#do not go to the houses of people who give your art bad reviews

[topgunreacts]

Who else remembers this batshit crazy author vs critic saga. This lady hunted down the information of a reviewer who didn’t like her book and WENT TO HER HOUSE

[homestuckreplay]

sweet john and hella dave

(page 325-338)

I would love to have insightful thoughts on yesterday's bumper update (14 pages!!!! stay winning!) but I've been researching the AKAI MPC-1000 SAMPLER all night. Here is a list of AKAI MPCs by release year:

MPC60 - 1988 MPC60II - 1991 MPC3000 - 1994 MPC2000 - 1997 MPC2000XL - 1999 MPC4000 - 2002 MPC1000 - 2003 MPC2500 - 2005 MPC500 - 2006 MPC5000 - 2008

Which is a good and normal and intuitive order for the numbers to go in. There's been a few new entries since Dave's model, but the 1000 is a solid and well liked general purpose model. Seems like it's user friendly, customizable, and offers a storage/memory upgrade for maximum amount of hauntingly sick beats. With the exception of Alec Zander from NYC who gave the MPC1000 a 1 out of 5 and said that 'construction is very cheap' and it has an 'uneven pad sensitivity', most user reviews are positive. helly hensen from TDOT, for example, says 'This machine is dope. I love the size'

This series of Akai MPCs is also really influential in hip hop, electronic music, and DJing, so they must be doing something right. Some people say the preprogrammed samples on the 1000 aren't great, but we all know the real point of the thing is to add your own. It seems like Dave's made a solid choice here, but also a pretty generic one. If Dave wanted to get into a more niche and hipster MIDI sampler, he could have gone for the 2001 Boss Dr Sample SP-303, with its 33 minutes of 44.1kHz mono sampling (with a SmartMedia card) ability to import AIFF and WAV audio files from the memory card.

The sampler minigame is so cool (I would give it the coveted but elusive 5 out of 5 hats) and weirdly feels like the most control we the audience have directly had over a character. We're influencing the art he makes, which is very personal. There are a few secret samples - if you click the samples in all four corners, the screen will zoom out and four extra buttons will appear with bonus samples (as well as a bunch of question marks). I don't know if these also exist in Dave's room or if he can access them. But it is very funny to imagine him wiring up bonus buttons inside a cinderblock.

Anyway Dave has a bunch of web sites which explains everything really. John's house is leaking engine oil, we have multiple characters(?) hanging out in different underground bunkers, Rose and Dave make each other worse, 52 pickup is always a bad decision. whatever. going to make some more sicknasty beats

[fantasyfantasygames]

Several Donated Games

I recently had the good fortune to meet Lily Vers at ProseAndCon, a semi-yearly interactive fiction convention in the backwoods of Maine. I mentioned that I write reviews, the next thing I know she hands me a pile of books and offers to buy me a drink if I promise to never give them back. I think she just wanted them out of the house because she's moving. They're not that bad. Well, most of them.

These are short games (well, most of them), so here are some short reviews!

Edge: Blades in the Kill (Hurtful Press, 2021) Long-time followers of the blog will remember HellBlaster and whether I wasn't really sure whether the game was in on its own joke. E:BitK is absolutely in on the joke. The game's aesthetic is part emo, part Hannibal fanfic, part Black Adder. You are a group of serial killer assassins murdering for fun and profit, then getting stiffed on the profit part by your clueless employers who seem not to realize what's going to happen after they stiff a bunch of murderers. Cool stuff: Manages to boil down systems stolen from Blades in the Dark and Kill Edge to their very essence, accomplishing 90% of what they do in 20% of the combined space.

D.E.S.P.O.N.D.E.N.C.Y., A Friendship-Ending Role-Playing Experience (Delta Elf, 2020) Have you ever played Diplomacy? This is Diplomacy in RPG form. One-player RPG form, thankfully. You write the stories of a group of (initially) friends playing a diceless RPG that slowly escalates into a series of alliances and betrayals that eventually leave the entire group and hostile. It reminds me of an Amber game I ran once where people got a little too into the intrigue and backstabbing. Cool stuff: The prompts really get you into the heads of all the characters you make. All your decisions on their part have to come from part of the short backstories you write for them.

Unexamined Fantasy Racism (anonymous, 2018) Hoo boy this one sets you up right from the title and doesn't let up. The book is a 64-page clone of OD&D that provides an absolutely scathing commentary on exactly what the tin says. Anyone who goes on to play a standard D&D (or related) game after playing or reading this one is going to feel real uncomfortable, and for good reasons. I don't think the game is going to get much play, but it's designed more for reading. (See "queerweird" below for another "you might never actually play it" game.) Cool stuff: Never becomes its own target. It's easy to write something like UFR and fall into the "actually doing what you're trying to satirize" trap. UFR instead sets up extremely standard FRPG situations and then slams you right into the exact problem with them.

Hackerface 1999: Don't Roll A Hacker (Crack the Hacker, 2000) I'm not sure who the audience for Hackerface is. It's a parody of Cyberpunk 2020 with references to 1990s floppy game hacking, so you would normally be able to perfectly zero in on the target audience. The game does not treat that audience with any sort of love, affection, or respect, so you come away either not getting a lot of what it's trying to say or feeling uncomfortable. And not a productive UFR-type uncomfortable, just the kind of uncomfortable you get from bullies. Even the hacking rules aren't worth stealing. The book reads like it was written by the kind of person who stuffs nerds into lockers, and how in the hell does that person end up writing RPGs? Cool stuff: The art is pretty great, especially for an indie game in the year 2000. It's done in an extremely stylized approach, with plenty of black ink, chiaroscuro, and anatomy that looks like it belongs on an actual human.

This turned into a longer post than I thought, so I'm going to split it in half. Tune in next time.

[the-bloody-sadist]

#we don't support peer preasure in this house

Love your hashtag above.

Can I ask how do you deal with hurtful comments on your fanfics from someone you consider a friend? Like I know if some stranger send hurtful comments it felt bad but damn when someone you know said the same thing it felt worse. Early this year I was kicked out and blocked from an animanga lover group when they find out that I wrote mlm fanfics from major shounen series (naruto,bnha, aot, jjk). This what they said :

“I'm convinced you must have never had friends before because all of these relationships are perfect depictions of what PLATONIC friendship is. If you want a gay story support ACTUAL gay couples like in BL & GL manga. Do you know how frustrating it is to see people move mountains for a non canon ship that’ll never happen then ignore actual gay manga’s and anime’s in BL & GL anime/manga...."

What do you think? Even until now, I'm still feeling a bit guilty for liking non canon mlm and wlw ships from shounen series. But when I found your blog and read your posts, I felt way better. Especially that answer of yours to anon who asked is it weird to love mlm& wlw more than wlm. Thanks for sharing your hard work (analysis, fanfics, arts, reviews).

Sorry for my rants and for my weird feelings.....

Ohhhh this is so precious please don't apologize for sending me this ask, I love feelings and hearing about other peoples' experiences with them and how my art/accounts have somehow been relatable because of that.

The peer pressure in fandoms is absolutely insane and convinces me that the social aspect works the same as any high school full of bullies. There WILL be mean girls, there WILL be cliques, and if you're a creator like me, you're going to be a MAGNET for like ten different types of them.

As for how I deal with hurtful comments, I was raised in an environment that constantly shamed me. I was controlled from all sides on what I could draw, write, and consume, so I'm used to being shunned by those who "love" me because of what I'm interested in! Because of this, the hate comments were what I EXPECTED going in and the positive comments were actually the things that threw me for loops. Hurtful comments only had the power to nag at me when I didn't have an audience (or friends) to bounce them off of so they wouldn't keep popping up as a "do I actually do this, though?" "am I actually bad for this?". But now they don't bother me; they give me the chance to either make a troll reply or spice up my friends' group chat for the day.

As far as a FRIEND leaving a hurtful comment??? I have so much sympathy for you. I am SO sorry they treated you that way.

When I make friends, I tell them openly what I do and to what extent. This way, I gather the type of people I want and push away those who don't. If they think it's not okay, they're silly.

Those friends who kicked you out of their little club? SILLY. They think they're so pure and moral for gatekeeping what can and can't be done with creativity and passion. They won't ever know what it feels like to live as freely as you do. In the end, their opinion is an opinion that is largely not shared by the logical, rational public. Any professional in the art/film/writing industry can tell you that much. How else are we supposed to make stories? Have a little IMAGINATION!! DAMN!

I'm saying a lot of this because it's the best thing to tell yourself when you read things that are clearly meant to make you feel shame when you haven't done a single thing wrong. Since this is Tumblr and I can ramble to my heart's content, maybe it'll help you if I also point out the specific tools that have been used in that message they sent you. Sometimes a good breakdown of tactics is all it takes to remind yourself you're not in the wrong.

"I'm convinced you must have never had friends before" AKA "you're so ignorant" - invalidating your experiences to crumble any foundation you might've had to stand on if you wanted to argue back. Starting off with this helps them cut you down so your self-esteem is lowered.

"these relationships are perfect depictions of what PLATONIC friendship is" - their opinion is being stated here as a fact, as if the entire world agrees with them and there's no other way to see it. First of all, this means NOTHING to the shipping world, since it exists largely to turn friendships into romances. Idk what they wanted to do with that one.

"If you want a gay story support ACTUAL gay couples like in BL & GL manga" - I'm not sure what kind of burn that is. SUPPORT ACTUAL GAY COUPLES LIKE THE REST OF US!! Okay snuffledumpkins. Guess nobody taught them how to MULTITASK!!! GUESS WHAT? I CAN SUPPORT ACTUAL GAY COUPLES *AND* NON-CANON GAY COUPLES, FREAK! WHAT NOW, HUH??? Being serious though, this is an attempt to define for YOU what ''''''true gay couples'''''' are (ACCORDING TO THEM), when this is an entirely fluid meaning and can be applied to whomever you'd like in fiction. This is THE PURPOSE OF FANFICTION.

"Do you know how frustrating it is to see people move mountains for a non canon ship that’ll never happen then ignore actual gay manga’s and anime’s in BL & GL anime/manga...." AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA! (inhales) AAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAH imagine being so stupid that you don't know how much better LGBT representation can be in fanfiction and non-canon works than in actual BL/GL works. Imagine thinking that the only way you are allowed to enjoy BL/GL relationships is through canon couples, otherwise you're not helping the cause. Here's the biggest thing to remember: they don't give a fuck about the cause. They are using that language as a way to shame you. Oh you think these friends are in love??? You must not support LGBT people in real life. You must not support ACTUAL stories about ACTUAL gay people.

The logic jump is LAUGHABLE.

Ughhhh, what a long rant from me. But your last paragraph absolutely WARMED my heart, minus the part about feeling guilty. Let me just...[shines spotlight down on you][metal screech][picks up megaphone] YOU ARE NOT IN THE WRONG FOR WANTING FICTIONAL FRIENDS TO FICTIONALLY FUCK EACH OTHERS' BRAINS OUT!!! YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THIS MATTER, HOWEVER, ARE VERY UNDERSTANDABLE AND SHOULD NOT BE INVALIDATED, BECAUSE BULLYING IS A DIFFICULT THING TO DEAL WITH AND CAUSES VERY COMPLICATED FEELINGS REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG. YOU ARE A WONDERFUL PERSON AND YOUR FICTIONAL PREFERENCES DO NOT DEFINE YOU. BE FREE, LITTLE BIRDIE! SHIP THE MASSES OF BOYS AND GIRLS IN RELATIONSHIPS THAT ANIME LOVES TO TEASE ON PURPOSE WITHOUT ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH A ROMANCE SUBPLOT BECAUSE THEY'RE COWARDS!!!! THEY CAN BE ACTUAL GAY COUPLES TOO! BECAUSE YOU SAID SO! AND THAT'S OKAY!!!!

[puts the megaphone down][coughs]

I hope that helps. :D Thank you for the ask, and much love to you! It means a lot that you appreciate my work and my analyses and my opinions enough to ask me about such a painful subject.🖤

You are, in fact, quite normal for your opinion, and my entire audience would agree.

[eyfey]

The final Origins OVA!

we are WAR!!!!

okay why in the world did they make a giant space axe??? like???

and just for the ONE guy too?????? did he request it????

yknow what i bet he's gonna do like a cool robot beheading or something with it later and that's the whole reason they put it in the show huh.

I forgot this is the first like- actual big battle where they're employing the mobile suits.

It's interesting to see the contrast between them and the like fighter jets, which is what they would've been effectively replacing.: A small quick maneuverable ship with guns, but this one can also just kick you

War (TM)

oh he really does look like a red comet out there huh

love when she dresses like an actual supervillain

LITERALLY ON THE RED CARPET

WILD

i like how Char was surrounded by fangirls who all backed off the SECOND Garma showed up

also they sure do love lingering scenes of these two staring into eachother's eyes- wonder what that could mean :3c

wait why are we reviewing art now. Whoms't is this man.

okay hold on now there is NO reason to make a paper shredder be a guy

hello?????????? literally just walking into an enemy ship like???????? what is the plan here??????????? worst strategist ever?????? the second you got on board your gunship can no longer threaten to destroy them because they have a hostage now??????? like your enemy is free to just grab you and fire on your ship at will????????????????????????????

oh right nvm i forgot this is Char he's got plot armor

y'know Kai feels like a completely different character in Origin. In the original series he was kind of a little shit but not a BULLY- self centered if anything, but otherwise morally neutral. In Origin though he's like proactively being malicious?

sir.... you can't just walk up to the military and ask them about military secrets....

WHY EVERYONE MEAN TO HARO

STOP IT!!!!! STOP KICKING HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

literally a MIRACLE they did not throw you in prison

:^(

lol they fukin robbed u dude

fucked up your whole house

I think I missed out on the plot points where this political twist was explained/set up - I do not rember who this man is, nor do I fully understand why he is saying these things or the full Implications

Like uh, my (probably incorrect) understanding is: he's an important general(?) from the non-zeon army, but was held hostage by zeon, and then freed as part of Kcyllia's(?) plan(?) I totally missed what her plan was tho: is it just to keep the war going????? I'm p sure mr oldie wasn't briefed and is just a pawn in their weird 5 dimensional chess game the Zabi family is playing .

(this is what happens when you do your neopets dailies instead of paying attention when characters start to ramble)

this is like the 3rd time a character has said "humans looooove war" this episode.

ITS WEIRD TO SEE THESE FUCKERS ACTUALLY SHAPED LIKE PEOPLE INSTEAD OF WEIRD EGG BEINGS

weird 2 me how he can close he eyes without closing he eyes

and I guess it ends on "btw we will NOT stop a war!!"

oh wait no we also get a post-credit peek of the boat!!

actually it is ending i think...

(they never did anything with that giant space axe from the beginning for the ep...........)

-

Final thoughts on Gundam: The Origin

I think I went into Origin without any real expectations. I maybe thought it would be entirely Char focused? but in the latter half it shifted to a more general "what's goin on with this war" type vibe. I guess it accomplishes what it sets out to do: give us more backstory on how the war from 0079, fleshing out the the politics around it and the characters who partake. There were some wild things happening but mostly it was a lotttt of people talking about War. Felt kind of like a lorebook rather than an actual story, especially for the latter half, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Up Next!* MS Team, Thunderbolt, and War in the Pocket (side stories that took place during the events of 0079) Looks like Thunderbolt is a movie but the other two are series so this is going to be infinitely easier to schedule time to sit down and watch.

*I'm following a watch order rec from reddit, which seems to be more or less chronological order

[crow-caller]

Hey! I saw that you published some books (looking forward to checking them out, actually), but I was wondering how you did that? I'm not out of high school yet, but I've already finished my first draft of book one of my series, and have been working on editing and fixing up the second draft. I do have an editor, which is nice. I was wondering how you published? Any advice/ info would be greatly appreciated!

Hey, cool! My first book legit came out when I was still in high school.

I'm an indie author, so I'll talk about indie stuff... and traditional... and oh dear that's a lot.

Let's go over some pros and cons and what to expect.

Crow's (oops not) Quick Guide to Publishin'

Self Publishing:

This is what I did for Good Angel, Bad End, my duology!

Self pubbing:

+Total control of end product +No deadlines +Full control of changing it at any time -You do all the work (or pay) -It costs you money for jobs you can't (or shouldn't) do yourself like editing -Extremely limited reach of audience, very hard to sell

I queried GA/BE around a bit but ultimately decided to self publish it. It's just too niche for mainstream, being a weird genre mix up with way too queer characters. Multiple neopronouns used by funky angels in magic school slice of life that turns apocalyptic? yeah, I felt it'd be best I just put it out.

You'll need to

Edit the text (I'd recc multiple friends, a paid editor)

Proofread the text (I'd recc paying a pro)

Assemble the text files formatting (for digital, print)

Get a cover

Make pages for it on GoodReads etc and promote it

Self-publishing can be a lot of work. I did GA/BE's interiors myself using first Microsoft word, then adobe indesign for the recent revamp. Using Word/other text programs can give you a fully workable interior file, but abusing the free trial system of adobe will allow more advanced inclusions. Getting ebook files to work is a nightmare, and print can also be a pain- it's a lot of following online tutorials and trial and error I found. Calibre then is the program you use to finish digital files for release.

Costs for editing can be very high. Editing is a high skill, high time job- I got my books done on discount from a friend for next to nothing, but expect definitely a few hundred bucks. Research though fair prices. You don't need to hire someone to proofread or edit, but it is a good idea. That or outsource to many friends, ideally ones who give honest feedback. A proofreader is much cheaper as they only look for errors, I again got it cheap for 65£ per book. Art wise, I bought mine on commission- talk to an artist and make it clear it is for a commercial project and that you have the right to sell the end result. My cover for each book was about 100£

You might notice this is adding up to a few hundred quid, and yes: it cost me like, 350£ or so per book to publish, even with myself doing a lot of the work. This is a lot! Does it pay back? Usually no. I have at this point now "made a profit", but it took years. You can't typically go into self publishing looking for profit.

I really enjoy self publishing GA. It meant I could put a project out that I kinda only made for me, and have full rights to do whatever I want with it. I got to design the cover and choose what to do at every step... but it was a crazy amount of intensive work too. Marketing wise I've found is about impossible- your best bet 100% is to send the book to as many people as possible (digitally) for review and just try to get enough people reading it. Then you hope they like it and talk about it. I've found no other method of marketing particularly useful: word of mouth is still king.

Indie Publishing:

Indie pubbin:

+Don't have to spend any money (get paid) +Professional editing/cover/formatting +Backing of publishing house's marketing team -Deadlines -Less creative control -Contracted -Must query and be accepted

My first book was Angel Radio, which actually I sold when I was 17. came out when I was 18. The timescale for traditional publishing, even indie, is typically at least a year.

There's a lot of indie publishers out there, and we should read them more often. However, being published by an indie publisher (aka, a small, non-mainstream one- unlikely to ever be 'on shelves') takes extra, different work.

Do your research!!! There's a LOT of scam publishers out there. A publisher will never, ever, not even slightly ever, charge you money or pressure you to spend money (like buying your own copies of the book). A great way to check is to just look up 'publisher name + scam'.

Prepare a query letter. This is a pitch for your book, basic book info, and a bit about you. Every publishing house will have a 'submissions' page which explains specific wants (such as several pages of your book or a synopsis), so every application is slightly custom.

Query and wait. It takes many weeks to hear back with queries. Usually you should do them in small batches of like five. It's very rare to get a deal- it may not be your book, it might just be market trends or they already got a book about dragons on order.

DOUBLE CHECK YOUR CONTRACT. Contracts can be hard, so seek help if you want, though I've found my one contract to be not that long and readable. Still, you should always read a contract, especially as a scam publisher might try to trick you there.

Indie publishing is good because... it's more accessible and diverse than mainstream, but still offers the same benefits to authors. Just on a way smaller scale. I don't think my publisher, Harmony Ink Press, did much jack or shit for me marketing wise, and that's pretty typical. Marketing is very hit or miss and very expensive, so the onus is still on you to market (spoilers, these days marketing is on you no matter what). You also have more leeway in edits and covers- I designed AR's rough cover and worked with the artist directly! That's uncommon.

Most indie publishers also have a common royalty scheme where you pay it back. This isn't a hallmark of a scam, it's pretty normal: You get advance cash upfront, but then do not earn royalties until your book has paid itself off. Which it may not. Angel Radio sold for 500$, not a huge amount but not exactly tiny, especially for a teen. But I haven't earned a penny on royalties because it never sold well enough! I think I'm a little over halfway there.

Traditional Publishing

(I don't have a book of this type. yet...?)

Y'know, like, books?

+Large advance +Big support team +Marketing +Books on shelves +Most lucrative and recognizable -Sharper deadlines -Least control and rights -Must query (hardcore mode) -Still marketing yourself

Traditional publishing is the longest timescale and hardest method. Obvs. You again are looking to write a good query, but now you need to go through a literary agent. You query an agent with your book (again, should only ever be free), the agent then essentially queries publishers on your behalf ("out on submission"). An agent is your liaison to the business of publishing, taking a portion of your earnings for the service. You just can't make it into publishing without an agent.

A query letter ideally is... roughly, quickly, this is my format guide.

Hi there [actual agent name]

I'm here proposing my cool book, XYZ of ABC, a GENRE book of ??k words that IS SOMETHING UNIQUE SELLING POINT. MAIN CHARACTER is LIKE THIS but faced CONFLICT when PLOT HAPPENS, in SOME KINDA WORLD OR WHATEVER. THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU WRITE A 2-3 SENTENCE PLOT BLURB. But when TWIST happens, will MC have SOME EYECATCHING IDEA? This book will appeal to fans of THIS KINDA THING and is extra good because RELEVENT DETAIL LIKE OWNVOICES. I believe JUST KEEP SELLING KID. I myself SOME SORT OF ACCOMPLISHMENT LIKE UNI, PAIRED WITH A RELEVANT HOBBY. thank you for your time

Hot and dirty, something like that. You gotta recall at all times this is a market. It is economic. Your passion... matters, but uh. It doesn't matter. Gosh that sounds rough. But make your passion clear but your sound business proposal clearer: You need to show why your book is worth picking over thousands of other queries.

Querying is a horrible torturous process that does help you slowly build up exposure therapy to rejection and failure. Anyways, that will take a bit typically (I've been querying on and off for ten years for an agent, but a lot has been 'off' time). Then you wait and eventually, bam! Probably post some edits, your book is sold.

You still wait a long time though, and have a lot of work to do. So much work. Your book will come out on shelves at the end, sure, but that's still not a promise of success. The author these days is especially the product, and while you start on a higher stage (maybe even the marketing team will f---ing do something), you still gotta claw. There's a high level of scrutiny too on debut authors on any tier, but especially the traditional publishing tier. So your success is very dependent on each book you do, with it being harder and harder to sell books if you aren't doing fantastic.

Still, it's hard to deny the appeal of that mainstream success. Man, I'm chasing it myself! But it's not just easy book out there you go. I'm pals with traditionally published authors and you'll still be very busy, if you can get your foot on the ladder with an agent to begin with. Being on submission generally takes months, and even when your book is with a publisher it may be a lot of time and work before it ever comes out. Even then, hitting the shelves still doesn't mean you're set for life.

Still. Good luck. Go try!

(BTW look at my books, I guess, as a sticker on what I hope is good advice, and good luck! I first decided to try publishing Angel Radio with HIP because of a post by someone else published by them on tumblr... like 10 years ago now....)

Gum ebook

Amaz print

Goodreads)

[nehswritesstuffs]

I really enjoy your TTOU AU. I’m curious if you’re going to continue writing chapters for it. Thanks for your awesome writing!!! 😊

*side-eyes people in my DMs*

Here's the short answer: I plan on it, but cannot give an estimated start date since other varying things are taking priority. In the meantime, know I love you and your support, Greyscale, as it keeps me going.

Long answer under the cut.

The thing about The Thick of UNIT is this: it's very long and very convoluted. At this juncture I need to do a complete read-through, probably do some slight editing to what's already up, take a long look at what I have planned, and then edit that to hell and back as I tighten the story and get it on track again. The main things keeping me from doing this are:

Size: We're talking 225k words thus far by AO3's estimation. That's a lot to go through! And that's just the main story! It's 283.5k words with all the extras!

Time: There's only so much spare time I have available to write, let alone edit this monster.

Writing Resources: This is something a lot of fic writers understand, I think, because it's about what ideas are flowing and when. You have to go where there is flow, or else things will be bad.

My Editor: He's still not done and is even more scattered than me when it comes to this, if you'll believe, and since he and I don't control what the other does...

Real Life: I've been job hunting for a year (exactly; I was let go a year ago today) and I'm engaged, so I've been trying to get house-hunting and wedding planning off the ground (there's a lot of barriers here I won't go into). Plus there's a bunch of normal things that I'd do anyhow involving family and friend groups that take up time. energy, and resources. And I'm a tante now?! Tantes are cool.

Indifference: Now this is admittedly a weird one that deserves explaining. I still love The Thick of UNIT, as well as the parent shows Doctor Who and The Thick of It! They all still hold a special place in my heart. It's just... well... I average single-digit notes on here. I don't have enough reviews on FFN for there to be one per chapter. Most of my comments on AO3 are conversations. Although I'll be one of the first to say that you need to write fic for yourself and don't worry about an audience, I will also admit that it's very difficult to put into practice. I hit a big ol' wall of burnout with TTOU, which is something that can happen to anyone about anything, even stuff they love, and I'm trying to get over that and the indifference it causes. also everything that i've seen of DW post-Twelve is just irritating and i feel so fucking bad for Gatwa and none of that helps any

So... yeah... the double-edged sword with longfics is that they are a lot of time and energy, which I unfortunately do not have a lot of to spare. "But what about those other fics I see you posting?" That's where all my writing resources go, because the ideas are flowing there. It's probably weird to think about since I was almost exclusively writing fic for Doctor Who and The Thick of It for nine years, but what I've been able to churn out lately hits something completely different, deep down in my soul from before I even knew what Doctor Who was, before The Thick of It first aired, and a lot of it is a bit existential in its own way.

"But what am I going to do in the meantime?!" Feel free to check out my bookmarks on AO3, which has a lot of TTOU fic (including some by the lovely @fajrbismuth, whose tumblr url is yes from the fic). That not enough? Maybe, idk, create something of your own. Write some fic, draw art, create a moodboard, do something that channels your love for it. and maybe if you make sure i see it, i can reblog it for everyone here to see. Hell, I don't even care if you do your own Malcolm/Kate stories independent of TTOU. I can't stop you.

Thank you, though, for all your love and support over the past, what eight years of this. It's humbling when I get to see how much people love my writing and it really does make it worth it in the end.

[aevyk-ing]

2023 review stuff

Here we go again. Gotta keep up with the tradition because it's always interesting to go back and reflect on a whole year. While things have improved ever so slightly, my life isn't good yet. But hey, I'm doing my best to keep on fighting until I get there.

2020, 2021, 2022

Health (mixed)

I started out this year with a surprise: I'm autistic! And while it's not a bad nor good surprise, it has changed completely the way I treat myself. I used to feel useless and an idiot but now there's an explanation for most of my quirks and I can use my newly discovered "superpowers" to make me feel better. But hey, it's still a secret. I'd like to get a formal diagnosis (I mean on paper) before talking to my parents and family.

That being said, I've used this new knowledge to fight the many bumps I've encountered this year. There's still a long way to go, but I feel like I know myself way better now.

2. Writing (freaking good)

I started the year finishing a book, then I wrote another one, translated three, wrote four short stories, a full comic strip and lots of stuff more. I've created a whole new continent for Gingaria and new places for the next books. I had a great presentation for my book Kylkos and lots of people have praised Legends of Gingaria, which makes me so happy! It all gives me the strength to go on the days I feel bad. And I can't wait to show you what's in store! Also, shout-out to all my AO3 readers.

3. Art (quite good)

I'm getting the hang of Clip Studio Paint and I think you can see the leveling up. I'm trying to improve with more character, creatures and places designs. I've drawn more comics and some illustrations I'm really proud of. While I sometimes have bad days when nothing seems to work, I can just go back when I feel better.

4. Cosplay (eh...)

Believe it of not, I've managed to keep on sewing some new stuff. I can't share it for now, but hopefully next year. I've done some clean-up and while I'll use most of my time to fix stuff next year (once I can get it out of the boxes), I'm planning to do more photoshoots.

Now I'm going to talk about the stuff that has helped me go through this year. But first...

I'm sure nobody cares, but this year has been worse because we've had some problems regarding the documents so they can demolish our house and pay us. The thing is some... baddies have been meddling with the process and we were in the middle, so that's why our case is getting longer to resolve. Hopefully, now that we've got the papers we need, things will start going on more smoothly.

Movies & series

I've watched a lot of stuff this year. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse was so good, I loved Suzume and The Boy and the Heron and, about series, Over the Garden Wall and The Blue Eyed Samurai.

2. Gingaria

While writing is not always easy, I've had so much fun making this world even bigger. And I made a doll maker! There's a lot to come and I hope it keeps on growing.

3. Webtoons & reading

I still struggle with reading but my mind is calmer this year. I've read some books from a public place where you put one and get one (left one of my Zem copies just because). I'm currently following some Webtoons and my favorites are The Blind Prince and Your Smile is a Trap.

4. Side projects

I was commissioned to make 35 fabric cubes and a replica of Gladys from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Also made some props for cosplay and fixed other stuff.

5. Therapy

I'm so lucky to have found someone who gets me and understands what I'm going through. Sometimes is hard because she makes me rethink everything but I've improved so much this year thanks to her.

Someone asked me recently about my New Year's resolutions and turns out I don't want to have any, I'm going to rely on my projects. I've had an interesting idea recently and I'm going to search for someone to make it come true, I have more stories to tell (currently writing yet another book) and more surprises along the way.

Thank you so much for being there. I hope you all have a happy New Year. Keep on shining!

[elitheaceofalltrades]

The Almost Gone - Game Review

Note: This review contains spoilers

I got this game in the HumbleBundle Amazing Adventures Bundle. Before this, I'd never heard of it so I went in mostly blind and with not much thoughts or opinions outside of "the art look cute" and "the concept seems cool". So let's get into the review.

The Almost Gone was a pretty short game, it took me approx. 3 hours to play in it's entirety(3 hours exact according to steam). The Game consisted of 5 Acts/Chapters and once you completed a stage, you could not go back.

The Good:

The art was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the art style, the colour palette, everything. The artists can definitely give themselves a pat on the back

The music was another highlight. I'll be honest, I'm a bit of a coward so "eeire instrumental" isn't my usual jam but the music was genuinely beautiful and really helped set the overall vibe of the game

The puzzles were engaging and difficult enough to make you think but not so difficult as to make you throw up your hands and give up. I was slightly worried that 5 chapters of a point and click game might get boring but the puzzle weren't repetitive at all and nothing felt too easy or too hard

I also have to give kudos to the creators for the handling of sensitive topics. Despite dealing with some heavy stuff, nothing was ever graphic so more sensitive games shouldn't have a problem. The most graphic thing was the police car in a tree (shown below), everything else was just inferred.

The Bad:

The ending left a lot of questions unanswered. As we go through the game we piece together the life of the MC, Emily, and her family. While it's expected for there to be some confusion initalliy with these kind of game, you generally assume that by the end you'll have a cohesive idea of what happened. That was not the case in the almost gone. Chapter 1 - 4 gives us the following information:

Chapter 1 set "a moment after" - We start off in Emily's home and we learn about her relationship with her parents and their terrible relationship with each other. It's a bit of a cliche, her parents work too much, they fight all the time, the mother is diagnosed with depression and mixes her meds with alcohol and also filed for divorce and full custody.

Chapter 2 set "an hour after" - We move outside and into the neighbourhood where we learn bits and pieces about the neighbours as well as discover that there was some sort of accident (it's where the cop car in the tree is set). We do not know exactly what happened, we just see the aftermath of it.

Chapter 3 set "30 years before" - We learn backstory about Emily's paternal grandparents. Her grandfather was an architect whose design collapsed, killing 8 people, which led to lawsuits and hatemail. He was also abusive and locked her grandmother and father in the basement. We also learn that her dad was lowkey kind of a psychopath, since we find animal bones in his childhood closet and it was implied that he killed them. One of the clues we discover also happen to be a skeleton key that unlocks all the doors in the grandparent's apartment but also has the pun of actually being made from a bird skeleton, again it's inferred by her father.

Chapter 4 set "one year after" - We learn about Emily's mother and her time at a mental hospital and the horrors endured there by her and the other patients. It is also implied that her mother died at this hospital though nothing graphic is depicted. There is no body or anything, we just enter the morgue to see one of the plaques has her mother's room number on it.

Now all of this was well and good and interesting, however the problem comes with chapter 5. I was expecting chapter 5 to be a conclusion which tied together the story in a neat little bow instead it ended up being more of an epilogue where Emily reaches a tree house her father built for her, lays down in bed and says she wants to sleep and then it cuts to credits. It was great to uncover the mystery of who is emily and what happened to her but instead of getting that "aha" moment where it all comes together you're left with your little notepad of disjointed information. I inferred from the sleep as well as the strikethrough in almost that Emily has now passed on and we were in some weird in between state. However I have seen some others question is we were playing while Emily was in a coma and it ended with her waking up. I disagree since "things ending with a character going to sleep" has always been a metaphor for death but to each his own. So while I can be satisfied that in knowing that Emily died, I spent 3 hours playing a game and I cannot tell you know. We know there was an accident that ended with one police car in a tree, another car on fire and death in the neighbourhood but what exactly caused the accident? why the police were in the area to begin with? what happened? We get no answers what so ever. We also have no idea what happened to her father. There are some videos, threads and posts out there that try to piece together a cohesive narrative of what exactly happened but from the game itself we have no clear answer. I think that in trying to not be too graphic about certain things that the creators ended up being too vague on details and that's why we're left with a lot of questions.

In conclusion? I gave The Almost Gone 3 out of 5 stars. The game was beautiful and interesting but the payoff did not match it's potential and in trying to not be too graphic, the creators ended up being too vague on important parts of the story.

Final Rating:⭐⭐⭐

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

Buy me a coffee

[oytotheveytho]

Okay SO

It might be obvious who I am but I want to post this from a secondary account cause I don’t want any drama. I’m just doing this as a BUYER BEWARE.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND BUYING FROM HELLFURBY ON ETSY:

They clearly lie about shipping estimates. If they were honest, I would not have cared about waiting but I messaged several times (and this was weeks after the expected delivery date before I even sent a message)

They claimed the package was in the mail several times and that the tracking just “didn’t update” which I knew wasn’t true but I tried several times to give them the benefit of the doubt

I ordered the thing on July 27 and it’s been literally two months with the only updates being that they “mailed it out today” or “it should show up in a day or two” like girl I knew it never left your house. Creating the shipping label but not shipping it doesn’t count as shipping

They mentioned that the sculpture I was getting had defects that they wanted to fix which is fine. But I wish they would have been HONEST. Like it makes me think that the sculpture I had purchased didn’t actually exist yet. BUT THAT IS WHAT PRESALES ARE FOR.

I don’t want to be too much of a dick because I think this person might be young or have som sort of social anxiety. But I gotta say this: you owe it, as an artist that sells things, to be better to people who are paying you decent money for your art. I sell art too, when I was younger I did fall behind sometimes and had to make it up to clients. But you cannot consistently lie to people. That’s where it becomes less about whatever may be going on in your life and more about bad business. And it hurts other artists too because we humans tend to lump things together.

My advice to Hellfurby: do better or just don’t sell your art. It’s fine to just make stuff for yourself. Not everything has to be commodified. But once you DO start selling stuff, you can’t lie to your customers and think that it won’t eventually upset them. I’ve never honestly opened a case on Etsy before against someone and I feel bad about it but i also am not gonna get jerked around.

Thanks to all who read and remember to read reviews before you buy I guess

[my3sonsmoving]

A Comprehensive Guide to Finding Reliable Residential Movers in Kentucky

When you must move your whole family, it can be one of the most stressful things that can happen to you. Finding dependable residential movers is important for a smooth move, whether you're going across town or to a different state. My 3 Sons Moving, a business that specializes in moving within and between states in the United States, knows about these problems and is committed to offering excellent moving services. This blog is meant to be a complete resource for people who are looking for reliable movers in Kentucky and its surrounds. Figuring Out What You Need to Move To find the best movers in Kentucky, you should first figure out how big your move is. Are you moving locally inside of the state, or are you moving far away, maybe even out of state? Knowing what kind of relocation you’re involved in will help you figure out what services you need. Think about whether you have any special valuables that need extra care, like antiques, pianos, or works of art. Do you need someone to help you pack, or are you going to do it yourself? Also, think about whether you need short-term storage options. You can avoid stress at the last minute and make sure all your needs are met by planning and booking your move ahead of time. Researching Potential Residential Movers Get suggestions for movers in Kentucky from people you know, like family, friends, and coworkers. You can also learn a lot about a company's reputation from reviews and comments posted online. Find out-of-state movers and storage companies that have a lot of good reviews and high scores. Before you hire a moving company, you should make sure they have the right qualifications. Make sure they have the licenses and insurance they need to properly do business. Being a member of an industry group like the American Moving & Storage Association can show that they are dedicated to efficiency and providing good service. A dependable mover should have a lot of experience and know how to handle home moves.

Quotes and Services Side by Side Once you have a short list of possible residential movers, ask each one for a specific price. Make sure that the quotes cover everything that needs to be done for the move, like packing, cleaning, labor, and transportation. Make sure you look at both the prices and the services. Some out-of-state movers offer extra services like handling unique items, short-term storage, and provision of packing materials, which can make their service more valuable. Meeting the Movers

Get quotes from the movers you're thinking about, by having them come to your house and assess what you’re moving. This lets them figure out how much stuff you have and give you a more precise price. Ask them about their expertise, the services they offer, and any possible extra costs during relocation. Check their efficiency by seeing how punctual they are, how well they communicate, and how honest they are. It is important to get a signed contract that spells out the details of the move, including how to cancel. A thorough and clear contract keeps things from getting confusing and looks out for your best interests. Red Flags to Watch Out For Be careful of common moving scams, like getting quotes that are much lower than others. These often lead to extra fees and secret costs on moving day. Stay away from movers who ask for big deposits up front or aren't open about how they do business. Poor contact, bad reviews, and not having the right licenses and insurance are all signs of unreliable movers. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a good place to find information about how trustworthy a moving and storage company is. See if they are accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and read customer reviews to get an idea of how trustworthy they are. Preparing for Moving Day The key to a smooth move is good packing. Make clear labels for boxes, make lists of what's inside, and arrange basics so they're easy to find. Tell your packers about any special directions you have, like how to handle fragile items or move big furniture through tight areas. Keep things in order and keep important papers close by on moving day. Get your movers to work together to make sure everything goes as planned. Why Should I Pick My 3 Sons Moving? My 3 Sons Moving stands out because they have expertise in conducting residential moves throughout Kentucky and its surrounding states. They have a reputation for being reliable and skilled, as shown by the many success stories and comments from happy customers. They care about their customers and provide honest, high-quality service, which makes them a great choice for your moving needs. Conclusion To find trustworthy movers, you need to do a lot of research, compare, and choose carefully. Contact My 3 Sons Moving for a free quote and advice if you want to move. You can make the moving process less stressful by starting your search early and putting trustworthiness first. A smooth and quick move is possible if you hire the right moving company, like My 3 Sons Moving.

[dollycas]

Special Guest Holly S. Roberts - Author of Breach: A Terrifying Summer Adventure @hollysrobertsauthor - Great Escapes Book Tour #AuthorInterview #Giveaway

Breach: A Terrifying Summer Adventure by Holly S. Roberts I am delighted to welcome Holly S. Roberts to Escape With Dollycas today! Hi Holly, Please tell us a little bit about yourself. I was born dyslexic and read my first complete book at twelve. I turned my love of reading into a career and purchased an independent bookstore in my twenties. I owned the store for twenty years but there was something caused by an experience in my childhood that I needed to do and I was running out of time. At age 45, I went to the police academy and lived my dream a few years later as a homicide and sex crimes detective. I became one of the leading experts in the state on predator behavior. On the advice of a very good therapist, I began writing and I haven’t stopped. I retired from law enforcement in 2014 and turned writing into a fulltime career. What are three things most people don’t know about you? I’ve been hiding my newfound love of Taylor Swift. No embarrassment but its special so I’ve been keeping it to myself. The only other secret I can think of is I haven’t missed a season of Survivor since the first episode. I’m running out of time to apply for the show but I can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe. What books/authors have most inspired you? There are so many but back in my bookstore days I was lucky enough to have a parttime gig for some major publishing houses and drive authors around the Phoenix area. Amazingly they paid me to do this. Three authors I spent time with inspired me to write: Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, and Iris Johansen. I can’t thank them enough and I learned so much. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? Research is one of the best parts of being a writer and I like to challenge myself by learning more than I could possibly ever write in a book. My research can start as far back as a year before I write a word but it always continues through the first draft. Do you ever suffer from Writer’s Block? I really don’t. There are so many stories floating in my head if one isn’t working I can switch to something that does. What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer? Write until you become great at it. I’m still working on that part and I will until I write my last word. Study the best, find your own techniques. Listen to other authors but throw away what doesn’t work for you and grab what does. Write bad stuff, write silly stuff, write good stuff. Just write! When you are not writing what do you like to do? I’ve been involved in martial arts for many years and I love Sinawali sticks and practice religiously. I also love gardening which keeps me busy during the spring, summer, and fall. Then there are my two big goofy dogs who keep me company and give me slobber kisses when I’m down. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why? We own 100 acres off grid and it’s where I go to recharge. No phone service or internet but incredibly silent in its beauty. Oh and I hunt for rocks there, a small obsession of mine. What is next on the horizon for you? Before Covid, I owned a martial arts gym and taught self-defense to women. Sadly the gym didn’t survive. I’m looking forward to teaching again in someone else’s gym. I’m at a point in my writing career that I’m working on books I’ve wanted to write for years. That will continue and there’s a special book that may take a decade to finish but I won’t know until I put the first word on paper. Thank you Holly for visiting today. __________ Keep reading for more information about Holly's new book Breach. I read the book earlier this week and I can't wait to share my review with you. Be sure to come back Tuesday for it. I will tell you the story has stuck with me and I have pushed my husband to read the book too so we can discuss it.  About Breach Breach: A Terrifying Summer Adventure Psychological Thriller Setting - Off the coast of California Publisher ‏ : ‎Independently Published (March 22, 2024) Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 202 pages ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8320606989 Digital: Wicked Story Telling (June 20, 2024) ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CQYXJ3T1 Craving the vastness of the open sea, Kate and her family set out on a journey of forgiveness and healing aboard Ryan's Gift, their newly remodeled yacht. After a tragic accident, it’s imperative that Kate returns to the ocean, the place she once called home, in an attempt to restore her spirit. In the middle of their idyllic voyage, the nightmare begins. With no power or communication, a monster lurks below the surface and the family must find a way to defeat the darkness before it destroys them. Experience this gripping story of a family's fight for survival and a terrifying reckoning from the deep. Excerpt "Eighteen months had passed since the accident that left Kate with an incomplete spinal cord injury, taking away the use of her legs. The rehabilitation center staff had believed her fortunate for retaining some sensation below the waist, but Kate had never felt unluckier" . "Kate examined the water looking for a dorsal fin. Slight waves from the Sea Doo rocked the yacht. She wheeled herself frantically toward the stern, her pulse hammering as the real threat lurked unseen below"​​. "Kate's voice was a whisper, her hands tense on the wheels of her chair. 'Ryan, hold on,' she breathed as the shark's massive silhouette darted beneath the yacht toward her daughter"​​. "With every ounce of her being, Kate focused on the rolling waves. 'This ends today,' she declared, determination lining her features as she prepared to defend her family from a terrifying nightmare"​​. About Holly S. Roberts Holly S Roberts is the USA TODAY bestselling author of thrillers, mysteries, and romance. Her Detective Eve Bennet crime series is a #1 Amazon bestseller. She’s a retired homicide detective who worked high-profile cases in Arizona. Holly lives high in the mountains with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Author Links Website     Facebook     Instagram   TikTok   YouTube    Goodreads Purchase Links Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Also written by Holly S. Roberts TOUR PARTICIPANTS - Please visit all the stops. June 20 – The Mystery of Writing – SPOTLIGHT June 20 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT June 20 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT June 21 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT June 21 – Novels Alive – REVIEW June 21 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews - SPOTLIGHT June 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 22 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW June 23 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT June 23 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT June 24 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW June 24 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT June 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW June 25 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT June 25 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW June 26 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT June 26 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT June 26 – Boys' Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT CLICK HERE TO ENTER A GIVEAWAY FOR A SHARK PLUSHIE! Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today! Want to Book a Tour? Click Here Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Escape With Dollycas. Read the full article

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newseltter, Thursday, September 21

Anya: I think we shouldn't've brought Buffy back. I knew it was going to end badly. I should've said something. Xander: Okay, fine, but ... what are we gonna do? I mean, I'm feeling the need for some vigorous doing, you know? Willow: It's okay. We, we just k*ll the beastie and then all is good. We're rolling in puppies! ... Right?

~~After Life~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

scraped off my knees, i drink the honey (Buffy/Spike, E) by evesock

Overflowing (Anya/Cordelia, G) by underfallingstars

Finding Amy Part 2 (Ensemble, T) by AJ Fields

Du Passé au Présent (French language, T) by guepard54

Night Swimming (Buffy/Spike, R) by Geliot99

[Chaptered Fiction]

The Day I'll Never Remember, And Those That Followed, Chapter 2 (Jenny Calendar, G) by Jess_Ann_Perreault

Deep Dark Sky, Chapter 8 (Dawn/Connor, T) by Cornerofmadness

Plenty of Fish, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, PG) by all-choseny

New Normal, Chapter 9 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by holetoledo

Because I could not stop death, Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Desicat

From Hell with Love, Chapter 27 (Buffy/Spike, R) by temporarytitle

Chocolate and Emeralds, Chapter 6 (Multiple crossings, FR15) by acs

The Wolf Who Sees, Chapter 3 (Multiple crossings, FR15) by calikocat

The Guardians of Magic, Chapter 13 (Multiple crossings, FR13) by MarcusSLazarus

The Art of Dying, Chapter 31 (Buffy/Spike, R) by disco-tea

What the Drabble?, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Give Up the Ghost, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Chelle, Megan and sandy_s

[Images, Audio & Video]

Icons: 15 BtVS (Season 6, Episode 1) Icons by debris4spike

Artwork:Keep Your Enemies Closer by disco-tea

Video: The Guys of the beholder Play Buffy by Guys of the Beholder

Video: Buffy edit || Where’s your head at? || Buffy the Vampire Slayer edit by Torch

[Reviews & Recaps]

No-Good Blood-Sucker | Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x1 "Buffy vs Dracula" | The Normies Group Reaction! by The Normies

Dark willow is in the house..Buffy The Vampire Slayer S06E20 'Villains''♡Reaction & Review♡ by SoFieReacts

*BEST EPISODE!!!* Buffy the Vampire Slayer S5 Ep 7 "Fool for Love" Reaction: FIRST TIME WATCHING by Nick Reacts

Listening to Fear: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x09 Reaction by Dakara

"I Only Have Eyes For You" & "Go Fish" (2x19-2x20) | BTVS REACTION by cass reacts

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reaction [ 3X1 ] "Anne" ( Buffy Reaction / Review ) by Java Java Reactions

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1x8 "I, Robot...You, Jane" Reaction by Justalowly Channel

Let's Rewatch Buffy! Season 1, Episode 2 by Jenny Trout

Once more with feeling-5x13 Blood Ties(Buffy the Vampire Slayer) by Nerd Subculture Podcast

[Fandom Discussions]

[Xander's lack of character growth] by chronicpcssimist

[Riley wasn't so bad] by dgcatanisiri

Is Willow worse than Faith? by fauxindigo

Cordelia the Vampire Slayer by multiple authors

What’s a moment or plot in Buffy that affects you differently as you’ve gotten older? by multiple authors

The Witch (S1 E3) is such a fantastic episode by multiple authors

At the time it first aired, did people see the whole Willow ending up being the s6 big bad thing coming? Or was it a cool plottwist? by multiple authors

Deaths in Season 5 by multiple authors

What is something a character in Buffy did that you wouldn't be able to forgive? by multiple authors

I've never understood the Cangel ship ... by multiple authors

Amy Acker, Fred, Illyria and Root (Angel and POI spoilers). by multiple authors

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[prettybutter-flyy]

my review on the movie Smile 2022, and other slightly related bullshit: TLDR only watch this is you're good mentally- shit'll fuck you up in a bad way

so i just saw a video review of the movie "Skinamarink," a movie that came out waay earlier this year, a movie that i never heard of. it's a horror movie with a "paper thin plot" that is roughly about that feeling when you spend the night at a friend's house and you wake up in the middle of the night with the feeling that there's something very bad behind you, but you don't know if you should turn around or just pretend to go back to sleep until you finally do.

the fear of the dark.

i haven't been afraid of the dark in years, as a 23 year old woman, but it is a fear that i know with 100% certainty, that if i were even just a little uneasy of a certain space in the dark, my mind will just wander at what could be just over my shoulder... something reaching out to touch me. it gives me the shivers, and if i put that unease back into my mind, i don't know that it would go away any time soon! i'm trying to debate on whether or not i need to sniff out the film or not, because it's not in theaters anymore. should i watch this and review it?

ANYWAYS, hearing this woman's description of the film just made me want to give my review on the film "Smile." even though i hate spoilers a lil, i'm going to have to spoil a lot- the ending is important to my review, i can't give it an honest review without talking about the ending.

So, for those who want no spoilers, here is the short review

as a movie, as art: it's a beautiful piece of art, you should go see it. it's well shot, well-acted, extremely well written.

as a movie about mental health: though if you have troubles with mental health, maybe don't. spoilers- this movie is a tragedy. like a literal greek tragedy. it gets dark. it goes there, and not in a good way, you watch people lose their battles with thoughts of suicide. it's a movie about declining mental health and i see the potential for it to trigger something dark inside a person like that.

i will be beginning the spoil-y review now:

So "Smile" (2022), is about a mental ward worker, Rose, who cares very deeply about her job. one a day a new patient is put into the ward by her loved ones, convinced she is going through a mental breakdown. the patient insists she is not, she knows it *sounds* crazy but, there is something following her. she says it sometimes pretends to be people she loves, sometimes people she doesn't, sometimes, it's people long dead from an old memory, but she knows it's not them because of the terrible smile it sports. it's a smile, a smile is following her, and today it told her that she was going to die today. and after some the mental ward worker witnesses some unfortunate events, this "smile" starts following her.

the whole movie is essentially a litteral decent into madness. imagine watching someone you love, start losing it - whatever losing it is, like dementia, schizophrenia, depression, extreme anger, some illness where they are in their body but have lost their minds. it starts small, slow, and it trickles down over the next couple months or years until your loved one is just gone. or if you weren't touched by that, you also see the person who is losing it, you see it from their point of view, an extreme/delusional sense of "i see life this way, i don't understand why no one else sees it this way or why no one will listen to me when i tell them that this is my reality." it's terrifying to think that this could be you one day, if you get into an accident, if you lose someone you love, you start seeing things, or you just start forgetting. it could be you, or you could watch it be someone you love. it's deeply terrifying to me and it deeply saddens me.

it is very clearly a commentary on how we don't know how to talk about mental health. we only know how to spot signs that someone needs help, we don't know how to confront them about it, we don't know how to handle our own lives when people in our lives need help but won't or can't get it for whatever reason. is it okay to walk away from someone that you love in the middle of a crisis? you can only handle so much. we don't know how to handle our own depressions. in the movie, our good sis witnessed the suicide of her mother and the way she handled that was becoming a mental health worker that obsessed over her job. she calls it her passion but if you ask me, she was simply self sabotaging. she felt some type of way about not helping her mom when she had the chance, so she went into mental health work as some sort of reperations. a punishment to herself. she put herself in that kind of environment for her whole career, and didn't take breaks. that is self harm.

i'm getting nitpicky- okay. so firstly, i loved the movie. i loved the concept, the script, the lore (the smile can only be passed on by if you witness the suicide of the current person being Smiled at. so the patient was being Smiled at first, right? she then kills herself in front of Rose, and now Rose is being Smiled at. and now it's Rose's turn to pass it along.) i even thought that as a piece of art, the ending was super well done. the visuals looked terrifying and were clearly symbolic. like seeing the physical representation of the smile it was stunning visual affects. very down to earth and realistic. (but do i think we should have seen them? no, more on that later). and the allegory for mental health was pretty decent as well: the fact that the smile never physically attacked her. every time we see the smile, it's played some sort of psychological trick on Rose, simply the underlying threat is the scary part. and then on top of that, seeing Rose just be in a terrified state, seemingly at nothing, it just looks like she's breaking down due to working too hard to the people around her. none of them beleive she's seeing this smile. she can't tell people, because thats crazy!

but she really does need help.

so then comes my thoughts on why it was such a bad representation of mental health. let's be blunt: ruse loses this battle against the smile. she ends up killing herself in front of her ex boyfriend, passing it on to him.

now, in my opinion, the way the story is written, rose was going to have to kill herself to get out of the situation. she finds out the smiles pattern: smile at someone, possess them, make them kill themselves in front of someone else to pass it along, repeat. she goes to the one person who survived this pattern, a man in jail for killing someone. he managed to survive by killing someone in front of someone else, passing it to THAT person.

so in my head, Rose has three options:

kill someone else in front of someone else, passing it along to that person. the smile gets passes, but she lives. but i don't think rose would be able to live with herself if she did that. she attempted to do that but couldn't follow through.

essentially do nothing and end up killing herself in front of someone else, passing it to them. now, this sucks because now rose is dead, and the smile passed to someone else, so it was kind of for nothing right? this is what ends up happening.

what i thought was going to happen was rose kills herself alone and no one is there to witness so the smile dies.

all three of those endings are kind of bleak though, huh?

i agree, so maybe the Smile should have been written as a weaker character, instead of this omnipresent being, who can be anywhere, nowhere, and everywhere at the same time. this allows for our main character a CHANCE to survive or not kill herself violent on screen. instead, she goes down the exact same cycle as her patient. this gives the audience a breather, maybe leave them with the idea that, "hey, working through mental health is possible for everyone. just have enough faith that with proper medication or exercise, or whatever your brain needs will be provided for you."

but i guess that's not the truth for everyone either. plenty of people lose battles to mental illnesses. plenty of people's lives end in terror, graphically depicted in the movie.

that's why i say it's a tragedy, it ends tragically and prevent-ably. but that shit happens all the time. i just hate that, and that's why i don't like the ending. it was too real for me. i physically had to look away at some parts.

but i thought the movie up until the end was good, and i even enjoyed the end as a piece of art, but the subject matter fucked it up. it's not a movie for everyone.

oh and one last general gripe, even though the Smile's cgi was phenomenal, i still just wish we hadn't seen a literal personification of the monster. its a mental concept it's more "on-brand" scary to not see this thing, maybe hear it or feel it's presence (though i guess it's not well suited for the visual medium). i just don't think anyone could ever capture the concept of an idea and put it into visual form. like why is the smile a meat suit, essentially? it looks like the inside of a person, like a human turned inside out. like a bunch of meat. why?

but all around, pretty terrifying movie, just in the concept and excecution - several jump scares had me chuckling after like, "i'll admit it, they got me!" and saying this is really such a relief. when i first saw the trailer for the movie, i thought it was going to just be another gimmicky bull shit blumhouse thing. you know, that 10s trend in scary movies where each film was some revamp of a childhood game or feeling, trying to relate scares into younger millennials, older gen zers like ooo what if that childhood game you made up with your siblings was taught to you by a... ghost... ooooo, or, oooo what if light as a feather was... haunted, ooo. (we didn't need that).

my point is, i thought it would be gimmicky, but it was very clear that a lot of thought and love went into the film. and it's a pretty touchy subject, very tough to plain say, "they represented everything about mental illness 100% okay and relateable", becuase those journeys and experiences are so personal.

all around, i had a very positive experience at this horror film and a pretty bad time after it, because everyone's smiles in real life seemed off to me for a while afterwards. a paranoid feeling.

now do i want to do that to myself again with this Skinamarink deal? what do yall think?

[tonkiteach]

Oswan bracelet

palm beach is palm beach because it was built to keep the right people in and the wrong people out.’ i’m so glad angus (her first husband) bought the house when we were first married. Look, things happen everywhere but I don’t have to deal with certain things here.” I didn’t want to have a pre-arranged life. “Look, it’s more remote,” he acknowledged. The kids have a great time but there’s so much more to Aspen” “I hear the public school has a ski lift to the mountain.” Aspen isn’t what people think-there is a real community here and local, full-time residents.” “After we moved here, most of my friends told me I’d be back in two months,” he said. The second plane literally flew over my car on the drive into the second tower and I lost a lot of very close friends,” he said in sad, reflective moment. It was traumatic-definitely a motivating factor. “Did 9/11 prompt you to move here?” I asked. When we moved to Aspen, it was really a different experience for us.” I always dreamt of not having a repeat performance of my childhood. “How’s life in Aspen these days?” I asked. He looked tanned and relaxed in Loro Piana. “It’s so good to see you,” I fist-bumped Aspen Trader as we made our way from the Little Nell to the bustling Ajax Tavern, where we sat in the glorious sunshine-it could have been a 60-degree spring day. (I always say I am not a skier but an après skier.) While my son is doing black diamond runs with his instructor, I have lunch with a very good college friend who had decamped to the ski hamlet with his family years before. It just so happened that I was going to be in Aspen for a father-son ski trip, though I am useless on the mountain for anything other than picking up the tab. “Plus, Eagle Airport always gets snowed in and who wants to drive all the way from Denver?” I nodded. And the bad guys will get altitude sickness.” Any place else?” I asked, admiring the timeless palm-leaf wallpaper and enjoying the scrumptious vegetarian spring rolls with dipping sauce. And you can’t run down the street with heavy gold bars in your bag. “Someone will always barter a Picasso for a bag of pretzels,” he said. When choosing this item, we recommend you to review our necklaces collection as we have a perfect match for this design. If you like mixing and matching your jewelry, then we suggest you to check out other pieces from our collection and choose one more item that will match your bracelet.“Do you think anyone would be buying art in that scenario?” This minimalist bracelet comes to your address in elegant Fit Selection jewelry box, being ready to become a gift or a nice way to store this jewelry piece while not wearing. In Greek tradition, this bird was often pictured singing to a lyre. In Roman Mythology Swan was sacred to Venus, the goddess of love. It is associated with love, music, and poetry. Swan symbolizes grace and beauty on many levels. Whether there is a birthday occasion or anniversary, this will be a great way to show your affection to someone special or just a nice treat for yourself. This Swan bracelet besides being trendy as minimalist jewelry, is also a great choice if you are interested in animal inspired jewelry. In light of our new designs we are presenting you the Swan bracelet. Our new minimalist jewelry collection is made to diversify the choice that Fit Selection gives to the customers.

[that-disabled-radfem]

Happy back-to-school y’all

I’ve attended and worked at a couple of super liberal universities. I avoid the gender studies departments for obvious reasons and I still had a lecture in which the female prof gave a brief overview of TERFs and proclaimed her hatred of JKR. Being openly critical of gender ideology, the porn industry, kinks, and ‘sex work’ are the kind of things that can ruin your future in academia. Not to mention the fact that any speech or actions that could be labelled transphobic (ie. defining woman as adult human female) can get you a suspension according to many universities anti-hate-speech policies. 

So, here’s a list of small and smallish (small in terms of overt TERFery, some may require more effort than others) radical feminist actions you can take as a university student:

(this is a liberal arts perspective so if you’re a stem gal this may not apply. but also if you’re in stem maybe you can actually acknowledge that women are oppressed as a sex class without getting kicked out of school. idk)

(Note for TRAs hate reading this: One of the core actions of radical feminism is creating female networks. This is not so that we can brainwash people into being anti-trans. This is because female solidarity is necessary for creating class consciousness and overturning patriarchy. It is harder to subjugate the female sex when we stand together.)

Take classes with female profs. Multiple sections of a class? Pick the one taught by a woman. Have to chose an elective? Only look at electives offered by women. When classes have low numbers they get cancelled. When classes are super popular, universities are forced to consider promoting the faculty that teach them

Make relationships with these female profs. Go to office hours. Chat after class. Ask them about their research. Building female networks is sooooo important!

Actually fill in your end of year course feedback forms. Profs often need these when applying for tenure or applying for a job at another university so it is very important (especially with young and/or new profs) that you fill out these forms and give specific examples of how great these women are. Go off about what you love about them! Give her a brilliant review because you know the idiot boy in that class who won’t shut up even though he knows nothing is going to give her only negative feedback because he thinks any woman who leaves the house is a feminazi b*tch. 

(note: obviously don’t go praising any prof - female or male - who is blatantly racist, homophobic, etc.)

(Also if you have shitty male profs write down all the horrible things they have done and said and put it in these forms because once a shitty man gets tenure they are virtually untouchable)

(also also, leave a good review on rate my profs or whatever other thing students use to figure out if they want to take classes. idc if you copy paste your feedback from the formal review. rave about the class to your friends. do what you can to get good enrolment for that prof for reasons above.)

Participate in class. Talk over the male students. Say what you mean and mean it. Call out the boys when they say dumb shit

Write about women. If you have the option to make a text written by a woman your primary text in an essay, do it. Pick the female-centred option if you’re writing an exam-essay with multiple prompts. (Profs often look at what works on their syllabus are being written about/engaged with as a marker of whether to keep those texts the next time they teach the class. If there are badass women on your syllabus, write about them to keep them on the syllabus) Use female-written secondary sources whenever possible. 

(pro tip: many women in academia are more than happy to talk to you about their papers. expand your female networks by reaching out to article authors through email and asking them about their cool shit)

Get your essays published! Many departments have undergrad journals you can publish in. This will ensure more people read about the women you write about and will demonstrate to the department that people like learning about women

Consider trying to publish your undergrad essay with a legit peer-reviewed journal. If you can do it, your use of female-written secondary sources boosts the reputations of the women who wrote those secondary sources. Also this helps generally to increase scholarship about women’s writing!

Present your papers at conferences! Many schools have their own undergraduate/departmental conferences that you can present at. Push yourself by submitting to outside conferences. Bring attention to women’s works by presenting your papers. Take a space at a conference that would otherwise be reserved for mediocre men

Talk to your profs and/or your department and/or your university about mandating the inclusion of female works in classes if this isn’t something they do already

Sit next to other women in your classes. Talk to them. Make friends. Form study groups. Proofread each other’s essays. Give each other knowing looks when the boys are being dumb. Just interact with other women! Build those female networks!

Be generous with your compliments. A female classmate and I were talking to a prof after class and the classmate told me (out of the blue) that I always have such interesting things to say. I think about that whenever I’m lacking confidence about my academic skills. Compliment the women in your classes for speaking up, for sharing their opinions, for challenging your classmates/profs, for doing cool presentations, etc.

Talk to other women about sexist things going on on campus. Make everyone aware of the sexist profs. Complain about how there are many more tenured men than tenured women. Go on rate my professor and be explicit about how the sexist profs are sexist

Be active on campus and in societies. If a society has an all male executive or is male-dominated, any women who join that society make it less intimidating for more women to join. Run for executive positions! Bring in more women! 

(Pro tip: Many societies’ elections are super gameable. You can be eligible to vote in a society election sometimes just by being a student at that university — even without having done anything with the society before. Other societies might just require that you’ve taken a class in a particular department or attended a society event. (Check the society’s governing documents.) Use those female networks you’ve been building. If you can bring three or four random people to vote for you, that might be enough for you to win. Societies have trouble meeting quorum (the minimum number of people in attendance to do votes) so it is really super achievable to rig an election with a few friends. And don’t feel bad about this. The system is rigged against women so you have every right to exploit loopholes!)

(Also feel free to go vote “non-confidence”/“re-open election” if only shitty men are running. Too often people see that only candidates they don’t like are running and so they give up. But you can actually stop them getting elected)

Your campus may have a LGBTQIA+alphabetsoup society. That society definitely needs more L and B women representation. It may be tedious to argue with the nb straight dudes who insist that it’s fine to use “q***r” in the society’s posters and that attraction has nothing to do with genitals, but just imagine what could happen if we could make these sorts of societies actually safe spaces for same-sex attracted women and advocated for our concerns

Attend random societies’ election meetings. Get women elected and peace out. (or actually get involved but I’m trying to emphasize the lowest commitment option with this one)

Write for the campus newspaper. Write about what women are doing - women’s sports, cool society activities, whatever. Review female movies, books, tv shows, local theatre productions. Write about sexism on campus. We need more female by-lines and more stories about women

Get involved with your campus’s sexual assault & r*pe hotline/sexual assault survivor’s centre/whatever similar organization your campus has if you can. This is hard work and definitely not for everyone (pls take care of yourself first, especially if you are a survivor)

(If your campus doesn’t have an organization for supporting survivor’s of sexualized violence, start one! This is probably going to be a lot of hard work though, so don’t do it alone)

Talk to your student council about providing free menstrual hygiene products on campus if your campus doesn’t already do this. If your campus provides free condoms (which they probs do), use that as leverage (ie. ‘sex is optional, menstruation is not. so why do we have free condoms and no free pads?’)

If you’re an older student, get involved with younger students (orientation week and such activities are good for this). Show the freshman that you can be a successful and well-liked woman without shaving your legs, wearing heels, wearing make-up, etc. Mentor these young women. Offer to go for coffee or proofread essays. 

Come to class looking like a human being. Be visibly make-up less, unshaven, unfeminine, etc. to show off the many different ways of being a woman

Talk to the custodial staff and learn their names. (I know there are men who work in this profession, but it is dominated by low-income women) Say hi in the hallways, ask them about their lives, show them they’re appreciated

Be explicit with your language. When you are talking about sex-based oppression, say it. Don’t say ‘sex worker’ when you mean survivor of human trafficking. This tip is obviously a bit tricky in terms of overt TERFyness, so use your best judgement

That’s all from me for now! Feel free to add your suggestions and remember that feminism is about action