#OMG! Vampire series review

[afabstract]

OMG! Vampire Review - Tomfoolery in Thaiwilight City

Looking for a vampire series that's more comedy than horror? Thai series 'OMG! Vampire' takes viewers to Thaiwilight City where a group of goofy young vampires are ready to take their first bite in the human world.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) O-M-G! There’s no way I can objectively rate the Thai series “OMG! Vampire” because it swings from inanely hilarious to quite cringe-y. I nearly died of laughter when the city of Vampires was introduced as “Thaiwilight City,” so whoever came up with that name, high-ten to them. Directed by Phadej Onlahung, the 10-part series, also known as “Red Wine Vampire”…

[crappymixtape]

crappymixtape recos

going to try and do this at least once a month – sharing fics that have just blown me away ❤ so many talented writers on here omg 🥺 show them some love and BE KIND, REBLOG! xoxo, 💿

❤ whispers of 'are you sure?' *18+ – @forevermoreharrington ( steve plans a group trip just to spend time with his favourite girl  • steve harrington x reader )

❤ max mayfield HC – @steveharringtonscarkeys ( headcanon about kate bush being max's favorite and why *sobbing* • lumax HC )

❤ its okay to cry – @lovebugism ( request, you tell steve it's okay to cry • steve harrington x reader )

❤ i will wait: chapter two – @abibliophobiaa ( a soulmate!fakemarriage!au • rockstar!eddie and personalassistant!reader ) ❤ love you to death *18+ – @abibliophobiaa ( a halloween spent in steve's bathroom with vampire!eddie • eddie munson x reader )

❤ steve's a tease *18+ – @lilacletter ( just everything about how steve is such. a. fucking. tease. and we love it • steve harrington HC )

❤ casual dominance *18+ – @lilacletter ( more smutty steve brainrot and how casual he is with his dominance everywhere • steve harrington HC )

❤ into open flames: part 3 *18+ – @sailor-steve ( part three of the series! do yourself a favor and read all the parts nowww • steve harrington x reader )

❤ honey *18+ – @roanniom ( honestly this is one of the best little smut blurbs of all time • steve harrington x reader )

❤ whatta man *18+ – @loveshotzz ( 90's AU at the bar where steve and eddie work and hot damn • bartender!eddie x reader )

❤ size queen *18+ – @usedtobecooler ( okay, my reviews at this point are questionable, but this shit SENT ME INTO SPACE • steve harrington x reader )

❤ modern au bartender!steve – @upsidedownwithsteve ( request, steve's your bartender for the night and damn • steve harrington x reader )

❤ sweetness *18+ – @upsidedownwithsteve ( just the sweetest, hottest, mind melting smut of all time • steve harrington x reader )

❤ post-night out *18+ – @lfaewrites ( okay, hands down the most fire eddie smut, god tier, so good • eddie munson x reader )

❤ sick day – @sw34terw34ther ( eddie takes care of you when you're sick and whiny and omg <33 • eddie munson x reader )

❤ invisible string, series - @lilacletter ( this series just started with part one, but omg can’t wait for more • roommates - steddie x reader )

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Before this week's GMMTV announcements, I thought it was a good time to review my bingo card from Part 1, and do some manifesting for what we haven't gotten yet.

What I got right on my bingo card from Part 1 (which in hindsight, I did better than I realized based on announcements):

- Enemies to lovers, Pond in a comedic role, and if you squint, sort of AouBoom as leads because it's an ensemble cast - all covered by We Are.

- BL series with new actors - a safe bet, yes, still counts, Only Boo (which is actually turning out quite cute).

- Workplace romance - The Trainee

- GemFourth in something cute & innocent - My Love Mix-Up

- Paranormal romance & Gawin in a new lead role with a new partner - My Golden Blood, now to be joined by The Vampire Project for the paranormal part

- I'm also pretty sure I picked ViewJune as a side couple before they were confirmed as one for 23.5, so I'm gonna take credit for that as well.

What seems likely in Part 2:

- Mark Pakin in a lead role. He kind of spilled the beans already, plus it would be fucking dumb to not give him a lead at this point.

- 2 GLs in 2024. Pluto takes one spot, and based on rumors of a particular author posting about the event, another seems likely. (Pluto might also technically qualify as my secret identity romance pick but it remains to be seen).

- FirstKhao romcom. We want it, they want it, it's basic math. Give it!

- Neo paired with someone new and in a non-comedic role. I haven't heard much rumorwise, but I got the impression that Mark may be partnered with someone else. Which I think is good! They worked in Only Friends, but I think it's good to have a roster of flexible BL actors. I know Neo will be in My Golden Blood, so that sorta already counts for a serious role, but I assume he'll get more as well. (Omg, what if he hooks up with Mond as villain boyfies).

Less likely but not impossible:

- Remake of a Korean series. But after mining Japan so successfully, they might want to attempt more (especially if Korea is more flexible with airing rights).

- BL series with actors over 30. Their actors and audience are all getting older, let's bring in some maturity (Yes, of course this is about Papang making out onscreen for my enjoyment, I apologize for nothing).

Not gonna happen and I will be salty about it:

- JoongDunk vampire series. The Vampire Project is right there. Joong as a serial killer is also acceptable. (But of course I will watch them in whatever they get. I would just love for them to not be in university once again.)

- Midnight Museum 2. You give me such beautiful weird chaos and a perfect BL setup for season 2. And we won't get it, because god forbid that Gun ever get to kiss a man who isn't Off. Let him make out with other people, goddammit!!

Not in my card but manifesting all the same:

- Something worthy of Perth. Look, I like Chimon. He is very talented. And I had fun with Dangerous Romance. But I can't deny there was a chemistry problem. I think they can get past it, I really do, but they need the right series, the right coaching - heck, hire Saint to come do a one-on-one class of "how to make out with Perth like you mean it".

- Keep breaking out of the predictable BL settings. They've started to, and they need to keep it up. I'd love a strong sci-fi.

- More trans characters. More gender diversity. More breaking stereotypes.

[gizkasparadise]

2023 wrapped: webtoon edition!

my final 2023 wrapped post for the year! unlike previous ones, this list is every series i read this year vs. ones that started this year. previous lists for this year:

cdrama edition

kdrama edition

ranked from least favorite to most favorite, which doesn't mean objectively best, just ones that hit me more. ones that are completed series will have a * after the title

15 my deepest secret*. omfg i hated this webtoon. the twist was asinine and frankly ignorant. none of the characters were likeable by the end. hate quit this one with like 5 chapters left to go i just couldnt

14 my second husband. seemed promising at first! i was hooked for the first 40 chapters or so but then it just started getting weirdly paced, had big plot holes, and nothing ever felt like it was getting resolved. the ML had like 0 charisma as well. dropped.

13 to love your enemy. this one was REALLY fun until the cult arc hit and then it was the biggest wtf is happening. dropped it shortly after

12 i dont hate us*. i liked this one until the timeskip ending, where then everyone and everything just felt really off. the second female lead gets a special mention because i HATED her at first but by the end she was my favorite character <3

11 romance 101.* this was okay. the art style was really cute and i loved the FL. but there never seemed to be any chemistry with the main ship to me, and the plot became really focused on the app/programming club which bored the hell out of me. dropped this one around chap 100

10 shadow bride. nothing bad but nothing particularly noteworthy for me. fluff read.

9 high spirits neoma. im not very far into this webtoon yet, or it'd be higher up the list im sure. im around ch 5 and finding it really charming and i love the color palette for it

8 dreaming freedom/freedom in dreams. although the art style isnt my cup of tea, i really enjoyed this fucked up high school revenge/romance webtoon but where im currently at (ch. 111ish) it's starting to feel a little circular. hoping it goes back to what it does best which is Unsettling Shit

7 my reason to die*. man this would've been in my top 3 but the ending arc is just. really boring??? like i dont want to watch them search for a pot farm for 10 chapters. i havent finished this one yet, but ive been putsing getting back into it ever since post reveal. the drama is very pretty though and the reveal chapters hit me like a truck in a good way

6 operation true love. i borderline hated this webtoon when i first started, but the reviews had me wanting to stick it out and im so glad i did!! around ep 10ish it really finds its footing and just keeps going for it! very kdrama in flavor and endearing FL.

5 unholy blood*. a fun, dark, and nostalgic webtoon about vampires and vampire hunting that brought me back to my tween years in the best way. the character designs are really awesome. it's a little lower on the list because the ending felt a bit rushed, but it's a really solid horror/action comic with a lil romance

4 surviving romance*. this one's complete but i got about 10 chapters left. it's a really fun horror comic (NOT romance, dont be fooled by the title) that reminds me of extraordinary you but if the plot was focused on the metaphysical horror of it a little more. fun characters and relationships. a little lower just because the second "return" arc feels tedious/unneeded so far. we'll see. TEAM RINA.

3 maybe meant to be/fate found by chance. ive found that i tend to gravitate toward darker webtoons, so this is my c-c-combo breaker! cute, funny, quirky, and really endearing. standard contract marriage plot but between two delightful weirdos

2 purple hyacinth. this series is everything. the art is gorgeous, it has its own OST built into the reading. the characters are nuanced and complicated and omg it's a ride and a half so far.

1 olgami/trapped*. INCREDIBLE characters and such an intense look at enemies-to-lovers. the drama starts as a psycho-thriller about gravedigging for a vampire and ends up about two leads who have never learned how to love willing to try it with one another in their fucked-up way. dysfunctional. hot. SO GOOD. the art evolution for this series was great as well

[runningwithfangs]

Vampire Chronicles Book Review/Rant #1

Interview with the Vampire

Overall:

I mean, what can I say, it’s the OG. It’s what started it all, it’s pretty dang good. It’s just a little odd how the whole book is in speech quotes because it’s almost all Louis speaking, but I got used to it after a while. So dramatic, so melancholy. 

I didn’t realize that Louis and Lestat actually fight each other, the violence is brief and not very graphic, but it’s there. 

Claudia’s arc of becoming a grown-up is so good, the way Louis describes it, she’s playing with dolls one day, and reading advanced literature the next, the way something in her expression changes over the decades, where one day he has to come to terms that she is not a child, and has not been for some time. Also, her murdering Lestat was a bit too “super easy, barely an inconvenience” even though she very thoroughly thought it out, but still. 

The Théâtre des Vampires vampires are kinda gross. The way Armand paralyzes/hypnotizes Claudia so he can talk to Louis is so creepy. 

OMG Lestat getting dragged in for a “trial” and Louis begging him to defend their murder attempt by basically admitting he was a piece of shit to them is WILD. 

Louis’s grief is so real, if you take him at his word (which, in this book, I suppose we should) he was stuck with a demanding, rude maker, the small attempt they made at a “human” life was so short-lived and they all ended up worse for it, making vampire friends is hard because vampires are largely gross and violent, his daughter was murdered, and the one guy who crushed on him didn’t stop the murder of his daughter and the love died out over the decades. So, not a lot of fun to be found (in human or vampire activities). Louis seems so lost and I did feel bad for him.

It makes sense he’d wish to warn the world, but I’m kinda with Daniel though, Louis, baby, you did it wrong, I’d be out there dancing in Paris, swimming in the Caribbean, falling in love with vampires and humans, eating child predators, like, having a time! Clearly I too learned nothing.

Favorites:

Louis giving his neighbor Girl Boss advice once her dumb brother got himself killed in a duel so she wouldn’t lose her money and societal standing.

Claudia! Everything from her yelling at her parents to making Madeline build her a mini room in the hotel room complete with tiny rocking chairs and tiny gowns. 

Louis burning down the Théâtre and slicing anyone that tried to come at him. It’s not just cool and exciting, but it’s written well! I get confused by written action scenes easily, and this didn’t feel confusing. 

Least Favorites:

The plantation. I mean, Lestat feeding on the enslaved people there, it’s . . .uncomfortable, to say the least.

Louis and Armand being together but Louis clearly being very done with Armand but just stringing him along while Armand shittily tires to cheer him up/make him feel anything again is sad and anticlimactic for a book filled with so much adventure/chaos/action/death. 

Smutt:

Claudia asking Louis about what sex used to be like and Louis freaking out about it was so funny to me.

Armand and Louis’ little date at the top of the tower! Armand trying to tell Louis about Venice and his master who loved him, Louis barreling past Venice to be all wait you loved someone else :(  OMG Louis, pay attention! 

Nonsense Meter:

Pretty low, I think the most nonsense part was Santiago imitating everything Louis did like some kind of mime.

Misc:

The whole thing with the revenants and the peasants using the horses to find what graves held vampires was really interesting. I’m nearing the end of the VC series and still wondering if these revenants will ever show up again.

[bookishbethanyerin]

• Series Review: The Crowns of Nyaxia •

Hi, hello, I have entered my Carissa Broadbent ✨era✨and I hope it never ends.

And good news for me: The Crowns of Nyaxia series is actually going to be six books, so we still have a ways to go!

But! If you’re the type who doesn’t like a drawn-out series, then this will still work for you because it’s told in duologies.🤩

And this first duology follows Oraya, a human who has been raised by a vampire king whose land is in the midst of a civil war and who enters the Kejari – which is basically a competition to the death designed by Nero. There, she’s pretty much forced to ally with Raihn (your new book boyfriend, you will lose your mind), a vampire who hates her father, in order to survive.

And y’all – there is action and tension and *so much* intrigue and angst (love is a weakness dialed up to 11) and spice, and omg the end of the first book had me by the mf throat because I thought I knew where it was going and it turned out I did not at all!!!

And then the novella introduces you to Lilith, a sickly human scientist trying to cure her cursed people from a mysterious disease, and Vale, a mostly retired vampire general whose blood she thinks can save everyone, AND HOLY BAZOO IT IS! SO! GOOD!

AND THEN!!!! The second book is all angst and bitterness and betrayal and politics and the emotional journey is extremely well-done, and will have you screaming and swooning and gasping and very literally sitting on the edge of your seat because that’a the only posture that makes sense while reading.

In sum: I loved these books. Read them immediately.

5🌟 | 2.5🌶️

[sanvees]

2024 mid-year drama review

just a little look at what i enjoyed and didn't enjoy so much from my corner of the dramasphere 🤭 this post covers everything i've watched from january to now. i wonder how this will change when i do my end of the year post. (these are just my opinions 🫰🏻)

🍑 currently watching 🍑

at 25:00 in akasaka (japan): i find myself struggling to get through this. the pacing, the script, and some of the acting just drags this series down so much.

love sea (thailand): just barely started airing so i won't be too critical but i find peat as tongrak to be flat in ways that i hope pick up as the series goes on.

my love mix up (thailand): another one that just started. not entirely sold on fourth as atom buuut i do love the distinct thai flavor added into this. i think that's what's getting lost in all the dog-piling and negativity is what an adaptation is and should be. (that and people just can't have fun.)

my stand in (thailand): incredible amazing enjoying every moment of this (minus the sol haters).

omg vampire (thailand): silly silly little vampire show that doesn't take itself very seriously with frank and long being bonkers lol

only boo (thailand): initially, i really enjoyed this show but then it started going in circles around itself and just is meh, watchable but meh, to me now.

wandee goodday (thailand): i am absolutely enjoying every second of the journey yakdee and yeicher are taking us on.

we are (thailand): my precious slice of life found family drama that will always be famous to me.

🩷 favorites of 2024 🩷

pit babe (thailand) 10/10: my first foray into omegaverse, something i never thought i'd engage with lol but the way pit babe handled everything *chef's kiss* i frequently find myself rewatching certain eps lol plus pavel the man that you are.

ossan's love returns (japan) 10/10: as a big fan of the series i was so excited by the announcement of this proper epilogue for maki and haruta and was not disappointed. i cried (a lot) and laughed so much. /this was everything kinou tried and failed to be.

love for love's sake (korea) 10/10: i read the webtoon and didn't have high hopes for the live action but i am so glad i was wrong???? how incredibly good was this drama??

unknown (taiwan) 10/10: not the biggest fan of this trope buuuuut i was blown away by how good it ended up being? (was it perfect? no. but i enjoyed it.)

✨ stand out dramas ✨

deep night (thailand) 8.5/10: i had zero expectations for this but ended up loving khemwela an absolutely healthy amount plus we got milf yuri 😌

cherry magic (thailand) 8/10: i'll let y'all in on a secret lol i gave the original a 3/10 and it had everything to do with the actors (ifykyk) and the absolutely bland way they handled the story. but the thai adaptation really added a certain charm to it that i enjoyed.

the sign (thailand) 7.5/10: incredibly unique from the bl world and definitely out of the box. had it's issues but absolutely cool otherwise!

two worlds (thailand) 7.5/10: suffered from pacing issues but overall enjoyed this!

⚰️ most disappointing ⚰️

playboyy (thailand) 5.5/10: messy in ways that i didn't enjoy for the most part (and mid-way i really only watched it for promnont).

middle man's love (thailand) 5/10: jade was rough to deal with 🫠

1000 years old (thailand) 4.5/10: not entirely sure what i expected but...

🫧 looking forward to 🫧

THE TIME OF FEVER (south korea) ; century of love (thailand) ; singsala death (thailand) ; khemjira (thailand) ; thamepo (thailand) ; eternal faith (china) ; heesu in class 2 (south korea) ; pit babe s2 (thailand) ; your dear daddy (thailand) ; the boy next world (thailand)

🙏🏻 dream adaptations 🙏🏻

endou-kun no kansatsu nikki (japan) ; qi ye (china) ; aitsu no daihonmei (japan) ; the summer hikaru died (japan)

[moonstruckme]

this was from a whilee ago but i wanted to say THANK YOU to that anon who recommended the interview with the vampire show, i don't think i've ever liked a show or just piece of fiction this much, like it's just so perfect and accompanied by that beautiful soundtrack, I AM MOVED, i even started reading the book series to really understand it better, anyway sorry for blabbing sm, but yh thank you anon you have exquisite taste!!!

Omg yay anon you’re creating a whole fanbase here!! Once I have access to streaming again I really have to watch that, these are so many rave reviews !

[selkiestudies]

Hypothetically, you are only able to keep 20 of your books. Only one book per author/series. So what books are you keeping?

Oooh!! Thanks for tagging me @fluencylevelfrench ! This is so hard omg… okay here we go:

The color of magic by Terry Pratchett

Tigerlily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

The Council of Mirrors by Michael Buckley

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

American Gods by Noel Gaiman

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh

The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker

Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith

Refuse by Julian Randall

The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

I tag @bennistudies @alexistudies and anyone else who wants to do it!!

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, February 6

Kendra: So, you believe that Spike is attempting to revive this Drusilla to health? Giles: Yes, well, I-I-I-I think that's the, uh, the dark power that your, your Watcher re-referred to. You see, uh, you see Drusilla's not only evil, she's, uh, well, she's also quite mad, and-and-and-and if she's restored to her full health, then, uh, well, there's no, absolutely no telling what she might do. Kendra: Then we will stop Spike. Buffy: Ooo, good plan, let's go, charge! Giles: Buffy... Buffy: It's a little more complicated than that, John Wayne. Giles: Yes, I'm, I'm afraid it is. You see, Spike has also called out the Order of Taraka to keep Buffy out of the way. Kendra: The assassins? I read of them in the writings of Dramius. Giles: Oh, really? W-w-which volume? Kendra: I believe it was six, sir. Buffy: Um, how do you know all this? Kendra: From my studies. Buffy: So, obviously you have a lot of free time.

~~Buffy Episode #22: "What's My Line, PtII"~~

[Chaptered Fiction]

If We Could Freeze Time Ch, 25/60 (Buffy/Spike, E) by cosplayermadness

One Day You'll Know Ch. 9/9 (COMPLETE) (Buffy/Spike, M) by HaleKent

Staying Afloat Ch. 5/? (Willow/Oz, T) by dwinchester

Aspect of Lust Ch. 1/3 (Buffy/Giles, E) by Skylark62

Encased by Sunshine Ch. 32/? (Buffy/Spike, unrated) by Acb6293

49 Cemeteries Ch. 2/? (Buffy/Spike, E) by firemanwhenthefloodsrollback

hit rewind Ch. 31/? (Buffy/Spike, M) by untiljanuary

Bark like a Stray God Ch. 2/? (Dawn, Buffy/Spike, unrated) by driyaad

Stab in the back, Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, E) by MelG_2005

Encased in Sunshine , Chapter 33 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Acb6293

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:Beefcake (Angel & Spike) by MamaBewear

Artwork:Willow by taniaairiarte

Artwork:Willow & Tara by emmakubert

Artwork:Giles & Ethan by yarboyandy

Manip:Spuffy Manip by agentkikirogers

Video: buffy & angel | you're losing me by lostlcve

Video: Angel the Series: Crack Edition by Jess Wilson

[Reviews & Recaps]

ReWatch: Angel - S2, E19 - 21 by kimannebb

ReWatch: Angel - S2, E16 - 18 by kimannebb

[Community Announcements]

SIGNUPS NOW OPEN!!!! by spangel-fic-marathon-2024

[Fandom Discussions]

Do you like Buffy? Who are you her ship with? by awinterrosesstuff

Buffy: “I was I was a star athlete or student.” Babe, you’re a literal superhero. by nevergonnabemuchmorethanweather

you guys, it really fucks me up by gothamstreetcat

Cops as sidekicks - doesn’t work? (Supernatural dramas) by Taake

Wishlist: Pairings on BTVS/AtS We Needed More Of? by hoponlilmama

The Sunnydale Diaries Podcast Season 2 by thesunnydalediaries

Omg Buffy, get out of here with your designer peacoat. by alrtight

Can you really blame them? by MysteriousProduce816

Did Giles make the right decision? by Vlade-B

Buffy/Angel watch order by red_guy442

Do you think that principal Snyder worked with the evil forces in Sunnydale by ShutupNobodyCarez

What contemporary prose and poetry would Spike be into? by alrtight

Guess how old Buffy Summers is by QualifiedApathetic

What are some scenes, episodes, or anything Buffy Summers experienced in general that would make you instantly revoke your slayer card if you were in her shoes? by Opening_Knowledge868

Primal Xander fanfiction by menapawz

Missing special effects at the start of AtS season 3? by FullyStacked92

If you were Buffy, would you have made money on your powers? by invisiblebyday

Looking for ONE episode that will convince a friend to watch Buffy by r4nkl3

Most memorable questions on the show? by InfiniteMehdiLove

Is this Faith's best scene in the Buffyverse? by jdpm1991

Which minor character do you wish had more screen time? by pudgypickle

Re-watch season 7 by SharpieD85

What Buffy: The Vampire Slayer First Impression You Had, Came True? by Big-Restaurant-2766

Rewatching s6 finale by Effective_Pea1309

One of the funniest, running storylines in the show by Alive-Hamster9789

Buffy once managed a *decapitation* with one of these... by sakura_drop

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: Buffy Flashback (1999): Gellar, Hannigan, Green Discuss "The Prom" by Bleeding Cool

PUBLICATION: Everyone Who Warned Me About 'Angel' Season 4 Was So, So Right by The Mary Sue

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[linkysmommy]

im also reading bb3 rn we are in this together 🤝🤝🤝 eagerly awaiting ur future reviews/reactions idk about you but I went in kinda blind and a part of me still can’t believe what I thought was a sexy vampire ceo book is actually an intense gothic romance/horror about three vampires very fucked up interrelations and the cycle of violence and abuse they are trapped in and working to break and that’s literally the tip of the iceberg i’m never judging anything again actually ive been humbled. 😭

omg this is amazing, I love how like three years after the game releases or however long it’s been, you and I are just HAPPENING to be reading it for the first time 🥹 so fun knowing that someone else is experiencing the same thing as I am right now! Can’t wait to share my overall reviews and reactions when I finish 🤭

I actually played book 1 when it first came out but I’m pretty sure I only bought ONE diamond scene and it was the one with Adrian in the cabin. oh wait no I also bought the diamond scene to chase down Nicole. Anyway, idk why but while I didn’t hate it, I didn’t like it that much? So I never bothered reading the sequels and like you, I kinda figured it just turned into a cheesy steamy vampire story for some reason 😭 but I decided to give it another shot and since diamonds are way easier to come by now I got all the tapestry scenes and that is SUCH a game changer… i genuinely haven’t had this much brainrot about a Choices game since It Lives. Feeling embarrassed I’ve also been lowkey judging this series for so long fjdkkd

Although PB’s marketing of BB is pretty criminal… like whyyy are the metadata tags “sexy, vampire, CEO” like they marketed it as vampire 50 Shades or something and then it’s this incredible story with unforgettable characters and meaningful themes but I digress

[yoongsisbae]

2022 End of the Year Recap

rules: post the top 5 works you're most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular), your top 4 current WIPs that you're excited to release in the new year, your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year, your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year, and your number 1 favorite line you've written this year!

thank you for tagging me lovelies @amethystwritesbts 💕 and @e-cm 💗

Top five works I’m most proud of

The Woman with the Black Cat on Her Shoulder: I needed to write it and I am so sad/happy/emotional so many readers resonated with it 💗

Handshakes of a Lifetime Chapter 9: I am proud I got through that chapter dealing with so many characters at the same time 😅 like once I realized...oh no there are actually fifteen different characters and even more relationships it felt like a clown car in my head, but somehow I made it through! And it was a good chapter, at least I like to think so 😊

Christmas with a Vampire: no one else seems to like it but I LOVE this story, okay! I love vampire Tae and Jin, I love the way the world is laid out in my head, I love cyber punk stories AND vampire stories. I love the moodtm (I was so obviously depressed when I wrote it lol cries), I love how in the future everyone* ahem human* is vegetarian 😋 I love it all! Perhaps because I can see a bigger story and it's living rent free in my head lol but I'm proud I got it out and finally finished my x-mas series, very proud I finished something for once lol cries again

Day Dream: omg making sure all the threads of the story were 'woven' together correctly and made sense to readers and not just me lol, also the story itself referenced a lot of shit...life and dreams and some of my fav fics as well 😃 it was really fun to write and I'm proud how it all came together in a beautiful tapestry...of insanity 😂

BTS as Kisses: I love poetry and I should write more of it...and I'm planning to! Proud it was well received. I live for the "cute" comments 😆

Top four WIPS I’m excited for

Bon Voyage, I just love that world 🥺 and I'm excited to make readers a n g r y 😅😅 (don't blame me tho! blame Tae!)

The Snap, I wanted to read a marvel-bts crossover foreverrrr, so just gonna have to write myself one instead. I'm excited 😝

Run Run Run, because I always have fun writing it and I need some laughter in my life....cries 🙃

And HOAL, yes it's still happening, I have not forgotten about it! I appreciate your comments still, like @illnevertrustmyselfagain yes to everything you said, you "get" it 🥺, @myspi2010 too, I ask myself the same things when writing lol, my readers are the smartest and I love it 🥺😭

Top three improvements in my writing

I feel like I have gotten better in some aspects and worse in others lol. Pacing and endings are the things I want to improve on. It was fun messing with both in my story Day Dream, even added an alternate ending 😉

As I was rereading HOAL and BV:ITS I noticed my sentences are more punchy and concise, now my flow portrays that better even if I get more descriptive. I can't decide if that makes a better reading experience or not, but sometimes I do want to go back and rewrite the first chapters of those stories, so perhaps that is considered improvement? lol idk!

THIS IS HARD. um I definitely can say I never could have written stories like The Woman with the Black Cat on Her Shoulder and You Asked for Help, He Asked Your Name when I first started, there's so much to those stories that is even hard for me to explain properly, my readers do a better job at it for me 😅 I think their reviews/comments make the stories so much better, so thank you dear readers for helping me to improve myself 💕

Two resolutions for my writing/this blog for ‘23

Somehow get onto one of those author collaboration event story things...wanted to be a part of one since I first opened this blog 🥺...even though I am too scared to ask and am not part of any community, I still believe somehow it will happen 😅 lol

find a way to write all the stories I want and not die of exhaustion in the process cries...writing gods please come visit me in 2023 🙏🏽

Favorite line I’ve written this year

This was so hard to choose! I think probably this line from my Fairy AU You Asked for Help, He Asked Your Name because it feels like energy is transferring into my bones every time I read it, "You gripped it tighter, it was real, it was your freedom in the palm of your hand. It made you cry, made you angry, made you happy, made you stand up." But also there is a really good line in The Flower Bridge that came in close second...should I share it? Is that cheating? 😅 think readers should find it for themselves maybe? 😋

Tagging: @daydreamer-writing @justanotherstarlightmonger @trifoliumrex @jimilter @aris-ink @park-jimin-isnt-real @jiminiesfavouritecolourisblue @bangtangalicious @smasmashie and whoever hasn't done it yet, 2022 is not yet over!

[yeetlegay]

Thank you for bringing Interview with the Vampire to my attention cause I would have never known it was even coming out. I love Jacob Anderson so seeing him got me really excited. Tbh I have no knowledge of the series/books so I thought it would be queerbait 😭😭😭

Omg anon YAY!!!!! I’m so fucking excited for that show, and the more I hear/see about it the more I’m convinced it’s gonna be a smashing success.

But also same, when I first heard about it I thought for sure they’d leave it as queer subtext at the most, and now here we are with official reviews coming out to say just how incredibly gay the whole show is 😭 finally some good (bloody and toxic) food for the masses

[danwylds]

ive followed you for so long but you never talk about video games lol what have been your favorite? besides the last of us i mean

OMG okay I don’t tend to talk abt video games but I do really enjoy a bunch of them!! Let me preface by saying I will like nearly anything I play and I straight up do not care abt reviews

I like the obvious big games like the Witcher series, tes (morrowind specifically), resident evil series (the second one will forever be in my heart), and yeah tlou has rotted my brain for years LMFAO

Anyways I’m going to ramble extensively abt all the games I like in no order I’m very sorry

Other than the bigger games that almost everyone knows and enjoys, my favourites have definitely been bloodborne, which is a bigger game but means a bonkers amount to me

I looovvve survival horror games which might be obvious, so sweet home is obviously one I’ve played. There are definitely better out there (alien isolation in particular is one I’m super fond of!), and i like other games in that genre like the amnesia series (including the unofficial sequel), as well as newer series like the dark pictures anthology! And u know what putting last of us in here as well and saying I don’t like the second game all that much but it was very good AND LAYERS OF FEAR GD LAYERS OF FEAR. MAN. okay will stop talking abt horror games i will talk so much abt them if left unchecked

Im a SUCKER for classics too, like street fighter and LoZ series, and final fantasy as well! Sonic games as well but I didn’t played them that often so the most I really get from them is nostalgia </3 sorry sonic fans

ARCANUM. I LOVE THIS GAME SOOO MUCH !!!!!! It’s so goofy and interesting and low intelligence runs are my favourite thing of all time actually it’s everything to me … shitty ass graphics and all

Speaking of dumbass character building, love disco elysium (like everyone in this world does tbh excellent game) and vampire masquerade !! VtM is so fun I loce being deranged in that game kfndkdn

Cube escape paradox doesn’t really belong with any of these games, but I had a blast playing it with my friend (: super interesting puzzle game and we were confused for abt 5 hours trying to get through it all

Okay lightning round of games i love but won’t go into it— abzû, subnautica, hades, stardew valley, minecraft, sims, dark souls, dead by daylight, ace attorney, hollow knight, destiny, assassins creed series, god of war, ghost of Tsushima, half life, coral island, undertale, horizon zero dawn, omori, undecember, fallout, 20 minutes till dawn, hunt showdown, someday you’ll return (haven’t finished but very very good so far!)

Okay lightning round of games i love but won’t go into any depth abt- stardew valley, slime rancher, minecraft, sims, coral island, life is strange, destiny, dead by daylight, portal, assassins creed, ghosts of tsushima, dark souls, half life, god of war, ace attorney, hollow knight, abzû, subnautica

[unhingedreviews]

Carmilla the show ft. something broke

So I didn't live review the majority of S3 because I was eating, or too busy trying to figure out what the writers were thinking. but I did keep a few notes and I do think I'd make a great critic. and by great I do mean, beloved by audiences and loathed by creators because despite being a qualified, experienced-ish storyteller I have clearly no fucking clue what is going on in other people's heads. BECAUSE IF I DID, I WOULD UNDERSTAND THIS SHOW. anyway, the notes:

Sherlock S3 ignore haha At least they can't put their feet up on the furniture if there's less furniture Who's restocking the vending machines? The yoga scene is actually very funny Ginger haired girl was a lot more fun when she was ginger Omg DAD 'I have faces too' oh dude How. How. Is Carmilla putting her boots on the chair Omg Dad and the stories WHERE DID THE TELEPHONE COME FROM AND WHERE CAN I GET ONE also, yeah, kissing good There's no way podcast girl has been in a cave for two months and has eyebrows that well groomed "Cultural Chernobyl" this dad is so much better than Le Fanu's dad 'Technical difficulties' ahahaa Dad is the only sensible person Carmilla's new philosophy is actually quite good Is it in their contracts that the more evil the character gets, the more not-quite English the actor must pretend to be 'you couldn't stab a swimming pool if your body was a knife' They waited until the end of series three for a Good Omens reference OH MY GOD I have no idea how this show ended because I got distracted by Carmilla in short shorts in the parallel universe and never really zoned back in. But I am confident that a vampire, when confronted by her dead girlfriend, could TURN HER INTO A FUCKING VAMPIRE  

[rallamajoop]

Late to the party: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

So, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks getting utterly sucked into (of all things) a random (mostly) FPS game from 2010. This is unlike me for a number of reasons.

I do not DO FPS. Or really shooters in any PS. (Shooting people stresses me out.)

I CANNOT do FPS. (Keyboard-and-mouse just is not how I’m used to gaming, and rapidly leaves me recreating Dara O’Briain’s legendary “Oh no, I’m in a gun battle! Which one of these isn’t crouch?”-sketch)

The youtube review which put DX:HR on my radar was only lukewarm at best (and having played the game… yeah, I still can’t really disagree with most of his critiques).

There are no vampires in it anywhere (not strictly uncharacteristic for me, but it does break what is now about a 4-consecutive-fandom streak).

Why I wound up buying and playing this game despite all the above is a longer story, and not really worth going into here. But for the short version: look, I just kinda had the itch for a new game – and as the old saying goes, it was on sale on Steam.

My first few hours attempting to actually play DX:HR were not promising. I had not magically become better at coordinating in first-person-mode since last time I tried a game like this, and my brain continued to throw up “wait, you want me SHOOT PEOPLE? Omg, that’s not okay! D:” roadblocks. I’m not trying to suggest I’m Too Good for video game violence or something here: taking out waves of human enemies was some of the best fun I had playing Witcher 3 – and by the endgame, I was deliberately picking fights with the supposedly-invincible town guards (who are always so annoying about not letting you freely loot everything in sight), because it’d become a fun challenge. Give me a gun and stick me in a pseudo-modern setting, however, and apparently it all suddenly becomes Too Real. I don’t know what else to tell you.

Part of what convinced me to give this game a go regardless is that the Deus Ex series has been built on giving you options. There are non-lethal weapons available, and there are stealth options as alternatives to running in, guns-blazing (all those memes about hiding bodies in vents didn’t come from nowhere). There’s even an achievement for getting through the game without killing anyone (except bosses, because options only go so far).

The trouble is that (as usual) the full range of options don’t really become available to you until you’ve cleared that first difficulty-hump and left the tutorial area – which you technically can get through without any acts of murder, but doing so is not a super-realistic goal for a beginner.

Nor are the difficulty options much help to the pacifist: setting the game to “story mode” means you can take more hits and enemies can take fewer, but it doesn’t damp their hearing or shrink their cones of vision any, or mean they spend more time standing still in secluded places where you can sneak up for a non-lethal takedown without their friends noticing. Throw in my absurd completionist streak (WHYYY would you tell me I’ll get so much bonus XP for making it to an objective without being seen? NOW I FEEL OBLIGATED TO ACHIEVE THAT!) and the first couple of areas became a truly stressful experience.

A day in, I mentioned to a friend that I was giving up: clearly DX gameplay was just not for me.

…then two days later, I went back for another go, because clearly I have no self-control.

The thing is, I knew if I could just save-scum my way through that first big story-mission, I’d get some breathing room. That’s where the game lands you in your first main story-hub and gives you the chance to run around, explore, talk to people, pick up side-quests and so on – and that far more than any of the core gameplay was the kind of game experience I’d had the itch for. So gave up trying to actually engage with all those guards, looked up a handy vent-shortcut, and stepped out basically just one minor “talk the terrorist into letting the hostage go”-challenge from clear. Done!

Things calmed down a bit from there. I spent the next few hours happily running around cyber-Detroit, climbing ladders and rifling through bins, and generally doing everything the game would let me do that didn’t involve shooting people.

I knew hacking was a major gameplay element, because that video which introduced me to Deus Ex had a whole section on how annoying the hacking-minigame was. I quickly decided I loved the hacking minigame (you get exp! and random bonus rewards if you get all the right nodes! and then you can use that exp to upgrade your hacking skills and hack yet more stuff!), and promptly wasted a couple of hours hacking every door and computer in my office, and reading all my colleagues’ emails. (By a couple of hours later, I’d taken to knocking out patrolling cops who had all these unreasonable objections to me hacking locks on the street in broad daylight – because clearly some things don’t change, no matter what game I’m playing.)

The game goes out of its way to give you multiple paths to many of your objectives: you can hack a side-door, talk your way in, find a vent from the ceiling, etc – but have you really done it properly if you haven’t talked your way in, gone back out, hacked a side-door, and left through a vent? No, I don’t think you have. But c’mon – if the game didn’t want me to do all the things, why does it keep giving me XP for all of them (yes, even exploring a vent)? XP is an excellent motivator.

Eventually, of course, I ran out of side-quests and had to get back to the actual game – but a couple of areas later, something finally clicked. I’m not going to tell you I finally got gud – that first area where things started going my way was also conveniently dimly-lit and sparsely-patrolled, and thus way more conducive to the pick-them-off-and-hide-the-bodies strategy – though hot damn if my first really successful tranquiliser-rifle long-distance-headshot wasn’t ridiculously satisfying.

And I’ve gotta give the game credit for validating this playstyle: you get points for every man down, but you get more points for doing it non-lethally – which also tends to be the better stealth option – and even more points for sneaking up behind people and hitting the “combat takedown” button. (The latter will also play you a short, random animation of 2-3 stunt guys who’ve presumably been told we’ve got all day, dudes, so knock yourselves out! and are having an absolute blast coming up with so many different elaborate takedown ideas.)

Played this way, engaging the enemy becomes less a battle than a logic puzzle (when, where, and in what order can I take these guys down without the others noticing?) – one that requires an embarrassing amount of save-scumming, but still eventually works. Don’t wanna bother engaging the enemy at all? Go for it – we’ll also give you points for ghosting through without being seen (and you’d better believe people have sped-run the whole game that way). Sure, you could give in, find yourself some decent cover and shoot everyone, but it all seems so inelegant.

This was all ticking along very nicely for me until suddenly a major NPC used her cut-scene free-action to hit a panic button, and locked me in a distressingly-open room with a rapidly advancing SWAT team, and suddenly this very-enjoyable-stealth-game is right back to wanting me to play it like an FPS again. Gah. After a few half-hearted attempts to get my usual non-lethal solutions to work, I had to give in and ghost out through a vent. Who taught these bastards to back each other up like this?

Boss battles presented a similar roadblock. The Director’s Cut edition has belatedly added enough hacking-based solutions to those encounters that it’s now technically possible to beat them without being forced to switch to run-and-gun tactics (which, remember, I still suck at) – but with some mixed results. Barret (your first boss encounter) was laughably confused by my run-away-and-climb-the-ladder tactics, but Fedrova (your second) was a lot less willing to just stand there patiently while I hacked my way through a console. Dropping some EMP mines while backing away in a hurry and then whipping out a shotgun ultimately proved the more viable strategy.

But the real test is the infamous moment where your pilot (the absurdly likable and competent Faridah Malik) comes under fire, and not rushing in to help means she dies. I was not okay with leaving Malik to die. Many reloads later, let’s just say that it’s absolutely possible to take down like eight guys and a fucking battle bot in a hurry, using only a stun gun and an EMP grenade – and you know what, it turns out I didn’t need that fricking Smooth Operator achievement that badly after all.

And that’s kind of DX:HR in a nutshell – a game that goes out of its way to give you a dozen viable ways to reach most objectives, then sort of shrugs and gives up each time it hits a big set-piece. I mean, the mere fact the difficulty settings hardly make a difference unless you’re playing by the “default” run-and-gun strategy says kind of a lot. But given the game’s ambition and the amount of behind-the-scenes nonsense and restructuring the team apparently had to deal with, it’s still pretty damn impressive that it all came together as well as it did – let alone that it managed to hook someone as far from it’s main target market as I am.

Of course, I realise in saying all this that 99% of all people with any interest in trying this game will have talked all this stuff to death a good 10 years ago – but I still had such a time discovering it for myself that I couldn’t resist rambling on about the roller-coaster of an experience that it was (and I haven't even got to the story here, which is gonna need it's whole own post). One that proved so addictive that I seem to be replaying it already.