#and also like i like being able to read at my own pace vs the pace of a narrator

[queenerdloser]

gotta say it's a little wild to me that the reading community has decided that audiobooks aren't "real reading" considering humanity has spent thousands of years with a oral storytelling tradition and only a couple hundred with a widespread literate tradition. before books became so cheap and affordable everyone could get their own copy, reading out loud to a group (your family, your friends) was extremely commonplace. humanity has shared stories orally since the dawn of storytelling. like stop being snobby about how people consume books but also if anyone should get to be snobs about what counts as "real reading" it's probably audiobook people.

[owlbelly]

so. i understand where the sentiment "listening to an audiobook is the same thing as reading the book" is coming from - i mean, yes, the bottom line is you are taking in the same words in what is possibly a more accessible (or maybe just more enjoyable) format for you! and i'm 100% in agreement that "book snobs" who say "no you didn't really read it" if you listened to the audiobook are full of shit. ofc you should engage with stories in whatever way works for you, there is no moral or intellectual superiority to reading words off a page vs. listening to them

but it also is different? an audiobook is a performance. choices a narrator makes about line readings can drastically influence the meaning of the lines. even just different voices, accents, etc. - there are creative choices being made by the person delivering the words to you, and that affects your experience of the story in a different way than if you were making those choices in your own head. it might even change the way you visualize what's going on!

this isn't a bad thing it's just An Actual Thing & i think it's worth talking about. it rubs me the wrong way when people act like accommodations (and for many people audiobooks are an accommodation) always result in a completely identical experience, or even that they should, & if you suggest that people accessing media in different ways are having different experiences it's somehow ableist

anyway on rare occasions i really enjoy audiobooks but mostly they are much less accessible to me than words on a page (i need to be able to reread, flip back and forth, go at my own pace) & i also just really strongly prefer to encounter a text on my own before hearing someone else's performance of it, if possible! again i don't think it's "better" to read a physical book i just think it is a Distinct form of experiencing a story & acting like the two things are entirely the same is sort of doing a disservice to both

[utilitycaster]

Inspired actually by me nonstop thinking about the Young Witch Solving The Disappearance Of Her Neighbor's Cat In The Alps tweet since last night and a number of other unrelated posts I have been thinking about the concept of maturity in media, because I think there's a lot of different dimensions to that. It's a series of spectra, rather than a binary, and if you use the terms "mature" or "immature" you can quickly realize that a lot of our societal metrics for what's adult-appropriate vs. child appropriate are very skewed in specific and in my opinion untrue and unhelpful directions. This could honestly be a 10 page essay and I may very well write that when I'm on break but just to give you my outline here:

Stimulation - is it grabbing your attention with bright lights and loud sounds and fast action, or do you have to actively focus? Action films can be just as "jangly keys" as children's animation despite being an "adult" work, whereas something like Mad Men can have vivid colors but would bore a child to tears in terms of pace and action. However, and this will be an ongoing theme, you can have a very choppy, fast-paced narrative that is complex and a very slow and dull one that is incredibly simple and childish.

"Ratings" Subject Matter: Sex/Violence/Profanity. This is the one I think is most misleading, because you can have an incredibly puerile R-rated film, and you can have an immensely complex narrative without any of the above. [note: I have zero patience for people who act like sex and violence are inherently unnecessary wastes of time; they are merely things within a narrative that can be executed well or poorly, but it is true that something can have a simple plot and constant bright lights and stimulation and essentially be big old jingling mobile for infants but there's a sex scene in it so it's Adult Now. Unfortunately a lot of people are like "and this is why YA is inherently better" which we shall see is not the case.]

Other Difficult Subject Matter (I don't have a good name for it, but to give examples, death, racism, genocide, abuse, serious or chronic illness, etc). This one is tricky because all of the above are topics present in works for quite young children, because they can experience all the above or have someone close to them experience them, and fiction is a powerful teaching tool. Obviously the nature of how this is presented varies, and later points will cover it, but while in my opinion the simple presence of these topics says nothing about the work's level of maturity on its own I'm including it because you do get people who think that children should be shielded from all the above and would consider the mere inclusion of those topics as inappropriate. They're wrong, but it's definitely an axis of judgement/categorization that exists.

Adult-level processing of information (probably a misnomer in that teens can do this but like, teens read adult books all the time, and as Tumblr has shown us, many adults cannot do this): does the narrative require you be able to pick up on subtext? Do you need to understand what is relevant to the story and what isn't? Do you need to be comfortable with or at least able to tolerate not knowing entirely what is going on right away? Do you need to have a sense of irony? Is there an unreliable narrator?

Adult-level processing of moral complexity (in my limited, not a parent or educator experience, I honestly think teens do better with the information processing than this, ie, this is one of the last things to develop; also Tumblr is even worse): does the narrative require you accept that sometimes things are unfair and will never be fair? Do you need to accept a story in which the Quote Unquote Bad Guys walk free without real consequence? Do you need to accept a story in which no one's actions are entirely defensible or in which no choices are easy and clean and harmless? Do you need to attempt to understand an alien perspective? Is there senseless tragedy? This incidentally is how you separate out the children's books from the adult books on topics like illness or catastrophic events; a lot of children's books end with a message of "it's hard and sad, but it will be okay eventually" and focus on very relatable POV characters which is understandable! But, to use an example as someone who went to a Jewish school with a robust Holocaust education, elementary schoolers read Number the Stars in which the (entirely fictional) Jewish family escapes to Sweden; middle schoolers read Night in which Wiesel's (real) father dies painfully in front of him.

None of this is to say that escapism/cozy fiction/whatever you want to call it is bad - I am not interested in a diet entirely made of thorny moral quandaries and no happy endings. I enjoy a stupid turn off your brain action movie, or a fluffy romantasy. But I do think that a demand that every ending be happy and that Justice Be Served in every story is no less immature than saying "ew, there's kissing in this???"

[aquaquadrant]

Popping in to say that I’ve been following ur htp au since like,,, October last year? I’ve left some asks before about how much I love it (I was that anon who was needing out about tango and bravo’s names and the international flag code from several months ago + a few other asks)

The ending was the most beautiful and SATISFYING piece of literature I’ve ever written. Genuinely. Wtf. And I’ve read a lot of books. I’m an English/creative writing major and your work is so beautiful, the story arcs, every loose end was tied up, you’re like the new standard for awesomeness. Seriously.

every loose end was wrapped up so well, all the closure and follow up we wanted, explanations of things like Scáil, hels meanings, their admin, even other hermits at the end there that were mentioned about in asks before but I never thought would be relevant in the main story. Things we didn’t even need to know like bX I was not expecting at all, I was content with just what we knew about him but you made it even better.

also the callbacks to earlier chapters, earlier moments and little jokes, bravo and Timmy’s not a builder moment was awesome, the way you portrayed bravo and tangos mindsets was phenomenal and with such intricacies. Stunning. And you didn’t force a reconciliation between bravo and timmy either, so natural.

Everything had a reason, an explanation, even the intricacies of herobrine? wasnt expecting that at all. Or Alex???! You didn’t need to include that detail BUT YOU DID AND I LOVE IT

the way you explained the greater player universe learning about hels, also the pausing on the red stone tutorial!! Loved that part. The pov switches and pacing of the last chapter p 1 and 2 were perfect. Well executed to keep the reader able to understand but still enough suspense. Not to mention once again your way of capturing each persons way of talking. Bravo having similar vocab to tango especially really drives home their similarities.

The way atlas breaks. It’s so hard to make an ending with someone like him SATISFYING because man I’ve read so many stories where it’s just not it. But you did it so fucking well. And subjected to retail salesman lifestyle on top of that? Wonderful. His damn glasses finally broken. Good. Or The watchers and listeners in the background too! Loved that. You explained things that were talked about in asks so well that even those who don’t read the asks could understand.

Most of all emotional and moral nuance. So perfectly explained. As someone who used to have a hard time with moral ocd I relate a lot to the obsession with good vs evil that I’ve had to come to terms with in my own journey and I can really see that mirrored in this fic, just like the characters learn.

And in addition to it all, I loved the ending with the Minecraft credits end message. You not only made it interesting and beautiful story and awareness of the player’s existence without being too confusing, but perfectly replicated the voices of the end credits characters. The tone and language that the original has. Last week I beat the enderdragon for the first time. I used to only play on public servers or private worlds with friends, even in single player I was a big coward and hated fighting mobs even with keep inventory and no mob griefing, they just stress me out!! But I did it for the first time and I read through the entire end credits of a game I’ve loved for so long for the first time and it made me cry. And you replicated it perfectly which is SO hard to do. The benevolence of the universe, no plot holes to be found about the logic of hels, the voices of the two people and their storytelling and acknowledging of the story. The universe is described so similarly in cannon about the good and bad that it’s like the au fits perfectly. The “why them?” Beautiful. It was like deja vu scrolling through like the end credits with the same benevolent warmth that envelops you like a wordless, comforting presence from this fictional universe. A touching moral about games and stories and people. And just like the end credits of both the game and this fic said, there will be another game and another story. The universe still loves the player just as it did before. This was such a special story to read and I am so glad I did. Genuinely, this will stay with me for a long time, we can learn a lot not just about writing and storytelling techniques, but about ourselves and eachother too.

Thank you.

AUUGHHHH…. genuinely one of the loveliest reviews i’ve ever gotten… your reaction to the finale is everything i could’ve hoped to achieve. thank you thank you THANK YOU <333

[kadextra]

so on a whim I started reading omniscient reader’s viewpoint manhwa

..and got hooked on the story so hard that I easily blasted through all available eps in less than a week. istg they put dr*gs in this thing it’s so good???? 😭

[SPOILER WARNING! big ramble ahead. if you’ve never read it, leave this post. consider checking it out you won’t be able to put it down]

lets get this out of the way first.

RAHHHHHH KIM DOKJA….. KIM DOKJA I LOVE YOU

GUYSSSSS 🥺 LISTEN. HE’S SUCH A GOOD PROTAGONIST. MY TRAUMA BOY. MY DUDE WITH THE POWER TO INFODUMP PEOPLE TO DEATH. YOU SELF-SACRIFICING IDIOT. his cunning intelligence makes him super attractive what can I say, I LOVE smart mcs with ambiguous morality and self sacrificial nature

here’s a big ✨shut your mouth✨ to every character who’s said he’s ugly- get your eyes checked, get a job get away from him (I know it’s because of the fourth wall’s filter it’s not their fault I’m just being silly)

the fourth wall is such a cool power to have. the complexity of how it acts based on his perception of fiction vs reality as the reader …. that’s very interesting and well thought out!!! how it lowkey has a consciousness too and it’s so tied into his mental state makes me want to psychoanalyze this guy even more. probably one of the most unique powers I’ve seen created and explored in a story tbh

I think the entire system of how the world works is really well done in general. constellations watching the apocalyptic bloodbath via livestream and sending donos to their favorite little guys shouldn’t work as well as it does and cracks me up so much 😭 (uriel is the best). I enjoy learning about all the irl different fables, history & mythologies too. plus doing my own research is fun! I did a deep dive through the web to learn about dokkaebi folklore lol I’m having a good time

I also related hard to how dokja read TWSA throughout his life, the story was a companion for him. got choked up bc I reflected on how much my own favorite companion stories for years mean to me. there’s been situations I’ve thought “what would (character) do?” dokja saying stuff like “what would joonghyuk do?” felt like I got called out <3 I’d probably be the same as him if my favorite characters suddenly came to life

anyways yeah I caught up with the manhwa looked online and discovered it comes from an already completed novel with over 500 chapters and the manhwa is barely a third into adapting it though it’s been releasing every week for 4 years. and that it’ll take like 10 more years to finish. I then planted my face in my hands and screamed with despair

I’ll shrivel up waiting to see what happens……………heyyy woahhhh.. whats this light of salvation ? the novel file just completed download on my phone ? that’s crazyy wow I opened it ? im scrolling it right now ? omg I’m telling myself in the mirror “pace yourself, try to space your reading out do NOT read too fast” ?

jokes aside im excited, first I’ll take some time to read back through the earlier chapters for extra context of scenes! >:D after I finish doing that…. pls pray for my self-control to try stretching this for as long as possible. I’m pumped to see what happens next with this demon king part so maybe I’ll read along with the manhwa unless I get too impatient heh

to conclude- I had no idea the fandom of orv was so passionate. while closing my eyes to spoilers, I was looking at beautiful fanart and animatics (watched this one and ascended that’s one of my fav rin songs). I can tell how much you guys love the story, there’s always going to be people like me who get interested so keep it up :D if the fandom does end up reading this, ummm *knocks on the door* hi im new

I will likely talk about it more in the future!! tagging under “#kade reads orv” ! might draw fanart on my art blog too bc brainworms <3 happy reading everyone

[fangweaver2099]

From TheLocalRou: A Statement on Fawnteeth and A Minor Slip-up

Hello, I'm TheLocalRou, you can just call me Rou for short. I'm a cowriter on "A Minor Slip-up" and "Fawnteeth." I use they/them pronouns. My fellow co-writers and myself have been misgendered a lot during this situation, so I just ask that you please respect my pronouns.

My name has been thrown into the mix of all of this, and my integrity as a writer has been called into question. Fangweaver has given me the opportunity to make a statement as I don't use tumblr nor am I part of any Miguel/ATSV spaces.

I am not part of the ATSV fandom, nor am I in Miguel centered spaces. I'm a fantasy fiction writer and I excel in writing super emotionally complex, angsty plots, in a lengthy, word-rich writing style. That is why I was invited onto the project of both fics and I have had a lot of fun writing them both despite knowing jack shit about the character of Miguel O'Hara. Fangweaver has personally explained the plot of several old Miguel comics to me, how this character works within the comic universe, and how that's applied to their outline and ideas. Even then because I am clueless of how the comic universe works, my contributions to these two fics has been character interaction, and dialogue as well as general grammar and wording editing. I was not invited to personally work on the project until long after the outline was made and my writing was based on said outline. I have never been part of the plot brainstorming process of A Minor Slip-Up. I have for Fawnteeth as I have been more personally involved in the creation of that fic vs the Miguel becomes Y'n's babydaddy fic.

I do not read any Miguel fic, nor have I interacted with tarjapearce's work as I found out about their series of Miguelverse fics when the first set of tumblr posts made by Tarja was made back in June. I still have not read them nor do I really want to because, believe it or not but I am not interested in Miguel O'Hara as a character. I am a lesbian and am active in completely different fanspaces.

I was invited to be a co-creator on Jun 21 after being promoted from an editor. I titled a Minor Slip-Up (AMSU), created the summary for Fawnteeth (FT) and a lot of my original work and writing have been poured into both fics.

AMSU and FT is actually the work of 4 people poured into one fic. Fang, their husband, Pluto, and myself. This is why we were able to write and post chapters at a much quicker pace compared to just one writer alone. I've contributed to all of FT, (the bulk of my work the entirety of ch 7 and large portions of chapter 6...as well as the inclusion of my own OC Aurora and most of her dialogue), and had written for AMSU from ch 2 onwards. I am unsure of what specific lines are claiming to be plagiarized, but everything I have contributed to both fics has been my own original work as I have been paid for my services to these two projects via agreed upon artwork. I have not contributed heavily to any smut/lemon/nsfw scenes because uncomfy.

All of my Miguel fic has either been a gift for a friend (published independently to my AO3 account and labeled as a gift accordingly) or paid work. I have loved working on these two fics and will continue my work with FT.

I've also been told that Tarja never read the outline, so I'm even further confused as to where the claim of plagiarism has come from beyond the scope of an unplanned pregnancy fic, and feeling like they were owed credit for the premise of the fic itself. I'm not too sure how the entirety of the fic can be plagiarized when they publicly confessed to having not read the outline and thus do not know the extent of the plot.

Until now I have not involved myself in any of this. I have never sent any anon asks, commented on any fics, nor have I ever personally spoken to tarjapearce.

As for the accusations of harassment, I can personally vouch that we have received harassment as a direct result of tarjapearce's posts. Those guest comments were horrific to wade through with slurs, transpobia and even death threats have been sent our way.

As of 7/17/2024 I, Rou, have never been approached by, personally spoken with, nor communicated with tarjapearce or any of their editors or betas in any shape or form. I was blocked on ao3 when the first set of tumblr posts were made back in June. Tarjapearce has never made any attempt to reach out to me, nor I to them.

All of my contributions to the writing of both fics have been my own in terms of verbiage, and style of being written. I have never interacted and thus never have taken any inspiration from any of tarjapearce's work.

I am only speaking for myself, I do not speak for anyone else.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I am okay with answering questions.

[atdwarriorsau]

if you had to change anything like. big big abt plot in canon what would you change

Dawn of the Clans next question.

Man like... so much. I think most warrior cats fans can agree the writing isn't that... good.

I could say so much. The fact that racism, xenophobia, colonialism, sexism, ableism, fatphobia, abuse apologia, are not only all present, but normalized and are explicitly shown as the moral and righteous viewpoint/status quo/thing to do. Now portraying these topics, even in children's book (which wc is), is fine, as long as it's clear these things are wrong. It's important for this information to be accessible to kids, if they read about abuse they can understand that their own situation is bad; hence why Kosa bill and book banning are real bad. I want to say the writing in this regard isn't deliberate, but not to get controversial but I don't exactly trust white middle aged British women (sowwy)

A post about my dotc feelings, see @bonefall for more or the moonkitti Bumble video

ANYWAYS

I think it's fine to have these kinds of elements in warrior cats, but you HAVE to show that they are bad things. Which is a believe you should have anyway but...

For overarching stufff, I would really love to do something about that ableism. Part of the reason it's so weird that wc society treats disabled cats like... that... is because if you look at real cats that are blind, or have a missing leg or whatever, they are almost always perfectly mobile, and most of them could hunt. Cats rely on their other senses far more than humans do. You could find plenty of videos of 'disabled' cats doing just as much as 'abled' cats.

You could argue that the cats in wc are basically human, which is true (moonkitti's 'the cats are just people' video). HOWEVER, you know who else can still be mobile and do things with disabilities? That's right, humans!

It doesn't make sense from either the 'wc cats are cats' OR the 'wc cats are humans' angles.

And the thing is, Jayfeather was the perfect opertunity to tackle this! Everycat and their mothers have made a Jay as a warrior au, and even without that we could have had a great discussion through the books about the society's ableism. Don't even get me started on Briarlight's death. Absolutely insulting.

As for smaller plot things, ima do stuff for all the arcs!

The Prophecies Begin

(I have not read every book but have absorbed the plot through Tumblr osmosis)

- This is the best arc writing wise so I don't have much but...

- the last book. not great

- It's such a weird sudden heelturn from the previous books. Like Firestar adopting the xenophobia when it doesn't make that much sense from a character standpoint? If anything, he should at least have to struggle with his duty to the clans vs his feelings about Scourge. It would make sense for Firestar to sympathize with him

- Speaking of....

- Listen ima say it. While I love the aesthetic and potential, as it is, Scourge is overrated. Send the fire and pitchforks and stuff, ima say it like it is. Be honest without the Scourge Manga would he be as popular. Be so fr

- It's so so so weird for Scourge and Bloodclan to have similar if at least conflated ideologies with Tigerstar. Why would they be weird about half clan kits and such.

- Also.... sigh... the evil atheist thing gets me. I'm a certified Starclan hater and it is so boring for every villain to be the evil atheist (unless you're going to actually explore that) Implying someone is evil or doomed or whatever because they lack (your) religion is bad and dumb

- and this is the arc I have the least to say about

The New Prophecy

- We do NOT need to know every step of the journey

- Biggest problems here are pacing and POV

- This arc is about clan solidarity. That's had to pull of with only Thunderclan POV. We NEEDED at least Wind and River POV and thos arc would be perfect

- Tribe racism is bad.

Power Of Three

- If you thought TNP pacing was bad...

- huh I wonder if that has anything to do with the arc being created for the fire scene. I don't know though

- Listen I love the idea of slice of life but you have to stick to that. PO3 can not decide on high stakes magic stuff or slice of life. Pick a lane.

- Dark Forest plan makes no sense. At all. I ain't gonna explain it here but yeah it's bad

- Also the prophecy. What's up with that. How did their powers affect the battle except maybe Lion? What's up with them not knowing where it came from?

- This arc has just... so may dangling plot threads. You just keeping throwing them at the wall and giving no answers.

- The cave. The time travelling. Random tribe visit. Rock. Midnight. The spirit world. SOL. THE ECLIPSE

- Most of the things I mentioned have... wait for it... NO EFFECT ON THE MAIN PLOT WHATSOEVER. OR ANY PLOT

- The ending feels like a middle. Like I love the Holly stuff but that's for the middle idk

- Also I would love for Lionblaze to have a paw in killing Ashfur

- I don't like the weird 'adoption bad' thing they have going on

- Oh and Tribe racism is bad again

Omen Of The Stars

- OK I need to talk about the prophecy.

- First literally any other candidate would be better than Firestar. Raise you hand if you cared. Oh alright.

- Hollyleaf, Ivypool, Breezepelt, Flametail, idk Whitewing?

- Speaking of give Flametail something to do or cut him. Why is this like our only main series Shadowclan POV? (this arc in general has too many POVs, pleaseeee we do not need Lionblaze POV)

- 'Hollyleaf didn't have a power because we couldn't think of one.' Gives Dovewing a power

- Just throwing in a quick 'Dovewing deserved better' in here...

- For spending thirteen books setting up the Dark Forest battle, man was that disappointing and a lil boring. Good for them for killing Firestar tho. Shoulda killed more guys off.

- Starclan acting like complete idiots for no reason. Cool I'm sure this will never happen again.

- One tiny thing to make the plot better. Make it so Starclan can't come to the living world (or won't hehe) while DF spirits can. Makes the battle actually plausible (for DF) and adds more stakes and tension. (Maybe the prophecy came from the DF... hm...)

- Oh and Tribe racism bad again

A Vision Of Shadows

- Okay if this is the Skyclan return arc why do they have such small a role?

- Darktail's backstory sucks I'll say it. Cowards

- The Tigerheartstar book and the Hawkwing book should've been inside the main arc. Whyd you give me required reading. At least the Hawkwing book anyways. Skyclan's journey to the lake 100% needed to be IN this arc

- Here begins the reoccurring theme of the ending destroying the arc. This is probably the least bad of those. But still not great chief. If you can't fill the six books with enough plot maybe you need more plot... (or yanno replace b6 with Hawkwing's Journey and shuffle it around? Who said that?)

- Alderheart's character growth being offscreen and him just not having anxiety anymore irks me

- First time the sister would have been a more interesting protag. This will happen again..

- Also the mediator stuff flopped. Skyclan should have invented it earlier. Skyclan NEEDED to be so much more weirder. Now we have copy-paste clan number five, old people edition

The Broken Code

- Sisters being more interesting part two

- First time two of the protags have a relationship while the other protag has the entire plot. This will happen again.

- What did you do to Mothwing.

- The ghosts thing, while interesting, yet again requires required reading from a super edition. Okay. Leafpool's death not being in a main arc book is insulting

- Alright this arc was pretty alright I'll admit it

- If Bristlefrost somehow returns I'm deducting points I stg

A Starless Clan

- (the Southpark kid voice) KILL NIGHTHEART!

- Ugghhh can I get a misogyny number two combo?

- Everything else with Sunbeam except Nightheart is SO interesting and the arc needed more of that.

- Oh we have evil atheists again. Okay.

- At least Curlfeather had a bit of interest. Splashtail flopped hard in, you guessed it, the last book! Yet again they ran out of plot for the last book, sad!

- Starclan should stay away more often tbh

Changing Skies

- I could just say Moonpaw's parentage but that would be lazy

- ughhhhhh I bet we're getting loads of ablesim against Leafstar. Sounds fun. Also Leafstar is one million years old but I doubt they'd have the balls to kill her off. Modern Skyclan will never have another leader.

- Also ableism against Moonpaw cause I'd bet a dollar they'd imply DID with her and they will NOT do any research and it will ableist as hell. If the voice is evil istg

- The absorbed twin thing isn't great either. Don't get me started on the chimeraism thing. None of it works that way

- Also we might be leaving the territories again. I bet the next place will have even less to do in it than the lake

- They will find a way to get Stormclan stuff in here and it will be bad and I will be mad about it

- The arc ain't even come out yet and I'm mad lol

Ughhhhh yeahh that went long... ugh picture of my cat fo your troubles..

[happyk44]

So I just found out that Poseidon is also the god of droughts and what are your thoughts on a child of poseidon with drought powers, a complete opposite to their more sea based children?

[ID: Screenshot of a google search. The search term reads, "god of drought in gr...". The search term is cut off due to the mobile layout of the screenshot. A featured snippet at the top comes from wikipedia, reading, "List of water of deities".

The core of the screenshot is the People Also Ask section, of which the return is "Who is the Greek god of drought?" This question has been dropped down to show a result from "www.theoi.com". The answer reads, "Poseidon was the Olympian god of the sea, earthquake, floods, drought and horses. He was depicted as a mature man with a sturdy build and a dark beard holding a trident (a three-pronged fisherman's spear)." /end ID]

Oh! I knew this 🙌 I think it's related to him being the god of the sea/water, sort of like how Apollo is associated with healing but also the plague. I always find it funny when that happens 🤣

So for the kids who skew more to the side of drought, obviously they still have their sea powers. They're probably far more dry in tone, less empathic, less emotional. Maybe they're more prone to the earthshaker side of Poseidon as well, and the equine, to make up for the lesser interest in the sea. Plus earthquakes and horses are more land-based and a drought affects the land (agricultural loss, wildfires, increased sandstorms, etc).

In PJO canon, I'd want to say drought-based kids grew up more inland where access to a large body of water was difficult to come across. So it's less about internal nature (as with my interpretation of the freshwater vs seastorm Neptune babies), and more about familiarity and adaptation - sort of like how catci and other desert plants have evolved to handle long periods without water.

Powers that they have an increased capability for over their sea counterparts:

causing earthquakes! they can manipulate them on a small or large scale, but they have higher propensity. it's a little harder for them to cause underwater earthquakes tho (which. can become tsunamis btw)

dehydration - sort of an inverse of drowning a person in their own fluids, they will the liquids inside them to dry up at a rapid pace

as a subset of that, i think it would be so cool if they could pull a tantalus-like punishment with enough focus on someone. no matter how much you drink, you will always be thirsty, you will never be satisfied, you will be captain barbosa and his crew, turning skeletal in the moonlight

they can withstand higher and drier heats than their sea-preferred counterparts (for example, percy would be hanging off of carter in the desert, crying for water, while they're chilling and vibing, truly a cactus of a person)

similarly, they retain water better, and sweat less. their bodies need less fluid to keep going on (this makes them better at giving blood lol, stay juicy everybody!)

while most children of poseidon are capable of piling water in the air into something usable, the drought prone kids have picked up how to pull water/usable liquid from anything available, as dry climates may lack enough water in the air for it to be worthwhile compared to humid climates --- so they're more likely to pull water out of living things, pull water out of the ground, or even find water deep underground (well water!)

due to the above, they're more capable of causing inland floods, they can pull water out from deep in the earth and force it to surround areas that are devoid of rivers, lakes, or even high rainfalls - this isn't just because of the whole "god of floods" thing either, it's because after a long period of drought, sudden rains can cause flash flooding to occur, so they're good at making flood happens

heat generation! they may be able to make things hotter, and/or drier

they have perpetual black thumbs. they are... not very good at growing plants lol

finding/summoning horses. it might take a while, but if there is a horse, they will find it (like the horse version of a dowsing rod, which, lol, they're kind of the human version of a dowsing rod, i guess), and if there are no horses nearby, they will get one to come to them through ✨ vibes ✨

their version of a storm is a heatwave OR extreme rain. yes, they can summon hurricanes or typhoons, but those are much more ocean-based things. so forcing high and burning levels of heat that makes everyone stumble and sag, sweating through every inch of fabric they have OR extreme and heavy rainfall that practically drowns you where you stand and knocks you to the ground is more their instinct

lowkey i wanna give them sandstorms as well, since that can be an effective of long-period of drought, but. you know. idk how much greece was ever getting pummeled by sandstorms for that to be something they associated with drought. (egypt, on the other hand, set, my dangerous and beloved)

(funnily enough set is also the god of foreigners, so like, who knows, maybe he and poseidon struck a funny deal when one of his kids traipsed over there while wandering around)

Since I think the difference between sea-based Poseidon babies and land-based Poseidon babies is just due to their adaptation of their environment, I think someone who is sea-based could easily become more land-based after living in such conditions for a while, and vice versa. Sort of like accents, lol. You know, if Percy decided to up and move to the desert in his 40s, he'd adapt after an initial period of "oh my gods oh my gods where is the fucking water where is the ocean i am dying" lol. it would take him a lot longer to pick up on the accent of the land than if he were younger, and so he'd still maintain his "sea" accent long-term

Because of this, I think it would be really neat if, way back when, it was common for the kids to take a few months away from camp to go living in the desert for a bit so they could pick up some land skills - like a rite of passage for poseidon demigods. one of the older cabin members goes out with them to make sure they don't die, helps them hone into the skills they might not have tapped into before, etc and so on. The kids come back at the end of their outing, more well-rounded and capable of tapping into the opposite side of their powers, when and if needed. Some of the kids might repeat the outing more than once for funsies, but most of them usually just do the one time thing, and then practice their land-based powers on a smaller scale at camp.

If a land-based kid comes into camp when they're much older, they don't typically have to do the outing, but sometimes they'll go out, not to learn anything, but to help the others, since they'll essentially receive assistance with their sea-based powers while they're at camp (presuming every version of camp has been based near the ocean or some giant water mass throughout the years - if not, then it goes the other way around, where they take a few months to go chill out on a beach for a few months).

Thanks for asking! If anyone else has any extra ideas, feel free to add them on! :)

Additionally, just 'cause, here are the four types of droughts I came across while googling "drought causes" because, lol, I'm an island boy, I am not familiar with droughts and wanted to get some facts in that weren't high temps and low rainfall (source):

Meteorological: region-specific; occur when an area receives less rainfall than normal; often measured by comparing the current situation to previous years’ rainfall. Some locations are affected more harshly than others.

Agricultural: when there is not enough moisture in the soil to sustain the growth of crops. Crops need different amounts of water based on their level of maturity, so they can be susceptible to droughts at different times. For example, most plants require moist topsoil to germinate, but this could be less important down the line as the plant matures. So, the effects of an agricultural drought hinge largely on the growth stage of the plants.

Hydrological: when there is a lack of surface and subsurface water supply; detrimental effects can be most readily observed in watersheds and river basins; affect the entire water cycle, take longer to notice, and have effects less immediately obvious than with other droughts.

Socioeconomic: when the water supply is too low to support human and environmental needs; wreaks havoc on the supply and demand of crucial commodities like water, grains, fish, and hydroelectric power.

[raelyn-dreams]

Hi hi!! Did you read the valkyrie climax event? What are your thoughts on it? Do you think it was a good development for Valkyrie as a unit (and for shumika)? 🤔

Hi!!! It's lovely to see you again :)

So originally this post started off with a Le temps des fleurs analysis...that got so long that rather than subject everyone to a five page post, I've decided I'll post separately in the future lol.

But yes, I have read through Raison D'etre! To be honest, I don't think this post will be able to sum up all my thoughts, but I'll try to hit the important parts!

I feel that first I need to define what, to me, makes a good climax event. A good climax event, by my personal definition, ties up loose threads of the current storyline, addresses built-up conflicts with good pacing and in-character reactions, and resolves the current story thread of the unit while still allowing many more narratives to be weaved in the future. So far, of the other units we've gotten climax events of (fine, Crazy:B, Ra*bits, Double Face, and as of recently, 2wink), I think this has all been done fairly well - a couple character slip-ups, a few pacing issues here and there, a shoved-in conflict or two - but ultimately, they did their job, and I came away feeling fairly satisfied by their current conclusions.

I think I also need to state that I do not expect, nor frankly want, all of the character's issues and relationships to come away squeaky clean and unproblematic. I'm always for development of course (Neverland's garbage talk made me sob over how far Shu and Mika have come), but ultimately, this game is about a bunch of screwed-up kids in an exploitative industry, and how they navigate it while facing their own personal issues. Like other gacha games, from otomes like Obey Me to fellow joseimukes like Twisted Wonderland, the end goal is not to make the characters perfect, or even relatively good people. It's to weave a satisfying narrative, something that hooks and engages people. And while I will be the first to say the Enstars writing is not always "good" and can be riddled with problems, I still see a lot of potential in it and ultimately enjoy it, which is why I'm writing this.

I'm happy to say that Valkyrie did not break the pattern of satisfying climax events for me, and in fact, has come away as my favorite of them thus far. I readily admit that bias does in fact play a factor in my enjoyment - as it did with 2wink's and I'm sure it will when Alkaloid's drops - but I truly did feel that Valkyrie's climax event was incredibly satisfying for both of them.

So, onto the story!

Some of my favorite bits:

Shu defending Nazuna's autonomy was so asdfghjkl 😭 GODDAMN that hit me right in the feels! I liked that despite Nazuna being part of the event, the writing didn't try to dredge up ex-valk issues, and instead used Nazuna as a person close to them in order to forward their development, rather than as an angst tool, if that makes sense? He also seems to be doing a lot better since Ra*bits climax (poor man finally caught a break), so good for him! Also, Mika gaining weight! He is finally eating properly 🥺 I'm so proud.

Ok, so adding onto the above, initially the Kuro-Nazuna crossdressing subplot made me wary since I was afraid enstars was backtracking into some of its more...iffy writing choices (*stares at Poltergeist*). However, after reading the story through, I can safely say that the way it ties back into the theme was good, and ultimately, neither Kuro nor Nazuna exhibited any behavior that impacted my enjoyment of the story (+ this thread addressing issues people had with Kuro here, because my dude was getting attacked when this dropped).

Instead of "haha man in a dress", it showed a good progression of attitudes with old vs new era and Japan vs West that I felt was explored pretty thoughtfully, and the way Shu and Mika honored that by having such gnc stage costumes was very lovely! Kuro and Nazuna's good reactions to it also showed how much more open-minded they were as compared to Shu's grandfathers era, and also showed a reflection of enstars own writing changes between ! and !! era (ex. Koga and Subaru dropping their slur usage towards Arashi, Kaoru being more thoughtful towards Adonis's background, etc). I'm not trying to be a suck-up to the writers, since there is some stuff they've written that is...less than lovely. However, I don't think this situation was one of them, and overall, it tied back into Shu's journey well.

One scene I really want to talk about is the foie gras conversation because that was just!!! so!!! It's a very small scene in the grand scheme of things, but I thought it showed their development really well (Raelyn get new phrases challenge lol), so I wanted to mention it here! Mika wants to try foie gras, and Shu is like "why. it's gross and inhumane and there are so many better foods" which is totally fair (foie gras is often inhumanely created). However, Mika doesn't automatically apologize and back down like he would in the past, stating that he knows, but he still finds it interesting. Shu also does not shut Mika down; he states that maybe at another time, though he sticks to his own boundaries of not having it himself.

What I really like about this scene on Shu's end (and his relationship with Mika as a whole) is that he does not regress into treating Mika like he did Nazuna; he does not try to insist that Mika is perfect and should not soil himself with such indelicacies, nor does he put him on a pedestal and automatically throw out his own opinions for Mika (essentially, treating him as Mika treated him). Shu truly treats him as an equal here, by stating his own opinion and having an open and meaningful conversation with Mika, getting his view on it without completely sacrificing his own thoughts. Mika, in turn, does not treat Shu's words as gospel, nor does he feel the need to plead his case; the conversation is entirely casual, a mere exchange between partners, but its so important because its one of the first times they've demonstrated that they've made it to this point. The whole thing is wrapped very nicely in a bow by Shu creating something with a similar taste and texture to foie gras to give Mika a similar experience, without having to cook the actual thing - its a great compromise both are satisfied with, and gives us a look into how their current art and performances are being created.

(Translations below by mika_enstars)

Shu's whole-hearted acceptance of Mika also comes back into play during the grave-robbing aftermath, which is something I have a lot of thoughts on, so I'll save it for a separate post.

Getting into what blew every enstars fan's mind, time to discuss the very queer themes of Raison D'etre. This shocked me when the translations first came out - I think the closest we've EVER gotten to this amount of explicit rep was Beasts and Pretty Mission, and even those can be argued for different interpretations, though I feel their text is pretty clear. Lots of queer fans (including me) gravitate to Valkyrie, and enstars as a whole tbh, for good reason - lots of their story aspects can be considered queer, from Shu's feminine interests and subsequent bullying, Nazuna feeling "trapped" by ex-Valk's expectations, and Mika's alt interests and unwavering devotion.

The doll plot was confusing as hell lol, but I get why it was done in such a convoluted manner, since it was supposed to be left up to interpretation, and force Shu and Mika to come to their own conclusions. Shu's grandfather deliberately set it up in such a way that Shu would be forced to weave the story he wants, and in doing so, accept the parts of himself he had hidden away - a fairly thin parallel to his grandfather's queer youth.

However, the difference here is that Shu does not plan on hiding, he does not plan on bundling away his feelings in a neat little box (or journal, in this case), and leaving them behind. In Antique Legend, we see that Shu's grandfather clearly tried to conform to what was expected of him, and impart those same values onto Shu - though Shu never fully stuck to those principles in favor of forging his own path, which I think his grandfather was secretly proud of him for.

(Antique Legend: Dumps of Dreams, Ep 8)

Shu internally monologues about how different his grandfather's time and the current one he lives in are, and how things are evolving in such a way that he can stand on stage without the ridicule his grandfather may have faced. This, along with the ending of "Let's live together happily, Kagehira" as an ode to his grandfather's dreams, really does read like a love story to me, especially the part right before where Mika compares the love Shu's grandmother has for his grandfather as the same love Shu has for him - which Shu doesn't deny.

A couple other things to wrap up:

I found it so interesting how Mika and Shu had different takes on his grandfather's life, and trying to unravel the truth was both fun and a chore and a half for me lol. All in all, the audience isn't meant to know fully, but I think Mika's theory might hold a bit more water (Shu's grandfather being gnc and dating the landlady), since he had extra info and is bffs with Naru, giving him a bit more insight. However, I can definitely see why Shu went with his theory of "grandpa had many different male lovers in his youth", as not only is it the one that does not imply cheating, but it is a closer representation of how Shu feels, and I think that's what grandpa was trying to get at.

The use of "boku" and "ore" was also pretty good storytelling imo, and adds an extra layer of projection, since Shu uses "boku" while Mika uses "ore" in day-to-day life. "Boku" is also seen as politer and more formal, while "ore" is more casual and was at one point seen as crass, which reflected their story roles well!

The fact that Shu's grandfather just??? Fakes his death on a regular basis is???? So???? I can't even asdfghjkl. Kuro being like "yeah, I comforted him the first 5 times, but then I got kinda sick of it" is so funny too. I wonder if any of the rich enstars kids are gonna do this in the future, my money's on Eichi (for profit), Ritsu (for fun), or Hiyori (for drama) personally.

I know I said I wouldn't talk about it here, but the grave-robbing aftermath where Shu describes Mika as a fairy during their first meeting, as a contrast to how he had always described him as a ghost? That got me so good, especially since it's something so idealistic being used when Mika is currently cold and covered in dirt. It's just such wholehearted acceptance of his partner, it's so beautiful.

Anyways, I think I'll end it here, but again, thank you so much for the ask and patience Dia!!!

(Edit: accidentally included RYUSEITAI with the climax units, it's fixed now)

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When The Manga Cry Ch. 8 Matsuribayashi pt. 106

There’s an old debate I want to reignite, and that’s the topic of manga vs. anime. I prefer the manga versions of things to the anime version generally. Primarily it comes down to detail in the drawings, things generally look better in manga form than anime. There’s a certain charm to seeing things in motion, but I like to believe I’m pretty good at imagining how things would look in motion, so often times seeing a scene from a manga in motion it’s a bit disappointing to me. Plus I enjoy being in control of the pace a which I get to experience the events. Sometimes anime can use the pacing of a conversation, for instance, to be able to create tension in a scene, but generally I like to let my imagination do a lot of the heavy lifting and try to imagine the pauses and so on in conversation.

Also I'm pleased with myself because I remembered to title this correctly, and not use the placeholder title from my text document.

I wonder how much Takano herself believed she’d be able to convince Tomitake to join her side? Or if it was just a fleeting vain hope that maybe he would join her, but deep down she knew it wouldn’t happen? Her characterization in Minagoroshi didn’t seem particularly surprised he rejected her, so I wonder if she figured he wouldn’t join forces, but decided to try regardless?

Anyway, zounds Irie! Looks like Tomitake is in some deep trouble, should probably make your daring escape after calling Akasaka!

Wonder why the Wild Dogs ditched the van so far away to nab Irie on foot? Seems like a bit of an odd decision. Thinking about it now, I wonder if Takano had any sort of plan in mind for Satoshi after beginning Operation Doomsday (renamed to Operation Apocalypse earlier in the manga) in earnest? I know she eventually confides in Tomitake she knows they’re going to betray when all’s said and done, but I like to imagine she was like “oh yeah, we still got the Houjou boyjou, I can poke around his noodle before it’s all over.” Also thinking yet more on it, do you think Takano can tell if someone is near terminal just by looking at them? I’m thinking back on some of her actions in Tatarigoroshi and Tsumihoroboshi when she has her conversations with Keiichi, and Rena respectively. Were her antics then her just genuinely screwing with them, or were they her attempt to get them to hit terminal levels quicker? I’m pretty sure it’s just she was messing with them for her own amusement, but who knows for certain.

Rather than dwell on the magically appearing Kasai and Shion I want to give the Wild Dogs here some much deserved guff over the fact they ditched their machine gun when trying to apprehend Irie. I think Irie would be much more obedient with a machine gun pointed at him, especially given that they just shot him off the road.

See, I’m not so much bothered by the notion of the tracking device existing, they’re a secret government research facility after all. It was just the way Takano in the VN acts like this is all according to plan that bothered me. I admit that this is probably just me getting too hung up on arbitrary plot points.

All these different times I’ve forced you to read variations on this line I decided that it’s probably not because she’s a short girl that caused her to slip up on the ladder. After all, Satoko and Hanyuu made it just fine, I think she slipped because she’s wearing flip-flops. Everyone else is wearing regular shoes, so they made it just fine.

Why do the Sonozakis have their cache of illegal guns? Is it just a remnant from the dam war? Are they a secret secessionist group plotting a government overthrow? Arms dealers? Are they in cahoots with bigger yakuza outfits in Tokyo and are supplying them with Soviet weaponry? Are they gearing up to go to war with the Tojo clan for the empty lot in Kamurocho in a few years time? My money is on arms dealing personally, it makes sense to me from the angle of the Sonozaki family seemed to rise to prominence post-World War II. Sell gathered guns from the war, bulk up your war chest, you know?

I went on a small mental journey of having the cast from Higurashi as characters in a Like a Dragon (Yakuza) game. You know what I choose to blame my flights of fancy with replacing game characters with wildly inappropriate ones on? The Girls’ Frontline mods for the Call of Duty games, also I just think it would be particularly amusing to me to see something like a Metal Gear and just replace the characters with cute anime girls.

I somehow never noticed that everyone is wearing their casual clothes. This just reminded me that Rena wears thigh high socks in the official art. Anyway, composure slap. Moving along to the fisticuffs between Okonogi and Akasaka.

I just like the exchange of “I’m Okonogi from the Wild Dogs,” and “well good for you.” It’s not the most bad ass line written, but it conveys a certain coldness that just tickles me.

I’m sure the outfit she’s wearing with the crown is a reference to something, but who cares? We got Superpaper!

"Moms are tough." Nora Estheim, Final Fantasy XIII. Unlike Nora however Shion won't die almost instantly after saying this.

Okonogi looks like either a weird elf, or a vampire with his pointy ears. Manga Okonogi looks like he belongs in a Baldur’s Gate or the Witcher. I was going to go for a Vampire: The Masquerade reference, but I haven’t actually played any of those. Shadowrun seems like a bit of a deep cut. Looks like he should be on his way to Icewind Dale to become either a bandit fight, or an elf NPC. The gangs of Neverwinter Nights are missing their lead henchman.

These are from closer to the end of the series, but I thought I would include these pages of Keiichi dressed as Battler, and Rena as Kanon. They’re a nice little piece of fan service.

[cartyrs]

How do you feel as a CielDoll shipper with recent chapters

this just reminded me that a new chapter is out and i just read it and i'm in the brain dimension. throwing this ask under a readmore bc it got long but it basically just sums up my opinions on the series as a whole rn:

my feelings on kuroshit have been complicated the past few years ngl! more than anything i'm very frustrated with how the story's been paced since the twin reveal, and i've found it very hard to stay engaged as a fan with how slow things are progressing. but that's also not what you asked so i won't rant about that LOL

I have very mixed feelings on this current arc - it's what finally got me back into reading bc DOLL! MY FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER! IS HERE AND I WAS RIGHT THAT SHE'D BE RELEVANT AGAIN!!! I'd really, really like it if Doll lives past this arc and is able to confront Ciel again. I think I might actually drop the series entirely if she dies here because it feels very pointless to me after all these years to bring her back if her whole point was just to [207 spoilers]. I'm really interested to see Ciel's reaction to her rebirth, esp if after coming clean about his true identity that he's able to be honest about the guilt he harbors over killing her. (SINCE YANA PUT DOLL AND JOKER IN THE SAME PANEL AS MADAM RED, CIELS PARENTS, AND R!CIEL IN CH 100, OVER 70 CHAPTERS AFTER NOAHS CIRCUS, ID GO CRAZY IF IT DIDNT MEAN ANYTHING)

I've always seen Doll as being one of if not the most significant character into understanding Ciel - his sympathy for her in Noah's Arc shows that despite how emphatic he is that he's forgone his soul, he does still care about people underneath it all. I'm pretty sure Yana's even said that if circumstances had been different (plot wise and also wealth wise), they could have been really good friends. I think Doll as a foil for Ciel reveals a lot about him - the biggest being her double-identity and reveal, as well as her playful, childish side vs. her cold, killing side (which even then, Doll doesn't want to kill - she just has to. I think deep down, Ciel is the same way). Same with Doll discovering Ciel's brand and having that empathetic moment with him over it, they don't go too deeply on it but Doll's backstory prior to living on the street is that she was abused by her parents and they scarred her face. She knows better than anyone else in the story what that permanent mark of abuse means for Ciel, and that's why she's so sorry she accidentally exposed his brand.

I've never shipped Doll/Ciel in a "canon" sense (like it just wouldn't make that much sense post-doll's "death", she despises him for killing her family, and after knowing what the circus did, she's nothing but a child kidnapper to him, criminal scum that's not worth anything). Their dynamic to me is so much about the "what if things had gone differently?" - which I also apply to Ciel's other friendships, particularly with Soma, Lizzy, and Alois (though season 2 is it's whole own discussion LOL). So much of Ciel's characater arc is about how he was willing to throw his own life and soul away thinking he had nothing after his parent's and r!ciel's deaths, as well as his own disgrace, but kuroshitsuji has shown us time and time again that there are people who deeply love and care about ciel, and if things had been different, if he hadn't sold his soul to the literal devil, he could have lived for them. i love Doll for him in this regard, because she's someone who doesn't know what happened to him. I think a big crux to Ciel's relationship with Lizzy (ignoring the incest aspect because of the period accuracy, but also because of the incest aspect I obviously do not ship them in a romantic sense) is that she knows more than most people about what happened to Ciel and his family, and that humiliates him. Pity and vulnerability humiliate him. This is a huge reason why he can't be honest with Lizzy about what happened - he doesn't want her pity, it only makes his reality that much worse. When he meets Doll, she's a stranger. And despite knowing nothing about him, she worms her way in and tries at every angle to befriend him. Also, given that his betrothal to Lizzy was by force (esp with how he steals her actual fiancees identity lol), I think if Ciel had been able to choose his own partner, he might have chosen someone like Doll.

ANYWAY - that's why I'll be really disappointed if they don't reunite at some point. I have some vague hope, since this is the last of the servant's arcs, maybe we'll get back to Ciel soon and Doll will get the confrontation she deserves. I actually really wasn't expecting [207 spoiler], that changes a lot for the character dynamics in this arc. I unfortunately haven't been a huge fan of Doll's actions in this arc, it feels horrifically out of character for me to believe that after her moral values are laid explicitly clear in circus arc (she feels guilty for kidnapping children and doesnt want to do it, but fears her older siblings retribution and fears Kelvin and feels an obligation to keep her family safe above all else), that she'd be willing to both make connections with the children at this orphanage as well as let them be used to keep her body alive... for what? To kill Ciel? Obviously she was brought back by Undertaker, but I doubt that Undertaker's true intentions are to kill Ciel, given how important the Phantomhives are to him (I think he's probably way more after Sebastian, but that's another thing entirely). So, why did Undertaker bring her back at all? Why is it Snake and Finny that find her, and not Ciel? Her personality once Snake and Finny discover the truth too is just all over the place, I don't particularly buy it.

I've felt that Yana's writing has seemed rushed and lazy since the twin reveal, whether it's her shifting her focus onto TWST, or that she's just trying to wrap up the series as fast as she can, while also still attempting to churn out monthly chapters (if you compare recent kuroshit volumes to old ones, old volumes had maybe 4-5 chapters, while new ones fit about 10 chapters at the same pagecount, so it's also waaay shorter chapters each month that don't quite move the story along). It's obvious to me that now that R!Ciel is out of the bag, the servant chapters have been a way for Yana to finally write plotpoints that she's had on the backburner since early on in the series (Meyrin, Bard, and Snake's backstories) - but IMO, terribly integrated. Finnys backstory in witch-arc is still some of my favorite parts of the series - because the arc itself is incredibly written, and Finny being highlighted fit in so well. It feels like with these mini arcs that Yana's just like oh shit what kind of plot should X servant's backstory come up in, and none of the newer plots/characters have felt deserved (i.e. the maids in meyrin/ran mao's story). Same thing goes for the characters in this arc, the children dressed like the phantomhive servants are just so weird and out of place to me. Why is this a thing??? An orphanage dedicated to making children act like ciel and sebastian and others and then sacrificing them as blood for Doll????? Why???? The whole scenario is weak and far-fetched IMO, I would've rather Doll's reentry (as well as Meyrin/Bard/Snakes backstories) been introduced in a more natural way, it genuinely feels like Yana is throwing all her cards on the table to wrap the series up without any loose strings.

SO, I don't have like, a TON of hope for Ciel and Doll's story to be wrapped up in a way I personally find satisfying for their character arcs, I'm vaguely hopeful that they'll at least just meet again, but as you can read I've had very mixed feelings on the direction that the series has taken for years now (servant backstory arc has been going on since MARCH 2019 LMAO..), so I'm sorry that your very simple question turned into a rant HAHA but this is like, the crux of my relationship with Kuroshitsuji atm.

Kuroshit has had its fair share of problems, many of which I'll be the first person to go out of my way to critique. I've been able to rationalize being a fan by touting just how good the manga's story is. Nowadays, really not so sure I can stand by that opinion! However, Doll's also like... is The character of all time for me. I've even been contemplating getting her tattooed lately LOL. So, regardless of the direction the series takes, even if it just absolutely tanks, she'll always remain incredibly special to me, as will Ciel and all the characters I've loved over the years.

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

‘empire under fire’ (abandoned 🫣) vs ‘hunting prize’ (ALMOST DONE 😱): PART 3/3: the ‘why’

ANYWAY! Why am I comparing these two fics??? They both take place in the canon verse but also are both canon divergent at the same time with similar consequences (Vi gets to Jinx before Silco, but the damage is already done).

I abandoned empire under fire because of my extreme lack of confidence in it. I was excited and thought about the idea a lot, wrote an ENTIRE OUTLINE FOR THE WHOLE FIC PLUS ANOTHER (it was gonna be a duology), got FOUR CHAPTERS IN then dipped. I think it was my writing capabilities that got to me. I’m not great with pacing, at all, and already by the fourth chapter Caitlyn was starting to feel some sort of feelings for Vi, a hint of them if anything. I might have to factor in that I think this was the point where I was comparing myself to other fic writers (never do that, you’re on your own journey and you’re doing great! We’re all regular people just writing what we love) and I was still getting better as a writer myself. I wouldn’t call myself a perfectionist, but everyone wants to feel good enough, right? To me, empire under fire lacked what I was so desperate for it to be.

Specifically the itch to write something angsty in the canon verse, but also the itch to show progress and development. It's not perfect at all and I'm still working on my writing abilities, but I put less pressure on myself and took time to get to know Vi and Caitlyn again. Fanfiction isn't supposed to feel like a 9-5, it's art that you're doing out of appreciation. It's supposed to be fun! And when it isn't, it's ok to drop it. Of course I appreciate all readers who sacrifice their eyes to look at my writing even for a second, but I can't always put them above myself?

l've thought of going back to empire under fire just because, but now I think about it not as content for people to pat me on the back for, but as a journey for me to realize what I enjoy writing, what I'm good at and what I need to work on.

It’s also interesting because I don’t think I’d ever go out of my way to read fics like these two I’m rambling about 😭. I’m not much of an angsty girl and will admit to loving a good modern AU. But it’s genuinely fun being able to portray such intense emotions through words and I admire absolutely everyone who does it!

Maybe one day I'll go back to empire under fire, but I probably won't and wanna go back to fluff sooooo.... I’ll probably post my outline and notes 😳

[kaoarika]

Early this week I was able to watch Undelu's first episode and I still have the same complaints I had due to the first impressions I DID have when it aired WAY back last year :)

I don't think the first ep needed to be SO artistry or too symbolic in some parts. I mean, I know ex-SHAFT staff worked on this... but I still don't feel it needed it (the tilt heads meme that SHAFT is full well known is still rotting in my mind after all these years, it seems) and I feel it goes better with stuff like 3gatsu rather than... Undelu.

OH, the first sequence is NICE and it implies in some way or form that might be the anime adaptation of To You From Me, with all the context/parallels of the Loops, Victor, Juiz and the fact that I ALWAYS forget Undelu happens in some weird alternate world than ours... but it didn't have to go hard like THAT, lol (also some parallels with IRL Undelu's anime adaptation vs the manga... I have read reactions that are ALL over the place for the pacing of the anime's season, so, that might be fun :)) )

I miss the crowd from the first scene of Fuuko and Andy... it feels so strange and lonely... it works better that there was a crowd and not... just THEM???

My brother insisted to watch it with the LatAm dub, so I cannot really be against it. So far, it's good... but it feels a bit... weird because it's ALSO using other Spanish translation than what the manga uses (I always suspected that the manga is using Spain's manga TL and it's being "fixed" for it to be neutral) and there's also the biiiig familiarity of reading the manga in English. SO. WEIRD.

To put it briefly:

English -> Spanish (Manga) -> Spanish (Anime)

Unluck -> Desafortunada -> Infortunio

Soemthing about synonims and words and nouns that are rarely used in Spanish becase there are alternatives that are better well known and used in our dialect and some feel like REAL, REAL deep cuts that I have rarely seen other ppl use in prose context (ie unluck is basically mala suerte)

Andy is named like such in the LatAm anime's localization because "Anti-muerte" and Anti -> Andy sound similar I guess (we all know it's because Andy - Undead and it's pronounciation in Japanese as its a borrowed word from English... so)

I know that Tozuka never anticipated the series would get translated other than English (and I think he even mentions that his assistants may know a bit better English than him, regardless), so there's going to be nouns and such that would be weird in my language translation later on (Unjust and Unfair both mean "injusto" >.>, the manga opted for "Ilegal" for Unfair... and yet it still doesn't sound right when certain someone gives hints of what their real ability is >.>, it TECHNICALLY has the same meaning as "injusto" in certain situations -ie cheating-, i will be real, but other than THAT...)

The dub is okay, so far. I think Edson Matus is the highlight because he fits Andy's gruff voice a lot (yet I want to listen to Youkyan, because... Youkyan) and he is currently one of my bro's fave dub actors at the moment (he voices Charlie in Smili*ng Friends, and I concur, he sounds awesome there). look, I am SOOOO tempted that in any chance they get him here, I will bring either vol 1 or my figure to get it signed (below the figure base, sorry :V*)

STILL A FREAKING DAMN SHAME D*SNEY+ GOT THIS, THOUGH.

(I'm just looking at the next new anime adaptation releases of Blue Box and Sak*amoto Days in Ne*tflix and... FRICK, you know?)

*Reminder that I don't go to anime cons since 2017 because going on my own is not fun and it's basically "rinse and repeat" with merch stands and the expensive tickets for all that and a conventions monopoly and open secrets about the whole organizing event thing????

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Black River by Matthew Spencer

Rose Riley #1

Riveting read that captured my attention immediately and didn’t let me go till the last page!

What I liked: * Detective Sergeant Rose Riley: committed, driven, competent, strong, determined, believes in her training and her instincts, team player, insomniac, a woman I am curious about and hope to learn more about

* Steve O’Neill: homicide detective, top person in the department, alpha, intense, driven, divorced, great leader, able to take power naps at the drop of a hat, team leader who knows the strengths of the people he works with, would like to know more about him

* Adam Bowman: newspaper reporter, works night shift, alcohol dependent, had a difficult childhood, capable, alone but enjoys being with others, another character I am curious about –  almost liked him best of the characters met in this book

* Dr. Wayne Farquhar: psychiatrist working with the homicide team, knows his business, insightful, not always 100% correct…maybe

* Priya Patel: younger member of the team, bright, motivated, eager, strengths that will be good in the future

* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing

* The police procedural aspects and how the team worked to uncover whether or not the two murder sites were related and who the killer(s) were

* That I felt a part of the story

* The twists and turns and tidbits that were shared

* The part the river played in the story

* That there will be another book in this series

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* Thinking about those who commit crimes and murder, the nature vs nurture aspect of serial killers, and also about the loss and pain and grief experienced by those left behind when someone is murdered

Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review

4-5 Stars

BLURB

A long, burning summer in Sydney. A young woman found murdered in the deserted grounds of an elite boarding school. A serial killer preying on victims along the banks of the Parramatta River. A city on edge. Adam Bowman, a battling journalist who grew up as the son of a teacher at Prince Albert College, might be the only person who can uncover the links between the school murder and the 'Blue Moon Killer'. But he will have to go into the darkest places of his childhood to piece together the clues. Detective Sergeant Rose Riley, meanwhile, is part of the taskforce desperately trying to find the killer before he strikes again. Adam Bowman's excavation of his past might turn out to be Rose's biggest trump card or it may bring the whole investigation crashing down, and put her own life in danger.

AUTHOR BIO

Matthew Spencer was a journalist at The Australian for twenty years, with long stints running the Foreign News desk and as Opinion Editor. He has written for newspapers and magazines in Uganda and Kenya and been published in The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald. Matthew has an Honours degree in English Literature from the University of Sydney. Black River is his first novel. He was born in Parramatta. The son of teachers, he lived with his sister Kate on the 320-acre campus of a boys’ boarding school. Long summers on the largely deserted property while exploring the remnant bush with its tributary of the Parramatta River inspired the book. Matthew lives in Sydney with his wife, Ritu Gupta, and their three children.

[lovenliterature]

Thoughts on Midnights

I did write this back when I first listened to Midnights but forgot to post it so some of my thoughts I don't know what I meant any more

Note - first two songs are technically second listen because of the FUCKING DAILY MAIL

1 - Lavender Haze

Really liked the vibe from the off

Not her usual style and I LOVE it

Definitely one to dance to

Really evocative of clubbing nights, that drunken time

No room for anything between one night stand/lifelong commitment (I oop v much my mindset but works for me I guess)

Acc the perfect song for this exact moment, need something to distract and also remind me not to care

“Damned if I do give a damn what people say” - Nice twist on damned if I do damned if I don't and so true

Lyric vid - cool - weird sauna vibes though and also a bit elaborate/distracting

Like the background surrounding the phrase lavender haze - also feels inherently queer to me given lavender scare/lavender menace and it’s nice to have a positive spin on that

Fave lyric: “I’ve been under scrutiny/you handled it beautifully"

2 - Maroon

"roommates cheap ass screw top rosé" - lolll relatable in like a oh fuck we're gonna be hungover and this is a disaster but also we're young and fuck it is its awful at least its cheap

Love love the vibe the tune everything

Love the red shades idea it’s so cute and beautiful

The depth in her voice on “how the hell did we lose sight of us again”

Lyric video: Like the skyline but text hard to read

Red imagery cool but again distracting

Fave lyric: “carnations you had thought were roses” or “that’s a real fucking legacy”

3 - Anti-Hero

upbeat contrast I like it

Fuck I need this song forever these rhymes are BEAUTIFUL

"It’s me hi I’m the problem it’s me" - wow this is so painful and raw

"Too big to hang out" - ow accurate 

"Directly at the sun but never in the mirror" - so so painful but so true, being able to commit to the self destruction but not being able to look at yourself

Also the emphasis on how much work it is for people to love you when you destroy it 

"Covert narcissism disguised as altruism" - genius line, clever and sonically satisfying

Only the young vibes

Fan of the sofa/scale imagery

Heavy music video but works better bc quite a dynamic and fast paced song

Fave lyric: "when my depression works the graveyard shift and all the people I've ghosted stand there in the room"

4 - Snow On The Beach

don’t love the initial bells kinda opening, interesting

Might grow on me though

Lyrics are hitting okay

"I’d never seen someone lit from within" - inner beauty, glowing

"It’s fine to fake it til you make it til you do" also again just what I needed to hear

(Maybe bold the lines I needed today haha)

Fave lyric: "time can’t stop me quite like you did"

5 - You’re On Your Own Kid

like the tempo and general vibe so far

"Sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes" - beautiful juxtaposition - the dousing vs the destruction

"Starved my body" so true, as much as you try to hurt yourself to please others all you'll accomplish is breaking yourself

"Blood soaked gown" - so evocative and hurts

Okay this is a heavy fave the further through we get 

"Yeah you can face this" - lovely lovely song progression

Fave lyric: "I touch my phone as if it's your face"

6 - Midnight Rain

WEIRD start but on second listen really really like it

Feels a bit like something from 1989 but can’t figure out what but that vibe

Love the distortiony rain vibe

“I broke his heart cuz he was nice”

“I wanted that pain” - such a theme of the album so far, self destruction and the self awareness behind it too

“All of me changed” - such a conflict in relationships when one of you is comfy and happy and one of you is slowly changing and being comfy isn’t enough

Comfy isn’t always love, isn’t always compatible 

Love love the lyric vid, such a nice visualiser and goes really well w the distortion

Fave lyric: "He wanted a bride, I was making my own name"

7 - Question…?

"Can I ask you a question" - oh ow that’s always so so loaded and so painful

"It’s just a question" - ooooooh I love that hands up run away from responsibility 

Bridge is so cool 

" Does it feel like everything's just like/second best after that meteor strike?" - Meteor strike!! So cute and wow ow

"I'm sure that's what’s suitable/and right" wow no holds barred saying everything you wanna say to an ex or a friend when they’re in the wrong relationship

Fave lyric: "don’t remember who I was/before you painted all my nights/a colour I've searched for since" or "fuckin' politics and gender roles"

8 - Vigilante Shit

Ready for it vibes

"You did some bad things but I’m the worst of them" - WOW

"Dressing for revenge" - oh my god ultimate breakup vibe

Crazy ex girlfriend vibes

No body no crime vibes

"He was doing lines and crossing all of mine" - twist of meaning love love love it

Fave lyric: "Don't get sad, get even"

9 - Bejeweled

vibe of "You wear the same jewels that I gave you" from my tears ricochet

"Putting someone first only works if you're in their top five" - oof this hits DEEP, value yourself and value others but don't value them significantly higher than they do you

Also mirrorball vibes

Love the chorus vibe

"Diamonds gotta shine" (gives me vibe of another t swift song but idk which, folklore/evermore I think)

Fave lyric: "Did all the extra credit, then got graded on a curve"

10 - Labyrinth 

"I’ll be getting over you my whole life" - very first love, you never lose the love you have even if its not the same

"If it rises fast/it can’t last" - oop my relationships but also v much cam relationships 

Also doesn’t necessarily feel like just falling in love with a person but could be with a place or unhealthy thing

V heavy on distortion but the harmonies oh man

The repeated breaks are so clever, like this thing was made to break

When her voice goes deep that’s when it hits hardest

Fave lyric: "You would break your back to make me break a smile"

11 - Karma

Love the vibe

V revenge and dancy and a fuck you vibe

"Karmas a relaxing thought" - such a vibe when you've objectively been wronged

Love all of the diff descriptions

Love the bridge 

Love the reframing of karma as her boyfriend when they’ve often been referred to like that and it’s like a constant of her music it’s so interesting 

Fave lyric: "don’t you know that cash ain’t the only price"

12 - Sweet Nothing

love love the opening feels like it should be listened to by the fire w hot choc w rain outside

Sweet nothing vs sweet nothings (WOW THIS IS SO MUCH WORSE POST YOU'RE LOSING ME)

Too soft for all of it oh my god

This world hurts and that’s okay it’s allowed to I love the vulnerability 

Fave lyric: "I wrote a poem/You say "What a mind"/This happens all the time"

13 - Mastermind

 Like the vibe

Very cxg again

Love it when she flips accusations on their head and runs w them

"Born to be the pawn" - Probably meant to be read as her being forced to be the pawn but in my mind it's her happily playing the role just so she can be underestimated

"I’m the liquor in our cocktails" - I'm the fun and the spice in the relationship and maybe the danger, and maybe a little too much of me can turn these things sour

"No one wanted to play with me as a little kid/So I've been scheming like a criminal ever since" - love it, THEY pushed me to this and now I'm blamed? But I only try so hard because I want to be loved

Love the chorus

Fave lyric: "And the touch of a hand lit the fuse/Of a chain reaction of countermoves"

14 - The Great War

like the vibe so far

Surviving something and promising to be better after but there’ll always be another thing

"My knuckles were bruised like violets" - they were bruised but in a laudable way so view them as flowers, view them as romantic because it has to have been worth something

Also the support throughout and then growing about (note: no idea wtf I meant by this one ngl)

Love the vibe of bridge etc

"Soldier down on that icy ground/Looked up at me with honour and truth/Broken and blue" - he's on the ground and broen and blue, her injuries are on her fists so more active - interesting juxtaposition

"That was the night I nearly lost you" - such good subversion of expectation (loving the great war)

"Poppy in my hair" - Love the way she sings this line

"It was war it wasn’t fair" - subversion of all's fair in love and war but also things can be forgiven, it was war, it was never going to be fair and we shouldn't hold ourselves to peacetime standards

Fave lyric - "diesel is desire you were playing with fire"

15 - Bigger Than The Whole Sky

Love the vibe and emotion

"All over now" - sounds beautiful 

"You were more than just a short time" - you were worth something, your legacy lasts beyond the short time you were mine

Beautiful heartbreak song

Like the instrumental

Butterfly effect idea

"Did some force take you because I didn't pray" - lack of appreciation leading to leaving

Ashes motif again

Trying to say goodbye but not Acc over it

"What could've been, would've been, should've been you" - nice vibe, the heartbreak of never seeing someone growing into the person you saw them becoming

Fave lyric: "Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness"

16 - Paris

V bop freshers energy

Opening of lyric video good rest bit busy and on the nose

if u keep it just yours

Alcohol refs the whole atmosphere of being fucked out of your mind but drunk on love and in the love bubble

Fave lyric: "Cheap wine, make believe it's champagne"

17 - High Infidelity

Mario bros vibe lol

"Put in your headphones and burn my city" - the music as erasure and healing but also writing idea

"The slowest way is never loving them enough" - not meeting someone's needs is the slowest and saddest way to lose them, they're begging you but you can't be what they need

"He brought me back to life" - the idea of the infidelity as a way out

"Picket fence is sharp as knives" - the idea of the 2.5 kids dream as destructive and a dream u can’t reach

"Freeloading/I didn’t know you were keeping count" - the idea of love as transactional and when you start doing stuff for reciprocity you’ve fucked it

Depth of voice in "april 29th" lends significance and just sounds so nice

"Regret me" to "regret meeting me" - idea that it was always leading here

Fave lyric: "Do I really have to chart the constellations in his eyes"

18 - Glitch

First note sounds like smth from speak now

But anticlimactic following high infidelity

Underwhelming

It's chill enough though

"Go back to wanting dudes who give nothing"

Fave lyric: "I'm fastening myself to you with a stitch"

19 - Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve

"Pain was heaven" - masochism of feeling anything and being in a relationship bc you must be an adult now even though it's brutal and painful

"Memories feel like weapons" - a breakup turns all memories sour and abusive partners can also twist anything to be a weapon

Love the lyricism

"Never whispered about this" - blaming herself, but I'm reading it as they could have never whispered about this (Would've probably found somethign else)

"Saved me from boredom" - the hindsight seeing the toxicity of something that felt like adulthood and safety but in reality left a trail of hurt

"Now that I’m grown I’m scared of ghosts" the lasting effect of young relationships

Ignorance is bliss

"I regret you all the time" - legacy still not gone

Fave lyric: "Damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil at 19" and "Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first"

20 - Dear Reader

The direct address is fun

Being told explicitly what to read into things

Telling us to find another hero while showcasing unhealthy coping mechanisms ("fourth drink in my hand")

Fave lyric: "If it feels like a trap/You're already in one"

[the-assignment]

Blog #6 - The Final One

I truly can NOT believe that this is my last (required) blog post for my class, Sunken Place: Racism, Survival, and Black Horror Aesthetic. And I gotta say, my Professor saved the best for last. In Week 10 of our notoriously fast paced quarter terms, we had a Student Showcase of the various final projects us students turned in. Sharing was optional. It was split into two groups on two different days. Tuesday was reserved for showcasing student short films and Thursday was reserved for students to read excerpts of their short stories / essays.

And although Professor Due let us know, right from the get-go back in Week 1, that we were going to be amazed by the talent our fellow students had (and which I totally believed!) I honestly was not prepared for the creative projects the students came up with.

The student films were some of the most inventive, creative, short films I have ever seen. Honestly, truly. There was one about a fashion vampire. Who, while dreaming about her upcoming fashion show walk – actually sleepwalks and attacks people at night – all while being unawares. The film ends with breaking the fourth wall – with the Vampiress looking into the camera, blood and surprise etched on her face, and then quick cut to black. It was phenomenal! It also had really funny but subtle moments, like when she went to bed wearing a Red Cross Blood Drive tee-shirt. It was so good I’m still thinking about it. I think it would make for an interesting mini TV show or something. And the student had no previous writing/director experience – I Just Can’t!

My personal fave (though, my goodness, holy moly, were they all so frickin’ good), was called Black Out. And this was my fave for a variety of reasons – but it had to do with group projects – and every single student who has ever had to do a group project in university knows this is the real struggle and horror of college. It also had to do with racism and the writer/director/actor built their own lore that tied this horror with the horror of racism and the theme of revenge. And again, this was her first time making her own video. It’s. Just. In. Sane.

And we can’t forget the short stories! Holy cow! There was a mix of people that had written before (and even for some TV/Networks, so they had industry experience) but also new writers who had never written a horror short story before (or anything) and/or never read/shared their stories out loud before. And I am so glad that they did! There wasn’t a single story that I didn’t want to read in its entirety. As a voracious reader, I need published versions of these NOW. And again, we had around a handful of students share their stories and there was no overlap of ideas – just like with the short films. There were some common themes, though they were used differently (cautionary tale vs consequences vs historical, etc.), but they were all different. There were (essentially slave) Robots, Creepy Carnivals, Black Holes/The Void and Alternative Timelines, and Historical Horror.

I can not imagine even having an ounce of the creativity, originality, imagination, etc. that these individuals do. My professor was right, though I did not doubt it, I sure as heck did not know how talented these individuals were.

I am honored to have watched these films and heard these stories. I hope that everyone who shared/presented continues writing/directing/acting and most importantly – keep sharing.

One of the biggest takeaways of this class – especially as we near the end – is the state of Black Horror and its Future. Black Horror has come a long way – especially with the help of Jordan Peele and the massive success of Get Out, as many artists were inspired by this. TV show/film/novels, etc. would not have been able to be created without this piece of Black Horror genius. Not only is this now a major revenue producing genre of the industry but there are more and more marginalized voices reclaiming Blackness and Horror and the way they relate to each other.

Black Horror is in its Renaissance Era.

And if the voices of the videos I watched and the stories I heard this week are any indication of the future of Black Horror – there is nothing to fear.