#also enjoy my nostalgic breakdown

[yet-another-haven-of-dollya]

can i ask advice ;; drawing wise ? how did you start to anatomy but also w stylization? did you bruteforce by studying every bone muscle etc in art school?

hmm...

First, you must distinguish between two completely different concepts: gesture and anatomy. The stylization and dynamic you often see me doing with my dancing practice is "Gesture". This is an excellent tutorial by Proko about gestures. I practiced gestures very soon when I started drawing, simply because I wanted to draw dynamically, lucky for me it was the right thing to do. This was the main reason why I'm so fast at sketching.

This is my gesture practice, 1 min, 2 min, and 5 min sketch. It's about the flow of the body and which direction each part is going, use "sharp and coherent lines". I practice until it becomes a "natural reflex", a habit when I look at people's interactions.

This below is something I drew 3 years ago (my anatomy was not good sorry), notice how I use many many coherent lines? At the thigh, shin, arm stretching,... all the bigger areas? That's the remaining of gestures.

It goes without saying. Try to find the flow of gestures, even for the hair or clothes. Heh, I drew this 4 years ago, how nostalgic.

You can see how I just create the flow with Lya's hair and body movement in the dancing pics too. Like with Kylar's pic her body is straight up one quite hard mass from head to toe. You know she's leaning forward, seemingly wanting to abandon Kylar with a "pathetic loser like you? With me?" attitude (ouchie sorry Kylar nation). While in Sydney's pic she seems much more relaxed and enjoys how her body parts seem to loosen and more in sync with Sydney's movements. Her hip and legs sway more, and her hair also sways back at Sydney's body, hinting that her moves are relatively close to his body. I don't think I have enough vocabulary to describe, gestures are always just "feelings" to me. If people see what I want to show, that's the success for me.

I know many self-learners started by finding random tutorials that have muscle breakdown or box-like proportions to try and mimic. Mimic is good, drawing is mimicking and remembering what you saw, but without good gesture practice, many people tend to make anatomy very stiff.

Then, you start to apply anatomy to the gestures you've practiced. One way to do it is by learning about muscle position first, and then trying to apply it to a figure, or a model. This is my homework and it's HORRIBLY WRONG IN MANY WAYS. My teacher fixed it for me but I don't have the after with me right now, so take this as an example of how to do the apply thing, DO NOT USE IT AS MUSCLE REF it's very wrong.

In my opinion bone structure is not strictly needed like muscles. Bones are for muscles to hang onto. You only need to remember some important "landmarks" like the collarbone, elbow joint, anterior pelvis, knee, and ankle,… to hang the important muscles to it. After you're familiar with muscles and gestures, you can start to stylize. Applying your knowledge to animated characters with cartoonish design is one great way. THESE HOMEWORKS OF MINE ARE STILL WRONG but ye hope you get the idea. I'm still struggling with anatomy.

One of my all-time fav are AFK ARENA artists and what they do for the game. Aki as the main artist, Kuri Huang, and another artist I suddenly forgor the name as home screen illust. I recommend researching their works if you want a direction on how to stylize your character with great dynamic gestures and shapes.

And

As much as I hate to say this, I was particularly considered a failure, a stone-head, who couldn't be changed for the better when I was still in art school - uni. My chosen major was digital graphic design, not specified in drawing but in designing, that's one thing I regret. I traded 5 years of my youth for doing the things I don't want to do. That's why the moment I graduated, I immediately went and signed up for an advanced art class specified in drawing. I'd be lying if I said the uni didn't teach me anything about drawing. They did, but almost everything I learned during 5 years of uni was self-learning from outer sources. I encourage self-learning the most when I talk with younger artists. Proko is a very trusted source to learn from, go to their YouTube channel, and you might figure out something too.

#dollya ask #not a drawing tutorial just my personal experiences

[depressedbagpipe]

Golden (King Caspian x fem!reader)

Chapter I - Voyages at Dusk, Treaders by Dawn

Words: 3404 Warnings: some angst and misogyny i guess (?) not too much plot for now, this is just the set up ;) A/N: alright, here it goes. i actually had a breakdown and deleted half the fic before posting so idk how to feel about this. i really hope you enjoy this fic, and I'm sorry for taking so long :( ALSO i haven’t proofread this 😇 Taglist: @sskhair, @sassyandclassyx, @thefictionalgemini, @glimmering-darling-dolly, @just-levyy, @noortsshift,

Series Masterlist

Dawn. Warm and alerting, bathing the clear sky in orange and red and pink and all sorts of sweltering colors I could imagine. The sea below the cliff was calm and shone with such intensity that it hurt to look at. Yet the scenery was beautiful. The wind hugged me and the sun’s rays welcomed me like an old friend. The top of the cliff was showered in green, the grass moving with the breeze, alive and inviting. Summer was finally here, and it cast large and nostalgic shadows over the ruins of Cair Paravel. Nature had taken over the stones once again, covering the past in colorful present. The altar where the thrones of the Kings and Queen of Old used to be remained intact, as if magic itself wanted to bathe the pedestal in power. Power that came and left, but also power that remained. 

Laughter reached my ears. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Giggles and chuckles grew stronger until a pair of short arms wrapped themselves around my legs.

“Mumma, come play with us!” a little boy’s voice demanded, and the happiness in those words finally snapped me back to reality.

With a grin, I turned around, bending down, and picking the kid in my arms, earning a loud howl from him as I spun us. Before either of us could get dizzy, I put him back down, lovingly moving away one of the dark strands of hair that fell over his dark eyes. He looked a bit too much like his father, to no one’s surprise.

Speaking of, he now stood next to me.

“Having fun without me?” Caspian asked in a teasing voice, throwing an arm over my shoulders, using his hand to stroke the exposed skin of my –his– shirt.

I looked up to him. The wrinkles by his eyes were just a tad more prominent, but the same lively spirit adorned his irises. He looked somewhat taller, with his young naivité turned into experienced serenity. He carried himself like the king he was, and yet his lips still turned upwards by the right corner first, kind and amused, as they did when I first met him. His tanned skin glowed in the late afternoon sun, and despite having been married for years, he still managed to make my heart soar.

“Never, Dada!” the kid giggled, still grabbing my legs. 

Caspian laughed as he threw him over his shoulder. “Unfortunately, young man, we should get going back to the castle. It’ll be dark soon.”

The boy complained. “But I wanna stay here! I wanna listen to the stories Mumma tells!”

His annoyance didn’t last long, for Caspian quickly used his advantage to shake the boy in the air, earning loud chuckles in return.

I wanted to follow them, I really did, but my feet seemed stuck to the ground. I saw Caspian walk away, yet I couldn’t move. Something was anchoring me to the top of the cliff, and the only thing I could do was stare as the love of my life seemed to disappear before my eyes.

Again, I know I should’ve been scared, as the world around me seemed to crumble once more. I waved my arms around, my hands flexing trying to grab the air with trembling fingers, anything to keep me afloat. Another breeze engulfed me, equally as warm as the sun that was rapidly setting over the horizon. Out of instinct, I closed my eyes, allowing whatever that was to take me to wherever I had to go. Right before everything ended, a familiar voice resounded on the inside of my skull, bringing back that same serenity I had always felt at the top of that cliff.

Soon, my dear.

I woke up with a start. I immediately frowned as I stared at the ceiling, tracing the lines of the wood at the top of the high-posted bed, analyzing the details in the engraving as I usually did when I couldn’t fall asleep. That had not been the first time I dreamed about Caspian, and what could possibly be our son, but it had been the first time Aslan had made himself known. It had been three years since we last saw him, right after Caspian’s coronation and the Pevensies’ farewell, and despite knowing he was always around, hearing him for the first time after that long only intrigued me. Beautiful, amazing, scary, and anxious things happened during the first three years of Caspian and I’s ruling over Narnia, yet Aslan had never shown up before. I wondered what his message meant too. 

I pondered for a few minutes, still lying on the comfortable bed. The quietness of the room, which was starting to fill with light, made me realize I was alone. I raised my head slightly, looking around the room hoping to find Caspian hunched over some papers in a small desk we kept by the balcony, but he was nowhere to be found. 

My frown got deeper, and I finally sat down and took a look at the state of the room. Our suite at the castle was huge, bigger than any room I had ever owned. The high ceilings and big windows provided warmth and security. Back at Cair Paravel, I had insisted on a rather modest room, but that was no longer fit for me, or us. I was surprised that Caspian wanted to stay in his childhood castle; he always spoke about his home growing up, and how dark and moody it always was, but after a leap of faith and several peace treaties later, the sun seemed to be always shining over the old Telmar. Because the sun always shone over Narnia.

Yet my favorite part of the suite was the balcony; overlooking the kingdom with the sea at the horizon, with the ships docked at the harbor and the peaceful waves that blended with the sky. I know it wasn’t Cair Paravel, and it would never be, but different didn’t mean worse. Narnia prospered under Caspian’s rule, and I, the newly appointed queen, had had the chance to see the land flourish and rise from its ashes.

I was now outside, staring at the view, looking at the sun slowly climbing its way up, as well as the citizens living right under us starting their days, happy and undisturbed. My heart clenched a little, thinking about how much Lucy would enjoy the view, but I shook my head. I couldn’t think about them now. I couldn’t know if I’d ever see them again, at least in Narnia. As much as I loved remembering the past, I had to focus on my present to succeed in my future. 

And my present was now talking rather loudly outside the big wooden door to our suite. 

“But, your Majesty…”

“Nonsense. She’s my wife first, I’ll take care of this.”

“Let us help, your Majesty!”

I scrunched my eyebrows at the voices and flinched when the door opened a bit too loudly.

“My love?” Caspian called out.

“In here!”

His footsteps were rushed and heavy as he suddenly appeared before me on the balcony. 

“What are you doing up? You heard the doctor, you should rest!” he took me in his arms and gently guided me back to the bed, sitting me down on the mattress and taking my face in his hands, inspecting every detail.

I laughed. “Cas, I’m alright. In fact, I’ve been feeling great for the past few days,” I calmly took my hands in his and put them down. His thumbs automatically rubbed the back of my hands, which didn’t fail to give me goosebumps.

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea…” but I cut him off before he could finish.

“Don’t.”

“Please, my love, I just want you to be alright.”

“I’ll be alright once I have something to do, Cas. You seriously cannot expect me to lay around all day when there’s a world full of adventures out there!”

“Your Majesties?” Edith, one of the maids, interrupted us. “The bath is ready.”

“Thank you, Edith. You may go now,” Caspian looked up but didn’t move from his spot.

Edith bowed to us and left with a troubled expression, and I immediately turned to him again.

“What did you do?”

Caspian tried to look innocent but failed miserably. “Nothing! I woke up early and headed down to the kitchens to fetch you something to eat when you woke up! Then the maids found me and insisted on doing the work but I wouldn’t let them.”

I tried to fight off the smile. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I wanted to do something nice for you. I’ve been worried sick these days and just… wanted to be at your side as much as I can before I leave.”

That alerted me. “What do you mean ‘before I leave’?”

I took my hands away, bringing them to my waist. Caspian was looking at me with a guilty gaze from his place on the ground before me. He spoke slowly, almost testing the waters.

“I don’t think you should come, my love.”

“And why is that?” I raised an eyebrow at him, a bit too defiantly. It was too early in the morning for this.

“I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“So you’re keeping me locked away?”

“That’s not…” he tried to reason, but I wouldn’t let him.

I stood up from the bed, careful not to accidentally hurt him as I walked towards the small en suite, feeling the warm water from the free-standing bath, anything to prevent me from lashing out at him. 

“I don’t wanna hear it, Caspian. I’m coming with you. Now, I appreciate the breakfast but if you’re not gonna join me, I think it’s best if you leave me alone now.”

I usually hated being stern with him, but I was tired of the conversation. I wasn’t about to begin yet another fight about the same topic, knowing it would end in disaster. After a few seconds, Caspian spoke.

“I’ll be at the war room, then.”

He didn’t say anything else and left. I sighed, already feeling bad at our near-discussion, and let myself sink into the water. My eyes closed as I tried not to let the anger consume me. 

It hadn’t been the first time Caspian had suggested I don’t participate in the mission. Ever since I had randomly fainted during a training session he had been treating me like a child. And I understood his preoccupation, because I too worried about him every single second of my existence, but it had been almost two weeks, and I had been feeling fine ever since I woke up after the episode. Caspian had even called every single doctor, physician, and healer in the entirety of Narnia, and the verdict was all the same: I was fine. The day had been hot, and I had been tired, and there hadn’t been anything more to it. Yet now, after months of preparing our sailing around the Lone Islands, Caspian was willing to let me stay behind. And I was not going to let him. Narnia needed its queen.

Walking around the halls of the old Telmarine castle was always one of my favorite activities, and while I would normally stop and appreciate the many pieces of art that decorated the walls, I was a woman on a mission. 

Most of my armor was left at our suite, knowing I wouldn’t be needing it for what was about to happen, but for good measure my dual swords were at my back. Despite bowing and nodding at every person I saw in the halls, the sense of urgency in my steps was enough for them to leave a significant space between them and me as I approached the big doors to the war room. With a final breath, I opened them wide. 

Caspian’s face was priceless. He probably wasn’t expecting me so soon, and I definitely wasn’t expecting him to have a whole meeting without me. All of our counselors and fellow top warriors stood at the round table, where a large map of the entire Narnian territory was displayed for everybody to see. Little figures were being moved by Reepicheep, our mighty and beloved mouse, although he too stopped when I came in.

“Your Majesty,” he respectfully bowed at me, and it was only after he did that the rest of the room followed. 

Ouch. That stung.

“I see you’ve already started without me,” I noted, closing the heavy doors behind me and occupying my place at the other end of the table, facing Caspian directly. “Did I miss anything?”

Thankfully, Reepicheep answered. “Not at all, my Queen. We’re just revisiting the details of the voyage. I don’t think we should postpone it any more, my lords.”

I nodded. “Good. When do we leave, then?”

“Wait…” Caspian tried again.

“I believe the Dawn Treader is ready, so what’s stopping us?”

Lord Drinian, the captain of the first Narnian ship, spoke. “Well, His Majesty thought it better to wait until your health improved, my Queen.”

I glared at Caspian. “My health has been perfectly fine for the past week, Lord Drinian, thank you for your concern. Now I believe, as captain of the Narnian army, I have a say in this mission.”

“Of course, my Queen. And I can assure you, no decision will be made without your approval,” Reepicheep bowed his little head again, bless his heart. Yet the fact that a talking mouse seemed to care more about my word than my own husband did was something I wasn't enjoying at all.

“Then why wasn’t I informed about this meeting?”

Every head turned to Caspian after I fired the question. My blood was already boiling by that point. I didn’t want to place the blame on him, but, after all, he hadn’t even mentioned a meeting in the first place. 

Taking a breath to calm down, I continued. “Again, I appreciate the concern, but from now on, even if I’m on my deathbed, I should, no, I have to be informed about anything that involves my kingdom. I’m equally as useful out there as inside the castle.”

My eyes were glued on Caspian, who hadn’t moved his gaze off me. He could feel my anger, I was sure of that, and it was taking everything in me to not lash out completely in a room full of people. I didn’t want to give them another reason to think lowly of me as it was.

“Very well,” Caspian said at last, not without taking a big gulp at first. “Let’s begin, then.”

“I can’t believe you did that,” I closed the door to our suite with a loud bang.

Caspian flinched before me.

“I told you, I’m sorry!” he threw his hands up. “I don’t know how many times I’ve said that!”

“It’s not about what you said, Caspian, it’s about what you did! What you keep on doing, as a matter of fact!”

He lowered his voice, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Do you understand how hard it is for me?” I yelled. I knew I was letting the anger on him, but I couldn’t seem to stop now. “How hard it is to wake up every day and try twice as much to be taken seriously?”

“What do you mean?”

I sighed. “I’m not a queen, Caspian. I’m a joke.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is! I told you how life was back in the days with the Pevensies! So many people in court wouldn’t hesitate to question my worth every time I took the wrong step. It took years to show everyone I was as capable as any other man. It didn’t even matter I was knighted by Aslan himself! And now?” I walked to the balcony, suddenly in desperate need of air. Despite the high ceilings of the room, I was suffocating. “Now, I know that everything I do is being scrutinized. I can’t afford to spend a day in bed because now I have an entire kingdom to look after. I can’t miss a meeting, I can’t miss a training session; I really can’t give anybody the chance to believe that I’m not worthy of being a queen.”

A single tear fell from my eyes, but Caspian brushed it away with delicate fingers. He put his hands on my shoulders, making me face him.

I didn’t want to look at him after that, but he raised my head with a finger, pinning his dark eyes on mine.

“You, are worthy of every beautiful thing in the world, my love. You have nothing to prove to anyone. I know what you’ve done and what you’re capable of, and I love you with every beat of my heart. And most importantly, you know what you’ve done and what you’re capable of. So what if you miss a few meetings? Or a mission? You are my queen, you are the queen of Narnia. Nothing’s gonna change that. And I wouldn’t have anyone else by my side, not even given the choice.”

More tears kept flowing from my eyes.

“Then why am I always this insecure?” I spoke, almost in a whisper. 

Caspian smiled softly. “Because you’re human. And you have emotions, and this is no easy job, and you’re right. I don’t know what life looks like for you, and I’m sorry for keeping you away from the chaos downstairs. I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I know that I can’t keep you locked away, no matter how afraid I am of something happening to you.”

“Is that why you did it?” I asked, putting my hands over his.

I intertwined our fingers together, a habit I quickly picked up after being married to him.

He nodded. “Do you know how I felt when I saw you lying there, pale and rigid?” He moved a strand of hair behind my ears, and his gaze turned slightly darker.

I shook my head. I remembered the feeling, the gnawing knowledge that my legs were giving out, and praying I wouldn’t fall too hard on my head.

“My whole world stopped. You weren’t moving. And nobody knew why. It was a scene I had already seen once at the How and I had made a promise to myself that you wouldn’t ever be in that situation again… And there you were, on the bed, five doctors surrounding you and not one of them could say what was wrong. And I don’t care that I didn’t move for a whole day, left my duties to someone else, and just sat by your side waiting for you to wake up.”

I was frozen in place. I didn’t even know what to feel anymore. All my anger suddenly dissipated, leaving longing, confusion, and guilt behind. I had been a bit too focused on my own discomfort that I hadn’t even thought about what Caspian had felt when it all happened. Even though I had been the one to drop dead in the middle of the courtyard, he had never left my side, going as far as making me breakfast despite not knowing a single thing about cooking. 

“I…” I began, but he cut me off again. He somehow always managed to read my mind.

“And hey, I know what you’re thinking. It’s not your fault, okay?” Caspian said. “I don’t want you to blame yourself. I should’ve asked you first about what you wanted. And there is no way that I’m leaving without you now. I need my right hand, and I need my wife. Luckily for me, you’re both.”

I smiled. A genuine smile for the first time in hours. “Wherever you go, I go.”

“Together,” Caspian affirmed.

I brought his face to mine and kissed him, properly. The last few days we had shared quick and almost timid kisses, usually on Caspian’s behalf, probably not to hurt me. And every single doubt, fear, and hesitation was thrown out the window when his arms embraced me fully, keeping me impossibly close to him. His beard tickled my face, and my fingers got lost in his mane, a little tamer and lighter than it had been at first. His fingers trailed the light wool patterns of the shirt I wore, and I swore at that moment that no matter what came at us, I was always going to fight for him, and for us. 

We pulled back at the same time, breathless and smiling.

“We leave at dawn, then.”

Next chapter

General Taglist: @angiewhoohooo, @azaleaniath, @mishaandthebrits, @celestialcharles

#prince caspian x reader #prince caspian #ben barnes x reader #narnia fanfiction #narnia #prince caspian movie #prince caspian fanfiction #chronicles of narnia #prince caspian x you #prince caspian x y/n #narnia imagines #bagpipe writes #silver series #golden series

[thethirdromana]

Kerr Avon's costumes, rated

The sequel to Romana II's costumes, rated, here by popular* request! (*maybe not very popular.)

Screengrabs from here (copied rather than linked per their FAQs). Invaluable record of what Avon actually wears in which episode from here. I haven't included overcoats, spacesuits, or anything Avon doesn't actively choose to wear, like prison clothes. Which means that rating this monstrosity

is left as an exercise for the reader.

I've also not done every single variation on black jackets with studded panels, even when they are technically different black jackets with studded panels, because otherwise we'd be here all night.

As seen in Space Fall and Cygnus Alpha.

Ugh. It's fine. The heights of bonkersness that Blake's 7 costume design would reach are not even really hinted at here. It's a perfectly reasonable outfit - grey shirt, grey trousers, grey tabard-thing. Add a name badge and Avon could be stocking shelves in a fancy supermarket. I'll allow that it does look comfortable, which will not be a theme of much else on this list. 5/10.

As seen in Time Squad.

I don't hate the brown patchwork thing (though brown is rightly Blake's colour), but what's going on with the larger square over his stomach? I feel like he's about to do some welding or something and it's there to protect his clothes, but it is his clothes. Avon only wore this outfit once, and who can blame him? 2/10.

As seen in The Web, Seek-Locate-Destroy, Mission to Destiny, Duel, Project Avalon, Breakdown, and Deliverance.

I think this one may have suffered from the passage of time. Because I look at it and think, why has Avon chosen to dress like an old-fashioned stereo system? But from the vantage point of 1978, I guess Avon had chosen to dress like a decidedly modern stereo system. Look at those rounded corners, he could be a first-gen iPod. And the matching grey of collar and cuffs is a nice touch. None of this answers the question of why he has buttons across his tits, but there are some things that are not for us to know. 8/10.

As seen in Bounty and Orac.

Oooh, green. Green is a nice change. And if you're watching Blake's 7 and you're enjoying those green sleeves, you'd better make the most of them, because other than one very notable exception, this is the last time that Avon wears an outfit that isn't brown, white, black or shades of grey for the entire rest of the series. The rest of it looks a bit like someone's Star Trek Discovery uniform cosplay got out of hand. 6/10, because green.

As seen in Redemption and Killer.

Obviously, this is a classic. And full marks to Paul Darrow for wearing a costume that was literally bought from a sex shop and making it look like something that anyone might wear to their normal day of fighting oppression and engaging in homoerotic tension. 10/10.

As seen in Shadow, Horizon, Gambit, and Children of Auron.

OK fine I threw away the term "classic" too soon, this is the true classic, the time Avon decided to dress as a thermal blanket and then pair that with thigh-high boots. ICONIC. What I love about this is aside from being batshit, it's actually kind of a nice outfit? I imagine that shiny fabric was absolute hell to work with but the gathering at the shoulders means it hangs surprisingly well.

It also gains at least 5 bonus points for featuring in this, one of my all-time favourite Blake's 7 moments:

I wish I could find it as a gif, but you'll just have to join me in pretending these images are moving instead. And in heaving a nostalgic sigh for the era when men were allowed to have normal bodies on TV. 15/10.

As seen in Shadow.

I've tried to go for just one main outfit per episode, because this is already very long and we're only about halfway through. But I had to make an exception for matching! outfits! And all the better for being an outfit that looks great on all three of them. I only wish that Avon could have had some silver boots like Jenna is wearing, I think it would really have completed the look. 9/10.

As seen in Weapon, Pressure Point, Countdown, and Dawn of the Gods.

In some ways, this costume is quite practical. Avon is wearing something not a million miles from bikers' leathers here, and the quilted part of the chest and back would presumably offer him a bit of protection if he got into a fight. But also, it's the colour and style of a brothel sofa, and there's no way in hell he could wear this and retain the ability to lift his arms above his head.

God, I love this show. 10/10.

As seen in Trial, Hostage, Voice From the Past, The Keeper, Star One, Aftermath, and Powerplay.

I have less to say about this because - and I mean this in full tribute to the Blake's 7 costume designers - it's just a nice jacket! It stays in keeping with the design trends we see throughout the series, with panels of different fabrics, and spacewear shiny silver bits, but ultimately you could wear this on the street today and no one would give you a second look. I quite like that about it. 8/10.

As seen Aftermath. (And the loose black shirt in Voice From the Past is similar too).

Maybe this is just my mid-00s goth-adjacent phase showing through, but I am, and always will be, a sucker for a man in this kind of shirt. 8/10, please don't make me justify this further.

As seen in Volcano and Rumours of Death.

The first of many similar black outfits, where I'm going to be selective or this will get tedious very quickly. I think this is the best of them; after this, the 80s started up in earnest, and Avon's shoulders were never allowed to be their natural width again. 9/10.

As seen in The Harvest of Kairos.

My parents haven't been camping in years, but somewhere in the attic they still have an old tent, which lives in a bag that looks a lot like this outfit. As if I needed any more reasons to dislike The Harvest of Kairos. 1/10.

As seen in Ultraworld.

Avon what are you doing. Brown is not your colour. I think I might headcanon that this is Blake's jacket, because aside from the brownness it also seems to be a fair bit too big for Avon. After a couple of seasons of squeezing him into the lobster outfit and other tight leather things, the costume designers seem to have swerved hard into boxy shapes from this point onwards. I disapprove. Honestly, I was going to skip this one except that I love what Dayna is wearing. Wish Avon could have some of that energy. 2/10.

As seen in Death-Watch.

Let's pause for a second, look to the left, and appreciate that Dayna is wearing another fabulous outfit. Now let's take a deep breath, and look at the utter monstrosity that Avon is wearing. Like a matador crossed with a bumper car. 0/10.

As seen in Rescue, Power, Traitor, Stardrive, Animals, Headhunter, Orbit, Warlord, and Blake.

Avon wears some kind of black jacket with studs for nearly all of season D, but I've picked this as the definitive one. I don't know if there's some kind of clever character development thing going on here with how big this costume is, like Avon is expanding into his leadership role, but weighed down by the responsibility too. It could be deliberate, it could just be what fashion was like in the early 80s.

What I do know is that however meaningful this costuming might be, it's not flattering. 5/10, and Avon finishes the series, sadly, no better dressed than he began it.

#blake's 7 #costuming #kerr avon #paul darrow #i'm game for doing Servalan next though tbh i'd prefer Jenna so i can look at some actual colours

[hpowellsmith]

March Reading

I read a lot of books this month, and had great luck with how much I enjoyed them! Favourites are bolded.

Brute: Stories of Dark Desire, Masculinity & Rough Trade - ed. Steve Berman

A collection of dark erotica stories about queer men: a variety of horror, thriller, and character studies. Some didn't entirely land for me as they were just a bit too gruesome for me to entirely enjoy, but I did love 'Dark, Firm, and Dry' by Rien Gray, 'Dick Pig' by Ian Muneshwar, and 'The Boy Who Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was by LC Von Hessen'; 'Suitcase Sam' by Tom Cardamone was horrific enough to disturb me afterwards. There were a few trans guy protagonists but amid a lot of lovingly-described gigantic cis men, trans men didn't get described as objects of desire; it made me realise how much I'd like to read more erotica or steamy romance where a trans man is written in the lavish/idealised/thirsty way a lot of the cis men were in this collection. It was also interesting that most of the protagonists were strongly submissive; it's sparked off a lot of offline conversations about erotic fiction and depictions of kink therein, and my own thoughts about how I write erotic scenes (though I don't consider what I write intensely kinky). I'd enjoy writing more about this subject but I'm not sure Tumblr is the place for it; maybe a blogpost one day?

Love Kills Twice - Rien Gray

I adored this high-heat F/NBi romantic suspense book. The characters were hot and appealing, with a lot of substance and groundedness to them along with it. The plot was tight and I devoured the whole thing at top speed. Much recommended!

The Salt Path - Raynor Winn

A memoir about a fifty-year-old farmer and her husband who became homeless and walked England's South West Coast Path. Powerful and evocative in places: I enjoyed it, though some of the descriptions and dialogue of the people encountered melted into one another a bit. I'm realising that I rather like these people-hit-rock-bottom-and-walk-in-the-wilderness-about-it books. They always inspire me to look outward and get outdoors, albeit in a lower-key way.

The Eye in the Door - Pat Barker (reread)

This was quite nostalgic for me, because I read it a long time ago (before the first in the series, actually). I like elements of it more than Regeneration - getting to know Billy Prior better, the city scenes, depiction of queerness and homophobia beyond what Siegfried Sassoon talks about in Regeneration, some of the socialist politics and class consciousness - but the main plot hadn't fully stuck with me. I think I see why: there are several long sequences that I found hard to focus on, and some of it is a bit strange, veering into depictions of multiple-personality-disorder that have been pretty debunked nowadays. Still, I enjoyed revisiting it. The sense that William Rivers is on the verge of breakdown feels palpable and gripping.

Love Bleeds Deep - Rien Gray

Justine and Campbell are on a not-so-idyllic not-exactly-honeymoon in France, growing accustomed to life together and the combination of enjoying a private life and Campbell's deadly occupation. This doesn't shy away from the psychological damage both leads have suffered, while also showing exactly how much they mean to each other. Again I loved it just as much as the first one.

Love Burns Bright - Rien Gray

So many romance books focus on the sexy getting-together part, and sequels don't always keep the spark going. But this series is so good for that and for keeping the emotional connections between the gorgeous characters. In this one, we meet Justine's family, which is already fraught as Justine wasn't in a position to be in touch with them for a long time - but things soon get complicated. I loved it.

A Love So Dark - Rien Gray

Such a good finale for an amazing dark queer romance series! The relationship between Justine and Campbell is beautifully drawn and as hot as ever - no weird misunderstandings or other relationship-drama nonsense - but their situation is anything but settled as some consequences from earlier books come back to haunt them. What a fantastic series this is! Some of the books I've read about nonbinary characters treat them as learning opportunities, or as nice best friends, or as a vehicle for positive rep, and I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see a fully-formed, hot, flawed, adult nonbinary character making their way through excellent thriller plots. I love Campbell and Justine and I'm sorry to see them go, but it was an amazing ride with them.

Valerin the Fair - Rien Gray

A beautifully-written fantasy novella, the first in the Out of True series about sapphic knights. The details are so lovely - they remind me of what I loved about the prose style in Spear by Nicola Griffith - and the intimate scenes are stunning. You can download this for free, so if this sounds like your cup of tea, do give it a look!

#bookblr

[ltwharfy]

"Bob's Burgers" Season 6 Episode Ranking Rewatch (Long Post)

So, I've been rewatching "Bob's Burgers" from the beginning and ranking the episodes using the spreadsheet that @babsvibes created! If you want to know why I'm doing this or how I view the 1-5 rating scale, you can check out my Season 1 post! If you want to check out any of the other seasons, I've been using the "bob's burgers episode ranking rewatch" tag for all of them.

Now, on to Season 6:

Average (Mean) Score: 4.47

Mode (Most Common) Ranking: 5

Ranking breakdown: 11 5s; 6 4s; 2 3s

Season as a whole thoughts:

Another really solid season! The thing that I remember standing out to me even as it was originally airing was the number of callbacks to earlier seasons, and especially the first season, with the title (and plot) of "Sexy Dance Healing" and the title of "Sacred Couch". I remember wondering at the time if there was some sort of significance to it (my fear being that maybe the show was preparing to wind down- a lot of my favorite shows ended after 7 seasons). I wonder if maybe the production staff was feeling nostalgic with the 100th episode coming up- or if they just enjoy making callbacks as much as I enjoy spotting them (and making them in my fics)! Either way, it's the thing that stood out the most this season.

Some thoughts on specific episodes (and feel free to ask if you want my thoughts on an episode I didn't comment on):

"Sliding Bobs": Doing the rewatch, I've noticed that I generally enjoy the three-story episodes but I think this my absolute favorite because I love the framing story so much. I honestly find what Linda says to Tina at the end, about the universe being random but sometimes everything lining up and going your way, to be really beautiful and meaningful. I'll take random crap going my way over fate any day.

"The Land Ship": One of the rare episodes from the middle seasons of "Bob's Burgers" where neither the A plot or the B plot interests me. There are some funny bits ( I mean, Mr. Ambrose is in it, so of course there are some funny bits) but overall it's pretty meh in my book.

"The Hauntening": As I mentioned when discussing Season 5, I got to see a clip from the animatic of this when I saw "Bob's Burgers Live" at the Chicago Theater, so that will always make this special to me. Even without that, it would still be one of my favorite Halloween episodes, and I love Boyz 4 Now song and video at the end!

"The Gene and Courtney Show": Another follow up on Season 5, but as I mentioned when discussing "Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl", the rewatch has made me realize that I really love the way Courtney's character and her relationship with Gene developed over the show, and this is a big part of it. Gene's song at the end of the episode is so beautiful! This isn't my favorite Valentine's Day episode (that's next season...) but it's probably in my top 5.

"House of 1,000 Bounces": Bob: "Can pigeons open doors?" Teddy: "Do you mean metaphorically? In the right situation, I suppose." This may be my favorite Teddy line on the show, and the pigeon subplot is absolutely fantastic in my book. But, you're probably expecting me to talk about the Rudy plot, so...I think it's fascinating the range of takes there are on this episode. I've literally seen people list this episode as the reason they ship Louise/Rudy and other people list it as the reason they don't ship it. For me, it isn't either of those things (I was already on board the ship) but I to think it is a good story about their friendship. One of my (many) similarities with Rudy is that as a kid (and honestly, still now) I cried pretty easily. And there were definitely other kids who noticed this and would just try to get me upset because they thought it was funny. So, I love the fact that as soon as Louise realizes how upset Rudy is, she works to fix the situation. She cares that he's upset. I also think it's fascinating to watch "Bridge Over Troubled Rudy" after this one because it almost seems like the show realized they resolved Rudy and Louise's conflict a bit too neatly here and needed to explore that further (several seasons later...). If you want more of my thoughts on the role those episodes played in the evolution of this relationship between two cartoon nine year-olds that I overthink about, you can read my best non-fic piece of "Bob's Burgers" related writing.

"Stand by Gene": I've mentioned before that I love episodes that involve the Belcher kids and a diverse group of their friends going on an adventure, and I think this might be the best of them all. In my mind, it's kind of the Trope-namer, I think of those types of episodes as "Stand by Gene"-episodes (even if "The Belchies" was probably the first one).

"The Hormone-iums": This episode is really one of the two that inspired me to this rewatch! Honestly, I just sort of vaguely remembered its existence and had no clue if I liked it- so if I rated it without rewatching it I probably would've given it a 3 or maybe a 4. But I happened to catch it on TV and realized how freaking funny it is! A wonderful Tina puberty plot; the wine shoe B plot (complete with Louise wearing mouse ears on her bunny ears during their presentation to Calvin and Felix, which is basically the cutest thing ever); great songs; a joke about Tony Danza- this episode has it all, in my book! Definitely a 5; the original sleeper hit.

"Pro-Tiki/Con-Tiki": This is a pretty funny episode. Chris Parnell is a hilarious actor, and as an "Archer" fan it was fun to have him act opposite H. Jon Benjamin in a different role. But I give this one a 3 because I hate the central conflict and the way it is resolved. It's one of the few episodes of the show where the actual plot and its ending really bother me. Warren and Bob are both kind of idiots in this one. Bob has a super-rich friend who is willing to lend him money to help his business, but instead Bob chooses to frequently be on the verge of going broke because of American small business owner macho capitalism self-reliance independence nonsense? Screw that. The other Belchers were right to be mad at Bob for his actions in this episode; he's lucky they forgave him.

"Bye Bye Boo Boo": I love Louise's crush on Boo Boo so much! It is an absolute treat any time it gets brought up! It's one of the few things that completely knocks Louise off her game, and it is wonderful for that. (Also, a pretty accurate portrayal of what it feels like to have a crush, regardless of your age or gender.) Honestly, after Roudise, Louise/Boo Boo might be the Louise ship with the next most appeal to me (do they have a ship name? It has to be "Lou Boo", right?)

"The Horse Rider-er": Did you know that being the voice of Jericho is widely considered to be Paul Rudd's second most iconic role after Peter Klaven in "I Love You, Man"? (It's not, I'm just making a weird joke to amuse myself.)

"Glued, Where's My Bob?": They did a great job for the 100th episode! Honestly, if the show ever gets a planned series finale, I kind of hope the last scene is something similar to the climax of this episode- all our favorite recurring characters hanging out in and around the restaurant and supporting Bob. (Except, maybe it would be for something good, like Bob making a really amazing burger, rather than him being glue to the toilet...)

Random thoughts (stuff that doesn't affect the ratings):

-I wish they had handled the Frond/Gayle relationship a bit better. I actually think they make sense as a couple and I wish they had done more with them before breaking them up off screen. Or, they even could of kept them together (although, I understand the writers thinking it's funnier to have them single.) But at the very least, I wish they could've aired the three episodes that discuss the relationship in an order that makes sense! Why did they air "Gayle Makin' Bob Sled" before "The Cook, the Steve, the Gayle, & Her Lover"? (I mean, probably something to do with Fox's schedule and holidays and football and so forth but it still annoys me.)

-I literally just noticed that the title of the episode is "Gayle Makin' Bob Sled", I'd always read it as "Gayle Making" and thought it was just a straightforward title and now I am realizing it was probably actually supposed to be a pun on the Jamaican bobsled team immortalized in the movie "Cool Runnings" (and discussed by Gene in my favorite Christmas episode "God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins"). God, I love the "Bob's Burgers" writing staff and the length they will go for a silly 80s/90s pop culture pun!

See you in Season 7! The post could be up relatively soon, since I've actually completed the rewatch of it, too. (Spoiler: Season 4 might be getting knocked out of first place...)

#bob's burgers #bob's burgers season 6 #bob's burgers episode ranking rewatch #long post

[co-mixed]

Fall of X (either a breakdown or a rant)

Full of spoilers 

We all know Marvel has an affinity for soft reboots. It seems things are going to change radically. But then after a big boom nothing really changes. I personally am still wondering whether Fall of X is going to be like that or if it’s about to shake up the status quo (again). 

I don’t know. I hope changes are coming because Krakoa isn’t my type of setting. But even if not much is changing, I’m still here for the ride. Because the ride is really something.

What’s up

After yet another Hellfire Gala things go awry because of a series of simultaneously executed attacks. Because the majority of Mutants are forcibly relocated from Earth (supposedly), we are left with a small group. Among them are Kamala (who is still coming to terms with even being a mutant), Emma (who is rightfully pissed but surprisingly well prepared), Nightcrawler (who is now spider-man), Firestar (playing a traitor), Shadowkat (who now kills) and some others. 

See that’s why this arc works for me. Everyone is pushed to their absolute limit, and everything they do now is dictated by revenge and despair. Say whatever you want, functional and healthy doesn’t work in fiction quite as well as the opposite.

That’s why I already love this event. 

Nostalgic vibes

It started for me with Mutant First Strike. An attack on a small town is staged by Orchis to look like an act of mutant aggression. We see a Krakoan relief team at work and it’s quite enjoyable. Because the whole thing reminds me of the classic X-men motto - protecting those who fear and hate them. It’s an idea that Krakoa stepped away from and for me, it never felt true to the core idea of the series. 

And then, narratively, the story pushes you back to the good old Civil War days and Stamford. 

Naturally, you see propaganda at work, Orchis and comrades spinning the events to present a twisted image of what had happened. It’s vivid and very actual. But that’s when I felt that the classic X-men aren’t really that far gone. 

Reliving past experiences

The event sure has many great storylines. Like yet again Jean dies (or so, again, we think). This leads us to a story by Louise Simonson which kinda works as a stunning epilogue for the character. Jean goes back to pivotal events in her life and wonders what could she have done differently. A what-if style story that Simonson gets very right because come on, mutant legend here. The issue with time-displaced Jean stuck with me more than the rest. Maybe it’s because I genuinely enjoy AUs, or maybe it’s because Jean is still very much a plot device and her young version isn’t. She also makes a pretty sick old-school Magneto.

The other arcs are about Phoenix and Maddie. The former is as big and bad as ever, the latter just reminds you how lousy some characters have it. Maddie really deserves better (but that’d be boring).

Jean though… she comes to terms with all she’s ever done and accepts it. I mean… if there’s a perfect moment to let her die for good, this is it. But what are the chances… 

Origins

I love an origin story, the last one I got with Escapade (loved it!), but now it’s Ms. Marvel. Let’s skip the story of why she has to be a mutant and get to the interesting stuff. Kamala is all about her identity. Her hobbies, her family, her friends and teams, being inhuman, hero, etc. But as soon as she awakes on Krakoa, she embraces another identity. And see, I love how she almost immediately puts on an X-men uniform. (Unlike Disney’s Kamala who just throws away mutation as another label! What’s wrong with ya girl???) 

Anyway, before she gets to snap on the X-belt, she has a fantastic exchange with Emma. Because let’s be fair, no one schools teens better than Emma. When Emma continuously tells Kamala that she has to be really careful because being a mutant on Krakoa and being a PR stunt for a thriving nation is one thing, but living what they’ve been living before is completely different. and now with Orchis getting the upper hand, it’s straight up terrifying. Of course, Kamala doesn’t listen, she actually rushes into it because she wants to stand with her fellow mutants and that’s amazing (regardless of her mutant power never having been activated). Which is another thing well approached. It’s not even about power, but it’s about who you are.

Multi-layered, right? From Hellfire Gala we spin into the story co-written by Sabir Pirzada and Iman Vellani. It’s a character story with a ton of self searching and it’s definitely something that hasn’t been as common for mutants lately. More of them deserve their own arcs away from teams. I don’t know how well Marvel’s gonna do with separating Ms. Marvel from the X-men but so far she has enough on her plate. Plus, the character’s pretty popular so… who knows. 

This was definitely one of my favorite runs in this event. 

Weddings (and still no funerals) 

But let’s get back to Emma. If life on 616 is a chess board, Emma is a queen. You always expect her to be two steps ahead of everyone and she’s been very very smug. But after the gala she, while still reasonably prepared, is devastated. She believes the cuckoos are dead, her teammates are scattered, and she is pissed at everyone. Plus, she doesn’t know it but Kate’s killing humans now. Things are pretty bad. 

She teams up with Tony, things for him suck too with Feilong taking over his company and tech. In the process, comics threw in giant iron-man-looking sentinels which is something I’d love to see in the MCU. So Emma and Tony accidentally come across each other while fighting an iron sentinel, and end up in sewers plotting revenge on Feilong. 

That’s what leads to their “wedding”. No, they aren’t actually married, and Emma didn’t even use her real identity. But you know what… you know what? Emma and Tony have always had good chemistry and despite this being an almost business relationship, it really should be more. I mean if anyone could be a power couple… they’d be like ‘Roro and T’Challa but without the crown. And we could use a power couple. Not like Scott and Jean who are pretty much just a couple and not like Emma and Scott, the living proof that behind every mediocre man, there’s a great woman. 

So yeah I’m rooting for them. Give me a fake relationship romance in the middle of my superhero story. Note - all the fun parts happen in Invincible Iron Man, not in any of the X-Men titles. 

Where the hell is Storm?

I already mentioned that Krakoa was attacked but so was Arakko. And this is where I have some room for a negative rant. I don’t particularly enjoy this sci-fantasy setting. It gave Storm and Sunspot a couple of good stories mostly showcasing their power and smarts. But really, I think they both should be on Earth. Arakko mutants are really random, their dynamic is very fantasy-like, they have no thought-out place in any story so they’re stuck between being an interstellar problem and something four or five mutants from Earth have to deal with. Neither really works. Not for me anyway, and this is my breakdown. 

The amazing Spider… crawler 

Kurt’s never been bitten by a radioactive spider but yet there he is, wearing Peter Parker’s backup suit, and getting into a complicated ship with Silver Sable. The fun part is he’s doing whatever (or whoever) a spider would do. All the elements of a classic spider story assist Kurt in trying to reimagine himself and atone for the little murder rampage. But of course, being a mutant and pretty much banned from Earth, how well do we think this is gonna go? I love this run because it’s a fun mix and again, character-centric. Plus, it has romance or at least strong character chemistry. And to make things more interesting a distressed delirious Mystique is running around. Meanwhile, in another book, Destiny is falling apart because she believes Mystique is dead. 

Let them people go

Actually, this is one of two other arcs I don’t particularly get. One focuses on the misplaced mutants on a piece of Krakoa with Mother Righteous, Hope, and Exodus with religious euphoria turned up to a 100. Does Krakoa sound more and more like a cult? Yeah, it does. 

And then Realm of X is Saturnyne again. I was tired of her after X of Swords. So I read it for continuity but I don’t really feel like talking about any of it. Skip. 

Everyone gets an arc

Iceman gets a solo arc. He’s dead and preserved by his inhuman boyfriend. The concept is certainly interesting and I’m excited to know what’s happening next. Because if there is poetry in it, I’d like to see where it leads. 

I love when mutants mingle with the rest of the world as much as possible. That’s probably why I was pretty happy to see Unity Squad back in action. It’d be absurd for the rest of the heroes to just ignore mutant issues like they often do. So only fair that they try and rebuild at least some of the trust. Can’t be easy with heavy propaganda but will definitely open up possibilities for creating good stories.

Here we go again

I definitely have to mention murderous Shadowkat. All her recent development culminates in that. And it’s pretty damn realistic. On one side, who can blame her? On the other, kill no human and all that. 

But to me, that’s what Krakoa was always about. Not peaceful coexistence (which may not even be possible) but a utopia that eventually leaves you hollow and angry. Which brings to mind parallels with Jasmine’s world peace from Angel s4. 

Also, this again reminds us how cultish Krakoa is (was?).

Kate’s actions though, like Emma’s are rooted in despair. Both are convinced that the desert-dwelling portion of non-combatant mutants is dead forever. That feels sorta like Age of X-man, in my opinion, unfairly hated for no good reason by many fans. I genuinely enjoyed that arc. But remember how Blindfold kept saying that this is forever and Scott was convinced she meant that everyone else is forever gone. Yep, same thing. (Except it’s with the Five alive and well so resurrection is still present. And still bugs me a lot.) 

I’m still not fully caught up on what’s up with everyone. For instance, I haven’t been keeping tabs on Rogue and Gambit, mostly because first their Excalibur stint bored me and then they lost the spark they had when they weren’t married. I might still change my mind but I’m not holding my breath.

I might not like everything that’s going on but there are arcs and runs I enjoyed immensely and that’s more than enough reason for me to keep coming back to X-runs. 

All that writing and I still forgot Children of the Vault. What's even up with them? Idk but looks interesting.

#x men #xmen #marvel #marvel characters #marvel comics #mutants #long reads #comics #comic books #krakoa #fall of x #jean grey #emma frost #kurt wagner #kate pryde #iron man

[thechaseofspades]

For the ask game

First off, I love the image you chose for this. I can always count on you to come up with something new and unique.

Anyway, on with the answerings. Long post incoming.

11: Link your three favorite fics right now

Alright, let's get this out of the way first. My cardinal sin is not reading enough of other people's work. I'm going to fandom hell after I fandom die sadly but I have already made fandom peace with it. -- I swear I really want to read you guys' stuff I just don't have the time and/or attention span a lot of the time!

[Dear Fellow Traveller by justaboot]

I know, recency bias and all. But hush. The first chapter of this story could have been a story all on its own. I'm going to elaborate on what I like so much about this story in a comment here soon but long story short, I love how Huey is portrayed. Della too. Also Jamie has mentioned that her stories can be traced back to experiences she's had, and I can feel that going through this one. So much vivid detail that takes an experience I've never even touched and makes me feel like I'm living it. Not to mention how Huey feels relatable to me personally (thanks, neurodivergence!). Anyway, get your peepers out for this one, and your reading glasses if you've got em. It'll be a good one.

[Complementary Colors by Korkorali and tsundereanubis]

Come to think of it, this fic might have been a huge inflection point for me. It was probably the first time I ever realized that Violet Sabrewing is Literally Me (TM) because she's autistic and ace and plays chess what is there not to love. But also going through it again, I feel like this at least indirectly inspired "My Head is an Animal". Specifically, the part where Violet has a breakdown and Lena consoles her. Also also, not really related to anything I've done yet, but it got me to take May Duck seriously as a character. One of those moments where I realized that fanfiction could take a one-off clone of somebody else and give them depth, personality, etc. Not that she didn't have that in the show, but I think anybody would tell you that we didn't get very much May Duck content in DT17. Without this fic, we would have never been May'd. Send this to your friends to totally May them.

Pretty much any of the Weblena picks from TerminalMiraculosis but I'm gonna go with three because I cheat:

[Stitched Through Time]

[Crossing the Streams]

[When In Rome]

This was my genesis in the DuckTales 2017 brain rot. I don't care if these end up aging terribly and turns out there's a trillion typos and also it was written in Gaelic so I can't even read it and actually it was all a dream and none of it ever happened. These three are still going to have a special place because they opened me up to being a fan of something. I was just ranging out of that age where you were supposed to hide if you liked stuff, especially anything for kids. My nostalgic pandemic-era binge of Phineas and Ferb, for example, was something to feel shameful of, not enjoy every second of like I ended up doing. But watching DuckTales, and then immersing myself into this fandom shortly thereafter, taught me how to enjoy things. How to love things. How to love myself. Since 2021, I've spent a lot of time embracing who I am and learning to love myself. I'm not gonna say that DT17 taught me how to do all of that, but I will say that it showed me how doing so could make me so much happier in life. And here I am now, being happy in life. Funny how that works.

41: Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

This answer applies to pretty much everything. Movies, tv shows, and yes, reading stuff. I don't rewatch/reread stuff unless I have a reason to do so. It's nothing against the concept or anything, just that I always feel like I need a reason for doing whatever I do. Usually if I rewatch/reread something, it's because I want to check a specific part of it, like quoting a line properly or what have you. Even the fics that I linked up top, I haven't reread them in the two years since I found them. That's just how my brain works I guess.

62: Thoughts on cliffhangers?

I'm fine with cliffhangers as long as they're eventually resolved. I used a few in "Groundhog Day", and that was fun to do. I'll also say that as a writer, cliffhangers in actively updated fics are a neat little trick to get people talking. Want some free feedback? Just have Lena Sabrewing wake up in a void outside of time and space. And then just end the chapter. Comments go wild for that.

As a reader, cliffhangers are alright but it comes with a big caveat: I'm not the best at remembering what I last read. So if it's been a few days or a week since the cliffhanger, I might have some trouble remembering where we are in the story. It might be a smooth transition where we pick up exactly where we left off, but that might not click in my brain. Idk it's weird. And like I said I tend not to reread stuff that often so that complicates things.

#thanks for the ask! #sorry for the long answer! #ask game #writer ask

[tsukuyomii45]

Hello tsukuyomii45, I’m a huge fan of your stories and artwork.

I have this idea for an Obito AU. It’s based off of you and deathsend’s post about your guy’s headcanons of Rin surviving and Obito still becoming the masked man. But in my AU, instead of Obito continuing Madara’s plan, he abandons the plan after finding out Rin is still alive.

My AU is called The Uchiha Ghost.

Basically Rin survives Kakashi’s Chidori, and Obito thinks she’s dead. On the night of Naruto’s birth, Obito plans on taking the three tails and nine tails, and destroying the leaf. Thing didn’t go according to plan. That’s when Obito finds out that Rin is still alive. Obito escapes to kamui dimension and has a mental breakdown. Obito abandons Madera’s plan and goes AWOL.

He doesn’t return to the Village out of shame and guilt for what he almost did. Fear of getting attached to his friends again, and a little resentment towards the members of Team Minato.

For the next 2 years, Obito, now under the alias Tobi, would hunt down rouge shinobi. Tobi would basically become a ghost story in the ninja world. Some say the grimm reaper of the Uchiha who takes you to hell. Others say he’s the ghost of Madara who wants revenge from beyond the grave.

Eventually Tobi is discovered by Kakashi, Minato, and Rin. They have a fight where Tobi has the upper hand on them. But Tobi surrenders to prove to that he is not a threat to them or the hidden leaf village. Tobi is brought back to the village with his only condition being that his mask stays on.

After days in a cell with constant supervision from the anbu. Minato decides that they should have Tobi as an ally to the village because of his special skills of passing through stuff and teleporting. Tobi would gather information from other villages for the leaf, meanwhile being constantly watched by Rin and Kakashi just in case if Tobi tries to attack the leaf again.

That is what I got so far. What do you think?

Hello! Thank you so much! :3

Also, I love your idea a lot. I like the mystery and curiosity this version adds when Obito demands that he keeps the mask on and would rather not be known that he is still alive.

I enjoy the image of him suppressing his overwhelming emotions as he roams around the village, or when Rin gets near him.

I imagine that in your version, he'd be found nostalgically looking at his old house in the Uchiha District, recalling the times Kakashi would find him kissing the team photo.

Safe to say that I approve of this. :)

[writingmochi]

Hey Lissie! How're you doing today?

So I have been watching Leniverse for a week now & everytime I come across Chaewon I get a nostalgic feeling that that's you XD I have started to associate you with Chaewon so much now that I get surprised thinking 'Omg look writingmochi's dancing to antifragile' 😭 lmao

Also it's been really fun writing your request for the event! Thank you so much for sending it in ♡ I loved the song soo much! I am in love with all of your playlists, first love/late spring was just as soothing. The drabble tho turned out to be a lot more angsty than I thought :p

About Isobel! Everytime I try to reblog sumhow it redirects back to my dash :(( or my tumblr crashes. Dumblr really needs to fix this! Excolited to read it soon! ♡

lissie: hi yerin! sorry for replying late. i just finished my last exam and i’m free from this uni semester, currently heating up my car so i could head home while writing this. how are you btw?! i’ve seen your mental breakdown on beomgyu’s long hair from weverse con lmao

oh thank you! i don’t have a bias between the ssera girls but i just always felt enamored with chaewon. associating me with her felt flattering especially since i also have the shorter style for hair…

mitski do be like that though 🤟 i also wanted to send a req for skz but all the slots have been filled ;”) which playlists have you listened? /g

i wanna shake the personification of tumblr to act up alskaoscb i’m so sorry for that D: i just hope that it wouldn’t affect the other works i’ll be releasing in the future. hope you enjoy it and a small tip: if your tumblr app crashes while reading, you can use the browser to read it instead. it do wonders because i once read a 50k+ nct dream one shot that my app just can’t handle n when reading it in browser form, it flows so well

#message to the moon #messenger: itz-yerin

[jadelotusflower]

2023 Oscar Predictions

Since it's Oscars eve and I actually saw a good chunk of the nominees this year (with some exceptions, so I won't address those categories), my should win/will win breakdown in advance of the ceremony.

Best Actor

Should win: Colin Farrell, who I just thought was wonderful in Banshees, which I absolutely loved.

Will win: Brendan Fraser. I love him and want to see him thrive, I just wish it was for another role.

Best Supporting Actor

Should win: Ke Huy Quan, although honorable mention to Barry Keoghan who was heartbreaking.

Will win: Key Huy Quan

Best Actress

Should win: Michelle Yeoh, a long time coming for a brilliant career (that she wasn't even nominated for The Lady is criminal), but also for this fantastic, difficult role.

Will win: Cate Blanchett

Best Supporting Actress

Should win: Stephanie Hsu - i just loved her so much, and hope she gets the roles she deserves

Will win: Kerry Condon

Best Animated feature

Should win: Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio - beautiful, well worth watching!

Will win: Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio

Cinematography

Should win: All Quiet on the Western Front - often this category is a case of is it great cinematography, or are they just filming beautiful landscape? This does have some lovely scenery to contrast the trenches, but there were some beautifully composed shots (the train coming out of the darkness springs to mind)

Will win: All Quiet on the Western Front

Costume Design

Should win: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Will win: Elvis

Best Director

Should win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Will win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Film Editing

Should win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Will win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

International Feature Film

Should win: All Quiet on the Western Front

Will win: All Quiet on the Western Front

Makeup and Hairstyling

Should win: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Will win: Elvis

Original Score

Should win: All Quiet on the Western Front

Will win: Babylon

Original Song

Should win: Lift Me Up - only because I havem't yet seen RRR and am perhaps missing the context of Naatu Naatu

Will win: Naatu Naatu

Production Design

Should win: Avatar: The Way of Water

Will win: Babylon

Sound

Should win: Top Gun: Maverick - I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this, considering it's not really my sort of movie, nor do I have any particular nostalgic feelings for the original, but was impressed by the practical action sequences. If EEAAO wasn't in the mix this would be my pick for editing too.

Will win: Top Gun: Maverick

Visual Effects

Should win: Avatar: The Way of Water

Will win: Avatar: The Way of Water

Adapted Screenplay

Should win: Women Talking

Will win: Women Talking

Original screenplay

Should win: The Banshees of Inisherin - EEAAO absolutely deserves it too, but Banshees really got me on a writing level.

Will win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Picture

Should Win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Will win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Overall it was a really strong batch of nominees (unlike last year). EEAAO was my favourite, followed by Banshees, but I also really appreciated All Quiet on the Western Front. Elvis I wasn't really enamored with even though I am generally a Baz fan - it felt more like a feature length montage than a film even though the central performance was strong. Avatar was visually stunning but not much else, I haven't yet seen Tar but I'm not sure it isn't anything we haven't seen before from Blanchett but maybe I'm wrong.

Pinocchio has some incredible animation and also made me cry like a baby at the end, so there's that.

#oscars #oscars 2023 #should win/will win #jlf personal

[repurposedmeatlocker]

Who are your favorite YouTubers that make the horror/lost media/etc content

Oh boy! I have so many!! Get ready for a long list.

I've been invested in horror/lost media content on youtube for a LONG time now, so not all of these people are as active as they used to be, but I still recommend them : )

blameitonjorge - lost media along with some scatterings of other unusual internet-based and historical-based phenomenon

ScareTheatre - not as regularly active as he used to be, but he still posts some things. He is the og creepypasta/internet mystery debunker and generally just has a really good approach to his videos. His more recent stuff tackles a lot of unique subjects and the videos are not too long.

ReignBot - internet horror and arg analysis but largely focuses on "true crime" related subjects now. I personally find the way she approaches the topics are a lot better and more respectful compared to other "true crime content creators".

Nexpo - Does good breakdowns of args and fictional horror content online. His analysis on "dark sides" of the internet are also good, although recently I've been leaning more towards the following creator more.

Nick Crowley - exploration of "dark" content and subjects online, but in a really respectful and well-researched fashion.

Fredrik Knudsen - This guy probably has some of the BEST content of all of these people. His production value and narration are so good and delves into a lot of niche topics, many I had never heard of beforehand. Super engaging. I recommend all his videos.

Atrocity Guide - Similar vein from the previous. Super interesting and engaging topics of all types. All videos are recommended.

Barely Sociable - Long, but very in-depth analysis on various topics.

Sakura Stardust - Focuses on horror content and lost media from Japan specifically. Lots of good research goes into her content.

Goose Boose - Topics kind of vary, combination of real-world mystery analysis and nostalgic horror experiences. His narration is a standout for me. I just find how he talks super entertaining and engaging.

Eudoxia Mysteries - This guy's stuff is more on the recent side, but I do like that he discusses lots of things that I haven't heard of before, a lot of them focusing on reddit posts, but it isn't exactly narrated like he is just "reading off" the reddit post. Some analysis is there as well which I appreciate.

Debunk File - Nothing extraordinary by any means, especially in comparison to the other people on this list, but I thought I would give a mention just because some of his videos talk about things that I've never heard of before.

Whang! - His videos kind of vary. Mostly focuses on internet pop culture, but there is some lost-media and horror content mixed in.

SomeOrdinaryGamers - He posts kind of about anything at this point, but I felt I should give him a shoutout since I started watching him early on for his "deep-web" explorations. He has a good realistic and sensible viewpoint about these things and does not feed into conspiracy at all which I appreciate.

Izzzyzzz - Kind of focuses on a variety of media, particularly nostalgic online pop culture, but there is some horror elements sprinkled in.

Nyx Fears - I wouldn't exactly call her stuff...horror content in the same vein as the other people on this list, but I love her stuff so I have to give her a shout-out. She is probably my favorite online film analysis person (?) and has a lot of really entertaining breakdowns of disturbing media.

Now, I cannot say ALL of these creators are perfect. Doing your own research and analysis is the best approach to these kinds of topics. I do feel that I enjoy the way these people approach these themes most of the time and regularly keep up with their new videos.

#obvious trigger warnings for all of the content these creators discuss btw #not going to tag everything and all the videos have notifications about the subjects discussed already #but lots of sensitive topics in the videos for those unaware #sorry if I went longer than expected with this ask! I just love this stuff so much I find it so interesting to explore #if anyone has other recs let me know! #asks

[durotoswrites]

Can you do a character breakdown for any of the GB2 characters?

Thank you so much for your patience on this ask!  It’s been ages since I’ve played this game, and the things that stuck out most when I reminisced playing it are the interesting mechanics that were added after the SNES edition of Harvest Moon.  It gave me those same nostalgic vibes that I loved from the original, and the addition of Sara as a playable character was so awesome.

Because marriage wasn’t a part of this game, there are no heart events, and I feel like the cast in general could have used a lot more development.  That’s not to say that I didn’t have my favorite villagers.  Visiting the shops and buildings in town gave us more detailed artwork of the characters, and I quickly found my eyes drawn toward Daisy, the keeper of the seed shop.

How I feel about this character:

I always thought that Daisy was really attractive - not overly feminine, but rather sporting an edgier/sporty look (by early Harvest Moon standards).  She seemed to have a very cool, laid-back personality that I enjoyed, yet she still managed to be very playful.  Visiting her shop, I always felt that she would be the type to read magazines behind the counter when no one was there.

Her casual demeanor and appearance both remind me a lot of Nami.  And since A Wonderful Life wouldn’t be released for another couple of years, I can’t help but wonder if Daisy’s design inspired Nami’s.

Daisy is more outgoing than Nami, enlisting you to join a snowball fight complete with heckling, and inviting you to the hot springs to hang out.  Her body language is also a lot warmer.  She leans on the counter toward you when speaking, and I think it’s really cute. <3

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Daisy x Farmer - I was always a little miffed (but also conflicted?) that we couldn’t marry the townsfolk in the game.  Daisy would’ve been a top choice for me.  I feel that her knowledge of growing things would mesh well with living on the farm and helping the farmer live a happy, cozy life there.

That being said, I do think it’s neat that we get to attend a wedding between two NPCs instead.  It’s kind of refreshing. But…

Daisy x Chet - I feel like Chet would be a really good match for Daisy.  I get the impression that Chet is very serious about his work, but he still likes to have fun.  I feel like Daisy’s more relaxed, playful attitude would be a good balance for them.  That, combined with their passions for different aspects of farming would make them a cute couple.  To be honest, I kinda shipped them and was really surprised when Chet ended up marrying Rosie instead.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I love the little random events like the snowball fight.  I can definitely see this tight-knit village all being friends with one another.  I do like to imagine that Daisy is closer to Chocola, Chet, and the twins, Bill and Will.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Are there any unpopular opinions on this character?  She’s a little obscure.  I guess it would be unpopular with the developers of the game, but I thought it would be cool to marry her.  At the same time, I think it’s neat that the game doesn’t focus as much on marriage.  

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I would’ve liked more events with all of the characters in general.  The dialogue is limited at best, but I do still have a soft spot for this cast.  I really feel like they set up the foundation of what the series was going to become.  They interacted more with each other than the villagers in Rosebud Village in HM SNES, and I really liked that.  We later see the townspeople have their own friendships with others, and even characters that don’t get along as well.  

But, in all, I’d just have to say I wished there was more content and dialogue and ways to interact with the characters in HM GBC 2.  It is a really fun and under-appreciated game, though.

Thank you so much for the ask!  I’m tempted to pull out my 3DS and start playing my copy of the game now. :)  I hope you have a great day!

#ask box games #character breakdown asks #anon asks #harvest moon #harvest moon gbc 2 #harvest moon 2 #harvest moon daisy #thank you for playing! <3

[denimbex1986]

'If, in between big heaving sobs, you don’t leave All Of Us Strangers humming Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s The Power Of Love, then check your pulse: you too might also be a departed figure from the afterlife.

Writer-director Andrew Haigh’s hauntingly beautiful film understands the power of nostalgia, and how much of it is rooted in sound. “I think almost every single song that comes out was scripted," he recently told IndieWire. "I knew what that music was before I even started, and I made sure we got the rights to it before we started. Everything was sort of designed with that in mind. [The movie] is about the power of music, weirdly, to drag us back into the past.”

Here’s all the key needle drops from the film (watch out for some spoilers along the way):

Setting The Scene in Adam’s Flat – Fine Young Cannibals: Johnny Come Home

While stuck with writer’s block, Adam cues up this archetypal slice of ‘80s pop to transport himself back to the era. As Roland Gift’s falsetto cries out ‘Johnny/We’re sorry/Won’t you come on home’, is it this 1984 track that causes Adam to revisit his own home, and find out if his parents were also sorry for what happened in his childhood? Or is it Build by The Housemartins, that he also spins, that has him yearning for the past once again?

The Christmas Tree Decorating Scene – Pet Shop Boys: Always On My Mind

The family don’t yet know it – well, apart from Adam, that is – but this is the last time they’ll all be together, a picture perfect moment as they decorate the Christmas tree. As they do so, they start to sing along to the 1987 Pet Shop Boys cover of Elvis Presley’s Always On My Mind. The lyrics (Maybe I didn't hold you/All those lonely, lonely times) echo the repressed nature of some middle-England families of that age, but have an extra poignancy and subtext for Adam and his dad. It seems to be at points cathartic, as they sing what they could never express at the time.

The Nightclub Scene – Joe Smooth: Promised Land

Once voted number 4 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 Club Tunes, there’s no dance floor that this song can't fill. The song speaks of unity, of how there’s peace and comfort when we join forces with others – and whether it’s the song or just the bumps of ket Adam and Scott hoofed up in the club toilets, for one moment, Adam is happy, enjoying a transcendental moment among the sweaty, smiling faces in the crowd. If the film is all a dream, we hope that this is one event that actually came to pass for Adam in reality and not just the breakdown afterwards.

The Meltdown Scene – Blur: Death Of A Party

Used to great effect, the one song in the soundtrack from the ‘90s (1997 specifically, from the band’s self-titled album) is a slowed-down, twisted and distorted nightmare, as Adam either falls into a terrifying k-hole, or falls screaming further back into his delusional hallucinations. Perhaps both! Either way, the art-school band track perfectly captures that moment on a night out when it all gets a bit dark.

The End Scene – Frankie Goes To Hollywood: The Power Of Love

“I’ll protect you from the Hooded Claw,” Adam tells Harry in the final scene, “Keep the vampires from your door.” He is, of course, quoting from the Frankie Goes To Hollywood 1984 song, The Power Of Love. It’s not the first time that the song appears in the film, as Adam plays it earlier in the story, and it’s on the TV on the night Harry tries to drop in.

The song would also have extra significance for Adam, who, we learn, lost his parents in a car crash on Christmas Eve. Although not intentionally created as a Christmas song, when the nativity-theme video for the track was released, alongside the religious iconography for the single's artwork, it was placed in the Christmas canon forevermore and hit number one in the charts in 1984. Each new festive year, as Adam heard that song, it will have transported him back to that tragic Christmas as a child when he lost his parents.

It’s a total gut punch of a song to use in the ending minutes of the film, as the lyrics implore us to ‘make love your goal’. This ethos is reflected in both the ending of All Of Us Strangers and in the beginning of the music video, with light emanating from a giant star. Equally, the warm, fire-like lighting that Haigh bathed many of the romance scenes in seems to reference the lyrics ‘Flame on, burn desire/ Love with tongues of fire’, as Adam’s joy with a partner finally illuminates his dark world. Ultimately, as the pair fade into stars and the credits roll, the lyrics sing out: ‘Love is the light/scaring darkness away’.

Back in 2012, Frankie Goes to Hollywood frontman Holly Johnson spoke about his deep attachment to the song. “I always felt like The Power of Love was the record that would save me in this life," he told The Guardian. "There is a Biblical aspect to its spirituality and passion; the fact that love is the only thing that matters in the end.” A mantra that we hope Adam takes with him, wherever he floats off to in the ether.'

#Andrew Haigh #All of Us Strangers #Frankie Goes to Hollywood #The Power of Love #Blur #Death of a Party #Fine Young Cannibals #Johnny Come Home #Joe Smooth #Promised Land #Pet Shop Boys #Always on My Mind #Build #The Housemartins #Elvis Presley

[enantiodr0mia]

pinned poast

i’m not usually a “pinned post” guy, so this is definitely gonna change. mostly just trying to media things i enjoy because otherwise i’ll forget. items marked with a star (⭐️) are favs. not curated, not exhaustive. eventually will add corresponding tags here for blog organization! or that’s the ideal. frankly i am more likely to just pop over here every few months if i feel crazy bc usually im too busy having like, a job to even watch anything?

raven cycle/dreamer trilogy

mob psycho 100 ⭐️

scott pilgrim ⭐️

nick the feature film ⭐️

natsume yuujinchou ⭐️

showa genroku rakugo shinjuu ⭐️

atla ⭐️

bojack horseman

tuca and bertie ⭐️

women on the edge of a nervous breakdown

jesus christ superstar (1973) ⭐️

whatever queer cartoon the kids are into these days (ex. steven universe, the owl house, whatever. usually only invested as long as the hype lasts)

moomins

fuckin, uhhhh, poetry i guess???

march comes in like a lion

various sports anime, including but not limited to ace of the diamond, haikyuu, kuroko’s basketball if im feeling nostalgic

a separate peace

catcher in the rye

pachinko

adventure time

over the garden wall ⭐️

batman, sometimes

homestuck, unfortunately

OH also a tagging system, because i will also forget

#watchlist - self-explanatory, posts discussing things i want to watch or read

#my text - currently catching anything that’s not a reblog. will update/subdivide/expand as this blog takes shape

#pinned

[cottagehowell]

That sounds like an amazing job! Aerial seems SO cool although I definitely would not have the upper body strength for that lol. Are you familiar at all with eurythmy? I have a friend who grew up doing it and I’ve heard wild things about it. What are some of the most memorable songs for which you’ve choreographed a dance?

Ah I LOVE crocodile rock such a beautifully nostalgic song to me… OMG I’m so glad you asked about Led Zeppelin recs. I’ve found Led Zeppelin II to be the best album to start with. For specific song recs, if you’re interested in their more pop-adjacent songs, id suggest “D’yer Mak’er,” “Tangerine,” and “Heartbreaker”/“Living Loving Maid.” Also special shout-out to “Ramble On” for general excellence ofc!

This is such a useful breakdown of the Monkees concept thank u SM now I shan’t look a fool in front of the tumblr monkees crowd… follow up questions to your gorgeous explanation: are their four albums of their own music good after all that buildup to being allowed to play their own instruments?? Also, what draws you to the group (other than their bizarre backstory of course)?

I too am looking forward to my finals being done! Not for another two weeks tho… so much science to cram into my brain alas. I’m glad you’re done so soon and the Pink Floyd cover band sounds EPIC!!

Signing off, SRS🧑‍🎄

this is the first i've ever heard of eurythmy and upon some research it seems...... interesting? it definitely seems to have a connection to the general early modern dance movement in the early 20th century and kind of reminds me of isadora duncan. but the guy who came up with it is kind of a lot lmao.

i think my favorite songs that i've choreographed to are honestly the more classic rock ones! i've done california girls by the beach boys (4-6 year olds, very cute), crocodile rock (6-10 year olds), wild thing by the troggs (3-5 year olds, they loved this song lol), come together by the beatles (middle schoolers), a mix of queen songs (adults), and a mix of abba songs (6-9 year olds). but i also get to use some kids music! i've done some songs from the hannah montana movie, cheetah girls, barbie, and turning red :) i've also done solos to another brick in the wall and get back, and i'm working on one now to maneskin's cover of if i can dream!! i really love getting to introduce kids to music that they might not hear otherwise

omg thank youuuuu for the zep recs!! that's my homework for the weekend lol, i'm excited to give them a listen!

i enjoy those four albums! they get more experimental and have a lot more personality in my opinion. also a couple of their more well known songs like pleasant valley sunday and daydream believer come from those albums! what's funny though is that after all the work to play their own instruments they largely just....don't. like i think mike and peter continue to play on the albums but micky actually plays drums on only one or two songs bc he's fundamentally not a drummer. so it ended up being more about having creative control over what they played and being able to write some of their own songs than actually playing on the tracks. but yeah those albums get a lot more eclectic in terms of style because the four of them have such different musical influences and they really incorporate all of their styles into the albums rather than just standard pop-rock :)

i got into the monkees by watching the tv show! they started airing it on cable a while back and it was something fun to look forward to each week :) one thing i really like about watching the show is how when i listen to their songs, it always makes me think of where the songs appeared in the show! also, crucially, after the first couple episodes i watched, i fully imprinted on mike nesmith like a baby duck. i saw that wool hat and it was over for me, he bewitched me body and soul

omg best of luck studying for your finals!! what kind of science do you study?? i'm a computer science major and have mad respect for science-science majors bc you guys have SO MUCH more to do omg...... i can't imagine having to take labs on top of my classes.

wishing you a restful weekend! talk to you soon!! much love xoxo

#srs23

[thedisneychef]

World Famous Chicken Crunch – Planet Hollywood

This may be the perfect fried chicken recipe. It’s sweet and savory, which a delightful thing and and of itself, but it also makes chicken so crispy that you can hear it when you take a bite. It’s also practically fool proof, so even people like me who’re cursed when it comes to fried chicken can make something that looks like it was made by Gordon Ramsay. More Delicious Recipes You Will Love: - Wolfgang Puck Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf – Wolfgang Puck Express - You Put the Lime in the Coconut - Zeppole di Ricotta – Via Napoli I should mention, it’s positively ridiculous how happy this recipe makes me. When we book our Disney vacations, we get those fantastic little booklets that has the breakdown of what our trip entails, vouchers, coupons, and other fun little goodies. When that booklet comes in, I tear through it like a maniac, wishing and hoping for one thing… The Planet Hollywood meal voucher. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s a $20-$25 coupon for anything at Planet Hollywood. There’s no order minimum, no restrictions… Just basically a free $25 for food.  Being a lover of saving money, free things, and food, this appeals to every part of my being. I wish I could tell you how many times we’ve cashed this in, gotten a meal or several appetizers, and left paying only cash for the tip. For awhile, it was our goodbye tradition to get sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich to go (for the plane naturally), then wander over for our free Planet Hollywood meal. It was there I discovered these fantastic little chicken tenders. Have you ever had chicken that has a solid crunch like a bag of chips, a delectable sweetness that reminds you of Saturday mornings in front of cartoons, and all the stomach hugs that come with good fried chicken? If you haven’t, you need this in your life right now. One of the cereals that Planet Hollywood uses in this chicken I can’t mention specifically by name, and it doesn’t have a generic name that I can point you to. It’s too bad, because the mascot for this cereal is a real CAPTAIN of the industry, famous for its buttery CRUNCH.  It’s sometimes available with a faux “berry,” but you won’t need that version for this recipe… Oh, how will you ever know what cereal to get? This is the first time I’ve made fried chicken where it came out looking like something out of a magazine. Maybe it’s the northerner in me, but I’ve never been able to get that delectable crunch, the golden color, and the moist interior that’s signature for fried chicken. But with this? Totally nailed it.  It was fantastic and the flavors were just exactly as I remembered.  It’s this fantastic mixture of the familiar and the nostalgic, delivered in a way that’s entirely fresh and new. Sweet without being overpoweringly so, a fantastic crunch and a coating that’s to-die-for, there isn’t anybody who won’t fall in love with this chicken. This easy-to-make, golden and delectable chicken is the stuff of dreams. Try it and I promise you’ll be the hero of your dinner table. In addition to the delicious food and recipes, Disney World is also known for its unique dining experiences, such as character dining and themed restaurants. Whether you want to have breakfast with Mickey Mouse, dine in a replica of a sci-fi drive-in theater at Hollywood Studios, or enjoy a meal with an ocean view at the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot, there's something for everyone. And with the help of Recipes Today and the How to Make category, you can even recreate some of these magical dining experiences in your own home. So why not start planning your next Disney-inspired meal or dining experience today? Looking for more unique recipes like this one?  You have to check out: Are you following me on Pinterest?  Make sure you follow me on Facebook too…  There you can connect with me and 19,000 other people just as obsessed with Disney food as I am, and that’s never a bad thing. Read the full article