#'it makes me personally feel icky' i have excellent news for you about your ability to Look At Anything Else

[novelconcepts]

It really frees up so much mental real estate when you start thinking of sex as just: a thing people sometimes do. Some people are super into it! Some aren't! It's for fun! It's for intimacy! It's the deepest connection some people will ever feel and totally meaningless to others! It's hot! It's boring! It helps some people sleep! It exists as an exciting construct solely in fantasy for others! What it isn't is some complicated moral ground that needs to be fought against at every turn. It's just A Thing. Which means people who have a lot of it, or none of it, or whatever in between are all worth the same. Which means stories that have a lot of it, or none of it, or whatever in between are worth the same, too. Smut isn't less valuable than "clean" stories. People who have a high "body count" aren't less valuable than those who have never had sex at all. It's just A Thing. Making peace with sex as just A Thing that is natural to consentingly have or not have, want or not want, really is a great adjustment to your brainspace.

[energon-with-a-curly-straw]

Energon’s Watchlist: Spirit Powers and the like

The definition of spirit powers is admittedly a little loose on this one. These shows have spirits and/or powers that may or may not be connected. Looking for more recommendations? Check out my watchlist tag! The series are not based around romance, are not harem, and have been personally watched and enjoyed by me.

Noblesse (13eps + ova)

The ‘Noblesse’, Raizel, is awakened after 820 years of slumber. His servant, Frankenstein, enrolls him in high school (of which Frankenstein is the director) for a chance to learn about the modern world and stay hidden from the mysterious organization The Union. The series is a mix of everyday life blended into fighting and supernatural abilities.

The series is good at using humour to make the tension not feel overwhelming, and because of that, could heighten tension when needed. Most episodes end with a post-credits gag scene. The show had characters you could like, some you learn to like, and a few you actively want dead. There’s actually an OVA that’s a direct prequel to the series called Noblesse: Awakening, but I didn’t notice this until later, so I just thought it had a really interesting method of storytelling. A good show with plenty of pretty men to look at.

Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist- (Kai Byoui Ramune, 13eps)

When odd ailments— something between a rare disease and a supernatural phenomenon— occur, it’s a job for the childish and foul-mouthed, Dr. Ramune, and his stoic, high school assistant, Kuro. A medical supernatural comedy about illnesses caused by emotional distress.

The dynamic is similar to Mob Psycho 100, if Reigan had some kind of actual ability and it was Ritsu instead of Mob. This makes perfect sense when you watch it. Most of the diseases involve things turning into food, and aren’t particularly gross or icky. Worst one is a guy’s dick turns into a chikuwa. It’s an easy watch that seems light, but occasionally delves into more serious topics. It’s a good pallet cleanser and easily the least intense of the list.

Blue Exorcist (Ao No Exorcist, 25eps + Kyoto Saga 12eps)

Okumura Rin is a normal— if rebellious— teenager. At least until he discoverers he’s the half-demon son of Satan. Suddenly he has new powers, everyone wants him dead, and Satan just killed his adoptive father. Vowing revenge, Rin decides to become an exorcist and heads to school alongside his twin brother Yukio.

Ah yes, that little known anime Blue Exorcist. That first Aniplex jingle was like a gut punch of nostalgia. Similar to Full Metal Alchemist— both in style, and in being humorous while maintaining a serious plotline. Rin really feels like 16 year old, in a way that many teenage protagonists don’t. But with everything Rin goes through sometimes I really had to stop and holy shit this is a kid. No romance— if you ignore whatever tf is going on with Rin and Suguro. I can’t stop thinking about the hairclip. Rin is an extremely expressive character who’s very likeable (and notably can’t lie for shit). Anyway, I want to talk about this anime and that’s why it’s here.

Bungo Stray Dogs (Bungou Stray Dogs, 37eps + Dead Apple + Bungo Stray Dogs WAN! 12eps)

Kicked out of his orphanage and on the verge of starving to death, Atsushi saves a suicidal man from drowning and becomes entangled in the Armed Detective Agency— a group that deals with the cases the police and military won’t touch. A supernatural mystery series with humour and a lot of action. When you’re finished you get to watch WAN!— cute and hilarious episodes of cartoon shorts involving the more mundane life of the Agency and Port Mafia.

This has been on my to-watch list for a long time, but I probably wouldn’t have been in a good enough place to have watched it back then. There’s a running gag about a character wanting and trying to commit suicide— it’s not at all subtle and I ask that everyone with a history of depression assess whether this is the right time to watch this show for themselves. The first arcs of season two and three are both flashbacks, a little darker than the rest. You technically could skip them, but they add a lot of understanding to the characters and the some plot aspects. Watch an episode of WAN! after as a treat.

I genuinely really enjoyed this series! Very few primary and secondary characters actually die, but it will absolutely tear apart anyone else. Fight scenes don’t go on too long, which I’ve had problems with in other things. This series is the basically traumatized characters found family trope, but if your family was also your super dangerous workplace. The main character, Atsushi, is realistic and personable. Not some optimistic, happy-go-lucky, ‘I’ll make it through the power of believing in myself!’ protagonist— he’s a traumatized 18 year old trying his best. I could write paragraphs about Atsushi, but to summarize: he has panic attacks, and he’s not a golden prodigy trope— doesn’t excel at everything and isn’t expected to.

[eyebeastposts]

EyeBeast 2021 Interest Survey Results

The votes have been cast so let’s do a quick recap of the results and address a few things.

General Interest

Male Subjects in Fetish Stories: 57.5% Yes, 42.5% No

Female Subjects in Fetish Stories: 99.1% Yes, 0.9% No

-No surprise considering most of the subjects of my stories are female focused.

Preferred Subject of Fetish Stories:

Females: 70.8%, Both Male and Female: 22.6%, Male: 6.6%

Futa (Females with male genitalia): 53.8% Yes, 46.2% No

-I’m honestly surprised by the response to this question considering how taboo the subject of futa appears to be.

Direct Sexual Content in Fetish Stories: 77.8% Yes, 22.2 % No

Burping: 85.4% Yes, 14.6% No

Farting: 75.5% Yes, 24.5% No

Body Hair (arm pits, groin, belly, etc.): 54.2% Yes, 45.8%No

-In retrospect, I probably should have let people vote on the amount of hair on a person’s body.

IQ Loss/Mental Regression: 50.9% Yes, 49.1% No

Personality/Mental Changes: 77.4% Yes, 22.6% No

-Interesting to see the division between straight up intelligence drain as opposed to the general idea of mental changes considering how close the two subjects are.

Hypnosis: 66.5% Yes, 33.5%No

-I haven’t touched this subject very much, but judging by the reaction and my own interests, I wouldn’t be opposed to trying a hypnosis story again in the future.

Expansion and Growth

Weight Gain: 96.7% Yes, 3.3% No

Slob: 83.5% Yes, 16.5% No

Belly Expansion: 53.8% Yes, 46.2% No

-Strange considering how popular WG appears to be.

Breast Expansion: 62.3% Yes, 37.7% No

Butt Expansion: 74.1% Yes, 25.9% No

Inflation: 52.4% Yes, 47.6% No

Pregnancy (Female Only): 57.5% Yes, 42.5% No

Muscle Growth: 67% No, 33% Yes

Giant/Giantess Growth: 62.7% No, 37.3% Yes

Blueberry/Fruit-Based Expansion: 55.7% No, 44.3% Yes

Vagina Expansion: 66% No, 34% Yes

Penis Growth/Expansion: 60.8% No, 39.2% Yes

-Interesting that Penis Growth outdid Vagina Expansion considering the survey shows a higher a approval rate of female subjects. Must have something to correlate with the futa approval rate.

Shrinking: 71.2% No, 28.8% Yes

Transformation

Personality TF (Nerd, Bimbo, Himbo, Princess, Punk, Goth, etc.): 69.3% Yes, 30.7% No

Uglification: 62.3% No, 37.7% Yes

-Odd considering how close it is to slob, one of my more popular subjects.

Shortstack TF (Goblins, Dwarves, Imps): 56.1% Yes, 44.9% No

Age Progression: 62.7% No, 37.3% Yes

Anthro Animal TF: 51.9% Yes, 48.1% No

Full Animal TF: 76.9% No, 23.1% Yes

Humanoid Inanimate Object TF (Statues, Mannequins, Sex Dolls): 77.4% No, 22.6% Yes

Non-Humanoid Inanimate Object TF ( Clothing, Sex Toys, Appliances): 80.7% No, 19.3% Yes

Male to Female Transformation: 55.2% Yes, 44.8% No

Female to Male Transformation: 75.9% No, 24.1% No

Deviant Transformations (Fuckplant/Succplants, Buttfaces, Dorses/Queen's Stallions, Lady Pots, etc.): 67.9% No, 32.1% Yes

-Honestly surprised this category did this well, but that might be due to the sheer variety this subject matter covers. Might have to do another series of polls with each one individually to get a better idea.

Overall, I’d say the results were rather enlightening. If a subject you are interested didn’t get a high approval rating, it doesn’t mean I won’t ever write about it. I intend to keep things varied up like I usually do, but I will consider my options when doing polls in the future regarding these kinds of things.

Miscellaneous Questions and Comments

Starting off, let me address a few things people have mentioned I missed in this survey.

Hyper Expansion

-I kind of include this along with the other expansions, however my personal preferences usually steer me towards nothing too big with my stories. It’s very rare that I go anything beyond the size of a house for anything.

Bodypart tf ( butt tf, breast tf E.T.C)

-I find that very similar to inanimate object TF, but I can see enough differences to make it a different category. That being said, I’m not sure I’m too fond of the identity death usually associated with these.

Femboy

-Noted and definitely on the table depending on if the right story comes along.

Cavewoman/De-Evolution

-I originally had this on the poll, but I decided it’s more lumped into the Personality TF category.

General inflatable transformation like pool toys. Also flattening.

-I consider those part of the inanimate object TFs. As for flattening, nothing against it, but my usual repertoire consists of making things grow, not the other way around.

Head, hand, leg, and other body part inflation

-I’ve done head expansion to a certain extent in my recently done Raven slob story. As for the others, I think they’re a little to niche of a topic for me. Not forbidden, just not something I’m particularly interested in.

Fart Inflation

-Considering the positive reaction to both the inflation and fart category, I would have to assume this is a definite yes for most of my audience.

Candy/Sweets TF

-This has always been something I’ve wanted to do, but could never think of a good scenario to place it in. I’ll definitely put it on the table once I find the right premise for it.

Supernatural transformations (demons, angels, mythical creatures, etc.)/ Monster People

-For demons and angels, I feel like those should be included with the personality TFs. As for creatures, that depends on what we’re talking about. May need to do separate polls for each type to gauge interest.

Robot TF

-Not a particular interest for me, plus it kind of falls under the humanoid object TF category

Mutant TF

-Too vague

Monterfication

-Falls under both the uglification and/or anthro TF categories

Strong Fat

-A little too specific but seen as favorable with the results of the WG and muscle growth categories.

Clown

-Part of the personality TF category.

Possession

-Sort of close to hypnosis, but I can see enough differences to warrant a separate category. Just have to be careful to tread the line without going towards anything to icky in terms of rape or anything like that.

Immobility

-See hyper growth.

Clothing TF

-Already covered in inanimate object TF

Multibreast

-An excellent addition that’s more than welcome in my stories. Will definitely need to include this in a future poll.

Comments and Questions

Now let me address some questions and comments from the survey.

“But what about princess deadpool? watch the second deadpool musical.”

-I didn’t realize there was a Deadpool musical to begin with. I’ll have to take a look at that.

“Personally i always like if there is transformation between couple like male and female. Or even female and female. Rather than one transformation. Like i like it when one of slob, transformation can share with another person”

-I share this sentiment. Nothing better than two people indulging in one another’s desires. Although, I feel that’s for any fetish, not just slob.

“Your stuff is always a pleasure to read! Question though would be what are YOUR favorite things to do and such due to some of your things being commissions? Other than that you are quite grand at making kinky stories!”

-My personal favorites are just anything that can give me a challenge and an opportunity to try out things I haven’t thought of before, ergo my tendency towards variety.

“Dude i stay up day and night waiting for you to post everytime you do it makes me feel better about the evening btw if you want to chat sometime my discord is (NAME WITHELD)”

-I appreciate what this person is trying to do, but they really shouldn’t be posting information like this so willy nilly. Thank you for the offer, but you have to realize that there is a time and place for these sorts of things. Please do not come at me with friend requests or anything like that out of the blue. Regardless, I do thank this person for their kind words.

“I really like some of your darker stuff. I don't know if it's a common sentiment but I love unhappy stories.”

-I tend to avoid going dark in my stories, this is due in part to the prevalence of bad ends I’ve seen in most fetish content, especially things like hentai or doujinshi. Like I’ve said, it’s not off the table, but I usually prefer to keep things on a lighter tone in my stories.

“For the record Fat giantess slobs are the best.”

-That seems very subjective, but I won’t deny it’s a good combo.

“Recently I have noticed that you been doing a lot more slob material then just about anything else for the past few months. I admit I'm not a huge slob person it kind of comes down to my mood. while I would appreciate more variety in your subject matter you are the writer and I (and several others) appreciate you sharing your artistry with us.”

-A lot of that comes from what both my commissioners and people on my Patreon ask for. Keep in mind that I do have to oblige people that give me money to write. I do try to find time to write other things though.

“Just do what makes you happy. But i'd love to see more male focused expansion/transformation.”

-As I’ve said, I’m up for it, but I need the proper story and opportunities.

“male on female facesitting/squashing/trampling is always good.”

-See the above question.

“Do you ever feel discouraged to write something if it's about something you don't enjoy OR feel like you write too much of? Other than that, keep up the good work, take care of yourself, and good luck with your future stories!”

-For stuff I don’t enjoy, it depends. If it’s a fetish I’m not into, I treat it as way to try out some new things and vary up my writing ability. Whether or not I learn to appreciate said fetish is another matter. That being said, I’ve made it well known what fetishes I won’t touch at all such as rape, scat, or vore. I find that I don’t have too much of the second problem since I keep finding ways to vary things up with similar fetishes with either varied scenarios or interactions.

Various words of encouragement

-Thank you to everyone that sent me these, as they’re always a good pick me up for the day.

Finally, the Disney Princess empathy votes are:

Rapunzel: 37.7%

Alice: 24.1%

Belle: 20.8%

Tianna: 17.5%

Now you may be asking what this survey is for. Well…that’s for me to know and for you to find out at a later time. Although, I may be prompted to answer any requests about any associated writing things that come from this survey.

Summary

Thank you everyone who took the time to answer the survey and let their opinions be heard. In the end, we had over 200 people participate to give a pretty sizable sample size. I may consider doing several more of these in the near future to focus on specific topics and cover things I may have missed.

[theav0cadobaby]

Podcast Recs cause I'm listening to too many of them. I listened to most of these in a month.

WOLF 359:

I literally couldn't recommend this podcast enough it's a ride of excitement and stress; twists and turns that is a rollercoaster of an experience. Basically it's about this crew of three plus a friendly AI orbiting the dwarf star Wolf 359, it seems like a fun comedy until shit gets real.

This podcast has frequent stressful situations, a lot of violence, and a lot of near death experiences. It's hard to tag everything.

WE FIX SPACE JUNK:

This podcast so far is really interesting in world building and characters. It's about these two mechanics held in debt by this intergalactic corporation that go around and fix space junk.

This podcast has violence, body horror in one episode, and alien plagues.

KING FALLS AM:

This is kinda like a mix of Gravity Falls and Welcome to Night Vale. The show is told completely through radio broadcasts of the Sammy and Ben show. Though mysterious things (more mysterious than all of the other paranormal shenanigans) start happening and it's just... Great. All of the characters are wonderful and honestly hilarious, I really recommend this one it's sooooo good.

There are depictions of Gaslighting, violence, alien abductions, intense racism from one character though it's very clear that that character is a bad person and it is comedic, homophobia in later episodes, violence against sugar gliders specifically (no I'm not kidding), and one murderous elf on the shelf.

THE INFINITE NOW:

I honestly don't know what the hell goes on in this podcast but like it's pretty cool time stuff so like yeah. Its two hours tops to get through it.

This story is a bit trippy and I honestly barely remember it so I don't have much in the way of trigger warnings

JANUS DESCENDING:

This podcast is good technically I'd say but it's kinda thick if that makes sense. It feels like a chore to watch cause I don't care that much for the characters and they don't talk like normal people which is annoying. But it's still something I think is good. It's about these two scientists going to an alien planet and getting their shit fucked up thoroughly. It's genuinely terrifying at times.

There are trigger warnings in the show notes but this podcast has a lot body horror, violence, and is kinda fucked up sometimes.

TIDES:

Honestly this podcast is the next big thing in my opinion. I really liked the first season it's so interesting and it's like Janus Descending but a lot cooler and more interesting and funny. I'm really looking forward to it's next season! Basically this Xenobiologist (space animal scientist) is stranded on alien planet with intense tidal activity and the podcast is a mix of her complaining about her co-workers, surviving, and talking about the ecosystem. It's super interesting.

This podcast is kinda icky but I love it. There are depictions of small spaces and people who don't like water might not like this podcast.

EOS 10:

This is one of the big ones. It's about doctors, a cook, and an alleged space terrorist on this space station. It's really funny and I love the characters to death. The third season got a bit tricky though cause they kinda had to retcon a character out of the story cause they apparently fired his voice actor. And it gets like.... Super confusing. But still please watch it it's so good.

This story deals with alcoholism and drug addiction, along with violence, terrorism, grief, sexual interactions (though these are brief.) And medical stuff in general.

STAR TRIPPER!!!:

It's like We Fix Space Junk but 100x more positive (not saying that WFSJ is inferior, that's not true at all) and honestly it's like so sweet to watch. Things can get a bit unclear but that's okay. Also apparently the main character is nonbinary so that's great. It's about this fellow Feston who decides "fuck it" and fucks off away from their office job and goes to explore the universe with their ship (who I love btw, she's really nice)

There are occasional moments of violence and implications of sexual situations but overall it's pretty safe I think.

THE PENUMBRA PODCAST:

I haven't listened to the other storyline yet but basically it's about this private detective on mars. It's really gay like... REALLY GAY. This is the epitome of the "podcasts are really gay" posts. This podcast is what they're talking about. Aside from that is has a really interesting plot, stellar voice acting and great characters!

This podcast has depictions of violence, body horror at some point, guns (laser guns though) and abuse (there is a warning before those episodes however.

WELCOME TO NIGHTVALE

This is a genre defining podcast. All of the podcasts I just listed proably wouldn't exist without this and it's actually so good. It's fucking trippy, and it's so much fun. You can tell the creators put so much love and thought into the podcast and it's just amazing. Basically it's a radio show about this incredibly weird town. And if I have to explain it to you, that means you need to listen to it.

This podcast is very existential, and since it's just so weird and all over the place in what's weird it's hard to really tag anything, I apologise, plus it's been a while since I've listened to it.

THE ADVENTURE ZONE:

This podcast is so fucking good, you've probably already heard of it, and definitely of the producers, the McElroy family. It's these three brothers and their dad playing DnD (initially) together and I can't even describe it. But it literally made me cry so hard that I got a sinus infection.

There are depictions of violence, torture during the suffering game arc, there's an instance of bury your gays which I'm not gonna elaborate on cause of spoilers but don't worry about it. And sometimes some innuendos and sexual stuff ("hey thug what's your name I'm about to tentacle your dick" is an iconic line and a good example of that)

UNDER PRESSURE:

This podcast is about a philosophy student going to live in a underwater station and it's a lot of fun and the atmosphere of wet and uncomfortable is really excellently communicated. It's another really diverse podcast (which seems to be a trend with Procyon podcasts)

This podcast is not for people who like small spaces and deep ocean.

THE STRANGE CASE OF STARSHIP IRIS:

Maybe I'm just stupid or this one's hard to keep up on. Nevertheless I really liked the characters and it's just really fun. It's about this crew of ragtag smugglers trying to find out what's up with the former ship of their new crewmate. Featuring a lot of diversity (This is a Procyon podcast) and good voice acting.

BEAR BROOK

This is actually a true crime / nonfiction podcast about the Bear Brook murders. It's rather gory and disgusting at times but really interesting.

This podcast is not for the faint of heart though, it is a true crime podcast, and it does talk about the horrible things that a serial killer can do.

THE BRIGHT SESSIONS:

Basically therapy sessions for those with abnormal abilities. It's really good and the characters are actually so amazing. This podcast does a lot of interesting stuff that really interests me. I haven't finished it but I'm currently pretty far in. I think this podcast has the potential to actually help people with their problems.

This podcast has depictions of gaslighting, manipulation, panic attacks, mentions of torture and isolation, attempted kidnapping, actual kidnappings, depictions of war (this has trigger warnings though), and violence

TIME:BOMBS:

I'm actually sad that this is just a three part series. It's so much fun, and so good. It's by the same people who made Wolf 359 and it follows a bomb squad on New Year's Eve. Highly recommend it cause it's a really quick listen.

This podcast has bombs.

LORE:

This podcast deals with true crime and supernatural stuff and is presented in the classic podcast way. It's also really triggering cause of the true crime aspect but I seriously recommend this. It's genuinely really informative.

This podcast like Bear Brook is not for the faint of heart.

MYTHS AND LEGENDS:

This is a really interesting take on various legends it's a mix of storytelling in a very nonfictional sense that slips into dialogue that's rather interesting. I haven't listened to a lot of the episodes but it's good.

This podcast does discuss myths that were a product of their times so there are depictions and mentions of misogyny, rape and violence, even if I haven't listened to all of it.

MYTHUNDERSTOOD:

Has that same kinda switches in storytelling as Myths and Legends but a lot less coordinated and a lot funnier. Its a lot of fun to listen to the podcast and the hosts are really funny.

These also have the same tw as the podcast before this.

ALICE ISNT DEAD:

This is by one of the co-creators of WTNV it's about a trucker trying to find her lost wife. Ive only listened to the first part but it's really good and I highly recommend it. It's actually like amazing and really captivating. Also terrifying.

This podcast has depictions of intense violence, existentialism, and body horror. And probably more I haven't even finished it.

I'm sorry if I didn't include something in the trigger warnings about these podcasts, but I hope it helps. I've been listening to a lot of them and it's so much fun!

[forestwater87]

Do you happen to have any headcannons for Edward Pikeman/ the woodscouts? Any for the flower scouts? (And I understand if you wanna take time to answer or do separate posts; if you wanna answer it at all).

I haven’t really thought about it, but since Petrol is one of my new Favorite People, I think it’d be fun to sit down and do these guys! Llllet’s go!

1: sexuality headcanon:

Straight. Slimy, sleazy straight boy.

2: otp:

No one. He … needs to learn how to not be quite so creepy first.

3: brotp:

Him and the Woodscouts, definitely. He’s the only one who calls Billy “Snake,” and Petrol is apparently willing to fall in acid for him. They’re the only 3 people in a dying camp, but they seem to be really close-knit and it’s actually hella cute.

4: notp:

Him and Gwen. For one thing, I don’t think he’s a counselor, so there’s no way he’s older than, like, 20 on the very outside. So ew. But also I’ll hear the way he said “Mmmmhmmm” in my nightmares. No, no, Gwen deserves better.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head:

I think he was the youngest in his family, and that his siblings are all super popular and successful. It makes him throw himself into the Woodscouts, because that’s something he’s fairly good at, and that’s why he’s so eager to win Camp Campbell and improve the quality and numbers of the Woodscouts: to prove to himself that he’s a winner. He’s also ridiculously competitive in general, and a little like a Chihuahua — small, not very threatening, mostly just annoying, but highly confrontational and super delusional about his own abilities.

6: favorite line from this character:

“That’d be immoral.” I love the way you can practically see the italics as he speaks.

7: one way in which I relate to this character:

Uh … I also don’t have great skin?

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:

Everything. All of his everything.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Problematic, absolutely.

1: sexuality headcanon:

Demihet, biromantic. No idea where this headcanon came from, but I’m going to cling to it like it makes sense.

2: otp:

He looks like he’d be good with someone like Ered. They could do badass things together and look awesome.

3: brotp:

All the other Woodscouts, again. No idea what he sees in Pikeman, but apparently it’s enough to keep him sticking around.

4: notp:

I see the Woodscouts so much like a family that the idea of any of them together feels vaguely incestuous. No clue why, but it squicks me out in a big way.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head:

He’s actually relatively popular in school and stuff, but for some reason he tends to gravitate not toward the cool kids, but toward the losers like Pikeman and the Woodscouts in general. It’s not an intentional thing, his affinity for lost causes, but he’s the jock who’ll kick your ass if you’re bullying someone he’s fond of.

I also think he’d tend to be friends with really talkative, outgoing people, because he’s very much the “strong and silent” type. It’s a big part of why people think he’s cool, but really he’s just kinda shy.

6: favorite line from this character:

He … doesn’t have lines.

7: one way in which I relate to this character:

Pretty sure my legs are literally that skinny.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:

Never! He’s too awesome!

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

CINNAMON. ROLL.

1: sexuality headcanon:

No sex. Just honor. (And Scouting.) Maybe he’ll grow into a sexuality, but he strikes me as either ace, or just too dedicated to The Cause to be actually interested in romantic or sexual anything.

2: otp:

None.

3: brotp:

WOODSCOUTS!

4: notp:

Any adults.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head:

He doesn’t need the eyepatch. He just thinks it makes him look cool. Sometimes he’ll switch eyes if one of them gets tired.

6: favorite line from this character:

“I made a vow.” He couldn’t be more Zuko if he tried, Jesus. Dante sure has a Type, doesn’t he?

7: one way in which I relate to this character:

Candy canes are a year-round snack.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:

He wants to be cool so badly. The insistence on being called “Snake” (and no one doing it) is really sad.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Neither, really. I don’t have strong feelings in either direction about this kid.

1: sexuality headcanon:

Girls. Not necessarily exclusively, but certainly a preference. She loves girly, feminine things so much and it extends to women; she’s convinced forever when the right (tough, rugged) guy comes along she’ll fall for him and they’ll have a perfect fairytale romance. Eventually … she’ll realize that she likes girliness so much in part because she just likes girls, and she likes being around them.

2: otp:

Nikki and Sasha is the ship I wish I didn’t love. I do not believe that all antagonistic ships are automatically True Love, but how cute would it be if years later they ran into each other, and Sasha had grown up to be less of a shallow person, and she realizes “oh shit Nikki’s hot” and they become the most badass power couple ever?

3: brotp:

Her friendship with Tabii. She’s so good and supportive even though her friend is legitimately troubled, and her willingness to get dragged along into these crazy schemes is heartwarming, in a weird way.

4: notp:

Don’t have one, adults aside.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head:

She has OCD, or a similar anxiety-related disorder. She excels so much in the Flower Scouts because everything is based on cleanliness and routine, and being able to meticulously organize everything in her entire life so that it’s aesthetically pleasing and perfect to the last detail is extremely comforting and relaxing to her. This is part of why Nikki upset her so much (and she was the driving force behind getting her out of the Scouts); it went beyond simply “ew, boy things!” and became a genuine source of stress, having her carefully-organized life upturned by this filthy child.

6: favorite line from this character:

“Seriously Tabii, what the fuck?!”

7: one way in which I relate to this character:

I love pink!

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:

She’s a bitch. Not sure that’s embarrassment or irritation, but it’s hard to watch sometimes.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Definitely problematic, definitely a fave.

1: sexuality headcanon:

More or less straight; has a huge thing for David. (Yes, I literally ripped this from my fanfic. I don’t even feel bad.) I like the idea that she’s secretly drawn to dorks — not to the extent that Tabii is, but that she’s not as big a fan as the tough and stoic types as the sweet, puppy sunshine boys.

2: otp:

I … don’t have one. But now that I think about it, she and Tabii would be adorable, wouldn’t they? Or wait, what about Neil? That’d be kinda cruel to poor Tabs, but she finds his nerdiness appealing.

3: brotp:

Her and Sasha. They clearly recognize each other as the sane ones in their troop, and bond over a mutual love of pumpkin spice lattes.

4: notp:

Adults. Again. I’m a boring broken record in this regard.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head:

The hair isn’t natural. Sasha helped her dye it because she was jealous of her “cool” hair color, and Erin’s mom is gonna be pissed when she comes home with bright blue hair.

6: favorite line from this character:

“She’s the dumb one.”

7: one way in which I relate to this character:

I love Fraaaaance.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:

Nothing, really. The Valley Girl shtick is a little obnoxious, but honestly these girls are just too much fun to really be bothered by.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Neither? Both? Not sure.

1: sexuality headcanon:

Straight as an arrow with a thing for assholes.

2: otp:

I … wish I didn’t like her and Neil as much as I do. But it’s kinda cute. Not exactly an OTP, but I’m enjoying seeing where it goes, and as someone who’s had obsessive hopeless crushes like that, I think it’s extremely endearing.

3: brotp:

Her sister scouts love and support her so much! Also her sister is apparently the greatest, despite feeding her very bad information.

4: notp:

Adults. And … well, she’d probably be awful with Neil. Can it be my OTP and nOTP?

5: first headcanon that pops into my head:

Tabii is actually surprisingly good at school, despite not being very smart. She’s excellent at eyeing something and knowing exactly what someone wants her to do, so even if she doesn’t know the information she’s an incredible test-taker.

And she loves English class, and to write poetry in particular. It’s pretty bad poetry at the moment, but by the time she’s in college it’ll be surprisingly good.

6: favorite line from this character:

“He can pee in me anytime …” Or “he’s so hawt!” (I actually use that second one all the time.)

7: one way in which I relate to this character:

Me in 6th grade? I was Tabii. Girls get crushes so much earlier than boys, to speak in generalities. It’s so hard being in the “I wanna kiss your face” stage when they’re still in the “girls are icky” stage.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:

She’s just so bad at everything. (Also the way she talked to Bonquisha was a little … uncomfortable. Had a little “privileged white girl” feel to it that made me twitch.)

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Look at this cutie and tell me she’s problematic. Just fucking try it.

[itsyokythings-blog]

Hanoi

Loved the Noble and Swan Boutique Hotel in Hanoi. Spent I think 3-4 days in Hanoi and would highly recommend. Lots to do and see and eat!

This street food tour was super fun. We went with June and she was a blast. It's also just super fun to zoom around on the back of a motorbike; I would be too afraid to drive myself, so this was the perfect way to get a feel for it.

If you don't take it, still make sure to try Egg Coffee (literally everybody will tell you this, but it's super tasty) and Bun Bo Nam Bo (yummy beef noodles).

We really really loved the Women's Museum. Expected to spend an hour or two here, but ended up staying until they closed and loving every minute of it. Give yourself a few hours!

Ninh Binh

We did a day trip with Funny Travel to Ninh Binh and it was so much fun. Our main objective was the Hoa Lu Temples which are carved in to the rock and while the place isn't big, it's not super touristy and it's definitely very beautiful and unique. Would definitely recommend. We also rode a boat between the mountains and rice paddies (so pretty) and then rode our bicycles around the rice paddies. We had a private driver and they took us to a lunch spot and we did a little shopping, too. Generally an excellent day trip in an air conditioned car and so much fun, although also swelteringly hot (dripping sweat on the bikes). He also helped us book our flight to Cambodia, which made everything easy and I think we got a deal on the tour for booking the flight as well. I can't remember exactly, but I think our tour was about $80/person for the driver, temple, bicycles, lunch, and boat ride. It was about a 2-3 hour drive from Hanoi.

Ha Long Bay (Cat Ba Bay)

We did an overnight tour into the bay with IndoChina Junk and their prices are worth the value. Highly recommend: well run, high quality, good accommodations, excellent kayaking and swimming, good food, kind people, and, most important of all, really really fabulous views and isolated spot to dock for the evening. Such a magical spot: definitely get up early for sunrise!

  Da Nang

We stayed one night here for a little beach getaway on our way to Hoi An and I would recommend. It was really fun to swim in the ocean and enjoy the beach. Finally a place where the heat was a good thing! We rented chairs with an umbrella for cheap and it was really nice to just chill and enjoy.

This area is by far one of the more expensive places in Vietnam, but for one night we lived it up and enjoyed ourselves. We stayed at the Adamo Hotel which was right on the water and was pretty great. They were fairly new and had some customer service bumps, but in the end we figured they'd probably work them out. In the meantime, we had the rooftop pool to ourselves, which was a blast, and the breakfast buffet was amazing. Rooms were comfy and clean and had an incredible view of the beach.

We went to A La Carte for dinner and sunset drinks, which was an excellent decision. Good drinks, good burgers, excellent views of the city and river and ocean. Downside was they wouldn't let us swim in the pool with purchase, it's for hotel guests only (laaaaame).

Hoi An

Hoi An is where I got my fabulous pink coat made and is so nice. It's a smaller town, but if you want clothing made, you need to spend 4 or 5 days there. You can borrow bikes from your hotel (probably) and cycle around, eat, enjoy sunset on the river. Super super touristy, but in a really enjoyable way.

We stayed at the Lasenta Boutique Hotel and it was the best. I would stay here 100 nights a year if I could. So cute, comfy, great service, etc. Their adorable tile work everywhere is so representative of Hoi An in general. Room rates were around $50/night. We borrowed their bicycles (for free) and used them to get everywhere.  You'll want to spend most of your time in the Hoi An Ancient town, which is a UNESCO world heritage site and super cute, but there are restaurants and fun places to go outside of this tourist heavy area, too.

Got my clothing made at Tony the Tailor's and I would come here again. They are so nice and accommodating and talented. I do feel like getting more artistic custom clothing is more difficult than getting business suits or more traditional items. The more specific photos you have of exactly what you want and the more clear you are about what you really want, the more you'll be happy with what you get. They'll pay for you to get a taxi cab from your hotel, email ahead to make an appointment. Plan on going immediately when you arrive in order to give yourself as much time for them to make the clothing and for you to come back and get it tailored as possible. Sometimes you'll want to come back a few times to get it right and giving yourself that time is worth it. Downside of this place is that there is no AC and so it's hot as hell and super hard to try on tighter clothing, but I think all of the places are open like this and they do have ice water and fans so that's probably the best you can do. If you go, tell them the girl with the custom pink coat from July 2017 sent you; she has an amazing memory for all her customers.

My favorite custom purchases were two pairs of leather sandals at Thang. They did a really great job and I ordered two pairs and my friend ordered some after seeing mine. Reasonably priced (maybe $20-30, depending on what you want and your bargaining abilities) and high quality. My friend also got a great belt here to bring back for her partner.

I had a bad experience with Song Leather. I ordered a purse from them, very careful to select exactly the leather that I wanted. When we came back the next day, they had made it not out of the one I picked, but another very different. From there, I had to fight pretty hard to get them to make me a new one, and even then they charged me for it (I kept both and sold one when I got back to the USA to a friend). After I picked it up, they were pretty pushy about trying to get me to leave a 5 star review on Trip Advisor, which felt icky. My friend ordered shoes from here too, and they were not good quality. They were heels, but the heel slipped out from underneath her foot every time she stepped. She ended up leaving with them for full price and they insisted that they would get better as the glue dried, but it didn't really happen.

Banh Mi Phuong was my favorite, packed with locals and a crowded line. Get two because they're only $1 and fairly small and SO DELICIOUS. We came back twice.

We also went to Phi Banh Mi which is more catered towards westerners, but so much fun. The owner is the sweetest and his sandwiches are SO good. We also came back here twice. (I mean, when you're here.... haha)

I loved our chill afternoon spent in the Lapin Café, which played French music and was run by a French-Vietnamese couple. It felt like coming over to somebody's hip house and I wanted to be friends with them after we left. No AC, but such good vibes.

The Reaching Out Café might have been my favorite find in Hoi An, run entirely by deaf locals who have the most serene, wonderful spot in the middle of the bustle. Come here! It's magical.

Siem Reap

The Jaya House in Siem Reap is far and away the best hotel I have ever stayed at. Start to finish it was an incredible experience and well worth the pennies we paid to stay here. In July 2017 rooms were $135/night for their basic room, but they ended up upgrading us to a room with a private jacuzzi and it was incredible. Swinging tables, the most amazing food you've ever tasted, incredible massages, two amazing pools, lotuses everywhere, a fabulous sunset bar, THE BEST SERVICE ever ever ever. I could go on and on: this place is incredible. We weren't sure what we could get that was better than the Lasenta Boutique Hotel (for only $50/night), but once we showed up we completely understood. They organized everything for us: our tours through Angker Wat and the others, etc.

The only downside of this place was that we barely saw Cambodia outside of the hotel and the Wats, which is a pretty big bummer to me, although our guide Khemerin was very forthright about how bad the Civil War had been in Cambodia and I got the feeling that maybe there isn't much besides these places.

We did go to Temple Bar one evening, which was a crazy expat bar experience and pretty fun. Insanely loud, cheap bevvies, tons of people from all around the world, and we danced like crazy. Not sure I would do it again, but it kind of felt like the only thing to do around Siem Reap and it was certainly a memorable club experience.

For Angkor Wat, do make sure you go at sunrise (and go early to make it worth it). We watched it from outside the wall where you can see the whole thing and then headed in to the pool to see from the inside. Not sure, but I might go to the inside instead next time if I was there early enough. We got the two day ticket (well, three day, but we only went two days, but it's still cheaper than buying two individual tickets) and I was glad we didn't try and cram everything in to one day. We did do the side trip to Banteay Srei and I am glad we did: it's different than the others and so fun to see.

Definitely take your time and definitely get some blessings from the monks; it's a few dollars and you'll feel like a tourist doing it, but it's authentic and cool. The monks are the only ones allowed to still live in Angkor Wat and they rely on only donations for their food and clothes. It's worth asking your guide more about this (and definitely about the modern political landscape and the Civil War and so on).

I would say that while biking around looks picturesque, it's so hot that you'll want to save it for another day when you're not relying on this to get you around. Splurge for the tuk tuk (or stay at our hotel and let them spoil you with cold ice towels and water whenever you get back from a temple).

The post Vietnam & Cambodia Travel Guide: What to do in Two Weeks appeared first on We Are Adventure.us.

[mjbookreviews]

Reviews for the End of the World

I wrote this piece for a practicum I was a part of in college.  Still pretty recent, still pretty relevant.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the end of the world. Maybe it’s because in multiple classes I’m in this semester we have been discussing zombie novels and climate change. Maybe it’s because I’ll be going to Los Angeles soon and I’m pretty sure that North Korea is going to nuke it. Maybe it’s because I’m graduating from college in a month and have no idea what I’m doing next.  Whatever it is, I’ve found that the best way to feed my fears is to read dystopian literature, and these have been great for reminding me that there is very little hope for the future.  According to my literary research, the world is going to end in one of three ways (or through a combination of the three): widespread plague (zombie kind included), environmental destruction, and/or total political collapse.  So I guess the thing here is, pick your poison.  Humans seem to be to blame for the end of the world any way you slice it.

I have to say, I love zombie stories.  Yes, it got really annoying when a few years ago literally everything had to do with zombies (which is the context for when this first novel was published), but that trend has kind of died down now, and I can get behind it again. There’s something comfortingly ridiculous about zombies, like they’re scary, but completely unrealistic.  No way the world is going to end in a zombie apocalypse.  Plus, all that talk of plague kind of makes it feel like it’s not the fault of humans; it’s “nature… correcting an imbalance… comeuppance for a flatlined culture,” as the Lieutenant says in Colson Whitehead’s Zone One.  And in a way this is true, but Whitehead’s novel does not shy away from the idea that humans are getting what’s coming to them; after all, it is their dead, sleepy culture, transfixed by technology, that has lulled them into a false sense of security.  Whitehead also makes an effort to point out the environmental damage that was occurring in the world before the zombie apocalypse broke out.  Clearly, something (many things) should have been done to prevent this.  Yet if the zombie apocalypse had not occurred, our protagonist, Mark Spitz, would not be the main character of anyone’s story.  Mark Spitz is the most average man on the planet, according to even himself.  He does nothing out of the ordinary, never pushes himself to excel or lets himself completely fail; he is, as he says, a solid B in everything.  But his ability to adjust to his environment, to allow himself to blend in and do what must be done, is what allows him to survive among the undead, and frankly, it is in this environment that he thrives, never seeming to be anything special but always able to survive. 

First he survives the Last Night, when the virus that turns humans to zombies broke out for real.  He then makes his way to New York City, the place he’d always wanted to live before the outbreak, and it is here that he finds some semblance of civilization.  Mark Spitz, along with his unit, is assigned the task of clearing out Zone One (Manhattan) of remaining zombies (“skels”) that were not killed by an initial sweep conducted by the military, as well as stragglers, zombies that are fixed to certain spots that were important to them in their lives before—unmoving, unresponsive, slowly decaying corpses.  Whitehead’s version of zombies is uniquely compelling, in the way the disorienting timeline, shifting fluidly from past to present, is presented and in its provoking portrayal of the human condition after the world has experienced such trauma, such as the exploration of “Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder” (PASD) and whether or not racism will exist if the world ever reconstructs itself (hint: it’s suggested that it unfortunately probably will).  I have no delusion that I would make it very far in a zombie apocalypse, but Whitehead’s vision of the future world is interesting and thrilling enough that I would almost want to live in it for a moment.  Almost, but not really.

In a slightly more realist vein, Octavia Butler’s classic Parable of the Sower looks at Los Angeles in the 2020s, when America has fallen to environmental and economic disaster.  Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter, lives just outside of Los Angeles in a small, gated community that is not wealthy but provides adequate protection.  Predicting that the world she knows in her gated community will soon come crashing down, Lauren prepares herself for when she might need to flee north, where it is rumored there are still jobs and plentiful water.  Described in crazy close detail through Lauren’s journal entries, her vigilance proves to be warranted as pyromaniac drug addicts storm her community and kill her family and friends.  Lauren then journeys north with little more than the baggage of her loss and grief and the company of two friends from her old life, growing into a group of survivors she picks up along the way.  Butler’s tale seems to weave in a little of everything: religion, politics, race, gender, class.  Through Lauren’s honest and straightforward narrative voice, Butler creates an America that is entirely new yet somehow all too familiar, and Lauren’s ultimate goal in creating a community around a religion she has shaped, Earthseed, in incredibly inventive.  To start each chapter, Butler includes a quote from the parables Lauren has created for Earthseed:

“God is Power—

Infinite,

Irresistible,

Inexorable,

Indifferent,

And yet, God is Pliable—

Trickster,

Teacher,

Chaos,

Clay.

God exists to be shaped.

God is Change.”

Heavy stuff from a girl who is only fifteen when the novel starts. Lauren is the kind of person you want on your side during the apocalypse, and she also knows how to write a good parable for her audience of ragtag survivalists.  Butler’s skill at placing herself in this future where “God is Change” is truly astonishing.

Here is the kind of novel that scares me the most in its horrifically exact detail.  Though I somewhat doubt that America will end up in the state that this novel describes within the next ten years, fifty years from now does not seem unrealistic, especially considering that this book was published in 1993, looking thirty years into the future.  The environmental disaster described in Parable of the Sower is all too frightening for someone who lives in Los Angeles and recognizes the accuracy of the problems in the novel relating to fire and lack of water.  I find the end of this book to be somewhat more hopeful than other dystopian novels I’ve read (no spoilers), and I think that a lot of this has to do with Lauren’s insistence on building a community; this is a somewhat strange community based on Earthseed, but the book does seem to point to the idea that even when the world is ending, there will be people who will try to keep human warmth and contact a priority.  I found Parable of the Sower interesting also in its depiction of the government and corporations.  The government here hasn’t completely fallen, but corporations have basically been given free reign, and Lauren and her band of followers ponder on the idea that these corporations seem to be bringing back a new form of slavery, one not totally based on race like in America’s early history but still closely linked, an idea that seriously occupies the mind of Lauren, who is black.

A great predecessor of the previous two books, Margaret Atwood’s 1985 book, The Handmaid’s Tale, also deals with religion, gender, and class, though in many different ways and on the opposite coast.  If race is the dominant issue for Butler (which I’m not necessarily saying it is), gender will be the main concern in the future according to Atwood.  In The Handmaid’s Tale, we have finally arrived at a dystopia where the government has truly fallen, and it is women who suffer under a new regime.  Environmental destruction plays out in the background of this novel; because of pollution and toxic waste, fertility rates have dropped drastically in the world, and women who have been arrested or declared sterile can be shipped off to the ecological wastelands of the Colonies for the rest of their lives.  However, it is in the continental United States that the action is occurring.  After years of sexual liberation and feminist movements, men feel as if they have no purpose in life anymore, as they have no one to protect or take care of—there was a pandemic “inability to feel” for men in the old days.  A governmental coup is arranged, and the Republic of Gilead is born. In this society, women are not allowed to read or to go out on their own except on specified occasions, such as shopping trips.  The novel’s protagonist is Offred, who becomes a Handmaid, women who are basically concubines for high-ranking officials in the government.  Once a month, Offred must have sex with the Commander that she lives with while his wife, Serena Joy, is in the bed with them.  Offred’s sole job is to produce an heir for the Commander, but in this age of drastically decreased fertility, it is a risky job to hold.  

In Atwood’s rendering, this future totalitarian state is icky and repressive and deservedly a rallying cry in feminist literature.  I read an interview by Atwood once that said that everything that happens in The Handmaid’s Tale was taken from stories around the world of events that have already happened before (i.e. Puritans, Communist Romania, etc.), and this presents another terrifying way that the world as we know it could fall.  Everything that we thought could never happen in a country like the United States (in its technologically advanced, democratic civilization or whatever) could very well happen.  And if it’s a world where women are completely subjugated and not even allowed to read, this is the world of my nightmares.  Atwood’s book again gives at least a somewhat hopeful ending, firstly by including an epilogue and secondly just in Offred’s act of recording her story, or, more precisely, in that she “would like to believe this is a story [she’s] telling” because “if it’s a story [she’s] telling, then [she has] control over the ending.  Then there will be an ending, to the story, and real life will come after it.”  I think that this novel then offers the greatest hope of the three for possible human redemption, seeing as there could be an “after,” but how well humans can redeem themselves is still questionable.

Whitehead is clearly working under the lineage of Butler and Atwood, building his own vision from the legacies they left.  Nearly thirty years separates The Handmaid’s Tale and Zone One, but writers are obviously still not done thinking that the end of life as we know it is fairly eminent.  And as someone who has just spent the last eight months writing my own dystopian-esque thesis/novella, the questions and themes relevant to these works have been on my mind a lot, adding to the list of reasons why I’ve recently been so interested in apocalyptic literature.  Honestly, I basically wrote a dystopian piece in response to the astonishment and horror I felt at the 2016 US Presidential election of Donald Trump. And arguably, Spitz, Butler, and Atwood are not just fantastically writing about the future either; we respond to our current situation by predicting how contemporary events will play out into the future, and sometimes, as especially is the case of Atwood and Butler, we look to the past to find patterns for what lies ahead.  This presents a pretty disheartening view of writers’ outlooks on the present state of the world; if we use the present and the past as our models of zombie- and authoritarian-filled futures, there seems little hope that humans will magically change their ways anytime soon. But I guess that’s what makes these books so powerful and so gripping in our imaginations; at first glance they may seem far-fetched, even absurd, but by following the stories of these individuals who have survived and are sharing their intimate secrets with us, we pick up on little details that seem all too familiar to our lives and our current world, and suddenly we are face to face with the idea that, oh god, we kind of believe this could happen to us, too.

[itsclydebitches]

Soo like 6 days ago I started watching the Witcher stopped at ep 7 bought the Witcher 3 and have been playing it nonstop. The shows okay? I think? (From someone who only knows what the series is from a 4 hour critic video that I had no idea what was going on in BUT- the game is so funnnn. Like I barely know what’s going on, from that video and people discussing things online but WOW??? Like how was I not told about this shit earlier??? Dandelions realllllly icky thooo like I thought he’d be more fun and less “wow your straight fucking scum” but I mean at least he cares about his friends? Triss and yennifer are... Oof rough BUT I’m only just in the game, hope they’ll grow on me? Or change? But Ciri? Is adorable? Her parts are so fun to play her dodge is so fun.

The novels! Have You read them? Where does one get them lmao Ik they’re translated?

[old timey fisherman's voice] WE CAUGHT ANOTHER ONE, BOYS!

Ahhhh new Witcher 3 fan!! Congratulations, anon, you've unlocked my numerous Thoughts™ and Opinions™ on the matter that I am now going to dump on you in bullet point form. No spoilers though!

Okay, okay, yeah I like this game a totally normal amount. I've sunk at least 250 hours into it (so far) which might not be much compared to the Pro Gamers and whatnot, but it's an insane amount for someone like me who possesses the attention span of a goldfish. I don't do any of the same thing for 250 hours (except write things on tumblr, I guess)

I didn't know what was going on either when I first played. I didn't even have the show to sort of help me out, Witcher 3 was the first Witcher story I ever dove into. The great thing though is you can just... google stuff? See, idk if you've worked this out yet, but the games all take place post-book series. All the stuff in the series happened, then Witcher 1 starts with Geralt having amnesia, and everything else in the games is new content. Which means that though there's obviously a fair number of book spoilers throughout, it's pretty easy to google worldbuilding questions without getting game spoilers. So once I understood that I was able to supplement what I was getting via game osmosis with stuff like, "Who the fuck is Nilfgaard again and why does everyone hate them?" or "What did Triss do to Geralt?" without getting any quest-specific spoilers. Basic wiki articles with, "Such and such is related to such and such and once did This Thing" was super helpful.

Yeah, the show is just okay. I'm far less enamored with it a year later than I was at the start. I think I was trying to like it more than I actually did... Honestly, I'm actually somewhat wary of getting more seasons simply because of how TV shows tend to dominate fandoms. The Jaskier/Geralt dynamic is a perfect example: once the show does something, a very large portion of the fandom tends to take that as their preferred canon. Finding non-TV!Jaskier/Geralt content is more of a struggle now. Which isn't a bad thing, god knows I'm happy to have more Witcher content in general, it's just too bad that we have game and book dynamics that are, at least here on tumblr, largely overshadowed by the show. My fave in the whole franchise - Regis - is someone I'm particularly worried for because if the show does him dirty and the whole fandom takes that characterization as gospel, I may not recover lol.

Dandelion's characterization in Witcher 3 is, sadly, not what I'd hoped it would be. To my mind book!Dandelion is superior to both game!Dandelion and TV!Jaskier. It's his dynamic with Geralt that made me ship them in the first place. He does grow on you in the game though (or at least he did for me), but he's definitely presented as more annoying/inept/creepy than in the books. And don't even get me started on how they butchered that relationship in the show... Though I WILL say game!Dandelion remains pretty funny. There's one quest in particular that never fails to make me laugh. Also his fashion is on point for a flamboyant bard.

Oof Triss and Yen... beware, anon, that is THE debate in this fandom and the one you might want to steer clear of lol. Personally, I'm not a fan of either. Triss is fine, I guess, but not someone I really, actively like and Yennefer is... well. Let's just say if I could do away with any character it would be her. I absolutely despised her in the game, was told she was better in the books, started the books, hated her even more, tried to give her a chance in the TV show, and ended up hating her there too. I'm just not a Yen fan, at all, which basically makes me the black sheep of the Witcher fandom lol. You might warm to them though, the majority do, however, know that you don't have to romance either of them. My Geralt was quite happy being a single father to his amazing daughter Ciri :D

I've read the short story collections and read enough of the novels to realize it wasn't my cup of tea. Basically, there are two collections of interconnected tales as Geralt goes about his witchering and then a six book epic following the hansa and everything with Ciri. Personally, I couldn't get into the epic and dropped the novels early on. In my humble opinion Sapkowski, writing a character like Geralt, (much like Doyle writing Holmes) excels in the short story format and then struggles stylistically in novel form. I found his writing tedious, the themes not nearly as poignant (many outright uncomfortable), and the fact that Yen is a central part of the whole tale didn't help sell things for me. Reading a six book series where a good chunk is dedicated to the supposedly epic love story of a couple where you hate one half and find the whole relationship cringy (though not in a way the story is purposefully acknowledging)... doesn't make for great reading imo lol. But I want to emphasize that that's my take and god knows it's a minority one. Most fans adore the books - and I do heartily recommend the short stories - so definitely give them a shot for yourself some time.

They are indeed translated (I can't read a word of Polish lol) and are very easy to find in a bookstore, online seller, etc. The wiki article lists them all.

(Though know that you definitely can't download ebooks for free via the Z Library. Nope. Not possible. Don't know why I'm even getting your hopes up.)

Really though, Witcher 3 is my fave, hands down. Out of the books, the show, the other games... Witcher 3 is the version of Geralt and the world that I truly fell in love with. When people say "Witcher" that's the version of Witcher I'm eager to discuss. However, if you can stomach early 2000s games with pretty terrible graphics, I recommend trying Witcher 1 and 2 once you're finished (I was immediately ready for more gameplay content after I'd finished lol). Witcher 1 is, in many ways, a mess. God the combat system drove me nuts... BUT it has a strange charm that I, in all seriousness, really loved. Meanwhile, Witcher 2 (Assassins of Kings) is far stronger. You can easily see the building blocks of Witcher 3 in the narrative choices and worldbuilding. Plus, AoK has Iroveth who is just such a fun character. Wish he'd made it into Wild Hunt :(

Also the comics! I bought the omnibus a while back and didn't regret the purchase for a second. House of Glass (the first story run) also has one of the saddest Geralt moments for me. Just this single panel that lives in my head, rent free, making me Feel Things on occasion lol. There's a new run, Fading Memories, releasing this month (!!!) which I can't wait to get ahold of once the trade paperback is out.

Oh god I could ramble about Witcher 3 for ages but this is already getting so long. Do all the side quests! Return to places you've already been to for fun surprises! Replay decisions to see how differently things turn out! Play lots of Gwent! Enjoy the gorgeous landscapes! Be sure to get the amazing DLCs when you're finished! Play Hearts of Stone first because Blood and Wine has an ending-ending and I didn't realize that, so it was a little weird to get the emotional finish and then have like 10+ hours of gameplay left! Oh, and if you haven't figure it out already know that you can put points into any skill in the General Skills tab (you don't build on it like the fighting/signs/alchemy tabs) and I would snag the "Gourmet" ability ASAP because it has saved my ass so many times.

AND ENJOY PLAYING

I wish I could play it for the first time again, but diving back into more Blood and Wine tonight will have to do :D

[deesdiaries]

Roundtable: What Happened to Tumblr?

After 11 years, founder David Karp is leaving—and it might mean that the platform is finally fading

BY ALYSSA BEREZNAK HANNAH GIORGIS ALISON HERMAN KATE KNIBBS VICTOR LUCKERSON MOLLY MCHUGH, AND KATIE BAKER

NOV 29, 2017, 8:30AM EST

Nearly 11 years after launching Tumblr in his mother’s apartment, David Karp announced this week that he’s stepping down as head of the social network. His departure signals a bleak future for the site, which has struggled to grow and turn a profit since it was acquired by Yahoo in 2013 for $1.1 billion. Even Karp’s goodbye email to staffers had a tinge of mourning to it: “I look back with so much pride. At a generation of artists, writers, creators, curators, and crusaders that have redefined our culture, and who we have helped to empower.”

Karp’s not wrong. Before Tumblr was sucked into the purple-paned corporate labyrinth that is Yahoo, it was a hotbed of excellent online content: a lovely, creative community that pumped out original GIFs, memes, and niche-interest blogs at an impressive rate. People went there to be entertained, to connect with like-minded peers, and to ogle pics of hungover owls. But over the years—as competitors like Facebook and Instagram have grown—that creative energy has slowly drained from the site. It’s likely only a matter of time until Verizon shutters the company and dissects it for parts. The question now: How did we get here? Ringer staffers Katie Baker, Hannah Giorgis, Alison Herman, Kate Knibbs, Victor Luckerson, and Molly McHugh weigh in. —Alyssa Bereznak

____________________________________________

(Read remainder of the article below the cut.)

This article suggests an ominous future for tumblr.  Personally, I’d hate to see it end.  My tumblr addiction began with the True Blood fandom on May 14, 2012 when I opened my blog as trueblooddiaries.tumblr.com.  When the HBO True Blood series ended and Charlaine Harris published her last awful book of the series, I changed mu URL to deesdiaries (simply for a lack of a better alternative or lack of imagination).  

How and when did you begin on tumblr?

Let’s start off on a positive note: What are your fondest memories of Tumblr in its heydey?

Molly McHugh: There was once a Tumblr where an artist would draw scenes from Craigslist Missed Connections pages. I loved that. I also really enjoyed making an MRW GIF blog when I lived in the Caribbean.

Alison Herman: I was a party crasher—I first logged on in 2010 or 2011, which I’ve been told is past its *real* heyday. I remember tentatively asking my friend what “what is air” means; I had no idea how thoroughly my brain was about to be broken.

Hannah Giorgis: I met some of my best friends because of Tumblr! Heben Nigatu and I stumbled upon each other's blogs way back in 2010 or 2011 I think. We were both shocked to find another Ethiopian girl grappling with some of the same issues (racism, sexism, etc., at predominantly white institutions and, you know, also in America). Neither of us had ever encountered that IRL. We ended up meeting in person the next year when I interned in New York, and I was connected to so many great folks in her orbit then—many of whom are now my closest friends here in New York, five years later.

Herman: It's mocked for it now, but Tumblr also taught me a lot of the basics of social justice discourse, mostly by just reading the perspectives of people whose backgrounds were different from my own. If Twitter is an ideological silo, Tumblr was a horizon opener.

Katie Baker: I was working in finance in 2008 and bothering a friend with constant emails when he finally responded: “Hey, have you considered starting a Tumblr?” Little did I know that it would be the start of a whole new career. … I felt like I had finally found “my people” even if it turned out that “my people” were, like, weirdos who liked reblogging Joe Biden memes and writing whispery posts about blogger drama. (One of the early Tumblr memes that really spoke to me was the great “Sad Guys on Trading Floors,” which made its debut shortly after I joined. It was weirdly comforting in a time of huge financial and societal upheaval.)

Alyssa Bereznak: I got into Tumblr when I first moved to New York in 2010 (which, yes, is pretty late in the game). I was delighted to find extremely specific pages that celebrated the weirdness of the city, like Halloween or Williamsburg? or Accidental Chinese Hipsters.

McHugh: Just the other day, my aunt texted me that she'd bought a cookbook called Thug Kitchen. I was going to explain that that used to just be a Tumblr, but what would the point be?

Giorgis: To Alison’s note, I appreciate that Tumblr is what helped give me the words for why something like Thug Kitchen, helmed by white people, really is troublesome (beyond just the icky feeling it gave me in my gut).

McHugh: Totally. I was going to explain everything wrong with it, but I think it would have been entirely lost. It was just wild to me that some people see Thug Kitchen as a cookbook that exists on its own.

Herman: It's hard to explain outside the context of Tumblr, right? Tumblr really did give users an almost secret language.

What set the Tumblr community apart from other social networks?

Herman: There’s a really obvious and powerful symbolism to the heart button, I think; pile-ons definitely happened, but Tumblr was always a way more positive place than almost any other social network. It was a home for enthusiasms!

Knibbs: What I always liked about Tumblr was the lack of emphasis on shuttling everything into one feed. It was more about discovery than scrolling quickly through whatever an algorithm told you would be most relevant. It really catered to rabbit holes and niches. Also, Shitty New Yorker Cartoon Captions didn’t exist anywhere else.

Bereznak: I always think about the bone controversy—in which people accused one practicing "witch" of stealing human bones for spells—as a good example for the network’s tolerance for very niche interests and sensitivity toward even the most bizarre topics of discussion. The response to the incident wasn’t, “What is this person doing practicing witchcraft with bones?” It was, “Any knowledgeable witch knows this is a very good way to piss off the spirits.”

Baker: I think for me it was the fact that it even was a social network, as opposed to the other blogging platforms of the time. I remember trying to start a Blogspot blog, because I read and loved so many of them, but I felt like I was just typing into the void and had no idea how to get involved in the link economy or anything like that. (In those days getting a Gawker “Blogorrhea” link was an epic accomplishment.)

Giorgis: Something about the quasi anonymity of Tumblr enabled both community and personal growth in a way that platforms like Facebook and Twitter—which feel very persona driven—don't allow for. On Tumblr you didn't have to worry about your family and friends finding out that you reblogged 500 Misfits gifsets. The site let you explore what you love—and what upsets you—with enthusiasm and energy, and connect with people who might share those with you while also introducing you to different things, concepts, etc.

Herman: Also, to get really basic: the mixed-media aspect! It was pretty to look at AND you could have long-form thoughts/discussions.

McHugh: It allowed for a lot more interpretation. Not just the content, but the design. There is no social network now that gives you even half as much flexibility. Everyone’s Instagram profile looks the same. There’s a lot more monotony across other social networks that I think lends us to scrolling mindlessly and not really FINDING anything. Tumblr was more exploratory partly because of this.

Giorgis: The Wikipedia of social networks!

Knibbs: It also existed in that sweet spot where blogs still mattered, and made it easy to connect those bloggers together.

Baker: At the time, I think even Facebook didn’t have quite the same “self-publishing tools,” if you can call it that, that it does now—I’d have to look up the history of Facebook to be clear on the timeline, but for a while, writing a status update still meant answering the prompt “Katie Baker is …”

Herman: Does anyone remember those “me on Facebook”/”me on Tumblr” memes?

Giorgis: Absolutely. I think a lot of what feels like modern Twitter humor has its roots in early Tumblr memes, especially the vaguely meta ones that reference the platform itself.

Herman: Tumblr also felt friendlier than other famously weird internet zones like Reddit or 4chan. I still felt like I was on a cool detour, but I wasn't in the Wild West, you know?

Bereznak: Yeah! Even the more risky adult content Tumblrs leaned toward sex positivity, not raunchiness. There was never really a fear that you might happen upon a deeply disturbing GIF or something.

Victor Luckerson: I kind of feel like Tumblr’s ability to propagate memes was the beginning of its undoing. I only ever consumed Tumblr content passively, but I primarily recall it as the vehicle through which memes—which I was familiar with as a trawler of message boards since my parents got us dial-up internet in the sixth grade—became a mainstream medium. When What Should We Call Me blew up around 2011, it was kind of jarring to see internet humor suddenly become something that people of all ages and backgrounds consumed. Then this type of humor was quickly co-opted by Twitter/Facebook accounts.

Herman: WHAT SHOULD WE CALL ME! I can't believe a single person invented the concept of the reaction GIF. It's a universal internet behavior that can be traced back to a user who took the practice mainstream. That’s wild.

Bereznak: How is the What Should We Call Me person not included in every “Top Internet Innovators” list of all time?!

Do we think that Yahoo really ever understood what Tumblr was for? What did it do to hurt or help the site?

Bereznak: I should disclose that before this, I was a reporter at Yahoo News, and was forced to use Tumblr as a CMS there. It was not ideal, but I won't say anything more for fear of breaching an NDA and being sued.

Knibbs: It doesn’t sound like the company ever got what Tumblr was, beyond that it was cool with the teens. I’d really love to know whether David Karp thought Yahoo would help Tumblr or if he just wanted that sweet blog money.

Herman: The detail in that Mashable storyabout an executive trying to hype them by saying they could “create the next-generation PDF” …

Bereznak: Also the fact that some Tumblr employees didn’t know what Yahoo was …

Luckerson: Lol, they were lying.

McHugh: They at the very least knew about Yahoo Answers. The only user overlap between Yahoo and Tumblr is Yahoo Answers.

Giorgis: I will admit that it's a bit hard for me as someone who used to be a very, very regular user of the site to disentangle my reflexive irritation with the Yahoo acquisition news from any sort of objective evaluation of what happened. Did Tumblr users just react dramatically to news of change? Maybe! But what incentive was there to think Yahoo would bring anything good to the site?

Herman: It’s weird—I can't point to any material impact of the acquisition on my user experience, but the decline in relevance definitely started soon after.

Luckerson: Yahoo’s goal must have been to have more content to serve ads against right? Once you refocus Tumblr as a blog for funny GIFs rather than a social network, it becomes much more likely to have its territory taken over by others. Basically, I could find plenty of memes on Twitter or Facebook by the Yahoo years, and that’s all I ever really used Tumblr for.

Bereznak: The narrative of the acquisition was that Yahoo would help Tumblr monetize, something that Karp had always been pretty reluctant to do himself. I always felt like he was protective of the company in that sense, and that his decision to sell it to Yahoo was basically a matter of: I can’t do this to my own child.

Baker: Alyssa, I think that’s a good way to think about it. Karp was too close to his Tumblr son. And also, because of how intimate Tumblr felt, I think the users felt more entitled to weigh in on the decisions he made and take them personally.

There’s a kind of cynical ethos that “everything good on the internet dies.” Do you think Tumblr was doomed before it was ever bought by Yahoo?

Luckerson: There is no way to scale the intimate connections that attracted early users, so yes, if their goal was to become a social media giant, definitely doomed.

Herman: I think a lot of people just outgrew it, too. I know people from Tumblr who are still big on the internet; they just use different platforms.

Knibbs: After we dismantle Facebook and Google and enter the Second Golden Age of Blogging, I think Tumblr could still rise again.

Giorgis: I still occasionally retreat to Tumblr when everything else is Too Much, but it makes more sense for me as someone who’s in a different professional place to primarily use Twitter/Facebook now (ugh).

Baker: Yeah, in some ways it’s the natural life cycle of a cool social network, I guess. If it weren’t Yahoo it would be something else.

Let’s finish it off with your all-time favorite obscure Tumblr dot com site.

Bereznak: Mine, as you may have guessed from the intro, is the hungover owl one.

McHugh: It’s kind of basic, but I enjoyed Cats That Look Like Ron Swanson.

Luckerson: Poor Michelle, about all the times Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams was snubbed by fate/cosmic circumstance/Beyoncé.

Giorgis: I don't know that it was obscure, but I still love Things I Learned from Sex and the City. Something about seeing a million screencaps from the show just perfectly highlighted the absurdity of its premises and dialogue—and also why there's still so much to love!

Herman: I’m gonna be extremely on brand here and vote for True Detective Conversations.

Baker: I’m Remembering! made me feel so seen. I lived in gripping fear of winding up on Table for One.

Bereznak: Man, I’m Remembering! was such a gem.

Baker: SUCH. The tag that was like “my brother josh.”

Knibbs: I was and am obsessed with the Old Loves Tumblr.

Bereznak: Man, I’m Remembering! was such a gem.