Recommendations for Various Things

Hey hey heeyy! its been a while since I've made a dedicated blog post, and even longer a blog post of this type (if you arnt counting my singing and writing of songs). I've been really really exhausted lately and too tired and sad and lonely and unmotivated to write like, a nice long blog post. And for me, id rather not write anything than write something of quality that im not proud of, like a paragraph. Thats more for my bulletins, which I have been doing over this long period. But now that I'm feeling a little better, im gonna do a couple of blog posts! first off I'm gonna give some recommendations for various things!

First off, music reccomendations! these are songs that connect with me on a personal level, often exemplifying a feeling or way of life I'm going through. 

First Song: Kickback by Kenshi Yonezu. I'm not a huge weeb, but I do sample anime and manga from time to time. Infact, I recently have gotten into it more, so I will be giving some anime recommendations later in this blog post. But one anime that I've gotten into is called Chainsaw Man, which is kinda the big show of the season. Its still ongoing and even though the manga events for this season are finished and I know them, I'm not going to recommend it until the full show is out. Great anime, hundreds of reasons to love it, but the thing I want to talk about is the fucking intro song. The goddamn intro song is amazing. The opening, is called Kickback, and is written and sung by Kenshi Yonezu. On a first listen, it has a little bit of a gritty sound, and is hectic and chaotic and fast paced. But on a second or third listen, you get to hear the depth, the desire, the emotions. It tells a chaotic narrative story of wanting and lust and hope but also pain, the tragedy and sorrow and forced continuation. When I listen to this song, I think of my hopes and dreams, the things that ive given up on, the well of energy I turn to everyday to keep moving. And well, sometimes people just explode under the pressure, but other times you can be compressed and refined into a diamond. Either way, seems like a strong weapon to me... and I'm fighting to keep up. Give it a listen! 

Second Song: The Freshmen by the Verve Pipe. So, this is a song that I first heard a while ago, from my dad (who is how I got introduced to most music as a kid). This song, well, I liked it. and then I have continuously forgotten about playlists with it, and recently while cleaning out a music account I found it, gave it a listen again, and goddamn it still holds up. I have this tendency to hate songs more over time, to like them deeply and play them on loop for a few weeks but then to get sick of them and stop enjoying them. But this song, it has survived so many of my changes in taste, and I still love it to death. It talks about relationships gone awry, heartbreak and sorrow, ending of times and the guilt of what has already happened. I wish myself in Freshman year could have heard it as a warning, but I also wish myself over the summer, when I felt lonely, could've had some company through it. It's a wonderful song, and the passion he sings it with is just so enthralling. I love the singer's voice so much, and I'm glad that I remembered it again. If i ever get the chance to do karaoke, I will totally sing this song. 

Third Song: Over My Head by The Fray. A good friend, a new friend from a couple weeks ago, showed me this song in a playlist, and even though I didn't like the song at first the more that I listened to it the more that it got stuck in my head. It just totally encapsulates how I feel right now: isolated, weighed down, tired but still moving forward. I'm in over my head, and everyone who knows me knows it. I'm playing this little game of life on borrowed time, and I'm not going to roll over and die but I might just fall apart. I just feel this song on an emotional level, and the lyrics carry it for me. The melody is alright, but the lyrics break my heart (in the right kind of ways). Check it out if any of this resonates for you too. :,)

next, a little bit of books for you! a lot of people asked for recommendations from me over! I'll give a couple good ones here, that I like and would recommend! my type of books are Romance, Fantasy, Thriller, and occasionally mystery. Today ill just be talking about fantasy books, though!

First book: American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Woo, big classic! A lovely modern take on the fantasy genre and mythology. A man strung up into a strange world of gods and demons, where the old are fading fast and the new are threatening to change everything. It makes me think like, of course television would have a god or something, or video games or cars or electricity. It's such a genius premise that I'm glad Gaiman brought it to reality. Yeah its not for kids, but its a delight for older teens and adults alike. Its vivid, ethereal yet grounded, ties full circle with vivid characters and interactions. It feels lifelike, in a way where I wouldn't be surprised if this world really existed under the layers of our known reality. Fucking glorious, check it out. 

Second Book: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. I haven't touched this book in so many years, I should really give it another read. It was very memorable though, because I find it a great fantasy staple of this time! The concept of wonder and magical powers and fear and connection, the seperation of people and who deserves what and just... the hurt that people cause to one another, in the pursuit of fate or something else. I don't know, maybe I'm grasping at straws, but the world pulled me in for how little I saw and made me want more. And well, it's a little bit sci-fi too! You might enjoy those elements if you read it :) no spoilers though! give it a go. 

Cutting the book section a little short because I'd like to talk about another thing that I enjoy, comics, particularly web comics! I've been reading comics off of the Webtoon site for about 7 years now, which is crazy to believe because I'm only fucking 16! thats almost half my life haha. Here are some good ones, new and old, you should read!

First comic: Sweet Home (and its prequel Shotgun Boy) by Kim Carnby and illustrated by Hwang Young-chan. God, this is maybe my favorite webtoon of all time. BE WARNED, NOT FOR THOSE FAINT OF HEART! this comic is not afraid of gore, scary faces, or horrific circumstances! The apocalypse suddenly falls into the life of our suicidal main character, as his simple apartment complex becomes a labarynth of horrific monsters of unknown origins. Worse, it seems like *anyone* could just become a monster, so you can't even trust those you work together with. This gritty apocalypse story is tumultuous but touching, heavy but comedic at times. I love this story and all the nightmares it gave me reading it eheheh. It probably wont give you them, but be prepared >:). The prequel is nearly as good, and gives a good background story, however.... MAKE SURE TO READ SWEET HOME FIRST or else some things wont make sense that are supposed to!

Second Comic: Hooky by Miriam Bonastre Tur. One of my favorites, and a story of magic and fantasy based off of fairytales and the concepts of witches! I love the art style and the humor and the slice of life elements, but the plot and the characters are really engaging. There is darker little elements scattered around for the kids to discover or be opposed by, and the concept of right and wrong gets blurred. I think it has some accurate elements to if magic really did exist, and how people might be treated differently by using it. Its a wonderful story, I liked it so much I bought the book! Go check it out. 

So i wanted to write a lot more, but im running out of motivation and I guess I can fit in some tv show and anime recommendations into a different blog post. Tired of typing haha but I wanna finish this! I hope your days are well, and those who are subscribed to my blog thanks for holding on even tho I havnt given you a lot of content in a while. I hope you are well, so long until next time! Oh, and dont be shy, say hi to me in IMs sometime. I love to keep in touch! More recommendations soon, hopefully. Farewell! <333