#howl's moving castle!! though it IS very different from the book i just love it :')

[dootznbootz]

I don't think Greek Mythology retellings/adaptions/inspired/etc. are necessarily "evil"...but I DO think people REALLY need to understand that there's a huge difference between the actual mythology and certain media.

I feel like people have to basically do a "Fandom ___" to say the different versions. Like "PJO ___", "Hades game ___", "TSOA ___". For it to be understood that these depictions are DIFFERENT. I'm saying this as someone who grew up reading PJO and still has a soft spot for it. But as someone who really loves Greek Mythology as well, I sometimes get really SAD.

I'm going to use the comparison of Howl's Moving Castle with it's Book Vs. Movie. I enjoy both!!! But they are honestly very different. In the movie there is no "sister swap", Markle isn't a young teenager, Sophie doesn't throw weed killer at Howl, and many more moments. But I enjoy both because even though there are changes they still keep components that are ingrained into the characters!

In some Greek Myth retellings/adaptations/stories/etc., characters are...SO different from the source material. That's fine...Choose what you want with your story... But folks should know that the modern adaptations are NOT the source material!!!

It bothers me that a lot of these wonderful myths and stories are twisted up and seen so differently because of a modern version of them. You can have that character be "awful" or a certain way in your story. But I almost feel that as fans, it's not good to generalize them or see it as "This is the truth". People are hating the mythological figure when it's only in that interpretation they are like that.

In PJO, Ares is "Zeus' favorite", isn't a good dad, a misogynist, etc. The actual myths? One of his Epithets is LITERALLY "Feasted by Women", in the Iliad everybody basically bullies him with Zeus literally saying he hates him. He cries when he learns one of his sons is killed in the war. He literally kills someone about to rape his daughter. Ares isn't perfect but it makes me sad with how he's viewed and talked about when it's only in PJO he's like that. Same with Dionysus. Read the Bacchae, you'll love it.

In Lore Olympus, Apollo rapes Persephone (noticing the fact that modern takes on the myths add rapes where there never were hmmmmm) when he never did in any of the myths.

In TSOA, Thetis is cruel when in the Iliad, she is such a loving mother to Achilles. She grieved alongside her son over Patroclus. Also with Agamemnon. In Ipheginia at Aulis, Agamemnon is a MESS. He adored his children.

In Circe, Odysseus is viewed as a selfish man who ONLY hurts others and doesn't care about his family when that is LITERALLY his one consistent character trait. HE is actually the one who is the victim of rape. Circe was never raped.

Medusa is only a victim in Ovid's, a Roman man, works. Not in GREEK mythology. She was just a cool monster. Leave Perseus alone. Poseidon and Medusa actually had a consensual relationship in Greek Mythology!

These adaptations/retellings/inspired by/etc. whatever anybody wants to call them, are not the real myths! They may be similar in some ways but to just generalize them or hate the deity/mythological figure because of something they did in the new media feels fucked up!

You can enjoy these new stories. There's nothing wrong with that!!! But know they're not the real myths. Maybe even label it as "I hate ____'s version of ____". As that makes it clear what version you're talking about.

#I'm probably wording this very weird. I'm sorry for that haha #idk I'm getting sad #I'm clutching the gods and my special lil heroes to my chest to protect them from the hate. #this is silly but...idk had to say it :( #anti circe #anti madeline miller #sorry but that book makes me the sad™ #greek mythology #tagamemnon #Mad rambles #shot by odysseus #PJO is special to me but I'm protecting the Gods >:( They can suck in PJO. to say the suck in the myths when you don't know the actual #myths is...sad #tw rape #<because so many adaptations ALSO add them when they're not there!!!! #save me morally gray circe #essay

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Snape being gaslit

“He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out —” “HE DIDN’T DISAPPARATE!” Snape roared, now very close at hand. “YOU CAN’T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE IN- SIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS — HAS — SOMETHING — TO — DO — WITH — POTTER!” “Severus — be reasonable — Harry has been locked up —” BAM. The door of the hospital wing burst open. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself. “OUT WITH IT, POTTER!” he bellowed. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” “Professor Snape!” shrieked Madam Pomfrey. “Control yourself!” “See here, Snape, be reasonable,” said Fudge. “This door’s been locked, we just saw —” “THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!” Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth. “Calm down, man!” Fudge barked. “You’re talking nonsense!” “YOU DON’T KNOW POTTER!” shrieked Snape. “HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT —” “That will do, Severus,” said Dumbledore quietly. “Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?” “Of course not!” said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. “I would have heard them!” “Well, there you have it, Severus,” said Dumbledore calmly. “Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I’m afraid I don’t see any point in troubling them further.” Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward. “Fellow seems quite unbalanced,” said Fudge, staring after him. “I’d watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore.” “Oh, he’s not unbalanced,” said Dumbledore quietly. “He’s just suffered a severe disappointment.”

Poor Snape. Book 3 was really bad for him. Dealing with Remus' passive aggression. Having to brew wolfsbane potion for the guy who nearly killed him years ago and said guy not seeming to care too much about said detail. Dealing with Sirius again and having him escape. Then having Dumbles gaslight him - sometimes I just have to shake my head at his old man. What a shady character. Can't believe people call these men friends. Dumbles is not Snape's friend. A friend doesn't get amusement from their friend's uncontrollable rage. Not to mention I don't know how Snape can truly be friends with the man who was his headmaster in school - the age difference is too great for a close friendship IMO. Plus Dumbles contributed to making Snape's school life hell. I literally don't understand how Snape could be friends with him OR Minerva.

If I were a better writer, I would write a fic where Snape tells both Voldy and Dumbles to screw themselves, throws Lily's memory in the trash where it belongs, moves far away from Hogwarts, opens up a successful apothecary and marries and has a small family with a lovely woman who adores him. I just want this poor man to have all the good things in the world and leave Harry's dim witted butt to someone else. There are fics where this happens...but they tend to make Snape gay for some reason :'(. Why is it so hard to have Snape marry a woman??

PS: I kind of like seeing Snape and Draco lose their absolute marbles over Harry. I feel bad for them but it is still amusing to see :')

#severus snape #pro snape #albus dumbledore #dumbledore critical #severus snape deserved better #prisoner of azkaban #remus lupin critical #snape is an emotional mess #snapedom #snape deserved better #professor snape #harry potter critical #why do people keep making snape gay if he's not with lily?? #snape being standoffish and weird means he has to be queer?? #pro straight snape

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 4/9/2023

the best photo i took this week

listening

i have not been keeping up with either the tuesdaypost spreadsheet or the tuesdaypost playlists so there's a strong possibility i have already talked about Joywave's It's A Trip! off the 2017 album Content. spotify

driving ten hours in one day is ideal for listening to albums and i listened to almost every joywave album on my way home from the eclipse. american indie rock band from rochester ny, i have loved them since early college. i think they were made in a lab to get to stuck in my head bc they tend toward lower register synthier tracks that deceptively amble cheerfully along and talk about dealing with fear. songs for a male protagonist to splash water on his face, look at himself in the mirror haunted by what he's seeing, linger in his children's bedroom doorways, and then drive off into the night for the finale.

i think i listened to this song for an hour on loop yesterday bc the chorus so perfectly got stuck in my brain

When you've gotten what you want (Maybe I should start over) There's nothing left to want (Up and at 'em again) You don't know what you want (Yeah, I'm thinking it over) Just tell me what to Want

they have spent a lot of time figuring out how to have longevity as a band: "The record kind of attempts to figure that out but it doesn’t end in a definitive place. For me personally, it’s just to create things that matter as long as I possibly can, and to make things that are going to outlive me that people can hang onto for at least five to six years after I’m dead." they are deeply cranky about virality/content churn, especially in this interview. i appreciate this in an artist.

could not tell you how i first found them. i think i would have to go back to the proto-tuesdayposts of 2018.

-

reading

when you're not sleeping well you can average a book a night!

Uprooted by Naomi Novik destroyed me. (image from here)

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

my best friend real-life influenced me into reading this book and i have since managed to convince four other people to read this book bc i won't shut up about it. the descriptions of the physicality of magic and how different kinds of magic and different families of spells Feel was only part of the coolest magical system ive ever read about. this is not a dark romance but it is a little brutal in a brothers grimm/this is how battles shake out sometime kind of way. i think a companion piece of media written from the Dragon's point of view would nicely parallel that post going around about how Howl's Moving Castle the movie is from Howl's point of view and Howl's Moving Castle the book is from Sophie's point of view. i would die for Agnieszka.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (image from here)

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders… but her father isn’t a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife’s dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty–until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers’ pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed–and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold. But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it’s worth–especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.

i don't know if i've ever read a book with seven points of view before? i think it was well handled, but it required significantly more brainpower than screaming through three of kingfisher's light fantasy/romances in two days and it threw me a little. saying this book is about debts cheapens it a little, i think. it is concerned with debts but also safety, and it is very much about cost in a very fairytale way and in the horrible everyday calculus of survival way.

Swordheart, Paladin's Hope, and Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher. god these go down So smooth. kingfisher has a niche and i respect that. i am reading the Saint of Steel tetralogy out of order bc even four library systems can only do so much, and i don't think you particularly need to read them in order.

i'm a bit cranky that the terfs took feminist fantasy from me, bc when the protagonist got her period in Paladin's Strength a little alarm bell went off in my head and i had to put it down and google some stuff (the answer is no btw). there is a way to write female-focused lightly historical fantasy without being terfy and kingfisher does it, but it's so rare that i was genuinely expecting some sort of. weird agenda to be at play.

these were all fun, fast reads and i don't have much else to say about them! not that they are better or worse than novik's books but they will not live in my head quite as long. there are fewer tantalizing hints about systems of magic that make me want to graph things out u kno

-

watching

kanopy has Animation April as their focus this month which is how i saw The King and the Mockingbird (1980, dir. Paul Grimault) which is a longer piece adapted from something he'd been working on since the 40s.

This animated fantasy tale follows the romance between a lovely shepherdess and a handsome chimney sweep. The land's imperious king falls for the beautiful woman and tries to thwart her relationship, but a kind mockingbird assists the lovers in evading the ruler. At the king's command, the chimney sweep and his bird friend are imprisoned, and they must escape in order to rescue the young man's true love.

GOD the animation in this. there are so many references to early animation and silent film. there are so so so many gadgets and methods of conveyance in an absolutely architecturally dizzying castle. there is a ROYAL MECH that plays its own theme music. the backgrounds have a very Chuck Jones quality in that they are exactly as detailed as they need to be for the gag to work. the castle is lush and beautiful but not dizzyingly, overwhelmingly lush. there is a clear vision to every shot and a clear path your eye is meant to travel, which i appreciate very much. i think a lot of technically impressive animation (i am specifically thinking of the Nimh movies) muddies itself by trying to jam too much on the screen. just a fucking delight of a film. a delicious confection

-

playing

nothing specific to say about genshin this week ur welcome

-

making

painted a frame (it was a dead basic michaels frame i got at a yard sale and it was giving little boy's room) and framed a thing. this is a poster that came as a freebie with a 1997 album, and i actually bought this CD case without the CD inside bc i was so delighted with the poster. scuff sanded the frame with 120 grit, i went with a matte black acrylic bc i felt that disguised how the poster did not quite fit the frame a little better? and also bc it was what i had in the house.

i did not bother with a mat, i just used the lining paper with the stock photo and painted the back of that. do not do this with particularly valuable or beloved pieces. i do not think this is necessarily acid free and there is some danger that the paint may transfer to the back of the poster over time.

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem #Youtube

[noona96n]

Hi....If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

no worries, im happy to answer. and, if i happened to already answer sth, I'll link u to it.

so, fav medias... hmm...

book(s): the radiant emperor duology

ik it just came out and was only recently finished (like, finished Sept 2023 lol) so this is probably bias speaking but i am extremely taken by She Who Became the Sun and He Who Drowned the World, these books are fckn phenomenal. the gender-fuckery, the exploration of gender and sexual performances, the hidden message of embracing ourselves in all our ugliness and 'deficiency' and making a place for ourselves and ppl like us when others shun us. these books are just!!!

documentaries: immortal egypt (Joanne Fletcher)

i really really love documentaries and this mini series hold a special place in my heart bcs i love history and I've always been fascinated by egypt and Joanne's enthusiasm is just so joyous and infectious, i love it. i put this on repeat in the background when i was doing my graduation project in 2018 lol yea, just me listening to egyptian docu while working my ass off on AutoCAD lol

anime: sarusuberi/miss hokusai

idk how to explain but there's just a quality to this animated film that got me going... like, i adore howl's moving castle but miss hokusai is sth else. it's so peaceful but also deeply profound and visceral somehow.

tv series: aircrash investigation

i love planes, i love the Concorde in particular, but it has nth to do with how cool planes are but with how child-me saw riding planes as a thing that only ppl with money could do. it evolved from there.

i also love mysteries and aircrash investigation is both lol

i remember watching it on tv when i was an adolescent and i was fascinated with the mystery and problem-solving of it all ever since.

movie: the prince of egypt

it's a story about love; love that forgives, love that creates hate, love that divides.

drama: nirvana in fire (c-drama), beyond evil (k-drama), kluen cheewit (thai soap opera)

bl-specific: old fashion cupcake (anime AND manga)

the plot of these dramas is impeccable (tho kluen cheewit is extremely dramatic so pls beware lol), the character developments are fckn amazing, and what's even more important is the platonic relationships between the characters!!!

also, special shout-out to thai bl soap opera khun chai/to sir (with love) as well! the drama is off the charts, the characters are flawed & human & infinitely relatable & Tian & Yang's brotherhood is EVERYTHING

just one of the best bls out there and I've consumed A LOT of BLs/yaois... ALL SORT of em lol

the story is really grounded in reality, the plot is so mundane and relatable, the characters are mature but extremely flawed, and the art (in the case of manga) and the acting (in the case of the series) are amazing.

song: queen bee by vannda (contemporary music from my country)

i DO NOT agree with the lyrics AT ALL but i adore the melody. i absolutely love, love, LOVE how he blends traditional khmer music with the modern one. it's not a necessarily modern take but it's sth different. this artist is very good at blending the old w/ the new and i applaud him for that. his music is so pleasing the ear but the fkcn lyrics... urGH

well, a song of his with message that i completely agree with is time to rise with master Kong Nay... though the mixture is too in my face lol which is why i prefer queen bee

#the radiant emperor #she who became the sun #he who drowned the world #shelley parker chan #miss hokusai #howls moving castle #howl's moving castle #ghibli #studio ghibli #the prince of egypt #nirvana in fire #beyond evil #kleun cheewit #old fashion cupcake #noona96n

[xanthippe74]

The mood this year, as this header photo demonstrates, was Le Tired. Just physically and emotionally slogging along. Brain stuck on perpetual static. A pull-the-covers-over-my-head sort of year. I read a few books, watched a lot of shows, found new songs to listen to on repeat, and spent way too much time futzing around on Tumblr.

But that's not what this post is about! This is to remind myself that I did accomplish writer-ly things this year, even if it didn't feel like it sometimes. So here's my 2023 Fandom Year in Review:

Drarry

🐈 A Dreadful Invasion (of the Feline Persuasion) rated G | 6K words

Most of the time, it’s easy for Harry to forget that Draco Malfoy is his next-door neighbour—until the night Malfoy seemingly goes round the twist in his back garden. Of course Harry has to investigate. A birthday gift for @caroll-in.

🍷 Under the Table rated T, 4K words

A string of nearly-insufferable dinner parties has made Draco acquainted with Harry Potter’s completely insufferable, social-climbing boyfriend. But tonight it seems like Potter’s finally had enough, and Draco’s more than happy to watch it all play out from across the table.

Microfics: Different  |  Thalassophile  |  Role play  | Careless |  Mama’s Gun  |  Raven  |  You Should Probably Leave  |  Afraid of the Dark  |  Eerie

WIP progress: I added about 25K to my Drarry retelling of Howl's Moving Castle. The working title is "Skybound" and it will be about 55 to 60K words when complete (by spring 2024, god help me!). Featuring: lots of banter, secret identities, adventures and misadventures in a floating house, a plucky house-elf, and (of course) a fire demon who wants to make a bargain.

9-1-1 fics, HP recs, and 2023 highlights under the cut!

9-1-1/Buddie

🌧️ It pours, man it pours rated T | 11K words

An endless rainstorm. A head-on collision on a dark canyon road. Eddie and Buck find themselves stranded with a woman in labor after they’re cut off from the rest of the 118 by a flash flood. With the fate of their team unknown, can they weather the night ahead—and mend the rift Buck caused by trying to kiss his best friend?

💣 A Few Good Pranks rated T | 4K words

The firefighters of the 118 decide to give Bobby a turn at pranking them after seeing how disappointed he was to be left out. And since two heads are better than one, why not three? Or four? If only they could figure out who's pranking and who isn't, and who the intended victim is. It's all in good fun, though—as long as everyone is too distracted to notice that Buck and Eddie keep sneaking off alone.

❤️‍🩹Let It Be Me rated T | 1.8K words

After another Buckley Family reunion-turned-disaster, Buck makes a decision about his parents. Of course the 118 has his back. Or, Bobby employs some LAFD equipment to help Buck out—and tell him something he needs to hear.

Episode codas/fix-it ficlets: 1x01 | 1x03 | 2x01 | 2x03 | 6x10 | 6x11 | 6x12 | 6x13 | 6x15

WIP progress: First chapter of a season 3/canon divergence Buddie fic. Featuring: angst with a happy ending, a secret marriage of convenience, and pandemic bed sharing.

HP Rec List

I was inspired by this post to rec twelve favorite fan works from 2023 in twelve days in December. It actually took fourteen days, but I did it!

💖 12 Favorites from 2023 💖

(after posting those twelve, of course I thought of a few more faves that I missed. I'll try to share them soon!)

2023 Highlights

I'm so very grateful for the wonderful, funny, imaginative people here who shared their creative works, the memes that made them laugh, photos of their pets, gif sets of shows I didn't know I needed to watch, and insights into the characters we love. You all got me through the year, honestly.

I had a good time doodling some Halloween treats for Inbox Trick-or-Treating. I hope it will become an annual Tumblr event! Thanks to the folks who rang my doorbell that night and the other blogs who gave out treats.

I truly treasured every kudos, comment, and rec I received this year. I was also very fortunate to receive a few special gifts:

🎙️ EllaMcSmellBella recorded a Podfic of "Spooked in Salem," my Drarry 'Round the World fic.

🎙️ Spades/bumblingbees recorded a Podfic of "Crimson Neon."

📕 @cheriecherishchen wrote a lovely rec for "Vortex" and designed gorgeous book covers for that fic and its sequel, "Riptide."

✏️ @saijordison drew this incredible piece of art for "Riptide."

And finally, if you read all the way to the end of this post, I'm grateful for YOU. 😁

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and an excellent 2024!

#2023 year in review #my writing #drarry #buddie

[ryanthel0ser]

Care to share some stuff about Howls Moving Castle? I haven’t been able to fully comprehend Howls dynamic/style/personality yet.

FINALLY I CAN ANSWER THIS ASK (midterm season is awful)

While book and movie Howl are very different I do think they share a lot of core traits that define both as Howl instead of it being two different characters.

Both Howls have a level of mischievousness to them and like to have fun at times when everyone else is distressed. We don't get to see it as much in the movie but the two most prominent moments are when they escaped Suliman and when Howl takes down the ship in the flower garden. You can see him making fun out of the situation and causing trouble in a way that feels akin to someone who would pull pranks or tease. This is inline with his book counterpart who we see get to be a menace and constantly pester and annoy Sophie, doing various antics both plot relevant and "I just want to be a menace today."

Both Howl's also have a lot of heart and care for others, although book Howl does not show it as much like his movie counterpart. The whole reason the pact is made between Calcifer and Howl was because Howl pitied the shooting stars because they died upon impact with the ground, and we see him take in people from the street like Sophie and Markl (or Michael in the book). The movie though has Howl's affection being more open and clear to the audience because we don't get to spend time just with the characters like we do in the book, book Howl puts on the "I don't care I'm gonna go be a womanizer now" front but by the end of the book when it's revealed he is in love with Sophie and has been his actions become much more obvious.

In terms of vanity, Howl is a vain person when it comes to his own appearance. We only get to see it through his hair freak out and his fashion in the movie, but in the book we get a lot more of it especially when he's trying to be a womanizer. Book Sophie in the second book Castle in the Sky states "And he's sly and selfish and vain as a peacock and cowardly, and you can't pin him down to anything" (which she doesn't say out of malice for him in the moment, they're literally looking for Howl in this scene and her and Howl already have a kid) so in the book it's undeniable. However, in the movie, the Howl we see is much more noble (something the author even stated) and we only get that one moment when it came to Suliman that shows any level of cowardice from Howl.

Overall, the major difference between the movie and book Howl is that book Howl is very clearly a bad boy womanizer with a heart of gold while movie Howl is more of a mysterious guy who's a little bad but still has that heart of gold. I do think that we could've seen more of the Howl from the book if the movie was longer and we got those months Sophie was just living with them, but that probably would've killed the animators and Miyazaki movies don't tend to have moments like that in the film.

Both Howls are down bad for Sophie from the very early on though and I think it's safe to say he knew Sophie was the old woman in the movie from the start like he does in the book. In the movie, he's been looking for Sophie because of what she tells him when she goes back in time and I believe that not long after he starts to get to know her as old lady Sophie he falls for her (the scene where he watches her sleep literally has a track called "Unspoken Love" so he had to be falling by then). In the book, he sees her and thinks she's pretty when they first meet but it takes a bit for him to fall for her once she's old Sophie and then he falls hard and going back through the book it becomes very clear that he did when you look at his actions instead of his behavior with Sophie. Him and Sophie in the book have the "arguing is their love language" dynamic.

I hope this was sufficient, feel free to ask more, this was what I could pull from the top of my very exhausted brain but I know I could delve a little bit more into Howl himself, I just need some leading questions to get the gears going :]

#responsibilities are taking me away from what's important and that's infodumping #the people need me this exam can wait /j #hmc #howls moving castle #sorry this took so long to respond adsjlf #i am currently writing this while trying to to fall over and go to sleep #college is no joke yall it seems easy but secretly drains you askljfd #howl's moving castle #howl pendragon #howl jenkins #howl jenkins pendragon #<- nearly forgot to add these aksjdf

[wellhalesbells]

Best of 2024 - Q1(ish)

✨✨ I forgot I told myself I was going to start doing this this year. A few people I follow do kind of a 'best of' thing and since I forget everything that happens almost immediately I thought: hey, that's a good idea for you, you should do that. So here I am with it sorta on time-ish \o/ ✨✨

Books

The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden. I tend to go into books with very little to no idea of what they're about (on purpose) so absolutely everything here was a surprise in the very best way. If I could've directed it, I would've directed it in exactly this way!

Voyage of the Damned, Frances White. This was such a lovely surprise?? I'm really enjoying these cross-genre books and this has to be the one that absolutely nailed both the best. It's a fantasy murder mystery and both are very involved - the world-building is excellent and the murder mystery is fun and terrifying in the best way!

Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt. I love books that like people, that prize connection, and that want to build community. Basically books that remind me that people are generally good and willing to try and that's this! Plus: octopus!

Empire of the Damned, Jay Kristoff. Empire of the Vampire was one of my favorite reads in 2022 (when I read it) and the sequel definitely lived up to its predecessor. The story is so compelling and the characters are so impossible not to fall in love with. Happily, this did not suffer from middle book syndrome: so much happened and so much moved forward.

Dinner on Monster Island, Tania de Rozario. I took this out at the library on a whim - it was available and it had a cool cover so I was in. I learned so much. I knew next to nothing about Singapore so everything to do with that blew my mind and Tania de Rozario's voice is wonderful, not to mention she connects so much of her life and surroundings to horror movies and that is a touchstone that I have in spades.

I should also special mention Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, which I adored.... though it did completely ruin the movie for me (which I had also never seen and watched a few days later), haha. Sophie is the catalyst for absolutely every single thing that happens in the book and Howl is useless and dramatic without her and to see her be so very ineffectual in the film (and have things that happened because of her be taken away from her) while Howl was so powerful was like.... wha??? It was beautiful animation but... yeah. And Stardust by Neil Gaiman, which was so enjoyable! It has that irreverent, this-might-as-well happen humor that I love in fantasies.

Comics/Mangas/Manhwas/Etc.

On of Off, Vols. 1-3, by A1. Um. Can I just say that I love when one of the characters in a queer couple is a big huge dude? I don't know, a few years ago a switch got flipped in my head and size difference is now VERY MUCH A THING for me. I don't really want a small dude, I just want a big huge dude and a normal-sized man. (Or a big huge woman and a normal-sized woman - see Cosmoknights, which.... I'm realizing now probably had something to do with the switch and its aforementioned flippiness) Voila! I also like when the big huge dude is like: I'm not really that into it and then falls hardcore in love and has a dramatic: "What in the actual fuck just happened?" moment. This and The Dangerous Convenience Store have that exact dynamic and I cannot stress enough I could read it 100,000 more times and not get tired of it.

Saga, Volume 11, by Brian K. Vaughan. Just bring back Marko. Like, just do it. Every time it teases me with it, I want it more. Bring him back, gimme, I want. I remain in love with this series but, crap, does it just want to rip my heart out every chance it gets.

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter, Volume 4, Kazuki Irodori. This is my shit. It's a fantasy world that a completely ordinary corporate worker is sucked into and he ends up entirely reorganizing the structure of their accounting department so it a) actually functions and b) is accountable (ha). However, he has no resistance to "magicules" and the best way to acclimate him to all the magic that constantly surrounds him is for him to have sex with a very attractive soldier. Like, that's just brilliant writing is what that is, no notes. I love it, it wins all the things. (It's based on a novel that they only just began releasing in English and the comic is the superior version for me at this moment in time.)

Cherry Magic!, Vols. 9-10, by Yuu Toyota. I cannot believe I'm still so invested despite the fact that the original hook for this manga has disappeared and it's essentially just a very domestic, slice of life story now but it's just so nice to see them both happy and married and together?? So the original plot of this was there's essentially some old wives' tale that if you're a virgin at thirty you get magic powers. Cue Adachi turning thirty and he can suddenly read people's minds when he touches them and finds out through this power that his coworker, Kurosawa, is in love with him. It's a really cute, fun series and I am happy for it to go on forever. (Also, they made an anime out of it this year and it's stupid cute. There is also a live action series that I haven't watched yet.)

Therapy Game Restart, Vols. 1-3, by Meguru Hinohara. So, Minato is pile of endless insecurities in a trenchcoat and Shizuma is his confused but calm partner and it turns out I am really into that? Consistently surprised by how much I am into that but I am, in fact, into that.

Special mention to The Third Ending by Chobom - I really hope this is getting an official printing at some point because I am in love with it and I will buy the fuck out it (the fact that it's behind a digital paywall right now is the only reason this isn't number one). It is so exactly, specifically to my tastes it's ridiculous. So the idea here is Joon confesses his feelings to Yoonseul in high school, when he doesn't know him too well but likes what he sees, and Yoonseul turns him down a little harshly (he was mad at someone else and was a little less careful with his words than he would've been otherwise). Yoonseul starts having bad days on nights when he dreams of that memory and the two meet again and start hanging out so Yoonseul can assuage his conscience. They become really close friends and they end up drunkenly kissing, Yoonseul knows it's a mistake and Joon overhears him talking about it to a friend and how much he regrets it. Joon confesses his feelings again and Yoonseul, again, turns him down because he can't imagine anything physical happening between them. That should be the end of it. Except, very slowly, Yoonseul realizes he is completely in love with Joon and he's fucked this thing up to high heaven. Cue my absolute FAVORITEST dynamic - the chasee becoming the chaser.

TV

Fisk (s1-2), Netflix. This is an Australian comedy about probate lawyers and if you're on the fence about it watch the episode with the Popovitches (season 1, episode 3). I very nearly peed my pants.

Only Murders in the Building (s3), Hulu. Okay, I'm a big fan of musicals and it's not a love I indulge very often so when I do watch them, I tend to get way too into them. (Yes, I bought this album immediately.) I adored this season and I adored Howard - making him a series regular was ingenious.

The Righteous Gemstones (s3), Max. This season was so good. This show in general is so freaking good but I really loved this season. This family is so genuinely fucked up but to get to the last episode and have them rise to the occasion and figure out their brand of love was so satisfying. And I do adore that they tried to copy other functional families they saw before realizing that was just never going to work for them.

Mr. Villain's Day Off (s1), Crunchyroll. Okay, I love this manga and the show is so exactly this manga. Like, I've reblogged a ton of shot for shot comparisons so when I say 'same,' I mean 'same.' The entire idea is this monstrous alien bent on destroying the world enshrines his days off with reverence and diligence - he's just a normal guy, obsessed with pandas, who's only evil at work, thank you very much. It's just so silly and weirdly heart-warming?

Girls5Eva (s3), Netflix. There's something about Renee Elise Goldsberry for me that is magnetic. I love everything about her, I love getting to watch her do comedy, I love hearing her sing, I love her character. Also, the singing? I've mentioned how I am weak for the singing, yes?? (Yes, I have these albums too.)

Minx (Starz) was also really, really good but I wish it hadn't been canceled prematurely! It definitely wasn't finished, y'know, and it was so unfortunate to end it with Doug on the wrong side of things - I want to see the resolution, dammit!

Movies

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022). I haven't laughed at a movie like this in a long time. I've watched it twice so far this year; I went home two weeks ago and made my dad watch it with me and tears were streaming down our faces by the end. Pedro Pascal should never not be doing comedy because he was made for it.

Bottoms (2023). This is so exactly my sense of humor? The ridiculousness of this was just *chef's kiss* Also more Ayo Edibiri in everything.

Talk to Me (2022). I had been waiting for this movie to get onto some streaming platform so I could watch it and I think the best compliment I could give it is that I wanted to watch it again the next day. Great horror, great resolution!

John Wick 4. I expected this to feel so long and bloated and yet it didn't at all. I was invested the whole time and I think it helps that I watch action films, like, once every three years so these feel like fun little treats more than anything.

Nate Bargatze: The Tennessee Kid. There's a joke in here that I relate to so hard it's almost embarrassing. Talking about ordering coffee, he goes: "If you could just do whatever you think it is and if it's wrong, I won't even tell you, how about that, I will walk out of here as if that's exactly what I ordered. I will go outside, I will throw it away, and go try again at a different Starbucks." That is exactly how I would handle that and this entire special is filled with that. I giggled so hard.

Also, special mention to Taylor Tomlinson's specials Look at You and Have It All. I love how honest she is on stage and how open she is with her audience. It's rare to have that and I think it feels so special because it is.

See you all again in Q2 (ish, probably, lbr) *salutes*

#ummm don't read or watch illegally *wink wink* #but do utilize your local library! #since i don't have a legal way i read the third ending i didn't link it lolol #but here it is the #best of the best #(for me specifically) #2024 #also all the streaming platform things are us-based so sorry if i lead you to something that doesn't exist there for you :(

[haruniki]

Movie Night- CSM

What your fav is choosing for movie night!- Power, Kobeni, Reze, Asa/Yoru, Quanxi(+the gfs), Makima, and Himeno

a/n: first post that i am making from a computer waaaahhh, sorry if it’s bad lol I watched some movies today and i wanted to share what I think some of the characters from CSM would watch! I hope you guys enjoy, also trying to branch out writing some of the characters so there's a bit more in this one i think. Also all movies choosen are just ones that i think they would watch, these are also mostly movies I’ve watched! some of these movie choices suck/are probs overused

POWER:

Power has a very versatile list of movies that she wants to watch every single time

Getting to watch a movie dates are most likely her reward from you for bathing or being good

Power’s pick of a good movie are mostly likely horror movies. The more gorey the better, the more blood shown the better as well.

Always laughing at the horrific scenes

Doesn’t like horror movies where the people have to go through elaborate puzzles to live. Power finds those boring and way to long. (Definitely not disliking Saw)

Power’s go to movie is Texas Chainsaw Massacre! It reminds her of Denji and she likes taking notes of what’s going on then asking Denji if he’s able to do the things that were in the movie.

While watching the movie, Power is really invested! Finds the movies very interesting. Holds Meowy up to see the screen while asking Meowy questions.

“Meowy, don’t you think the movie is interesting? Oh wow! Look at him chopping up that human! Weaklings! I would never be killed in such a way.”

KOBENI:

Kobeni likes movies that have a nice storyline and cute characters!

When she’s able to, Kobeni always choosen a movie that makes her feeling happy! She’s most likely choosing a Studio Ghibli film or a popular romance film!

Howl’s Moving castle is one of Kobeni’s favorite movies to watch on her days off. She likes to be able to be in her pajamas while laying either on the couch or on the bed cuddling with you. Maybe even having a snack or two nearby.

She loves pointing out detail in the scene as well as repeating some of the lines that she knows by heart, though she’ll get embarrassed if you tease her about it.

Kobeni especially loves it when you remember little facts that she tells you about the movie!

“uhh, I know it’s not in the movie, but Sophie.. Sophie actually has powers in novel! I really think they could’ve added it in the movie but I suppose it makes the movie storyline move better. AH! Sorry, I was rambling!”

Kobeni’s favorite character is Turnip Head! She finds Turnip Head helping Sophie along in her adventures adorable!

REZE:

Action Movies with a bit of romance!

While it might be a bit cheesy, Reze likes movies that have both action and some romance. She think it’s nice that throughout all the violence that occurs that the main character and their love interest can still fall in love.

Her top movie of this kinda of movie is Divergent. 

She likes the main character and finds the storyline exciting and interesting.

Definitely read the book series and liked it just as much, maybe even better than movie itself.

Likes explaining niche details in the movie, maybe slightly spoiling the movie/book itself.

“So in this scene, you can see that she’s about to get a tattoo, but your gonna wanna notice the kind of tattoo it is! This will be important for later in the movie and- Heyy (y/nn) are ya listening?”

definitely looks up the actors to see what other movies/shows they’re apart of 

Reze also nit picks certain parts of the movie and how they differ from the book 

ASA/Yoru

Asa doesn’t really watch movies. I see her watching more documentaries than movies.

Likes watching documentaries with you on different topics from oceanic life to ancient greece life.

Doesn’t really talk during these moments you both are watching, but will pause to discuss part of it with you or to correct the speaker about how the information they said was slightly incorrect. (mostly does that during oceanic documentaries)

“I disagree with what they said. While yes you can eat starfish, you have to be careful. A large handful of starfish are poisonous and it’s dangerous to eat them. You can differentiate between them though but that would involve you having to do your own research about such a topic. I don’t see you having to eat those anytime soon, plus if you did-”

Asa is always proud when you praise her for knowing so much. Even offering to teach you a bit more as a study date!

Yoru doesn’t really watch movies or anything but does also like documentaries. Specifically, about weaponry or even wars.

Watching the weaponry documentaries provides her with more ideas for weapons. Likes to also watch the clips of the weapons being made.

War documentaries are a bit different with Yoru though. She oddly proud of them and wishes for you to praise her for them, going so far as to slightly nudge you to hopefully prompt you to compliment such awful events.

“Y’know, I’m the one who cause all of that. Such memorable events came from me! It’s shame that nobody else seems to remember them, ah! But you can boast about how your dating someone so powerful if you wish.”

You might have to explain why those aren’t boastful events even if she pouts.

QUANXI(+the gfs):

Quanxi doesn’t choose what movie is being watched. She usually lets you and the other girls choose. 

However, it isn’t unusually for her to be a tie breaker for a movie. Depending on the movie and her mood, she’ll choose whichever she feels more like watching.

These can range from a horror movie (Cosmo’s choice being Halloween) to mystery movies (Pingsti choice being Where the Crawdads Sing) 

Quanxi usually chooses the movie of whoever she hasn’t been paying more attention to. 

A cuddle pile always occurs during the movies in which almost everyone falls asleep.

Snacks are also always present during these movie nights too. A whole buffet of choices

Quanxi most likely feeds one of the girls and the rest then all ask to be fed there choice of snack

“Eveyone got to eat there snack right? Oh (y/n), c’mere, you got a little somethin’ on your mouth.”

This leads to movie getting completely forgot, sometimes it’s a wonder why a movie night is even held.

MAKIMA:

While a bit of a mystery, one thing that’s for certain about Makima is her love for films.

Makima loves having movies night, especially when you choose then film. She likes to know the reasoning behind your choice. 

Are you sad or mad? Perhaps in a mood for laughs? Romantic movies perhaps you wish for something to happen throughout the movie?

Whatever the reason is, Makima enjoys watching you pick movies.

Makima usually chooses films that might make no sense or that have an artsy way of videography. Though she usually doesn’t say anything or show much emotion during the film

Makima doesn’t really have a favorite film. She likes ones that can make her feel emotions that she might not normally.

A film I believe Makima might genuinely like is Titanic. While an old movie and probably over used movie, it still has a nice storyline and pretty visuals.

“This movie is quite interesting. Were you interested in the romantic aspect of the film or perhaps the tragedy that was the boat sinking? Truly an interesting event, yes?”

Whatever the movie choice is, Makima is sure to even slightly enjoy even if it isn’t something she likes or usually watches.

HIMENO:

On the days that Himeno isn’t working or out drinking with her friends in the division, Himeno enjoys watching movies all day in her pajamas while eating either take out or whatever she has in her house with you.

She always welcome a nice laugh, so comedy movies are definitely her favorites.

Himeno especially likes movies that feature Adam Sandler

Whether that be Grown Ups or Hotel Transylvania, she doesn’t mind.

Loves quote random lines even if the lines are cringey.

Will probably watch any/all comedy movies the she can get her hands on. As long as she can get a good laugh she’s fine with it!

Definitely calls you to tell you that she bought five new movies that you both just have to watch right that moment.

“ Okay so before you come home, head to the convivence store near our place and buy an assload of snacks, OH! And drinks, can’t forget those, No need to grab any beer, i think there’s already some in the fridge. See you at home, ‘kay?”

Overall, Himeno is probably chill with whatever kind of movie you want to watch, but prefers things with comedy or atleast a comedic relief.

#kobeni watches cute movies bc she's cute #i'm so tired rn #csm x reader #csm kobeni #csm power #csm quanxi #csm reze #csm asa mitaka #csm yoru #csm makima #chainsaw man x reader #x fem!reader #x gn reader #kobeni #csm kobeni x reader #csm power x reader #makima x reader #csm asa mitaka x reader #quanxi x reader #reze x reader #yoru x reader #chainsaw man power x reader #chainsaw man Kobeni x reader #chainsaw man makima #this should be enough tags right????

[alpaca-clouds]

I really wish people would differentiate

Honestly, I think one of the things that makes a lot of fandom culture and what not so toxic is the unableness and unwillingness of people to differentiate between "I like this", "This is good" and "People who made this were good people".

Yes, I chose the Howl's Moving Castle gif for a reason. Because it is one of those examples for me. The movie is messy from a storytelling perspective. The movie is also quite bad if you see it as an adaption. Yes, the book is so much better and I adore that darn book series. But also: I love the movie to bits. I just love it. The atmosphere. The characters. Himbo Howl. The soundtrack. Just everything. I adore it. And to me this is not that much of a challenge to think about all of that at once.

But... yeah, fandom discourse often does not work like that, does it? There is a lot of "I like it, therefore it is great and everyone involved with it is an amazing person!" going on. Or "I dislike it, therefore it is bad and everyone involved with it is a scheming villain".

And you see it in so many regards. Be it: "This media disagrees with me politically, therefore it artistically bad". Or: "I like this actor and his roles, therefore he cannot be a rapist." Or: "I love this book and the adaption does not do it justice, hence everyone who made it wanted to attack me personally."

Meanwhile I am sitting there and feeling anxious whenever I criticize something I actually like, because I always gotta fear that some fans are gonna attack me about it, because who am I to dare criticize it.

You know, I really did like Witcher 2 and Witcher 3 as games. I still think there are some issues with the games and that the games really are bad adaptions of the books.

I absolutely do think that Digimon Universe Applimon is not really well written and has way too many filler episodes. Yet, it still very much is my second favorite Digimon season.

I can acknowledge that Christorpher Nolan makes movies that are really good on a technical level - but I still hate each and everyone of those fucking things.

And yes, I absolutely do see that the Fast & Furious movies are brainless, dumb and not even very well done technically. But I have rewatched them more times than I can count.

Also, yes, I am gonna enjoy Castlevania to bits, even though Warren Ellis is a horrible human being and should see some fucking consequences for what he did.

Oh, and also, I absolutely hate Zac Snyder and the movies he makes and think that no matter whether intentionally or not they have some horrible politics. But I also can admit that he seems to be a pretty alright guy, who cares a lot about the people around them and is very fun to work with.

Why is that so hard for people to do? Why? Why can they not distinguish between personal likes or dislikes and... you know... Quality? Or morality? These are different things. You can like something and still think it is pretty darn bad. Just as you can dislike something and admit it is actually darn good.

I mean, dumb example, but: I do love eating at McDonalds from time to time, and you can absolutely get me to leave by serving almost anything from the French cuisine. I will still readily admit that the latter is the better quality food AND also more healthy.

#rant #frustrated #rant post #differentiate #howl's moving castle #you are allowed to like bad things

[sensitiveheartless]

*kicks down your door*

The newest chapter of Dazai’s Moving Detective Agency is so fucking good it is now my fave chapter I did not expect THAT to be the solution to the heart thing. Also the Akutagawa and Atsushi thing was Goddamn hilarious.

*Shakes your hand, fixes the door, and leaves.*

HULLO oh my gosh I'm sorry this took me so long to respond to alskdfjskfjs this ask was one of the ones that kept disappearing and reappearing in my browser inbox for some reason — ANYWAY YESSS (I want to talk about spoilers for chapter 19 so I'm gonna put them under the cut :0)

Ok so the heart thing! I wanted to mention that I remember seeing your comment where you theorized about how maybe the heart thing would be solved by Chuuya and Dazai kissing or saying "I love you" for the first time, and that maybe they could metaphorically share a heart between them, and the way you wrote it sounded so nice and romantic and lovely and while I was reading it I was internally just thinking "oh no" because of how it was actually going to go XD

In retrospect I really did have Chuuya solve it in the most brute force way possible aksdjfksfjks — speaking of that scene though, it did change a bit from the way I had originally planned it! Since I wrote the story back to front, I figured out the ending first, then the middle, then went back to the beginning and worked forward from there — so as a result, by the time I got back to the ending, a bunch of character stuff had changed.

Basically, in my first draft, Chuuya was going to get out of the chasm, find Dazai in the castle ruins, tell Yosano "before you say anything I know this is very medically inadvisable", then immediately pull his own heart out of his chest and split it in half (much to the utter horror of everyone watching). I was kind of hand-waving the magic aspect at that point, figuring "well, he's a star with a shit-ton of magic, he can probably survive doing wild stuff like that".

...But then I started writing everything out from the beginning, and added all the stuff with Chuuya learning not to shut out the people who care about him and to let them help him when he's in trouble, and in the process of really digging into his character arc I realized that I had made it so that him acting on his own like that would have been rolling back the character development I had already given him aksjdfksdfjskj SO I thought about it for a looong time and gradually figured out how to incorporate Rimbaud, Yosano, Kyouka, and the rest into all helping out in their own ways. And I ended up liking that version way better, since it fits more with the theme of support and the importance of all Chuuya's bonds he's made along the way, so I think it was worth the extra effort in the end!

...It still is a very brute-force way to solve it though XD Chuuya has a very straight forward approach to everything ksjfkdsj

ANYWAY that was a long ramble — I'm also really glad you enjoyed the Akutagawa and Atsushi shenanigans, I ended up having way too much fun with that part :D Their interactions are actually pretty similar to how I initially planned everything out (that end part where Dazai and Chuuya are completely wrapped up in each other while everything is spiraling out of control around them is heavily inspired by the ending of the book version of Howl's Moving Castle, and I had most of the dialogue for it figured out from the beginning).

...Honestly, considering how out of order I wrote it, I'm surprised I didn't have to scrap more scenes. As it is, the only things that really ended up getting changed/scrapped were:

A part of chapter 11 (in particular, the bit where Chuuya and Dazai talk after Dazai brings Akutagawa and Kyouka to the castle was originally a very different tone, because Chuuya was not supposed to have gotten as far along his "realizing he has feelings for Dazai" arc)(I do still kinda like the original version for the comedy aspect, but I like the way the final version fits with their relationship progression better)

A scene where Dazai was going to get drunk, which had to be scrapped entirely (I was basing it off of the book scene where Howl gets drunk and goes on a rant about the curse, but I ended up deciding that it a), made things way too obvious, and b), Chuuya should have absolutely figured everything out from what Dazai said and I didn't want to make Chuuya seem like a moron)

The final confrontation between Chuuya, Dazai, and Fyodor changed a LOT. I rewrote that scene. So many times. Similar to the Chuuya-pulling-out-his-heart-scene, there was a bit in my original draft that ended up being very out of character for Dazai because of how his and Chuuya's relationship had developed in the rest of the story, so I had to completely switch around how they got into the chasm in the first place. I again think it was worth the effort though, because I think where it landed (Dazai completely losing control of the situation and having to trust Chuuya to save them both) was more interesting for Dazai's arc as well.

Anyway, all that said— I've had a really really good time writing this fic, and I'm happy other people have enjoyed it too!! (And hopefully I can actually finish chapter 20 soon aksdjfksdj things keep getting in the way of it help)

#I am also so excited about the idea I got for the sequel aksdjfksdjfks but it's going to require a lot of planning #without giving too much away it's going to involve several season 4 characters #but yeah thanks for the lovely ask!! sorry again it took so long for me to respond aksjfksfj #howl's moving castle au #ask box

[smalltownfae]

Top 10 Favourite Middle Grade Books

I say middle grade, but I am including young YA too and at least one that is categorized as for children. Either way, this is my current top favourite books for younger audiences (I would say before the age of 15). I have read some of these many years ago and I haven’t reread them since so this is according to my memory of the feelings I had at the time. It is bound to change as I read more books. I don’t read many books for younger audiences nowadays, but I think they are charming and I have a soft spot for those published before the 00s because it feels nostalgic to me somehow.

1 - Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

This is one of my favourite books in general. It would be in my top 10 favourite books of all time because I love the Howl, Sophie and the humour so much. I’ve watched the studio ghibli adaptation first and even though I thought it was beautiful visually I ended up thinking the story just ok and I found it weird that the second half was so much different from the first half of the movie. A few years later, a friend that loves Realm of the Elderlings made me attempt the book and since we have many media tastes in common I did. It was the best decision ever because I completely loved it. The characters have so much more personality and the story makes much more sense.

The book is about Sophie’s character growth, but Howl feels as equally important. It is very funny and I love the banter between the two main characters, but it’s also very creative and a little bit mysterious. It’s such an incredibly well plotted story about making your own destiny and finding your own power and it’s also about family and caring for others. It’s just a very charming book that I read 3 times already even though I read it for the first time only 3 years ago or so. It’s also really short so that helps.

“If I give you a hint and tell you it's a hint, it will be information.”  

2 - The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

I read this series of 5 books last year and this year I finished the short story collection. This series feels very nostalgic to me because it has many classic fantasy tropes. It’s a coming of age story about a boy named Taran that wants to go on adventures, but when he finds himself in the middle of that he just longs to go home and it’s also a story about magic leaving the world and the pain of those who left and those who stay. A very classic tale with some similarities to Lord of the Rings, beautifully told and it feels very cosy. It’s also inspired by Welsh mythology and it has morals woven into it for children, but done in a clever way.

I know I watched the Disney adaptation titled the Black Cauldron once as a kid, but I don’t remember anything about it because I didn’t care for the movie. From what I’ve heard they made a mess of trying to combine the first two books and it lost the charm of the source material.

“There is much to be known… and above all much to be loved, be in the turn of the seasons or the shape of a river pebble. Indeed, the more we find to love, the more we add to the measure of our hearts.”

3 - The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip

This is the only McKillip book I read that I think is suited  for younger audiences. The other ones feel like older YA to me. A friend made me see the similarities this book has with Howl’s Moving Castle in terms of plot, but this book is not as funny. It is sad and sometimes melodramatic. It follows a young girl that lost her father to the sea as she gets involved in the mystery surrounding a prince. The girl works at an inn near the sea and I found the setting very cosy. The story is magical and tackles the subjects of greed, identity and family.

A lot of McKillip’s books feel like original fairy tales and are told in a lyrical prose. This is one of the most straight forward and easy to follow out of all her books.

“I don’t know what to do. What must I do? I belong to the sea and it will not let me in, and I cannot bear this land and it will not let me go.”

4 - The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

I enjoy the movie (which I once again watched many years before I read this), but I like the book more. The writing style is beautiful and the story, much like McKillip’s books, feels like an original fairy tale. It follows a unicorn that overhears that she is the last of her kind so she goes on an adventure to see if that’s true. She finds some companions along the way and there is an evil guy. On the surface, it’s a traditional fantasy story, but it has some little changes that make it more interesting. Once again, it’s a story about identity (I really like those) and can be a bit melodramatic.

“Take me with you. For laughs, for luck, for the unknown. Take me with you.”  

5 - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

This book could be higher if it wasn’t for Mr. Toad. I really didn’t like him or the plot around him, but I love everything else so much that it is still currently in 5th place. The writing in this is really pretty and charming and the animal characters are adorable for the most part. I don’t even tend to like books about anthropormorphic animals, but since this one worked so well for me that I want to try more of those.

This is a story about the lives of four wood creatures. That’s it. It doesn’t seem like much, but I always enjoyed slice of life and scenes where the characters just talk and reveal bits of themselves so this was great. There is a lot of thinking about having a home and if it would be more fullfilling to stay in one place or to go on an adventure.

This book is put in all the cottagecore recommendation lists and for a good reason. It’s really nice and comfortable like a warm blanket (if you forget Mr. Toad exists, that is).

“Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.”  

6 - His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

So, this could be higher if the two books that followed the first one were as good. The first one is still my favourite, but I still enjoyed the other two (especially one particular scene in the last book). The first one was the only book in this trilogy to make me tear up though and books that make me cry usually get on the top of my lists. It’s just the way it is. I don’t think this one needs an introduction. The themes about religion are cool and I love Lyra and her mother.

Once again, I watched the movie first and I didn’t hate it (which seems to be an unpopular opinion). A few years after I decided to try the books because someone reminded me of their existence and they were pretty good. This placement in the top is mostly due to that first one though.

“The idea hovered and shimmered delicately, like a soap bubble, and she dared not even look at it directly in case it burst. But she was familiar with the way of ideas, and she let it shimmer, looking away, thinking about something else.”  

7 - The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco

This is probably the book I read the longest time ago on this list, except from the one in 10th place. All I remember about it is that the Velveteen Rabbit wanted so much to be a real rabbit and that it made me cry. I definitely need to reread it, but I remember really really liking it at the time.

“You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”  

8 - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I only read the first one and I am unsure if I will ever continue. If I do I will have to reread it. I remember really liking it, but it had heavy religious messages here and there.  The tv show improved upon it. Still, it had a pretty writing style and the characters were really charming. I loved Anne and her adoptive “parents”, Diana and Gilbert. This is also another book that would fit in cottagecore lists. It has a similar atmosphere to The Wind in the Willows.

“People laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas, you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?”  

9 - Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I remember the movie more than I remember the book, to be honest. I know that there were differences between the original and the adaptation but I only remember a few things. This was an interesting creepy tale and I liked it a bit more than The Graveyard Book so here it is. I need to reread this one soon.

“Now you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names.”

10 - The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I haven’t read this one since primary school. I remember really liking it though and there was a fox in it, which was enough for child me. It had some really cute messages about connecting with others and I remember vaguely that every planet the little prince talked about had his own moral message, but I only remember the greed one. This is another book I want to reread soon.

“In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contradictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.”  

#top 10 favourite books #top middle grade books #howl's moving castle #the chronicles of prydain #the last unicorn #the changeling sea #the wind in the willows #the little prince #coraline #anne of green gables #his dark materials #the velveteen rabbit #andi recs

[inun4ki]

TAG NINE PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER!

I. favourite colours: purple, black, mostly cooler shades ! teal's a pretty big one, it's what i usually dye my hair

II. favourite flavours: lychee, green apple, blue raspberry, white chocolate, banana, cookies & cream, pumpkin pie, um... i have a lot r.i.p.

III. favourite genres: dark fantasy, high fantasy, supernatural anything, and romance !

IV. favourite music: i listen to all kinds of music, but i'm very very big on metal, indie, hip hop, and trap ig. used to be just straight up indie rock and emo, but i've expanded my horizons quite a bit. if ever you wanna trade music, i'm game !

V. favourite movies: i have so many ! but i suppose the ones i like best are LOTR, Howl's Moving Castle, The Cat Returns, John Wick, The Devil's Candy, FF7:AC, Scream...etc. my favorite genre is horror though. huge horror buff.

VI. favourite series: MHA, JJK, Chainsaw Man, Inuyasha, Samurai Champloo, um... that i can think of right now, in terms of anime. games are a different story, but that list is too damn long; DMC, Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, The Witcher, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame - deadass there's too many i love to choose just one.

VII. last song: i can't read or type cyrillic, but this song by ghostemane

VIII. last series: mmm that i watched? The Boys

IX. last movie: some documentary i can't remember the name of tbh

X. currently reading: the guardians of the flame series for the thousandth time. came out in the 80s so a bit of a product of its time, but it's an excellent series. all the main characters are deeply, deeply flawed and there's some unfortunately realistic grit in there. the author also doesn't beat around the bush - very ' to the point ' style of writing. i think there's...8 books? in total. or 11. idk there's quite a few

XI. currently watching: my partner play Elden Ring

XII. currently working on: a very, very long wip that i'll never finish. it's at 140k+ words so far, but i think the characters got away from me a bit and i'm not sure how to reel them back in. it's very ambitious, lots of stuff going on there, lots of angst. but it's become unsatisfying to write as of late

Tagged: @ratiosalaryman & @circusmxnkeys tysm ! Tagging: whoever would like !

#死/// Mun. #long /

[novelmonger]

Book Review: The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry

Quote that should have been on the back of the book: "Magic isn't there to be hoarded like dragon's treasure. Magic is kind. It comes into the world to help. Our job is to make sure it gets to where it needs to go."

Premise: Set in the early twentieth century, sixteen-year-old Biddy has lived her entire life on Hy-Brasil, an island off the coast of Ireland shrouded in enchantment and inhabited by rabbits. She has been raised from infancy by the mage Rowan, who travels to the mainland by night in the form of a raven, accompanied by his familiar, a spirit named Hutchincroft who takes the form of a rabbit. Biddy's whole life consists of reading in Rowan's extensive library and exploring the island, but one day everything familiar is thrown into turmoil when Rowan doesn't return home. Soon, she strikes out into the world she has only read about, to rescue her adoptive father and maybe even restore the magic that is fading away from the world.

Thoughts: After The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, I had high hopes for this book, and it didn't disappoint. While I think I prefer Uriah Heep because it's a story about stories and focuses on two brothers (both things I have a particular weakness for), this was still a riveting, emotionally engaging read. I grew to love all of the characters (especially Hutchincroft) very quickly, not least because Biddy is well-read and often relates her experiences back to her favorite books--many of which are classics that I've loved and read myself! I could definitely see H.G. Parry's fingerprints all over that ;) Ultimately, this story is about the relationship of a father and daughter, and it's so sweet and so strong, I love it :')

I found this book to be a real page-turner. I read it over the course of a couple days, and while that was primarily because one of those days was spent sitting in a very boring waiting room, I think the plot would pull me along regardless of the circumstances. There's always another secret, and every time I made a prediction about how things were going to turn out, I ended up being wrong about it, in the best possible way. Characters I started out hating because they were selfish and cruel ended up being sympathetic or at least understandable. Those I trusted as whole-heartedly as Biddy herself were revealed to be more dishonest than I would ever have guessed. It really does serve the coming-of-age story Parry weaves, because isn't that what it's like to grow up? The things we relied on or took for granted turn out to be much more complicated than we ever realized, and navigating the world is fraught with perils we never imagined when reading about them in books.

But what I loved above all was how Parry ended the book. It was very satisfying to see things come to fruition, to watch Biddy find the strength to do what needed to be done even though she isn't a mage and thus might be discounted as a threat. I felt that every character got what they deserved, good and bad, and the triumph of the ending wasn't spoiled at all by them facing realistic ramifications for what they'd been through. The book could easily have ended a chapter earlier than it did, but then we wouldn't get to see the characters that have been through so much figuring out how to go about their lives now that everything has changed. It was realistic, but not in such a way that sucked all the magic out. The characters will suffer pain after all the trauma they went through, and they'll have to learn how to navigate a new life so different from the sheltered status quo of the beginning of the book. But there is hope. There is a future. And they have each other. That's what's important, and I just love that Parry emphasizes that.

P.S. I happened upon a review that described this book as a mix of Howl's Moving Castle and The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and I think that's a brilliantly apt description. So if any of this sounds appealing to you, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Magician's Daughter!

P.P.S. This book also has the distinction of being the only one to have ever made me cry over a character talking about chocolate chip biscuits and bacon :')

#book thoughts #the magician's daughter #hg parry

[romeulusroy]

hello! i would like to request a ship, if that’s okay! my name is caitlin , and i am biromantic + asexual. pronouns are she/her. i am 5’9, brown hair and brown eyes. i think the people i usually go for are the ones who can make me smile and sort of get me out of my own head- I’m a very inner-focused sort of person, so when someone actually makes me want to engage with them and can make me smile and laugh, it’s something that i really value. one of my biggest insecurities is probably my weight, im a little on the heavier side and that is something that has really hindered me mentally in the past, though i have been becoming more accepting of myself and my body recently. i love painting and reading and writing, like i would definitely say im a quality time kind of gal and would love to do these things with my partner. i also love graphic design. favorite book is this is how you lose the time war and favorite movie is howl’s moving castle. i absolutely love dogs (specifically bichons), hate spiders (and just bugs in general). i hope this is enough, thank you so much in advance!!

Hi my love! I ship you with: Greg Hirsch!!!

He loves your body. He knows that you can be insecure about your body, your weight especially, but he doesn't see a single flaw. You're perfect just the way you are, and he needs you to know that. He's very touchy, very affectionate, wanting you to know that he loves every part of you, even the ones you don't particularly love or even like. He hates when you get down on yourself, when your thoughts stop you from doing something or wearing something because you don't think you should. He also loves your laugh. Greg is a pretty awkward guy, so whether or not he's trying to joke around, people genuinely laugh at him. He doesn't really mind, as long as they're happy. But you? Greg would slip on a banana peel and fall on his ass if it meant he got to hear your laugh again. It's music to his ears. The sound of your laugh, especially when it's with him or after he's made a joke, makes the blood rush to his face. He's always trying to bring you out of your shell like that.

You love his height. Greg is so tall so it makes him a bit awkward, a bit gangly. He doesn't mean to show it off so much, but he can't help it when you need a book off the highest shelf. He's more than happy to get it for you. His hugs are the best, he's all arms. You feel small and protected walking with him, enjoying the height difference. He looks great once he finds a suit that actually fits. Before, without your help, the seams ended at his ankles and wrists. With your help though, he finally has a closet full of clothes that fit.

Your relationship is funny. Greg brings you out of your shell so easily, effortlessly. In doing so, you share all your greatest loves with him. You watch your favorite movie under a blanket with a bucket of popcorn. It takes him forever, but he does read your favorite book so you can talk about it. He sends you lots of bichon puppy videos throughout the day, even when he's supposed to be hard at work. You spend a lot of time together just doing simple thing: reading, cooking, doing separate things on your phones in the same room. There's no need to fill the silence, it's a comfortable kind of quiet.

Your first date isn't actually a date. You started talking at a work event, neither of you too thrilled about the amount of people stuffed into Logan's home. You get talking about work, co-workers, the boss and his crazy family. It's there that he falls in love with your laugh, that he falls for you. You both know that it wasn't really a first date, but by the end you were both so nervous it basically felt like it.

Relationship Headcanon: Greg absolutely takes care of the spiders for you. He's not afraid of them at all. He thinks they're kinda cute, even. He usually just cups them in his hands and lets them go outside, waving goodbye to his new friend. He thinks it's cute that you're scared of them, funny, though he knows better than to hold them up to you and show them. He names them all too, assuring you that Frank and Dan and Steve would never, ever hurt you.

Hope you like it! 💜💜💜

#greg hirsch #kaitbishop-ships #ships are closed!

[mikarchive2]

books i read in march 2023 📚

( trying the read more thing for the first time ever cause this is so long hope it works 💖 )

1. the hurting kind by ada limón - ★★★★★ - goddamn it, i really cant decide between four and five stars here . but at the end of the day, even though i cant say i loved every single poem, the collection as a whole is so full of life and defiant grace i just cant resist rounding up . ada limón has to be one of the best nature poets ive read so far ( cant wait to reread some of these poems outside when spring begins to feel like spring ), and also one of the few who can truly make this blunt and direct writing style work . if i were to talk about every poem i enjoyed, id be here all day but shout out to foaling season specifically that one hit me almost physically

2 + 3. the sandman: the kindly ones ( vol. 9 ) + the sandman: the wake ( vol. 10 ) by neil gaiman - all the stars in space . to me - if i loved it less, i might be able to talk about it more . shrimp emotions dont even begin to describe everything these last two volumes make me feel . i say this all the time though + there is not much else i can say without spoiling things, so . i dont know . just read it . the one thing i want everyone to take from this blog is that they should read it

4. panics by barbara molinard - ★★★★ - i think i found this thanks to lees ( stephaniesays1968 ) storygraph ... one of the instances in which the story behind how something was written is almost more interesting than the writing itself . barbara molinard was known for destroying her work and this is the only book she ever published - and being aware of that does make the stories even more haunting . or haunted perhaps . very madwoman in the attic, very surrealistic, recommending this to those who enjoy kafka and shirley jackson

favourites: the plane from santa rosa, the fathers apartment, untitled ( isolated fragments, liberty ), taxi, the sponge, im alone and its night, the vault

5. serious concerns by wendy cope - ★ - i expected this collection to have roughly the same energy as the famous orange poem, but instead it was just very ... english wine mom after her fourth divorce . though undeniably witty, occasionally funny and even somewhat subversive, the ever-present vibe of cynical pragmatism made it completely unenjoyable for me . however, wendy copes wikipedia page claims that her later collections are different so perhaps i just started in the wrong place ? i wouldnt want to discourage anyone from giving this collection or author a try, but personally i simply dont share her sense of humor

6. contemplation by franz kafka - ★★★ - i spontaneously picked up the czech translation during a slow day at work and ... well, it sure helped pass the time ! i have no idea how i feel about kafkas fiction to be honest - on the one hand he is so much more than the sadboy people tend to reduce him to and there is certain joie de vivre in his writing, on the other hand i find his style ... dry . ( saying that feels like a crime ) this was a pretty hit-or-miss collection for me, but i feel more motivated to read more of his work now, so . a win is a win

favourites: the sudden walk, excursion into the mountains, passers-by, on the tram, clothes, rejection, reflections for gentlemen-jockeys, the street window

7. howls moving castle by diana wynne jones - ★★★★ - this was so whimsical and chaotic and just bursting with creativity . way more down-to-earth than i expected, but it was almost healing to see these really flawed characters loved and happy . im so excited to watch the movie now, unlike everyone else i didnt feel much for book howl ( i just kept thinking he needs a fancam set to womanizer ) but perhaps i will fall for his movie version ? we will see . im very intrigued by diana wynne jones' style, it made the story seem as if it was writing itself ... cant wait to read more ! and recommend her work to every child i run into

up next: i said this last month, but i need to read my silly little college textbooks for real this time, so i should take a little break from this weird marathon reading i seem to be doing . anyway i hope to slowly get thru weavers, scribes, and kings by amanda h. podany ( finally ! nonfiction ! ) and um . well . there is still the prequel to the sandman . and a few spin-offs that seem interesting . and i downloaded stardust the other day because i love actively making my parasocial relationships worse . i should disclose that im horrible at planning though, so chances are i will just read ten completely random books again instead of any of these . love and light

#📚 #booksletter

[fairestar]

the ending of your lie in april.. </3 hold on, howl's moving castle is a BOOK? WHAT? also, your name is made by makoto shinkai!!! i recommend suzume, weathering with you, 5 cm per second by him! :D dragon ball z and naruto is nostalgic, and my love story with yamada-kun at lv999 looks so cute, i just added it to my list!! to answer your question, i like 'darker' animanga :) like jjk, akira, ergo proxy, oyasumi punpun, aot, tomie… but i also love shoujo a lot! i really liked nana recently. I CANNOT CHOOSE FAVOURITES UNFORTUNATELY 😭 maybe naruto, pokémon (ahem you are definitely eevee in my head), or spirited away since those were my "firsts"? ANYWHO, sorry for the my wall of texts but i hope you enjoy my spam eheh very excited for your new post <3

YES! is a book of the same name written by diana wynne jones (one of my favourite books), it is very lovely and brings so much comfort, but it's very different from the movie. i remember i once read someone say the movie is how howl tells the story and the book is how sophie tells it, and that is just so accurate. it's the only occurrence when im happy the movie adaptation doesn't follow the book because it's so nice that we got such different tellings of the same story. and im always thankful to hayao miyazaki for making howl such a loveable character because book!howl isn't as dreamy. aaa, if your name is by makoto shinkai then im sure i will like his other work. i think of that movie often, it had such an impact.

im also more into more complex animanga, im currently watching death note and im surprised at how much i like it, even though light is so irritating. and i am loving jjk, ive just caught up with the manga (let's not talk about it...) and the anime is sooooooo good (the opening???? one of the best ive seen), im so excited for the shibuya incident arc to develop. although i must say that the first season felt like a combination of naruto and bleach (which i have yet to finish but i haven't been too motivated to do so because it is awfully repetitive, worse than naruto when it comes to the flashbacks). and about aot, ive tried watching it countless times but i just can't get into it, but i want to because i feel like im missing out on something good! although because it's so known i think i know about something that happens with eren and it's such a turn down to start watching it while knowing that (if what i know is accurate, but i dont want to make sure because that'd only make it worse).

ive only watched maybe like three pokémon chapters and all of them from different seasons, mostly because of landing on cartoon network when zapping as it was being broadcast so i can't say much about it but i just looked up eevee and it's so cute! i could see myself as it hahah.

and don't worry, i loved your texts! you are one funny individual and im glad we share this many interests!

#please read howl's moving castle i beg #🧸; yours truly #fairestar