the sea no longer torments me
hello i am here
Sure has been a couple weeks, huh?
I went away for a few days for family reasons, but I took the opportunity to temporarily unplug, which I needed badly after less than a week of President Trump. I deleted all social media apps off my phone & tablet, save instagram & snapchat, which I used to spam everyone I love with photos like this one:
It was good, overall, and since I’ve been back I’ve been striving to find a balance so that I can stay engaged and informed without having a panic attack every time I open twitter. Because I’m definitely in this fight for the long haul.
Notable Breakfast
Dog Thing
this giant baby is called Bug and i love him the most
Mixed Media
Despite being what might be termed a really fucking big fan of Star Wars (I sleep on Star Wars sheets. I am 31.), I haven’t delved a great deal into the material outside of the original movies. I read a handful of the old Expanded Universe books, but not enough to ever be able to speak about them with any authority, I honestly can’t even remember the Prequels (a situation I am not eager to amend), and I skipped the Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon completely. But someone told me to give Star Wars Rebels a try, so I did.
I love it.
I wasn’t crazy about the style of CG animation at first, but it grew on me pretty quickly and at this point I pretty much don’t even notice it. Rebels is everything I love about sci-fi found family stories set in a universe I know well.
It follows a small band of resistance fighters in the years following Episode III, before there was any sort of organized Rebellion. It begins when a local boy on a planet attempts to steal from them while they’re stealing from the Empire, and they end up adopting him, basically. He’s Ezra, he’s force-sensitive, and Kanan, one of the rebels, who happens to be one of the few surviving Jedi, takes him on as an apprentice.
There’s also Hera, Twi’lek pilot and Love Of My Life, Sabine, a Mandalorian artist and explosives enthusiast, Zeb, a Lasat fighter, and Chopper, astromech droid and little shit.
Rebels is currently in its 3rd season, and in addition to being a boatload of fun, it’s building out the history of the early days of Rebellion. But since the focus is on this one group of people and, later, the Rebel cell they come to work with, it feels very gradual and organic to the viewer. And some of the details are GREAT. For example, Sabine tags her work with a stylized firebird, and because she’s tagging in places where the rebels have hit, it becomes associated with them. When they join the larger rebellion, their unit becomes known as Phoenix Squadron, and Sabine’s art, unbeknownst to her but clear to us, will later have a much larger impact.
The one downside about Rebels is that it’s a Disney XD show, which means it’s super tricky to catch up on (I watched all of seasons 2 and 3 this past week, and had to do so by switching between 3 devices) and will occasionally take long, unpredictable breaks (an ongoing problem in kids’ media on the whole). But it’s definitely worth the effort of tracking it down.
Season two of Voltron: Legendary Defender hit Netflix, and I devoured it in a single day. It was excellent, although some of my favourite characters were barely in it, which was frustrating. Not so frustrating that I won’t be rewatching it a dozen times, of course.
I read A Season of Spells by Sylvia Izzo Hunter, the last book in a trilogy about mages in an alternate version of 19th Century Europe. I loved it, and recommend the whole trilogy. If you were getting this newsletter way back when I read the first two books, I can assure you that the lesbian relationship which begins in the 2nd book stays prominent in the story all the way to the end. I read The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún vol 1 by Nagabe, a lovely, creepy little manga about a little girl being raised by a demon after her village turns her out for being plague-touched.
I made that mix of 2016 movie scores I was threatening, it’s on spotify and youtube. I listened to Kishi Bashi’s newest, Sonderlust, a whole bunch, as well as Yann Tiersen’s Eusa. My coworker turned me on to kpop group Red Velvet, and I love their new album.
The Red Turtle is finally out here, and I cannot praise it highly enough. A magnificent movie, with incredible animation. I went see xXx: Return of Xander Cage, which was not a good movie, but I enjoyed the hell out of it regardless. I also went to see Sing, which was really cute!
Anxiety Pyjamas
Fics I Shouted About
time out of mind by aknightly Voltron, Keith/Lance, future fic. Keith and Lance wake up in their own bodies but a decade in the future, and have to deal with what they find there.
america goals by magneticwave Yuri!!! On Ice, Phichit & Yuuri. This fic fills in the early days of Phichit and Yuuri’s friendship, when they were both foreign skaters at school in Detroit. It is a DELIGHT.
we’ll walk in fields of gold by strikinglight Yuri!!! On Ice, Yuri/Otabek, fantasy au. Yuri can communicate with animals, Otabek is a plant mage. Yuri doesn’t know what to make of Otabek, and spends a lot of time arguing with his cat.
in stasis by ilgaksu Voltron, Keith/Lance. In an effort to save her badly injured paladin’s life, the blue lion pulls his mind right out of his body and sends it to the castle. There, it wanders ghost-like until his body can be fixed. It isn’t easy, for any of them.
this is all i’m asking for (standing right outside my door) by ratherembarrassing Supergirl, Kara/Lena, Christmas fic. I was woefully late in reading this after I misplaced the tab I had it open in, but I LOVE this fic in which Lena invites Kara to the L Corp Christmas party.
katsuki_fc wrote by tetsurashian Yuri!!! On Ice, gen, epistolary fic. This fic follows the events of Yuri!!! On Ice, but from the pov of various fictional fan-groups. It switches between livejournal communities, tumblr posts, and instagram in a way that’s easy to follow and so, so fun. It’s no secret that this is a trope I love, and this fic nails it.
Lastly
If you haven’t watched Mahershala Ali’s (SO VERY DESERVED) SAG acceptance speech yet, please do so.
Also:
that’s all for now be safe i love you!
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