#but I've had these thoughts for months now and finishing this arc just made them explode ^^"

[flawseer]

Ok, these time rate me the Jade WInglets

I've been sitting on this work-in-progress picture for so many months now. Maybe if I post it here, I'll finally sit down and finish it.

Very long post incoming.

Discussing the Jade Winglet

Okay. So, you want me to rate the Jade Winglet group. That’s going to be very easy: I love all of them.

It’s also going to be extraordinarily hard because... well... I love all of them. How am I supposed to put them into an ordered list? It can’t be done. So I guess what I’m going to do is: First I will put them into a tier list, and then I’m going to just talk about each of them individually for a bit.

But on account of aforementioned adoration I have for all of these guys, said tier list is going to be very lopsided. The tiers are going to be “I adore them with the intensity of seven suns”, “I really like them”, and “I very much like them, but...”. You’re going to have to imagine that there are five or so more unused tiers below that.

Let’s unceremoniously get that ranking out of the way first. From top to bottom, the tiers are:

I adore Turtle, Qibli, and Winter.

I really like Moonwatcher, Kinkajou, and Peril.

I very much like Umber and Carnelian.

As for more in-depth commentary, here is a disclaimer: When I think about these guys I mostly consider books 6 (Moon Rising) to 9 (Talons of Power) and the first half of 10 (Darkness of Dragons). The second half of 10... if I’m being honest, I didn’t really enjoy it. I don’t want to go into it too much here, if you really want me to talk about my misgivings with the second arc finale, put a message about it in my inbox (it’s not just the obvious thing; it actually mostly pertains to Winter and the absolute nightmare ending he got saddled with, and some very unfortunate character implications).

Some of my musings are also going to be a bit critical. I just want it to be clear that I make these observations as a fan of the series. It’s a good practice to think critically even about media that you like. It helps you better understand why you like it in the first place. Also, I make no demands to be agreed with. This is just how I see it.

Anyway, enough stalling, let’s get into it. Not in order:

Turtle

CW: Parental abuse

Turtle is the most wonderful thing to ever happen in the history of the universe. I wake up every morning and the first thought in my head is “Ugh, another day in this backwards reality where Turtle is not real! No thanks!!” Then I go right back to sleep disappointed until the next day. Okay, maybe that’s a bit hyperbolic. But I do think that everyone’s lives would be greatly improved if Turtle was real.

Turtle is a very vibrant and insightful character who, much like Winter, is unfortunately cursed with a pair of malicious and incompetent "parents". Some of his scenes really hurt to get through if you’re a parent yourself or have ever had parental feelings. The first scene he is in, when Moon observes him arriving at the academy, his mother makes a passing comment about how Turtle has no value because he cannot inherit the throne. Turtle is within earshot when she does this. And he has no overt reaction to it, which to me hints that Coral asserts this about her male children so frequently that he has accepted her line of thinking and internalized it. He just accepts it as the truth. That is heartbreaking.

And then there is his father, mild-mannered and ostensibly gentle Gill, who killed Turtle’s budding interest in writing as well as the entirety of his self-confidence back when he was a kid, by assigning a little boy a task that was well beyond him (and only to him, even though there were more people present who could have helped), and then made him believe he killed his unborn sister when Turtle inevitably couldn’t do what he was asked. The narrative really tries to make Gill sympathetic in that moment by insisting he’s speaking in anger and doesn’t really mean it, but um, no. I don’t buy it, dude. You just gave a little kid a lifelong guilt complex because you couldn’t think of asking more people for help. Or taking the egg with you while you left the hatchery. Or telling Turtle to take a message to the palace guard so someone who didn’t still have their milk teeth could mount a proper, organized search while interim guards were posted in the hatchery. Or literally any of the thousands of other options that didn’t require traumatizing your own son.

As a result, Turtle became emotionally reclusive. He registers to others as dull, placid, unpassionate, and boring, like he cares about nothing and is content to never strive for or achieve anything in his life. He himself explains that writing used to be something he was into at some point, but then lost interest in. But I don’t think he has. He still loves literature and thinking about stories, he's still doing it in his internal monologue. He just denies it because he subconsciously feels the need to punish himself. I imagine he still gets that drive sometimes, to sit down and start writing again. But every time he thinks about it, or catches himself wanting anything, his father’s voice resurfaces in his mind, telling him that he killed his sister and doesn’t deserve it. And then he self-punishes by depriving himself of everything he loves doing and every positive emotion associated with it. Because he is convinced he is guilty for failing his father, when in actuality, the opposite is true.

The tragedy is that, if Gill had known how much damage he caused and wasn’t in a situation where he needed a flowchart to keep his 30+ sons apart, he probably would have apologized. He doesn’t strike me as malicious, just horribly, horribly incompetent as a parent. But as things played out, Gill is no longer able to fix his mistake. The only person who can now grant Turtle the forgiveness he needs is himself. I hope he will be able to do it.

Turtle truly is an endearing character and a wonderful son undeserved by his parents. If I could adopt him right now I would. In fact, I’m gonna do it. Hold on while I get the papers. Wait, I have to finish? Uh... okay.

Moonwatcher

In a sense, Moonwatcher may be the most interesting character in the entire cast. She certainly had the potential to be my favorite character period. But there are a few points holding her back.

The thing about Moonwatcher is that, more than any other character, she requires meticulous care and attention to detail to be written well. The reason for this is that, when you’re writing for Moon, you also technically write for every character she interacts with. She is written brilliantly in her own book, since the narrative is allowed to focus on her; Moon Rising may thus actually be my favorite book of the second arc. It’s very enrapturing, seeing her navigate the academy’s social dynamics after growing up as, essentially, a feral jungle child, and battling with her own feelings of loneliness and inadequacy.

The thing is though... Wings of Fire has a bit of an odd quirk. Something I’ve noticed with regards to its writing is that, whenever a character is not particularly in focus during a scene, they often get reduced to their most basic traits and will rigidly act according to them regardless of prior context or external factors. I call this phenomenon “Auto-pilot”. If you’ve read my Mail Call #3, this is what I think happened to Tsunami during the second arc—Tsunami’s basic traits are that she is bossy, emotional, and blunt, so she spends the entirety of her page time as a deep-sea-themed wrecking ball who yells at everyone and dismisses everything as “ugh, nightwing powers” and “Peril was bad in book 1 once, I hate her forever”, despite having other, more pressing matters to prioritize.

Whenever Moonwatcher gets set to auto-pilot, it is very depressing. She needs careful, attentive writing to shine, and whenever she doesn’t get it she turns from the most interesting character into a dull brick that recites exposition and occasionally exists to be fawned after by boys. Tragically, the auto-pilot hits her bad after Winter’s book is done, and she never manages to escape it afterwards, save for maybe one or two scenes. There is a particularly egregious example in book 10 that, in my opinion, does permanent, irreversible damage to her character. It’s all a bit soul-crushing if dwelt on.

So yeah, I like Moonwatcher. I really do. I just wish the strong way she was written could have carried through the entire arc.

Winter

CW: Parental abuse

I initially didn’t really know what to make of Winter when I read Moon’s book. He seemed kind of like a buttface who was needlessly hostile and unapproachable. But he really comes into his own in his book, and looking back at his earlier scenes with that new context makes it all make sense. He became one of my stand-out favorites after that.

Winter really has a lot in common with Turtle, so much so that I wish those two actually had some deeper interactions with each other. Like, at one point Turtle saves his life, you’d think they would want to talk about that some time. Where Turtle’s parents are one half malicious, one half incompetent, Winter’s are pure malice AND incompetence. Blessed with three children, they managed to completely ruin one of them, almost ruin the other, and then the third one is kind of out of focus so I don’t know how he is faring, but I doubt there is a lot of love there either.

In a way, you can draw a lot of parallels between Winter and Icicle, and Zuko and Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender—The unfavorite who tries to do right but constantly fails to live up to his father’s/parents' warped standards, and the prodigy who seemingly has her father’s/parents' approval but secretly suffers from the abusive parenting just as much, but in different ways. Hailstorm then tries to take on the role of Iroh, an older figure that acts as a source of positivity and genuine love, and offers a reprieve from the abuse. But where Iroh is an adult drawing from a lifetime of wisdom, Hailstorm is just the slightly older sibling who comes from the same abusive household battling the same demons, so his effectiveness in countering the toxicity is limited.

Where Zuko pursues honor, Winter strives to be strong. Both his parents and his sister perceive him as weak and label him irrelevant. While this hurts him deeply, I don’t think Winter fully surrendered to his inferiority complex until he heard his brother mirror the same sentiment at him. Winter is repressed and struggles with processing his emotions—Thus he heard the words Hailstorm only said to save his life and took them at face value. Even the person he loves the most, the only source of affection and affirmation in his life, thinks he is weak. This is what drives Winter to feverishly desire strength and thus adopt a persona of the strongest thing he knows: a stoic Icewing warrior.

This is why he acts the way he does in book 6: aloof, threatening, unapproachable, invincible. But all of these traits are diametrically opposed to his actual personality, which is warm, compassionate, and just wanting to be loved for who he is. So whenever Moon reads his mind, he comes across as a confused mess of conflicting emotions. Because he is pretending to be something he isn’t.

The interesting thing here is that Winter actually is genuinely strong. He is just unable to recognize his own worth, due to the toxic way royal Icewings are raised, warping his perception of what strength means. When he meets Foeslayer, who is said to be an ancient enemy of his people, his mind cuts through the veneer of tradition and old bullshit justifications and sees her imprisonment for the cruel injustice that it is. He then undoes that injustice and frees her. It takes an incomprehensible amount of personal integrity and willpower to just casually defy the will of your entire country like that. This is equivalent to treason; by aiding her, Winter risks becoming an enemy of his people on par with Foeslayer herself. And he does it anyway, because it is the right thing to do.

This dissonance in his perception of strength with regards to his Icewing upbringing, and the actual strength he embodies and has embodied all this time, is something I would have liked to see explored more in the finale or something. As it stands now, he got pressured into putting his life on the line in the battle for Jade Mountain, has sworn loyalty to a people that mistreated him and tried to ruin him from a young age, and then got saddled with an existential nightmare of an ending that leaves me baffled to this day.

In terms of personal misfortune, he certainly is the Starflight of his group.

Qibli

CW: Parental abuse

Qibli is a very charming and versatile character. It is easy to imagine him in a variety of different situations and the scenes almost write themselves, especially when there’s another person with him whom he can bounce off of (figuratively, though I wouldn’t put it past him to try to literally bounce off of someone too). The 10th book posits him as some kind of parallel to Darkstalker; the latter even overtly states this and tries to recruit him as a manner of apprentice. It’s interesting because I think they are actually pretty different.

Qibli excels in situations where his options are limited. He is great at thinking on his feet and coming up with solutions to problems within a restricted framework. He'd be great in an escape room. This ability of his is shown throughout the arc, but it is especially visible in Moon Rising, where his presence in a scene often makes Moon stronger, or more adept at solving problems, because his mind is breaking down the situation for her in a way she would be unable to see on her own.

The twist then comes in when you take Qibli out of that limited framework, by giving him power. His pronounced intellect is very peculiar; it needs limitation to be brilliant. When he has unhindered access to all-powerful magic (i.e. doesn’t have to clear his ideas with another person), he turns into a colossal idiot who buries cities in sand and almost blows up inhabited mountains.

It only follows that, if you were to give Qibli what he wants and make him an animus, it would absolutely ruin him. The great intellect he cultivated would wither and, unshackled from the limitations that forced him to think critically and be his most excellent self, he would end up destroying himself, and likely others too.

Another interesting facet of Qibli is how he works as a parallel to Winter and Turtle (and Peril to an extent). All of these characters come from broken homes and have suffered under abusive parental figures. Qibli’s case in particular is interesting because it showcases how your circumstances can make a difference in how well you handle that issue. Qibli suffered under a tyrannical mother and a pair of cruel siblings, but in contrast to his peers, someone from the outside noticed his suffering was able to intervene—Thorn saved him from his hell and became his rescue parent, restoring his confidence and sense of self-worth.

Because of this, when his turn comes to confront his demons, while it is still difficult and painful (because trauma always is), he is able to navigate the confrontation with comparatively more grace and control than the others. The contrast really shows how difficult it is to escape a toxic relationship if you are still mired deeply within it, and how you need to put some distance between yourself and it before you can see where you are and what needs to be done with improved clarity. That is the path to healing.

I could probably keep talking about Qibli for 15 more paragraphs, but I’ll spare you.

Kinkajou

Every protagonist (and a good deal of side characters) in Wings of Fire is broken, usually has some kind of gut-wrenching past (often due to terrible parents), and struggles to find their place in the world. Luckily here is a pink-and-yellow Rainwing who is just happy and everything is fantastic and wholesome, right?

CW: Forced starvation

Nah, Kinkajou had it pretty rough too. The story plays it like it’s a humorous quip when she finds out Moonwatcher is her roommate and bemoans that nobody is taking her “trauma” seriously, but... yeah, it actually is legitimate trauma. She was captured, bound, and trapped on a hell island without sunlight for several weeks. While there, she was not fed, and she helplessly watched people whom she knew from early childhood starve and die. Death by starvation is not pretty, she likely had to witness her friends slowly being driven mad by hunger until they withered away, and couldn’t do anything about it. Then she was rescued and returned to a home that didn’t believe her pain was real, that claimed she made it up for attention, and that some people who she thought of as friends didn’t even notice she was gone. The only one who believed her was a stranger whom she had met maybe a few hours ago.

Personally, if that happened to me and I came home to that, I’d likely have pulled a Chameleon and said “Screw the Rainwings, I’m moving to the desert.”

That Kinkajou is still able to be positive and full of energy after that is a testament to her immense mental fortitude. She might actually be one of the most stable and resilient characters in the story. Some things shake her up for a bit, but nothing can crush her.

Still, I imagine there are some times, after a really bad day maybe, where she wakes up in the middle of the night. And there, for just a moment, she is scared to open her eyes... because she might be back on the Nightwing island and has to watch someone else die.

Peril

Peril is a bit of an odd case in arc 2. She gets grouped with the protagonists of that arc and the ending implies she is integrated into the Jade Winglet as their new Skywing. I have no real problem with that, in fact it’s good on her that she’s made a little less isolated. But to me, Peril always felt like an awkward appendix to that group. Her only real friend in there is Turtle; for the rest of them they feel more like vague acquaintances, like she's tolerated for being Turtle's friend.

To be fair though, that friendship with Turtle is really strong; it’s an exciting and deep character dynamic. But if I was forced to tie Peril to a group of protagonists, my first instinct would be to associate her with the first arc protagonists instead.

This poor girl has been through it. Everyone seems to hate her and wants her to leave, sometimes for understandable reasons and sometimes it just seems bizarre. I already went into Tsunami’s disdain for her in an earlier post, but I also vaguely remember a point in Escaping Peril where she meets Qibli and he gives her a withering glare for some reason. That confused me, to be honest. I thought “What’s YOUR problem with her? Have you ever even met??” Like, I guess the Outclaws were in direct conflict with Burn since they lived in the same country, and Peril was an infamous elite combatant under the command of one of Burn’s allies, so maybe Peril killed people he knew? But then he gets over his disdain really quickly and with no comment, so whatever happened can’t have been a big deal after all.

My favorite part in her book is when everyone--after having learned about Turtle’s powers--chews him out for not having helped his country during the war, and Peril cuts through the tripe by saying something along the lines of “So if he uses the power he was born with to serve his Queen it is honorable, but when I do the same for my Queen I’m a murderer and deserve to have things thrown at me?” I love all of these guys, but they really deserved to be called out for their double standard and feel stupid for a bit.

But yeah, I really enjoy her friendship with Turtle in the end. And since he accidentally made himself virtually indestructible, it means Peril can now get all the friendly hugs she craves.

Umber

Umber is cool. He has a potentially interesting relationship with Turtle, which is implied in the latter’s book when it is mentioned that they sleep with their backs touching to comfort each other about their respective siblings not being there.

Unfortunately he gets written out of the story arc very quickly. I wish I knew more about him.

Carnelian

I like Carnelian. I feel like she had a lot of potential that gets wasted by her death, for not much gain. It is used to give Queen Ruby a reason to come to Jade Mountain and kickstart the events of Peril’s book, but the same could have been accomplished by having her learn that the Academy is housing Peril and going there to demand the extradition of a (in her eyes) dangerous and murderous fugitive.

Same as with Umber, really, I wish I knew more about her. I already said this during my Smaugust drawing session, but I like to pretend that she and Bigtail didn’t die, and instead had a mini arc about recovering from their injuries. It also has the side effect of averting some very unfortunate implications that come with Bigtail’s death.

~~~

I think that’s all of them. Good lord I talk too much. Please don’t throw crocodiles at my face for it. Tumblr is my queen, and--much like the Queen's former champion--I was made to do it.

[c0smiccom3t]

AND NOW.... FOR A SPECIAL 3RD ANNIVERSARY UPDATE. (6/1/2024)

Hello friends, hello mutuals, hello dimension dyfenders fans and hello people who like indie cartoon/comic stuff in general! Comet here. Once Again. and this time i've got something ig this year. This was supposed to release on May 29th, but due to Ren not coming back for a long time because they needed to prioritize irl stuff, of course, we had to delay it.

But, but, BUT! thankfully I had a few things ready after all, however as for some other things else, we'll get to it much later, when the moment calls. Now, let's get off with the first one.

(warning, in case this update gets too long, i'll make a part two where i'll be able to link it through here.)

You Kinda... Look Different.

You may have noticed that Dislexo looks a bit different than usual (darker skin, a bit of shorter hair, etc.), in case you're wondering why... Yeah, you're about to find out.

So, while I was thinking and drawing up some D.D related stuff, I was brainstorming a little by my lonesome. All of the sudden, as I was making a new render for a character, I was like... "Wait a minute... What if I give Dislexo a new look which is a mix between a secretary and a butler but keep it's elements from what made their design unique?" and So, the new and improved Dislexo was born!

Honestly i'm proud of what they look like now. I just hope i won't (or will) get to redesign ALL of the cast again so suddenly lol! Anyways, thats just a small change I made, nothing too big. Now, let's get on something else... which is...

Pocket Adventures' current status + how's minisode 1 coming along

You might be asking inside your minds, "i wonder when more of minisode 1 will drop", "where are the new parts?"- Well, i got the answer. It'll only come only when im completely finished. However i havent been working much on it aside from making a few pages a few months ago, but hopefully this summer i may get back to it and finish it all up if i can. The final script is 73% percent complete, as for the comic itself, let's just say its 58%. I promise you i'm taking my time with delivering everything i can for this minisode. However i might republish the minisode with the series' current artstyle if it ever comes out physically (or either when I'll have the time or energy to do it.) So, now, you may be wondering: "But Comet, what do we do while we wait." Well you're not gonna believe this.

No, it's not an extremely late april fools post! We got new stuff coming soon, recently i've been brainstorming some ideas for brand new content, and you know what? It came to me, HERE'S WHAT'S COMING!

MORE TOONIES COMING YOUR WAY!

THAT'S RIGHT, after months of hiatus, Toonies is coming back with more strips! This time, since summer's coming around, i'll try to post and make more of them and even schedule the finished ones! We got even more covers for it coming, but for now, here's one of them!

More comics are not only gonna explore more of the Dyfenders' and the Dajo Crew's everyday lives in-and-out of their superhero/Villain occupations, we are also going to focus on much more on other characters (at least some of them), and some will last for a few more pages longer! No arcs though, sorry. But hey, you're getting more wackiness as a treat! Now, i know i said this year is not gonna be big like the other two years we had, but...

NEW SPECIAL CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT!

THAT'S RIGHT! We're working on a new special to commemorate our three years! Thought it'd be a nice adiction to this year, we may not reveal the logo and it's title yet, but we can tell you what the sypnosis is about!

You're all invited to the biggest night in the Omniverse, right across it's stars, cosmos, galaxies and portals! Both the Dimension Dyfenders and the Dajo-Crew are crossing the red (or should we say, blue) carpet in this brand new 3-part special! Prince Dajo-Voo has a new plan on how to take over the gala, all while he tries to self-control himself from doing the same explosive incident he did back then. The Dyfenders may be having a great time at the gala, but rest assured, they'll be sure to keep a close eye on him. Here's to a Rift-errific and (hopefully) trouble-free gala!

As a bonus, when the production on all three parts are done, we'll be posting Toonies comics related to the special, which may feature a new character who will debut later on in Pocket Adventures! We don't know when it'll exactly be out, my guesses would be either summer, september or next May 2025. But rest assured, we'll be working on it, but we won't rush it out.

So... What's next?

Honestly, i can't really tell. But I can assure you i still have so may plans for this series, plans that will be put in action in the far-off future. What i really hope to do is to make animated shorts as well, not just Toonies strips, pocket adventures minisodes and comic dubs of it. Maybe if we'll ever make a backerkit or a kickstarter for it and get a budget, it might happen (along with more VAs joining in.) Speaking of VAs, in case you're a VA and you haven't auditioned yet, anytime is the right time! (this is still a test leap, but if it succeeds it may go further.)

but for now, we're sticking to comics, and then, if possible we'll get to comic dubs and so on.

That's all for now! I hope you're all looking forward to what's coming for this series. I'm sorry that it wasnt as big as the last years, but we promise that things will arrive when they can.

Happy (LATE) third anniversary, everybody!! Thanks for reading!

By the way, HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!

[layraket]

I haven't done the update analysis the past month, so here it is!

I love the boys going into dungeons, and this update made me very happy!

now that I'm remembering it, they may or may not have gotten the map of this dungeon, if the second option is true its just Twilight guessing from the ruins

and isn't that so cool, this guy literaly is figuring out an ancient structure by just the ruins it left in the future. The photography memory this man has

i know this might not contribute anything but i want to check if i am not the only one that sees each one with a different emotion jksfjkds

left is sad, central is happy and right is angry, idk love when objects has faces

alright there's something happening between Legend and Wind, its clear

They haven't talked that much after their discussion in the Sunset arc, so there might be things that haven't been finished or that we didn't get to see between them

idk he seemed like that img "almost got into a fist fight with a 13 yo" or smth like that

Legend has learned a lot from his adventures, memorizing common dungeon puzzles and how to solve them, maybe he even got this puzzle wrong once, that would explain how he already knows about this problem and that can't be undone. I doubt the goddesses would throw their hero with a manual for dungeons

Also Wild has been very quiet during this update

Time still worries about Twilight, he just recovered from an injury that almost kill him, getting his strength back from that is impressive, but still he isn't sure if his descendant is completely healed

mf moving a whole block by himself if this isn't prove that he got his strength at least mostly back idk what it is

remember when i said that Wild had been very quiet? well

He doesn't know how dungeons exactly work, yes Warriors doesn't either, but Wild is more used to go with whatever solution he can find

The captain follows stragety, Wild follows luck, if there's something that can probably work he will take that opportunity

Although, he knows that maybe in here that will not work, but he still wants to feel useful and learn from this strange area for him

Wind telling him this might mean two things; 1. For the space of the corridor they would just be getting in the way and this is more for technical mobility, or 2. They don't really need their help right now, why bother to offer themselves if they will get told to move from the way?

something that i just noticed: is that a mirror? If so, i feel this dungeon will have some light puzzles, or maybe is just decoration, who knows

This place seems very related to owls, these birds being seen as a symbol of Wisdom, and i have seen a lot of people relating it with the Zeldas

with how things are going and Jojo's words, you all maybe aren't that far from the truth

again, mirror indicating that maybe this is a light puzzle, also that this structure is too similar to Hylia's statue in sksw, maybe is related?

not much to say here. love these two.

its very interesting (at least for me) that Four is the one that we see in this pannel, yes maybe he was the closest and thats why, but if we try to give it a more detailed explanation this might just reference him not trusting the magic that Twi uses to transform, he still thinks that its dangerous and would turn agains't them if they aren't careful

obviously this is where they split, going together will make dificult traverse the corridors with how things went the past update wiht the skulltula

also holy shit can we appreciate the backgrounds? i love the perspective its so cool

alr folks now is time for my fav pannels/parts of the update without further context!

i love when theyre small 🤏look at em

beautiful update im happy to finally share my thoughts i've been having them for a while jksfhdjk

as always art credits to @linkeduniverse!

[not-too-many-eyes]

5, 8, 13?

(For this ask game)

5. A female villain you love?

This question is strangely hard cause I have to debate with myself if morally complicated conservative women count or not, because a lot of the complicated women I like AREN'T placed in an explicitly adversarial position to "the heroes" (nor do the things I like tend to create that explicitly dichotomy of "hero" and "villain") and I still haven't been able to determine the answer to that-

But like- Plutomon Digimon Survive is a villain no matter how you slice it so uh- her. I can't say too much on her for Spoiler Reasons but Plutomon Digimon Survive is a Character of All Time can I get an Amen!

(I Mean I'd Love to put a character like Natushi here but I'm really hung up on the definitions here as you might notice.)

8. A minor female character you love anyway?

I was going to jokingly say that none of the things I like have women as Just minor characters but then I was thinking about it and I was like "Wait.....what media do I like (That I think about often) that has women in minor roles?" so I settled on Reverse 1999 Eagle since she is a minor character in story and has Very Little Going On outside of her ancedote focus:

I bet anon was asking for a character with actual like- 2 minutes of screentime but the truth is I simply just don't think too much about characters like that in general. If I do I tend to turn them into OCs since like...at some point they do just become my OC and I''m not going to be like "Oh this is the actual canon version of the character" when I've just written them as OCs. Plus my memory is shit so I really do need something to latch onto.

Keiko RGU might count though?

I find her really fun and interesting in the Black Rose arc since she's coming right after the most emotionally involved of the Black Rose Duelists (Wakaba) so you have a really nice duality there of Wakaba being Utena's best friend while Utena doesn't even know Keiko's name.

Oh and Rei!

She's great as well! I love whatever horrific situationship she had with Muu and how Muu thinks of her as like- a beautiful hero and puts her on a pedestal while simultaneously hating her for "not saving her." Okay maybe I do have more options for this than I thought-

13. An interesting femslash ship? (Canon or otherwise)

I was going to put a Yuri is my Job ship here and then I realized that I don't....consider any of those "romantic" ships like- to me Sumika and Kanako is a QPR, same with Yano and Hime- like those are complicated and nuanced relationships and I love them but Sumika and Kanako are textually Not Romance.

While for Yano and Hime it seems like Hime doesn't feel romantic attraction but a genuine sensual and sexual attraction towards Yano like- aro but not ace. Does that count for the purposes of this discussion?

The definition rests unclear, and I generally just ship situationships forever, but I do have one that isn't horrifically complicated- which is my friend keeps on telling me that apparently Eva and Natushi from Umineko have toxic yuri going on and Im like-

THESE TWO???

THESE TWO HAVE TOXIC YURI?????? THEIR IN LOVE???? THEY DONT JUST HATE EACH OTHER????

So now I need to know what's going on there. I want to know whatever the fuck is going on there. I'm still in Episode 2 and I'm like "Okay. What is their deal"

Alien Nine Yuri and Kumi are also good:

Same with BiY Touko and Yuu (I have not finished this either):

(EDIT) I went to edit this again not just for formatting reasons but because I needed to include my beloved We Know the Devil and Heaven Will be Mine Polycules:

And we also have!

Utenanthy! (I made this a month or so ago and dont want to fix it up at all)

Redraw of this:

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 Welcome to a fresh week full of possibilities, my fellow bookish bats! I hope you had an amazing weekend! It's been a while since I've posted one of these, so I thought it would be fun to jump in with an update. As a reminder, I can't post or respond to comments until 10/10! Please help me by commenting on and sharing this post!

❓QOTD What are you up to this week? Answer one of the prompts below!

📖 Reading: I just finished SK Ali's Fledgling (expect my review Tuesday to celebrate it's release). Now I'm reading a fresh ARC, Breaking the Ice by Amy Andrews. What was the last great ARC you read (I need recs!)?

☕️ Drinking: I made fresh oat milk this weekend, so I'm currently sipping on my first homemade pumpkin spice latte of the year (with maple syrup, pumpkin puree, more cinnamon than most people can stand, & pumpkin spice). Yum!

🍯 Eating: Last night I made a tray of paleo pumpkin spice cinnamon cake. It's super moist, & we topped it off with a hot, homemade cinnamon glaze. I unfortunately broke a GORGEOUS baby blue casserole dish (containing a week's worth of homemade paleo pizza), & since I can't afford to replace it, I may have to press pause on baking for a while.

🎧 Listening: Mariana Trench's entire discography on repeat, ending with their new album, Haven. My heart is not okay.

📺 Watching: Watching Big Door Prize & old Psych episodes while bae is home. Comfort-watching Buffy, Lost Girl, & Wynonna for the spooky vibes.

✍️ Doing: Working on posts for the month, rush-reading a stack of ARCs, & looking for work in the publishing industry (if you have any advice or leads, send them my way!).

🦇 Your turn! Let me know what you're up to in the comments below! Have a wonderful week, bookish bats!

[dramashii]

Finished two dramas today: Serendipity's Embrace and Dashing Youth. Now, my watchlist looks so empty.

Final thoughts:

Serendipity's Embrace

I never really had any strong feelings towards Serendipity's Embrace while watching it. In paper, this drama is supposed to be your basic romance story. I don't mind simple and cliche stories. At the end of the day, it will work out if your leads have chemistry. Unfortunately, I have not seen that here. In hindsight, I don't think I've ever seen Kim So Hyun having chemistry with any of her co-stars (based on the dramas I've seen of her). Actually, this drama is okay but there are like hundreds of basic romance stories out there with similar themes that are so much more fleshed out. Nothing stands out here. Watchable but completely forgettable.

Dashing Youth

As someone who actually thoroughly enjoyed The Blood of Youth, I am sad to say that I didn't like this as much. I keep seeing comments how these two dramas shouldn't be compared. It's hard not to. This is literally its prequel. And the premise is quite similar: youths finding their places in the world.

I'm trying to figure out why I didn't like this as much, but I guess there were too many arcs crammed into 40 episodes for me to get invested. There were so many characters introduced in so little time that some weren't developed properly. It was exhausting keeping track of everything. The fight scenes sometimes relied too heavily on CGI, which made them lackluster at times imo. Besides that, I kept getting confused about the timeline. I didn't know how many years or months had passed. Speaking of the timeline, some things didn't add up when considering The Blood of Youth. I had to turn off my brain. I didn't even want to think about it anymore.

Overall, I think this is an okay watch. I wonder if I would have liked this more if I didn't watch The Blood of Youth first. I do think it gave me more perspectives as to why characters became the way they did in the sequel. (I'm really just talking about my disliked for the emperor, Xiao Ruojin being validated here) I keep comparing the two dramas. But alas, I'll never know.

[hylialeia]

I never did write and post my thoughts after I finished reading Priory of the Orange Tree but given I've been thinking about the state of the fantasy genre a lot lately - across YA, adult, and "new adult" categories - I figure now is a good time to do that.

I didn't particularly like this book.

And I find this weird to write, because unlike most books I end up disliking, Priory was consistently well written in a technical sense, had a narrative voice I generally navigate towards, and consisted of some genuinely impressive worldbuilding and well-thought-out fantasy concepts.

Yet it took me months to finish it. I even hit a point where I almost DNF'd the entire thing, I was so surprised by my lack of motivation to continue. This book hooked me, presented me with something interesting, and then... completely flat-lined.

While a lot of this could have just been media burnout on my end (you can never really account for how your own personal mood and context when you start something new), I at least know for sure that my lack of enthusiasm had nothing to do with the novel's length. In fact, one of my technical criticisms of Priory is that I think it would have benefited immensely from splitting its story into a series and extending things, fleshing out more of the characters in each of their respective settings, as well as allowing for a lot more build-up towards the climax and eventual intersection of the characters' storylines.

As it stands, those are the areas that felt the most rushed and underwhelming to me. There were several potential instances of conflict throughout the novel that the narrative brushes over or ignores in a way I found particularly disappointing. In a book that grounds itself in examining religious bias, propaganda, xenophobia, and sexism, there were surprisingly few deeper conflicts or tense moments between our main characters. This became especially apparent by the end, when widely accepted histories (and religions) are turned on their heads and most of our POV characters carry on without any sense of fallout, betrayal, or lasting hurt. Each and every character puts aside their personal biases and histories in a way that should feel admirable and satisfying, but instead felt less than believable and even... underwhelming, given the speed with which it was done and the potential (fascinating!) conflicts that those agreements squandered.

I couldn't help but feel that the characters of Priory were either half-baked or intentionally watered down for the purposes of being palatable. Tané, Niclays, and Sabran were (in my totally subjective opinion) the most interesting characters by far; it doesn't escape me that they were also the ones who did, said, and/or thought some of the more uncharitable and even downright terrible things within the novel. Tané's inferiority complex and self-sabotaging nature, Niclays's mixture of pessimism, cowardice, and bitterness, and Sabran's privilege and willful prejudice, all served to make them more fascinating to me. They gave me clear character flaws that made their respective stories more interesting, flaws that stoked my desire to see them improve (or deteriorate) on the course of their character arcs. I found myself disappointed when those arcs became rushed in the final act, those flaws never proving a sufficient obstacle to their dynamics or growth.

Ead and Loth were sadly the worst case scenario. I wanted desperately to like them, but every POV chapter they had seemed to be written by an author terrified to make them in any way unlikable, or even portray them as in the wrong. Ead ends up being completely right about everything; the falseness of Sabran's history, her religion, and her country. Her only missteps result from a lack of information, which she quickly overcomes or is the first to genuinely discover, thus erasing any feeling of culpability that otherwise may have been implied; I never feel any legitimate moments of shame, grief, horror, or regret on her part, because the author never gives her legitimate reason to feel those things. Niclays is interesting in his betrayals and moments of cowardice, and the moments where he overcomes them are all the more meaningful for having seen him falter. Ead, arguably our main protagonist, never really gets something similar. She doesn't make any mistakes, and this is the greatest disservice Shannon could do to her as a character.

I barely know what to say about Loth, mostly because he only began interesting me when he encountered Tané - a dynamic that was cut woefully short and could have been absolutely fascinating if it was deeply explored. Prior to this moment (which had to be in the last 10% of the book, if I remember correctly), Loth is "a walking camera" (quoting a friend). He has characteristics with potential; religious, loyal, and dedicated... but considering the entire basis of his faith is overturned by one of his closest friends, he has shockingly little reaction or issue with this. Due to the important of larger plot happenings, Loth has to dust himself off and just postpone his reaction to the utter disassembly of his religious background for another time - which we are then never able to see. His reactions to most everything are basic, reasonable, minimal, or even dull; he could have paralleled Sabran in his religious prejudice, even showed some effects of his society's religious fanaticism, but he never really seems to - at least, never in a way that truly feels like it's testing him. For all intents and purposes, Loth feels like a character who should be making snap judgments and loads of mistakes, but instead is relegated to keeping those thoughts to himself (even hiding them from the reader) and soldiering on.

Priory was mostly recommended to me based on the impressive scale of its worldbuilding, which was definitely a cut above the rest. I thought Shannon had a firm grasp on her setting and some legitimately excellent imagery for it. I've been made more appreciative of this by the analysis in Global Medievalism by Helen Young and Kavita Mudan Finn, which dissects how Priory (and others) takes the predominantly white interpretation of medievalism and medieval fantasy expands it in a way that's far more inclusive and also far more interesting than much of our modern day "high fantasy" media. I'm not without my criticisms, however; the worldbuilding is another area where the pacing hurts the story, as we only have one 800 page book to get to know the seemingly important settings in which these characters live. That may sound like a lot, but it's perilously little; balancing those vivid worldbuilding details with a packed plot and character arcs meant that, at any given time, one aspect was always getting the short end of the stick.

While I appreciate Shannon's attempts to write with a feminist approach to high fantasy, I think her efforts highlight an issue I have with many similar approaches. Primarily, I find it difficult for a work to address, untangle, disassemble, and analyze misogyny in a setting where they... don't really show it. We're in a state where I think many of us have become (understandably) distrustful of media claiming "realism" or "historical accuracy" to defend its portrayal of violence and various types of oppression, but lately, I've noticed the response to that gratuitousness (in the cases where these things actually are gratuitous instead of just uncomfortable-yet-intentional, that is), is to avoid these things in the narrative almost entirely. That's all well and good; you don't have to include racism, misogyny, ableism, or imperialism in your fantasy world, especially when your desire is to write an alternative escapism to these things.

But when a piece of media is striving to say something about those topics, as I assume Priory does since its driving conflict results from a history of dismissing women's bravery and sacrifice against evil and instead granting the reward of their efforts to a man, then I have to admit, I feel somewhat underwhelmed when the women in the story never face any of the trials I myself deal with in real life. Their male colleagues seem consistently respectful with rare few exceptions; women across the series are allowed to occupy roles from respected advisors to knights trained in combat. Sabran herself seems to be one of the only women deeply impacted by familiar misogynistic mindsets, as she's constantly pressured to marry a man and produce offspring for the continuation of her line. Yet even this could almost be argued to be a special case within the world, since this pressure results from the religious belief that the continuation of her line (through her, the queen, the matriarch) is keeping the main antagonist at bay. This area felt like it wanted to be a subversion to much of the gritty, "realistic" fantasy that plagues the market, but to me, it felt more like indecisiveness. Is there misogyny in this world or isn't there? Is there homophobia in this setting or not? The answer could simply be yes, no, or even somewhat, but instead it felt like a "maybe".

Overall, Priory of the Orange Tree fell flat for me, maybe because my expectations were too high, or maybe because I just wasn't in a place to really dig my teeth into it. Mostly, though, I believe it fell flat because Shannon failed in what I believe to be the most important area of focus in a work: character. I would have traded worldbuilding, plot, imagery, and much more for a cast of characters that felt more intensely raw and complex, that were more unabashedly real in their flaws even if they risked becoming unlikable. Sitting at a 5.5/10

[lunar-system]

ofmd s2 finale thoughts.

I'm sitting here thinking if this kind of thing has ever happened to me. I was living and breathing Izzy for the past month. He was in my thoughts most of my free time. Now he's gone. I knew it from the moment when Ricky made the shot. He had a beautiful end. I just wish he had had more time.

I have a weird wiring in my brain that when i hear bad news i smile. So i was smiling throughout the end of the episode like a lunatic. Same happened with Good omens breakup scene. But even though part of that is because of the tragedy of what's happening, it's also partly cause i just love to see the beautiful scenes happening and hurting me. Bit of Izzy style masochism in me, i guess. I loved watching it. I hate that there will not be more of him. Honestly, thinking about the next season and knowing Izzy won't be there feels so empty. To know there won't be anything more to see with his relationship with either Ed or Stede, it feels bleak. It was the highlight of the show for me.

It'll be ok. This was a beautiful arc. It closed the wound left by the end of s1. Ed is free now. Blackbeard is gone. And to reframe Blackbeard as the unity of Ed and Izzy, that was so beautiful. Blackbeard doesn't exist with one of them gone.

I'm a biiit nervous to go see what the fandom in general has to say about this plot. I saw many people saying that OFMD would not kill off a queer character who was just able to discover himself. But it did. I hope the plot can be received gracefully. I experienced beautiful emotions watching Izzy go. I am fucking sad, and I am so happy I got to experience the whole ride with Izzy, the beautiful story from start to finish. I started this by asking if I've ever experienced something like this before, and I honestly can't think of another case when a character I'm so so so fond of dies. And sure, maybe there could be Buttons sea magic bringing him back but it did seem pretty damn definite for me. Not many series dares to kill of a good character. And those series where characters die a lot I'm never this invested in the characters.

Oh, Con. Thank you so much for your beautiful work. Thank you David from letting me experience it. Thank you fandom for all the Izzy love I've got to see during the past month. We'll be alright.

[hottakehoulihan]

Ward reread rants/musings/babblings, as I go through arc 6

I don't think you get to create a cohesive fictional world without being a "control freak" (not a very fair term, but I just want to dash this off I don't intend to write essays) about it. People may advocate for 'death of the author' but the author needs to stay very much alive to actually create anything that aspires to quality. So, I'm 100% in favor of an author having unbending WOG even as I'll add my own headcanon on after the fact.

Also, as rambly as my typing gets, talking IRL to people is way worse and the folk who can pick up what I'm trying to communicate are rare (and I treasure them). I understand the frustration of "no I'm trying but you're not getting it and I'm not communicating it but I do know it: the structure of this thing is such that it behaves this way and not that way.

And hell, maybe if the Worm fans (?) hadn't made interacting with the Wormverse a tiresome and depressing exercise for WB, he'd allow that what people think about themselves and others as teenagers is likely to change profoundly if they live through another decade and if their headcrabs / traumas don't interfere too much with their thought processes and outlooks.

So I'm a WB sympathizer.

That said, if he said Ward was the least fun he had writing? It kinda shows. I discovered Worm after it was entirely complete, and in fact what with the vagaries and vicissitudes of life Pale was the first WB thing I had to wait for updates to finish. ...but I recall WB used to playfully troll the audience in the comments, and also played games with them on the side, and was just a goofy guy when he wasn't being the epic serialist. And I have to remind myself of this because he's--Cherrypop driving a murder truck over the protagonists notwithstanding--serious and tired-seeming now. (This could also be the demands of our era and aging.)

But yeah; there are WB-isms that grate on me a bit (I've kvetched about "less" for "fewer", but also there's "blood ran cold" and "sooner than later" (a regionalism? I've heard it "sooner rather than later" but maybe it's a Canuck thing?) and having a guy named Rain be intregal to the plot/action while there's actual precipitation going on and just blithely using the same words, or repeating the same word three times in two sentences. And there's more. It's maybe a style thing, and it's absolutely parseable and that means it's forgivable or even fine and I'm just being picky and wanting poetry from prose and if I don't like it I should get back to writing my own stuff and doing better, but I suspect that Ward is the "write a book in a month by getting to your wordcount and don't worry too much about editing" entry into WB's oeuvre. He had ideas, he had a story, and as John Scalzi puts it, writing is a job when you are getting paid so you do it whether your heart's in it or not and the technique from practice and the effort will get it done and you eat your mistakes and learn from them just like cooking.

(I like Scalzi's take, that if you're getting paid to write you write and damn the torpedoes or your own mood. I'll keep doing it for not-pay so that it's not a job, because I want to enjoy it. Also, I prefer the idea of the audience not getting input until the deed is done. I think if Breaking Bad had been produced in entirety without a test audience--like The Wire was--it would have been a vastly better show. But we wouldn't have Jesse to ship with Waltuh, so...YMMV.)

So yeah; I'm only on arc six in my reread, and unfortunately post-GM Victoria reminds me too much of the parts of myself that I like least* so it's hard for me to like her as a protag, but there are bits I'm looking forward to (banter with the Heartbroken and their parents, Kensie's whole deal, grumpy haughty Damselite doings) and I do set the book down reluctantly (rather than with relief) so I am enjoying much of the ride, even with some regret that it couldn't have been more fun for the author and--consequently--for the audience.

I guess it's got some similarities to the Simarillion; it adds context but part of your engagement will depend on your engagement with the previous work.

---------------------

And of course there's Amy, who I love from the beginning to end of Worm and while I could wish she could transcend her own trauma and become happy and healthy and confident and comfortable, in her own brain and social situations. (I wish that for myself too, and for each of you, and we have the freedom to be the authors of large parts of our own stories; if it's believable that any of us struggle but fail or fail to struggle, it's believable for Amy.) Well, I am rereading partly to review her situation and renew my understanding of what actually happened WRT her and also titans because it's foggy. ...but although I want what I want, some people just don't get the roll of the dice to achieve the right situation that allows them to escape their own traps.

Ward is that notional car that was put together on a Monday by skilled mechanics who maintained their professionalism and gritted their teeth and worked through their hangovers to make sure it passed diagnostics and QC, but...but.

----------------------------

Ward's also the story of how someone learns reconcile and achieve comfort with their long-established contemporary who has a monstrous side but is still a being worthy of love and consideration and can be--with patience--a close friend.

Shame that the monster side of Amy wasn't the one we're talking about here.

---------------------------------------

I could write another disjointed rant on the subject of Amy alone, but I'd best finish my reread first so I have all the info fresh in my brain-ocean.

But in case I don't? Here's my hot take, which at one point I had as long as the above but the subject is fraught, deleted entirely, wrote a different take on, it's STILL a hot take, and there are things in it that are loadbearing squick points for me so I'm leaving them deleted:

Amy, of her own free will, and in canon that is actually discussed in early Ward, temporarily turned off all of Victoria's emotions and then gave Victoria the option to remember or forget all the things Amy did that will give Victoria trauma For Ever. That was an entirely unpragmatic but arguably top-tier ethical choice for Amy to do.

Amy was monstrous. Sure, all humans are monsters at various points in their lives. Doug Forcett isn't real but he still had things to repent even after his childhood, and even if Yeshua Ben-Yosef was exactly what his marketers and fans described him as, he still intentionally tortured and caused death, not including the suffering his inactions caused. (What was he going to do? Avoid his abusive parent by spending all day in the hospital? No. That's what Amy did. Bonus; she didn't enjoy it, so it was even more saintlike than it would be if she got satisfaction from it.) (I'm saying it: Amy is bigger than Jesus. If you shoot me, be sure to carry a copy of Catcher in the Rye or it won't be any fun.)

But Amy stepped across a much bigger line than even normal human monstrosity (no sense dwelling on normal human monstrosity; it's everywhere and part of it is choosing not to see it but I have to avert my eyes sometimes or I'll become a pillar of salt) and it took her some time and a little circumstance to stop doing the monster thing. And now (late Worm through early Ward at least) she's martyring herself, (Jesus get out of my post!) or trying to stop being a martyr because it's been years and the world ended and redemption isn't 100% about martyring it's about being a better person too.

Amy--even the most heavily monstrous Amy imaginable in the text--is utterly redeemable, and closer to it than many of those who aren't framed as needing redemption.

Hang in there girl.

And I'll hang in there on my reread. The highlight of the first half of arc six is Imp bantering with Bitch and Bitch telling Victoria she's a good girl (not with that wording that would break the reality, but it was still cute) for finding a lost dog.

[snazzy-suit]

Incoming Krimbus Gift! (LLoG Edition)

Do your eyes deceive you? Nay I say! You got some LLoG writing heading your way! Before you get too excited, it isn't a complete chapter (yet!), but I thought I'd share another sneak peek before 2023 ended, seeing as the last time I posted anything was... *checks archive* Three years ago? Cripes.

Anyway, I've had a few people DM'ing me earlier this year (politely) asking if I plan to do any more writing for the LLoG AU. I told at least one of them I hoped to start writing again late summer, and I did exactly that! I've been working away at the "Hey! Creatures!" arc off and on for the past few months and have made a lot of progress.

Too much progress.

"The hell does 'too much progress' mean?" you may ask. Well. You know how "Hey! Creatures!" was only supposed to be four chapters?

It's eight chapters now.

EIGHT.

So, those that have stuck around for the LLoG AU, waiting for one more chapter, have actually been waiting for FIVE more chapters. Needless to say, things have gotten out of hand. I'm hoping to trim things down during editing, but I'm not very optimistic ^^'

Here's what it looks like so far:

Chapter 5.4 - Draft Complete. Undergoing Edits.

Chapter 5.5 - Draft Complete. Undergoing Edits.

Chapter 5.6 - Draft 90% Complete.

Chapter 5.7 - Draft 40% Complete

Chapter 5.8 - Draft Complete. Awaiting Review.

Madness. Absolute madness. But, with all the re-writes this sucker has undergone, it's an improvement. My goal (my Writer's New Year's Resolution, if you will) is to be finished and ready to post by March 2024.

ANYWAY.

I have scheduled a preview of the epilogue (Chapter 5.8) to post tomorrow. Why the epilogue? It's the least susceptible to change, for one. Also, the part I'm showing is just a fun little reunion scene set immediately after Luigi completes his mission. It's told from E. Gadd's PoV, and I've found him weirdly fun to write. Story spoilers are minor at best (things that won't really have any meaning out of context), but feel free to skip it if you rather go into the final arc completely blind.

TL;DR

I'm posting a snippet of the "Hey! Creatures!" epilogue tomorrow. It has minor out of context spoilers. Read it or don't. Mer Krimbus.

[purplesurveys]

1897

1~ What quality do you value most highly in others? Considering the traditional and backwards culture my country is known to live by, I appreciate someone who's open-minded and thinks in a more modern, less discriminating way.

2~ Are you more aggressive or mellow? It depends...this is a very broad question. I can be aggressive when it comes to people or things I deeply care about, and mostly mellow-ly nonchalant towards everything else.

3~ Who has made the biggest sacrifice for you? My parents, easily.

4~ Do you take any vitamins or medication? I don't. Nothing regular.

5~ Do you want to grow old with someone? It would be nice to grow old with my best friend, but I also don't, like, actively pressure her to do so. She has her own future and family to think about, and I don't mind being one of the supporting characters in her arc. It would just be nice to have the rest of our lives together.

6~ Do you treat others better or worse than yourself and why? It used to be 100% better than myself, but I'm slowly starting to prioritize myself now too. That being said, I've started to enforce boundaries and to learn how to say no when I want to.

7~ What sound is annoying you right now? Eh, nothing. It's fairly silent at the moment.

8~ Where was your last vacation to? We had back to back trips to Bulacan, Vietnam, and Tagaytay the last month. My family also booked a last-minute weekend someplace south but I didn't go with as I went to Hans and Angela's engagement party that same time.

9~ Where was your last car ride to? My uncle's new place! He finally moved into the home he's been building and finishing up the last few years and it's beautiful.

10~ Where did you last walk to? Just upstairs, here to my bedroom.

11~ What gives you a peaceful feeling? Rainy weather.

12~ Are you a light sleeper? No, I'm usually nearly impossible to wake up which is why I always need 4-5 consecutive alarms set.

13~ When you sleep next to someone who usually falls asleep first? I get veeeerrryyyy conscious sleeping around other people, so it's usually them.

14~ How many people have a piece of your heart? Like less than 10.

15~ What do your salt and pepper shakers look like? They're not shakers; they're just tupperwares with their own scoops.

16~ When was the last time you hurt yourself? Intentionally? Years ago. Maybe 6 or 7 years ago. Unintentionally – happens a lot, so yesterday would be my best guess.

17~ Would you rather live in the city, suburbs or the country? City. I grew up in the suburbs my entire life and don't know the sound of a bustling city at all. I'd love to be surrounded by it now that I'm at pretty much the peak of my 20s.

18~ Have you ever built something? I'm sure I have.

19~ Are you more of a maker and giver, or a taker and user? Taker and user. I like going by other people's lead.

20~ Do you take naps? Rarely. Only when I'm extremely, extremely beat – like yesterday.

21~ Do you buy holiday gifts early or at the last minute? I always do it last-minute and get stressed every time lol, I never learn.

22~ Do you laugh when there is no joke and dance when there is no music? Dance, yes. But I don't think I've ever laughed out of nowhere. I always at least remember some kind of memory.

23~ If someone else were to describe you what would you hope they would say? That I have been mentally strong. Or thoughtful – that would honestly be nice to hear, too.

24~ What is the dirtiest habit you can think of? Like, of anyone? I saw someone on Reddit say they enjoy cleaning out their shower drain and that the more hair they get out of it, the better. Something I never expected to read that day tbh lol

25~ Do you ever need ‘quiet time’? Absolutely, and I need it more and more these days since there's now so much more demanded of me at my job, with everyone having eyes on my every move. By the end of every fucking week I'm just out and do not want to deal with anything and anyone.

26~ Do you think it is harder for a parent to outlive their child or for the child to outlive their parent? The former definitely, just because that's not usually expected to happen. My aunt had her son (my uncle) pass at 40; there's not a week I don't think of her and how she's doing.

27~ What was your best find from a flea market, garage sale, ebay or thrift? I found a copy of the WWE Encyclopedia in pristine condition at a secondhand book store. Copped that shit i m m e d i a t e l y.

28~ What is one selfish thing you tend to do? Prioritize myself and my feelings.

29~ What kinds of people do you find intimidating? Mostly people who have had more experience than I've had in our industry. It's intimidation coming from a place of respect, though – I try not to be actively scared of them and instead take the opportunity to learn from them no matter what their mentorship style is (unless they are assholes lol, which I won't tolerate. But thankfully I've never had to encounter someone of the sort).

30~ Out of everyone you know who has the most unique personality? Ades probably? He's the kind of smart that almost makes him weird, but I've never found it off-putting. I like hearing his thoughts whenever I can.

31~ When do you do your best thinking? After-work hours, ie anytime after 6 PM; or on the weekends – which is the time I get to think without needing to worry about deadlines.

32~ What was a choice that you didn’t want to make but you had to? Choosing to move on from my ex four years ago; I genuinely thought there was still a chance we could get back together. I was desperate and delusional at the start, trying to still keep up conversations with her whenever I could and thinking that any reply from her was progress in the direction I wanted. Soon enough I realized that she wanted nothing to do with me anymore and seemed perfectly fine and free without me, and that made it much easier to move past.

33~ Have you ever written a letter to a soldier? No.

34~ What does your favorite coffee mug look like? It's just a plain black glass mug.

35~ What age do you think it is most difficult to be? From my own observation of others around me, 25 seems to be quite the hurdle. Everyone seems to be so pressured and is doing a bunch of stuff to overcome the quarter-life crisis...but personally I think I've handled it quite well and am proud of that.

36~ Do you think you could handle a day in jail? I think my anxiety would eat me alive for the better part of it, but it's a day. I think I'd be able to manage, even if barely.

37~ Who is the most overbearing person you know? L.

38~ Have you ever been on a trampoline? Sure.

39~ What do you use batteries for the most often? My Army lightstick, hah.

40~ Would you prefer to wrap your own presents or have them all gift wrapped? I'm terrible at wrapping presents so I either have my sister do it (if we still have time, because I do my gift shopping last minute like I said) or I just buy a bunch of paper bags to put my gifts in.

[thetruearchmagos]

Writer Positivity Tag

Thank you kindly for the Tag, @sleepyowlwrites , I decided to take it up!

What motivates you to write?

Well, part of it's the history of it all. It feels nice to think of how many thousands of people across time have been somehow involved in the business of the written word, and I feel that what I do is in some way an homage to that long legacy. One that carries a personal, and so unique, touch.

A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not, maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them):

Uhh... haven't actually had the time to write much beyond fanfic these past few days! Here's one odd blurb I've thought over recently though:

The view from L'Orchidee was panoramic. From twenty five storeys up, it cast its gaze across the bay, whose surface glimmered in the last light of a setting sun. Those who passed through its doors would find nothing less than the best Cagnan could offer, serenaded that night by a full string ensemble striking up a tune. As it was, the only thing Captain Castex could hear was the sound of chewing. "Ahh, yes..." Colonel Francois Moreau, sitting opposite him, rose from his steak with a satisfied sigh, dabbing his mouth with a by now quite stained cloth. Of course, the gaze and shark's smile he cast at the Captain shot down any humour Castex might've been tempted to find in the display. "And you, Capitaine? I hope it is the company that is not to your taste, Chef LaCroix's talents are simply beyond reproach!" Castex's soup was long cold, half finished and currently untouched. A single scrap of bread circled on its surface, which Castex thought of as a kindred spirit. "Both are much appreciated, sir. I only wonder why it is me who you've chosen to share both with. Colonel, again I must---" "Enjoy myself, I hope you were about to say. And why shouldn't you? Tell me, how many months has it been since you last took leave, hmm? Six, Castex recalled, but did not say.

It'll be a while before I get to work on it, bit passes the bar of 'existing' I suppose.

Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them, and what are they like?

Well, Gustav of course, and Higgs too. Fiercely skilled, passionately for each other [eventually], these two have been with my writing for a loooooong damn time.

What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

Worldbuilding, which is awkward considering one of the questions down below! I've been one to imagine my 'Setting' as having a story, a history, of its own, one made up of the stories of the billions of people who've made their lives in it, writ large and gathered in the long arc of history. When I make writing from it, I pick one thread, and a few more, and just sorta bring them to light.

What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Uhh--- Descriptions? Of environments, features, more tangible stuff usually? I mean, I do it a lot, and I suppose more than much else.

What is something in the writeblr community that is most enjoyable?

People, and just existing while knowing they exist too! I feel like I'm a lonely person, but it's indescribably nice to know that someone else, somewhere I couldn't imagine, is typing out words the same as me, if differently. And sometimes, they even talk with you about things you like, and that's the real ticket.

A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

World Anvil, despite my neglect of it recently, really is a wonderful application for my Worldbuilding stuff! I should get back into it...

A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law, etc)

AAAAAA---

Okay, really, really hard to pick just one. I really like what I've been doing with my histories, of course. I feel like a lot of them, in fiction at least, are... maddeningly easy to understand? Weird, sprawling, gangly systems of cause and effect charting the evolution of institutions, cultures, and technology across a timeline of about 2.5 centuries is apparently one of my callings, and I intend on hearing it out to the end.

[There's also a certain piece of Worldbuilding I love, and which causes me utter unbridled terror everytime I consider sharing it with people out of a stupid fear that it'll make them hate me. Again, hopefully just stupid.]

Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters:

I love every one of you!!!!!!

@lividdreamz @athenswrites @hessdalen-globe @dogmomwrites @theprissythumbelina @caxycreations @marinesocks @thatndginger @moonscribbler

[P.S., consider that my Tagging of you lot for this too!]

[cookinguptales]

So now that YTTT is finished and posted and I've had some time to decompress from it, I wanted to talk about one of the central ideas I was playing with in the story. Because, yeah, sure, it was a nandermo love story, but it was really about stagnancy and change and fear and depression and how you can need change, you can crave change, but still find yourself mired in stagnancy.

I've thought a lot about the end of s4, and while I did not like everything about the tail-end of the season, I do think that Guillermo's right about the stagnancy in the household. And while it affects all of them, I think Nandor really is at the heart of it. The others, especially Nadja, are always willing to take on life's new challenges and try new things, but Nandor... he's a tough one.

Nandor is fascinating because he outwardly wants change. He's constantly talking about wanting more from his unending life and is constantly making plans to change his situation. He's looking for a soulmate, he's running the vampiric council, he's getting married, he's traveling the globe, he's joining a cult, etc. etc. etc. But... none of it sticks, y'know? And it never sticks because he never lets it. It's almost as if he purposefully (if subconsciously) sabotages all of these attempts at change because on a deep and cellular level, it scares him. As much as he always plays at change, he always takes it in a direction that's bad for him -- because then he has a reason to retreat back to the relative safety of the quiet nest he's created for himself.

He dates people who aren't good for him, who never ask anything from him because they don't actually care about him. He quits the council because it exhausts him and makes him feel powerless. He goes on a trip not because he actually wants to change but because he's running from his fear of being alone -- which only makes him feel even more alone during his journey. He.... well, he joins a cult. (And I could say a lot about how that very, very unhealthy coping mechanism was the one thing that made him briefly feel happy...)

In some ways, I feel like Nandor's simultaneous craving for and fear of change are a part of the vampiric depression that we see him struggling with throughout the entire series. It mirrors real-life depression, tbh. Change is healthy and you know it, but you keep finding excuses not to do things that you actually want (and need) to do. Oh, I won't do this class because it's too expensive. I won't go on that walk because I'm not really feeling it. I'm going to cancel my dinner plans with that friend because it's raining. And then next thing you know, you've been in your house for a month and you don't feel anything anymore.

Nandor's really stuck in that rut, isn't he? And he recognizes, I think, that he can't go on like this forever. His own feelings of loneliness and hopelessness scare him sometimes. But he's still not fully leaving the house, either. He's making all these plans and he's physically going out, but he's not emotionally leaving the "safe", unchanging space that he's built for himself in this house. He's still emotionally snuggling into that stagnancy.

I think it's telling that Nandor's whole arc with the Djinn in s4 is him constantly making small changes in his life and then smoothing them back over, wishing things back to the way they were in the first place. I think it's telling that he only calmed the fuck down in the finale when both Marwa and Freddie were gone, Colin was back to normal, and Guillermo was no longer threatening to leave him. Everything was back to the way it was before and he could go back to pretending he was okay with that. Stagnancy, while ultimately deeply unhealthy for him, is comfortable and it feels safe and it's very, very easy. He has retreated back to his version of solid ground again even if he'll straight-up die there one day.

And for Guillermo, whose entire driving force is change, who's reinvented himself multiple times in just a few years and who desperately wants to be changed further -- and who, I might add, would probably benefit from slowing down and accepting that some parts of his life (and himself!) are already good -- yeah, I can see how the dawning realization that Nandor is always going to sabotage any attempts at genuine change in his life would upset him. I can see why he'd take drastic measures to change that house. I may not agree with how he's going about it, but... I get it.

Nandor, for all that he spins his wheels without really going anywhere, has changed quite a bit over the past few seasons. And it's always been because of Guillermo. Nandor has resisted most meaningful change in his life, but he has not been able to resist Guillermo. The man is a force of nature. Even as Nandor desperately tries to cling to some sense of normalcy between them, Guillermo just keeps shattering that illusion over and over and over again. Guillermo will not allow Nandor to ignore the way that he has changed, the way Nandor has changed, or the way the dynamic between them has changed. And that's uncomfortable for Nandor, but it's also exciting. Scary, but also exhilarating.

Just look at the The Night Market, y'know? Guillermo is forcing Nandor to face who he really is and what that really means and Nandor is into it, even as his own slipping position scares him. He adores Guillermo's change! But what that means for him... well, that's the part that worries him. And it's the part that he refuses to think about too deeply. (Best... man, indeed.)

With YTTT, I wanted to use a time loop to explore the way that Nandor has been emotionally resistant to change. Making him literally live the same day over and over to make him realize that he's been doing that emotionally for years -- and that he's been forcing Guillermo to do it with him. It's a really fascinating (if frustrating) part of his character and I really, really hope that in canon we start to see him take real, meaningful steps forward. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't (this is a sitcom, after all) but like... man, a girl can hope, right?

Nandor, I am BEGGING you to let Guillermo change your life. You'll both be so much happier!

[jellybuttons]

Honestly I don't understand the tension talking about the movie on here??? We knew it was going to be a seperate, non-canon imagining of the original origin story, and considering the time limit on it and the fact that it's made for new audiences, I think it was a very sweet story that really captured the heart of the original concept that made everyone so wild about the show. It was a different interpretation and it obviously changed a lot because of that, but I don't think some of the reactions I've seen on here are thinking about this the right way.

I've seen a lot of discourse on whether the movie or show was better, and I'm not sure the quality is even comparable. The movie is objectively higher budget and knew it was getting an ending, but it only had about an hour and a half. The show was very much going season by season for a while, and had a much more limited budget and ability to create a continuous story, but also had 5 full seasons to build everything up and help us know the characters and the lore.

I personally loved the movie, because it's what I thought Miraculous was going to be when I finished season 1 in 2016 and I loved that idea. But the show IS Miraculous, and it's given us so much more universe to expand on and so much more character that the movie didn't even touch.

Honestly? As someone who's been here since 2015, with all the hiatuses and uncertainty, how crazy is it that we got 2 DIFFERENT Gabriel arc endings within a month or so? Ladynoir and Adrienette? The chance to see how things would've been different over a different timeline (without a memory erasure)? The movie was a gift, with beautiful animation and music, and I am SO grateful to have that AS A COMPANION to the season 5 ending that handled things so differently. It makes me wonder what the show would've looked like if Jeremy Zag had handled the whole thing. But it doesn't make me love the show less, or be more critical of it than I already would've been.

Like idk about you guys but I loved this movie for the same reason I love the show and a really good fanfic; I'm just so feral about these 2 and their double life and love for each other. Are we really going to sit here and complain about another version of the same love story we've been retelling on AO3 for 8 years now?

This isn't salty, I just want to drive home the point that people have had valid complaints about Miraculous for years, but that at the end of the day it's exciting that we're getting new content with these kids. I think sometimes we fixate on being critical instead of enjoying the same story that captured our hearts so long ago because it was just SUCH a good idea, regardless of how it actually played out. Especially considering this movie isn't canon and has no effect on the ongoing plot of the show, it simply isn't that serious.

This isn't saying you can't dislike the movie. Of course you can dislike the movie. I'm more commenting on the people that are tearing the movie to shreds BECAUSE it's not the show, or who are pitting them against each other. They're different and that's okay. Please feel free to complain about both, because god knows they've given us plenty to complain about over the years, but you can make those complaints while keeping in mind that it's a seperate piece of media than the show that just happens to share characters.

Idk, if it really bothers you that much, just think of the movie as a hella high budget AU origins fanfic and call it a day. But me personally? I'll take every yearning look between these stupid kids that I can get.

[juleworm]

RED WHITE & ROYAL BLUE - CASEY MCQUINSTON genre: romance ( enemies / rivals to lovers )

overall rating: 5/5 "spiciness" rating: 1.5

content warnings: - sexual content (vague and nondescript) - implied grooming / sexual harassment by person in power - homophobia ( but nothing too bad or violent ) - politics - racism ( again, nothing too bad or violent ) - abuse of political power - nonconsensual outing of queer people

i got a little carried away talking about it ( still spoiler free, though ) so i'm putting a read more. please carry on!

overall thoughts: god what can i even say to do this book justice? it's amazing. i can't believe i put this book off for so long. politics and everything surrounding it are a big stressor for me and i was worried that it would stress me out reading about it, but instead i found myself rooting for the characters and was relieved to find that politics were more of a background feature for most of the book.

all of the political views of the main surrounding characters were all things that i agreed with, which helped too. the president of the united states is a woman, her staff is mostly made of queer individuals including her immediate family, and it was very refreshing to see; not to mention the president and her family are originally from mexico city. so not only was the president a woman, she was a poc, which was absolutely amazing. hats off to casey mcquinston!

as far as actual story of romance involving the two main characters, i'm not sure how i never figured out before reading that it was enemies or rivals to lovers, but i was pleasantly surprised and it made a damn great story. our two main characters are both incredibly well balanced as far as good and bad qualities, and they each have their own arcs that are very fulfilling and amazing to read about. it all feels very natural.

it was very difficult to put this book down. i probably would have finished it all in one session if i was physically able, but i've been traveling for two days and busy in between stops. it was all i could think about while i was busy though!

i was also very pleasantly surprised by the humor in this book; just how much and how well done it was. the characters feel so real and the dialogue between them, in e-mails, in person and over text all feels so real and natural for their age group. i will say that some of the jokes were now a bit dated, but i'm sure if i had read this around when it first came out, i would have been laughing my ass off. to be fair, i still was at a lot of parts!

would i recommend it?: yes. absolutely. wholeheartedly. i can't think of a single reason not to recommend it. i believe everyone should read it, and if any of the above political views upset you, then you are the problem, not the book. it's so wonderfully inclusive in every way imaginable and it has very much earned the place in everyone's heart that it currently has. it definitely lived up to the hype and then some.

if you haven't read it yet and it's been on your TBR for years like it was mine: this is your sign to read it this pride month like i have!! you will NOT regret it.

[bobombun]

10 characters 10 fandoms

I got tagged by @skuitti like two months ago, and kept forgetting, but here I am! So, ten characters I enjoy, in no particular order

Alphinaud Leveilleur from Final Fantasy XIV. He is my brother, he is my son, and I love him to death. Ride or die. The assistance to his artisticness. In ARR he starts off overly sure of himself, and I have a weakness for characters like that, and then he grows from uh, that little experience in post-ARR and keeps learning about the world and how to live in it. A bleeding heart, though I'm sure he'd put it in different terms. He's way too smart for his own good, buddy needs to stop getting involved in every project in existence, but then he wouldn't be Alphinaud, I suppose.

Seere from Drakengard 1. He's kind in a world that offers little solace to those whose strength comes from kindness and compassion, and despite going through all that happens in DoD1, he doesn't lose that compassionate heart in DoD2.

Masumi Usui from A3! (the game, I never watched the anime). I have a fondness for character types like him, who love someone with their whole being and then some. Though he also tries to understand why the one he loves thinks it's unhealthy, and reflects on it, which I appreciate, since it's a bit less common to see in media with characters like him.

Byleth Eisner from Fire Emblem Three Houses (disclaimer: I only finished the Golden Deer ending). I actually love silent protagonists, and I thought it was fun how the game gave us a reason the MC didn't emote much. Yet the game allowed Byleth to mourn properly instead of glossing over that whole thing, which I also really appreciated. A low-emotion character was allowed to show their emotions, and not thought of as weird for it. I also thought it was sweet how throughout the game Byleth learns to show their emotions more, and seems to become happier than before. I also see myself in them somewhat, so there is that.

Atton Rand from Knights of the Old Republic II. He's fun, he's sassy, and he's always got the one-liner for the job. Despite that, he struggles with his past, and is hard to dig out the truth from, which I thought was a nice contrast. Every time I play KOTOR2 I have him in my team.

Gundham Tanaka from Super Danganronpa 2. He's such a fun character to play around with and ponder about. He's eccentric, and not afraid to show that. Unapologetic about being who he is, and yet he clearly has some issues I'd love to explore. I so badly want to learn how the world he's constructed in his head works, I want a guided tour and a pamphlet.

Infinite the Jackal from Sonic Forces. Now listen. He's cool, he's edgy, and over-the-top. What more could you want in a villain? If I had the money and the know-how, I'd love to make a proper cosplay of him.

Piers from Pokémon Sword and Shield (I've only played the game, I haven't seen the anime). He looks like a depressed raccoon, and moves in such slouchy arcs I can't help but relate. I respect and admire his attitude, in how he's ready to give hell to anyone who's trying to force him to conform, and how he goes his own way as much as he can without outright breaking the rules.

Albedo from Genshin Impact. I enjoy and relate to his calm but teasing personality, as well as how curious he is about everything. I find his lore interesting, and would love to hear more about it all. Besides that, I also really like the Dragonspine mountain, so that might've made me like him more. If I ever get back into Genshin, I'll try to pull for his constellations, he's like the most built character I have.

Kurapika from Hunter x Hunter (I stopped reading at around when the gang heard about the Dark Continent). I don't really have an explanation as to why I like him, I just remember him being instantly my favourite out of the main team. I did find it somewhat funny though how when he's traveling with Gon & Co. he's really enjoying himself, but when he's out and about by himself, he is absolutely miserable, and wallowing in rage. Poor guy needs a break. I actually almost made my first ever cosplay him, but ended up not doing that. Maybe if I ever pick up HxH again, I'll get inspired to do that. His robe looks so comfortable, and I'd love to wear the chain "glove" he has. Man, now that I've said that, I feel like going back to reading HxH (maybe re-read it?) just for him. Maybe this time I'll get past where I left off, which I've done twice now.

All in all, to become a character I like, you have to either be difficult to parse/be mysterious, be low-emotion, be fun, or be goth.