#bringing the second great art book war with it

[lostacelonnie]

Thank you! I kinda just. Realized i pay for all my own stuff & have for years so whats stopping me y'know. Oh we love to hear about the fall of far right leadership i hope that turns out well & you can get your eventual hrt as well. Oh yeah i never wear swimsuits to the beach typically. Always been with people i dont like or too many strangers for my liking. But i like to find seashells & stuff. Oh? English is such a weird language having a partner to learn from who's fluent is like. Required almost. So im glad you had one. I appreciate when people are chill as long as you try its nice & leaves room for mistakes that'll happen inevitably. Got confused for a moment & the concept of having a birthname you dont have listed in your bio lost me like. What do ya mean you had any different name what. Both mine are easy so i dont have that as a first name problem. Where is tromso? I wish you luck in that fall/winter trips are so nice. I especially love to go camping in them because less people so more space. Oh she just gets all the counters wow. Gonna have to focus on her a bit for sure. I dont know if i have enough for guaranteed kafka but i will probably try. Just to see what happens. If nothing else i hope bronya or welt come home for you. Fontaine is one of the regions im most interested in so ill stick through for it but i might squeeze a break in towards natlan honestly. Chasm was. A pain anyways i do not blame you for skipping it honestly. Thats an average day in warsaw? Wild. Ohhh that sounds like it was a blast please pass belated birthday wishes to avery for me. Hair dye is such a fun thing to do congrats on the red! I wanna dye mine again soon. Eyeliner is a thing i wanna teach myself to do too ive just been. Forgetting a lot

yeah thats very understandable!!! and thank you!! after a long time i finally feel at least a little hopeful ab this countrys future but well see. yeah i have the exact same thing but at the same time drying a lot of clothes is Annoying [esp on camps since thats the main place i actually go into the water on] so i often just put regular clothes over a swimsuit. win-win situation. seashells ARE fun to find but i always forget to bring sth to carry them sjdjflksjf plus its pretty hard to find actually nice ones, over here at least. YEAH god plus the way english is taught in polish schools does NOT help so honestly if i didnt have additional lessons i probably wouldnt have learned anything despite studying for a looooong time. and yeah its that way with almost anything isnt it. AH I DO THAT EXACT THING SO OFTEN i genuinely forget that people Have birthnames. or even names in general i just treat usernames as first names a lot of the time. tromso is the place in norway i was in!! pretty far up north but very charming. thank you!! ahhh i almost never go camping but perhaps One Day..... yeah clara has been my best friend ever since i got her. shes so fun to use. thankies and good luck to both of us!!! already got 106 pulls ready + the 9 more from the login event + 20 days left to grind so while i defo wont get enough for guarantee i think it might be possible for me to get her. honestly the region im most excited for is snezhnaya and thats gonna be the last one released iirc so. still a while until that happens. but at least when/if i come back im gonna have a lot of stuff to check out so thats fun. i unfortunately suffer from having to see everything thats new Immediately so i often speedrun new versions in 3 days and them im like....... What Now........ until the next update and then the cycle repeats. ah i should play more games that arent released this way. but yeah while the chasm was quite pretty imo and the story was. well. it wasnt STUNNING but it was fun. but the exploration aspect SUCKED good lord i hated how i could never quite tell if im in the region displayed on the map or below it. agh. glad thats over. and well yknow how it is with big cities, at least i live in a fairly peaceful part so we dont really have big stuff like that often. i will!! and thanks!! i agree hair dye IS very fun but unfortunately my hair texture makes it really hard for dye to stick so it washes off quickly :'] but alas. and yeah fair jdjfklg i have the same thing PLUS. its annoying i can never get it even

#actually speaking of updates. star rail 1.2 ahhhhhhhh........ fun #AND honkai 6.8 relatively soon #bringing the second great art book war with it #equally scared and excited #asks #pen pals

[authorhjk1]

A request for Sana's delicious tiddies please!

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0dZRXrvuyU/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

The Roman goddess

Minatozaki Sana X Male Reader

The museum you are strolling through is called Castel Sant' Angelo. It used to be tomb for the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family. Now, it's a very well known museum in Rome.

You admire the architecture and the sculptures standing around. The ceilings are quite high. All the walls are painted, the gorgeous colors bringing the ancient scenes to life.

You are not only here for fun though. It started around two years ago. Your career as an author. Until December two years ago, you did write, but it was more for yourself. You finally made your breakthrough with your first novel "The Roman eagle", about a lowly born Roman legionary, who rises through the ranks. You never thought this would make you big. And you didn't expect so many people wanting more. You didn't plan on it, but that one book is slowly turning into a series.

The second book came out at the end of last year. "The curse of Neptune". And now, you are working on your third. Since you didn't plan on writing a series, you have started to introduce several main characters with their own life stories.

You are now sitting on your third part. Not having a title yet, you keep wandering around the museum. You have already written quite a few pages, but the new character you want to introduce is hard to picture. It's supposed to be a woman. A woman, who is deceitful and ambitious, not caring about the ones around her. She only married her husband for his status and is now aspiring to climb the ranks. With or with out him.

You enter another room. The ceiling is high as well. The painted scenes show several different parts of day to day life from the Romans and their gods. The center of the room is reserved for a tall, almost life-size statue. Being an expert in history, especially Roman history, you can tell immediately that that's Venus. The goddess of love.

Wanting to have a closer look, you step forward. But your gaze is caught by the woman who is standing between you and the piece of art, her back turned towards you.

Her posture is flawless and you can't help but admire how straight her back looks, due to the white high heels she is wearing. The black skirt is quite long, almost reaching the floor. As you walk past her right, you see that it has a large slit in the front. Her naked leg is more than just captivating.

Glancing at the statue, you've always wondered how Venus would look like, if she was real. It feels like you might be able to paint a picture now.

The woman's white top is highlighting her chest, the fabric stretching over her tits. The turtle neck and the tied back hair make her look elegant and strict. Like a teacher or a rich man's wife.

Standing next to her, you smell her scent. Definitely flowers. Maybe roses? You were never the flower expert. Would Venus smell like this too? Roses are always considered the flowers of love. The idea doesn't seem too far fetched.

You notice that the young woman is standing quite close to the statue, holding a brochure in her hand. Usually, knowing about history isn't really a great turn on for women. But being in a museum, you might give it a try. She does have that classy look. So maybe she could be interested?

"Art and war should always be studied from a healthy distance."

You see her react. Not her face, since you are still standing two steps behind her, but the slight turn of her head. You could swear the corners of her mouth turned upwards, before she turns back towards the statue.

One step. Two steps. Her heels disrupt the silence in the otherwise empty room.

"A lot of people think that Venus and Aphrodite are the same goddess."

You were able to take a quick peek at the brochure she is holding. The people who work here should do a better job.

"But they have quite a couple of differences."

You wait a couple of moments. She doesn't say something or turns around. But she didn't run, which is at least a good start.

"While Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sex, Venus has to offer more than just that."

You walk behind the young woman, starting to feel comfortable, talking about a topic you are very familiar with.

"She actually started out as the goddess of gardens and vineyards. Before the Romans merged her with her Greek counterpart. And even then, she represents not just lust and sex. But also motherhood. You could say that she is a more loyal woman."

You glance at the woman, whom you are standing next to now. Her left side profile almost makes you stutter. She really must be a goddess.

Knowing that you might never meet someone like her ever again, you decide to shoot your shot. What's the worst that could happen? She could scream and run away. But it's only the two of you anyway.

"Which form is the one you can more easily identify with? The Roman, or the Greek one?"

You stand next to her, your shoulders almost touching. Turning your head towards her you almost whisper.

"Loyal? Or promiscuous?"

A smirk plays around the brunette's lips. She is not running yet.

But to your huge disappointment, she raises her right arm, her hand on the same hight as her chest. You are only distracted for a second, before you see the golden ring on her finger. It's decorated with a huge diamond in the center and a couple of smaller ones all around.

Of course she is married. A woman like her? Come on. You sigh internally. You should've figured.

"Promiscuous."

You were about to turn around as you hear her sweet voice. It takes you a second to realize what she says.

"I think I would be more like Aphrodite."

Is she saying you still have a shot? Even when she just showed you that she is married?

"Tell me more. I'm not sure if I can make a decision yet."

And she wants you to keep talking?

You take a deep breath, not wanting to screw this up.

"Venus has a more elevated status than Aphrodite. Her arguably most famous human son is Aeneas. The man who established Rome. A lot of emperors' wifes identified with Venus."

You see the woman tug a strand of her brown hair behind her ear.

"And you are saying that the Greek form wasn't as important?"

It's the first time she actually looks at you. Her beautiful features make her look way more elegant than from the side. Her lipstick makes her look stricter than she might usually would. You can tell that she is Asian, but not from which country.

"She was important. But not in the same way as Venus. She did have her own celebrations though."

The brunette is now fully turning towards you. It takes a lot of willpower to not look at her chest. It's almost as if she could sense your struggle. She places her hands on her hips, barely leaning forward. It makes her tits look just a little bigger.

"What kind of celebration?"

Her voice has changed. Until now, she spoke quiet. Just like someone should, while visiting a museum. But she is now whispering. Just like you did before. Her captivating gaze makes you stare into her eyes.

"A big part of the celebrations were Aphrodite's priestesses. The Greeks used a suiting form of worship for the goddess of love."

You take a step closer. Your shoe grazes hers. The smell of roses becomes a little stronger.

"They slept with her priestesses. That's how they worshipped her."

The brunette is unable to hold back her chuckle.

"And you are sure you didn't just make that up?"

For a moment her cute side shines through. She looks adorable when she smiles.

"I didn't. You can look it up."

"I don't want to though. I like listening to you."

"Well..."

You are too surprised to give a good answer. And there is not much more to say about the topic anyways.

The brunette seems to have caught up on that.

"What do you think about worshiping her now?"

"What?"

Your surprised face makes her almost moan out. You looked quite confident while hitting on her. The fact that you are getting shy is a turn on for her.

"There aren't many people here. And I think we should do it in front of the statue. You know? To pay our respects."

A million reasons why you shouldn't do this rush through your head. More than enough to say no. And yet, you can't help but catch yourself, leaning forward.

Your lips meet and you can immediately feel her hands wrap around your back. The kiss turns sloppy very fast. Pure lust and want radiate from her lips.

Once she breaks away, you can see that her lipstick is a little smeared. She seems to have recognized the worry in your eyes.

"Don't worry about my husband. Didn't Aphrodite constantly cheat on hers too?"

She got a point there. She did very much so.

Her lips meet yours once again. And this time your hands start to explore her body as well.

You still can't believe you've managed to come this far. She is probably the most beautiful woman you've ever seen. She could be the human form of the goddess.

"How bad do you want my tits?"

The fact that she caught you doesn't even bother you. Your mind too focused on taking in her flawless body.

"Really bad."

Her lips meet your neck, definitely leaving a hickey there.

"Show me."

You start pulling at the white fabric, getting it out of her skirt. Your hands dive underneath as the brunette locks lips with you again.

The smoothness of her skin is intoxicating. Her tight midriff feels well toned and cared for. Your fingertips reach her bra as you continue your quest.

Her hands are not idle either. You feel one of them opening the button of your pants, while the other has taken a fistful of your shirt. It's as if she is pulling you into her. Her hand sneaks into your pants, her fingers searching for the waistband of your underwear.

At the same time, you've finally gotten rid of her bra. It slides down her clothed frame, before it falls to the ground. It's white.

Her tits feel amazing. They are just as smooth as her skin. You start to knead them, still unable to understand how you got here.

She is a goddess. How are you able to stand in some museum, while you play with her tits? A mystery you don't even want to uncover. Some things are better left unknown.

The brunette's hand has found it's way into your boxers by now. Her slim fingers dance along the length of your shaft.

A moan escapes her lips. It's one of the most beautiful sounds you've ever heard. You didn't know that a person could sound so perfect.

"That cock of yours...."

She trails off, slightly biting your lower lip.

"It feels so big."

Her words make you even harder. A normal reaction to a goddess like beauty telling you that you have a big dick. Something you thought you would never ever experience in your life.

Your hands become a little rougher as your animalistic instincts slowly take over. You never felt so uncontrollable before.

Pinching her nipples, you hope for another moan. You get one. She moans into your mouth, closing her hand around your cock.

"I want this in my mouth."

You feel her pulling away. Your hands regretfully leave her tits and her top. But when she starts to kneel down, a wave of pure happiness washes through your body.

An excited tingle rushes through every fiber of your being as you watch her pulling down your pants. Your boxers following quickly after.

A gasp escapes her mouth, when she sees your cock for the first time.

"My husband isn't even half as big."

With a big smile, her face turns into something very cute. She gives your tip a kiss.

"A cock worthy of fucking my tits."

Her words turn you on even more. Her lips slowly wrap around your tip.

It takes her a while to pick up the pace. But once the brunette is there, her blowjob is quick and effective. You remember that you are still in a museum, standing pants down in front of a statue of Venus.

You are not a very religious person. But in that moment, you pray to that goddess, thanking her for this incredible experience.

Your prayer is interrupted by the brunette's slurping sounds. Her wet blowjob has ruined her lipstick completely by now. She looks so hot with your cock in her mouth. She places both her hands flat on your hips, before starting to fuck her face onto your cock.

You can't help but let out a loud groan, your hand automatically wanders to the back of her head. You don't start to dictate the pace. But you feel her head going a little faster.

With a woman like her, it's obvious that you won't last long. Especially if said woman fucks her face with your cock. You feel your orgasm approaching. The familiar tug in your lower regions makes you groan.

The brunette seems to have felt you twitch inside her mouth. She moves away, letting your dick fall out off her lips.

"You have a very delicious cock, you know?"

Not waiting for an answer, she starts to pull up her top. It's bunched up above her breasts. You are finally able to see them now. They seem perfectly shaped. Flawless like the ones of a goddess. Not too small, but not too big either. Just perfect handfuls.

"Try not to cum so fast."

Her wink turns her into something cute for just a moment. Then, her goddess like aura is back.

You feel her soft mounds wrap around you. She presses them together, making your cock disappear between them. As soon as she seems ready, you start to thrust upwards. You see her bite her lip as your tip appears in her cleavage.

Fucking her tits feels amazing. It feels better than anything you've experienced before. There is no comparison at all. Her soft mounds feel like they are made for you. Her warmth makes you feel hot and horny.

Eventually, she starts to stick out her tongue. It touches your tip whenever you thrust upwards. The new wetness on your tip makes you remember that your orgasm is close. It also helps with sliding trough her chest.

You have to hold onto her hair again, unable to stand by yourself.

"Your cock feels so good."

You hear her sigh as she stares down at it.

She suddenly looks up, opening her mouth, while sticking her tongue out. Her spit slowly starts to drip down her tongue. You watch as she drools all over her own cleavage. Her saliva starts to coat your cock. It makes her tits feel even smoother.

The young woman let's out another moan.

"I bet you would feel so good in my pussy."

You close you eyes, imagining yourself inside of her. The thought alone, almost makes you orgasm.

"My husband is so small, I'm practically a virgin."

She continues her talking, knowing what it does to you.

"I've never felt the pleasure of someone just pounding into me. I want to feel it. I want to feel how you rearrange my guts."

You hiss out, unable to silence the pleasure that is building up in your system. Only a little longer. You only want to hold out a little longer.

"I have such a tight pussy. You would love it."

Your grip in her hair strengthens as you approach your climax.

"That's it. Cum on my tits. Make Venus proud."

You glance at the statue for just a second. It feels like the woman on her knees is the real goddess. A beauty, too much for you to handle.

"I'm gonna cum."

You grunt out, unable to hold on any longer.

"That's good, honey. Cum on my tits. Use them like a canvas."

You groan one last time.

"Give me all of it."

You explode in her cleavage. Your cum hits her throat and chin, while some coats her tits. It feels like this is the strongest orgasm you've ever had. More cum than usual leaves your body.

In the end, her tits are covered in your semen, just like she wanted. Some is dripping down her chin. You see that her hands didn't get away without some, either. A few drops of your cum stain the big diamond on her ring. She notices it as well.

You watch in awe as she starts to lick her ring clean, after letting your spent cock leave her tits.

"Wow. That's a great load."

She scoops up some of your cum with her finger.

"And it tastes good, too."

She licks it off, before looking at you.

"What do you say? Right here? Or a hotel room?"

The option to say no doesn't even enter your brain. Still afraid of getting caught, you choose the hotel.

The brunette gets off her knees. You watch her pull her top down and putting the hem back into her skirt. Slowly, your cum starts to leave wet spots on the fabric. You pick up her bra, offering it to her.

"Keep it. Maybe you are lucky and you can complete the set."

With those words still lingering in your mind, she takes your hand, leading you towards the exit.

You've never head a clear picture of Venus or Aphrodite in your mind. Now you do. It's the woman who is holding your hand, her chest covered with your cum.

The fact that she is taking you to a hotel is making you hard again.

With one last glance at the statue, you finally know how to continue your next book.

The third part "The Roman goddess" will certainly become a bestseller.

________

Thank you for the ask. I unfortunately don't have the time to write much more.

The introduction seems a little long to me. Please keep sending short requests guys, I'm trying to shorten the part where I set the scene. With limited success as you can see.

Sana in that outfit definitely deserves a proper story, which I'm unable to write at the moment. I hope you are satisfied with that. I might be able to write the follow up somewhere in the future.

Have a nice day!

#kpop #kpop smut #anon #kpop girls #ask #kpop gg #male reader #sana minatozaki #sana #twice #sana twice #sana smut #twice smut

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Dave Maass and Patrick Lay’s “Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis”

Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

"The Emperor of Atlantis," is an opera written by two Nazi concentration camp inmates, the librettist Peter Kien and the composer Viktor Ullmann, while they were interned in Terezin, a show-camp in Czechoslovakia that housed numerous Jewish artists, who were encouraged to make and display their work as a way of proving to the rest of the world that Nazi camps were humane places.

Of course, it was all a sham. Like nearly all of Terezin's inmates, Kein and Ullmann were eventually shipped to Auschwitz to be murdered. "The Emperor" was never performed during their life, but the manuscript, written on scrounged paper (including the backs of other inmates Auschwitz transfer papers) survived.

In the decades since, "The Emperor" has been mounted a few times, with varying degrees of faithfulness. But those live performances were limited to the people who could attend them during their limited run. Now, a new graphic novel called Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis, brings the work to us all:

https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/3726/berger-books-and-dark-horse-comics-present-death-s

Death Strikes was adapted by my EFF colleague Dave Maass, an investigator and muckraker and brilliant writer, who teamed up with illustrator Patrick Lay and character designer Ezra Rose (who worked from the Kein and Ullmann's original designs, which survived along with the score and libretto).

The tale is set in the mythical kingdom of Atlantis, where the reclusive emperor has been holed up in an armored tower for decades, directing a forever war, greeting each battlefield report with fresh orders, all the while carefully scheming to maintain his grip on power by prolonging the war footing among his people.

But the Emperor has a problem: he's won the war. Every enemy has fallen. Without endless war, his system of social control will shrivel and he will be vulnerable to his people. So the Emperor declares a new war of all against all, announcing that it is every citizen's duty to make war on their neighbors. Problem solved!

But the Emperor goes too far. In announcing his new war, he directs his messengers – drum-beating automata who march through the streets of Atlantic rapping out his edicts – to claim that Death himself has blessed this new war, and "when the final drum sounds, our old friend DEATH, our flag-bearer, will raise his sword in salute to our great future!"

For Death – a swordbearing skeleton in a soldier's greatcoat and shako – this is too much. The Emperor's endless wars have already tried Death's patience. Death brings mercy, not vengeance, and the endless killing has dismayed him. The Emperor's co-option drives him past the brink, and Death declares a strike, breaking his sword and announcing that henceforth, no one will die.

Needless to say, this puts a crimp in the Emperor's all-out war plan. People get shot and stabbed and drowned and poisoned, but they don't die. They just hang around, embarrassingly alive (there's a great comic subplot of the inability of the Emperor's executioners to kill a captured assassin).

The Emperor will not be denied. He embarks upon a war of wills with Death, to see who will give in first. The surreal tale plays out among the people of Atlantis, the living and the undead, as they struggle to fight a war where no one can die. The tale cuts between these people, the Emperor, and Death, who is in company with Life, a sad harlequin who is even more demoralized than Death by the Emperor's long war.

What follows is a tale of revolution and love and hope snatched from despair.

Maass discovered "The Emperor" through a bargain bin CD of "degenerate music" he found in a suburban Best Buy in the 1990s, which was accompanied by illustrations by Art Spiegelman:

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-music-survives%21-degenerate-music-music-suppressed-by-the-third-reich-mw0000711660

Maass found a six-panel cartoon Kein drew "expressing his frustration with the evolution of his libretto." Over the years, Maass turned this little strip over and over in his head, until he found himself travelling to Prague with Lay, where they were able to handle the surviving manuscript pages. After consulting with experts all over the world, Maass and Lay and their collaborators created this extraordinary graphic novel, updating it, queering it, and lavishly illustrating it.

While this is clearly an adaptation, Kein and Ullmann's spirit of creativity, courage, and bittersweet creative foment shines through. It's a beautiful book, snatched from death itself.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/23/peter-kien-viktor-ullmann/#terezín

#pluralistic #books #reviews #eff #dave maass #graphic novels #gift guide #musicals #nazis #death camps #librettos #adaptation #war #death #absurdism #Peter Kien #Viktor Ullmann #Terezín #zombies #patrick lay

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Weeks in Review (September 10-30, 2023)

I adore Godzilla Final Wars, but it's a movie with an identity crisis, unsure whether it wants to be headlining a Toho Champion Festival or mesmerizing American teenagers at a mid-aughts multiplex. @spacehunter-m's Final Wars 2004: The Year We Make Corn-Tack gives it a strong tug in the first direction, whittling the runtime down to 77 minutes and replacing most of the music and sound effects. She was inspired by Space Warriors 2000, of all things; as she put it, both films are "largely comprised of nonstop, monotonous action." As in that bizarro Ultraman compilation film, the kaiju trash-talk each other. It makes you wonder why Ryuhei Kitamura didn't at least bring back the speech bubbles from Godzilla vs. Gigan. Kaiju fan edits are rare, and this is in a class all by itself. Download it here.

Shigeru Kayama's novelizations of Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla Raids Again are out—hopefully the first of many to come. My copy only arrived on Saturday, so I haven't had the chance to read the whole thing yet, but I've made it through Godzilla. It's interesting to see Kayama, who wrote the initial treatment, take another swing at the story after the film was finished. He puts back moments like Godzilla eating a cow and attacking a lighthouse, and is also more overt with the wartime allusions. There's an incredible moment where Dr. Yamane muses that studying Godzilla and learning his secrets could be Japan's way of redeeming itself after "caus[ing] a great deal of trouble to people throughout the world." Note that these are novella-length, so much less in-depth than the novelizations of American Godzilla films you might be used to (Godzilla Raids Again is less than 80 pages). The book ends with an afterword by translator Jeffrey Angles contextualizing the tales.

Godzilla: War for Humanity continues to be a standout IDW miniseries. There's a new and very weird monster in the second issue, plus a no-nonsense Mothra (she tries to recruit Godzilla to fight Zoospora by shooting him in the back of the head and dragging him into the ocean in front of Minilla).

I've also got to mention the solicitation for another Godzilla Rivals installment, due December 20. Nola Pfau is writing, Megan Huang is illustrating.

Jen Onça is not excited to start her new, fast-paced fast-food career at Minilla Burger, but she'd much prefer a mundane day to the sudden return of Megalon! The monster brings destruction, trapping Jen in a forgotten lab deep beneath the restaurant with only the half-built form of Jet Jaguar to help her get out! She must repair the robotic defender to save herself and the city, but first she needs to escape the rubble trapping her in this tense adventure!

Yuzo the Biggest Battle in Tokyo, Yoshikazu Ishii's follow-up to Attack of the Giant Teacher, has also been picked up by SRS Cinema. No release details yet. I can't really speak to the film either, since it screened at the same time as Yumiko Shaku's panel at G-Fest, but as you can see from the poster, it's set during the pandemic.

The GAMERA -Rebirth- Gyaos has joined Godzilla Battle Line as an unusual sort of swarm unit. Your first summon of the match calls forth two sub-adults, and by the fifth summon you're sending out two sub-adults and three adults, still for four energy. They're probably the best swarm in the game, though still highly vulnerable to AOE units like Godzilla '01. I'm having fun with them in the Challenge Battles.

Notzilla, one of the sharpest kaiju comedies out there, is unexpectedly getting the graphic novel treatment. Mitch Teemley is adapting his own screenplay, with art by Zumart Putra. The comic is already finished, although I'm not clear on how folks who didn't back the Kickstarter (which wrapped on September 11) will get it. Useless trivia: the terrific cover above (one of four) is by Ben Dunn, who wrote the How to Draw Manga book I poured over in middle school.

After Troll shattered Netflix streaming records (according to Netflix), it's not super surprising that the company wants a sequel. Priority one: coming up with a title that's not Troll 2. Screenwriter Espen Aukan and director Roar Uthaug will both return.

Toy highlights of the past few weeks:

After confusing everyone by teasing its silhouette the day before April Fools', Tamashii has fully unveiled an S.H.Monsterarts Godzilla '72, a rare Showa figure from the line. It comes with two heads, one of them bloodied (see above). Due at the end of February.

After finally running out of ways to repaint their mold of Hedorah's Perfect Stage, Bandai is making a Movie Monster Series figure of the kaiju's Landing Stage. A Godzilla Store exclusive, it'll be released October 25.

After over two years, Funko is releasing a trio of Godzilla Singular Point Pops. Hopefully they go all-out with this show—it's not like there's any other plausible way for a Satomi Kanahara figure to exist.

#godzilla #kaiju week in review #godzilla final wars #troll #notzilla #gyaos #yuzo the biggest battle in tokyo #kaiju

[hyperfixationgoddess]

Ok @chocoarts , I'm ready to go on a ramble! Thanks so much for answering my request! I hope my ramble does your art justice!

So! Steve and Robin are destined to work together, no matter how they meet or what they do. I know that most folks on the internet think that Robin wouldn't be great with little kids, while Steve would be the master. However! I personally like the idea that they're /both/ great with kids! I'm not usually one for no-Upside-down aus, but I can't really think of another way that this would work, so.

I'll bet that Steve and Robin met while volunteering at the Hawkins Daycare center. They bond over a love of kids and hatred for the people in charge. Y'see, Hawkins kinda reminds me of the area I grew up in a little bit, and something that's happened, both in my community and the town where my mom works, is that daycares and pre-schools start out as genuine nonprofits, existing for the sake of the community. But over time, they become super exclusive, expensive, and mildly corrupt. I imagine that if Hawkins had a daycare center, that's what would happen.

*oh, by the way, I have nothing against day care centers or all you folks who run them in a general sense. I know how difficult it is to take care of little kids to an extent, and I respect you all for what you do. It's just the ones in my community that I know of that are like that.*

Anyway...

So Steve and Robin see this and decide, hey, Steve's parents may be assholes, but they haven't cut him off yet, so why don't they use that money to open their own daycare center? They would call it Bat-man and Robin's Junior Bat-cave, because Steve plays baseball in this au. Also because of this meme:

By the way, they decided to add hyphens to the DC related parts of the name to escape a potential lawsuit. That's my logic, and I'm sticking to it. Cool? Cool.

So Steve and Robin open their daycare, and they keep their fees as inexpensive as they possibly can without it being detrimental to the business. One of their first customers is a single mom by the name of Claudia Henderson.

It takes a minute for Dustin to warm up to Steve and Robin, because even as a 3-year-old, people give him a hard time about his disease, cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD), which he worked really hard to learn how to pronounce.

Steve and Robin don't treat him any differently. The only acknowledgement they make of his CCD is when they have to follow his daily medical needs, which I assume exist, but I have no idea what they'd be. When this sinks in, he warms right up to them. His favorite thing to do is play spies with the toy walkie-talkie set that Steve got especially for him. He gets bad dreams sometimes about his dad leaving, but Steve is always right there when he wakes up with a sci-fi picture book or Star Wars stuffies to help him feel better.

The next kid to show up is Max Mayfield. She's a sassy little thing. And in this au, N*il dies in a car crash or something, and Billy's mom gets custody of Billy, because he deserves good things, dammit, but Susan doesn't have the money to move her and Max back to Cali. The Junior Batcave is affordable for her. It takes Max a hot second to warm up to Steve, because of N*il, but Robin helps her feel safe, and Steve never pushes her boundaries. That is what gets her to warm up to him. Max likes playing spies with Dustin, but her favorite thing to do is use cardboard as ramps and play with those tiny skateboard toys.

Jane Eleanor "El" Hopper shows up after Hopper adopts her and gets her out of the foster system. She's pretty quiet and timid, but she's got good judgement for a 3-year-old. She warms up to Steve and Robin pretty quick. She calls them Auntie Robin and Mom-Steve. She likes any kind of game, as long as she's with her best friend Max. But her favorite thing to do at daycare is play with Steve's hair. One day, she brings all sorts of clips and ribbons from home. El gets a little sad, because Robin gently tells her, "if it touches your hair, you don't share." Steve immediately goes out to the store to get some new hair supplies, and then El just goes ham on his hair. When she's done, she says that "Mom-Steve is the prettiest ever!" Hearts melt, and there are tears.

When Will shows up, his family is fresh out of a divorce, so he's really quiet and sensitive. He knows that he's welcome to play with Dustin, Max, and El, but he's just too shy. Luckily for him, Mike starts attending at around the same time. They bond over Star Wars with Dustin. And Will just has the best ideas for games if make-believe! When Will leads, Max and El get to be the knights, and Mike is the one who needs saving. Will gets attached to Steve and Robin when they agree to play the dragon and the queen respectively, and help him practice reading when he's not up to playing. Eventually, Will spends so much time reading with Steve that Mike gets jealous, which I think would explain the ankle-biter moment in chocoarts's picture.

Mike is a bit of a jealous kiddo, because baby Holly gets all of Mom and Nancy's attention, and Dad isn't home too often cause of work. That's why, if any of his friends start spending more time with Steve than him, his ankle-biting tendencies surface. Oh, Will would rather read a story with Steve than play knights and castles with Mike? CHOMP! Even so, Steve and Robin both give Mike plenty of attention, so he warms up to them. He copies El, calling Steve Mom-Steve. He also starts calling Robin Auntie Birdie.

Last, but certainly not least, the Sinclair siblings. In this au, I think Lucas and Erica would either be twins, or the age gap would just be a year instead of 4, as it seems to be in canon (Lucas seeming to be a 15-year-old freshman when Erica is 11). Lucas likes playing catch a little more than the other boys, and Steve is always happy to play with him. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Y'see, I just had the thought that when the Sinclairs tried sending Lucas and Erica to Hawkins Daycare, the two were surrounded by white children who didn't know anything other than the racist bullshit their parents said around them. The employees weren't much better. When the Sinclairs reached out to the Junior Bat-cave, on the other hand, Steve and Robin were perfectly respectful, and made sure the other kids knew to be respectful to Lucas and Erica, too. Anywho, as the two adjust, Steve loves to see how Lucas is just the best big brother. He knows that Erica is still a bit too small for catch, so he rolls his favorite ball around with her, instead. Also, Erica likes dogs in this au, so Steve helps Lucas draw and/or color in pictures of dogs and puppies. Robin is always happy to play with Erica, too. In fact, all the girls love finding all the dog stuffies in the daycare to play dog school, Erica's favorite game.

Alright! That's all I've got for this ramble. If anyone wants to take these ideas and just roll with them, feel free to do so. I hope my ramble did chocoarts's drawing justice!

#stranger things #steve harrington #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #mike wheeler #will byers #el jane hopper #max mayfield #erica sinclair #robin buckley #steve and robin #steve harrington is a damn good babysitter #mom-steve #auntie birdy (aka robin)

[girljeremystrong]

✨ read them before they come on your screens ✨

homeland elegies by ayad akhtar

truly incredible book, one of the best i’ve ever read. part family drama, part social essay, part picaresque adventure — at its heart, it is the story of a father, a son, and the country they both call home.

black buck by mateo askaripour

very fun book where a lot happens all the time. a satirical debut novel about a young man given a shot at stardom as the lone black salesman at a mysterious, cult-like, and wildly successful startup where nothing is as it seems.

the art of fielding by chad harbach

such a wonderful book about two co-dependent friends. at a small school in michigan, baseball star henry seems destined for big league stardom, but when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

the nickel boys by colson whitehead

absolutely incredible book. one innocent mistake sends elwood to the nickel academy, a chamber of horrors, where abuse is rife. stunned to find himself in this vicious environment, elwood tries to hold on to hope, but his fellow inmate and new friend turner thinks he’s naive.

tin man by sarah winman

a perfect beautiful & sad love story. ellis and michael are twelve when they first become friends, and then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more. fast forward a decade, ellis is married to annie, and michael is nowhere in sight. what happened in the years between?

interior chinatown by charles yu

a truly beautiful and unique book. willis wu doesn’t perceive himself as the protagonist in his own life: he’s merely ‘generic asian man’, always he is relegated to a prop. he dreams of being 'kung fu guy’ — the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. or is it?

shuggie bain by douglas stuart

very sad but very good. the unforgettable story of young hugh "shuggie" bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in run-down public housing in glasgow.

nothing to see here by kevin wilson

a great book that’s also very sweet.  a moving and uproarious novel about a woman who finds meaning in her life when she begins caring for two children with remarkable and disturbing abilities (they spontaneously combust when they get agitated).

a gentleman in moscow by amor towles

a novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel, in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors.

we begin at the end by chris whitaker

this book is so good. read it. a fortysomething-year-old sheriff and a thirteen-year-old girl may not seem to have a lot in common. but when trouble arrives they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.

the great believers by rebecca makkai

beautiful and sad and dazzling. a novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s chicago and contemporary paris.

age of vice by deepti kapoor

big succession vibes. equal parts crime thriller and family saga,it is an intoxicating novel of gangsters and lovers, false friendships, forbidden romance, and the consequences of corruption. binge-worthy entertainment at its literary best.

tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by gabrielle zevin

two friends-often in love, but never lovers-come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

the nightingale by kristin hannah

the story of two sisters caught up in occupied france during the second world war and their struggle to survive and resist.

sea of tranquility by emily st. john mandel

a novel of art, time travel, love and plague that takes the reader from vancouver island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.

the guncle by steven rowley

a warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew. very sweet.

razorblade tears by s.a. crosby

two ex-cons with little else in common other than a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge.

washington black by esi edugyan

washington balck is an eleven-year-old field slave who knows no other life than the barbados sugar plantation where he was born. then his master's eccentric brother chooses him to be his manservant. it tells a story of friendship and betrayal, love and redemption, of a world destroyed and made whole again.

exit west by mohsin hamid

in a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet. they embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. when it explodes, as the violence escalates, nadia and saeed decide that they no longer have a choice, they find a door and step through.

sorrow and bliss by meg mason

martha knows there is something wrong with her but she doesn't know what it is. the story is narrated in the aftermath of martha and patrick’s separation, when she is thinking back over her life and trying to understand it, and herself.

maybe you should talk to someone by lori gottlieb

gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.

the family chao by lan samantha chang

the residents of haven, wisconsin, have dined on the fine chao restaurant’s delicious food for thirty-five years, happy to ignore any unsavory whispers about the family owners. but when brash, charismatic, and tyrannical patriarch leo chao is found dead―presumed murdered―his sons discover that they’ve drawn the exacting gaze of the entire town.

crying in h mart by michelle zauner

a memoir about growing up korean american, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.

young mungo by douglas stuart

growing up in a housing estate in glasgow, mungo and james are born under different stars--mungo a protestant and james a catholic--and they should be sworn enemies if they're to be seen as men at all, yet against all odds, they become best friends.

#book recs #books #bookblr #filmedit #idk what to tag honestly #booksblr #book recommendations #dark academia #these are not dark academia i just want the notes

[a-student-out-of-time]

The Eternal Endings Cast and History: The Down-Timers

//Hey everyone, Mod Bubbles here! I bring you some more of My Thoughts.

//Having gone through Danganronpa: Eternal Endings with my friend Timeline Anon, I can say it's one of the most unique and interesting fangans we've seen thus far. We had no idea how it would work, but somehow it really seems like it can.

//One thing that really piques my interest isn't just that the cast is in the afterlife, but the fact that all of them come from very different points in history. That's something I think is worth speculating on, especially with how it may play into their characters, both in terms of their places in history and the context from where they're from.

//There have always been small historical tidbits in DR, both canon and fangan, but Eternal Endings is the first one I've seen that specifically has real-world events playing a role here. Our protagonist, Krystal Willard, died in 2021, specifically referencing how the travel restrictions imposed during the height of the Pandemic were being lifted.

//This game specifically doesn't take place in the same timeline as the Hope's Peak saga, since the founder of the talent program is another figure altogether, but I thought it would be interesting to examine the eras each of them are from.

//As a bit of shorthand, I also decided to borrow some terminology from Eric Flint's Ring of Fire series (a great book series btw), where people from the past are referred to as "Down-Timers" and people from the present/future are "Up-Timers."

//This also just gives me a chance to talk about history, which I enjoy doing : P

//So, without further ado, let's get into it.

THE DOWN-TIMERS:

Zhao Ying (1903-1932)

Hailing from the furthest back in time is Zhao, a personal favorite of mine, who was the Ultimate Singer. Just from that time frame, she would've been around for the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Warlord Era, the rise of the Nationalist Government and the very early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Just days before her death- on February 18th 1932- the Imperial Japanese conquered Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo.

There's also a bit of an anachronism with the PRC's flag being there, given that the design wasn't adopted until 1949, but that's probably for the benefit of a modern audience.

Anyway, Zhao is an entertainer and doesn't really make a lot of commentary on these conflicts. She's a singer, a dancer, and an actress, and had an upcoming role before her death. This is very interesting because the 1920s and 30s represented the emergence of cinema in China. The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple, a 16-part box office hit, was released between 1928-1931 and represents one of the first martial arts action films, but has sadly been lost to time.

Zhao was more than likely a silent film star, although 1931 brought the first Chinese sound film, Sing-Song Girl Red Peony, so it's possible her voice has been recorded as well. If I had to guess, Zhao probably lived around Shanghai, given that it was the center of the Chinese entertainment industry in this era.

One of the most overlooked aspects of Chinese history is that, while China itself was never colonized, it was forced to make Concessions to outside powers. These were pieces of territory in major cities like Shanghai, which were effectively enclaves of foreign territory that were exempt from Chinese law and provided a foothold for European Empires, America, and even Japan to exert influence and trade.

A byproduct of this is that many gangs and secret societies were allowed to operate with impunity in the Concessions, which resulted in prostitution, drug dealing and gambling being quite common. This probably explains why Zhao isn't a fan.

However, the saddest thing about the losses in Zhao's life? She was a mother.

Given that the photo says 1932, this had to be around January or Early February, meaning Zhao's boy, Wang Wei, couldn't have been more than 2 or 3. In-story, she's in tears over leaving her son behind and wonders if he'll even remember her.

Not to make the hurt worse, but given that Shanghai would be occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1937-1945...well, I'm going to hope that the poor kid and the rest of her family made it out.

Earnest Mikkola (1910-1945)

Speaking of World War II, Earnest would've been around for it and its prequel. Essentially the Indiana Jones figure of this setting, Earnest was a worldwide reputation as an explorer, having discovered new animals, plants and even civilizations. His expeditions took him quite a ways around the world, but it's his death that catches my attention.

See, Earnest is Finnish. I've seen some people worried that this means he was one the side of the Axis during the war, but this is a misunderstanding. See, just months after the Invasion of Poland, Finland was on the receiving end of an ultimatum from Stalin. Because he felt the border was too close to Leningrad (today St. Petersburg), he demanded Finland hand over some land to provide a buffer zone or else. The Finns said no, obviously, and thus began the Winter War.

To put it simply, while the Soviets ultimately got what they wanted, the Finns gave them a pretty bloody nose in the process. In just three and a half months, the Soviets suffered over five times as many casualties as the Finns and their international reputation suffered worse.

The conflict was also ultimately pointless, as Finland- while it didn't side with Germany- formed what was an alliance of convenience. When Operation Barbarossa took place, the Finns actually occupied much of the Karelia peninsula, even more than they had before. This lasted until 1944.

That's when Finland pulled an Uno reverse card and sided against Germany, starting the Lapland War, where the Finnish military tried to push all Axis forces out of their borders, and this lasted until April 1945, just a month before victory in Europe was declared.

How does this relate to Earnest? I guess it depends on where he was during the Lapland War, whether he was at home or elsewhere in the world, and whose side he was ultimately in favor of. Could that be why he was poisoned? It remains to be seen.

Yun Jung-Hoon (1936-1952)

Continuing with the war trend, here we have the first one to ask a historical question: local fly boy Yun. Even just from the patch on his shoulder, I could tell what his deal probably was before Krystal even spoke with him.

Sure enough, Yun here was a pilot in the Korean War. For those who don't know, Korea- which had been occupied by Japan since 1910- was divided along the 38th parallel North after World War II. The Soviets occupied by the north and established a communist government, led by Kim Il-Sung, while the Americans occupied the south and established a non-communist government lead by Syngman Rhee.

If you're only familiar with the North/South divide in the modern day, this is where it began. In the Spring of 1950, Kim lead an invasion to unify the country under communist rule, and because the South was militarily weak at the time, he thought it would be easy and conquered all the way down to an area called the Pusan Perimeter. Of course, America and a United Nations coalition force arrived to push them out.

They managed to push their way up to the northern border, where it seemed possible to conquer the North...only for the newly-established People's Republic of China to send hundreds of thousands of troops to support the North. They pushed the front lines south, where it stagnated around the 38th parallel for the next three years.

Based on his death date, if he died in battle, I'm guessing it was either in the First Battle of Hook or The Battle of Triangle Hill.

Yun also asks Krystal about the outcome of the war, but he decides he doesn't want to know and instead says he needs time to mentally prepare himself. I can't say I blame him, given that the war he died in was ultimately just a stalemate and technically never really ended.

Oumar Dembélé (1939-1969)

Another personal favorite of mine, Oumar is hilariously melodramatic, but also quite empathetic and emotionally-conscious dude. He's a relationship counselor and a published author, which is very interesting.

Oumar is Malian, and with that time frame, he would've been born when the country was under French colonial rule. At the time, Mali was called "French Sudan" and was ruled as part of French West Africa, a federation of eight colonies in the region. Mali and Senegal both achieved independence as the Federation of Mali on June 20th, 1960, although their status as a federation only lasted two months.

Even under French rule, there was a considerable divide between Northerners, particularly the Tuareg people, and Southerners. Under independence, the country's first president, Modibo Keïta, moved quickly to establish a single-party state, nationalized a great deal of services, and withdrew from the French Community in favor of closer ties to the Eastern Bloc, although economic problems lead to them rejoining the Franc Zone in 1967. He would later be deposed in a coup the following year.

This doesn't mean Oumar would've stayed in Mali, of course. In fact, I get the impression he probably moved to someplace like France to become as prominent as he had. This probably would've come in the wake of the Algiers War, when France saw many years of economic growth.

Oumar's death is also equally interesting and horrifying to consider, given that he was specifically crushed in a small venue.

This was a case of human crush injury. This is when a crowd of people is so tightly packed together (4–5 people per square meter/2.5 square feet per person), there's no room for them to move or even breathe.

The 1989 Hillsborough Disaster is a pretty infamous example of that, where 72,841 people compacted together in a stadium designed to hold just under 40,000. The result? 766 people were injured, 94 died and another 3 later died of injures they received. The crowd was so packed that even people who had died were still held up through the pressure.

Personal space is important.

Bonnie Clark (1959-1978)

And here's Bonnie, easily the saddest character in the game and I can't blame her at all. Out of all the Down-Timers, she's the one we actually learn the most about in her introduction. She has the vibes of an all-American girl, with a very fitting accent and everything.

She had a friend group that she frequently went to the arcade with, and she worked at a place called Don's Diner. How do we know? Krystal finds a picture.

"Now disgraced" in this context likely refers to Bonnie's untimely death. If any of you are familiar with the Terrible "Accident" PSA on workplace safety, you can probably imagine what happened. It's easily one of the most horrific ways to go, not gonna lie ^^;

Beyond that, there's not too much to really say with her in terms of historical context, given that she's a pretty archetypal small town girl, albeit much more pessimistic than many other examples. That could relate to how the 1970s were a difficult time for America, both economically and socially, due to factors like OPEC's oil embargo due to the Yom Kippur War.

That being said, it was still a time of significant social, scientific and technological progress, although for a teenager trying to make end's meet, that probably would've been a small comfort.

On a much lighter note, Bonnie got to enjoy some of the classic video games of the era: Pong, Space Invaders, Breakout, Death Race, Asteroids, Galaxian and many others.

Fernando Gomes (1958-1984)

And here we have our local himbo, Fernando. He's a pretty laid-back dude and his bio states that, while he's attained worldwide fame for his surfing skills, he prefers to stick around his home town and stay in the lifeguard job he's had since he was a teenager.

Even if you know history, it's almost easy to forget while talking to him that Fernando would've spent most of his life under a military dictatorship.

The Fifth Brazilian Republic, which was established after a coup on April 1st, 1964, was a brutally repressive government. Strong anti-communist policies, hard-line conservatism, political repression, mass censorship, curtailment of freedom of speech and the widespread killing, torturing and deporting of dissidents were all commonplace, particularly in the 70s.

So common, in fact, that the decade between 1968 and 1978 is also called the "Years of Lead."

Despite this, Brazil adopted a highly diversified and developmentalist economic model that helped boost their economy, and they developed the slogan "Brazil: Love it or Leave it." Fernando, ironically, seemed to adhere to that slogan given his love for his hometown.

Of course, Brazil would eventually return to democracy, but Fernando would fatally hit his head on a rock before he could see it happen.

Sonechka Morozova (1978-1996)

And another favorite of mine, Soneckha is our local magical weirdo, whose predictions of the future have been far more accurate than chance would suggest. She's also not disappointed that she's dead, but rather than she didn't end up as Queen of Hell like she wanted.

She's also very interesting in that, while she doesn't seem to play well with others, she'll respect you if you respect her in return, such as not giving her a nickname and understanding what a soothsayer is.

Timeline-wise, Sonechka would've been around for the latter days of the Soviet Union, the Chernobyl Disaster, the collapse of communist rule over Eastern Europe, the independence of the Russian Federation, the 1993 Constitutional Crisis and the First Chechen War.

It's not hard to see how, given that she has the ability to predict the future to a supernatural degree, she likely saw these events, and watching them play out probably shaped a lot about her personality and outlook.

My biggest question is how she wound up dying of hypothermia in the middle of the summer, as July is actually the warmest month in the country.

Petra Nightingale (1987-2006)

First introduced as "Scene Kid," Petra is definitely someone whose design would grab your attention. Her talent was a bit of a surprise to me, but her attitude, not to mention her sweet personality, really make her well-suited to caring for seniors.

Petra is English and would've been a 90's kid, so her time might've been spent with things like classic shows, crisp packets with prizes in them, Mr. Blobby and that time when the console wars were between Nintendo and Sega.

In terms of social and political history, the 90s saw the end of Margaret Thatcher's time as prime minister, the restoration of relations with Argentina after the Falkland War, the latter half of the Mad Cow Disease scandal and the Good Friday Agreement that brought an end to the Troubles.

Petra also mentions she's from Brighton, and during her childhood, she would've seen the city become much more prominent, which resulted in housing prices going up and a lot of people moving away. Would that have influenced her decision to start caring for seniors who couldn't afford to move.

I think the most interesting part to consider is that, as a senior caregiver, Petra has probably met a lot of veterans from Britain's various conflicts, from both World Wars to the various colonial conflicts to maybe even people who were in conflict with the IRA during the early days of the Troubles.

Not that I think it would've made Petra a judgemental person, as she seems very nice, but someone so young and very clearly quite lonely could have had her worldview shaped quite a bit by vets from these conflicts. I just think it's interesting to consider.

Vivian Wright (1966-2015)

Finally, the most recent Down-Timer and one from an era most of us are familiar with, Vivan was a Canadian teacher who was killed in a car accident. She's actually the first one Krystal meets after arriving, and we see that, while Viv is pretty nice, she also definitely has those anger issues.

I think most of us know what she would've been around to witness just before her death, but in terms of her adolescence, she would've been around for things such as Trudeaumania, civil rights for the First Nations, the many political tensions within Quebec and Terry Fox's famous attempt to run cross-country.

As the Ultimate Teacher, Viv probably has a lot to share on these topics, and I think it's interesting to consider how she could potentially be the one to help her fellow Down-Timers accommodate to the discoveries that came after their deaths. It's an interesting possibility.

//So there you go, some historical context for each of our Down-Timers, which I think could potentially play a role in their characters, arcs and motivations in the story. It's understandable that a lot of them probably have values that we today wouldn't agree with, but the same could be said of us and the Up-Timers, who deserve their own essay as well.

//This is also my way of saying "Go check out Eternal Endings, it's genuinely interesting and I want to see more!" : P

#mod talks #a student out of time #essay #danganronpa eternal endings #eternal endings #dree #Zhao Ying #Earnest Mikkola #Yun Jung-Hoon #Oumar Dembele #Bonnie Clark #Fernando Gomes #Sonechka Morozova #Petra Nightingale #Vivian Wright

[mask131]

Fantasy read-list: B - 2.5

And to conclude this season’s fantasy read-list section, I will list down there some additional works and references (taken from various articles of the same vein as those I previously quoted).

# When talking about the Pentamerone, one of the articles wrote about Rabelais’ work, and I have to introduce him here. Rabelais is one of the 16th century most famous French author, still famous to this day for his series of four books detailing the adventures of the giants Pantagruel and Gargantua. These books (Pantagruel, Gargantua, Tiers Livre, Le Quart Livre) are parodies of knighthood novels, medieval adventures and various fantastical stories, depicting the extravagant, convoluted and hilarious lives of two giants, Pantagruel and later his son Gargantua, in medieval (and early Renaissance) France. Parodying knight adventures and Arthurian fiction by having as a hero extravagant and goofy giants excessive in everything they do, these books are prone to all sorts of vulgar behaviors (sex, food, piss and poop are everywhere in these very organic books, where sometimes entire civilizations grow inside the giant’s body) and to all sorts of cartoonish shenanigans opposing the giants (and various trickster friends, such as Panurge) against caricatural, grotesque or dreadfully ineffective enemies. But these books also served as actual satire and scientifico-social criticism: Rabelais being a physician, a man of letters, an humanist and an anti-cleric, he used these books to expose the most ridiculous medicine theories, to denounce and caricature the various cultural institutions of his time, and bring forward all sorts of humanist ideals through allegories and metaphors, mixing high-minded preoccupations about civilizations, educations and humanity, among all sorts of medieval grotesque farces. Just as an example – the very fact of choosing giants allows for the farcical content (they stop wildfires by pissing on it, they gorge themselves on an impossible long list of foods and drinks in “gargantuan” meals, their mothers are described giving birth to entire zoos of animals and entire caravans alongside their baby…), but also reflects what the humanists wanted men to become, “giants” of culture and arts, who knew everything about all domains, be it politics, medicine, sports, war, literature, and were able to do anything and prepared for any situation, towering over things such as superstitions, ignorance and vices.

# When talking about Rabelais, another name must be brought up alongside him – another great parodist of knight-and-adventure novels, another great satirist author of the 16th century, but Spanish this time, not French: Cervantes, who by himself destroyed the whole knight-novel genre with his now classic El ingenioso hildago don Quixote de la Mancha, while also deconstructing and denouncing an obsessively strict and essentially absurd Spanish society.

# One article talking about the 1001 Nights evoked the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, and since I am not sure if I included it in previous lists, I will place it here.

# The same article detailed and highlighted the differences between the four great “historical” translations of The One Thousand and One Nights. The first translation, in French by Antoine-Galland, is noted to belong to the fashion of “fairy tales” of the time, a la Perrault and madame d’Aulnoy. As a result this translation focuses on the wonders, magics and supernatural forces of the tale, while removing all the more gruesome, shocking or vulgar elements to fit an upper-class, aristocratic, elegant audience. Then came the first English translation, by sir Richard Burton, which rather focused on the sexual elements of The One Thousand and One Nights, insisting on these oriental tales as erotic ones. This was a focus taken back by the second historical French translation of the text, by Joseph-Charles Mardrus, who him went even further and on top of putting back all the sex Galland had removed, also highlighted and insisted on homoerotic tonalities, especially on all the “saphic” elements. The last historical translation, presented as an in-between between the “marvel” and the “vulgar” traditions, is the French one of René R. Khawam, which forms a just balance between the “poetry of wonders” and the “bacchanals”.

# In an article about Perrault, two very important texts of French literature are mentioned. On one side, Les Fables de La Fontaine. La Fontaine was one of the great authors of the 17th century France, admired notably by Perrault himself, and today all French kids know him by his fables. If English-speakers know Aesop’s Fables, French-speakers know La Fontaine Fables – the latter often rewrites or remakes of the former, all depicting talking animals having short adventures with a moral at the end, but with the meaning of fables usually updated to a more modern context and the monarchic society of Renaissance France. They are still considered today one of the great classics of French literature. The other work, which was greatly renowned during the 17th century, but is quite forgotten today, is L’Enéide Burlesque, the Burlesque Aeneid, by “the brothers Perrault”. This is one of the many famous “burlesque” parodies of the time – another one, more remembered today, is “Le Virgile travesti”, “The transvestite Virgil” of Scarron, one of the great humorist writers of the 17th century. The whole idea of the “burlesque” humor was to take a work of a given genre, and write it in a language that didn’t fit this genre by the standards of the time. In the case of these parodies, they both took the Aeneid, a classical Roman epic, and retold it in the language most opposed to this noble and admired genre – they are basically vulgar retellings of the Aeneid filled with insults, colloquial terms, humoristic nicknames, and other “common” expressions and “lowly” terms usually found in the mouth of peasants and the like.

# Among the various stage works, music and movies adapted out of Perrault’s fairytales, I found explicit mentions of Rossini’s Cinderella opera, Prokofiev’s Cinderella, Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, Maurice Ravel’s Ma Mère L’Oye, Disney’s Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, Méliès’ Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard, Tex Avery’s parody of Little Red Riding Hood, and Jacques Demy’s Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin). With a special mention for Tahar Ben Jelloun’s work, Mes contes de Perrault (My Perrault fairytales), where the Franco-Moroccan author rewrites the stories of the Perrault in the Arabian fashion of The One Hundred and One Nights (Riquet with the tuft becomes Hakim with the tuft, Little Red Riding Hood becomes Little Red Burqa, etc…).  

# While I will probably talk more of nursery rhymes in the next section of this read-list, a brief mention should be made here of Mother Goose as a character, and her association with nursery rhymes – all things invented by the British! I talked about it previously, but the “Mother Goose” in the title of Charles Perrault’s fairy tales, Contes de ma Mère l’Oye, is not an actual character of literature or folklore. “Tales of Mother Goose” was just a common folk expression for fairy tales and folktales in France (similarly people talked of “old woman’s tales”, of “wolf’s tale”, of “sleeping-while-standing tales”, of “donkey-skin tales”…). But when these stories were translated into English, “Mother Goose” because a character in its own right, brought to life by some specific English editors for a series of books that on top of covering fairytales, also started collecting and spreading nursery rhymes. The oldest nursery rhyme book involving Mother Goose would be 1764’s Mother Goose’s Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle, which was the work that would associate forever Mother Goose with nursery rhymes. Mother Goose’s popularity was also helped by several stage shows in the early 19th century that made the literature figure a famous pantomime character: one of these shows being the notable Harlequin and Mother Goose, or the Golden Egg.

# In an article covering women who wrote fairytales (such as those I detailed in my fairytale post previously), a particular insistence was made on one of the “first generation” female authors, alongside d’Aulnoy and such: Catherine Durand, who wrote several fairytales throughout her works. For the “second wave” generation, the 18th century authors, the focus was more on the Comtesse de Ségur, which I already mentioned as the author of in French “Nouveaux Conte de Fées”, (New Fairytales) ironically translated in English as “Old French Fairytales” – though the article notes that from this first generation that built and invented a true “faerie” (it notably invoked Durand’s story The Origin of Fairies, where she gives a mythological explanation to the existence of the fairies of fairytales, and her “Le Prodige de l’Amour” where she highlights the supreme magical power of love), the comtesse de Ségur denotes herself by depicting in her fairytales all sorts of gratuitous horrors and hopeless fights against a crushing world filled with hatred and treachery. In the article’s words, her fairytales are less about marvels than about “modern terrors”. Finally, to mention a more modern wave of fairytale authors, the article concludes with the 19th century’s Delphine de Girardin, who wrote “Fairytales of an old maid, written for her nephews” – noted to be very cynic and bitter fairytales, despite their apparently fantastic and childish titles (for example one is about a boy having his wish granted of owning a flying dog… only for said dog to ends up dissected by scientists trying to understand how it could fly at all). By comparing these three authors work, the article wanted to highlight a certain “evolution” of the female fairytale throughout the centuries.

#fantasy read-list #fantasy literature #fantasy fiction #fairy tales #fairytales #french literature #the one thousand and one nights #rabelais

[richincolor]

Crystal’s 2022 Favorites 

This year I had a lot going on in my life and I read fewer books than usual. Fortunately, the quality was fabulous even if the quantity fell short. I don't think this has happened to me in the past, but all of my favorites are from the same imprint.  Feiwel & Friends is doing some great work.

Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix [Crystal's review] Feiwel & Friends

Jerusalem, 1192. The Third Crusade rages on. Rahma al-Hud loyally followed her elder sister Zeena into the war over the Holy Land, but now that the Faranji invaders have gotten reinforcements from Richard the Lionheart, all she wants to do is get herself and her sister home alive.

But Zeena, a soldier of honor at heart, refuses to give up the fight while Jerusalem remains in danger of falling back into the hands of the false Queen Isabella. And so, Rahma has no choice but to take on one final mission with her sister.

On their journey to Jerusalem, Rahma and Zeena come across a motley collection of fellow travelers―including a softspoken Mongolian warrior, an eccentric Andalusian scientist, a frustratingly handsome spy with a connection to Rahma’s childhood, and an unfortunate English chaplain abandoned behind enemy lines. The teens all find solace, purpose and camaraderie―as well as a healthy bit of mischief―in each other’s company.

But their travels soon bring them into the orbit of Queen Isabella herself, whose plans to re-seize power in Jerusalem would only guarantee further war and strife in the Holy Land for years to come. And so it falls to the merry band of misfits to use every scrap of cunning and wit (and not a small amount of thievery) to foil the usurper queen and perhaps finally restore peace to the land.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh [Crystal's Review] Feiwel & Friends

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin [Group Discussion] along with the second book A Venom Dark and Sweet Feiwel & Friends

I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is, “These are the hands that buried my mother.”

For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it’s her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her—the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu.

When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom’s greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making—she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favor from the princess, which may be Ning’s only chance to save her sister’s life. But between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger.

A Venom Dark and Sweet (The Book of Tea #2)

A great evil has come to the kingdom of Dàxi. The Banished Prince has returned to seize power, his rise to the dragon throne aided by the mass poisonings that have kept the people bound in fear and distrust.

Ning, a young but powerful shénnóng-shi—a wielder of magic using the ancient and delicate art of tea-making—has escorted Princess Zhen into exile. Joining them is the princess’ loyal bodyguard, Ruyi, and Ning’s newly healed sister, Shu. Together the four young women travel throughout the kingdom in search of allies to help oust the invaders and take back Zhen’s rightful throne.

But the golden serpent still haunts Ning’s nightmares with visions of war and bloodshed. An evil far more ancient than the petty conflicts of men has awoken, and all the magic in the land may not be enough to stop it from consuming the world…

What books pulled you in this year? 

#young adult #fantasy #history #adventure

[itcameuponamidnightqueer]

heyo! im in ‘lets circle back to that in january’ heaven rn, have you read anything recently that you’d recommend? I might finally have time to dig into it!!

hell yeah, this is a great year to ask me this question bc i actually read things, and enjoyed almost all of them! also, a plus for me and i hope it makes a difference to you—everything i read was either written by a queer author or centered the story around queer characters. yes, this was on purpose and yes i will be continuing that in 2024, i always need more queer stories in my life

fiction: siren queen, nghi vo—my favorite book i read this year. a chinese american actress trying to make it in pre-Hays Code hollywood but also there's magical realism. the queerness here is quiet but not muted. tbh i think it could have done with, like, 50 more pages; the meat of the plot seemed to really ramp up just as the book was ending. but the writing was immersive, delicate, and thoughtful.

the once and future witches, alix harrow—three sisters in 1893 work through their own loaded history as they try to bring magic back into the world. alix harrow looks at a story and says "this isn't complete until i put some generational family trauma into it," (looking at you, starling house, also recommended) and she's so right for it. she writes sisterhood wonderfully, the tenderness and trauma of it all, weaving folklore/fairy tales throughout and giving us some bonus (emotionally) tortured sapphics. can also highly highly recommend the audiobook of this; the narrator has a wonderful holly hunter-esque voice.

the teixcalaan series, arkady martine—i read both books this year but absolutely lost my shit over a desolation called peace, which is the second one. the first one, a memory called empire, is very very good and captivating but is also so full of politicking and bureaucracy that it felt slow for basically the first half. both books deal with mahit dzmare, an ambassador of a satellite station colonized by a vast, sprawling empire, and her investigation into her predecessor's death. which is a vastly simplified summary for a deliciously intricate plot; the second book has the advantage of first contact with some creepy-ass aliens and some really cool experiments with prose, from a writing perspective.

graphic novels: saga, brian k. vaughan (writer) & fiona staples (artist)—i know, i know; saga has been around for a while and i only caught up to all the TPBs this year. basic plot: two soldiers on opposite sides of a war fall in love and try to live their damn lives, despite all of the government officials, exes, and mercenaries after them. the art is impeccable, the writing is funny, sexy, heartbreaking, authentic—i can and will read this forever.

nonfiction: something that may shock and discredit you, daniel lavery—i'm not usually one for memoirs/essay collections; i prefer biographies. but i've also loved daniel's writing since the toast, and there is so much i relate to in this expression of his transition. do i always get all of the arthurian or columbo references? are there bits of it that just sail wildly over my head? absolutely. but i also burst out laughing so many times, and there were passages that i just wanted to highlight for pages and scream, "me! it's me, right here!!"

these are my top picks of my 2023 collection! i read a bunch more books but i don't want to clog up everyone's dash so just let me know if you want more recs! always happy to share

#carments #anonymous #long post #i've already added everything alix harrow and nghi vo have written to my 2024 list

[ruegracieuse]

I've never heard of Memory Studies; can you tell us more about that?

Also, congratulations!!!!

Thank you! ✨

And with pleasure! Memory Studies is a pretty broad interdisciplinary field which, at its core, is interested in the ways groups, communities, societies, states etc form collective narratives about and memorialise the past. It looks at memorialisation in many forms - government policies, official and unofficial memorials and museums, activist activities, art and media, etc - to understand how and why we construct the past, and the role the past has in our present lives. Maurice Halbwachs is considered the foundational scholar (see his book ‘On Collective Memory’), but ideas about the persistence of memory and how important how treatment of history is on the present have been present in scholarship and otherwise for a long time. Memory Studies really grew in scholarly interest alongside the growth of Holocaust Studies in the second half of the 20th Century, and since then the discipline has grown particularly through the analysis of different groups’ collective memories of large-scale violent or otherwise disastrous events - usually things like war and conflict, genocide and atrocity, slavery, colonisation and imperialism. In this way Memory Studies is closely related to Trauma Studies, but it focuses on the collective rather than individuals, although with an acknowledgement, of course, that individual memories and traumas influence collective ones (not that Traumas Studies only focuses on the individual, of course). It looks at the Collective Memories of both victims and perpetrators of injustices and crimes - one of the biggest subsets of Memory Studies is the study of German (and broader European) society after WWII. Another subject area with really interesting and important work that is emerging is the study of collective memories and conflicting memories of colonialism and how these memories shape societies today, both in settler states and states that are, or once were, imperialist. (Side note: my very first thought for a PhD project years ago was looking at conflicting memories of empire and colonialism in the UK, particularly around the Brexit period.)

This said, there’s a very small but growing subset of Memory Studies that looks at the formation and role of positive memories in groups and societies. It was a long time ago now but I remember reading a really interesting article on positive memories of the Paris Commune among French and other leftist groups in the 20th and 21st centuries. I believe there is also some work on positive memories of May ‘68 in leftist groups today.

Another important point is that Memory Studies is just as interested in what we try to forget or suppress, or what some people want to remember and others want to forget.

Broadly, my project will be looking at collective memories of gender-based and sexual violence, the role of survivors in forming national or community narratives of this violence (and whether this role is chosen by survivors or if they are compelled to fill it), and frames of remembering, forgetting, suppressing and shaming.

I hope this was an interesting overview! I find this field fascinating and could talk about it forever, and I’m really excited to bring it together with gender studies, another great love of mine.

#qu #thank you again! 🍄

[mlobsters]

supernatural s11e21 all in the family (w. eugenie ross-leming, brad buckner)

i'm feeling really wistful and weepy for whatever reason (marcus and oscar's fare thee well keeps running through my head, sorry rob) so this will be interesting. i have no clue what this episode has in store i'm just hoping for no sobbing breakdowns please and thank you i do not have the energy for it

i wasn't prepared for kevin.

KEVIN Guys! You're looking stressed. Especially you. [to Dean] I-It's cool. Trust Chuck. Whatever it is he needs you to do, he must think you can handle it. I always trusted you. DEAN Yeah, that ended well.

ouch.

SAM How did you – Are you okay, or – uh? KEVIN Um... Yeah, I mean, you know, given the circumstances. CHUCK Yeah, I don't mean to interrupt. Kind of a plateful here. And, Kevin... you've been in the Veil long enough. It's time you had an upgrade.

kevin's just been hanging out in the veil this whole time??? and off he pops? cynic in me is like was that just to fuck with me emotionally because FUCK YOU :P art's gonna be trying to get a reaction out of you but when it edges over into feeling like emotional manipulation, i get grumpy. i guess this was to prove that it was god, and kevin and not just a fancy trick? made me tear up and make a stinkface too

okay listen i'm thinking about how sam must feel, someone who believed and prayed to god daily for some significant portion of his life and then to be sitting in front of him? well. that sounds kind of terrifying to me (though also the weirdness of knowing him but not knowing Him being inside him what a mindfuck), but then their day to day interactions with the divine maybe cuts down some of the awe/terror

laughed out loud at dean sulking on the thing next to the steps, that would be me too

SAM Okay, uh, "Chuck" it is. [Sighs] I'm sorry. You're gonna have to, uh, give Dean and me a moment to start to process. We didn't even know you were around. I mean, we knew about Chuck, but we just didn't know about… Chuck. I mean, I-I-I was hoping you were around. I-I-I prayed and I- but I don't know if they got, uh, lost in the spam or if—

oh, sammy.

CHUCK I'm getting that not everyone's totally on board.

DEAN Here's the thing, um...Chuck... And I mean no disrespect. Um... I'm guessing you came back to help with the Darkness, and that's great. That's, you know – It's fantastic. Um, but you've been gone a – a... long, long time. And there's so much crap that has gone down on the Earth for thousands of years. I mean, plagues and wars, slaughters. And you were, I don't know, writing books, going to fan conventions. Were you even aware, o-or did you just tune it out? CHUCK I was aware, Dean. DEAN But you did nothing. And, again, I-I'm not trying to piss you off. You know, I don't want to turn into a pillar of salt. CHUCK I actually… didn't do that. DEAN Okay. People – People pray to you. People build churches for you. They fight wars in your name, and you did nothing.

so hmph. i'm not sure what to say to this. jackles is doing a really good job bringing the emotion - like his voice is breaking and everything, and it's a good speech. but this doesn't feel like dean to me? this feels more like a sam speech. but usually sam would be, i think, more angry? but dean is just.. devastated? and i am with you, my love, but it's not meshing with my understanding of dean's character. maybe if he was more frustrated/angry instead of this despair rolling off him? i dunno. also second watching, how his voice wavers there also really reminds me of matthew mcconnaughey in true detective now if i can remember what scene i'm thinking about... (it might be dean/jackles [texas] accent coming out on "wars in your name" that's ringing that bell specifically)

s11e21 despairing at chuck / true detective s1e8 the darkness for rust

and i've completely lost the plot now that i cried over the true detective scene yet again but here we are. ugh. so good.

CHUCK You're frustrated. I get it. Believe me, I was hands-on – Real hands-on for, wow, ages. I was so sure if I kept stepping in, teaching, punishing, that these beautiful creatures that I created... would grow up. But it only stayed the same. And I saw that I needed to step away and let my baby find its way. Being overinvolved is no longer parenting. [Sighs] It's enabling. DEAN But it didn't get better.

i don't know if this is what they're going for but this is so.... reminds me a kid that's just so upset and doesn't understand why their parent won't help. but for dean to be having that kind of vulnerability (and i mean, how much more raw can you get? you just want mom or dad to come fix things and they won't/can't) in front of chuck in this moment.. it's very affecting, but again i'm having a hard time meshing this with the dean i know. maybe being in the presence of god, after all this time of being ignored and pain he and sam have gone through, just making him snap?

CHUCK Well, I've been mulling it over. And from where I sit, I think it has. DEAN Well, from where I sit, it feels like you left us and you're trying to justify it. CHUCK I know you had a complicated upbringing, Dean, but don't confuse me with your dad.

well, all right then. guess i was picking up what they were putting down, in a sense

cut to amara torturing lucifer, ofc

SAM Must have been great being her brother, huh? CHUCK It was the worst. Always telling me what to do, making me do what she wanted. I mean, you guys know how that works.

ok we're making jokes now. and making sam feel guilty about accidentally busting out lucifer

boop boop

DEAN Where's Chuck? SAM Sleeping in, I guess. DEAN Does God sleep? SAM I know he takes really long showers.

cutest little face he made there, thanks padalecki

DEAN Right? And sings, too – like, crappy old folk songs. I had to tell him to cool it three times. SAM You told God to cool it? DEAN Yeah, I sleep.

there's my dean :p made me laugh. also dollars to donuts sam knows why planets are round, gravity :P chuck wearing dean's robe, being messy with the powdered donuts, unconcerned about thousands dying in amara's latest smoke machine display. certainly setting the stage for us to dislike him

the bits with donatello the new prophet (not the tmnt, thanks for the clarification) have been cute. lots of fun potential for the outsider pov getting the cliffs notes on the current situation

CHUCK And I'll give it to her, as long as she accepts the deal. DEAN The deal? What... She's gonna eliminate you, and then she's gonna destroy everything that you've created. She's told me this personally. [Sighs] You started this. You started all of this, but does that give you the right to end it? You know, we're not just some toys you throw away. I think you owe us more than that. CHUCK If my plan doesn't work, then humans will step up. You, Sam, others that are the chosen will have to find a way. It's why I saved you years ago. You're the firewall between light and darkness. DEAN No. No, I... Look, give me a – a vampire, and I'm good. But this – God's sister? That is way above my pay grade. I... It... Bottom line is i-it's you who has to take her out. And look, then after that, you know, get a condo in Cancun. I don't care!

(trying to scan back to when dean was saved by god, dude has died too much, if we even had an inkling it was god when it happened)

so now this feels more emotionally in line with his character, to me. kind of like when cas told him he had to stop the apocalypse, but not hurt and royally messed up in the hospital. just frustrated and overwhelmed and upset

from 4x16 on the head of a pin CASTIEL It's not blame that falls on you, Dean, it's fate. The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it. DEAN Lucifer? The apocalypse? What does that mean? Hey! Don't you go disappearing on me, you son of a bitch. What does that mean! CASTIEL I don't know. DEAN Bull. CASTIEL I don't. Dean, they don't tell me much. I know our fate rests with you. DEAN Well, then you guys are screwed. I can't do it, Cas. It's too big. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not—I'm not strong enough. Well, I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else. It's not me.

very cute

sam goes from "he's got a point, dean" to "bad dog!" break out the squirt bottle. metatron finally back to being an interesting character

the way i flinch when again someone's eyelines get too close to the camera

donatello has a great voice, am a fan (looks like the actor, keith szarabajka, does a lot of voice acting too)

METATRON And how are we supposed to keep Amara busy while we're... liberating Lucifer?

great, dean gets some quality time with amara sounds like

those are some big ass trees

AMARA I missed you. And the... sensations you arouse. I know you feel the same way. So...what do we do?

uck

AMARA But one way or the other, you will. It's inevitable. My brother won't stop me again, because he can't. Dean, give up your… smallness, your humanity and become boundless within me.

within? she's proposing what, just sucking his soul in like she did to eat all those other people?

so was this rehabbing metatron thing part of the (killing) offboarding plan? apparently, yes.

thanks, chuck, but maybe next time aim for the garage

well, that was a lot. still landing on kevin being used to make me feel feelings cheaply and dean's initial reaction to god not making a whole lot of sense to me. i think they've finally sort of made amara a little more compelling, but still very eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#supernatural #spnwatch #spn 11x21 #spn clip #true detective #eugenie ross leming #brad buckner

[daydreamsofsoledad]

first thoughts on shadow and bone season 2

Spoiler Alert! Long post ahead

* all of this is based on my first watch. thoughts and ideas may change after this but i still want to discuss stuff because I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS RN

Let's start with the positive first. I am very satisfied with the acting performances this season! From the old cast to the new ones, everyone really did a great job portraying their characters. Even if I had some issues with plot decisions, the cast nailed their roles which made every second worth watching.

I want to commend the amazing art department of S&B for bringing the grishaverse to life. The places that we only imagined in our heads became real and alive because of their amazing work.

To be honest, I was really entertained at how the events unfolded this season. I read the books multiple times, and still, I don't know for sure what would happen next. This made the experience both thrilling and terrifying.

And about the ending, I actually liked it! (I have some concerns but its 3 AM here and i need to sleep). That last shot of Jessie Mei Li going from shock to grim satisfaction was just AMAZING. Alina and Nikolai have now their own demons to face while rebuilding a country destoryed by war.

Now on to the issue that bothered me the most:

The Crow Storyline.

I got really worried about their storyline the moment I heard about the casting for Jordie. I see the reason why the writers may want to explore the past of the crows more. Like of course, to add more depth, and nuance to their characters. So development is necessary.

But I think this is early to reveal Kaz's past + the Pekka Rollins-Crooked Kingdom Arc. I mean sure, the inner conflict is not yet resolved and Pekka Rollins seems to still have involvement in the next events. Soo there is still material to explore in the spin-off.

I just don't get why explore these now when we can do all of this in a seperate show where can delve into all of the lives of the characters properly.

There is just too much going on. Alina is preparing to face the darkling. While there is a separate storyline of Kaz exacting his revenge on Pekka Rollins. Like we were already at Crooked Kingdom when we haven't even scratched the surface of the main story of Six of Crows.

The balance with the storylines started to appear more when the Pekka Rollins story ended and the crows got the 2nd job from Nikolai.

Also, let me just say. HOW DARE THEY KILL OFF DAVID SO SOON??? They can both fit in that elevator thing. David can just pull the lever down as he close the door. And both of them would still be alive!

at least give them more time. there is enough heartbreak in the canon. enough heartbreak for genya.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #crooked kingdom #ruin and rising #seige and storm #alina starkov

[hd-wireless]

📻🎶 H/D WIRELESS 2022 - WEEKLY WRAP-UP #3

Welcome to our third weekly wrap up!

We're well over halfway through the fest at this point and there's still so many amazing things waiting for everyone 🎉🎉🎉

Tell us your favourites so far in the comments!

As always you can listen to the prompted songs for the works we post on two playlists:

Click here for Spotify (many thanks to @evaeleanor for helping us out there) And here for YouTube

And now without further ado, this week's works:

🎶 H/D Wireless Art 🎶

📻 Crystal Visions [G, paper, ink, embroidery]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac 🎵 Summary Before Voldemort could create Horcruxes, Tom Riddle had to practice murder. Although Voldemort often alluded to his earliest victims, they have never been found nor identified. Many years after the end of the war, Harry has begun dreaming of strangers pleading for help. Haunted and desperate, he consults Draco, a dream investigator. Together they have started to match the people in Harry’s dreams to reports of missing persons from Riddle's time, with hope of bringing a measure of peace and justice to the last unknown casualties of Voldemort’s rise.

🎶 H/D Wireless Fic 🎶

📻 Bright Side [T, 2.000]

🎵 Song Prompt: ‘BRIGHTSIDE’ by ‘The Lumineers’ 🎵 Summary It’s been one year since the war, and Draco is on probation. He lives in a shitty muggle flat in the middle of nowhere in California and delivers pizza. Harry is Draco’s probation officer who visits far too often. “You think about yourself too much,” Harry said. “And you don’t think about yourself at all,” Malfoy replied slowly. “I don’t know which is worse.”

📻 Plant your hope (rain down on me) [M, 9.333]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Thistle and Weeds' by 'Mumford & Sons' 🎵 Summary Draco Malfoy is captured, and it slowly dawns on him that his only hope to escape is to rely on Harry Potter. But what happens when the Saviour of the Wizarding World isn't the man he once was? A tragedic story told in seven parts.

📻 You Don’t Owe the World A Thing [T, 17.811]

🎵 Song Prompt: Celadon and Gold by Maggie Rogers 🎵 Summary Harry has spent the five years since the battle trying to live up to his reputation as the Savious of the Wizarding World. Nothing is too much trouble for him, and he goes to great lengths to ensure no-one is let down. No-one notices that he’s doing too much and that it’s taking it’s toll on The Chosen One. No-one except Draco, but how can he get Harry to listen to him?

📻 taste you like a drug [E, 3.210]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Daddy Issues' by 'The Neighbourhood' 🎵 Summary The truth is: I can stop smoking. I’ve done it a couple of times before. I simply don’t want to. I guess Mione’s right, Malfoy’s just the same: I don’t want to quit him.

📻 Away [T, 16.255]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Sleep on the Floor' by 'The Lumineers' 🎵 Summary After the war, Harry follows the script; he becomes an Auror and works for the greater good, he stays the perfect image of a Saviour that everyone needs. Until he doesn't. A story about finding yourself by running away, road trips and second beginnings.

📻 The Pact [E, 12.084]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Deep Water' by 'American Authors' 🎵 Summary When the hotel reception messes up their bookings, Harry and Draco realise the truth about their boyfriends. They make a "no more boyfriends" pact. But whether they can keep it remains to be seen...

📻 I Won't Let You Fall Apart [M, 49.816]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'We're In This Together' by Nine Inch Nails 🎵 Summary Harry has spent the year after the war staying out of the public eye, dodging political battles, and standing firm against pressure from his friends. But he has a secret plan to get away from it all. He just needs to testify at one more Death Eater trial: Draco Malfoy’s. Little does Harry know what his act of compassion will cost him—and Malfoy.

🎶 H/D Wireless Fic and Art 🎶

📻 like freedom [M, 4.325, digital art]

🎵 Song Prompt: “Dead of Night” by Orville Peck 🎵 Summary Harry doesn’t know the exact moment his life changed. Maybe it was the day Draco Malfoy unwillingly turned up at his front door, or the moment the plane’s landing gear went up and London-Heathrow fell away below them. Maybe it was in the dusty swirl of red rocks and motel rooms somewhere between Tennessee and California. Maybe it wasn't a single moment at all, but a whole series of them, captured with Harry's camera.

#HD Wireless #hd wireless 2022 #drarry #drarry fic #drarry art #drarry fic and art #weekly wrap up no 3

[sewercl0wn]

Could I have a random Writing Tip? Thxxxxx

-Azzie

Hey! Ty for the ask, here ya go:

make characters skilled in the art of war_.

Just a suggestion to bring something new to the table and develop character and conflict around war and combat!

This point applies to both antagonists and protagonists, but I prefer giving this skill and knowledge to the opponent. As the name suggests, it’s not of much use if there isn’t any war or physical fighting involved in your story so this bit won't be useful to your writing so just skip ahead if you want, but fun to know anyway! (This part might develop not only the antagonist, but plot conflict)

I've read Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” and will definitely recommend that read for an in-depth understanding of what I'm going to explain (I’m just gonna loosely summarise the first three chapters because I'm lazy). Having the villain display this knowledge shows how intelligent and dangerous they are, especially if you have the typical underdog newbie protagonist - this leaves a lasting effect on the reader and other characters. 

(Please don’t sue me for teaching you how to successfully wage war, thanks. For legal reasons this is for writing purposes only)

(Read the book for more detail, there are loads of great points I’m not including to stay concise) 

Laying plans:

Thoroughly studying the art of war could be the difference between death or survival. Keep the following 7 points in mind when developing a war plan. Consider not only about your own side but the enemy as well:

Which of the two sovereigns (or just which of the two sides, this works for missions too) is imbued with the moral law? (moral law: trust with their people, so they follow them even when their life is at stake)

Which of the two generals has most ability? (Which side’s leader is more skilled)

With whom lie the advantages of heaven (Season, weather, time) and earth (terrain)?

On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? (This advocates for more compliance and therefore a higher success rate)

Which army is stronger?

On which side are officers and men more highly trained?

In which army is there greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

With this in mind you can forecast both victory or defeat.

Remember: “All warfare is based on deception”

Trick the opponent

When able to attack, seem unable

When using your forces, seem inactive

When near, make the enemy think you are far

When far, make the enemy think you are near

Waging war: 

Do not be hastily stupid and waste resources, strength, and manpower on unplanned urgency-based choices, but lack of decisive speed will give your opponents the upper hand. The following failures can be caused by that:

Hunger 

Thirst

Attachment to accumulated loot

Outrage at injustice

Human lives and money are at stake when waging war, and recklessness will cause more harm than good. Make use of all the resources you have. Don’t kill who can help, don’t burn what can be used. Victory cannot be achieved without preparation or organisation. Understand your troops and resources so you do not have to rely on second provisions. Keep track of your troops strengths and states of mind.  

Attack stratagems:

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Predict victory when:

If the leader knows as much about the opposition’s troops as he knows about himself and his troops. This knowledge will allow the leader to know when to advance and when to retreat.

If the leader knows the correct use of both small and large forces.

If the leader knows how to forge ranks unified in purpose.

If the leader knows how to be patient when the opposition might struggle to be patient. 

If the leader knows that his sovereignty should never interfere with the decisions he is making. 

This quote also aligns with the 7 points to consider from before (1. Laying plans). 

Mass destructive and prolonged warfare benefits no one, the goal should be to subdue and subsume the enemy. Try to attack the enemy’s strategy or plans or separate the enemy from its allies - attacking the army when there is no alternative. It’s better to catch something whole than destroy it. 

The following tips should be kept in mind:

Surround the enemy if your forces significantly outnumber the enemy’s forces.

If you have five times more troops than your enemy, you should attack them. If you have two times more, then you should divide the enemy and fight them that way.

If your enemy outnumbers you, then you should hide. Plus, if they significantly outnumber you, then you should escape.

You need a general who can make his own decisions without people above them interfering.

Basing a characters personality around aspects that benefit them in violence and combat not only serves as an easy base for you to model your characters, this also helps you shape how battle and fight scenes can be carried out in your story

#writing #creative writing #writers block #Writing tips #writers #writers on tumblr #written #writeblr #writing help #writing prompt #writing life #your local sewer rat #writing inspiration #writing characters #anti heroes #character development #writing conflict #writing battles #story writing #sun tzu #the art of war

[world-cinema-research]

Batman (1989)by Michael Bump

Batman (1989) by Michael Bump 

Batman, directed by Tim Burton, was released in the summer of 1989 and was the origin of Batman blockbuster movies in America. The film ventured off from the colorful, cartoonish Batman portrayed in the television series in the 1960s. The budget for Batman was around thirty-five million dollars. After the release, the film accumulated over 400 million dollars at the box office worldwide. The casting directors at Batman knew that the names on the marquee would surely bring in the most revenue. Jack Nicholson was a well-established actor at the time and his portrayal of the Joker was the highlight of the film. The same can be said for movies with the Joker in today’s films. The casting of Michael Keaton was met with some criticism at the time. Keaton was known for doing comedic roles and some did not believe he was right to play the dark knight. His performance showed the world and other actors that they did not need to be typecast, and no one knows how an actor will do in a certain role until they see the film.  

The standout performance comes from Nicholson. There is a reason they put Nicholson’s name first on the movie poster before Keaton’s. Watching the film, I could not help but want more scenes with Joker in it. Nicholson showed how manic and unhinged the Joker can be, but by also adding an element of comedy to the dialogue. Tim Burton found a way to make Batman feel as gritty and dark as the comic books, but also bring the murky world of Gotham City to life. The costumes and sets give a great feel to the film and bring in elements not known for the Batman series at the time. The film set the stage for future filmmakers to put their own spin on the comic book story. I loved this movie because I enjoyed the story, the acting, and I like watching Batman brought to life. The element that is unique to this film is the way Jack Nicholson plays the Joker. In modern times there have been great portrayals of the villain by Joaquin Phoenix, Jared Leto, and of course Heath ledgers, which is my favorite. Another element that Burton displayed well was the use of Batman’s gadgets. That aspect is important because Batman is a superhero without superpowers. He is not superhuman like Superman. He is a billionaire trained in Martial Arts and uses his wealth fund being Batman.  

The film was released in 1989. There were many noteworthy events that happened in that year. The first was the Loma Prieta earthquake that occurred off the central coast of California on October 17th. It was a 7.5 earthquake which took the lives of 63 people and displaced thousands more. The earthquake caused a staggering ten billion dollars worth of damage. The second significant event that occurred was the end of the Cold War. President George H.W. Bush held a conference in December of 1989 to talk to the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, about the end of the Cold War. Many of the communist factions had already fallen, Bush wanted to capitalize this opportunity. Their discussion would lead to the demolition of the Berlin wall.  

I would categorize this film as a conventional one. It was a big blockbuster film which had A-list actors and generated hundreds of millions of dollars. It is also a rendition of a comic book which I would place any of those types of films with the conventional ones. In 1989, it may have been considered unconventional because of the darkness and the violence. If it was compared to the 1960s television series, which is more like a comedy. There is a reason Ebert was a critic for a living. I chose the two quotes because they were descriptive. I also found it interesting how he said Basinger and Keaton had bad chemistry which I thought myself. The video is a scene from when the Nicholson Joker is revealed. Burton found a way to make Batman dark and less like Batman from the television series. Lastly the image below is of Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger. Overall, the film is epic in its story telling and the vivid imagery by Burton brought Gotham City to life. Nicholson is exceptional at playing the villain we hate to love. I recommend Batman to anyone who likes superhero films, or action films. I would also recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of Tim Burton. Watching this made me reminisce about when I was a kid watching these movies on VHS. 

“The Gotham City created in “Batman” is one of the most distinctive and atmospheric places I’ve seen in the movies. It’s a shame something more memorable doesn’t happen there. “Batman” is a triumph of design over story, style over substance - a great-looking movie with a plot you can’t care much about. All of the big moments in the movie are pounded home with ear-shattering sound effects and a jackhammer cutting style, but that just serves to underline the movie’s problem, which is a curious lack of suspense and intrinsic interest.”- Roger Ebert 

“Nicholson’s Joker is really the most important character in the movie - in impact and screen time - and Keaton’s Batman and Bruce Wayne characters are so monosyllabic and impenetrable that we have to remind ourselves to cheer for them. Kim Basinger strides in as Vicky Vale, a famous photographer assigned to the Gotham City crime wave, but although she and Wayne carry on a courtship and Batman rescues her from certain death more than once, there’s no chemistry and little eroticism. The strangest scene in the movie may be the one where Vicky is brought into the Batcave by Alfred, the faithful valet, and realizes for the first time that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person. How does she react? She doesn’t react. The movie forgets to allow her to be astonished.”- Roger Ebert 

Batman (1989) - You Can Call Me Joker Scene | Movieclips