#i must have ghostwrote it

[bioluminesced]

who up obiwaning they kenobi

[girlsdads]

you ever write a line that you like so much you feel like you didn’t actually write it

[physalian]

Went browsing for paid beta readers on my old stomping grounds, Fiverr, and ugh, man I hate that website. And Upwork. All of them.

There’s something about a monetary incentive on a platform that pushes the lowest bidder hard, called “Fiverr” for a reason, that can churn out the laziest work? Not that I think beta reading should be done for free, but “beta reading” is, in my experience, not very widely understood, so a lot of lazy people or full-blown scammers think they can take this soft, unregulated skill, and make bank doing the absolute bare minimum. Whereas if you do it for free, you gotta be doing it for the passion.

And I have been scammed plenty, especially during the beta process for Eternal Night where I was reporting gigs left and right for false advertising, even the most popular ones that rampantly abused AI to do their work, but an inexperienced author would never notice.

I’d absolutely love to throw money at the people who do quality beta reading, and I have, and it absolutely lessens the anxiety of “you said you’d do this for me where’s my work” if we have an actual contract of “I have now paid you money, you have to follow through on your commitment.”

Beta reading is just one of those incredibly nebulous areas where the expectations of both author and beta reader can have such vast interpretations that there needs to be a dedicated platform, like Reedsy, that only hosts freelancers for writing, that is invite only like AO3 to lessen the chance of scammers, and demands more from freelancers to vet their skills than a basic English comprehension test, because understanding English is not an understanding of fictional prose.

It would take a ton of work having actual people involved and not chat bots and ~algorithms~ but a site where I can say “I have a WIP with X genre, N wordcount, and Y rating and I’d like a beta reader to provide B style and C level of feedback with a focus on D narrative structure” and have betas who are happy to take on a project written in a style they both understand and would enjoy reading.

A system where you can leave reviews but there’s no stressful “ranking” system, and where you can delete bad faith reviews with some disclaimer of “there was something here but it has been removed by vendor” so at least you have the chance to ask “hey, what’s behind that redacted box?” because as a beta myself on Fiverr, I have also been harassed by pissed off authors who thought they shit gold.

A magical platform made by authors, for authors, where you can cancel an order without blowing up your entire gig. Heck, where you can have cover artists and illustrators also there for your one-stop-shop for the whole book, cover-to-cover. A platform where you can silence your 'gig' for a while if you're not using it so you're not clogging up the real estate for more active sellers without risking your standing. A platform where you must be able to approve an order as something you want to work before an order is just dumped hot and steaming on your doorstep that you must work or else risk your rating.

I had a friend who ghostwrote for some weirdo who insisted on including all these foot fetish details in a completely unrelated and “YA” work and wouldn’t admit it, but to cancel on them would be to lower their very precarious standing on Fiverr. Cancellations are a death knell. The pressure to leave better reviews than people deserve lest you get harassed by the seller/buyer is also very real.

Reedsy is great and all, but Reedsy takes a hefty cut and it’s for bigger projects that cost hundreds to thousands of dollars for full-blown edits. 10% inflated cost for Reedsy's cut (don't remember the actual number, hypothetical) gets really expensive when it's 10% of $3800.

Beta reading is not “easy”. It demands more than a “it was good” (and sometimes I have to ask after the fact “did you even like it” which should be very clear up front) and authors have different expectations of the level of work involved, even among the same WIP as it goes through different stages, but so much of it involves telling yourself “this might not be the book for me, but it could be the book for someone so I am going to read it with an open mind” that I also did not get from a few sellers.

Idk maybe even a Discord server (I've tried communities on here, not a fan of the UI) for now that at least gets authors who need betas and betas who need authors in the same location. Fuck it, I'll even run it. I've got free time. You want something done, you do it yourself.

Anyway thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[tarysande]

I’ve never really liked New Year’s Resolutions (or, as my inner critic likes to call them: Inevitable Failures).

That said, there are a few things I want to implement.

I MUST get better about recording my successes and accomplishments, big and small. Negativity bias is a real thing. My brain has no problem remembering the failures. I need to record the good things so I can look back at them. (For example, I've been beating myself up about "not writing" enough this year ... only to remember that literally THREE BOOKS I co-wrote/ghostwrote were published this year. Are they books I'd have written without getting paid? No. But I still DID THE WRITING, DAMMIT. And that counts. 1(b) I need to make time to work on my own creative projects.)

I am happier when I'm doing morning pages regularly. Why I sabotage that happiness by NOT writing them is confounding. And yet.

ANSWER. THE. DAMN. EMAIL. Right away. Or it won't be answered at all, and I'll feel like an asshole about it for way, way longer than it would have taken to just ANSWER THE EMAIL.

It's been a weird year. It's been a year of ups and downs. It's been a year of learning and relearning. It's been a year of good change, sad change, and complicated change. This next year is already challenging and busy (in good ways, I think), but I need to carve out time to write my own ideas, my morning pages, and those goddamned emails.

Oh, and tell people I love them more often. So, I love you, friends. I'm happy to have been around here a bit more. I'm happy to be playing video games again. I'm happy to be, on average, happier more often than I'm sad, these days.

And I hope each and every one of you finds something happy to take with you into 2024, while perhaps also setting down at least a few ounces of the weight that needn't be brought out of 2023.

[your-local-neighborhood-nerd]

BBC GHOSTS S5 CHRISTMAS SPOILERS AHEAD

So uhm

MAT BAYNTON AND JIM HOWICK DID BEN MFING WILLBOND POSSESS YOU TWO?! I BET HE GHOSTWROTE THIS EPISODE (pun not intended but very welcome)

- I knew from the start that this would have a bittersweet ending, and I knew it was something with Alison and Mike somehow leaving the house or the ghosts getting sucked off, but it still hits, y'know? (Although I'm glad no one got sucked off/moved on because I feel like that would have hurt more than anything)

- I've been seeing a few posts that this wasn't the best episode, and I totally agree. There was something kind of. .lacking? I don't know if that was intentional because of that mellow buildup to the end of the episode but yeah

- But I do love the scene where the ghosts realized they were just as bad as Betty, because that was when I realized where this episode was heading- SO I STARTED CRYING

- Wonderful PatCap in this episode though, I must say

- In my opinion, I really didn't like Kitty's jealousy storyline. I feel like over time in Button House while the Coopers lived there, she would have matured to at least be aware of *gestures to the baby*

- We got a double entendre Fanny joke from Cap, always love those

- THEN FANNY SAYING SHE SEES ALISON AS A DAUGHTER HELLO??? CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

- Speaking of character development, all of the ghosts have grown so much. First, they wanted Alison out, not wanting to do anything with her or Mike. They all wanted to be alone (aka just be with each other). Then it transforms into something beautiful, they all become a family for the course of however many years. They've all had their moments, and it all comes full circle, the ghosts telling Alison that it's for the best that the Coopers leave, not out of malice, but out of love.

- Seeing elderly Mike and Alison was just a personal attack ISTGGGGG

- And then the very last scene is with Robin's monologue. The ghost that's been there the longest, the ghost that didn't feel the Christmas spirit at the start of the episode, ends it all off.

But of course, I count on the Six Idiots, my favorite group of writers/actors, to make me cry

Goodbye BBC Ghosts <3

[artisafeelingg]

AUTHENTICITY:

I always talk to people and get the “you’re so different than I imagined” talk. While I know this is meant to be a compliment, and hearing it gives me great solace in knowing that someone has finally uncovered the real Lucia without letting their judgements of who I am from my social media, etc. hinder that, I cannot help but feel slightly sad. What about all of the individuals that never see the real me? Or all of the people who allow an Instagram post or a passing glance to write my narrative of who I am as an individual? This blog post is dedicated to starting my journey of authenticity and sharing ME on social media. From a young age I’ve been passionate about writing. In my eyes, the beauty of the written word surpasses all other forms of communication. Writing was my first love, and we had a tumultuous affair from writing articles for The Indianapolis Star to publishing my poetry in an anthology on Amazon and other international print magazines. Like all first loves, I put a tremendous amount of pressure on my love for writing and considered even making it my major. Eventually, we went our separate ways but my passion and knack for it has never ceased to exist, even many years later. I’m writing this first post as a toast to authenticity, and to using my social media to express who Lucia Ponader really is. She rather sentimental (queue the weekly cry sesh!) She is an avid lover of words and will constantly use large words which shocks people (girls can be hot and smart too. It’s called elevated diction. Godspeed on your journey of literacy). She is messy, passionate, unorganized (just ask her friends) and a whirlwind of emotion and intensity. She is a lover of ALL Asian cuisine and with absolutely zero apprehension would eat any form of Asian cuisine every day for the rest of her life. She is a self proclaimed dumpling connesuir. She absolutely cannot function without her trusted Aquaphor. She MUST sleep with multiple fans blasting on full speed directly onto her face (to the average overnight guest one would believe that they were at sea on a particularly windy day trying to fall asleep in her room). She might quite possibly be a hoarder because of her emotional attachment to literally anything. She enjoys sunshine beaming down, with a kombucha in tow and her favorite book. Or watercoloring outdoors with a great friend. She lived in Italy for 8 months and LOVES to travel. She conquered Hawaii next. Her absolute favorite movie of all time is the Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann, one of her favorite directors of all time. She hates driving, those sporadic “can I talk to you” texts, and picky eaters. She aspires to be a food critic, travel to every country in the world, and make her own Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (P.S. Anthony Bourdain is my answer to the who would you have dinner with dead or alive question). She hates small talk and would rather engage in an enthralling discussion about something more abstract. Her favorite question to argue: do you believe in the idea of truth as it is literally defined? (in my opinion the correct answer is no, truth is merely a construct that is completely subjective and therefore is inherently unable to exist according to the definition of “truth”). She is creative and thinks outside the box; rules do not apply to her. She is an internationally published poet. She once ghostwrote music for her SoundCloud rapping ex. Favorite artist? Monet or musically it would have to be Cigarettes After Sex. She has been coined the “jester” of her friend group, as it’s her job to entertain and make people laugh. She does not believe that love is enough or that it exists for her (absolutely feel free to prove me wrong at any point). She loves a good laugh. She has flaws too, like all of us, but perhaps we will dive into those in another post. She exists differently in every single persons mind, but it’s time she takes control of that narrative, just a little. Here’s my take on authenticity, perfectly imperfect. Stop taking Instagram so seriously.

[kimtaegis]

idek if this is my last one today LOL SORRY now that I’ve started idk how to stop😭

I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR JULIA 🌸 ( @raplinenthusiasts )

julia has one of the biggest hearts on this whole website even though she won’t agree with me, probably, but it’s because it’s full of support and love!!!!!!! for creators and for music above all else!!!! YOU MUST ACCEPT MY LOVE!! i kick my feet whenever i get a tag, a mention, an ask, a dm, a cat video, etc bc i love her so much! anyway. does julia know i have a huge crush on her yet or not 😭😭😭😭 in another life we are cuddled on the couch watching the office, i’ll make her laugh (hopefully) and she’ll make me a cheesecake (my favorite) for now we are simply soup snakes 🫶 i hope the holidays are warm for you, you get as much snow (as you like) and you are loved and cherished as you should be 🤍🫶 then I hope next year is full of your favorites (concerts and flowers 💐)

ahdjgkh KEEP IT COMING KAYLA I’m living for your enthusiasm to spread the christmas love agenda on kimtaegis dot com

I totally ghostwrote this message @raplinenthusiasts I hope you know that cause I literally can’t agree more with kayla, she put my thoughts into words perfectly. I also don’t think you even realise in the slightest how wonderful of a person you are – but no worries, kayla and some more of us will gladly remind you anytime. we love you soooo much and wish for nothing but your happiness, love. there’s no one like you julia and we admire and adore you to the moon and back. merry christmas darling 🤍🤍🤍

Participate in Christmas at Annie’s 🎁

[citizen-of-the-fandom]

@madis-hartte OMG valadilenne and garmonbozia! how could I forget too?

I saw your tags and thought I ghostwrote them and then remembered I followed you from the forums to ffn to tumblr so one presumes our taste in fanfiction must have run along the same lines

has anyone else ever had a fanfic that just... haunts them? like it's been months and maybe even years since you read it, but it just lingers with you and you can never truly leave behind the imprint it made on you? and maybe it's just a single line, one sentence that you can't shake off, that takes up residence in your mind and stays there, feeding into your psyche and subtly influencing your brainspace and maybe even your writing or other works?

[bernardineshen]

Her Journal

POEMS FOR HIM: The After Poems (Robbing a Thief) Entry#7

I found a journal saying all the things I wanted to say to you. For a second, I thought it was mine but it was another’s and I thought, I wasn’t the only one feeling what I used to felt. I could have ghostwrote this in my sleep after the times I cried. She entitled it, “watch me fall out of love through my journal entries,” and I wonder if I am falling out of it too—even after you did it first and even after we ended it already. If I was only brave enough, I could have said all that too, you know? But I guess love outweighs bravery and love covers the pain. But people, they can only handle so much. And God knows how much we tried for forever—writing journal entries and poems only to convince ourselves that we can still stay. And when I read her last words, I smiled. I must not know why but I know for sure that she found her worth. I guess I did too. The old version of myself could have hated the writer because how can you fucking fall out of love?—That was unfair. But also, how can you not fall out of love when he gives you all the reasons to fall out of it, too? Now, I fucking understand. Maturity is knowing better. Growth is agreeing with every single word. People are temporary. Love is a fantasy. Falling out of it is a universal feeling. Writing is therapeutic. Healing will come. And I, I will keep writing may it be about you or not anymore.

[ryqoshay]

How to Handle a Nico - Side Story: Audible Archery

Primary Pairing: KotoUmi Rating: G Words: 626 Fandom: Love Live Parent Fic: How to Handle a Nico Time Frame: Sometime after the two are married (?) Event: Promptober 2022 Event Source: Idol Fanfic Heaven channel on Discord Prompt: Ghost

---------

Author’s Note: Bonus 4th entry for Oct 4th

Summary: Honoka recommends an audio book about archery to Kotori

---------

Kotori hummed happily to herself as she scrolled through the audiobook collection. Ah, there it was, the one Honoka had recommended to her. She quickly read the synopsis. Odd. While the book wasn’t something she would immediately dismiss as disinteresting, it wasn’t exactly something she would normally go out of her way to listen to either.

It was, however, something she believed Umi might enjoy, as it pertained to archery. Well, perhaps she could, in turn, recommend it to her later.

Kotori pressed play and couldn’t help smiling at the voice that came through her earbuds. The woman sounded a lot like Honoka, although significantly less energetic. Perhaps that was the reason Honoka had suggested it?

This was turning out to be the perfect entertainment for some mindless sewing.

Wait, what was that? Kotori thought, a few minutes into listening. That sounded like a turn of phrase that Umi might use. Kotori backed up a few seconds to relisten. No, that was actually something Umi had said before. Verbatim.

Kotori shook her head. Surely, it must be something archers say. Kotori was slightly ashamed to admit that her main interest in archery was the fact that Umi continued it as a hobby, rather than the activity itself. As such, she had only learned enough to know what was going on in tournaments Umi occasioned to attend. She knew some of the lexicon, but there was bound to be much she didn’t know.

Kotori was about to brush off the incident when the reader began to speak about a tournament she remembered Umi winning. And while Umi herself was not named, the book was clearly referring to her.

Once was happenstance. Twice was coincidence…

Kotori kept listening.

---------

“Umi-chan.”

“Yes, Kotori?”

“Did you write a book about archery?”

Umi looked up from her paperwork. “I beg your pardon?”

“Did you write a book.” Kotori repeated. “About archery.”

As Umi held Kotori’s gaze, pink began to spread on her cheeks, before darkening to red. “I… You… How did you find out?”

“Honoka-chan suggested it to me.”

“B-But I ghostwrote it!” Umi insisted. “It’s under the name of a famous sports author, not even a pseudonym either of you two could figure out.”

“But we know your style.” Kotori smiled. “It doesn’t matter if you’re writing idol songs, financial reports, or books. Umi-chan is still Umi-chan.”

Umi deflated a bit.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because… it’s… embarrassing.” Umi averted her gaze toward the floor. “You know I do not enjoy bragging about myself.”

Kotori giggled. “Yes, I know. But you could have still said something. Having a book professionally published, even if ghostwritten, is a big deal. We should celebrate. Tonight.” She decided. “I’m going to head out to pick up ingredients for some of your favorites.”

She was about to turn to leave when…

“Thank you.�� Umi said softly. “And… sorry for not saying anything sooner. You know I don’t like keeping secrets either, especially not from you. But the whole situation honestly caught me off-guard. I knew of the author, but I had no idea she was a fan of mine as an archer, nor that she would approach me with such a request.”

Kotori turned back and moved over to her wife. Umi realized her intent and slid her desk chair back to allow her to slide down into her lap. Kotori then wrapped her arms around Umi’s neck and pulled herself up to peck a quick kiss on her cheek.

“I think it’s wonderful that Umi-chan is an author.” She said. “Perhaps maybe I can convince Umi-chan to write a novel about how she and I came together as a couple.”

“No.” Umi stated flatly.

Kotori laughed lightly and pulled in for another kiss.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: I was having fun coming up with ways to write a story using a prompt for Ghost that wasn’t actually about ghosts. I mean yeah, sure, I wrote about Shizuku, a phantom in PoH, but that just fit so easily with my self-challenge of trying to include last year’s prompts as well. But after that, I wanted to see what else I could come up with... and manage to both write and post on my breaks at work.

The idea of having one of the girls ghostwrite a book came to mind, so I took a little while to decide who among the cast might do so. And while I came up with several possibilities, Umi ended up winning out.

Also, I put a (?) in the Time Frame entry as I really only used wife as it is shorter than girlfriend in an event that limits characters. When I get around to working this into HtHaN proper, I may change their relationship status, based on where I think it fits best in the overall timeline.

[inkblotsandriddles]

@howling-wizard replied to your post “My moods about Rorschach are always swinging...”:

I feel like daniel himself ghostwrote this xD

Moment of silence for Daniel because he must have been subjected to so much stupid shit during their partnership.

[into-control]

istg some twitter gaylors (and probably tumblr gaylors too) are so annoying, they attribute the writing credit for most of taylor's friends' songs to taylor. I was just reading a twitter thread about how people think that taylor ghostwrote some camila songs like bad kind of butterflies and living proof and shameless and that "the lyrics are too good to be camila's" (but they don't even know what her lyrics are like?)

like they're legit saying that shameless and living proof "sound super gay" and "camila's a straight girl" so it must have been ghostwritten by taylor 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

whyyy do they do this. and so many of them agreed in the replies, they're all like "👀" and "I could see this being true" and "🤔🤔"

kind of embarassing for them to 1) fall for showmila and 2) not be able to tell the difference between taylor’s writing style and camila’s. to me there’s a pretty stark difference, the most obvious one to me is that taylor is extremely metaphor-heavy and camila isn’t quite as much.

and camila has been writing songs completely on her own since before she met taylor... so...

[sassyfrassboss]

"He will die on his hill. Meghan must have promised him something HUGE in return" Bold faced perjury? You don't think he'll cough up the recordings or word document proving MM ghostwrote her own biography?

Honestly I originally thought that Omid and her friends would NEVER perjure themselves but now I am not so sure. 

Unless the MoS shows these people to their faces that there is proof, I think they will lie on the stand. However, I could see them lying on the stand and then MoS jumps in with proof that they are lying so they are outed on the stand. 

Omid must think that the reward is worth the risk at this point. I mean we saw him being interviewed for something for Netflix so I’ll bet Meghan has promised him something. 

[taesflower]

@sugalamb

yes it hurt when i fell from heaven

[queenofnohr]

The Charming Empire - Otome Review (Soshi Amazaki Route)

I was going to hold off on doing this because 1. I wanted to play more routes to have a more comprehensive look at the game and 2. I don’t really have free time yet. Promptly ignored the above logic mostly to get this out of my system.

Before we begin, a disclaimer - While I do have pretty extensive knowledge about the otome genre in both longer “proper” VNs as well as the shorter, bite sized mobile VNs, I’m able to derive enjoyment from most anything (I feel the need to point this out because I see a lot of reviews that get hung up on stuff I can easily brush off even if I do understand where they’re coming from).

This is going to be a spoiler-free review based on Soshi Amazaki’s route alone.

Firstly, I must note that this is a mobile otome game. If you’re looking for something as long and substantial as, say, Hakuouki, Alice in the Country of Hearts, Dandelion, etc. this is probably not the game for you.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll be rating it based on usual points with a more... comprehensive and personal look at the end (feel free to skip to that if you know our tastes align and/or just want to see me losing my mind).

Prologue - 1/10

Normally I wouldn’t separate prologue from story. However, as this game started as a mobile game, there is no general route in which one gains points toward a love interest as is standard in full-length otome games. However, even by mobile game standards this game’s prologue fails in that it you meet exactly 0 love interests. Indeed, the prologue is the bare-bones introduction of the setting. This flaw is further complicated by the fact that, because it started as a mobile game, routes are bought individually. This means that there is no way to gauge the love interests except by the game’s straightforward summary on the buy screen. Luckily for me, I was sold at “Kenjiro Tsuda voices a love interest who is both a big brother and a lord” so this wasn’t as knee-capping as it could’ve been, but normally you’d have to simply take a leap of faith because if a love interest doesn’t actually end up being your type, you’re out of luck since you’ve already paid for the route.

This is an aside, but translation for the prologue is... questionable. It isn’t unreadable, like some translations I’ve had the misfortune of reading, but it does create some confusion regarding the MC’s family situation which I can’t help but clear up here. MC is the daughter of the previous lord whose mother moved with her out to the countryside. Her mother is died of illness, and MC now lives with an elderly couple. It’s simply when I say it here, but in game the family situation isn’t actually explained until well into the route and the narration refers to the couple as the “old man” and “old woman,” while the MC calls them “Grandpa” and “Grandma” (ojii-san, obaa-san in Japanese, which is a literal translation of what someone would call any older folk with the degree of familiarity MC has with them) while they call her “princess” (literally, hime-sama). The closeness of referring to them as grandparents vs the distance of the narrative’s “old man/woman” + calling the MC princess in a literal sense (vs. a nickname) is jarring especially because, again, they do not clearly explain the MC’s family situation.

Story - 7/10

Soshi holds the most powerful seat in all the empire. Only trusting himself, he rejects the opinions of others as he continues his dictatorship agenda -- breeding animosity amongst the people. He’s a cold man who sees even his own sister as a political tool.

This is the official description for Soshi’s route. Unfortunately(?) for some this... doesn’t really hold true for most of the route and I find it an odd way to bill it.

The initial conflict/relationship growth in the game stems from the MC wanting to be closer to Soshi - not necessarily in a romantic sense - and his distance due to his position. If you’re expecting a more haughty/sneering/pragmatic Kenjiro Tsuda more along the lines of his role as Kazama Chikage and/or a villain archetype who treats MC as a tool (no judgment, we all got our otome types) he’s by and large not that. Things get more complicated around the 10th chapter, but that’s 2/3 of the game in.

The writing is competent. Again, if you’re looking for complex worldbuilding and something deep, you will not find it here. But, while it isn’t poetry in motion, there was at least no point where I actively cringed or asked myself why I was playing it (this is compared to my experience with Voltage Games and Playchoices).

The MC is tolerable. There’s nothing special about her, but she avoids being a literal faceless protagonist with zero presence while also not having such a strong personality as to be polarizing. She shows more competence and restraint than I expected of her (the bar was nearly floor level, but still).

The pacing is... odd. I get the distinct feeling that it’s a longer otome shoved inside a mobile otome, if that makes sense. I’ve seen other reviews call it rushed, but that isn’t necessarily the feeling I get. For a game to feel “rushed” to me, it has to show a lack of care and attention to detail; scenes are had just to have them and either don’t contribute to the overall plot/theme/feeling of the game. I feel like this game does take care, especially in it’s early bits, but some developments happen later on which don’t get the development time they necessarily need. Which leads me to-

The plot kind of goes off the rails around chapter 10 or 11. It returns to form in chapter 14ish. This... plot twist, shall we say, is predicated on hiding obfuscating knowledge from the reader that should be apparent due to being from the MC’s PoV. Whether or not this is a dealbreaker will depend largely on the person. Personally, I was loopy off resisting sleep medication while reading this part so I just sort of accepted it and the return to form/explanation in later chapters made it worth it, but your mileage will definitely vary. I have Thoughts on this, but this is all I can really say while still maintaining a spoiler free review.

Playtime if ardently listening to the voices is ~3 hours. Playtime can be cut down significantly if you’re a fast reader and don’t overly care about the voice acting.

I haven’t tried all alternate options, but there doesn’t seem like huge variations regarding the choices. The 16th chapter, however, will change based on whether you get the Normal or Happy End.

Art - 7/10

The art isn’t anything special nor is it terrible. It’s much less stiff and has more style to it that most mobile otome’s I’ve played, but is lacking when compared to, again, full length otome games.

The MC has a face, which gets points from me (I dislike faceless MCs a lot especially when included in CGs). The fact no one but love interests even get sprites is somewhat jarring.

As far as CGs go, they’re standard fare and about the number you’d expect for the length of a route. The game isn’t raunchy like... at all so don’t expect anything too scandalous.

Voice Acting - 10/10

What can I say? It’s Kenjiro Tsuda.

To elaborate, however-

Kenjiro Tsuda does an excellent job. I’m not sure if I’d call it his best work, but even if it is voiced, I think there’s some expectation for a mobile otome’s voicework to be phoned in. This is not the case and Tsuda’s acting gives a lot of life to the character and scenarios. I’ll, uh, save my gushing for my line-by-line dissertation, and leave it at that.

What was unexpected was, despite not having sprites, minor characters do get voices! They also have some rather nice performances, and there was no VA I disliked listening to or whose performance was noticeably lacking compared to the others (the actual sound quality was consistent overall as well).

Overall - 8/10

Aside from the prologue, this is a solid performance from a mobile otome game. Compared to full-length otome games it’s lacking, but it’s still one of the better mobile otomes I’ve played. For the $6 you can get individual routes for on the mobile app, it’s a fun, quick romp that was perhaps not necessarily what was advertised (regarding the actual summary), but instead met the expectations I dared to dream of. While I can’t vouch for the game in its entirety, I can, at the very least, vouch for this route.

Comprehensive Overlook + Personal Rating - 10/10

Okay, I’ve been objective as possible despite this being a very subjective topic and now it’s time for me to shill my little heart out.

Writing a standard fare review for this game was really really hard for me because against all odds, logic, and my own taste preferring shit like Hakuouki, I’m in love with this game. Obsessed with it. Half the reason why I’m doing this is because it is a totally unremarkable (though, again, fun) otome game so of course it doesn’t have, like, a community, but I need to fucking gush about it somewhere.

Why?

Because Soshi Amazaki literally hits every single husband trait I so dearly love. This route is the equivalent of if someone took my taste buds and analyzed each and every one of them, then cooked a meal precisely on my most loved things. It isn’t necessarily fine dining, but it feels like it was scientifically engineered to appeal directly to me. It’s like I was possessed and ghostwrote it. It’s like someone peered into my heart and teased out the essence of everything I’ve ever wanted, then told me to eat shit because the shell it’s rammed into is that of a bite sized otome game. I have never had such a feast before me. I’ve never been served such an exquisite palette of flavors. I have never been so thoroughly outraged that this is the form my heart takes.

And yet, I’m... pretty much satisfied, despite its flaws and shortness, with my only real outrage stemming from the fact there is literally nobody I can talk about this with (the morning after I binged the entire route I made my boyfriend play it just so I could rave like a lunatic to someone about it) as well as my shame for being so enamored with what is essentially a mediocre otome game.

I talked about how the story kind of went off the rails 2/3rds of the way through, but honestly? I didn’t care because the payoff was incredible. Was I scared the game wasn’t going to end up where I wanted it to while it was happening? Was I prepared to be immensely disappointed because I felt, briefly, like I was baited and that of course nothing would never let me have my cake and eat it too? Yep. But you know what? I don’t know or care if it’s because I set the bar so low or what, but my expectations were thoroughly blown out of the water.

I’m still committed to making even this part of the review spoiler free, so I won’t be going into depth about what I loved (I’ll save that for another post because this is long enough as it is), but I’ll add this apart from just character archetype and themes being what I loved.

That is, shockingly enough and even considering the pacing and, ahem, weirdness - this is a route where everything seems to serve a function. Again, the story isn’t necessarily deep, and while perhaps I would’ve gone about certain things a different way (and had there been space allotted for greater development), there are many, many, many things that are called back to or that seem insignificant, but serve as thematic backbone and create delicious implications.

As a big brother connoisseur, I give this route 3 Michelin Stars.

If you followed me for/like Fire Emblem’s Marx/Xander, I highly recommend this route.

[the1959project]

July 17, 1959

Billie Holiday dies at New York’s Metropolitan Hospital (97th Street and First Avenue) of complications from cirrhosis. She was 44. 

Below I’ve embedded a three-part series by William Duffy, who ghostwrote her autobiography, that ran in the Chicago Defender immediately after she passed. A lot of the facts he includes about her life have since been disputed, but he was, at least, there in her hospital room.

The most important writing on Holiday’s death, I think, is James Baldwin’s piece “On Catfish Row,” which Commentary has unhelpfully locked on its site.

There is also Frank O’Hara’s famous, excellent poem “The Day Lady Died” (thanks to Mark Stryker for the reminder!). 

Any fan of Billie Holiday, and frankly, of American music, must read Farah Jasmine Griffin’s If You Can't be Free, be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday.