

Sure, it probably took some time before Beregond and Faramir were speaking more as friends than as lord and servant—since Beregond would doubtlessly be too humble to expect any special treatment, even after everything he did—but Faramir has a canonical superpower of putting people at ease around him, so after the whole arrangement in Ithilien got settled, it probably took no more than a few weeks of a polite fight between Beregond's sense of duty and humility and Faramir's obvious gratitude and good favor before they started to ease towards a relationship with a shocking resemblance to Frodo and Sam. Does Beregond still call him "my lord"? Yes he does. Is Faramir technically in charge? Yes he is. Are they besties tho? Oh abso-frickin'-lutely yes.

3. "A random headcanon I have of them"

Okay this might be really dumb but imagine:

Faramir goes to Beregond for parenting advice.

THIS IS VERY SELF-INDULGENT BUT also??? It's right there tho?? Beregond is canonically a great dad and Faramir canonically uhhhh didn't have the best role model and even if Denethor wasn't The WorstTM by the end of it, it's not like he's still around for encouragement and advice.

So I'm. Just seeing. Faramir calling Beregond in to the fantasy equivalent of his "office" to talk in private, and Beregond thinks this is gonna be something to do with the bodyguard (because that's his area of authority) and Faramir finally shyly being like "so uhhhh...you seem to be pretty successful with the whole 'raising kids' thing....and I'm new at this and really over my head so....help??"

And lemme tell ya, the way that Beregond's face would go from 0 to 200% SoftTM in the span of half a second might just keep me going for the next WEEK bruh

5. "A scene I wish we had of them"

Okay I exaggerated a little bit last time I said this but SERIOUSLY, give me the moment Faramir learns about what Beregond did for him or give me DEATH.

Again, this is only the second time I've read this book, and last time I was a kid and hardly paying attention, so I could have missed a lot. But I've just read "The Black Gate Opens" (you'll see my chapter review later today!) and skimmed "The Steward and the King", and so far as I can tell, the narrative basically forgets about Beregond altogether until he's pardoned by Aragorn.

I need to know how and when Faramir learned the truth. The Warden was instructed to keep it from him for the time being, and Beregond and Pippin weren't allowed to say anything, but he can't have been kept in the dark forever!

We know that Beregond and Bergil stayed behind in Faramir's room after Aragorn woke him up. What happened after that? Did they talk at all? Did Bergil run around helping Ioreth prepare some food and something to drink? Did Faramir say anything that made Beregond get a strange look on his face, but he kept silent, not wanting either to brag about himself or inflict the pain of what had just happened on his lord yet?

"I know your face. Tell me, whence before have I seen thee? For I cannot recall your name." "I am no one of great consequence, lord. Beregond son of Baranor is my name, if your lordship asks for it; and I am but a man of arms of the Guard of the Citadel." "Ah, there is the answer to my riddle. But here is another! Does not a Guard of the Citadel have his duties other than playing nursemaid to an invalid? He is needed elsewhere, I am certain." "...Nowhere more than here, lord."

Did anyone even tell Faramir the truth until Beregond had left for the Black Gate with the rest of Aragorn's company? Who would there even be who knew the full story? I imagine only the Warden would have any of the details, since he's the one who met with Aragorn and Gandalf at the end of "The Houses of Healing".

"It is only the plain truth that I seek, Warden. Three days now have passed, you tell me, since the evening I was admitted into this House, and my father has not yet come to call after my health; nor am I permitted to leave this place and go to him. What has happened? For I feel weary, and there is a great foreboding on my heart." He bowed. "It is regrettable that the truth needs be kept from one so far-sighted. But your lordship has already guessed the nature of it, I deem." "Yes; and it grieves me. My father has passed. He has joined my brother. Alas! Dark are these days! And heavy is my heart. Yet how this came to be is a mystery to vex me. No orc or troll or foul folk of the Enemy has breached the upper crown of the City, and my father would not go down to contest them. How comes it that he was slain?" "Ah! To tell the whole tale would multiply your grief, my lord. I know it only in part, but what little I was told would be a great burden." "My burden could be no greater. Yet I think I can guess what you disguise. Dark have been my dreams of late. I thought I heard my father's voice, marred with great anger, and uttering evil words. I had hoped it were not true, but there seems no other answer." "Then as your lordship has guessed so far, I must relent. Your father was taken by madness, and sought to escape thralldom to the Enemy through the only recourse he still knew; and to take you with him." He was silent, his head bowed as if with some great grief. At length, he spoke, and his voice was troubled. "So the Enemy assaults us from both without and within. Alas for my father! For he was a noble man, and proud in bearing, and good of heart once. To take me with him! How was it that I was spared? For I knew nothing of it, and certainly was not saved by my own hand." "By your own hand! No, my lord. It was the doing of Beregond of the Guard. Did you not know?" Then the Warden was called away to other duties, but Faramir stood still under the pavilion, deep in thought, and turned his eyes to the darkening East.

Anyway I just. Yeah. I need to know how Faramir found out. Sure, he could have learned it when Beregond was pardoned, but what's the fun in that?? I'm starting to think it would be even better if HE approached Aragorn to plead on Beregond's behalf. "I know he committed treason, but he saved my life." "I know, I'm not going to punish him. I've got this great idea for a prank tho—!"

13. "What I think would've happened if they had never met"

Faramir is McFrickin' Dead. Crispy crunchy roast Faramir.

FRIENDSHIP ASK GAME!

#ask game #beregond #faramir #lord of the rings #lotr #my writing #it is 2 AM and i went way too hard on this post

[elliepassmore]

Foul Heart Huntsman review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, spies, multiple POVs, historical fiction, morally gray characters

Foul Lady Fortune review

Last Violent Call review

Shanghai is a city once again on the precipice. Tensions between the Nationalists and Communists have risen, driven only higher by the encroaching Japanese army. The chemical killings have at least been stopped, but with that out of the way, the city's populace isn't afraid to be out and about around the city, and so protesting starts up again as well.

On top of the political tension, Rosalind's secret is now out. Not only that she's Fortune, but also that she's Rosalind Lang, a once-beloved daughter of the Scarlet Gang. And, of course, there's the little problem of the Nationalists, and Shanghai in general, thinking Orion was behind the murders. Not that he wasn't....but still, there's more to the story than the public knows. With Orion and Rosalind both betrayed, covert operations is a bit of a mess, and completely, 100% unwilling to help either of them.

Rosalind in this book is a woman on a mission. She's determined to help Orion, even if the Nationalists have washed their hands of both of them. I liked seeing this fiercely dedicated side to her because it's one we haven't really seen yet. We've seen her vengeful in both OVE and FLF, and in FLF we saw her remorseful and more level-headed, but now we get to see how she is when someone she loves is threatened. The same care and devotion we saw in FLF comes through in this one, and it's made clear again just how far she'll go to protect those she loves. Rosalind is also quite clever, and we get to see some of her schemes come into play here.

Orion is a bit of a tricky one since he's brainwashed for a portion of the book. He is in the book though, and we do get some of his POV. I was actually kind of worried about what would happen with his character after the events of the last book, but I was pleased to see how things played out. It stayed true to the plot while also not turning him over completely. Also, we do get to see himbo!Orion, lol.

Celia gets a larger role in this book, along with Oliver. She's stuck between a rock and a hard place in this one, with her loyalties torn between her sister, everyday people, and the Communists she works for. I have to say, Celia is definitely the practical one in...all of her relationships. Sure, she gets a little bit pressed when Oliver is in trouble, but overall she really does seem to have a better handle on things than most people, including Rosalind. That being said, I loved seeing her protective side, which extends to a great many people, from Oliver to Rosalind to Alisa, and beyond.

Oliver does start the book still being cagey, but Celia is done letting him get away with that, and has no qualms about confronting him and forcing him to be more open with her. I enjoyed getting to know more about Oliver and his background (and not just from Orion's perspective). At the same time, I still feel like we don't really know Oliver that much by the end of the book. He and Celia fit together well, but I still would've liked to feel a greater emotional connection with him.

Phoebe is back, as predicted, and even has more POV chapters than before. I liked getting to see more of how she thinks and acts. I still find her and Alisa to be very similar in their own ways, and I like that they got to meet and hang out in this book. Phoebe plays a fairly prominent role in this book, and I enjoyed seeing her come out of hiding a little bit to shine. She's a brave one, and despite dreams of seeing her family reunited, she's also practical enough to pick her brothers and their safety over her dreams. Silas, whom I didn't even mention in my FLF review, also shows up in this one, though tbh I don't buy their romance.

Alisa actually didn't play as big a role as I expected in this one. Sure, she has some pretty vital information and gets her own POV, but I was hoping she'd be upped in importance re: POV chapters. Despite that, I loved getting to see Alisa again. She's the same casually optimistic badass character and I enjoyed reading about more of her antics. Her actions are important to the overarching plot, and more personally for the characters, but I still wish she'd gotten more POV prominence.

If you've read the Last Violent Call stories, it's probably not a surprise that certain characters show up in this one. I was absolutely delighted to see them, and especially to see them in a room with our main characters from this duology.

The ending of this book is closed in a way OVE's ending wasn't. There's definitely still the potential for future stories in the Secret Shanghai world (even if not necessarily in Shanghai), but overall the ending felt fairly final. Character arcs got closed and rounded off in a satisfying way, and the epilogue provided some nice insight into what the characters are doing a year post-FHH. The B&N special edition short story also provides some more information in that direction, and is a funny and sweet story centering on Orion and Rosalind but featuring everyone.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and loved being back in the Secret Shanghai world. The stakes are high, but the characters have plenty of alliances and wiles to work with. The book ended on a high note and in a way that I think is satisfactory for all the characters involved.

#book #book review #books #book recommendations #fantasy #bookstagram #booklr #bookblr #bookaholic #bookish #book addict #ya fantasy books #ya fantasy #foul lady fortune #foul heart huntsman #secret shanghai #chloe gong #these violent delights #our violent ends #juliette cai #roma montagov #alisa montagova #rosalind lang #orion hong #celia lang #oliver hong #phoebe hong #political intrigue

[lovecatsys]

okay since everything except for Uncanny Spider-Man is out now I'm gonna go ahead and give my reviews of Fall of X so far

First off, Immortal and Red continue to be masterpieces, no surprises there, both books however are clearly taking a turn in a different direction and I'm loving it for both of them.

Jean Grey is not what I expected it to be at all, but still an amazing character study of Jean, I expected nothing less from Simonson of course.

Invincible Iron Man and X Men are decent, not a fan of exactly whats going on with Kate, the Emma stuff is great though. Kamala should not be in this book. I hate the avengers by default but I don't exactly hate whats going on between Emma and Tony, though that might change. The "wedding" is going to be exactly what I expected it would be of course. Overall not Duggan's worst writing but I don't love it.

Uncanny Avengers is... meh, so far, Pietro is super OOC which is :/ but maybe he'll get some more focus later on, god I hope he does. But it's frustrating how little effort is going into portraying him as a visible person of color when a much greater effort is going into his sister. Monet used her telepathy which gives me hope for her! I'm down for more of her teaming up with Kwannon tbh, they make a good team.

Astonishing Iceman is a bit of an anomoly to me. It's very good writing so far, I'm loving how Orlando writes Bobby, but I'm really pissed that they've chosen to stick with Romeo as his love interest after he got aged up just to come back and fuck Bobby and for them to throw Christian to the side. No mention of Christian at all at the hellfire gala, Emma is not concerned with where he is like she is with the Cuckoos which :/. I'm honestly afraid he's being dropped as a character which fucking sucks. The thing I hate the most about how Romeo is there is that Christian could literally be in his place and it would be perfect to me. He has a power set that could absolutely work for this situation just how Romeo's is working! Who knows, maybe this relationship will grow on me. We'll see.

Alpha Flight is really good, I haven't delved into the world of AF comics yet but from everything I know it seems perfect. My man was only there for two seconds in the first issue but we'll see if he gets any panel time as it goes on. Even if he doesn't though, yeah I'll be a little pissed but it'll still probably be a good read, and at least he'll have made any appearance at all since Marauders. Oh and Puck making fun of his new codename was funny. Fang really is a dumb name.

X-Force is still garbage, but this weird plot twist with Quentin (whatever it is??) has me gritting my teeth. fucking get your hands off my boy Percy he does not deserve this. Curious to see whats going on with the Colossus plotline, just wish it was happening in a better book.

Children of the Vault is amazing, never cared for Bishop and haven't read much Cable yet but I'm still all in on it. One of those books where you don't have to care much for the characters to recognize its quality. also fun fact: its written by the comic writing mentor of my comic writing mentor. lol

Dark X-Men wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be, but its still good. Though it kinda feels like it has too many characters in it so far, I'm loving the Maddie content and it had some great dark humor in it. LOVED the children of the atom bits, im so curious whats going to go down with Carmen and I'm just glad her friends and her relationship with Buddy got some panel time tbh.

last and the actual best: Realm of X was SO FUCKING GOOD. I've had a little soft spot in my heart for Curse since her story started in X-Men Green, and it seems like she's going to be a huge part of this arc rather than just tagging along as a little kid which is great. Sooraya fucking stole the show, this new take on her power signature is amazing. In general love all these women (Typhoid Mary is growing on me, I'm going to call the awful things she's done that made me want to hate her poor writing choices, especially since shes a survivor of such acts in the first place.) SO curious with what's going on with Yana, and I love how devoted she is to keeping Curse safe. DID NOT expect Saturnyne to be the main villain but im down for it tbh. This book is my favorite already and i just cant wait for hte next issue!

#wednesday spoilers #x men #WHOO that was a lot but. yeah #ill just rb with the uncanny spiderman review when it comes out lol

[msookyspooky]

OKAY !! JUst finished the movie and I really fucking loved it ! Like when i was a kid my sister talked big talk about scary it was so i never watched it (same with Orphan) and I didn’t really know what to expect but WOW

The characters are actually likeable for once so even tho theyre doing stupid shit that gets them killed, you still worry and care for them (i mean i was sure nick and carly were gonna be the “final ones” but tHE ENDING HAD ME NERVOUS) even the more annoying ones you still like (wade, dalton and nick at first)

The story is also a fucking banger, everything was done so well, the questions you have during the movie are actually answered (twice after i asked something, carly also asked it out loud skskks which was nice) LIKE THE CREEPY DUDE AT THE END, I REALLY THOUGHT THEYD LEAVE IT OPEN, IM SO GLAD I GOT ANSWERS SKSKSKS

Also Bo is fucking hot like SKSKSK thank you tumblr he was everything i wanted and more. Also like my main thing with horror movies is if i can rewatch them or not (like RZ Halloween was cool but too heavy for me rewatch for fun) bUT tHIS ONE THO !!! Absolutely would watch it again anytime 10/10

Im still debating what i should watch next from the list, so if there’s any you want me to watch first lmk !!

YAY! Ha, I knew you'd like it!!! It's the right amount of camp and horror mixed with good story telling. It has bad reviews but idc lmfao when in doubt if Rotten Tomatoes says it sucks its good and if they claim its amazing its usually...Not. (I can't believe RT convinced me to watch Creep. 90% positive reviews???? While HoW has 27% are u srs???)

Guy at the end is Lester, their little brother (of course you don't find that out till the end)

Let me narrow down the list

Okay, for rewatchablity bc it's fun or has a campy comedic feel to it:

- Thirteen Ghosts (It has Matthew Lilard / Stu!)

- Ghostship

- House on Haunted Hill

- Evil Dead (The original with Bruce Campbell)

- Night of the Demons

- Buffy the Vampire Slayer

- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2-4

- Gingersnaps (I know you saw the craft and jennifers body but i forget if you saw this or not)

- Freddy vs Jason

- Bride of Chucky

- Idlehands (It's a dark comedy)

- Trick r Treat

Rewatchablity bc it's just that good and you gotta catch everything you missed the first time:

- The Others

- The Other (1970s movie about a good twin vs bad twin. I really liked it its not scary just suspenseful!)

- Orphan

- The Curve (Similar to scream with Matthew Lilard I think you'd like it!!! Tim is just Stu if he got away with it)

I've yet to find too many movies with the same feel as Scream or Near Dark or Lost Boys or House of Wax and when I do the characters are unlikable (Urban Legend, I Know what you did last summer)

I actually think if you haven't watched the original Nightmare on Elmstreet you should! I just watched it again last night after not seeing it for years and the group of teens are extremely likeable characters but THEIR PARENTS suck ass lol.

I would personally pick one of these to watch next if you like Scream and House of Wax bc the protagonists are likeable and you're rooting for them + can easily be rewatched

- Nightmare on Elmstreet (1984)

- Evil Dead

- Bride of Chucky

- Pumpkinhead (If I remember correctly there was only one asshole)

- Pet Semetary (My favorite. It's eerie and creepy tho ngl)

[cosettepontmercys]

Hi! Happy Sunday! I'm glad you're feeling better. That's nice to hear. I'm okay and just used this weekend to relax. Haha wow..I don't actually know what Graceland is even about and I just knew that Aaron is in it but I hope it's a good show for you anyway lol. I haven't felt that invested yet honestly but I hope to listen to some cast recordings when they come out. I never did for last year though either. That's interesting about the reception though and I wonder why it's different. I'm surprised Back to the Future or the Notebook didn't get that many nominations but idk much about the shows that did yet. Gatsby was debatable and less likely based on reviews. I would say I'm most interested or rooting for the Outsiders at this point and I guess Merrily We Roll Along for best revival.

It's okay you don't like Sweeney but that was the first true musical I was obsessed with..like with the songs and score and noticing reprises and stuff. Same with the Newsies movie for me..I think the musical is better and have watched it tons of times. I was obsessed when the proshot came out. You made me laugh when you mentioned Mike Faist being in Newsies earlier this week cuz I also watched those videos a ton. I think I followed you when you had a beach read type url but I don't remember when that was.

Oh cool. I would like to read it since I haven't but I have so many books on my list right now first..some to read with my sister, and have not read a single book yet this year. But also Emily Henry's books seem great for summer too and Carley Fortune has a new book so i'm really hoping to get back to it soon, and maybe at some point I'll read Gatsby. I did not know that! I'm only familiar with the movie that had Leo playing him, so that's probably why I thought Isaac was pretty young. Do you like the Gatsby movie as an adaptation? I can't really remember but I think I liked it. I totally recommend the Outsiders book. Have you seen the movie? I thought the movie was a pretty perfect adaptation and I love it so much. I'm not sure how the musical will live up to it yet but it seems promising. Haha I guess your Gatsby is my The Outsiders..I remember reading it for English class and loving it and it also means a lot to me lol. I hope you like it if you do read it!

Idk what Water For Elephants got nominated for..if it was for best musical, but I think it has potential too. It's another one where I am only familiar with the movie that I only watched once a long time ago, but I think the circus stuff could be cool on stage. I'll try to listen to the cast recordings when they come out or possibly watch bootlegs and that could influence my opinions.

We have a lot of the same favorites! Unfortunately I was a little let down by the Manuscript, but it's growing on me. Do you mean more songs being performed on tour? I think it will be fun to see what the new costume or set looks like at least, but I hope she wouldn't cut a lot of songs for it, including Long Live. I do wonder if she will do more mashups again with new or old songs so we will see. It's only a few days away! But it makes it harder to guess surprise songs so maybe I'll wait and see what she does first. I hope you have a good week!

happy sunday!! i'm glad you had a relaxing weekend 🤍

i'm so bad at watching television, but i haven't been reading as much lately which means i get more television time. i'm only on like, the eighth? episode of graceland, it's taking me a while to watch! and yes, aaron tveit is the sole reason i picked it up 🥴 incredibly humbling behavior. i wonder if back to the future would've done better if it opened in the spring vs. at the beginning of the season? i just feel like the state of theatre is kind of bleak right now (most shows need a stunt cast to stay open / to even open in the first place, everything is so expensive, so many limited runs have closed early, etc.) i'm definitely rooting for merrily for best revival! it's funny, i was reminiscing on when my friends and i were so into theatre and the tony awards that we essentially did tony betting in our friend group. i started compiling my tony predictions but have to do more research! we aren't doing tony betting anymore because a lot of the friend group stopped being as invested in theatre (as in not reading all the reviews, checking up on weekly grosses, etc.). what a time.

happy closing to sweeney :( i'm curious to know if there'll be any audios floating around from tonight's show! i love listening to final show audios; they always make me super emotional. i wonder if it'll tour; i'd really like to see it live. i've been definitely back in my newsies phase lately. just the most special show to me, truly. the url was beachsread! so it's been over a year since i changed urls in honor of the adaptation announcement!! i used to have so many newsies related urls haha; i still have newsiesrevival saved and i was newsies-forever for a while back in 2014.

i just read the new carley fortune! i read the arc last week and it was fun, but not my favorite. definitely curious to know your thoughts! i haven't picked up a new book since, but am still listening to the iliad on audiobook and "working on gatsby" (i have not touched it in like a week). i did like the gatsby movie! it wasn't my favorite but it was still good! i think when i finish gatsby i will give the outsiders a go — i've never seen the movie but i know a lot of people love it! have you ever seen pippin? ugh i love the pippin revival, with all the circus stuff.

and yes! more songs on tour! tour starts so soon — i wonder where the TTPD set will be — i'm trying to remember where transitions are and what would logistically make sense; do you have any ideas? i'm thinking maybe after speak now, before red? or maybe after surprise songs, before midnights? or after midnights? i wonder if she'll do mashups and then do ttpd songs in full for surprise songs, or if it's going to be mashup central! can't wait to discuss with you!! 🤍 have a good week my friend! x

#post: answered #🩷 anon

[saiyomiya]

April 2024 Plans

March was not the most productive but like, it's fine.

I was planning on reading Tsukihime, right? Well, the monotonous, heavy loop music really killed my motivation real fast. It just takes way, way too long to read and the music loop was starting to drive me insane. I might try it again when the remake is out on PC.

So, I ended up buying Dai Gyakuten Saiban on sale and started trudging through it slowly. I haven't played it that much since I got it, but am starting my first trial (I started at 1-4 since that's where I was at on the Switch version before I stopped).

I'm not sure when I'll play it more? It takes so much mental energy to, so we'll see when the mood strikes me next... I definitely like it a lot, so I'll play it more, most likely this month.

As for the JP I have done for the latter half of March, I've been playing Shinymas more due to the goodies we're getting due to the anniversary.

It's a much, much easier read than DGS because the girls don't tend to talk about anything complicated or with heavy jargon, so it's a real self-esteem lifter. I highly recommend checking out slice of life stuff if you're studying Japanese. It'll go down a lot faster. Of course, some groups talk about more complicated things than others (I'm looking at Alstroemeria and Shhis for this, lol).

I don't really have goals when it comes to reading Shiny Colors other than to just... read it. I guess I'd like to read all the Shhis events (easy, since they have so few of them) and also Alstroemeria (harder, even though the content is easier--there's a lot of them). I finally started playing TFD so getting through every unit would probably be a good idea too.

Last month, I managed to read Mamiya and wrote a lengthy review on it. I really liked it, but I read it in English since I just wanted to read something in English for once. The translation was really good and a welcome break from the JP grinding I was doing for most of the month.

I still haven't finished Relink. I keep thinking I should, but I just haven't had the motivation to? Surely I'll get back to it someday, and I don't really regret buying it on release, but next time I'll wait before buying a game as expensive as that.

The last thing I mentioned on my list was to make keychains, and I got them done and they arrived! I think they ended up pretty cute, but Raqio ended up a little washed out, and I'm not sure how to fix it. Fuck printing blues, man...

I'm thinking of seeing if there's interest for purchasing these, but I'm kinda lazy about making a post so we'll just keep kicking that can down the road...

April 2024

This month, I'd obviously like to read more JP, such as the aforementioned Shiny Colors. I'd also like to spend some time reading Granblue stories in JP, which I've meant to for a while (I should make a list of ones I'd like to read). And of course, play more DGS.

When it comes to games, the No Name Yet event in Enstars is coming up and I have to play it. I have pretty much retired from Enstars, but I want to at least be back for such an important event for me and I have a dumb amount of resources for it so maybe I'll just max out the card and call it a day. I dunno. I know it's a lot easier to auto these days and it's not a Tour event, thankfully. I just have to keep an eye for it coming over.

Creatively, I'd finally like to make my Setsu plush, but I'm really lazy... everything is all set for the pattern, but I think I have performance anxiety for embroidering the face... We'll see how it goes.

Another thing I'd like to do is finally decorate my Tenka nui, which I kept putting off for months (I'm even staring at her on my desk rn). There's some really cute fan outfits that really make me excited to do it, and it frankly even shouldn't take that long to put blush on her and glue on some sparkles for her eyes so... I'm not sure why I haven't done it yet, lol

Also, Sekimeiya's anniversary is coming on May 6th and I'd like to have something drawn for it. So... yeah. And I guess finally finish up Ilsa maybe. Maybe...

I guess that's a lot of stuff I'd like to do, so better rise and grind... once again.

#this month

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

OPE those guns o.o

Yeah that does not look good xd

Hmm who are we telling that we're referring to them as Captain Nash and his wife?

Oh gosh them all 😭😭 they all look so worried :(( 🥺💔❤️

Understandable xD

Uhh is that a bomb o.o

Yeah that's very Bobby

Uhh ohh y'all 😬😬

🥺🥺 BOBBYY

Yeah of course he is xD an icon lol <3

UHH OHHH 😭😭😬

Y'all when I tell you I am NERVOUS

STRESSED AND STRESSIN xDD

This better all end up okay lol

Including their relationship because that's one I'm most scared for xD

Okay, that's the last of my last thoughts, so now it's time for the. . .

REVIEW

AAAHHHHHHH I'm so glad to have my babeys back :D.

Now, given that I'm writing this part on the day of episode 3 and I haven't watched episode 2 yet lol, this will be very short. I might come back and edit later xD.

BUDDIEEEE!!! I'm telling you they're a family. Why are they such a family? I don't know. Anyway poor Chris 😭😭💔❤️. That scene at the end, with the letter, was so good <33. And oh my gosh don't even TALK to me about Buck talking to Christopher and then it planning to Eddie in the hall 😭😭. I was not okay over that and I'm still not <3. Also, a callback to Eddie's panic attacks by having him use a strategy to help that woman was so cool :'DD. He slayed <33. Also the joke after?? They're so in love, your honor <33.

Hen! Don't remember much of what she was up to but she slayed :)). And she's doing great as Captain 🥰🥰! Also her not feeding into Athena's delusions xD (although we of course find out that they aren't but yk it's just a funny moment lol).

Chimney and Maddie! Chim stressing was a mood lol xd. And honestly, making sure you make time for yourselves amongst your jobs, child, and wedding planning is a good idea! But don't try that hard lol. Like y'all figured out, you don't need to :). But yeah, I'm glad they just decided to relax <3. Love them 🥰🥰.

Bobby and Athena! I be slightly concerned for them o.o. I'm sure everything'll be fine in the end relationship wise, but it's stressful xd. And poor Bobby 😭. I promise it's not something you've done Bobby xd. Anyway, SLAY on the investigating though lol :D. And even though I feel for him I'm glad Bobby set aside their issues and had his priorities straight lol xD. Anyway, hopefully all goes well with those pirates 😬.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode! It's so good to be back :D. I think the cruise ship is a really unique disaster - as are the issues with Bobby and Athena's relationship lol. By that I just mean, it's interesting/nice (even though it hurts) to see some struggles for them (that aren't external) :). There were also really great moments with everybody else, and I'm glad we got to see home ans the ship! Plus, there was a good spread of focus today :). Anyway, I'm a little nervous about the next episode, but I'm sure everything will be alright. It better be lol. Also, the calls were really cool today :O.

So, yeah! I loved this episode, I thought it was great :D. It was lovely seeing my babeys again :). I'm so excited for the next episode! This has been my review of. . .

9-1-1, Season 7, Episode 1: Abandon Ships

It was amazing! I'm interested to see how everything's gonna go down on the boat, and people's reactions. I'll be back here next time with my review of. . .

9-1-1, Season 7, Episode 2: Rock the Boat

See you then!

#9-1-1 #911 #oasis's 9-1-1 chatter #911 on abc #911 abc #911abc #9-1-1 abc #911 s07e01 #so many numbers there lol #now to watch episode two! #and tonight 3 lol #if I have time and energy later I will get to the rookie lol #I meant to last night but didn't have time xd

[purplesurveys]

1818

Do you put anything besides cheese on grilled cheese sandwiches? I don't have a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches in the first place...so I like to stick by just the standard recipe.

Do you suffer from headaches caused by caffeine-withdrawal? I do, actually. I used to think it was just work-induced headaches, but at some point I realized it was probably the lack of caffeine when my head would ache even when I've barely gotten any work done yet.

When consuming a beverage that comes in a can, do you prefer to drink it directly from the can or do you pour it into a cup?  I have it straight from the can.

Are there times when you think your reflection looks amazing, but you take a picture & it looks like crap?  Not really. I can usually tell from the get-go if my reflection alone already looks like shit and from there I usually wouldn't want to get my photo taken haha.

What do you do to cure a headache? I drink water, take a painkiller, and take a few minutes to stop looking at a screen. If I have time I'll walk around the house first and cuddle with the dogs to calm down.

Have you ever used picnik.com?  I'm pretty sure I did.

Do you still possess any belongings from your childhood? Do they hold some special significance?  I still have most of my childhood books and magazines, especially since a large portion of them came from my dad as gifts/pasalubong from when he'd come home from his work in the States.

Would you rather sit in a recliner or a rocking chair?  Recliner. Rocking chairs make me dizzy hahaha.

Do you have any cards from restaurants that you get stamped every time you visit, & after a certain number of purchases you get a free meal / drink?  I had a few before, but I didn't go to them often enough to make good use of the cards.

When it comes to books, what do you think is the “perfect” amount of pages?  Eh, it depends on the plot and how the story flows and such. I will say I'll probably lose interest from a book that's over 1,000 pages though.

Do you take advantage of calendars being on sale during the end of January, or do you just buy them for their regular price when they first come out?  Neither. I don't get physical calendars.

If you have a Facebook, do you ever set yourself to offline mode just to avoid one particular person?  I've been offline for like the last 10 years, but I also don't even think this matters anymore in this age.

Would you ever be interested in going scuba diving?  Maybe just once, then never again.

Have you ever absent-mindedly [or even intentionally] pulled apart the aglets [plastic at the end] on your shoelaces / hoodie & ruined the lace?  I haven't done this but I did recently ruin an aglet for one of my shoes. I was jumping too hard at the Seventeen concert, never noticed I was stepping on my shoelaces which had come undone by that point, and by the time I got home that's when I saw that my laces had completely lost their tips :(

Out of all of your friends / relatives, who would you say has the best vocabulary? Andi writes exceptionally well, and can write anything from essays to eulogies to poems to reviews.

When you are out of your house, where do you usually store your cell phone? I hold on to it at all times.

Do you ever use natural lighting to light your house [aka open the blinds] rather than use a lamp?  I use a lamp. I don't like natural light for the most part because the sun where I live is way too harsh, and the more light you let in the more hot it feels.

Are any of your fingers or toes deformed? What about the nails?  My left pinky is a little crooked.

When yawning, do you cover your mouth?  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

If you had a garden, what would you plant in it? Would you actually tend to it, or would it wind up neglected & withered?  I would not own a garden and just convert the space into something else lol.

What is a hobby / activity that you find relaxing? Is this something you often get the chance to do?  Well there's surveys, but I also like going to museums and painting. Painting I'm trying to go back to more and more these days; as far as museums, I try to go to one at least once every few months.

Are there any eyeshadow shades that simply do not look good on you?  Idk, all of them? Hahaha I'm not a big fan of makeup.

Do you think cable / satellite is worth paying for when things like Netflix & Hulu exist?  Not anymore. We got rid of cable four years ago because we're constantly on our subscription services now.

If you were in a room with no escape for twenty minutes, which of the following smells would you more easily be able to tolerate [& you’re not allowed to cover your mouth / nose or anything!] - bleach, cigarette smoke, heavy perfume, skunk, vomit.  I'll take either the perfume or cigarette.

Do you think greeting cards are a waste of money? For me, yeah. Where I'm from they're not all that common, and we'd much rather talk to the person in person instead of sending them a card lol.

[gozzabear26]

Day 15

How the heck has it already been a week since my last post? 😮 Time honestly feels fast as you get older!

It's been a big week that's for sure! Have done 5 days at work and I'm starting to get the hang of things. My colleague is fairly confident in leaving me to do the work without needing to hover which feels good. I'm also getting into a good rhythm with my mornings, although this morning I slept in till 6 and didn't get out of bed until 6.10 so was a bit of a rush getting out the door. Really want to get that down but it's definitely getting easier waking up at 5 the more I do it.

Food and fast wise... Well... Yeah. I was at a friends place this weekend and it was snack central! (That reminds me I need to transfer her money lol) but I haven't had a weekend stay at anyone but my friends place since 2014 so that was cool getting to know her a little more. Other than that I'm mostly sticking to having my first meal at 12 but still struggling to finish at 8... I just love snacks and if it's in front of me I'm likely to eat it! I can definitely feel the Holy Spirit's conviction each time I do but I can also hear the enemy's voice coming at me with condemnation so the positive in that is being able to discern.

Hmm, what else has happened this week?

Oh! I got my first paycheck on Thursday, which is wasn't expecting to get at all. I was expecting for this week to be my first one so that was great! Sent that straight to church for my first fruits offering, did that as soon as I saw it so that I couldn't tempt myself out lol. I'm reading The Blessed Life by Robert Morris and really enjoying it. I recommend it if you want to know more about tithing and financial generosity.

Once this weeks paycheck comes in I'll do a proper breakdown of the money. Because I'm in a position where there's overlap of my student allowance and work pay I actually think I'm going to hold off touching my paycheck money to Sunday night and have that be my weekly financial review day. I might even upload a YouTube video. Haven't uploaded in a while.. I'm just not in the habit of filming yet.

Yea that's the catch up. Monday and today just had work. Was in bed by 9 last night which was great. Still on the bus home from eGroup tonight (it's 9.25) so probably going to go straight to bed as soon as I get home and sort my lunch in the morning.

Thanks for reading!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

#health #spiritual discipline #christian #christianity #daniel fast #fitnessjourney #health journey #new job #new season #finance #money #paycheck

[scenetocause]

hello I never use this but I got tagged by @acrosstobear to do this so hi I guess I'm AO3 user emptyhalf I write fics n stuff, here is my 2021 in review

stories posted: 44 - nice, the lewis number. some were on anon because even i have like, a loose sense of shame about things or just like, idk, there's a freedom to not being known isn't there? like i like i'm completely anonymous as a fic author (who am i? no one knows except that it's probably obvious i am bri'ish and know quite a lot about F1 maybe i am jon who knows) and then there's the even deeper cover of posting something and never telling anyone at all (except my fics are pretty obvious BUT WHATEVER)

word count: jesus ok so i like, worked this out and it caused me immense psychic damage to realise i published 134,841 words of fic last year. haha imagine if i had used that time for literally anything else. [utopia.jpg if emptyhalf actually applied themself to useful endeavour]

most kudos: it kind of sucks that kudos is so low in f1 fic? like i used to write in some other fandoms and it's noticeable that it's much lower even if the views aren't. i guess it's RPF and people are like, internalising shame about it or whatever (or maybe just disgusted by my filth i guess that too) but anyway, the most kudos-ed one from 2021 was (i) just wanna get a little bit closer which is my most popular mando by quite a long way for some reason. i think it's one of my laziest but i guess it hit the right combo of moving in vibes and timing or sth.

longest story: ignoring the queer compilation fic (much like, uh, i do every day as i realise i've still not updated it lol why, why am i this way) then it's turn your heart into something gold which didn't quite match time thrown down the well's original wordcount or, frankly, level of effort/inspiration.

shortest story: every breath that whispers your name which is really short by my standards (790 words) just some cute video calling u kno

personal favourites: it's weird how like, your own favourites are rarely other people's innit. i am way too fond of my own genders george and enjoyed adding two chapters to that universe, one on the fic itself and one as a compilation. i think i've been convinced to revisit it one more time this year so i'll have to move the compilation chapter into the main fic for continuity and lmao i do like to just create logistical nightmares for myself don't i ffs.

i also really liked no plans of staying on.

i am guessing everyone has done this already if they wanted to do it also like literally no one follows me because i never use this but uhhhhh have fun if you haven't done it yet and for some reason see this post lol

[venusmoon]

i'm supposed to tag 9 people in this but i haven't done tag games in so long + i'm too shy SO if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged by me 🧸❤️

thank you @lesbicastagna for tagging me 💖💕

fav color: i change my favorite color all the time... lately i've been obsessed with all the shades of blue (especially the darker ones)– it's such a rich and elegant color :-) ultramarine, international klein blue, savoy blue, liberty, navy blue, egyptian blue, sapphire, delft blue...

currently reading: i'm reading autobiography of red by anne carson and it's brilliant. it's raw, elegant, formally beautiful... i still haven't finished it yet though so i'll refrain from writing a review lol but i really recommend it.

i never read only one book at a time so on my bedside table there are also northern lights by philp pullman (i'm re-reading the his dark materials trilogy– it was one of my favorites as a kid) and alexandre dumas' the count of monte cristo... it's a classic and i had never read it until now so i figured this would be the right time.

i'm also reading the manga orange by takano ichigo... it was one of my favorites as a pre-teen and it's been almost 10 years since the time i was reading it– and it's still amazing 💔

last song: introvert by little simz. the whole album is insaaaane it's so good i love it

last movie: i literally do not remember 🧍🏻‍♀️ i think i watched a ghibli movie sometime ago ? as background sound while i was doing something else...

last series: i'm on a sailor moon rewatch !!! 🌙

sweet, spicy or savoury: savoury or spicy :-) even though i definitely don't disregard sweets... especially the buttery ones 😋

coffee or tea: i prefer tea ❤️ right now i'm drinking this french blue earl grey and it's so mellow and delicious ✨ i love the cornflower note in it 💙

craving: i was craving tea but i just made myself some so i'm good 😌

#games tag #txt

[letsbeoutoftouch]

Three days ago, I decided to start watching one of the Chinese dramas that had been sitting on my Netflix to-watch list for as long as I use it: 'A Love So Beautiful'.

I was (am) really excited over the Korean version because the FL is So Joo Yeon, whom I love since I watched 'Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 2' last year―she's adorable!

However, I knew that the Korean version was a remake, so I figured I should start with the Chinese one first. Besides, a few years ago one of my ex-friends told me I should watch it, and she has a pretty good taste in dramas... So, well―I succumbed. And, oh my! I'm so glad I did!

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'A Love So Beautiful' is a coming of age drama, which depicts the lives of five friends as from the moment they meet in high school up to adulthood, and how they learn about love, friendship and life in general. It especially revolves around Chen Xiaoxi (Shen Yue, from 'Meteor Garden') and Jiang Chen (Hu Yi Tian, from 'Unrequited Love').

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♡ PLOT & EPISODES:

It is a really light-hearted drama, and its plot is uncomplicated. It is ideal for when you are in the mood for something that doesn't have twists and turns, and/or whose plot doesn't require a great effort to follow. If you feel like watching a drama like that, then I really recommend you to start this one.

Although it's made up of 23 episodes (and one special episode), they are approximately 40-minutes long each. Therefore, I didn't feel that they were tiresome to watch. Also, as a person who gets distracted quite easily ―I have the attention span of a goldfish―, I must emphasise that I didnt pause it at all―except, maybe, to go and grab some snacks... And to post that screenshot with a reference to Argentina, lol.

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♡ CHARACTERS:

Xiaoxi (FL): This character is a well-known one in dramaland―the typical female lead who is really (and when I say really, I mean extremely, blindly) in love with the male lead, no matter his actions or the words that leave his mouth.

I normally find this type of character annoying (yes, I'm looking at you, Nao). I find it painful to watch that she keeps resiliently following the male lead, even when he is continuously humilliating her. Of course, if you keep in mind that she is a teenager, then you may be able to understand the way she behaves―we were all a little bit like that during our younger years... Or, at least, I know I was. However, that's hard to remember when the story depicts her to be neither a teenager nor an adult, although she is supposed to be the former. By this I don't mean that teenagers can't go through situations that may force them to 'grow up' quickly, but stuff like 'living alone with my classmate' is not a normal situation for a teen (especially, with their parents consent ¿¿¿¿¿)―that's more adult-ish.

Anyways, back to Xiaoxi.

When I think about my younger self, I think she might ―in some points― relate to Xiaoxi. Why? That's simple―because she truly acts like a teenager. For her, the problems she faces are like the end of the world, and deals with them as (most) young people would.

Amongst those problems, love is obviously included. She's devoted to the love she feels, and doesn't waver. She's always true to her feelings and to her heart―sometimes, a little too much for my liking. However, her genuiness and stubborness are two of the traits I liked the most about her.

But Xiaoxi is not entirely naïve―not all the time, at least. She stood her ground in some parts of the story, as a teenager and, mostly, as an adult. I must admit that one kick was amazing―I was lying in bed and I literally had to sit up and scream 'APLICADÍSIMA' (an Argentinian slang that, in this context, could be translated as 'nicely done').

▫ ▫ ▫

Jiang Chen (ML): Yet another typical character in dramas. He's one of those guys who barely speaks, looks serious 24/7 and, the most important thing, has feelings but is unable to show them most of the time.

I'm not going to deny that people like that do exist in real life (now that I think about it, I may be like that irl, lol), but the real problem is how they are portrayed in dramas. I mean, the fact that a person gathers all those characteristics within them does not equal to being an a*shole (again, I'm so looking at you, Uehara).

Jian Chen sometimes acts like an a*shole, I'm not going to deny that. He mostly acts like that out of jealousy, which doesn't make it right. However, he's continuously growing out of that behaviour (maybe not so much out of jealousy 🙃), and that's what I liked about this character. Even if his character doesn't entirely lose his true essence (being serious is not a bad trait per se, just to name something), it was refreshing to see that, when he's with her, he wouldn't act like he doesn't care about her at all.

▫ ▫ ▫

Wu Bosong (SML): Oh, dear. He's the sweetest. For real.

I'm not the kind of person who usually falls for the second male lead (for example, in Heirs I was always team Kim Tan, although everyone loved Young Do and shipped Eun Sang with him). However, this time, I found myself falling for Bosong really, really hard.

His character is yet another cliché―the sweet boy who's always helping the FL and has to be content with watching her from the sidelines. However, his kind and tender nature slowly captured my heart.

*spoiler alert* It broke my soul that the story was unfair to him―he deserved way better. Not only romantically speaking―all the scenes where his grandma doesn't recognise him were so, so heartbreaking. I know life isn't fair, but it is a drama! Don't make the poor boy suffer that much 😭.

However, even though I loved this character a lot, I ―by no means― shipped him and Xiaoxi. He deserved someone who would give him their entire heart―and, let's face it, Xiaoxi would never grow out of her love for Jian Chen. *end of spoiler alert*

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♡ FRIENDSHIP:

As far as I'm concerned, most people are only interested in the romantic side of dramas ―which is fine, of course―, but I'm adding this item because it was seriously one of the things I enjoyed the most about this drama.

The chemistry between the five of them is awesome. Sometimes, it's not just about how nicely the leads are to each other―I think that portraying a great friendship is equally important. After all, life is not just about romantic love―it's about all the other kinds of love, as well.

It was sweet that they not only grew up together, but also that they stayed friends even if they had other things going on in their lives. They were unconditional to each other, but that didn't just stayed in high school―it followed them to their adult lives. They still tried to find the time to meet, even if they were busy (*spoiler alert* Xiaoxi's fansigning! *end of spoiler alert*), and supported and had each other's back no matter what.

I liked how friendship was one of the main topics in the drama.

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♡ SUMMARY:

If you're looking for a cute and light coming-of-age drama (and you don't mind a school drama―i.e., dealing with the fact that they are teenagers during most of it), then A Love So Beautiful is the one for you.

Also, if you haven't ever seen a Chinese drama (and you're up to a drama with the characteristics abovementioned), then I recommend you start with this one. It's not boring, chapters are relatively short (40-minutes-long episodes are considerably shorter than Korean drama's one-hour ones).

The acting was great (again, bear in mind that the characters are teenagers!), the chemistry between the leads was good, and, if you're like me, you'll enjoy the chemistry between the entire group (*spoiler alert* although Bosong and Jian Cheng are ready to throw hands at each other like 99% of the time *end of spoiler alert*).

If you have some time, I highly recommend you to watch it!

I'm leaving the trailer here, if you want to check it out:

A Love So Beautiful is available on NETFLIX, VIKI and YOUTUBE!

· · ·

I hope you liked this 'review'. I wanted to write one since I finished the drama, but I have been busy studying for my finals.

Sending lots of love during these weird times ♡

#a love so beautiful #chinese drama #cdrama #c drama #review #Hu Yi Tian #Shen Yue #Gao Zhi Ting #Wang Zi Wei