#followed by karen and iris

[redgoldsparks]

February Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross read by Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk

This book started a little slowly for me, as I waited for Roman to regain his memories and for Iris to get back to reporting at the front. Luckily, the magical typewriters once again play a major role in this story as they did in the first one; Roman and Iris's letters are the emotional heart of this series. I also love how it fore fronts the importance of journalists during wartime. Iris's bravery and constant willingness to move towards danger and the unknown in service of sharing the truth makes her a very compelling character. Unfortunately, the magical divine conflict behind the war just didn't compel me very strongly in this book. I think the gods were introduced too slowly into the narrative, and that a lack of a human motivation behind the war simplified the conflict in a way that sucked some of the tension from the text. If you are looking for a solid romance with a strong epistolary element and the aesthetic of wartime setting, this series delivers; if instead you want a complicated, devastating, deeply emotional story of young people surviving a real historical war, pick up Code Name Verity or Rose Under Fire.

Mamo by Sas Milledge

Jo has lived in her small seaside hometown her whole life, and loves it there. But then things start to go wrong- curses, bad luck, mysterious illnesses. She seeks out the town witch and finds a teen girl about her own age, named Orla, who Jo has never met before. It turns out Orla has just returned to town after the death of her grandmother, the previous witch. She wasn't buried properly and her bones are scattered around the town, stirring up bad energy, disturbing the local fae and trolls. Jo and Orla set out of lay the old witch properly to rest, but there's more going on than either of them realize. This is a fairly short but well told tale, queer and magical, and with a little bittersweet edge.

Look on the Bright Side by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann 

This is a very charming follow up to Go With The Flow, taking place over the friend group's following high school year. Brit, who was diagnosed with endometriosis at the end of the previous book, had a surgery to remove it over the summer. When she goes back to school, she finds her affection caught between two different boys. Christine has finally admitted to herself that she likes Abby as more than a friend... but telling Abby that is another matter. Abby is still working on her campaign of menstrual justice on campus, while Sasha struggles to balance her homework, sports, and time with her boyfriend. The girls learn, grow, make mistakes, and support each other.

Gathering Moss written and read by Robin Wall Kimmerer

It took me a little longer to get into this one than Braiding Sweetgrass, mainly because I had much less personal knowledge of mosses than the larger types of plants which Kimmerer wrote about in Sweetgrass. It doesn't help that mosses do not have common names, so are referred to mainly by scientific names, and I was rarely able to picture them well in my head. However, by about a third of the way through I had fallen into the miniature world of mosses and the striking and insightful ways Kimmerer links them to all other organisms in their ecosystems. I loved learning how mosses, like tardigrades, with which they probably co-evolved, can survive desiccation and be revived by water even after all seeming signs of life have disappeared. I was intrigued by the story of a moss species which changes its gender over its lifespan, starting out producing only female reproductive stalks in its early days, shifting producing a mix of male and female stalks as it matures, and then producing solely male stalks as the patch reaches peak density. I was frustrated by stories of the illegal moss harvesting which is stripping Oregon rain forests bare. And I was once again completely charmed by the beauty and generosity of Kimmerer's writing and worldview. She's a bestseller for a reason; I highly recommend everyone pick up at least one of her books at some point.

The High Desert by James Spooner 

James' white mother and his black father divorced when he was in elementary school, and he moved around a lot. For high school, he moved with his mom to Apple Valley, a barren small town in the desert an hour inland from Los Angeles. Already a skater, James encountered punk music just went he needed it most: as an isolated and angry teen in a racist town with little to no underground scene or counterculture. The music, and later, the politics, of punk raised James in the semi-absence of parents and role models. This memoir, chronically roughly a year, is an unflinchingly honest look at the cruelty, creativity, friendship, and solidarity of teens. It has the density and scratchy texture of a 90s zine without ever sacrificing clarity. I was very impressed by how clearly and in what detail Spooner was able to recreate his high school angst and activist awaking in this coming of age tale. Punk wasn't the music that found me, but I still remember the high of finding a new favorite band or song that felt as if it spoke right to my teen soul. This book is a testament to the power of music to reach into the dark and pull someone out into the light.

Falling Back in Love With Being Human written and read by Kai Cheng Thom 

Short and sweet, this book is half confession, half spell book. Each chapter is written as a letter- to trans women, to activists, to sex workers, to johns, to those contemplating suicide, to TERFs, to children's book writers- each followed with a little action or ritual. I listened to it as an audiobook and loved hearing the letters in the author's voice, but I can also see how reading it in print and lingering over each letter one at a time would be wonderful too.

The Great Beyond by Lea Murawiec translated by Aleshia Jensen 

Manel Naher is an anti-social and idiosyncratic young woman living an endless city in which everyone advertises their own names on street signs, sandwich boards, at social events, on business cards, and by simply shouting them at strangers. This may not sound so different from our own world except that it's driven by an even more intense desperation: if one's name is not known, and one's presence fades fully from people's minds, and the forgotten person will literally die. Manel wants nothing more than to escape the city into the wilds beyond it, but her presence is so low she suffers a near fatal heart attack and is scared into a fearful scramble to gain enough fame to live. Her attempts to claw her way into people's memories is surprisingly successful, and in the process of becoming one of the 1% she leaves behind everything and everyone she loved. Never before have I read a comic that felt so much like literary spec-fic. The concepts are fascinating and the cartooning knocked me off my feet. A visual masterpiece I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.

The Spectred Isle by KJ Charles read by Ruairi Carter

Saul Lazenby is a disgraced archeologist who served time for a war crime during the recent WWI. Back in England, disowned by his family, he struggled to support himself. The only job he is able to secure is as a personal assistant to a batty old major who believes in fairy stories and keeps sending Saul off to various parts of London to investigate supposedly occult sites. Saul knows it's all fake but he keeps investigating anyway... and then a tree bursts in flames in front of him. And a mysterious gentleman keeps showing up at the same sites of sacred groves or ancient wells which Saul's been sent to look at. That gentleman is Richard Glide, who just happens to be the heir to one of the oldest arcane families in England. And he can't tell if Saul is causing the spiritual problems that keep occurring around him or if it's all an unlikely coincidence. This historical romance is a fun and quick read, shorter than most of the KJ Charles books I've read before. Be warned, the end sets up a sequel which has not, and may not, ever actually come out- but I still enjoyed this one on it's own.

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson 

A gorgeous, nonlinear novel about three generations of a Black family living in New York between roughly the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. The chapters rotate between multiple POVs, covering moments of change, tension, or reflection for the family. The opening scene is the evening of a debut party for sixteen year old Melody, who wears the dress her own mother was supposed to wear at her debut... except that she was already pregnant. From that moment, the narrative spins back time to how each character arrived there: Iris, a teen who refused to give up her baby but also refused to settle into motherhood; Aubrey, a young man in love with a girl who was already leaving him; Iris's mother Sabe, a daughter of a survivor of the Tulsa massacre, a women who stores her money in gold bars hidden around the house; Iris's father Po'boy, who as a young man ran races, and as an old man holds more love for his family that his body can carry. The character work here is so strong- I was immediately swept away into the cares, worries, secrets, and longings of the family. I read the whole book in one day, but I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

We Are The Land: A Native History of California by Damon B Akins and William J Bauer Jr 

It took me a long time to read this book, as it was challenging to read a history of genocide while also seeing genocide in my phone every single day. But I'm ultimately very glad that I finished it. This is a well researched, approachable, indigenous-authored history of the native people in the land now called California. I enjoyed how place specific this book is. I felt much more connected to the history recognizing nearly every place name, and once the book got passed around the year 1900 I started to also recognize names of organizations that still exist and activists who I'm familiar with. I have a much better understanding of the patchwork creation of and the broken promises of the reservations, land allotments, and rancherias. I was happy whenever the book mentioned Pomo master basket weavers Elsie Allen and Mable McKay, who my mom has been telling me about for years, or Greg Sarris, Santa Rosa based chairman of the Graton Rancheria and author. I have a better understanding of this land where I have lived and worked all my life after reading this book.

Zodiac: A Graphic Novel by Ai Weiwei, Elettra Stamboulis and Gianluca Costantini

I've been following Ai Weiwei's work since about 2010, and was absolutely delighted to learn he was releasing a comic memoir. I managed to snag a signed copy though the Comix Experience Graphic Novel of the Month Club and I will treasure it. This book is organized into 12 chapters, each themed around one animal from the zodiac. It weaves together slice of life moments from Ai Weiwei's day to day life, stories of his father (the revolutionary poet Ai Qing), memories of Ai's time as an art student in New York, his incarceration, time spent with his mother, his partner, and his son, conversations with artist friends and some of his international exhibitions. It is not a tight narrative; it wanders, it indulges in myths and fairy tales, it is open ended and I enjoyed it so much. It was written along with Elettra Stamboulis, and draw in a delicate lose line art style by Gianluca Costantini. A few of the lines from the end of the book haven't left my head since I read them: "Freedom of speech and human rights are not given to anybody for free. They always come through fighting and struggle" (101); "Any artist who isn't an activist is a dead artist" (165) and "... the purpose of art, which is to fight for freedom."(166)

Witchy Vol 2 by Ariel Salmat Ries 

This volume was just as beautifully drawn as book 1; the cartooning is masterful, but I don't have a very good sense of where the larger plot is going. This book was mostly a long side quest in which Nyneve learned how to make a broom under an exiled gay broom making master. I enjoyed this! However it didn't particularly seem to move the story forward. I will keep reading, but the sense of drama and urgency from the beginning of the first book is slightly missing here.

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull read by Dion Graham  

What a ride! I went into this book knowing almost nothing, and I think that was the right way to go so I shall not summarize the plot. This is the first book of a series; it's ambitious, it's weird, it's got a very large and extremely diverse cast; it is such a fresh and original take on a contemporary sci-fi in which the world realizes that monsters, gods, and magic have existed all along. I worried a little in the first third that the book maybe had too many POV characters, most of whom seemed very unconnected from each other except by geographical proximity to either Cambridge, Mass, or the island of St Thomas. However by the end almost all of the characters had been at least tenuously linked by plot events in a way that really worked for me. The book also has trans, nonbinary, asexual, queer, and poly characters whose identities are only revealed slowly, and usually after you've known the character for a while. I am very impressed by the scope of this story and definitely plan to continue with the series.

Arrive In My Hands by Trinidad Escobar 

Sensual, at times tender, at times haunting, this beautiful little book is a collection of lesbian erotic comics from a poet artist at the top of her field. I am definitely biased, having been friends with the author for years, but I also deeply admire this work. The women, witches, and creatures in these stories yearn for pleasure and for freedom; they chase both through oceans, forests, broken suburban towns, and through dreams. The book is perfectly sized to hold close to your heart.

Bird by Bird by Annie Lamott read by Susan Bennett

I've been hearing about this book for years as a writing guide, but it is almost equally a memoir or collection of anecdotes about the writing life. Parts of it worked for me and other parts didn't. The author has a very different type of brain than I have, and the chapters on working through the anxiety, neurosis, and depression she suffered from when trying to write didn't really speak to me at all. I also did not enjoy the handful of flippant jokes about killing yourself when the writing isn't going well. However. There are also some genuinely really moving pieces about writing books as gifts to loved ones, especially loved ones who are soon to leave us. I thought a lot of the advice in the middle about focusing on details, on recording memories, on research, and on character development was really solid, and I want to keep some of it in mind when I start developing my next book. There was also a set of lines in the introduction, about how writers are able to participate in public life while also working from home and without leaving the house which hit the nail on the head of why I entered this career!

Recitatif by Toni Morrison read by Bahni Turpin with an intro written and read by Zadie Smith

I've been wanting to try another Toni Morrison, since the only one I had previously read in high school went completely over my head at age 15. Recitatif is Morrison's only short story, and this audiobook version is read by the wonderful Bahni Turpin (who you might recognize from Angie Thomas or Akwaeke Emezi's audiobooks). Also included in an excellent essay written and read by Zadie Smith. This comes first in the audio, but if you are new to the story as I was, skip the essay and listen to the story first! Then go back and listen to the essay afterwards. This way the cleverness and impact of the story can hit you fully. It is so smart, so well crafted, and such a master class in writing that both reveals and conceals so much about the complicated relationship of two damaged women.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 1 by Ryoko Kui 

I can immediately see why so many people are charmed by this world and these characters! This is the start of a really fun D&D infused adventure story, with a small group of down on their luck adventures deciding to cut their adventuring costs by eating the monsters they kill in the dungeon. The man behind this idea, Laos, is also searching for a missing sister who may or may not have already been eaten by a dragon. I already have books 2 and 3 on hold; I haven't been so captured by a manga series since starting Witch Hat Atelier.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 2 by Ryoko Kui

I devoured this book as quickly as book one. Our adventure party gets a bit deeper into the dungeon and begin to have more meaningful interactions with the beings who dwell there, including an Orc family just trying to get by, golems which grow vegetables on their backs, and living paintings which might reveal more of the buried castle's history.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 3 by Ryoko Kui

A flashback reveals more of the school friendship of Marcelle and Falin; a deep underground lake leads to many encounters with watery monsters of various types. I continue to have a very fun time with this series!

Bunt by Ngozi Ukazu and Mad Rupert

Molly grew up in Peachtree, Georgia, in her lesbian moms' hardware store, in the shadow of the town's prestigious and expensive art college, PICA. Every since she can remember, she's wanted to attend PICA- despite the fact that her best friend dropped out last year and says the school chews people up and spits them out. But Molly got a full ride scholarship, so her first semester should be a breeze, right? No! Because when she shows up to orientation, no one can find her scholarship or even her registration. It turns Molly will have to pay for her first year after all; she takes out some dodgy loans and scours the financial aid booklets for any other scholarship she can apply for. It turns out, if she can scrape up a full team of softball players... and they compete against other college teams in the same division... and they win at least one game over the course of the semester... the whole team gets a free tuition! Is it possible to win one game with a bunch of big-ego, burned-out, athletically-challenged artists? I loved the energy of this story, with many well-informed digs at art school culture and hypocrisy. The team has great chemistry and the art style is full of action, physical humor, and delightfully expressive cartooning.

#comics #book reviews #reading #comic book reviews #book recs

[sisiofthemultifandom]

My Massive SHIP LIST

The following is a LONG list of all the ships I enjoy from a moderate to an extreme amount and have probably looked at fanfiction for at some point. Keep in mind this doesn't include every movie and/or show I've ever watched and I may make edits to this at a later time. Godspeed you unfortunate witness.

Agents of SHIELD

Coulson X May

Daisy X Lincoln

Fitz X Simmons

Bobbi X Hunter

Mack X YoYo

Arcane

Caitlyn X Vi

Arrowverse

Oliver X Laurel

Roy X Thea

Diggle X Lyla

Barry X Patty

Wally X Jesse

Caitlin X Ronnie

Kara X Mon-El

Alex X Maggie

Brainy X Nia

Attack on Titan

Eren X Mikasa

Falco X Gabi

Bertdholt X Annie

Ymir X Krista

Levi X Hange

Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra

Katara X Zuko

Aang X Toph

Sokka X Suki

Aang X Katara

Bolin X Korra

Avengers (MCU)

Steve X Natasha

Tony X Pepper

Thor X Jane

Wanda X Vision

Peter Q X Gamora

Scott X Hope

T’Challa X Nakia

Matt X Karen

Luke X Jessica

Peter P X MJ

Bucky X Sarah

Ben 10

Ben X Julie

Kevin X Gwen

Berserk

Guts X Casca

Bleach

Ichigo X Rukia

Uryu X Orihime

Tatsuki X Orihime

Gin X Rangiku

Toshiro X Momo

Boku no Hero Academia

Izuku X Occhako

Todoroki X Momo

Bakugou X Kirishima

Eraserhead X Present Mic

Castlevania

Trevor X Sypha

Alucard X Greta

Class of the Titans

Jay X Theresa

Atlanta X Archie

Critical Role

Percival X Vex’ahlia

Vax’ildan X Keyleth

Scanlan X Pike

Sylas X Delilah

Fjord X Jester

Beau X Yasha

Caleb X Essek

Imogen X Laudna

DC Comics

Clark X Lois

Bruce X Selina

Diana X Steve

Barry X Iris

Wally X Linda

Hal X Carol

Carter X Shiera

Oliver X Laurel

Arthur X Mera

Constantine X Zatanna

Dick X Barbara

Tim X Stephanie

Garfield X Rachel

Conner X Cassie

Kate X Maggie

Hank X Dawn

Garth Ranzz X Imra Arden

Nura Nal X Thom Kallor

Jo Nah X Tinya Wazzo

Val Armorr X Princess Projectra

Kara Zor-El X Querl Dox

Lar Gand X Tasmia Mallor

Demon Slayer

Tanjiro X Kanao

Zenitsu X Nezuko

Giyu X Shinobu

Digimon

Taichi X Sora

Koushiro X Mimi

Takeru X Hikari

Takato X Jeri

Rika X Ryo

Izumi X Junpei

Disney Animation

Mulan X Shang

Eric X Ariel

Simba X Nala

Tiana X Naveen

Tarzan X Jane

Rapunzel X Eugene

Hercules X Meg

Aladdin X Jasmine

Doctor Who

11 X Clara

Dota - Dragon's Blood

Davion X Mirana

Evangelion

Shinji X Kaworu

Fairy Tail

Natsu X Lucy

Erza X Jellal

Gray X Juvia

Wendy X Romeo

Final Fantasy

Zack X Aerith

Cloud X Tifa

Squall X Rinoa

Tidus X Luna

Lightning X Snow

Noel X Serah

Noctis X Luna

Fire Emblem

Byleth X Dimitri

Fullmetal Alchemist

Ed X Winry

Roy X Riza

Ling X Lan Fan

GI Joe

Snake Eyes X Scarlett

Garo

Kouga X Kaoru

Ryuga X Rian

Raiga X Mayuri

Gatchaman

Ken X Jun

Gundam

Domon X Rain

Shinn X Stella

He-Man (OG Continuity)

Adam X Teela

Adora X Sea-Hawk

Duncan X Sorceress

InuYasha

InuYasha X Kagome

Sango X Miroku

Sesshomaru X Kagura

Kohaku X Rin

Invincible

Mark X Eve

Kamen Rider

Hongo X Ruriko

Godai X Ichijo

Shoichi X Hikawa

Shinji X Miho

Takumi X Mari

Kenzaki X Hajime

Yuuto X Airi

Wataru X Mio

Tsukasa X Natsumi

Shotaro X Tokime

Ryo X Akiko

Eiji X Hina

Gentaro X Nadeshiko

Ryusei X Tomoko

Haruto X Koyomi

Kouta X Mai

Kaitou X Yoko

Shinnosuke X Kiriko

Gou X Reiko

Takeru X Akari

Alain X Kanon

Emu X Poppy

Sento X Banjo

Kazumin X Misora

Gentoku X Sawa

Sougo X Tsukuyomi

Aruto X Izu

Fuwa X Yua

Touma X Kento

Rintaro X Mei

Keiwa X Neon

Kingdom Hearts

Kairi X Sora X Riku

Aqua X Terra

Lea X Isa

Roxas X Xion

Riku X Namine

Lucifer

Lucifer X Chloe

Maze X Eve

Magic Knight Rayearth

Hikaru X Lantis

Umi X Clef

Fu X Ferio

Marvel Comics

Steve X Sharon

Tony X Pepper

Thor X Sif

Hank X Janet

Reed X Sue

Peter X MJ

Wanda X Vision

Jean X Scott

Kitty X Colossus

Rogue X Gambit

Rachel X Kurt

Black Bolt X Medusa

Clint X Bobbi

Bucky X Natasha

Matt X Elektra

Luke X Jessica

Warren X Psylocke

Miraculous Ladybug

Adrien X Marinette

Alya X Nino

Naruto

Naruto X Hinata

Sasuke X Karin

Sakura X Rock Lee

Neji X TenTen

Shikamaru X Temari

Ino X Sai

Choji X Karui

Gaara X Matsuri

Kakashi X Might Guy

Asuna X Kurenai

Tsunade X Dan

Yahiko X Konan

Ouran HighSchool Host Club

Haruhi X Tamaki

Persona

Yu X Rise

Chie X Yukiko

Kanji X Naoto

Ren X Makoto (or Kasumi if we're going with Royal canon)

Power Rangers

Tommy X Katherine

Jason X Trini

Adam X Tanya

TJ X Cassie

Andros X Ashley

Karone X Zhane

Leo X Kendrix

Carter X Dana

Wes X Jen

Cole X Alyssa

Taylor X Eric

Tori X Blake

Trent X Kira

Sky X Z

Doggie X Kat

Nick X Madison

Mack X Rose

Casey X Lily

Dillon X Summer

Ziggy X Dr. K

Kevin X Mia

Mike X Emily

Troy X Gia

Tyler X Shelby

Eddie X Vesper

Marv X Chloe

Amelia X Ollie

Ranma ½

Ranma X Akane

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Utena X Anthy

Rurouni Kenshin

Kenshin X Kaoru

RWBY

Ruby X Penny

Blake X Sun

Weiss X Marrow

Yang X Weiss

Jaune X Pyrrha

Ren X Nora

Qrow X Summer

Sailor Moon

Usagi X Mamoru

Ami X Zoisite

Rei X Jadeite

Minako X Rei

Makoto X Nephrite

Minako X Kunzite

Saint Seiya

Seiya X Shaina

Hyoga X Eri

Shiryu X Shunrei

Shun X June

Ikki X Esmeralda

Deathmask X Aphrodite

Aiolia X Lyfia

Yato X Yuzuriha

Sasha X Tenma

Koga X Yuna

Souma X Sonia

She-Ra (Netflix Version)

Adora X Glimmer

Catra X Scorpia

Star Wars

Obi-Wan X Satine

Anakin X Padme

Ahsoka X Lux

Luke X Mara Jade

Han X Leia

Finn X Rey X Poe

Din Djarin X Bo-Katan

Super Sentai

Ryu X Kaori

Sasuke X Tsuruhime

Chisato X Kouichirou

Shun X Miku

Yuri X Tatsuya

Yosuke X Ikkou

Isshu X Nanami

Mari X Ban

Sen X Umeko

Doggie X Swan

Sakura X Akashi

Masume X Natsuhi

Rio X Mele

Sosuke X Miu

Chiaki X Kotoha

Takeru X Mako

Alata X Eri

Hyde X Moune

Marvelous X Luka

Joe X Ahim

Daigo X Mikoto

Tokatti X Mio

Hikari X Kagura

Yamato X Sela

Amu X Tusk

Lucky X Hammie

Balance X Naga

Keiichiro X Tsukasa

Sakuya X Umika

Koh X Asuna

Bamba X Asuna

Shigeru X Sayo

Tarou X Sonoi

Sword Art Online

Kirito X Asuna

The Dragon Prince

Callum X Rayla

Amaya X Janai

ThunderCats

Lion-O X Cheetara

Bengali X Pumyra

Transformers

Optimus X Elita-One

Arcee X Hot Rod

Bulkhead X Wheeljack

Silverbolt X Blackarachnia

Ultraman

Ken X Mari

Voltron

Shiro X Matt

Keith X Allura

Lance X Pidge

Hunk X Shay

Winx Club

Bloom X Sky

Musa X Riven

Flora X Helia

Stella X Brandon

Tecna X Timmy

Layla X Nabu

#sisi's rambles #fandom #shipping #otp #agents of shield #arcane #arrowverse #attack on titan #avatar the last airbender #bleach #mcu #ben 10 #castlevania #my hero academia #critical role #dc comics #demon slayer #tokusatsu #kamen rider #power rangers #super sentai

[the-excellent-papyru]

Welcome to my Chaos!

I'm Papyru, the Excellent skeleton of Chaos. The Chaos might appear like a cozy apartment, but it can grow to accommodate anyone/thing!

Here's the link to my Reblog Room's main post.

Lucia lives here with me. Feel free to send her asks!

Kessel is also here! Their inbox is open, too.

Iris is here, too. She's open for asks.

Traveler!Frisk calls the Chaos their home. Why not fill their inbox a bit?

Uncensored swears are not allowed in the comment section!

If you are any of the following, DNI.

Transphobe

Lgbtphobe

18+ blog

Any kind of bigot

Nazi

Extreme proshipper (I only support CANON ships and Friskriel (FRISK×ASRIEL, NOT FRISK×TORIEL) and SOME Papara and SOME Charisk. And Nuzi.)

Karen (you can interact if you're a nice person named Karen)

Any kind of [[$#!%]]y person

Terf

Aphobe

MAP

pedophile

Anyone who actively spreads hate

Hall of Sideblogs: @hopesndreams-au @broken-hopes--missing @the-tale-of-lights-end @triotale-au @knight-tale @mycharahub @broken-fate @ask-papyrustale @underswitch-prologue @underswitch-official @shadowswitch-au

#other blogs #main post

[imasallstars]

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS UNIT LIVE TOUR ConnecTrip!

Further information regarding the CINDERELLA GIRLS UNIT TOUR live has been revealed! The tour will span a mini live once a month from JANUARY 2024 until JUNE 2024. Each stop will feature three units performing.

The voice actresses participating in this stop are as follows:

ISHIKAWA. 2024.06.16. HONDAMORI HOKUDEN HALL

Hagoromo Komachi [Rika Tachibana (Sae Kobayakawa), Ru Thing (Syuko Shiomi)], Atarayoduki [Masumi Tazawa (Ayame Hamaguchi), Misa Kayama (Tamami Wakiyama), Hiyori Nitta (Karin Domyoji)], Kakuriyogatari [Yuuki Takada (Yoshino Yorita), Chiyo Ousaki (Koume Shirasaka)]

YAMAGATA. 2024.02.03. YAMAGI KENMIN HALL

Dea Aurora [Yuko Iida (Kanade Hayami), Aya Suzaki (Minami Nitta)], Lazy Lazy [Kotomi Aihara (Shiki Ichinose), Asami Takano (Frederica Miyamoto)], Ruby Countess [Maki Kawase (Tsukasa Kiryu), Nanami Yamashita (Yui Ohtsuki), Yui Ninomiya (Makino Yagami)]

IWATE. 2024.03.10. TOSAI CLASSIC HALL

One Steps [Saya Aizawa (Hiromi Seki), Satomi Amano (Hotaru Shiragiku), Karin Takahashi (Nono Morikubo)], Fairy Tale＊My Tale [Minami Tsuda (Miho Kohinata), Minori Suzuki (Hajime Fujiwara)], Sola-iris [Rika Nagae (Hayate Hisakawa), Yuki Nakashima (Yuuki Otokura)]

OSAKA. 2024.04.06. ZEPP OSAKA BAYSIDE

Triad Primus [Ayaka Fukuhara (Rin Shibuya), Eriko Matsui (Nao Kamiya), Mai Fuchigami (Karen Hojo)], Dark Illuminate [Maaya Uchida (Ranko Kanzaki), Shiki Aoki (Asuka Ninomiya)], VelvetRose [Kaoru Sakura (Chitose Kurosaki), Risa Sekiguchi (Chiyo Shirayuki)]

FUKUOKA. 2024.05.19. ZEPP FUKUOKA

Sexy Guilty [Eri Suzuki (Yuko Hori), Azumi Waki (Sanae Katagiri), Yuri Noguchi (Shizuku Oikawa)], Hero Versus [Sayaka Kamitani (Hikaru Nanjo), Yuki Nagano (Reina Koseki)], Beat Shooter [Makoto Koichi (Haru Yuuki), Hana Tamegai (Risa Matoba)]

TOKYO. 2024.06.01. ZEPP DIVERCITY TOKYO

Positive Passion [Sayuri Hara (Mio Honda), Chinatsu Akasaki (Akane Hino), Yuuki Kaneko (Aiko Takamori)], Seiten Tennyo ✦NEW✦ [Ｍ・Ａ・Ｏ (Fumika Sagisawa), Rana Morishita (Kako Takafuji)], #UNICUS [Megu Umezawa (Akari Tsujino), Miyu Tomita (Akira Sunazuka), Seena Hoshiki (Riamu Yumemi)]

#event rundown

[kiwikipedia]

League members of the same type specialty are all in contact and are pretty close. Out side of in-league friendships, you wont find a stronger league bond between two gym leaders of the same type. Similarly for the E4 members, though Dark Type specialists adopted Piers and Marnie (and Nanu but he's basically E4 but retired before he started) and while they're close, their close in their own way.

There are exceptions, of course, Burgh and Mina are thick as thieves but also will absolutely rip into one another in terms of art, Mallow and the Striatan Trio and Seibold exchange cooking tips, etc.

But every type group has a group chat and it's amazing to see the differences between them.

While the Fire Type Chat members are rather chatty (“even for old people @ kabu and blaine ” - a quote from Flint and Flannery), the Dark type chat will have Sidney asking about something and just "Read at 3:42 AM" followed by "lol you use that brand? Nerd" from Karen two days later. 

Raihan, Clair and Iris make up most of the messages from the Dragon Type, but Lance can and will pop in when Raihan and Iris start bullying ™ Clair. To bully Clair. Cain Instinct ™ (Drayden and Dresna sit back and watch) but on the other hand the Psychic’s chat is very pleasent. They’ve all collectively decided Liza and Tate are Baby ™ 

Klara and Janine are in a constant battle in the Poison chat though. Klara sends “lol Jannie ur dad’s a dilf” and Janine screeches and deletes it as fast as she can before Koga sees. It’s a problem. Roxie thinks it’s hilarious.

Wallace and Juan and Nessa dominate the water-type chat with beauty tips, not that anyone really minds though Crasher Wake is a bit puzzled. Lana is also certified Baby ™ of the group.

Giovanni never left the Ground type chat and on the regular its just:

> Bertha sent recipe link > Hapu sent three images Giovanni: Is that supposed to be a persian? Clay: get the fuck out Giovanni before I hunt you down for sport myself

#Clay can and will be hunting Giovanni down #PokeTube AU #Pokémon gym leaders #i should get a better tag for this #social media au #pokémon #elite four flint #gym leader flannery #elite four karen #elite four sidney #gym leader raihan #gym leader clair #champion Iris #gym leader Iris #champion lance #elite four lance #gym leader Klara #gym leader janine #gym leader roxie #gym leader koga #elite four koga #rocket boss giovanni #elite four bertha #kahuna hapu #gym leader clay

[thehikingviking]

Table Mountain (N) via Tyee Lakes, 2022 Sierra Challenge Day 8

There are two Table Mountains within in the Sierra Nevada. The southern Table Mountain lies on the Great Western Divide and is a very difficult peak to day hike. The northern Table Mountain lies between South Lake and Lake Sabrina east of the Sierra Crest and relatively speaking is a very easy peak to day hike. Day 8 of the 2022 Sierra Challenge was designed to be an active rest day, sandwiched between the two toughest days of the The Citadel and Mt Torchbearer. Therefore, the northern Table Mountain seemed like a good fit. Bob surprisingly encouraged this selection, as there had never been a Sierra Challenge outing starting from Tyee Lakes Trailhead.

I woke up in my motel room somehow motivated to keep in the running for the Yellow Jersey. I drove through the darkness and arrived at the Tyee Lakes Trailhead as the dawn light began to fill the sky. As with most easy days, we had a big crowd for the day's outing. I was disorganized, rushing and awkwardly reintroduced myself to Andrew Schaper. While I had met him many times before, I had never seen him without his hat and sunglasses. I took the trailhead photo and we set off. I immediately dropped to the back of the pack and maintained a very slow pace with Mike. His Achilles was giving him trouble, but he quickly found that my pace was too slow even for him so let left me. My legs were in great pain following the previous day's outing and I suffered more than I expected. I was at least able to pass 77 year old Ron Hudson and his 68 year old girlfriend Karen Anderson, so I guess my pace could have been slower. After about two miles I reached the first of the Tyee Lakes where I caught up to Iris who was fishing and also nursing an injured knee.

We passed by four lakes that day, with each of them getting more and more beautiful as we climbed.

After 3 miles the trail left the lake basin and began switching back up to the plateau that was Table Mountain.

I spotted a large group on the top. I wished that I could have been part of the fun, but today was not the day.

A couple large snowshoe hares darted across the barren plateau. There were humans approaching from all directions!

I passed some people heading down, and I watched as others made their way to other points atop the plateau. There were some pines in between me and the summit, so I took a roundabout way that lent itself to no bushwhacking.

I found a surprisingly fun summit block. I took a challenging route up and sat on the summit. Emma and Megan were basking on one of the rocks below.

To the southwest were Mt Powell and Point Powell.

To the northwest were Mt Emerson and Mt Humphreys.

To the southeast were Cloudripper and Mt Agassiz.

There was another point to the northwest that looked nearly as tall, so I decided to go visit it. It was about three quarters of a mile away, but it looked closer. Others had already headed that way so I decided to follow. Sandy slopes took me to another interesting set of summit boulders. This peak did not qualify as a bonus peak, but it made for a worthwhile detour. Besides, I'm a purist. Looking back was the first summit.

There were a couple possible high points at this location so I scrambled up both piles of rocks. Again they were fun class 3.

To the south was Thompson Ridge. Some of the more eager participants had continued towards this challenging 13er.

I then continued a half mile southeast to a third and final point on the plateau. Mason had mentioned finding a Smatko register on this summit previously, but not I, nor anyone else, found it.

I headed cross country down sandy slopes back to the trail where I found Zee. We chatted for a bit then I stopped at the lake for a refreshing swim. Iris was out and about fly fishing, a true outdoors woman.

With a mile left to go, I ran into a challenge participant who was just starting. It was almost noon, but he still had plenty of time being that it was an easy day. He immediately asked me if I had any food. I said no, but this was a lie. I wasn't willing to share my dwindling snack reserves with an adult who could easily buy their own. Later that night, that same participant locked his keys in his car at Copper Top in Big Pine. Luckily, I had already left to investigate the Shepherd Pass Trailhead conditions, so I didn't have to waste my energy with that ordeal.

Official Summary:

Active rest day.

A 6am start was a little early following an arduous day 7, but many were at the trailhead on time. Today was a good day for fishermen and lake swimmers. The summit block was a fun class 3 scramble.

I went to all three points of Table Mountain that were marked on the topo. My feet are starting to hurt really bad so I'm worried about tomorrow. Let's see what my body can handle.

[cafeleningrad]

the Haunting of Goncharov: Katya and Sophia

There’s no doubt that Martin Scorsese has always had been great at intricately weaving together personality and theme when writing and bringing characters on screen to life. In many of his movies the overarching theme is embodied by the characters desires and therefore evolving conflicts whereas Scorsese understand how to walk the razor’s edge of writing his characters as fully fledged personalities. At least for his male characters. Scorsese isn’t well known for writing his female characters with much of a personality although I’ve to compliment him on not writing them in an offensive manner either. Still, in the end they mostly are more functional to the story, more symbols or narrative indicators than actual personalities. (By example, Frank’s daughter in the Irishman.) With the resurgence of Goncharov, from a contemporary perspective, the reading of the main female lead Katya was much more benevolent than the original reception of her in the 1970s. However, I think that not only a feminist retrospective on Katya makes her such a strong presence in the movie. As previously mentioned, Scorsese has a strange way of handling female characters in his works although some also tend to have a strong presence either in the background or as reflection of the male character’s action (like Karen Hill, Iris, Vickie LaMotta, Naomi Lapaglia). The latter, the reflection of the male character’s action, is not a rare occupation for a female character in a Scorsese movie as not few movies, amongst many other themes, do contain criticism of macho self image and aspirations. In the case of the ladies in Goncharov, combining Scorsese’s knack of characters being tightly laced to themes and with his his female character’s often being breathing symbolism and mirrors at the same time, the many conflicts of Gocharov are laid upon Katya’s and Sophia’s shoulders.

Goncharov has many themes but to break them down why not look what Katya has to say for herself. Her main conflict with Goncharov is that he doesn’t understand why she’s so blue and ungrateful even though he and she live in a palazzo-style-imitating house. (Props to the set designer. Whoever has set foot in a Tsar palace or Russian orthodox church will immediately understand the Russian sense for aesthetics operating under the principle: “Humbleness is weakness!” This aesthetic bombast translated in Italian decor, just a splendid little detail!) Katya could live lavishly, she dresses so well in luxury items and yet she’s deeply unhappy, not seizing to criticize her husband for what he does for a living, even escalating to criticism to arguments about morality. The point of her character is set up the moment she’s introduced - almost in a on the nose way. Briefly after the opening scene, we see Goncharov and his wife enter a powder coloured baroque hall, them wearing the newest fashion, Katya being ogled by the many men in the room. For a moment she looks like highly sophisticated arm candy, until she can actually add some very insightful commentary about the impending complications of oil trading routes (considering that the movie was shot in 1971 to 1972 her commentary seems evne more insightful towards the following year’s oil crisis) when the men casually talk business. We notice her looking less relaxed, the camera keeps her in her silver-white dress as focal point while widening the frame and making Katya shrink in the mass frame by frame. During the movie we see little of Sophia even though she’s mentioned in significant ways (put a pin on that) but the first time we meet her we get introduced to her as Mario’s sister by Mario’s side. Like Katya she’s dressed in recent fashion, but with tones and patterns fitting her environment, easily small talking her way through the evening. Note how already by colours and environment this early scene contrasts with the opening scene in which Goncharov has to fight dirty in a dark blue back alley of Neaples to induce fear towards the leading Capo of the area. Many gangster movies, not only Scorsese’s, are about (criticism of) machismo, the urge to socially rise, expressed in materialism, and to what inhumane lengths people will go for these goals. If the opening scene was to signal to what lengths Goncharov would go to carve out his space in Neapolitan society, then the baroque party scene is to showcase how far he still has to go, actually putting in question if he will ever reach that goal. Not only is that desire showcased in the terrible wannabe-chique interior choices but especially in the women of the movie. In the party scene, Sophia and Katya aren’t only the women present but all either chatted about family lives, or random gossip, all, like Sophia dressed in powdery colours fitting the environment. Later, that evening Goncharov comes onto Katya that she would embarrass him and she should learn from Sophia, that’s what a good woman acts like. It could be brushed off as one of the many arguments passed in their strained relationship but I see it as indication of what Goncharov wants to make out of Katya. A perfect mafia wive. Personally, I think Scorsese highlighted the role of women in the mob best with Karen Hill in Good Fellas, as maintaining the the criminal social environment, and passing on the mafia mentality towards their children - still I would say Scorsese dipped his toe, no an entire leg in this topic already in Goncharov. Katya is clad with every material signifier of (material) success, they get invited exclusive parties. Still, Katya has trouble small talking (in spite of her very polished Italian), she rather speaks with the men about raw material trade routes rather than the other woman who “are mindnumbing”, in Katya’s words. Katya has a lot of trouble fitting in, whereas Goncharov notices Sophia who looks and acts in every way like the ideal woman of her environment. Katya doesn’t fit in, therefore neither does Goncharov. Because in the mafia world the woman devolves into another mere signifier that the man is a (/an achieved) part of the mafia world. Of course, Katya is opposed to her husband’s demands, and passes her days in a malcontent haze of luxury. Their arguments increasingly revolve around the past life in the Soviet Union. Partly she asserts herself against his demands to dress or take actions in a certain way. There’s still too much of her home Katya misses, and holds onto small things. By example, even though she regularly goes too church, she words certain prayers weirdly (yet again, in spite of her Italian being very good), or doesn’t understand certain catholic arguments when she tries to get involved in a slightly theological discussion with the local women. When talking to the priest she admits that her grandmother taught her things differently. To anyone familiar with Orthodox pratice, it’s obvious Katya not only struggles from being raised atheist to fully commit to faith but also only knows of Russian Orthodox Christian practices. Or when she expresses towards her husbands that Italian food is delicious but she misses the earthy, crunchy dough of she pierogi she baked. Goncharov meets Katya’s admission of vulnerability and insecurity with anger, reprimanding her that she should emulate Sophia. “That’s not how I was raised!” ”You’re not in Kazan anymore! Grow up, Katyusha! You wanted to ever grovel in the dirt, huh?!” ”That was at least my fucking dirt! Fucking important dirt!” That reply of Katya’s might seem like a petulant drunk response, as this argument happens when Katya drunk herself in a melancholic stupor. Yet, this exchange reveals quiet a lot about Katya, that she’d quiet a lot of good things going on in her life before Neaples. What audiences in the 1970s and those who’re not so familiar with Soviet history might not know is that working as a geologist was quiet the respected job. Katya was a geologist, and apparently passionately so. Whereas Goncharov resents anything that rats out his past life, like making up Italian first names when has to lie about his identity, reprimanding his wife for  “not acting Italian”, even introducing himself with an “italified” version of his name to Mario first, before Mario calls him out, Katya increasingly gives up on trying to emulating local habits - going so far for laughting at Goncharov’s increasingly desperate actions to establish his position in the mafia order. Katya is Goncharov’s ghost. His ghost of his past haunting him, and reminding him that he’s still possessed by all the deprivation of his life in the Soviet Union. He tries to pacify his aspirational drive by material possession, living a life style that he could’ve never had back in the Soviet Union, almost perversely celebrating material excess. (I wouldn’t be surprised if that theme strongly inspired de Palma’s Scarface a decade later.) He even forsakes his wife’s happiness, for her to become a trophy wife. Given that we now know that she worked as a geologist, is intellectually curious to the point that even though any material needs are met, she could never be happy doing nothing. She gave up a significant career, her family for the promise of a more prosperous life. But her husband forces her to do nothing, so Katya withers away. In that sense she does signify the hollowness of his strive towards the top. Granted this isn’t an original theme yet I think why the relationship between Goncharov, and too and extend between Katya and Sophia are so poignant. Their main characteristic in their relationship are the conflicting motivations in Goncharov to assimilate himself into a new life yet his drive is formed strongly by the disillusion of the Soviet promise of a good life he know tries to get elsewhere. And for last, Sophia. Sophia is like a specter, the ideal Goncharov tries to chase. Sophia does not have this much of a personality in the movie despite of her being able to keep up with Mario’s business decisions into which he involves her, and being shown to lead on other women from the mafia when they come to her with troubles. (This is often happening in the very background or not being focused on strongly in a scene. Partly I would say this was intended as to mark Sophia as functional part of the mafia environment and hoe she as a woman is seen. partly, eh Scorsese writing women... in that sense Karen Hill remains the more fleshed out female character to talk about the function of women in the mob.) It’s interesting to see how even critics  and audiences already in 1972 did not consider Goncharov’s interest in Sophia as anywhere near sexual or romantic. Granted, Goncharov might look quiet intensely at Sophia whenever they meet in the same room but it misses all typical camera work to signal romance or lust, and Sophia is always framed around other mafia members. (Compare that to the focal camera work on Maria through Goncharov’s perspective, the one goncharov wants to up up and simultaneously gain respect from, inviting a queer reading of the movie.) Note how Goncharov barely speaks to her but often holds up Sophia Katya should emulate towards Katya. As Goncharov demands Katya more and more more become a commodity, he has a clear concept in mind what kind what kind of commodity women in the mob shall be, as cruel as it’s sounds. The only time Katya and Sophia speak for longer, this scene is agonizingly embarrassing for Katya. Still hung over and hung up on her homesickness from the last night, Sophia was attentive towards Goncharov’s compensatory acts and tries to provoke Katya with stereotypes about Soviet women. Katya runs directly into the ruse, even gets angry to the point the shouts at Sophia how proud she is about what her grnadmother and mother achieved with their bare hands, how Sophia would only think she was significant because all her energy went into her self maintenance. It’s interesting to notice how Sophia seems to enjoy herself getting a rise out of Katya but the aftereffects of the disastrous lunch are interesting. Sophia muses towards Mario that Katya seems interesting, apparently she noticed that Katya is quiet clever. Katya accusation towards Sophia not meaning anything causes a slight rift in her Mario’s relationship when she asks of him to get more involved in the more drastic decisions he undertakes against Goncharov, or her seeming more lost in thought when she takes up her daily duties. Under the surface and the bits and pieces of screen time we do notice that Katya understood as well as caught on the limited space for being a human person as woman in the mafia even if they’re tasked to pass on the culture. Even the specter of an ideal isn’t real, even Sophia realizes that she’s thriving in a cage. Once again, women are more reflective of the male protagonist’s pursuit and conflicts in a Scorsese movie but they’re written in the respectful manner that clarifies that the man’s chauvinism and other bad motivations are the issue, not the women. In the case of Goncharov, both represent his strongest drives: Sophia his aspiration which is, when she gets to show her human side, actually a hollow performance of wealth. And his Katya his past and the actual person understanding how Goncharov will always be treated as outsider, and how so much of himself is rooted in an environment striving towards a better future which will actually always be withheld from them. Not only in the Soviet state structures Goncharov used to work for but also for his new aspirational life in Neaples.

#unreality #Goncharov #Goncharov meta

[audikatia]

Another year, another 110 books read! I don’t love organizing books by genre because I feel like so many of the books I read are a mix of fantasy/horror/queer romance/mystery/etc, but I like to see how it all falls into place. I had started 2022 with the goal of reading more poetry but otherwise had no specific goal except to read whatever I wanted. There were some disappointments, some books I have been meaning to read forever, some new favorites, and some comfortable rereads of old favorites. Overall, a good year!

List of books read + my ratings under the cut

Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Males of the Gay World, 1890-1940 by George Chauncey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner ⭐️⭐️⭐️

No Voyage and Other Poems by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The River Styx, Ohio by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

All’s Well by Mona Awad ⭐️⭐️⭐️

You’ll be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Twelve Moons by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones ⭐️⭐️

American Primitive by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dream Work by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

House of Light by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

New and Selected Poems: Volume One by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

White Pine by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

West Wind by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Leaf and the Cloud by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What Do We Know? by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Long Life by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dune by Frank Herbert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blue Iris by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

New and Selected Poems: Volume Two by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thirst by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red Bird by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Out of Character by Annabeth Albert ⭐️⭐️

The Truro Bear and Other Adventures by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Evidence by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell ⭐️⭐️

The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Swan by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dog Songs by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blue Horses by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Felicity by Mary Oliver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman Beyond the Attic: The V.C. Andrews Story by Andrew Neiderman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

So It Goes by Isis Molina ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sugared Game by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Subtle Blood by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To Trust Man on His Oath by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How Goes the World by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Band Sinister by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mary Magdalene Revealed by Meggan Watterson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Le Petomane 1857-1945 by Jean Nohain and F. Caradee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️

Magdalene: Poems by Marie Howe ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love, Hate, & Clickbait by Liz Bowery ⭐️⭐️⭐️

All Eyes on Us by Kit Frick ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Song That Moves the Sun by Anna Bright ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Secret Wisdom of Nature by Peter Wohllben ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley ⭐️⭐️

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Every Other Weekend by Abigail Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

You Only Die Twice by Brynn Kelly ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cultish by Amanda Montell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Opal by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver ⭐️⭐️

Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dracula by Bram Stoker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Husband Material by Alexis Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli ⭐️⭐️

Here’s to Us by Becky Albertalli ⭐️⭐️

JELL-O Girls: A Family History by Allie Rowbottom ⭐️⭐️

My Policeman by Bethan Roberts ⭐️⭐️

Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson ⭐️⭐️

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wicker King by K. Antrum ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cremains of the Day by Misty Simon ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Icebreaker by A. L. Graziadei ⭐️⭐️

Skin Deep by Sung J. Woo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raven King by Nora Sakavic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#personal

[crystalelemental]

You know what? Fuck it. It's anniversary. Treat yourself.

We're maxing out Best Chatelaine.

General Overview Ohooooo man. Okay. Big fan of this one. Obviously personality clicked, I do have a type, but I'm kinda loving her kit too.

Dana's obvious benefit is SEUN, which is...I have mixed feelings. I think it's simultaneously really good, and over-hyped. Really good because a huge 50% bonus, which I believe is multiplicative, applied for an EX sync nuke or heavy DPS shot, is fantastic. But it's only applicable on-type, which is generally the least important way to deal damage in the Gauntlet/High Score meta. This is part of why I think we need more pairs with two attacking types. SEUN with a potential super-effective coverage move would be really good. But as it stands, a lot of options can't make good use of it.

Moreover, 1/5 Dana encapsulates an issue with SEUN appliers. Specifically, they tend to make for bad offense buffers. Red and Jasmine have crit rate, even though one does it better than the other, and some arguable benefits that are inconsistent at best and insufficient at worst. Dana takes this a step further by boosting no offensive stats at 1/5. You get SEUN, and only that. But pairs that cap all relevant offenses fast enough for that to matter tend to be so good that the on-type modifier is irrelevant. It just doesn't accomplish much.

3/5 Dana is an entirely different beast. Team Sharp Entry is a divine skill that saves a turn off any self-buffer with +2 crit. Which is a lot of them. Hype Up on her attack, especially combined with Cold Snap, is divine. Not only does she now have the potential to disrupt an action, she's buffing special attack routinely while doing it. On physical stages, Dana has literally nothing better to do but spam Frost Breath, which allows her to rake up the special attack boosts for the team easily. At 20/20, I admit I had zero issues keeping her alive, without ever touching X Sp Def All. First Aid 4, combined with a Max Potion/Damage Guard effect on her trainer move, makes her more than sturdy enough. SEUN applications are great, but two are more than sufficient in most scenarios.

I didn't do this, but another fun angle is that she can boost both defenses and has Synchro Healing. So she's a great stall support as well. Girl is versatile.

Vs. Bruno It's a bad picture because I was frustrated and just glad to be done. Gardenia is stupid frail, so any time he's set to use two Bulldoze, you have to take a turn early on to throw TM on Gardenia instead and hope Dana can handle it (she can). But then you run into the issue of Gardenia needing sun up or she loses special attack, and her missing sync crit, etc etc etc. She's really frustrating. Gardenia kinda sucks.

Vs. Will Poison is fairly hard to shop for, but Dana has one extremely funny option. H!Iris gets +4 Sp Atk/+2 crit, and is therefore perfectly salvaged by Dana. Lucian just makes the team invincible at this point, and covers all needed gauge concerns. This is a really easy setup to take -2 sync cooldown parameter as well, because Iris will obliterate this team. Following that, second SEUN on Hyper Beam, which can combo into Iris getting Super Victory for yet another, and just blasting a stage into powder.

Vs. Karen This is more a showing of how SEUN can offset lower offense boosted stats, at least in part. +3 Sp Atk on Lusamine with SEUN is more than enough to eviscerate the sides, and Lusamine only needs two trainer moves with Team Sharp Entry in play, so she can focus on pure sync power. This was a really clean win, despite how much Sp Atk Lusamine seemed to need. Dana was able to provide.

Vs. Koga There is an ice stage! Initially I was going to do Ghetsis or something, before realizing (1) accuracy issues, and (2) not a great showing of Dana's abilities specifically. I then considered BP Candice, before realizing mine is EX. So I ran Pryce. Who is not EX. We did eat the opponent's sync, Pryce absolutely cannot DPS his way out of this. He did get a denial thanks to SEUN, but I messed up the gauges and it caused problems. I don't know that it made enough difference. The point is, she carried non-EX Pryce. It's not quite Irida, but I will gladly take this.

#sync pair testing #dana

[gonorrhea-mama]

Iris is laughing at someone who fell outside. They rolled.

~🌺

Ann follows her gaze and laughs along with her at the Karen neighbor falling smack on her butt.

[rollingwiththedead]

Avenue 5 is so good that I don’t have a favorite character! I love them all!

#avenue 5 #obvs ryan anc billie are top 2 #followed by karen and iris #i just love mean ladies #so much #even mads and sarah and dough and mia are funny #and i fucking love matt #i even like judd! and i hate josh gad but not in this #and rav!! i love her

[rz-jocelyn]

[NEWS UPDATE] Fire Force: The Release of the Blu-ray/DVD for "Enn Enn no Shouboutai Stage -Hakai no Hana, Souzou no Oto-" has been Announced

Story Description

250 years ago, The Great Disaster engulfed the world in flames and destroyed most nations, rendering the world mostly uninhabitable. The survivors took refuge in the Tokyo Empire. In the Year 198, special fire brigades called the Special Fire Force are in a fight against Infernals, which are human beings that are turned into living infernos through spontaneous combustion.

"Enn Enn no Shouboutai", also known in English as "Fire Force", follows the story of Kusakabe Shinra as he joins Company 8 of the Special Fire Force.

Cast

Makishima Hikaru as Kusakabe Shinra

Yokota Ryugi as Arthur Boyle

Kimisawa Yuki as Akitaru Obi

Baba Ryoma as Takehisa Hinawa

Sena as Maki Oze

Isobe Karin as Iris

Saotome Yuu as Tamaki Kotatsu

Tanaka Ryousei as Viktor Licht

TAKA as Vulcan Joseph

Iikubo Haruna as Risa

Miyazaki Yuu as Yu

Ukai Mondo as Dr. Giovanni

Kawaharada Takuya as Yona

Sakura Karen as Arrow

Izumi Shuhei as Joker

Goumoto Naoya as Sagamiya Konro

Sato Ryuji as Shinmon Benimaru

Release Date: June 24, 2022

DMM Pre-Order/Purchase Bonuses

Special Cast Talk 01: Makishima Hikaru (Kusakabe Shinra) x Yokota Ryugi(Arthur Boyle) x Tanaka Ryousei (Viktor Licht) x TAKA (Vulcan Joseph)

Special Cast Talk 02: Sato Ryuji (Shinmon Benimaru) x Goumoto Naoya (Sagamiya Konro) x Kimisawa Yuki (Akitaru Obi) x Baba Ryoma (Takehisa Hinawa)

Pre-Order/Purchase Links

Blu-ray: HERE

DVD: HERE

NOTE:

[1] VPN might be required to access the site. 

[2] For more information about the proxy services available for Japan, please refer to this link: HERE

Source(s): ( x , x )

#Fire Force #Enn Enn no Shouboutai #Sato Ryuji #Shinmon Benimaru

[00hj]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ happy holidays ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆
 i’m extremely grateful for all my mutuals & friends since joining tumblr 6 years ago. this isn’t my main blog nor is it my first blog but it is my most active haha (^◇^；)

|ω･)و ̑̑༉ hi, i’m karen or k ! you may know me as the residential hyunsung stan or the woozi enthusiast over on my main @/himeaegyo 
i’ve made such supportive, precious, and amazing friends & the fandoms i’ve been apart of have been such a great adventure.

this is gonna be probably my most emotional/sappiest follow forever because this year has just been so emotionally straining that we need more positivity !
 so thank you again for following me/liking my content/popping into my inbox/just accepting me ( ˊᵕˋ )♡


while i wasn’t that active this year on this blog, it’s been very entertaining & motivational seeing people interact & still supporting @/straykidsupdate (the amount of love that blog gets, i’ll forever be in awe/shock and will never be able to express enough thanks for)

to my mutuals & fellow ccs, this is just a big thank you/hug for everything you’ve done !! 🐻💓 
i may not follow you now (or i might have followed during the making of this post) but know that i’m in the process of cleaning out my following list !! i’m not ignoring you 🥺 i’ve just been semi inactive this year :c

these are just a couple special shoutouts/messages ! if i didn’t write you a message, please don’t take it personally 🙇🏻‍♀️ i do love & appreciate every single one of my mutuals but the post would get super long o-o; 

@realstraykids hi em 🐹💕 we exchange these words nearly ever end of the year, but thank you thank you thank you for being one of my first true online friend & mutual 😊 it’s just filled me with so much joy seeing you make it big with the love you have for your groups. i love how engaging you are, how supportive you are of fellow creators & friends, how you’ve been able to do your academics & juggle stan life (mad respect) (i would also like to mention that my phone’s predictive keyboard still recommends ‘hellohwiyoung’ after i type hello out & i refuse to reset it)

@3rxcha hi iri 🌻🧚🏻‍♀️ my canadian love bug. it’s been such a blessing that we were able to meet up & hang out irl ! thank you for being there for the ups & downs in my personal life haha, i really unloaded a lot on you in the past. i’m glad you’re back into stray kids !! it’s been such a joy being able to send you fantakens over on discord when i update/queue >:3 i love how unapologetically honest you are, how articulate you are, and how you’re just a pastry chef 🥧

@chrisbangs hi li 👼🍡 hehe another canadian dream girl. i think you’re my only moot/few friends that i know who listens to tmg & it’s was a great shock when i found that out haha. i absolutely adore the way you’re so creative yet always challenging yourself to push yourself further. being able to see your creative journey has been a blessing & i truly believe you’ll be able to achieve great things with your skills here

@hyunnie hi katarina 🌿🍒 first & foremost, i don’t think i’ve ever confessed that i totally freaked out when i saw that you had applied for the gfx position for sku. it’s been such a privilege working together, though things have been slow because there’s nothing much to do ;;;; i knoooow we’re in the server together but i’ve admired your dedication & work ethic that i’m kind of like intimidated to talk to you (?) haha fears but !!! it’s so admirable how dedicated you are in finishing series & how you’re always trying new things with your creations

@chngbok hi red 💞✨ honestly, you’re the backbone of the sku queue lmao. i vividly remember that one time you went on a spree & filled it to like 200 posts,,,,that’s a literal talent. i’m very excited to get into genshin impact & i’m excited to know you’re into it !! i know like one person irl who’s actively been playing it & another irl who’s interested so this bubble is small OTL,,,though i may suck, i’ll be honoured to be able to play together with you! thank you for partaking in the shenanigans we create in the server sometimes, i really do truly appreciate you 🥺

@straybell hi nina 💒💞 another canadian buttercup! i remember stumbling across your dating sim edit & your district 9 edits back in 2018 & just falling completely in love with how you were able to manifest such ideas perfectly. it’s one thing to be able to visualize & conceptualize it but to pull it off with the proper assets & the amount of details,,,,,completely in awe with your talent. you’re so humble, down-to-earth, loving, and you have such a big heart. you make people feel welcomed, warm, and loved & i just hope you’re able to feel the same way 

@tuanzie hi joanna 💓🐣 i remember one day i checked tumblr again & saw a new url & was just completely confused who you were because i was so used to your old url lol i know i don’t really talk to you but you always seem so cool & well kept together whenever you’re on my tl ^^;; you radiate this confident older sibling energy & sometimes i’ll just stalk your blog to see what new things has happened with some of the groups we mutually stan. i truly admire how you’re able to keep up with all your groups and !!! make content for them, truly inspiring work ethics

@wonstal hi louise 💝🍒 i truly don’t know how to explain this but you just radiate this very pretty vibe & aesthetic. your blog, your content, your colouring, your everything is just so pretty to me. i don’t talk to you but i’m admiring from the far distance,,,,,,you’re just so cool & your stan list is just wonderful. i don’t think we’re online at the same time much but !!! i hope you’re staying safe, getting some rest, drinking your fluids & just staying occupied :)

my moots & recs !! (these are skz. svt, multi blogs & more)

@hanjin @hyunknow @ji-sungs @avocadomin​ @hyunjinz @kimsyohans @3norachaa @l0vepaint @cpalice @bbchae​ @changbinie​ @changbeanie​ @blueprintskz​ @han-jisung​ @felixies​ @binnies​ @ifbin​ @hwanghaes​ @sunnykids​ @yangjeongin​ @dyewithyou​ @seoschangbin​ @luvknow​ @seungminsmile​ @gukooky​ @abcdskz​ @seungminhos​ @yyuwins​ @deobistay​ @hyyunjinn​ @hyunjins​ @eternallys​ @jinlix​ @ljhz​ @hoshees​ @absix​ @berethosh​ @bbaksu​ @leeknown​ @jisungism​ @joshuahong​ @lovehui​ @shuvee​ @cafewoozi​ @pdwoozi​ @bangchanmix​ @honeyboyfelix​ @hoodiehan​ @kkvmi​ @914m​ @miniwaves​ @leeminho-s​ @sparkly-minho​ @myoneandongly​ @holyakaashi​ @2miin​ @jisungsings​ @bangchans​ @02print​ @spearbin​ @gyuwus​ @jonghan​ @xums​ @strgaykids​ @soocculents​ @liinos​ @asterocky​ @hanwooz​ @tswoondere​ @guksuu​ @jypestraykids​ @leeknowism​ @go-saeng​ @agibbng​ @creker​ @saniest​ @strayhags​ @pdracha​ @defgyus​ @seo-changbinnies​ @youngke​ @cotccotc​ @stray-but-okay​ @jjsungie​ @chogiwow​ @hwjins​ @hyunsung​ @1eeknows​ @jeonginx​ @choihans​ @hyunllx​ @minhou​ 

have a nice holiday !!! i hope you’re warm & safe 🎄💓 i’m still working on a rec page but it’ll be over here when it’s done !!
 (。>∀<)_畄q(>∀< ｡)

#follow forever #ff #i'll once again tag this with an old tag of mine: #i am praying to the tumblr gods that this post tags you and sends you a notif #i do apologize if this gets super long.....i totally will understand if you don't want to read the whole msg....it's embarrassing #i'll get around cleaning out my following list later today ~ #i've bolded the parts that i think are ~important~ but again; it's completely understandable if you didn't read it all ;;;; #merry christmas & happy holidays !! i hope your days are filled with warmth & love #q: drafted and scheduled for later

[bold-writing]

The One With Whiskey Eyes || 2 || Black Words and Silver Scars

Summary:  Soulmate AU Split 2016. Not everyone had a soulmate, there were many in the world who were unmarked. Iris Mayfair, however, has been forced to hide her skin for nearly thirty years. She doesn't have just one or two soulmates-even three would make people sneer and judge; no, she has twenty-three legible marks on her skin; with a blurry, unfinished twenty-fourth blooming across her flesh.

Warnings: Descriptions of violence, descriptions of abuse, swearing.

Words: 3000

Previous || Next

~2~

Opening her apartment door only enough to slip through, Iris immediately locked the deadbolts behind her as a long sigh blew passed her lips. “Why did I think that was a good idea?” she muttered to herself as her head fell back against the door with a barely audible thud. “I’m insane.” Pushing off the door and stepping into the tiny space of her apartment, barely enough to be called that since it was one large room with a tiny washroom behind a door in the corner, Iris carefully unbuttoned her coat and moved to the closet to hang it up.

Even the closet was just an open alcove with a bar that she’d hung—nearly taking her finger off because she was not a handy person.

Ducking into the kitchen portion of the apartment to make herself a tea, Iris hoped it would be enough to calm her frayed nerves before she had to go to work that evening. When speaking with Dr. Fletcher on the phone, she’d decided that it was best to meet with the woman before she had to go to work instead of taking up her next day off. Of course, now she wished that she had not gone to the building at all but if she had she really should have done so on her day off.

 Her hands trembled when she filled her kettle with water and placed it on the stovetop, causing some of it to splash out onto her hand. Immediately shaking the water off of her mark, Iris flinched like she’d been burned. The thinness of her hand meant that when she spread her fingers out to look more closely at the mark, her tendons lifted beneath her skin and rippled the words.

 Even after everything that she had been through when she was younger, up until she had finally had enough and ran away from home, Iris did not hate her marks. Many times she had sought comfort from them, and even strength. They had withstood so much from her parents; she figured that she could as well. If they were strong enough, deep enough, that her parents couldn’t ruin them or destroy them then she could survive it as well.

 Tracing over the neat writing, with the ring finger of her other hand, Iris smiled faintly.

 The smile didn’t last, however, as the reality of what had happened returned to the forefront of her mind. She had met her soulmate today—or one of them, at least—and she had been absolutely horrible to him. Not only were her first words to the poor man those of rejection, but she had run away from him as well. None of her marks were rude or aggressive, so she could only imagine what he must have felt by her reaction to hearing what he said.

 That was not how she expected meeting her soulmate to go.

 Whatever had made her say those words only caused regret and despair to claw at her insides now, wishing for nothing more than the chance to take those words back.

 A few people she had met over the years had told her stories of their marks, some of which were a statement of rejection. That rejection wasn’t always sorted out and they were left disconnected from a soulmate that didn’t want them. A friend she had in her early high-school years, prior to running away, had the mark that said ‘come on, of all people it had to be you?’ on her leg. Iris couldn’t remember ever seeing her friend in shorts, keeping her mark covered just like Iris’s.

 “I’m a horrible person,” she whispered to the mark on her hand, clenching it into a fist.

 Abruptly stepping back from the counter, Iris pulled off the sweater she had thrown on before she’d left earlier, followed by the long-sleeved undershirt, and soon stood in her bra as she looked down at the scratchy writing on her bicep. Stroking her fingers along the skin, thankfully one patch that didn’t hold scars from her parents.

 The sudden ring of her cellphone jerked her out of her thoughts so abruptly that she leapt in place, hand clutching at the mark on her arm as though desperate for it. Abandoning the small kitchen in favour of snatching her cellphone from the pocket of her coat, relieved that she’d set it on ring otherwise she never would have remembered where it was, Iris pulled it out and glanced briefly at the lit screen.

 Karen Fletcher

 “No,” she mumbled, staring down at the phone as her heart began beating quickly in her chest. Would that man still be there? Was he having the doctor call Iris?

 Hating the thought of ignoring him or the doctor again, Iris tapped the accept button and lifted the phone reluctantly to her ear.

 “Hello, Dr. Fletcher.”

 “Miss. Mayfair, are you alright? I’m sure that today was not what you expected…”

 Sighing softly as she moved to sit on the edge of her bed, the closest thing to sit on, Iris leaned her forehead in one hand while the other clutched at the cellphone. “I’m sorry for running out like I did…and for running away. I…I hope…”

 “Barry understands that it’s overwhelming, to meet a soulmate,” Dr. Fletched offered, the name of the man making Iris lift her head as her hand fell over her lips, the pain and guilt returning. Why was it easier when he didn’t have a name? “I know that it takes a bit of time to adjust to knowing you met your soulmate, especially with how afraid you seem to be of yours-”

 “I’m not afraid of my marks,” Iris interrupted. “I love my marks. But…I never thought that I…”

 The other line remained silent for a moment before Dr. Fletched began again softly, “Iris…there are many things that need to come to light. And I want to assure you that things will work, but I cannot do that if you don’t talk to me. Barry wants to know you, and I’m sure your other soulmates do as well,” she continued to explain calmly.

 “You…know you who they are, don’t you?” Iris struggled out, fidgeting in place as her attention drifted down to her exposed arms and the various marks and scars that were on display.

 “I may,” Fletcher answered hesitantly. “But that is not up to me to say. For now, I want to speak with you again, if you’re willing.”

 “I dunno, Dr. Fletcher. Even if you say he understands…what I said was awful. And to have to share me with so many others?”

 Dr. Fletcher didn’t speak up right away, as though she was trying to think of how to phrase what was on her mind. “You and Barry need to discuss this, not you and I, but I do want to help you, Iris. I can see that you’re in pain, that you’ve struggled through your life, and it’s because of those marks. Those soulmates. I don’t want you to have to carry that pain around with you for the rest of your life.”

 “I don’t think I could afford your services,” she argued, sounding tired. “And as I said, I love my marks. There is nothing from my past that changes that.”

 “You may love your marks, but I can see that they have…caused problems for you, Iris. Please, just meet with me one more time, no charge, so we can discuss this.”

 Knowing that someone could see through her so easily, especially someone that had insight on her marks—and her scars—made Iris’s skin prickle uncomfortably. She trembled in place as her scars itched faintly, her shoulders shaking with the motion, before she clenched her muscles and hunched forward with the effort to remain still and frozen.

 “I can’t,” she struggled out, the crack in her voice feeling like a strike through her vocal cords. “I’m sorry.”

 Hurriedly hanging up with a shaky thumb over the ‘end call’ button as tears burned her eyes, Iris tried not to think of the blue-eyed man that had said one of the twenty-four marks on her body. The phone clattered to the floor without further thought as Iris remained hunched at the edge of her bed, wearing only her bra across her torso as her pale skin pebbled against the cold air. Her nails scraped across her arms, leaving red welts in their wake, unable to control the urge to remove the itches.

 Carefully focusing on her breathing and doing her best to remain as calm as possible, Iris was almost too far gone into her mind to hear a second call come through her phone. The upturned screen once more read Dr. Fletcher’s name, but this time went ignored and unanswered as the pale woman struggled to push aside the panic attack threatening to overtake her.

 Dr. Fletcher sighed as her call went to voicemail, moving to hang up the phone in her office before she sat in front of her computer forlornly. She had done her best to assure Barry that she would talk to Iris again, knowing that he and the other alters were going to have their own ways of dealing with what happened today. She had hoped that speaking with Iris and helping her through some of the struggles of her past may prompt her to seek Barry out again, but Iris had no desire to dredge up what had happened.

 That alone told the older woman that they were old scars, both emotional and physical, and Iris had dealt with them in her own way—no matter how unhealthy that way may be.

 Typing out an email to Barry that she had not been able to get a hold of Iris, hoping to avoid telling him of her first conversation with the woman, she assured him that she would try again and keep him informed before then she signed and sent the email.

 Iris Mayfair, if Fletcher was to assume, had been abused while growing up because of her numerous soulmarks. Whether it was by family or people unrelated to her, she was mostly unsure, but she was leaning toward it having been one or both parents. Knowing for certain would help her to formulate a way of helping Iris, but the first hurdle was to actually make Iris want the help.

 The woman was so accustomed to dealing with her pain and problems on her own, she probably didn’t trust easily—if at all.

 Barry had been the one to say the words, not Kevin. It had been one of his personalities that spoke the words of Iris’s mark, and if Fletcher was so bet she would say that Iris had twenty-three marks on her body—one for each of the personalities in Kevin Wendell Crumb’s body. Kevin’s case was special on its own, having as many stable personalities as he did. But to have a soulmate with a mark for each personality was something that she had been trying to find for years.

 Iris Mayfair was an amazing anomaly, and a perfect match for Kevin and the personalities that had made their reason for being to protect Kevin. The young woman reminded her of Kevin, sweet and gentle and easily hurt by those around her with a past that left her carrying deep wounds.

 Sitting back in her chair she tapped ring-decorated fingers against her lips in thought. Perhaps Iris had some kind of record that she could get her hands on, even just to better understand what she was dealing with.

 It wouldn’t be easy to obtain if she did, but it was at least something to look into.

 She only hoped that Barry was able to keep the alters in control for the time being. She knew quite a few would rather go out and look for the poor woman on their own, and that could be dangerous for an already tender situation.

 She had not met all of them yet, but there were some she knew who would have different ways of handling the situation than what Barry had done just recently.

 Deciding that it was best to let Iris be for the rest of the day, the woman more than likely uncomfortably overwhelmed, Fletcher rose from her desk chair and began preparing for her next appointment. Barry had shown up early, the sole reason for running into Iris, and they had decided to cut the session short when she had constantly caught him going silent and lost in his mind—it made her wonder if he had been speaking with the alters or just thinking on his own about what had taken place.

 Beneath the Philadelphia Zoo, Barry was sitting in the small kitchen of the home that they had created for themselves, the rooms of the abandoned tunnels making up a home of twenty-three personalities. Eyes closed as he rested his elbows on the table, forehead on his fists—ignoring the reprimanding look that he got from Patricia when he did it—Barry sat among the others in their circle of chairs, the light at his back shoulders casting a shadow among them.

 Kevin remained sleeping quietly in his chair, curled up comfortably as the others spoke softly alongside him.

 “Well, well, well, who’d have thought that sweet, innocent Barry would get rejected,” Jade teased, but there was something in her eyes that told him she was sorry for what he had gone through. None of them had wanted to be the ones to hear those words, so even as relieved as she was to not hear them, she felt sorry for him to have been the one.

 “At least it wasn’t him,” he answered, glancing over to Kevin. He looked much younger and happier in his sleep, where he was safe. They knew he couldn’t remain asleep forever, it was cruel to take his life from him, but they only wanted to protect him from the world.

 “Well, that crosses one mark off,” Orwell pointed out, tapping the calf that he had crossed over his other thigh, where the mark lay beneath his pants.

 Dennis remained silent, even though he wanted to mention how they had been so sure he would be the one to hear those words. It did, however, make him curious to know what was going to be said to him.

 If they could ever find this woman again.

 “What did you do to chase her away?” Hedwig asked innocently, rocking his chair to and fro, from front legs to back legs.

 “Stop that,” Rakel ordered, reaching over to slam all four legs of Hedwig’s chair back on the ground. The nine year old pouted and crossed his arms, glancing away from the larger man as he looked over to where Barry was oddly silent. Normally he’d be trying to call them all to order, to bring some kind of conduct to their group talks like this.

 “I did not chase her away,” he answered calmly, ignoring the small issue between Rakal and Hedwig. “Dr. Fletcher mentioned that she was timid and afraid the entire time they were speaking. She thinks something happened to her…something to do with the marks.”

 Mary Reynolds sighed softly from across the circle. “Multiple soulmarks still cause problems for people…twenty-three of them? You all know the difficulty we faced with ours. Kevin had us to help him, we all had each other, she…probably had no one.”

 “She has us,” Dennis finally spoke up, smoothing down non-existent wrinkles on his pant-leg, drawing the attention of the other alters his way. “We protect Kevin. We keep him safe from everything in this world that wants to hurt him…and we will protect her as well.”

 Rare as it was, Barry was nodding his head in agreement. “He’s right,” he answered, getting some looks of surprise. He and Dennis did not see eye-to-eye often, they had such contradicting personalities and dominant mindsets that it often caused them to clash. “She is ours to protect now. She has been hurt and it won’t be easy…but she was meant for us. All of us. So that makes it worth it.”

 “Let’s find her first,” Patricia interrupted calmly. “Then we will go from there.”

 Barry looked over to Samuel, who he had already decided would be the one to next enter the light. Samuel was slightly older, in his early forties, so Barry knew that he wasn’t going to go rushing out to try and find her, probably just scaring her away in the process. Rising from the seat that Barry had claimed, Samuel stepped from the kitchen to go and change into his own clothing, more formal than Barry’s but not nearly as monochromatic as Dennis’s.

 They all knew what Iris looked like now, thanks to Barry and his odd enjoyment with going to see Dr. Fletcher as he ended up running into their fleeing soulmate.

 Now they were all left to wonder where they would go from there; Iris had run, and they had no idea where she went or how to find her. There was a chance that Dr. Fletcher would be able to follow through with her assurances and get a hold of the young woman, but they had their doubts after having lived through the life that Kevin was raised in.

 If she was anything like Kevin, she would want to avoid the problem on her own. It was Kevin’s way of coping and they were born as a result of it.

 Entering his bedroom and beginning to remove Barry’s clothes, making a mental note to drop them off in his room on his way passed, Samuel wondered what their little soulmate was doing in that moment. Was she thinking of them? How was she handling the knowledge that she had found one of her twenty-three soulmates?

 Did she know that all soulmates were housed in one body?

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#Split #Split movie #Split 2016 #Barry #Dennis #Barry Split #Dennis Split #Fanfiction #Split Imagine #Soulmate #Soulmate AU #Barry/OC #Dennis/OC #Original Female Character #James McAvoy #The One With Whiskey Eyes

[thehikingviking]

Hanging Valley Peak via Horton Creek, 2022 Sierra Challenge Day 4

Hanging Valley Peak is the unofficial name for Peak 12,200 which stands above the historic Hanging Valley Mine to the east of Mt Tom. The Horton Lakes Trailhead was the designated starting point, located at the end of the 4WD road that branches off from Buttermilk Road. Thankfully several challenge participants had capable Jeeps, so we were able to squeeze everyone in and carpool the last bit of rough road to the official trailhead.

There was a cloud layer that had formed overnight and a slight chance of thunderstorms was in the forecast. This created the conditions for a very colorful sunrise at the onset of the hike.

The trail started off by following the old road bed from where the 4WD road is now closed off to vehicles.

After a few gradual switchbacks we entered the Horton Creek drainage where several historic mining cabins remained.

Mike was a little slow getting ready that morning and had to brush his teeth on the go.

The most impressive looking peak on the approach was the unnamed Peak 12,808, unofficially referred to as Gable Lakes Peak.

The old road passed high above Horton Lake and resumed switching back up towards the Hanging Valley Mine.

A few people passed me on this section, including Bob, but I was only racing against the weather today. Once atop the switchbacks, I entered the hanging valley from which the mine is named.

I decided to follow the old road bed to the eastern side of the Challenge Peak while most of the others approached the peak via the south ridge. I believe my strategy saved a lot of time, since I was able to cover distance much faster on the road.

Moments later Dylan ran by me, already on his way down. He had a work meeting that morning that he had to get back for. Mt Tom loomed above us to the east.

There were some mining relics near the end of the road, and from here I started climbing up towards the peak. My pace was really slow, and my muscles complained the whole time. The last 500 ft to the top was a struggle for me, but I would make it. To the east was Mt Tom.

To the south were Basin Mountain and Mt Humphreys.

To the southwest was Four Gables.

To the northwest was Bear Creek Spire.

To the north were Mt Morgan and Wheeler Ridge.

Down below in the valley were mining structures.

It turned out that most people visited Peak 12,120 first, so I was one of the first to reach the summit. Others slowly trickled in, then we waited for the main party to show up so we could take a group photo.

There was some discussion regarding which point along the ridge was the high point. It felt like the northernmost point was higher, but we would climb both. Zee, Sean Reedy and I then continued towards Peak 12120, since it seemed like we were the only ones that had yet to climb this peak. It was a relatively easy effort, and moments later we reached the top.

While this peak clearly did not have much prominence, it qualified as a bonus peak due to a technicality. LoJ claimed the peak had 280 feet of clean prominence, when in reality it only has about 200 feet of prominence per measurements from my track. LoJ is the official standard that we follow for the Sierra Challenge, but sometimes you’ve got to take the easy ones when they are given to you.

Prior to the Challenge I had wanted to climb Mt Tom as a bonus peak, but the weather was getting worse and my body was withered. We descended the sandy slopes back down to the road. Sean Reedy took off with a light jog while Zee and I walked back to the car together. We passed a few people on the way down, including Ron Hudson, Karen Anderson and a mysterious individual who did not want to tell me anything. As we approached the cars, rain started to fall over the Buttermilk Boulders, but we would stay dry for the rest of the hike.

Official Summary:

Dylan Doblar climbed Hanging Valley Peak in 3 hours and 55 minutes. Jonathan Mason, Sean Reedy, Matthew Rosen, Zee Chunawala, Sean Casserly, Bob Burd, Tom Becht, Yumi Vielpeau, Iris Ma, Tom Grundy and Chris Henry climbed both Hanging Valley Peak and Peak 12120. Mike Toffey climbed Four Gables and Four Gables South. Samir Nafez attempted Basin Mountain but DNF. Ron Hudson and Karen Anderson hiked to Horton Lakes. Sean King DNS.

Thunderstorms threatened but most of the precipitation was centered around Buttermilk Boulders and peaks to the south. True distance was 13 miles. My feet are starting to hurt. I am concerned for Day 7.

[ao3feed-kylerayner]

Speedrun Redux

by Triscribe

Everybody blinked at the Bat as he scowled. “No, Batgirl is not going to join the League. Or Robin, for that matter.”

Lantern broke the following silence after a long beat. “Aaand why is that a no-go for you?”

The scowl deepened, but if anything Batman looked more discomforted than truly irritated. “...I told them they aren’t allowed to fight crime outside of Gotham until they’ve gotten through college.”

Words: 5363, Chapters: 2/3, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Speedrun AU

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, The Flash - All Media Types

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Barry Allen, Bruce Wayne, Wally West, Iris West, Dawn Allen, Don Allen, George "Digger" Harkness, James Jesse, Bart Allen, Thaddeus Thawne II, Jenni Ognats, Background & Cameo Characters, Selina Kyle, Harper Row, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Jon Lane Kent, Chris Kent, Kara Zor-El, Karen Starr, Cir-El, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Cissie King-Jones, Mia Dearden, Dinah Lance, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Kyle Rayner

Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, Barry Allen & Wally West, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent/Lois Lane, Dinah Lance/Oliver Queen, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) & Kyle Rayner

Additional Tags: Bruce Wayne is Batman, Barry Allen is The Flash, Wally West is Kid Flash, Family Dynamics, Humor, Dick Grayson is Robin, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, Family Shenanigans, Clark Kent is Kon-El | Conner Kent's Parent, Rare Characters, Unconventional Families, Extended Families, Flash Family, Bat Family, super family, Arrow Family, Confused Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), what in oa did you do to my fridge

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#ao3feed #dc #kyle rayner