#libri preferiti

[persa-tra-i-miei-pensieri]

Books and tea lovers 📚☕

In collaborazione di idee con le mie super amiche:

@laragazza-dalcuore-infranto-blog

@wwweirdworld

Parte 1: LIBRERIA

#pensieri per la testa #persa tra i miei pensieri #fotografia #foto #libreria #libri #amicizia #amiche #bookslover #books and tea lovers #progetto 3D #creatività #generi letterari #libri preferiti #passione libri #libri consigliati #consiglio #consigliletterari #letture consigliate #consiglidilettura

[monologhidiunamarea]

#uno dei miei libri preferiti

[earnshawww]

Oh, potessi davvero perdermi, pensai ad un certo punto, lasciarmi da qualche parte come un ombrello e non sapere mai più niente di me.

Elena Ferrante, La vita bugiarda degli adulti

#elena ferrante #lit #ra's bookshelf #rimanere delusa dalla persona che ha scritto uno dei tuoi libri preferiti e uno dei personaggi preferiti è un altro tipo di dolore #*tuoi

[lukegiallo]

#italocalvino, uno dei miei tre #italiani #preferiti #libri #libro #book #books #leggere #lettura #reading #luke_giallo💛 #storiediluke ringrazio @angiepalumbo (presso Nowhere) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_UTjJsqc7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#italocalvino #italiani #preferiti #libri #libro #book #books #leggere #lettura #reading #luke_giallo💛 #storiediluke

[giovithunder]

Le letture del 2022: le mie preferite, libri e manga consigliati

Le letture del 2022: le mie preferite, libri e manga consigliati

Oggi rispolveriamo una mia abitudine di qualche anno fa. Scrivere un post di fine anno e fare un bilancio di quello che è stato in termini di letture. Quest’anno, come e più che negli anni passati, i miei principali compagni di avventura sono stati i libri. Come al solito, non ho letto quanto avrei voluto (sai che novità), ma sono soddisfatto delle storie che ho vissuto. O, almeno, lo sono della…

View On WordPress

#bilancio letture 2022 #libri consigliati 2022 #libri preferiti 2022

[laragazza-dalcuore-infranto-blog]

Ig:Adessoscrivo

#instsgram #post #autore #scrittore #amore per i libri #preferiti #leggerechepassione #libri

[brainrotgoverner]

Cinderella boy pokemon AU; #1

~Buddy~

Liepard ♀️

Starter. Ex Libris gives a pokemon egg to everyone once they hit the age of 10, the same age they are allowed to start collecting narratonin, so the pokemon can assist the key bearer. Buddy hatched a purrloin which later evolved into a Liepard.

Liepard's are elegant and sleek pokemon with gorgeous fur, despite their apperences, Liepard's are generally vicious and moody.

Buddy's own liepard isn't any different with generally unfriendly attitude towards strangers. She doesn't shy away from scratching her own trainer if he happens to displease him yet will act like a kicked lillipup if she doesn't get hourly kisses and pets from Buddy.

She is also Buddy's stylist and personal trainer as every morning she spends 15 minutes grooming his hair to perfection and all the excersize Buddy really needs is carrying that spoiled apex predator, which is almost the same height as him, around when she feels like getting babied.

Arbok ♀️

Tamed pokemon. Ekans is a regular pokemon in the abondened corners of the ex libris dungeon, before he got his first pokemon, Buddy used to spend hours trying to befriend this one. Getting poisoned countless times in the progress. The second Buddy got his first pokemon and pokeballs, he ran to the dungeon to finally catch her. He was so excited that he fumbled the pokeballs so the Ekans headbutted one herself.

She enjoys eating lots of treats, getting tiny scratches with a tiny toothbrush and regularly committing to Buddy's life by wrapping around him as he sleeps.

In her defence, she really loves cuddling and doesn't realize she is squeezing too hard in her sleep. Buddy doesn't mind it one bit.

Ariados ♀️✨

Shiny (I couldn't miss the chance to make her purple) and Buddy's first catch. The abondened corners of the dungeons of ex libris attract many small wild pokemon and makes it a prime spot to train. Spinarak's prefer forests so Buddy never saw one before catching her.

It wasn't until a whole month later that he learned his spinarak was shiny.

She enjoy creating eleborate patterned lace webs to decorate with and seeing his trainer add them to his clothing. Ariados' has extremly sturdy webs so Buddy regularly wears them and uses them to accessorise. (And, well, she gets sad when he doesn't.)

Salazzle ♀️

Rescued pokemon. Buddy found her as an injured salandit and sneaked her inside the Ex Libris headquarters until she healed.

But she never left and now Buddy has a giant poisonous lizards bigger than him.

Salazzle is an extremely affectionate pokemon. Combined with her natural strength, you get a pokemon who can easily pick Buddy up and carry him around despite his protests.

Nidoking ♂️

Caught pokemon. When Buddy first met him, he was an unnaturally large Nidoran that he first mistook as a Nidorino that had a knack for knocking down trees. It took three hours and countless pokeballs before Buddy finally added him to the team and learned that he was still just a Nidoran.

His unnaturally large proportion continued on as he evolved, allowing Buddy to ride him when he was just a Nidorino with no trouble. As a Nidoking, he can easily tower over other of his kind when he is on two feet. But because of his mass, he can't support his weight for too long and always walks around in 4 feet. He almost always has at least one of his teammates hitching a ride on his back.

He is extremely aggressive and territorial. Lashes out easily at strangers which forces Buddy to spend every waking hour keeping him in check. Thankfully, he seems to accept his trainer and teammates as his pack. Showing incredible patience to their shenigans.

Galarian Slowking ♂️

Stolen pokemon. Buddy saw him at a night fair he snuck out to. He was dangerously underweight and overworked as his trainer used him for 'shows' and neglected to give him breaks or water. After seeing the Slowking pass out from exhaustion, Buddy sneaked backstage and stole him.

After feeding and tending to him, Buddy released the pokemon and went back to ex libris. Around 2 months later, he woke up to his Liepard snarling up a storm and the same Galarian Slowking standing in his room. After that, he never left.

He generally prefers to do his own stuff but hates to be left alone. Carrying his stuff to whatever room Buddy is in so he can tinker with his stuff and bask in his trainers presence. He also enjoy getting fed by hand and claimed the end of Buddy's bed as his own.

#who should i do next? #feel free to ask me anything! #cinderella boy #cinderella boy webtoon #chase hollow #buddy #mall goth #pokemon #pokemon au #cinderella boy pokemon au

[intotheclash]

L'inizio

“A poco a poco devi creare intorno a te una nebbia; devi cancellare tutto ciò che ti circonda, finché non si possa dare più nulla per scontato, finché più nulla è certo o reale…”

Questa frase, giunta chissà da dove, gli trapanò la testa in un nanosecondo e invase il suo cervello a ranghi compatti, come una falange dell’antica Roma.

Fortunatamente il foro prodotto permise anche alla musica, che proveniva dal potente impianto stereo poggiato sulla libreria, di entrare e ricamarsi il suo spazio, con un subitaneo effetto benefico.

“C’è un tempo per andare dritti giù all’inferno, c’è un tempo per tornare a saldare il conto…”

La musica e le parole che gli fecero drizzare i peli delle braccia e allargare il cuore, erano quelle della Gang, uno dei suoi gruppi preferiti. Il migliore nella vasta costellazione delle band italiane. Li aveva sempre amati, fin dal loro esordio, oramai molti anni prima. Li aveva ascoltati crescere, passo dopo passo, aveva approvato e condiviso senza riserve la scelta di passare dall’inglese all’italiano per la scrittura dei testi, anche se, lo sapeva con certezza, non sarebbero comunque mai arrivati a tutti con la dovuta forza. Peccato. E peccato anche non averli mai incontrati di persona. Chissà, forse le cose sarebbero potute andare diversamente. Chissà!

“Quando un uomo decide di fare una determinata cosa, deve andare fino in fondo, ma deve prendersi la responsabilità di quello che fa. Qualunque cosa faccia, deve prima sapere perché lo fa e poi deve andare avanti con le sue azioni senza dubbi o rimorsi…”

Queste invece erano le parole del Libro. Dischi e libri insieme. Mescolati tra loro, impastati col suo stesso sangue, a formare un unico corpo con la consistenza del cemento armato e l’elasticità di una tela di ragno.

A ciò stava pensando l’uomo intento a radersi, ben piantato di fronte allo specchio del bagno. E radersi, per lui, non era una semplice operazione quotidiana di pulizia, che so, come lavarsi i denti o farsi la doccia,ma un vero e proprio momento catartico, una pulizia, vero, ma quasi più interiore che esteriore. Del resto anche la stanza da bagno somigliava più ad un luogo di meditazione e purificazione, piuttosto che al luogo che tutti conosciamo e vogliamo che rimanga. Era amplissima e luminosa, bianca, completamente bianca, muri, maioliche, sanitari, cornice dello specchio e la lunga mensola che correva su tre lati delle pareti: tutto rigorosamente bianco. Le uniche concessioni al colore e che davano carattere al luogo erano: la sedia a dondolo in bambù ed una stampa raffigurante l’Urlo di Munch; poste una di fronte all’altra.

“Bruciami l’anima, fammi ridere il sangue nel cuore, bruciami l’anima…”

Questo era il disco.

“C’è di male che una volta che ti conoscono, tu sei una cosa data per scontata e, da quel momento in avanti, non sarai più capace di rompere i legami dei loro pensieri. Io personalmente amo la libertà ultima di essere sconosciuto…”

Questo invece era il libro.

“E passala sta cazzo de palla, Salvato'! E’ vero che l’hai portata tu, ma ci dobbiamo giocare tutti! Cazzo!”

Questa era una voce nuova! E non proveniva né dal libro, né dal disco.

L’uomo terminò di radersi, si risciacquò il viso con abbondante acqua fresca e si affacciò sul vicolo sottostante. Un gruppo di una decina di ragazzini stava giocando al calcio in strada. Era una partita vera, cinque contro cinque, chi arriva prima ai dieci goal segnati, e i maglioni gettati in terra erano le porte regolamentari. La scena lo commosse e lo riportò indietro nel tempo, in un’altra galassia. Anche lui, secoli prima, era stato uno di quei monelli e si era battuto come un leone con i suoi coetanei, nei vicoli del suo paese, così simili a quelle vie della vecchia Roma che, in senso lato, erano diventate la sua nuova dimora.

Ma non aveva tempo per affogare nel miele dei ricordi. Con uno schiocco della lingua li ricacciò indietro e tornò alle sue faccende. Ammirò per l’ultima volta allo specchio il suo lavoro, approvò con un accenno di sorriso il disegno perfetto del pizzetto e si passò ripetutamente il palmo della mano sui corti capelli neri a spazzola. Gli sarebbe piaciuto rasarli a zero, lo aveva anche fatto tempo prima, molto tempo prima, ma si era accorto che dava troppo nell’occhio. Troppe persone lo notavano e non poteva permetterselo; così aveva optato per quel taglio anonimo.

Era vero che, negli ultimi due o tre anni, i pelati erano tornati di moda ed erano cresciuti in maniera esponenziale. E anche se le teste rasate erano ancora ben lungi dal raggiungere il numero delle teste di cazzo, si poteva tranquillamente affermare che la forbice si era ristretta.

Andò in camera ed iniziò a vestirsi. Erano le otto di sera di un bel sabato di fine settembre. L’aria era fresca e pulita e lui aveva un appuntamento cui non poteva mancare. Indossò il suo impeccabile vestito nero, comode ed eleganti scarpe di pelle, anch’esse nere, infilò la pattada sarda nella tasca interna della giacca e fece poi scivolare la sua trentotto special nella fondina ascellare perfettamente nascosta dal taglio dei suoi abiti. Infine spense la luce ed uscì in strada. Il lupo era sceso dalla montagna. La caccia era iniziata.

“Il mondo è un luogo misterioso. Specialmente al tramonto.”

Era di nuovo il libro a far udire la propria voce.

#parole #raccontare #cose di una vita fa

[im-asiatica]

Ah, L’Amore! Tanto amato e tanto odiato. Ho 16 anni, sinceramente non so cosa significa essere amati, ma so cosa vuol dire amare. Per me l’amore è qualcuno che quando è in giro ti compra qualcosa dicendo “ho pensato a te“. L’Amore è mio padre che nonostante le difficoltà fa di tutto per me e la mia famiglia. L’amore è la lettura un miliardo di storie che ti coinvolgono in una avventura unica e irripetibile. L’amore è guardare le stelle e pensare che ne esiste una per ognuno di noi abbastanza lontana per impedire ai nostri dolori di offuscarla. L’amore sono i protagonisti dei miei libri preferiti, che nonostante tutto trovano sempre un modo per amarsi. Ma soprattutto per me l’amore sono io, che nonostante le delusioni continue non smetto mai di amare, perché dopo tutto continuo ad avere un grande bene per le mie vecchie relazioni. Se dovessi dire cosa rappresenta l’amore senza dubbio risponderei così.

Per esperienza passata posso dire che l’amore è libertà, senza oppressione, ma sempre con un pizzico di gelosia.Non esiste amore,se ti vieta la gioia, la vita e la libertà. Sono dell’idea che l’amore ossessiona, invade la mente e il cuore ; ognuno di noi cerca un amore passionale che ci stravolge l’anima, e senza ossessione a parer mio non si può amare al 100%, mi spiego meglio: Amare significa lasciare la persona per cui proviamo questi sentimenti libera, tuttavia se noi non abbiamo un pizzico di ossessione, questa persona non può invadere ogni cellula del nostro corpo. Amare vuol dire impazzire all’idea di perdere chi amiamo, non dormire la notte dopo un litigio, provare nonostante tutto a risolvere.

Sono dell’idea che ci siano centinaia di modi diversi per amare, ma come disse una mia vecchia conoscenza “Io ti amo, ma non nella mia concezione d’amore”, sarò onesta, questa frase mi ha tormentato le giornate, settimane e settimane a rimuginarci su, però alla fine ho capito che esistono due tipi di persone, chi ama e chi viene amato. Chi ama vive la relazione con passione, con dedizione assoluta e con romanticismo. Chi è amato, si limita ad essere idolatrato. Non dico che amare sia brutto, non fraintendetemi, ma la verità è che si soffre moltissimo.

Non possiamo amare se non siamo pronti a soffrire. L’amore è 50% anche dolore, non scordiamolo mai.

Però sono dell’idea che non ci sia cosa più bella di essere innamorati, con le farfalle nello stomaco e la testa tra le nuvole, ma se vogliamo amare dobbiamo essere pronti anche al lato doloroso dell’amore, cioè la sofferenza che ci porta la perdita della persona amata, perché ci vuole un coraggio immenso per amare ed essere pronti anche all’effetto collaterale.

[coolcattime]

An Outro to Mistwalker College [An OC Story]

Hi hi hi!

Welcome to the what is hopefully the first of a few different OC pieces I want to write in the world of Libris! This piece is co-authored by my friend @theiratlas, featuring our OCs, in our OC-verse world of Libris! Our OC-verse is D&D inspired, but doesn't follow official D&D lore (or really the rules), but most of our OCs are originally TTRPG characters of some sort!

I really hope you enjoy reading this piece, and if you have any questions, I'd love to answer them as I love to info dump about mine and Atlas' OCs (and they do too!) and would love to share more about Libris as well!

Characters: Medli Mistwalker (water genasi whispers bard), Idric Ba'lor (tiefling glamor bard), Anastasia Gulp (merfolk light cleric)

Addition Tags/Warnings: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Knife Wound, Blood and Injury, Descriptions of Violence, Drowning, Being Chased/Hunted, Impaired Mental State Due to Injury, Unconsciousness, Near Death, Alcohol, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Found Family, Running Away

Description: In the dark and fog, a bloody and battered student runs through the night, hoping to get off the island she'd known as home for her whole life before she ends up dead.

AO3 Link

Medli ran. Stumbling towards the docks, she clung to what little belongings she had managed to grab in her loop back to the dorms. The school’s fog and darkness made her all the more paranoid of where he could be now. Her mind leap to the pool, at least that's where she last knew where he was but, he could be anywhere by now. She was so sure he was still following her, that he wasn't going to stop following her unless she could find a way off the island.

Somehow escaping was the only thing her mind could grab but was that even possible? While Medli might be a strong enough swimmer, she couldn't exactly swim to the mainland, even if she wasn’t currently bleeding through her shirt. That left one plan, pray to see a ship, preferably one that didn’t belong to the college, and then stowaway, stay hidden long enough that it'll be more trouble to turn back. It was barely enough to be called a plan, more a desperate shaking hope in the mind of one currently terrified for their life.

So, she continued fleeing, with more panic than reason in her mind. She didn't want to die and that meant she had to keep running. It had been made very clear that only one of them was going to be alive by the end of the night, so, if she wasn't going to kill anyone and she didn’t want to die then she needed to get off Mistwalker and she’d need to do it quickly.

Sprinting between buildings she knew would make it a straight shot, catching little landmarks on the edge of the fog, she was, for once, thankful for having grown up here. Of course, she still worried that she was headed the wrong way, it wasn’t really possible to tell until she ran into something, doubt like that however couldn't take up space, not when so much of her was already cracking. Her head might be as foggy as her surroundings, but that fog was almost entirely fear, but that fear was pretty much the only thing keeping her moving, so she made peace with it.

Somewhere in the fog, he had to be hunting her. And she had no idea how well he could navigate the fog. Maybe not as well as her, she’d lost him in the fog before, but can't be sure she can do that again, not in this state. She had to just hope he was somewhere far away and would stay that way until she was gone, long gone. That kind of hope struggled against the weight of a terrified fear though. Afterall he was just as likely to be a few steps behind her as he was to be back at the college.

The sound of cobblestones turning to wood underneath her sandals was at least at little reassuring. However, her already shaky movements felt completely unstable on a damp surface. She had always been clumsy, and her current state wasn’t doing wonders keeping her upright. She wasn’t sure exactly how injured she was, but her whole body felt like it was shutting down. She could feel blood flow slowing but she wasn't sure if that’s actually a good sign or not. It did, at least, make breathing out of her torn gills a little easier though no less unpleasant. The right side of her back, however, was only aching more and more as she kept going, courtesy of the stab wound she was quickly realising must’ve been a lot deeper than it seemed.

The other injuries started to blend together, but there was no doubt they were slowing her down.

She was gonna last until she was off the island, wasn’t she? She felt doubt flooding into her cuts as she stumbled over her own feet once more, this time barely managing to push herself back up and grab what she’d dropped.

She did her best to push all the thoughts to the back of her mind, if only so she could instead focus on seeing what's in front of her. She was already on the docks, there was no point thinking anything at all when she could be so close to safety.

She looked desperately around for a ship, anything with easy access. There were always at least a few ships scattered on the dock, but usually those were just the ones owned by the college and she absolutely could not risk getting on one of those. Now she thought of it, it began to be hard to tell if she was even really seeing ships or just making things out of blurry shapes in the dark. Could this be as far as she goes?

No, there had to be at least one real ship, something she could sneak on board, something to give her the start she needed. So, Medli began to run once more, her heart pounding with every passing moment as she could've sworn the footsteps echoing weren't just hers, that his yells would be close behind.

She couldn't keep doing this, she had to check to see if her fate was truly sealed. She scoured her extremely limited view for any signs at all, of anything.

Then, she tripped.

In a moment of flailing panic, she assumed that was the end of the docks and she was about to take a fall into the ocean and lose what little bearings she had. But instead, her nose met with the hard wooden surface of the docks. Before a sob could even escape her quaking frame, she looked back, she realised what she had tripped over and began howling with laughter. Terrified, anxious laughter, but laughter all the same. She’d tripped over a gangplank.

She scrambled up it, half-crawling for the first few seconds, she didn’t care about getting to her feet nearly as much as getting on board the ship. Maybe staying low was for the best anyway as, when she got on deck, a lamp was lit. Someone was still on board, obviously someone was still on board why else would a gangplank still be out?

The idea of being caught by people actually on the ship was not quite scary enough to actually have an effect on her decision making at this point. If she was caught, she'd just have to talk her way out of it, whoever found her couldn't possibly have more worse intentions than where she came from. Though she did still instinctively slow her movements as she approached a door, it was definitely still better to hide without being caught. If they were already at sea by the time they caught her, then she might actually be safe.

She didn't know the exact layout of the ship, but descending stairs quickly led her to what in the darkness her eyes could just barely process as the hold.

Huh, that was odd. Normally she could see in the dark, but right now everything felt dark and blurry. She… she was probably just tired from running. That was the best self-soothing she could manage. She still needed a place to hide. There were barrels, that's where people normally hide themselves away on ships, right? That thought made as much sense as anything else right now. Honestly, now she had stopped running her head felt a little too heavy for thinking things through. Hiding in a barrel had to be enough. She just needed to find a mostly empty one.

Medli would explore the hold, eventually finding one empty enough for her to climb inside, her hastily packed bag pushing down on her chest and legs. She didn't remember it being so heavy.

Then, she blacked out.

If she hadn't, Medli may have realised she was not well hidden, more than a few of her belongings had spilt out across the docks when she fell and the lid of the barrel that she was holed up in didn’t rest anywhere near how it should.

All of that would prove to be far more of a blessing than a curse as Medli slipped into a state where, without help, she would slip away before she woke.

Up on deck, a crew member walked across the well-kept wood. The merfolk kept her way lit by an esca hanging down from the front of her head. The matching sharp teeth and slightly overlarge mouth of an angler fish on a humanoid face made her a striking sight especially in the dark.

She looked down, panning her eyes across the dock that they had currently anchored at, attempting to figure out what the commotion even could have been. She didn't see anything but as she looked over, she saw the door below deck ajar and groaned louder than even she thought possible.

The damn kids of this academy. Well, at least this time she won't be dealing with them alone. So, with another frustrated sigh, she headed out. Gunning towards the hole-in-the-wall tavern the rest of the crew had disappeared to, hoping to grab whichever was the least drunk to help her throw out whichever idiot students had decided to mess around on the ship.

* * *

Idric Ba'lor looked almost amused as he picked up a violin’s bow, seemingly dropped and abandoned by the side of his ship. It was at least the sixth completely random item he had come across in the walk across the dock, though a bow without an instrument was by far the dumbest. He reached down, keeping one arm steady and elevated, for it held the tiefling’s prize possession, a wine glass that would somehow remain full no matter how many slips he took from it.

Eyeing the bow once more, he twirled it in between his fingers for a second more, before turning sharply to face his merfolk compatriot.

“You’re definitely right, it’s got to be one of the students,” He remarked, trying to not sound as thoroughly annoyed as he was by that statement. The students of Mistwalker College were, to put it lightly and precisely, a bunch of utter pricks. Some of them were fine, obviously, but working a market stall for them was hellish and this wouldn’t be the first time some of them had boarded the ship to make nuisances of themselves. At the very least they should be easy to scare off and now he gets a spare violin bow out of it.

He shoved the bow into one of his pockets as he spun up back to his full height, wine sploshing wildly but never spilling as he did.

He cocked his head toward his newest crew member with the same cocky smile that became typical in moments of confusion such as these.

“You didn’t see how many got on, did you Anastasia?”

“No, just heard some crash and then saw the way below deck open,” She replied with a shrug. She doubted it could be more than one or two, she hadn’t heard talking or anything like that, but she couldn't be too certain. Idric took her words as good enough, hiding a grimace at the thought of having to deal with more than a handful of these bastards. He wondered if they were planning to try and steal anything but shook it off with a long swig of his wine. When he finished, he rolled his shoulders and took a confident step onto the gangplank.

“Well, no time like the present,” He said as if he was actually looking forward to this. He strode up to the deck, briefly checking behind him to make sure that Anastasia was following him and then paused at the top, leaning back on a railing until she was once again next to him. Then, he finally, subtly spat out a thought he'd been chewing on, “I thought you were heading to bed, you know, since you didn't come to the bar with us.”

“Oh, I was invited to that?” She mumbled out genuinely, stopping her movement all at once. Idric’s face lit up at her utter bewilderment.

“Of course you were invited, you're a part of the crew now Gulp,” He said gesticulating wildly. Anastasia blinked twice, almost totally lost in Idric's puzzled expression, but she filed that knowledge away for future use regardless and started moving once more. Idric, however, still found himself more than a little concerned, this was his ship after all, and she was the newest member of the crew. Despite the fact she’d never left an invite unattended, without one she'd ignore it with a genuine disbelief that she was invited. Or worse still, Anastasia had the frustrating habit of playing the role of an outsider any chance she got.

All of this was starting to get at The Balor’s captain. Was she not comfortable with the group? Did she not want to be a part of all this after all? She seemed totally at home reading the waves, at the navigator’s desk, or even just diving off the side of the ship to collect whatever random thing Kildrax dropped this time, but there had to be something or at least, the wine thought so. After a slightly too long gap, Idric continued. “And if you are ever confused about that kind of thing then you can just ask.”

“Ah, okay. Why did we come to this shithole?” Anastasia asked without missing a beat. Idric laughed sharply. He was used to asking himself that kind of question every time they had to sail the ship through that same bitter fog every time they came here, it only made things worse whenever in storms like these.

Of course, there was an answer, though given that this was Anastasia's first trip to Mistwalker she couldn't be expected to know it yet. As far as she was concerned, they'd come to an island full of annoying, full of themselves students in terrible weather, an island that not a single member of the crew could mention without grimacing.

“I have a friend here, actually! A couple years younger than us. Unfortunately, she lives here. Well until she can be persuaded to move literally anywhere else, I come here to visit her,” He said, half joking though he did sincerely wish that he didn't need to keep coming to this island. A wish that burned even clearer in his mind as the two descended below deck and the only thing out of place was a knocked over lantern by the stairs.

Really? Was it not good enough for the students to unsuccessfully try to steal from him during the day? Well, at least this whole ordeal wasn't as much effort on his part. He loudly drew his flail, dangling it in his free hand, carefully stomping his way down the stairs. Under the sound of his jackboot against the stairs, he quickly looked back at Anastasia, whispering. “I'm only planning to scare them, using a weapon against the kids isn't a great look after all. But if you could stand by the stairs and grab any that try to run off with stock that'd be wonderful.”

Anastasia nodded, mocking out a rugby guard.

Idric descended down into the darkened hold. The room seemed devoid of people, there was no obvious noise or signs of movement. Maybe they'd left when Anastasia had come to retrieve him, but if that was the case, they surely should have passed each other on the way back. Even if there was no one, it was still a good idea to give the place a once over, just to be sure. He walked around the crates and barrels, wine glass held tighter than his weapon, looking between gaps and listening out for any movement beyond his own.

Then, when he finally spotted it, he merely sighed.

“I'll give you five seconds to climb out of there on your own,” He barked, piercing through the silence with audible disappointment. There was absolutely no response, no talking back or even shuffling against wood.

Apparently, they wanted to do this the hard way. Annoying, but certainly within their rights. Well, if they weren't going to get themselves out of the situation, someone still had to. “Fine, since you'd prefer the kicking and screaming method.”

He strode forwards, barely taking five seconds to reach the barrel. Even without taking the lid fully off, he could see the shape of a person though no actual clear details. Whoever it was, they had guts, even with him looming over them, they managed to remain completely still. Actually, given Anastasia's hypothesis, perhaps they had passed out from whatever cheap booze they found a way of getting hold of. Not that it mattered, either way he needed them out. He slid the lid off with tail, beginning to talk before it clattered to the ground.

“I'm sure this has been very fun for you, but this isn't somewhere you can just-- Medli?!” He caught himself halfway through, a lump in his throat the size of the lid he just tossed. Inside the barrel was the unmistakable form of Medli Mistwalker. Of all the people he expected to find, she was perhaps below even the very bottom of the list. Yet there she was, head resting awkwardly on a backpack, apparently still asleep.

Of course, he wondered why exactly she was stuffed into a barrel, if she'd asked to leave, she would’ve been in a bed by now and they’d be halfway to the next port. She did occasionally have a strange way of thinking and an odd sense of humour - maybe she just fancied being a stowaway. He ruffled her hair. “Rise and shine kid, we'll get you a proper room, shall we?”

Medli did not even stir, a fact that at first was just odd. But then, as he lifted out the backpack, became so much more.

Idric's wine glass hit the floor loudly, with the wine staining through the wood immediately. Every thought he could try and manage left him instead with a white-hot static.

“Anastasia! Get over here now!” His throat immediately went hoarse. “We need help!”

The sound of running and several orbs of light filled the room as Idric scooped Medli's body out the barrel. Blood had totally soaked through her clothes, worse it was cold and dry, an incredibly bad sign. He fumbled to check her pulse, his own thudding in his ears making the task far harder than it should be. He'd barely managed to find it, to actually confirm his friend was still alive before Anastasia was kneeling next to him, muttering words and pressing a hand to Medli's arm as light flowed down from her lantern into the wounds. The bleeding stopped. Her breathing slowly began to clear. She didn't wake up, but she was going to live and that much allowed Idric's blind panic to shift into a far more coherent anger.

It was not an obvious anger, but it was there, just festering under the surface as he held Medli, a small teenager, battered and bruised in his arms.

Someone had tried to kill his friend.

That much was plainly obvious, she didn't get a stab wound from tripping over. It did, however, leave the question of why she had ended up in a barrel in the hold of his ship. Had it just been a coincidence? Someone dumping the evidence of a crime in a ship that would leave the island sooner rather than later. Or has someone intentionally tried to frame him by hiding his dying friend somewhere she might not be found until it was too late. He had no idea which was closer to the truth, only a certainty that someone had done this on purpose in the first place and that was more than enough to leave a familiar cold anger burning inside him.

Anastasia was still looking over the two with concern. For Medli, the reason for concern was obvious. Her magic was still new and something she had no idea the origin of. Though it had clearly helped, she thought it best to check her work. She didn't exactly trust it all just yet. Idric however, well, perhaps she didn't need to be worried about him, but seeing him with emotions like that, threatening to swallow him whole, she couldn't help herself from it.

Idric was a charming young man. He was a merchant and a bard after all, being charming was pretty much a requirement. However, he was also fully capable, and often willing, of being completely terrible. Now, to be very clear, Anastasia had never seen his anger taken out on someone who didn't deserve it, but that didn't mean it couldn’t happen. He may have said earlier that using a weapon against a kid wasn't a good look, but with the way his hand seemed to be resting on that flail handle, she questioned if that would be in his head if another student had done this.

And Idric thought about it, thought about storming into the college and just hurting people until he found the culprit. And it would feel good, and it would feel right at the current moment. It wasn't as if that harpy queen in charge wouldn't gladly break every bone in his body given the shot. It would mean leaving Medli though, and that was the last thing he felt like doing right now. Though the desperate need to hit something wasn't going away, he wasn't going to leave her alone until he knew she was alright. He picked up his wineglass once more and began twirling it in his fingers. He wished it was still full, but the movement helped to quell his want to hurt someone.

“Okay… okay!” He turned the stem quickly between his fingers, almost throwing it before thinking better of the idea. He needed to have a coherent thought, to actually think of what to do, but all he could think was that Medli had nearly died. He wasn't going to calm down, he knew he wasn't. He looked at Anastasia. “Go get the others, will you? I'm gonna take her to my room, but I need a minute.”

“Oh! Of course,” She stood up, beginning to walk towards the stairs, but pausing. She didn't quite know what exactly she should say, but that didn't stop her from trying. “And she'll be alright. I mean, she's clearly a fucking fighter, so she'll wake up in no time.”

Idric just nodded, not confident enough to verbally reply. And Anastasia left. He remained on the floor clutching Medli scared that if he let go of her; she'd just stop. He remained for a minute, until he was actually convinced that she wasn't going to suddenly drop dead. He stood, properly scooping Medli up to carry her to his room. He scooped her backpack onto his shoulder and picked out her violin from the barrel. He'd give her a room later, assuming she stayed, which he really hoped she did, but for now his room was fine. She just needed somewhere safe to sleep.

* * *

Medli’s body hurt. That was her first thought as she woke up, which wasn’t exactly a weird situation for her to wake up in by this point. Enough so that she didn’t actually move for a couple of minutes, happy and warm in bed having not had a nightmare for once. Then the sharp memories of what she was doing before falling asleep, or more accurately blacking on, came to mind, and she shot up. A sharp pain shot through her back, a small squeak escaping her mouth as she tried to cover her own exclamation of pain. She panicked, wondering how she’d been found and taken back to her own bed, what that would even mean for sure.

Then she realised where she actually was.

Or rather she realised where she wasn’t. She wasn’t somehow back in her room in the dorms of Mistwalker College, nor was she in the barrel she had climbed into. She was in a room that felt vaguely familiar, though she was sure in her fuzzy thoughts that it was somewhere safe. A bedroom lit by a flickering lantern on a bedside table next to her, one that she was completely sure was not a room in the college. The only places she would have woken up in the college are her own room or the sick room. So, was she still on the ship? She wasn’t sure if that made sense or not.

She forced herself to her feet, feeling wobbly but probably fine to at least check outside the door. Her body ached as she moved, though not as much as she thought it would have, now her back felt more like it was hit with a baseball bat as opposed to having been stabbed through. That felt like an improvement, even if she couldn't explain it.

As she approached the door, she could hear conversation on the other side. She tried to pick out any specifics, but the wooden walls muffled the words out into static. She took a breath. They were almost definitely talking about her, but that wasn't going to change, and just because they were talking about her, didn't mean that they were discussing something like throwing her overboard or returning her back. She'd just worry herself by thinking that way.

She cracked the door open, more than she needed to look through, but not enough to step through. The conversation was now properly audible to her, but she suddenly couldn’t pay much attention to it, instead the people she saw instead soaked into her mind.

Of the four, there was only one that she had absolutely no recognition of - a woman that Medli snap-decided looked as cool as she did mildly horrifying. She was blue and certain parts of her glowed in the dim light, most notably an angler fish's lantern hung down from the very top of her forehead. She had a long, thick tail that remained Medli of the kind a shark would have, but she also has legs, though they also reminded Medli of the type of legs a shark might have if made humanoid -- not that that really made any sense.

Two she recognised vaguely, a dwarf and water genasi man who she had seen around the docks before. Not often, they definitely didn't work on Mistwalker, but just whenever the markets happened to be in town. To be fair, she didn't go to the docks very often besides that, but it wasn't until now that she actually realised why that fact was true as, though his back was turned to her, she instantly recognised the last person in the group.

“Idric?” She asked, opening the door a little more and taking a hesitant step out onto what she now realised was the deck of The Balor. Idric turned on his heel to look at her, oversized coat spinning out in the same way a dancer's skirt would. And there he was, her best friend, the anger and worry he felt concealed behind as gentle a smile as he could muster. Medli felt all the relief in the world flood through her.

“Is this why you called us all here? You got a new girl?”

“She's seventeen,” Idric quickly cut across the dwarf's question with a sharpness both in his tone and the snap of his head in that direction. The quickness of this shift was matched by the quickness of the horror where there had previously been humour in the dwarf's eyes upon hearing the words. Medli felt a little unsure if she should do or say anything, shifting her weight between her feet as she fiddled with the edge of her shirt, acutely aware that she looked a mess. Everyone was staring at her. She couldn't tell if that was good or bad. She tried to focus on Idric, who was over again looking at her. “You should really rest, kid, you've had a rough night. I'll be through in a minute.”

Medli for a moment hesitated to move, worried about what was being said, but she trusted Idric. He wasn't gonna suggest throwing her into the ocean or taking her back to the college. So, with a tiny little nod of her head, she shuffled back into the room. She realised, with a little embarrassment, that this was Idric's room. To be fair, she had only been in it briefly, but she still felt a little silly for not realising straight away. Well, at least she could feel safe in it now.

The last unmuffled thing she heard before she properly shut the door was a very hurried apology, which she wasn't really listening to. She had much more serious things to think about, but worrying about too much of it was going to make her head hurt. So, she tried to only think of one problem at a time, all-while continuing to listen to the muffled noise outside the room as some kind of grounding method. First thing: her clothes were covered in blood. Looking around, her backpack was sitting on a desk alongside her violin and bow. Did she pack an actual outfit? It had been such a rush that it kind of blurred together and she really couldn't remember. She knew most of the contents of her bag were clothes, but she might've been panicked enough that she'd only grabbed skirts or something. Hopefully she had packed at least one shirt though, else she was stuck with bloodstains.

She opened her backpack, and she began to dig through. Clothes weren't the first thing she pulled out, but rather a thin blanket that she immediately clutched to her chest as she realised how lucky it was that she hadn't been wearing it, that it hadn't been bloodstained or damaged. She bunched it between her fingers, trying to remind herself that she didn't need to be scared anymore. No one was going to get her here. She tried to reassure herself like that, clutching her blanket close to her chest as a safety beacon, but it was hard. She needed to get off the island, then she'd be safe.

“Hey,” Idric said as he entered the room to find her standing rigid. He moved closer to her carefully, knowing how overwhelming the situation must already be. Medli tried to find the words to explain what she felt because she didn't have any. Everything was wrong. She couldn't cry. She couldn't do anything but stand scrunching her blanket trying to calm down. Her chest hurt. She wanted to cry. Idric stood in front of her. Was he going to yell at her? Was she a bad person for thinking her friend would yell at her? Her throat felt tight. Tears were stinging at the corners of her eyes. Idric hugged her. Medli began to cry. “It's okay. It's okay.”

It wasn't okay. Someone had tried to kill her. He couldn't even hug her as tightly as he wanted because of all the injuries. What else was there to say though? It somehow being okay now was the only comfort that really could be given. Medli sobbed. She felt safer in this moment than she had at most points in her life. Eventually Medli ended up sitting on the bed and Idric dragged over the desk chair to sit across from her.

Bruises had started to form on Medli's blue skin. While all her cuts and the more major stab wounds had been closed, dried blood still clung to her skin, some even matted in her blue hair. She felt gross. She looked a mess. Looking at Idric felt like a lifeline into normality. Same white messy hair, same twirling pretty horns in sea-shell-white, with one broken off and dangling around his neck on a cord. His eyes were probably the same too, but she was desperately avoiding looking at them.

“What happened, Meds?” Idric broke the silence softly as he was able. He felt that he already knew the answer to his question, enough of the answer was plainly obvious, but he needed to know what she felt comfortable sharing, if anything. Medli looked down at her knees, still bunching and lacing her blanket between her fingers. Her throat felt too tight to say words, but she did want to tell Idric. How was she even meant to start though?

“I… Clarissa. She said I had to do a test,” Medli started, her voice wavering as anxiety and a want to break down laced into her tone. Idric tensed almost immediately at even her name, though forced himself to remain quiet. She didn't need a rant about the absolute horror-story that ran the school, not right now. Medli didn't want to talk about the ‘test’ she really didn't, but at the same time she needed to. Nothing made sense if she didn't talk about it. “At sunset, she brought me to this room. Inside was Heather tied to a chair and she… she said I had to kill him.”

Medli's voice lost strength in the last words. The whole thing felt horrible. To be very clear, she did not like Heather. He was a bully, he called her names, destroyed her things, would hurt her if ever given the opportunity, hells he had killed at least one of her goldfish. But Medli didn't want to kill him. Medli didn't want to kill anybody, but Clarissa had handed her a rapier and called the task ‘easy’.

“I said that I wasn't going to, that I don't want to hurt people. And Clarissa got so angry, and started cutting Heather loose, said that there can only be one of us alive on the island by morning. So I just started running. Heather ended up catching up, and, and, and I guess he did want to kill me. I thought if I could get to the pool, it’ll be okay cause he can’t swim, but he caught up by the time I got there. I know he stabbed me and tried to block all my gills and hold me under so I'd drown. I think I ended up hitting him with a bit of tile, I don't really remember. I just don't want to die. So I thought if I hid on a ship that would be leaving the island then everything would be okay and that ended up being your ship and… that's it.”

Medli fell into silence. She was still scared. She was still on the island. And what if that meant she'd just die in the morning? Even in her panicked state, that felt almost silly, but it also didn't. It felt as silly as it felt possible. With her falling quiet, Idric found himself trying to articulate a reaction. He was seething, he had never wanted to kill Clarissa Mistbreaker more than in this moment. And had Medli not been right there sitting across from him, he might've done it, but she had fought hard that night for there not to be a murder. So, as much as he truly believed that the world would be better without that harpy queen headmistress, he wouldn't go and redecorate the halls with her own blood and gore. So instead, he focused on the much more important issue of making sure Medli was out of her reach.

“Okay, here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna send some of my crew to collect your stuff. And as soon as they get back with it, we're gonna leave. Away from Mistwalker, away from the harpy queen. Wherever you wanna go, and we're never coming back to this island,” He said with a gentle confidence. Medli felt a sense of relief rush in fast enough that she started crying again, though this time accompanied by her chest lightening. She was leaving and leaving with her friend. Something in retrospect she wishes she had done a long time ago, but she was finally leaving. The whole world of Libris, she had never seen any of it beyond the island she was now leaving. She was excited as she was terrified. But most importantly, Idric was there with her, which meant no matter how scared she might be, everything would work out. Idric hugged her again. Wherever they went, it would be away from Clarissa. This would be the last night she would ever hurt Medli. He'd make sure of it.

#cat's oc #cat's writing #original writing #dungeons and dragons character #medli mistwalker #idric ba'lor #anastasia gulp #the libris collection

[monologhidiunamarea]

#uno dei miei libri preferiti

[io-rimango]

Stasera appena staccato dal lavoro decido di non tornare a casa e passare per la libreria della mia città, ho bisogno di un po’ di leggerezza dopo una giornata decisamente pesante come questa. Entro in negozio e mi fiondo sulla sezione “romanzi rosa” tentando di cercare un libro che non avessi già letto (visto che li ho praticamente divorati quasi tutti).

Mentre sono accovacciata, intenta a leggere la trama di un libro, fanno capolino accanto a me un paio di stivali neri, sono di una ragazza che spulcia lo scaffale: ha i piedi puntati verso l’interno, le mani in tasca e il suo sguardo curioso tradisce la sua apparente timidezza.

Io passo un po’ di tempo a sfogliare i vari libri e noto che lei torna spesso a curiosare tra gli stessi romanzi che sfoglio io, finché non prende in mano un libro: “Magnolia Parks”. Incuriosita, decido di prenderlo anch’io e di capire cosa l’abbia colpita di quel romanzo tanto da tenerselo subito stretto al petto.

Le dico che ha colpito anche me il libro che ha preso e che ho tutta l’intenzione di leggerlo anch’io, lei mi guarda e mi sorride e mi dice che le piacciono le storie che sanno toccare il cuore e da lì mi racconta dei suoi romanzi preferiti, del suo fidanzato (anche lui appassionato di letture rosa), del suo lavoro stressante e di come le piaccia leggere sul treno.

Dopo un po’ mi chiede che lavoro faccio, io le dico che sono una psicologa e lei subito sgrana gli occhi dicendomi che era da tempo che pensava di andare in terapia e che le farebbe piacere iniziare con me. Ci scambiamo i contatti e lei tutta contenta mi dice che non si aspettava di trovare una sorpresa come me in questa serata di dicembre, io le rispondo che sono dell’idea che nulla accada per caso e che forse, semplicemente, questo era il momento giusto. Lei mi stringe la mano, non fa che sorridere e il mio cuore ancora una volta si meraviglia di quanto la vita, a volte, possa essere sorprendente.

#io-rimango #pensieri #serendipità #incontri #libreria

[lanymphedaphne]

Giorno 155 - Giorno 161

camminare e vedere sorgere l'alba

a. e t. quando vorrebbero solo stare in braccio e farsi coccolare

questa temperatura fresca

spedire i libri a mia nonna

la ripresa, dopo la pausa estiva, dei miei programmi radiofonici preferiti

poter stare a letto, poter non fare nulla, mentre fuori il cielo è plumbeo

il mercatino dei prodotti francesi

il fine settimana: fare le polpette, la marmellata di percocche, il tiramisù e la focaccia

[readerbookclub]

Hello everyone :) I’m back with a new book list. This month, we’ve got books all about books. Bookception!

As always, please vote for your favourite using the link at the bottom of the post. 

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, by Anne Fadiman

Anne Fadiman is (by her own admission) the sort of person who learned about sex from her father's copy of Fanny Hill, whose husband buys her 19 pounds of dusty books for her birthday, and who once found herself poring over her roommate's 1974 Toyota Corolla manual because it was the only written material in the apartment that she had not read at least twice. This witty collection of essays recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language. For Fadiman, as for many passionate readers, the books she loves have become chapters in her own life story. Writing with remarkable grace, she revives the tradition of the well-crafted personal essay, moving easily from anecdotes about Coleridge and Orwell to tales of her own pathologically literary family. As someone who played at blocks with her father's 22-volume set of Trollope ("My Ancestral Castles") and who only really considered herself married when she and her husband had merged collections ("Marrying Libraries"), she is exquisitely well equipped to expand upon the art of inscriptions, the perverse pleasures of compulsive proof-reading, the allure of long words, and the satisfactions of reading out loud. There is even a foray into pure literary gluttony: Charles Lamb liked buttered muffin crumbs between the leaves, and Fadiman knows of more than one reader who literally consumes page corners. Perfectly balanced between humor and erudition, Ex Libris establishes Fadiman as one of our finest contemporary essayists.

The Reading List, by Sara Nisha Adams

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries. Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home. When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list… hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.

Lost For Words, by Stephanie Butland

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look closely, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are things she'll never show you. Fifteen years ago Loveday lost all she knew and loved in one unspeakable night. Now, she finds refuge in the unique little York bookshop where she works. Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past. Someone is trying to send her a message. And she can't hide any longer.

Words in Deep Blue, by Cath Crowley

Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came. Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can't see her future. Henry's future isn't looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart. As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because life may be uncontrollable, even unbearable sometimes. But it’s possible that words, and love, and second chances are enough.

The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Please vote here.

#book club #book list #ex libris #the reading list #lost for words #words in deep blue #the midnight library

[pleaseanotherbook]

I PREFERITI DEL MESE #30: Giugno

Giugno è stato un mese strano, incredibilmente ricco di eventi e allo stesso momento sospeso in una qualche misura. Da un lato riprendermi dopo essere stata male, dall'altro vivere appieno ogni giornata con le mie amiche e finalmente poter ascoltare nuove canzoni di uno dei miei gruppi preferiti. Ho un nodo che mi porto dietro a distanza di mesi per la perdita e la mancanza e sul fondo del mio cervello macinano sempre le preoccupazioni, però sto cercando di godermi quanto più possibile questo tempo strano, di recupero e allo stesso tempo di inconsistenza. Il primo weekend di giugno sono andata a Bologna a trovare la mia adorata Lorena di Petrichor che mi manca già immensamente, dopo aver saputo l'ammontare delle tasse che quest'anno devo allo stato e che mi hanno lasciato a schifare completamente la vita adulta. Ma ehi cambiare lavoro è anche questo. Tra un cocktail e una cena sono arrivata a pensare che sia semplicemente una presa di coscienza sapere che le quattro mura di casa mia mi stanno troppo strette, che rimanere chiusa in una stanza mi toglie il fiato e le energie e che ormai cercare di cogliere al volo ogni occasione per uscire e stare insieme. Godermi l'estate diventa la priorità.

Comunque, per cambiare le carte in tavola e dare una rinfrescata a questo blog, da inizio anno ho deciso di portare qui su questo spazio di web una delle rubriche che più mi piace guardare su Youtube e che sostanzialmente dimostra che non mi so inventare niente, ma che amo inglobare nel mio modo di essere espressioni, modi e idee che mi colpiscono l’immaginario. “I preferiti del mese” è un format che forse non si presta molto alla parola scritta ma ci proviamo, che tanto se non funziona lo facciamo funzionare a modo nostro.

Enjoy!

MUSICA

Qualche tempo fa mi sono accorta che l’8 agosto 2019 ho aggiunto alla mia storia playlist “Epiphany” dei BTS cantata dal mio bias Jin (ancora oggi se penso ad una canzone, penso a questa). Avevo già sentito parlare dei BTS dalle mie amiche ma non mi ero mai concentrata del tutto. Un gruppo di sette persone che apparentemente sembrano tutti uguali e che cambiano colore di capelli alla velocità del fulmine (quanta strada che ho fatto visto che ora riesco a ricostruire timeline basandomi solo dal colore dei capelli). Ad agosto 2019 però ho accompagnato le mie amiche al cinema a vedere Bring the Soul e da lì mi sono innamorata.

Tre anni dopo sono ancora qui completamente ossessionata. E il 10 giugno è finalmente uscito Proof dei BTS un album antologico che ripercorre la loro storia dal debutto fino alle ultime canzoni uscite, con in più tre nuovi singoli: il main singolo Yet to come, che racconta della loro voglia di tornare alle origini, Run BTS che ha il sound rock e molto ritmato, e poi For Youth una ballad dedicata alle Army che lusingano il loro amore. Gli album dei BTS sono sempre degli oggetti da collezione che racchiudono delle meraviglie da ammirare continuamente. La chicca dell’album è sicuramente stata Born Singer che il produttore ha gentilmente concesso di includerlo nell’album. Ed è una canzone che io adoro e che non vedevo l’ora di averla su Spotify. Se il primo CD ripercorre la loro storia con tutti i singoli degli album (WE) il secondo CD ha le canzoni che più li rappresentano (ME) mentre il terzo CD è un regalo per le ARMY (YOU) con alcune iconiche demo, tra cui ovviamente la mia preferita, la demo di Jin di Epiphany in inglese (così da chiudere il giro iniziale), canzone di cui siamo stati derubati. Se la melodia è la stessa della versione finale, il testo, struggente e completamente Jin colpisce dritto al cuore. E se la versione di Bang PD sicuramente ricalca appieno il concetto di Love Yourself ed è davvero la “Answer” di tutto il progetto, la versione di Jin è una piccola meraviglia. Mentre ero dalla Lorena mi ha fatto ascoltare Crazy Love di Marracash che mi ha molto colpito.

LIBRI

Il libro del mese di giugno è La Torre di Bae Myung-Hoon edito in italiano da Add Editore, un libro di fantascienza coreano recentemente riportato in libreria e che mi ha colpito fin da quando l’ho visto allo stand della casa editrice al Salone del Libro di Torino. Una cover pazzesca, una trama super interessante e l’incontro dal vivo con l’autore mi hanno subito irretito e una volta letto non sono riuscita a staccarmene fino a quando non ho raggiunto l’ultima riga. Lo scorso due giugno ho avuto l’incredibile opportunità di ascoltare dal vivo Bae Myung-Hoon parlare del suo libro e della fantascienza in generale, in coreano con una bravissima traduttrice al suo fianco e mi sono lasciata incantare dalle atmosfere che ha evocato con le sue parole. Bae Myung-Hoon è un tipo consapevole che ha dalla sua la consapevolezza di sapere il suo posto nel mondo. Questa la trama: In un grattacielo di 674 piani chiamato Beanstalk si svolgono le sei storie interconnesse che compongono La torre. Il grattacielo è uno Stato sovrano che si impone sulle esistenze degli abitanti che al suo interno nascono, vivono e muoiono. Per uscire è necessario superare gli stretti controlli alle frontiere, sistemate tra il livello 22 e il 25, e non soffrire di “terrafobia”, l’intensa e divorante paura di mettere piede sul terreno solido sotto il grattacielo. Allo stesso tempo divertente e oscura, ogni linea narrativa contribuisce a creare una visione sfaccettata di come i cittadini del grattacielo ipermoderno affrontano il rapporto con il potere, e quanto questo influenzi le loro vite.

FILM & SERIE TV

Il prodotto audiovisivo del mese è sicuramente il kdrama Business Proposal che trovate su Netflix. Mamma mia quante risate che mi sono fatta con questo drama (grazie Alaisse per avermi convinto).

Si tratta di un office romance molto breve, tratto da un webtoon, pieno di cliché, con tutte le situazioni più tipiche che vi può capitare di trovare nei Drama del genere con una trama chiamata al minuto uno ma che è riuscito a intrattenermi come poche cose. D'altronde c'era Ann scritto sopra. Da un lato una ricercatrice in un'azienda produttrice di cibo confezionato, figlia maggiore di una coppia proprietaria di un ristorante di pollo, che per aiutare una sua carissima amica si presenta al posto suo ad un appuntamento al buio per dissuadere l'aspirante pretendente. Peccato che non solo fa colpo ma scopre che l'appuntamento non era altro che il presidente per cui lavora. Mentre l'amica incontra e si innamora a prima vista del segretario, lei si barcamena in questa relazione più o meno finta cercando di nascondere la sua vera identità. Tra scene comiche al limite dell'assurdo, compresa la domanda "come fanno a non riconoscerla?", le due coppie si conoscono meglio e tra un fraintendimento e l'altro può nascere qualcosa... Il ritmo serrato e la scrittura veloce si uniscono a scelte stilistiche molto onomatopeiche e grafiche disegnate che rendono il Drama molto scanzonato. Anche la soundtrack interessante. Veramente molto carino, proprio la commedia che cercavo.

BEAUTY

Ho ceduto ad un’offerta e mi sono comprata un boccione di acqua termale di Avène che serve per lenire, idratare e riequilibrare. Io generalmente la applico dopo essermi struccata o depilata, oppure quando fa super caldo come questi giorni sul viso per rinfrescarmi. Ma serve anche per gli eritemi e in tutte quelle situazioni in cui c’è bisogno di un po’ di sollievo. Super consigliata.

CIBO

Ho mangiato tantissime cose strabuone a giugno a partire dai tortelli pieni di mortadella con crema di parmigiano la prima sera a Bologna con Lorena. Quando il proprietario dell’osteria dove abbiamo cenato si è presentato con la tenerina e un’intera scodella di crema al mascarpone appena fatta volevo dichiarargli il mio amore eterno.

Quando con le ragazze siamo andate in esplorazione di Torino e abbiamo preso tre pizze diverse e ce le siamo spartite per assaggiarle tutte.

Oppure il polpo più buono che abbia mangiato a Torino de La società dei Carbonari mangiato in una cena super bella con Alaisse.

Oppure l’hamburger vegano di Tauer che abbiamo mangiato con N. in una serata organizzata dalla torteria con l’intrattenimento offerto da due drag queen, una serata divertentissima. E potrei andare avanti…

RANDOM

Con le ragazze siamo andate a visitare la mostra Capolavori della fotografia moderna 1900-1940. La collezione Thomas Walther del Museum of Modern Art, New York alla Camera di Torino in cui erano esposte foto iconiche che raccontavano una storia e diverse tecniche di sviluppo. Una selezione di oltre 230 opere fotografiche della prima metà del XX secolo, capolavori assoluti della storia della fotografia realizzati dai grandi maestri dell’obiettivo, le cui immagini appaiono innovative ancora oggi. Veramente molto bella.

Anche quest’anno siamo riuscite a partecipare a Open House 2022: un evento che apre le porte di palazzi privati o difficilmente visitabili ai visitatori. Quest’anno siamo andate a vedere un villino liberty Villino Raby, e la casa di Carlotta Oddone una designer che si è fatta consigliare da un amico architetto nella ristrutturazione di un appartamento di inizio Novecento e ne ha tirato qualcosa di davvero unico e incredibile.

E sono riuscita anche a visitare le Gallerie d’Italia qui a Torino da poco riaperte dopo la ristrutturazione in cui è stato allestito un incredibile museo dedicato alla fotografia con il patrimonio in possesso di Intesa Sanpaolo.

E voi che avete combinato a giugno?

Raccontatemelo in un commento.

#preferiti del mese #musica #libri #film & serie tv #beauty #cibo #random #liste #giugno #favorite

[venusbook]

Genere: Romance.

Autrice: Penelope Douglas.

Spicy: 4/5.

Titolo: Credence.

Voto: 5/5.

Personaggi: Tiernan, Caleb, Jake e Noah.

Note: Penso sia uno dei miei libri preferiti in assoluto. Una ragazza di nome Tiernan perde i genitori. Il padre della ragazza aveva un fratellastro (non di sangue) che la chiama e le dice di andare da lui a vivere per un pò. Jake, ha due figli, Caleb e Noah. Quando la ragazza si presenta da loro, all'inizio le fanno capire un pò la vita che l'attenderà. Purtroppo anche se a lei non potrebbe piacere quella vita, essendo minorenne, 17 anni, non può vivere da sola ma con il tutore Jake. Lei ha una storia con lui, perde la sua verginità ma Caleb è segretamente innamorato di lei, glielo fa capire in ogni modo alla fine si fidanzano, ma quando l'inverno passa i due iniziano un pò a litigare, lei lascia la casa in montagna e torna a casa sua avendo compiuto i 18 anni. Inizia la scuola ma dopo un mese Caleb va a riprenderla e alla fine si fidanzano e hanno anche un bambino.

#credence #penelope douglas #penelopedouglas #book #books #biker #booktok #bookgirl #bikerboy