Manga: Ao No Flag

Just reread a few chapters and it honestly hits different. I can't imagine how much Touma was struggling with keeping his feelings hidden.

A PSA on Ao No Flag’s Artwork

Ao no Flag (or Blue Flag) is one of the purest manga I’ve had the pleasure to read in a while.

I’m a big fan of shonen and seinen and I usually lean toward mature or fantastic series, but let me tell you, this is such a sweet and well rounded story that its being domestic and simple is exactly its core strength. 

It’s a classic love triangle (or square) with a small twist since Kaito (the author) added two LGBT characters to the main cast (which is pretty huge considering the context of publication and the intended readers). But the characters are so well rounded and carefully, lovingly constructed that it’s a true pleasure to follow their story. 

I could spend a dozen posts trying to tell you why you should read Ao No Flag and how cute and pure the story is, but I’ll just let the artwork speak for me.

There’s something distinctively pure and domestic about the way Kaito handles his characters. He never feels the need to add fancy or special elements to the backgrounds or the situation, because the story gets its power from the simplicity of its premise.

Every situation the characters find themselves in is something that could easily happen to any teenager in 2018 Japan, and yet it’s handled without the desire for escapism and extraordinary life that you usually find in stories aimed at young adults.

Ao no Flag is not ashamed to be domestic. 

There’s power in simple narratives and there’s power in a simple art-style, in subtle shadows and mundane backgrounds, in everyday life and no-dialogue panels.

There’s a sense of suspension in Kaito’s pages, as if he wants us to enjoy the moment, just like the characters are doing, as if every single, mundane act is worth being narrated.

I always feel at peace when I read Ao no Flag. When I look at Kaito’s art, when I look at the characters, my anxiety suddenly disappears. This manga is so domestic and simple, but the artwork conveys this amazing feeling of peace and purity.

It is like standing in the middle of a sunflower field, with your eyes closed and the wind ruffling your hair. It’s mid September, the sun is warm and you are content. Your heart is suddenly at peace with the world and with who you are.

Wei Wuxian + his talismans.

Bonus : LWJ using Wwx’s talisman too.

Favourite Soundtracks » Dragon Age: Inquisition

Witcher 3 fan portraits by Ástor Alexander

WARNING

Philippa is plotting against you

WARNING

If you are seeing this then you are already on her hit list.

One of the funniest coming out moments😂🏳️‍🌈

i was reading about the myth of prometheus today when the phrase "new liver, same eagles" popped into my mind, so i'm keeping that in mind for the next time someone asks me how it's going

*refuses to move to the big city to reduce risk of parallel parking*

Just take the train 😊

how the heck am i gonna parallel park a train?

Father uses sons’ drawings as inspiration for anime transformations

By: Thomas Romain (twitter | instagram | youtube | patreon)

Wholesome and badass

The father’s artistic talent is clearly on display here, but I’m actually really impressed with this kid’s wild imagination. Many of his drawings are both conceptually unique and coherent.

The creativity of ones mind is limitless.

Wow his son is super creative

Characters are the meat of any story. Make ‘em rich!

(Credit in Pic)

Just a friendly reminder that writing is not always a linear process.

That is, it rarely works out that you have an idea, then do a first draft, then edit that draft, then celebrate. The writing process itself is often an act of discovery, and can be messy and “inefficient.”

…all of this is normal. If this is happening to you, you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re a writer, and this is what writing is like sometimes. Sure, some writers seem to be able (or claim to be able) to write more quickly and efficiently. But there’s no sense in comparing yourself to them, and most of them are lying anyway. Instead of criticizing yourself, try to become curious about and embrace your process. There’s something awesome about how mysterious and unpredictable writing can be!

omg so yesterday i put a salt line on the pathway to our front door because i was fucking around and my brother was pretending to be a demon

and today we ordered pizza and the salt line was still there

and my brother went outside to sign for the pizza

and the pizzaman refused to step over the salt line, like he almost did and then he backed up and handed my bro the pizza and left; which is pretty ridiculous because it’s far from our door

so a heads up to everyone i’m pretty sure domino’s is actually run by demons??? kind of like how in men in black the post office is run by aliens

What if they thought you guys were the demons

ohmygod

Lavellan @ the Dalish Clans: 

“Our stories of Fenharel are wrong… He wasnt evil, but infact good”

Dalish Clans: 

“Ok.. cool.. whats he upto atm?”

Lavelllan @ the Dalish Clans: 

“He’s going to destroy the world as we know it”

Dalish Clans:  

“I want to speak to a manager,” the middle-aged woman said in her stern I-used-to-be-a-soccer-mom-ten-years-ago voice, looking down at me over the top of her Gucci reading glasses.

A wicked grin split across my face and the gates of Hell opened up behind me, releasing a gust of hot wind that whipped my apron around my body and forced the woman to shield her face. Demons came forth, dancing around in flames with songs of, “She wants to speak to a manager. Did you hear that? She wants to speak to a manager!” before erupting into earsplitting shrieks of laughter, none louder than my own cackling.

I took in the woman’s look of utter horror before my eyes rolled back into my head and I growled,

“I am the manager.”

a thing for one of my favorite posts on this site

So I reblogged this before, but I actually wanted to stop and saying something, which is this:

Everyone who writes has felt that moment of “EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE I’M A FAKE I’M A FAILURE I’M WORTHLESS,” and it’s always been over a moment like this one.  That moment where you realize your idea has been done before.  But here’s the thing.  Ideas aren’t worthless, but they’re the pennies of your novel.  They’re the smallest component.

Execution, on the other hand…that’s what does everything.  That’s your dollar bills, stuffed into the jar until you have enough to go on the biggest adventure of your life.

So write your story where the mermaid falls in love with the boy who lives on land.  Write him becoming a merman for her, or write him as a her, or write your sea witch as the heroine, or write your mermaid as a villain.  Write a world.  The idea, that’s a penny you found in the street.  All the real value is going to come from you.

This, this, this. :)

THIS. Execution is key.

Also

Novels have been around for more then three centuries, maybe even more.

Do you think your idea hasn’t been thought up before?

No idea is original on this earth, no matter how creative it can be, one other has probably thought of the same thing in their life time.

In turn, what does it matter if its “not creative?” Fuck em’. Write what you want to write, you’re not a failure, you’re a visionary, and you know what the difference if between you and the ones who also dared to dream of the same things you dreamt?

You have the will and the determination to put it out there.