#my favourite dysfunctional space family

[cemeterything]

Do you have any favourite fitzier fanfics :3c

yeah alright:

to be as one is (series) by TheGoodDoctor (rating: G, T) (this one deals a lot with gender and self identity and never fails to make me smile no matter how rotten i'm feeling)

Through by robokittens (E) (one of the tags on this fic is "spiritual woundfucking" and i feel like that recommends this fic better than i can in my own words)

oh you pretty things by wildcard_47 (T) (one of many 'Francis buys James a dress' fics, but this one stood out to me because the dialogue and prose is just so thoroughly delightful to read)

The Shipmaster's Song by ripeteeth (T) (what if... we were shipwrecks at the bottom of the ocean... and we were both doomed polar explorers...)

Sunlight, sunlight, sunlight by for_autumn_i_am (E) (a 'what if Carnivale didn't go up in literal smoke' au where everything aches with the promise of future tragedy but still manages to be heartwarming)

an unexpected gift by aes3plex (G) (JFJ meets Francis' extensive family. all of this author's works are incredible but this one was my favorite, equal parts charming and heartwrenching.)

twin high maintenance machines by veganthranduil (E) (obligatory 'the one where they both have erectile dysfunction but they still try to make it work' fic; selected this one specifically for the equal parts delightfully and painfully in character dialogue.)

Swallow by Daucus (T) ('gross' intimacy my beloved. you know the scene in Princess Mononoke where San feeds Ashitaka when he's too weak to care for himself so that he'll survive and heal? well that rewired MY brain and this is the fitzier version.)

burnt-out match in a dark room by deadgreeks (T) (marriage/death parallels and the intimacy of performing someone's last funeral rites. this one's a 'keep a pack of tissues on hand just in case' one.)

singing even so by shortcrust (T) (Orpheus and Eurydice in the Arctic. had me staring blankly into space and hugging myself as if chilled for nearly an hour after i finished it.)

The Gunner's Daughter by reinetta (E) (the most gorgeously written and romantic depiction of a sadomasochistic scene i've ever had the pleasure of reading)

Da mi basia mille, deinde centum by anactoriatalksback (M) (makeout fic, but calling it a "makeout fic" is so vastly underselling this. the plot is literally "they make out", but you will be hanging on to every word and astonished by the amount of character study that the author manages to pack into that premise.)

Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself by 5runner5 (M) (PTSD recovery fic in a pre-PTSD recognition era, and by far my favorite for how honest it is about the difficult reality of communication and recovery in a relationship)

shall warmer, sweeter be by baestard (T) (a wonderful exploration of transgender identity and self-discovery that remains impressively period accurate. or: 'what if we survived the arctic and we were both girls'.)

#fitzier #i haaaaate maintagging but i might need to refer back to this

[ananke-xiii]

About Sam Winchester.

[This post has been edited after my discussion with @samjgirl , @sam-winchester-admiration-league and after @adaav 's comment to my post. I really want to thank them for their time and for pointing many interesting points out. I wasn't well informed about the techniques of storytelling and I believe I lost a bit of focus after season 11. Now I'm actually happier as I've started to even more appreciate this character, so win-win for me!]

The character of Sam Winchester was my biggest surprise and my biggest disappointment while watching Supernatural (but it's not his fault). [EDIT: while I still don't particularly like (for now) s12-15, I've realized that my disappoint was more due to my ignonorance of storytelling techniques rather than by the way the character was written]

It was my biggest surprise because I had never related to a fictional character this much before. I think you just have to both be the younger sibling of a dysfunctional nuclear family and be trauma-bonded to your elder sibling to get it. I won't go into further details about it because it's a whole essay, but I have to mention it because I need to state that I feel a deep connection to Sam. We both made the same choices, the same "mistakes", the same sacrifices.

So I was astonished when I started Supernatural because of the way it felt true and real. I don't know if the writers lived similar experiences and were therefore able to tell this story truthfully, but they nevertheless did a hell of a job in describing the unique bond of two siblings trying their best to navigate their traumas.

From season 1 to 8-9ish, we see Sam morphing from being the hero of the story to one of the two main characters. [EDIT: this is incorrect, Sam has always been the hero of the story. I think I felt like he was "shifting" into a slightly less prominent role because Dean, as supporting protagonist, was given more space in order to proceed with the filler episodes]Slowly but surely, Dean also becomes the hero and I think that was fair. [EDIT: see above, technically this is incorrect, sorry lol!]You can't fully narrate the story of a bond withouth fully integrate one part of it. I loved all the parallels to Michael/Lucifer and Cain/Abel. I thought they were brilliant. The show allowed me to go deep inside and start sorting out some stuff I've lived. It really made me think a lot.

It's fair to say that the brothers' codependency was the crux of their problem. It was painful to watch and sometimed downright awkward but the writers got it all right: the otherwise unxeplicable and toxic jealousy they felt for one another, the inability to share their deepest feelings in way other than fighting, and hell yes, even Sam's decision to run away and not look for his brother after season 7. It was not OOC, it's exactly what he did when he was 18 and what John did as well 4 years after that. As a matter of fact, Sam is more similar to John than Dean could ever be.

It's definitely been a long journey but I find that the resolution of their codependency (in season ELEVEN!) was cleverly thought-out and brilliantly executed. It couldn't have happened before, the two bothers must have been either already in or close to their 30s to confront the knot, to acknwoledge the grip the trauma they've lived had on their life. Sometimes getting older does help and give you perspective. This might be why (as I've stated here) season 11 is my favourite one: it gives a sense of closure and hope.

However, here comes the biggest disappointment part. [EDIT: this is due to the fact that in part, I didn't fully get it]

After season 11 Sam morphs from one of the two main characters to a side character. [EDIT: incorrect, as per previous EDIT, Sam is always the hero and lead protagonist]The show must be about the brothers' bond and I'm okay with that. However, it looks like after season 11 the writers couldn't come up with new ideas to talk about this kind of bond. It felt like, other than co-dependency, the bond didn't have much to say. Therefore, both Sam and Dean almost go back to square one while they had all the possibilities to explore a new aspect of their relationship.

What could've been this new aspect? Easy: making them realize that the family they each wanted was, simply, different. This is just my opinion on the subject and how I've felt about season 12-15 so it's okay if you disagree. [EDIT: well, this is still my opinion, although it has nothing to do with Sam's narrative role in the story and more about my personal preference, so I think this is where I got confused]

In my opinion, from season 12 Sam is just a part of Dean's family. It's not "Sam&Dean"'s family. It's just Dean's. And I think the writers could've explored that in a more meaningful way. Let me explain: let's take Cas since he makes the perfect example for this scenario. Dean has repeatedly included Cas in the "family", he's called him not just his brother but "our brother". He includes Sam in the equation but I personally don't think Sam feels the same way. Sure, Sam cares for Cas and thinks he's family, but I think his idea of family is "Cas is my brother's husbandbest friend and therefore he's part of the family". He's extended family, kind of. [EDIT: this is still just my opinion and has nothing to do with Sam's narrative role. Although "family" is one of the themes of the show, it was not the only one]

My opinion is canonically backed because, aside from Rowena, all the members of the Winchesters Found Family are part of the family because Dean has allowed them, Dean has a deeper relatioship to them and ultimately because Dean decides who can enter the circle. This is totally in character and I love Dean for his ability to care and form deep bonds. [EDIT: this was also needed for Dean as a character because he's not the lead protagonist so he had to have something else in the story that was not necessarily connected to the mytharc]

However, this is not in Sam's character: Sam is the one who runs away, the one who wants to create his own family, the one who really needs to emancipate himself from his older brother. I truly wished the writers explored his passivity in "accepting" the status quo and made him, if not rebel, at least express his wants.

It would have been a moment in Sam's growth if he could've just, instead of running away, confronted his brother and stated that his desires were different, that he was part of Dean's family but it was not his family. Instead, we only have glimpes of what Sam really feels: he doesn't think of the bunker as his home, he doesn't ever say that he has a family (not surprisingly it's Dean that in "Lebanon" tells John "I have a family" and not Sam), he doesn't really have any other meaningful relationship aside from his brother.

Supernatural ending did him dirty, too. Not just for the awful wig and make-up but because the ending framed Sam as a two-dimensional character: "freed" from his brother and his brother's family, he finds a blurry wife, a dog, a son, a white picket fence. How sad is that? We never get to see Sam really connecting with anyone: all (and by all I really mean ALL) the women in his life, from his mother to one-night-stands while on the road passing through Ruby, end up dead (RIP Sarah Blake). Of course his wife at the end had to be a blurry figure in the backfround (she was not even besides him on his deathbed!): she was a testament to all of his past relationships. Like, seriously, apart from Dean, the ONLY lasting relationship Sam has throughout the whole series is with LUCIFER and this alone, I think, speaks volume. [EDIT: again this just relates to the fact that I'm not particularly fond of s12-15 and of the overall ending. Technically speaking, the ending makes sense. Whether I liked it or not is another issue]

In conclusion, after season 11 Sam is no longer an interesting character because the writers both downright refused to give him another substantial character to interact with and insisted once again on his codependency with Dean (which was already resolved). [EDIT, tbh it was a weak ending to begin with, LOL, I didn't like it even after I wrote it hahahhaa, but yeah, as this whole post proves Sam Winchester is far from being an uninteresting character because I just spent a frigging afternoon learning new things thanks to him so I guess he's like the gift that keeps on giving!]

Having said that, in my heart of hearts, Sam Winchester will always have a special place because I get him, I really do.

#we need to talk about sam winchester #sam winchester #spn meta #supernatural meta #supernatural #sibling bonding #codependency #spn season 15 #spn finale #this show did my boy dirty #castiel #found family #dean winchester #justice for sam winchester

[scarletttries]

Kendall Roy x Reader Engagement/Wedding Headcanons:

Pairing: Kendall Roy (Succession) x Gender-neutral!Reader

Rating: Fluff with one slightly NSFW thought at the end clearly labelled.

Author’s Note: After my own lovely bachelorette party last weekend I got a request for wedding/engagement headcanons for Kendall Roy and couldn't resist! Thank you to everyone who wished me a lovely weekend for my Hen Do and for sending in so many amazing succession requests!! 😊

- From the minute he knew you were the one for him, Kendall would be mentally planning your wedding. It wouldn't matter that it would take him another year to actually propose, he'll live for meticulously planning every detail to make it the most memorable proposal and wedding in history, constantly be thinking of things he wanted for the two of you, scribbling down ideas in his notes app that he can't wait to share with you one day.

- The proposal would be so incredibly Kendall: there would be fireworks, and a stage, and he'd have prepared a musical number, and everything for the whole week would have been set up to lead you unawares to the moment he finally gets down on one knee and asks you to marry him. To be the other half he's always been missing. The loving family he never thought he could deserve. And when you, thank god, say yes; a hundred doves fly out behind you as glitter rains dow,n and it truly feels like something out of a movie or a fairytale, the staged photos front page of every paper in town that night.

- For the entire time you're engaged it's like Kendall's already in the honeymoon phase, his obsession with you is completely renewed. He's so enamoured he finds himself calling you into his office just so he can close the blinds and wrap his arms tightly around you, barely able to contain his grin as he leans down to kiss 'his fiance', a phrase he cannot stop uttering. He'll introduce you to people you've already met a dozen times just so he can say 'my fiance' about you again and again, cheeks aching from the smile that hasn't left his cheeks since you said yes.

- Now that you're engaged he'll also get even more ridiculous with gift giving; when Kendall first starts dating anyone he can be a little insecure that they're just with him for the money, so he holds back on being too generous until he knows their true feelings. But now, expect a bouquet of your favourite flowers every hour, on the hour, each with funny little notes Kendall writes imagining what your life will look like together. Not to mention he insists you both go shopping as 'you both need an entirely new wardrobe now that you're engaged.'

- There won't have been a lot of times you've been able to meet Sophie and Iverson while dating Kendall, so he'll be nervous about re-introducing you to them now that it's as his fiance. But he doesn't need to worry, Sophie is so smart and friendly she'll immediately start running through wedding planning ideas and suggesting you pick them up from school once a week so you can get to know the two of them better - she's seen how much better her father is doing since he found you and genuinely wants to keep you around as much as possible. Naturally Iverson is a lot more reserved, but you'll give him the space he needs and keep the pressure off and over time he'll smile when you walk in a room and Ken will know you've been accepted as part of their dysfunctional family unit.

- The other Roys might not be as welcoming to you when the announcement comes out, assuming you're just some beautiful airhead, or worse, coming after the family's power and fortune, despite how happy Kendall seems to be around you. The exception to this is of course Connor, who will pull you aside after Logan spends dinner shouting about how important prenups are, and tell you he's so excited to have another sibling and he's so happy Ken found you. *For more Kendall prenup drama I have a whole smut fic on it here.*

- Kendall would be torn between wanting a long engagement, loving the affectionate excitement the two of you share every time he catches the glint of your ring out the corner of his eye, and being so excited to plan the wedding that he gets it all set up for just a few months later. No expense would be spared for your day, whether you want to have an island to yourself, an exquisite country house or just to hire out the gallery of your dreams. As long as you're okay with it being BIG, then Kendall will make any dream you have come true.

- Kendall's first wedding was a much more classy, muted affair where he felt like he had to stifle himself to fit the idea of what a wedding should look like. He's learnt a lot about himself since then, and you've always been there to encourage him to be honest with you and hold on tight to the parts of his life that bring him joy, so be prepared for the whole day to be elaborate and spectacular.

- That doesn't mean it's not also magical, and romantic, and intimate. You and Kendall find ways to make every second meaningful to the two of you, stealing away for moments at a time to just look into each other's eyes, overwhelmed with the joy that you are now joined forever, secure together for all the ups and downs your lives will bring (unaware that one of three photographers Kendall hired is taking candid shots that Kendall will have printed as six foot high portraits to hang on the walls of his penthouse, and another dozen images to line his work desk.)

- While you and Kendall aren't too worried about a lot of the classic wedding traditions, you will spend the night before the wedding apart, opting for a cosy night in a luxury hotel with your friends to get prepped. You'll have to have your friends taking shifts by the door at all times though, as Kendall sends an influx of deliveries to show he's thinking of you. And then at 2am he'll turn up at your hotel suite begging your friends to let him see you one more time, "for one last night of sin" and they'll have to remind him it's bad luck and force the door shut in his moping face.

- But it's completely worth it as he sees you for the first time on your wedding day, somehow more beautiful than he could have pictured, dressed to perfection, wearing the same smile as you walk towards him that you did that first day he kissed you and knew then and there that this day would be coming soon. He has to choke back tears as he stutters through his vows, overwhelmed by finally having a true family member in his corner who can love him and have his back through anything.

- Without getting too NSFW, we can all agree Kendall on his wedding night would come at you like a man starved. Greedy hands squeezing and clawing at your thighs hard enough to leave marks as his teeth clash against yours with the sheer fervour that he comes in to kiss you with. A strangled mix of growls and moans, broken up by ecstatic laughs fill the room as he embraces you for the first time as his spouse, exploring and tasting every inch of you like you are an entirely new world only he gets to claim. A world where now he feels safe and accepted and loved. A world he's never going to leave.

#writing #fanfiction #one shot #requests #kendall roy succession #kendall roy headcanon #kendall roy x reader #kendall roy #kendall succession #succession imagine #succession hbo #succession headcanons #succession #gn!reader

[agentnico]

Top 10 BEST Movies of 2023

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all partied hard and are now surviving a dreadful hangover by sitting with your family or friends and enjoying a well deserved marathon of Lord of the Rings. 2023 - what a year! In the movie biz alone there were those little minor events known as the strikes of the actors and writers. Just when we thought COVID was over and stopped affecting releases, these strikes were like “errr no, actually..!”. To be fair, the way the streaming services were underpaying their actors and the studios enforcing AI so much into the media, it was good that these artists stood up for themselves and showed it to the man so to speak! Anyway, we’re not here to talk Hollywood politics, but to celebrate all the quality filmmaking that was exhibited this past year. I’d say in all honesty this year felt weaker compared to 2022. To be fair last year gave us Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick and of course the legendary RRR, so the bar was high for 2023. That being said, I still enjoyed some solid films, so let’s rank my Top 10 favourite movies of 2023, but first some honourable mentions…

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Evil Dead Rise - one heck of a gore fest, and the best opening title card of the year hands down!

Past Lives - a simple yet brutally honest love story.

The Boy and the Heron - Wanna hear Robert Pattinson sound like not Robert Pattinson?!

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl are a match made in heaven.

Barbie - I’m Just Ken…need I say more??

Wonka - Timmy makes for a good Willy.

Right, with that, let’s get into the actual fun stuff - The Top 10 Best Movies of 2023!…

10) GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT - The least Guy Ritchie film Guy Ritchie has ever directed and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Away with the rough East End and grizzly jokes, and instead what we have is a very reserved and straight-faced war thriller. Honestly I was so surprised with how much I was engaged and invested in The Covenant - it is a thrilling pulse-racing story of survival that adds to the dread that elements of it are true to many people’s reality. Truly, this is a well-made movie!

9) TETRIS - You hear of a movie titled Tetris and one has to wonder if we have another Emoji Movie on our hands, where we get little tetra shaped characters goofing about in some animated mathematics world trying to force an unfunny joke upon our poor heads. Luckily that’s not the case, as instead this is a behind-the-scenes look at the legal drama behind the ownership of the game rights, and though that may not sound that fun, the movie is surprisingly very entertaining with some visual pixel tricks, a great soundtrack, delightful nostalgia, a fast-paced ante-upping narrative set in the backdrop of the Soviet Union and an adorable Taron Egerton in the middle of it all. Honestly, I’m shocked at how much I digged the Tetris movie!

8) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 - Marvel is evidently in a rut, but a rare bright spark in recent memory was the final instalment of James Gunn’s take on the fun dysfunctional space family. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a wonderful ride, bringing lots of great humour, character dynamics and emotion, and gets you hooked on a feeling…one last time. Oh, and Gunn finally managed to properly show Nathan Fillion’s face in a Marvel movie, and that in itself is a win!

7) MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING - PART ONE - Tom Cruise - what a guy! I mean yes he’s a Scientologist, has a constant death wish by breaking his ankles on film sets and also guilty of jumping on Oprah’s sofa like a monkey, but my my is he a charmer! You guys know the drill with these Mission Impossible movies - Tom Cruise throws his body around like a potato fearing not for his life nor broken limbs, but you have to respect the man for wanting to give the audience their tickets’ worth of entertainment, and Dead Reckoning not disappoint! There’s never a dull moment, the action is constantly inventive and exciting, and honestly with how consistent the quality of these films are, I say keep ‘em coming, Cruise-man!

6) DREAM SCENARIO - Anyone who knows me knows how much I love me some Nicolas Cage! The guy’s an acting legend, and he’s had it rough a decade ago when he got stuck paying off hi tax money and starring in crappy B-movies, but recently he’s been on a hot streak of great original content, and Dream Scenario adds to that. I love this idea of a random dude suddenly appearing in people’s dreams for absolutely no reason. It’s so rare to have a new original conception in a film in our day and age, and the execution here is great. As a bonus, the movie features possibly the best fart joke in the history of the cinema.

5) OPPENHEIMER - On one had this is probably the most “well-made” movie of 2023 cinematically speaking. Christopher Nolan does not hold back in using his typical non-linear way of storytelling, with the film weaving narratives and different time periods seamlessly as it explores the profound depths of a man who’s actions altered the world’s trajectory forever, for better or worse. It’s an incredible historical piece of cinema, and the movie gets extra points for the whole ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, but the reason this film is not higher on the list is due to the fact that I believe it is overrated. Cause every single person raved about how bloody amazing this thing was, I became tired of the positivity. Yeah, I know, I’m being a Scrooge but what you gonna do about it?? Oppenheimer is stuck at No. 5!

4) KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - When a movie forces you to stay in the cinema for over 3 hours, it better be one epic film, as your man here was straining his bladder to health threatening levels. However this is a Martin Scorsese picture, as such this is event cinema! And this one may be up there with one of his best. Killers of the Flower Moon is a major saga of greed, murder, corruption and despair, told through the eyes of a filmmaker who somehow is still managing to mature more as a director even though he’s already over 80 years of age.

3) THE HOLDOVERS - The Holdovers is very much a vibes movie. It has that old-timey retro feel to it from how it is shot to make it look like it’s from the 70s (reminiscent of John Hughes films and Dead Poets Society). You also have the constant snow falling and the Christmas music just really delivers that cozy winter feel. It’s a wholesome Christmas movie through and through. Paul Giamatti gives a career-best performance and the writing is absolutely stellar, as such The Holdovers is destined to become a holiday classic.

2) BEAU IS AFRAID - A. 3-hour long anxiety attack that A24 spent $30 million to produce. For a movie studio to spill out such a massive amount of cash on a completely original IP that is divisively out-there and wild is such a unique thing to happen in Hollywood in this day and age, that like the film or not this act needs to be applauded. It just so happens that Beau Is Afraid is batshit bonkers and truly an act of madness, yet one that I will forever cherish. I bet David Lynch had the biggest hard-on when he watched this movie - you betcha!

1) SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is, put simply, brilliant! It’s everything that made Into the Spider-Verse great dialled up to 1000%, and the result is honestly fantastic. Look, I watch a lot of movies. And yeah, movies are great and I love them deeply. But in watching so many films I have in a way lost that magic of being in awe every time I go to the cinema. Cliches and repetitiveness in films stick out like sore thumbs. However with Across the Spider-Verse I felt like a kid again, purely stunned in amazement at every single frame, engaged with the characters and story-line, not knowing where it will go next. Like I cannot reiterate how much fun I had watching this movie! The animation is phenomenal, the narrative so rich, a pulse-throbbing music score (I even have Pemberton’s score on vinyl now just cause I love it so much!) superb character development and so many fun and unexpected twists and turns. Across the Spider-Verse is THE movie of 2023 for me and I believe this is the first time ever an animation took a top spot on my list. Here’s hoping Part 3 of the Spider-Verse saga will play out like The Return of the King!

There you have it - my favourite films of 2023. Naturally I don’t expect my list to be the same as yours, so don’t go throwing a tantrum if I missed out a movie you loved. Or do throw a tantrum, see if I care. But also don’t, cause like we’re all friends here, right? Right??!

#film #movie #film reviews #movie reviews #Top 10 #best movies of 2023 #top 10 best movies of 2023 #2023 movies #2023 films #beau is afraid #oppenheimer #dream scenario #tetris #spider man across the spider verse #the holdovers #killers of the flower moon #mission impossible dead reckoning #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #Cinema #2023 in film #2023 in films #guy ritchie’s the covenant #great movie

[laufire]

COMING OUT ON JUNE 2023: "WHEN THE STARS ALIGHT" BY CAMILLA ANDREW

Thanks to tumblr I've been fortunate enough to meet incredibly talented artists of all kinds. Among them, one of the greatest privileges this site has let me enjoy was that, last year, I got to read earlier versions of the two first instalments of this wonderful series: "The Essence of the Equinox". Now, I get to read the definite version of this indie book, and soon will be able to hold what's setting out to be a gorgeous print edition in my hands ^-^

Alongside some other short stories and a novelette I've read as well, tEotE portrays an intricately built magical world that's a welcome change of pace from the modern fantasy I had been finding trite, woefully misogynistic and repetitive in the last few years. That level of depth and originality in the worldbuilding alone would've been enough for it to carve a space into my heart, but it doesn't stop there.

I've always been a fan of descriptive, lyrical prose; the kind that makes you want to pace yourself and sit back to enjoy a good turn of phrase and daydream about the lovely (or terrible) scenarios it presents. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, you'll find plenty of both here. On a personal note, I recommend reading on a full stomach: the food descriptions are particularly mouth-watering xD. But my favourite bit is how the different settings come alive in the narration, especially the contrasting dream-like Soleterea and the nightmare-inducing land of Mortos.

Other points in its favour for me, and I'm willing to bet, for a lot of the people who follow me, are its larger-than-life leads and its female-majority ensemble of characters, all of whom are varied and fascinating in their own right, with important roles inside the story, and who'll you get to meet in earnest thanks to an expanding omniscient narrator.

Princess Laila Rose of Soleterea, from a powerful race of fallen stars in humanoid form, is the protagonist of the trilogy. In fairness, she's not the first character in the 'verse that truly caught my eye; that honour goes to a particular Mortesian blood sorcerer who you won't properly meet until the second book (which is intended to be published a year after this one). But she quickly rose in the ranks and has become one of my favourite characters, period; in this and any other canon.

First of all, she's the uncontested star (no pun intended) of the story, outshone by none (that one, I admit, was on purpose). She's a firm idealist whose optimism is put to the test in her journey; she possesses endless charm and a silver tongue, as well as difficult insecurities that make her all the more endearing to me. She's at the centre of everything, and the dynamics that spark around her are another one of the selling points of the series: from her toxic and most defining relationship with her Impératrice and mother Amira, to her complicated friendship with her guard and past paramour Lyra; and, of course, to the intense, passionate and doomed romance that propels the series.

The novel's plot is kick-started when Laila's work examining potentially dangerous magical objects leads her to discover what seems to be a demonic monster encased in a block of ice. He turns out to be Dominus, a prince of a hidden immortal race: the Occassi, from Mortos; a kingdom as different from the idyllic Soleterea as it can be. When he gets free Laila travels with him on a diplomatic mission to establish contact and relations with this species. This puts her right in the middle of that country's dysfunctional royal family: a heartless king, his reluctant heir, and an ambitious bastard son: Darius Calantis.

I find him to be the best representative of Mortos' realm, in a similar way that Laila is for Soleterea. He's suave and shrewd and intellectual in a land that puts little value on anything of the sort, more interested in brute force and military conquests. His frustrated ambitions, routinely suffocated by a tyrannical father, might find an outlet thanks to this new realm. He is, definitely, another character to look out for ;)

Finally, I'll say that most of all, this book both subverts and surpasses expectations. For example, as someone who tends toward scepticism when it comes to romance (especially that of the female heroine/villainous male character variety), I nonetheless loved every choice pertaining to the romantic subplot in this book. And I must insist on how after this one, an even better sequel (with some of my most beloved characters in the series!) awaits you ^-^

You can find an official synopsis here on goodreads or storygraph, where you can add the book to your to-read list. I also recommend following the author @aninkwellofnectar on tumblr (and on her other sites) for updates, because "When The Stars Alight" will be available for pre-order very, very soon. As of now, she's offering Advanced Reader Copies as well, if that's something you guys might want to look into.

Oh, and before I forget: there's a short story by this author published in the Fall Into Fantasy 2022's anthology. It tells a tale from Laila's mother's youth, Amira. On top of being a delight for fans of cold, complex female leads and tragic sapphic romance enjoyers, it'll offer you a taste of the author's style and the world she's created.

I ask that if you're interested, or think someone you follow might be, you reblog this to give a boost to this talented indie author!

#signal boost #book rec #book recs #books #bookblr #fantasy books #adult lit #indie author #indie books #writers on tumblr #writeblr #the essence of the equinox

[edge-oftheworld]

there's a tunnel in brisbane under the city called the clem 7. its name reminds me of the halsey song, clementine, but really--when you're in it it feels like travelling through space. it's too expensive usually to go through by car, but if you're travelling to chermside from the south there's a bus that takes you through it for $3.64 and you bypass the hustle of the city. now my boring old commute feels like that same kind of wonder--something i never thought i could feel about the bus ride I've done thousands of times again and forgot I ever did. i'm travelling through space and time, or is it in my own head, places and memories I thought I forgot coexisting all in this moment, all in the notes of this song?

i'm 16 and in love for the first time, and it's consuming me, i'm feeling too much and i have homework to do and i can't remember the last time i slept until sunrise. listening to the mouth of the river on repeat the way home from year 11 camp, not sure if i'm awake or not, the bus ride feels like a dream. brisbane is the one city that doesn't move on ever; all the people i connect to it and memories, happy and sad, i've lost from my teens or never gotten a chance to process, all the people I connect to them have left the city. i forgot that feeling. i remember it now.

sitting in my bed trying to study, i do urban design but i study it online, my lecturer is standing in pyrmont making a video and we're learning about the inner west. about the connection to the land of the Indigenous people of greater sydney, and not for the first time i think, i'm not indigenous, but i feel it too. and i feel the fragmentation, my sense of home in different places, different dysfunctional places, i never did find a place where i'm able to get my needs met. hopefully i get to create one one day. she's talking about the evolution of landscape through colonialism and whatever else, all i hear her saying, is the city tends to move on all the same. sydney always did. i knew there was hope and i knew the nostalgia was lost when they built the train bridge over the georges river at east hills. and i have something to do with my life and a defense against the frustration of traffic i never did learn to handle, but at what cost? in undergrad we learned the term 'solastalgia'. and i know what it is for me and i can't imagine how far away usamerica is or having to go there to create. i create all the time. i don't get anything else done.

where is home? my two cities are only a train ride apart, or a short flight. but i've never seen the homes of my ancestors. they live in me but i don't know them, i don't know their land. i want to. i want to connect to places in lots of places. i want to integrate them all into who i am. i want to discover things about myself i see in other people like i do even with more distant family here. i need to make peace with my high school self too, how do i go about that? how is it a song that's putting the pieces of me together and it hurts while it does, but maybe i can study the ways in which the city moves on meanwhile. cities are my art and it always hits home when i see them represented in my favourite form of communication, music. it's like someone photocopied my brain. God, perhaps. maybe I am the photocopy. and i'm okay with that. i'm okay with learning from what other people create. it's what i do i guess. but 16 year old me? who discovered urban design for the first time without knowing what it is? am i ready to face her? i have to. or i won't ever concentrate on anything else

#this is what listening to shakes does to me is all i can say #writing #i really don't know how to tag this

[cadmium-free]

Oooh! Killua for the character meme thing please!

[for this prompt]

hehehe my lil hxh soapbox now

First impression: I MEAN. COOL KID SHOWS UP SKATEBOARDING? WILDLY COMPETENT SKATEBOARDING KID? I liked him immediately.

Impression now: The Zoldycks are so interesting aren't they? Killua is the character to root for. The way he is written is so clever, it's all in implications or lines where he says something devastating like it's normal. When he is adding electricity to his nen arsenal, it's cool, he's doing something so cool, but it hurts. It's terrible to think hard about. I want him to be free, I desperately want him to be free.

Favourite moment: removing....the pin.....remember when he removed the pin, fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Idea for a story: show me.....show me killua and alluka's adventures.....show me them having fun

Unpopular opinion: People get really upset about how Gon & Killua leave things the last time we see them, and people get Really Weird talking about Gon, but I think this was the right place for them to go, narratively and emotionally. Killua learned to live from Gon, in a way, but they were so entangled in one another, Killua needs a bit of space. I think especially with the abuse narratives surrounding Killua's whole arc, this parting makes a lot of sense. I love characters who are toxic and make each other worse, but they're just kids, learning and making mistakes. They're trying and doing their best.

Favourite relationship: Him & Alluka.....siblings......looking out for each other.....His family is so dysfunctional and bad it's like this little bit of sunshine.

Favourite headcanon: i like to think....kalluto and him got along. we know nothing about kalluto, so i want to grasp desperately at the idea there was another member of the family who was at least good to him.

#ask meme #the zoldyck children are everything to me tbh

[cheetee]

For the director’s commentary: I’m always thinking about that passage in Rumble Thy Bellyful when the kids are making Bruno a get well card and Dolores can hear a lot of what the adults are keeping from them. I always wonder about that period of their lives, when Something’s Up with Tio Bruno but the extent to which the kids are aware of it varies depending on age or gift (poor Dolores) or sensitivity.

The thing about writing real light, low-stakes YA-ish stuff is that I have to deal with things like mental illness and dysfunction with a really light touch. (Well. I don't have to. I choose to. The Disney Execs that Live In My Brain have me on a tight leash.)

To that end, my favourite things to do with Bruno and Dolores, two of the movie's SADDEST CHARACTERS IMAGINABLE, is just to leave a lot of "negative space" - all the context you need to imagine what kind of trauma they've been through, and just a touch of what it was actually like, and then leave the rest to the reader's terrifying imagination.

Definitely that scene is the darkest one... I've ever written in my encanto fics, unless you count a particular Macondian Giftshop update?

My fics have a real easy-going, idealised, simplified version of the family's dynamics after the events of the movie. Sometimes I like to counterbalance that by depicting the dynamics before the movie as just a little bit hellish.

#encantoTV #my writing

[cursedvibes]

naruto for the ask game!

thanks for the ask! hmm...

favourite "male" character: Orochimaru (just putting him here to leave space for Tsunade) One of the first favourite characters I ever had. And the first of many gnc Mad Scientists I've been exposed to. He was actually a positive influence on me regarding queerness when I was young. Even if he is bad representation. Aside from that, I just like that he is a straight up psychopath. As much as Boruto likes to pretend otherwise, there is no way to palliate what he did. He is frightening and cruel but still entertaining. Also one of the most intelligent characters in-universe. I wish we got to see more of his vast knowledge of jutsu. Missed potential.

favourite female character: Tsunade When I say I like the sannin, I'm mostly talking about her and Orochimaru. She has been fucked over by the shinobi system so hard, lost so much, hit rock bottom but in the end she did manage to at least improve a little bit for the future generation. More than many other hokage did. I also like that she straight up left the village and turned her back on being a ninja. It's not weak, after fighting in 2 ww it's her right. Konoha doesn't deserve her.

least favourite character: Hiruzen and Itachi Can't decide on one, so they're both here. Itachi is mostly just shitty writing because Kishimoto couldn't make up his mind if he's supposed to be a misunderstood genius and hero, or an abused child, or a cold ruthless killer. His arrogant attitude just pisses me off. I especially hate his fight against Kabuto. It solidifies that unless you were born into a powerful clan, you can't amount to anything and any struggle is useless. Kabuto basically got brainwashed into accepting that and keeping his head down. Hiruzen has no backbone and is responsible for most bad things that happen in the story. He didn't do anything to stop them. 9-tails? Naruto? Danzo? Shinobi WW 3? And then the narrative turns around and wants me to believe he's just a jlly old man. Nope.

prettiest character: uuh don't know, Orochimaru's hair? There are a bunch of good-looking characters but I wouldn't call them "pretty"

funniest character: Sai. great dick jokes

favourite season: Kakashi Hiden (in the anime, haven't read the light novel). It just shows all the problems with Konoha and the shinobi system so well. Now if only someone had done smth about it...

favourite episode: When Kakashi and Kinoe enter Orochimaru's old hideout. The tension there is really good. And you get a hint at the horrible things that have happened there, but you are left to fill in the blanks of how it got to that point. My favourite kind of horror.

favourite romantic ship: A lot of the stuff I ship doesn't involve romantic feelings but I like Tsunade and Oro as fwb. Like, in the least cishet way possible

favourite family ship: Not sure what this means but the Otogakure hideout in Boruto is horribly dysfunctional while still being endeering in a fucked up way. I want to see more of Mitsuki & Log and the other clones.

favourite friend ship: Orochimaru & Tsunade again? I want to see them work together in the medical field, either before they defected or during Boruto times. They could achieve so much together or have already. I'm sure they'd also really get on each others nerves while working.

worst ship: Any child/adult stuff. I'm not passionate enough about Naruto ships to hate a specific one.

#asks #orochimaru #tsunade

[metabolizemotions]

Tag Game

Tagged by @drlaurenb, @englishstrawbie, thanks 🥰

Favourite colour: blues, greys, black

Currently reading: I used to listen to a ton of audiobooks, f & nf ~ 2x speed. (Some f ones are really good - even much better than entire shows). I generally prefer listening to reading. Tho I haven't really been doing either lately.

One that I revisit from time to time - Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman (sort of fiction/ v. imaginative thought experiments by this neuroscientist)

Non-fiction: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (Essays he wrote, some from his podcast episodes. Part memoir. I listened to the audiobook a while back, narrated by him.)

Last song: This is mesmerizing (turn on the CC). Whenever it pops up, I’ll watch/ listen again. Also a partial, random playlist:

Last series: Watched a bunch recently. Finally caught up: The Umbrella Academy & Stranger Things - I was thinking the whole time, man, they really have huge budgets and I wished some of the other smaller shows I watch have that kind of production value.

For TUA, I always love Elliot Page's performance - this time his transition from Vanya to Viktor, reflecting his real life, was v. moving. & the usual dysfunctional family shenanigans. Some interesting twists.

ST has a v well-developed overall arc - I think it's rather rare that a show gets to fully develop its plots & intricately build its world. I really like Max’s arc - & the actress’s performance.

Paper Girls, The Sandman, For All Mankind. I love all 3 differently. I tot each did well for its respective production scale & genre, with something special weaved in. I was thinking about how the meanings of life & death change when you meet the past/ future you; are stranded in time/ space; or exist for eternity… A certain sense of loneliness/ helplessness... My personal fav is PG - setting aside the genre aspect, I really like the simple but touching stories of the 4 protagonists - esp KJ's story & the actress’s portrayal.

Currently watching: A League of Their Own

Last movie: Nightmare Alley - not my type of show, only watched it for Cate & Rooney 😍

Currently working on: Getting back to meditating more regularly. To be more mindful of my tots, be less reactive, & just remind myself to breathe deeply… I used to do it for ~20min daily. Guided meditations aren't really my thing tho I did listen to some teachers talk about meditation. Walking meditations are kinda better for my overactive mind - I can easily get distracted tho if I keep my eyes open - you know, if I don’t want to trip & fall. Ideally sitting meditation - at least 20min - to "get to the good stuff". Like after you settle down, when your legs start to cramp, after thinking about the grocery list or the plot holes of the shows you're watching or sth... I'm starting with listening to the same Philip Glass's piece each time. Sometimes when I'm tired I just lie on the floor. I fall asleep sometimes...

Tagging: I suppose everyone's being tagged at this point...? I know you typically don't do this tho I still want to tag @mayasdeluca & @closetednobody for fun 😝. Don't feel obliged tho.

#tag game

[mostly-functional]

Decidedly not autistic, it runs in my family so I've been routinely tested for it 4x, and it's safe to say I might be one of the least autistic people alive (I scored an 11 on the RAADS R test).

I am dyslexic, which has similar hyper-fixations, and RSD, and Executive Dysfunction to ADHD, but it's a little different. I also have c-PTSD.Anyway, yes, small talk is very intuitive. Most NT people genuinely don't find it boring. It's because the social back and forth of it, even if the topic is inherently meaningless, catching up on the minutia of people's lives and sharing bits of yours is interesting.

There isn't a secret code. You give exactly as much detail and information about your life as the other person is providing. In order for this to work, tis means that in most conversations, there will be someone who is 'conversationally dominant,' (person a.) and that person will decide how much they want to share and the other person (person b.) will follow their lead or decide to share more. If someone feels that they don't wanna share as much as the other person is sharing (not super common) they will usually politely brush off in response with a friendly smile.

(Comfortable sharing: Person A: Katie's having some trouble in school, we think she might be dyslexic. Person B: Oh yeah, Lily's got some ADHD, we got her a tutor who specialises learning disability, want me to give you her number?)

(Person B pulls back: Person A: Katie's having some trouble in school, we think she might be dyslexic. Person B: Oh, that's too bad, Lily's been having a bad time in ballet recently, we offered to let her quit, but she wants to keep going and see if it gets better.)

The thing is, every conversation, even small talk, is an invitation from person a. to get closer and it's up to person b. to either take up the invitation and share something similarly vulnerable, or politely decline the invitation and deflect.

Most nuerotypicals will decide how much to share based on how long they've known the person and other context clues, but it really boils down to, every converstoin is this give and take and it never really turns off or stops because neurotypicals are always trying to make new friends or become closer with the people they're interacting with. Most neurotypicals see anyone they've met, even once, as just a potential friend they haven't been close with yet. Unless an NT actively dislikes you, you are now locked in this back and forth with them.

I know a LOT about my favourite things, but it's more that it would feel unnatural/intrinsically wrong to info-dump about it unless it was in an appropriate space. I would feel uncomfortable doing it.

If I'm alone with my thoughts, I will 'spin out' and have a panic attack eventually from intrusive thoughts. This is more related to my c-PTSD, so I can't speak to how true NTs would answer this.

Most fabrics on my skin feel neutral, I will notice if one is silky or soft or unusually pleasant, but unless I'm allergic (I have a lot of skin allergies) to something it doesn't usually bother me and I don't usually even notice it in most of my clothes.

Socks on the other hand, the toe seam can be super noticeable on my toes and bother me all day, basically I will notice it continually as long as the seam is in the wrong place, I won't forget it or stop noticing it until it's fixed.

Loud music can have emotional impacts and the louder, the stronger the effect can be. Loud sounds like rhythmic beats can cause euphoria. It also can help drive out intrusive thoughts. It's also more like loud environments can be tuned out to the point that you don't notice them.

Also, Loud spaces with just a lot of public noise can actually be necessary to maintain mental health for NTs. Like, I get a little loopy if I'm not out in a public space for more than 24 hours (so staying in my house without going out in a loud, brought public space for than 24 hours is not fun for me, my anxiety spikes, I get kinda OCD. This is common for neurotypicals).

I could work on something I enjoy for a full day without needing a break. I used to research horse stuff for most of my afterschool days as a kid. I will sort through knitting resources for 4+ hours an evening.

This is an awesome answer! Thank you so much for sharing

#writing tips #writers on tumblr

[stillness138]

ah sure, why not @voidwelt tagged me, thanky

last song: this retro banger that opens the last episode of Kamen Rider Black Sun, which is a cool 10 part series i think witcher fans would find very compelling.

favourite color: (yeah i type the ou words inconsistently, idc) it'll forever be the space between green and blue

watching: i don't do shows all that much, definitely not casually in the background. if i watch something, i get immersed. last thing i properly watched was Drive My Car, a movie about dealing with loss. coincidentally, the lead actor co-leads in KR Black Sun too.

sweet/savory/spicy: all these are fine, the only taste i don't like is bitter... i'm craving something spicy recently though that is true.

relationship status: you guys actually have those? i thought it was a joke

current obsession: Hidetoshi Nishijima packing. i'm getting out of here very soon but i'm growing quite impatient. can't wait to flip off this dysfunctional apartment (and family).

last thing I googled: HP laptop startup trouble. whatever i found worked though!

tagging everyone who has been leaving notes on my gwent lore posts, love u all

#tag game #help i have so much paper to pack

[gently-yours]

which star trek series do you enjoy the most? (side note, I bet you’d rock the skant)

oooohh this is my favourite question 🥰 I mean it's gotta be DS9, I love my little dysfunctional political allegory found family space station crew. I don't care much for modern day Trek because it's often too dark and grim, but I think comparatively DS9 introduced just enough dark- and grimnness into the Star Trek world to make it interesting while still keeping that cozy fuzzy warm utopian feeling that is what I want from Star Trek. That said both TNG and TOS are huge comfort shows for me, like I'll re-binge DS9 from one end to the other every once in a while, but when I'm feeling bad or stressed I will put on a couple of episodes of TOS or TNG just because it brings me so much joy to spend time with those crews in that universe. And there is nothing else that gives me the feeling that those two do, so they're definitely not far behind DS9

And anon I think you're right but there's only one way to find out. I will say that me wearing a skant would combine two of my favourite things, Star Trek and easy access 🤔

#thank you for the question i love you #anon #just to be clear i'm talking about easy access on ME #because even though introducing some semblence of gender neutrality in TNG was pretty dang cool (if brief) #there's no denying that it was primarily women walking around scantily clad #i'm objectifying myself here not them #asks #answered

[msvorderofoperations]

Shit Life Syndrome

I am in the midst of a crisis. Well, more so than usual as my life has been one slow motion catastrophe for the last year. To sum up: I was left holding the bag by a close friend that decided that he could no longer support me. I don't wish to divulge details but I did everything in my power to accommodate him on interpersonal, financial, logistical and emotional levels. It was not enough.

In the mad rush to get ready (though I don't know exactly how/when), I contracted COVID for the second time. While still isolating and recovering, I then had to start living on my own in a partially demolished space while I tried to get my feet under me. While that happened, I underwent surgery and it went literally as badly as it could. A week after the procedure, the incision tore open and became badly infected. I was all but bedridden for the next two months. As I was beginning to feel things take a turn for the better, my dad died. He was an utter piece of shit that I do not miss, but that he made zero plans for his death meant that the entire family was in disarray for weeks.

Literally the next day, I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to leave the space I had been living, even though I had been assured that I would always have a place until I found something permanent. I suppose that was a lie. I then had to scramble to try and get *anything* going for housing, while also having to rectify that I was now almost certainly afflicted with long COVID. As this happened, understandably (I hope) I got to a very low emotional state. I have flirted with suicidal ideation a number of times in my life, but it never gets very far. This time was different, and far worse. Just as I was in the worst throes of it, I had an epiphany. I have lived through worse, and come through the other side of it. All of these things that were weighing on me I have dealt with before, just never in such close proximity. I was not going to roll over to some amateur hour horseshit as being too sad. As has been said elsewhere, if hope cannot be found, spite can be a fine substitute.

Unfortunately, what is left unsaid is that spite is not infinite.

I have now been living in a tiny storage space with no more than a mattress, my clothes and my computer with my estranged sister and her deeply dysfunctional family for 3 months. I have been paying hundreds of dollars per month for the privilege, and do not have access to the homes amenities, and am still having to buy my own groceries. The only solace that I have is that I haven't had to move back in with my mom, who is bar none the worst of my abusers. But she lives close by and is constantly making things worse.

And to top all this off, to make this work I have had to move hours away from what few other supports I have in my life. I have not seen many of my friends in years owing to the pandemic, and to see any of them now takes at least two hours of traversal, a sizable portion of which is walking. This means that if I want to do anything I have to be prepared to lose 1 or 2 days just in the recovery.

This has also put enormous strain on my relationship with my girlfriend. She has been entirely understanding about all of this and has been an absolute paragon of love and support. She has also been working her ass off to try and make things happen wherever I cannot. I know that she is going to read this and worry, but I am going to reassure her and anyone else that happens to read this that I am not going to do anything drastic. I just desperately need to get these words out.

In watching a video by one of my favourite video-essayists, he has an aside on how COVID, and the ensuing health problems afterward delayed the very project that I was watching. For nearly a year. But having the video to work towards gave some structure and an end goal he could work towards even if he felt that he might not actually have anything useful to say. That his issues mirrored my own was discomforting, but that I didn't even have anything to work towards fully unmoored me.

Yes I have had the goal of finding a place to live, but nothing about that goal is concrete. I cannot any more definitively make a place to live happen by myself than I can will myself into being healthy. It is all down to blind, simple, clueless luck. We are in the midst of a generationally unique economic crisis which is inexorably tied to an almost entirely unprecedented housing disaster. I am of very little financial means currently, and for nearly everywhere that is not good enough.

And that's the real bitch of it! I'M ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES. I'm a white, cis-male passing person who has been able to find support within the social structures for disability available to me that precious few people will ever get access to. And for all that, it counts for nearly N O T H I N G. The monthly stipend for rent payments is utterly laughable, and it was already increased last year. Before that, it was even less. For years, bordering on a decade it was the Provincial governments opinion that $375 a month should be more than adequate. That has not ever been enough in my lifetime. And yes, I understand that elsewhere in the world It would be enough! But what isn't spoken about nearly often enough is that while Vancouver is highly celebrated for a great many things, all of that comes at the cost of some of the most extortionately high cost of living anywhere in the world. But I digress.

While feeling discomfited by the feelings brought up by this video essay, I turned to some of my comfort media. I am not unique in this, but frequently dour media has helped me get through tough emotional situations. This time however, did not. I was watching Chainsaw Man, and Denji's Shit Life felt all too familiar in tone, if not necessarily in details. And then I was hit with an intrusive thought of the absolute worst kind: when looking to narratives to comfort myself I fucked up because they were just that. Narratives. Stories. That actually have to meaningfully go somewhere. The real world does not enjoy that luxury.

For weeks unto months, I have been saying to myself and other that this won't last, that things will get better. But I don't know that. How many people in my situation or worse never pull themselves out of the mire they find themselves in? How many succumb each day to the elements, malnutrition, sickness, violence or plain unfortunate accidents? We tell each other that things have to get better because we believe that there is some narrative resolution to suffering. But for so many people, that never happens. One need only look to all the senseless deaths at the hands of the genocidal maniacs that are in power right now.

I don't have a useful way to end this. I am not going to beg for donations (seriously, I have to report any and all income and I could lose my benefits permanently if they don't like what they see), and I don't have any solutions or witticisms to ponder. Hell, I can count on one hand the number of people that will actually read this. I guess...just keep an ear out if you know anybody in the Greater Vancouver Regional District is looking for a roommate.

#personal #cw: suicide mention #might end up deleting this #I dunno #just catching a lot of feelings tonight

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

Hi!

Because christmas is coming, what’s your favorite family or personal tradition?

Heya!!

I actually have a few! So, as most of you all know by now, I'm Irish lol despite the city my url mentions. As a result, a lot of my favourite traditions are informed by how I was raised ahahahha :P

A few days before Christmas, my mother and I head into the city for Christmas shopping (usually to get some nice things for Christmas dinner and fancy snacks). The lights are beautiful when it gets dark, the atmosphere is positive, though tbh it gets ruined if it's too busy for the amount of space in a given place imo. But I still love going in.

As I was in a choir between the ages of 6 and 18, I learned about the feast of Santa Lucia and the Nordic celebration of her on 13 December. The choir I was in would always mark it and do the Nordic procession and concert with a girl in the choir dressed as Lucia. It's a really beautiful celebration of light during seemingly eternal darkness, and the music is really lovely too. Even though I'm now not part of the choir, I always try to see a Lucia concert if I can help it. It always puts me in a good mood and offers me a little hope, even if everything else may seem dismal to me. My mother marks this celebration too.

GETTING TO LISTEN TO FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK!!!! It's my all-time favourite Christmas song. It's beautiful, it's tragic, it's violent, it's full of smashed-up broken dreams, it glimmers silver and gold...it's the stuff of poetry. It's just perfect. <3

Every Christmas Eve, our primary national broadcaster always shows the Father Ted Christmas Special. It was a comedy tv series made in the 90s about a group of Irish priests marooned on a fictional west-coast island and they behave like a dysfunctional family. It was really well-done (bar one episode which always made me cringe) and often highlighted a lot of the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church in Ireland at the time (and still could apply). Anyway the Christmas special is especially hilarious and absurd, and I've watched it every Christmas for as long as I can remember. And I try to eat a crisp sandwich while watching it (didn't do that this year bc it was on earlier than normal and was still kinda full from dinner).

I try to watch my favourite films (including my fave Edwige Feuillère films) ^.^

This is obvious, but I really love putting up and decorating the tree. It's a pain in the ass to get everything out, sure, but I love the process of decorating anything :P

I'm answering this later than I anticipated but thank you for asking!! Hope you've been enjoying the festive season <333

#if i had to choose one it's probs the lucia celebration that's my fave (and listening to fairytale of new york) <3 #do you have any favourite traditions?? #asked and answered #amarantoo

[captain-noir]

L O V E R S

T O 

ENEMIES

#the expanse #naomi nagata #marco inaros #naomi x marco #naomi x filip x marco #look....i even unintentionally included baby and grown up filip!!!! #my favourite dysfunctional space family #also this highkey one of my favourite tropes #and im glad i can enjoy it here #because he does get his!!! #by her hands #everything he has ever worked for (for her) comes crumbling down because she is the one variable he hasnt factored in #THAT IS A DYNAMIC #and the fact he still wants her because he is that HUNG UP