#i'm not even a big fan of mythology or that story trope

[lucky-clover-gazette]

has anyone pitched a vidow persephone/hades au yet

[being-of-rain]

In the days before The Legend of Ruby Sunday, I thought to myself 'RTD did a lot of big bombastic series finales in his day, and always with Classic Who villains. But that was fifteen years ago. Maybe he's mellowed.' Dear readers, he had not.

Here's my thoughts on the episode! But fair warning, they're mostly that it was just okay. I mean it was fine. It was a fun, mindless bit of build-up and spectacle. Of course it was very much a Part One, so a lot of my thoughts are just 'I wonder where this will go next episode.'

Firstly, I don't think I'm a massive fan of RTD's method of story arcs, which is to sprinkle references to something throughout a season that'll be part of the final story without much elaboration. It feels less like a story, and more like a drawn-out teaser for the finale. And continuing a trend that started in RTD's last full season that I'm not crazy about, there was so many arcs and plot hooks too. Before the episode my brother and I listed as many we could think of, and it actually addressed almost all of them, plus one or two we forgot about or thought wouldn't come back. It started to feel like the characters were ticking off a shopping list of questions. And I know that these things basically just exist for fans to speculate about. And I can't pretend I didn't have fun joking and memeing about all the arc elements with other fans. But as someone who both isn't really that interested in genuinely theorising about how a series is going to end (odd for a Dr Who fan, I know) and who really likes story/character arcs that develop over time, I guess I'm just not the target audience. This season the arcs have pricked my curiosity, but not much more than that - except make me wish they did more with the supernatural elements than a few badly-conceived gods and the cool fairy circle episode.

Anyway, Sutekh! In the last few years the TV show has done the Morbius Doctors, Beep the Meep, the Toymaker, the Shalka Doctor... I really shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore, but I still sit in bemused shock when a finale revolves around Susan and Sutekh. And that is pretty fun. We had basically nothing of Sutekh this episode, so I'm very interested what the next episode will do with him.

I'm especially curious how much it'll dip into the Egyptian mythology aspect. Because on one hand, Pyramids of Mars is sorta built on the problematic and awkward trope that aliens at least inspired Egyptian culture. On the other hand, I think the Egypt link & aesthetic is a big part of Sutekh's identity as a villain/monster. I remember being bored when Big Finish tried to divorce him from it in their latest audio with him (but tbh I trust RTD to at least do a more entertaining story than that, even if he's boiling Sutekh down into simply a God of Death). Similarly, I think a really big part of why Sutekh made a big impact on the original Dr Who fandom is how he was a genuine overwhelming threat to the Doctor, something that probably won't be as big of a shock today. But the final part of Sutekh's identity is Gabriel Woolf, and he's absolutely as entertaining as ever.

As for Susan, after all that drama it'd almost be stranger if she didn't appear in some form in the finale. I'm wondering if Mrs Flood is Susan, something that's really weird to say seriously after thinking people were wrong about her being an important character for 6 months. At the very least I really hope they give Carole Ann Ford some kind of cameo, because it'd be such a missed opportunity if the very first companion actress was still alive and they didn't do anything with her.

What else? Mel continues to be lovely, and I continue to wonder if there's any reason it was her in particular who was brought back or if it was just to have a classic Who companion hanging around. Rose continues to be precious, and her instant bonding with Ruby is just adorable. I missed Ruth Madeley's Shirley, I assume it was filming conflicts that led to her being replaced by a preteen? When Harriet was introduced I distinctly remember thinking 'oh she's cute, I hope she sticks around.' And the Vlinx continues to have 1-2 lines and no explanation.

The VHS-powered time window was an extremely cool concept, but I feel like it didn't look as good and distinct as it could have. I'm not totally certain what I'd have done different but I still felt underwhelmed. And I'll say something I've said a lot, but I wish there was at least some vague rules to things like the time window. I don't care about scientific accuracy or real life logic, only narrative logic; if anything can happen with only a bit of poetry to justify it, the stakes and losses and victories aren't nearly as satisfying.

And this might make me sound like someone who looks for anything to complain about, but I feel there's something off about how UNIT is depicted recently. Like it's being glorified and simplified as 'the good guys' maybe more than it has any time before in the TV show's history. And it feels especially awkward when some of the UNIT characters are armed and armoured soldiers. I'm just very not in the mood to heroise someone who I might see committing war crimes on the news, you know. So I'm not really a fan of this version of UNIT and how it's consuming so many past companions.

Anyway!

Mystery Woman 1 (Susan): Sutekh. Mystery Woman 2 (Mrs Flood): Susan? Mystery Woman 3 (Ruby's mum): At this point I have to assume it's the Rani or Iris Wildthyme or Gillian Who or something.

[tyrantisterror]

Fantastic Rants and Where to Find Them

So, back when the Herbie Porber movies were still being made, Warner Brothers saw the cash cow on their hands and decided they had to lock that shit down as much as possible to make sure they could milk it until its teats were chafed and withered to nothing. To that end, they bought the rights to every book the Terf Queen had written by that point - which included all the Henry Pansley wizard school mystery books, but also two gag books set within the Henry Pansley world: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was presented as an in-universe biology textbook for wizard children, and Quidditch Through the Ages, which was an in-universe book of trivia for a fake magical sport.

And at the time everyone with a brain who'd read those two books was shaking their head and thinking how dumb those corporate executives were to do that because, like, those aren't novels or novelas or short stories or narratives of any kind. They are, and I cannot stress this enough, a fake textbook and a fake trivia book about fake things written in a slapdash manner as a cheap gag. They existed for three reasons:

First, to sell something Herbie Porber related at a significantly lower price point than the actual novels so the Terf Queen could get more of that sweet, sweet Scholastic Book Fair money by having something poor kids could buy.

Second, to give a portion of the proceeds raised from that poor kid book fair money to charity so the Terf Queen could get some nice tax writeoffs.

And as a distant third, to expand the world-building of the Henry Pansley setting a teensie bit.

Now, as far as I'm aware, they succeeded at the first two well enough - tons of kids bought those cheap-ass thin as shit paperbacks when I was a kid, myself among them. Well, ok, I only bought Fantastic Beasts and skipped Quidditch because even during the height of my Herbie Porber fan days I thought the Terf Queen's imaginary sport was really fucking stupid and every time it popped up in the books I was bored as shit and tried to skim it as quickly as possible to get to the interesting stuff. I think I looked over the book once in a Barnes and Noble and thought, "Wow, I knew I thought real sports were boring as shit, but it turns out fake ones are even more so."

But back on track - goal number three was... kind of successful, I guess? Like, I don't know if you know this, but bestiaries of fictional animals are one of my big interests. I love a big book of made up creatures, and have collected many in my long life of thirty-four years. And as I said, I got a copy of Fantastic Beasts - technically several, because those cheap ass paperbacks disintegrated if you read them more than once, and I haven't met a bestiary that I haven't poured over several times, no matter how shitty. And despite how often I read it, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was, well... pretty mid, honestly. It's a book that's 99% world-building, and like all of the Terf Queen's world-building, it's overall mediocre and undercooked.

Like, in pure Herbie Porber style, it's mostly concepts that have been done in fantasy fiction and mythology dozens of times before with no real original spin on them whatsoever, often stripped down to their most recognizable elements alone. There are a smattering of original ideas that are actually interesting an novel, a few more original ideas that have potential but don't seem very well-thought out as is, and then some that are clearly just there to be a joke and are amusing for, like, a second, but also would quickly become annoying if they were given any focus.

I'll give a very me-specific example. As a fan of vaguely medieval european fantasy tropes, one of the metrics by which I judge a bestiary is "How does this handle dragons?" Because, like, I don't know if you know this, but I love dragons a lot, and the sheer variety of dragons in fiction is one of my favorite things in the world. There is a smorgasbord of different dragons a person can choose from just in folklore and mythology alone, and that variety is reflected in a given bestiary, the higher I think of it.

The Terf Queen's bestiary gives us ten dragon breeds... and they're all more or less the same except for scale color and minor variations in size. Oh, and their names, which are all based on different dog breeds because the Terf Queen thought that was funny. It's the worst of both worlds because it gets your dragon-loving hopes up that there'll be lots of unique dragons but no, they're just different colors, ho hum. Even the Chinese Dragon sticks to the same basic bitch wyvern body plan as the rest, when, you know, Chinese dragons have SUCH a different body plan than any of their European counterparts. It's downright insulting to the variety and creativity of this iconic folkloric archetype to reduce it to such a samey-set of monsters. Absolutely the most disappointing dragon entry in any bestiary I've ever read, just infuriating.

BUT, BACK ON THE INCREASINGLY DERAILED TRACK: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was never meant to be a "great" book. Remember goals one and two: it was a cheap cashgrab, a gimmick, a gag book. It was meant to be a disposable bit of fun - "Tee hee, here's a goofy textbook from this goofy wizard story that you kids will likely grow out of in a few years, you can read it in twenty minutes and not feel bad when you pitch it because there's very little substance to it, and it only costs three bucks."

The Terf Queen doesn't write textbooks, gag or otherwise, she writes novels, narratives, and in its original form Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was clearly just her fucking around with something whimsical and stupid for shits and giggles (and money, sweet sweet money). The original version of it was published with notes in the margin written by Henry Pansley and Donnie Stoat themselves, the two wizard hooligans writing little jokes and messages to each other with further references to other characters from the series, both to add more humor and because, again, the Terf Queen writes novels, and it was clear she couldn't commit to the "fake textbook" bit without working in some characters riffing it for her own sanity. And that makes it work as a gag book - you get a few laughs from the wizard hooligans playing MST3K with their shitty textbook, learn a little about the (undercooked and poorly thought out) ecosystem of the wizardy world, and then when you reach the back cover the spine of your cheap as shit pulp paperback book falls apart and, unless you've got a weird obsession with bestiaries, you throw the dying book in the garbage without a second thought. Three bucks spent well enough.

BUT, TO GET BACK ON THE INCREASINGLY DERAILED TRACK AGAIN: Warner Brothers bought the rights to this cheapo cashgrab gag textbook, and goddamn it, they were/are determined to squeeze Herby Porber's sore teats until every last drop of money milk spills from his chapped and bleeding nipples. They announced they were going to make a Fantastic Beasts movie towards the end of making the Herby Porber novels into films, and everyone with a brain sat there and thought, "Well, that's going to be a stupid cashgrab. Bet the Terf Queen's laughing her ass off at how dumb it'll be, too."

But the Terf Queen was not laughing, at least not for long, for once the Henry Pansley movies wrapped up, she was left with the horrifying knowledge that people didn't care for her non-wizard books all that much, certainly not enough to keep her rolling in sweet, sweet money. She needed that mega millionaire cash, and she needed it in abundance and she needed it quick. So when Warner Brothers asked her to write a movie based on her cheapo cashgrab gag textbook, she said, "Yeah, I can make a novel out of that! I - I'm a talented writer! People love my writing! They definitely love my writing and they'd love to pay money for things I wrote that don't directly feature Henry Pansley!"

So now she had to pretend that Fantastic Beasts, the cheapo cashgrab gag textbook about made up animals in a made up world, has a narrative. Not just any narrative, but a grand, sprawling narrative, one to rival, nay, SURPASS Herbie Porbie and the Seven Books of Wizard-Themed Coming of Age Nonsense. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, she assured us, was to be a magnificant tale, and one she planned all along, and CERTAINLY not a marriage of convenience to a completely stupid idea for a film that she was desperately sculpting into a narrative it had no ability to support for the sake of trying to recapture her already passed glory days as a writer.

And I think, in retrospect, this is a great illustration of the Terf Queen's great character flaw. She just can't fucking admit to a mistake, even when it's obvious to everyone that one was made. She will hop on board a sinking ship and keep doubling down on trying to get it to sail even as the water is up to her neck. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a serious narrative now, not a gag textbook written to wring a few more dollars from school children goddammit!

Recent editions of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them took out the Herbie and Donnie commentary, by the by. They also added many of the new half-baked monsters that were introduced in the movies, in a shoddy attempt to pretend this was the plan all along, and that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was always meant to be the seed of something great.

But it wasn't, and no matter how hard the Terf Queen pretends otherwise, it's obvious it wasn't. It's a cheapo cashgrab gag textbook, and that's all it really had to be, until greed and ego demanded otherwise.

[pixelgrotto]

D&D Deconstruction, via Goblins

Around the end of last year I made the decision to get into Goblin Slayer, and I've now gone through every chapter of the manga released in English, including all of the spin-offs. I've also skimmed parts of the light novels and anime, and I even did a readthrough of the Goblin Slayer roleplaying game with my buddy Daniel of Asians Represent, mostly to see how well it translated bits and pieces of Sword World, the most popular fantasy TTRPG in Japan.

In short, I know the franchise well by this point, and I like it, which is not what I expected. In fact, I steered clear of Goblin Slayer for years because of its reputation. If you're unaware, when the anime adaptation came out in 2018, it turned heads for depicting sexual violence in the very first episode. Basically, newbie adventurers go down into a dungeon, attempt to fight some goblins, and suffer terrible consequences, with the women of the party facing the sort of fate you might expect. It's a plot point intended to communicate to the viewer how awful goblins are in this world, and it also offers justification for the titular Goblin Slayer to show up on the scene to save the only survivor, Priestess. Goblin Slayer kills all of the goblins responsible for the attack, and he even goes the extra mile to unearth a hiding spot of goblin children. When Priestess shows some reservations at slaughtering kids, Goblin Slayer remarks that there's no such thing as a good goblin before stomping the little ones to bits.

In case you didn't know, Goblin Slayer is based on Kumo Kagyu's Dungeons & Dragons adventures. There's probably some influence sneaking in from Sword World, Tunnels & Trolls, and Wizardry, since those are the often-cited building blocks of Western fantasy tropes in Japan, but D&D is definitely at the forefront of the recipe. And knowing that Goblin Slayer evolved from D&D is what made me want to read it. (Well, that and the main character's armor design - dare I say that GobSlayer possesses one of the simplest yet coolest armors in all of existence.)

However, when I run D&D myself, I always say that all three of the things that this franchise begins with (bioessentialism, sexual violence, and violence against kids) are off-limits. So why does Goblin Slayer get a begrudging pass from me?

It's probably because I see the series as a meta analysis of D&D, right down to the tendency of most Dungeon Masters to get needlessly edgy with their campaign story arcs. Put another way, this is a 3.5e campaign where the star player has min/maxed himself around only one thing: the best possible build required to kill goblins. He's somehow managed to gain 15 levels by doing this, and he comes up with incredible battle strategies that the rest of his party quickly fall in line with. Every time I see GobSlayer pull off some ridiculous tactic to take down a foe, like the time when he links a portal scroll to the bottom of the ocean and proceeds to unleash the raging tides of the sea against an ogre, I can't help but shake my head and mutter to myself, "Damn, that's cool."

Then there's the more obvious fan service. And I don't mean "fan service" in the sense of pantsu shots or big boobed femmes, though Goblin Slayer does have a lot of that. (Hi, Cow Girl, childhood friend of the main character.) No, I'm talking about the fantasy roleplaying fan service. For instance, GobSlayer and his buddies fight creatures out of every edition of the Monster Manual. There are obviously goblins up the wazoo, but you can also expect beholders, drow, liches, oni, and even a mythologically-accurate tarasque, which shows up in Goblin Slayer: Year One.

There’s also a dungeon crawling aspect as GobSlayer and his party systematically plan out their roles and tactics everytime they delve into a hole in the ground. There's constant talk of who needs to be in the "frontline" and "backline," which are terms right out of Sword World, and Dwarf Shaman and Priestess are often chatting about how they can only use their spells a select number of times a day, which is that Vancian magic we all know and love/hate. Dai Katana, a franchise prequel that tells the story of a samurai and his comrades, outright feels like Etrian Odyssey in how it systemically shows the party tackling a megadungeon level by level, mapping as they go. (This does get repetitive over time, and I liked Dai Katana the least out of all the Goblin Slayer spinoffs. The characters have cool designs though, especially the mantis-like myrmidon dude.)

Finally, there's the idea that GobSlayer's realm, the Four-Cornered World, is a literal four-cornered game board lorded over by "gods" who are just enjoying a cosmic tabletop campaign. The more you read, the more this becomes clear. Everyone's referred to by their class or job titles rather than their names, after all, and a major arc in Year One involves GobSlayer assisting a mage who wants to enter the realm of the gods and "travel beyond the game board." After the pair ascend to the top of a seemingly endless tower (I do dig a reverse dungeon crawl that goes skyward rather than downwards), the mage disappears as her role in the campaign narrative that the "gods" have developed presumably ends. And last but not least, GobSlayer himself is constantly referred to as an average miniature on the battle map who somehow took on a life of his own by surviving whatever threats the cosmic GMs tossed at him. "He does not let anyone roll the dice," the tagline for the franchise goes.

I love all of this stuff. Maybe I'm giving Goblin Slayer too much credit, but I see this series as a deconstruction of what it means to sit at a table and imagine lives and stories for a diverse cast of characters, riffing off of fantasy concepts first assembled by Gary Gygax and his contemporaries back in the 70s. I can't be that off-base with this assumption, seeing as how characters in Goblin Slayer regularly "curse Gygax" when stuff goes wrong.

But just as Gary Gygax had questionable views when it came to a wide variety of things (like women, for instance), Goblin Slayer's got icky bits that can't be swept under the rug. This is a franchise that depicts female victims in titillating poses when they’re being abused. Goblin Slayer isn't alone in this regard - plenty of other seinen manga exhibit this nasty habit, including fan-favorites like Berserk - but it feels all the more annoying here because Goblin Slayer presents its assault scenes mostly at the very beginning for the sheer sake of shock value. As the series goes on, sexual violence disappears from the narrative almost entirely, as if Kumo Kagyu and his collaborators realized that it shouldn't have been emphasized in the first place. Instead, we're left with an interesting tale about GobSlayer moving through trauma (his family was killed by goblins when he was a kid, you see) and slowly learning how to feel again as he surrounds himself with the found family that is an RPG party. That's a good story, and a heartwarming one. Unfortunately, it's buried under a veneer that will likely turn many away.

I can't blame anyone for noping out of Goblin Slayer due to the sexual violence. I also can't blame anyone who doesn't play TTRPGs for not fully understanding the appeal of witnessing GobSlayer and his buddies strategize about the best way to defeat hobgoblins. But personally speaking, Goblin Slayer hit me in some good places, warts and all. I was fully prepared to write the franchise off as grimdark schlock, but it surprised me - and after reading up on some of its contemporaries, like Redo of Healer (which really is schlock) I'm further convinced that the series is smarter than it appears. It's just a shame that the smart bits are held back by the same problematic tropes that often cause D&D itself to falter. (Remember that whole orc discourse from 2020?)

For better or for worse, Goblin Slayer is representative of all sides of traditional tabletop roleplaying: the critical successes that celebrate imagination and comraderie, the critical failures that dehumanize women and veer too far into edgelord territory, and everything in between. The franchise has its problems, for sure, but there are moments when it shines - just like the glint of a well-painted miniature resting on the edge of a four-cornered game board.

[sea-owl]

I got asked about my personal ranking of the Bridgerton books and I felt like it was probably time to say it. Now I will say this is just my preference, and it is just based off the books. I don't hate any of these characters, i'm not trying to start any discourse. Someone just asked and I thought why not?

1. Polin, RMB - Ya'll know these two are my favorite, I have made it no secret they are my favorite. I love my little author couple. I am a big mythology fan too so I love all the references to the Odyssey in their story such as Colin coming home to Penelope and the 10 year time span it took him to get there. She fell first, he fell harder is also one of my favorite tropes because I think it's hilarious that once the guy is in love he's in love. I also adore their personal journeys throughout this story such as with Penelope's agency and her writing as Lady Whistledown. Also Colin's journey of discovering that what he's been looking for has been there he's just never thought about it that way.

2. Philoise, TSPWL - So I come from a very blended family, adoption, step siblings, stepparents, half-siblings, full siblings. You name it it's probably happened in my family, if not my immediate than my extended. So I adore when I get to see that in books and see the characters trying to navigate those kind of family set ups. Phillip was a breathe of fresh air too after having three repetitive Bridgerton men in a row. He's not over the top like the Bridgerton brothers, and frankly Eloise, he's much calmer and has an almost silent strenth/dominance about him. Like he's happy to let Eloise take over the running of his life while he works in the greenhouse, even encourages her to at times, he'll support his wife 100%, but god help you if you truly piss this man off. Eloise's journey as well to learn to sit down and let others come to you when they're ready instead of bulldozing yourself forward is something I appreciate as well.

3. Franchael, WHWW - Again love of blended families defiantly helped push this one forward, because I also believe it is possible to find love again after the loss of a spouse. After getting past the fact that Michael shares a name with my grandfather. I love that both Michael and Francesca both felt like they were in the shadows of their families but how they went about that different ways. Now don't get them wrong they know they were loved by their family and they truly did love their families but just because someone loves you doesn't mean they can't accidentally hurt you. Francesca made herself content in the shadows, she found her joys, and in a way clung to her one family member she felt closest to. Meanwhile we have Michael making people see him by becoming the Merry Rake, but also in a way still taking to the shadows by hiding his love for Francesca. I love when we finally got to that part of the book where they finally realize that they see each other, they love one another, and that's something they want to keep to themselves, at least for a little bit. I loved that they eloped, thought it was fitting. They don't have to share their love with their families, nor do they want to, it's something just for them.

4. Kathony, TVWLM - One of the books I related to a little too well. Little fact about me I am an eldest daughter who for a time period that still has affects to this day, was basically the third parents for her younger siblings when I was roughly in my preteen and early teens. So I get Anthony's and Kate's, struggles of trying to make sure their siblings are happy and thriving. I also enjoyed their journeys of discovering that hey it's okay to want something, something permanent, for yourself. I enjoyed Anthony and Kate's rivals to lovers romance (not enemies, they were rivals and I will fight anyone on that.) They're both strong willed and competitive, which I enjoyed seeing still lasted even after marriage as shown by the second epilogue where it's revealed they have annual pall mall match.

5. Grucy, OTWTTW - Oh Gregory, you little baby himbo. Honestly, his book was probably the perfect ending to this series. Julia must've had a dart board filled with romance tropes when she wrote this book and whatever ones the darts landed on she put in, and then asked herself how can I make this more extra. Gregory honestly felt like at times he had a checklist and was determined to outdo his brothers when it came to how scandalous his road to true love would be. I liked how Gregory was a romantic, like Phillip, it was a nice change of pace compared to his brothers. Not saying the other boys weren't romantic, but Gregory wasn't afraid to let it show. Lucy was a real treat, too, being the calm to Gregory's crazy.

6 & 7. Saphne & Hyareth, TDAI, IIHK - I put these two together because honestly I could go either way depending on the vibes that day. I thought both romances were sweet at their core. Simon and Gareth having their shitty "fathers" but them going in opposite directions of how they handle it. Simon ran, and completely avoided his father. Waited for his dad to croak to finally come back. Gareth basically went fuck you to his dad, I'm going to do something you could never. Both of them also, in the way I read it at least, craving that family comfort their wives had. I also love the girls. I love the hints of how traditional, yet also not Daphne is throughout her story. She's looking to create the best life she can despite her puzzle missing a few pieces. I also adore her more non-traditional traits such as how hard she hits as said by both Simon and her brothers. Hyacinth is a riot. Like Gregory, she's basically got a checklist of trying to outdo her sisters, and she's non apologetic about it. It's also hilarious when you think about how Violet and Anthony differed when it was when the first daughter getting married vs the last daughter getting married.

8. Benophie, AOFAG - Again I don't hate these characters but this is definitely my least favorite of the books. I am grown enough to realize that my personal experience working in restaurants and hotels has probably tainted my view of this book. I have been in Sophie's shoes where a man of higher power has tried to solicit sexual favors out of me. Now it was never my direct boss or a associate of my boss, but we do get some rich business men who come in for a few days who try it, the whole getting the front desk girl to come back to the room with them thing. I can tell you they're usually drunk. It's gross. Benedict's constant pushing for Sophie to be his mistress in this book reminds me of this one guy who basically followed me around my whole shift one weekend, he's not allowed back, and if he was they know I would quit on the spot. Now once Benedict and Sophie are actually on the same playing field and treating each other as equals, I think they're cute. I admire Sophie's kindness and willingness to forgive. She's a better woman than me, because Benedict would've gotten a no from me the first time he asked and then socked in the face the second time. I would still be in jail because I would throw hands with the stepmom. Benedict's journey of getting his prevlidge checked is another that I do enjoy. He has defiantly gone through a lot if not the most self improvement in the books with his view changes around Sophie and gaining empathy towards her.

[khaire-traveler]

hey! just wanna know, how do you feel about hellenism related media? do you like something?

Hey, Nonny, thanks for the ask! I appreciate that you're curious about my opinion.

Personally, I don't engage with modern media about the gods much. I've had people tell me about it, and I've read about it, but there's a lot of stuff out there that I haven't really interacted with. I try not to be too judgemental, although I used to be a lot more critical of how modern media depicts the gods, but it's still not something I often enjoy. As a worshipper, my opinion is always bound to be biased, but I try my best to judge modern media for its story-telling rather than its accuracy (although that doesn't always happen, if I feel the depictions are egregious enough).

Below, I'll state my thoughts and opinions on the media I have interacted with (or at least have heard extensively about which is the case for Percy Jackson, as I haven't read the books).

I did like the Hades game! I felt it was really fun to play through, and as a game, it kept me engaged. I genuinely had fun with the game mechanics and the relationships you can build with other characters. It has its flaws, but so does every game. I've recently heard some grumbling about the way it depicts Greek mythology, but honestly, I think that if people are basing all of their knowledge of Greek mythology on a video game, it's up to natural selection at that point (this is a joke).

Along with Hades, I did find myself enjoying Immortals: Fenyx Rising. I was surprised with how similar the gameplay was to Genshin Impact, actually, but I'm not gonna talk about that lol. Fenyx isn't as widely known, but the way it handles Greek mythology is adequate and intriguing. The characters are pretty fun, and I enjoyed helping them in their main quest. The twist at the end (I will not spoil it) rubbed me kind of the wrong way, but I understood that it's just a game trying to tell a story, you know? It was fun, engaging, and interesting. Oh, and the monsters were pretty cool! I loved how they included monsters that you wouldn't really expect to see. The Hydra was a bit underwhelming to me, though.

Then there's the God of War series. Listen, I LOVED the recent additions to God of War that centered on the Norse pantheon - beautiful graphics, interesting story-telling, and a fun use of the mythology - but the original games that take place in Greece kind of bothered me. Mostly, yes, it was the representation of the gods. The way pretty much all of them were villainized (and the way they did Hermes so, so dirty, imo 💀) was a bit comical and strange to me. It felt like it lacked nuance to their characters (even Aphrodite was kind of there for one main "purpose" if you catch my drift). I also wasn't too big on the character designs of all the gods. Some were interesting, but others didn't land for me (mostly Hermes; he looks like he should be Apollo or Helios, and I just don't understand what they were trying to do with his design). Overall, it's a VERY fun series, but I find myself not being able to enjoy the original games as much because of their depictions of the gods.

Other forms of media (that are more popular), however, aren't really my thing. Percy Jackson isn't something I'm too big on. It plays into a lot of harmful tropes about the gods, and unfortunately, I've had some bad experiences with the more disrespectful side of the fandom. Not every PJO fan is an asshole, though (most aren't), which is extremely important to keep in mind (I see a lot of hate in the HelPol community towards them sometimes, so that's why I say that). I felt the plots were creative, for sure, but I didn't like the way Rick handled some topics or the way he sort of twisted the mythology for his own purposes. Like, some of these major plots throughout the series are absolutely bizarre; they make certain gods out to be massive assholes, tbh. Also, I didn't like the way Rick stated that the Greek gods "left the dangerous Mediterranean"; it just felt like a really weird and uncomfortable way to refer to Greece. I think if Percy Jackson brings new people into HelPol, then that's great, but people definitely shouldn't base their knowledge of Greek mythology on the books which is something I've unfortunately seen happen. If you enjoy the series, that's cool; it's just not my cup of tea, personally.

I think the one piece of modern media about the gods that I genuinely hate - and I really do mean hate - is Lore Olympus. That shit has harmed even the pagan community which is kind of wild. I've literally had people call me an "Apollo sympathizer" for worshipping a god who is NOTHING like the damn comic. It is an extremely disrespectful representation of the gods and mythology, and it's something that gets under my skin quite a lot. And honestly, it doesn't need to happen with the Greek gods. If you took the characters out of the setting they're in and placed them somewhere else, it wouldn't really change much, in my opinion; the Greek mythology part of it is really just used for the dramatics. It doesn't have much to do with Greek mythology besides just wanting to make Persephone and Hades the main focus. I have other complaints about it, but I will save my Lore Olympus critique for another day lol. I could go on forever about what bothers me.

-

I hope this answered your question thoroughly! Feel free to ask more if you're curious about anything else. Have a great day/night. ☺️🧡

[lovecrafts-iranon]

Here are some of my thoughts on the authors I am insane about. Some of them I think are good, some of them I think are bad, some of them I haven't even read! It's more like "how do these people (especially the way others talk about them) factor into my personal mythology" and less "do these people write good books." To explain this better I will start with the one I can explain most precisely and write plenty of words on, Cassandra Clare/Claire.

Cassandra Claire

Cassandra Claire was the biggest Big Name Fan in the Harry Potter fandom and used her fandom success to become a bestselling YA novelist. I have read all of her fanfiction and a few of her YA books. The first book of her famous fanfiction and the first book of her first YA series are both passable as average adventure stories with bloated romance subplots, but after that they balloon in size and become entirely focused on boring romantic drama. So I don't like her work but it's not like she's the worst author ever. In her fandom days, she had several scandals, the biggest being that she plagiarized both funny TV quotes and paragraphs from a published book in her fics.

The way people reacted to her was what fascinated me so much. Her fans called her a Goddess. People were having late night group chat release parties for new chapters. If you go to any Harry Potter fan's LiveJournal around the time she was big, there was a mention of her. The hype was so big. I had before dismissed fanfiction as the kind of thing I would ever write, but when I saw records of Claire, I desperately wanted the kind of attention she had. Wanting her fame was the reason I started writing fanfiction. I read her fics and her drama and thought I could do even better than her. I would be just as popular but never plagiarize, so I would be even more popular. And my stories wouldn't be boring romance crap, so even more people would want to read them.

Isaac Asimov

So Isaac Asimov is the original and eternal "guy I want to be" (when it comes to writing. I hear he was a creep in his personal life but that's not what this is about. Whenever I talk about him here I'm just talking about him as a writer). He's the king of science fiction. I can always pick up a book by him and know it's going to be good. If you think about who the archetypal science fiction writer is, his name pops up first. And that's what I want! I want my name to pop up first in people's minds! That's the biggest dream since forever. For my name to pop up first. Whenever I read his writing, I thought, this is so good, and at the same time I had a deep feeling that someday I wanted people to feel the same way about my writing that I did about his. (And of course there's always the little I-can-do-better voice saying well he wasted his time on having a wife and kids while I would be fully married to the job...) I want to be him more than anything. I would be willing to spend all my time for decades to be like him. Well, if I could. I used to think I was good enough to be him. Once I got proof I was not good enough, my life has been years of nonstop misery. Mourning, really, over the me-as-Isaac-Asimov who died.

Henry Darger

If Asimov is the God figure in my mind then Darger is the devil. He's the worst type of person to become (as an author) and the person I am constantly terrified of being. Putting all that effort in, millions of words, for nothing. The writing equivalent of digging holes and filling them back in using all of your time for the rest of your life. A writing void. A writing black hole. Nobody will ever call Darger a great writer or even say his writing improved with practice. They will only say he was an interesting feller. That's not what I want to be, that's not enough! And there are so very many of him. Sort any amateur writing site (such as a fanfiction site) by word count and you'll find plenty with no audience. You can find a lot of Darger works by going on the TV Tropes forums and clicking the links in people's signatures. It's horrifying the amount of effort sustained over a lifetime these people put in only for zero fame. It looks worse than death to me. Becoming a Darger is a big reason I want to kill myself, though so far I have been too cowardly.

Vladimir Nabokov

I like writing and chess and bugs. So did Nabokov. Only he was way better than me at all three. It's just weird to me he was into the same things. His success and my failure at the exact same stuff shows that a general ability to succeed at things (we can call this intelligence) exists and I do not have it.

H P Lovecraft

He was really crazy. Sometimes I think there's a cutoff. A certain amount of crazy you can be and still end up writing things others end up enjoying. And beyond the cutoff you become a Darger. Lovecraft exists just before that cutoff. And I'm after the cutoff. I used to think of Lovecraft as kind of inspirational as a crazy person but not anymore.

Ken Liu

Ok I'm not that crazy about Ken Liu. But his name makes me sad whenever I see it. I loved reading his short storied in high school and I always fantasized about telling him in person as a peer. I wanted to be in the same general group as him. We could be friends because we would both be successful science fiction writers, you know?

[murdomaclachlan]

In first or second year of secondary school, aged about 11 or 12. I was bored in English and started writing in my jotter.

It was called A Daemon's Influence and it was terrible. (In terms of prose and dialogue, the story actually wasn't too bad I think.) I have since written better drafts of it, but not for a while. It still needs a lot of work.

Mainly, Fantasy (both High and Low) and Science Fiction (so far, Dying Earth and Science Fantasy).

Fantasy. At the moment, mostly in settings where the magic isn't immediately noticeable or big and flashy (with one exception)

I don't do tropes intentionally, they just sort of happen sometimes. I'm a big fan of dream sequences, do they count?

Again I don't really explore topics intentionally. Stories come into my head and I write them down. Usually topics grow naturally from them, like wildflowers in a well-nurtured but not overly-curated garden.

Ratatosk. In one of my current WIPs, he talks too much and runs away from conflict.

Most of them. From a different WIP, Vyria Garrigan is extremely unlike me. She would spend her whole life in the sky if she could. I am scared of flying.

Multiple times, but it needs to be done with extreme care and not very often.

Tanglewood. Not the concert theatre, a British folklore-based low fantasy setting centred around a magical forest called Tanglewood.

I'm not sure what this means. As in something about my own work that isn't canon? No. If I write it, it's canon.

Often I feel like characters frown, shrug, glance or "look up" too much.

Encouragement and advice from a teacher, when I was about 14/15. She said my writing was exactly the sort of story she could see her partner reading. Gave me the push I needed to really go properly into writing and I've only ever grown more passionate about it thereafter.

Romance. With very few exceptions, I avoid it like the plague.

I've become very liberal with scene breaks within a chapter (e.g. the three asterisks thing or however you choose to format it). Frances Hardinge uses them a lot and I've found it to be very effective. Also, in stories with multiple viewpoint characters, I no longer have a little note at the start of a chapter/scene to say who the viewpoint character is. I used to, but again Frances Hardinge changed my mind. The end of Unraveller just flicks between viewpoint characters quick as you can snap your fingers without any little note to tell you who's next and it's excellent.

When I read a really great book I get the urge to write. So, at the moment, Unraveller. I could gush about Unraveller for years. Also, Norse mythology and my dreams. A lot of my stories started out as dreams. Sometimes from random pieces of art I see.

I have lots of current WIPs. Here's a fact for one of them: three out of the four viewpoint characters are birds.

"Before we proceed, we will have to have a conversation about what you must not do in Tanglewood. Do not follow voices. Do not follow strange lights. Do not go where you are beckoned. Do not ever trust your own reflection."

From the WIP with birds, another line of dialogue: "Adults don’t know anything either. Not one of us. Not even the gods, I expect. Some of us think we know things, or comfort ourselves by pretending we do, and a wise few of us know only that we know nothing. We all just have to guess and hope we guess right."

If you're having trouble with dialogue, as I often do, read it to yourself aloud. It's often very helpful for pinning down which parts aren't flowing naturally. Also, write every idea down. Just all of it, even if it doesn't seem like it's a good idea, make a note of it. If you don't like how something turned out and want to re-write it, keep the old version if you can. You might change your mind or want to refer back to it later down the line.

Writer's Ask Game

When did you start writing?

What was the first story you've ever written?

What genres have you written for so far?

What is your favourite genre to write for?

What is your favourite trope to write for?

What topic would you love to explore in your writing?

Who is the OC that is most like you?

Which OC is nothing like you?

Have you ever brought an OC back from the dead?

In which of your stories would you like to live?

Have you ever written fanfiction about your own work?

Do you have a word/phrase that you overuse in your writing?

What feedback did you receive for your writing that stuck with you?

What is something that you feel weird/uncomfortable writing about?

What is your current writing habit?

Where do you find inspiration to write?

Tell us a fun fact about your current WIP.

Show us a piece of dialogue you really like.

Show us the line you want readers to remember from your story.

Do you have one piece of advice for your fellow writers?

[beanswrites]

"Negotiating With Death" Asra x MC, from The Arcana

Hey guys!! Here's the long-awaited awesome idea for the The Arcana/Greek Mythology crossover! Requested by @bluhame!!

Also, quick thought before we start: Hades here is written as a villain, just for the purpose of this story. DO NOT get me wrong, Hades is my favorite Greek god, an absolute king and we stan him all the way on this blog. Just to prove that, I will do a story of the Greek Gods!! Especially I'm a big fan of Hades x Persephone!!

Oh, and this is the first story I did from 1. person perspective (meaning MC tells the story)! Not all stories will be like this from now on, I just felt like it fit this one! Tell me what you think!!

Anywho, this is (as requested) a tinsy tiny bit angstier, but it has a happy ending. Sorry, couldn't resist a happy ever after :)

Requests are open! Check out my rules for requesting before placing your request, or just pick something from my prompts list!!

Enjoy!!

Also available on AO3!!

masterlist | rules for requesting | prompts list

Word count: 2205 words

Trope: Angst with a happy ending, Adventure, Comfort

Pairing: Asra Alnazar x gn! MC

AU: The Arcana/Greek Mythology crossover

Warnings: death, mentions of blood

Picture from Pinterest!

It has been two weeks, three days, and four hours since Asra's death. 

I didn't know what to do the first week. Maybe I just couldn't process the fact that he is gone. I've spent so much time with him, both as his apprentice and his partner, that I just couldn't imagine a life without him. Maybe I have even forgotten that such a powerful magician could even die. 

For those two weeks, I've tried everything to bring him back. Asking The Arcana for help was an option, but I couldn't do it. My magic is not strong enough, at least not without Asra's help. Plus, as The Fool, I have already made my wish. No one from this or the other world could have saved the day.

However, every problem must have its' solution. Once I announced my plan to Nadia six days ago, she almost begged me not to do it. It was dangerous, maybe even not thought through, but I will take any chance to even see Asra again. That is why no one, not even the gods, will stop me from going to the Underworld to save Asra's soul.

I made that decision some time ago, and now it's time to start my journey. I started packing my bag at sundown, ready to leave in the darkest hours. Even though I wanted to be as secretive as possible, I had to tell Julian when I was leaving. Just in case I didn't make it back.

Once the clock struck midnight, I locked the shop's doors, feeling like it would be a long time before I open them again.

'Maybe there won't be another time' The thought circled in my head.

I wasn't scared. How could I be? I have nothing to lose, only to retrieve. I wouldn't mind dying while trying to save Asra. More positive thoughts of the white-haired magician and me returning to our shop together appeared as I made my way through the night.

The road out of Vesuvia was calm, lifeless. Not a soul dared pass at such hours, so the only ones left were me and the stars. The Lyre constellation was right above my head, reminding me that the gods are always watching. Maybe it was a sign or a signal of hope - a reminder of Orpheus, the one who began this journey long before me. However, it could also be a warning of his fate - to always remember that he never returned.

The sun was rising from the rusty mountains when I passed Vesuvia's borders. The entrance to the Underworld was near. I could feel it. They say that the river Styx flows wherever it is needed.

Around lunchtime, I was passing through a small village. It looked like a regular place - the kids were playing, and the elders talking. I approached a young man who was doing harvesting work to gather some information.

"You are looking to find the river Styx? I'm sorry, but I can't help you. None of us locals talk about it. There were way too many mortals who tried to access the Underworld. It's a suicide act!"

He was ready to leave, but I pleaded for an answer.

"Please, there must be someone who knows! Anyone! I need to go! I need to see him!"

The man debated with himself whether he should tell me or not. Finally, he gave in:

"Look, none of the younger folk know where it is. However, if you ask Mama Eucarpia, she might be able to help you. The people say she's as old as the gods!"

I went in search of this woman, hoping she has some answers. However, whoever I asked in the streets either didn't know who she was or said that she had long passed. Just as I was about to give up, a raspy voice called out to me:

"Come, child. You must be starving."

A grandma called out to me from her wooden porch. I obeyed, sitting on the wooden stool she used as a dining chair. She handed me a piece of bread and sat on the stool next to mine. I was hesitant to take a bite, which she noticed.

"Eat, eat. You must be exhausted from the long journey you had"

"How can you tell that I'm a traveler?" I asked, my mouth full of the delicious pita.

She smiled, but her face was still invisible through the shall she had wrapped around her head.

"I can see it in your eyes. The ends of your cloak are smudged with dirt, and the only things you have in your bag are a couple of slices of pumpkin bread and a water supply. I know travelers, child. Many of them passed through these lands, and I watched them all leave, but none came back. Tell me, what pulls your heart to travel to these parts?"

Many things she said were strange to me. How did she know what I was carrying in my bag? Was she hinting about the Underworld?

"I'm looking for someone," I say, testing her wisdom.

She smirks again, leaning back into her chair.

"And this someone, they must be very important to you, yes? No one would travel all the way from Vesuvia to look for an acquaintance."

I nod, still suspicious of how she knew where I came from. But there isn't a way that she could have known where I was going, right?

"Don't worry child, I can feel your doubts. There's still time, Asra is still waiting for you."

I dropped my pita in shock. How did she...?

"You're Mama Eucarpia!" I almost yell out in surprise and relief.

The older woman gives me a small nod. Her vail moves with the gentle breeze of the wind, exposing one of her piercing blue eyes.

"I go by many names, child. I heard you were looking for the way to the Underworld? Well, only walking by the beach of the river Styx will get you there.."

Nodding enthusiastically, I asked her where to find the river.

"It appears not before those who look but before those seeking to find. You have a reason to find, child. Follow it, and you will find your way.." 

Mama Eucarpia entered her house but didn't come out. Once I went inside to look for her, to ask more questions, no one was there. Perhaps she truly is some godly creature.

Her words haunted me for the next couple of days. With each step I took, I tried to solve her riddle. 

'Don't look, don't look, don't look!' I repeated to myself over and over.

On the brink of my sanity, I was going to give up. In the middle of the night, just a day before I planned to leave and search somewhere else, Asra's voice pulled me out of a dream.

"MC..."

Their voice was quiet as a whisper, but stern and sure. I got up, following it outside of my tent. I followed it further and further until it completely disappeared. However, his voice brought me to a spring, where a small stream was flowing.

The river Styx. 

Not as big and majestic as it once was, but it didn't need to be. The souls it carried spoke enough about its' power. 

I followed the river up to a dark, ominous cave. The Underworld is inside, I knew. Finally, I will face Hades and ask for Asra.

As I am walking on the shore of the river through the cave, many screeches and faint whispers are echoing around me. Final, last words of the souls are said for the last time.

I walk through the gates of hell that appear before me. Surprisingly, Cerberus, the gatekeeper, is nothing like the stories say. He's not vicious or blood-thirsty, he's too busy for that. He's got very important business with his chewing toys.

The Underworld is unsettling and creepy, but - just like Cerberus - nothing like the myths described. In the legends, The Underworld was a place of death and sorrow, blood and sickness. In reality, it just looked like an endless void - grey and dark.

Hades was the same as his home. As I approached the god, he stood on his throne, tall, dark, and mysterious.

"Why are you here, mortal?"

His deep voice ringed through The Underworld. I wanted to speak, to even mutter out anything - but I couldn't. My throat closed, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Well? Not many come here without a reason."

Finally, I managed to find my words.

"I'm... I'm looking for someone."

He flashed a grin at me. It looked sinister, evil almost.

"Hah! It's funny how you humans are convinced that you can waltz in here, trying to find a soul! Even if you did manage to find the soul of your loved one in the never-ending sea of souls, what makes you think I would let you leave so easily?"

I swallowed hard, suppressing my tears of frustration. Did I come all this way for nothing?

"I'd do anything to get him back. I'm prepared to give my life."

The god laughed in my face. This was way too cruel, way too crushing! I couldn't stop the hot, desperate tears which glided from my cheeks to my lips.

"I already know of you and your lover! You've been here before, remember? Once that plague finished you, that magician came to beg for your life too, but I didn't allow him. It was against the rules! I advised him to go home, while he still could, to not ruin this! But he didn't listen... That little thief! He stole your soul from me! He used the forbidden power of The Arcana! And now, I have you here, in the palm of my hands... Maybe the right punishment for the both of you is for you to see him die..."

Once he finished his speech, he snapped his fingers, and suddenly, I was in a different place. It was empty, just space everywhere. Maybe eternal punishment was actually to be alone with me forever? 

Unexpectedly, I noticed Asra in the same place I was, about 100 feet away from me. He was bleeding out and needed help.

"ASRA!" I screamed, half in desperation, half in relief, and ran towards him. However, with each step I took, they seemed further and further away. Then it hit me - it wasn't Asra. It was an illusion.

Then, the space around me shattered into pieces, and I was now in a much smaller space. It was a small room, with mirrors all around. But not the kind of mirrors you could see yourself in. The kind of mirrors that reflected the worst moments of your past.

In the mirrors, I saw Asra on his deathbed. They were weak, pale, and coughing up blood. He looked in such pain I haven't even imagined, let alone experienced. The worst part was, I couldn't help. I cried out in desperation, sliding down on one of the mirrors.

"Asra... Oh, Asra... I'm so sorry... I couldn't save you, I couldn't, I'm so sorry... Oh, I wish I could just hold you once more... Just to kiss you again... Oh, Asra, please, forgive me!"

My sobs and pleads for forgiveness were never-ending. Once everything else quieted down, I once again heard their beautiful voice calling out to me this time much louder than a whisper.

"MC..?"

It was gentle, the way they called out my name. But with each time they repeated it, it got louder and sterner. 

"MC?"

The final time they called out to me was like a yell. Worried and scared.

"MC! MC, wake up!"

I half-opened my eyes, and The Underworld was gone. I wasn't in the dark mirror room, nor the empty void, nor Hades' castle. I was in a colorful, warm room that smelt of lavender and rosemary, on some soft covers.

My room! This is my room!

Someone shuffled on the bed next to me. I could feel their warm arms on my shoulders, lightly shaking me.

"MC, my love, are you okay?"

I turned to him. There he was, gorgeous and cute like always, with one of his white curls slipping from his forehead. His eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes focused, I could tell that he was worried for me.

"Asra..? Is that you?"

They nodded, taking both of my hands in theirs.

"Yes, my star, it's me... But are you alright?"

In excitement, I jumped into his arms. 

"ASRA!!"

As soon as I hooked my arms around their neck, they pulled me closer, bringing me in their lap. Out of relief, I started bawling my eyes out on their shoulder.

"Shhh, my love, it's okay... I'm here.. What's wrong? I heard you calling out my name.. Were you having a nightmare, baby?"

I nod shyly, finally starting to feel relaxed and comfortable. His comforting words, and his presence in general, were the best way to recover from this. 

"What was it about..?"

I chuckled through my tears as they kissed my cheeks and my jaw.

"Well, let's just say that I was negotiating with death..."

[thewritingcoroner]

WIP Masterlist

Hey guys, I haven’t made a wip masterlist or a proper writeblr intro in quite a while. Guess it’s time yeah?

About Me

I’m Mak, she/her, and I’m an adult. I write almost exclusively WLW sci-fi and fantasy and it’s rare for my stories to lack a romance subplot. I just like that shit man. I have a graduate degree in Public Policy, I'm an USAmerican so my expertise is there.

This is my main blog so sometimes I do post personal opinions, updates, and rants about whatever catches my eye. Feel free to ignore or engage with whatever, for the most part I’m very open to discussion about pretty much anything, so long as it is respectful. DM’s are always open, Asks are always open and anon always available.

What I Write

Sci-fi, usually set in space and the distant future. I'll talk more about my specific wips later in the post

Fantasy, I'm not a fan of like elves and dwarves and stuff, but I love fantasy worlds where things are wildly different from our world. Magic, superpowers, aliens, all sorts of stuff pops up in my work.

LGBTQ+/Queer characters and relationships

Political intrigue, I'm a huge politics nerd so building my own political systems and then playing in them is soooo much fun

Below the Cut: My Ever-Growing List of WIPs

Alright, so I have a very long list of wips in varying stages of progress. Here I have them listed out with the covers if they have one.

Under the Raven's Watchful Eye

UtRWE is my latest WIP inspired by Norse Mythology, specifically a retelling of the most crucial myths about Odin and Ragnarok. It has:

WLW vikings

Skaldic Poetry

tragedy and a desperate attempt to avoid one's fate

morally gray characters (esp. the MC Ashildr)

werewolves

WIP Intro here.

Heavy Lies the Heart

Oh boy, how to even explain this one.

It's a fantasy-romance set in a world completely my own. Queen Alessandra survives an assassination attempt with sheer luck and the help of a handsome rogue. The queen takes her rescuer along on the adventure of a lifetime as she tries to weed out the conspirators. Featuring:

- WLW reluctant allies to lovers

- lovable rogues

- political intrigue

- plenty of romantic tropes

- pirates!! Especially lady pirates 😏

WIP intro here, worldbuilding posts here and here.

Wolves at the Door

[No Cover]

This one's a weird one. Six childhood friends are captured and put to work by the wolf-like aliens invading earth. Exposed to their power source, the six find themselves developing supernatural powers. It's up to them to drive the Wolves off their planet.

WatD includes:

- group dynamics, siblings, childhood friends

- WLW childhood friends to lovers

- angst-addled lovers with a lot of whump

- nonbinary MC (though not the POV MC)

- necromancy

Lost Among the Stars

This is one of my main scifi wips.

Following a failed rebellion, Ran and her rebels were cryogenically frozen and sent sailing through space. When aliens discover the humans and release them, they discover that thousands of years have passed, they are the last humans in the universe, and Earth is no longer habitable. Thrust into an intergalactic struggle for dominance, the last humans in the universe have only themselves to rely on.

This WIP has:

spaaaace and aliens

political intrigue

intergalactic war

humans are space orcs

themes about the definition of home, duty, and survival

The Salvation Experiment

Another scifi wip!

Sprawled on the floor, Nyx wakes up to find a baseball bat and a pamphlet. The pamphlet displays her full name as well as some other more personal details. But on the back, in big bold letters is her “prescription.” Completion of the Salvation Experiment.

She’s not sure what any of that means, or how they got all of this information about her, but she’s pretty sure that baseball bat might come in handy.

Look out for:

themes regarding punitive justice, redemption, and vengeance vs justice

there's some religious undertones in there that I would like to explore further

The Rebel's Halo

Oh boy, so I created this wip in the middle of a full-blown manic episode. A lot of my notes don't make sense, but it's a fun little experiment.

Essentially, it's a YA dystopian wip about what happens when the government can assign guardian angels to do their bidding. It does not make sense yet lmao

Featuring:

angels

dystopian themes

surveillance states

The Last Horseman

[No Cover]

Disaster strikes NYC and Adrian Marshal is stranded. While trying to escape, she is kidnapped and brought to a strange woman who claims that Adrian is an immortal being destined to bring about the apocalypse and destroy humanity. Adrian finds herself in the middle of a great battle between light, dark, and balance and must recover her memories to return to her place as the Last Horseman of the Apocalypse.

In this wip:

immortal, star-crossed lovers (WLW)

LGBTQ+ characters (a nb character is one of the main cast)

light corrupts

themes surrounding corruption and good v evil

.

So WOW that's a lot. All of these projects are in varying stages of contemplation and drafting. Looking forward to pivoting more towards actual writing than whatever I've been chatting about.

[zotash]

I'm going to start off and say that I full heartily pair Zoro and Tashigi and I also believe they may be a slow burn pairing. However, I don't know why but I have this feeling that Mr. Oda is hinting that Hiyori and Zoro will end up together. They do parallel with Toki and Oden and I've also been told that Hiyori is supposed to be Zoro's romantic interest but who the hell knows at this point. What are your thoughts? 💖

Okay, it’s not my intention to judge other people’s ships so if anyone reading this ships Zoro and Hiyori, you go for it. Don’t mind me. Though my OTP will always be Zoro/Tashigi, I ship them both with other people too, so I’m not against the idea of supporting any new Zoro ship. But when it comes to Zoro/Hiyori, I personally don’t much like this pairing nor see potential in it. I’ll try to explain why.

Though first I’d like to ask you about “They do parallel with Toki and Oden” and “I've also been told that Hiyori is supposed to be Zoro's romantic interest” because I’m like– uhm what? Where do these come from? I can’t comment on the second because unless you were told that by Oda himself, it’s just something another fan made up. As for the first, I’m trying but I really don’t see how Zoro and Hiyori would parallel Oden and Toki. Their dynamic is totally different, same for the circumstances in which they met. The only “parallel” I see is that Toki and Hiyori look and feel so similar that they are basically the same character, but that’s to attribute to Oda’s lack of originality for these two princess-y characters IMO.

The way I see it, the first part of Wano – the one set on the main island – is basically a big Edo jidai homage from Oda. He crafted this homage by using many tropes he took from mythology, folklore or classic Japanese movies and put into the story. Zoro’s initial role in Wano was that of the rōnin, the wandering samurai without a master. He was basically a walking trope. And what do rōnin do in movies? They kill the evil magistrates (check), gamble (check), travel by boat drinking sake (check), side with the oppressed population (check), duel with bandits on bridges (check), save the damsel in distress and are repaid (check)... Like I said, tropes.

I see rōnin-Zoro saving princess Hiyori (and Toko) and being repaid by being bandaged up, fed, and even given a new sword as Oda’s take on a well-established Edo jidai trope, that the author also used to introduce the character of Hiyori to us. I personally didn’t see any intention from Oda to set up anything romantic or even long lasting between the characters with those scenes.

I’ve seen some people say Hiyori has a crush on Zoro because of how she blushes and behaves around him. But to be honest, Hiyori is often drawn with a “cute” blush even when she’s not interacting with Zoro; and the way she clung to Zoro is no different from how she clung to Kawamatsu. That’s just her nature.

As for Zoro, I never saw any hint from him that he might be interested in her. It seems his main reason for staying with her the last time we saw them together was because she’s Momo’s sister and he felt a duty to protect her. After Kawamatsu joined them and took on the role of Hiyori’s protector, Zoro just left her side.

I also don’t think Zoro and Hiyori are a good fit, from what I’ve seen so far. I don’t think a cute, meek princess who does things like apologizing for being a burden (sigh) would be Zoro’s type. Here’s a post I recently reblogged that talks about this “type” thing. I agree with @neomarines​ that Zoro needs someone that challenges him – both mentally and physically – as his partner. How would Zoro and Hiyori’s hypothetical couple life be? What do they have in common? How can they develop each other’s potential? I personally can’t imagine any interesting couple dynamic between them.

Hiyori is a character clearly tied to Wano that I expect to stay there once this arc is over, to care for her people and help her brother rule. That’s what every princess in One Piece has done so I don’t expect her to be different, especially when she has shown to be very attached to her country and expressed no desire to leave. So her becoming even more of a replica of her mother, being a stay-at-home lady while Zoro travels the world like Oden is frankly a scenario I’d dislike.

Finally, from an author/fandom perspective, it's not very typical of shōnen authors to have a main character end up with a side character that was introduced 21 years into the story in one of the final arcs. It'd feel like a last-minute decision to many fans, and casual fans wouldn't even remember this one-arc-only Hiyori character Zoro ended up with. That's one of the reasons I think Zoro/Tashigi is more likely to happen, because Oda has been developing their relationship since Loguetown, and Tashigi is a beloved and established character.

I do agree that Zoro and Hiyori are an aesthetically pleasing pairing when Zoro is in his rōnin outfit. But that’s about it. Just aesthetic. And the badass-sword-couple aesthetic of ZoTash is still superior IMO.

I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m not Hiyori’s biggest fan either. She’s been a bit of a disappointment for me since she shed the Komurasaki persona and I hope Oda will give her something more to do yet. I also don’t find her particularly original or interesting as a character especially when compared to the other Wano ladies.

So yeah, these are my thoughts so far. Of course they might change in the future depending on how the story develops, but so far Zoro/Hiyori is a no-no for me.

[bravadoseries]

okay I think we can all agree that endgame was a travesty so I'm curious, how different is endgame going to be in audrey's story?? Are there elements from the film that you'll keep?? And what will Audrey be up to during the five year time jump? Is there even gonna be time jump? What about Professor Hulk??? I'm sorry this is a lot of questions but I am just so happy to see you back at this again! I LOVE YOU

omg Yes emilia fuck endgame....and don’t apologize pls i welcome all the questions! 

spoilers so it’s below the cut :)

how different is endgame going to be in audrey's story?? 

so endgame is going to be really really different.  i’m cutting out a lot of it and primarily writing to audrey’s perspective, which is very much separated from the rest of the group due to circumstances.  more carol danvers, more on the infinity stones mythology, i really hate time travel as a trope so i’m probably not gonna write it like that but Yes. also i’m not killing off tony and natasha lmao....fuck that shit! also definitely not doing what they did with steve i literally cannot even begin to unpack how DUMB that writing choice was like what on god’s green earth--

this isn’t in endgame it’s infinity war but thor isn’t going to need a fucking spear or whatever it was he got like i will not be doing taika dirty 

endgame will be followed by a short epilogue (probably attached to the same fic and ~3 chapters long) unpacking where the avengers all go but this story is a journey towards a happy ending and it is about people being kind even in the face of suffering and so they will all end up in a good place

Are there elements from the film that you'll keep?? 

i will keep a lot of the final battle scene because that like....Hit....on a really real level.  i will also keep some of the time travel as happening parallel to the story but i won’t be engaging with it so much.

i will probably have the shield be passed onto sam like in the movie bc i love sam as captain america like Yes....

still deciding if i want steve to be worthy.  like i love him but i don’t think i’m bringing mjolnir back bc of the thing i said above? 

And what will Audrey be up to during the five year time jump? Is there even gonna be time jump? 

so audrey will spend the 5 year time jump separated from the other characters.  this is so vague but it is kind of a big spoiler but Yeah audrey will not be present and i think to steve’s knowledge she will be dead.  

What about Professor Hulk??? 

ok cute in theory but not My Journey personally....i think that bruce does need to reconcile the two people he holds inside himself but i wasn’t a huge fan of professor hulk and the way it shifted his characterization like he ended up with a weird ego and just really changing? i don’t like that in a man.  i like bruce bashful and sweet. 

[ariasdefunctchildhood]

The Genius of Continuity Errors

Continuity errors, Easter eggs, and general mistakes are things that movie analyzers LOVE to point out in great lists. Of course, it's almost always a given that in such a big production such as a movie or TV show that some things are going to slip through the cracks.

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD FOR THE FOLLOWING:

-The Devils Advocate

-Hercules

-Jacobs Ladder

-The Shining

Some of the most famous continuity errors are from pretty simple, straight forward, feel-good type movies. In Hercules, the animated Disney classic that definitely doesn't make every Greek Mythology/Percy Jackson fan cringe at factual errors, Hercules is seen touching the river (whirlpool) Styx that is also hundreds of feet down.

In Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts as Vivian is eating a croissant in one shot but a pancake in the other.

They can even be so constant as to happen multiple times throughout an entire movie, like in the original Wizard of Oz where Dorothy played as Judy Garland has her hair length changed multiple times from short and long in the entire film.

And of course, these are just small and simple mistakes in movies with a simple plotline and no crazy twists at the end, but what about movies like Jacobs Ladder? Where the main character is revealed to have been dreaming the whole thing? The IMBD page points out three unmistakeable mistakes:

These mistakes could just be mistakes, or they could be foreshadowing to the ending. With a movie such as this, it's possible that it's just a well fitting mishap.

In The Devils Advocate, a similar thing occurs. I'm unwilling to post a picture as it does involve nudity, but during a sex scene Kevin and his wife Mary Anne are sitting, but are then standing without having ever moved. But they're also three other errors that occur according to the IMDB page:

At the end of this movie, it also reveals that Kevin had been in the bathroom imagining the whole thing the entire time. So does this mean those errors we're because of the fickle nature of the human brain? Or were they accidents due to the fickle nature of a director's brain?

One of my favorite examples of continuity errors that are confirmed NOT errors are those in The Shining. First off, the lovingly named ”Impossible window” in the Overlook hotel.

And the Hedge Maze’s inability to be seen from the many outsides shots of the Overlook, despite its massive size.

I've heard it said that Stanley Kubrick, the amazing and well-known director of the movie, did this on purpose. Even though it is never revealed and can be safely assumed that nothing is imagined or dreamt, these inconsistencies in architecture specifically related to the hotel are done to give us a subconscious and unsettling feeling. Other confusing and winding hallways shown in the film make us lost, and the repetitive patterns in the Native American motifs overwhelm our eyes and make a supposedly dead place seem busy with not explanation.

The Shining is specifically what makes me wonder: how many continuity errors are ACTUALLY errors, and which ones are there to tell a story? In movies that end with a ”and then I woke up” trope, what are accidents meant to foreshadow that, and what is not?

[gone-forever-bye]

My Top Ten Manga:

To go with my top ten anime list.

10. Otaku no Musume-san

Here we have a manga that is about a girl who's always wanted to meet her father and discovers that he is a shameless otaku. Hijinks and adorable father/daughter affection ensues. There's weird character, cute characters, and a final act that is pretty messed up but this is a manga that I think is good from start to finish. It's a good read. It pulls at the heartstrings while making you laugh and it can even serve as a do/do not guide for all you otaku parents out there. XD

Favorite character: Kannau Yukimura

9. Air Gear

This beautiful and heavily detailed stylish manga is about a world where skate-like contraptions known as Air Treks are used as a way to fly, get places, and build your own gang to own the skies. The art is gorgeous, the characters all mesh into a kind of gray area although there are some typical good guy/bad guys thrown in, and the series manages to evoke true feeling from the reader with how raw it can get. I highly reccomend. Favorite Character: Ringo Noyamano

8. InuYasha

The manga that cemented my love for all things anime Inuyasha is the compelling fantasy tale of a half-demon and a young junior high girl. I can't express into words what an impact this manga made on me. The designs of the assortment of demons that are based on Japanese folklore and mythology, the tragic backstories so many of the main characters possess, the out of this world fight scenes, all the way to the incredible chemistry between Inuyasha and Kagome. It's hard to put down once you've started reading. The manga outshines the anime because it doesn't quite feel like it loses its pacing as the anime kept getting dotted with filler. It's interesting, dark in some places but never without a ray of light, and artwork that suits the story well. Favorite Character: Rin

7. Gunsmith Cats

An oldie but goodie. We've got guns, muscle cars, and hot chicks, all in above average detail. Don't waste time with the anime, the manga is where this story of bounty hunter/police officer Rally Vincent and her partner Minnie-May really shines with explosive fun. Mature and loaded with everything from kidnapping to drugs to high speed car chases I have to say that I make it a point of rereading this series often. I've yet to find another that I enjoy as much as this one for this particular genre. Favorite Character: Rally Vincent.

6. Buso Renkin

I'm a big fan of manga that doesn't force a simple storyline to be stretched over fifty volumes. Ten volumes was the perfect size for the story of Katsuki Mutou as he is accidently thrown into the world of alchemy and humunculous. This is a complete manga by the creator of Rurouni Kenshin that I think really emphasizes Watsuki's strength as a shounen manga author who can take so many shounen tropes and make them work almost effortlessly. It didn't need to be ground breaking because it wasn't trying to be. It's an honestly good manga from start to finish with one of the most memorable anti-hero's I've ever read. Favorite Character: Papillon

5. My Little Monster

I'm not the biggest shoujo manga fan like I used to be but I will say that My Little Monster is a great way to change the formula. None of the characters acted the way I expected. They are all weird and extreme in the most interesting of ways while still capturing the uncertainty and naivete that teens suffer from. It's really difficult to dislike any of the characters. They're all so likeable although Natsume will probably make you grind your teeth because that girl is insane. A must read for any shoujo manga fan. Favorite Character: Sohei Sasahara.

4. Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden

I like shoujo manga that doesn't just focus on romance. Genbu Kaiden is the prequel to Fushigi Yugi and I have to say it's better in every way. It's a lot more balanced, mixing the romance into a beautiful but sad story, unforgettable characters, action scenes that really emphasis the importance of the plot, while all being accomplished with the ridiculously gorgeous Yu Watase art style. Another must read for any shoujo fan. Favorite Character: Takiko Okuda

3. Rurouni Kenshin

There was no way this manga wasn't going to make the list. Unlike the anime this manga is outstanding from start to finish. For me this is the ultimate in sword fighting. The visuals are exactly what you want from samurai dueling and there's never a dull moment. The cast is one of the best in my opinion and I love that the narrative never bores me even when they're just explaining fighting styles or attacks. Watsuki's distinct shounen style is a favorite of mine. The evolution of Himura Kenshin is the plot and its worth every panel. Read the final arc of you can. It's amazing.. Favorite Character: Kamiya Kaoru

2. Chrono Crusade

I will make a rant about this manga later because I will fight for this series until the day I die. Do no watch the anime. Even though I bought each dvd and have watched them over twenty times at least, the anime does the manga NO justice. Eight volumes, all inspiring story telling. Chrono Crusade starts in such a way that you think it may be a lighthearted story of a gun-toting 'nun' and her demon sidekick but it quickly evolves into so much more. Rosette and Chrono are a duo the you will root for from page one as they fight demons, friends, and everything else that stands in their way to fix the damage that was done so many years ago. Another series that accomplishes a complete story in ten volumes or less which keeps the plot from being unnecessarily stretched. It evokes so much feeling, making you relate to the characters in such a way while still powering through the story because this is a tale about time. By the end you'll find yourself a little less able to take your time for granted as you cry for these characters that have an ending that you can take as either good or bad. I always put this one at the top of my must read list and it holds a very special place in my otaku heart. I'm disappointed that such an intense manga did not get a proper anime adaption though I do understand why. Favorite Character: Chrono

1. Detective Conan

Anyone who knows me should have expected this. Lol. Detective Conan for me is the ultimate manga. The award winning mystery series is an ongoing manga that never fails to impress. It's familiar while evolving with us so it has a loyal fanbase made up of twenty year veteran fans to new ones every day and the number just keeps growing. High school detective Kudo Shinichi is the pride of Tokyo Japan before he stumbles across a mysterious transaction involving a pair of men clothed in black. He's discovered and force fed a drug that instead of killing him, reverts his body to that of a seven year old. He retains his adult mind and begins hiding his identity while going by the name Edogawa Conan and solving mysteries through his childhood friend's father's detective agency. The story takes off from there. The series is vast, featuring over 1000 chapters, over 20 movies, over 50 seasons, dozens of OVA's and specials including live action, and being featured in multiple ways throughout Japan. It even has its own museum in Gosho Aoyama's hometown. While not for everyone, especially those thrown off by the sheer amount of content, Detective Conan is a series that is loved by all ages all over the world and has been here since the early 90's for a reason. It has become my reason for living and it will never leave my #1 spot. Favorite Character: Kudo Shinichi (for life!)

As I have said before I gauge a series on its ability to draw me in, keep me attached, and talent for making me come back.