#I also really love the new dark gritty vibe to it

[wisteria-lodge]

Can you talk about the cursed child?

I have two main questions when it comes to The Cursed Child. The first is... why was this project made? Because it wasn’t for the money, and it wasn’t for the fans, so I have to assume it was for JK Rowling herself. And my second question is - who is Jack Thorne????

Because he wrote it. John Tiffany is a director who works with Thorne and it's based on a “story” by JKR. But Jack Thorne is a kinda highbrow, kinda indie English playwright, and he clearly wrote most if not all of it. The biggest thing he had done at the time was a stage adaptation of indie Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, so back 2016 I was asking myself - why is he attached to this project. (Is he related to JKR? Did he win a contest? Is he just that charming?) 

But now I’ve got a theory. See, Jack Thorne has one other very important credit. He is the showrunner and head writer of the well-regarded HBO His Dark Materials TV show adaptation… AND that TV show and Cursed Child were in production at the exact same time. There’s no real way of knowing which project came first - they were both announced in 2015, and Cursed Child was announced first, but then a stage play needs a whole lot less pre-production than three seasons of a prestige television show. 

What I think (but cannot prove) is this: JKR got wind of the His Dark Materials HBO TV series, and thought ‘I want one of those too.’ Especially because she is now in the process of getting exactly that.

I can’t actually prove that JKR is even aware of the His Dark Materials franchise… but I very much suspect that she is. Northern Lights/Golden Compass was released two years before Philosopher's Stone, and… a British author, YA , fantasy, seems like you’d want to read that for market research purposes alone - or at least keep tabs on it to make sure it was doing well. I also think there’s a similar vibe to the worldbuilding, a certain kind of ‘urban fantasy, but make it pre-industrial revolution’ that you don’t get with like, Edith Nesbit, the fantasy writer JKR most often credits as an influence.

Now His Dark Materials was a failed film series. They made one in 2007 with plans to make more, and it didn’t really go anywhere. I was a huge fan of both HDM and HP at the time, and I liked the film… but even then I thought it was hurting itself by trying so hard to be Harry Potter, when the tone of HDM was always darker and more sinister. It was nice to watch the HBO show treat the source material as basically a gritty adult drama (which it always was, just told through an intelligent child’s POV.) 

Marketing of movie vs marketing of TV show: 

Movie Lyra vs TV show Lyra:

HOWEVER. I think it would be very easy, if you were JKR, to see the new series as an adaptation of a children's book (comparable to Harry Potter), only marketed to adults. And you might think... that's kind of a cool idea. So I don’t know who approached who. But I do think that at some point Jack Thorne and J. K. Rowling were in the same room, and someone suggested… why don’t we give Harry Potter a little bit of the His Dark Materials treatment.

Because both vibe-wise and theme-wise, there are A LOT of comparisons you can make between the HBO His Dark Materials and The Cursed Child. They’re both fantasy with a kind of gloomy and oppressive feel. They focus a lot on bad parents, especially parents unable to communicate with their kids. They both feature alternate universes as a major theme, and the main plot of both revolves around a (doomed) attempt to resurrect a sacrificed innocent, and various adults attempting to separate a pair of friends. (The relationship between Albus and Scorpius is easily the best part of Cursed Child. Especially Scorpius, who is lovely.) But like… no one wanted a version of Harry Potter that felt like a knockoff version of His Dark Materials.

To me, Cursed Child feels less like an adaptation, and more of an attempt to recontextualize the original Harry Potter books into something more serious and more impressive. Cursed Child reframes Harry’s whole deal as being caught in a cycle of abuse due to the Dursleys… which the show frames so much more threateningly than the books ever did. (Harry himself is the titular 'cursed child,' which amusingly means that the full title is essentially Harry Potter and Harry Potter.)

This play also does not frame Ron/Hermione as the best marriage... which makes me think of the when JKR told the Sunday Times

I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That's how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it... if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility.

And then Cursed Child gives us a little Hermione/Snape, and we know how JKR feels about Snape. We revisit a lot of Slytherin characters actually, and it turns out they’re not just bad guys! Albus is in Slytherin (even though the end of Book 7 was written in a way that REALLY heavily implied he would ask to be Gryffindor just like Harry did.) The ‘all Slytherins are baddies’ thing seems to be an aspect of the worldbuilding that JKR is attempting to retcon. The earliest example of this is the 2008 interview where she talks about “Slughorn galloping back with Slytherins [to rejoin the battle of Hogwarts] but they’d gone off to get reinforcements first,” which… does not happen. That is not a thing that happens in the book. Also she was okay with the last three Potter films framing Draco way more positively than the books do, a trend which continues into Cursed Child. Draco’s easily the best parent in the whole thing.)

And (possibly the most important bit of recontextualization…) I think Cursed Child was supposed to make the Epilogue seem good, instead of something that all her fans either made fun of… or completely ignored. 

In a lot of ways, I think JKR is doing a George Lucas, but instead of going back and re-cutting, re-mastering and adding to the original work the way he is - she’s writing more and more sequels (and more and more additional material) in an attempt to make  the problems of the earlier books go away. 

I could talk for a very long time about The Cursed Child. Yes, everyone is out of character, yes it’s world breaking, it contradicts the original series all the time, it doesn’t work structurally, it's stupid that the villain is Voldemort's secret daughter Evil Tonks, and it reads like fanfiction (in the sense that it uses tons of fanfiction tropes, often not super well.) I probably will talk about that stuff more eventually, but first I wanted to make sense of why it even exists, in the first place. 

[slexenskee]

Running List of No Scrubs Albums

Because even I can't keep up with them anymore lol. I'll update it as I go. Also yes there are 6 official albums with 6 songs each... because Gojo is lame lol. And yes the acoustic albums are 5 songs... because he's extra lame

Spotify Playlist

update as of 09/18/23 bc I'm a f** scrub with commitment issues clearly

1. Thanks, I Hate it Here:

The 2nd album by release order, but first in chronological order of when they played them live. Yes, Gojo was feeling himself in his classic FOB phase real hard on this one lol. I find the evolution of FOB's discography IRL to be really fascinating, so I wanted to emulate it in the fic. This album is almost entirely FOB because Gojo realized flopping around bands and genres was difficult for the rest of his band, so he decided to first focus on one kind of ‘sound’ until they got used to playing together. 

Critics will later call it a bit unpolished and juvenile in comparison to the refined sound, themes, and quality production of later albums, with it's younger and simpler narratives. Thematically it tends to resonate more with a younger crowd, which people accredit to Ru-kun's assumed age of writing at the time (late teens). In other words, it becomes the quintessential 'middle school glory days' playlist for an entire generation of No Scrubs fans.

A Loaded God Complex - (Sugar We're Going Down) FOB

Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over - FOB

In Too Deep - Sum 41

Homesick at Space Camp - FOB

A Little Less Sixteen Candles - FOB

Dance, Dance - FOB

-

2. Good News For People Who Love Bad News

This was No Scrubs' first album ever released on a streaming platform, but it compromises songs more from their 2nd live setlist chronologically. A cult favorite amongst the fans, this album is fun and bratty with a combination of punchy pop punk lyrics, theatrical narratives, and catchy hooks that become unanimous with the band's dramatic flair. No Scrubs always had a rep as an underground alternative band with petty delinquent vibes, but this album definitely solidified them as the patron saint of all the edgy and misunderstood goth punks.

At this point the band had been together for a few years and Gojo definitely felt satisfied with the way the band was coming together and wanted to throw in some more famous mid 2000s pop punk bands into the mix.

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner - FOB

I'm Not Okay (I promise) - MCR

In One Ear - Cage the Elephant

But It's Better if You Do - Panic!

I Write Sins not Tragedies - Panic!

Jesus of Suburbia - Green Day

-

3. Death Before Decaf

After playing up the 'pop' quite a bit in the last album, No Scrubs digs deep into some gritty grunge roots with their third album, full of noisy amped up rock anthems. Thematically it was considered their strongest album at the time of release, with intense vocals and lyrics covering dark and personal topics beneath the guise of their distinctive and iconic instrumental riffs. The juxtaposition between the catchy sing-along hooks and the depressing deeper meaning to the words made this album an instant classic. It remains a fan favorite of music critics for Ru-kun's scorchingly honest handling of raw and deeply personal themes like suicide, depression, and substance abuses. After the identities of the band members became public, it became a hotly debated album amongst No Scrubs fans, who consider it a cathartic outlet for a lot of the trauma that turned Ru-kun into a villain, but also a worrying one full of suicidal ideation, alcoholism, drugs, and child abuse.

On his part, Gojo was feeling nostalgic for his youth and felt it an affront that the likes of Nirvana and Weezer had never been experienced in the MHA universe. He gets asked about these songs a lot, specifically about Today, Semi-Charmed Life, and Say it Ain't So, which all seem to allude to a dark history. He often tells people Semi-Charmed Life is one of his favorite songs ever, which doesn't help matters, and also alarms several psychologists, who worry he's romanticizing what was clearly a very unhealthy time in his life.

My Own Worst Enemy - Lit

Today is the Greatest - (Today) Smashing Pumpkins

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Come As You Are - Nirvana

Say It Ain't So - Weezer

Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind

-

4. Glass Onion Heart

Aka the "Baby boy who hurt you???" album inspiring sexuality crises across the world

Glass Onion Heart feels like a wild card of metamorphosis from No Scrubs' prior albums, with the addition of more electronic, pop, and synth instrumental mixing. Combined with the explosive and flashy tour that accompanied the album's release, it felt like a radical departure from the band's classic garage-band sound, into a more streamlined, pop format.

The album was met with divisiveness from fans, not helped by the news of the band's breakup following the album release and subsequent tour. While many adored the new direction, long-time fans mourned the loss of the quintessential indie and underground 'No Scrubs' aesthetic, especially when faced with the thought of their final album. Nonetheless, it was the band's most popular album at time of release by a wide margin. It certainly helped the album's popularity that Ru-kun did the entire tour in drag.

At this point fans the world over became intrigued by No Scrubs and their burgeoning fame, prompting Gojo to name the album 'Glass Onion' after the Beatles song of the same name, because there is no deeper meaning to any of his songs, he's literally ripping them off from bands that don't exist. Fans spend way too long trying to figure out who this album was inspired by - who could have possibly broken their precious Ru-kun's heart?? - and as we enlightened No Scrubs fans know, it was no one. Literally no one. Gojo just really liked this femme fatale vibe, and decided to cross dress the entire tour because of it.

Tokyo - The Wombats

Dance Floor Anthem - Good Charlotte

Thanks for the Memories - Fall Out Boy

I'm the Leading Man - (This Ain't a Scene) Fall Out Boy

Moving to New York - The Wombats

Misery Business - Paramore

-

5. Infinity on High

Hailed as a return to the unfettered, unabashed, anti-establishment garage-band jam-session appeal that had people flocking to No Scrubs in their heyday, this album made an intense splash as No Scrubs' Comeback Album. Despite the return to their signature gritty rock sound, this album was in fact the most produced of any of No Scrubs' albums. This album marks both the return of No Scrubs as well as their launch into global superstardom.

Ironically, Gojo named this after his favorite FOB album (I mean it IS called Infinity lol) despite not including a single FOB track. Fans widely consider "Island in the Sun" to be specifically about Hawks, which Gojo never confirms or denies (although he definitely did think the similarities to their island mission were amusing). In reality, the song that reminds him of Hawks - and himself - the most is Mayonnaise, which might be why it's one of his favorites.

Holiday - Green Day

Cherub Rock - Smashing Pumpkins

Cool Enough - (Mayonnaise) Smashing Pumpkins

1979 - Smashing Pumpkins

Island in the Sun - Weezer

Wake Me Up - (Wake Me Up When September Ends) Green Day

-

Bonus: Don't You Know Who (I Think) I AM? Acoustic Album

The first of Ru-kun's unexpected - and according to Makoto, utterly unplanned - acoustic albums, this bonus LP was met with delight and excitement from fans after Ru-kun had teased its release on Twitter. The intimate and personal nature of the simplistic mixing gave this album a cult following, and brought in a new segment of music fans that No Scrubs' music normally didn't appeal to.

Nobody Puts Baby In the Corner - Fall Out Boy

Grand Theft Autumn - Fall Out Boy

My Heart is the Worst Kind of Weapon - Fall Out Boy

Notion - Rare Occasions

No Such Thing - John Mayer

-

Bonus: Take (Me) With a Grain of Salt

Despite the critical acclaim this acoustic album (and the full band versions eventually released afterwards) it was met with a lot of incendiary response at the time of its release. No Scrubs had finally achieved global stardom and was regularly topping hit charts across the world with the release of their album Infinity on High - and while music critics unanimously praised the EP as a worthy contender for Album of the Year, it was generally acknowledged truth that the album's popularity was owed in no small part to lead singer Ru-kun's sudden infamy that coincided at the same time.

The unfathomable depths of Ru-kun's new celebrity status in parallel to the band's brand of off-label, anti-establishment themes created friction within the fanbase. Many accused them of taking advantage of the current media coverage to promote sales, which bassist and band leader Makoto clapped back as 'just doing smart business'. In general, consensus was positive towards the sentiment; capitalizing on Ru-kun's fame and releasing an album in parallel to his identity reveal was just genius marketing.

However the timing of the release of Ru-kun's second acoustic album kicked up the discourse once again, with fans decrying the release as 'a fake sellout' aimed to exploit current gossip trends. However the album's drop was sudden and unexpected - with little to no pre-release marketing - lending credence to the narrative that Ru-kun wrote this album under the emotional duress of his personal life at the time.

Due to the staggering popularity of the acoustic album, the band eventually recorded and released a B-Side with full band versions.

Disenchanted - MCR

Stay Together For the Kids - Blink-182

Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

How's It Going To Be - Third Eye Blind

All These Things That I've Done - The Killers

[dropthedemiurge]

My first impression for GMMTV 2024 projects:

Ossan's Love Thailand: Let's just say, first one is instant skip for me, though I am still excited to watch Earth and Mix in something I'll enjoy. I probably should go and watch Cupid's Last Wish instead xD Japanese comedy that is transferred in a Thailand comedy make me fear for my life, to be honest (my tolerance for physical comedy is unfortunately very low). But good luck to EarthMix though, they'll get to play some funky roles, hope they'll have fun!

Leap Day: Woah! It looks very intense and very interesting already. Pond and Dew (who I dearly love since High School series) in a very dark and mystical thriller(?). It's not BL but I love unique plots with darker vibes. Also Gun playing autistic guy (who also gives off creepy vibes because the entire trailer is creepy)? Sign me up twice! I'm going to be checking it out for sure.

The Heart Killers: First and Khaotung wanted to play a cute sweet romcom after all the depressing and dark and difficult characters and tears, right? Well, they also wanted to play mafia or gang roles so I guess that gave Jojo the right to make a ASSASSINS ROM-COM, why not!xD This man is the only one I go for when I want something very refreshing, unusual, gritty, that has flawed and underground characters, weapons and high stakes. It'll probably fumble the ending but I'm definitely going to be here for my Assassin x Tattoo Artist Firstkhao. Also it'll be my introduction to JoongDunk. Second to the top of series I'm excited about!

Friendshit Forever: I actually had to double take because GMM surely loves puns in their titles, right? xD I thought this would be GL but it seems like a very intense friendship-betrayal story, seems like girl actors are able to pull it off and New is going to get caught up between them, sounds interesting but again, not my type of story. Still, points for the shit in the title lol

Perfect10Liners: I literally have 3 couples that I am familiar with because I saw them in other shows, and they all play Thai engineers, and I still have no desire to watch this show? Somehow?! I don't know why but I feel like the writing is not solid at all. Or the premise. I'm not sure what's this show is even about, beside a silly university romcom. I am already craving something more interesting, I'm sorry guys.

Us: I ONLY HAD EMI AND BONNIE FOR ONE MINUTE AND I DON'T WANT TO LET THEM GO! I mean, new discoveries?! This trailer is filmed beautifully, first of all. The acting is already great (also hello, Sing, my beloved!) and the girls have chemistry (I might have a little crush on Emi already). Anyway. I am still waiting for GL that'll be my cup of tea, I hope this will be one.

Hide & Sis: I really enjoy the vibes, the three sisters look badass (and I adore Piploy and Lookjun and Jan), it's very unusual to see Chimon in this role, Gawin continues his police officer streak, but THAT NAME! Who decided on a name for this series and why?xD Probably not going to watch but I give it a stamp of approval.

ThamePo (Heart that skips a beat): Oh! I enjoy idol stories, though I haven't seen many, but I'm always intrigued how shows like this could display the backstage and the complications that come with different positions and spotlight. And thank god GMMTV used their actual boygroup to play idols! And didn't just try to teach actors to dance. I don't know main two actors but they seem to have good chemistry as well?! I'm intrigued.

Break Up Service: I'm all for Off in a very sketchy role (Midnight Motel type of sketchy, only with even higher stakes?xD) but the overall genre is probably not my thing.

Revamp The Undead: I'm sorry but all I know about BounPrem is that these are guys from another agency who desperately wanted to have vampire BL for years or something xD Glad to see the wish being fulfilled! I love how the teaser was filmed, and the plot has a big potential. Don't know the cast but might tune it to check out! Also my guy Kay is here being bad!! (I am collecting my HS gang over all lakorns)

Sweet Tooth Good Dentist: Sorry but I'm going to be mourning Mark Pakin's talent being wasted on series like that x) I don't know the other guy Ohm, sorry, but such romantic comedy where Mark's character is a weirdo and simply falls in love with the client (how was he not fired on the spot) doesn't really intrigue me... But at least it's a step up from his (amazing) side roles.

The Dark Dice: Ooh! I love psychological thrillers and this honestly reminded me of Cube, I just didn't expect Gemini to be the main lead. As someone who watched Gifted, High School and similar shows, this is right up my alley. Very curious to check out and I hope they'll do something deep with it beside a simple mystery.

The Ex Morning: I might be biased but I just knew they would be the last one, what everyone's been waiting for. It's hilarious to think that the plot is based on Krist and Singto's actual lives but I trust P'Aof to write compelling characters and relationships. Also I probably will sigh with relief already because he's one of the very few writers that actually write a complete story with a nice and believable (and not hurried) ending. And I really want KS to come back with a bang, just like TayNew did with Cherry Magic. GMM going exes back to lovers will be very interesting to watch, and Krist Singto grew as actors so much. I'm very excited!

Overall, I'm happy to see GMMTV choosing to try a lot more mystical or dark stories than before, way less school students and also most of these BL stories are about adults! Woah! Finally! The audience is mostly grown up as well, thankfully they realized it. And their announced project about accepting stories and plot from the fans, as well as Interactive Game project by GMM, I wonder how that'll look like.

It's funny how last year I was thinking about making my webcomics and visual novel games with GMM actors and I didn't push through because I had health problems and not enough time, and it's like in 2024 GMM tells me THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT. Maybe I should actually make some dating otome novel game or some interesting AU webcomic based on GMM BL pairings, and then show it to all fans and then GMM would notice it xD Who knows? Go kick me so I'd work on one of those projects in my mind.

Anyway, in Part 1 I barely liked any trailers or stories, and I like almost everything in Part 2. I am very very excited.

[boltedfruit]

How I Outline/Plot: Including Author Resources for Developing Characters and Self Publishing

First and foremost, everything I’ve included in this doc that references resources (such as the plot outline below), is also available for free on the authors’ respective websites. I just wanted to recreate the template Scrivener file I use when starting a new project as I’ve collected everything in one master file.

MASTER TEMPLATE GOOGLE DOC: https://tinyurl.com/boltemp

I recently posted the chapter count for my upcoming Mafia MM romance I'm writing for NaNoWriMo this year and was asked how I plot by @duckyreads

Below, I've included screenshots of the first couple beats of my process and how much detail I usually include when outlining. The template I'm working from is an edited one of Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes, who offers her beat sheet for free on her site and in a Scrivener Template.

Using Romancing the Beat, I first went through and made a separate page for each story beat for my protagonist, Zac. I can't do just normal three act structure as it's too vague for me. I need Too Much to work with, then I can whittle it down later. I then did the same for the love interest and Mafia boss, Joe. (name might be changed idk yet.)

The colored dots represent which act of the story I'm in. Light pink= Act 1: Set Up, Dark Pink= Act 2: Falling, Blue= Act 3: Retreating, and Purple= Act 4: Shake it Off.

I also want to note that even though the epilogue is written in for both characters' POV, I'm only writing it once, from Zac's POV. So not every single beat necessarily translates directly into its own chapter. A few from Joe's POV are definitely combined more than once.

So Chapter 1, Scene 1: Zac's sister Riley has made him a dating profile and set him up on a date with who will soon be revealed as a crime lord.

I'm repetitive, because I've gone back in at different points and added little notes here and there. But my basic points I want to convey right off the bat: Zac is a hot mess who drinks to excess at times, has a sister who loves him but he is always putting her in a hard position, and has issues with money and violence from his childhood.

I also like to include some dialogue or rough snippets for scenes because it helps make the scene feel more concrete to me. I don't always do this though.

This is Chapter 1, Scene 2. Very short and to the point. (This was something I originally started writing as a fic btw.)

This is Chapter 2, Scene 1 and is the first from Joe's perspective.

It's plotty compared to the first chapter. I haven't done any nitty gritty location research yet so I put stuff I don't know yet in asterisks or brackets or in something like "XXX", because XXX is easy to find and change with ctrl+f > replace.

This is from Chapter 3, Scene 1. Just vibes.

This is from Chapter 4, Scene 2, from Joe's POV after the date.

This is what I ended up with. I'm sure as I work through it, the chapter count will go down. I don't really want my romance book to be so long, but I saw recently that 50 Shades is apparently over 500 pgs, which is wild to me. I'm also doing alternating POV, so it'll be switching between my protag and the love interest.

My outlining/plotting steps:

Decide on genre and type of story structure I want to use.

Decide on my protagonist and lay out a new page/note for every story beat of whatever structure I'm using.

Go in order or jump around and write a little per beat based on how I want a scene to go. For me, feeling is more important than knowing exactly what's going to happen. I'm not naturally a plotter, so I still like to not be constrained when I'm actually writing. (ie I'm not adhering to some rigid word count per chapter.) And if I changed something or added a thing while writing, I go back to the outline after and add it in so it all lines up and I don't forget something I did.

If a beat doesn't fit its own chapter, I make it a scene. It's also okay for multiple beats to happen in one chapter too.

Do the same for any other POVs involved in the story. Try to make each character have their own arc as well, no matter how small.

Really my main advice is go with your gut first because you can always add on or retract later. Write what you want (with some awareness of genre tropes/audience wants if you're trying to write to market to some extent). All book publishing is fickle and mean a lot of the time. And honestly unless you're one of the few who gets picked up by traditional publishers and offered an amazing deal, you'll be expected to pay for all the things you'd be paying for with self publishing, except with fewer rights to your own work. I'd rather pay and manage my own website, ads, and ARC readers and retain total rights to my own creations than give my rights to a publisher who might hold my book up for years, and still expect me to fund my own advertising, book tours etc.

And besides, if you self publish, there is no rule you can't have another book (and then even your backlog) traditionally published later on. You can have both.

[swallowerofdharma]

Fate / Up against your will / Through the thick and thin / He will wait until / You give yourself to him. Echo & the Bunnymen, The Killing Moon

These are dark tales of things that lurk deep within men… These stories would not please you. Dark Souls III

This is an aside from the series of meta analysis that I am writing about Berserk. I really didn’t expect to like this manga at first, let alone wanting so much to understand what I felt I wasn’t able to grasp behind the surface level. Years ago when I first approached it, I was actually quite unimpressed by the first chapter.

I should add: the first Italian edition was unfortunately flipped and I really disliked that choice back then. Some other series at that time (late 1990s) had started to be published in their original format and I didn’t find it difficult to adapt my reading habits to the original layout from right to left. Reversing the artwork in a manga like Berserk? I am sorry but that was criminal. Not only the characters would have their swords in their left hand but the mirror effect could seriously affect the energy of the line work and the overall harmony of the panels. Big scenes with a battle on horseback flipped? I couldn’t really get over it. Another manga, maybe? But Berserk? Art and composition are such a huge aspect of it, I didn’t love to have to compromise. The last two editions eventually came out with the original right to left flow, but also so much more expensive, it is a crime of another kind. So that is how I came to read the English version. Gatsu became Guts (I don’t know about that because now I think about the meaning of the word in English and I don’t particularly like it). Grifis became Griffith. Falcons became hawks.

So, I wasn’t impressed by the first chapter, definitely discouraged by the flipped artwork and annoyed by… Puck! I must say, I never really liked fantasy as a genre, especially because it uses creatures and I didn’t know what to make of this elf that contrasted so much in mood with the main character. I grew up reading a lot of novels that were considered classics in my culture and that was a great number of nineteenth century literary realism, French and Russian novels and Italian historical and realist novels from the nineteenth and the twentieth century. And literary realism was born from dissatisfaction with the irrational forces and themes of romantic and gothic narratives, aiming to look at the human experience directly and in an unfiltered way. I still prefer stories that are like that and the dark and gritty side of Berserk makes up for the fantasy aspects and what is more, Berserk seems to have the goal to criticize the irrational forces it represents rather than idealize them. And I am also quite comfortable when love is a thing but it isn’t framed under the romantic lens, that aren’t universal but quite culturally specific and distinctive.

Guts also wasn’t exactly an exciting main character for me at the beginning, it really was easy to mistake him for Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken. Which I didn’t have anything against, that anime had such a good title track in its Italian adaptation, and the general desolate atmosphere was fascinating, although I watched it when I was too young to actually consider the story, I only remember the vibes. But I have never been into brooding, stoic and exaggeratedly burly men or 1980s action heroes. Reading further and I was very relieved that Guts wasn’t one of those.

Maybe Berserk wouldn’t have been back in my radar if it hadn’t been for the Souls games, new editions and anime adaptations coming out and in the end Miura’s own passing. So I started reading it again or for the first time in its digital version, completing it up to the current chapters. Reading it now that I am older definitely makes it easier to understand the scope of it and appreciate it. I think that Miura was definitely an ambitious man. His hands were exceptional, although I mourned the unpolished look of the paper and ink when he made the decision to move to digital drawing. Same hands but different surface, different way of absorbing the effort of those hands and the disappearance of the materials into numbers. There are volumes in the middle of Berserk that are just glorious for me, artistically, better than the first ones because the artist was practicing to the point of overworking and becoming incredibly good, better than the last volumes when he chose the hard support of the drawing tablet and the passages between lines and white could only be neater than what it used to be.

When analyzing it, one thing that I found impressive is how cohesive the story feels in its themes considering that it started in 1988 and that continues on under such unique circumstances: Miura and Mori’s relationship being fascinating in itself, in relation to the creation of Guts and Griffith’s dynamic. Berserk started to be published more than three decades ago. I want to point out how difficult can be to begin a story in your twenties, seeing it published monthly as you are likely working with only general ideas of where you want it to go and as you grow older. The editing was minimal. I would like to have more information on this point but I don’t think it was a big concern for a manga being published in Young Animal for Hakusensha of all places. As I often say in this blog, context matters and, although most people read and approach Berserk in its paperback or bunkobon format, all its chapters have been published first in a magazine that is primarily intended for young male readers attracted by photos of gravure idols on the cover and that expected to see erotic scenes, violence and maybe would also get into a story deeper and maintain the interest as long as those elements were there. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion, especially because many beloved novels that are considered classics were originally published periodically as well. And Miura’s approach to the erotic and violence doesn’t feel gratuitous when you think of the story in its entirety and complexities. In the history of art that I am familiar with the human body has always occupied such a central role and themes similar to those of Berserk are frequent and this is probably another big reason why my interest has been picked. It is familiar and not. I am careful about context! It’s manga, not chivalric romance, it’s a contemporary and commercial mixed form of art and not fresco paintings depicting stories on the walls of aristocratic houses, the author is Japanese and not oblivious to a great deal of European and western culture but is also much more immersed in his own culture and using the Japanese language. Kanji on a manga page or beside any drawing aren’t just words, but they are also synthesis of other images as well and images/sounds/concepts that add a lot to the art, most of it lost in a translation. And frankly, my major pet peeve is that the western fandom sometimes doesn’t really understand that the recognizable forms and themes of Christianity and heresies are seen and used from the outside and from a point of view that doesn’t ignore a whole lot of other religious traditions. And other religions have much more influence on certain themes presented in Berserk: suffering or rebirth mainly are two big themes at risk of being acritically absorbed from a Christological perspective that to me personally doesn’t feel right if we keep in mind the overall context of Berserk as a work of fiction and as a manga.

The only major edit that Miura was able to make when Berserk was published in volumes was the removal of chapter 83. If we consider the conditions in which Miura worked, for the first years it would have been very risky to even consider taking a hiatus, I would assume that he didn’t have much time to even make changes or adjustments in his work. But the removal of chapter 83 is interesting. Having been published in the magazine, even when it is missing from current publications, copies are around and available to see. That chapter, that comes before the Conviction arc, was removed because, rumors say, Miura thought it would have given away too much. I think that chapter 83 made Berserk’s Gnostic point of view too overt. Not surprising considering Miura took a lot of inspiration from Go Nagai’s particular brand of religious syncretism and that Gnosticism was frequently discussed in the 1970s and 1980s and probably still is.

I am not an expert on religious studies, I have a very superficial knowledge of just about anything related to religions. I am actually an atheist myself, if anything it is maybe easier for me to understand when an artist operates from an outside point of view rather than from inside a particular faith. Through art and music especially, and thorough words and practices used maybe carelessly, I am not completely ignorant of a plurality of religious beliefs. I might not approach the topic from a believer’s perspective nor for personal spiritual needs, but I am interested in it because of intellectual curiosity and interest in humanity. I don’t position myself above or below, just outside religion. I know I’ll never have enough time or intelligence to even know enough of a single interpretation of one major religious tradition, let alone severals. From a complete superficial perspective, I can only sense and try to understand Miura’s approach to those themes. I am able sometimes to recognize the sources and influences that colored his views on certain topics. I wouldn’t remember enough about Gnosticism from what little I studied in school many years ago, and I wouldn’t have any idea about the occult and many forms of religious syncretism if it wasn’t for having listened to a lot of rock music and being immersed into the popular culture that surrounded it, including manga. Same thing I can say about Nietzsche’s philosophy. I studied a little bit of German philosophy in high school, part of the standard curriculum, and I read on my own The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music when I was sixteen. Young Nietzsche, younger me. I can’t say I remember much besides the highlights of his philosophy. But then I became more and more intimate with David Bowie, his particular approach to music and art and how those things interact with society. Believe me or not, David Bowie is probably my favorite critic and commentator of Nietzsche, even when he didn’t do it through academic writing, but through his music, his own life and artistic outputs. And I love that. This is why I love Berserk too. Maybe because Bowie and Miura were artists whose work became vastly popular, they are easily misunderstood or considered to not belong in the same category of academic discourse about Nietschean philosophy, and just approached superficially, yet they were much more likely to discover the fallacies because they looked into it from a human experience, Bowie through himself and embodying his characters and Miura through drawing and voicing them. To me they actually managed to get rid of pedantic attitudes that keep people away from useful forms of philosophical criticism and learning. But it is entirely possible that I am just not smart enough and Miura’s moods and approach agree with my general worldview and I am indulging myself here.

Why am I writing all this? In part I am probably stalling. I keep postponing the moment I’ll have to write about the central theme that most fascinated me in Berserk, but it is also the more painful aspect: Griffith’s self delusion and the numerous other instances of illusions and mirages that humans don’t have the strength to resist. I haven’t even talked about Farnese or the Lost Children chapters for the same reason. It is daunting to put my thoughts into words intelligently and in a way comprehensible to others (hopefully). But that’s why I started this series of meta. And I am writing my analysis on tumblr because I rather be in the company of those appreciating and analyzing the queer and sentimental aspects of this manga, but I also think that the “romantic” element is a part of it but not exactly central to the story. I think that under those lenses alone the manga would just be quite imbalanced, bad and definitely tragic, less interesting or remarkable to me. Love is a major theme but I don’t think it’s developed through the romantic tradition intended as a cultural invention. When Miura drew and wrote about love, he wrote about the immense difficulty of it on many levels, including the familiar one, the lack or withholding of it from parental figures, the abuse of the spontaneous love of children, the fear of being vulnerable and connecting with others, the desire of intimacy and the dark side of it, the impulse to leave relationships and abandon people behind. I have the impression that through this story, I can see another side to my own experiences. Is society pushing young men to believe that they have to do everything alone, knowing that they can’t succeed, while is telling women that they can’t do anything by themselves, knowing that they won’t be welcomed? Why are we being bullied and forced apart, divided into bullshit categories and separate worlds when we would be better facing the hardships of life with as many allies as we are able to keep? Not alone and not exclusively through a romantic dimension or sexual favors or money deals. Why are we following blindly teachings that have already been proven false and so damaging? What price do we pay for not following the rules?

[maybeimamuppet]

I LOST THE ASK IM SORRY ANON BUT HERE

REGINA

favorite thing about them

heheeeeeehoooo i’m a lesbian but honestly she has so much like depth to her in a way that’s not immediately obvious and it’s really interesting as a writer getting to explore that beyond canon

least favorite thing about them

i don’t like that i relate to her!!!! i don’t like the idea of being mean and she is and i’m entirely convinced she and i have the same personality disorder and i am terrified that i’m like her. some people have said it and i just hate that it might be true

but like as a character in and of herself it’s how she uses people for her own gain. that’s not cool boo

favorite line

“boo, you whore” from the movie

“that’s what i keep trying to explain to the president on twitter but he blocked me” from the show

i can’t remember enough of what she says in the new movie rn but i’ll find smth later i’m sure lol

brOTP

damian. she and damian both love taylor swift and they listen to every song together and fangirl together and also damian gets her into musicals. regina likes the dark gritty ones with good music like les mis and little shop and damian likes the classics (obvs)

OTP

post redemption arc i ship her with like every woman in this. like any combo of gretchen and karen, i’m an absolute SUCKER for cadina (like i’m literally on my knees begging for cadina fic prompts please), rejanis is. it has potential not my fav but i do partake from time to time.

but like aaron would just turn out bad nobody really likes shane or kevin and damian. is gay. so none of the men lol

nOTP

this woman is GAY so again any of the guys lol. also if it’s done wrong rejanis can be real icky and i don’t like that

random headcanon

she can juggle. cady is the only one who knows and regina will absolutely kill her if she lets it slip

unpopular opinion

she is a victim who made the wrong choices and not the monster a lot of people make her out to be. she is not the villain of the story she is the villain of her own life by fault of her own mind which is the fault of her upbringing and she is making the only choices she knows how which just so happen to hurt a lot of people. she absolutely can be redeemed and she deserves it. which is why the bus doesn’t just straight up kill her.

song i associate with them

i think i said this for janis but monster from frozen has very much internal regina vibes to me that she like is terrified of letting anyone else see. also i know it’s about something VERY DIFFERENT but all grown up from bare seems like it would really speak to her. and also just all of renee’s songs bc duh

favorite picture of them

it’s a gif and this is how i lost the post last time but uh

like. holy shit.

DAMIAN

favorite thing about them

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again but that boy drinks his loving janis sarkisian juice every morning as part of a balanced breakfast. he knows they’re each others person and i think he navigates their admittedly strange relationship really well. 

and also i love that this ~17 year old fat openly gay kid has SO MUCH confidence in himself. could he be overcompensating and actually have a lot internally that he doesn’t like about himself? yes absolutely . but the way he chooses to handle himself with such grace and confidence as he navigates such a complex web of social issues is really admirable to me and i don’t think he gets enough credit :))

least favorite thing about them

some of the stereotypes aren’t like super cool but like they had to come from somewhere so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

favorite line

damian is what got me into this show tbh i have so many

but i thiiiiiink it’s gotta be either “and they are more addictive than opioids and girl scout thin mints combined” (also hot take but i’ve been a girl scout for 18 years and thin mints SUCK)

OR

“did she just leave while i was actively caring about her? no. / she’s leaving! just like my DAD.”

honestly just like all of stop all of cautionary tale just him i love him yes

brOTP

besides the obvious answer of janis again i would say regina. but also he and gretchen get coffee at least once a week and bond over dances and choreography and whatnot and he and karen are joined at the hip whenever they’re together and you cannot tell me otherwise. and cady is basically his little sister

OTP

THEATRE BOY FROM THE NEW MOVIE OMGGGGG but also like. i don’t really know lol

i usually write him as being with aaron but that’s bc when i was writing like three months in i asked and all my (four) readers at the time said they wanted damiaaron it was not my first pick. but it has grown on me a lot and i think they’re super cute together

nOTP

i am terrified of the amount of romantic fic out there for him and janis?? like y’all ran face first into the point and hit ur heads so hard u still couldn’t see it huh

random headcanon

he kicked janis’ front teeth out in tap class when they were five and janis still has a small scar on her lip

unpopular opinion

i know i write about it a lot and stuff but making him trans feels really reductive of his personality sometimes. we need more trans rep obviously and i love people being able to take characters like him and feel seen but i question it with him in particular a lot. similar vibes to people who make matilda trans i just dk. lots of complicated feelings about it

also that he is the best goddamn character in the whole thing

song i associate with them

uhhhhhh for whatever reason 9 to 5 by dolly parton?? and jolene are the first two to pop into my head lol idk why

oh and also better work bitch by britney spears (i think??)

favorite picture of them

[lyricfulloflight]

lol yeah I did mean the klaroline fandom and no like things never got that intense (unless we’re talking about the writers and producers of that show cuz the shitstorms they would stir up dear lord) like yes some of us didn’t like klayley or klamille we made it known lol but for the most part I feel like fandoms were just that … fandoms.

I feel like lately you need a reason for everything you dislike or like you said you’re automatically something for not liking a specific character or ship. And granted some people can be dicks and awful.

Like you I am ambivalent about BT - I think it’s cute to see buck so excited and their relationship is sweet but to me it is still so superficial because we don’t see it play out. When we do it’s such short scenes and it tends to be flirty and cute but we don’t see the nitty and gritty, the softness of them figuring each other out and I need that. Granted I am not a multi shipper. Once I get attached I get attached especially when we see so much growth and such a deep emotional bond between two characters like BE (I agree a 100% on that with you). Though even if we do see that softness with BT i will stay remain ambivalent lol no hate to BT I am just too far gone with BE. My endgame is BE because they have grown together through the years.

Regarding the daddy issues line (and like I have never seen a line create so much chaos before lol) like I don’t kink shame. People need what they need and like what they like. But some people will also have wildly different reactions to it as well. Some may like it some may not. As long as no one’s being a dick to others I don’t think there’s anything wrong with someone saying “I did not like it”.

For me the line just felt awkward and flat in that specific situation, for the tone of the episode. The whole episode honestly felt off tone wise for me. Bobby’s life was on the line, the man that has given them advice, and led them and is the center of their family in a lot of ways, literally died for a minute and it felt like we didn’t get that emotional payoff this whole episode.

I would have rather buck and Tommy had stayed soft during that conversation, would have rather them continued talking about their fathers. I would have preferred soft words and soft gestures. That teasing line could have been saved for an episode where things happy and silly and it would have worked because the vibe of the episode would have fit.

lol okay sorry for the rant again. This episode just … I liked it but I felt very underwhelmed emotionally.

Seriously, you and I agree on all points.

Please come off anon and be my friend, we are clearly meant to be friends and hive mind about 911 (I not completely kidding here, its kind of eerie how much we agree)!

I really think the writers missed a huge opportunity with Bobby in the finale. They had a perfect time to really delve into what Bobby means to the team and to his wife - we could have had hospital bedside moments, we could have had chats between the 118 about past calls, or nice things Bobby has done for them. It would have been so emotional and meaningful (for new fans and old fans of the show)!

I also would have been a great ending to the Bobby arc we'd had the past few episodes: Bobby could have been bolstered by the people in his life who love him and know he is a great man and a great firefighter, instead of putting that onto Amir, which just felt so wrong to me.

Amir, this man who has suffered so much and a lot of that is due to Bobby's past mistakes, should not have been put in this position where he was tasked with lifting Bobby out of a dark space! I think his role should have ended in episode 8, his talk with Bobby in the hospital in that episode felt real and didn't put Amir in the position of having to give Bobby forgiveness, because he shouldn't have to.

I also think if the finale had focused more on the bonds between Bobby and the team, we would have gotten those incredible found family moments and feelings we love so much on the show. They have often ended seasons with 'family' moments in the past, moments where the whole 118 is together, or the 118 and their extended families are together and its a great way to wrap up a season!

I will end my rant there...

But my invitation for friendship remains ;)

[daakjenaar]

The greatest use of CGI in movie history (I am being unironic) (SPOILERS FOR SPEED RACER)

It’s the final five minutes of 2008’s Speed Racer. Of course the greatest CGI sequence was in a movie directed by the Wachowski sisters, that makes perfect sense.

For years, films with obscene budgets have been racing to try and reach the point with CGI where it can perfectly mimic reality, where practical effects and props are entirely done away with and replaced by some underpaid VFX artists working obscene hours. Any Disney project of the last decade is perhaps the finest example. With budgets to match a small nation’s GDP, they have repeatedly tried and failed to make the finest examples of bland hyper-realism. The trailer for the new Ahsoka series, where the titular Ahsoka fights with white lightsabers in a mostly grey environment, is just the newest case of this. In the drab, depressing Lion King remake, the last few MCU movies I bothered to watch, and seemingly every new Star Wars project, Disney has used a titanic budget to make a shoddy simulacrum of what 70’s movie prop artists could do with a box of scraps.

The real reason for this is that, at the time of writing, VFX artists lack the same union backing as those who work in practical effects. It is cheaper to make people slave away in front of a computer for months on end to render Chris Evans in his newest low-contrast, boring American flag outfit. The fault lies with the executives, who decided that this was the best way to both spend money and treat their fellow human beings, and that this is the direction high-budget cinema should go in. So many high-profile films are just messes of shitty CGI that seems to get worse every year. And I don't want this to be some annoying "RETURN TO TRADITION" post, this is specifically calling out the really big-budget stuff. I've gotten really into low-budget indie horror movies again, and the last few years have been an incredible time for those.

Now, back to that scene in Speed Racer. What does it do right? First of all, I think it justifies itself. The idea of making something so vivid and fluid with mostly practical effects just doesn’t seem feasible. This is a bizarre, cartoony neon-coloured nightmare of a racetrack that refuses to make sense. Bright colours pour out of every single place they feasibly could, and then a few others. It’s absolutely sensory overload, but it’s beautiful sensory overload. Every scene in the movie is high-contrast and visually appealing, even the dark and gritty moments.

On another level, I think it also knows how to hide the weaknesses of CGI. You mostly view objects from a distance and behind a layer of effects, and that makes it hard to see how bad some things might look in a clear close-up. Even when it really zooms in on a car, it’s in a moment where it feels so weighty and is still moving around too much to pick out flaws. Even managing to get across the vibe that these are heavy machines with momentum behind them is impressive, and more than I can say for a lot of CGI-heavy scenes. Nothing feels like it moves in an unnatural way, and the real humans inside of these color-vomit deathtraps don’t look out of place.

I think the thing it does best, though, is context. This movie is many things. Goofy, shockingly earnest, and stylish. The final scene is the culmination of all of that. The cars are doing frankly absurd things. The Mach 6 is doing some kind of car judo flip in the end of the grand prix scene. The flashbacks that come up help set the mood and take your mind off of analyzing the visuals of the scene to the point of finding flaws. I cannot emphasize this enough, this movie is about someone who loves his family and drives cars so well that he ends up halting an attempted corporate monopoly and reveals an insider trading scandal, and the film is all-in on this. They want you to be genuinely invested in this plot, and I still am on every viewing even as an adult. The visuals, the music, the culmination of the plot, it all gives this scene what it needs to work and stand out as perhaps the greatest application of CGI ever. I am being unironic.

Again, if you wish to give pointers or kill me with hammers, please do so and/or kill me with hammers. I finished this at 3am while listening to nu-metal and installing bootleg Starsector mods.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (24-30 Mar 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 Murder at the Island Hotel (Miss Underhay Mystery #15) (Helena Dixon, author; Karen Cass, narrator) - Kitty & Alice go to an island hotel to certify it for the local hotel owners assn & of course murder happens.

😍 Operation: Gros Michel (SquadOfCats) - 358K, stucky recovery fic - incredible, phenomenal fic - really digging in to trauma & recovery but in a way that doesn't feel too heavy/dark for very long - Steve's POV so we see his healing & recovery, and his finding purpose again. Amazing OCs. Plus a lot of really, really yummy sexy times. Reminds you that hope is an action, hope is hard, and hope has many manifestations of being. also makes you love Florida at least a little bit.

😊 Where The Inevitable Isn't (Survivah) - 41K, sterek, alternate dimension AU - enjoyable dimension hopping fic with Stiles Prime portaling to a more dystopic/gritty dimension where he & D are super together. I really liked the aspect that they could ping pong back & forth between dimensions, it wasn't just a one-time thing

💖💖 +121K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Deep Sea Diving (AidaRonan) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 5K - forever fave, comfort read

The Salt is All the Same (the_deep_magic) - The Eagle of the Ninth: Marcus/Esca, 23K - a really good omegaverse AU

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

D20: Adventuring Party - s2, e1-2 [Pirates of Leviathan]

Game Changer - s6, e4

Um, Actually - s9, e3

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Baron's Game" (s21, e12)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Big Clue Energy" (s16, e12)

D20: Mice & Murder - "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" (s9, e1)

D20: Mice & Murder - "A Scandal in Britannia" (s9, e2)

D20: Mice & Murder - "A Time For Clues" (s9, e3)

D20: Adventuring Party - s4, e1-3 [Mice & Murder]

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

The Allusionist - 191. Hypochondria

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #3: The Charter

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #4: In the Drink

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep3 "The Charter" and ep4 "In the Drink"

Imaginary Worlds - Doctor Who's Power of Regeneration

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Vent Haven Museum

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Short Wave - What's It Like To Live In Space? One Astronaut Says It Changes Her Dreams

WikiHole - Battle of the Bay (with Moshe Kasher, Guy Branum and Grace Kuhlenschmidt)

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #5: Water, Water Everywhere

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep5 "Water, Water Everywhere"

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Ganvie Lake Village

⭐ Death, Sex & Money - The Very Hot Marriage of Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts

Vibe Check - Welcome to the Chaos

Ologies with Alie Ward - Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF) with Paul Rozin

Code Switch - Who does language belong to? A fight over the Lakota Language

99% Invisible #575 - Autism Pleasantville

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Julia Gets Wise with Sally Field

Fansplaining - Episode 219: Tropefest Speedrun

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - A Journey Around the World with Sebastian Modak

Shedunnit - Bonus: Thoughts on Spoilers

I Said No Gifts! - Harvey Guillén Disobeys Bridger

Imaginary Worlds- Class of '84: Rise of The Villains

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #6: Fresh Fish

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Godzilla x Kong, Godzilla Minus One And What's Making Us Happy

Dear Prudence - My Partner Sticks Her Finger in Food to Taste Test It. Help!

Endless Thread - Shaq Time: Is Shaq OK?

Smart Podcast, Trashy Books - 608. Women as Shields and Scapegoats: Talking Kate Middleton with Melissa Blue

Consider This from NPR - A new biopic on Shirley Chisolm fills in the picture on a woman who broke barriers

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep6 "Fresh Fish"

You're Dead to Me - Mozart

I Said No Gifts! - "Weird Al" Yankovic Disobeys Bridger

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Chappell Roan

Disco 2024

Presenting Rob Zombie

Metal Radio • Pump-up

COWBOY CARTER [Beyoncé] {2024}

[rpmemesbyarat]

Building A Better RP Ad

“I am seeking a Natasha to play against my Bucky” “I am seeking a Steve Rogers to play against my OC” I see a ton of ads that look like this. I used the Marvel fandom, but it could be any. And I think that people who post super-sparse, bare bones ads like this would get MUCH better results if they got more specific about the dynamic they’re seeking between characters (is it romantic? If so, is it slow burn or instantly established? Snarky sex partners? Enemies to lovers? Domestic fluffy lovebirds? Married with children?) and offered up a few plot ideas. Not only would the latter showcase what sorts of plots and themes you’re interested in—thrillers, fluff, AUs, emotional conversations, fast-paced action–it would also demonstrate that you have ideas you can bring to the table, you’re not just going to expect the other person to think of everything. You don’t need to pitch a novel, just a few basic sentences about what you’ve got in mind. Here are some examples: “I really want to do a fantasy AU, something with dragon-riding! I’m looking for a mixture of action/adventure with more chill domestic aspects, like just hanging out flying together or taking care of their dragons and talking.” “I’m seeking a nitty-gritty exploration of both our character’s trauma. Healing might be at the end of the tunnel, but only after they’ve both faced the worst parts of themselves and their pasts. I don’t want any sanitized, instantly-fixed-with-love stuff here, I want realness and long, drawn-out angst.” “I really like conspiracy/thriller plots, and I have ideas for several. For instance, one or both of our muses loses their powers and they have to track down who caused this and find out why, or an important figure from one of their pasts comes calling with a dubious agenda, or there’s a heist where our thieves are both racing towards the same prize but fall in love on the way due to being so impressed with each other’s skills!” These are admittedly pretty specific, so if you don’t have an idea that concrete in mind, you can always do something like: “I’m seeking a romance in a dark setting” “I’d like something lighthearted with a pre-established ship” “I want platonic slice-of-life most, but I also have a couple AU settings I’d love to try” And if your ad is for someone to play against your OC, whether it’s OCxCanon or OCxOC, a brief bio or overview of who your OC is and what they’re like would probably do WONDERS both at helping your advert stand out, as well as making people more likely to respond. After all, there’s nothing enticing about a total blank whom you know nothing about, but “my OC Maya, a no-nonsense pipefitter in her 30s with strong feminist and environmentalist leanings, a frank and direct demeanor, and a touch of paranoia due to past trauma. She’s likely to be found at the farmer’s market getting fresh local produce, enjoying some Korean food, or rocking out at a 90s alternative cover night.” See? That wasn’t a massive bio, but it gives someone a pretty good quick picture of who Maya is, and they probably will have a better sense of if their muse would vibe with her or not. It may still be a “not” of course, but now the people who DO have muses who would like her will KNOW! Here’s some more examples with my OCs: “My girl Lemon is in her late 20s and she’s a big buff boisterous ball of energy! She’s not the brightest around, but her heart is big and so are her biceps! She’s super sunny and always eager to meet new people and explore new things, but she can be a little (or a lot) much for people. She could be a shy friend’s extrovert besty OR their worst nightmare!” “Aviram, or Avi for short, is a sensitive and introverted plant dad. He’s a conflict-avoidant vegetarian and while he’s great at listening and offering sympathy, he’s not good at actual solutions. Despite this, he has a love for controlled thrill scenarios like sky-diving, paint-balling, or spelunking.” “Alya is a married woman in her 40s who is currently struggling with her faith due to a miscarriage. She’s maternal and empathetic, but these same qualities sometimes lead her to being manipulative with those she cares about due to feeling she knows what’s best for them.” Then just combine them! I’d introduce the character first, then the scenarios you’re interested in. And even if you’re writing a canon character, it still may be useful to include any specifics about your own portrayal, such as what sources you draw on, if there’s any source material you ignore/disagree with/don’t include, relevant headcanons, etc. So yet again, here are examples, this time using my OCs with canon characters from X-Men, She-Ra, and The Vampire Chronicles/Interview With the Vampire: “I’m seeking a found family RP for Laura Kinney and/or Gabby Kinney with my OC, Maya. Maya’s an adult woman, so it would be a protective/platonic thing. She’s a no-nonsense pipefitter in her 30s with strong feminist and environmentalist leanings, a frank and direct demeanor, and a touch of paranoia due to past trauma. I like the idea of her finding one of the girls and protecting them as best she can from those after them while also trying to convince them she’s safe, especially since she knows how hard it is to trust when you’ve been hurt. Definitely a feels-heavy RP, with some action scenes from the bad guys after Laura/Gabby/both girls. It would be set in the Marvel comics universe or the “Logan” movie setting. Trigger warnings for a lot of dark themes and trauma exploration definitely apply.” “I’m seeking someone to play Scorpia against my OC Lemon! Lemon has a LOT in common with Scorpia, she’s also a big energetic buff lady!  She’s not too bright, but she has a HUGE heart. I think they’d bounce off each other really well! NGL, I’m hoping for a ship but that doesn’t have to happen. Wholesome fluff either way! Also, I’m a sucker for college and coffeeshops AUs! My biggest plot bunnies right now is that they’re university study-buddies, roller derby teammates, or that Scorpia gets set up on a blind date with Lemon (maybe by Netossa and Spinnerella who know her from a local Pride group?) after being rejected by Catra again. Open to other ideas though ;) “ “I’m seeking someone to write Claudia, Armand, Petronia, Gabrielle, or their own Vampire Chronicles OC against my VC OC Gaspard. Gaspard is a non-binary English vampire as well as a fencer and a violinist; they’re dapper, elegant, reserved, and chivalrous. I think they would really want to protect Claudia or Armand, and I’ve always wanted an ending where Claudia survived. Of course, if they protect Claudia, any relationship with an Armand would be kill-on-sight! For Gabrielle or Petronia, I’m seeking more shippy vibes, but they could end up enemies with Petronia too due to Petronia’s predatory nature. I really like the tragic, existential themes of the books, so that’s what I’d want to play out, but I do love goofing around with crack too! Gaspard became a vampire in the Victorian era, so my picks for setting would be either that, the 1920s in Paris, or modern-day US or UK, but I’m open to other scenarios. Please note I use the BOOK canon, I haven’t seen the show and I don’t like the movies much. I won’t write nsfw with Claudia or Armand, but it could be on the table for the others with the right buildup.” Also, while I think this advice could help ALL kinds of ads, I do admit it was inspired by seeing so many adverts that just say  "I want someone to play [popular male canon] against my OC" I don’t mean to sound mean, but I often wonder if the people posting these ads realize just how MANY ads exactly like their own are out there----why should players of these often highly in-demand characters pick YOUR ad to answer when they're probably swamped with such requests? The fact is, they’re probably quite wary at this point of these sorts of ads, as some will always be people just seeking someone to fulfill their personal fantasies while contributing nothing in return. I’m not saying that’s all OCs–lots of canon writers are the same, I can attest to this!---but if you’re playing a popular canon, especially a male, you do get gun-shy after awhile due to too many bad apples. So hopefully spicing up your advert with the above will help you stand out as a very good apple, and get you some bites! Some other things helpful to specify in your ad: - Your typical reply length and reply speed. For instance, I tend to reply every few days to a week at my best, and prefer multi-para - Triggers, squicks, and no-gos. You could also include stuff that, while it doesn’t bother you, you’re just not interested in. For instance, I’m not a meandering fluff-type person and I’m largely not interested in romance/shipping. I also don’t like writing the female half of m/f couples. And there are some FCs that I won’t write with. - If you’re seeking a nsfw RP or not, if you’re willing to do smut or not, and what sort of kinks or sex acts you WON’T do (similar to triggers and no-gos, but specifically for smut) Including the sort of sex acts and kinks you’d strongly prefer can also be helpful finding someone with similar interest! - If you’re a minor or not, and what age range you prefer to roleplay with. Even for sfw stuff, many older roleplayers can be uncomfy writing with someone significantly younger, and vice versa. - If you do doubling - If you give out your Discord, or if you’d prefer to communicate through Tumblr’s IMs or asks Note that of course I understand you can’t send this much detailed info in an ask to an RP advert blog, but if you’re just posting in the tags? More detail might be the way to get more results! Give it a try, you have nothing to lose!

[mlobsters]

supernatural s13e17 the thing (w. davy perez)

i'm just hoping for a middling episode at this point. if i had to point to one plot thing that opened the door to so much of the nonsense of later seasons, it's the whole men of letters concept. like a neverending excuse to make up new magic, monsters, good guys, bad guys. i like that it gave them a home, but i really don't enjoy that set. it's so sterile and meh. wish they had a crusty weird house packed with shit, like bobby's place. anyway. long held irritation over mol. and the british men of letters storyline is like all those things i hate x1000. i see how they're kind of working ketch like crowley, what side is he working for, loyal to himself in the end, etc. but i just can't give a flying fuck about ketch because of the infuriating b!mol arc. and mark sheppard had years to work into that role and for them to develop it. meh!

tentacle monster coming through the nexus with the beautiful young flapper lady is chained to the table...... ok....

also where did those randos get archangel grace in the 20s

dean, come collect your man, he's drooling on the books again.

by collect, i did not mean put "kick me" sticky notes on him -_-

well that little research montage sequence was cute. is the "jinkies" thing to tease sam about velma kissing him? or just general acknowledgement that the scooby episode did actually happen -_-

spn s13e17 key to chapterhouse / hannibal s3e6 reunited in the uffizi / the magicians s3e5 key to fillory clock door

so two things that jumped out at me about this scene. first, it just had a little more atmosphere and pretty for pretty's sake with the crumbled leaves falling through the shaft of light - which all kind of hit the magicians buttons for me. and secondly, the music... (this is a lennertz episode) it has brief shades of bloodfest (the music used in That Scene in hannibal s2e13 mizumono and kind of became will and hannibal's big emotion music) which automatically makes the spn music hit all sorts of emotional buttons that it didn't earn. now i think they've used that sound before, but combined with the scene and the atmosphere which is so often lacking in the later seasons, it really hit for me. (totally cried just getting that small clip from hannibal with the music, think bryan fuller said something about this piece of music resonates at the frequency of his tear ducts)

i have posted a lot about the musical score in hannibal - here's my masterpost :S ok one more thing about that piece, an essay by kate schau talking about brian reitzell's score in hannibal:

In a 2014 interview with Vulture, Reitzell describes it as “musically, probably the crown jewel of the whole season.” While most of Reitzell’s work for the score is predominantly sparse and percussive, “Bloodfest” adopts a more tonal, texturally dense approach. As a nod to The Silence of the Lambs’ association of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with Hannibal the Cannibal’s violent impulses, “Bloodfest” takes its well-known opening aria and slows it down by a factor of twenty; here it also undergoes pervasive electronic distortion. The resulting work is beautiful, haunting, and utterly essential to the atmosphere of the scene. The syrupy-slow melody of the aria gives it the trancelike quality of meditation, but none of the objectivity; like a premonition of heartbreak, it seems to operate in a temporally detached space of reminiscence where emotion is both immediate and far away.

i often bemoan the show that could have been with a different composer at the helm, but will add to the list if they could have kept the look and feel dark gritty messy aesthetics of the early seasons. so much of the later seasons is just too bright, too saturated, too sterile. sucks the vibes right out. it's sad.

um ok. asmodeus is juicin with archangel grace.

i mean just. we're really going with hentai tentacles

i don't care how many times they do it, i love it every time. never gets old

ok. tentacle monster is a god, sure

SAM Dean. OPHELIA If she fed on him, he would be here.

SAM So what, then? MARCO It’s like we said, if she’s not feeding, she’s breeding.

so ketch is gonna bring gabriel to the boys, how convenient

sigh ok. better than a woman in possibly-sexual-peril i guess

DEAN Oh my God. That's tragic. It's like a Hallmark movie. But with tentacles.

good one, dean-o

YOKOTH I like you, Dean. You’re strong. And I enjoy looking at your face.

it's a good face, can't argue with that

SAM So, that’s why we came. I mean we--we--we--need the Seal to get our family back. DEAN If it could take us somewhere other than, uh, tentacle porn land -- not that there’s anything wrong with that.

being that sam outed your "animated japanese erotica" hobby to jody in 12x06, we know, dean. we know

(this is my periodic attempt to remember where cas is and failing. why)

KETCH Was working for. But when he finds out that I stole his prize milk cow, well, I imagine he will hunt me to the ends of the earth. So...this is the only safe place I know. SAM What? Do you think you’re gonna just move in? KETCH Dibs on the top bunk? SAM No. DEAN (speaking at the same time as Sam) Deal. SAM What? DEAN I don’t know what the hell’s going on here. But if this helps us get Mom back, helps us get Jack back, then...sure. Whatever you want.

okie dokie. also convenient taking the moral quandary of extracting more of gabriel's grace for the spell, ketch just had it bottled up from asmodeus's stash

SAM Fine? So you want Ketch to go and not me? DEAN I don’t care if he dies. Hell, I’m kinda rooting for it. SAM Still, you can’t -- DEAN No, I have to. It takes something that’s been over there to open up the right door, so that’s either you or me. So I’m gonna go. And if something happens to me, if -- if-- if time runs out, then I need you to come and save me, and save Mom, and save whoever else, okay? SAM It’s safer if we go together. DEAN Oh, there’s no such thing as safer over there. You know that. I know you don’t like this, okay? I don’t expect you to. This is the way it’s gonna be.

sammy gettin a little jealous there. railroading sam on a decision like this feels like poking the bear. poking that giant little brother you don't get to make decisions for me bear. but i do at least appreciate that dean actually explains that a) he would worry about sam dying, unlike ketch and b) that sam can come save him if it goes sideways if they're not both there. script had dean saying please. guess they decided no please was necessary

sam looking sad/resigned, dean looking determined, gabriel suffering in the background

i asked for middling, i think that mostly qualified

[zayadotnet]

*dated september 2023*

i am here to post more things individual to me! this time, it's my top 25 video games. i am honestly not remotely content with this list and will update it around september of this year, and make it a tradition going forward. i never realized how hard it actually is to put this out on a chart/list. i always knew what i held dearly to my heart, but god when it came down to it, i had to REALLY think. imagining how this list will look by the end of this year is currently challenging. this chart is in no order besides grouping series. certain games will ALWAYS be on this list, most definitely the red dead series, and grand theft auto series. those are masterpieces, or damn near. red dead redemption ii is 100% the best game i've ever touched. the first redemption game i still highly regard to be one to stand the test of time. i have a fondness for fallout, there are many things to love, and things to not love, and that's all i'll say there for now. grand theft auto iv has one of the best stories i've played, and it's so played out but the VIBE of that game, the darkness, grittiness, it's great. san andreas is one of my childhood games, i owned so many copies because i was a stupid child. moving onto guitar hero, i still remember my first experience with it at my sister's, i remember getting my first copy of the game from fred's of all places. i mainly play clone hero nowadays, and am mostly average. i play expert, still have never got past that ttfaf intro. i got into wwe pretty early on in my life like most of these games, being able to watch the show weekly and hop in the games after school was special. cozy survival crafting is definitely one of my favorite things ever, and it's funny to call terraria cozy but it is to me LOL. i will never EVER understand terraria hate, how can you hate something so good? i have fallen out of love with minecraft over the years to the (in my opinion) underwhelming updates and odd direction the game has taken. with that however, the new auto-crafter and trial chambers look so sick. i want to say i got into stardew valley in 2018 and have loved it ever since, still haven't gotten through the beginning of ginger island though, maybe someday. ever since extremely late 2017 or early 2018, my main game has been fortnite: battle royale. at one point, i wanted to go pro and make a living streaming, but sadly i am NOT built for that. i've always loved zombies, first experience was probably like season 2-3 twd, and been hooked ever since. project zomboid was such an insane experience in february of last year. such an eye-opener. easily the best zombie game ever made. 7 days to die is also a great game, the impending doom you feel every week is fun and refreshing from what i normally play while still have that survival crafting i love. i grew up on tony hawk games and wasn't sure which ones to put but these were the standouts, and i didn't want to load the list up with a ton from one series. i remember spending all my savings as a kid on saints row: the third and i still wonder if that was a good decision or not. i have played tons of call of duty in my day, although i stopped at ghosts, and have dabbled in and out ever since. black ops is easily my favorite, the campaign, and multiplayer, agh. zombies even. modern warfare 2 is a classic and one i cannot ignore. ghost looks cool. i have played HELLA sims 3 in my lifetime, yes i have played the sims 4 and i can confidently say the sims 3 clears with ease. i dumped crazy hours into the console ports and the pc as well. around this final stretch of the list is where i really struggled so i went for nostalgia with atv off-road fury 2. that series and mx vs atv were definitely a blast to 10 and below me, and might even be today. i'm not quite sure. if anyone actually finishes this, i am sorry, for i am the rambler.

[seeinganewlight]

*knocks on door* ITSSSSSSSSSS ME. Match a musical to a member of the Drew Crew

hi erin!!! i miss you! i hope you're doing well! oh, this is such a fun question, okay, let's do this!

nancy - the mad ones; the mad ones is all about grief and handling that grief and how do you "move on" when you lose someone who is a huge part of your life, and i feel like it would really help nancy. especially since in the mad ones, the protagonist, sam, experiences this loss as she's about to graduate high school, so nancy would really understand what she was going through and i think it would be cathartic for her. additionally, the music is just so wonderful (i've been in love with this show for like 10+ years since it was in development lol and i need everyone to listen to it)

bess - my first instinct is to say that bess is a mamma mia and & juliet girlie. i think she loves jukebox musicals! she wants something that is going to make her happy, but also tug on her heartstrings. she'd also like anatasia a lot -- the searching for family plot would draw her in, and i think anya finding not only her birth family, but a new family in dimitry and vlad would mean a lot to her.

george - i feel like george would love we are the tigers. it's funny, gritty, a little dark and filled with lots of interesting female characters and dynamics. i also think george would just get a kick out musicals with murder? so, she'd probably like sweeney todd and little shop of horrors as well. oh! i also think that she would be really interested in next to normal, especially because of the dynamic between diana and natalie and she'd probably find some similarities to her relationship with victoria

ace - okay the first one that came to mind was hairspray, but that's just because of his hair dfkjbsagklbslgkhbsa. i actually do this that ace would really love hadestown. i think the music style would interest him since there are a few different styles mixed into it, but it does have a folky feel, and while we know ace likes rock music, i do think that he likes folk as well (i think he has wide musical tastes). i also feel like he would already know the myth of orpehus and eurydice, as well as hades and persephone, and just greek mythology in general, so he'd probably be pretty interested in it. plus, if we're being totally honest, after the curse, i think he would see some similarities between his and nancy's relationship and orpheus and eurydice, but he gets his girl in the end.

nick - newsies. i think it only makes sense after we see him getting into hb politics in s4. i think he'd probably have watched the movie when he was a kid (i get the vibe that millie is a musical lady and probably raised nick on a healthy dose of musicals), so when the musical opened on broadway he checked out the obc and really liked it and just...found himself listening to it a lot and suddenly he had the whole thing memorized. i also like to think about nick and bess talking about newsies fsdhbflkdsbgkdlsha

ahhhhh this was SO fun! thank you, erin!

[broken-clover]

Ok so people actually expressed interest so I guess I'll take a good excuse to show off my Neopets customs! I'm definitely not on the level of some really serious users who stake out the really rare items but it's still fun to make my weird cats stylish and give them their own little lore.

Thanks to the anniversary event gifting some free NC, I bought another pet slot and currently have 7!

Dhanue (Donahue/Donnie) is my active main, and even though I know ghost isn't a super rare color I'm absolutely never painting him. Somewhere along the line I just really liked the idea of a steampunk ghost gentleman. He's a gentleman thief with a flair for the dramatic who pretends to be suave but is really a massive troll underneath it.

The only design change I'd like to do with him is finding a better background bc the magma puddle clips into this one. I found one I sorta liked but it's expensive so that's a future goal

0grese was a lucky pound find a few years back! I really love how the robot pets look so weird and angular and gritty without the sleek casing on, it lends well to a slightly spookier aesthetic, I just had to make a her a mad scientist! Though she isn't a bad person, just very timid and odd-looking. She's actually a doctor that studies biohazards and diseases since she doesn't have to worry about getting sick or spreading it to other pets. She also has an unsubtle crush on my Draik but is too shy to say anything

Batatiinha_ (Batat) is another not-really-rare color that I'm not in a hurry to paint. I think it adds to her vibe! I wish I could find a library background that was a bit more ominous, though. And if I can find anymore good gold accessories I might use those, too. I wanted to go for a Midas-esque vibe, with an obsession for riches leading to her obsessively studying dark magic and becoming more ensnared in it until it started altering her body

She and Dhanue go way back, with him often trying to rope her into heists. She finds him insufferable, but it's one of the few reasons she leaves her empty estate anymore and prevents her from becoming a complete shut-in

I love Kaceae way too much, something about baby Aishas actives a rabid part of my brain. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with her background yet, that's still a to-do, but I'm very happy with her little outfit.

She's, well...she's a baby! She doesn't do much aside from chew on her plushies and nap. When she grows up, she'll become a famous scientist, but for now, she's just baby.

Professor_Giri is the pet I moved to my account with the new pet slot I bought. I traded a Krawk for her current paintbrush and I really love the dark blue, even if Stealthy tends to be more about the ninja accessories. So far I'm happy with her custom! Might change later, but for now I like the vibe.

Giri is an adventure archaeologist who studies tombs, and she absolutely does not know when to shut her mouth. She means well, though. She also knows full well 0grese has a crush on her, but is waiting for the doc to work up the nerve to say something.

Weaclen was obtained from a very lucky fountain faerie quest I got during the festival a few years back. Getting an alien aisha was always one of my dreamies! I love their weirdness. In contrast to the space-age tech and design, I wanted to make his customization a little grungy, with garbage and Slorgs. I'm trying to trade for a few more Slorg accessories, either the raincoat or the little faerie companion released during the last festival, that's another WIP

Speaking of Slorgs, Weaclen can't get enough of the things! He collects as many Slorgs and Slorg memorabilia he can get his paws on, and my account's gallery is devoted to his menagerie. He's actually from the future, but an incident with a wormhole sent him back a few hundred years. He's a descendent of the famed doctor and roboticist Kaceae, and upon finding her as a baby, he takes it upon himself to care for her and raise her until she fulfills her grand destiny in a few decades. He considers it a massive honor.

And finally Zekotah (Zeko) is a pretty simple custom that I'm nonetheless really happy with. Faerie just lends itself nicely to pastel and flowers. If I find any garden-related pieces I like better I might change them, but I like this general vibe a lot

Compared to the others, Zeko lives a pretty quiet, uninteresting life as a gardener, but she's fine with that. She's mostly nonverbal and hates commotion and being crowded, so she's perfectly happy to spend most of her time in the flowerbeds in quiet solitude. Making friends is difficult, so if you're nice to her and don't make a lot of ruckus, she would probably die for you

[technodromes]

I had thoughts TM yesterday when I came home from the cinema, but I was too tired to write them down. Now I'm awake and these thoughts are still around, so here we go. It pretty much started off with 'why I don't really like the 2003 TMNT' but turned into a whole 'TMNT and Me' thing, so I put it under a read more. Because it's long.

So, as you know by now probably, I was born 1986. When I got older and started to watch cartoons on Saturday morning, I regularly watched the 1987 iteration of the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'. And boy I loved them. I'd get mad every time we went to visit my grandma on the weekend and I couldn't watch my favorite show. I didn't know at that time that there was a comic to it that was much darker actually.

Several years later, I got into Anime & Manga. Well, mostly Manga actually. The amount of available Manga in my country started growing around 2000. I also remember that I didn't watch that much tv because I just didn't really vibe with 2000s cartoons anymore. I think I saw glimpses of the 2003 Turtles when I zapped through channels and found them way too gritty. I couldn't really get behind why they made the Turtles that buff and rude and everything you know? People are complaining about Netflix turning children's shows all dark and gritty and how they hate this new trend, but that 'trend' started already before Netflix if you ask me. Mind you, I was no stranger to dark and serious cartoons as a kid though. We had a fair share of them. The Black Cauldron, for example. All Dogs Go to Heaven included serious topics too. And my dad let me watch Felidae when he thought 'Oh, there's a cartoon with cats for Sabine to watch', only for the cartoon to reveal that it is absolutely NOT made for kids lmao. I also watched 'Watership Down'. I mean, if you're familiar with these titles, you'll know.

But to get back to seeing the 2003 Turtles the first time, I just couldn't get behind that 'edgy action hero' vibe. So I dismissed the series and didn't follow it further. I continued reading Manga or watching Anime where available. I recall getting into series already BEFORE they got released here, Fullmetal Alchemist being a good example. YEARS later people jumped onto that train and I was already hyper-focused on other series. I spent time working on my own websites and improving my English skills over time as well. I was all over the place on the internet and met people on a website called Animexx, where I got to rp. Just a lot of stuff, I ain't going to unpack all that.

To be quite honest, I completely missed the 2012 Turtles back then. I rarely watched TV anymore around that time, I was busy with other stuff like finding my first job and all that. I finished my apprenticeship late, it was around 2011 when I did. So I had a lot of other things on my mind. I also missed Rise! pretty much on 2018. I had to move back to my parents around 2017 after I had my own apartment 2014-2017, and I was once again searching for a new job there. I recall it was a mess. I believe it was 2018 when I started working at that place I was for 5 years, the longest I worked somewhere. So, I believe it was around 2021 when I discovered Rise. And yes, I've grown much more open-minded to my 'favorite series' having a different spin to them since. I actually enjoyed Rise a lot. And it has also a special place in my heart because it did bring me back to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which I was so obsessed with as a kid. Also, I've grown very much tired with Manga & Anime at that point because there's such a FLOOD now. Around 2000, a new Manga release was something special. Now it's impossible to keep up anymore.

Not too long ago, I thought about checking the 2003 iteration of TMNT out again and stumbled over Turtles Forever. And listen, I get the point they tried to make there. The 2003 Turtles being closer to their origins, being serious and edgy and all that, whereas the 1987 Turtles have been made kids-friendly and goofy. I DO get that. But they had the '87 Turtles pretty much incompetent and obnoxious from the beginning to the finish and as someone loving the '87 boys, I took offense in that. It just didn't feel right to me how they portrayed them the way they did there. In the first and last seasons of the old TMNT series, there had been more serious tunes too. I mean come on, they aren't THAT incompetent.

*takes a DEEP breath* It can be done better, and the writers of the 2012 series proved that. They also picked up on 'the '87 Turtles were made kids-friendly and wouldn't do well in a more serious series' fact. They were also portrayed as being obnoxious in the beginning. But instead of having the 2012 Turtles act as demeaning babysitters, they trained their '87 counterparts and worked together with them. The way how the crossover ended was just a lot more wholesome to me. Plus, they included Bebop & Rocksteady and gave the boys their redemption arc there! I loved that a lot.

I'm definitely biased tho and I'm sure I will watch the '03 Turtles eventually, just like I binge-watched the 2012 ones. I mean credit where credit is due, they originally came up with Bishop and I love that guy there just as much as I love 2012's version of him (even though they are absolute polar opposites). I watched a 2003 Bishop compilation on youtube and that guy is something else. Also, I know that some of my mutuals here prefer the 2003 TMNT over the others, and let me tell you here that's perfectly fine! I know 2003 has been your childhood and I respect that. I'd love to hear about your favorite parts of it! In the end, we all love TMNT and I love talking to people about it, it doesn't matter which version. Also, a bottom line I want to share here is something that bothers me about long-time fandoms that have different iterations. I mean, I made it a point that I'm not awfully fond of the 2003 iteration all in all, but I would never go on youtube and reply to someone excitedly commenting on a 2003 video about how I think it sucks. Don't fucking do that, people. You can voice your opinion separately in your own comment and be on your way again. Don't bash and attack people for liking something you don't. It's really not that hard. I've seen posts around here on tumblr as well with questionable replies to them. Just... let others enjoy their favorite version of their series.

[elshells]

This or That? Tag

Tagged by @outpost51, @crowandmoonwriting, and @thewardenofwinter for this one! Thank you all so much!

Leaving this as an open tag because... reasons, idk. Most of the people I would have tagged have done this already, so hop aboard, y'all!!

Historical OR Futuristic

Definitely futuristic! I love to read historical fiction but I don't trust myself to write it. It's a ton of fun creating my own rules based on what I know about the world today

Opening Chapter OR Closing Chapter

It's the hook for me. I love drawing readers in, throwing them into this new world full of action and questions and characters you can root for. It's one of the hardest chapters to write, but the anticipation of the readers' reactions is so damn exciting!

Light & Fluffy OR Dark & Gritty

I tend to lean more dark and gritty on this spectrum. It's easier to write than light and fluffy stuff, though I have been known to melt into a puddle when reading other peoples' fluffy writing.

Animal Companion OR Found Family

Ughhh, I love animal companions so, so much, but I haven't yet had the opportunity to write one into any of my WIPs. Found family, on the other hand? That's good shit. I live it, I breathe it, I look for it in everything. I write it in everything. It's my emotional support trope and I'll never let it go.

Horror OR Romance

Horror all the way!! I love me some good spooks. I don't have much experience with romance in writing (or in general), but I'm incredibly soft and sappy about it in any context.

Hard Magic System OR Soft Magic System

No strong preference here, but I think I lean more towards a soft magic system.

Standalone OR Series

If the standalone's a banger, I'm immediately and forever obsessed, but there's something so magical and fulfilling about a good series.

One Project at a Time OR Always Juggling 2+

Welp. I would love to focus on one project at a time, but somehow I always end up balancing multiple WIPs at once.

One Award Winner OR One Bestseller

Eh, this one's a tossup. Both are good, but one is more achievable.

Fantasy OR Sci-Fi

First of all, how dare you make me choose. Second of all, if I must, I think I have to go with sci-fi. I love fantasy, but I'm scared to write it, and the sci-fi vibes are top-tier.

Character Description OR Setting Description

I end up writing setting description a lot more, but I think I slightly prefer reading character description. But hey, both are good. Give them both to me.

First Draft OR Final Draft

Technically, my answer should be first draft, since I've yet to make it past that stage. But the mythos of a final draft is impossible to resist.

Love Triangle in Everything OR No Romantic Arcs

Romance does make me happy, but I also really appreciate it when there's no romantic arcs whatsoever. As someone who doesn't write romance very much, it's super refreshing to read. Also, I'd rather die than make a contribution to the love triangle.

Constant Sandstorm OR Constant Rainstorm

Rainstorm!! It's cozy, it's cathartic, it's refreshing. The scent of rain unlocks the receptors in my brain that deliver me serotoni. And it never stops raining where I live, anyway, so I'm used to it.