#it’s a slog but if you have someone to watch it with it’s very fun

[untraceable-ace]

Highly encourage y’all to go watch the Disney movie Black Hole (1979) easily one of the weirdest fucking movies I’ve ever watched

[stardust-and-fries]

Oh boy!! A chance for me to yap about gender at length?!?!!?!? DON'T MIND IF I DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [See tags for details. But be warned... I Popped the Fuck OFF writing this one, it's a doozy!]

Sorry if this is rude, but how do you identify? I looked around a bit and couldn't find anything, my apologies

Not rude! Honestly, I don't know these days! Lots of thoughts swirling around in my head. Maybe this is too much, but also maybe saying something instead of keeping it inside will be helpful... I'll put my gender thoughts under the cut... maybe someone can relate and offer some thoughts lol:

Recently, I came to the conclusion that I'm really not attracted to men at all, and maybe, I never have been. Looking back, I can kind of clearly see that any crush on a guy I thought I had was more like "wow, this person is COOL as HELL. I hope we can be really good friends." And then I noticed, that any crush I had on a girl felt... different. The feeling was totally different, and it still is. Have you noticed how most of the men I draw are quite feminine? I also have no idea what's going on with my gender. I know I'm me, a Yugo, I also can't comfortably say what exactly I am. Though by technicality, I am nonbinary, the word doesn't feel QUITE right to use for me. Maybe genderqueer is better. I've never identified as a man, but I have identified as transmasc and taken T. I really do like the results I've gotten from that. But at the same time, I don't really feel close to "manhood" at all, but something about having a mustache sometimes, like I tend to do, feels right to me still. I also like to wear lipstick and stuff. I don't know. I'm also not a "woman" I don't think, but I identify with more... I don't know, masculine expressions of womanhood if that makes sense? I am very androgynous in expression, in short. So basically I don't know what the hell is going on. All I know is I love women LOL. Can anyone relate to any of this? Any ideas?? I will not be offended by any assumptions you might have lol. Maybe I should just make a comic about this.

[expatesque]

Monthly Recap - Nov

Second round of this, under the cut

Read

Mansfield Park, Jane Austen - Do not recommend, was decent in the start but a slog by the end. Fanny is the most insipid protagonist I’ve come across in Jane by a mile, truly wishing her the worst.

Death in the Clouds, Agatha Christie - a top notch Poirot, very fun and twisty.

The absolute drama around Yellow Bittern has been so jokes, Vittles as ever had a great take

Ann Helen Peterson on how to show up for friends (meh, some interesting suggestions, very American oriented) and whether the kids are too soft (oriented towards journalism but a good question to be asking in any industry).

So much about the last 6 months of the economy (tuned out for my gardening leave, now have to catch up).

Watched

This month included Halloween so we had Practical Magic (an absolute must watch for the season for me), Beetlejuice (first time watching, more entertaining than I thought it would be), and I Married a Witch (the second you see Veronica Lake in this you understand why someone would risk their eternal soul and stay married to her)

A lot of West Wing - election season always gets me back to here, one of the best shows ever

Drop Dead Gorgeous - a fun one for a wine-filled night in with a friend

A hungover binge of Man on the Inside - sweet and cute and sad, especially if you know people who've had memory issues.

I am continuing to watch Charmed at night before bed, which is low stakes and amusing enough. Also watching Vampire Diaries, which is terrible but great fun mainly because I live text my reactions to my friend who’s already seen it while I watch, so it’s really half a friendship exercise.

Did

Attended: The ballet! Saw Encounters: Four Contemporary Ballets at the Royal Opera House which was largely eh but (1) the Royal Opera House is amazing, worth seeing anything there for the venue (and esp the bar), alone, and (2) the final piece, The Statement by Crystal Pite, was absolutely mind-blowing, one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time.

Went to three V&A Young Patrons things: Portrait Miniatures handling session (v cool), opening party for the Great Mughals (v fun), private viewing of the Great Mughals (v good, see below).

Learned to: Use hot rollers. Really recommend, they're a super easy way to look way more polished and genuinely take <10 min start to finish. I used this tutorial (and can confirm the volumizing spray she talks about is very good).

Made new friends!: Ana I think is going to be a good one, maybe Parker too. And Beatrix is a perfect tennis friend, not sure if we'll graduate beyond that.

Revarnished my outdoor furniture: trying to help it survive this winter better than last.

A lot of soaking in oxygen bleach of towels, tea towels, stained shirts, etc: getting things into shape for when I go back to work.

Went to a Thursday singles event and went on a date off the back of that: event was scary and kinda meh but I met someone so, worth it.

Found someone to play tennis with during the week (and played twice outside of drills): a big accomplishment, she’s lovely and a good player and available the same kinds of times that I am. Jackpot.

Last Month’s Goals

☑️Use all class pass classes: Actually had to buy more passes, did a lot of F45 and Qigong this month.

☑️Read a book: see Read section above.

☑️New Recipes x4: (1) Confit Chicken Legs - so good and how amazing that they keep for months, (2) Rick Bayless Slow cooker mole - a really good mole recipe (available on YouTube) with a huge amount of depth for (relatively) little work, (3) Brazilian Stroganoff - made this for the Brazilian GP (I try to make themed food for every GP) and it was decent but not my fav and I’m unlikely to make again, (4) Not proper recipes but did a lot of making my own condiments and syrups, e.g. rosemary simple syrup, pickled chillis, slow roasted cherry tomatoes.

☑️Go to a new museum: The Wallace Collection, can’t believe I haven’t been before, it’s free and lovely. The Swing is actually very cool in person, I hadn’t realized how small it is. And the recently completed conservation is wonderful, the colors are really stunning. There’s also a nice cafe. Recommend!

☑️☑️Go to an Exhibition (x2): The Great Mughals at the V&A (very interesting, lots of little details, was glad to go to private viewing with two of the curators as that added a lot), Silk Roads at the BM (incredibly good but also incredibly packed. Try to go first thing in the morning). Note: This one means a major exhibition at a museum I’ve been to before.

☑️Go to the theater: See above, Did section.

🟧Crochet: Making progress, still want to get better about doing this more regularly at night.

❌Write More: Total fail here, need to reconsider how to prioritize this and figure out what the main blockages are.

❌Lay morning foundation: Also total fail on this, probably should reconsider what's realistic for these colder months.

☑️Budget: Barely, was tougher this month. I'm ready to have income coming back in.

🟧Memorize a poem (x2): okay really this is a fail but I had to memorize a rap for Russian class so I'm counting that as a half tick.

☑️Russian flashcards: This is going better and my vocab is improving.

🟧Screen time: Better but still not good. May need to think about how to cycle this through the week / month vs blanket bans/reductions.

🟧Job prep: Unlikely to have any interviews until Jan so this has slowed down but is in progress.

Next Month’s

Carrying Over

Use all class pass passes (I expect to use less because I got home for Xmas midway through the period)

Four two new recipes (shrinking this as I will be doing less regular cooking and more holiday cooking)

Read a book

Visit a new musuem

Go to an exhibition

Go to a show (off for this month, busy start to the month and then I’ll be home)

Crochet

Write more

Morning foundation

Budget

Memorize a poem

Russian flashcards

Screentime

Job/interview prep

New

Quality time with people at home (grandmama, gran and pa, Jack, parents, Grace, Anna, M&M)

[tornioduva]

A thought on Botw's items

So, first of all, if you were left dissatisfied and somewhat angry by Totk, go watch this wonderful video and enjoy your catharsis:

So, after watching this my mind started to fix upon this godforsaken series again and, a thought about how the wild saga handles things and why.

Now, i'm not a seasoned game designer, i don't know shit on how to deliver these massive projects, and i'll admit i haven't done proper research like in interviews, manuals, artbook, ecc., this is all very much a stream of consciousness.

What i reflected on is how many of us struggled to really bite deep with criticism into the structural exploration systems of this games, because it apparently "works", and in a somewhat elegant and cohesive way. It's much more difficult to critique the decision of adding shrines, of the dungeons, of the pad tools, of the rewards, because it easily justifies itself with the various "time limits, sacrifices needed to be made, streamlined exploration" and so on; it's much easier instead to go to the throat of the story, or characters, or the durability, because it's a much more direct frustration i think.

But then again, thinking about Botw: was giving the player all of their tools right away really the only right decision?

I honestly think that having the player roam around hyrule, letting them explore and find obstacles for which the tools are required, and then giving them said tools, would've been much better. You would accumulate small frustrations here and there, places to return to, for which you would use those pins in the map, and then you'd have the satisfaction of having finally found the solution to your troubles and a unique reward from wherever you might've taken them.

"Sure", you might say, "but then all the major dungeon and "story areas" should take into accoutn wether you have them or not". ....Yes. what's the problem in that? maybe a character, like one of the descendant could say something along the lines of "if only we had a way to freeze the water to resolve this issue that i feel might be present in the divina beast" or similar, that way the beasts would be centered around fleshing out one mechanic. i guess that might make them a bit more monotonous, but i think not; they are already kind short and boring, they might as well be a a dungeon designed around fleshing out just one of your tools in a satisfying way.

That to me would've resolved a good amount of issues i have with it with the game already, because part of the joy of exploring, at least in the first like 10 to 20 hours, would've been the anticipation of finding a tool and to finally use it! and i'd have something more memorable to remember while roaming around than just pretty sunsets.

Also, this would resolve the B I G issue i have with the intro of both of this game, of it being an unskippable slog. If you remove all of the tutorial aspect out of it, and outsource it to a later, further away area of the game, you can reduce all the time the plateau takes out of you to like, an introduction to combat, crafting, effects and that's it, you're free after that.

plus i always found stupid that the game won't let you have the paraglider before finishing it. like, just leave the tutorial there if someone wants it, but le me find the paraglider as an object and then let me go down, it's not an essential item, just a convenient one; plus, if players went around hyrule without the paraglider, you could just remind them in other ways later on that they might find one on the plateau, or let them find another one in other areas of the game. that could've been fun: "where did you find the glider? here? really? wow, these devs really thought of everything, i found it there instead, and mike down south".

i dunno, i just don't want to think about botw as the only correct way of doing this kind of game.

[utilitycaster]

Feel free to ignore this if you didnt mean it literally, but as someone who only managed to watch around episode 64 and would like to still finish the campaign somehow I was very interested when you said youd be down to write a guide of which episodes to watch and which to skip for campaign 3... either way I always love your meta, have a good day!

Did this here - just pick up from the Errands and Air Ashari section!

That list is pretty general and anyone could use it, but, for example, knowing someone's personal preferences and how long they're willing to take to catch up is helpful. Like, as mentioned, you could probably read recaps of 66-68 and get everything you need to know (Keyleth's injuries, further horrifying ramifications of the Vanguard's actions, tons of great lore, Ashton meets a drag queen seamstress, Chetney gets a cursed sword, Fearne makes a deal with a hot paladin of Asmodeus, fun combat, even more lore, Matt calling a flower "perineum" by accident) and there's no conversations or scenes that I'd say are must-watch, but I did enjoy that arc a lot, so if you're worried about time read a recap (I keep saying that but it's true - I do NOT advocate skipping and not reading recaps) but if you have the time and just were getting hung up on episodes that dragged a bit If you're a big fan of Laudna, I'd say don't skip to the Delilah part of 77, but if you're not, you definitely can. Stuff like that.

Really, my feeling is "between episode 25-episode 38 is a slog for the most part and if you got stuck there I want to let you know you can safely skip around with this list of key points/highlights amid the mire, but after that, while there's individual episodes that aren't my favorites, a lot of it is pretty fun and even the parts that drag on don't last for episodes on end."

[isekai-crow]

2024 Winter Anime Lineup (Master Post?)

First post for a new blog where I'm going to try and record my opinions, break downs, comparisons, and various degrees of squees about anime!

The lineup for this year's Winter isn't as packed as the 2023 Fall season was, but that's always the case. It sure is still causing my To Watch List to keep getting longer... but more importantly because it's so lacking in big name shows one of my most anticipated shows gets to shine...

SOLO LEVELING

俺だけレベルアップな件

LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!

I'M SO EXCITED FOR MY SHADOW BOY TO FINALLY ARRIVE!!!

also, holy CRAP look at all this TRADITIONAL FANTASY!!! There is even a decent selection of non harem Isekai this round too! And a lot of awesome sequels/continuations!

Anyways, here's what's on my to watch list for this season! I'll be posting about them in their own or other threads as I figure out how I want to set this blog up. My reasons for WHY I'm watching what I'm watching

Definitely Will Watch!

Solo Leveling / 俺だけレベルアップな件

Apothecary Diaries /薬屋のひとりごと(Continued)

Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi) / ダンジョン飯

The Villains Day Off / 休日のわるものさん

Undead Unluck / アンデッドアンラック(Continued)

Fire Hunter (Hikari no Ou) 2nd Season / 火狩りの王

High Hopes / Might Drop / Taking My Time

Sasaki and Peeps / 佐々木とぴーちゃん

The Witch and the Beast / 魔女と野獣

Doctor Elise / 外科医エリゼ

Cherry Magic (THIS ENGLISH TITLE LMAO) / 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい (DEF WATCHING THIS ONE NOW)

Shangri-La Frontier / シャングリラフロンティア　(Continued)

Beyond Journey's End / 葬送のフリーレン (Continued)

Gonna Give Them A Few Episodes

Mashle Season 2

Fluffy Paradise / Isekai de Mofumofu Nadenade Suru Tame ni, Ganbattemasu (I'm doing my best in another world to pet fluffy creatures)

Ishura

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic / 治��魔法の間違った使い方

Blue Exorcist / Ao no Exorcist (OUT OF LEFT FIELD THIS ONE)

Delusional Monthly Magazine / Gekkan Mousou Kagaku

This is already insanely long, so the second half of this essay about what I think is below ↓↓↓↓

DEFINITE WATCH LIST

SOLO LEVELING - I've been waiting for the solo leveling anime since BEFORE the anime was ever announced, re-reading the webcomic/manhwa multiple times and just HOPING someone would animate these gorgeous shadows. It is a very well done power fantasy with only squints of romance, and while I'm sad it's been localized to Japan (and all the fuckery that comes with of Korean erasure), I got to see the first two episodes at the World Premiere and I. Am. So. Hype.

APOTHECARY DIARIES existed completely outside of my head space, and my initial response at the premise was, Raven of the Inner Palace? I wasn't actually expecting much from it and then the first few episodes BLEW ME OUT OF THE WATER and now I'm obsessed.

DUNGEON MESHI is one of those manga I've heard about, but tried reading and it was too slow paced for me (I say, currently slogging through The Boat Arc (TM) of Hunter x Hunter), but the anime gives it life and I think I'll enjoy this alot. I love cooking anime and fantasy, so this will be fun!

KYUJITSU NO WARUMONOSAN is just straight up Crow Bait. That curly bowl cut, the gap moe of a villain who loves cute things, and voiced by fricken Shintarou Asanuma!!! (I know him as Samatoki from HypMic, other's will know him from the "Fucking Bullshit" song from Carole and Tuesday, and a host of other roles) Also, all the pretty sentei / power ranger boys!!! I'm so hype, in the most relaxed chill way for this.

UNDEAD UNLUCK is so weird in that it involves a lot of random sexualization, but it doesn't make me uncomfortable like Seven Deadly Sin's random gropping did, maybe because there is actual implied consent involved. Fuuko and Andy are Poly and I love them for it. And the world building is TOP NOTCH.

FIRE HUNTER - If you haven't seen season one, you are missing out. A darkly beautiful post-post apocolyptic alternate Japan-esque world, from the POV of a young girl, and a young genius boy having to let himself be manipulated by capitalism to survive, and gods? a magic system? but so soft that it's barely there even while being a full on fantasy story.

High Hopes or Taking My Time

SASAKI AND PEEPS- What a weird little show that has the weirdest combination of isekai, the most "this is fine." salaryman, and a fricken' CHUNIBYO BIRB. I've already watched the first episode and it feels like there are two magic systems going on and its a bit confusing, so we will see how this plays out!

WITCH AND BEAST - I keep wanting to call this Beauty and the Beast, because the beast is a rad bad ass looking lady, and the witch is certainly one of the most beautiful undertakers I've ever seen. I think he carries his boyfriend around in his coffin backpack, so I'm hype to see WTF is up with that >o>

DOCTOR ELISE - Why do manhwa I read keep randomly popping up as anime??? This is a vilainess turned good story, and supposedly the market is full of these, but none of them are the good ones I've read, so I did a double take of happiness when I saw this. THIS ONE IS GOOD. An spoiled princess gets killed, is reborn in Korea and becomes a doctor, only to be killed by Airplane-kun, and winds up back in her old body where she decides to become a doctor again! The prince is even not your typical icy asshole! (although maybe he is a little at the beginning..)

CHERRY MAGIC - THIS FRICKEN ENGLISH TITLE GOOD LORDS ABOVE. I'm dying. I'm also excited to see this one play out and I'll be hiding behind a pillow giggling like a mad lad while I do. It's been a while since there's been a good BL that's not SAD (looking at YOU Given and Banana Fish, but avoids eye contact with Sasaki and Miyano) so hopefully it doesn't dip into that territory. Going into this one mostly blind as to the premise apart from the obvious Gap-Moe with the love interest.

SHANGRI-LA - I started watching this on a whim as the Fall season started to wind down, and found it to be a good potato chip to have on in the background. I'll probably continue watching it, but not weekly.

FRIEREN - This is what I watch when Jujutsu Kaisen hurts too much to keep going. I'm only a few episodes in, so it'll be slow going, but I think it's about to pick up it's pacing a little where I'm at, and it'll be good comfort food to have.

MAYBES

Mashle Season 2 - The pacing was SUPER WEIRD in the first season that despite all of it's shitting on the properties of she-who-shall-not-be-named, the end of the season kind of fell flat. I wanted to like it more, so I'm hoping Season 2 does that for me.

Fluffy Paradise - I love isekais with an adult in a child's body pretending to be just super smart, and this doesn't feel like it's going to do that, but still looks cute none the less. I'll give it a few episodes, but will quickly drop it if my watch list is too long.

Ishura - Is this what life is like for D&D Characters when they hit level 20? I HOPE SO. I LOVED the Legend of Vox Machina, and hope this has the same sort of vibes, but I'm going in blind!

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic - Love me some fucked up healing magic. Please DO NOT let this be ANYTHING like Redo Healer. I refuse to watch that even those FUCKED UP HEALING MAGIC IS FUN. But this. This I want to see. Please let this also not be a harem. I'm fine with ~vibes~ but please no actual harem that's not actually Poly.

Blue Exorcist - THIS IS TOTALLY OUT OF NOWHERE. HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?????? I remember the last season feeling like a disappointment? But can't remember why? Gonna see if this is worth re-watching the seasons from like... a decade ago.

Delusional Monthly Magazine - I watched the PV and had no fucking clue what was happening. Therefore, I will be watching a few episodes to sate my curiosity about WTF OR possibly just get myself even more confused and rage quit. lmao

I've watched the first few episodes of a couple of these, and will be watching a few more tomorrow, so Next Goal: Post a write up or three about what I think!

[blue-grama]

Jesus motherforking shirtballs

Or: I am asking every business journalist to take one (1) gender studies class before I tear my hair out.

This interview came across my dash and it's a lot of fun, particularly Apo's "dad joke" actually being a hilariously cringey pickup line, but one aside by the writer made me wince.

ASDKHGKJ. This is not the first time I've seen an article about BL or gay romance in general speculate that the reason female audiences enjoy gay male romance is because there are no other threatening, icky girls on screen. I find this exceedingly irritating and misogynistic and I'm gonna rant about it. Now, look. Maybe there are women-identifying people out there watching mlm romance because they are threatened by beautiful actresses. Maybe. I haven't met every woman in the world. But this reasoning is, in my opinion, some male-gaze bullshit and needs to be smacked down. A non-exhaustive list of reasons to like mlm romance that AREN'T based on some weird idea of female competitiveness and insecurity: 1. Queer people... exist? Look, the LGBTQ+ community alone isn't the reason KP had huge international success. Just numbers-wise, it was probably watched by more straight people than not. But ignoring that audience makes absolutely no sense, especially because sexuality is fluid and many viewers interested in LGBTQ+ media may be uncertain/exploring. Cultural anthropologist Thomas Baudinette has talked about how many "straight women" exploring BL turned out not to be so straight. It's a thing. (Here on Tumblr the LGBTQ+ audience is THE thing, but there's a lot of selection bias here, obviously.)

2. A good romance is a good romance

In my personal (and admittedly limited) experience, cishet men have a hard time grasping this, but give me a good, swoony romance and IDGAF about the genders involved. I've noticed this is very common among my female-identifying and nonbinary friends, regardless of their sexual attractions in real life. Good chemistry is good chemistry, a good story is a good story, and honestly it's kinda insulting to silo LGBTQ+ romance off as something you need a particular reason to watch, if you're someone who likes watching romance. 3. Female gaze

Look. Mile and Apo are blisteringly hot individuals. It's interesting this article mentions the action sequences and not the inherent appeal of, say, these two humans exploring each other's bodies in front of God and Deutsche Bank:

Perhaps it's a family publication.

But to get a little more thinky about horniness: If you're a female-identifying person interested in men, it can be a tough slog out there. I'm coming from a western perspective, where romance is looked down upon in general. (Asian media seems more willing to look at the romance audience and go "hmm... $$$!" instead of "ugh, girl stuff.") And even when you get romance-driven stories, the male gaze is fucking ubiquitious. I remember having my mind blown some years ago by Outlander -- a show I did not make it through otherwise -- because the wedding episode in the first season has a sex scene in which the camera lingers on the male lead's face. That is some female gaze shit that you just do not see. I just spent a couple minutes checking in with the sex scenes in Bridgerton, probably the biggest romance-genre hit in the U.S. in some time, made explicitely for a female audience in mind, and even there, the camera spends FAR more time on the female leads' faces in sex scenes. Presumably the idea is that the female viewing audience will be inserting themselves into the scene and imagining her pleasure as their own, but ... show me a man's O-face, you cowards.

KP (and BL in general) does that.

I mean, quite literally. But also figuratively - men are posited as objects of desire, and the viewer is the agent desiring them. Taking a straight female as our theoretical viewer: We're so, so socialized to see females as the objects of desire and men as the agents of desire that even media made with straight women in mind parks the camera on the female lead. BL turns that on its head. The female viewer isn't watching a stand-in for herself being desired. She's actively desiring. I hope it's clear that this is miles away from "other girls are threatening." It's about being the one with agency for once.

4. Removal of the burden of one gajillion years of patriarchical bullshit

This is like a trauma response or some shit, istg, but sometimes it's nice to watch a romance not weighed down by 300,000 years of hetero gender relations. How many times have we seen a female character who is just a male fantasy or who starts out great but gets ruined by bad writing and it's like... fuck. Someone has probably written about this a lot more eloquently and intelligently than me, but sometimes it's just like, geez. Leave women out of it. Let us rest. I'm joking a bit, and this entirely elides the fact that non-het relationships can be just as abusive and problematic as a het relationship out there in the real world, but in the realm of fantasy I do think there's an appeal to stripping away at least part of the gender discourse. Especially for a fully escapist show like KP -- personally, I love a good female character, but I did not have any problem with the dearth of them in that series. Don't make me worry, even subconsciously, about the mafia's maternity leave policy, okay?? Contrary to idea that the mlm aspects save some sort of self-insert space for me in that romance, I as a woman-identified person did not want to be anywhere NEAR that hot mess. I wanted a world that touched on exactly zero of my real-life concerns.

Ok, maybe one real-world concern: How to find a small animal vet at an inconvenient hour.

Anyway, like I said at the start, I can't possibly explain everyone's motivations for watching KP or BL or anything, really. The world is a rich tapestry and sexuality is not a simple binary. But boiling it all down to, "women are insecure" ain't it and I would love to see that explanation permanently retired from casual use. EDIT: I forgot the link to the original article.

[mdhwrites]

Going back through TOH's episodes, it strikes me how boring they are. Part of the problem seems to be how criminally unfunny the show is, generally speaking. I can count how many times I've laughed on one hand. In fact I can list them:

There was the "It's been my dream since I was a boy" guy pushing kids off cliffs (Moving Hassle), Luz's "He'll be fine" after throwing Hunter overboard - and then his subsequent re-entry (Hunting Palismen) - and lastly Luz tumbling offscreen in front of Amity after a spider crawls on her face (Grom). That's 3 scenes, 4 jokes if we're being charitable. And sure, maybe my sense of humour is just incompatible with TOH's and I'm being harsh.

But I can't deny that I just feel like there's no rewatch value in TOH? Like it's just... the jokes are so bad to the point it's not fun, it's not entertaining, it's a slog, I see no value in retreading the same ground. And I am a SERIAL rewatcher! This is coming from someone who spends maybe 85% of their time experiencing the same stories! I love seeing well-done media all over again, because even if I know what's going to happen or what they will say, a well-structured joke or a skillfully delivered line is still gonna engage me.

I can't even recommend the show to anyone because I HAVE in the past... and what ends up happening is they watch the first couple episodes, get bored, go "I recognize that you like this, but it's not my thing" and drop it. And I CAN'T BLAME THAT! Because that's how I reacted too when I got into the show! I only stuck with it because it seemed like it was going really interesting places. And it tried to, I think, and failed.

I'm also a very fandom-heavy person so TOH's boring episodes have made it increasingly harder for me to stay within it. Because I'm not rewatching anything, I can see myself in real time as I forget more and more of the plotlines, and even a lot of the characters. It's just... kind of disappointing. It's like I just had a gradual fizzling out of interest. I don't even hate the show, which might be better in some ways - instead I just can't muster enough shits to feel any type of way towards it.

I rambled a bit but I guess my ultimate ask here was: what are your thoughts on whether or not TOH manages to entertain new/old viewers?

So I like S1. I think the characters are what carry it and that they are at their most interesting, EASILY, in S1.

The vast majority of S1, in terms of concepts and executions for plots, is OKAY AT BEST.

This actually just comes down to a simple tonal decision of TOH and also just the fact that a boring world with boring magic creates little to do with bog standard plots and TOH actually has a LOT of bog standard plotting. It is a pretty classic story structurally and takes genuinely very few risks in the structure... Which is okay in theory.

There is nothing wrong with not reinventing the wheel and TOH talks a big game about subverting tropes but no. As a fantasy fan, I can tell you this is EXCEPTIONALLY normal. Like... Insultingly from how much it talks a big game. Especially because if you're going to do classic, you have three options: Shoot the moon, lean into the unique elements of your concept or do it VERY. VERY. WELL.

And remember: They did a body swap episode and it is one of the most hated episodes of the entire show. That's not a good sign.

But this touches on the second problem I brought up: This is a boring world with boring magic. Because TOH's fantasy world is so basic, has little magic and little flair with its magic, it inherently limits what it can do. Now, it doesn't have to be this way but the show made it this way with how little we see of it, how limited it is (like how plant magic is 99% vines), and how often it just blatantly makes one to one comparisons between it and our world with effectively NOTHING altered like how the covens are just jobs, right down to them being introduced through a job fair and a boring one at that.

So when we look at a classic episode concept like the body swap episode, the three plots are... Easily replicated elsewhere. One person gets in trouble in the swap's job because they don't know what they're doing (with the most unique twist of this actually landing them in prison), a classic animal plot where they're taken in by a place that seems cozy and then isn't with literally no changes, and finally... Teenager pisses off bullies and agrees to jump DEAD MAN'S GORGE! But instead of skateboards and people really building it up, its rat beasts.

None of these plots are actually bad, they're go tos for a reason, but... No one is bringing anything special to this. Luz is entirely ignored so her character may as well not matter, Eda is doing NOTHING to add to her plot and King... King is fun for about two minutes leading the bullies and otherwise is just any other character in this situation. It's not bad, I personally enjoy parts of the episode... But it's nothing special. From the second the thing that X character is going to do is revealed, you can guess every step of the plot and they don't even really throw in good jokes in the process. A couple jokes but nothing memorable because everything is weirdly subdued compared to how other shows would be, even in an episode that is definitely trying to be more over the top.

And this runs into the inherent tonal issue of TOH: It doesn't want to be an adventure comedy. Those are genres that are commonly really over the top. They hear jump the shark and go "How about a shark jumping ten other sharks in order to finish making a can of tuna for their fire giant overlord?" And the face of this fact, in that the genres it pitches itself as for the first two episodes!

TOH flatly refuses to be silly and over the top. It's characters are very... 'realistic'. I don't mean real, just that they're meant to feel more mature by being more in control. They don't let them interrupt each other for a joke, they don't let a character be potentially OOC for a one off gag like Hop Pop screaming "EAT THE RICH!" or Sprig asking "Have you ever killed a a man, Hop Pop," and I can only think of one time Luz got mad for the sake of a joke and honestly, yelling about the Rusty Smidge barely comes across as a joke because of how genuine the anger feels after a point. Otherwise, stuff that would normally get exaggerated frustration or the like to at least let you laugh at the reaction just... doesn't get one, like how Luz yells about Luzura being killed off but then... Just walks off and is passive aggressive mostly instead of even exasperated. For a drama or romance, this is not a bad approach but for even just an adventure kid's show... It's not great to put it mildly because people meet odd situations with weird levels of nonchalance. Not quite irony poisoned levels but getting there.

It's why TOH is mostly remembered for the romance and drama episodes. Not only do they allow some of the romance scenes to actually include melodrama, they also just fit how the characters act better. It's why Amity has some of the biggest emotions of the series and why Lumity have such great lines between each other because they're actually willing to lean into the sort of genre fiction that they're doing. This is also why S2 works better than S1 because a lot of the pretense of being a comedy adventure gets dropped but like... There's still plenty of boring in S2 with stuff like how Elsewhere Elsewhen takes time travel and includes a couple jokes at the beginning and then is just... horribly bland and barely qualifies as an adventure.

This lack of allowing people to be emotional and jokey also leads to the reliance on comic relief characters. People like Gus, King or Hooty, or S2 Lilith, who the characters can mock in someway, including the writers. Characters who can be the punchline even if it means a lot of people come off a lot meaner than they should, i.e. Luz absolutely rejecting Hooty for the vast majority of the series despite supposedly liking the weird and rejected. That also means that most of the time they're not on screen, either the scene starts getting pretty dry or you have a character suddenly warp to be comic relief, like how Eda gets in some S2 episodes like Elsewhere Elsewhen or Eclipse Lake where suddenly she's MUCH more of a joke than she normally is and also REALLY bad at it too and seeming potentially brain dead for it. Thanks to Them even does this to Amity even though she is probably the last person in the cast to make sense as a sudden clutz.

All of this stuff makes it so that if you go in wanting a kid's show, a fantasy show, ANYTHING that is pitched in the first episode... S1 is going to be just okay to you. I enjoyed it... But I also fell off when I first watched it. I thought the characters were good but none of it stuck with me as actually memorable and I watched until I think Adventure in the Elements. I never was never compelled to come back until Lumity animations (literally THE Little Miss Perfect animatic that is nowadays probably hard to find actually) made me go "I remember this show being neat." And Lumity was what kept me, not because I was generally laughing or calling these episodes something special. In fact, that sense of unsatisfaction is probably why I watched through it faster than Amphibia. No one episode of TOH is really great to watch on its own because... It's just kind of boring, or like half of it is boring because the B plots across the board are SO BLAND. S1 or 2 for that matter since Lumity starts getting boring B plots like with the archives or finding out the author of Azura. Both concepts btw that could have been really interesting setups and instead... If you're not into blushing Amity, get FUUUUUCKED.

That's without getting into REPETITION. Repetition kills comedy so King having one joke for S1 and also taking up like half of the B plots for the first ten episodes means you are going to be in agony eventually anytime someone talks to him because you know where it's going and you have DEFINITELY heard this joke before. And you know, he also gets three repetitive B plots which just hurts the joke even more, even as they try to make twists on it, and hurts the feeling that the show is doing... Anything..

It's just not good. Which is probably why once the characters and the 'subversive/unique' elements of the show both weakened, more and more people left because... Why would you keep watching this then? Those elements are what made up for boring plots with boring execution in a world that didn't allow for more interesting storytelling because it had few ideas and expanded on NONE OF THEM. So of course people pitch it using the elements that say "this isn't like other kids shows/fantasy shows" because if you pitch it to people who like those... They'll just be disappointed eventually and bored quickly. Like i think a lot of people did to be quite honest.

And a lack of creativity, and a lack of genre understanding, isn't something time could have ever fixed.

======+++++======

The short version of proving this point btw is going "Compare Bumi's introductory episode, which is a character giving three trials to prove another's worth, versus when the Bat Queen challenges Luz. One is exceptionally funny, interesting and has genuinely interesting twists while the other is... There. So very there. Painfully just... there. Not even bad, just... There.

Also, yes, comedy is extremely subjective which is why I tried to talk more about how a lot of these premises are boring because that can be a bit more objective.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past.

I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead.

If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[mollywog]

i have regency!lark questions!

how is the writing process different from other fics (for example, canon-compliant or in-Panem AUs)? how much research goes into it?

do you feel immersed in the world that their mannerisms, speech patterns, etc come easily to you? or does it take conscious effort to regency-fy these things? (as a non-native English speaker, this is the thing i am always curious about when reading historical AUs!)

what are your non-fan media recs for someone who knows next to nothing about regency era? (sorry if you shared something like this and i missed it!)

thank you!

Hey!!!

Thank you for the ask @thesunpersists!!

Oof! My husband jokes that the only history I know, I learned from American Girl Doll books, which is some what accurate: I absorb history best when it’s the backdrop of fiction (especially a romance)

A few years back I went on a ‘classic’ author binge. I would read/listen to a book and follow along with the shmoop/cliff notes/spark notes, then finish off by watching any screen adaptations I could find. (I wish I had known about tumblr then *stares wistfully off into the distance*)

With that in mind, I’m not sure I have a full grasp of what each time period is… Regency is more a vibe than a historically accurate set of dates in my mind; An amalgamation of the things I read and watched and very light research… Idk I don’t want to take the fun out of storytelling by getting too caught up in that stuff, which I understand may not be for everyone.

Anyways…

I’ve enjoyed a lot of adaptations of old books. If we’re talking specifically Regency - in addition to the novels, Pride and Prejudice 95, Emma 09, Persuasion 95 are my favorites! I also love Lily James and Matt Smith so Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was fun!

I know you said non fandom but I’m going to mention cwmilton because I adore their Emma FanFiction so so much!

I think War and Peace is technically Regency Era though not set in England. I slogged through the novel and there were parts I enjoyed, but not enough to do it again. Again my love for Lily James and James Norton had me watching the 16 BBC adaptation and enjoyed it for them and the costumes.

I’d like to check out and Tom Jones is on my list thanks to @wildwren and Mr. Malcom’s List is another I hope to read/watch!

I went through Dickens, Brontë, Hardy, Gaskell so if anyone wants to talk adaptations!

Okay. So I’m not sure I’ve answered your questions 😳… so I would say: usually my desire to write a historical AU comes from recently consuming a peice of media from that period - So I’ve already got the vibe fresh in my mind. But also yes - I do think it’s difficult to write and stay in that time periods speaking pattern and vocabulary.

Anyways, feel free to send an ask or DM if you want to talk fics or historical fiction, or adaptations or whatever!!!

[possumsarenice]

I was originally upset with today’s ep, but after watching it? I’m am SO glad he’s back.

I will explain why under the cut but I am very mean to Bloodmoon there so if you’re in the BM cult you should probably just scroll

I’ve said before when Eclipse died last time that I would rather have an entire arc with a mediocre villain the another Eclipse arc, and Ruin was a good palette cleanser! I had some time away from Eclipse and I can handle more of him now. I’m glad Eclipse is back because the few seconds where he disabled the weapons were 800x more entertaining then all the screen the other villains got. Bloodmoon was fun for a little bit, but his entire character is just hyper murder and maybe some personal issues the writers don’t care enough to to even keep consistent (seriously, it start as family issues then turned into being seen as a tool). He’s not smart enough to be the main villain so the only way he could be a top priority is by working under someone, and every time it’s the same dynamic. He’s a pretty shallow character that works for a minor antagonist and just doesn’t fit as a main villain. But they tried, and that just made me stop caring about his character. I have more burnout from Bloodmoon then I do Eclipse. Bloodmoon has become a boring, static character for me. Every episode centering him was an unwatchable slog. I am, so fucking tired of him.

Eclipse has an actual character instead of one singular trait. He has changed over time (and not fit the better). And him going from an almost depressed state to becoming a showman about his plan is interesting! I’ve never been a major Eclipse fan, but I’ve liked his character for awhile. And while I do still think the writers are at risk of running him into the ground, what they’re doing with Bloodmoon is SO much worse that I can’t complain. Please just ANYONE but Bloodmoon or “mysterious murder mastermind” PLEASE JUST ANYTHING BUT THAT

[seeminglyseph]

It is a little wild sometimes seeing Invincible the superhero series being written about as like... "new and innovative" or something... because I did absolutely read the comic in 2010, and there were multiple trade paperbacks at the time.

I mean, I know full well "I read the comic" is a useless phrase because The Boys is also coming out, and the comic for that is just as dated and I avoided it for the most part because I liked DC Comics and didn't want to read Ennis' unhinged gore porn. DC was going through its Dork Dark Age that needed commenting on that is fully lost in commentary now, I feel like a madman trying to explain that now that like... "I mean I think this is around the same time Teen Titans decided to bring back the Wonder Twins, Wendy and Marvin from the old cartoons, including their Wonder Dog, only it turns out the dog was a monster who ravaged and mauled them to a bloody mess. Marvin is killed on the panel, and Wendy is gravely injured and paralyzed from the waist down. She got an Oracle moment in a different book with a more optimistic tone, but that was far from the original intention, or the only Teen Titan killed in a gory and gratuitous way on the pages of Teen Titans. The comic most likely to be picked up by children because of brand identity."

I fully stopped reading DC Comics because of Lian Harper back in the day... like. Then they rebooted the universe so it fully didn't matter but like. It very much confuses me when I hear like... "it's so innovative to see superhero media where it's fucked up."

And like. Clearly, the only superhero media you are consuming is MCU movies or spinoffs. That's the shit that I was pretty sure these comics were commenting on. That's the hell Frank Miller built for us.

Injustice: Gods Among Us came out in 2013. How are we still acting like "Superman but bad" is the most shocking concept. Anthony Starr's acting is fucking stellar and I do enjoy most of Kripke's writing. I did my time in Superhell. But like... I mean the fact that the Seven are a Justice League parody and The Boys have to bed over backwards to try and parody Marvel is like... man, this was written when someone else was on top, and now modern audiences are mixing metaphors because the DC references just aren't relevant unless sexy Harley Quinn is in it.

I have a migraine and maybe no actual point... I don't want to return to the era of pointless gratuitous violence in comics. Like I said, it made me stop reading because any time I even started to get attached to a character, they were brutally murdered or went through something traumatic and changed or left or were sidelined or something. It was just... exhausting and stressful. And paying money to be stressed out and disappointed was like... not fun or interesting. I think a lot of The Boys fans are experiencing that with this most recent season, which feels authentic to the comic experience. (A season four event is very close to a real-life trauma for me, so I'm making a mental health decision to not watch it at the moment. But I am watching fans spiral into disappointed rage. It's interesting...)

Anyway, this has been a rant about Superheros that doesn't really go anywhere. I think I'm gonna go smoke a blunt for this migraine and the stress. I'd suggest people broaden their horizons since like... there's been grimdark superheroes forever, but it's like... it's a mostly miserable slog through various fluids and rushed art and bad plotlines that go nowhere. And most people probably got revealed to be sex pests at a minimum by now because the industry appears to be full of monsters... I'm very tired.

[cer-rata]

I think the only major comicbook death that gave more than it took was Superman's. Partially because it was always obviously a temporary shakeup, but mostly because we got Kon-El and John Henry Irons out of the deal (and that sweet mullet). It didn't derail big blue long term, but it let some interesting stories play out, and honestly reinforced why Clark specifically was important in the first place. 9/10 a great time.

The death of Gwen Stacy was actually pretty interesting from a story perspective. Peter's lives bleeding together and leading to the death of someone he loved is like, his biggest fear and seeing him deal with that was interesting. It really mattered and the ramifications were wide-spread. But it also kind of cemented the trauma porn incline that he's hurtled down since. I'm fine with traumatizing Peter, but for the love of god after a while it becomes a slog. Plus, the way they did it was...strange. It was jarring to see realistic physics suddenly become important in a Spider-Man comic of all places. Like it worked for shock value in the moment but upon further reflection...eh. 6/10

The death of Jason Todd was a mean spirited affair. I'm not even just talking about watching a teenager get the crowbar and blown up. Jim Starlin actively hated Jason, so it wasn't a respectful well measured sendoff. The story was contrived, wildly racist nonsense. And it was a vote! They left the life of a main character and the narrative fallout of that up to a fan vote! Why?!

Unlike the death of Superman, we didn't get a bunch of fun new characters out of the deal, it actively changed the tone of Batman stories for the worse, (in my opinion) along with the killing joke. But I'm going to say it, I think the Killing Joke was better written, gave better future plot hooks, gave us the path to Oracle and actually had ideas, despite the fact that Moore is cursed to have people completely miss his point every time. It treated Babs poorly, and Moore has admitted that was a mistake. But I'd argue the Babs we got because of that completely elevated and ascended the character.

Anyway, Jason came back and has been a mess ever since. No one knows what they want to do with him but he's too popular to shelve. His personality has worse continuity problems than...than...hmm. Let me get back to you. His very presence is often used to call the concept of Batman into question in the most cynical and uncharitable ways. And any growth he has is often gone by his next appearance. They had him do wildly dissonant acts of violence early on, and then pivoted him away from being a villain but then didn't consistently support that. It's maddening! He's like a player at a D&D table who actively exists to poke holes in the tone and logic of the world. Ahhh! 2/10 fix it in the next continuity reboot.

[giantkillerjack]

To give credit to the last of us for its queer rep, it’s not just queer characters who have tragic/bittersweet endings. Literally everyone (siblings, parent and child, heterosexual) queer or not, has tragic endings. The older queer couple gets the best one out of all of them.

I guess? I mean, it is certainly much better than if they were the only characters to die in the storyline. But people were on tumblr talking about how theirs was a happy queer story. And I think it is the misleading discussion around these characters that bothers me even more than the writing. Like if I had watched that episode instead of looking up the plot summary, I would have had a meltdown at the end when they both died because I truly had gotten the impression that it was going to be a happy story.

But now that I've mentioned the writing:

It's nice that they live till their 70s. It's nice that they get 20 beautiful years together. And it's a bit fucked that the writers felt the need to end those 20 long years on-screen with a terminal illness and suicide in the same episode they are introduced. It would have been incredibly easy to just say that those men get to live on past the end of the episode. There are a million reasons those men could have continued living in the story.

But that's the thing about a show like this. I think there is a distinct possibility that this show is actually incapable of writing a satisfying happy ending.

Craig Maizin, the show's writer, gained acclaim recently with Chernobyl, proving that he is apparently excellent at writing a long, horrifying tragedy in which character struggle only to find there is no way out.

(His other main credits are The Hangover sequels and the Scary Movie sequels, most of which I haven't personally seen, so make of that what you will.)

But more than the writer's background, the show itself troubles me. It has this repeated mantra in it that goes, "when you're lost in the darkness, look for the light." Which is a cool phrase.

But I have reason to suspect that this writer genuinely doesn't know how to write the light. I have no reason to believe he does. I hope I am wrong.

But when you write episode after episode after episode that is an endless inescapable slog of tragedy and desperation - and then advertise it to me, a sick queer person actually living through a pandemic and trying to escape disease and poverty - well.

I think a better writer would include moments of light and hope beyond just trauma bonding. Moments that don't end in death.

When my wife writes about characters in awful situations, there are still these moments of genuine loveliness and fun and joy between the characters; these moments remind the reader what is worth actually fighting for, living for. Imagine! Entire chapters in a post-apocalyptic novel in which characters don't undergo a "hacking someone to death with a cleaver" level of trauma!

But the fact that Bill and Frank still had to die even after an earnest attempt to tell a beautiful love story....

I fear that the light the story ends with - if there is any - will be as dim and desaturated as the show itself. And personally, I am at a point in my life where I don't care to see a story like that.

It's fine if you do like it. It doesn't matter to me if you find beauty in a tragic queer love story. There are places for that in this world. But it is tragic. I am sure of that. And I wish I hadn't been seeing posts saying otherwise, ya know?

And I hope I am wrong about the writer. But I see cracks in the premise. Like in Stranger Things. There was always a promise of light that kept me watching, but it never seemed to come. Instead, the misery and trauma continued to stack and compound for the lead characters, like in TLOU. But... does the writer know how to make that worth it, for us, for the audience - for me? I don't think he does.

I think it very possible that the light isn't really coming for Ellie and Joel in a way that provides catharsis because I have noticed that on shows with no intermittent joy and hope, this is too often the case.

But I do hope I'm wrong. Because if I am right, then a lot of mentally ill fans will leave the experience more depressed than if they hadn't watched it at all.

But for my own part, I'll just continue to skim through the show for monster design ideas. And also I'll say that everyone should watch Infinity Train - ESPECIALLY season 2 of Infinity Train, if they'd like to see a story in which people actually DO find a light that makes the whole journey feel worth it.

[hunter-sylvester]

hey I saw you when I first got into the metal lords fandom but I didn't know you also liked shelter, what do you think Hunters opinion on would Ema be? (not that they have too much in common but i feel like he'd like her) Also, Hunters opinion on spoon?

Hey 🤘

I have been enjoying Shelter, but definitely in a much more casual way than I do Metal Lords.

I haven't really thought that much about how he'd feel about them/how they'd feel about each other, but I like the question. I'll have to base it off of the 4 episodes that are out so far, of course. Which isn't that much so this may change based on what else we see from the characters. (also might contain very very slight spoilers for those episodes idk just a fair warning)

Firstly, I don't disagree that Hunter might like Ema if he actually got to know her a bit. But I feel like on first glance he'd feel somewhat threatened by her.

Like, I think he might feel like she was sort-of invading his territory by being a weird, grumpy, alternative outsider. I also think he'd be a bit jealous of her professionally done temporary tattoos, although he would absolutely never admit that.

(this got kinda long, I'm sorry. I have a lot of opinions about Hunter and how he works/thinks lmao)

With how standoffish to new people both Hunter and Ema are I think it would take something of a 'forced' bonding moment for them to initially get to know one another. Because on first glance, Ema would probably think Hunter is just a massive dick. (Which is fair.) And Hunter would think that Ema is a dick. (He's got the self awareness of a wet rag.)

Basically, I feel like the first few steps of them getting to know each other would be an uphill slog through barbed-wire laden mud. But after that, and once they actually do get to know one another, I think they could make quite good friends in the long run. They're both (basically) canonically queer and I personally view Hunter as gay and Ema as a lesbian. So they could have quite a fun dynamic based on that and all their other quirks combined.

I think he'd dig her art too, he might even ask her to design an album/EP cover for Skullflower. That could be a nice initial way for them to interact in a more open way. Probably after the first mutual "yeah maybe you're okay, actually" moment. I don't think we've had much of a confirmation of Ema's music taste but she might like their music as well. And very very maybe she could even sing a chorus on one of their songs. That might be cool. Although I think it would take some time and personal growth on Hunter's part for him to want/be okay with something like that.

Now, Spoon. Weirdly enough, I watched an interview where Adrian was asked if Spoon and Hunter would be friends and I don't disagree with his answer:

"I think Spoon would give it a shot, I don't know if Hunter would be up for it."

In addition tho, I think if Spoon manages not to accidentally press too many of Hunter's buttons, he would be able to wear him down. (Which sounds terrible, but I mean it more in the sense that I think Hunter just needs a bit of time to get used to people.) Spoon seems quite accepting of Ema's general grumpy-black-cat attitude, so I think he would probably extend a similar patience to Hunter. Which I think is something Hunter needs in people, it's a quality I think Kevin has. Someone who doesn't take the odd snappy comment or what I call "hedgehog moments"* too personally.

*hedgehog moments or 'hedgehogging' is basically when someone feels threatened so they metaphorically curl up and stick their spines out in a reflexive attack to keep themselves safe. (I don't know if it's a term anybody but me and my friends use but it makes sense in my head)

I think Hunter would initially think Spoon is...well...lame as hell, unfortunately. And probably pretty annoying. I think one of the things that might help Hunter see him in a better light would be if Spoon impressed him somehow. Either by getting him in somewhere he's not supposed to be through the Janitorial Offspring Network or something tech related. Like, maybe getting him a download of some unreleased music he couldn't get otherwise. Like once he sees him do some 'cool' illegal shit his tune might change. Other than that I think just the persistent non-judgemental attention would do the trick over time. Spoon seems pretty loyal and like a 'fierce' friend. Which Hunter would appreciate with his abandonment issues and fear of being "invisible" (cough result of parental neglect cough)

Thank you for asking! I enjoyed scribbling my thoughts on this down ^-^ I do hope it's not too long and jumbled (I have adhd, if it's a mess, that's why)

As always, this is just my 2cents based on my interpretation of the character(s)

[ciaossu-imagines]

Hi !

Just passing by to say that I really enjoy your writing! It's always so fun to read. I would like to read even more from you. Would you recommend any of your the other series you write for to me considering that I have read khr and bsd ?

Aww, thank you so much dear!! That's so nice to hear and I'm so glad you enjoy it! And it flatters me so much that you want to read more of it!

Now, as for recommendations, I will say that every single fandom I write for is one that I would recommend. I write for each of them because I love them and honestly do think they're amazing, in terms of story or character, but there's also caveats to each of them! So I'm just going to do the reasons I think you should check them out and what I think are their downfalls that might make them not your particular thing, just in case anyone else was wondering the same thing!

K PROJECT is definitely a huge one on here, and chances are that if you liked BSD and KHR, you probably will like this one too. It has a pretty art style and a tendency, much like the others, to have very bishie characters and cool uses of powers. The story is solid the entire way through and honestly, everyone will be able to find a character in this large cast of them who they really do love. Add onto that that, for the most part, the K fandom is large for an older anime, and really a very, chill, accepting fandom. Drawbacks: There is more noticeable fanservice in regards to female characters. And it is a big one to get into - on top of a two season anime, there are films, light novels, manga spin-offs (and honestly, Memory of Red is such a love of mine, same with Days of Blue)...I'm not saying that you have to consume all the content, just that there is a lot of it out there, if you do tend to be someone who really does need to read/watch everything for a show you enjoy, and some of it is hard to find.

NANBAKA is one I dearly love. It starts off a lot like KHR did, as a gag comedy series with some action elements and, a lot like KHR, shifts itself into a shounen with comedic elements. Again, much like KHR and BSD, you'll find a cast of very bishie men, and I do like all the female characters introduced so far, who are all smartly written. Again, it's another story with a huge cast of characters, so there really is something for everyone. It's got two seasons of its anime, and the manga isn't wildly ahead of where it's last anime season stopped (though I've only read until 192, where my manga app stopped, though I recently got a source to read further, so I'm planning on doing that), and I do feel you get pretty much the same story either reading or watching. Drawbacks: The first three episodes for sure are a bit of a slog to get through unless you really like gag comedy. Much like the Daily Life Arc in KHR, it's mostly just introducing characters. At episode four, the story for the first season starts to really shape up, but episode seven is pure filler for the most part and always seems really disjointed to me. For episode eight onwards, I was hooked - so hooked I had to go read the manga for more. I will also say that it has a very unique art style and character design, with a lot of very bright colours used, so if a very soft, pretty art style is something you're after, this might not be your cuppa.

WELCOME TO DEMON SCHOOL, IRUMA-KUN! is a more recent fandom of mine but a great one. It's one where I watched the anime first and am now just reading the manga, so I'm warning that most of these opinions are based mostly on the anime, which is three seasons long, so a bit more of a commitment than some of my other fandoms. I don't know how to really explain it, but it has a really nostalgic feel to me. It takes me back to when One Piece, Naruto and Bleach were these major things in anime. I feel like Iruma really has that classic shounen feel to it in some ways. I feel like, if you like shounen overall as a genre, you're going to end up liking this show. Drawbacks: That being said, there are drawbacks. Again, it's a bigger commitment and I do feel like Iruma, the anime at least, does have some serious pacing issues at times. If you are someone sensitive to pacing in your stories and need the story to progress rapidly from one thing to the next, you might not enjoy this one so much.

SERVAMP is one that I do think any fans of KHR and BSD will like. It's got a similar art style, really cool uses of powers, interesting characters, and a solid story. Drawbacks: The anime ended while the manga continued. While the anime was a good adaption of the manga up to the point where the anime ended, it does have a different storyline near the ending, because they just didn't have more material to work with. So, while it's a short anime, easy to watch with only 12 episodes, and is a really good show on its own, I will write about characters as a manga reader, with all the new twists and turns and all the new characters introduced so you might find yourself lost on some things as a strictly only anime person, if you are one.

SAIYUKI has been such a long time fandom of mine. I read the manga, but I think the anime adaptions have mostly been fantastic, though they do censor quite a bit. The characters are insanely easy to connect with and love, the story is well thought out and paced well. You can watch the original starter anime on youtube here. Drawbacks: That being said, there are definite drawbacks. It is an older series, with the art reflecting that. And it's a huge series, with there being multiple parts to it - the original Saiyuki, Saiyuki Gaiden (exploring the character's past lives), Saiyuki Reload, Saiyuki Reload Bast, Saiyuki Ibun (a prequel that explores the story of an important side character)...and another, major drawback, is that, much like Hunter x Hunter for example, I really don't think that there's ever going to be a solid ending for this series.

MYSTIC MESSENGER has so many interesting characters, and unlike some other otome games, the story is so incredibly well-developed, thought through so well, and it really has a way of breaking your heart at moments, with some fantastic character development and story arcs. Drawbacks: It is an otome game, so you do have to like those, and I argue that it's an otome game that takes a shit-ton of commitment to play, more so than any other game I've played.

IKEMEN REVOLUTION has beautiful art, interesting characters, and some of the routes they came out with had such amazing storylines. You will definitely find a favourite character. Drawbacks: It's an otome game, so you do have to enjoy those. Some of the routes can be a little bland, and because it's not getting any new content, there's a chance the person who ends up being your favourite might not ever have a route (FUCKING GIVE ME A BLANC ROUTE!!!)

EYESHIELD 21 is, in my opinion, everything a sports series should be. There's interesting and complex characters, well developed character relationships, exciting moments, moments that break your heart, and you really, really grow connected to some of these characters so easily. It spoiled me on a lot of other sports series, honestly. Like KHR, it really undergoes a fantastic art evolution which is also really interesting to see. Drawbacks: It's a sports manga, so you have to like that sort of thing. Also, I say manga because, while it does have an anime, I do think the anime has to be one of the ugliest I've seen and they did my favourites so dirty.

THE OUTSIDERS is a novel I've loved since grade nine. I love the story, the characters and their relationships with each other, the dynamics between those who were born with privilege and those born in poverty. All around, a fantastically written book. Drawbacks: It's going to break your heart towards the end.

RONIN WARRIORS is a long, long, LONG time love of mine. It's cheesy, it's fun, it's got a good overall story and I love the characters to death. It's easy to find, with the series on YouTube here. Drawbacks: It is an old anime, with the art, voice acting, and animation style reflecting that. I also find that the anime took a bit to get going, and I honestly find myself rewatching the OVA's a lot more than the actual series. I love all three but Gaiden is my favourite, and I probably suggest trying the movie first to see if you connect with the characters, since it takes a lot less time.

KEKKAISHI info. Drawbacks: I really don't think you can get as good a story or as much of an impact without reading the manga, which does take a little bit to really get going. I do remember the first volume being really slow and a bit of a slog to get going, though it's a slog that is well worth it for the story you get in the end and the interesting, complex, realistic characters you get and the amazing powers and power systems you do find in it.

GETBACKERS is a really fun anime. It has these wonderful, fascinating characters with well-developed and interesting relationships among themselves. The story line is really solid and well-paced. The power system is really cool, and in the anime, the fanservice isn't too unbearable. Drawbacks: This is one where I honestly couldn't finish the manga because of the horrific amount of gratitutious fanservice on the part of their female characters, so I do recommend the anime, which can be found here on YouTube. I do warn that it is an older anime, and the art can lean that way at times, though I still personally enjoy it!

BLUSH BLUSH is my go-to relax and forget the world game. It is technically an otome game, though one with a lot of grinding elements and it doesn't really have too much in the way of actual character routes, having more of a general storyline and fun dialogue. Drawbacks: You really do have to enjoy those kinds of games, and some characters and things like the fully voiced DLC and the 18+ DLC that allows you to see the guys naked do cost actual money.

CLASS OF THE TITANS is a really fantastic Canadian cartoon. It's an older one, but I really don't think that impacts it negatively at all, since the art was really unique and well done, the animation still holds up, the characters themselves are wonderful. Also, for Greek mythology nerds, you'll have fun with this series! You can find the first season here! Drawbacks: Worst ending to the series and worst final arc I've ever seen, but that is just my own personal opinions and I know some people who loved it.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN is arguably one of my favourite superhero cartoons. It was done by Disney XD, with a fun art style, good voice acting talent, and the fact that it's set in high-school is a definite difference from a lot of the typical superhero cartoons and something that really did work in its favour. It's humorous, the characters are great and they each really do get their moment in the spotlight. Drawbacks: It is a cartoon, not an anime, and that might not appeal to some people, and it might be a bit difficult to find.

There are also some fandoms I love and would honestly love to write for and add to the fandom list on here, but that I'm not sure if there'd be any interest in, so I'm just going to briefly list them here!

DOGS: BULLETS & CARNAGE - fantastic manga, though definitely goes to some dark, dark places and if you're someone who can't really stomach things that are more on the seinen side, I definitely don't recommend viewing it.

BLACK CAT - It's a pretty solid anime, but I really do feel you get a much better story and a much better look at the characters in the manga. However, just watching, it's still really good but again, as with a lot of my other fandoms, this is very much an older one, so the art style does reflect that.

HUNTER X HUNTER - Both as an anime and as a manga, it's a fantastic story, full of fascinating, complex characters and is definitely a shounen classic for a reason. However, much like Saiyuki above, I really don't think we're ever going to get a proper ending for Hunter x Hunter, just my personal opinion, and that is something that might bother some people.

KARNEVAL - It's a really pretty show and manga. The art is gorgeous, and the story is interesting, though I feel some of the characters do fall a bit flat at times.

THE ROYAL TUTOR - Fantastic show, beautiful manga. You're going to find a favourite character with no issues, because they're all unique and charming. However, it can be a little too slice of life or non-action packed for your typical shounen fan.

GANGSTA. - Fantastic show but an amazing manga. That being said, much like Dogs: Bullets & Carnage, it goes into some dark places and does have some things that might go over the line for some people.

PSYCHO-PASS - I cannot say enough good things about this and if you liked the character designs in KHR, you'll likely love these. However, again, it definitely crosses some lines that people might not be able to handle.

THE MIGHTY DUCKS - I love them, but honestly, I'll admit - it's a set of three hockey movies from the 90's, made for kids, so I doubt anyone else still remembers and loves them.

THE COVENANT - Long live the Sons of Ipswich! This is just a really fun movie, full of really pretty guys and some good action scenes, an interesting premise, and it's one of my favourites but...it's corny as hell and I admit that.

DATE WARP is a fun otome game that doesn't take a long time to play, has an interesting story line, and some really, really great characters! However, it is an otome game, so you have to enjoy those, and the art isn't as polished as it is in some other otomes.

SEDUCE ME THE OTOME is another really great otome game, with a sequel game that really, really fleshed out the storyline and characters so well. However, again, it's an otome game so you have to enjoy those and the art is very unique compared to some of the art used in other fandoms.

[talesfromsiteredacted]

Revenge of the Clef

So... in leiing my Sugarbeard, I should have anticipated payback. It happened just a few minutes ago on the night shift.

I clock in for my night shift in my new office. It's kinda lonely without Trixie in reception, but... Dr. Glass is still here, I see. As I pass by, I notice there's two voices: Dr. Glass, and Dr. King. Another attack of the apple seeds, poor guy. Sometimes I think Dr. Glass deserves hazard pay, or at least double overtime. Not wanting to pry, I head to my desk. I've got mounds of requests and reports to slog through. Thank 343 for insomnia, in a way. I think trying to get my overactive brain to shut down for the night is the only reason I'm rarely too far behind on the dreaded stupid paperwork. It sure ain't as interesting as people expect.

I tackle the reports of the initial phase of the Anomalous Enrichment Protocol. Hand Drawn Cassie had a blast surfing in Oahu, especially with her surf buddy the dolphin. Turns out, 049 was joking about the game, he just wanted someone to hang out with for a bit. For a surgeon and medical professional, he's horrible at Operation, was kinda fun playing with him. Next week, I teach him Magic: the Gathering. Before long, I'm onto the requests.

No. No. Gods in multiple heavens, hells, and anyplace between, NO. No way are we allowing him that, bad enough he's still mostly homicidal. No. Fucking. Way. The Old Man is never getting online again, let alone on Twitch. I missed the Yahoo!Chat Incident, but it's not happening on my watch. Denied, with extreme prejudice. Next!

I reach for the pile on the right, and notice my right wrist has sprouted a new accessory: a garland of blue and white silk hibiscus. I laugh, only to realize there's two people sniggering with me. They're very obviously behind the open door of the supply closet directly across from my desk. I act like I hadn't noticed anything, turn back to work. I catch my sister slinking out, big grin on her face. Ah. There it is. The Cleffening. Was wondering when he'd get me back. Five minutes later, the closet speaks.

"Hey, Director Snow, what's an anomaly gotta do to get some enrichment around here?"

"For starters, stop lurking in closets like a even creepier white guy version of R. Kelly. Second, mysterious voice in the closet, my ears are here to bend, so come out, bend away." I resisted the temptation to look, instead focusing on my work.

"But, how do you know I can come out of the closet?"

"It's the SCP Foundation, we have people come out of almost anything except 3008, the Stairwell, and 682's stomach all the time. Plus, you gotta eat sometime, not to mention sleep and bathroom breaks. Closet seems small too. There's a nice comfy chair here, bet it beats sitting on a box of copy paper."

"What if I told you I have a surprise in here with me?"

"What if I told you my dad told me never trust the voice in the closet?" I sigh, pinch my nose. "I know it's you in there, Sugarbeard. No one sniggers like Alto Clef."

He's beside my desk before I know it, holding a box. He's got his usual "I've got something plotted but I'll be damned if I tell you what" grin on his face. O-okay, white box, blue ribbon, about a foot cubed. I untie the ribbon, take the lid off the box, rustle some red tissue paper, and pull out... a stuffed rabbit, white fur in a blue robe with snowflakes all over in silver embroidery. There's a note around its neck.

"Will you be my Snowbunny?" I read. I take a moment to think about it. "Hmm. Okay, but only if you'll be my Honeybunny."

"But... I like being your Sugarbeard." He wraps his arms around me. He brings his lips to my ear, slips the lei from my wrist. "May I, Snowbunny?" Suddenly, I'm nervous. Dunno why, this isn't the first time he's been this close. Maybe it's just the prank.

"As.. as you wish, Sugarbeard." He drapes the flowery accessory over my head, brushes back my hair. He leans in, stares into my eyes. That's... weird, even for him. All three are golden hazel, tinged slightly green in the edges of his irises. Before I can even think, his hand finds my cheek.

"Come sweeten up your Sugarbeard, Honeybunny." We're so focused on each other, we didn't notice Dr. Cimmerian walk in.

"Well, I WAS going to see if Rabbit wanted to try my sister's cannoli with me, but after seeing that I've lost my appetite. Take the cannoli, but then I'm headed to Amnestics to see if I can leave the image." He leaves. Just like that, the moment is over. But... I did get a promise to resume after my shift.