Love Yourself~

It’s so fun to learn about the stories and myths of other cultures and countries. I think everyone needs to learn more about these. It’ll make us appreciate the difference and similarities between everyon!

Anahit: The Queen Who Made the King Get a Job (Armenian Folk Tale)

Full entry (with footnotes) here. Book here. Patreon here. Art notes and whatnot after the cut - but real quick:

Yes, she already has her own animated princess movie. It’s not in English. It was posted in full by the animation studio here, so I hope it’s okay to embed it:

This version seemingly takes some liberties. Her uncle is in league with some shadow demon, there’s a talking dog, and her horse turns into this fiery magic flying creature…? I don’t know.

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Can’t risk it!

don't risk it

if you don’t reblog in 500 seconds you will never be able to meet your fave band/artist

Hey.

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Stop scrolling for a minute.

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Your existence matters. 

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You being here makes the world a better place. 

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You deserve good things.

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You’ll be okay.

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I love you very much.

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—~ Please reblog this if it brightened your day. Someone who follows your blog may need a little light, too. :) ~—

I always think “they can’t top this” but here they go again

The males try to drown the baby pups to distract the mothers so they (the males) can steal their food.

name all the reasons you love otters and why they’re the best 🦦🦦

1: Babies

2: Their little squeaks

3: How they open clam shells with rocks

4: THEY HAVE POCKETS FOR THEIR FAVOURITE ROCKS

5: They hold hands when sleeping so they don’t float away from each other (also baby otters will just float on their back while waiting for their mom to come back from hunting)

6: They’re so smart they have more bain cells than me

How much more gorgeous can she get?

The Invisible Life of Addie LeRue by V. E. Schwab -- A Review

Trigger Warnings: Death, starvation, suicide attempt, depression,  drug addiction, alcoholism, mentions of sex, mentions of oral sex, mentions of rape, prostitution, emotional manipulation, abusive relationship, war, sexism, grief, homelessness, family trauma, homophobia. 

My Rating 

10/10. My best friend has been telling me to read this for 3 years, and I finally got around to it. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint at all. The way that I felt Addie's pain, joy and fear was incredible, and the little twist at the end was so good. The characters developed and evolved so well. Since Addie has lived 300 years, it does give you a lot to work with, with how she can change, grow and develop. Same with Luc, he was such an amazing character. He is definitely the epitome of chaotic neutral, satisfying his own needs before others, but by no means evil. He has his rules and he plays within them. Luc is neither a villain nor hero. I really love morally grey characters, they are so much fun, and because they are neither good nor bad, you don’t really know what they will do next. 

Overview

Addie LeRue asks for a wish she doesn’t understand the consequences of. Being able to live forever and be remembered by no one, is a sure way to become a living ghost. Still determined to find adventure and love, she wanders around in the big wide, ever-changing world, completely alone. Well, except for Luc, who asks every year if she has had enough, asks if she is ready to rest in exchange for her soul. And every year, Addie declines, continuing on to spite Luc. Their back-and-forth game of lies, testing, and gentle touches goes on for three hundred years, until, someone remembers her. And her once lonely existence is not so lonely anymore. 

My Thoughts 

This whole book revolves around time and feeling like you don't have enough of it. Addie asks for more time saying “... so scared of the years rushing past beneath my feet. I do not want to die as I’ve lived, which is no life at all … I want more time” (pg 46). Luc comments how humans need more time when he is showing Addie how different they are. He states “The vexing thing about time is that it’s never enough. Perhaps a decade too short, perhaps a moment. But a life always ends too soon.” (pg 333). This is something I think everyone can relate to, I’m constantly hearing, ‘Time is flying’, ‘I can’t believe how fast they grow’, or ‘It's already been a year?’. Even for myself, it feels as though every year is passing faster than the last. You always need more time, more time to learn, to love, to live. There will never be enough time “God, what he would give for just another day” (pg. 422). It can be really depressing to think about, how, we as humans only have a little to accomplish so much. But it can also be so invigorating because we don't have a long time we have to do things that matter, that we enjoy. After all, we won't always have the time to do so. 

“Because happiness is brief and history is lasting, and in the end, everyone wants to be remembered” (pg 351) 

Everyone can relate to this quote. No matter who you are or what you do. People want to be remembered. Whether it is through graffiti, books, inventions or art, people want to leave a lasting impression. 

Luc is neither a demon nor a god, Luc has no gender and he is absent of appearance. He simply appears how you want him to appear. For Addie, he is tall dark and handsome. We first meet Luc when Addie feels as though her life is falling apart, she prays after dark and he is the one who answers. When Addie says what she wants, he originally declines “I am not in the business of charity. You ask for too much. How many years until you’re sated? How many, until I get my due?” (pg 47). This deal does nothing to benefit him. It isn’t until Addie says he can have her soul once she is done with it, that he agrees to it. Every anniversary, Luc shows up. Whether or not he makes his presence known, he is always there in the shadows. It originally starts so he can ask if she is ready to give him her soul, to make her cave, saying “Come give me what I want, and the deal will be done, this misery can end” (pg 117) Addie denies him, just to spite him. This continues on for years until it is no longer just to taunt Addie, but it becomes a form of a relationship. Not only is Luc the only person who remembers her and sees her once a year, but Addie is there for Luc. Whether Luc realizes it or not, he desires connection, and Addie has been there for multiple lifetimes, much longer than his normal deals last. 

Henry's curse is for people to see what they want to see. I think that this is something that so many people can relate to. We want to fit in, we want people to like us, and especially, we want the people who we love to be proud of us. Henry goes through his life, before Luc, becomes a disappointment, his brother is a doctor, his sister is an art critic, and Henry dropped out of college. He is the black sheep of the family. His ex-boyfriend, whom he loved and deeply missed, wants him back, Robbie says “You were different, we weren’t a fit … You didn't know what you wanted … You have to know who you are. Back then, you didn’t” (pg. 276), but Henry knows that his feelings are not his real feelings. We all want love, and the things that we will do for love can be drastic, “You want to be loved. You want to be enough” (pg.248). When you know that they don’t love you, they love the idea they have created for you, sure, it feels nice in the beginning. But it doesn't last long, it is not real, and sometimes it can hurt more than not being loved. Because it isn't you. “Henry has no idea who he is, and now, neither does anyone else” (pg 276).  

Throughout Henry and Addies time together, Henry made a point to record Addies life. So people could remember her and speak her name. A year after Addie's disappearance, Henry published her biography as a work of fiction. Not only was he able to keep the memory of Addie alive, so people could, in a way, know her, but he also found something to do. Instead of feeling like he is existing for no reason, just taking up space. I thought it was such a cool idea to have us read the whole book, looking at it as if it was all fantasy. And having that reveal that it was a biography. It really makes us as the audience feel as though we could be part of this world, as we would never remember seeing Addie, and this is a book we just read. And we can really resonate with Bea’s anger at the end of the book when Addie just disappears, we also feel that anger/loss that Addie and Henry are not able to stay together. 

Conclusion

I loved this book. I thought it was so interesting how it jumped around from times. Sure it was a little confusing at times, but it was able to make us understand why Addie would react a certain way, or how it affected her. I think this would be a great first book for someone new to fantasy, as it is low fantasy. Meaning it takes place in our world, with our history. You should definitely read this.

when are they not soft for each other?

love yourself~