#it’s so fun to explore the human experience and how everyone is unique and just ajsbdisndinakdnwk

[bojackandherb]

I’ve been going insane over my OC’s lately. Catch me at 2 am being like “okay so here’s the intricacies in the way autism manifests in the sad farmer dad I made up for crackerjack’s gay love who I also made up”

[monstersandmaw]

I love the Yautja inspired fic over on patreon! I can't comment there but I wanted to tell you. I love how unique they all are and I can't wait for Stark to come around to reader.

I was also wondering if Stark was not only a "I hate humans"-situation but a "While I nearly killed the reader I smelled them and shit am I turned on right now? Better hate them even more for it"-situation as well.

I adore Buddy too he is so cute and yet badass. Also Elder has this very calm and wise vibe. He seems like he's "fond of everyone" (in his team and reader at least) because he's so old and somehow finds everyone amusing and cute who doesn't have the experience he has. I love that. Also Alchemist is such a little freak (fondly speaking).

I'm also curious how Cannon behaves. I am super duper excited and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, thank you!

Can't wait for them to slowly integrate reader into their relationship.

I hope this isn't annoying. Sending lots of love and support!

*flailing* thank you so much!!

(EDIT: think I fixed this now so that anyone can comment on public posts????? I wonder, are you unable to comment because of a Patreon error or because it only allows certain tiers to comment? I didn't deliberately set that up, so if it's the latter, I can look into sorting it!!)

Anyway, back to the boys!

Stark doesn't hate humans, per se, but he does really hate change. It unsettles him and makes him feel like he's losing control. And he really likes to be in control... 😉. And having an alien species (the human reader) on board, messing with his mates' heads and hearts (and chemistry) is a big change for him. He'll come around, eventually, but he'll take his own time... (and some help from the others).

The reader's buddy, Runt, is super fun to write. He's definitely a lil cutie but he can kick ass too when he needs to. He's spent his whole life proving himself to others, so he's tough as fuck (maybe tougher than most others), but he's definitely got a very soft and submissive side too, which he enjoys exploring with his mates in the safety and privacy of their ship.

Elder is super calm, and definitely has a lot of experience and wisdom, but he knows how to have fun too. He will indulge his mates in almost anything, if they ask it of him too.

Alchemist is a huge freak, and they all adore it.

Cannon is Big Chill. Doesn't speak much but has a very deep soul/mind, is very affectionate with his mates, and Very Protecc. He gives amazing cuddles too :).

The next chapter with Runt is going to be a spicy one :). It's about time he got his reward for helping his human out and saving her life, after all! We also learn a bit more about my little headcanons for their biology in this one (it's basically just an excuse for some weird alien sexy times).

Thank you so much for taking the time to send me this! It means the whole flipping world that you did, and I'm so grateful. Thank you.

EDIT: Chapter Five is now up :) Reader POV

(If folks want to read it, all chapters are now free to access over on my Patreon - first chapter here. I'm not sharing new writing on Tumblr because of AI scraping issues, and I want to protect my work and efforts as much as I can. Anything that was free to read on Tumblr is (or will be after early release) free to read on Patreon. I realise far fewer people are going to click off-site to go read them, but that's something I'm willing to accept to protect my efforts).

[warsamongthestars]

I became curious about something; how different do you think things would go if someone else but Crosshair had a 'functioning chip'? Say Hunter was the one 'loyal' to the Empire. Because then the rest of the Batch would suddenly stand leaderless for instance. Ignoring the bad writing of the show of course. (Sorry if you've covered this somewhere already.)

I prolly have covered it? I don't think so, but I also don't remember, and I am doomed to inevitably repeat things as all who forget their history are will to do...

I think that the situation is an interesting story to explore.

But if it followed TBB's logic, it would be one that, unfortunately, would inevitably done the same things that occur in TBB, without fail and maybe with only minor to insignificant one-line differences.

( Almost word per word, exactly like a fanfiction rewrite that spends a majority of its time just copy pasting lines word per word without taking it stories into new directions... just merely adding scenes that get a Mature Rating slapped on )

Because TBB is not, in fact, written to tell stories but sell you something for attention and subscription money. It was never going to be deep, it was only going to bank on hype, rush and attention-of-the-moment; and it was never going to follow any kind of character or character arc beyond how it affects their OC and the OC's rival character.

So to follow the lines of this logic, to follow TBB, is to place Hunter as Omega's anime rival... and it would be just like Crosshair's arc, if not exactly. Maybe a change of planet, maybe a change from sniper rifle to combat knife, exchange the energy bow for a vibrosword, but the result wouldn't be any different.

BUT.

If we were to follow the line of thinking, with the idea that unique characters make the plot, they are not made by the plot... And that means following the character as they are introduced and presented, with all implications in mind, with the world build of Star Wars and the set up of the Clone Wars...

And of course, adding the best parts-- human experience and human imagination in a beautifully gruesome mesh-like disaster...

It starts with the fact that the Bad Batch are killers first and foremost. They brag about putting down insurrections and killing the people involved [the Yalbec story from the Bad Batch arc of season 7. The implications behind their bragging are horrifying, so I grabbed popcorn.], as well as the fun additional information that suggests why there was an insurrection [ I'd be pretty pissed too if my giant bug mother was hunted down and killed because her stinger was delicious to some cultures, and even more so if the Republic we're apart of does nothing about it. ]

They all follow the Empire, because its easy. Even better, they're highly regarded for their skills, probably finally get a paycheck with benefits. To the bad batchers, there really isn't much difference between the Empire and the Republic, the Empire is just the Republic with the shackles off anyway, and they're just continuing what they've been doing since deployment.

But because the chip runs on regular clone genome, not their mutant modified brains, that's when conflict would begin arise.

That's the sciencey-bullshit explanation.

The narrative-bullshit explanation, is that the strongest parts of each character can break through the evil-artifact's influence, provided that what is strong about them isn't what the evil-artifact attaches / attacks.

That's a general set up. So let's add your suggestion as a spark point to get stories going moving forward. Setting up the setting is all nice and dandy, but we need Ideas now.

So let's add in the idea that while everyone knows something is probably wrong, but can't quite put their finger on it, they know that there is obviously up with Hunter.

He's colder, he's more vicious, he's not the anxious compulsive snarker now, he's seemingly more a perfect soldier than any reg. Orders are absolute and be damned to anyone in the way.

( It was already noticed that the regs are acting like that too, regardless if they were like that before, and this on the backburner of the minds of the Bad Batch. But because most of the Bad Batchers are "special" (save Echo, who is freaking out) they don't consider themselves to be as knee deep in the cacky as they actually are. )

Echo is the very first one to call it out. He knows something is wrong. His brothers aren't acting right, the Bad batch have been getting these odd headaches, and Hunter has done a total 180. But given that Echo is new, the rest of the Batch try to confront Hunter.

( The jedi are dead. Echo saw the massacre reports and recordings via his new built-in hacking skills. Rex is dead, Jesse is dead, Kix is dead--everyone he has ever known, is gone. And if they're not gone, they are certainly not them anymore. Echo wants desperately to trust his squad--they're the only ones left... )

They send Wrecker first, because its hard to do anything to Wrecker. Wrecker's general warmhearted rough housing, results in being yelled at and given a vicious cold shoulder. Wrecker leaves Hunter alone, and becomes depressed.

Then its Tech, who isn't a socialite by any means, and tries to break the ice, so to speak, with fun information facts he's learned. When Hunter ignores him, Tech skips right into direct confrontation, breaking down that there is something wrong going on and they're in the middle of it, Hunter shuts him down. Tech leaves Hunter alone, and copes by putting his mind to a nearby droid project, and never saying a word to anyone.

Then the big one, Crosshair. Second in command, confident and in control, and the biggest asshole when he has had it with someone. He straight up confronts Hunter, no preamble, though unlike the avoidant Wrecker or the bullheaded Tech in confrontations, Crosshair hits his marks.

"You weren't like this before." "You're acting like a Reg." "Since when did we care about Orders?" "Since when did we care about missions beyond surviving them and the GAR?" "You notice how the Empire is killing regs enmass?" "You're going to led us to our death with that attitude."

( It should be noted, that Hunter's original self, has just enough capacity over his chipped brainwashing to not report his brothers, nor to execute them for defying Order 66. )

( This is not enough, however, to stop him from retaliating with the full force of a wild animal. )

Hunter and Crosshair end up in a fight. Hunter, at his worst, is a vicious dirty fighter who uses his environment and flexibility and stealth, to take down an opponent. He is wicked wiht a knife and small arms, Crosshair's absolute weakness as a primarily long ranged fighter. Hunter, chip or no chip, does not attack to kill his brothers, but Crosshair is dragged to medical afterwards for an "incident with a training droid".

Echo has had enough. Lines have been crossed, he has been told to sit back and wait for the team to handle it, his own feelings are a chaotic mess, and now his alarms are going off.

Whatever is going on with the clone army and with Hunter, its not something that can be reasoned with, and its certainly not something that can be done about when under the scrutiny of these natborn officers.... These new officers who would order public staff executions, and gods knows what else they do to the planets they occupy...

The only decision is to run and maybe, find a way to help from the outside, because they're not doing shit here.

( with dragging of feet and looming disaster in their minds ("We're just, leaving Hunter behind!?"), it doesn't take much for Echo to convince the remaining squad that they can't handle Hunter right now, but maybe, just maybe, they can find help and get him later. )

( "He'll be fine, he has to be fine, they aren't going to kill him because of our failure, that'd just be a... waste of resource," says Echo, "We just need to sell it like its a mutiny." )

They do. Hunter is hard to deal with one on one, but collectively (well, minus a wounded Crosshair) its easy to cause a scene and punch his lights out in front of cameras.

The tricky bit is running to the Havoc Marauder. They are, of course, successful, but not without some strange, unseen, outside help from a blond haired clone cadet we haven't seen up onto this point. To CF99, it just seems like coincidence that the blast doors reopen as they're closing, and that training droids are suddenly flooding hallways.

They fly off.

And that would be... well, at least the first five episodes maybe? No TV show movie or 1 hour episode start, just, full on first quarter of season 1.

This is just my idea of it... but it starts with setting Echo up as the leader of the Bad Batch, and it does not involve Omega having center stage, but merely being an implied part of plot to be revealed later.

As for what happens going forward, that depends on what we want them to face. Do we want them inevidably heading to Wayland? Does Wayland even exist as it does in TBB or is it something else? Does Pabu exist or maybe are we canonizing old media planets into the Disney verse? Does Cid exist or is someone else around?

The best thing about a over arching episodic story... is that you can literally do anything, as long as you know the world build and the rules of the "game". There's a lot more that can be done in the STar Wars sandbox than just rehashing familiar shit for kudos and likes.

But we can set up a few things from what we know prior and from what this set up already has.

Rex is out there, starting the Rebellion, and he's working to free clones--which is perfect in order to get Hunter back. This also sets up the reveal of the chips as well as the fact that it was Fives who discovered them, and it was only by slim chance, that Rex ever escaped in the first place.

Crosshair would understand the logic of leaving Hunter, but the emotional impact of leaving a brother for potential dead, would immediately make him a rival challenging character to Echo. The writing rules of this situation, however, is to make him merely a rival, not a saboteur. Just because someone is a dick, doesn't mean they're going to unscrew the ship engine and tell the enemy where you're at. This is very important to keep in mind.

Each Bad Batcher would have an episode to come to terms with leaving Hunter, facing what their relationship with him meant to them, and dealing with the possibility that he may or may not come back. Part of this is returning to a post-battle Kamino and finding 99 was killed, which would play into why each Batcher is anxious.

Just as well, for emotional character scores that doesn't involve the plot or grief, each Batcher gets an episode to face the galaxy on their own merits, potentially leading them to a finale arc later on for when this initial over-arching plot is over, as a way to either allow the next over-arching plot or to retire the character for now. Rule of writing? It has to bee on their merits alone, not detailing their relationship with their team.

Of course we're going to have team episodes that help define to the audience what kind of relationship with batcher has with one another.

And we're gonna need episodes where the Bad Batchers butt heads with Echo as Echo leads a team that he wasn't a vital part of, and didn't share much history with.

Obviously we have to save Hunter. None of this 3 years separation-dangle-him-in-your-face shit. And Just as the other batchers get their own character episodes, both for their histories and themselves facing the world--Hunter needs those too without the looming threat of the chip. But before we get there, we're going to have fun with his chip episodes but allowing him to have an evil arc with obvious internal conflict--as his true self fights with the evil outside forces controlling his life.

I know I don't like her as she's treated in TBB, but Omega would be an interesting character to use without putting her in the spotlight. We do need someone around who knows their medical. Just maybe she's integral to freeing Hunter...

Because I love a dose of self indulgence, and every writers needs that in their stories, each Batcher gets a Chip episode or Chip Arc in some fashion. Enough to ensure character conflict and growth, and also to inspire fans to create their own Chip AUs. Could be that, because of how CF99 was made, removing their chips are a lot more complicated than just a brain operation on a derelict ship.

New Clones introduced of course. Perhaps those who would've filled in for clones who died in TCWs--like, since Commander Ponds die, who was Windu's new Commander for the rest of the war? And those from TBB, cos let's face it, thems were awesome too. Mayday might just survive this time!

No Guest Characters. If there are, they need to have a serious connection to clones, other wise, someone is robbing story and character for cameo rights, and that's not how you make a story. This is a clone story.

If we're gonna have Rex, we need Cody. Cody needs to be totally chipped as a foremost example of how bad the chip gets. He's meant to serve exactly as he's intended, as he's done in all his appearances, and in this case, he needs to additionally be Rex's rival and antagonist character.

And the final writing rule, the most important one...

Clone stories need to have an element of tragedy and finality. You don't have to kill a main character to get it, but there is no happy ending here.

The happy ending is performed by Luke Skywalker in "Return of the Jedi".

We can only achieve Bittersweet, at best. Everyone can live, and still lose.

Its by this rule, that Order 66 really is the tragedy its born to be and not just an excuse for the plot to get rid of all the Jedi characters.

We should see its direct effects as a clone story, and not just some one handed episode that never becomes relevant again. When this story ends, the loose ends should be on purpose as a message of "Because of the events leading to this story, this rope is permanently cut and can never be tied again. This is not a place of honor, we are survivors of the worst and the world cannot be fixed."

...

I wasn't expecting to write a full episode with a concept board attached, but damn, here you go, a full novel for your question.

[ineffabildaddy]

Hi sam! since the new year is approaching rapidly, i wanted to ask my favorite creators (that includes you! your fics and your posts delight me) how they look back on their 2023 tumblr year and which blogs made them happy to be here. i am very happy to follow you and hope you'll have a great 2024! 💘

hi!!! thank you so so much for this, a few months ago i couldn't even imagine being so active in the tumblr community again, let alone anyone's favourite anything!!!!

i've been very fortunate to receive the warmest of welcomes back to tumblr after a 7-year absence, and i've received so much support for my writing (and my shitposts lol) that this whole experience of finally joining the good omens fandom has genuinely given me a newfound confidence in my creative self, and in myself as a whole💙

in terms of the blogs that make me happy to be here... they are many!!! i shall put the rest of this post under the cut

@raining-stars-somewhere-else thank you for being my first go friend and now one of my closest buddies!!! i can't wait for us to finally write that fic together (lol) and for us to get up to some irl london shenanigans at some point✨ ur hilarious and kind and so correct about literally everything and i love u. literally everyone needs to read ur posts bc they're so well-thought out and unique. also your fics are really moving and human (even though they're about crowley and aziraphalekldfjgjl) and i adore them

@sad-chaos-goblin we literally just Get Each Other, same brain and all, and i absolutely love it!!! i couldn't ask for a better horny consultant bc after all it is Our Pornography™. you're also just an extremely understanding, open and lovely person, not to mention very fun and exciting to be friends with hehe. ur headcanons are so fucking interesting (and sometimes sad, how dare u do this to me) and i'm looking forward to hearing more when u eventually get round to writing all those fics you've got ideas for<3

@foolishlovers i'm really really happy we've got to know each other better over the past couple weeks!!!!! your xmas fic is one of my absolute favourite fics ever and i'm in awe with your skill and craft, i hope to write something as well-rounded and enjoyable as that someday<3 also you're one of my favourite posters, so fucking funny and u just make points left right and centre. i hope we can share our writing and our thoughts about life in general more in 2024!!!

@crowleyslvt i'm very happy i barged my way into your dms to be horny on main bc i definitely wouldn't've explored half the things i've explored in my writing if not for our discussions and your encouragement!!! i absolutely love talking writing and sexy headcanons with you, but above that i love that i'm now mates with such a talented, considerate, hilarious kiwi lad. i am honoured to be one of the little guys in ur phone who gets to hype up u as an exceedingly great porn writer but also as a legend in general

@voluptatiscausa no one understands my feralness for michael sheen like you do. i can go batshit insane in the dms over ms and dt with u and that space is important to me dlgkljdgldfjgl. i'm really glad i started reading ur writing this year bc it's very enjoyable, but it's also healing for me as a person who's [whispers] a traumatised and cripplingly shy person in terms of sex lmao. thank you for bestowing it upon ao3, and by extension, upon me!!!! also tho, you're a really nurturing and interesting friend to have, not to mention a Very Cool one so continue to be that pls and thanks

@bowtiepastabitch i've felt very honoured to hear about parts of your life as you share them with me - Knowing The Lore is so important to me and i'm humbled that you've trusted me with some of the stuff that's been happening in your world<3 on another note, your fanart may be quick but it's never shitty, it's always so expressive and fun and gets my brain Thinking Thoughts. i can't express how wonderful it was when you made a wee bit of fanart for one of my fics, and i hope i continue to see ur creativity shine✨

thank you to my favourite blogs for Existing Throughout 2023 (some of whom i know i can call friends, and the rest of whom i'd like to call friends in the future!!!) @sabotage-on-mercury @crowleys-bentley-and-plants @ineffableigh @celestialcrowley @queer-reader-07 @crowleyraejepsens @teddybearbutchh @crowleyholmes @ineffable-rohese @createserenity @quoththemaiden @procrastiel @sentientsky @genderqueer-hippie @beelzzzebub @lineffability @fellshish @greenthena @brainwormcity @opscuritas @tangerine-ginger @iammyownproblematicfave @crikey01 @crawley-fell @vroomvroomwee @bildads-shoes @shoemakerobstetrician @romansmartini @wraithee

i know i'll have forgotten people so i'll add em as i remember em hehehehe

[wonderlightdaydreams]

Alterreality Coining Post 2.0

On August 9th, 2023, I posted “AlterReality: A Coining Essay”. The purpose of that post was to coin a term that describes my personal experience while getting out my thoughts on metaphysics, imagination, and perception in writing. However, due to the personal nature of that essay, I wanted to make this post in collaboration with Lav (@WinreyPlace) and others to clearly and plainly state what alterreality is. While it is a broad term, there are limits to what it does and does not include.

As defined by someone else in the alterreality server: “Alterreality is a process of creating one’s unique sense of reality via imagination and belief. It can be described as a lifestyle or a philosophy, with one central idea: what makes something ‘real’ is nothing but the belief that it is real.”

Another definition Lav gave was “imagination as a lifestyle”. Alterreality can also be interpreted as daydreaming or imagination-based fantasies overlaying or interacting with consensus reality.

What alterreality covers:

Many experiences of those in the self-shipping community, such as going on dates with your f/o in the “real world”

Adding a fantasy narrative to your life (i.e. tests at school becoming monster fights) as long as you choose to believe in the fantasy narrative as part of your perceived reality

Many experiences are classified as roleplay, again, as long as you choose to incorporate the roleplay into your perception of what’s happening in your own life

What alterreality doesn’t cover:

Involuntary spiritual, psychological, or metaphysical experiences 

Any alternative reality experiences you were born with or had awakened within you

Identifying as something while living a non-altered life (i.e. if you’re wolfkin and you are going to mundane human school while only experiencing that physical reality, that's not alterreality)

Manifestation and law of attraction concepts. Alterreality, while it interacts with the shared reality we all experience, doesn’t change its course; instead it builds onto or reframes it. Alterrealizing should not and does not make struggles in consensus reality disappear or cause the universe to provide a more positive life. 

In short, alterreality has three aspects: intentionality, imagination, and belief. Alterreal experiences are incredibly varied and diverse; however, they all require these elements. 

Now, with the above fully explained, let’s understand the why and how. Starting with the why.

There are infinite reasons as to why one would alterrealize their own life. I do it because I find mundane existence to be boring, and I want to engage with something that is beyond mundane human life without believing in anything, particularly spiritual or supernatural. Any reason is a valid reason to create alterreality. You can do it for fun, as a coping mechanism, to connect better with your alterhuman identities, because you love fictional characters or worlds, to help you understand complex things better, as a tool of exploration, personal growth, and creativity, and so much more. You don't even need to have a why at all! There is nothing wrong with fucking around and finding out with your life :3. 

In terms of how to do alterreality, I repeat, there is no one way. I’m still figuring out all the ins and outs of doing it myself. But my best piece of advice is to give yourself permission to fully live inside of whatever fantasy narrative you choose to and let yourself believe in it. This can sometimes be a demanding or difficult process, especially if everyone and everything around you is conforming to consensus reality, but just like they find meaning existing in consensus reality, you are allowed to find meaning existing in alterreality! Another way to phrase all this is to just “fake it until you make it”. Ask yourself questions like  “What world or narrative do I live in?”, “What form does my alterrealized self take?”, “How would I act and speak in my alterreality?”, “What would my tasks, goals, or challenges be?”, and things like that. If you cannot do something in shared, mundane reality for whatever reason, make-believe a reason why you cannot do it in your alterreality too! As you develop your alterreality and discover what works and what doesn’t for your brain, you’ll find it will come more naturally to live out your imagination-fueled life. 

This world is in desperate need of whimsy and wonder. While there are various ways to make your life more whimsical, there are not many that involve actively living a lifestyle of fantasy. In a world where time is a finite resource, where the “have-tos” outweigh the “want-tos”, and where playing pretend is shunned once you age out of childhood, alterreality is a way to live in the physical realm, while embracing the fantastical. So, what are you waiting for, step into a world of your wildest dreams!

[night-market-if]

Hi there !

I just came here to say that I read the entirety of the Night Market yesterday. Before my final exam. Instead of studying. A wonderful decision, really.

More seriously, I need to say this : this. This is a work of art. This shook me to my core. The way you describe everything is wonderful. And the story. The characters. Oh my god the world you created is so full and complex and you can see so much of your love for it through the writing, and it's not a perfect world, nowhere near it, but the characters in this world care and it's enough. The main cast, no, everyone really, is so human. So likable (except some obvious villains, whom are still incredibly interesting in their motivations, and also their madness the Lord of Dolls is an incredible example of this), so full of mistakes, with backstories so complex and unique, and I want to hug them because they need it but also slap some of them because they're so dumb *cough* Milo *cough*, which, I think, shows a lot about how well written a character is.

Now, onto the spoilers and the last chapters. I'm screaming. So so so not okay right now. I swear I ended the last chapter, read the last word, and went "how the fuck am I supposed to go to my exam tomorrow and be normal about this ???". Like. The way each plot twist was for me unexpected but shed light on so much stuff. Like, wow. Every bit that I was like "oh wait that's genius". One thing, even. In one chapter, when MC says to Milo "I hate them. The one who brought me there." and Milo had a strange reaction I said "oh imagine if he's the one who brought us there haha that would be fun". Let me tell you I wasn't laughing later on in chapter 11 after discovering that this funny thought, fastly forgotten because hey, I was never great at theories, this funny thought WAS THE GOOD ONE.

You are so so so so so so talented and I love your universe and everything and I'm destroyed in the best way possible and you gave me so much motivation about working on my own book and I will buy it I will buy the full game I will buy every one of your games just take my money. This is incredible. You are incredible.

Thank you so much for Night Market. I will read it again (because I don't have anymore exam ha). And sorry for the long rant, but I really needed to share how much I loved your if, and your writing ! Also sorry if any of this sounds strange, english isn't my first language !

With that, I hope you have a nice day/evening/night ! Take care of yourself !

I hope your exams went amazing!!! I do not miss those years. LOL

First off, thank you thank you thank you! The gushing was what I needed to sign on to. I always get so excited when readers get what I've been trying to convey. These flawed characters, all of which have lives and a past, are so very important to me. I know the typical way to do things is to write a story revolving around the MC but I would much rather write a story where MC goes and just experiences the world and the people in it.

As for being fooled by Milo, someone on discord put it great. You are blind to the ones you love. The truth of Milo has been laid out for some time. From chapter one, really. But, it was hard to see because of the kind of person he is. I am so excited to explore that in book 2.

Thank you for spending the time to write all this out. It has filled me with all the warm love. :)

And as for the Dollmaker? He will be a "villain" we will be seeing more of.

[lightineventide]

Book Review: "All Systems Red" by Martha Wells

You know how it goes - you're wandering through a bookstore with no real intention to buy anything, and then you see a relatively small, curiously looking tome in the sci-fi section. Surprisingly, it is cheaper than most new books (in this case, the translated version is from the end of last year), even though the only available edition is hardcover. The premise looks interesting enough, so you, having been kinda disappointed from your last few reads, think "Why not?" - and proceed to have the best reading experience in a long time...

Can't relate? Yeah, I also didn't think I would, until yesterday.

My blog isn't a book review one, so that's the first and probably the only such post that I'll make. But I am so excited that I don't want to miss the chance to try to hook others up to try this book! It's just that good!

The series /The Murderbot Diaries/ is about a cyborg-like (part robot, part human) construct designed as a Security Unit (SecUnit). The SecUnit manages to override its governor module, thus enabling it to develop independence, which it primarily uses to watch media. As it spends more time with a series of caring people (both humans and fellow artificial intelligences), it starts developing friendships and emotional connections, which it finds inconvenient. - premise on our beloved Wikipedia. I think it sums up well a lot of what initially made me curious about the book.

To put it simply, the last few books I've read were more or less disappointing, so I didn't have much expectations for this one, too. However, Murderbot became easily one my favourite book characters of all time after just a few pages! Why? I related a lot to its hesitation to open up to humans 😄 and frustration with the corporate world, while also absolutely loving his dry humor. I strongly recommend this book to all readers, not just sci-fi lovers - it is a lighter read than most from the genre, while still being able to really hook you in and keep you on the edge till the end. The plot moves quickly, while always feeling fleshed-out just the right amount, in my opinion. It's very action-packed, which contributes to the not very taxing but fun experience. I also found the ending to be really satisfying, since it doesn't leave you feeling required to read the next books in the series - it can be a one-off read (bonus: the last twist was unexpected to me and I love how it ties with the book's themes - I think it makes the story unique, but I'll add that under a "Spoilers" cut, just in case). And that's something I've come to really appreciate in newer books. 💙

1000/10 //Maybe the biggest sci-fi nerds won't find this book so endearing, but for everyone else, you most probably won't do wrong by picking it up! It's really entertaining!

Ok, now notes with spoilers:

I feel like Murderbot's decision in the end to leave the crew was the perfect one for its character. As someone who related to it mainly because his unwillingness to open up to people, I was a little disappointed when all signs up until that moment pointed to the usual cheesy happy ending. I think the real one wrapped up this part of the explored themes especially well, unlike in a lot of popular media today. It makes Murderbot's struggles feel real, as such things for sure don't just *magically* disappear. So, many bonus points for that!

[shiroikabocha]

continued assorted thoughts:

- a better justification for bringing me on the expedition might be that I’ve just recently been through the boot-up process, so I’m uniquely suited among all New Jerusalem’s residents to solve puzzles—it’s fresh in my brain. Just say their preliminary scouting of the island returned photos that look a lot like the simulation puzzles, so they thought it would be useful to bring along the puzzle-baby

- Melville I want to be you when I grow up

- who decided I’m a he? Wasn’t me. Can I change that at Helga’s booth? It can’t be harder than downloading a new gender package, right? YoU wOuLdNt DoWnLoAd a gEnDeR

- this is all… very pretty… but my computer is apparently a bit of a potato 😢 alas I find my philosophical experience constrained by the limits of physical reality, if only there was a Principle that neatly expressed this conundrum

- you guys are setting up SUCH a stark dichotomy between “explore and move toward the future” versus “honor the past and maintain balance”— you realize you can do both, right? Those aren’t mutually-exclusive options? Robots can very easily explore the world while living in harmony with nature—all y’all bots need to read A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, stat. Mosscap for mayor of New Jerusalem.

- speaking of. You guys talk all the time about these vast, vague concepts, but what do they mean, practically speaking? “What’s the true nature of the human spirit, tradition or innovation?” Look buddy, it’s transient, shifting like water what are we talking about, picking a theme for next week’s gala or fixing the maintenance problems at the hydroelectric dam? Let’s be CONCRETE about this

- re: the problems with the power grid, how attached are we to New Jerusalem’s location? It seems like since we’re all synthetic, we benefit from fewer constraints than bio-humans re: comfortably habitable climates. We could move almost anywhere (as long as the cats like it). Wouldn’t the most long-term sustainable solution be to relocate somewhere that geothermal energy is a possibility?

- SPEAKING OF, I understand the constraints on game devs’ time, but it would have been great to see some non-human-shaped humans! If we’re building them all from scratch, why not have fun with it? The featherless biped physical model isn’t exactly the pinnacle of smart design. Surely, at least a few of New Jerusalem’s citizens would upgrade or modify their bodies, right? Gotta be some folks who would be happier being spider-shaped. I think it would add interesting texture to the bots’ decision to call themselves “human,” too—yes, we define ourselves explicitly as a continuation of the human species, even if many of us are also lawnmowers. My neighbor is a lawnmower and she designs fantastic crossword puzzles, lawnmowers are people too!

- hm, I’m not really sure how to put this… but this game feels… sort of like the opposite of what I took away from The Talos Principle? In the first game, you spend all your time in gorgeous puzzle-garden-ruins contemplating the Big Ideas about What It Means to Be Human, but ultimately, you have to reject the perfectly-designed puzzle-world and step outside into the gritty, imperfect reality of a world that wasn’t designed for you to solve. Real life is messy and complicated and often disappointing and not as cleanly satisfying as a world made of brightly-colored puzzles that were made especially for you, but that’s the point, isn’t it? The challenge is worth it because it’s real. This island full of puzzles… doesn’t feel real. It feels like a retreat, like somebody got disheartened by all the boring problems (we’re running low on insulation, the jazz quartet is getting noise complaints again, somebody set a fire in the park by mistake and now everyone is yelling) and instead, ran away to build a bunch of colorful puzzles that make you feel Special and Important for solving them. Bleh, I’m tired, I could probably phrase this better.

[snurgle07]

Say all your psychonauts 2 thoughtS

All of them huh? I think about this game so much, I’d be here all day, but this certainly gives me a good excuse to ramble about some things I love about pn2. :D

- The characters are amazing! 10/10 I care about pretty much all of those freaks. The art style makes them all look so charming in a lopsided weird sort of way, and the game is so empathetic to everyone that even the characters we don’t get much of or who serve a limited purpose still feel well rounded and real.

- Raz is excellent. He’s loads of fun in the first game and continues to be a blast in the second. He’s even more adorable and earnest in the sequel and I love that for him!! He’s definitely one of my favorite characters of all time, I adore him.

- Adoring the characters goes for everyone though. And pn2 has a whole new cast of characters who are all super fun in their own ways. The Psychic 7 especially are super cool. My biggest soft spot is for Lucy, but I love Bob, Ford, and well, the rest of the seven really, a whole lot. Getting to meet the Aquatos is also awesome, and the interns are cool too. Lotsa cool groups of characters to enjoy.

- The story? Awesome. Feels grander than pn1 to be honest, and I like that, but also it’s completely great on its own. It’s got loads of mind shenanigans, drama, great mental health commentary, and manages to balance out all the trauma with enough healing and empathy and even a bit of humor that it all still feels nice and hopeful despite everything. Like yeah there’s a lot of angst material certainly, and as a fan I gotta love that, buuuut sometimes I need a piece of media to punch me in the gut and then give me a warm hug afterward.

- On the note of mental health stuff, I feel it did great. It’s noticeable that they talked to experts and people with personal experience. They were able to convey the mindscapes of certain traumas and mental health issues with more accuracy. The first game was certainly empathetic and kind in regards to that, which was a big deal at the time, buuuut the accuracy was a bit lacking back then. Pn1 shows it’s age a bit in that regard. Pn2 improves on that wonderfully with both kind and more researched explorations into the mind.

-The morals regarding the complexity of the human mind and the messiness of humanity and how we often make mistakes and have more to us under the surface… heroes are often flawed, villains may just be a version of a person we made up in our mind based off of our limited perceptions… aughh good stuff. There are so many good takeaways from psychonauts 2 and I love it!

- Also on a more personal note, I probably owe this game my fascination with psychic powers and psychics in fiction. It’s tangentially what got me into Mob Psycho 100, and has inspired me to make some psychic ocs. The art direction really impacted me and even the way I draw. My style has opened up so much more since practicing drawing such funky looking characters. I genuinely think it has helped me improve a lot and helped me discover more about what kinds of art style I adore and inspired my own. The gameplay too, alongside the art direction, has impacted my aspirations a lot as far as being an artist and hopefully to work in game design— which is to say it’s super inspiring! I think it can inspire people in a myriad of ways, it’s a very unique game like that, and it really reminds me why I love art, storytelling, and games so much. I genuinely feel I owe it a lot for a variety of reasons and I’ve seen many others who play it feel the same. :)

TLDR: Psychonauts 2 my beloved…

Thanks for the ask! I will never not want to talk about psychonauts, this game is sticking in my brain for good.

[sluckythewizard]

EVERYONE GGET BAAACK IM ABT TO RAMBLE ABOUT FINN TIDESTRIDER. SPOILERS FOR EEVERYTHINGGGG ALL UP TO EP 113 YOU GOTTA RUN!! YOU GOTTA RUN AWAYYYY!!!!

ITS FASCINATING to speak to someone who has lived 80 years. almost every conversation involves me asking about a story of theirs, places theyve been, things theyve done. i feel like ive seen so much in only 20 something years of life, imagine that 4 times over?

all those stories, to have each and every one of them written down i feel like would be a beautiful thing. record keeping, storing that experience in an edible form, preserved for the future generations to study and cherish. imagine how many stories could be collected from not just 80 years of life, but 200? maybe more? imagine?

i LOVE characters that live to observe and document, keeping all their findings and knowledge and memories in tomes and records. i have several ocs that are functionally immortal, owning vast libraries holding all the knowledge of their lives. one of them is a man losing his memory, who has all his most vital memories tattooed onto his arms, so he will never forget what matters. FINN TIDESTRIDER. A MAGICIAN? WIZARD? SCIENTIST MAYBE. RESEARCHER ABSOLUTELY. CHRONICLER. LIBRARIAN. I HAD NO REAL STRUCTURE IN MIND FOR THIS POST. WHICH IS WHY ITLL SHOCK YA WHEN I BRING UP:

SEXUAL REPRESSION UNDER A CORRUPT RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION. MORMONISM AND SOME OTHER JESUS CENTERED RELIGIONS WILL TELL YOU THAT YOUR BODY IS A SACRED THING. MASTURBATION IS EVIL, IT CORRUPTS YOUR BODY, WHICH SHOULD BE SAVED FOR MARRIAGE. CELIBACY PRESERVES YOUR BODY, FOR YOUR ONE AND ONLY LIFE PARTNER. SEX IS NOT AN ACTIVITY, IT IS SACRED, RESERVED ONLY FOR PROCREATION.

i dont know if the undersea is Perfectly comparable to religions like that, but it is certainly a culture that upholds a very 'the elders are always right and must be followed'. polygamy is punishable by death, releasing spawn is a natural step after marriage, etc etc, i wouldnt be surprised to find that the undersea has a crazy Purity Culture thing going on. to live your whole long life down there, where so much is forbidden, and finally breaking into the surface world to explore the unknown, who knew your own body would be part of that 'unknown'?

in that episode, in the uh. Book. he says 'his first man was a (shiphand)' or whatever idk i dont feel like relistening. but HIS FIRST MAN!! ur telling me Finn Sexguy Tidestrider wasnt banging dudes down in the undersea?? maybe hes just talkin about his first Human but whateeverrrr. is homophobia a thing in the undersea?? i guess itll be a while before we know.

EITHER WAY. to break free from an oppressive climate and finally having the chance to be sexually free. to finally be familiar with your own body and the bodies of others, to LEARN so much about what makes you and others tick, to experience a unique form of intimacy with another. while having sex is not a VITAL experience, to have the freedom and choice to explore that IS SO IMPORTANT...

sex isnt a disgusting thing, its not wrong and its not naughty its not sinful its not gross. but sex also is not sacred, its not a big important thing, its not vital. sex is JUST an activity. a fun thing to do with ur homies or someone youre close to. there are dangers of course, which is why KNOWLEDGE about it is such an important thing. ohhh my god i constantly have a huge ramble locked n loaded about sexual education but ill GET INTO THAT ANOTHER TIME.

TLDR i reaally like finn tidestrider because TO ME, he is not just a wacky funny old sex-having wizard. hes a man who lived a looong fuckin time under a religious climate that discouraged sexual exploration, and after he left, got to spend decades and decades of being FREE to explore. in MY heart.

i get like, haha funny old man yaoi, the shock of the old guy havin sloppy gay fuck sex, but yknow. i dont expect it but it would be neat i think if this sorta thing would ever be taken seriously and explored.

THE TIDESTRIDERS FASCINATE ME. for finn to say YES i LOVE having SEX all the TIME; and for gill to say NO i am NOT interested in sex EVER.. those are BOTH forms of sexual freedom. its the choice!! THE CHOICE!!!!

[sol-consort]

Hearing you talk about ME3 really solidifies to me that Bioware really just tends to drop the ball when it comes to their 3rd games in terms of writing. It's not like the 3rd games are bad, persay, but they fall flat compared to their predecessors.

For the dragon age games, I've chalked it up to EA meddling and certain writers leaving the games at the time; I wonder if it's the same for ME3? Maybe the crunch time? Bioware really released some games back to back.

The evaporating of morally grey areas really sucks too, I always felt Bioware removed their teeth from their writing in order to appeal to the mass market in later years.

EX: Dragon Age got a whole lot less darker with Inquisition

Damn, now I'm worried about liking Dragon Age too much and getting my heart broken by the sequel games.

The problem is that they take steps back a lot, never commit to something and end up ereasing what they've built. It's like removing the things that made them unique just to follow the current trends of that time, which by now have aged like milk and It just makes me confused on why they flipped a switch so suddenly.

In ME1, it's a military game so you assume they'll portray the military and police as the heros saving the galaxy with no corporation right? Especially with how old the game is.

But they don't, they make you think that they do at the start but then flip a switch and show you the bad things too. How a lot of time the military does more harm than good.

In the ending of the game, they especially resonate that point to you with a big reveal. It builds up perfectly to the second game where you go rogue and help an organisation called cerberus that is independently funded and looks out for the well being for all humans.

They achieve progess because they are devoid of politics, it's mission and straight to action and making the best choice you can for the future of humans. In the first game you've only heard of them and stopped some unethical operations they had around.

They're not like the maifa, they're not in it for the money. But they stay in the grey zone a lot. They kill, they fund unethical experiments and only pull the plug if it becomes too unethical and croses the line into evil.

They saved you and gave you everything in the second game and asked for nothing in return but for you to do your damn job and stop the threat on humanity. Afterwards each of you go your seperate ways when the mission ends.

In the third game, you go back to the alliance and you're framed as a traitor for joining cerberus even tho it was the alliance who refused to take you seriously before.

Even when the threat turned out to be real. And you did publicly save everyone's ass, they're still like "bu buhh but you did it with the baddies!"

The alliance is again framed as the hero, Cerberus gets reduced to evil goons who torture for fun and are all power-hungry and the alliance can do no wrong how dare you question the heros of the army.

It's just.....disappointing. they've taken ten steps back and invalidated both the second and first games.

Also it's glitchy and buggy, it's unfinished. The first two games let you explore new spaces and ships on your own pace, in the third game you're dragged from tutorial to tutorial with a barrage of information.

Progress is less organic, combat is more clunky because they added RE and AC movesets with the rolling, stealth kills and survival priority over combat.

The characters look so ugly- the facial expressions are so weird and your face clips a lot. It's like a rough first animation that needs to be toned down because why am I glaring with spock like eyebrows and why did eyelids clip into my eyes.

There is an annoying vintage filter on the screen, colour is scarce and everything is grey, blue, black and medical white.

The ship is where you spend most of your time when not in missions, it used to be so beautiful and sleek smooth. Stars and futuristic technology. Now it's all gross military base with cables on the ground, dim lighting and empty spaces where decoration used to be. It's greasy at best, who the fuck stole the ceiling boblights I just wanna talk.

This is just sad, I talked so passionately about the first game because I genuinely was impressed. The second game had its flaws, mostly with the story and pacing, but everything else was good! They were turning things around and getting innovative, if you ignore the RE virus slowly spreading.

Now it's like, rather than design a new ship they pissed on the second game's ship and handed it back to you, yellow lights and everything. After robbing it and trashing the place.

I have a theory bc I'm at the start of the game but I might be just coping- what if they ship gets cleaner the more I progress? The construction parts will be gone right? They'll pick up their trash and dirty dishes right? RIGHT? I'M NOT COPING RIGHT?

.

They made companions after mission talks happen without cutscenes and now they're like npcs. Imagine if Lae'zel spoke to you each time you talked to her like the party banter instead of an actual face to face conversation.

Which is so weird because they had the face to face conversation since the first game so why did they remove it???

Resident FUCKING evil does not have it.

It explains the annoyiny cutscenes after cutscene that I can't skip, the bloated dialogue.

They took my eyelashes :(

They took away my ability to speak to people in conversations :(

They took away my clean pristine ship :(

They took away my hero statues and now people in the news hate me :(

They took away my ability to explore freely because the reapers are on my tail 24/7 :(

They took away Ashley :(

But hey. My sniper can shoot three times before reloading now so. There is. That.

Yay.

YET A SINGLE CLIP ONLY HAS 2 BULLETS WHAT WERE YOU THINKING PEOPLE.

Thanks for listening I actually feel better telling someone, I can't wait to play dragonage. Modern game standards I miss you please come back.

[laura-de-milf]

Doom Patrol. A Eulogy

*inhales deeply*

This. show.

It isn't really a show about superpowered people. I think it's actually a show about underpowered people who, sure, can occasionally pull off a cool stunt, but for the most part are so broken that they can barely function. With such a strong focus on character, personal growth and The Human Condition- this isn't just something I haven't seen in superhero media; it's something I haven't really seen in all of television.

Shall I list all the ways that this show has improved my outlook on life? (ok, not all-)

The queer rep. Need I say more? Genuinely though--I can't recall ever watching a show where I trusted so implicitly that the queer relationships would be a) intentional, b) integrated into the plot naturally, and c) handled well throughout the show. Looking back on my Doom Patrol experience- not once did I worry about queerbaiting or the queer rep feeling tokenistic. I never worried that the queer storylines would be unceremoniously written out to "improve mass appeal". The queer themes were there, intentional, and unique. We have the classic repression/acceptance arc with Larry, but we also have the slow-burn courtship arc with Jane and Shelley (Jane's block being her personal trauma rather than shame for being queer). Characters like Cliff openly accepting the queer relationships to the point where Jane feels completely comfortable opening up to him--and only him--about her and Shelley. Rita and Laura might not be a canon romantic couple, but those two forged a deeply loving bond faster than you can utter the phrase "uhaul lesbians" and have had a tumultuous relationship that is entirely different from Jane x Shelley. Absolutely magical. There's nothing formulaic about The Gay Plot here: the queer relationships (plural!!!) are unique and explored, given just as much importance and screen time as any of the heterosexual relationships. (I know there is still time to fuck this up but the point is: I have trust in this show in a way that I don't normally for most shows. That's really special.)

The Sisterhood of Dada. I know they weren't everyone's cup of tea, but personally I cared less about their plot relevance and more about what they represented: the pure, wholesome and shameless creation of art. Literally any art. Film. Interpretive dance. Sculpture. Spoken word poetry. Bent paperclips. Don't "choose a niche" and pigeonhole yourself as just A Filmmaker or just A Writer: try whatever you want because it's fucking fun. You'll learn something. Shit doesn't even have to be good; it doesn't have to make sense. It just has to empower you against the forces which seek to hold you down. Maybe Dada is nonsense, but it's subversive nonsense. Most of all, though, I loved the found-family aspect of the Sisterhood: a safe place in which one could experiment creatively without fear of judgement from the outside world. I'll probably spend the rest of my life trying to cultivate elements of this in my real world, even if I can't necessarily build myself a secret teleporting salon out of fog where I can be weird and free with my 6 eccentric pals. The world needs more room for creative experimentation.

Lastly but so very not-least that it's actually the most important point of all: this show gave me Laura. I'm admittedly not as well-versed in the DC/Marvel universes as most fans, but I can't tell you how floored I was to find such a captivating mature female superhero. I've finally started to understand the appeal of having a fantastical super-powered person to look up to--even as a grown-ass adult. She's not a 25-year-old in a latex bodysuit with a physicality I'll never be able to (retroactively) attain. She's not here to be a looker for the boys. She's real. She's fucked up. She's incredibly intelligent, street smart, competent in her ability, and benefits from a wealth of wisdom forged in life experience. She deals with intense trauma. She struggles. She's made huge mistakes. But she's trying her best and she's genuinely growing. Probably most importantly of all, she reinforces how, contrary to what society will lead us to believe, a woman's life, growth, wisdom, wit, accomplishments--and, hell, beauty!!--are only just getting started, even as she turns 40. And that she's so heavily queer-coded?? Sublime. We need people like Laura. I need people like Laura.

So...yeah. I am SO grateful that a show like this exists and that I found it. Thanks for the good times.

🖤

...now all that being said- Doom Patrol has nothing to lose now. Go ahead. Give us the Rita x Laura smooch. As a treat. 😇

[jackalopescruff]

I recently came out as, or realized I am, or came to terms with being (or whatever) Therian. It feels weird to say, but also really right, you know? I'm not even sure why I'm tellin you this, I don't even know you outside a one sided tumblr follow lol. I guess cuz it feels good to go through self discovery like this, but it's the kinda thing where I don't think everyone I know needs to know. Especially since people can be weird about it. I've also found I don't relate to a lotta therians, especially here on tumblr. I don't feel like I have two conflicting natures, human and non-human, that chafe at each other. More like... one nature made up of those two things. I certainly wouldn't wanna be a wild animal outside the occasional escapist fantasy. Maybe you relate to that? Idk... Not exactly something with lots of spaces for me to talk about it yknow?

Oh, and well, coyote if you were curious. So bark or whatever, fellow canine (from what I've gleamed at least, hope I'm not wrong).

Heya Anon that's great!!! I'm glad that you have figured yourself out and come to terms with it and get to start exploring everything that comes with the identity! Im humbled that you even came to tell me, anonymous or not its a special thing that you shared!

As for how you feel, actually very much on par with what I feel! I don't feel the conflicting natures I just feel this not jumbled, but cohesive well mixed blended experience. I'm a person but I'm Bear/Doggy/Dragon, its very much not relative to wild animal entirely but it really feels beautifully tied into how furries anthropomorphize animals. It's a connection to animal tendencies but blending them with human actions. I think its fun and weird and really only varies in how animal-like I'm feeling vs. how "blended" I feel. I think for me, personally my autism plays into this heavily for sense of self being a very unique and ever changing thing for me, its a freeing feeling. I'm still really new to all of this too truthfully, less than a year since realization for me so its all still a learning curve! I wish you tons of luck and BARK BARK :)

[nonsubstantial]

2023 book breakdown (first half)

~most of these, I listened to as audiobooks. But this is just a list of all the books I experienced this year, chronologically~

January ++

Nemesis Games (the expanse 5) - impact: 8/10

another solid entry in the expanse series, which has become a pretty comforting *go-to* for me at this point. There are a lot of things in these books that bug me, but their suspense and wit keeps managing to cover for their flaws. I have no doubt that further entries in this series will be simultaneously annoying and enjoyable, in the same way that this was.

February ++

A Court of Thorns and Roses (acotar 1) - impact: 3/10

I’m reading this series only because some podcasters I like started doing a podcast series analyzing it. While those podcasters (and one of my friends) really loved it, I unfortunately hated it. I can appreciate what they found good about these books, but I found the author’s inane descriptors and frequent misuse of words to be too distracting to overlook. Not only that, but I found a lot of the conflict to be rather trite.

March ++

The Count of Monte Cristo - impact 10/10...

several friends recommended this to me, one even going as far as to gift me their old copy before moving away. Unfortunately, I then slept on it for years, before finally picking it up. Holy shit though, am I glad that I finally picked it up. It may be correct to call it my favorite book of all time. This goes so far beyond being a simple revenge story. In fact, nothing in this book is simple, and I really feel like it manages to touch upon nearly every conviction that can exist within the human mind. While some of the narrative is archaic, that is only natural, since this book is nearly 200 years old. But despite being that old, there are some things in this story that still feel wildly progressive, even by today’s standards. Additionally, I feel that an understanding of the past, and the evolution of our culture, is important to understanding progress today. So I swear to you, this is a true masterpiece, and I hope that I can encourage other people to read it too, because it probably deserves to live on in our collective minds for at least 200 years more.

April ++

A Court of Mist and Fury (acotar 2) - impact: 2/10

as described in my blurb about the first book, I didn’t really like this series. I was having fun with the discussions about it, but holy shit it is waaaay too long, and I honestly feel like as much as I’ve heard that people can read into it as ‘empowering’, I really just found it to be insulting and trite. I felt like the language that the author uses to describe characters and relationships reinforces gendered hegemony, and their narrative doesn’t do many favors to class or social struggles either. I think I’d categorize it as a kind of wish fulfillment fantasy, but even then it’s way too long and the author’s constant misuse (or meaningless use) of words just left me feeling frustrated and offended.

Everyone on the Moon Is Essential Personnel - impact: 9/10

this book is one of the best collections of short stories that I’ve ever come across. Jarboe’s writing is thoughtful and to the point, usually utilizing clever metaphors for queer experiences. What really impressed me is how quickly I was able to understand every character and feel a personal connection to them. I could write a lot more about it, but reading this felt freeing and inspiring, in quite a unique way.

In The Watchful City - impact: 5/10

I was interested in the premise of this book, and its use of neopronouns, but I was left feeling a little underwhelmed. I liked the author’s ambition, but I feel like it failed in communicating its setting, as well as the main character’s motivations and feelings. Really, I see it as an interesting collection of ideas, but with none of them fully explored.

May ++

I did not finish a book in May :( 

(only manga :3) (p.s. I love chainsaw man)

June++

Babylon’s Ashes (the expanse 6) - impact: 8/10

another wonderful entry in the expanse series. Way more gay representation in this one too. I feel like it brought less new ideas to the table, but it instead focused on re-examining earlier themes and really rounding out the best characters from earlier books. In fact, almost every important character makes a return here, without it ever feeling contrived... which I believe is a magnificent achievement. I’m counting this as my second favorite Expanse book, up until this point.

Leech - impact: 10/10...

a book so perfect, I'd almost believe it was written just for me. The basic plot is that (stay with me here) a brain parasite hivemind goes to a spooky castle to investigate the murder of one of its host bodies, only to discover that the death might have been caused by a *different* brain parasite hivemind. The story is gruesome and terrifying, and supported by worldbuilding that is so creative and poignant that I wanted to live in it forever. The author’s writing is also beautiful and precise, and as I said before, it really just delivered on every front.

[ben-talks-art]

Thoughts on Ben 10

I've seen that some people started doing reactions series of the original Ben 10 show on Youtube, and seeing their reactions got me kinda nostalgic and in the mood to talk about it a little since I honestly really, really like this show.

So I figured, why not just make a post about my feelings towards the franchise, characters, aliens, storylines, and overall just sharing what I liked about it?

Guess I should start with the obligatory "For those who never watched the show or know nothing about Ben 10..."

Basically, this series is about this one kid who has a watch that allows him to turn into a bunch of different aliens for a short period of time, and uses it to help people and fight bad guys while going on travels around the country with his grandpa and cousin.

At first he starts with only ten aliens (thus giving the show its name) but as time goes on he keeps adding more and more to his list trough different ways (thus completely invalidating the show's name). Sometimes he will unlock a new alien at random, sometimes he will meet someone that will use a code on the watch that will unlock it for him, and other times he will collect the DNA of other aliens he fights.

The aliens the kid turns into are the highlight of the show.

Each one has its own unique design, ability, voice, body behavior, way of moving and other little things that make all of them feel distinct and unique. (You can check out one of the official artist's DeviantArt page to see some of his comments on many of the designs and how hard they were to animate.)

What was cool about the show is that you never knew what alien Ben was going to use to save the day so it made the experience feel fresh and exciting as you kept wondering what was going to happen, kinda like when you play a gacha game and you don't know what you're gonna pull out.

It's like having an entire Justice League or Avengers team inside one person. You had all these great characters that you knew little to nothing about and you would just watch and wait to see what was cool about each of them, and the show always did the best it could to make each alien feel as cool as possible... Except for Ripjaws, it was clear that after a while they had no idea what to do with him.

Everyone had their favorite aliens who they hoped would get used in the episode, but it was also nice to see other aliens you might not think you would like also getting the spotlight and making you realize everyone can be useful if given the chance and used in the right way.

It promoted the idea of experimenting with new things and exploring untapped potential.

Aside from the alien roster, the show also had fun playing around with its premise. Usually Ben would do something that affected his normal human form and that would have some effect on his alien forms as well.

For example, one episode Ben got showered by the fountain of youth and turned into a kid, so all his aliens de-aged as well, other time he went inside a videogame so his aliens started to wear gaming clothes like Sora in Kingdom Hearts 2. Another episode had Ben get a cold so his fire alien turned into an ice alien, another had him be stuck for one alien form for the entire episode, another one had him break the watch and anytime he transformed it would randomly combine two aliens.

It felt like the writers were trying to do anything they could with the idea of a watch that turns you into different creatures, like they were trying to have fun with its own premise.

Like, you would see the episode where the aliens get younger or older and you would go "well, now I want to see what all of them younger or older look like!" and that would just make your imagination go crazy.

Same thing for the episode where they mix two aliens together, imagine the massive amount of fanart that this episode inspired!

There were also episodes where Ben would turn into Halloween creatures like a werewolf, a mummy, or a ghost, but each of them still had the "that's an alien not a monster" theme around them, so again you would go "What would a vampire alien look like? What would a demon alien look like? What would a dragon alien look like?"

It just kept building and building on top of different possibilities.

Ben 10 was so good because it made you feel rewarded for being a kid, rewarded for being curious, for having creativity, for enjoying weird and out-of-the-box ideas.

It rewarded you for wanting to have fun and wanting to play around with different ideas.

Even the villain. You could teel that the creators were trying to have fun with what they could come up for Ben to fight with.

They had a guy that was some sort of abomination that combined all of Ben's aliens, a dude with the head of a squid that could turn off Ben's powers with the touch of his finger, a mad scientist that always kept trying to steal the DNA from Ben's aliens and fusing it with animals, and even one of Ben's own aliens who managed to come to life and escape from the watch.

Watching this show was basically a game of "Okay, what idea are the writers gonna explore this time? What crazy thing will they do now?" Like, they later make it so his cousin can use magic spells, and they also later reveal his grandpa was a secret agent who happens to have a lot of high-tech, and they would mix all this stuff while fighting crime and saving the day.

It was just fun. This was just a really fun show.

But... It wasn't perfect...

The biggest problem of the series was that the sense of character development was non-existent.

This series had three main characters, Ben, his cousin, and his grandpa, and the relationship and chemistry between then is pretty much the same throughout the whole thing.

Ben is always immature and jumping into things without thinking, his cousin is always nagging and butting heads with him, and his grandpa always has a pretty good lesson to teach that everyone is just going to forget in the next episode.

There are so many times that I'm watching this and going "Ben should know better than this" because he keeps making the same mistakes over and over again and it gets really tiresome after a while.

Same thing with his cousin, they keep writing scenes where her and Ben just keep bickering and arguing for no reason and it just makes them feel so annoying to watch.

I never got why animated shows think watching people bickering is fun, to me it's just obnoxious. My least favorite part of any Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle show is when Raph and Leo just start fighting because the plot says so. I guess you could say it's realistic that teens would argue but... Just because it's realistic doesn't make it enjoyable.

There is also the fact that I never felt the show truly dived into why we should root for Ben or why he wants to be a hero.

For instance, there is a scene where Ben sees a city getting attacked and he just starts smiling as if he's glad he gets a chance to be the hero and fight bad guys.

I never felt Ben wanted to help people because he cared about people, honestly it felt like he just wanted to feel the joy of being a superhero. Which, again, he's a kid, so probably it's realistic, but realistic doesn't instantly means good.

For a show about a kid that could turn into ten heroes, they never really sold why Ben had what it takes to be a hero.

That's not to say they didn't had episodes about Ben being humble, noble, or heroic, they actually had a lot of them. They had episodes about him facing his fears to save his cousin, learning the value of teamwork, learning to put others' needs before his, learning to let go of personal desires for the greater good... But these things just never stacked on.

I never got a sense that Ben was growing from his experiences, it felt like he was just learning some random lesson to get through the episode, which is a shame because a lot of those were some really good lessons, and good lessons for kids no less, but they would just be forgotten by the time the next episode started because... I don't know, I guess they just liked Ben being very flawed and immature.

But honestly, even with this tiny problem, it's still a really good show. It has a lot of creative action, some really inventive designs, and like I said, It just does a great job promoting the idea of having fun.

I particularly love the scene where they show Ben inventing "diamond surfing", like, how can anyone look at that and not think this is gonna be a fun show?

So yeah, small lack of character development aside, I still recommend this series.

I also want to talk about the other pieces of media that also take place in this series' timeline.

"Protector of Earth" is a licensed game that came out around the Ps2/Ps3 era and I remember being honestly a lot of fun. It was a beat-em-up where you could play as five aliens while having access to some honestly really creative attack combos. It was also how I, a non-English speaker, finally found out why the alien "XLR8" was named like that.

"Secret of the Omnitrix" was a movie that had a premise of the watch accidentally going into self-destruct mode and had Ben travel through space in order to find the inventor of the watch so he could ask him to turn it off. Really good movie overall, just wish they had tried to be a tiny bit more creative with the action scenes. There are way too many "laser shooting" fights and the final battle is basically Ben getting an "I win" button. It was kinda anticlimactic tbh.

"Destroy all Aliens" is another movie but this time done in 3D. I actually liked this one a lot. They had Ben be stuck with some sort of randomizer feature so he keeps shifting from alien to alien every couple of minutes while fighting a guy that can teleport, so we get some really creative action scenes with all the aliens as they keep going from one part of the globe to the other.

There is also a live-action movie called "Race against time" that... Surely is a movie that exists...

Honestly, the most I can say about it is that I'll never understand why they didn't give the title "Race Against Time" to the movie about the watch going into self-destruct mode, kinda feels like a no-brainer to me.

Then we have the sequels, Alien Force and Ultimate Alien...

And I'm going to sincerely apologize to all of its fans right now but I really don't like either of these shows.

I don't want to talk about them too much since my feelings towards them are mostly negative and I don't want to dunk on what could possibly be someone's favorite show... But they just did so little for me.

Now, I'm not saying they're bad, just saying that I myself didn't like either of them very much... But while I don't like these shows, I do like certain things in them.

Alien Force is about Ben, who's now five years older, teaming up with his cousin again, as well as one of his former enemies now turned ally, and getting a new set of ten aliens.

The idea of ten new aliens seemed cool at first. Honestly, when I first heard about the show I thought the new aliens were like fusions of the old aliens, like one looked like a fusion of an ice alien and a ghost alien, one looked like a fusion of a cloning alien and a small alien, and another looked like a plant and fire alien. They looked really cool and they had some really creative designs.

The plant/fire one and the ghost/ice one actually became some personal favorites of mine. They had some really fun and creative powers.

The ice one in particular apparently got really popular with fans due to the idea of being a moth that rested its wings in the shape of a cloak, kinda like they used to do in Gargoyles, and because they gave it an interesting episode where it gives birth to a ton of babies... That, as far as I know, we never see again. 🤔

As for the others aliens... They were there... I'm sure they all have their fans, I'm just not one of them.

Ultimate Alien was basically more Alien Force, except now some of the aliens could "Mega Evolve."

And again, a lot of the evolved forms didn't really do much for me, except for the ultimate form of the clone alien, which legit felt both really cool and really creative. I just loved that design.

Aside from that though, not really much positive I can say about these two shows. It just wasn't for me.

And finally, there was Ben 10 Omniverse, by far the most ambitious Ben 10 show.

They ditched the whole evolution thing but Ben now had access to basically every alien he ever had in the entire franchise, as well as every villain he ever had before, and they were a lot more open about the idea of exploring other planets and seeing different alien worlds. The world-building (universe-building?) took a major focus in here.

They also kept trying to push this odd gimmick of going back to the original 10-year-old Ben.

Sometimes Ben would travel back in time, or flashback to when he was a kid, sometimes he would switch brains with his body from the past, sometimes he would shrink into a kid, and other times he would visit another dimension from when he was still young and see how he would have turned out if he had no grandpa.

Basically, the name of the game changed from "how can we explore the idea of a person with access to ten aliens in a creative way?" to "how can we tie back to the original show?"

It seemed like they were trying to go back to its original focus of exploring the potential of its premise, but this time going a lot more out-of-the-box than ever before.

Getting to see every single past alien again was really cool but many of the new aliens added kinda felt like filler.

There is like one or two that I really liked, like this one alien that's like a living planet with its own gravity, but most of them just looked lame to me.

But, again, every alien from the past is here, so even if had an episode where you don't like one or two of the aliens used, you would still have five or six of the classic ones to enjoy, which was always refreshing.

The writing still didn't have that big of a sense of progression but I liked this Ben a lot more than the old Ben from the first show. I actually think this series had the best character writing out of all of them. Everyone here has great chemistry and is a lot more charming than before.

Sometimes the tone was also hit-and-miss. It would often try too hard to be humorous and end up losing a sense of stakes, making you feel like you were watching a cartoon instead of an animated show, but still had plenty of things to like.

They tried a lot of new things (sometimes way too many), most of them I liked, some of them I didn't, but I still appreciate them taking the risk to try.

Ben 10 is overall a very interesting franchise and I'm always curious to see what they try to do next with it.

[instantbundle]

Fun ChatGPT Prompts: Creative Ideas for Engaging Conversations

In the world of artificial intelligence, ChatGPT has become a revolutionary tool for creative minds. Whether you're looking to spark a conversation, create fun scenarios, or enhance your writing, ChatGPT prompts can help you explore new ideas. But with so many possibilities, it’s easy to get lost in the ocean of prompts available. If you're looking for fun ChatGPT prompts to fuel your imagination or just have a good time, this article is for you.

Fun ChatGPT prompts In this comprehensive guide, we will explore creative and fun prompts that can be used for a variety of purposes, from entertainment and writing exercises to brainstorming new concepts. Let's dive into some exciting and playful prompts to get your creativity flowing!

What are Fun ChatGPT Prompts?

A ChatGPT prompt is a starting point or a statement that guides the AI to generate a response. These prompts can range from simple questions to intricate scenarios, and when tailored correctly, they can lead to interesting, funny, or thought-provoking conversations. Fun ChatGPT prompts are designed to engage both the user and the AI in playful and creative exchanges. They encourage the AI to think outside the box and generate responses that entertain, inform, or inspire. Why Use Fun ChatGPT Prompts? Using fun prompts with ChatGPT allows you to: - Spark creativity: Fun prompts can be used to break creative blocks, whether you’re writing a story, designing a game, or just brainstorming ideas. - Learn new things: Engage in lighthearted conversations that make learning enjoyable. - Enhance writing skills: Experimenting with prompts is a great way to practice writing, expand your vocabulary, and develop new ideas. - Have fun: Sometimes, you just want to play around with AI to see what interesting or amusing responses you can get. Let’s take a look at some fun ChatGPT prompts to inspire your next creative endeavor.

1. The What-If Scenarios

"What-if" scenarios open up limitless possibilities and let your imagination run wild. These prompts challenge ChatGPT to generate creative and sometimes absurd scenarios. Here are some examples: - What if animals could talk? Imagine a world where pets, wildlife, and even farm animals could speak. What would they say? How would they influence human behavior? - What if gravity didn’t exist for one day? How would the world look and feel if gravity suddenly disappeared? What would people do, and how would every day activities change? These types of ChatGPT prompts spark out-of-the-box thinking and can lead to hilarious or mind-boggling responses.

2. Invent a New World

Create an entirely new world and ask ChatGPT to describe it. This prompt taps into the realm of fantasy and sci-fi and can lead to some wildly creative results. Examples include: - Describe a world where everyone can fly but has no legs. - Invent a city in the clouds where people live in floating houses. These prompts allow you to explore imaginative environments and build unique worlds from the ground up.

3. Role-Playing Prompts

Role-playing is a fun and immersive way to engage with ChatGPT. By taking on different characters or scenarios, you can enjoy a conversation that feels like a game. Examples include: - You are a pirate, and I’m a treasure hunter. We are searching for the same treasure. - Let’s pretend we’re time travelers from the future. You’re from the year 2125, and I’m from 2300. What does the world look like in your time? Role-playing prompts are excellent for generating stories, practicing writing dialogue, or just having an amusing conversation.

4. Funny and Wacky Challenges

If you're looking for something a bit more quirky, these fun ChatGPT prompts challenge both the AI and yourself to come up with outlandish ideas: - Come up with the funniest invention that nobody would ever want to buy. - Describe the most ridiculous law that could exist in a country where cats are in charge. These challenges not only entertain but also push the AI to its limits in terms of creativity and humor.

5. Parody or Satirical Prompts

Humor is at the heart of many fun prompts. By using parody and satire, you can ask ChatGPT to generate witty and often exaggerated takes on popular culture. Some examples include: - Write a parody of a superhero movie where the hero is incredibly lazy but still manages to save the world. - Imagine a cooking show hosted by a dragon who can’t stop burning things. Write a short segment. Satirical prompts allow you to have fun by twisting familiar ideas into something hilarious or unexpected.

6. Brainstorming Fun Business Ideas

If you're interested in something more entrepreneurial, try using ChatGPT prompts to generate bizarre or unconventional business ideas. Some fun examples include: - Create a business plan for a service that helps people organize their dreams. - What would a gym for introverts look like? These types of prompts can be a fun way to spark unconventional ideas and think outside the box when it comes to entrepreneurship.

7. ChatGPT as a Fortune Teller

Incorporating elements of mysticism and fun, this prompt asks ChatGPT to take on the persona of a fortune teller. Examples include: - You are a mystical fortune teller. Tell me my future based on the stars. - You are a wizard with magical powers. What spells do you know, and what can you do with them? This prompt taps into the playful side of ChatGPT, allowing you to explore magical themes and get creative with predictions and spells.

8. Interactive Storytelling

Engage ChatGPT in collaborative storytelling. You start with a sentence or scenario, and then let the AI take it from there. This interactive approach can be thrilling and fun. For example: - Start with this: "The spaceship landed on a mysterious planet..." and let ChatGPT tell the next part of the story. - Write the beginning of a mystery novel where the main character discovers something shocking in their attic. As you build the story together, you can either take turns writing sections or guide the narrative toward your desired conclusion.

9. Personalized Jokes and Humor

Humor is subjective, and with ChatGPT, you can ask for jokes tailored to your interests. Fun prompts for humor might include: - Tell me a joke that combines cats and technology. - Come up with a funny story about a knight who’s afraid of dragons. By personalizing the humor, you can create jokes that hit closer to home and are more relevant to your sense of comedy.

10. Fun Trivia Games

If you're looking for a more interactive experience, ask ChatGPT to quiz you on various topics. This can be a fun and educational way to pass the time. Some trivia game prompts include: - Quiz me on obscure historical facts. - Let’s play a game where I try to guess the movie based on your cryptic plot description. Trivia games with ChatGPT can be a great way to learn new things while having a blast.

How Fun ChatGPT Prompts Can Help Your Creativity

The possibilities with ChatGPT prompts are endless, and they can catalyze creativity in various fields. Whether you’re an artist, writer, or marketer, these fun prompts can inspire: - Content Creation: Use prompts to generate blog ideas, social media posts, and creative content for your brand. - Writing: Explore new genres, develop characters, or write unique plots for stories, novels, or screenplays. - Art: Sketch out visual ideas based on the imaginative worlds and scenarios created by ChatGPT. By experimenting with these fun prompts, you’ll find that your creativity flows more freely, and you can approach your work from new angles.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Fun ChatGPT Prompts

To make the most of your ChatGPT prompts, follow these simple tips: - Be Specific: The more detailed your prompt, the more accurate and engaging the response will be. For example, instead of asking “Tell me a joke,” try “Tell me a joke about a vampire who’s afraid of garlic.” - Experiment: Don’t hesitate to mix and match prompts. Sometimes, combining different ideas can lead to the most unexpected and fun results. - Keep It Light: Fun prompts are meant to entertain, so don’t overthink them. Enjoy the process and see where it takes you!

Conclusion

In conclusion, fun ChatGPT prompts are an excellent way to spark creativity, engage in playful conversations, and explore new ideas. Whether you're looking to write a funny story, invent a new world, or just enjoy a lighthearted conversation, ChatGPT can provide endless entertainment and inspiration. So, the next time you need a creative boost or just want to have a little fun, dive into the world of ChatGPT prompts. With so many possibilities, you’ll never run out of new and exciting ideas to explore! Read the full article