#1000 years of dreams

[olifdraws]

Nightmare

[valrayne-faeu]

*Counting brazenly* I see... hm.... one..two..three.. four... Nightmare do you have 4 pairs of wings? :3

"...Do not breathe a word of this to anyone." Nightmare refuses to humour this conversation. Leave and be silent, or face the consequences of your nosiness.

while they are no longer seen, as he hides them at all cost, Nightmare still has the wings he was born with. long-since wilted and atrophied, they sit under his new wings as a reminder of his past failures. he binds them and wears a cloak at all times to ensure there is no way they can be seen.

it has been something like a millennia since his original wings were last seen in their full splendour, and few fae remain that remember that he had different wings at all. during the war most fae assumed he hid them as a symbol; that he was no longer a Seasonal prince but the Winter King and that they were in a new era. only one other understood the true reason-- that he was ashamed.

when the war was winding down and there were whispers of a truce on the horizon, few were surprised when the Winter King began to appear with beautiful green wings tucked humbly under his cloak. but two other fae knew the truth. Dream, who could never forget what happened to his twin, and a simple fae who had made a deal with the King himself, so that they might live in the human realm without their cumbersome wings.

[suntails]

lead us not

[ppeonppeonhan]

The 10 Shows I DNF'd in 2024 — and the 6 I Should've

From Thailand, I nixed the vampire dramedy 1000 Years Old, because it was too goofy and took too long to get to the romance; Kidnap, because I was expecting a more badass version of Ohm; Two Worlds, because the MaxNat (see above) age difference is...unnerving; and 4 Minutes, because it was too dark and I'd already reached my limit for that type of romance with Dead Friend Forever back in the Spring.

From South Korea, I had to choose my sanity and stop watching Love in the Big City, which has some heavy mental health themes; and I also gave up on Blossom Campus pretty quickly, because after watching Boys Be Brave!, I decided no one in South Korea could top Ki Sub's cute, unhinged behavior.

From Japan, I could not sit through yet another emotionally abusive ML who is secretly in love with the human cupcake he crushes daily, so Cosmetic Playlover was deaded after episode 1; Love is Better the Second Time Around had a love interest that was both overconfident and a coward, which makes for an unappealing combination; Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (above) had an ill-advised yet chaste teacher-student romance; Takara No Vidro was just more of the same cat-dog dynamic that I'm growing weary of when there's not a more interesting element or electric connection; and the Love in the Air remake had its moments, but their version of Prapai x Sky just wasn't hitting.

Ok now for what I SHOULD'VE given up on, but foolishly powered through — all from Thailand:

I basically hate-watched Bad Guy My Boss, but I genuinely gave City of Stars (above) a shot. It was a faux high-stakes comedy about a celebrity risking his career to come out of the closet for his longtime crush. If it was 6 episodes tops, it would've covered everything it needed to, but producing twice as many and a special episode was excessive. It really just seemed like soft core with a slapped together plot.

But not as much as Sunset x Vibes (above). Ooof! That series was created purely to feed MosBank stans. A workplace romance where an intern accidentally falls for a mysterious man who turns out to be his boss was all that series needed to be, but no, they had to throw in a life-threatening, past-life myth. Like...pick a genre. Do it well.

I Saw You in a Dream also had a high concept: Guy develops the ability to see the future in his dreams and has to figure out how to save his childhood friend who's had a major crush on him for years. I was into it, but it dragged on for too long and the big bad villain turning out to be somebody's fake ex-bf was beyond anticlimactic. Also, aside from infantalizing your love interest, I also hate when a love interest plays up being a baby/younger to get away with stuff, but then immediately jumps to adult behavior. Like are you a child or an adult? His character was 20. It was weird.

Meanwhile, The Rebound had me in the first half. I've grown to love sports drama BLs. But it started to drag and the obstacles they faced with a gangster looming and an overbearing mother resolved so easily that it made the climax fall flat.

Sadly, the biggest disappointment was the Thai version of My Love Mix-Up. Fourth and Gemini did a great job per usual, but it was hella boring. And I say that having enjoyed the Thai remake of Cherry Magic. Not opposed to rewatching the same storyline, but I just couldn't get into it.

[valnyte]

Touko Kuzuha Route Review

a few things of note:

I mainly play the adult version; I have an alt account but it is the regular version)

I chose the 妖艶 ending as it was the one showed for the previews (at least in the adult PV); I can confirm that this end does continue to Kuzuha's current Christmas story event story

Based on the way my uni structured its Japanese language classes, I can only say my Japanese fluency level is around 中級 level but still kept a dictionary app by my side

I am not a translator and I will not be translating his route

keep in mind that this is MY opinion, you are free to have your own and read his route as you wish

Plot: 3.5/5 ★

Kuzuha as a character: 4/5 ★

Kuzuha as a partner in a romantic relationship: 1.5/5 ★ (I am being generous)

Kuzuha when it comes to smutty situations: 8/5 ★

MC: 2/5 ★ (Again, I am being generous)

Personal route enjoyment: 3.5/5 ★

tw: dubcon, self-harm

MASSIVE spoilers up ahead so read at your own risk

If I were to summarise his route in one statement its: one-night-stand turns into a friends with (medicinal) benefits relationship that becomes a situationship until these dumbasses finally learn that direct communication is perhaps the IDEAL solution.

Can you see why I want to squeeze him?

Starting with plot, it reads like a fluffy and spicy story, heavily focused on the situationship they landed themselves in which has the air of a romcom. Seriously MC, you just let this guy who you don't know very well crash your apartment and live with you? Just because you slept with him once and found him petting a fluffy cat later on? Kuzuha is incredibly unserious as well for the most part but it is entertaining to see whatever the hell he is up to with MC, if he's going to tease her or spoil her - albeit, usually in bed. Though truth be told, I could not really see much of the romantic chemistry between them, mostly sexual chemistry and understandably so. For a romcom-y theme, I was not expecting something too high stakes but I was actually kept at the edge of my seat once the story hit around the 3/4 point as something I did not even consider an eventual side plot would turn into. Everything before the 3/4 point was very rom-com with a side of magical healing. Storywise, things sped up really quickly after that point, but so did the resolution. I had no issues with the pacing thus far, but the resolution was a bit fast. Nevertheless, it was entertaining, and I will do his route again after hopping unto a fresh route.

Next, Kuzuha himself. Oh boy. Oh boy, oh boy. Wow, you really are a mess with a pretty face. His character profile labelling him "trash" [クズ] is not a joke in the slightest, he is one, and hell, he knows it with zero remorse. Even Tsubaki shit talks to MC in private that Kuzuha is a bit of a shit and neither of them will ever deny it. It makes sense that little pretty trashy kitsune becomes jealous of Ryo once MC brings the topic of her new co-worker/childhood classmate/first crush up. And it is because he knows deep down, he's not that reliable at all, save for his healing magic and his abundant sex appeal.

However as much as I will affectionately clown him, he does have his reasons why he's flippant, and everything ties back to him as the Kuzunoha kitsune. As kitsune, his liver is hunted down for the fact it has high healing capabilities, he has been hunted down in the past (by humans and youma alike) and even in the present (only by youma now), he does dislike the fact he is only seen as useful for this healing aspect. Not to mention physically painful with how parts of his liver have to be taken away and despite his highly regenerative state, its taxing to do. Moreso when it is not by his free will. Next, he is Kuzunoha from legend - there are many variants mind you, but Cybird x DMM did their own spin on it. TLDR how the legend is explained ingame: more than a thousand years back while he was being hunted down in fox form, he was caught in a trap, and he was set free by Abe no Yasuna. As gratitude, Kuzuha transformed into a beautiful woman and lived with Abe no Yasuna and the child of the latter, taking on the role of woman of the house/step in mother. A few years passed safely but then one day, Kuzuha's true identity as kitsune was revealed, and thus was chased out from the home, never seeing them again.

This then led him to the conclusion: "Love is not reciprocal. Either you take it, or it is taken from you."

Ouch.

And he does live with this conclusion set in stone for more than a thousand years until he meets MC and does not realise he is actively falling for her as the weeks go by when living with her. "Love is a one-way road," he said at the beginning. Not in this otome game, sir, it's only a one-way road because you're fictional.

All that aside, he has some very heartwarming sides to him. Despite his devil may care attitude and his love is never returned beliefs, he cannot change the fact he's genuinely compassionate towards others. It is bittersweet to read him filled with so much empathy for others cannot understand himself at the slightest. Healing MC's inability to sleep well in a very unconventional way when she didn't even ask for it at the start, to the point of actively being the one to stab himself to get a piece of his liver out to help save someone's life because he knows firsthand the pain and difference of a youma and human relationship. Characters who are a living irony of themselves am I right?

Not to mention that gentle side of his is further explored once he genuinely starts considering MC as a romantic partner. Still a big tease though .

But it does not mean he is entirely exempt from his flaws. I will address something that I did have issues with since the start: he technically coerced MC into going further with him in their first chapter. She was unsure about having sex with him at first but just a few heated moments later, one thing led to another then yup they screwed. By the time she realised it, it was too late as they already did the deed and she was shortly angry with him. Narrativewise, she was technically trapped in a "fuck him or your spirit disappears when the incense fully burns out" but he only told her that AFTER instead of the BEGINNING. Kuzuha... That is A CHOICE to make, and not a good one - considering you were the one who gave her the incense sticks in the first place 💀 Not entirely comfy with that situation even if he treated her gently. Sure he's the gentlest suitor in the starter pack, but that's just a little bit hmmmmmmmmmm. He has other flaws as well but that is my biggest gripe with him.

Would I consider him as a good romantic partner? Not exactly on that thread given how he has boundaries he wants respected but does not respect others' boundaries. He has a full point for actively looking out for MC and listening to her and responding to that at least. But he is 100% not the type of guy MC can show to her parents and get instant approval for a few other glaring issues.

This is how I see him maybe meeting the parents going in my head:

"So how did you meet?"

"Um..."

"What's your job?"

"Haha, about that-"

When it comes to sexy times in his route, there's a lot of very intensely heated moments, given his nature and the fact he's 90% in close proximity to her because he ends up living with her like a roommate/friend with benefits. Mugenro by itself has very lengthy sex scenes, and partially voiced so yes please do not be like me who forgets to turn down the volume 💀 He is a big tease, but once he knows how desperate she is, oh he's rewarding her a hundred times over. He's skilled, good grief, he knows it and makes use of everything he knows to send anyone to high heaven. Also outdoor sex does happen in one of the avatar challenges, yes I got it because I was curious and I am damn well not regretting it. Just saying, his voice getting raspy had me going, I need to hear this at home. Alone. Ehe.

Ok enough about Kuzuha, time to turn to MC. Girl... Because why. On one hand, I actively like the fact she's quite possessive towards him at the end, directly telling him there's a boundary he should never cross with her and he listens. But for the rest of the time, sweetie, there's a fine line being nice and then being trodded underfoot. And where is your common sense girl, you barely knew the guy and you're letting him crash at your place immediately? She has all the position to refuse him but nooooo. I cannot blame her for being attracted to Kuzuha with his debonair charm, but I do want to wring her like laundry sometimes with how downright idiotic she can get. Even she's not safe from being scolded by Kuzuha himself for running into a very dangerous situation. Maybe sit down with the blindfold from seeing the red flags for a moment and maybe come to terms with the different lifespans for a bit. Even just a little bit. I will give her a full point for taking on the usually active role instead of being passive and letting him make the decisions for her as she is more decisive than this free-spirited fox, but otherwise, ma'am you have a brain, don't let it waste away.

Overall, I did enjoy Kuzuha's route and will do it again to full clear everything, just not now. Not my true cup of tea, but he is arguably the nicest of the suitors so far and I am glad I read his route first. And because he's cute. If I make a plushie of him, he's going to become my new stress toy.

Have a blushie Kuzuha for the end:

K, bye.

[sluttylittlewaste]

Elphaba and Glinda are such doomed platonic soulmates to me. Very much the ex-best friend you never stop thinking about but it would hurt too much to reach out to (because what if they don't respond?)

[rigelmejo]

Something that always annoys me is the idea only 1 language learning method works. Which is not true. While it may be possible that, for a particular individual, only a few out of many study methods may work well enough for That Individual to make progress and stay motivated... that doesn't mean all the other study methods won't work for anyone else out there, or that those few methods will work for every other given person.

Obviously if you've been studying a while, then you already figured out what kinds of things work for you and don't. If you're a beginner, just wading into studying?

I would suggest you simply look for study methods that: 1. Teach you new things regularly, 2. Review and practice things you've learned, 3. Include studying things you need for your particular goals (for example if your goal is to read X book then the study materials at some point should involve reading practice and some words the book contains, if your goal is to talk about Y then the study materials should include some information about pronunciation and words you'll need to be able to say).

As you can imagine, a TON of study materials will meet these requirements. And you can study a given skill in a LOT of ways.

(Reading is my focus lol so just for reading, a beginner might: do vocabulary study with lists or conversations with native speakers or watching shows and looking words up or listening to dialogues with a transcript like in a textbook or graded readers or a picture book with word labels in the target language or a video game with labelled objects in target language, all of those things as long as your vocabulary is improving or reading practice is happening would help you make progress). So to improve reading skill as a beginner: you could study with a textbook, a podcast with transcript, a classroom or tutor with words written down in target language (like TPRS), a video game, a TV show and a translate app on your phone, a friend you talk with (who either writes words down or you look up words you hear with a translate app), a friend you text with, srs flashcards like anki (provided there's text) etc. As long as there's new words, and/or you're practicing reading, the study method may work. If it works will come down to if you can stay motivated doing it regularly, and make sure you regularly learn some new things and review/practice things you've already studied.

So consider those things when you see people selling a study method as a product (especially when it's costing you money). Consider if it teaches you NEW things, and are those new things related to your goals, and how MUCH new stuff will it teach you before you finish it? Consider if it provides review or practice, or if you can use it's materials to review on your own making up your own method, or if you'll need to do separate review/practice.

So examples:

LingQ. Can it teach you many new words? Yes, thousands, since you can import any texts you want when you get done with their provided material (I have no idea how much their beginner material covers though in terms of words... I would hope 1000-3000 words but that can be researched). Is your goal reading? It's suited to reading, so you will practice and review often with it. Cost? I think it was $12 a month when I last had it, and the price may have increased. Is it worth it? Depends on a learner's needs. I found it was wasting my money, so I chose to use free tools like Pleco and Readibu apps - since those apps are suited for Chinese learners and have better translations, Pleco has better paid graded reader material if I was going to spend money, and both Pleco and Readibu let me import texts so I can learn thousands of new words just like LingQ but free. Now that I'm not a beginner, I often use Microsoft Edge to read chinese... since I can still click-translate words easily (all my web browsers have that tool free), and Edge's TTS voice is helpful for pronunciation and sounds quite good. I read webnovels online so Edge works well. But it's translations aren't as good as Pleco or Readibu, so if I still needed translations more I would use them. So... is LingQ a good study method? Its certainly a study method marketed to buy. Well... the method is suited to improving reading skill, at least. It costs money, which is a negative, but it does offer a lot. However: everything it does regarding reading can be done free with other apps or sites or web browsers on their own. So if paying money motivates you to read... sure. LingQ does have a few word tracking features a learner may find worth the money, keeping in mind the actual read-to-learn method can be done free without lingq. (Also... while LingQ is a valid option for improving reading, if the learners goal is speaking then it would be important to think of what study activities the learner will do OUTSIDE of LingQ to improve speaking... because I've seen how LingQ is marketed as "how to learn a language" but it's only focused on some skills. It has vocabulary and grammar in some sense, since you'll read a lot and encounter new words and structures. But it doesnt have speaking or writing practice at least last time I was on it. Those activities would need to be worked on, on your own).

You can do that kind of cost/benefit contemplating with any study method material you see being sold. Amother example: there's a beginner Mandarin course called Mandarin Blueprint. It teaches like 800 words. Thats all. It may be worthwhile for a beginner... who still needs to learn 800 common words. But if you already know a few hundred words, the benefit of the course is less, you'll need to find a new material to teach you more new stuff soon. And the price was like a few hundred for the course... which for me personally was too much to spend, when I had already learned 800 hanzi from a book that cost me 12 dollars and 2000 words from a free user made memrise deck. The course claimed to get a person speaking, competent, but anyone not a beginner would say speaking basically with 800 words is nowhere near the level of working in Chinese or just doing a lot of daily life stuff, or reading/listening to media. (Although for the motivated beginner if you're learning 800 words on your own like I was, its definitely close to the point of jumping to learn more words and start reading kids and teenager books, and watching easier shows if you're willing to look new words up). So to me... Mandarin Blueprint felt like overselling some basic beginner materials. (Again when I know several other things that teach beginner stuff either more in depth so HSK test prep classes, and college courses, or that teach beginner stuff to the same depth as Mandarin Blueprint but free).

Some study materials aren't going to act like they teach everything. I've seen chinese courses just for learning to speak tones better and general pronunciation - probably worthwhile if your goal is to improve speaking and a teacher could help improve the issues your having. But a learner needs to be aware for that course that they'll need to study vocabulary on their own, its JUST a pronunciation improvement course.

[silverhalla]

when I was little I used to play clue with my sister and when I won by being like “okay YOU don’t have the candlestick and I don’t have the candlestick and there are no more cards, so it’s gotta be the candlestick” she would get really mad and tell me I was cheating because I wasn’t supposed to be making assumptions like that and she didn’t understand where I was getting the info from, so I was ruining the game for her

anyways I don’t rly get why people on twt are THAT mad about veilguard spoilers because they do not seem that deep

[becauseimanicequeen]

Hi Ice Queen!

Your posts on contrasting colours in Wandee Goodday were cool. That was a new concept to me. I’m fascinated by colour in qls and know some symbolism but most of it like the contrasting colours and colour theory in general is new to me. It’s cool learning it from the lens of qls though.

My question is: do you have any other examples of contrasting colours used in qls?

Hi, Anon.

I love all the questions I've gotten about colors lately, so thank you for being one of them. And if anyone wants to learn more about contrasting colors, I've written a basic post about that.

I first want to point out that the examples I include in this post are random moments, which means that most of these characters aren't necessarily color-coded in tune with the colors they're wearing in these examples.

There might be an intention behind the color choices (besides showing contrast) and there might not be. But I won't be diving into that here.

With that said, the most commonly used pair of contrasting colors are on the opposite sides of the value spectrum (dark vs light), and those are black and white.

Here are some examples from series I've recently watched or rewatched (and, therefore, can remember, lol):

A Secretly Love.

Jun & Jun.

Kiseki: Dear to Me.

Love Class 2.

Night Dream.

To Be Continued.

The other three contrasting pairs I want to focus on here (because they're the easiest to find and define) are yellow and purple, blue and orange, and red and green. Let's start with:

Yellow and purple:

Jun & Jun.

Wandee Goodday. I've written about the contrasting colors in this series here and here.

Then we have blue and orange:

1000 Years Old.

Deep Night.

HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count.

Living With Him.

Not Me.

And lastly, we have red and green:

1000 Years Old.

Dinosaur Love. (Btw, don't ask me why I rewatched this recently, because I have no idea why... Perhaps to remember how annoying the music was or how much tongue action there was... lol.)

KinnPorsche.

Knock Knock, Boys!

My Stand-In.

Not Me.

And then there's a contrast I remember vividly that's not necessarily in the same frame together but is included at a bigger story arc level, and that's this heartbreaking contrast: Uea in Bed Friend who was green as a kid...

And then turned red as an adult...

While his predator stepfather followed suit.

Right now, I can't say which contrasting pair out of these three is most commonly used (which may also vary depending on the country where the QL was made), but I might look into it in the future.

Anyway, I hope you liked these examples.

Thank you for your ask.

[best-enemies]

I've reached season 5 on my CSI rewatch and I'm a few episodes past "Swap Meet", where a woman is murdered after attending a swing party with other couples from the neighbourhood. Near the end of the episode there's a moment that made me jump from my seat:

(Grissom walks up to Sara and takes the seat next to her. He's holding two cups. He hands her a cup of tea.)

[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - BRASS' OFFICE]

Erin Brady: Everybody fantasizes about other people. (She glances at Grissom.)

Even you, Mr. Grissom. A neighbor, a friend ... girl at the office.

[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY]

(The door opens. Paul Brady walks out of the hallway. Erin Brady walks out into the hallway. Sara is sitting in the hallway chair watching them. She watches as they meet and kiss.)

(Grissom walks up to Sara and takes the seat next to her. He's holding two culps. He hands her a cup of tea.)

LIKE!!!!!!!

Right after Erin ends her sentence with 'girl at the office', the first time Sara and Grissom meet again, he brings her tea. This might be an innocent interaction but to me it seemed like a nod to this relationship they have where both are into each other, know about the other's feelings, but can't/won't do anything about it (although Sara has kind of given Grissom an ultimatum). I don't know if it was intentional - I'm guessing it is, because I picked it up immediately. I might or might not have squealed in delight.

[sysig]

Physical media is forever (Patreon)

[pinchan]

TAKAKEN TRUTHERS WE CLUTCHED THE SHIP IN THE LAST TWO ISSUES WE STAY WINNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PINCHAN TROOPS WAKE UP DOMESTIC TAKAKEN IS REAL!!!!!!!!!!

[huellitaa]

since when did so many pretty girls follow me like relax i can't kiss you all

[quirkle2]

my fav pets from cs :) [please zoom in . pl ease]

[designs belong to chickensmoothie]

[fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma]

hi literally nothing just thank you all so so so fucking much for all the love and support on my art <333 like I don’t think you guys understand how much it means to me (a simpleton who literally only joined this app 1 month ago) to have my (my!!) art being appreciated like this. nyway thank you thank you thank you forever and I LOVE YOU GUYS sm <3333

[cuthechicane]

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um did no one clip this? new 2016 silver war lore from nico himself?? brocedes the gift that never stops giving 😭 (tl;dw: lewis...

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