#also there's a decent bit of foreshadowing in this lmao

[bluecookiesabi]

Sugary Sweet. Absolutely Adorable. Floating On Cloud Nine. And what's this? Maybe even a little steamy?

When First Aid was kicked out of work for a mandatory break, he wasn't expecting much. But when a chance encounter leads him to Brainstorm, he gets more than he could ever have imagined. Follow them as they soar to new heights—in more ways than one—and find a connection that will leave them dizzy for more!

Special thanks to @hashi-moma for creating the wonderful art piece that inspired and will accompany this story! It was truly a pleasure to work with you in the @tf-bigbang this year, and I hope everyone will enjoy what we've created together! I highly encourage everyone to check out Hashi's art blog @hashipebbles, and to look forward to both of our full pieces once the posting period starts later this month <3

[howlsmovinglibrary]

I just want to tell you that I ASPIRE to be as incredible of a writer as you. You never fucking miss. Not only that, but you are so funny?????? How???? And SMART??? HOW??? You are such a skilled human pls know that you are appreciated a million bazillion percent.

Okay now for the actual question— what does your writing process look like? Do you sit down and draft out a plot? Do you have a schedule? What do steps A-Z look like and how do you feel like a chapter is satisfactory enough to be published?

Also, do you have any tips 🥲?

Thank u supreme leader

lmaoooo this was such a lovely ask to get today after my bad day yesterday! you're so kind! i mean, i'm not anyone's supreme leader, I'm just Some Guy. But I *am* glad you find my jokes funny!!! :D

anyway, answers under the cut bc this became a Long Post and this is the non-fic blog so I'm worried about outing myself to all my kwl bookblogging pals.

...Okay now for the actual question— what does your writing process look like? Do you sit down and draft out a plot?

my writing process has two stages! typically, there's the feeling out (or the fuck around) phase, which is usually the first few chapters of a project! I 'try on' the idea and get a feel for the tone of it, and then I see where I want to take it. For Pieces, that was up to the Chapter 7 reveal, and it was up to the dinner party in Cooler than me. Once I know what the idea feels like in my head, I then sit down and draft out my plot properly, rather than just seeing where my ideas take me (the find out phase).

usually I just bullet point it. I have key reveals that have to happen, which it's always good to know bc that means you can foreshadow them etc. And I have key scenes, or tropes/beats I want to hit (a kind of kiss I want to have, a setting i want to place people in, etc.). I also formulate an ending - bc you need to know where you're getting to (at least, plotwise. where you're choosing to end the story might be different question). having a clear ending/endpoint gives you something to plan towards.

I then try to write them in order, and chapter structure happens naturally. bulletpointing also means that there's flexibility! you can begin to work out the necessary pacing and add in extra scenes, or you can move stuff around. I sometimes hammer stuff down chapter by chapter but I tend to keep it as fluid as possible.

This can also work for scenes! if i'm suffering writers block, I bullet point the bitch. I start using my beloved [...]. It is always easier to finish a half-written chapter than stare at a blank page. if you're struggling, try to bullet point what you want to happen, any snippets of dialogue or revelations that need to take place, etc.

...Do you have a schedule?

I am an autistic little introvert in her 30s who lives alone. my schedule is that I write fic on the nights where I don't have any social battery but want to have fun or work on something. typically i end up writing two nights a week as standard, bc I don't have plans. I write pretty quickly so that gives me decent output. I will sometimes keep a weekend evening or afternoon free. but this is based on enjoyment, rather than rigid structure. I write because I want to and bc it makes me feel good, a bit like physical exercise but for my brain lmao.

...What do steps A-Z look like and how do you feel like a chapter is satisfactory enough to be published?

i've covered this a little bit above but the A-Z is:

silly fun times -> outline -> draft (complete with [...]s where needed to get shit done) (usually I hate this stage and think the work is awful) -> then finesse (this no longer sucks actually) -> then read aloud to proofread as I post.

I think I know when something is satisfactory enough to be published when I don't hate it anymore. Not like it, necessarily. Just don't think it's awful. In my experience, you're typically the harshest critic of your own work, so if you don't hate it, other people probably will like it.

If I'm really stuck in the weeds (if something is insanely long, or I'm scared I haven't put everything down on paper in a way that will make sense to anyone but me) i give it to a pal to read.

I also think breathing space helps. Once I've drafted a chapter, I let it rest for a few days and go back and read it. That will mean it feels fresh, and that also means that I've left some of my hate from the draft stage at the door and come at it with new eyes.

there's also just a point where I start posting bc... lol. keeping it to myself isn't as fun anymore. staring it down isn't going to make it better. once you've written a lot you kind of know where your 'done' is, even if it doesn't feel done. either boredom, apathy, or acceptance has set in - you've done all you can. then you get to share it with others, who won't feel any of those things. they bring the excitement back!

[lonesomedreamer]

“The Rings of Power” Liveblog: The Eye (Episode 7)

That ANY characters survived the volcanic destruction of Bronwyn’s village requires massive suspension of disbelief…that (almost) all of the named characters did so is laughable.

Isildur has plot armor. There’s just no tension created for me by putting him in danger.

Oh, thank goodness, the Harfoots are back.

Not-Gandalf’s sad puppy eyes when he does something else that scares Nori are so effective. My heart. :(

“I am no common Elf, but Elrond Half-elven” So…not even a common Elf, you’re saying?

“The fate of the Elves was decided many Ages ago” The fate of the Elves—the Noldor or any others—isn’t whatever this show thinks it is.

It’s a shame that the acting in the father-son Durin scenes is always top-tier, because the writing leaves much to be desired.

Give this man an Emmy!

Mithril being a literal magical cure for whatever physical manifestation of Evil that’s infecting Lindon is just so dumb.

All the Númenórean horses survived, too? Sure.

Nooo, don’t send not-Gandalf away. :'(

It’s elanor, see? Very sweet! But also: why does everything need an origin story?

Give him an Emmy, too.

“And my husband. Celeborn was his name.” Excuse me, Galadriel’s HUSBAND? Whose existence hasn’t even been hinted at for six entire episodes?? And now she’s saying he’s dead?!?

“We met in a glade of flowers. I was dancing, and he saw me there.” Beren and Lúthien called: they want their love story back. (I mean…there’s no reason this couldn’t have happened for Celeborn and Galadriel, too—they also met in Doriath. But a meet-cute that was actually unique would be preferable.)

She looks appropriately dreamy when reminiscing about him, at least.

Again, the scenes between the two Durins are so well-acted, but their feud over the mithril and the Elves, and the king ultimately disowning his son over it, feels wasted.

The Weird Sisters are also back, unfortunately…and it turns out they’re evil. For reasons. The Harfoots need to suffer. Everyone needs to suffer. (sigh)

Other than one of Isildur’s buddies, the only supposed casualties among named characters were Bronwyn and Arondir…and surprise: they’re both alive, actually! Isildur’s obviously alive, too—based on his plot armor and multiple unsubtle hints throughout the episode—so tl;dr see my first point: no one died. But they’re happy to show plenty of third-degree burns and severed limbs, because this isn’t escapism: it’s grimdark.

Suddenly Theo’s treating Arondir like his dad? (Hell, maybe he IS Theo’s dad.)

“We sail with the tide.” Asking again: how close was Theo’s village to the coast, and how does travel time work on this show?

A heartwarming Harfoot scene! Yay!

“I’ll not abandon these lands and condemn them to burn.” Lmao…please just reveal Halbrand’s actual identity already, I am begging.

Halbrand is just going to ride off for hundreds of miles on horseback with a gaping, infected wound in his abdomen so severe that it must be treated by Elves to heal? Good thing he’s actually [redacted]!

So a leaf…awoke the Balrog? Or maybe the Balrog’s just there as very heavy-handed foreshadowing of what will eventually happen to this kingdom. It’s also funny (and disappointing) that they kept the exact same Balrog design from the WB movies.

The Good:

Some good Harfoot moments, plus actual character growth among several of them!

Poppy sings! ♥

The acting is pretty solid all around: from decent (Galadriel, Theo) to good (Disa, Elrond, all the Harfoots) to excellent (the Stranger, both Durins) without any performances that stuck out as really mediocre or bad.

The camaraderie between Durin and Elrond (and Disa) is both fun and a little bit heartbreaking.

Celeborn’s existence finally being acknowledged!

The Bad:

The writing is abysmal. Even keeping in mind that this is Tolkien-inspired at best and certainly not any kind of actual adaptation, it stinks. Let me count the ways.

No one should have survived the volcano, much less everyone who matters in the narrative.

Mithril should not have magical properties (the light of a Silmaril…gag) that save Elves from whatever is supposedly and suddenly wrong with them, and the king of Khazad-dûm should not be antagonizing/disowning his son over it.

Three unnamed, “mysterious” and, apparently, evil witch/priestess figures should not be hunting for the Stranger—and hurting harmless Halflings in the process—all for No Apparent Reason.

It shouldn’t be revealed that Galadriel, the show’s central protagonist whose primary motivation is, after all, seeking revenge, was widowed (!) in the last war seven episodes into an eight-episode season.

The writers shouldn’t pretend to “kill off” a character the audience knows has to live (Isildur), because there’s no narrative or dramatic purpose.

Oh, and the writers keep veering into grimdark fantasy territory when it’s tonally inappropriate for Tolkien’s universe. Tragic things, indeed terrible things, can and do happen in Middle-earth, but they’re not described the way this show is portraying them, and they’re not unremitting and random a la Game of Thrones.

I have no hopes whatsoever for the season finale (unless it’s to get a few more of those gorgeous visuals…that’s why I’m still watching, really), but at least Halbrand’s identity will finally be out in the open.

[shinygoku]

Retrospective of my Beatles Albums Retrospectives

I'm not sure how to write a snappier title than that! Anyway...

12 Albums, 4 Bugs, 1 Band. And me, having a look, listen and a think at their work and writing it up~ However, while I successfully got each review out in time for the First of each month, I can't say everything was necessarily up to the standard deserved by such a body of work. But then, I also think most of what I said still holds, so this is also a summary as well as a few little corrections or instances where I may've changed my mind on individual songs. I wanna keep my original, possibly flawed, ones unedited to better compare now, and possibly again in the future ;3

Here's a link for each instalment:

Please Please Me

With the Beatles

A Hard Day's Night

Beatles for Sale

Help!

Rubber Soul

Revolver

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles (The White Album)

Let it Be

Abbey Road

And now I'll summarise each, with the Moniker I assigned them with each review. Which I now see was originally to indicate the quality, and became more esoteric and tailor made in time lmao XD;;

Please Please Me – Decent!

Decent feels a bit like faint praise for my liking, and if I were trying to arrange the Albums by quality order, PPM would not be the lowest! It's charming and impressive and I docked too many points on the covers just as they didn't write 'em. As someone who can never see a live performance by 'em, let alone a Cavern Era type gig, this is all the more novel and valuable <3 Therefore I'm bestowing upon it a new moniker of Foundational !

With the Beatles – Improvement

Again I'm annoyed at how simplistic that is, and its not giving due credit to either it or PPM. The same flaws with my approach to covers apply too, but at least 3 of those are actually stand outs on this assortment (Please Mr Postman, Till There Was You, Devil in her Heart), and the Originals that I like most, It Won't Be Long and All My Loving, are absolute bangers. As with PPM, I will give it a new one-word summary... this shall be Elaboration

A Hard Day's Night – Uneven

Yeah, that one still holds up, and it does still irk me how the weaker half of the album drags the iconic and really nice songs down. And part of it is the passage of time and standards shifting, but there's a quiet undercurrent of spite, even in the prettier songs, which I find a little irksome. Like how If I Fell, in the midst of a serenade, finds the time to comment on how the Ex will suffer..... yay? Oh, John!

Beatles for Sale – Burnout Album

I mean, that's literally what it was XD;; However again I have a lot of fondness for it, and the covers ain't all my cuppa tea but I dig several anyway. However I kinda wanna drop 8 Days A Week from my Best 3 grouping and instead put I'll Follow The Sun there. Ironic as IFTS has a similar surprise spite section but 8 Days is indeed more paint by numbers for these here Bug Boys.

Help! – Promising

I think this is where The Beatles reach the perfection of "Old Beatles" style. The themes aren't that distant but everything's refined. The only song I outright think is out of place is Dizzy Miss Lizzy, and I think that was brought in as a quick replacement when they couldn't get Wait up to standard, everything else seems more intentional, even if I'm not wild on all of them. The titular song is bizarrely underrated for a well known number, and Yesterday foreshadows the more varied instrument use and genre dabbling.

Rubber Soul – Amazing

This might be my favourite of the albums, albeit not The Best and some of the numbers here are outclassed by later songs with the same theme, and yet I really dig this Experience. I came down pretty hard on Run For Your Life, but the tedious truth is that it's still an absolute banger, just one where I feel I gotta write an apology to Women after grooving to it. It's the first album I'd consider No-Skips, the first to use a Sitar (for better or for worse lol) and also the first song with a Girl Main Character, so there's lots of fun to be had here :3c

Revolver – Revolutionary

While Revolver leaves a high water mark, it's one I find to be polarised between songs I absolutely love and ones which I kind of dislike. And of course, this is the point where the Sounds become newer and less orthodox and more noteworthy. Unfortunately I am still not impressed by George's whopping 3 songs here =w=;;; – But I find it quite telling that a fab bit of rock in the form of And Your Bird Can Sing gets lost in the shuffle of other landmark songs from one album. So like, a very valid fave album for many, but I prefer a couple others~

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – Intelligent

This one is a bit of a paradox. It's a very strong, impressive album. However for some reason it was the one most touted as The Greatest, which I would disagree with. But, the backlash to the hyperbole also goes too far and doesn't give this fun musical experiment and proto-Concept its flowers, which it does actually deserve! Not as The Greatest Of All Time, but as a look at The Beatles, Edwardian Style, and Liverpool itself, through glass coloured by cool and varied music. And getting robbed of Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane is a shame, but this does still have A Day In The Life as the grand finale!

Magical Mystery Tour – Eclectic .....oops

I... didn't notice at the time that I used the same Snappy One Liner for two albums! In a row! Oh my god!! (In my defence, it does fit both, but the idea was to have a different one for each! Fuck!). Retconning this one as Esoteric instead ^w^;;;;;

Anyway yeah. The MMT (Soundtrack Album) got pumped up with two incredible singles, and All You Need Is Love, and also Baby You're A Rich Man [which I've warmed up to a bit since, but not fully lol]. But they weren't really supposed to be there... As for the songs that were part of the Strange TV Special's soundtrack, it's pretty harmonious and themed, with interesting choices like a lyricless (but not vocal-less, there seems to be A Cappella chanting) song in the form of Flying, and a horrible dirge that I can't stand listening to with Blue Jay Way. But the Paul and the John songs here shine very brightly~

The Beatles [The White Album] – Eclectic

Yeah, I mean. This is the very definition of Eclectic, ain't it? Like Revolver in the polarised song types, but MOOORE. More songs, more wildly varied tones, more duds that I outright avoid, but still more absolute bangers. But!! More duds, or songs that jar so harshly with my own musical preferences, at least, that I have a harder time with this one. If I was feeling more generous, I'd say there's more for everyone, but I also like the Beatles when they make songs that sound Good, y'know? Not to box them into a genre but this feels like Quantity at the cost of Quality.

Let it Be – Sombre

HOWEVER all the criticism I have for the White Album is pretty minor compared to this somewhat underwhelming assortment. Which would have sounded a lot better if it didn't have a deranged, vile, disgusting, scummy, moronic, abusive, terrible excuse of a human being and record producer pissing all over it. BAD.

Y'see, some of the songs are really nice, some are just alright but, ghhhhh, I actively avoid listening to this whole thing and the stupid ass "wall of sound" claptrap. 'Oooh let's cover all the actual music with loud blaring orchestra so the actual compositions are hidden from ears' ...you can tell The Industry was up its own ass that drowning out the real music was seen as a good move. Insane, and not in a fun way, it just makes me angry and sad.

Abbey Road – The Best

Fortunately, the REAL last album by The Beatles is a tour de force of amazing, uplifting, thoughtful and indeed very catchy numbers~ I've only talked about it recently, and at quite a length too, so I won't repeat myself too much here. But it really is their strongest Whole Album of the lot, so even the songs I find weakest are still extremely popular (Maxwell's Silver Hammer, which I think is overrated lol) and enjoyable. And, god, what a Beautiful finale it is!!

💎✨

But before I wrap this up, I wanna highlight the Hidden Gems (or in some cases, most underrated song) of each album... using the Cool Taglines I made for said albums [don't worry, it's in the same order too lmao] !!

Foundational: Misery

The world is treating me baaaaaad, Miiiisery! And yet this is so dang catchy it doesn't feel like a downer, even when the lyrics are very explicit XD An early Original, written for someone else but not taken up, and I think the Bugs made their own version more uptempo than the song as originally presented.

Elaboration: Devil In Her Heart

But her eyes they tantalize! A strong showing from George and a really catchy song. Prolly partially overshadowed as it's a cover (as I've been guilty of too lol), but I always dig this one and the unorthodox cadence to the lyrics.

Uneven: I'm Happy Just To Dance With You

I don't wanna kiss or hold your hand... See, I don't have any Anti-George bias, just the sitar leaves me cooler lmao – but anyway! THIS song is sweet and warm, the only time John wrote a song specifically for George to perform, and something I think oughta have been done more! But this deserves more of a spotlight~

Burnout: No Reply

I know that you saw me, cause I looked up to see, your face ! I wondered if the first song on an album could qualify as Underrated, but I think Beatles For Sale as a whole is, and what attention it does get is pooled mostly into I'll follow the Sun, so yeah, I'm giving this its flowers! I'm A Loser also deserves more attention, for the record.

Promising: Act Naturally

They're gonna put me in the Movies, they're gonna make a big star outta me! Another incredibly strong cover, seemingly tailor made for Ringo to sing, given his charisma on the screen, his Catholic-Stained-Glass Sad Eyes and his own fondness for the Country and Western style. And it's one I go to often as I think he has a lovely singing voice and this is Peak Ringo <3

Amazing: Wait

'Till I come back to your side, we'll forget the tears we cried. I don't have that much to say, but knowing Wait was meant to be on Help! but they postponed it, I think it was worth the........ [title drop]. The drums here are also super underrated, and the maraca sure makes itself known~

Revolutionary: And Your Bird Can Sing

You tell me that you've heard every sound there is, and your bird can swing... This is, in my opinion, THE most underrated, overlooked song on an extremely popular record by the most famous band ever, and yet it's absolutely flawless. The guitar shredding and harmonies are insane here, in a very good way!

Intelligent: Lovely Rita

In a cap, she looked much older, and the bag across her shoulder, made her look a little like a Military Man... Innuendo heavy as this may be, there's oodles of charm in this one. It's hard to pinpoint an underrated song on this album, but this has a good balance of being really strong and yet getting less airtime.

Esoteric: Your Mother Should Know

Let's all get up and dance to a song, that was a hit before your Mother was born... That's right, this song is a strangely endearing spin on "your mom" lines. Well, that and connecting with the Older Generation for knowledge that's otherwise easily lost... so while the lack of lyrical variation may seem simplistic, it has enough hidden depth and infectious rhythm that does indeed make it easier to get up and dance to~

Eclectic: I Will

Will I wait a lonely lifetime? If you want me to, I will. This one is (quite rightly) loved by those who have heard it, but it seems to avoid a lot of Radars too! Maybe as White Album's overly long list of songs makes people black out between the more famous or infamous instalments. This is a song that many long to be longer... but oh god, the lyrics hit different when thinking about the Beatles Meta ;~;

Sombre: The Long And Winding Road NAKED

Literally any song and version without Shitty Wall Of Sound. Sorry. The better songs are well known already and the lesser songs are lesser for good reason :v but for the one I selected, yeah it's one of Paul's most emotionally raw and yet beautiful works, as it's supposed to be presented and yet the defaced one gets more airplay, undeserved as it is. So this version is of it is massively slept on. The wild and windy night, that the rain washed away, has left a pool of tears, crying for the day...

The Best Album: Because

Because the wind is high, it blows my mind... Hey look, a thematic link to my previous one! Again, every song here is a strong one, even real dark horse selections like Sun King, or ones that were in the medley like Golden Slumbers. I'm selecting Because as both another John song for a more balanced list, but also it is one that kinda slips between the cracks, compared to ones about The Sun, or Hammers, or Octopus Botany. And of course, it's beautiful in its own right~

🪲🪲🪲🪲

Well, that's 5 pages of retrospective and elaboration! It was more in depth than I expected lmao, but it was a lotta fun to revisit, all the moreso when the PPM stuff was written a whole year ago...!

Neeeext time on Bug Boys 2025: I'm still not sure to be honest XD;; - I think it's between Early Singles and the film version of AHDN, but I won't tie myself to one just yet. Still, as always I want it to be posted on the First of the Month, so tune back in when February begins~

[corvidcall]

Fascinated by your sarah z hate- would love to hear more about this if you’d like to share. My experience of her is just that mediocre Homestuck vid or something she made.

lmao yeah sure i guess i can expound on it

i should preface this by saying that i dont think shes like. a bad person. and i dont have some secret knowledge of problematique things shes done that we should all Cancel her for.

tl;dr i just think her videos are really bad. she keeps making videos about stuff that i was there for and then being wrong about them, and it drives me crazy. on top of that, it just rubs me the wrong way to make your whole brand "the lady who talks about tumblr"

like, i think her homestuck video sucks (and i think its very funny that she admitted that she only spent a week making it, but ALSO got really defensive when people said she was wrong about stuff. like, i think the way whatpumpkin and andrew hussie responded to her video was Bad but also that doesnt retroactively defend the original video from being poorly researched and, in my opinion, in bad taste. it was weird to make a video where you talk about all the controversy about hs^2 not that long after the whole project got cancelled because too many of the trans women working on it were receiving daily death threats)

and i think the mcelroys video sucks (that was the last one i watched before i gave up entirely. its really long and very boring, and basically is just her listing a bunch of stuff they did that people had problems with, which essentially puts "travis was annoying on twitch" on the same level of seriousness as "taz: graduation used a lot of harmful native american stereotypes". i genuinely am not sure what the point of this video was supposed to be, because it feels like its her reading a tumblr callout post. also she was wrong about taz: amnesty. the ending WAS foreshadowed, it did NOT come out of nowhere, she just wasnt paying attention.)

but the onceler fandom video is honestly the absolute pits. i am still friends with a lot of the people that i was in the onceler fandom with, and i genuinely havent met a single former onceslut who thought her video was good, or the least bit accurate. her thesis basically boils down to that the onceler fandom was just a bunch of young teen girls projecting fantasies onto a nonthreating decently attractive fictional guy, which isnt that weird and people are only making a big thing about it because they hate teenage girls. and her conclusions arent WRONG, per say, since people DO hate teen girls and this is a thing theyre known to do... its just. thats literally not what the onceler fandom was at all?? first off, when i got into it i was 17 and i was the youngest person i knew by far. almost everyone i saw in the fandom were in their 20s, and a lot of them were not girls at all. and as far as any of US remember, the thing sustained the fandom wasnt 13 year old girls exploring their nascent sexualities, it was people using the barest pretense to make OCs, and then craft stories with and about their friends OCs. it was a really cool unique experience because it was a fandom for the things the fandom built. a lot of the people i knew had never watched the movie The Lorax at all, or didnt really care about it one way or another, but DID get really invested in the dynamic between Swag and One, or got really invested in the two big AUs the fandom had. By the time i got there, most people had kinda moved away from the canon onceler anyway, and were focused almost exclusively on the AUs (there was a high school AU and a zombie apocalypse AU, and then during the summer the high school AU blogs would do a child summer camp AU. i liked the zombie one best because i love melodrama, but the high school one was most popular). i know she was IN the onceler fandom (allegedly...) but as far as i can tell, she was just there at the very start, because it changed WILDLY even just a few months after its inception. and there's no way anyone who saw the fandom that I was actually in would make the sweeping statements about it that she did.

broadly, her videos are too unfocused and not really well-written. her one on Oppa Homeless Style was a genuinely good video!! I know she CAN do good videos!! But so many of her more fandom-focused videos dont really seem to have a thesis beyond "this happened" or maybe even "this was kinda weird right?". like what is the viewer supposed to take away from the video about the mcleroys? that they made a podcast that was really popular and then got less popular? why did that take you TWO HOURS to say? and even when she does have a strong thesis, its always muddied by the fact that she feels compelled to add in really long, boring digressions. I think the video about All or Nothing was good, and made an interesting point about how pan and ace people are really starved for meaningful rep, but i dont understand why she felt compelled to recount the entire plot of the webseries someone made? what did that contribute to the thesis? its like shes reading a wikipedia page, and not like. an actual ESSAY. that someone structured to convey a POINT.

but overall i just take umbrage with her whole "tumblr historian" shtick. i think its kind of gross to put really niche (generally woman-dominated) subcultures on display so people can come gawk at the freaks. ive heard the defense that "she IS a fandom person!! these videos are FOR fandom people!!" but 1. if its supposedly supposed to be for me and NOT an audience of people unfamiliar with the thing shes talking about, then there would be no need to spend so long explaining what everything is, and 2. i can at least say, in my own subjective experience, that i said basically all this to my sister, who told me that thats why she likes sarah z at all, because the videos let her come gawk at all the fandom freaks on tumblr. so its cool that sarah z is giving the person who bullied me my whole life (specifically because the way i engaged with media was too cringe) more reasons to bully me for being cringe. big preesh sarah. glad youre making money off of the free content all of us put out, and even more glad that youre profiting by taking all that free content and presenting it to a largely hostile and judgemental audience who already thinks im a fucking idiot. why dont you make a video about my popular hamlet post next, since you seem to make videos exclusively about things i did.

anyway if i want to watch video essays about fandom, i'll watch princess weekes, whose videos are substantive and not... idk very juvenile. not that i think there cant be more than one youtuber talking about fandom!!! its just that sarah z's videos are mid at best and actively bad at worst, so im not gonna bother.

(all that being said, i occasionally look at her blog and reblog stuff. while shes working down in the tumblr mines looking for content to steal, she does frequently find some decent posts to reblog)

[atowncalledher]

FUCK IT this is the autistic tgirl infodumping site I'm gonna talk about one of my favorite songs ever.

And even if you don't read the rest of the post go listen the this song, it's insanely good. Then listen to the rest of their songs. Summer's Here (And I Don't Want To Die!) is very seasonally appropriate.

(tw discussion of death, terminal illness)

First off, IWALOID? One of my favorite vocaloid producers. They wrote seven absolute BANGERS then fucked off entirely. Icon behavior. What I really love about them is the way that they write lyrics; the word choice feels so genuine while taking very mundane things into a poetic context. I don't think that most other songwriters would go for both "Watching Spongebob on my own, 'cause I'd rather be alone" and "You and me with no spatial dichotomy" and have them both sound so genuine. The writing is some times flowery, but in a way that people that I know actually talk (I definitely do it too, I think it's a bit of the 'being a kid who read books more than I talked to other kids' kinda thing). BTW another vocaloid artist that does this really well is Ippo.tsk (my other favorite vocaloid artist lmao).

But none of this is about Starbearers, which honestly shifted my whole perspective on how songs can be written (I was like sixteen so like, it was prime time for my mind to be blown but still) and how song structures and lyrics can intertwine thematically to enhance the emotional impact of a song.

I also want to preface this by saying that while I know a decent bit about music theory and poetry, every time I try to dig into the academic side of things my eyes glaze over (I swear I've fubking TRIED I just can't do it) so this is all going described in the ways that I've taught myself to understand things, and so some of the language might not be super clear or whatever.

OK so Starbearers is about the relationship between two people, one of whom dies of an unspecified terminal illness. The song has three choruses that split it into three different sections, each essentially re-contextualizing the speaker's relationship with the other person.

The first verse is the speaker recalling a period of time pre-illness, focused on their naivety and the carefree way in which these two people spent their time. It is very grounded in a physical space with phrases like "The cool breeze in late July; A sense of wonder lingered in the air" and "Your house's wind chimes break the summer air; So gently to remind us that we were there". This section (I think very intentionally) strays away from making any sort of metaphorical statements (for reasons that I'll get to later) or lending any strong emotions to the scene. It's supposed to feel serene and calm to set up the emotional gut punch of the later ones, and the following chorus follows the vibe while introducing some disparaging language from the part of the speaker, such as them calling themselves "the Time wasters of life, not so useful..." who "Just keep living like our lives are here to stay; No thoughts of getting torn away". FORESHADOWING!!!

The second verse, much like the first, keeps the listener grounded in a physical space with "Sinister chill of waiting rooms", talking about doctor visits and treatments and stuff. While there are some neat parallel phrases, like taking "A sense of wonder lingered in the air" and changing it to "A sense of worry lingered in the air" it just follows the arc of steadily building tension until the next chorus...

Where the speaker has an emotional breakdown. The whole section is about them venting their rage and sorrow about the whole situation, and in response the lyrics get more and more metaphorical;" a hopeless cause of life", "drink the air", and "your sickness... rips my fucking heart out of my chest". I think that there two reasons for this. As humans, I think that when emotions feel bigger and more impactful than we have words to describe we turn to metaphor, which both helps us process the emotions and also help us describe what it feels like better to other people. The second is that when there is ONE thing that could break down someone's fragile emotional state when mentioned, people will dance around it to not say it directly. These are definitely things in English, idk if it works similarly in other languages or not. But the most important part of this section of the song, for the purposes of this analysis, is that it continues the building tension. The speaker is going through the stages of grief, and the musical and lyrical tension is building up and up to match the emotional intensity until the whole thing has to boil over.

And this is when the high-intensity instrumental accompaniment drops out and we're left with just vocals and a single relatively chill guitar track. I'm just going to copy paste the whole thing because it's basically the thesis of the whole track:

"Take some time to just reflect upon your feelings...

Then leave your feelings behind you in the dust"

"Even when I'm gone, I will always be with you."

"No use in cryin' now."

This is the only point in the song where the other party, the terminally ill person, has the speaking part. And this is what they choose to say. You gotta move on.

This flows right on into the third chorus, the very first lines of which pull the metaphorical ground out from under us. The other two thirds of the song keep themselves pretty well grounded, but this one immediately sends us right into space. Literally.

"We are the

Starbearers of life

Cling to moments that we shine, often brief

Your supernova sings to me"

Right up into space. By bringing us out of a grounded space and into the realm of metaphor, we get the impression of the speaker approaching life from a whole new perspective, with a whole new reverence. The song continues by bringing us back into the grounded space of the first verse, with "Cloudless summer nights" and a "cooling breeze" referencing the line "The cool breeze in late July" from the first verse. And then the line "And those chimes outside your door... Are still ringing in my ears" referencing "Your house's wind chimes break the summer air". The wind chimes fulfill the same purpose in both places "to remind us that we were there". They remind the speaker that life is best spent happily, with the people that you love. That's symbolism, baby.

But the thing that really gets me is how much the first two choruses are building up to the third one, and how the theme of the piece is reinforced by the musical structure underneath. If we take the first line from each chorus:

"We [are] the time wasters of life"

"[We are] a hopeless cause of life"

"We are the Starbearers of life"

These three together form a really powerful tricolon crescendo when we put them together. These are presented as three different lenses through which the speaker is seeing themselves and the other person in the poem, and musically they are all the same part of the chorus melody. Because they are all three describing the same subject, they are inherently the same and of equal importance. Wasting time is of the same importance as grief, and of moving forwards. They are all one and the same.

We are the Starbearers of life - we are the ones that make life worth living. It is internal and connected to all other people, who each make each other's lives worth living.

We are a hopeless cause of life - there is no greater purpose, there is nothing external to give us hope.

We are the time wasters of life - pretty self explanatory, I think. Wasting time is just another lens through which to view spending time.

But the We in each of these phrases is the same people. Each is simply another way to view the same thing.

We are wasting time, we are hopeless, and we are the stars in each other's lives.

It is the time that we waste together that gives light to each other's lives.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One of my favorite things about this song is that it uses metaphor in such an intentional way. A lot of other songs that hit really hard emotionally for me layer on metaphors from the very first lines, like boygenius's Not Strong Enough or Pattern's Simple Folds (both of which can make me bawl my eyes out on a bad day). But Starbearers builds it slowly, pulling its punches right until the end, and I think that's part of why it hits so hard at the third chorus. It's an inspiring piece of songwriting and I strive to imitate just a fraction of its emotional impact in my own writing. It's one of my favorite pieces of music and I hope everyone else can appreciate it as much as I do.

[houkagokappa]

I stayed to watch anime because I have zero desire to watch anything on my own these days lmao, and I'm glad I did because we saw some good episodes!!

We watched the gacha episode of Odd Taxi. I've seen clips from it, so I knew what was coming with the dodo, but I was not expecting the YJA bidding bit. It killed me, because I too have gotten stuck in bidding wars (last spring I spent more than twice over my limit on a gorgeous fukuro obi ahahaha rip me altho it was worth it in the end).

I'm really liking Odd Taxi, I love how contemporary and human it is (despite the animal characters heh), especially how they've managed to include social media in a way that feels real and not overly forced or ridiculed. I'm also a huge fan of stories with a big cast of characters with their own separate story lines that eventually mix. I think it's very neat and cool to see how one seemingly small action ends up being significant for someone or something else. The only problem with this is, that because I watch this show with two weeks between each episode, it's a bit difficult to remember everything that might be of importance, or how one thing came to be. It definitely feels like a show with a lot of rewatch value to catch all the connections and foreshadowing.

I was also very happy to stay and watch more Gankutsuou. We're only on episode 3, but so far I've loved every single minute of it. I can't wait to see where this goes, because I can tell that the tension and drama will be delicious and heart wrenching.

Great Pretender was a lot of fun as well. It's cool to see characters outsmart each other and satisfying when it looks like they're about to get caught, but it turns out that they've thought and prepared for everything in advance. I don't know how Edamura will get out of preparing sakura magic in front of the director, but I'm sure he'll find a way.

I did sneak out a bit during Kamichu! to see the final minutes of TRHPS, because I had to see what kind of vibe they were having. I could barely hear anything from them, so at times I questioned if they were even watching it?? But they were, just in complete silence. I guess that's one way to do it.

Earlier I talked about not liking Kamichu! a whole lot, and while it's certainly not a favourite of mine, some episodes have been decent. The episode I missed half of had Yurie negotiate with a martian on behalf of the prime minister which was/seemed fun! The second episode we watched had her be sick and lonely for a few days, which felt incredibly pointless and boring to me, although I get how it might feel significant for someone in middle school.

Then we watched episode 4 of Bokurano where the kids finally learn that Zearth runs on their life forces. I liked this episode, and I'm glad to see how Kodama got to learn his lesson and then die. I'm curious to see what will happen next and how the whole series will end.

Finally, we watched two episodes of Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! In my last post I was cautiously optimistic about it, and now I can confirm that it's a good show! It's funny, the bits are short enough not to get overplayed, it has very nice character dynamics and interactions and it doesn't solely focus on the romance, so that part hasn't gotten stale in any way. It really helps that Tomo and Jun are best friends, so they bounce back from all the misunderstandings and awkwardness without it becoming a huge deal. It's also sweet to see how clearly Jun likes her back, making the show a wholesome slow-burn. Also, it's really cool to see a tomboyish lead who's very comfortable with themselves and their style, and how whenever she does try to be more feminine (to catch Jun's attention as per the premise of the show) she tends to do it on her terms.

Overall I'm happy with what we're watching (except for Kamichu! which I could live without).

[angiestown]

so just watched the S3 finale where twilight becomes a princess, which was also the first episode I remembered not really liking that much. looking back I had thought I just didn't like it because ew changing the status quo, but no it is actually pretty bad lmao.

the first half of the episode is basically the same plot as the SU movie (musical where the main character's friends all lose their memory of who they are and the main character has to jog their memories to change them back), except mlp tried to do in 11 minutes what SU took nearly an hour and a half to do, plus MLP has more characters who need their memories back and lacks the character development that SU had that made it so emotionally impactful.

the second half of the episode is just twilight is a princess now lets celebrate with no conflict! it also really feels like it comes out of nowhere. rewatching and knowing in advance that she becomes a princess, it's easier to pick up on little bits of foreshadowing that pretty much only come in the form of "Celestia is secretly testing Twilight for something", but even catching those moments it feels so weak

the songs are all decent, but not good enough to justify the trade off of extra time to develop a more engaging plot, especially in such an important episode. it feels like this needed to either be a two-parter, where the cliffhanger before the commercial break is the end of part one instead, or Celestia telling everyone that Twilight is a princess now is the very end of the episode instead of the middle, and the season ends on sort of a cliffhanger for what the implications of that are

season 3 is the only season with 13 episodes instead of 26, and I'm guessing that has something to do with the equestria girls movie. if the last episode had ended with the cliffhanger "Celestia tells everyone Twilight is a princess now", you wouldn't even need to change the movie that much. just start the movie with the coronation as the excuse for why the gang is at the castle instead of some nebulous "Celestia called me out here for my first princess thing"

anyway I'm looking forward to season 4, since that's when I remember it getting bad and I dropped off because I got banned from the pony forum I was on because I was falsely accused of hacking the forum servers and causing it to go offline, and the show by itself wasn't good enough at that point to keep me invested without my forum friends to discuss with. plus I've heard it gets better again later.

[true-blue-sonic]

A friend I'm talking to on Discord (who is getting their ears chatted off by my pining for Side Order lmao) has also sent in some questions they'd like to have answered ^-^

🍦 What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

Some of my Espilver fics definitely suffer from lethal amounts of cute and fluff, I am certain. New Beginnings definitely had a ton of them, and the Flufftober fics are made entirely around this prospect, haha! I wouldn't be able to pick just one fic that's the sweetest, but it's definitely something related to Espilver.

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

I think good/sunny weather is something that appears a lot, because that is the weather I love most. Also, in most of my multi-chapter fics around Silver and Espio it's usually Silver who is the one undergoing "the change" or "the issue"; Espio is relatively more static in that regard. For Stories I'm trying to switch that up somewhat precisely for that reason! I'm also a sucker for physical touches and pet names, but I usually have Espio instigate especially the latter; I don't recall a single instance that Silver called Espio any pet name other than Es, now that I think about it.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

This is a very tough question, actually; I like writing for Silver and Espio equally, and I quite adore writing for Sonic as well. I have however noticed that it seems a bit easier to write from Espio's perspective? Somehow, I tend to end up writing more chapters from his perspective, which I actively need to cancel out by also dedicating chapters to Silver's POV instead. But those are certainly some of the characters I love most! And there's also some OCs and stuff that I write about, but that work is kept mostly to myself and this friend in question ^-^

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which?

I am sure that people realised some plot points from New Beginnings, but I struggle to recall what specific ones. It doesn't help that I don't have that many multi-chapter fics with major plot points getting foreshadowed earlier under my belt, haha. But one thing I believe happened is that someone correctly guessed what the Scientific Abbreviation that Venice had in Belong stood for (Psychokinetic Hedgehog-Mink-Hybrid, if I am not mistaken). That was kind of a major plot point, but I do believe they got it!

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

I like to think I can write believable dialogue that has a decent flow to it, and that also fits the character "voices". For example, I actively pay attention to the differences in how Silver and Espio talk: Espio's a bit longer and wordier, whereas Silver is more snappy and a bit less "mature"/"fancy", so to say. And I think I am good at writing cute, fluffy scenes!

[zeeboomblebee]

Sorry, this is gonna be a bit of a dry (and probably very horrible lol) retelling bc it’s been a while since I’ve seen some of this and it’s a lot lol. I’ll try to keep it succinct.

Oh boy, where to start. Ok, well since Seabound, two seasons have come out: Crystalized, the official final concluding a season of Ninjago, and Ninjago: Dragons Rising S1, the soft reboot of Ninjago.

Crystalized was uhh, a lot. It started a year post-Seabound with the ninja struggling after Nya’s sacrifice. The vengestone foreshadowing that had started back in S13 was finally coming into play with the new villain of the season. The main antagonist was the Crystal King and he brought together 6 of the ninja’s old villains: Pythor, Vangellis, Aspheera, Mr. F (rebuild version of Mr. E), The Mechanic, all led by… drumroll.. a resurrected Harumi. They’re building a vengestone warrior army essentially. Oh and the Crystal King was the Overlord since he can never technically be destroyed/permanently defeated.

The ninja don’t really know anything about this at first, but they do recognize that something sinister is going on. They had broken up the team after the events of Seabound (very reminiscent of S4), but get back together a year later with trouble rising up. Meanwhile, we get an episode dedicated to Nya living her best, and very amnesiac life in the ocean. One thing leads to another and she regains her memories and tries to figure out how to sever herself from the sea. She reunites with the rest of the ninja and they basically come up with the idea to use Aspheera’s elemental draining spell to draw out the water element from Nya to set her free from the ocean. Things happen, the team breaks several laws to break Aspheera out of Kryptarium, and so in bringing Nya back, they themselves get arrested. That leads to them uncovering more of the Crystal King’s plans while Wu, Pixal, Skylor (she’s back too), and Nya figure stuff out from the outside. The villains invade the monastery to steal the Golden Weapons and corrupt them.

Uhh, I’m a bit fuzzy on some of the details but later on they get in contact with Garmadon (who’s been with Vinny the camera guy from like MotO) and figure out that oni powers are immune to vengestone, so Garmadon tries to draw Lloyd into his oni form.

As the climax really starts approaching, the army invades Ninjago City (per usual lmao), and a lot of different characters from a lot of different plot lines team up to fight back. Lot of things happen,, uhh, Lloyd does indeed get a temporary oni form, the ninja reclaim their weapons and also fulfill this really old prophecy that allows them to achieve a dragon form (the counterpart to oni form). They reclaim their weapons, turn them into a dragon, and defeat the overlord. OH and I forgot to say that somewhere along the way, Nya regained her powers so.. yeah, she’s kinda back to where she had been pre-merge.

That’s kinda where Crystalized leaves off. It wraps up the end of a Ninjago era and does feel pretty conclusive. The reception within the fandom was… uhh I think in general pretty poor, but the hype was so high I think the way plot points were tied up just couldn’t keep up with the expectations flying around. I thought it was a decent season, not Ninjago’s worst but certainly not its best. I guess as the concluding season for this show’s technical end, there were things that could have been better. But eh, we’re moving on.

Now, Dragons Rising is definitely a contrast to Crystalized. Season 1 was released in two parts throughout 2023. It introduces a lot of new characters and definitely gives off a next gen/passing the torch sort of vibe, but still has plenty of the og team.

Basically, the whole concept of this new show revolves around the merging of the 16 realms. It completely brings together brand new societies, species, cultures, etc. and really is a total change of pace from past seasons.

The merging of the realms takes place a few years after Crystalized, and separates the entire team. They vanish for a few years. We’re introduced to the new main character, Arin, who’s from Ninjago and idolizes the ninja and taught himself spinjitzu. In the years post-merge with the disappearance of the ninja, the world tentatively settles into a new normalcy full of mixing cultures and societies. The world building is pretty cool. Oh, but while society has kind of stabilized, the world itself is very much unstable. Tears in the fabric of reality called “mergequakes” keep opening up which destabilizes part of the world and can only be sealed with elemental powers being fired at them.

Anyway, Arin teams up with Sora, who hails from a new realm called Imperium, this extremely totalitarian and rigid society that runs on dragon power by hunting them down and harvesting energy. It’s led by Empress Beatrix, the main antagonist of S1. They help rescue a baby dragon, Riyu and then run into Lloyd. Riyu is this really special and mysterious species of dragon called a source dragon, who, as far as we know, has abilities related to elemental powers. Sora discovers that she’s the elemental master of technology, and is able to access her powers with the help of Riyu and his own abilities.

The first part of Dragons Rising mostly centers around finding/reuniting some of the old ninja team (mostly Kai and Nya), getting introduced to new characters who may or may not come into play later (including a new master of wind!), and uncovering more of Imperium’s sinister backstory and plot. We’re also introduced to Wyldfire, who was raised by a dragon and has fire/heat-based elemental powers. The new team works to free imprisoned dragons from Imperium and foil some plans. Along the way, Zane is also found and that’s kinda where part 1 ends.

Part 2 kicks off with more focus on the unstable nature of this new merged world. Mergequakes are becoming more frequent and the team discovers that they need to find and collect the three Dragon Cores, which will help stabilize the world and prevent it from being torn apart. They split into groups to collect these cores, and Nya runs into Cole (who found himself a really adorable found family). But he doesn’t join the main plot quite yet, we’re gonna see more of him next season. We also get a literal 30 second cameo of Jay, who’s stuck in a subsection of the Realm of Madness called The Administration (like.. an endless business/office world that’s very strange and intriguing and will definitely have some future plot relevance). Empress Beatrix tries to get her revenge on the ninja but is foiled and apparently defeated. I’m really glossing over some details but that’s really the gist of it.

We’ve been left off with a LOT of open-ended plot points and ideas for what future seasons could be about. The world building for DR is a major new point of this series, and it’s left a lot of us excited for what’s to come. Also the general fan consensus, from what I’ve seen, is a lot of satisfaction from where we’re left off and excitement for what’s gonna come next. The new characters introduced, and the new dynamics that have been introduced have been really interesting and fun.

Anyway, that’s a very, very general gist of what’s happened since you’ve been gone. Sorry this summary is hella crappy but it’s the best I’ve got lol. If I remember something that I didn’t add but think is pretty important, I’ll reblog it later lol. I highly recommend you watch the seasons if you’re interested tho, I think you’d like it.

And there’s been a bit more spotlight on the serpentine-species in the new season which I know you’ll have a lot of fun with. 😉 Hope this helps and is what you wanted haha.

Hey ninjago mutuals, anybody wanna give me a summary of what all has happened post Seabound? Haven't been keeping up with the ninja news <- Hasn't watched the seasons after that.

[megumis-lashes]

Do you think you can do a Yuji Itatori like reader with the Public Safety Division 4? Either romantic or platonic is fine. If not then just Denji is fine, if this is ok with you.

Yuji Itadori! Reader w/ Public Safety Division 4!

Characters: Aki Hayakawa, Power, Denji, Angel Devil, Kobeni Higashiyama, Himeno

Genre: Lighthearted! Headcannon format

Word Count: 850

Contains: slight late manga spoilers/foreshadowing (tried to avoid major spoilers), mentions of death, mentions of anxiety?, gender-neutral reader, and its a combination of both romantic and platonic headcanons

An: This is fine!! I included whoever else I felt I could write decently for! Thanks for requesting and I hope you like it! ^^

Aki Hayakawa

alright so he'd be a bit thrown off by your energetic nature

as a coworker, he'd try his best to tolerate it and work well with you, even though it was a bit outside of his comfort zone

once he gets to know you better, he'll open up some more about his past and goals

sees you as someone who's easy to talk to and is kind, so once the boundaries are down he's a lot more likely to loosen up

will definitely rant about work and the stress he's under, happy that you'll listen to him

as a friend or lover, if you're a devil hunter like him, he will try to convince you to quit whenever the pressure starts to get to him

very disapproving of your impulsive and careless nature, will reprimand you for putting others before yourself

really.. just give him affection and support, he sure needs it

can get really hung up on fearing about your death or how you'll react to anything that could happen to him at work, or if you found out about his secrets

Power

returns your energy wholeheartedly!

you guys either work really well together or it becomes a kind of competition

pranks! definitely, the type to play around and not take anything seriously

just as reckless as you are so don't expect her to lecture you, expect the both of you to get lectured by Aki lol

very energetic, will want to play games with you to bond, as opposed to talking

very.. hands-on ig, will be down to participate in whatever shenanigans you get up to

would love to go out and try human activities! shopping piques her interests so maybe buy matching outfits!

in the rare times she does get serious, she'll talk about how she fears her death and how you'll have to find her in reincarnation

overall down to have someone she can mess around with, but also rely on!

Denji

another one who wholeheartedly returns your energy!

was kinda thrown into the whole devil hunter world very suddenly, so he relates to your tendencies to get brought into things without fully understanding

another pranker! You, Power and Denji are truly a menace for Aki to deal with

reckless but still has an inkling of concern for you when times get tough, will talk about the whole devil hunter world and how new and confusing it can get

gets along very well with you, especially if you're talking about love interests or what you find attractive in a person

will either simp with you or for you lmao

give him life experiences! he missed out on a lot so he'd love to go new places with you!

might ask you to teach him some stuff he would learn in school, but you both end up confused and ask Aki for help in the end

Overall just someone who could use the extra guidance and support! wants to experience life and appreciates your presence very much so!

Angel devil

back to introvert territory

Angel won't replicate your energy, at least not that much in the beginning

your loud and daring personality is much different than his

he's very aloof, but you tend to break that daydreaming with how boisterous you can be

if you're patient with him and get him ice cream, then he'll consider you a friend!

still not the most energetic, gets very scared to be around you in case he touches you accidentally

words of encouragement are the next best thing! likes listening to you talk about your day

as a devil, he doesn't understand humans too well and thinks your rash behavior is a little dumb

overall thankful that you're willing to spend time with him despite what he is

Kobeni Higashiyama

initially, she's very off-put by your energy and recklessness

she's basically the embodiment of anxiety so she's constantly rambling off her concerns for you and how you always scare her

but at the same time, she admires your courage and how much you try to help other people instead of focusing on yourself

would appreciate it if you listened to her ramblings, instead of brushing her off like many people do

would probably talk with you about quitting

she doesn't want you to risk your life just how she doesn't want to stay

Over time, she would adjust to your energy but overall still constantly concerned for you!

Himeno

Himeno is the 'live your best life' kinda girl so she definitely loves your energy and recklessness

will reciprocate this energy immediately! loves to see it in people

she also admires your courage and strength!

hopes she can be as effective at helping people as you are, or at least as willing

definitely talks to you about quitting, how the career isn't safe and her concerns for your life

if you share your concerns about her bad habits with smoking and such, she'll try to limit how much she smokes around you

doesn't want to be a bad influence but also loves the chaos of it all!

overall just a fun girl to hang with, will reciprocate your energy everywhere and loves to go out

I haven’t read csm in a few months so hopefully these aren’t too out of character 🤞��

[klarolinedrabbles]

Sansa isn't popular irl, when people remember or talk about GOT they think of Dany or Arya as the principal heroines because they are iconic unlike their fave, her ending was so horrible and rushed no one even remembers she ends as QITN, people just remember she was a traitor who hated Dany

I think it depends from which angle you look at GoT from. I'm always very specific when I refer to Sansa, in which I call her a tumblr golden child, iykyk. There are certain characters across this platform specifically and that crosses over to twitter a bit, that reaches a height where any and all criticism really gets dogpiled. I've witnessed it a remarkable amount of times across several different fandoms.

And in Sansa's case, I understood the origins, if you will. I understood the outpour of love towards a character who absolutely, in some corners of the asoiaf fandom got frowned upon for being 'useless' because she's one of if not the overt feminine presence among the other female characters. Her not being a sword wielder or a dragon rider does not make her less than other female characters in this story. So do I understand where it all started? Yes, I do.

However, what has sort of happened over time IN MY OPINION, is that the Sansa love has really spiraled into---the only term that comes to mind is wishful thinking. And that's also what explains the birth of j*nsa, again---IN MY OPINION. There's such a lack of foreshadowing to any importance with her narrative in the text that there are sub sections of her fandom who have taken it upon themselves to reinvent the canon. And the same goes for j*nsa's rapid existence that really came out of nowhere. There is no decent ship (depending on your own thoughts about it) hinted at for her in this series so some have changed some things around in what is written and created one???? Because I've read this series several times and I'm a long time forum reader about the series also so we're gonna have to agree to disagree on the ~hints~ that j*nsa is a thing because respectfully imo, there's absolutely zero alluding to it.

In terms of Sansa fandom wise, there were gaps and her fandom took it upon themselves and filled them. That's the best way I can explain it, lmao. Which again, all just in my opinion.

D&D were underwhelmed by her book arc as well, it's why they bent over backwards to change it and admitted it that Sansa's role was too small in the book. I remember their interview about S5 when they changed it, they very clearly say that Sansa is a character they cared about almost more than anyone. And wanted her to play a bigger part. Because the truth of the matter is that they gave her an importance she just doesn't have in the books. Which was a mindset that became contagious imo, cause that's what her fandom turned into.

As someone who is very much enjoying Sansa's book arc, I was vehemently disappointed. Like shit's about to go down in the Vale and she's absolutely gonna have a hand in it. Will it lead to where D&D placed her at the end??? Imo, almost certainly no. But, I'm sure it'll be something that fits and that she's earned.

[filipinoizukuu]

I saw your post about the FA's translations, and I totally agree. Sometimes, when they do not translate accurately, is to make it sound better or cooler in English, but it just ends up taking away a lot from the context and characters. We know how one of the most affected character interpretations is Katsuki's, a main character, no less. And Izuku and Katsuki's relationship too, which is something super super wrong, considering is deeply intertwined with the main plot of the series, thus if someone misinterpreted their dynamic, this person would miss a bigass chunk of the message the story has.

Here is the panel you mentioned before btw

I remember when I read this, only 10 or 11 chapters into the manga (?), and I was like "...I'm...pretty sure this guy didn't say that" khshsjdhs

OK FIRST OF ALL LMAO HELLO MANG!! THANK YOU SO MUCH AND DW ABOUT IT I TOTALLY GET WHAT YOU MEAN !!

(this is your warning for a long post ahead!)

In any case, I still think you're very correct on this! Not to ramble a bit, but Horikoshi's particular talent in developing the plot of MHA is actually very very brilliant and there are a lot of blink-and-you'll-miss-it details that together, assemble the big picture of what MHA is.

Translations are such an integral part of being able to understand foreign media. MHA or otherwise. The simplest of details say a lot about a character and often times make or break a series because everyone knows that strong character dynamics are what carry even the shittiest of plots.

First and foremost, I want to clarify that because of the nature of fan translations and the fact that most of it is volunteer work/ written out of pure enjoyment of the manga--we shouldn't judge these fan translators too harshly (if at all) for interpreting it the way they want to. FA, as far as I can tell, is a fan-based group that works out of donations.

The first thing I wanna bring up is that when it comes to fandom and its works, there are two types: Curatorial and Transformative. Now, the transformative part is something that must be very familiar to a lot of you. Fanfiction, fanart, and most headcanons fall under Transformative Works (i.e. AO3) because they are all about transforming the canon world to fit each individual's personal preferences. Meta-analysis posts and Character Breakdowns are also classified under this.

Curatorial on the other hand are fandom interactions made with the explicit purpose of being as close to canon material as possible. This is working out the logic of quirks, for example, or memorizing as much canon content about your favorite villain as possible. These are more cold, hard undeniable facts that lend themselves to the DIRECT VISION the creator/author had while making this media. If you were to ask me my opinion on this, this would be the moment where I tell you that the Curatorial side of fandom is where fan translations should (for the most part) fall under.

What people need to know though is that oftentimes, fan translations do not.

Translating isn't and has never been a one-is-to-one process. There are hundreds of thousands of aspects in a language that make it so that it isn't perfectly translatable. Colloquialisms to sayings to dialects, to just plain-out words that don't have a proper English translation to them! Manga is made by and for a Japanese audience, so obviously in a lot of instances, there will be cultural nuances that will not be understood by anyone who hasn't immersed themselves in Japanese culture/language.

So what does this mean then for fan scanlations?

It means that a vast majority of translators teach themselves to only get the essence of the message. They take the dialogue as they understand it and translate it to something of their interpretation. When language and cultural barriers exist, translators do what they can in order to make it understandable to the general populace. This means making their own executive decisions on how they see a character speaking. In example, if they see Todoroki using very direct and impersonal Japanese--one translator might interpret it to mean that Shouto is stiff and overly formal, while another may see it as him being rude and aloof.

The problem is, translators are fans just like us.

Like with the image Mang posted above, the translator based the usage of curse words off of their understanding of Bakugou's character. The lack of foul language in the original Japanese might have made the translator think "Oh. There just aren't enough Japanese cusses for his character." And took that as an initiative to make Bakugou's lines more colorful and violent because this was working off of the image Bakugou had had at this point in canon.

But Codi! You may cry. Wasn't it proven multiple times that Bakugou prefers concise and short lines? They should've known better!

Yes. Maybe they should've known better. But tell me honestly in your first watch-through of MHA, did you perfectly understand Bakugou's character either? Did you catch the whole 'direct and no flowery language' aspect of his language when you first saw Season 2?

Most people don't. I only really understood this fact after I'd read multiple discussions of it and even double-checked the manga myself. These are the kinds of things that only become noticeable with a sharp eye and some time to scrutiny. But the fact of the matter is that when it comes to fan translations, the clout and recognition are always going to go to who can post the quickest.

Am I excusing erroneous translations? A bit, I guess. It's hard for us to go in and expect translators to catch all these errors before release when we ourselves only catch these errors like 4 months in with a hundred times more canon context than these scanlation groups did at the time of its release.

Still, there are plenty of harms that come with faulty translations.

When a translation is more divorced from the original's meaning than usual, it creates a dissonance between what is actually happening versus what the audience sees is happening. This looks like decently-written character arcs being overruled and rejected by most of the readers because of how 'jarring' and 'clumsy' it seems. By the time translators had caught on to the fact that Bakugou was more than just a ticking time bomb, we were already several steps into showing how significantly he cares for Deku.

The characters affected most by these translation errors are often those with the most subtle and well-written character arcs. A single mistake in how the source material is translated can make or break the international reception of a certain character to everyone who isn't invested enough in them to look deeper into the canon source.

It creates hiccups in plots. Things that seem out of character but really aren't. Going back to MHA in specific, the way that inaccurate translations hurt both the 'curatorial' and 'transformative' parts of the fandom is that people have begun to cite them as proof of the main cast's characterization.

Bakugou and Todoroki are undeniably some of the biggest examples of mistranslation injustices.

Katsuki, in a lot of people's minds, has yet to break out of the 'overly-aggressive rival' archetype box that people had been placing him in since Season 1. One of the most amazing aspects and biggest downfalls of Hori's writing was that at first, nearly every character fit into a very neat stereotype for Shonen Animes (Deku being the talking-no-jutsu sunshine MC, Uraraka being the overly bubbly main girl, Todoroki being the aloof and formal rival). He made the audience make assumptions about everyone's characters and then pulled the rug beneath our feet when he revealed deeper sides of them to play around within canon.

What made this part about Horikoshi's set-up so good though were the many clues we were given from the very beginning that these characters were more than what they acted like. Even from the very first chapters, for example, we learn that Katsuki (as much as he acts like a delinquent) dislikes smoking because it could get him in trouble.

That is just a single instance of MHA's use of dialogue to subtly divert our expectations of a character.

Another example is when they replaced 318's dialogue of the Second User saying that Katsuki "completes" Deku with him saying that Katsuki merely "bolsters" him. This presents a different situation, as that line was meant to reinforce the importance of those two's relationship as well as complete the character foils that MHA is partially centered around. By downplaying their developed connection, it becomes harder for the MHA manga scanlations to justify any future significance these two's words have on each other without mottling the pacing of the story.

AKA, it butchers the plot.

With every new volume, there are dozens and dozens more of these hints and bits scattered around! So many cues and subtle foreshadowing at the trajectory of everyone's character arcs--yet mistranslations or inaccurate scans make it so that we don't notice them. This is what I mean when I said that some character arcs are being done great injustices.

Until now, many people can't accept that Katsuki Bakugou cares for anyone other than himself (much less his rival and MC, Izuku Midoriya), nor can they accept that Todoroki would ever willingly work by Endeavor's side. The bottom-line then becomes that because of people missing heavy bits of characterization that become very plot-significant in the future.

When it comes to the point where people can no longer accept or fit their interpretation of the earlier manga events to what is happening in canon, the point of a translation fails completely because it has lead people to follow an entirely different story.

TL;DR - Fan scans are hard. Translating is hard. Don't get too mad at fan translations, but also maybe don't treat them as the catch-all for how characters truly operate. Thanks.

Side note: DO NOT harass FA for any of these things. FA is actually a pretty legit and okay source for scans (they've been operating since like 2014 ffs), but regardless of that they still don't deserve to get flack for their work. You can have any opinion or perspective of canon that you want, I don't care. These are just my two (more like two million tbh) cents on translations. I suggest reading takes from actual Japanese audiences tbh if you wanna know more about the source material of MHA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[cinnamonblueberry22]

Optigami Review + A big rant on Cat noir in season 4

Alright, I haven't been really active on Tumblr lately mainly because of school and all the work I've been receiving, but this is the one time I can post so just bear with me lmao.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Optigami Review:

Honestly love Ladybee, her transformation did look a bit rough, but her suit looks stunning. Too bad Cat noir didn't get to see it.

Kind of lost as to why there's only Luka, Kagami, Max, Chloe, and the other miraculous holders that Shadowmoth knew the identities of, did Gabriel just ask Adrien those specific people, and Adrien just, did not find anything suspicious about that?

Did Adrien just not question as to why Kaalki, the kwami of teleportation, was there with Rena Rouge?? And why Kaalki even teleported him somewhere so far to the Montparnasse Tower even though he's literally Cat noir and needed to fight??

Why were the kwamis magically able to be heard on the phone?? I thought they weren't able to be seen in technology, the phone is technology... So why were they heard??

Now for Alya. Honestly, she did seem a bit suspicious earlier because she wanted to be a permanent holder even though it's not the wisest decision and then completely acted like everything was fine after saying "It's your choice tho" and then immediately got to be a permanent miraculous holder... Seems like she wanted to cover her plans up by seeming sincere and then got her chance. Foreshadowing? Even if I love Alya in general, I do love some betrayal plot twist stories.

Mari is not making the right decision because, it will be okay for a moment, but Shadowmoth literally knows who Rena Rouge is. And at the end of the episode, we see him wanting to get to know Alya better. Alya is going to be in danger. This is going to affect Ladynoir. I mean, yea, I want angst but still.

Overall, I rate this episode a 7.5/10. It was impactful, we got to see Cat noir upset about not being needed, but there were also some questionable things in this episode like I mentioned previously. Other than that it was a decent episode and for once I liked Shadowmoths plan tbh.

So there's been a ton of people talking about "Cat noir is being replaced by Rena Rouge!" and all that... I just have one question, why? Why are you so upset over the fact that Rena was here for like, what, two episodes? And then saying she's replacing him? It's as if you're living in Cat noirs mind lmao. I swear I saw at least 12 videos in the span of two days after the release of Optigami saying how upset Cat noir is and how they're bashing Rena for it as if it's entirely her fault for getting to be a permanent miraculous holder and about to be replaced as the next Guardian of the miraculous box. Look, if you despise any girl that's getting more screentime over a DEUTERAGONIST, just say you're misogynistic and go. I don't mean to sound controversial, but what's up with you hating and bashing on girls that "Get in the way" of something that you cherish and baby (Ex. 'Kagami gets in the way of adrienette, Rena is replacing Cat noir, Vesperia is a replacement of Chloe and gets in the way of Ladynoir' who, may I remind you, is a racist rich girl and Cat can like anyone he wants so shut it)

Now back to the main subject, yes, you can be upset over what's happening to Cat noir, but that doesn't give you the right to completely bash the girls who have nothing to do with hurting him unintentionally (BTW, Ladybug is the one who is hurting him by not telling him anything, still doesn't mean you should hate on her, you can talk about it but bullying her over- dramatic; this is a kid show for god's sake). I am upset about Cat noir, but it's clear that the writers are planning something with him, as I will talk more about in the rest of this post.

There have been tons of foreshadowing in the past episodes about Adrien/Cat noir, so let me talk about it.

I'll start with Truth. In Truth, Cat noir gets hit by the spell, and Ladybug asks him his opinion on her role as Guardian of the Miraculous Box. He then says "If it doesn't change things between you and me, then I'm good with it!". But things are changing, and he's clearly not okay, this was some good foreshadowing I did not notice earlier lmao. This was a good part on the writers job.

In Mr. Pigeon 72, the end card is quite interesting. Practically all the photos of Adrien in this end card are of him wearing his blue scarf. When it wasn't even mentioned in this episode. Even if it wasn't said, it actually is still there. In Bubbler, when Adrien arrives to school, Nino says "Wow dude, guess adults can really change!" This line is effective to Adrien. The moment he got the scarf and apparently it was from his father, he was so happy. From the scarf, he thinks his father can change. He thinks his father is just demanding and over protective. He thinks his father just "Doesn't know how to show his love for his son" Even though, us, the audience, knows thats not true. Adrien is not blind. From the scarf, that's what's making Adrien keep on thinking his father isn't bad. And in Mr. Pigeon 72, he literally tells Marinette the moment he wants to walk with her in the rain and then sees the gorilla, "I can't, you know my father, he's demanding." Even though that's not the case. So why was it included in the end card? Foreshadowing that there will be a scarf reveal. Foreshadowing that Adrien will find out the truth. Even if the truth isn't always great.

Now for Solecrusher. I picked this scene because, I find it really upsetting. When Zoe was opening up to everyone talking about how she made different roles to please Chloe, and when Ivan hugs Zoe, Adrien is upset. Why? Because he relates to her. He makes different roles of himself or different personalities, to please everyone. That's why he's upset.

Now for the end card. Here's a little close-up. We see Adrien, Ivan, Juleka, Luka, and Rose. However, Adrien is farther from the others. He stills feels isolated and stuck. While everyone else is happy. He stills feels the need to pretend. Which is making Adrien feel worse.

This isn't specifically about Adrien, but I kind of see a little pattern here. Solecrusher shows Andre is the one who made Solitude. Queen Banana shows a movie being made. What's the next episode? Gabriel Agreste. This episode will probably be all about flashbacks. About the movie Solitude. About Emilie. Showing Gabriel, Emilie, and Adrien younger. I honestly think that Gabriel and Adriens relationship is still as bad, I just think that even if Adrien claims it was better before.

This was honestly the episode I felt the worse for Adrien. He nearly killed himself and Ladybug didn't even talk about it after. Now, I know Ladybug wouldn't know what to say, but she should at least speak up?? I mean that's all I want tbh. The end card seems.. Off. Adrien is not included even though he had a big role in comforting Juleka in the beginning of the episode. Cat noir is shown to be, smiling.. But the smile doesn't even seem genuine. He's still upset. He's still not okay. Foreshadowing that he's feeling even worse than before.

Optigami. Holy this episode. Well I already rated it before but yea. Take a look at his facial expressions. He's upset he wasn't even in the battle (Meaning he wasn't never happy with the fact that he's sometimes not even needed in fights like Style Queen), he's angry, shocked/disappointed, then pretends he's the same old Cat noir with the flirty jokes, but the moment Ladybug leaves with her superhero allies (Still questioning why she even left tho; Shadowmoth knows those identities yet Cat noir doesn't..) And Cat noir is just upset. I couldn't take the exact frame of him alone but I see him looking all moody and sad. He's now pretending to be fine as Cat noir. Which is not getting any better, but more angsty lol.

As I saw all the foreshadowing in this season, the writers seem to be isolating Adrien even more. And after the scarf reveal, I'm pretty sure he's going to pretend to be fine with that too. I feel like a lot is going to happen to him. Maybe even him possibly becoming a.. Villain? What? In Queen Banana, it shows the hero of creation, and the villain of destruction. Could mean something. Other than that, I've been thinking about a lot of angsty fake scenarios of Adrien lately lol.. Back to the subject, the possible breakdown or conflict between Ladynoir would happen in season 4. It's the most logical time.

Oh, and one more thing:

Bye!

[lanonima]

First review of the new year! I also decided that once I hit twenty, I'll start a new graph because this one is getting pretty crowded. There's plenty of open space, but I'm not likely to read stuff in that open space so…

Anyway, my review of Copper Coins:

Romantic - Fucky is not how risque a work is but rather my opinion of the attitude/quality of the main relationship, the way the characters interact with respect to one another. I like a lot of stuff in fiction but if you’re easily made uncomfortable, stay towards the top half.

Easy reading - Plot-heavy is how I personally consider the plot’s intricacy and successful implementation, regardless of the author’s intention.

Copper Coins

Author: Mu Su Li

Quality: 5

Enjoyment: 4

Comments: Oof. I hate, absolutely hate, saying the phrase "show don't tell" about novels because it has to do with screenwriting and doesn't really apply to novels all that much but damn. This book was so surface level. I did not feel a single emotion the entire time. It actually reminded me a little bit of Nan Chan, and retroactively made me like that book better because I would definitely rather reread that than this. Not saying it's a bad book, I'm sure it's fine, and if you liked Nan Chan and want a relationship with a similar dynamic and are less of a bitch than I am, you will probably like this one too. It just doesn't have enough emotional depth to be entertaining to me.

Would I read it again: No, and I won't read anything else by this author either.

The reviews of things I previously read are below the cut.

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Author: MXTX

Quality: 9.5

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I have a huge emotional connection to this novel. There are some weak parts, the tension isn’t quite even, she’s pretty terrible at erotic scenes and not great at fight scenes…but that being said, I love the characters and some of the plot points really ripped my heart out. This is a novel that’s really driven by the characters so if you’re a character-focused person like me, definitely look into it (as if we all don’t already know it lmao). I really, really love this story. Every single adaptation of it has also been great, but the novel is still my favorite. It was my introduction to xianxia novels too, so you can say it changed my life!

Would I read it again: I’ve already read it twice, and consumed every adaptation (sometimes also multiple times)

Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Author: MXTX

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 5

Comments: I’m not much of one for comedy and, as I discovered, not really into system novels either. Clearly weaker than MXTX’s later work, many of the characters are somewhat bland, she hasn’t quite found her groove yet. It’s not my style but the fandom is hilarious and the fans constantly produce content that I actually do find entertaining so overall I still have some fond feelings for this one, even if not for the source material.

Would I read it again: I found a different translation and am willing to try again in the future, I’m also willing to watch the donghua. But I can’t guarantee I’ll like it any more than previously.

Tian Guan Ci Fu

Author: MXTX

Quality: 10

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I love this book…but not as much as I love Mo Dao Zu Shi. I think the plot is somewhat typical, however the characters are great once again (though maybe slightly less deep than MDZS), and her use of thematic repetition and foreshadowing are killer. Actually, I liked this book more the second time around because it just hits differently. Definitely the best of MXTX’s couples, they are so soft and sweet. Very long, but worth it.

Would I read it again: I already have, was personally translating the manhua before I hurt my arms, and am eagerly awaiting the donghua this fall!

The Villain’s White Lotus Halo

Author: A Big Roll of Toilet Paper

Quality: 10

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: Fuck, I love this one so much…..even though it’s also a system novel. But that part is in it so rarely that it reads more like pure fantasy. I love the characters, I love the plot, I love the way the relationship is developing. Oh yeah, the translation isn’t even complete but I already purchased not only the original from JJWXC but also the print edition. I’ve even drawn fanart for it, which is so unlike me. Every time a chapter comes out, I’m ruined for the rest of the day, I can’t think about anything else. Good fight scenes, which is uncommon. My favorite danmei novel so far.

Would I read it again: I fully intend to once the translation is complete, and also plan to read it in Chinese later (I’ve already read certain parts in Chinese hahaha but not the whole thing)

2Ha (Husky and his White Cat Shizun)

Author: Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: 2Ha is not for the faint of heart, it’s very horny, and violent, and has a lot of questionable content. However I love it so much. The story and characters are great, Meatbun really has me by the heart. The writing is a little more on the casual side but it hardly matters because the story is so great. Good fight scenes. Chu Wanning is like, the ultimate Me™ character, I hate how much I adore him. If you read this, just go into it knowing that it’s a long emotional journey, the characters are very dynamic and there’s a lot of character development.

Would I read it again: Same as the above, I plan a reread when the translation is done and have read parts in Chinese and might read the whole thing again later. Cautiously eager about the up-coming live action and donghua.

Di Wang Gong Lue

Author: Yu Xiao Lanshan

Quality: 2

Enjoyment: 9

Comments: This is one of the most terribly written things I’ve ever read, but I’m a character girl and the characters and ways they interact fucking kill me. I’m constantly entertained….although I don’t think this is actually supposed to be a comedy. If I were going to treat myself and like, take a bubble bath and read something that made me laugh, this is exactly the sort of trashy romance I would want to read. Technically a political intrigue story but it’s so abrupt and full of holes, are any of us reading it for the actual plot? The donghua is on Youtube, I watched it first and recommend others to do the same. If you can handle that, you can handle the book because it’s exactly the same in quality, just gayer. I do love the main couple a lot, the set-up surrounding the relationship is great, and the side characters are also really fun.

Would I read it again: Probably not, but I’m still having fun with it. I watched the donghua and read a bit of the manhua as well, which has very cute art and is probably my favorite version of the story.

Liu Yao

Author: Priest

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 7.5

Comments: I really struggled getting into this one, it took me about 25 chapters to get invested. Initially I had rated it a 6 in enjoyment but after careful thought, I realized that even though it was so hard for me, it probably is my favorite Priest novel and I really do love the main couple so much. Her side characters also seem to be slightly stronger than usual in this one. Decent plot, not too much or too little. It seems really chill to me, doesn’t provoke much of an emotional reaction but I do think it’s very sweet, which is nice sometimes too.

Would I read it again: No, but I think (?) it’s supposed to get some kind of tv adaptation (drama or donghua, not sure), and if that happens, I’ll watch it.

Didn’t Know the General was Female

Author: Rong Qing

Quality: 4

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: Not the greatest thing I’ve ever read, but cute. It’s short, and a little lesbian fluff is never a bad thing. Writing is a bit weak and the plot is basic, but the characters are enjoyable and I liked it overall.

Would I read it again: No.

Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader

Author: Yi Zhi Dayan

Quality: 4

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: Again, not the greatest in writing or plot, it’s a bit shallow. But I found the idea of it to be entertaining, and actually liked it more than I would have assumed. It’s fairly short and cute, like a good summer beach read.

Would I read it again: Probably not, but possibly, if the stars align.

Female General and Eldest Princess

Author: Please Don’t Laugh

Quality: 7

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: A very good first effort, but the writing is a bit weak. It’s slow to start and I don’t think the political plotline is spectacularly strong. Some things were left unexplained, and her sense of battle tactics and fight-writing were very confusing, definitely room for improvement. I don’t think it’s as good as people say, but she writes with the air of someone who will continue to improve. And also, a lesbian author writing lesbian stories so that’s a plus. Overall I enjoyed the experience, this story is definitely worth a read.

Would I read it again: Maybe, but probably not.

Sha Po Lang

Author: Priest

Quality: 7

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: Originally I rated this one higher, but on later thought I realized that I actually enjoyed Liu Yao more. I personally have issues with the way Priest writes, and this book showed a lot of them. Characters were okay, I did like the main couple, but side characters were weak as usual. The plot is pretty good, though not great, and I think some of the pacing is off. Some descriptions were confusing, but that could be a translation issue. Overall, still a pretty good political drama, but I would say that of the three I read, this was the Priest novel with the least impact on me.

Would I read it again: No. But I will watch the live action if it ever gets made.

Guardian

Author: Priest

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 5

Comments: I love Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, thought the plot was interesting, and there were some enjoyable moments. But it has all the problems I usually have with Priest in addition to some choices that offend me as a queer reader. I spent about 75% of the time reading while pissed off. And actually the fact that it had a happy ending kinda bummed me out because I love a good tragedy. Overall, I can only give it an average score. If you like Priest, you’ll like this one too. I’m not a tv person but I binged the hell out of the live action, I really loved it, so I was sort of disappointed that the source material didn’t seem as strong as I had assumed.

Would I read it again: No, but I will happily watch the live action again some day.

Jing Wei Qing Shang

Author: Please Don’t Laugh

Quality: 9.8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: I have to start off by saying: damn girl. The improvement evident in this book is absolutely insane. A few minor issues prevent me from giving it a 10 out of 10 – her transitions are still extremely abrupt, the ending is slightly weak and some plot points remain unresolved, and her use of narrative repetition is too heavy-handed for my taste. Other than that, this book leaves me almost speechless. Very similar to Female General and Eldest Princess, there are many similar themes and events. But while I thought FGEP was fairly cute, I like this one way better. If you like angst, political intrigue, and lesbians, you should definitely read this book. I have no doubt that Please Don’t Laugh will continue to improve in the future, and I really look forward to following her career.

Would I read it again: 100%, I absolutely intend to read this again sometime in the future. It’s very long and very dense but delightful and ultimately worth it.

Fox Demon Cultivation Manual

Author: Feng Ge Qie Xing

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 10

Comments: This was a delightful romp. I had expected it to be somewhat silly and was pleasantly surprised. It was heavy enough to be engaging but light enough to be an easy read, with multiple spots that made me literally laugh out loud which does not happen often. This is apparently just one book in a series of same universe novels, and a lighter-hearted one at that. I would be interested to read the others because I found the world pretty engaging, and I do want to know what became of the other characters. Overall I found it very fun and very cute, I read it in four days so that says something. On the downside, the link for chapter 9 is broken. But skipping a chapter doesn’t seem to have affected the experience of the novel as a whole.

Would I read it again: Yeah I think I would be willing to read this again someday. If it gets adapted I would also consume adaptations, in addition to being interested in the other connected works.

Golden Stage

Author: Cang Wu Bin Bai

Quality: 6

Enjoyment: 7

Comments: This one has some Sha Po Lang vibes, but the characters have more depth and chemistry. The word ‘more’ here is extremely relative because it’s still pretty shallow. I honestly liked them both, I liked the relationship and the psuedo-rude way that they flirt entertained me. As for the plot…ehhhh. It tried. There were things that worked, but in general the plot seemed disjointed from the characters and there were a few things that had no business being there and just muddied the waters. It’s not bad necessarily, it’s just not very smooth. There are better political intrigues to read if that’s what you want. But if you just want some sugar-sweet fluff with a backdrop of drama, then this one is perfect. My favorite scene was probably the flashback to the first few times they met, absolutely fantastic.

Would I read it again: Nah.

Nan Chan

Author: Tang Jiuqing

Quality: 8

Enjoyment: 6

Comments: This one is kind of weird because it’s definitely competent, it’s well-written and has a fairly in-depth plot, but I just didn’t really enjoy it all that much? I never got emotionally attached to any of the characters, and I didn’t even really get the relationship buildup. I understand what the author is going for with it of course, but it didn’t necessarily make a lot of sense… Or rather it seems like some bits in the middle were just missing, there’s good buildup in the beginning and in the end but how they got from point A to point B was kind of not explored to my satisfaction. I did really like the flashback to the past, I thought that storyline was all pretty interesting. The big bad was kind of disappointing to me as well though. In general, I think this is a really good book with a lot of skill behind it but it’s just not really my thing.

Would I read it again: No.

[ryttu3k]

Finishing up SoNY, ‘bad’ end and final thoughts!

But first, the early game over.

Wow, she just gets shot. Not even slurped? That’s rude as hell XD;;

And on to the ‘bad’ end!

Beginning is much the same, ofc.

“You’re too in love with weaving a good story and establishing a seductive narrative to let facts get in the way.” Foreshadowing for the ‘good’ end, maybe?

God that Embrace scene gives me literal goosebumps.

Alright! Last time I did Danse Macabre and Retributive Justice, let’s try The Risks of Swiping Right!

lmao god I’d eat this guy too. Back to the ghost club! That legitimately is a really neat scene. ...Ooh yes so that’s where the girl was from.

Panhard just lowkey dying at the mental image of Katherine Weise in a fast food restaurant is so good.

The sweet scene between Julia and Dakota hits a bit different after the ‘good’ end XD;;

Went to the park, reminisced, and helped out the guy. That was sweet ;_; High-humanity Julia, this time!

‘Fairy God Mother?’ is great but ‘Vin Diesel?’ is objectively the funnier response.

“Shining even more brightly than usual, Aisling.” Samira got a cru-ush~

Poor Julie. It’s probably been tough without Sophie around :(

Huh. Interestingly, refusing to lie to Mia results in Julia actually feeling genuine loyalty to the Cammies (for now, at least).

Believing Agathon is still alive = more optimistic = different dialogue! See, this is how you make choices have consequences, game!

Oooh boy time to meet Adelaide XD;;

“She uncrosses her legs in a strangely seductive motion. In her mind’s eye, it probably looked like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, but in reality, it had all the grace of a tracksuit Slav squatting.” *snickering*

Fight me, Adelaide >:(

‘sup Nastya. Went with the slightly less disruptive routine here XD Huh, she’s an aspiring DJ! Julia is deeply confused as to how being a DJ and being head of security works together.

lmao Julia referring to Hope as a girlboss. That phrase has lost all meaning to me...

The conversation between Julia and Father Leonard is still really interesting. Man, you know who I want Julia to talk to? Anatole. Interesting insights into balancing being queer Catholic vampires there for sure.

lmao oh my god I want to fight this street reporter.

‘I can almost feel my brain losing its wrinkles.’ *snort*

Yeaghhhh the Abyss bit is still so creepy...

Oops. Being honest regarding Tamika and Torque’s relationships gets a fail :(

Oh, or not XD That works! Also, uh, apparently the giant albino ghoul alligator is real, according to New York by Night. He’s Calebros’ pet.

“Because I think I have a pretty good nose for people’s auras. And when I take a good look at you... ...somehow, I have a feeling you’re a surprisingly decent person. Whatever way of unlife you choose, I hope you don’t change it. And that you remember my advice.” :)

“I know.” Oof.

“Hi.” “WAAAH!” lmao sorry Princess XD;; Just trying to imagine Qadir’s face as he tells Julia to find a 1990 glass statue of Scrooge McDuck... dying...

Oh she’s so a Toreador XD Low art options are a fantasy book, an anime DVD, or a video game... those can all be arty, though! And went with the anime DVD called ‘Ririsu no Daibouken’... that translates to ‘Adventures of Lilith’. How on the nose XD “The cover says ‘Lilith’s Carnal Carnival’.” Oh. Yeah, that’d do it XD

“This 90s original video anime presents us with a tale of five big-bosomed samurai warriors travelling through America in search of General Hastavista, The Incubus King. Don’t let all the titillation misguide you: the main draws here are peerless direction, a nearly avant-garde editing rhythm and dialogue that coyly comments on traditional gender roles in anime. Once you see the animation in the final battle, you’ll understand why it never fails to set a sakuga fan’s heart ablaze!”

She’s my new favourite.

“So can I know your name now?”

“Hmmm... Let me think...

No. <3″

I need to stress that the heart appears in the dialogue box. Like. The actual less-than-three heart.

Didn’t investigate the rat this time, so Qadir did and I die. “Glad you’re alright, little guy.” Qadir...

Still not over the drunk blood doll rats.

Kaiser’s still a goddamn creep and this time Julia is not going too far. She still has her humanity, dammit. Final set of traits:

Loyal to the end

Glass half-full

Not into a bad cop schtick

Honesty is the best policy

No more human, still humane

Onwards to the ‘bad’ end! Oops, and Dakota still did the Single White Female thing XD;;

Man I’m still really curious who the ‘good friend’ is!!

Okay! Time for end game!!

So that’s the good friend, huh? “Let me phrase it differently, then. You’re not Ecaterina the Wise, the Agitator of Prague, a Brujah elder causing turbulences all over the world... are you?”

Mention of Christof! Mention of Christof doing shady shit :| Poor Hana.

“An immigrant from Eastern Europe comes to New York City, takes the position she always expected to find herself in, is molded into someone who is no longer herself.”

Julia and Dakota representing Carthage is kind of neat.

I want to say the mention of St Jude is a reference, but I’m not sure what to XD;; Is that from Redemption? Christof could have been the one to tell Hana that.

“Like a two-person human centipede loop or something. An Ouroburos? Or an, uhh, Mobius strip?” No, that’s the other traditionally Sabbat clan XD

That‘s. That’s a hell of a reconciliation XD “Yeah, let’s give it a try. By the way I’m on the run for my unlife, want to go to California and try to find utopia?”

Julia, wear a fucking mask XD

“Hey.”

“Yeah?“

“Do you love me?”

“... Of course I do. For now, at least.”

I still don’t know if I love her. Or even if I can love anyone, for that matter. I’m a fucking monster, after all. I don’t even know if we’ll exist next month. The prospects are not looking good. But although I can’t see myself in the rearview mirror right now...

...I will remember this image of us leaving the city, somewhat melancholic, and somewhat hopeful, forever. And maybe the meaning of this image will be clarified with time. Or maybe I will just force a more positive description on it, and that is what I’ll believe.

No matter what happens... even if oceans of blood lie before us, I will make this a cherished memory.

Whatever possible salvation still remains for me... ...it probably lies in the eyes of another.

Oh dang I have chills.

So the ‘bad’ ending is about the subverted compromise. Julia resigns herself to letting the compromise about the truth of Callihan’s death go ahead. ‘Catherine’ is a walking compromise to hide the Ecaterina’s real deeds. But while Hana is still stuck in her role for now, Julia refuses to accept the compromise she’s made, both the one relating to the investigation and the compromise she made of her own views and morals. It might blow up in her face, yeah. But damn, she’s going to try.

So, final thoughts! For the sake of completion, this is what I said about Coteries:

And of course this is the part where the game all falls apart :-\

Just… god. This is probably the biggest problem with CoNY, and the reason I didn’t bother getting it until it was like… 60% off. The bulk of the game is great - the writing is intriguing, the design is stunning. But the choices themselves are so limited it’s barely worth even getting it at 60% off!

You have three choices of characters, with their own opening chapters and own individual scenes with their touchstones. You have four choices of coterie members, and three sidequests. You can probably get in at least three full story arcs and a sidequest or two, but you’re only ever limited to two of your coterie members showing up at the not-yet-endgame.

So let’s say you decide to play all three protags, which, indeed, is encouraged (there’s an achievement for it). You are going to repeat coterie arcs and side quests, because there simply aren’t enough for three unique playthroughs.

And then you get to the end and literally everything is scripted. You get attacked by the SI. You get rescued by your two coterie members (and then never see them again, despite the game being called Coteries of New York). You meet Torque, you escape the SI, Sophie reveals her plan to Torque, you go to Ellis Island, Adelaide kills Sophie (and despite the fact that you’re given multiple options there, none of them work), Arturo does his spiel, end of game. You don’t even get to choose between ending up blood bound or going “no fuck you” and at least dying with a bit of dignity!

I just. I really want to like it, and there genuinely is a lot there to like! But uuuugh the ending. Like damn at least give the poor protag the option to choose what happens to them!

Anyway. Not sure what’s next. To get all the achievements, you have to finish with all three protags, so that’s three full runs and a lot of repetitiveness (compare to, say, Bloodlines or Night Road. I have eighty-five hours on Night Road and there’s still stuff I haven’t seen!), so I can’t even just… rush it through up to the meeting with the touchstones on the third play. Nope. Gotta finish it :-\

Final rating: 6/10

8/10 characters, 9/10 atmosphere, 8/10 story aside from ending, 3/10 story ending, 2/10 replayability. Final consensus: get it on major sale if you can, otherwise, you might as well just watch an LP. I might do that instead of doing a third run, although I at least want to do a second.

I ended up revising that 6/10 to 5.5/10 after finishing all runs and getting the achievements just out of how goddamn repetitive it was. So, how does Shadows measure up?

Absolutely continued with all the things I enjoyed about CoNY (characters, atmosphere, and writing), and of the bits I hated (cookie cutter protagonists, lack of real choice, repetitiveness, the godawful ending), every single part has been completely improved.

Instead of three fledglings so similar they even have the same internal thoughts, we have Julia, who’s got such a distinct voice that she becomes the most memorable game protag I’ve seen in years, and I’m including non-VtM games in this. This is absolutely her game, and it’s just... absolutely fascinating to read and watch.

Related - actual real choices. There are five key choices that determine the ending, and every single one has actual consequence in-game. You get different dialogue. Different introspection. Different philosophies. And this carries across - if Julia believes Agathon is alive, she’s more optimistic about her relationship with Dakota, too. And of course, both endings are completely distinct and incredibly written - the ‘good’ ending where Julia gives in to her most Lasombra instincts, plays the game, wins it, gets power and respect at the expense of her humanity and avoiding all those wraiths... or the ‘bad’ ending when she listens to her morals, reconciles with Dakota, and leaves for California, uncertain, but hopeful.

Not a lot of repetitiveness. Yes, by design, you’ll probably do two playthroughs. The main plot is much the same, but there are enough options there to get multiple dialogue options and stuff. And for the little sidequests, you can actually get all in with just the two playthroughs, only repeating like... two, I think. Still, I wasn’t feeling actively bored like I was midway through my second run of CoNY!

Loved seeing more in-depth backstory and development for the coterie members. Agathon’s section was particularly fascinating, literally getting into his head.

And just. Atmosphere and music is so, so good.

Final rating: 9/10. Thank you, Draw Distance, you hit it out of the park.