#it's a staple for this blog ( & just for me personally ) that plotting is involved ... TO SOME DEGREE

[amandapen]

2012!TMNT (and my gripes with it)

My first ever long brainrot blog post and it's about the things i dont like in my childhood show

Also, disclaimer : I'm sorry for my bad english, it's not my first language, my vocab isn't as wide as most people and this is also just my ramblings so it might stop making sense at some point

HERE IT GOES

APRIL/DONNIE/CASEY LOVE TRIANGLE (and the romance in general)

Everybody said this already but I haven't shared my thoughts so you get to listen

The romance in the show is not gross and disgusting at worst and not plot relevant at best. Personally, I have no problem with any pairings between any of the turtles and the humans characters, I don't care if the show wants to push a romance between any mutant with any humans at all. Anyone calling this beastiality or zoophilia is incorrect to me, as most of the mutant characters (aside from Karai when she first mutated) have their own mind and can choose for themselves. They are not irrational or mindless beings and 90% of the time is even smarter and more intelligent emotionally than the few human characters that we have.

The only problem with the romance in this show would be the context, and the circumstances of the characters involved in said romance.

For example, let's look at the case of Donnie/April, which is the first time the concept of romance is introduced in the show.

In the first 10 minutes of the first episode, we see the turtles comes up to the surface, and literally right after we see them marvel at the wonderful place that is the the NYC, April comes out and Donnie is immediately in love, exclaiming she is the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. (for the show's credit it was a kids show made in 2012, love at first sight was a very common trope)

Seconds after that, April and her dad get attacked by the Kraang, and Donnie jumps in to save her, the show is setting it up for this to be a thing in the future, making it clear it's not just a one-off thing or a throwaway line for jokes.

In season 2, Casey comes in, and cause he and April is the staple couple of the franchise since 2003, they have to have their moment too. In 2012, Casey is the

And we go through the rest of the show of Donnie, Casey and April in this will they, won't they scenarios also consisting of Donnie and Casey fighting over her at every second they are in the same frame.

What is the problem here?

Well, as other people have said it, this love triangle plotline ruins the characters of everyone involved.

Donnie's crush on April was cute at some point, but it stopped after he started going all stalker-ish, following April and knowing her schedule, going out of his way to plan things to get her to go out with him, getting possessive over her despite her showing she's not comfortable with his advances.

Casey is portrayed as a perverted asshole, whose whole thing is just makes fanservice jokes about April's body or just be horny for her. And when he's not, he's just the tough bad boy who contrasts Donnie, the awkward nerd.

April's character suffers the most from this situation, as from the very first second she is introduced in the show, she is introduced as Donnie's love interest. Her whole character was fixed from that moment forward as just the love interest, and nothing else. And her being thrown around between Donnie and Casey didn't make it better. What was her personality? Her hobbies? Likes and dislikes? All seems invisible as most of her scenes compromises of her being with Donnie, or her being with Casey or both.

Most of the fandom even sees her as a bitch for 'leading on the two guys that liked her', as if she asked for that situation to happen in the first place.

The romance itself isn't good, it just makes everyone look bad. Which is sad, cause outside of the love triangle, these three are great characters on their own (not the best, Donnie is definitely the weakest of the turtles in terms of characterization)

Their implied relationships off-screen sounds so much better, Donnie and April were theorized to be best friends as she seems the most comfortable with him, Casey occasionally helps Donnie with mechanic stuff (shown in one scene in season 3).

The way this plotline is handled isn't good either, it pretty much just dissolves away without any conclusion. No talks between the characters about the situation, no April standing up for herself and telling the two of them she doesn't want to hurt their friendship and she cares for them just the same as she cares from everyone in their group.

What we get was just one episode where Donnie realizes he may have made April uncomfortable all this time, (only took him 2 seasons and a half, look at that, character growth everybody). He apologizes to April and get ready to move on from her and I thought this show is actually gonna be good about it.

And April kissed him, of course.

Fuck you, Nicklodean. Of course, why would I thought a kids show is gonna handle a topic like this maturely, why would I expect such caliber writing from a show that have proved before this that they could write emotionally intelligence moments??

For the other romance subplot, they're whatever.

Leo and Karai was controversial because of the whole, they're siblings so it's incest thing, but they dropped it almost immediately after Leo finds out Karai is Splinter's bio daughter. Their 'romance' started as attraction of something new, and ended like that too.

Mikey and Renet was pretty boring, it was just, well Mikey hasn't had a crush yet and we have another single female character, so why not? They're not bad, but doesn't really add anything to Mikey or anyone since Renet is not from their timeline.

There's also Mikey and Shinigami, but I don't remember that going anywhere. It was just another comic moments instead of adding anything to Mikey's or Shini's character.

Splinter/Tang Shen/Shredder whole fiasco serves only as context as to why everything is the way it is, but nothing really deep as the show didn't really go down that path, we get some few flashbacks scenes, and we get to see what truly happened when the turtles went back in time, but nothing truly game-changing other than the revelation that it was the turtles who saved Splinter back then.

This show has only one good romance and it is...

RAMONA

LOOK AT THEM!!!

They are perfect, probably the healthiest one in the show, and the cutest one consisting of the two (imo) most mature characters in the show.

This is supposed to be a list but this is way too long already, I'll have to talk about the rest in another post.

[immobiliter]

@shadowcovcn sent a meme: 14, 15, 18

14. Who is an author that inspires you?

oh rip you're asking the jaded english graduate this question lmao. so I'm not sure if I could pinpoint an author who particularly inspires me nowadays — there are obviously authors that I love reading, but I haven't really read fiction widely since graduating and most of the fiction I have drawn inspiration from over the past decade or so is by classic authors. plus storytelling as a medium isn't just restricted to books and I could give you countless examples of other forms of storytelling that inspire me on a daily basis. but speaking strictly about the printed word, big shout out to Jacqueline Wilson books for being a staple of my childhood (i doubt anyone outside of the UK will know of her lmao), and Andrea Levy is also suuuuch a favourite writer of mine. and then a mandatory shout out to Oscar Wilde who inspired the majority of my tagging system on this blog, and is also one of my all-time favourite writers.

15. What do you look for in a rp partner?

someone who's chill lmaooo. that's honestly the biggest thing for me and I think I'm lucky because I feel like I'm a pretty good judge of character? I have a sceptical disposition and I'm strong-minded, so I tend to be rather picky of who I reach out to and befriend on this site and for the most part I haven't really steered wrong. if you're gonna be my rp partner you just have to be OK with the fact that I might not reply to your thread for two years, and that if you pressure me I will either make it three years or I'll drop the thread altogether. also, that I might not talk to you everyday — I don't even talk to some of my rl best friends everyday, I much prefer low-pressure friendships where we can check in every few weeks or months and pick up like no time has passed at all. I just don't have the time or inclination for the crap that comes along with this hellsite anymore, so I stick to people I already know and people who pass my strict vibe test lmao.

passion is also always something I look for too, on a more positive note. I enjoy seeing people passionate about their muses on my dash, it's infectious and there have been so many occasions where I have voluntarily sought out the source material and watched a show/read a book/played a video game solely because a friend of mine or someone on my dash has been talking so passionately about them/it. like it doesn't even matter if I don't write in the same fandom as you, if you get me passionate about a character or universe through the dash powers of osmosis, I'll make an AU especially for you lmao.

18. Are there any AU’s you’d like to explore but haven’t had the chance to yet?

oof this is such a good question and such a tricky one to answer on a multi where I have muses that encompass multiple genres and also where I'm really not shy about writing crossovers lmao. is it a cop-out to just say that I love group verses? not even just verses that involve several people, but creating a group verse with one other person where we just throw different muses from our multis into it like a melting pot? writing two characters against each other is fun of course, but there's something even more fun about throwing ten muses into the same verse and figuring out everyone's connection to each other. or starting with two muses and then building it up slowly until you have a google doc with a dozen muses and a flow chart explaining how they all connect lmao. it just enriches your writing environment and gives you so much more stimuli to play with when you reply to a meme or write a thread. instead of coming up with npcs on the fly, you can bring another muse in to help figure out a plot point or help flesh out an aspect of a relationship or dynamic without it being superficial because you're not just creating a surface-level character to be referenced in one or two replies, but another living, breathing muse with their own life and perspective. I just like everything feeling connected, where every thread has a ripple effect on all of the other future ones you write. also, as someone who likes to push themselves when it comes to writing, it's a wonderful challenge to write three muses within the same thread, I love it.

[serenedash]

I started rambling about my experience with kh and then it turned into khux and then it just turned into me rambling about Ryou and my art journey????? enjoy I guess,

it’s very long but there’s art in there :)

It’s funny to think about my kh journey as a whole tbh, I grew up watching my mom play video games, which included kh1 and 2. I wasn’t allowed to play the playstation2 we owned BUT I did have a gameboy so the first game I played was CoM (after my mom finished it ofc,) so I guess you could say I’ve always been passionate about kh “”��side games””” lmao but I did fall off of kh very quickly bc again, I wasn’t allowed to play our PS2 and also I Am A Terrible Gamer I’ve Never Finished CoM I’m sorry you all had to find out like this, but then 358/2 came out when I was in middle school and!!! I didn’t care and I didn’t play idk why lol

Anyway, fast forward to high school I’m like 15 and my older sister, who HAS been keeping up with kh, has a wallpaper on her phone of roxas and ventus. And bc I haven’t kept up I say “nice roxas wallpaper” and she says “thanks but it’s roxas and ventus” and I proceeded to get so mad that I was determined to prove to her that her wallpaper was just roxas twice and then I fell down the BBS rabbit hole and suddenly I was reading about vanitas and then I’m reading the fan translations of the BBS novel and I’m crying??? I am sobbing???? and that’s how I actually got into kh for real lol we are vanitas stans before we are people,

It’s so funny how I thought I was some kh super fan, knowing all this stuff that I spent so long reading and rewatching cutscene movies, but I never once, SOMEHOW NEVER ever came across khx. It’s so absurd and bizarre I seriously have no idea how I never once encountered khx prior to khux. I suppose that has to do with the fact I wasn’t involved in the fandom? In early high school I had stepped away from fandoms as a whole and I didn’t have any interest in really posting content or interacting with fans anymore bc of how burnt out I was from a previous fandom,

but khux released! and I was so hype and excited for it! on launch day I was a senior in high school, I had ran around to every “nerd” and weeb I could find in school to ask them to join my party and fun fact about me is I have crippling social anxiety I literally refuse to start conversations irl so holy shit I was OUT HERE doing the MOST

My player just originally had my name (Matt) but everyone in my party had fun names so Ryou was born! High school was one big yugioh phase for me and ryou bakura is one of my favorite characters ever so it was just the logical name choice lol I quickly started creating Ryou, the character, as well. I was also leaving my homestuck phase and that + vanitas obsession made This character design (art circa 2016)

If y’all are familiar with my kh oc’s you might notice that keyblade now belongs to my kid Monty LOL

Anyway that got scrapped quickly for the chip and dale outfit (which is where Ryou’s trademark goggles are from <3) Goggles have been a staple of my character designs for a LONG TIME so like, it had to be done, (that’s a separate ramble about a separate oc tho)

OG Ryou was an interesting guy; he was a young party leader with this overwhelming responsibility on his shoulders bc of his status as a party leader. In his original story, he also struggled heavily with darkness, much like Terra but for Ryou it was more that the darkness was controlling him and not like a source of power like it was for Terra

A big part of early Ryou I kept, however, was the crushing awareness of loss. One of my party members (the strongest one at the time,) had left without saying a word and I was very confused and hurt. This was around the time the ephemera plot was happening so I decided to incorporate it into Ryou’s story; having him experience losing a friend to darkness since it’s so normal for wielders in Daybreak Town to just disappear, and this would unintentionally become a theme for both me and Ryou as khux friends would just randomly disappear.

I was desperate for khux at this point and I decided to watch the fan translations for khx and GOD, god, was I obsessed. I couldn’t stop thinking about the foretellers. And I’m not going off about that here bc I already did that, but I actually started entering fandom again! I did it slowly, I started on tumblr before this blog was made altho it was me sending anons to the few khux related blogs I could have lol a friend convinced me to get twitter where I got involved with the ffxv fandom, which led me to the kh fandom and eventually the khux fandom there which is what REALLY got me going on khux.

I joined discord servers, most of the servers I’m in are khux related, and from there I joined the khux oc rp (shout out to anyone there who might be reading this lol here’s some art from the beginning of the rp,)

It’s SO FUNNY how the RP influenced me so heavily. I hadn’t RP’d in YEARS, I used to have a strict no oc rp policy, but here I was? And the funny part is, I had barely developed Ryou. I had scrapped his original story and all I had was POST WAR Ryou so I literally had to reverse write him; I had only ever written him as a depressed, guilt ridden adult, but it was a fucking blast and I have such fond memories of this rp when it was active,

But anyway, this encouraged me to get more serious about art! I started drawing, writing, cosplaying, and roleplaying when I hadn’t done any of that stuff in a very long time. The first time I ever drew a background was for a deviant art khux competition actually LOL

also! I always think extremely fondly of the drawing I did of Aced in the keyblade war. It was also one of the first backgrounds I ever drew and it felt like my real starting point in the khux fandom. It got a ton of notes on here and someone wrote a tiny fic in a reblog which just made me SO HAPPY like it really felt like people were noticing me :) I was going to draw a matching Ira but!! I just never did!! One day tho, it’s on my art bucket list to redraw this along with Ira,

Aside from my personal growth, khux was great for my social life ngl, I made SO MANY friends online and got to meet a ton of people irl over the years! It’s crazy to think about all the people I now know and talk to? It honestly makes me really emotional. I’ll never forget taking the train into NYC and meeting up with discord friends. Going to conventions and talking with people about the latest khux update? Absolutely insane and those were some GOOD TIMES, if I thanked every khux friend or even just person who made an impact on me then we’d be here for a LONG TIME,

Fun fact, for my Lauriam cosplay all I needed to buy was the wig I just owned his outfit LOL also? Probably retiring that cosplay ngl people treated me like absolute garbage when I wore him and it led to a lot of confidence issues for awhile ngl. That’s probably one of the only memorable negative experiences I have with khux; it was great when khux people recognized me but for kh fans that weren’t in khux? They were FUCKING MEAN??? fuck kh fandom at large, I only care about khux fandom,

This leads me to another huge part of my experience in khux fandom: THEORIES!! I used to write SO MANY and oh my god my brain was so full all the time. It was a huge appeal for me in the fandom; I had been previously writing theory posts in the RWBY fandom and it just migrated over to khux for me lol I had done a ton of theorizing around Lauriam tbh, it was really the only reason I liked his character at all bc initially I did not care about the dandelions, anyone who wasn’t Skuld I was like “please leave Now thanks”

A funny part of khux fandom I never intended to be apart of is the MEMES, I really only started doing memes as stress relief bc college had me so busy all I had time/energy for was these quick little shit post drawings.

The first meme I made, file name “invi despair” LOL we need to get her a girlfriend smh anyway, I think in my senior year of college I did a bunch of rapid fire memes all in one month bc the stress of finals was getting so bad afdgfhdgf as far as I know my impact on this fandom will be my memes bc all I do now is enter a kh/khux server and introduce myself and I go “yeah I draw art. here’s a meme” and everyone goes OH YOU, honestly I am nothing if not a clown

I’ve talked so much idk where I’m going with this. Khux is just a good game even if the gameplay actually kind of really sucks yknow lol but it was the first game I played where I like, REALLY got into the meta and the mechanics. I used to read so much on the mechanics and watch youtube videos on which medals were worth pulling for. I was never a whale or a top player exactly, but I could rank well if I tried lol I’ve made it to the top 100 for solo rankings, my party has made it to top 10, and in pvp I’ve made top 300. I’m not the highest level in my party but FUCK do I know how to manipulate this game LOL

And with all that hard work, the strategies, the theorizing, the content I’ve made-- it’s been my life for 5 years. I’ve logged into khux almost every single day. At the end, I have logged 1820 days in khux out of 1910 days. Kinda crazy. Crazier I’ve never spent money on khux either lol the only “money” gone into it was one time my mom gave me a google play store gift card and I used it on my birthday for a VIP xemnas medal which eventually made it to regular pulls anyway but it was nice and a little treat :)

I’m not a gacha fan, I don’t care for it, so I don’t think I’ll be touching another gacha again. But for kh? This was pretty fucking awesome, even if it sucked a lot sometimes LOL It was worth it for the people I’ve met most of all I think. I would honestly be a completely different person without khux and that’s REALLY insane to think about.

[stovmborn-arc]

𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓, 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐗  ––  𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄.

**  this blog will not be following any of the events post episode five, unless plotted otherwise. for the general arch of daenerys in my portrayal however, her ‘end’ was incredibly different. this does not mean to say that i am opposed to exploring narratives where jon attempts to murder her, or where she does turn mad but i will not be explicitly portraying that theme throughout my writing in general plots and threads. this is my canon divergence, the original post which is mostly a rant written after watching the final season can be found HERE but for the sake of my new blog, i thought i would type it properly  !!!  this is likely to be an incredibly long post as i have it in my head that daenerys deserved far better so thank you for sticking through and reading this. its hugely important to me. **  in my head, i truly believe that daenerys was not mad. george r. r martin did not write her to be mad and her storyline will hopefully take another route after the butchering of her narrative in the final season.. she was simply doing what she thought was right and best for the people of westeros in a way where she got her justice and unfortunately, she did lose her way and became wrapped up in what she believed her ideal world to be. we completely saw in her final scene with kit beside the throne that she was still very much human and not insane. she was genuinely a human being, asking him to create a better world with her and … my girl. i would also like to put it out there that i am happy with the ending ( for a handful of the other characters and the justice they received ). i know there were a few loose ends that could have been tied with more time and less rush to crack on with star wars, cough cough d&d. but i think everybody is where they are meant to be. solely talking about jon’s ending but i won’t clog this post  !!! give that like button a  ♡  if you do read this  ––  just so i know for future plotting  !!!

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒

◈     with still writing her, it is clear that in my portrayal that daenerys doesn’t die. whilst daenerys presented jon with a difficult choice to make, she asks him to build the new world with her in a throne room that is still intact and not burned to ashes. this would happen in the scene which he comes to her, only the turn in events does not follow the route of the show. how this does unfold however is dependent on my writing partner ( if writing with somebody who portrays jon ). 

◈     tyrion urges that she invites the great lords and ladies of westeros to the dragon pit so that they do not feel uncomfortable or on edge with seeing her on the iron throne  –––   a woman that they have only ever heard stories of. the idea of bringing them to a place where her dragons were once held as prisoners is a metaphor for the freedom that she wants to instil upon the seven kingdoms. now that the war has been won, they discuss the nights watch and other worldly issues, including northern independence because as somebody who has had everything taken from her, she recognises the loss that the stark family have also faced.

◈     the main reason that she grants the north their independence is because she knows how much eddard stark meant to jon and how the north has been a staple of his childhood and his narrative and she also respects that. she respects everything that he has lost much like her and i think it is important to note that daenerys respects and understands where sansa is coming from. she wanted to take her rightful throne and in the process of obtaining her families kingdom, she wants to give the stark’s what is rightfully theirs too. i would also like to imagine that somebody has brought it to her attention that this man whom she did not know fought for her life against his king and best friend in the earlier storyline when robert orders for her to be killed. 

◈     in episode four, she urges jon not to tell his siblings about his parentage. whilst portraying daenerys and jon romantically, i feel most comfortable writing in a context where jon is not the son of rhaegar. if threads do follow the rhaegar and lyanna storyline, whether a romantic relationship is involved or not, daenerys would still be incredibly concerned about jon telling people of his heritage. not because she believes he would ever dethrone her but more so, because she cares about him and knows that kingship is not something he has ever sought after. there is something within her that worries for the throne too, which is completely okay. daenerys is allowed to have that burning dream in the back of her mind as it is all that she has ever known. 

◈     “ because of everything she has been through, because of everything they have done to her. ��  this is something that she says to jon, in relation to sansa. in my portrayal, daenerys does not feel threatened or anger towards sansa. instead, she actually feels disheartened and she understands it in a strange and peculiar way. she acknowledges that sansa has concerns for a reason, she absolutely understands that sansa has a vision ( similar to her own ) where she wants the best for her people. in my mind, i see a friendship and alliance forming betwen the pair  –––  particularly on daenerys’ behalf as she has not come to westeros to form enemies. theyshare hardships and more importantly, have both blossomed into two powerful women who deserved better. i think they would be perfect together, as the southern and northern rulers. 

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐋

◈     daenerys’ small council will have been heavily planned with tyrion by her side. in my canon, jorah, rhaegal and missandei are still alive. however, dependent on the threat and plot  –––  if it aids the other person that i am writing with, i am not opposed to exploring the themes and troubles that their deaths may bring daenerys. sharna likes to live a world of angst, hurt and upset so bring me these heartbreaking, gut wrenching plots  !!!  please.

◈     as the queen of the six kingdoms, daenerys would absolutely appoint master of war to jon snow. in her eyes, there is not a single person more deserving of the role given every battle he has faced. she would not expect him to take it because canonically, targaryen or not, she knows that he has and will always be a stark inside. if it pleased him to travel back to the north and live his days back in winterfell with his family, then she would accept this, even if it did hurt her. an alliance between the southern and northern regions of westeros would be incredibly important to her, whether it is jon or sansa ruling as the king / queen in the north. failing this, greyworm would be appointed as the master of war with being the leader of her armies. 

◈     bronn would remain her master of coin at tyrion’s suggestion, though at first daenerys would be sceptical due to him being part of the sack on highgarden. she does not feel comfortable with the idea that bronn was a part of the sack, murdering her allies and then claiming the castle for himself. but in this  ‘ new world ’  she is trying to build of forgiveness and second chances, it only seems right that bronn is given the opportunity to prove himself worthy. in any verses with margaery writers where she is still alive, margaery tyrell is very much the heir to highgarden.

◈     lord commander of the queens guard would be jorah mormont. although daenerys has faced betrayal from him, she has forgiven him. there is not a single person in both westeros and essos that daenerys would trust with her life above jorah. not only that, but he has been by her side for the longest and it would give her no greater honour than presenting him with such a title after he has heavily protected her from the moment they met in pentos. daenerys’ knowledge of westeros and essos is not simply made up of what she has learned from characters like viserys and magister illyrio but a majority of it has come from jorah mormont, who has been by her side apart from the small timeframe in which he was exiled by her. 

◈     davos seaworth will be granted the title of master of ships. i would like to think that daenerys had formed a bond with him, due to him being the one to bring jon to dragonstone. she admired his humour for what it was and more than anything, she admired his bravery as she knew that he had never fought in many fights. i would like to think that they shared memories of dragonstone and seeing as she does not know the castle very well, he would have offered her insight and knowledge of her ancestral home … telling her stories that shireen had taught him about the night she was born and her families history here. master of ships would also be a way to commemorate his son, in his death through the battle for blackwater bay. 

◈     master of whispers. in this divergence, varys did not die or betray her because she  ‘ went off the rails ’.  varys may have lost faith in her but daenerys’ kind nature and desire to give second chances was what gave him the opportunity to see something else in her  –––   a fire. he could see that daenerys knows what she needs to do in order to make this world far better than she found it and he believes in her to do so. master of whispers has always been a role he fulfilled in kings landing below kings that he has not necessarily believed in, so she would like to present him with the chance to work under her, having chosen her as his queen. 

◈     grand maester is something which would be offerered to samwell tarly. in this canon, daenerys did burn randyll tarly and other soldiers as punishment for the sack of highgarden and their distaste in taking her opportunity to fight for the winning side, especially as somebody who had an allegiance to house tyrell and decided to dishonour that for the premise of gold and serving under the lannister’s. she knows the hard work he endured throughout his time at the citadel and feels as though this is the perfect opportunity to honour the time that he spent there, as well as providing a safe place for gilly, sam and their new child to live  –––   under protection.

◈     master of law is something that i have not yet thought of and whilst tyrion would likely be perfect for the role, he is her hand. i am going to leave this one open as a plotting device to other people so if anybody would like to do a thread surrounding that role, then be my guest. this is also open to OC characters  –––   including females as we need some more woman on this  small council. i am also open to other suggestions for this role  !!!

[astarlightmonbebe]

idk why but i fell down a rabbit hole and starting looking through your blog and just.... you're such an interesting person how do you do it.. like i admire you sm i want to be more like you!! anyways, i have a question for you!! what genres of dramas are your favorite? i have a lot of free time lately lol so i'm trying to watch more dramas and you seem to be really passionate about them!! i hope you're having a good day

omg, anon, this is one of the nicest things someone’s said to me on tumblr. i don’t think i’m that interesting, but tumblr is definitely the place where i go to be passionate and unabashedly rant about what i love freely. and YES i love dramas; i watch a ton of kdramas and i’m trying to watch more cdramas. 

hmm...i’m not really that picky when it comes to genres, but i definitely watch most dramas with a strong mystery plot & suspense/crime themes. a few prime examples of some of my fave kdramas are hello, monster; watcher; he is psychometric. i’m definitely not a fan of romantic comedy, mostly because i find them to involve a lot of second hand embarrassment (which i can’t stand) and generally too cringy for me, but i do admit that i enjoy a solid romance plot with the right amount of angst, for example: descendants of the sun (which is the one kdrama staple that i say is an actual staple if you’re going to watch some kdrama classics), angel’s last mission: love, healer, and come and hug me (though that one, like most of the others, involves a mystery/crime plot in the background as well). 

i have watched some more light hearted kdramas, mostly ones in school settings, and i tend to like dramas that focus on friendships and coming of age type struggles, but it’s kind of a struggle to find ones that manage to hold my interest. weightlifting fairy kim bok joo is a good humorous friends to lovers type drama if you want one that’s easy to watch and is still compelling - i really like that friends, family, and aspirations play a big part in that one - it takes place in a university, btw. moment of eighteen (also called at eighteen) is a good high school centered story, and it does a really good job with the characters - each has their strengths, weaknesses, and arcs, even the background characters. basically, slice of life with a good amount of growth and angst is a pretty good watch. they’re chill, but still filling, if that makes sense.

i used to be really averse to historical dramas, but they’ve slowly been growing on me since watching arthdal chronicles, which is a gritty pre historic drama that was pretty amazing. on that note, i do like dramas with complicated storylines, if they play it the right way. those tend to be longer dramas, and they’re very twisty.

the only genre i really don’t watch explicitly is the horror genre. i’ve tried to dip my toes in, with strangers from hell and the guest, but i haven’t been able to move past the first couple episodes on any of them. the suspense is bound to cause me heart problems ;-;. this girl does not do well with anxiety inducing situations, even if they’re through a tv screen. 

this got kind of long, sorry about that! as you said...i’m kind of very passionate about kdramas. i mostly chose dramas based off cast first (i originally started them because of kpop, but now i’m just associated with actors/actresses in general), but i like them, even if they’re the epitome of slow burn. mostly because, unlike american shows, there’s hardly any sex/cursing/other vulgar things that i really don’t like to see, and also they’re usually only one season, meaning the plot isn’t dragged out and made crazy. but if you ever want to talk about any drama specifically, i’m here for you!! as you probably know, i’m more than happy to rant about dramas. 

anyways, this was a super fun ask and it really made me smile a lot, so thank you so much, anon!!! i hope you have a good night (or day - idk what timezone you’re in) <3

[lennoxarnott-anon]

Big Update ! ! !

Heyo! Handler here! So, I have a couple of things to go over...

You'll notice I have updated Lennox's rules. Please read those if you haven't already so that you are up to speed. The most major change in the rules is that I am going 18+. This does not mean I am going to do anything majorly involving NSFW content, but a staple part of Lennox's personality is her flirtatiousness, and I not only want to show that side of her more, but I also do not feel comfortable letting minors interact with content like that.

New face claim! I know I change Lennox's face claim a shit ton, but with the other updates happening I felt like it was a good time to do some spring cleaning in that department as well.

Two big character changes!

First off, if you've followed this blog for a while, you'll know Lennox has a baby. I'm changing her name from Lenora to Lochlyn. I'm also making it part of Lennox's overall plot that no one initially knows about Lochlyn, including the father. The handler of the father and I came up with the idea that Lennox should have run away after finding out she was pregnant. New plotline unlocked! lmao. We just felt like Lennox would be very secretive and protective of her daughter in this way (mainly because she has trust issues with human beings.)

Second off, Lennox is going to be a lot more private and secretive not only about Lochlyn, but about herself in general. I would like her to be very closed off about her origins, feelings, etc.

So that's about it! I hope you guys will like these changes. Let me know if you have any feedback.

~ B

[ladyherenya]

Books read in July

Four audiobooks (two fantasy, two historical). Two graphic novels and a Webtoon (fantasy). Five fantasy novels, including an illustrated children’s novel.  A short story collection (also fantasy). One YA  book from my shelves (mostly historical). All library books were borrowed through Overdrive.

(Longer reviews and ratings are on LibraryThing. And also my Dreamwidth blog.)

Lore Olympus by Rachel Symthe: Not a book but a Webtoon released in weekly episodes. I binged 23 episodes of this in July (and have read another 5 since). A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone. Parts of it are super cute! The artwork is gorgeous, bold and vibrant; I particularly like the night-time scenes. Persephone is a utter delight; Hades owns a lot of dogs and his initial kidnapping of Persephone is accidental and short-lived, effectively sidestepping the hugely problematic basis for their relationship in the original myth. This is a story interested in respecting characters’ agency. So far, the darker episodes have been handled sensitively. I want more RIGHT NOW.

Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll (narrated by Victoria Fox): After 13 year old Olive is injured during an air raid and her older sister goes missing, Olive and her younger brother are evacuated to the Devon coast. This is poignant and eventful, about life during WWII and attempts to help refugees. It twists and ties everything together very neatly -- more than I was expecting, but this is a children’s novel. I’d have thought it perfect when I was Olive’s age! Reading it now, I was struck by how relevant this sort of story is today. I also really liked Olive’s observations, and the vividness of the coastal community.

Clocktaur War by T. Kingfisher (aka Urusla Vernon):

Clockwork Boys: I wasn’t sure if I’d like this -- criminals on a suicidal mission isn’t my thing -- but I finished it and the sequel within 24 hours. A convicted forger with allergies, an assassin, a disgraced paladin and a young scholar are sent to stop an army of clockwork boys. I loved this! It isn’t as grim and cynical as it sounds. There’s banter and teamwork -- and amusing commentary on the physical discomforts of travelling on a quest. (One of Kingfisher’s strengths is taking something typically fantasy and blending it with something prosaic.) And I cared more about the characters than I expected to.

The Wonder Engine: Slate and her companions have reached Anuket City but are still in danger. I really like this. Again, it involves humour and the teamwork and characters I cared about. I appreciate that these are characters who have made mistakes and have have work out how to move on from their failures. I like the way the romance develops. The beginning of the book meanders a bit but then things become tense and fraught, drawing together various aspects of the story in a way which is unexpectedly clever and unexpectedly heartbreaking.

Faro’s Daughter by Georgette Heyer (narrated by Laura Paton): Oh, this was so much fun! It brims with Pride and Prejudice parallels, but that doesn’t bother me because the characters’ personalities, circumstances and motives are different. When Max Ravenscar hears that his young cousin plans to marry “a wench from a gaming-house”, he sets out to intervene. Deborah doesn’t want to marry Mablethorpe, but, insulted by Ravenscar’s attempts to bribe her, she pretends otherwise to annoy him. I was delighted by their interactions. Deborah’s passionate, with a fierce sense of honour, but also sensible and kind. Ravenscar’s level-headed, has a sense of humour and knows when to apologise.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples:

Volume Five: This deals with the aftermath of Volume Four. It is full of missions which succeed in some way... only to then fail in another way. I was relieved that nothing worse happened, but I didn’t enjoy it much. There were a couple of deaths which disappointed me -- not because I was sad but because their deaths didn’t feel necessary and they made the story less interesting and less complex. I like seeing characters grow and change, and there’s just less potential for a character to build new relationships or challenge other characters when they are dead...

Volume Six: Hazel starts attending kindergarten in a detention centre, her parents search for a way to reunite their family and their enemies continue to pursue them. I enjoyed this volume a lot more than the previous two, because it has what they lacked: Alana and Marko working together! Their relationship is one of my favourite things about this series. They are delightful -- sometimes impulsive and reckless, but also optimistic and loving. They’re the reason I’m prepared to read a story which is frequently darker than I’d prefer. I also appreciated that there was positive resolution to the Hazel-is-abducted plotline.

Granny was a Buffer Girl by Berlie Doherty: A short coming-of-age story about love and leaving home as experienced by several generations of a working class family. On Jess’s last evening at home, her grandparents and parents tells stories about growing up in the 30s and 50s, and Jess reflects on her own experiences. There are all sorts of interesting details in these stories. Telling them side-by-side shows how times changes and how people take different paths to adulthood, but I wished it had focused more on some stories than others. Some of the prose is lovely, and as a whole this book is… oddly melancholy and memorable.

Discworld books by Terry Pratchett:

Wyrd Sisters (narrated by Celia Imrie): A king is murdered by his cousin, his young son is hidden with a group of travelling thespians and three witches break with custom by meddling in politics. This has some fabulously funny Macbeth references and lots of clever descriptions. I liked the witches, especially Granny Weatherwax and Magrat. However, I found some of the witches’ cattiness and pettiness frustrating. The plot is also more predictable than some of Pratchett’s. I wonder if I’d have been more invested in the story had there been more character growth (or more personal stakes) and less parody… Anyway, I liked this enough.

Making Money (narrated by Stephen Briggs): Reread, originally read 2012. I didn’t have much to say about it at the time: “Clever, witty and satirical, like Going Postal. I enjoyed it, but it failed to impress me (or make me laugh) quite as much. Perhaps it was a bit too much more-of-the-same?” No, the problem was that I didn’t listen to the audiobook! Pratchett is more engaging and much funnier when read aloud. Moist von Lipwig is the sort to get into trouble due to boredom; he’s at his most inspired when he’s flying by the seat of his pants. This is fun to watch. I couldn’t remember much about his adventures in banking, which made this reread even more entertaining. And appearances are made by the Watch… I would very happily gobble up more.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: Compelling and beautifully written, a story about winter, silver and girls who make themselves cold to protect those they love. It most obviously draws upon “Rumpelstiltskin”, but I recognised elements from other fairytales. I liked how the girls’ stories fit together and how they have to work together (and would have liked it even had there been more of that!) They come from different classes and family situations, but they each have to navigate limited choices, unwelcome offers of marriage and unexpected responsibilities. Their most important, most positive relationships, are familial ones -- a source of warmth in this wintry story.

The Halcyon Fairy Book by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon): This has two parts. The Annotated Fairy Tales is a collection of strange fairytales interrupted with amusing commentary from Kingfisher, highlighting the weird bits and speculating about explanations for the characters’ behaviour. Some fairytales are even weirder than I realised. My favourite for its wackiness was “The Golden Apple Tree and the Nine Peahens”. My favourite as a story was “The Deer Prince”. Toad Words and Other Stories is a collection of Kingfisher’s short stories and poems. I love how she blends fairytales with reality, and does so with honesty, hope and humour. I should read everything else she’s written.

Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew by Ursula Vernon: Nurk the shrew receives a letter intended for his grandmother, whose whereabouts are unknown. Nurk has never left home before but, packing clean socks and his grandmother’s diary (for advice), he sets out to return the letter to sender. Short and illustrated. Cute without being twee.

[clairekatswritingcorner]

Unexpected Guests

Word Count: 2,010

Summary: A few years after the Great Race of Oban, Spirit reconnects with Eva and Aikka to hear the big proposition Eva has planned for them.

*Author’s Note*: This doesn’t have much of a plot, but it’s a scene I wanted to write for my idea of what an Eva/Aikka/Spirit reunion might look like in the new Oban series! I know we know absolutely nothing about the plot or why any of the characters that have reconnected have done so, but that’s part of why fanfiction exists, right? I also just wanted to take the opportunity to write more Spirit stuff for @aepaex because she deserves it. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

(also available to read on my Ao3, which can be found in my blog links)

Spirit observed the vehicles, both flying and grounded, that crowded the busy city center. Most of the buildings were tall and glossy, surrounded by intricately woven roadways indicative of the futuristic feel Eva had informed him most of humanity, at least those building a majority of Earth's big cities, preferred to use. There wasn’t much to do to pass the time as he waited to meet her and some other unnamed parties she’d yet to reveal the identity of.

He wandered from the monument in the city square to a bridge overlooking a clear waterway, leaning over the railing to see if the water was too far away for him to see his own reflection. He eavesdropped on the people that periodically passed him on foot, some discussing indistinct topics that he knew little about while others whispered about him. Earth had received an uptick in interplanetary traffic in the years following the Great Race, but it was clear humans hadn’t become entirely accustomed to seeing less than human forms on their city streets, especially in regards to more traditionally monster looking species like the Phils.

Spirit didn’t mind the passing comments, though, especially since he was used to them. After his years of experience with other species first reactions to and interpretations of him, Spirit had come to recognize that some things didn’t really change until you got to know an alien, and he had much more important things to be considering anyway. Unfortunately, the water was too distant for his image to even appear as distorted colors in its sloshing waves, and he turned back towards the street just in time to hear a familiar voice calling out to him. Her voice traveled from above him, and Spirit looked up to see Eva flying over the square, a little stunned to see exactly what she was riding and who she was riding with.

“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting!” Eva greeted, waving enthusiastically as she slipped off the giant beetle’s back. Spirit had recognized G’dar in an instant, and as if to reinforce this recognition Aikka leaned forward a bit from the great bug’s back, giving Spirit a small wave.

Spirit returned Eva’s greeting with a nod, and before he knew it she had her arms wrapped around his waist in a friendly embrace. He was still a little caught off guard that the unnamed friend Eva said she was bringing along turned out to be the now proud Nourasian king, Aikka. The last Spirit heard, Aikka had had his hands full with diplomatic affairs and the protocol of transferring power from the previous king to himself, not to mention sorting out the Nourasian’s old and forced alliance with the Crogs. The fact that he had come all the way to Earth, and moreso had apparently been roped in to whatever scheme Eva had concocted that even Spirit knew nothing about yet, was peculiar but not altogether unexpected. After all, Eva and Aikka’s relationship had only strengthened following the Great Race, something they had both meticulously maintained even with the distance between their planets.

Spirit observed the myriad of differences Eva and Aikka displayed since the last time he had spoken with them face to face. There were certain things that remained staples of their physical presentations, such as Eva’s dyed hair, the bright pink music player that never left her hip, and the distinct racing goggles that she never went anywhere without. It appeared that she’d updated her arsenal of technology with a new high tech visor, and her clothing looked fitting for everything from space travel to mechanical maintenance.

Aikka’s clothes reflected a similar purpose, which was surprising considering his newly esteemed royal position. Spirit wondered just how much trouble the new king would be in if his attendants knew the details of his trip across the galaxy in civilian clothing to take part in some sort of assembly orchestrated by a simple Earth girl. His hair was much longer than it had been during the Great Race, fashioned into a high ponytail to keep it out of the way.  Spirit considered that both of them looked like intergalactic bandits or bounty hunters, ready at any moment to board a space faring craft and plunge into the cosmos looking for the next big adventure. Knowing Eva, that might be what she had planned anyway.

Spirit patted Eva on the back, making sure she was aware that he was going to connect with her telepathically before asking her through this channel of communication exactly what was going on. He wasn’t necessarily the type who had to be privy to all things at all times, but with the esteemed company she had roped into whatever excursion she was planning on pursuing, Spirit had an inkling that something larger was at play. Eva smiled and released him from her grasp, both of them moving out of the way a bit as Aikka slid off G’dar’s back to join them.

“We had a little bit of navigation trouble once we got into the city,” Aikka explained, filling in the blanks from Eva’s apology for their lateness. “G’dar isn’t exactly skittish when it comes to crowded places like this, but it seems like most of the locals aren’t used to anything more than shiny flying vehicles soaring through the sky. We were lucky we didn’t get arrested for flying a foreign object.”

“Yeah yeah, but what’s important now is that we’re all here together!” Eva replied, patting Aikka on the back. “Your flying has gotten a little rusty though, your Highness. Seems like it was more urgent to get you out of that palace than I thought.”

Aikka opened his mouth to protest, but Eva swiftly switched topics. “So, now that we’re all together, I can elaborate on my proposal.”

Something she had to tell us in person…Spirit thought, noticing the exuberant shine in her eyes. Or perhaps she just really wanted to see our reactions.

“I think we oughta get some more old friends back together,” she began, stretching her arms out behind her and leaning against the bridge’s railing. “I mean, we already have the three of us, and I’ve been able to contact a few others, like Rush. A lot has happened since the Great Race, a lot that’s only shared between those of us that actually experienced it…while I definitely don’t want to return to that, I think it would be fun to hang out together again. A lot of us, all at once, and maybe we can even have some racing meets to see who’s still got their racing fire lit.”

Spirit rested his hand on Eva’s wrist. Doesn’t this seem a little spontaneous? Although both Aikka and I had the time and the means to make this meeting happen, I’m not sure what gathering us all together again really accomplishes.

“You don’t have to worry about that, I don’t really have a sure fire plan anyway,” Eva less than reassuringly replied. “I just…it’s been lonely, and so much has changed. We’ve all grown, undoubtedly become different people than we were during the Great Race. But that experience still lingers within us. None of us will ever truly be able to get rid of those memories, good or bad. I figured it was time to make some sort of impromptu reunion, even if it’s only for a day. You guys are both here already, right? Can’t you humor me with this?”

Spirit had to admit that he knew where Eva was coming from. There were certainly things he had seen, and even more he had heard about after the fact from racers like her, that shook him to his core. Although he sometimes felt tempted to share his feelings or thoughts on the matter with his family or friends, he knew that not only was it a dangerous idea to involve them in such a dreadful affair, but they would never be able to truly understand. The only people who could offer support for and relate to the pilots who participated in the Great Race of Oban were fellow pilots and various other individuals who had shared the experience with them. Spirit mimicked Eva’s relaxed posture, extending a hand to Aikka to ask him what he thought about all this.

“Well, I’m not here because I don’t want to be,” he began, an unmistakable blush coloring his cheeks. “I think there’s merit to what Eva says. Apart from needing a break from my duties, I think there are bigger things that need to be discussed. Some things…that although they may never be completely dealt with, they can at least be worked through. All of us have suffered at the hands of the Great Race in one way or another, some deeper than others. I have questions, many of which I’m sure have no hope of being answered, but maybe the more of us that join together, the closer we can get to uncovering the truth.”

So a mixture of a research expedition and a friendly support meetup. That sounded like about as Eva an idea as any of the ones Spirit had already heard or been apart of throughout the years. After the Great Race, while many racers had gone their separate ways, Eva and the group of those who had been with her through her roughest patches and knew about the deepest pains of her past had remained in consistent and close contact with her and each other.

Eva had come out of the Great Race with an altered perception of fate, a new set of friends, and an infinitely widened view of both life and the universe. Spirit still didn’t know every detail of what transpired on Oban with her, her faithful racing team, and King Aikka. Although part of him would always be achingly curious to have her divulge the full story, another part knew that it would be detrimental both to him and the parties involved to plunge them too deeply into territory they weren’t properly armed to tackle.

Spirit simply nodded in agreement then, knowing that no matter what came next, it would surely be an adventure he didn’t want to miss. He wanted to uncover more about the Great Race for himself, as well as catch up in person with racers who understood him for more than the enigmatic Phils champion that many assumed him to be. Even just being around Eva and Aikka again brought him a peace that he hadn’t known since he had last had the pleasure of sharing their company. There was a deep, unspoken camaraderie between many of the racers who participated in the Great Race. Whether it was fate, or trauma, or the simple desire to reconnect with those Spirit once saw as nothing more but fellow competitors, he had a yearning to join Eva’s expedition. He ruffled her hair, cut shorter than she had worn it when she was younger, and in the gesture passed along his thanks for her kindness in reaching out to him.

Eva laughed, grabbing his hand with one of her own as she smoothed her hair with the other. You don’t need to thank me, it was a no brainer. It wouldn’t be the same without one of my best friends.

Spirit felt the wellspring in his chest expand, doing his best to keep his composure while also sharing the elated feeling with her. She considered him a friend, a sentiment that made him feel more than he felt he would ever be able to share or communicate, even with telepathy. Aikka smiled gently at them both, and Eva yanked him over to them, pulling them all into a group hug that made Spirit feel like he was truly at home. This was the beginning of a grand adventure, one that had no perceivable direction. But spontaneity was what Eva did best, and with her at the helm, Spirit was sure they would make it out of even the darkest recesses of space they might dare to traverse.

[archivesdiveronarpg]

Congratulations, LEXIE! You’ve been accepted for the role of BENVOLIO with the approved faceclaim change to DIEGO BONETA. Lexie, you have no idea how happy I am that you’ve taken to Benvolio so passionately, so effortlessly, and so perfectly. Your love for Verona’s peacekeeper was evident and I could honestly not be happier to trust him in your hands. The interview captured the simplicity of Benvolio, while your plots promised to delve into him and bring life to him in a way that I’m somewhat scared to see. Please don’t break my heart with him. Your playlist at the end was perfect for him and you cannot comprehend how ecstatic I am for Benvolio to grace Verona once more. I’m so excited to see him grace our dash! Welcome to Verona! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

                                                                            WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Lexie

Age | 19

Preferred Pronouns | She/her

Activity Level | I only have a week left of classes, then it’s finals week, and I’ll be home on 4/28. I’ll be working throughout the summer, mostly in the mornings and afternoons, so I should be around in the evenings. I think I can consistently keep up around an 8/10 in terms of activity.

Timezone | EST

In Character

Character | Benvolio; Bellamy Santo Domingo. I was hoping to change the faceclaim to Diego Boneta if that’s alright!

What drew you to this character? | I wish I could say that Benvolio was my favorite from the moment I read Romeo and Juliet, but then I would be a liar. I remember rolling my eyes and shaking my head thinking, “C’mon, Benvolio. Just let them tear each other to shreds.” Being older, I’ve come to appreciate and love his character. I myself have been called a “peacemaker.” I don’t like stepping on toes and try to resolve conflict as quickly as it starts. So much so that a family friend has affectionately given me the nickname “Switzerland.” So I can see where Benvolio is coming from. He’s starving for tranquility. Having grown up surrounded by war, suffering losses, knowing death more so than he does life, how could he not be? He sees something that the other characters don’t, and I want to explore what it’s like to so passionately fight for a lost cause with no allies.

Benvolio is loyal above all else, and I highly value loyalty in a person. He is involved in a war he despises, because he is both obedient to his family and fiercely loyal to the Montague name, and I find that admirable. I absolutely adore conflicted characters, like Becket from Jean Anouilh’s play. I love seeing how their limits are tested and how far they are willing to go, especially when these characters are loyal to an authority they don’t fully trust. I want to explore Benvolio’s boundaries.

I also think that Benvolio was a fairly flat side character in the play, and I would love to give him more depth. I love exploring introverted characters, because so much of their characterization relies on their thoughts and feelings rather than what they’re willing to openly express. I think Benvolio is just as secretive as he is secluded. He keeps to himself and is likely writing a treaty in the back of his mind while everyone else has their backs turned. Benvolio’s staple character trait is that he is the peacemaker, but so often Mercutio’s comments about Benvolio are dismissed. Mercutio addresses that Benvolio is just as rash and hot-tempered as the rest of the Montagues. "Come, come, thou art as hot a Jack in thy mood as any in Italy, and as soon moved to be moody, and as soon moody to be moved.“ This is something I would really like to delve into. Mercutio also says that if there were two Benvolios, they would kill each other. He has a dual nature that is not often discussed, and I want to explore the conflicting sides of him. Behind his placid exterior, there’s something in his blood lurking just below the surface that could be fatal. He’s never been one to boast his name, but it’s also something that he can’t escape from. He doesn’t want to be tempted any more. He longs for peace no matter how futile it seems, but maybe he’s just trying to escape himself before he truly lives up to the Montague reputation.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

POWER STRUGGLE | I think that there’s something to explore with Bellamy’s rank in the mob. Being a soldier, he’s not equipped to give orders, so he takes them. But that can’t be something that’s easy to do when all he really wants is to be free from all the struggle and strife the war causes. It isn’t so much Bellamy wants more authority, he’s just grown tired of being brushed off so easily. The people closest to him are neck deep in turmoil, too proud to step back and too bloodthirsty to even consider doing so. Bellamy knows he has to take matters into his own hands; he’s the only one willing to extend an olive branch. That means disobeying, something Bellamy never thought he would be able to do. He’s long tried to make his well-crafted words heard by his higher-ups, but his attempts have been in vain. It’s a sore spot that’s starting to itch.

WHITE FLAG | More or less a pacifist, Bellamy wants nothing more than for the war between the dueling mobs to end. He has a diplomatic nature, and he’s known to craft his words carefully. Some work in paints or clays; Bellamy works in words, shaping and polishing them until they too are a work of art. His words are one of the few things he takes pride in, and they are near to his heart. And while his fellow Montagues would prefer he use them to cut and pierce, he has no way to sharpen them. He has vowed to use them to heal, and he knows he can do so given they fall into the right hands. He’s willing to surrender himself to the Capulets or raise his own army of mediators so long as he can walk the streets of Verona without finding them red with blood.

REPENTANCE | Bellamy escaped bloodshed for four years. How open are the arms that have come to welcome him? Bellamy believes in consequences; he’s been a first-hand witness to many of them. He has a rising suspicion that he’s lost a certain degree of trust from the mob, and he doesn’t blame them for it. How far will he go to regain that trust? What will it take?

In Depth

What is your favorite place in Verona? | We recommend looking at the location page and reading it over to figure out where your character’s favorite place is – if it’s not their own house/room.

Verona… Verona… The word registers again and again, a dull roar grating against the base of his eardrums. It’s not a dream, not a nightmare, just a horrific reality from which he has tried so many times to escape. But there’s no denying it: he’s back. He looks up, swallowing the bitter, chalky taste on the back of his tongue as he forces a dimpled smile.

Verona pales in comparison to the lively streets of Barcelona or Madrid. He can so distinctly see the friendly smiles of street vendors, smiles as sweet as the churros they waved in his face and warm as the woven blankets on display. But he remembers even Spain has its bullfights, and he couldn’t stomach those either.

“Well, that’s hard to say…” He says it because it’s true. Lies never fit in his mouth, anyway.

Is it the Tempest Lounge? Surely not. He spent too many nights crammed in the corner of the night club, saturated in cheap neon and chrome, the air humid and claustrophobic with body heat. The tasteless music blaring from the speakers left him dizzy. He used to look the other way when Marcelo did their lines or when Roman all too indulgently whispered in the ear of the night’s given woman. And by the end of the night, Bellamy was patching up Marcelo’s wounds, the lectures flying off of his tongue falling on deaf ears as Marcelo told him “don’t worry so much” and “it won’t happen again,” until the next evening led to another bar fight.

The Castelvecchio Bridge is gorgeous, clay-stained and surrounded by greenery. But it’s also a painful reminder: a physical manifestation of the divide between Montague and Capulet. At least the waters beneath it are still.

He sees more places in his mind’s eye, each one with a unique list of pros and cons. It would likely be the library if it wasn’t the same place the Montagues conducted business, playing God from the upper floor, looking down upon a world of knowledge so rarely opened. It would be the Phoenix and the Turtle Cafe if it didn’t so often feel stuffy with egos; intellectuals have a wildly intimate relationship with arrogance.

With a sigh that is much heavier than he was initially expecting, he rolls his shoulders. “The roof of my apartment,” he settles on, thumb tracing the handle on his tea mug. As he watches the steam rise from his cup, a small, crooked smile graces one end of his lips. “I like to climb up there at night sometimes… The city isn’t exactly quiet, especially not when it’s so close to the highway… But something about it is calming. If you close your eyes, it almost sounds like the ocean.”

Almost… his thoughts remind him bitterly.

What does your typical day look like?

“Typical is barely in my vocabulary,” Bellamy snickers, sharing an inside joke with himself as he taps his fingers against his cheek. Verona is not a predictable place, it never has been, and Bellamy has finally accepted that it likely will never be.

Still, his heart aches for a time when he won’t fear running into Death in a back alley. They weren’t old friends but civil strangers. Each of their conversations, however, were negotiations. And no matter how many times Bellamy thought his debts were paid, they came face to face time and time again.

He takes a long sip from his tea mug, chamomile and honey running down his throat. It’s meant to soothe him, yet all it really does is mock him. He could drink all the tea in the world and still find himself thirsty. He wonders if he’ll ever be satiated.

“But I generally try to do just enough to please,” he explains simply, glancing back up to the questioner. “If I can help it, I try to keep to myself and my studies… The funny thing about trouble is it always has a way of finding you. No matter how good you are at hiding.”

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

His heart twists painfully in his chest the moment he hears the question. His throat tightens, breath thinning as he trains an intent stare on the wood of the table at which he’s sitting. It feels like a trap. He isn’t asked how he feels about the war often, because what does it matter, anyway? Day in and day out, the streets of Verona become a graveyard, scattered bones like cobblestone on the street. And only a select few see a problem with it.

“It’s tiring,” Bellamy says finally. He’s so used to biting his tongue, it feels odd letting the words out in the open. But some days he worries his mouth will rust shut; something needs to be said.

He shouldn’t say anymore, and he knows it. He nods, trying to recall one of Roman’s old lines, something he would say as he loaded his gun or passed a Capulet on the street. Nothing comes to mind.

“A necessary evil, perhaps.” He doesn’t quite believe himself, but he has no energy to be cheeky or to muster up a lie. So he leaves it at that, checking the watch on his wrist with a crisp, practiced smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I really should get going.”

In-Character Para Sample:

Damiano’s chair creaked as he shifted his weight, and Bellamy steeled himself for the man’s response. For a long, shapeless moment the only sound between them was the hushed sizzle of the burning cigarette tucked neatly between Damiano’s fingers. Damiano pressed the embers against a gaudy silver ash tray atop the mahogany table, twisting it back and forth just to drag out the silence. Bellamy’s breath hitched.

A wolfish smile cut across the hard lines of Damiano’s face as he clicked his tongue fondly, and Bellamy steeled himself again. He expected a fight. Bellamy always expected a fight. Informing the head of the Montague empire he would be abandoning his post to pursue something so trivial as wanderlust felt like treason.

But to his surprise, Damiano was gracious. He offered kind words, or rather words that did not cut deeply. But when they clasped their hands together for an honorable shake, Damiano scowled. Bellamy knew his hand was too warm, too clammy against Damiano’s icy, calloused palm. Bellamy swallowed his apology and instead bowed his head respectfully.

“Just remember, Bellamy…” Damiano spoke at a hoarse, low pitch, his voice a near whisper to which Bellamy was forced to pay strict attention. The tone he used was something threatening, something bold and authoritative that revealed the number of people he had sent to their graves. His eyes were sharp, and his gaze did not falter. His mouth pressed into a patient line for an eerily long moment, chapped lips sticking together before they parted to form the next half of his sentence. “War is in your blood.”

The statement followed Bellamy wherever he went. It became a whisper in the night, a breathy sigh in Spain’s busy streets, a hiss beneath the pitter patter of Irish rain hitting the rooftops. It rang in his ears from the moment his mother called and again throughout the plane ride back to Verona.

And again as he passed the Capital Library on the drive to his apartment.

Everywhere he looked, there was a memory. A building which Roman had climbed too many times, looking over the city as if it rested in his palm; a bar that Marcelo, all open wounds and cynicism, stumbled out of one night. He saw his brothers walking the streets with handguns tucked beneath their shirts, protecting their territory with the civility of feasting lions. Everywhere was a memory for which Bellamy was not nostalgic.

Bellamy caught the taxi driver’s face in his periphery, turning his head fully to see the man’s unamused expression. It took another beat for Bellamy to realize the car was stopped outside the deteriorating walls of his apartment complex. How long they had been sitting in the parked car, he couldn’t be sure. So he offered a forced laugh and an apology, handing a generous tip before making his way up the stairs.

Jamming the key in the lock and ramming his shoulder against the door three times— it always took three times— Bellamy stumbled into the room, door swinging with unexpected force. Wrenching his key from the door, he walked into his living room and sat before the open cage.

“Come on, Isa,” he sighed, running his palms over his thighs through the fabric of his trousers. Isadora did not move from her place, still protesting the new living quarters. Bellamy lied on his stomach, eyes both dull and pleading as he came face-to-face with the feline. “Look, I don’t want to be here any more than you do.”

Isadora locked eyes with Bellamy, staring a long moment. She didn’t budge, feet tucked up beside the swell of her belly. She flicked her tail once, a solitary gesture best described as contempt.

“Isadora,” he said more sternly this time, folding his hands and setting them under his chin. She let out a flustered meow in response. “Isadora Santo Domingo, you will leave this cage this instant before I—”

His cellphone shrieked from his bedroom, tinny ring swelling with urgency. Bellamy was half grateful; he didn’t really have a threat in the first place. Still, he was hoping for one night of peace. Just one before he fully integrated himself back into the world of Verona. A world of cruelty and senselessness.

He fixed Isa with one more warning glance before making his way to the bedroom and snagging his phone off of his bedside table— a box that had once carried his microwave— and interrupted the sixth ring.

“Bellamy here,” he said pleasantly, only to be assaulted with a flurry of vicious verbal attacks. He jerked his phone away from his ear, though he could still hear the speaker’s words with the device three inches away. The insults were creative, at least, an explosion of colors both beautiful and dangerous. Bellamy expected no less from the caller.

He lowered the volume on the device and pressed the phone to his ear with a sigh. “Marcelo,” Bellamy sighed, finally able to get a word in. Bellamy agreed his friend had every right to chastise him. After all, he’d been in the city a full forty-eight hours without contacting the two people that made Verona worthwhile. If Bellamy thought his conversation with Damiano all those years ago was treacherous, this was a mortal sin. “Marcelo, slow down,” Bellamy muttered, already grabbing his wallet to prepare for a night of agony stuffed in the corner of whichever bar was discounting its drinks. “I can’t understand you when you’re shouting like this.”

Extras:

HEADCANONS

BAGGAGE | Bellamy may not have blood on his hands, but that does not mean he is absolved from blame. He has yet to murder anyone on his own, face-to-face, though he feels the day is inevitable. He might kiss his victim’s cheeks and whisper apologies, might try to make the process feel a little more human. The thought is something that keeps him up at night, something that hides at the bottom of bottles and lingers in clouds of nicotine. He’s had a hand in torture, though he’s never been able to stomach it for very long. Several of Verona’s murders can be traced back to him in one way or another, whether he pointed in the victim’s direction like a modern Judas or paid off a hotel manager not to say a word.

TATTOOS | Bellamy was never traditionally rebellious. In a family that promoted murder and violence, how could he be? Nonetheless, he has always had a soft spot for cliches, and he found himself rebelling in the form of body art. His first tattoo was a drunken dare, the result of Bellamy’s sulking, Marcello’s sarcasm, Roman’s leadership, and too many empty whiskey bottles. 

“You act like we’ve branded you, Bel,” Marcello sighed, their clouded eyes rolling so theatrically Bellamy thought he could hear them move in their sockets. 

Roman snorted by their side, and Bellamy met the chortle with a glare far too soft to be taken as a real threat. “Maybe we should brand him properly,” Roman suggested, setting an elbow atop Marcello’s shoulder, meeting their eyes with a sparkle of mischief in his own, much to Bellamy’s dismay.

Before he could follow where the conversation was going, Bellamy found himself on a frumpy old chair in a graffiti-covered, rundown tattoo parlor. The tattoo artist was a young woman with jet-black hair, straight-cut bangs, mulberry-painted, pierced lips, and a snake-like smirk that could rival Marcello’s. She told him to relax while he vaguely worried about disease when she pressed a needle to his skin. 

When Bellamy undressed to shower the next morning, he turned to the mirror and felt his blood run cold. On the raised, reddish skin of his left hip was the Montague family crest in daunting black ink, spread across the bone and kissing the top of his thigh.

Strangely enough, he became a bit addicted to the idea of ink in his skin, and he now has a handful of baby tattoos scattered about his body: an olive branch and flower against his bicep, a patch of stars on his shoulder blade, a bird with outstretched wings on the nape of his neck. They’re nonsense, scribblings on coffee stained napkins, but he loves them dearly.

GUILTY PLEASURES | Bellamy has a very self-destructive nature. Some days he feels God has not held him accountable for his sins. So he finds himself comforted by the way wine tastes crisp and dry in his mouth, enjoys the way whiskey stings his throat and cigarettes leave ash in his lungs. While normally he’s lecturing Roman and Marcelo to stay far from a balcony’s edge, he would be a false witness to say he hasn’t let his feet dangle every now and then. He may be branded a hypocrite, but it’s a title he’s willing to bear. Better to sacrifice his pride than his vices.

RELIGION | Bellamy was raised Roman Catholic. He still attends church nearly every Sunday and does his best to spend at least half an hour a day devoted to scripture. He is a man of God, and the irony is not lost on him: the family business hardly has any room for the Commandments. Bellamy walks up to the altar seeking communion and fearing his sins are too much for even the cross to bear. He is fairly convinced that Heaven has no place for a person like him. Still, he remains faithful. His fate may very well be sealed, but just because he’s going to Hell doesn’t mean he cannot fall gracefully.

LANGUAGE | Bellamy is trilingual. His first languages were Spanish and Italian, and he learned English as a third language in school, working hard to become fluent. He’s finally come around to studying Russian in attempts of helping Roman, but for now he only knows very basic phrases and isn’t of much use. Roman doesn’t need to know how many times Bellamy actually opens up a Russian book to study.

APARTMENT | When Bellamy moved back to Verona, he decided he could not move back into his parents’ home. A home is supposed to be a place of refuge, and if he moved back to a house where the skeletons in his closet overflowed into the corridors, he would never find it. He lives in a small one-bedroom apartment more towards the outskirts of the city. It’s nothing glamorous— Marcelo always has some choice words for it. The lot is run down, his landlord is a shiesty chainsmoker who always has car grease on his shirt, and the walls are paper thin. Some of the carpet is stained, and a thin layer of paint barely covers the graffiti art from a previous owner. But it’s home. There isn’t much complaint from his one and only roommate: his cat, Isadora. 

Bellamy hasn’t unpacked much. In fact, he uses a turned over cardboard box as a pathetic excuse for a coffee table. The only furniture he’s purchased is an overstuffed couch and a rusty bed frame. His suitcases are always partially packed, evidence of his false hope that he will finally leave Verona.

MUSIC | Bellamy adores music. More often than not, he enjoys classical pieces. Sometimes music seems like the only way to properly escape from the world around him. He’ll lie on his mattress with earbuds in his ears, listening away to a ballet or a piece older than even the first battle between Montague and Capulet. He played the violin in both lower and upper secondary school and will bring it out occasionally when he feels particularly stressed. He has an affinity for piano pieces as well.

STUDIES | Bellamy has always enjoyed studying. He very seriously considered becoming a nurse and began some introductory courses in Ireland three years into his travels. Sadly, Alvise’s death brought Bellamy back to Verona before he could fully dedicate himself to this dream. Still, he picked up a handful of skills and knows basic first aid as well as how to stitch a wound.

TRENDS | Bellamy cannot keep up with trends for the life of him. Most slang flies over his head unless Roman and Marcelo have fully explained it to him. An old soul, he doesn’t indulge himself in much pop culture or media. He’s also not the best with keeping an open line of communication. He sent letters back home to his family and the Montagues while he was away. He normally has his phone in the same room, but forgets it facedown on countertops. His friends and family are constantly frustrated with him for ignoring calls and text messages. Many times has he heard the phrase “you have a phone for a goddamn reason, Bellamy.”

MIND GAMES | Being a man of logic, Bellamy almost always fills out Verona Journal’s weekly crossword. In the mornings, if he’s not filling out the crossword, he’s scribbling numbers in a book of sudoku puzzles. His father once tried to appeal to Bellamy’s logical side, explaining the strategy of war with a game of chess. Bellamy was far more interested in the game than the analogy, to his father’s disappointment. He still enjoys a game with his father every now and then. They’re civil during their games, sharing in idle conversation. It’s one of the only ways they can speak without Bellamy’s father bringing up the mob, contrary to their first games.

FRIENDLY GIANT | Bellamy has been tall and lanky from his first growth spurt around age 14. He stands at 6’3”, though even with his stature he’s hardly ever seen as frightening. He never uses his height to intimidate, and people often remember him as shorter than he really is. He also has a reputation for being clumsy. His mother took to calling him Cervato, the Spanish word for fawn, and it baffled Bellamy how his mother could sound so affectionate and so condescending all at once.

FINANCES | Bellamy hates being indebted to anyone. When he left home, traveling was easy to do on his parents’ wealth, but Bellamy worked odd jobs to pay for anything other than his plane tickets. He’s very fiscally responsible and doesn’t spend frivolously. He’s still trying to pay back his family for his traveling expenses, and that is why he lives in such a shanty apartment.

PLAYLIST

[ listen. ]

i. sons of an illustrious father - glass nor stone

I will wear these scars Keep loving when it’s hard But my heart is neither glass nor stone

ii. yeah yeah yeahs - runaway

I was feeling sad Can’t help looking back Highways flew by… Run, run, run away

iii. bastille - bad blood

All this bad blood here Won’t you let it dry? It’s been cold for years Won’t you let it lie?

iv. daughter - tomorrow

By tomorrow we’ll be swimming with the fishes Leave our troubles in the sand And when the sun comes up, We’ll be nothing but dust, Just the outlines of our hands

v. PVRIS - demon limbs

I can feel it, being torn from my, my hands: my innocence This change is all so permanent Can’t you see a change in me? I said, it’s all so permanent

vi. the neighbourhood - float

They show you how to swim Then they throw you in the deep end I’ve been learning since But it doesn’t mean I’ll float

vii. AURORA - warrior

I can’t recall last time I opened my eyes to see the world as beautiful And I built a cage to hide in I’m hiding, I’m trying to battle the night Let love conquer your mind Warrior, warrior

viii. paramore - part ii

What a mess, what a mystery we’ve made Of love and other simple things Learning to forgive Even when it wasn’t a mistake I question every human, who won’t look in my eyes Scars left on my heart formed patterns in my mind

xi. pierce the veil - the new national anthem

Somebody’s supposed to fall in love, but nobody even calls Somebody’s supposed to… Tear this place apart until you find me hiding, silently I wait You’ll be excited just to see me someday Everything’s okay

x. bastille - daniel in the den

And for every king that died Oh they would crown another But it’s harder than you think Telling dreams from one another And you thought the lions were bad Well they tried to kill my brothers

PINTEREST BOARD

[ here. ]

[oumakokichi]

Hello!! Sorry if you've already talked about this before, but do you have any thoughts on Tenko? o/ I love your blog!

I don’t think I’ve ever actually answered a question justabout Tenko herself! Thank you so much for asking, anon!

As with fanart, it’s hard to find content of Tenko just onher own. I love, absolutely love herwith Himiko as a ship, and I find her interactions with some of the othercharacters very fun or sweet, but I really wish there were more appreciation forher on her own. It’s true that she perhaps doesn’t get the most time to standalone even within canon, but still. I love Tenko, and I feel like withcharacters who make similar sacrifices like Kaede and Momota, it’s important toremember Tenko as being really great all around and appreciating her as acharacter in her own right.

Tenko is a character I know a lot of people were wary aboutprior to the game’s release, although without much to go on. Her design wascute but there wasn’t much that really stood out or indicated her talent, andher lines from the first few trailers and her likes/dislikes released with thedemo just indicated that she really didn’t like men.

What I was primarily concerned with prior to the game’slaunch was that she might get relegated to some kind of joke character—not inthe same way that I was worried about Ryouma getting treated as a jokecharacter because of his design, but mostly because I thought that if theytouched on her dislike of men at all, it would be in a way to try and make theplayers hate her, view her as an “unreasonable” or “stuck-up” character, andmostly all-around try to treat her as some kind of joke character who wouldneed to be “put in her place” or ���taught” to open up to men after all.Thankfully, this is not what happened at all, and I’m so, so glad every day.

Tenko is one of the fairest, easiest-to-get-along-withmembers of the group. She treats pretty much everyone respectfully, and she’s ateam player through and through; her personal boundaries extend to not wantingmen to compliment her or touch her at all, and these things are regarded aspretty understandable by the rest of the cast. Even when her reactions to “DANshi”result in hilarious expressions and perhaps a few exaggerated outbursts playedfor comedic effect, she’s clearly well-liked by Kaede, by Saihara, and by prettymuch the whole group at large.

Even her honorifics reflect her sense of fair play. Unlikemany of the cast, who use “-kun” for boys and “-san” for girls as a staple,Tenko is one of the only ones besides perhaps Kirumi who uses “-san” for both.If she truly were trying to be mean or aggressive to boys only, then she’d useno honorifics at all, or some sort of rude and insulting nickname for each ofthem individually (the way Miu uses rude nicknames for the entire group at large,not just boys).

I’m glad for this, because it’s clear that by making Tenkowell-liked and a staple of moral and emotional support for the group, she wasn’tmeant to be a joke character of any sort. She’s highly encouraging to anyone atall who’s been upset or traumatized. While there’s no denying she’s much morecomfortable around the girls in the group, and that she particularly reallylooks up to and wants to be around Himiko, with less-aggressive orless-irritating boys in the group like Saihara, or Gonta, or Kiibo, she’s quitepolite, and very supportive to them.

And at the same time, while Tenko is undeniably a goodperson, I liked that she still had flaws of her own. Not huge, glaring flaws oranything, but just normal flaws that any ordinary person struggling to do theirbest might have. I still feel like ndrv3 did such a good job, better than anyDR installment in the past, with making the whole cast of characters feelparticularly more balanced and less one-sided. The characters who die early onin dr1 and sdr2 are certainly likable, but in my opinion, it was always alittle hard to get a feel for them. If you asked me to explain what flaws someof them had besides “being a little clumsy” or “too loud” prior to readingtheir FTEs or school mode, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell you.

But with Tenko, a huge part of her character arc, and ofHimiko’s, was the fact that Tenko’s protective streak was also precisely whatwas pushing Himiko away. Since very early on, Tenko was thrilled with the prospectof Himiko’s talent, and clearly foundher very cute and funny to be around. Himiko was someone who inspired such aprotective urge in her that she wanted to be around her more and more, and sheclearly wanted to inspire her to get out and have fun and maybe be a littlemore open with her emotions.

But she came on so strongly that there’s no denying Himikowas a little uncomfortable at first. Someone as introverted as Himiko onlyfound Tenko’s attempts to draw her out of her shell tiring—and more thananything, Tenko’s insistence that she could protect her from anything andeverything, and her attempts to make sure Himiko was never in danger or doinganything too risky or outside her comfort zone kind of miffed her, becauseHimiko has a definite urge to prove herself and show off a bit preciselybecause of how small and seemingly helpless she is.

This kind of overprotective, somewhat coddling behavior is areally believable, understandable flaw, and something I think we’ve all been guiltyof at some point or other. I feel like there’s plenty of times for most peoplewhere we maybe assume too much about someone else’s abilities or don’t quitethink before trying to do something for them. And even if we don’t have any badintentions, it still hurts the other person, and I like that this kind ofbehavior was something that was addressed with Tenko.

And her good intentions were also addressed, and it wasclear that despite the fact that she sometimes came on a little too strongly orwas perhaps too smothering in her attempts to protect Himiko at first, shereally, genuinely cared, and she wanted to be Himiko’s friend in the truestsense of the word (and also her girlfriend). Tenko realized in the Chapter 2trial what a lot of characters in ndrv3 took much longer to realize: thatdoubting someone is perhaps sometimes necessary, but that trust is all aboutcoming to a conscious decision to believe in someone even after doubting them.

Tenko was killed off too early for my liking, and just aswith Kaede, I would have loved to see her take a more central role in the plotor receive more development, but I am at least glad that she was such a lastinginfluence and presence on Himiko. Tenko’s sincerity and affection for Himikowere so obvious to the entire group at large, many of them specifically commenton her feelings for Himiko even after she’s gone, and Himiko herself carriesTenko with her in her heart and keeps going for her sake specifically eventhrough the worst scenarios.

In addition to all these really fantastic reasons to likeTenko too, the cherry on top for me was realizing that the dislike of men and notwanting them complimenting or touching her was thankfully really not played assome comic relief thing. I’ve yet to read translations of any of Tenko’s FTEs,but I know that even in the Chapter 2 trial, Tenko specifically has a lineinvolving the fact that her father was drunk, and that he yelled a lot, which strikesme as a strong implication that hewas probably verbally abusive at the very least.

Given Tenko’s interest in neo-aikido and its measures ofself-defense, I was really glad to see a female character with this kind ofabuse implied her past whose aversion to men wasn’t treated as somethingneeding to be “fixed” or “gotten over,” and that everyone pretty muchunderstood that she’d be polite and nice as long as her boundaries wererespected.

Tenko is great, and I adore her, and as with most of thecast, I really, really wish she’d lived to the end. Couples rarely ever getoutright confirmation in the DR franchise, let alone happy endings, but I’dhave loved to have seen some AU with himitenko both making it until the end andbeing if not entirely happy then at least somewhat comforted by having eachother around.

[comicteaparty]

June 8th-June 14th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from June 8th, 2019 to June 14th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

What was the original incarnation of your current comic?  What has changed over the lifespan of the idea, and what has remained the same?

Nutty (Court of Roses)

My comic, Court of Roses http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/, was originally built around my first D&D character, a half-elf bard named Merlow the Rose. The comic was going to be strictly based on D&D, but as I started going gung-ho on the worldbuilding I started deviating away, making my own variations on races, making my own pantheon, and even formulating different magic rules and creatures. It's still largely inspired by D&D, and other fantasy works like Lord of the Rings, Elder Scrolls, etc., but I'm also trying to make the world my own, too!

Pencilz

My comic the Caraway Crew https://tapas.io/series/The-Caraway-Crew was originally based on my childhood friend group. Actually the very first incarnation I had with the Caraways was where we were all self-inserted into some large crossover fanfiction... it was pretty bad aha.(edited)

I just realized I said that twice oops

Draco Plato

The first incarnation of my comic....world was a Sailor Moon parody I believe. There was a boarding school and magical boys and girls that fought aliens or something. Firosofi was the "priest" of water and Affinity was the "priestess" of light (ironically her character hasn't seen the light of day in years). Apus was still around in that incarnation since Firosofi and Affinity were affiliated with it there too I think The initial premise still makes up the core of the Apus ideology I think; people fight in pairs against forces that threaten Earth. The focus since shifted to be much more character focused and on characters who were made much later (Damon and Lyall primarily). http://khyatix.com/

ErinPtah (Leif & Thorn | BICP)

But I'm A Cat Person http://bicatperson.com/ basically sprang into being (heh) fully-formed, but I pulled a bunch of the characters from earlier fanfiction incarnations. Jany and Kara Lynn got started in a Neopets RPG; Timothy was created as an OC member of Section XIII in Hellsing; Reseda and Cybele were from the same Sailor Moon exoplanetary team.(edited)

Leif & Thorn http://leifandthorn.com/ started as Colbert Report fanfiction XD It was so far removed from the source material that I spent years thinking "I should file off the serial numbers and try to publish this as an original work"...but it didn't click until I got away from the idea of doing a 1:1 adaptation of the fic's plot, and just used it as the foundation of a world where I could set all kinds of other stories.

AntiBunny

My comic AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ started out as an all pencil sketchy comic about depression. It experimented a lot early on artistically as I tried to tear down my old style and build a new one. As it's changed over the years I've built up a new art style, and as I've changed as a person I'd say it's become its own story driven by the characters. The protagonist's depression and anxiety is still important, but I think the significant thing is that I'm seeing depression from the outside rather than the inside, and my writing has changed a lot as a result.

mathtans

Interesting topic. I might be unique in that my math comic started as a web serial (though I didn't know that's what it was at the time). Meaning text, but supplemented with drawings, because the point was that the graphs were character hairstyles: https://sites.google.com/site/taylorspolynomials/series/openbar

I gave it up after several years due to lack of interest, then brought it back as a web comic with many of the characters redesigned (parabola having twintails instead of bunny ears, for instance). http://mathtans.ca/ It then crossed over with the serial, meaning both sets of characters are canon and take place in the same universe. https://mathtans.blogspot.com/2017/04/math-character-bible.html

So the more it changes, the more it stayed the same? (As to plot, that tended to be whatever math concept I thought would be interesting, from archaic trig functions to fractals... I never knew where that'd be going.)

kayotics

The original incarnation of Ingress Adventuring Company https://ingress-comic.com/ was, like many other fantasy comics, derived from a D&D campaign I played in. I really loved the character I played (Toivo), and the campaign had finished, so I decided to keep using him in more stories. While the basic idea of the character is the same, I completely removed him from the campaign that he was in so I wouldn't have any issues with having to ask my friends to use their characters. Toivo has essentially remained the same, but large parts of his backstory and the entire setting has been changed from the original game I played him in. And, since I'm no longer tied to D&D with a comic, the rules of magic are a lot more vague. Similar to what Nutty said above, my comic is still largely inspired by D&D and other fantasy staples, but at least I can deviate from them as I continue to make my comic.

MJ Massey

Black Ball http://welcometoblackball.com/ is a much more recent idea of mine and hasn't really changed too much in terms of the overarching story, though minor things have shifted such as Maude becoming more of a main character, giving her a brother who is also getting more involved in the plot, and changing the role of a future character. But it's always been Emily and Chester solving a murder mystery.

MJ Massey

The shifts have been so minor and over time that it's hard to find where the "first draft" ends and the "next version" begins. But I've been mentally shifting things as I go along and see that certain aspects of the story need more attention for the ending to pay off or for the character to get well developed

Who the murderer is has stayed the same and how it happens and why. Just the circumstances around it have been smudged and fixed

Tuyetnhi

The OG plans I had for https://oiydcomic.com/ occurred after I was fiddling with twine to make a one shot short story, and an illustration series/zine project after having an intense dream. At first, I initially wanted to create it into an ero-romance comic about a woman having a one night stand with her dream lover, eventually living together after seeing each other for a few weeks. After thinking about it further (and some beta readers later lmao), I decided to develop into a romance-focused drama about acceptance and making life more than what is instilled in our dreams. I fleshed out Cara's (main character) modivations, her background in regards on courtship and romance somewhat seen in the asian-american experience (specifically Vietnamese-american rituals; some that retained after viet dispora came to the US in the late 80's - 90's and the effects on their children). Basically, from intense escapism to a general exploration on romance. With some common themes I've liked in 90's shoujo with some criticisms here and there.(edited)

Respheal

Galebound (http://www.galebound.com/) started off as what was going to be a short story. I posted it up on deviantART just for fun, and I was totally pantsing the plot xD I had an idea of a magician who for some reason couldn't ask questions, and the stablehand he kidnapped when he wasn't getting a horse fast enough. The original idea was that Din was on the run from something? And Conan was that hapless stablehand the protags burst in on like "I need a horse!" before escaping $antagonist or chasing someone. Originally Din was supposed to be a good guy, for real, just...more of a trickster to Conan's straight-faced act(edited)

Since its inception, the plot got way deeper and a gazillion times more horrible I think at one point an Obligation wasn't necessary for magic, and probably wasn't even totally compulsory But then the Pascal Incident happened and making the Obligation compulsory suddenly became much more integral to the plot and world. And once that happened, Din's backstory got more fleshed out and his character got darker. I still really wasn't sure what to do with Conan at that point, though. That didn't hit me until like seven years after the original five chapter draft going up on dA, and knowing Conan better changed everything It's fun :'D

snuffysam

Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R (http://sgkdr.webcomic.ws/) started off as a short film I made for an introductory film class in college (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibRdxNLd3Q4). The film is about a fan of a really bad anime forcing his boyfriend to sit through an episode. The production quality of the film is honestly really bad in retrospect (still got an A though lol). At around the same time as I was making that film, I had just watched... I assume Food Wars, and I was on a real "you could make a battle series out of anything" stint. Like, I would just have a notes document full of ideas like "a shonen series about math olympiads". One idea I really liked was "a shonen series, but it's actually just The Wizard of Oz". After I had finished the short film, I wondered what the actual series that the "anime" took place in would be like, so I decided to build out a comic. I outlined five books, the first being based primarly off the Wizard of Oz. And... the rest is history.

deo101

The first incarnation of millennium (http://millennium.thecomicseries.com/) was pretty much a "chosen one" story where the main character had to go kill an evil space queen and was the only one who could do it. I made about 6 more stories that I later decided I could put together, and the easiest way for me to combine them all was a highschool space story, which I developed for quite a while... Later I changed them all to be adults and started building the current iteration of the story (which has also changed a ton)

Desnik

My WIP comic (which has an ask blog: http://ask-a-warlock.tumblr.com/) started out as a video game idea incorporating Banjo Kazooie collectathon platforming with Ace Attorney trial mechanics....obvs I'm not much of a programmer or 3D modeler, so I went with skills that I actually know how to do: Write and draw(edited)

It had one incarnation where the characters run around all of Europe but it was much too much to develop within 250 pages so I scrapped that and focused on one standalone story, which I'm thumbnailing now and I'm hoping to get into the art stage by the end of the year

and now the page count is about 170 so hopefully that's an easier project to wrangle, when it comes down to it

[idonotknowhowtoo-blog]

How To Write A Book Evaluation

Everybody's got an opinion, so what comes next? We dig into the procedure of how to compose a book evaluation.

How to Write a Book Evaluation

Review pages have been a staple of publications and papers considering that the first time someone wondered, "is it any excellent?"

Thousands of reviews, in print and online, are published every day and devoured by entertainment-seekers keen to find and compare the current and biggest-- and likewise often the worstest-- tidbits of media out there.

Examining can be a quite enjoyable gig: you can get brand credit and complimentary scrap, and it's a little a power-trip to have others actively thinking about your viewpoint.

Starting out as a reviewer can also be quite difficult. It's regular to be uncertain if your viewpoints are "ideal" or to fret about whether composing an unfavorable evaluation is going to trigger difficulty, or just precisely how to tackle writing one.

We have actually corralled a bunch of expert customers across the fields of literary and young adult fiction, Australian fiction, non-fiction, blogging and poetry, and encouraged them into passing on pointers, tricks and ideas for assembling your critiquing abilities. Here's what they had to state:

Thuy On is the books editor of The Huge Concern. She is also a freelance critic, author and editorial Jill-of-all-trades. She has composed for a variety of publications consisting of The Australian, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Books+Publishing, Australian Book Evaluation, Overland, Westerly and Australian Brief Stories.

What is the point of a book review?

If succeeded, book evaluations are a channel between author and reader, a filter in between gloss and dross, a possibility to keep up with the most recent literary phenomenon when you have no time at all to read it yourself. It's a conversation that continues after the last page is turned.

Do you have a different lens through which you check out a book, depending upon the publication you're writing for?

Yes, certainly. Not only does it depend on the publication but it depends on the word count required, although I find that many publications have their own design guide and will modify if your language is too flowery/stilted/casual and so on. Depending on the publication I will check out shallow or deep; often all that's required is a surface skim, other times you really have to check out even more.

What makes a bad (as in severely written) book evaluation?

I attempt not to place myself into a review. It's supposed to be about the book so you will not see the first individual pronoun in any of my reviews. I believe badly written evaluations are too faithful to plot exposition and not conscious enough of spoilers.

Do ever you feel concerned about writing unfavorable reviews?

I used to possibly, when I began twenty-odd years ago however now, no. I do not do this to amass good friends. I think you have to be brave. Essentially you are being paid to voice a considered, expert viewpoint so there is no point pandering to the masses or lying if you feel the book is underperforming in whatever capacity.

What has been your preferred evaluation that you've written?

I do not know if they are my preferred ones but I am fond of evaluations I have actually written that have broken every other reviewer's viewpoint. For circumstances, a while back there was a Peter Carey book that everyone in the market loved and raved about. Other than me. I truly didn't take care of it at all and stated so.

Nadia L King is a narrative writer and YA author in Western Australia. Kirkus Evaluation has explained her book, Jenna's Truth which handles teen cyberbullying as 'a deeply affecting, important story and academic tool. She routinely releases reviews of Australian writers on her blog here.

You mainly review Australian writing, what do you typically concentrate on when you do?

Examining Australian writing is, for me, about increasing direct exposure for Australian authors. This year, I have actually been taking part in the Australian Females Writers Challenge (#AWW 17) - an outstanding movement developed to increase awareness for composing by Australian women authors.

When I initially started examining books a number of years ago, I utilized a basic design template to ensure I was covering all pertinent points in an evaluation. Author Annabel Smith has actually written a great piece to direct new customers which you can read here. If you're interested in reviewing books, browse-- there are a lot of review websites to select from. Make certain you utilize social media to spread out the word about your evaluations.

Do you ever change your writing design to fit the publication?

I don't pitch my book reviews to external publications as I mostly post them to my blog site and share them extensively on social media. I find it particularly gratifying when a publisher utilizes my expressions to promote a book.

Composing book evaluations for my blog site rather than an industrial publication manages me a load of flexibility. I have an entire series of interviews entitled Male I Have Loved - these are interviews with characters instead of authors and provides readers an unique view into a story. Clearly, I can likewise select and select what I evaluate and the length of time each evaluation will be. Writing book evaluations for my blog site is pure delight and hopefully assist builds the writing neighborhood in a little way.

Do ever you feel worried about composing unfavorable reviews?

I very seldom write an unfavorable book evaluation. For me, the purpose of book reviews is to delight people about books and reading. If I decide not to evaluate a book I take the book off my Goodreads bookshelf.

What has been your preferred review that you've written?

I recently composed an extremely short evaluation for Paula Weston's YA book, The Undercurrent. I was pretty pleased when I saw Text Publishing utilizing my blurb in marketing material for the book!

Image credit: Bri Hammond Lou Heinrich is an author and critic whose words have been published in The Weekend Australian, City Mag, and The Raised Brow. She is among the receivers of The Wheeler Centre's Hot Desk Fellowships in 2017.

What is the point of a book evaluation in your mind?

A book reviewer's job, first of all, is to inform a story about the story. Your task is to interact to the reader what they will encounter when they open the book. The next part, my preferred, is to engage with the text. What are the crucial concepts and themes? What traces of other authors and traditions can you position? How can this be contextualised within modern writing, modern culture? This, here, is where you get to sift through the guts of the book with bloody hands.

As a feminist author, what does an evaluation composed from a feminist point of view aim to attain?

I do find a specific quantity of glee writing for conservative mainstream publications with a feminist bent. In this context, my hope is to inform readers.

It's likewise terrific to have a platform to magnify females's stories and experiences. A friend and I shared a giggle over my evaluation of Lindy West's Shrill that included these words:

She mocks the tendency to refer to menstruation in mystical metaphors, describing the procedure as "as soon as a month hot brown blood just glops and glops out of your personal area like a broken Slurpee machine".

Marvelous.

In general, I simply enjoy engaging with ideas. I compose from a feminist perspective since to me it has to do with freedom and justice for all people. And yes, while this points to an inflated sense of my own power, I do wish in my heart of hearts that writing feminist book reviews will create a more just, equivalent and caring world.

Do you make notes about the book as you check out?

Absolutely. It's everything about the work you do during reading! Summarising is a lot easier when its fresh. I doodle in margins, dog-ear pages, compose notes on my iPhone, on extra slips of paper, in note pads-- all for a single text!

If I'm composing for a little word count, like The Huge Concern (180w) you just have space to explain the essentials, so I will not read as closely. However for a larger publication, like The Australian (800w), I'll take more notes, and follow thoughts as they spring up. Often I talk to writers for The Guardian, and when reading I think about the author's point of view and objectives.

What do you think makes a bad book evaluation?

When the author does not understand the context. When they refuse to try to understand the author's intention, especially when it involves experimentation. When they simply repeat the plot. When they do not delight in the category. Conversely, when the author is too concentrated on a book measuring up to genre conventions. These are all errors I have actually made!

Do you have a set of requirements that you try to find in every book you examine?

I mainly checked out female authors because I'm trying to dismantle an education that claims essential literature is composed predominantly by white men. And because in some way book evaluations are evangelistic, and I want other people to check out books by females.

Appearance. Most of my evaluations have had to do with books by white women, so I require to find out from this and make a conscious effort to pitch more evaluations about books by people of colour. Since as Ambelin Kwaymullina composed for The Wheeler Centre, 'We need diverse books due to the fact that an absence of diversity is a failure of our humanity.' I'm attempting to change my ways-- in reality, I've got a write on Jenny Zhang's Sour Heart out soon.

What has been your favourite review that you've written?

Thordis Elva's South of Forgiveness (TW with that link-- sexual violence). Since I thought in the book's material: a paradigm shift to position the onus of male violence onto guys. And I was happy that it had the platform of a national broadsheet.

Anna Forsyth is a writer and freelance editor initially from NZ, now based in Melbourne. In 2012, she developed the feminist poetry reading, Ladies on Secret that is still going strong in Northcote. Her second book of poems , Heavenly Toast will be released in late 2017. In her copious extra time, she moonlights as indie artist, Grace Pageant. As a poetry customer what aspects does poetry evaluation entail?

For poetry, I intend to discover a way in. Attempting to piece together the puzzle of the poet's intention is half the enjoyable. It can take longer, but is well worth the effort. I typically like to find connections in between the poems and take a look at other referrals they are utilizing. My advice would be to read much and check out as extensively as possible in the genre. Truly think of what you like and do not like and why. Don't simply take a look at the lines, take a look at the whole thing and take a step back, then dive in when you are prepared.

Literary examines offer a possibility to explore the publication in depth, using vital analysis and they require a sound knowledge of the history of the category, consisting of theory ... when writing these reviews, I constantly to attempt to provide reasoned arguments for my reviews, rather than just commenting on what I like or do not like personally. Finding methods to get in touch with the works if I do not like them or battle to understand them is among the challenges, however one of my preferred features of composing reviews.

Do you have a various lens through which you write a review, depending on the publication you're composing for?

Definitely. I always keep my potential audience in mind though when writing evaluations and identify the importance to the author and publisher in terms of sales. As a little publisher of poetry myself, I understand how these things can affect on sales and on an emerging writer's profession. I take that obligation really seriously.

I believe all audiences need to know the response to an essential concern. That is, "Am I going to link to this work?" We are so over-saturated with details these days, we require to trust reviewers to assist us when purchasing or spending our time reading something. I try to paint an image of my experience, however advise readers that it is just my opinion.

What makes a bad evaluation?

A bad evaluation would be where the author hasn't put in the time to discover a method into the work. Frequently, an absence of knowledge in the area they are evaluating shows. I think you require to at least enjoy the genre you are evaluating and check out other works or understand the history. That way, you have the ability to comment with some degree of stability. That said though, everybody's opinion stands. There is nothing wrong with someone stating they do not like something. I just choose to know why when I read evaluations.

Do you have a set of criteria that you look for when you are reviewing?

No I do not have actually set criteria. My technique is to read the entire thing as a reader initially, then let it percolate by making remarks. Then, I look at the work holistically. I guess I have concerns that I use to explore the deal with a macro and micro level. What strategies has the writer utilized? Did they perform them well compared to others composing in that area? What is the cultural and artistic context of the work? What impressions did it offer me? If all else stops working, I ponder on specific lines and how I connect to them and why.

Do ever you feel anxious about writing negative reviews?

Yes, I do. Especially in poetry, as I understand a lot of the poets and it's a small community. I constantly tread carefully when criticising and sofa these things in such a way that puts the operate in the finest light possible, even if I found it difficult. I think I can still be truthful and have discovered a method to gently express those aspects that I find difficult or disagreeable.

Ashley Kalagian Blunt examines frequently for the Newtown Evaluation of Books, and has been released by the Sydney Evaluation of Books, Eliminate Your Darlings, Griffith Reviewand The Cusp. Her non-fiction workFilled with Donkey: Journeys in Armenia was shortlisted for the 2017 Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award. FullofDonkey.com You review primarily non-fiction books, what does a non-fiction evaluation aim to attain?

The key concern is what is the book's purpose, and how does it accomplish that purpose (or not). This is likewise true for fiction, but with non-fiction the function is normally more explicit. Non-fiction reviews are likewise more likely to focus on the book's contribution to the subject location or in other words, why the book matters, though not always. Reviewing books in a location where you have competence is important, since that competence allows you to engage with the book on a much deeper level than a basic reader.

What do you try to find when examining non-fiction?

In fact I do not have any set criteria. I approach each book fresh. I let my reading guide my thinking of what I will or will not prioritise in composing the evaluation. There's a lot that could be said about each book. As I check out, I ask: what's most interesting and important about this book?

In an evaluation of Patrick Lenton's A Male Made Totally of Bats, I wrote that if it 'were an alphabet book, its pages would consist of Antarctica, Bee-Judge, Captain Charisma, decapitation, explosives ...' and went on through the whole alphabet. This was motivated by the book's spirited vocabulary. If I began checking out with a set of criteria in mind, my focus on attending to that list may restrict my open and imaginative engagement with the book. Do ever you feel concerned about composing unfavorable evaluations?

A piece of suggestions I got early on was not to compose negative reviews, and I've supported that. That does not mean each review I compose is a radiant recommendation; I constantly intend to engage seriously. But I begin by thinking of the book's designated audience and how it resolves that audience, as well as what the book is trying to do, and if and how it achieves that. If I choose I can't compose a well balanced review, I don't write one at all. What has been your favourite evaluation that you've composed?

That's a hard choice! I recently examined Genocide: A World Historyfor the Sydney Review of Books, which gave me the chance to put forth my own thinking in a location I 'd studied for several years. Composing for SRB was satisfying due to the fact that the longform essay format supplied space to dive deeply into ideas.

[ladyherenya]

Books read in February

I continued on with three series I started in January, and read a few sequels to books/series I started last year. One book was co-written by an author I discovered in January, and the remaining three were by new-to-me authors. Yet again, nearly everything was fantasy and science-fiction. Clearly I was not being very adventurous...

(Longer reviews and ratings are on LibraryThing. And also my Dreamwidth blog.)

The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso:  Lady Amalia Cornaro is walking around incognito when she’s enlisted to tether a rogue fire-mage threatening to burn the city. I kept expecting this to be more consistently gripping. Amalia’s under a lot of pressure, trying to juggle conflicting loyalties, her choices constrained and scrutinised, yet she approaches things with an amount of calm confidence. It’s quite believable, given her strong sense of identity and relationship with her mother, but undercuts the urgency somewhat. Otherwise, this has memorable characters, satisfyingly-complex political intrigue and rich worldbuilding. I’m interested in seeing what happens next.

Discworld - City Watch books by Terry Pratchett:

Feet of Clay (narrated by Nigel Planer): The Watch investigate a couple of murders and the attempted-poisoning of Lord Vetinari.  Meanwhile, something’s going on with the golems. I’m impressed that people plotting to replace Vetinari with a king has been a recurring theme without becoming repetitive. But I really like how Pratchett writes detective/mystery stories - that’s partly why I’m finding these books so engaging. I also liked how the characters’ respective prejudices were challenged. A downside I often experience with audiobooks is that I can’t remember, or else easily look up, my favourite passages afterwards. This time I’ve had no trouble remembering.

Jingo (narrated by Nigel Planer): The first book to actually take the Watch beyond the city of Ankh-Morpork. An island rises from the sea and Ankh-Morpork prepares to go to war over it… with some difficulty, given a lack of army. I was somewhat less entertained by the middle section, which is not so much an investigation as a sea adventure -- I don’t think I laughed quite so often nor was as gripped by the story. However, all the bits with Vimes were great, and I was satisfied and delighted by the way the everything eventually twisted together.

Penric’s Fox, a novella in the World of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster Bujold (narrated by Grover Gardner): Set soon after Penric and the Shaman. It’s a self-contained story, so jumping from the later books back to this one works. Penric and his friends investigate the murder of a temple sorceress; Pen and Des are most concerned with finding the sorceress’ demon. I enjoyed this a lot, especially seeing Pen interact with another sorcerer and with the princess-archdivine. Some of their conversations hit unexpectedly serious and emotional notes.  I was hoping that further instalments would be set after the later books, but now I’m confident that whatever stories Bujold chooses to tell next will be interesting.

Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones: The sequel to Wintersong is about things starting with the letter M: “Madness, mania, melancholy. Music, magic, memories.” I like the prose, setting and characters, and he way Liesl’s siblings and music are so important to her. I like that the story takes her struggles seriously and affirms that, even though she can be difficult and moody, she’s still loved. But I was not a fan of the way the plot unfolded. Some stories meander satisfyingly, but I just found it frustrating here. I’m disappointed... yet at the same time glad I made an effort to finish it?

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples:

Volume Three: I enjoyed this volume, with its themes about families. I liked the moments of rich characterisation, and the picture-book quality of the narration. There were dramatic twists too, and funny moments, and lovely moments, and heartbreaking ones (AHHH, STOP HURTING CHARACTERS I LIKE), and the sort of weirdness I know to expect. I’m still super invested in the characters - and still super worried something really awful will happen that will just ruin everything. I know I’ve come to the wrong story if I want everyone to be okay, but I just want everyone to be okay, okay?

Volume Four: This feels like the start of a second season. Alana, Marko and their daughter, now a toddler, are still in hiding but otherwise things are comparatively calm. Hazel’s narration ominously makes it clear that this stability is about to unravel. I don’t think what happens is objectively worse than anything in the previous volumes, but I found this volume more disquieting and less enjoyable. Were there fewer heart-warming and fewer funny moments, to balance out the everything else? Or is it just that my sense of dread, as I waited for everything to go wrong, colouring things?

The Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells:

Stories of the Raksura, volume one: This contains a couple of novellas and a couple of short stories. The longest, The Fallen World, is about Moon after The Siren Depths, and is exactly what I expect from Raksura stories: Moon is (understandably) emotional, Stone is supportive; they explore a place which is mysterious and vividly imaginative, and solve problems with teamwork. I love it. The other three stories are all prequels. I wasn’t expecting to like The Tale of Indigo and Cloud story so much. Cerise is level-headed and understanding, and it’s fascinating to get an insider’s view of a normal reigning queen and her court.

Stories of the Raksura, volume two:  This collection of stories veers more towards mysteries of a strange world than courtly intrigue. The Dead City is a prequel. Moon is not in a great place. From the subsequent books, I know that things do get better for him -- but not just yet -- which gives this story a rather melancholy vibe. The Dark Earth Below is set after The Siren Depths. Moon is anxiously anticipating a momentous - positive - development and investigates an issue concerning their neighbours.. I enjoyed the glimpses into life for the court. Also notable: one of the short stories, “Mimesis”, is from Jade’s perspective!

Weave a Circle Round by Kari Maaren: Freddy wants to fly under the radar but one of her weird neighbours is in all her classes. This reminded me of Diana Wynne Jones -- a similar blend of eccentric characters, magical shenanigans, mythology, commentary on storytelling, with a relatable portrayal of growing up and of difficult family dynamics. Yet it has its own style and its own narrative priorities, like thoughtful, matter-of-fact inclusion of disabilities, and exploring what it means to be “chosen” in this sort of fantasy. I was impressed with the way it has an epic scope yet remains tightly focused. Every detail counts. I loved it.

The Snow Sister by Emma Carroll (narrated by Victoria Fox): A short historical children’s novel. Pearl’s father receives news that he is a beneficiary of his brother’s will, and her mother sends her out to buy the ingredients for Christmas puddings. This shopping trip doesn’t go as expected.I borrowed this because I needed another audiobook and I like the narrator. It’s a sweet story, a touch heavier-handed in its message than I’d prefer, but it took off in directions I hadn’t predicted and kept my interest.

Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor: Sequel to Binti and Binti: Home. This took me by surprise in terms of what happened and how strongly I felt about it. Binti tries to save her family and avert a war. She also reaches an understanding of her identity. She hasn’t followed the path expected of a Himba girl; she’s left home and changed physically as well as personally; she has a bond to a Meduse and has learnt about her heritage from her father’s family. I liked how it pulled together the threads running through the trilogy and that, although it’s a story involving conflict and loss, there’s acceptance and joy.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: An intense young-adult science-fiction thriller, told through messages, memos, interview transcriptions, reports describing surveillance footage, diagrams and other documents. It’s the most surprising and creative epistolary novel I’ve read. A remote mining outpost is attacked by a rival cooperation, and the spaceships of evacuees are pursued -- and they have other problems onboard. Two recently-broken-up teenagers work together to uncover secrets the ships’ captains are hiding. Their story is tense, occasionally funny, sometimes sad, with unexpected twists. I wondered if it would become too dark, but it didn’t. I was really impressed with the way everything fitted together.

A Little Taste of Poison by R.J. Anderson: Sequel to A Pocket Full of Murder. Isaveth is offered a scholarship to attend Tarreton College. She’s excited about studying magic but worried about fitting in, especially if her  classmates discover she’s a poor Moshite whose father was recently and infamously accused of murder. I enjoyed this, at first in a gentle sort of way and then -- as the stakes are raised -- with a greater sense of urgency. It continues the story from the first book while allowing Isaveth to explore new territory: magic school, and new friendships. I particularly liked how the story handled relationships between female characters.

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, JULIE! You’ve been accepted for the role of ORSINO. Admin Kaitlin: Honestly, from the moment you opened your application with the line ‘He’s got that appropriate “looks-at-you-like-you’re-dirt-on-his-shoe” appearance.’ I was fairly sold on the whole ordeal. I loved the acidic quality that you brought to him--comparing him to a serrated blade, his sharp-edged privilege, the way he paints himself in gold. I just. All of it. All of this. I was on my toes from start to finish, and I can’t wait for him to grace our dashes. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Julie Age | 19 Preferred Pronouns | She/her Activity Level | I’d give it an 6/10, honestly, with a standard deviation of two. I’m a full time college student and I work on the weekends, but I’m pretty good at time management and the queue is my best friend. I’m more likely to be active on weekday evenings than I am weekends because my job likes to run me ragged (hurray, retail! My soul is slowly being sucked out of my body). Timezone | MST

In Character

Character | Orsino / Orion Massetti. I’m good with holding onto Ben Barnes for a faceclaim! He’s got that appropriate “looks-at-you-like-you’re-dirt-on-his-shoe” appearance.

What drew you to this character? | When I read over Orion’s skeleton, I was immediately enthralled. He checks off the list for every perceivable stereotype that comes with characters like his: he’s beautiful, gluttonous, and sharp as a knife. But the further I read, the more I figured that he could be so much more. He embodies certain tropes and turns them on their heads at the same time - he’s charming and he’s incredibly private. He’s physically alluring and keeps an emotional distance. He’s ambitious and inherently ambivalent about his loyalties. At first glance he seems like a man who’s willing to lie and cheat to claw his way to the top, but he’s relatively content, so long as someone is paying him. His staple of honesty is something that humanizes him - turns him from a modern day Liber into a man who knows better than to lie, even if that particular habit is brought on by years of getting spun gold shoved into his arms whenever he has so much as a bad day. It’s something that that keeps him tied down to the earth, even when he thinks he’s above the rest.

Orion is apathetic and the exact opposite of ascetic: he indulges until he can’t, and then he indulges more, and in a way I think that’s a tool for other people to use. He’s a blade, with red dripping off the serrated edge, and he knows he’s beautiful even in the wake of bloodshed, quiet or violent. To this extent, everything about Orion can be weaponized, and I think he knows it, even when he wishes he didn’t. His parents played into forging a weapon more than they probably realized simply by never saying no: when someone who doesn’t understand rejection is turned away, they get even. While he’s not a man usually compelled towards revenge (why risk something important over petty matters?), he knows there are other ways to get people to do what you want. He’s also incredibly biased: why would anyone live any other life besides the one he has? He’s divine, he’s beautiful, he’s chaotic and controlled all at once. He’s chipped away at the marble and ended up with something statuesque. It’s what people see on the surface of Verona: beautiful stone, beautiful people, beautiful lives, carved to perfection, without any clue of what’s hiding underneath the surface. I want to dig at what Orion’s got underneath the fabrication of how he presents himself. The juxtaposition between a man who so clearly wants for nothing and still feels he should have everything is so fascinating to me. (And there’s an interesting thought: what does he actually want, beyond the material or physical?) He’s one of those people that you want to hate, that you should hate, but there’s something compelling about him regardless. In that sense he’s almost like a caricature of the art pieces he admires so much.

I usually don’t write characters like Orion. I tend to gravitate towards muses who are softer, less sharp, more one-sided. They’re one way or the other, and Orion defies that just by how other people look at him and perceive him. I think getting into the nitty-gritty of someone who knows of shame or guilt (or grief, to a degree) but has never had to hold hands with or lay in bed with it is a chance for me to grow out of my comfort zone and do something great. Orion lives deliciously because he knows he can, and I want to take all that away from him at some point.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

AS BLACK AS VULCAN. It takes time to make a man into something he wants the world to see, and that image is incredibly important to him. He’s spent years and years pouring time, effort, and money into his outward appearance. Orion displays himself openly as something shiny and golden, with a Midas touch to go with it. He comes from privilege, he’s still privileged, and he knows it, unashamedly. I’d love to see Orion knocked down a peg, whether that be through his unchecked ego or his actual physical appearance. A scuffed Orion is an unhappy one, and how he might eventually retaliate (either through betrayal on a larger scale or something small and minor like a secret clutched close to the chest) is super compelling to me!

I’LL SACRIFICE THE LAMB THAT I DO LOVE. Given that he tends to very personally closed off, in spite of (or, in some cases, because of) his honesty, I think a relationship that Orion cannot seem to get away from could be fun to explore. He doesn’t like being attached, in spite of how some in Verona cling to him like remora fish, but it does happen, and when he’s involved in someone well enough, it can be difficult for him to separate. I don’t know that he ever quite learned the appropriate idea of what love or a healthy relationship looked like from people like his parents, who connected adoration with throwing money at the problem until it was happy, either at each other or their own son. This is something he really struggles with. Alliances and relationships are two completely separate things in his mind, in spite of what others might feel. Loyalty as a whole is a concept Orion doesn’t get. Whether this connection is a friendship he cherishes or something more romantic, I want someone to get underneath his skin enough that he can’t seem to get them out.

Alternatively, Orion could get in the middle of someone else’s relationship, just for the fun of it, or under orders. People drift towards him for a reason. He’s torn couples and families apart before, with a strange sort of severity and calculation, and I’m sure he’s willing to do it again if he’s bored enough.

IS THIS THE MADMAN? Orion’s not particularly secretive about his wavering allegiance to one side or the other. Sure, he might not say it aloud, but his actions say enough. He toes the line all the time, and at some point, it’s going to have to go one way or the other - he’s going to have to pick a side if he wants any sort of meaningful involvement (and he does, because he adores the attention). At some point I’d love to have his loyalties tested for good, whether it be as a punishment or at a crisis point in his arc, which might impact him more than anything else. There’s also the possibility of someone calling him out on his tendency to swing one way or another depending on the weather. That’s definitely enough to ask questions: why isn’t he loyal, compared to others? What will it take to get that sort of cold-blooded loyalty? Why even bother trusting Orion in the first place, if there’s any chance at all it could end badly for everyone involved?

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | I think it could make sense just from reading his skeleton, but I won’t lie. Just from filling out this audition I’m already attached. I’d love to get to know him and write him a bit first, and see where it goes, though, so…yes, probably!

In Depth

What is your favorite place in Verona?

He pulls the cup away from his lips, sets it down. Long fingers trace the rim of the saucer as he considers an answer. The Phoenix and the Turtle’s not quite moving this time of day, and he’s enjoying the relative quiet while he can. Orion’s head is pounding in something reminiscent of a hangover, and he wishes he’d taken something for it before heading out for the day. He’ll sneak something later, he’s sure of it.

Dark eyes move up. The interviewer is tinted a muted green in the gloss of his sunglasses, and he’s more than thankful for that — they can’t see the bloodshot eyes, or how he’s looking them over. It’s near habit by now for him to pick out small imperfections in faces. The bridge of their nose is a bit crooked, their cheekbones a bit too low, and they’ve got a scar above their lip that pulls when they speak. Not unattractive, but he has to wonder: do those marks bother them? Could he make them squirm if he brought them up?

His favorite places are usually the one he frequents most, and where he’d fallen into last night was no exception. If he closes his eyes, he can still recall the easy movement of human beings in sync, stretched out like content cats over chairs. “Have you ever been to the Twelfth Night Museum? It’s incredible, turns into a lounge at night, called the Tempest. You haven’t danced until you’ve tried to waltz with a statue.” Among other things, he’s sure; who’s to say what people get up to when they’re three sheets to the wind? Another passing glance. They’ve got nice hair, a flattering jawline, pretty color in their cheeks. Would look good underneath his sheets. He smiles, and it’s near blinding to look at. “We should go together, sometime. I think you’d like it, cultured individual like yourself. And then you can show me your favorite place in Verona.” He leans back in the chair, comfortable, at ease with himself: one leg crossed over the other, breathing slow and calm. He shifts the saucer half an inch, smirk settling into something casual. “I’ve been a patron of the arts since I was young. Less actual physical art, and more acting, but I can appreciate the prettier things in life. It’s a good spot to do some appreciating, if you catch my meaning.”

What does your typical day look like?

An easy laugh bubbles out of Orion, water from a brook, and he finally reaches up to remove his glasses. They’re set down on the surface of the table, and he’s careful with them — prescription isn’t cheap, and he cares more for his belongings than he does most people. Money doesn’t matter much in the way of things, but he’s not a fan of breaking things left and right like he had when he was young. “You’re being graced with my presence,” the dripping tones of sarcasm, “and you want to talk about the day to day? You’re kidding.” He’s careful not to shift his expression too much, doesn’t want to put them off. But there are so many better things he could be doing with his time, and he’s already running through the list in his head: clothes on the bed, drawers to be reorganized, eggs and milk for the fridge. Guns to ship out, crates to check, people to intimidate. It goes on. He pulls another sip from his cup.

“Same as you, I’d be willing to bet,” he winks, and the interviewer mirrors his grin, shifts in their seat. Good. He’s sure he has them wrapped around his finger, then. Best to make this go quickly. “I get up, go for a run, shower, and go to work. Sometimes, if I’m feeling especially risque, I’ll wake up early. Don’t I lead an exciting life?” There’s more to be said, sure. People do the same damn thing every day. Creature comforts, he thinks, and there’s no doubt Orion has his own. But routines and cycles and processes are boring. “In my free time I’ll dance, act, attend plays, that sort of thing. I visit the Cathedral when I can, but there seems to be less of that these days than I’d like.” It’s not a lie, necessarily. He just doesn’t attend to worship. No point in it, he thinks. “Do you pray?” It’s a polite sort of question, one he breezes past before they can even get a word out to answer. “I’m usually in bed around eleven. Quick to bed, quick to rise. It’s what my father always said.”

What has been your biggest mistake thus far?

“Strange phrasing. Thus far.” His attention settles on something else: the river, moving slow and easy, as if it doesn’t have anywhere else to be. “I don’t tend to dwell on the past, usually.” Orion would like to think that’s not so strange, but he’s met plenty of people who drown themselves in their regrets. He begins the methodical process of shutting the interviewer out as quickly as he’d pulled them in. People are more intrigued with the enigmatic and well-dressed man than they are the individual who has everything he could want and knows it. Forging himself into a Grecian work of art comes with practiced ease. Tilts his head up just so, angles his chin and jaw in a certain direction, bounces his leg with a one-two-one-two-one rhythm. The small table they’re sitting at begins to shake, and their drinks ripple.

He preaches in favor of honesty, but finds himself at a loss for words, and stalls for time by running his tongue over his top row of teeth. “Not getting to know my parents more while I could, I think.” They don’t speak anymore, and Orion can’t say he dislikes it too much, but it’s natural to wonder. He can see the image of his father now, had inherited his auburn hair and obsidian eyes. They’d stand at the same height, now, but Orion had always held the higher ground even in his youth. So much as a quiet plea for attention was silenced with gentling, a new toy. And then toys had shifted to literature, art pieces, brand name clothing, the best education anyone could offer. Quiet pleas shifted to ever-brewing anger with them. Other things were given up, which most would have only dreamed of. Physical training; he still remembers fencing quite fondly. Acting school, where he’d studied the greatest of the greats and had stolen the stage every time. But by the end of it, when Orion had left with a fortune of inheritance in his pocket, his father had been less of a man and more of a cache to pull from.

His mother was much the same, although he has a startlingly difficult time recalling the features of her face. He’d gotten her softer features, he knows, the sort that draw men and women alike in and ensnare them with the idea of saving a man at turmoil with himself. He watches the interviewer as they scribble notes, and crushes out the temptation to ask them to try and save him. (For a night, or two. Maybe three.) It never works, those attempts, given that he’s never in jeopardy, but people desperately want him to be. He could never love them, not in the way they’d like. His parents had shown him love in the way Midas had shown it for gold, not Eros’ innocent intentions.

“They’re good people. I just don’t…” A long sigh. The interviewer leans in. Orion locks eyes with them, settles a hand on his knee to stop its shaking. “That’s all they are to me. People.”

What has been the most difficult task asked of you?

The cafe’s picking up in traffic by now. It makes sense, but he’s feeling a bit antsy. Neutral ground is neutral ground is neutral ground, sure, but he knows friends and less-than friends when he sees them. He mulls, but not for long. It’s not a simple question, and there’s no simple answer he can give. The first time he’d been told to beat a man near death had certainly been traumatic, but he’d done it. Breaking bones and disrupting cartilage? Acts like spilling blood? They now come to him as smoothly as straightening out his tie in the morning. He can’t say he thinks it arduous at all. There’s no way can he be so candid, so he picks at the cuff-links on his sleeves and hums. “Asked of me, by myself, is… picking out what to wear today. Every day, really.” There’s a more unconcerned tone, here, and the interviewer leans forward, intrigued.

They might be expecting more, something more serious. But he just shrugs his shoulders. “I usually wear Louis Vuitton. It’s what I’m most comfortable in,” he laughs, and they visibly detract, as if made insecure by their lack of trademark apparel. He narrows his eyes, and they shrink even further. Orion sniffs. “I wore Gucci today, though. Only thing I’m not sure about are the shoes.” They match the blue of his wool suit, but there’s no flashy red of the soles that draw attention in the way he likes. “Appearance is everything. It’s all we have to make an impression if there’s no dialogue, I think. So it makes sense to me that it should be difficult.”

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

“It’s all for money and power. I understand them both, I think. Both sides have their points.” The response is immediate, as is his movement: that’s a cue to go. He stands from his seat, brushes off his suit jacket. He owes plenty to the Capulets, and that goes without saying, but the Montagues are plenty rich. He’s not opposed to a change in allegiance for the right price. It’s expected for a man like him to be easily swayed, and he doesn’t usually try to break that particular chain. “Wars don’t last forever. Between you and me, I think things are going to come to a close sooner than the people of Fair Verona think.” He picks up his sunglasses and puts them on in one fluid motion.

“And then it’ll start again, and we’ll go around in an endless cycle until someone else dies. That’s how these things are. Men are greedy until they’re in the grave, and even then some are greedier than others. If it’s not the Capulets and Montagues, it will be other families with grudges to hold.”

He can picture himself now, with a shrine akin to Dionysus’ upon his death. It will be golden, glorious, with red-stained lips and an expensive bottle of wine clutched to the chest as he’s sealed away. He wants to be the best looking man in the room, even in death. He focuses on the interviewer again, and then looks out towards the street. “I’m afraid I have to go. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. Call me, when you get the chance. We’ll go dancing.” Orion departs before they have the chance to protest, crimson flashing with every easy step.

Extras:

Pinterest! An edit! (I would definitely recommend watching this on a smaller screen with some headphones.) A playlist! A mock blog!

[livinginlavender]

My Disney Ride-or-Die Rides

I love Disney. Have I mentioned that I love Disney? Because I absolutely love Disney with all of my heart and soul and body.

Part of that love is based on the movies. I grew up watching them and I still watch them more often than I’d care to admit. But a bigger part of my love for Disney is a tradition my family has held since I was 9 months old: visiting either Disneyland or Walt Disney World once every year.

I would like to clarify that Disney didn’t used to be as expensive as it is now, and that as we’ve gotten older my siblings as I have begun chipping in (if not entirely paying for ourselves) when it comes to our yearly family trips. But as the price to visit goes up, my family continues to be savvy with our spending and trying to get the most bang for our buck.

Part of that “bang-for-your-buck”-ness involves getting the most out of our time in the parks. That brings me to today’s blog post.

Not 20 minutes ago, my dad was sitting on Connor’s bed in his room calling out items from a list he found on the internet. Basically, someone decided what the 10 least-worth-it rides were at Walt Disney World, and at least half of them are near and dear to my heart.

After cursing the person who wrote the original list under my breath, I snagged my laptop and decided to come up with my own lists of 5 rides at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World that are overhyped, and 5 rides each that aren’t hyped up enough.

WDW Overhyped:

1.     Tomorrowland Speedway

Maybe I’ve just had too many bad experiences on this ride. There have been too many times where the car just…stopped on the track for no apparent reason. Or the steering was broken and sent me (and Connor) klunking back and forth against the track’s metal guide, unable to control where we were going until we finally reached the queasy, miserable end of the “ride.” But waiting an hour or more to be sorely disappointed every time? Not worth it.

2.     The Magic Carpets of Aladdin/Dumbo the Flying Elephant/Astro Orbiter

Look, I get it. It’s fun for little kids. Heck, when I was a youngin’ I loved the Dumbo ride in particular. But I’ve seen adults with no kids wait in line for way longer than is worth it, only to sit there unamused for a minute and a half before the hydraulics bring them gently back to the ground. Just…don’t do it. Please.

3.     Toy Story Midway Mania!

Alright. I know there are a lot of people (even within my own family) who disagree with me on this one. This ride is extremely whippy and makes me nauseous, which isn’t an easy feat. Maybe it’s just my competitive side, but I always end up with a sore wrist and fingers from tugging the dang string so quickly and vigorously. If you want a better ride like this, the Buzz Lightyear ride at Magic Kingdom is a better way to go, and the line is always shorter. Please, save your neck the agony.

4.     Soarin’

I’ll admit, this is a ride worth riding once, maybe twice if you’re really into it. I happily rode it again after they redid the video for it, and it was pretty damn cool if I say so myself. But I won’t ride it again for another couple of years probably unless I’m forced into it. It’s like going to watch an Omnimax movie over and over again; it’s a lot shorter, true, but it’s just as nauseating. On the plus side, it smells amazing!

5.     Peter Pan’s Flight

I feel bad for putting this down. This ride is a family tradition dating back to my Grandpa White, who my siblings and I never got to meet; it was his favorite ride, and his love for it is somewhat ingrained in everyone in my family. But… The shortest the line usually is? Approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Most of the time it’s 90 minutes or more. While it’s a very unique ride that’s certainly a staple at the park, it’s best to just wait for a firework show to start before going.

WDW Under-appreciated:

1.     Journey Into Imagination With Figment

This was on the person’s original list of “rides that aren’t worth the wait,” and I exclaimed, “No!” when I heard it. This has been one of my favorite rides since I was a child, and to me it embodies everything that the front half of Epcot is about. Science and creativity, balancing curiosity with logic, and allowing your imagination to flow and carry you towards new discovery! Plus, the music is catchy and the line is never too long. What’s not to love?

2.     Dinosaur

I don’t care if Disney gets rid of the rest of the Dino-Land park in Animal Kingdom. But so help me GOD, if they get rid of the Dinosaur ride, I will RIOT! In the perfect balance of science, adventure, and amazing air conditioning, this ride is always my go-to ride at Animal Kingdom. Oh, did I mention that Bill Nye the Science Guy narrates the theory of evolution when you’re in line? Even middle school-Kylie geeked out about that!

3.     The Carousel of Progress

I will never understand how people don’t flock to this ride. It’s heavily air-conditioned. You get to sit and relax your feet. You’re learning technological advancements over the last 100 years in smaller decade-based increments based on the lives of an adorable family. And again, Disney’s coming in clutch with another catchy song! “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away…”

4.     The People Mover

A mixture between air-conditioned and just cool, windy, and shady, the People Mover has a relatively short line and moves forward very consistently. It’s perfect when you just need a break from the pandemonium that is Magic Kingdom, or when your little ones need to rest, or even if you just want to take a peek at some of your favorite rides (i.e. Space Mountain) from an outside perspective.

5.     Living With the Land

This is…not exactly a ride most people flock to. They’d rather ride the Frozen ride, or Test Track, or something a little more exciting and “razzle-y dazzle-y.” But let me tell you, Living With the Land is freaking cool. When’s the last time you saw a pumpkin in the plastic mold growing into the shape of a Mickey head?

DL Overhyped:

1.     Matterhorn Bobsleds

Aside from the fact that I once almost dropped (and lost) my phone on this ride, it’s just very jerky. If someone hasn’t thrown out their back on this ride yet, I’d be surprised. A tip from a professional, though: the left side is smoother and faster!

2.     Dumbo the Flying Elephant (and the like)

3.     Toy Story Midway Mania!

4.     Autopia

Pretty much the same as the Tomorrowland Speedway above, but…even older. Imagine that.

5.     Peter Pan’s Flight

DL Under-appreciated:

1.     Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

Is this ride still around? I feel like I remember someone saying it closed. Regardless, this has always been one of my favorites at Disneyland. Pop your kiddo behind the wheel of the car and let ‘em spin it away! Just…maybe cover their eyes at the end when it’s insinuated that Mr. Toad died and went to hell. It can be…traumatic.

2.     Alice in Wonderland

This ride is just…so old-school Disney and awesome. It’s got some of the best aspects of the original Disney rides, like the more traditional-style animatronics and the pull-down lapbars in a peculiar-looking vehicle. You traverse upwards through Wonderland before the doors open up to some higher-up leaves that your caterpillar-mobile traverses before bringing you back to the start of the ride. It’s short, sweet, and perfect if you can catch the line at the right time!

3.     Snow White’s Scary Adventure

This is another one that may not be there anymore? I can never remember! But after they took the Snow White ride out at Walt Disney World (later adding the Seven Dwarves’ Mine Train ride to somewhat replace it), this was the only ride dedicated to Snow White left. It’s cute, well-done, and a little spooky in just the right places. But everything ends with sunshine and rainbows as the ride dumps you back into the heat from its air-conditioned bowels.

4.     Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!

While WDW has the Laugh Floor, nothing quite compares to an actual ride tailored to one of the best classic Pixar movies. Honestly, it’s just like watching the film being fast-forwarded through the less-plot-heavy parts. It’s just…adorable. And worth so, so worth it. Especially for Roz’s comments at the end!

5.     Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin

While it’s nice to have the context of the backstory, it’s not necessary to have seen, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” to love and appreciate this ride. Balanced between goofy and a little spooky, even the line as you wait to ride is extremely well done!

Any Disney park is an interesting balance of entertainment, education, magic, and more. It’s important, I think, to work on finding that balance in order to make the most of your trip. If you push too hard, you’ll burn out. If you don’t push hard enough, you’ll miss out. If you follow my advice, you’ll find out that maybe there’s more to visiting Disney than spending an inordinate amount of time standing around and waiting for a ride that may not be worth it.

If you’re interested in hearing more tips and trick for your travels to Disney, you can watch my video about it here!

[animeindoblog-blog]

Konohana Kitan [Anime Review]​

New Post has been published on https://animeindo.org/blog/2018/01/21/konohana-kitan-anime-review%e2%80%8b/

Konohana Kitan [Anime Review]​

Antoine Rizal

“Spirited Away: Cute Edition”

Episodes : 12

Genre : Slice of Life, Fantasy, Seinen

Airing Date : October 2017-December 2017

Producers : DeNA, GAGA, Genco, Lantis, Memory-Tech, Studio Mausu

Contains Spoilers

Konohana Kitan is based on the manga series of the same name by Amano Sakuya and was serialized in Comic Yuri Hime S. Yuzu, a young fox girl, arrives in a small, peaceful town populated by humans and animal spirits alike. Accompanied by her guardian Bikuni-sama, Yuzu went uphill to the magnificent hot springs inn named Konohanatei to work as a new attendant. At Konohanatei, Yuzu befriends other fox girl attendants as they greet and serve the visitors—be it human spirits, animal spirits or even gods—and help them heal their tired bodies, and rejuvenate their souls with the calming hot water and relaxing atmosphere of the Konohanatei inn.

Konohana Kitan is a short slice of life anime about fox girl spirits as they live their lives in Konohanatei. Yuzu was raised as an orphan by a nun named Bikuni, and having spent her childhood in solitude, Yuzu is oblivious to everything and sometimes have trouble communicating with people. Over time, Yuzu matures as she gained experience, warms up with the attendants of Konohanatei and earning their friendship. The anime also focuses on the inn attendants like Satsuki and her reason for working at the inn and her shaky relationship with her sister. Or Ren who is in love with her childhood friend, and also working at the inn, Natsume. Or Tsubaki, the inn’s Okami and how she ended up managing Konohanatei.

Throughout the series, the girls meet a cast of travellers from a man’s spirit refusing to leave the inn because he lost any reason to return to the human world after he went into a coma, a boy who wants to be a sumo wrestler and asks the tomboy Natsume for help, a mother mourning the loss of her daughter, a cursed doll seeking acceptance, and a mischievous spirit causing trouble to the inn like playing with the feelings of Ren towards Natsume.

Eventually, it’s clear that everything revolves around Yuzu for she gets into a lot of situations like interacting with various spirits, even going as far as accidentally entering realms that she may end up getting lost and never return. Yuzu’s friendliness, kind demeanor, and pure-hearted soul have helped troubled souls get back on track to fix their troubles. Yuzu’s aura can even reach the past—Much like Chuck Norris can roundhouse kick you yesterday, Yuzu can touch the hearts of the past. Believe us, it’ll make sense once you watch the show.

Like most Slice of Life anime of the cute-girls-doing-cute-things variety, Konohana Kitan is a show that’s perfect to distract yourself after watching a grueling anime episode where your favorite character revealed themselves as the villain or the girlfriend of the protagonist found a new lover. The girls at Konohanatei have colorful personalities that anyone can find a favorite. If you’re a tsundere fan, Satsuki is your girl. A love stricken girl who is in love with another girl, but doesn’t have the courage to express her feelings? Ren is your fox girl. You want a more loli type, is silent and very playful? Bam, Sakura is gonna make your day.

The stories, while they tug your heartstrings, they’re very light-hearted and melodrama-free. Each episode is Yuzu interacting with new guests of the inn, be involved with the stories of her friends, and an ending that gives you a warm and relaxing feeling. Another great thing about the stories of Konohana Kitan is its focus on Japanese fantasy elements from fox girls, animal people, settings, culture and how the characters are portrayed. Instead of the slice of life staple of a girl being late for school, or having trouble with their homework and love life, we get a cursed doll who ended up as an attendant in Konohanatei who wears a maid uniform, or Satsuki competing against her sister about who has the most skill as a shrine maiden. Or a god of war spending his free time with a girl because no wars have ensued for a while.

Discussion Time

Despite Konohana Kitan’s simple premise and its episodic nature with no overarching main plot, topics for discussion are very plentiful, especially on episodes that can be interpreted in several ways. As mentioned previously, the anime is set in a fantasy Japanese world with spirits and gods. Viewers who are not familiar with Japanese folklore will raise questions as to why this turned into that, or why that became this.

When Honey’s Anime and friends watched Konohana Kitan’s as it came out, the most common topics involve a story based on Japanese folklore. For example, the origin behind the story of a girl making a cloth out of rain, or a story of a girl who transformed from a baby to a teenager over the course of one day, and so on. The most popular of all, as far as we can tell at least, is what these fox girls will look like as they grow old. There are several hints like when a fox girl reaches a certain age, they’ll turn into humanoid foxes. Foxes or kitsune take on many forms with various magical abilities in Japanese folklore, so there are a lot of interpretations to discuss. It’s really interesting to have discussions about Japanese folklore after watching an episode of Konohana Kitan.

1. Focus on Characters and Stories

Konohana Kitan is episodic in nature and is strictly character-driven with no real main plot, especially for fans who just want their daily dose of cute fox girls doing cute fox things. While there are some weak stories, the rest are very good and they not only focus on one or two girls of Konohanatei, it also focuses on the various people they meet. And with the fantasy elements in play, a certain story will be hard to predict.

For example, Yuzu encounters a boy wandering around the inn because he ran away from an orphanage after his parents abandoned him there. After a few heart-to-heart discussion with a fellow guest of the inn, the boy returned back to the human world. A few weeks later, that very same boy returned and he’s now a teenager. Then it was revealed the boy was actually the spirit of a dog who finally got a new family. The stories may be hard to grasp but everything comes together in the end and it will leave you an “AH! I get it now!” moment.

2. The Calm Before or After the Storm

Slice of life shows come in many forms, and arguably, the most popular among fans are shows with the majority of the main cast being girls going about their daily quirky lives with no plot to follow or anything to be invested in. Shows about cute girls doing cute things calms you, relaxes you, and is a good tension breaker before and/or after watching a more serious anime. Konohana Kitan is that very same kind of show where you just sit back to unwind. Nothing in the anime is offensive to the senses. Konohana Kitan is the perfect tension-breaker.

1. No Main Plot or Important Story Arcs to Follow

The plot isn’t really a big selling point in a general slice of life because life goes on with no definite goals. All you do is watch episode after episode without feeling that each story presented gets you anywhere. While this isn’t a big negative, this may turn off fans who some definite conclusions to character relationships like, for example, Ren and Natsume’s romantic relationship, or a more detailed story arcs like the Satsuki’s bitter rivalry with her sister, or a more in-depth story regarding the Konohanatei inn’s power to cleanse the bodies and souls of visitors.

2. The Anime Was Playing It Safe

Konohana Kitan has many great episodes, but some are just unremarkable because the anime was playing it safe, especially in the character relationships. When something builds up, it dies quickly, and then repeats.

The biggest thorn in the anime is how Ren and Natsume’s relationship seem to drag on and each story doesn’t end with any satisfying conclusion. It’s been pointed out that Ren has been in love with Natsume since childhood and we get to see moments of Ren blushing because of Natsume – being the tomboy that she is, she acts cool and manly in front of her.

There are moments of jealousy when Ren overheard other girls getting swooned by Natsume at a festival, and by the time Ren gathers all her courage to act, the episode ends. This is very frustrating and feels like the anime is just dragging on to encourage viewers to continue watching in hopes that the next time we see Ren and Natsume, the episode ends with them accepting their love with a kiss.

Final Thoughts

Konohana Kitan, as a whole, is a decent anime series that delivers the right blend of cute girls doing cute things in a fantasy setting. The characters, atmosphere, the art style, the songs, and ambient music make Konohana Kitan a calming and relaxing series as it serves as a comforting break in between shows with a more serious, gloomy, oppressive, violent tone, and stories.

Slice of Life fans will surely enjoy the anime, but it’s not a good anime for people who want a good main plot or want characters to grow and move on, be it confessing their love to someone or see what their future holds. Though we’d still recommend Konohana Kitan whether you’re a fan of Slice of Life or not because, well, who knows, Konohana Kitan might surprise you with its characters and “stories”. It did surprise us, maybe it’ll do the same for you?!

Author: Antoine Rizal

I’ve been an anime fan for as long as I can remember. Actually, anime is very much a part of me now for I have extended my reach beyond just watching them. I am a fansubber for more than 8 years now and contributed a lot to the anime community. Me and my group has translated shows, manga, drama CDs and doujinshi. Right now I’m learning Japanese so I can better serve the community and read interesting stuff about the Japanese culture as well.

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