Book for sale * PALMER COX Our Brownies ABC Adventures 1898 Lovely replica book alphabet stories https://www.ebay.com/itm/265804845699

Learning to Read, Skill Building, Replica of the 1898     Edition, Some Illustrations in Full Color, Whimsical Brownie Characters,     Alphabet adventures. Fully Illustrated. A Book for Children of the late 19th century. 

#Childrensbooks #19thcentury #abc #alphabet #bookshop #dance #books #reading  #forsale #adventures #read #enjoyable #pleasurable #fun #history

The rental mistake chapter 4

Chapter 1, Chapter 2  chapter 3  chapter 5

@super-pink-a-palouza  @caliskarsgard

The chapter are short in this five chapter story about a rental mix up that could end up benefitting both parties. Characters include AU Bill Skarsgard and my original character Sammatha. It is mostly whimsical with a little blood and sex towards the end. A bit of orgasm denial and oral on female. Enjoy.    

They had a delicious dinner with Sammatha’ s brownies for desert Bill asked her about her work. She told him it was mostly sitting at a desk writing creatively when it was good. Writing boring crap when it was a deadline, and she was having writers block. It had been at lot of crappy lately so that is why she decided to take this vacation break.  

She asked him to tell her a funny story. She did not what to ask about his work or family because she figured everyone wanted to know too many details about those things.  

Bill thought a moment. “I one time had a really clogged toilet. No matter what I did I could not get the shit down.  The next day I tried to forget about it. Then I had a friend over. The first thing she did was ask to use the bathroom.”

“Ohno how embarrassing.” Sammatha fretted.  

“Wait.” He grinned. “So, I rush into the bathroom and grab the toothbrush to push it down. And finally, I get it to flush. I just put the toothbrush on the sink think I would throw it away later. We drank and had  a good time. While we were cuddling in bed she whispered to me, “Thanks for leaving an extra tooth brush out for me. I love brushing my teeth before bed but didn’t think to bring one.”

“Oh hell no.” Sammatha laughed. “Is that a true story.

“No, but it made you laugh just like it made me laugh when my friend said it.” Bill laughed.

They drank wine and listened to music ending up dancing as the sun said good night and the moon shined full through the window.  

They were laughing, drinking and dancing when the music changed pace.  A slow jam came on her phone. “I can change this.” She went to grab her phone.

Bill pulled her close to sway instead. “You don’t have to change a thing for me.”  

Sammatha giggled a little before resting her head on his chest. She could feel his heart thumping. One of his hands in hers. His other on her lower back. Her hands rest on his warm back. His hand that was on her back came up to run through her hair which made her look up.  When she did, he leaned down closer. Her heart was racing now. Thir lips came together softly. With her lips being very receptive Bill deepened his kiss.

Bill took a deep breath. “I want to fuck you.”

“Yes.” Is all she could say.

“But not tonight.” He spun her out from him.  

She fell onto the couch leaning back trying to look seductive. “Are you sure.”

“Yeah, you are drunk” He put out his hand out to help her stand.  “But if we both hold out tonight, it will be much better tomorrow. That means no self-gratification before we fall asleep.”

She took his hand getting up in a huff. “Alright.”

He slapped her bottom. “Go get your pjs on. I will pull the couch out and tuck you in when you return.”

“Tuck me in with a kiss?” She grinned.

“We’ll see.” Bill chuckled.

When she got back, he did tuck her in with another drawn out kiss. She tried to pull him down. He didn’t let her even though part of him really wanted it. Sammatha did fall asleep quickly. The wine helped with that. But Bill was having a hard time. He also enjoyed the wait. The leading up to a vacation sexcapade with someone he just met. It was a perfectly tantalizing situation.  

The next morning Bill was up at dawn. He was used to early mornings and late evenings, but coffee helped perk him up. He made enough for Sammatha and made some mimosas. She woke to the smell off coffee and sizzling steak and eggs. “Ugg my head is spitting.”

“Aspin at the table with coffee, a mimosa and waffle with strawberries and cream. It will all settle your stomach. I promise.”

He sat down with his steak and eggs. “I was thinking about going for a hike today. You are welcome to come with me when you are feeling better.

She just stared blankly as she tried to eat without it coming back up.  

Bill glanced at his phone while they were eating breakfast. “Still no word from the homeowner.”

Her headache was still there but she had to admit the carbs eased her stomach.  The coffee was heavenly. She left the mimosa as she got up slowly. “I need a shower.”  

He just nodded with a big mouth full of food. When he was finished eating, he cleaned up the table leaving her mimosa in case she wanted it after her shower.  He put all dishes and pans he used to cook in the dishwasher and got that started. Then he went to the bedroom to get dressed for the day.

Sammatha eased herself under the hot spray of the shower. The heat on her neck eased up her headache or maybe the aspirin was kicking in. She was feeling more alive. The scent of her orange energy bodywash helped her also. She was thinking about how he seemed to not have a hangover at all even though she thought he drank more than her. By the time she was done she was ready for an adventurous hike. The air would probably do her good she thought.

“Sorry I was not so communicative this morning.” She said as she sipped the mimosa.  

“No big deal.” He was on his second cup of coffee. “Hangovers are a bitch.”

“Yes.” She replied. “But you seem fine.”

“Nordic DNA.” He laughed. “At least that is what my dad says.”  

do you have any resources or guides for worldbuilding and reimagining the feywild? not looking for adventure prompts or npcs just your thoughts on setting and how to make the feywild feel dangerous and mystical

Planescape: The Feywild

I won’t lie,  the introduction if the feywild is one of the best additions to the default d&d cosmology in a while, not only from a thematic perspective, but gameplay aswell, as it allows any podunk patch of land to act as a doorway to wild adventure. That said, too often this wonderland is treated as a place where things are just wacky, without real attention paid to the narrative possibilities introducing the feywild into a story can have. 

To that end, I’m going propose a few different aspects of the feywild, different visions of how things could be drawn from different mythologies and storytelling conventions:

The feywild has no geography: like the notes of a song or the lines of a play, the reality of faerie is reinterpreted with every visitation, Coloring itself based on the expectations and emotions of those exploring it. This is why a child can stumble into a mushroom ring and have themselves a whimsical romp full of talking animal friends and life lessons, whereas adults tend to find themselves ensnared by echoes of their deepest desires and why adventurers ALWAYS find something to fight.  If you want to go anywhere in the feywild you don’t need a map, you need a thematic structure that will carry you to your destination: whether that be staying on a yellow brick road through a number of distractions and tribulations, or winning a game of riddles against a talking bird who’ll swear to drop you off at your destination. 

The feywild is a place of stories:  When a peasant family leaves out milk and performs small acts of thanks for the brownie, they are unwittingly inviting the primal energies of the feywild to fill the space they have made for it, creating a creature that had always been there, looking out for them. Likewise, when folk tell of wonderous places just beyond the edge of the map, the feywild becomes those places, taking solidity from repeated tellings of the tale and incorporating different interpretations to give themselves depth. This is not to say that the translation is perfect, as one can’t simply make up a story, tell it to an audience, and expect it to suddenly become true as it takes a powerful and engrained sort of lies, embelishment, or folktales to give shape to the otherworld.  When populating your local fairy-realm or those areas near enough to it, consider what sort of stories people tell about that place, whether it be about monsters that gobble up wayward children or treasure hidden there by bandits long ago. 

The feywild responds to your emotions: When your party takes a rest, ask them how they think their characters are feeling. Consider whether they are frightened or foolheardy, adventurous or avricious, and then sketch out some random encounter to spice in along the way as the realm of whimsy responds to the vibes they’re putting out.   A party that’s feeling hungry may encounter a friendly fey teaparty or a dangerous lure disguised as a snack, a group that’s feeling pressed for time may hear the horn of a savage hunter stalking them, or a parable about stopping to help others can actually speed you along your own path.  In this way, the fairyland is in diolog with the party’s desire to press their narrative forward, and will test or reward them according to its whim. 

The feywild is everywhere: one of the underutilized aspects of having the feywild in our games is that a portal to the “shallower” areas of the otherworld can pop up anywhere overtaken by nature, allowing fey beings and other oddities to cross over in a way that creates all manner of adventure hooks. If I’m building a dungeon in the wilderness, I’m personally fond of having a mounting fey presence the deeper in you get, replacing the normal ruin dwelling hazards with troops of hobgoblins, odd enchantments, and various tricksters. For smaller dungeons, the closed off fey portal can be an adventure hook for later, encouraging them to come back when they need to delve into whimsy, whereas for the larger dungeons,  a non contiguous fey realm connecting multiple points can serve as a combination of fast travel AND bonus stage. Even for non dungeon locations, consider how much fun of an adventure it’d be if someone discovered that their cellar had been replaced with a fairy’s larder, or that the vine-covered lot where neighborhood kids play during the day transforms into a vast battlefield for sprites during the night. 

Scavenger

Freeform prose. Just wanted to really let myself go ham with imagery and quick dialogue. So apologies if the pacing is all over the place. Based on the idea of older TWST characters from this post. Had a gut feeling to just go for Leona with this prompt. Also brownie points if you can guess why Yuu’s cigarette can make funky smoke trails. -Shopkeep

A recently back Yuu takes a moment of peace to recollect themself from their sudden arrival. Leona, their old love, joins them and the two wonder if they can pick up where they last left off.

Content: GN!Yuu x Leona, Pre-Established Relationship, Swearing, Tobacco Use, Alcohol Mention, Mild Hurt/Comfort

The sudden rollarcoaster of a welcome from all sides had dwindled down. A luxurious suite on Sage Island became Yuu’s hideaway despite friends’ protests to party the night away. They wanted to hear stories, laugh, cry all over a number of colorfully named alcohol bottles. But that would be saved for another day. Yuu’s mind and body needed to readjust with the dimension-hopping equivalent of jetlag. Lazily hung from their bottom lip, a cigarette sat and puffs of colorful smoke plumed around Yuu. They curled and formed into whimsical scenes, from a crocodile waving its shining tail to fishes swimming along an invisible current. Yet the visions dissipated as they escaped through the open window and into the night air.

The taste was infinitely better compared to the shit back home. To be expected, when you’re indulging in the vices of a technicolor magical world. Their gaze flicked to the room’s door as the lock clicked open. A tall, built form stalked through the doorway and eyes colored a jungle’s verdant green during a summer day, landed on the bare torso of Yuu. Long ago they had discarded their shirt to enjoy the cool night air. A low growl of a voice mentioned something about a spare key being left behind, but Yuu could care less as they stared openly upon their old flame.

Leona Kingscholar, like wine, the more he aged, the more intoxicating he looked. It wasn’t a one-sided attraction though. For Leona, there was no sign of the herbivore he once knew. Bright-eyed, naive, and such a goody-two-shoes to a fault. Now that spark has faded just a bit over the years to reveal a wizened traveler with some bad habits on their heels. Namely the piercings, the tattoos, and the cigarette that played on their tongue. 

Leona sat down with them, thighs ever so close to touching, but a half-inch of uncertainty kept them separated. His gaze lingered on the intricate imagery that adorned Yuu’s arms and back. His main focus was of course on the earth-toned silhouette of a lion that roared ferociously with a hyena and wolf by its side. His fingers reached out and traced along the fangs it bore. Yuu didn’t reel back at all. They watched him closely as he admired their body’s art.

“I etched you all on my skin. Because I was afraid I was going to forget. Like this was all just some fever dream.”

“Hmph, dream huh? Is that what we were?” He couldn’t fight the bitterness that clawed its way up. Unresolved tensions, questions left unanswered, they festered much too long in the Prince’s heart like roots hiding away the most vital parts of a tree. But Yuu wasn’t keen on playing gardener though.

“Don’t you dare try to pin this on me. You knew exactly why I had to leave, but I promised, didn't I? I promised to be back. And I’m here!”

“Why after so long? What if you were gone for 20? 30? 40 years?”

Yuu groaned, combing their hair back in exasperation. “For fuck’s sake Leona! You wanna me to have the fucking Dark Mirror on speed dial!? I don’t have magic back home! I can’t pull off Godly crap like you and others can!”

Leona bit back his tongue at the annoyance that flashed in herbivore, no, scavenger’s eyes. They looked so tired. Tired from exhausting god knows how much resources to make contact back here. They scraped by on what little they had in their homeworld, praying on bones and leftovers for a miracle to happen and where was he? What was he doing on his side of the mirror? Sitting around, fat, and happy with how life has been treating him alright after Night Raven. But at least he knew one thing to do after all the time that’s passed.

“Sorry… That was unfair of me…”

It was Yuu’s turn to look at him bug-eyed. He growled.

“You won’t hear that outta me a second time…”

“Pfft, and here I thought the lion finally had a heart,” they joked, their tension now subsiding.

“Shut the hell up.”

“Heh,” the cigarette was passed to him. “Want a hit?”

“Nah. Stuff messes with my tongue too much. Plus it tastes horrible.”

“Damn, this is horrible for you? Y’all wouldn’t last a minute back at my place,” even if it was a joke, Yuu felt a frown curl on their lips at the truth that statement held. Leona paid no mind. Instead he reveled in the calm, letting the cool breeze that entered the hotel room soothe his nerves. Unconsciously, he felt at edge, but the more he and Yuu talked, the more a familiar energy came to settle between the two. One, two, three moments passed. Yuu took in a huff and spoke with smoke curling around their talking mouth.

“Leona… Are we still–” A pause and a frustrated sigh.

His hand gripped a bit tighter on his knee. “What?”

Yuu made a vague hand gesture, their cigarette humorously leaving trails that formed into wheels to represent their racing mind. “Y’know! Are we still– together? Even after so long?”

“... Yuu, I got angry that you took too long to come back through a magic mirror. When you don’t have magic to begin with. You think I’m not into you, after all this? Are you an idiot?”

“I just wanted to double-check, damn! It’s never bad to ask!” The two laughed breathily, though maybe more on a scoffing side for Leona. Slowly, the barrier from before crumbled down as Yuu now sat side to side with Leona. He looked down and Yuu met his gaze with such deep yearning, it blind-sided him. Hesitation was gone now as Yuu drew boldly close.

“Hey, can we kiss?” They asked softly. Smoke still hovered over their lips. Leona would have abhorred the thought of kissing someone with tobacco still strong on them. Yet the way that Leona nearly dove in to catch Yuu’s lips could have said otherwise. In the quick moments when they both surfaced to breathe between their kisses, the smoke escaped and leaked between their mouths. The shapes they made were of lions chasing antelope, ravens fluttering wildly in the air, then everything crashing into a meld of hearts. Quickly as they appeared, so too did they disappear, leaving only a hunter and a scavenger trying desperately to satiate their hunger.

hues.

a/n: late to the game with on my block. only just finished chapter 8, but i was looking through random writing challenges and thought I’d try this one. the format is way different than how I usually write. i wrote this in my iPhone notes at 2am and copied it over, so hopefully, it actually makes sense😊

challenge: pick a character + recall memories through color association (I picked 8 colors)

pairing: oscar diaz x black!reader

words: 805

✧ your eyes. kind. color of the richest chocolate. as warm as the smile you gave him. your gaze. always finding his across a classroom. beautiful. powerful. strong enough to draw butterflies. silence him. snuff out the confidence of a fourteen-year-old boy. time. teaches him how to know what's inside your heart. your eyes. brown. your only tell. they hold the key to what lies inside. your eyes. betray you every time. your eyes. unable to hide your true thoughts. his fear. finding disappointment when he looks to them.

✦ freshman year. movements controlled. breathing dreaded, but a necessity. bruises. purple. painting his ribs and back. distance. unanswered calls. once occupied desks, now empty. his school appearances. rare. sophomore year. rumors. whispered. creeping through the school halls and neighborhood. oscar. a name murmured at birth. replaced with a moniker. one that evokes fear. generates a mask that you don’t recognize. months of ghosting. nights passing your house. a need to see you. deterred by scared parents who enforce boundaries. his heartbeat. racing once your paths cross by chance. doubt. has his absence forced you to judge him like your parents? bruises. purple. against his knuckles. impossible to hide as your hand finds his.

✧ his eyes. red. swollen. dry. tapped out. tears. none left. a pain. in his chest. indescribable. unmistakable. never felt before. his heart. breaking. ripped in two. somehow still beating. a conversation. reoccurring. talked about for months. always falling on his deaf ears. this time. your foot is down. your high school graduation. recently passed. college. looming. hundreds of miles away. long distance. not an option. a conversation. he doesn't want to hear. a breakup. long overdue. must be done. the start of summer. easier for a clean break.

✦ black ink. scribbled. letters. most addressed to one person. you. his letters. fear about his brother. left alone. apologies. for things, he said out of anger. questions. about your life. your daughter. olivia. her father. false words. saying he's sorry for your failed engagement. he's not. hope. maybe when he's out you'll come home. give him a second chance. each letter you send. leads to reminiscing. your words. maintain his sanity. each of your letters. kept. pages creased. refolded. read. too many times.

✧ useless fans. heatwave. dripping ice. cold beers. food on the grill. ice cream. music melding with laughter. a conversation. falls on death ears. air. catching in his chest. knots. in his stomach. a rare occurrence. a figment of his imagination. caught behind a haze of smoke. only this time it’s different. morphed. aged by four years. your beauty. somehow enhanced. your curls. soft. longer. your eyes. always impossibly bright. focused on those welcoming you home. the sun. casts a golden glow upon your skin. your sundress. yellow. a pause in your speech. your eyes spot him. his eyes warm. his smile. soft. an unexpected sight. still brings butterflies.

✦ sheets. white. cotton. soft. your breathing. light. warm upon his chest. you. asleep. him. wide awake. his phone. silenced. notifications. neglected. responsibilities. need to be handled. they're rebuffed. his body. can't move. scared to leave you alone. sheets. white. holding him captive. one thought in his mind. he can't let you wake to his side cold. not when you've finally returned to him. two souls. tethered. a teenage love. abandoned years before. the feeling. sought for in the kisses of others. incomparable. never found. a teenage love. revisited. no longer juvenile. despite years passed. still inescapable.

✦ olivia's favorite color. shared with oscar the first time the two meet. pink. icing. unexpectedly smeared across his skin. cool. against his heated cheek. he. regards your gaze. doe-eyed. whimsical. a rare one a.m. sight. a result of him answering your late-night s.o.s. text. his arrival. in record time. his brow. arched once he finds you. standing in the kitchen. perfectly fine. surrounded by a mess of ingredients. your puppy-dog eyes. cause his head to shake.

“olivia’s class is having a bake sale, and she is not bringing some basic cookies or brownies--like everyone else's kid. you told me to call you whenever i need you...well, i need you to help me crank out four dozen cupcakes by tomorrow morning.”

pink. buttercream. rich and sweet as your lips find his cheek. each kiss. undoing the mess you'd made. the taste. lingering, with his smile, as your lips briefly meet his.

✧ the taste of salt on his lips. your hair still damp. moderately drying curls. frizzing beneath his touch. his heartbeat staggered. uncontrollable. a puppet at your mercy. years worth of energy. once trapped in wood. whispering, hissing, sizzling, cracking, popping. released back into the night sky. burning beneath the fire's flames. a kaleidoscope of lights. bright. warm. somehow never as hot as the heat of your skin against his. your curves. soft. intoxicating. majestic. moonlight. blue. trapped against your skin. a sight that brings him peace.

main tags: @crowngold @cant-decide-at-this-moment @wiccanmetallicrose @themarkblues @gemini0410 @binooo98 @the-jer-bear @abbiesthings @trhett21 @trulysuccubus @leahnicole1219 @starrynite7114 @queenbeered @kaystacks17 @richonne4life @cocotheclown @oscars-wifeyyy @jennisdirtyimagines @ughdontbeboring @myakai13 @linziland13 @sadeyesgf @brattyfics @sincerelykas @pearlkitten33 @tian-monique @megapeacelovemusic-blog @rosieposie0624 @appropriate-writers-name @demonquartz @ourlittlesecretsoveragain @beiroviski @frostingguru @seize-the-droid @cutiebubbleboo @siempremamita @awkwardtayler @relaxing-najee @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @toni9 @making-starsdance @chaneajoyyy

The Cheshire Cat!

First impression - I loved him as a kid! I'm a big cat person, so I loved all the Disney cats, and Chesh was no exception. He was also purple which always adds brownie points from me XD

Impression now - Still love him! He's a lot of fun and one of the most colorful and interestingly wacky Disney characters. Also he lent himself to one of my tiktoks that got a lot of views, so hey there's that too XD

Favorite moment - When he sang "T'was Brillig." There's something both ominous and whimsical about that moment at the same time. I love the inclusion of the Jabberwocky poem in some form too since the full song was cut from the final product.

Idea for a story - In Kingdom Hearts, wouldn't it just be glorious if Chesh just latched onto Sora and followed him around causing wacky mayhem to all of the other worlds. Like can you imagine the hijinks??? XD

Unpopular opinion - He's a villain. He's a part of the Disney Villain brand, he causes trouble for Alice (nearly getting her decapitated), and whether he's chaotic neutral or chaotic evil, he's mostly just chaotic and a villain need not be evil to be a villain.

Favorite relationship - See I feel like he and the Caterpillar would actually vibe with one another. I'd love to see them interact.

Favorite headcanon - Oh well in the movie, his head can detach from his body. He can even stand on it. I'm sure he could it as a cannon to if he wanted. That'd definitely be a head cannon ;)

NOT Live Blogging RWBY Vol. 7

Guess who has two thumbs and finally finished watching RWBY Volume 7? This gal! So I decided I’d post my thoughts on the volume. I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t get to properly live blog it, but I guess right now this is the best I can do.

(So is…is tumblr still a thing? Or has whatever company that owns it now finally run the site completely into the ground. Maybe the question I should be asking is: does anyone still follow my blog?)

I think in the interest of not rambling too wildly I’m going to organize my thoughts into broad categories. So, here we go.

Visuals

If nothing else, this volume was a feast for the eyes. I’m impressed that RWBY continues to noticeably improve its visuals with each Volume. Honestly, at this point I don’t see the need for further improvement. The character models are appropriately stylized, the backgrounds are gorgeous, and the last of the kinks have (finally) been worked out of the animation.

What I’m less enthused about is the costume design. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad. It’s just not great. Penny’s new design works. Ruby’s outfit is virtually identical to her last one, so she gets a pass. Weiss’s is close, oh so close. I like the basic design, but I think the colors needed some more tweaking. Blake’s outfit is…. Well, I don’t know. I think I’m going to call it mildly nonsensical. I’m digging the haircut though. (Same goes for Jaune!) Yang and Neo’s new clothes are so-so at best, and Cinder’s are downright awful. Strangely enough, it’s Team JN_R that wins the best-dressed award in my book. They’re new outfits look far better than Weiss’s, Blake’s, and Yang’s by a mile.

I guess I should count my blessings. After Neo and Cinder’s new outfits debuted at the end of Volume 6 I was afraid that everyone might end up looking like lampshades. Or maybe fetishists not fully committing to the part.

Story

Up until about Episode 10 I was going to call this volume the good twin to Volume 4’s evil twin. A volume of RWBY that lacked the high-highs and the low-lows that are so endemic of the franchise. The difference between the two being that Volume 4 was painfully mediocre, while Volume 7 was pretty good. But it turns out I was wrong. The entirety of Volume 7 was, in my opinion, nothing more than a build-up to the big finale. And what a finale it was! But maybe I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.

The first episode really won brownie points with me for basically doing the bad part of Volume 6 (Team RWBY spitting in the face of authority) except doing it right. It turns out that authority figures aren’t always “whimsical” caricatures masquerading as antagonists. (Sorry, I really hated Caroline, and not in a good way.) It also turns out that sometimes the authorities aren’t utterly incompetent. In many ways the Ace-Ops arresting Team RWBY reminded me of a less extreme version of the ending of the fourth Hunger Games movie. Specifically the part where Katniss and company decide to storm the castle and utterly fail. You know, the part where the movie transformed from an uninspired parody of itself to the absolute highlight of the entire franchise?

And then a bunch of stuff happened, some of which I’ll discuss in the next section. And then there were some really great fights. Oh yes, and then Salem shows up. Bye-bye Atlas! You. Are. Outta here!

Honestly, the only thing I didn’t much care for story-wise was Penny becoming the new Winter Maiden. It’s not because I don’t like the concept; it’s because it feels like they didn’t put any thought into the idea other than “let’s make Penny the Winter Maiden”. I’ll withhold judgment for now. It’s only fair that I wait and see where they go with it.

Characters

Believe it or not, I don’t have much to say about Team RWBY themselves in this section. Development-wise this volume was almost exclusively focused on other characters. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, although it wouldn’t be my first choice if I had my druthers. Honestly, Weiss, Blake, and Yang’s character arcs have largely been concluded at this point. Only Ruby’s left with outstanding issues regarding her mother. So…yeah. Maybe that bodes poorly for the franchise’s future now that I think about it? Or at least my own personal enjoyment of it? Eh, I’ll worry about that later. I should talk about all the other characters!

Team JN_R – I was a bit surprised at the lack of Jaune-related content this volume. They didn’t even deign to make him suffer much. But with a cast as big as RWBY’s, it’s not the first time we’ve seen a character take a volume off as it were. The big news here is that they actually attempted to give Ren a character and bring him into conflict with Nora. I…. Well, I don’t really think they succeeded, to be honest. As is a common problem in RWBY, there really wasn’t enough time to let the idea be fully realized. But I appreciate the effort.

The Ace-Ops – Oh, I had these guys pegged as the volume’s final bosses from the get-go. And I was not disappointed. As one-off antagonists, they worked. I can’t remember any of their names though. Except for Clover’s, and I’ll talk about him and Qrow in the section below.

Penny – It’s about time she came back. We all knew that was going to happen, right? And while I’m on the subject, Pietro was a nice side character too.

Oscar – He was there.

Robyn – I’m not sure what to say about her, to be honest. She was a good enough character, and played her role in the story well. But I never felt like she rose above her role.

Neo – You know who my favorite RWBY character is? It’s Yang, obviously. And do you know who the most strongly characterized RWBY character is? It’s the late Roman Torchwick of course. But do you know who takes second place in both of those categories? Neo. Kind of ironic for that second one given that she doesn’t speak. Neo did not disappoint this volume. She never disappoints. And I’ve said it before, on this very blog I think. In terms of raw-skill, Neo is one of the most dangerous characters in the RWBY-verse. Team JN_R vs. Neo? No contest. Although I am amused that Jaune got the only real hit on her. I’m even more amused that it somehow felt appropriate.

Cinder – Again I continue to really like post-Volume 4 Cinder. No matter how hard she tries, the universe just won’t stop kicking her in the teeth. And it just fits her character so well. Bravo Rooster Teeth!

Winter – Winter’s battle might not have been the most fun. That goes to Neo vs. some bush leaguers. It might not have been the most creative. That goes to Team RWBY vs. the Ace-Ops. But by God, no one put in more effort than Winter. She has my utmost respect.

Weiss’s Mom – Hey, she exists! Nice!

Dr. Watts – So much smarm. So much arrogance. I should hate him, but I really don’t. He’s just great.

Ironwood – And the best for last. Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my. His arc this volume was absolutely perfect. It was given enough time to be believable, amazing for a show like RWBY, and every step along his journey made sense. He’s become my absolute favorite kind of antagonist, the kind that believes what they’re doing is right. And here’s the thing, I can’t say that Ironwood is wrong. I don’t think he’s right, but I can’t say that he’s wrong. Give me an Ironwood over a Tyrian any day of the week. Please give me an Ironwood over a Tyrian.

The Gay Agenda

*singing* Qrow has a boyfriend….

Er…. Qrow had a boyfriend. And then Clover got Bury Your Gays’d. I’m kind of disappointed, but I’m kind of not. After all, the universe has long since ordained that it is Qrow’s lot in life to suffer.

To tell the truth I’m deeply divided on how I feel about RWBY’s take on the gays. The homoromantic subtext between Yang and Blake has reached levels equivalent to Season 3 of Xena: Warrior Princess. And Qrow and Clover were about there too. On one hand, I’m happily drinking it all up. On the other hand, I want to call Rooster Teeth a bunch of cowards. It’s not 1999 anymore. You can make characters gay. RWBY has made (side) characters gay. At best I’m expecting them to pull a Legend of Korra and only make things “official” at the very end of the show, a resolution I found deeply unsatisfying. But if I were running the show, would I do things differently? Well, yes I would. But would it be the correct decision from a revenue perspective? I’m assuming that RWBY is a, let’s say, important show for Rooster Teeth. I base this assumption on the fact that they announced three RWBY-adjacent spin-offs just after Volume 7 finished. Perhaps they feel they can’t take any risks with something so popular? Perhaps they don’t particularly care. Again, I don’t know how to feel about it.

Conclusion

Homoromanticism aside, (Never!) is Volume 7 the best volume ever? It might be. Only Volumes 1 and 5 can contend with it for consistent high quality. If I had to declare one volume as the best overall, this would probably be it. That being said, I doubt anything will ever supplant the Yang and Blake vs. Adam fight in Volume 6 as my favorite part of RWBY. I still can’t believe they paid that off so well. Three years of anticipation and they fulfilled my every expectation.

Wait, what was I talking about again? Oh yeah. Volume 7. It was good.

hi hi! can i ask peach and dumpling for the cute nickname ask?

peach - what’s your ideal aesthetic?

dumpling - what’s your favourite movie right now?

Hm, its hard to describe my aesthetic because it depends on the medium and what I’m doing. Color wise, I like Earthy tones. Greens, Browns but with a hint of purple. Imagine if Disney Villains had a field trip to the forest.

Clothing wise, I aspire to have the gay dad vibe. Like Hawaiian shirts, wear pattern button ups, flamingo shorts. I like wearing ironically because I used to be such a emo kid, wearing only black clothing and just hating the color pink or “girly” stuff. Now, I literally own pink shorts with navy palm tree patterns. Its the best.

The overall online vibe I love the most is a mix of vapor-wave and lofi aesthetics. I love the blue pink and purple hues and highlight/neon lights. Plus its all the colors of the bi flag so more brownie points

My Favorite movie would have to be Coraline. I’m a big fan and appreciator of stop motion and Neil Gaiman. The music is wonderful and perfectly fits with the atmosphere that Coraline represents. The character designs are unique and interesting, something Laika Studios has always been great at.

The story itself is unique whimsical but dark. Its such a tightly made story. Yeah there are questions about the world but the way the story is written, these questions don’t really matter. What matters is what Coraline goes through, her learning to grow up and appreciate the things she has.

The story doesn’t punish her for wanting more in her life or for loving the whimsy of the other world. It gave her what she wanted but everything has consequences and she learns to grow from it. I don’t blame her for her choices, she’s just a child.  Kids need to grow and learn for themselves sometimes and Coraline the story knows this as well.

The book is great as well so yall should try it.

89 Best Personalised Presents For Men In 2020 (From $10)

An engraved reward is a special option to personalize a gift and seize the thoughtfulness in a manner that is unmatched by most different presents. This collaboration with British artist Rory Dobner features whimsical illustrations that any baker would proudly display on their kitchen counter. Pick a letter (or spell out a reputation or initials with a couple of!) and watch as your loved one opens a gift that's both fun and functional. The BPA-free silicone spatula head, which is heat-resistant up to 600°F, is perfect for every little thing from frosting cakes to scooping brownie batter out of the bowl. This bag is a finest-vendor for a purpose. A mushy leather-based tote giant enough to fit a laptop, work provides, a lunch, and even some sneakers for the commute house—with three inside pockets and a zipper to maintain all of it hidden—it's the perfect reward for your most professional good friend. Much more, you'll be able to personalize it with up to 10 stamped characters in a variety of colours, in order that they'll by no means be caught carrying the identical bag as anybody else.

Pozuelo embroidery

camisetas personalizadas Pozuelo is specialised in both Customized embroidery and Industrial embroidery, as well as, They perform all kinds of printing each on the Signage level and in textile display printing, in its different codecs, from textile vinyl, display screen printing, direct DTG printing, sublimation, switch, to printing on inflexible media utilizing the Uvi Printer. Shop for everybody on your record, all 12 months lengthy. We are able to personalize your distinctive present for any occasion and any individual. If they've a pastime like golf or even love being in the kitchen cooking up treats for the family and buddies, now we have wonderful present concepts that we'll personalize free for you with your gift recipient's identify, initials, dates and even photographs! Choose your favourite shade schemes, sizes and designs to create one thing really good on your favorite folks.

The Longest Library #2: Cat Raise The Dead by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (AKA cat balls)

This is a series in which I attempt to read and review all (or most of) my library of 297 books.

Rundown: Two sentient, talking cats solving a mystery involving disappearing old folks and a cat burglar. I give it a 2/5 because it's like a slightly undercooked brownie, you think you like it but by the third bite it's falling apart and isn't holding together very well and you kind of want it to reach the end and it doesn't feel great anymore. You have to put it down and pick out the nice bits and kind of ignore the other bits and just drink a tall glass of milk afterwards.

So what I mean by that, is that the pacing, both in the narrative sense and the pace at which clues are revealed or become more concrete, is too slow. It felt like I was being shown a bunch of unrelated stuff, and the one or two things I did connect painted a much more interesting picture for myself than it turned out to be. I felt shorted. After the descriptions of the frighteningly lifelike dolls and the missing old people I was ready for some real serial killer shit. There was too much space between finding clues and the climax (where everything came together). It felt like I was handed 5 out of 500 puzzle pieces, and then shown the rest of it at the last minute. None of those five fit together in any way. The author was a little too guarded about the conclusion.

Now, not to diss the big mystery itself. It's effective and devilishly practical, and literally would have been an air tight scheme if not for those meddling cats.

The secondary sub-mystery feels unnecessary. It could have stood alone as it's own thing, or have been concluded in the first half. It feels very haphazardly tied to the main mystery.

There's quite a few run on sentences that could have done with some pruning. The imagery is vibrant, and would be great if the book was only about the cats. But it's not. The narrative keeps weaving in and out of cat-centric things like hunting in the moonlight and a gnarly rat fight, and back to the mystery again. It feels disjointed, and could do with some tightening.

Also the author keeps "showing and not telling" me that the main cat is clearly not neutered. God please. Effective imagery. But holy fuck stop showing me this cat's little furry balls.

Now for some lines I wanted to comment on.

"Last week, coming out of the Felther house up on Ridgeview, with her inner coat pockets loaded with a lovely set of Rose of Erin sterling and a fine array of serving pieces, when she saw the gray tom watching from atop a black station wagon and she faced him and swore at him, his eyes had flared with rage. Sentient rage. The kind of violent anger you see only in human eyes."

"He turned away, trotted away purposefully up the side street as if she didn't exist, moved off toward the front of the house, prancing insolently up the center of the sidewalk under the streetlight, his stub tail wiggling back and forth, his tomcat balls making him walk slightly straddle-legged."

"The hunting would be fine, the rabbits giddy and silly in the racing light. She felt giddy herself, felt suddenly moon silly. Felt like rolling and playing."

ZOOMIES

"Harper looked the car over, took out a pack of cigarettes, then changed his mind and put them back in his pocket. As if he didn't want to smoke up the pristine beauty. [...] Again he took a cigarette, slipping it from the pack in his pocket in an automatic reflex. He started to tamp it on the door of the Bentley, then put it back again."

The author is really good at small details like this, little character details and mannerisms that get lost in the rest of the incredibly dense descriptions and things-that-aren't-moving-the-plot-faster.

"She was dressed in jeans and one of those T-shirts that made a statement, a shirt she had obviously selected as appropriate for the occasion. Across her chest four cats approached the viewer, and on the back of the shirt, which he'd seen as she came around the car to get in, was a rear view of the same four cats walking away, as if they were stepping invisibly through the wearer's chest, thier tails high, and, of course, all their fascinating equipment in plain sight."

This is Dillon. She's like, 15. Please choose a different shirt Dillon. Author, please stop talking about how fascinating cat balls are for like one second, oh my god.

"He and Dr.Firreti were waiting to see if the pills would snap Barney out of it. It was midafternoon now, and he wondered if Clyde was at home. Worrying, he said a little cat prayer for Barney."

I want a church cat, to go to church, and reeeead his biiiiblee~

"...her spike heels sharp enough to puncture a cat's throat. It was Dulcie who glanced away. This was the woman who could afford a three hundred thousand dollar Bentley Azure but who presumably spent her days among bedpans counting soiled sheets and inspecting medication charts. A woman who had to be driven totally by love for humanity; why else would she do this? This woman who, Clyde had told him, supervised every detail of the retirement villa like an army general. As she disappeared into an office, Joe shivered, and he, too, looked away."

ALERT, EVIL VILLAIN SPOTTED, SHE IS OBVIOUSLY UP TO NO GOOD (tm)

"If Clyde ordered you not to go near Casa Capri, you'd be up there in the shake of a whisker." [...] "Joe wanted to say, 'You thought visiting the old folks would be all kippers and cream,' wanted to say, 'Casa Capri didn't turn out like you expected.' But she glared as him so crossly he shut his mouth."

There's a lot of colorful writing meant to invoke the sharpness and whimsicality surrounding life as a cat, but it suffers from (what I feel are) tone problems. 'kippers and cream' and 'a shake of your tail' right alongside visceral descriptions of the killing blow on a wild rabbit, slowly devouring/pulling it apart. It would be immersive if not for the cat puns and colloquialisms that sound like they belong on a plaque someplace in your Nan's house.

"Tramping heavy-pawed among the delicate bottles, he posed before the mirror, twitching a whisker, giving her a toothy grin. Panning and turning, he glanced over his shoulder, studying his stub tail and his tomcat equipment. She hadn't known he was such a ham."

ANYWAY, 2 down, 295 to go.

endive, fanfaronade, and serendipity for Julia!

@mindlessselfshipindulgence you have opened the floodgates... you do not know what you have wrought....

serendipity - how did you first discover your f/o, or your f/os source material? how did you feel when you first saw your f/o in your source material? 

I saw the Dark Shadows 2012 movie long, a good seven years, before I got into the show, and the version of Julia in THAT was great.... but I didn’t know it was a remake of a Show until I saw House of Dark Shadows on TCM last year and then went and watched the og show,,, and the version There was eVEN COOLER, AND SNARKIER, AND A CHARACTER WHO’S AN OLDER WOMAN BUT A MAIN CHARACTER HERSELF AND NOT THE MC’S MOM which you like hardly Ever see, PLUS a doctor and a scientist in the SIXTIES no less...,,, just, so cool, and smart, and a disaster yet the show’s resident brain cell haver, and just *slightly* amoral,,, I did not expect to like her as mUCh as I did because of the few aspects of Movie Julia that unsettled me (hypnotizing barnabas) but I was sO WRONG. I IMMEDIATELY LOVED HER. FIRST FOR HER ATTITUDE and later for her legitimate heart and the depth of her feelings which is such an important part of her character not just her badassery

fanfaronade - what would your f/o say when bragging about you to others?

oH JEEz I’m not used to gushing about mySELF this is good to get me out of my comfort zone,, um.... that i really really care,, and I’m smarter than people think, a lot smarter... and she trusts me,, perhaps these are all actually just things which would mean a lot to me

endive - if, under the circumstance, you were able to treat your f/o to a single, beautiful day without a budget, what would it consist of?

⁃ OK julia is OVERWORKED and she is UNDERWOO’ED SO, i am going CLASSICAL and CHEESY on this one. First things first when she wakes up I’ve made chocolate chip pancakes and fruit syrup and whipped cream and strawberries and fancy coffee with foam which I bring to her IN bed WITH a bouquet of flowers AND a card with a goofy picture of a dog on the front AND a sweet note on the inside. there is also a wrapped box containing a present which is a Nice Sundress and also a Necklace with Responsibly Sourced and Whimsical gemstones, and matching Earrings, which she can then put on and I will also put on a color coordinated summery outfit, and then go to an Outdoor Garden where there are butterflies which land upon us when we hold still for a long time. Then we have a picnic lunch in the garden with pasta salad. After that I take her to a Spa to soak, get massages, get manicures, get pedicures, the works. Then we Ride Bikes to a seaside restaurant for dinner and watch the waves crash and then after dinner at sunset we walk Down to the beach and walk in the sand with the water splashing over our feet, and then I surprise her with the fact that I have rented a Boat and we go out onto the sea and watch the sunset and right at the prettiest part a plane goes by with a romantic message on a banner. We see whales because it is Maine. After the sun sets I turn the fairy lights on on the boat and give her another present which is Also a Dress but this one is an evening gown and the matching necklace is scientifically interesting and also goth, like, it’s pressed from blood or something like that. I put on a playlist of our songs and we slow dance in our fancy wear. Then there is a meteor shower because I planned this for the day of a meteor shower because I am not a fool, and we lay out on the deck and watch it. Having drunk some quantity of wine we recklessly swim in the sea for a little while and climb back onto the boat and sail to shore, having wrapped her up in my coat to make sure she is not cold. When we dock and go home I have hired someone to 1) fill the house with rose petals, 2) start the fireplace going so that it is nice and warm, 3) prepare a molten brownie dessert which we eat together, and 4) light candles all over the goddamn place. We sit in front of the fire because we are still slightly damp (even though we have changed into matching pajamas) and snuggle there under a fuzzy blanket. I play her a song on the mandolin that I have apparently learned how to play and sing. The person I hired to set the house up nice returns after we have fallen asleep there to sneakily put the candles out because if I don’t specify this I will be worried that the house will burn down. I wake up in the middle of the night and carry her to bed without waking her up so that our backs don’t hurt.

thank you very much for this ask my friend. I am very bisexual and you have made me cry

The Forest of Enchantment Tarot is here!

This deck is by Lunaea Weatherstone with art by Merayla Allwood. It comes in the nice sturdy box Llewellyn decks come in now. The book is a full colour book with big illustrations of all the cards. There are a bunch of spreads and deck-specific readings you can do with the cards. One downside is that there are no spread layout images but you can just lay them out however you want.

Most of the majors, suit names, and courts have all been renamed. The Majors are as follows: The White Hart, The Enchanter, The Wisewoman, The Green Mother, The Forest Lord, The Oldest One, The Lovers, The Faery Wind, Strength, The Hermit, The Enchanter’s Wheel, The Huntsman, Black Shuck, The Forge, The Liar, The Folly, Starlight, Moonlight, Sunlight, The Council of Animals, The Wide World.

The suits are Spells, Visions, Challenges, and Boons. The courts are Child, Seeker, Weaver, and Keeper.

The art is beautiful and has a very dreamlike quality. It reminds me very much of the Tarot of the Hidden Realm but the art in this deck is softer, with more of an emphasis on scene than character.

Culturally, I’d place the deck in Northwestern Europe. There;s a bit of Celtic influence, a bit of English folkkire, a dash of the Grimms (actually a lot of the Grimms). Some of the cards struck me as a bit Norse-y: the Forge has a bunch of dwarves working away. Is the Liar Loki or Puck? Both probably. There are also references to Hansel and Gretel, The Frog Prince, maybe The Twelve Dancing Princesses (there aren’t twelve of them but they are princesses and they look like they’ve been dancing), you have the fair folk, unicorns, mermaids, the Salmon of Wisdom, the Black Knight. It’s the kitchen sink of forest folklore. I should mention before I go on that this is a very soft deck. I think the scariest card in the deck is Black Shuck and it’s a dog with glowing orange eyes. I know some people are really picky about this sort of thing so I’m just telling you right now this is not the kind of deck where the stepsisters dismember themselves okay? This is a nice, whimsical, magical forest jaunt for the most part.

There is some body diversity (the Wisewoman, for instance, is an older fat lady) but most of the stockier characters appear to be gnomes or brownies. There are more older men than older women (the Weaver of Boons definitely looks at least middle aged). The Two of Visions has two women holding hands and the text is basically like “these women are soulmates”. I do not see any obvious racial diversity, not unexpected but still disappointing.

Even so, this deck felt special from the moment I opened the box. I feel connected to it. I can almost smell the forest when I look at the cards. I feel like this deck might be good for meditation, especially if you do any work with fairy tales or foresty archetypes.

So Far, So Good

I have no beef with November.  She showed up right on time and brought some lovely chilly weather with her.  She’s sprinkling her colorful magic all over the trees and generally being delightful.  Unfortunately she is also the gateway to holiday food and I’m like a junkie who’s been clean for a year but I’m ready to score a casserole.  I eat a very healthy balance for ten months and then *BOOM*  the Butterball turkeys show up at Kroger and all bets are off.  I wish I could buy willpower.  Sadly, I can’t even say that I fight temptation, oh no, I jump in with both feet and create the temptation.  On Saturday the mister and I were running errands...Lowe’s, Kroger, Tractor Supply for donkey corn to keep the deer in our yard during hunting season, the usual.  I told him that we needed to swing into the library parking lot because I had a couple of books on hold.  Were these volumes to entertain or expand my mind? No. They will only expand my thighs.

Come on.  You can’t tell me that that doesn’t look like fun!  Last week I baked cookies.  I hadn’t baked anything in forever because we don’t need it hanging around the house.  But I had an excuse.  I had swapped cat sitting duties with a neighbor (Willie’s other mom).  They were out of town for a few days in September and I dutifully went over and got the mail, fed her cats twice a day, scooped litter, let them out in the morning and back in for dinner, and gave them love.  In turn, when we went up to Maine she came over and scooped litter, fed our kitties wet food once a day, brought in the mail, etc.  She even took our garbage can to the curb and brought it back in.  They left town again just before we returned from our trip but had a relative house sitting.  They returned last week.   She’d given me a restaurant gift card as a thank you for watching their kitties, so I did the same but also used my gratitude as an excuse to make my favorite fall cookie - gingersnaps!  I figured I’d take a batch over with the gift card so they’d have dinner and dessert. Pulling that bottle of molasses out of the top cupboard felt like a homecoming. I uncovered the ol’ KitchenAid mixer and had one of the best afternoons I’d had in ages.  Playing music, baking cookies, and watching leaves flutter to the ground through the kitchen window - it just doesn’t get much better than that.  Of course I kept a baker’s dozen on a plate for us and they were gone in no time.  The floodgates are open. I did it.  I sabotaged myself.  And I loved every minute of it.  Please do not suggest that I could enjoy the same magical experience by whipping up a batch of bran muffins or tofu brownies.  That’s just crazy talk. Bustling around the kitchen and filling the house with delicious aromas - it’s such simple comfort.  My sister and I have had conversations recently about how, now more than ever, it’s important to keep sweetness and simplicity in our lives.  I actively seek out the whimsical side of life - enchanting art, silly poems, looking for clouds shaped like animals, all of it.  I’m drawn to fairy tales and their illustrations. I love a happy ending.  Remember when I mentioned that I’d picked up a watercolor by Maine artist Marvin Jacobs?  I didn’t choose a seascape or a harbor painting.  I picked this guy.

 It’s so important to keep sweetness in your life, otherwise the daily news will drag you under.  Be aware, be informed, work diligently for change, but leave room for lightness.   I’m saying all of this so that you’ll know why my heart cracked open and I cried when my sister sent a box full of joy straight to my mailbox.  Seems that she caught wind of a woman clearing out some treasures and she picked up a batch of Royal Albert Beatrix Potter figurines for a song!  She picked out three for me as a surprise and I can’t tell you how happy my heart is when I look at my kitchen window sill.

Jemima Puddleduck,  Mrs. Rabbit & Bunnies, and Old Mr. Brown.  Oh, my heart!  My sister told me that she knew I needed the Mrs. Bunny figure because she’s cuddling her two babies - like my two babies! 

Add to that the reminder that my Grandma Ethel called me Cuddlebunny, sewed bunny patches on my jeans during the summer that I chased her sheep and named all of her chickens, and I’m a puddle.  My sister and I love Beatrix Potter’s sweet (there’s that word again) stories and illustrations.  When the mister and I went to London I scoured the stalls on Portobello Road to find an old Beatrix Potter illustration to bring home and frame.  It hangs in the sweetest room in our house, the grandgirl’s room!

Can you imagine what it meant to me to open that box from my sister?  That was a box of love, my friends.  Now I need to add to my collection.  My sister is a fan of Hunca Munca, the busy little mouse.  She kept this figurine and said she identified with it.  I think she’s spot on.  I’ll have to look for more Hunca Munca for her.

I think we both agree that something about these little statues reminds us of time spent in Weiser.  Being at our grandparents little pink house was paradise.  My sister stayed at Grandma’s elbow, watching her sew and cook.  I stuck to her like glue outside learning about her chickens and flowers.  Her gardens were so lush.  Once when I was pretending to be outlaw Belle Starr, western rule-breaker and heartbreaker, I used one of her giant snowball bushes for my hideout.  It was so big and full that I could crawl under the lowest boughs and sit up inside.  It was beautiful and smelled good, just the sort of spot Belle would choose.  We were always so carefree in Weiser - my brother and I taught the sheep to play hide ‘n seek (really!).  If you’ve never seen a sheep hide behind a tree and peek out at you, you haven’t lived.  We named chickens after characters from Robin Hood.  My Grandpa Carl thought I was a hoot.  He spoiled me and I was his favorite.  Turns out that every one of his grandkids could say the same.  We were so safe and loved on their patch of Idaho.   I tried to put plenty of magic and whimsy into my kids’ childhoods.  They probably aren’t even aware that some of their silliest thoughts were planted there early.  I’ll bet when they see birds lined up on a wire and their first thought is “bird meeting” they don’t remember the dialogue I’d make up when we saw things like this -

Bird meeting!  #1 on the agenda is cat location...new orange tabby moved in on corner of Elm and Oak, so be aware.  Worm of the Month award goes to Maurice for the whopper he pulled out of a garden on May 5th. Way to go!  Congratulations to Stanley and Mary on hatching 4 eggs last Wednesday. That’s a lot of mouths to feed, so if anyone has extra bugs, slugs, or worms let them know. You get the idea.  They were little, Mom was just rambling at a red light, but I’ll bet that BIRD MEETING pops into their heads when they a feathered gathering.  Besides, when you anthropomorphize creatures I think kids are less likely to harm them and more likely to empathize. Whimsy with a purpose. Wow.  I apologize.  This blog post is all over the place and as usual I had no plan.  I just sit down at the laptop and empty my brain.  It’s therapy for me and a sleep aid for you. Win-win! On that note I will wrap this up and go dance around the kitchen with a broom.  I used panko when making last night’s eggplant dinner and based on the crunch I heard under my slippers this morning I didn’t sweep it all up.  Your assignment for today is to seek out sweetness.  When you find it, hold on to it.  Take it like a vitamin every day for a healthy soul.   Have a cookie too, can’t hurt might help. XOXO

@thecoffeevamp EX-FUCKING-ACTLY. this is a fantasy world with dragons and shit and if i wanted to see a man make misogynistic comments i would just go to a fucking youtube comment section!!!!! fantasy is inherently escapist you want it to be whimsical and better than reality!!!

and Even Then if they are DEAD SET on making sexism a part of the story for “”””historical accuracy”””” they could at LEAST bother to fucking portray it a nasty and wrong. instead of constantly putting it in the mouth of one of the main male characters for a quick laugh and then getting their brownie points when you go “wE’RE leTTiNG THe WoMEn fIGHT tOO”

anyway. ur so fucking right.

House Elf Notes

Like many races of the HPverse, house elf is not capitalized. The pluralization: house elves. This term is not hyphenated.

Elven is the adjective which collectively refers to things of the race. On the other hand, elvish is the adjective that refers specifically to the intellectual works created/achieved by the race (languages, culture, artifacts). Tho' popular once upon a time, the term elfin is not in common usage among fantasy writers (outside of the Elfquest fandom, that is).

Due to the lack of other types of elves in the HP canon, the species description can be (and occasionally is even in JKR's works) dropped, leaving them described as simply "elf".

House elves typically have the same childish whimsical names in canon. There are a lot of names that sound like a 3yr chose it. Kreacher is an unexplained variation on this theme.

House elves typically display a poor ability to speak English. Their sentences are on par with a small child's with a vocabulary to match. Again, Kreacher breaks this theme, having better communicative skills and improved vocabulary (tho' he also has a fouler mouth to match). All elves refer to themselves by name rather than using pronouns. These linguistic habits along with the emotional stability issues discussed below creates the impression that house elves are rather simple-minded, which is how characters in canon tend to treat them and is carried over to how most fanfiction portrays them as well. However, we see the canon elves display certain deviousness which takes at least a little plotting on the elf's part, which suggests higher intelligence than "young child" level.

House elves build nests to sleep within. These nests are typically in spaces near their working station that aren't typically accessed by humans. The one we see was made of soft things that had been thrown out.

House elves may or may not require being bound to a family, but even free elves will seek out work from/for humans. This is why fanon typically likens them to the mythical brownies, who are a type of Unseelie (dark fairy) who picks a house and randomly fixes/cleans it in exchange for treats from the inhabitants (typically honey or sweet fruits). Interestingly, a brownie will never mend clothes (tho' they will create them when they are ready to leave a house behind); this is another reason for fanon's link.

This fairy analogy can also be found in how emotionally stable house elves are. They are prone to quick and dramatic swings of emotion based upon the direct situation around them. However, just like the legendary Unseelie, once settled on a general path (typically service to a particular master, in the case of house elves), there is very little that will sway them from it.

Freeing an elf is seen as an insult by most elves (Dobby being an exception) and a freed elf is seen as bad, both by other elves and occasionally they internalize this label (as seen by Winky).

House elves will follow the orders of their master even when it seems impossible. They literally cannot disobey direct orders from their masters. If given open-ended directives, they can find wiggle room to interpret it as they desire. A standard part of the bond with a family is a magical gag order which keeps an elf from sharing secrets of their family/master.

However house elves magically move about, it is not Apparation. Aside from not having the same displays (the crack and the sucking-straw feeling), they are capable of doing it (with large groups of humans) even in spaces that are protected against Apparation.

SKETCHY BEHAVIORS | Interview with SUZY ULTMAN

Growing up doodling, cutting out Peanuts comic strips, and sifting through the fabric from her mom’s sewing room, it is no wonder that artist, illustrator, and designer Suzy Ultman creates super fun, creative, and adorable drawings and patterns. We’re excited to find out more about Suzy and her work–from how one class changed her trajectory to some great tips on those looking to follow in her footsteps! 

Photographs courtesy of the artist. 

Who are you and what do you do?

Hi! My name is Suzy Ultman -- I'm an artist/illustrator/crafty girl, working, living, and playing in the Midwest. So far in my life, I’ve lived East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and on 3 continents. My broad travels, love of nature, and soft spot for musicals have influenced my colorful, optimistic style.

How did you first get into drawing and doodling?

I’ve been doodling since I can remember. At about age 10, I started cutting out the Peanuts comic strips from the Sunday newspaper, and taping them into my scrapbook. Then, I’d spend hours upon hours drawing Snoopy. I also loved making doodles of food packages, making collages of magazine bits, creating my own bubbly typefaces, and writing & illustrating little stories & poems.

When did that lead you to creating your own illustrations and works ?

In high school, I discovered a talent for visual problem solving in a senior graphic design class. This led to undergrad and graduate work in graphic design, and a career in the field. Then, about 10 years ago, a close friend encouraged me to join a studio class taught by an agent, Lilla Rogers. I had just moved to Boston and was in temporary housing with 2 small kiddos. I found a sitter and committed to the course. At the end of the 8-week class, Lilla encouraged me to draw, draw, draw. I threw myself into creating my illustration portfolio. I’ve been drawing for a living ever since.

When you’re working on something new, either if it’s a pattern or a pin, what is that process like?

I approach every project the same: (1) Work as a team with the client (2) Find the story in the project (3) Have fun & play (4) Present a clear concept with a Suzy “wink”.

You create some really cute and fun patterns, what’s your interest or relationship with textiles? Have you always had an interest in making your own art into wear?

Growing-up, I loved spending time in my mom’s sewing room, looking through her piles of fabric, and hunting through her notions drawer for buttons. I’d collect bits of treasure, and make dolls & objects from whatever I could get my scrappy hands on.

With my fabric collections, I get to design textiles that will become a palette for making. It’s fun to imagine the endless possibilities that will be created from the fabric.

What’s one of your favorite creations you’ve made and why?

“Mr. Sun & Friends” wooden character set is one of my favorite creations. My client, PSikhouvanjou, urged me to follow my imagination. With that freedom, the characters came to life very organically — that’s always a pleasure! Also, I love telling a story through product design, and thinking about the ways the audience will relate to the object. By designing “Mr. Sun” to be attractive to children & whimsical adults, we created a toy for both play & display. It’s been wonderful to see how people have adopted these friends into their homes. For me, creating a product that brings joy, connects the family, and has a long shelf life in the home is a great feeling.

Do you keep a sketchbook or work your ideas as you go along? What type of things keep you inspired or are inspired by?

I have a sketchbook of drawings & doodles, and lots of little lists.

My studio wall is tacked full of inspiration which I’m constantly revisiting as I rotate through my collections. It’s an eclectic assortment of vintage, Dutch, Scandinavian, and Japanese ephemera, clippings, and fabric. I’m attracted to the clean beauty of Scandinavian design, and the rich storytelling of traditional folk art. I also love the textures and colors used in 1950s/60s cartoon background art.

My collections, along with spending time in nature, my family & friends, and traveling inspire my visual aesthetic.

What are your main art tools? Is there a medium you’re wanting to try but haven’t had the chance too yet?

I’m happiest with a fine pen, a wavy brush pen, markers, and watercolors. I’d love to get my hands on pottery in the near future!

Who are some artists that you’re inspired by and have influenced you throughout the years?

Mary Blair, Charles Shultz, Ed Emberley, Dick Bruna, Fiep Westendorp, Jim Henson, Seymour Chwast, Ben Shahn, Alexander Girard, Jonathan Adler, Yoshitomo Nara

Who are some artists you’d love to see us interview?

Carolyn Suzuki, Seonna Hong, Kelly Thorn

When you’re not working in the studio, what are you doing? What do you enjoy?

When the weather is nice, I have my coffee outside every morning, and watch the birds. On the weekends, you’ll find me whipping up a batch of hummus (extra garlic, please) or searching for the perfect brownie recipe. I enjoy building a fort with my boys, and taking them for a walk in the woods. I love the local book shops, vintage clothing stores, and antique malls. I meditate — often.

What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t an artist? What career path would you have chosen?

I’d like to help people in vulnerable situations, possibly hospice care or an art therapist for children.

What would you tell someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

Be yourself.

Make plans, but know that some of the best things that happen are completely unplanned.

Don’t take rejection personally. There are a lot of things behind the scenes that are out of your control. Just keep on keeping on.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Create a community/support network.

What are your FAVORITE Vans? 

Slip-ons for easy action.

Finally, can you tell us about any exciting things you’ve got coming up?

I can’t talk to you about any upcoming projects, but we are taking our annual family vacation to Canada very soon. I LOVE a roadtrip, so there will be plenty of snacks and books on CD. Yes, CDs — that’s how we roll!

FOLLOW SUZY | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM