#not that the storytellers right now aren't special

[anulithots]

I agree with every. single. one of these. (except I haven't read sarah j mass)

I never write stories about human beings JUST for the sake of not having to deal with romance and gender and school and such and such. And it would be so much fun to have more media that isn't centered around romance or romantic subplots, (especially since I'm on the aro/ace spectrum, and it's annoying sometimes to see characters treating romance as if it's the meaning of life, when I've never felt that way and never will.)

Book cover illustrations can be the reason I buy it. I want book covers that look like animated movie posters. (Because pictures and models can be a bit... less compelling, at least to me.)

I want book covers to be a whole thing, where artists are paid a lot to design them, and everyone can obsess over the book cover artist and the story, and the cover/art go hand in hand in a bunch of creative euphoria.

(I just want stories to feel like... events, movements, something building upon itself.)

MORE ADULT CATEGORIES :D

I'm a minor but.... can we please have stories that fall between 'todler goes to preschool' and 'teenager goes to high school' and then 'here's an 18+ mature yada yada'. Can't we have... all stages of life and everything and anything?

TRIGGER WARNINGS ARE THE BEST THINGS EVER <3

Like, I don't want to acknowledge reality sometimes, sometimes I want to exist without having to think about... all of everything.

OOooOh... what if blurbs, instead of generalized sensationalism, were more accurate and honest. What if the authors themselves told people in the blurb - "here's what this story is about, here is who it is for," OR have a snippet of the story for free to read, to see what the book will be like.

Overall, I kind of want a story telling renaissance. And I like all the points you've made.

I miss stories that were metaphysical explorations of what it means to exist, intermixed with the silly heartwarming ones.

give us a hyper specific writing opinion U have (good or bad)

ough i have so many opinions. i think i might piss some people off with some of these lmao

enemies to lovers is a bad trope and i don't like it. a lot of the books marketed as enemies to lovers are actually just romanticized abuse, and sometimes other books that are marketed as enemies to lovers are just characters who insulted each other once and are now 'enemies.'

not every book needs a romantic subplot. why is it so hard to find books centered around family dynamics, or completely platonic dynamics? why must everything imply romantic interest? i actually don't mind romantic subplots, it's just that its so hard to find anything without a romance that it can be a bit frustrating sometimes.

i have several very specific book cover icks. i really hate those book covers that look like they were made on canva (especially if its from a bigger publisher and i KNOW they have the money to pay an illustrator to come up with something better). i also really hate a lot of contemporary romance-style covers. they are too similar and its hard to tell them apart. recently book covers have gotten more varied, which is actually great! i really love illustrative book covers, or book covers with scenes from the book on them. i know they say not to judge a book by it's cover, but i am an art kid. i really like pretty covers. sue me lmao

i actually don't like sarah j mass's writing style. i tried to read one of her books (i think it was that YA one? throne of glass iirc) and had to DNF it pretty early on because i couldn't get past the writing being so bland

i actually really like CWs for books. i don't know why some people are so against them. i wish that CWs were more common, actually. because sometimes i'm not in the mood to read something really dark, but its hard to tell from just the blurb is a book will make me bawl my eyes out. (also i adamantly believe that even in books marketed for adults, explicit/graphic content (like overtly violent themes or sexual content and such) should be labelled. they already do that for movies, including ratings and why it was rated that way. i wish there was a way to be more informed about what you were investing your time into in the literary world before you end up feeling ripped off because you ended up stumbling across something you weren't anticipating)

when will book stores/libraries create a new adult category. i wanna read about college/grad school aged people, but sifting through the adult section at book stores is confusing. because books about a 21 year old will be right next to books about a 35 year old divorced person. there's no rhyme or reason.

i have more opinions i'm just getting distracted now so i will leave it at that lmao

[dunmeshistash]

Hello! I thought Laios's eyes were just very light brown cuz in my reading experience yellow/golden eyes were a sign of a werewolf. Or that your (grand)parent was a god/dragon/fairy/vampire etc. Or a wolf cursed into human form by an evil witch (this one's pretty cliché now, and rarely used). But Laios and Falin are perfectly normal tallman, and tallman are just like real life humans I believe. I guess I thought unusual eyes colors meant unusual people?

Not all fantasy worlds work the same, in Dungeon Meshi some characters have really unusual eyes but it doesn't mean anything about them being special or not.

If anything there's a type of unfounded meaning given by the certain traits like eyes and hair color by the in world culture, but that are merely visual (looks different but aren't associated with anything else as far as we know) like the silver eyes and hair that's expected from Mithrun's family and the obsidian skin and red eyes that are traits of royalty, both are visually unique but don't make them any different from other people, so much so that Mithrun is a bastard with his family desired traits while his brother is a legitimate son without the traits.

There's also Kabru's eyes that caused his family to fall apart even tho it was also based on meaning given to it .

I think it fits with Kui's storytelling and worldbuilding that minor physical characteristics don't really mean much more than the meaning we give them.

I think eye color, pupil or no pupil, shine or no shine etc etc is more a character design choice Kui makes to better express what kind of characters they are (where they're from, like Eastern archipelago people having dark eyes, what race they are with elves having the more striking/detailed pupils, their personality etc etc)

Kui might have an artstyle that's less "Animu" than what some might be used to but it is still in that style, in animanga eyes are a pretty common way to express what kind of person the character should be perceived as at a glance, that's why the eyes are often so big. So the golden eyes in Falin and Laios are probably so we recognize them as main characters and so we recognize them as siblings

Hope this made some sense let me know if I got anything wrong or said something that doesn't sound right

[grison-in-space]

honestly so much of the way we conceptualize autistic special interests is predicated on there not being anyone who shares them with us? and like. have you met humans. have you talked to any autistics. because lots of them are pretty interesting actually! and autistic people are often pretty good at infecting you with their interests so that you share them too even if you're not as motivated to fixate happily on them for their own sakes!

huge whorls of autistic-generated human communities exist, and people who aren't used to autistic people never seem to realize that Yes Those Are Also Autistics, often because people are used to autistic special interests occupying some very limited contexts like Computers because Computers were a big new societal innovation and community spinning up right when people also started thinking about autism as a Distinction Among Humans. Also Pokemon. And the Internet. Nineties kids know what I mean, eh?

anyway here are some heavily autistic communities that allistic people never seem to realize tend to concentrate autistics and be driven by them:

every non-commercial domestic animal fancy ever, including dog, cat, pigeon, chicken, and horse people; also includes a fair chunk of the commercial kinds but there are slightly less of these

fandom of any kind (for some reason--it's misogyny--no one seems to realize that this also applies to female-slanted forms of fandom focused on storytelling and modification as well as male-slanted ones that involve information curation)

religion. especially any kind that involves any kind of organization--less the charismatic ones that involve manipulating other people, more the kind that draw people interested in the way that religion works. less/more is not all/none.

kink and sexuality generally and also gender. we think a lot. it's a problem. and we get snagged on stuff. plus sensory shit ties into everything. just saying. e v e r y t h i n g.

academia. look we get. we get interested in things. if you get interested enough in things people call you an expert and sometimes they give you money. money is nice. it lets you buy more objects of special interest.

acting. we wear masks all the fucking time and we get caught up in it. which makes you think about structure, eh?

comedy. ditto.

building shit. admittedly the allistics have largely noticed that engineers concentrate us by now but it has taken a surprisingly long time to realize that this also applies to other, older crafts.

fibercrafts and textiles. what about "we like textures and also figuring out how things work" is a surprise to you. also math. again the answer to how the allistics keep failing to notice this one is "there's lots of ladies in there."

I bet I'm missing plenty that I'm just not thinking of but my god, man, look at how many of these things touch us! look at how they shape our understanding of one another and ourselves! how cool is that

[tinydefector]

Swerve: traditionally, humans gift chocolates and stuffed animals, as a display of hunting prowess and ability to provide, on the fourteenth of February. This is because a deity named saint valentine is said to bless conjux pairs on this day.

-bumpinSUV

Traditions

Swerve x Human reader

Word count; 1k

Warnings: none

Heeeyyyyy Bumpin got some food for you~. Enjoy some clueless and hopeless romantic Swerve becuase I said so.

_______

Swerve stared down at the clunky plastic earth animals and chocolates clutched in his servos, completely befuddled. It had sounded like such a good plan when he came across it! But now, facing his human, uncertainty crept in. He offered an awkward chuckle. "Uh, happy February fourteenth! I know on Earth it's tradition for you guys to, uh, exchange dead animal carcasses and sweets as a romantic gesture. Something about showing you can provide, I think?" 

Rubbing the back of his neck, Swerve hoped he hadn't misunderstood. Or offended them! Primus, why was organic culture so weird? "So, uh, I thought maybe you'd like these gifts. Even though mice probably aren't a big hunting prize for humans." He cringed internally. At how embarrassed he was. "S-so, what do you think? Did I get the tradition right? Or should I just forget the whole—"

They give Swerve a slight look as they cut him off. "Swerve, why would you need to hunt?, plus it's July if my callander is right " They ask while looking at the stuff Swerve had set up, it looked as if he was trying to organise a date for them, it was a rather cute little set up more so than past people they had ever dated before, Their words fall silent as they take in the scene. 

Wincing internally, Swerve fidgeted under their searching gaze. Frag, this was even worse than he'd feared. "Well, ya know, I did some reading that Earth Valentines is about showing you can provide for a mate. And I know I ain't got much to offer organics, but I wanted to try!" He held out the gifts in his massive metal hands, practically trembling. 

"I know it ain't exactly a feast or nothin'. But I saw these toys and thought, maybe they'd pass for some small game? And the chocolate's real! Well, not made of real chocolate, more like synthechoc. But it's what I could get you!" 

Slumping with a sigh, Swerve knew he must look utterly foolish. But they deserved his honesty. "Look, I just wanna show ya I care, okay? Even if I'm lousy at Earth courting."

"My courting..." they go quiet for a moment before starting to giggle which turns into laughter. "Swerve Honey, Valentine's day, is in February. It's a day to spend with loved ones and enjoy each other's company, sometimes trade gifts to special people, which most are fake flowers and sweets" they continue to giggle softly. "What did you think was handsome?" They ask with a smile.

"O-oh." Swerve felt his plating heat as their laughter sank in, truly mortified. He should've just stuck to energon pouring and storytelling, left the Earth traditions well alone! "I, uh, may have misunderstood some cultural exchange files," he admitted bashfully. "Thought it was about proving yourself as a good provider! You know, strong and capable." 

He scuffed his pede sheepishly. "Maybe shoulda just asked you straight out, huh? Instead of all this." Swerve gestured ruefully at the mess of toys and candy. They smile and grab his servos. 

A warm glow flooded his Spark at their smile, though. Maybe he hadn't fragged it up totally. "So, uh, does that mean...you'd still consider spending time with me? We could watch a flick, share some high grade—" He cycled a vent, fans whirring. "I just wanna make you happy, anyhow I can. Without any mouse-hunting required."

They laugh lightly as they move towards him. "Swerve, please it's OK, calm down" they call out while waiting for him to sit down so they can at least touch his faceplate. "Yes you probably should have come to me to ask about it, but now I'm more interested in who told you about Valentine's day." they hum while pressing a kiss to his nasal ridge. 

Swerve's vents stuttered as their lips brushed his plating in a gentle kiss. "W-well, you know how it is - a mech hears stuff in the bar sometimes," he replied shyly, fans whirring as they caressed his face. "I think maybe Rung was telling Rodimus about Earth traditions, and overheard Whirl say something about hunting prowess being important for it." 

He groaned, covering his optics. "Frag, I should've known better than to trust second-hand cultural osmosis from that glitchheads, i justed wanted to do something special for you." Lowering his hand, Swerve gazed down at them hopefully. "Sorry about the mess, forgive my clumsy courting attempt? There's still a whole stash of synthechoc with your designation on it." 

He's still sheepish as they laugh at him, their hand trying to keep it in and not embarrass Swerve more. " Maybe you could, um, give me some proper pointers? About Earth holidays and such? I'd really like to get it right next time." They give him another soft kiss which he melts into.

 "Think we might have to talk about human holidays, and Swerve I don't expect you to have to follow human stuff. You know that right?" They ask softly tracing his face.

Swerve leaned happily into their gentle touch, systems buzzing with joy. "I know, I know. Don't gotta do human things if they don't make sense," he conceded affectionately. 

"It's just..." He vented softly, captured by their smile. "I wanna understand where you come from, y'know? Be able to celebrate the special days that are important to you. Share in your culture."

His fans hitched as their fingers traced the seams of his faceplates. How did they always make him feel so calm yet alive all at once? "So maybe lessons would help this fool bot out, huh?" Swerve ventured shyly. He nuzzled into their hand with a lovesick sigh. "I just want to be able to spend time with you doin things that are important, that's really all I want, sweetspark. To be wherever you are."

 "Alright, how about we set up your hab and watch some vids.?" They inquire with a sly smile on their face.

Swerve perked up, any trace of embarrassment melting away in his eagerness. His engine gave a happy rev, hope blooming in his spark. Clapping his servos together, he bounced on his pedes like an excited sparkling. "Oh frag yes, I'll fire up the holoprojector right away!" 

In an instant he had them swept into his arms, cradling them gently against his chassis as he strode off toward his berth. The gifts were forgotten in his joyful haste. "You're gon' teach me everything, sweetspark! Holidays, customs, what all those weird organic dishes are!" He nuzzled their cheek fondly as he walked.

________

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[memepocalypse]

Bardic Inspiration Starters pt. 2

[source]

"There is no sweeter music than the screams of our enemies. Now, go compose."

"As much as I would enjoy looting your dead body, I truly do want you to succeed here."

"If reckless shenanigans got us into this mess, then why can't they get us out?"

"If it weren't for a foolish attempt at glory, then nothing would ever be accomplished.

"You might fail, die even. But at least it won't be boring."

"They say laughter is the best medicine. Your face must be curing the world."

"Your roar didn't scare me. The stench of your breath did though."

"This a special occasion. I didn't typically engage in mental combat with the unarmed."

"You're proof that even the gods make mistakes sometimes."

"As it turns out, stupidity is a crime, and you have been sentenced to death."

"You will never face an opponent as great as I. In fact, you will never face anyone again."

"This isn't going to hurt for long. But oh damn is it going to hurt."

"We're not going to simply stand here poking fun at you. We're also going to poke swords and arrows at you."

"People told me you were terrible. It's not true. You're actually far worse than that.

"Some babies get dropped on their heads. You obviously were thrown against a wall."

"At first I thought that you were brave. Then I realized you're actually just stupid."

"You run about whacking things with a piece of metal. Truly, what an advanced being you are.""You remind me of an ape in armor."

"Typically I have to pay to see a freak show like you."

"As an outsider, how does it feel to have humanoids slaying you?"

" You fiends are most courteous."

"You are full of malevolence, wickedness, and evil. Soon you are going to be full of our weapons and spells."

"Fiends have been trying to take over the world for thousands of years, and you've failed every time. Are you noticing a pattern here?"

"You're probably too stupid to understand this, but worry not, the confusion will be over soon."

"If you shave a dwarf, all that's left is a nose and a beer gut."

"Elves live ten times longer than humans and accomplish ten times less."

"The only thing lucky about halflings is how they don't get crushed to death by real people walking around."

"I am not certain what it is that makes you so stupid, but it really works."

"Is this your first battle ever? Well, it's certainly your last."

"Blade with whom I have lived, blade with whom I now die, serve right and justice one last time, seek one last heart of evil, still one last life of pain, cut well old friend, and then farewell."

"I do not study the divine to imitate what they do. I study the divine to imitate what they are."

"The PCs aren't for the wine or storytelling, they are here for the gnome tossin' and dwarf wresslin'!"

"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules."

"I was once a man, not a great man, not a saintly man, but a good man, and a man nonetheless."

"I did not choose to be a monster—a shell of a man—half-human, half-fiend. I am a tiefling. I am what I am."

"If it has walked these lands, I can track it. If it hasn't I will find it anyway."

"Because the wizard will eventually need a personal audience when slaying gods."

"That perfection is unobtainable is not an excuse not to strive for it."

"Words carry weight. Mine far more so than yours."

[rei-ismyname]

Exceptional X-Men #4 REVIEW

I've been singing the praises of Eve L Ewing and Carmen Carnero's Exceptional X-Men, so let's see what they manage to do now that the premise is established and they've got 5 main characters we're invested in. A benefit of establishing your characters early is that you get to focus on introducing plot elements, special guests, and complications - like serialised storytelling does. Uncanny is a good example of how a lack of focus early on weakens everything you try to do. It's hard to care about The Outliers or Nightcrawler when they feel like wallpaper, and now they're running around an event without knowing who they are. The stakes lay primarily with Rogue. Trista/Bronze is a fantastic example of this done right, and as you'll see we can explore plot developments that wouldn't make sense elsewhere. Spoilers ahoy, caveat emptor.

Trista gets a lot of focus which works because we know who she is and what she wants.

Due to Kate pushing back against taking these kids somewhere isolated for training, we get to see them try to live normal lives. Trista has friends outside the tiny mutant peer group, a crush, and an interest in theatre. She declared last issue that her goal is to not hurt anyone, and she's struggling with what people tell her to be and what she wants. She's a sweet kid, and I'd say there's a racial component to this dichotomy - how black kids are perceived and how they need to act to get by in a white supremacist world. That's outside my experience but I'm invested in how Trista deals navigates the issue. After all, being strong, kind, gentle and lovely aren't mutually exclusive

I hesitate to compare to Uncanny again, but they both have high school scenes and the difference is stark. Westinghouse College Prep is a real life school in Chicago (that Biggie, Jay Z, Busta Rhymes and DMX all went to) and it is ranked pretty highly nationally. According to its website it has 98% minority enrollment. Importantly, it feels like a real school in 2024 with real people attending it, and not just because it actually is one IRL. There's no need to reach for played out generic high school tropes when the characters feel like real people with real problems already - verisimilitude.

After a smash cut to Trista with a sentinel looming over her, we learn that Emma does a pretty damn good Danger Room analogue. Trista seems determined and in control at first, using her different powers in concert effectively. She does manage to Empire Strikes Back trip the Sentinel up, but wigs out when it falls on top of her, understandably. Emma calls it, and we see more proof of why she's considered good at training young mutants.

Bobby's entrance at the end of last issue felt like a cliffhanger by virtue of being on the final page, but I'm glad his presence doesn't derail the plot entirely. It's implied that some time has passed, maybe a week - enough time for Bobby and Trista to get to know each other and enough time for Bobby to feel Kitty is avoiding him. Trista picks up on his odd behaviour and asks Emma about psychic ethics, heh. Her answer is funny and sardonic while still getting the point across. Emma and Trista having one on one time tells us a lot about Emma's sincerity and the trust she's earned through good works.

The subtext of Trista's distraction is made text - she's preoccupied with the audition, her crush, and the fear of exposure/social rejection. While we know this already, or could guess, it's effective to have newer characters tell their story. What they say is as important as what they don't say or how they say it. She responds well to being listened to and positive reinforcement, accepting the reframing of the audition as an opportunity.

Bobby is definitely up to something and acting weird. His persona feels performative. He's explicitly faking bathroom usage to text privately, and while his texting is worded vaguely enough to not give much away, it does seem sinister. At minimum he is lying about why he's there. Kitty picks up on the same weirdness Trista did and she's really not having it. He doesn't have the vibes of a friend seeking or offering support, though Kitty isn't interested in either and tells him to leave. Idk if Bobby even has a home right now - he was living in Antarctica because ORCHIS poisoned him and he couldn't hold a solid form for long. He was back with Romeo last time we saw him but also didn't have a physical body. I can't blame the creators for not explaining that, I have to assume they're under the same editorial direction everyone else is.

Trista's warmup scene has excellent layout, with the other kids' faces in circles next to their supportive texts. It's a clever way of showing their faces in an issue they're mostly absent from, and it's a solid method of variety in an issue with more texting than most. Showtime!

Trista meekly introduces herself to the casting guy/director and he suggests that the lead might not be right for her. He's polite, though she's about to disagree when her mutant life and school life clash in an unexpected way. One of those yellow beasts from X-Force appears from a portal and grabs her crush. You don't need to have been reading X-Force, it's a big monster (that were confirmed to be appearing globally in that book) and it's here. Trista rallies and uses her training to bronze up and get her head in the game.

It's a dangerous situation but has a simple solution suited to Trista's skillset. She grabs it with her tentacle things, ties it up and yeets it through the portal. Her overcoming it with pure force or martial skill would be a bit silly, but by linking her training and the progress she's made with Emma to a simple solution, it feels like an appropriate and believable triumph. Strong yet gentle. Neutralizing the beast and protecting herself and others without using overwhelming violence. It's a very effective character beat and the support/adulation from the theatre people is earned. She nailed the audition, and gets offered her choice of parts, though interestingly she turns it down in favour of her training. The theatre folks show solidarity and swear to keep her mutanthood a secret.

Trista shows up to training and seems more confident, her posture showing strength and positivity. It looks like Bronze, Axo and Melee are all benefiting and even Kate manages a smile. Then she overhears Bobby on the phone while grabbing some equipment. It's not a good look.

What Bobby is saying is so weird that she's not even sure it's him. Kate phases her hand next to his heart and straight up threatens him. He explains that everyone is worried about her and she says she's choosing this life. He tries to bring up ORCHIS and she shuts it down, saying out loud that she killed people. A little too loud, it turns out.

The kids overhear and are horrified, understandably. They're really young and don't have the kind of life experiences that come with being an X-Man - of course they are! Tom Brevoort has made a lot of noise about the X-Men killing people in Fall of X, an argument that has ignored the nuance of being at war with genocidal fascists. The issue hasn't made it to the page in a meaningful way until now, and I couldn't be more impressed. Rooting the issue in Kate's trauma and shame - as something that terrifies the students she's trying to help and likely damaging the trust she's built - approaches it on a believable character level.

This is a big part of what caused Kate to hang up her Spandex and it's something she's going to have to reckon with. Add the kids' emotional and ethical reaction and you've got a fantastic cliffhanger with the promise of explosive drama.

Kate grabs Bobby's phone and it's Rogue on the other end. She doesn't look like she's at Haven or in uniform, so who knows what's going on there? They're clearly ahead of Raid on Graymalkin as Iceman is in league with them, as if that book needs more characters. Kate doesn't care and hangs up on her. I wasn't going to compare to Uncanny a third time, but if the two are crossing over it invites comparison. Kurt's glib comment about thinking he was a murderer felt trite and silly, next to the dramatic execution of Shadowkat's actions being confronted it looks downright amateur. Kate is clearly having a PTSD flashback or intrusive thought during this conversation - whereas it wouldn't work for Bobby or Emma to announce that she has PTSD, for example.

I do enough shitting on Uncanny's writing in my reviews of that book, my point is how well similar beats are executed in this book. Eve L Ewing and Carmen Carnero's Exceptional X-Men is aptly named and frankly, if you're not reading it you're missing out. We know all these characters well enough that we care about their reaction to this revelation. Kate looks like she's about to break down, and Bronze and Axo's body language is heartbreaking. Emma knows shit is about to hit the fan and she's surely aware she killed people in Fall of X too. That's how you do a cliffhanger. Issue #4 managed to do a Trista focus issue, some slice of life, excellent character work, and lit a fuse to explode next issue all in 20 pages.

Exceptional X-Men is fantastic and you should be reading it.

[moutheyes]

A fond farewell to Miseinen, See Your Love, and Caged Again

It's actually insane how hot 2025 is coming in. Out of these three series, I was originally only watching Caged Again (hello, I'm moutheyes, and I'm a WeTV Originals acolyte), but thanks to the fine folks here who make nice gifs I gave in and jumped on the bandwagons for Miseinen and See Your Love.

Original script counter: 2 originals, 1 adaptation (a transnational one at that!).

For anyone still waiting to watch the Caged Again finale, I'll put that one behind the cut even though there aren't any spoilers. :)

Miseinen

Somehow both more quiet and more dramatic than I expected. Liked the confusion-separation-reconciliation of it all very much, the way the tumult of youth—feelings amplified by a lack of freedom, sense of suffocation, and the uncertainty of the future—smoothed out, giving way to more even ground where Jin and Haruki could restart their interrupted hearts. The beauty of their relationship was how they saw each other for who they really were, and accepted those initial rough draft versions, and that was enough.

At the same time, the commitment to realism resonated deeply: of course Haruki's trauma meant he needed time to heal away from everything else, and of course Jin's filial nature meant he'd always be torn between duty and desire. The way this extended to the special episode was especially poignant, showing the complex navigation of a now-stable relationship within their separate careers and semi-shared social lives. I also appreciated how they found outlets to express themselves when they couldn't find the right words to say face to face: the letters, the movie, the metaphors they both worked into their art. Both main actors had standout moments, and their chemistry was also top tier—the eyes and the hands! Also loved the moody palette with the constant contrast between cool and warm tones, and the opening song is a total earworm, absolutely unskippable.

Initial rating: 8.0

See Your Love

Okay, so 75% of this show was designed specifically to punch me in a soft and vulnerable place. Shaopeng—and his family—showcased some of the most thoughtful disability rep I've seen in Asian media, not just QL. His storyline was uplifting and affirming, but didn't shy away from his frustrations or hardships, either. The progression and deepening of Shaopeng and Zixiang's relationship is where I thought the script did great work with Zixiang in particular. His devotion to learning sign language and his commitment to doing everything possible to immerse himself in Shaopeng's world, ugh. For such a useless nepo baby, Zixiang was remarkably clear-headed about his own weaknesses, and even leaned into them—his cowardice, his lack of self-sufficiency—to bolster Shaopeng's own confidence. And in return, he gained strength from Shaopeng's resilience to face his own issues head-on. (Special shout-out to Shaopeng's dad, aka the taekwondo instructor the guys from LFCT needed...)

The show did a beautiful job with the central romance, but did leave a few crumbs on the table. The second pairing was deeply unserious and underdeveloped (very cute and appealing dynamic though, I guess there's always fic), and neither Jessica nor Zicheng posed real threats to the HEA. Zicheng in particular never felt like a major player; his local hired thugs were kind of just helpfully inept, and his eleventh-hour interference attempt needed more setup on the emotional front, although I did enjoy the actual confrontation scene.

Initial rating: 7.5

Caged Again

I don't know how they managed to infuse this wacky premise of a show—a panther and a penguin transform into teenage boys and fall in love—with the warmth of a big group hug, but the metaphorical storytelling was a wild success. All of the characters in the show have their own cage keeping them from what they truly desire, whether it's loneliness, trauma, neglect, grief, or pressure from parents and society. It's simple, it's universal, and that's why it works.

It didn't hurt that the cast was disarmingly endearing! Jay was a little ball of charm as Junior, our penguin, whose curiosity about life as a human was surpassed only by his audacity and sass. Ben played panther Sun with a lot of quiet restraint, which worked due to the character's backstory, and Nokia and Jaonine rounded out the main teenager group with a charming soft-bickering dynamic. Add in a colorful support cast featuring real-life couple Porsche and Arm as some needed father figures and queer role models, a Mole Goddess whose hobby was breaking the fourth wall, a school principal with an inner minx, and the world's most Done With Your Nonsense security guard, and every episode was a rollicking good time.

I thought the villains—a pair of animal traffickers—were afforded a bit too much screentime, since they also doubled as additional comic relief, but there was something genuinely heartbreaking about Junior's relationship with Son, the zookeeper whose betrayal leads to some real moments of pathos. (Is there anything to how close Son and Sun are in spelling/pronunciation?) Overall, though, this was an unexpected comfort show with careful character work and a great sense of humor—and another prime example of why I hunger for more original scripts!

Initial rating: 8.0

A very strong start to the year, hope the rest of 2025 can deliver like this.

[protect-namine]

it's interesting that yingdu E1 is gonna be the episode that really tells you if you like S1 story structure more, or S2 story structure more.

I thought yingdu would be more like S2 but I'm actually pleasantly surprised it starts more like S1? and I already knew this about myself but I really loved the episodic, slice of life nature of the first half of S1 (and the chibi shorts). I loved S2 and all, but the first time I fell in love with link click it was because of the day-to-day kind of issues they face before they started playing mind games with other people who have abilities like them. and I think I wouldn't have enjoyed S2 or even the back half of S1 if the show didn't start with episodic, low stakes cases. of course, I think they'll probably mix both storytelling styles this special season.

but idk, I really missed that vibe. shiguangling being domestic is sweet. I did like the cosplay story more than vivian's story, though I think them trying to set up the scammer parallel to lu guang was funny. I think cheng xiaoshi shines a lot in these kinds of moments because he's very empathetic even with the little things. lu guang is the one dealing with a lot of big picture stuff (time and death itself) but cheng xiaoshi? he just wants to set up a photography studio and maybe help a couple of people out when he can. play basketball. find a cosplayer to return her paintings. help their student council president to not get scammed.

he's just a little guy! look at him! he thrives in low stakes situations!! give him milk tea and he's happy 🤗

I think the most surprising details in this episode were:

lu guang is in the anime club :o

lu guang kept a detailed notebook of the past?? damn. I feel like he spent one timeline just memorizing and noting down events, down to the last minute.

"your eyes remind me of two people I knew" holy shit. time traveler parents possibly true. what if cheng xiaoshi's parents are lost to the time stream? like, they faced the consequences lu guang said you'd face if you stayed more than 12 hours into a picture (notably though, lu guang doesn't seem? to have this issue when he dives? or I guess past 12 hours you get "stuck" in the past and aren't able to come back to your "present")

what is up with cheng xiaoshi always wanting lu guang to be his partner "for life" asdfghjkl. my guy. you're so sweet

lu guang moves into the photo studio during their university years and bridon happens right after. and he's wearing cheng xiaoshi's summer clothes...

cheng xiaoshi did not clap when he activated his powers with the bridon picture (his hands were holding the envelope and the picture). which is... weird? how did that happen? also he went there as himself which means this picture was... not taken by a photographer? because otherwise he should've possessed someone like normal

finally: lu guang didn't have a watch in the beginning. idk why I always thought he had a watch. anyway, I think we can use the placement of his watch as a signifier of which timeline we're in

no watch: original timeline. when lu guang dives back here, I guess he buys a watch afterwards

watch on the left hand: either the og timeline (after he buys a watch) or the first time he dives? the timeline with cheng xiaoshi's first death? the style of the bedroom makes me think this happened in the first time they go to bridon (which isn't necessarily the same timeline we're seeing in the donghua right now).

edit: actually, scratch that. now I think this might have been lu guang's bedroom lol. the date is 4/12 which is the day cheng xiaoshi reads the 👌 text from lu guang about playing basketball again

it's also consistent with the flashback to cheng xiaoshi's death in S2E1 — watch is on the left hand.

watch on the right hand: S2 finale dive / yingdu E1 dive. which means vein showing up in the photo studio happened sometime during our "current" timeline.

lu guang keeps his watch on his right hand during S1 and S2 as well (catguang in the chibi shorts also has a watch on his right... paw).

there's probably other details I missed but anyway. welcome back link click!! I'm already one square away from getting a bingo in my yingdu bingo card lmao

[divorcedwife]

Im especially interested in your opinion of the companions! Did you like any, how would you rank them, how did they compare to other games.

I did enjoy veilguard myself cause admittedly im a combat enjoyer (boo me now) and the combat was great to me. But what is usually good in dragon age/bioware even if everything else sucks are characters and their stories and interactions and that was so bad in veilguard imo.

Still I liked Davrin and Emmrich and Bellara myself, rest were very mixed, and these three also suffered from bad dialogue and Bellara also from some overt cutesiness.

hehe noooooo i wouldn't boo you! this game really made me realize that i prefer video games as a form of interactive storytelling rather than purely for gameplay, but i mean, i feel like im the weirdo here if anything. video games are games first... as much as i like the combat (especially when it's in big open fields, with opportunities for cover ; god is it satisfying to slowly take down a mob of enemies through clever dodging and hiding, i wayyyy prefer that to spamming the flashy special moves), it feels empty to me if i dont feel connected to the world. ideally, i'd love to play games where i enjoy both, but if i have to pick, i'll prefer a game that i find unfun to play but where i like the writing

i think it's a pretty weak cast, yeah. individually, but also as a group, they lack chemistry to me. most of them get along just fine, but not in a way that's particularly fun or exciting. their relationships aren't interesting to me because they're very samey, both in that most people are friendly and also that they start out friendly and end up friendly. dai isn't a game i love, but for all its flaws, it definitely had fascinating character interactions to me. blackwall's friendship with sera is so different to his friendship with cassandra or with solas, and he's initially wary of cole but grows to like him after a while. and these people all have their opinion of blackwall changed forever by revelations. that's what's lacking to me in companion relationships! growth... change... i did enjoy davrin and lucanis's bickering at least. i also did like how emmrich talked to companions, his therapy talk was actually charming every time i liked emmrich and davrin the most! my only problem with davrin is how often he felt shackled to assan, like the writers felt the need to remind us that he has a cute griffon every three seconds in case we were losing interest. but as a character, i found him really cool. i like how level headed he is, i love how he can't tell when lucanis is messing with him on purpose, those feel like great warden traits. emmrich, i really liked that he had the flaws to match his qualities - i love it when he complains about needing to teach TEN students (gasp!), or when davrin asks him if he knows how to wash dishes and he responds like someone who hasn't washed a dish in ten years, and so on. that's definitely what i found lacking in most companions - actual flaws! it's mind boggling to me how much of the lucanis banter i heard was spent clarifying how unproblematic he is. like he doesn't kill children, doesn't kill people who acted in self defense, doesn't kill innocents. what??? he doesn't even have flaws from growing up rich in a mansion... or being the ultimate nepo baby.................... that made most of the companions feel pretty shallow to me, like they were born right before the game began and had lived nothing

lucanis has enough little things about him i like that i would still say i liked him, but he's not getting honours from me. i like his design (it's very satisfyin to draw somehow), i liked spite, i liked the idea that he's trapped in the ossuary in his mind, i loved going to the mansion and seeing how barren and sad it is there. but i think his romance is my least favorite of any i've done in any dragon age games, and i would say that he was a worse boyfriend to have than the one who tried to kill me and also than the one who turned out to be an axe murderer in disguise, cause at least these two liked talking to my characters! lol

i'd put neve next but if im being honest with myself, i disliked more about her than i liked. i liked her bitter cynic pessimist traits, but i found her somewhat inconsistent on that and generally too friendly. the remaining characters, i didn't find anything compelling about them, i dont remember any moment that i liked with them :-( i really wish i did! i gave everyone as fair a shot as i could, i didn't start out this game looking for things to hate, but they really didn't do anything for me. i think bellara suffered from the fact that i dont really like all the technology in this game, i prefer low magic sad unwashed fantasy. at least she was very beautiful so she does get point for that

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently Watching - December

aka The Masterlist

Because I love a good little list - in alphabetical order! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 29.12.2024

A little link to my favorite bl-tropes-collection 💙

gif-requests are open, but you'll need to have some patience🌼

Here you can find all of my gifs.

At the end you can have a look at what we can expect in December with a MDL link and a link for a trailer (if avaible).

This is guaranteed to contain spoilers!

1. Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu 🇯🇵 (8/11)

There are worlds between them. And I hate that they went for the separation and the time skip, but only because it hurts. I think it is a good use of this trope. But those two made each other happy and now they are hurting and that is hurting me. And next week looks hurtful too. Damn.

2. ThamePo Heart That Skips A Beat 🇹🇭 (3/13)

I love it here so much! They like each other already! They care about each other! And how could memorising a phone number be the most romantic shit ever?! They are the softest, most quiet people and I love them! They are already so special to me! I know my expectations are way too high... but I can't stop myself!

3. The Heart Killers 🇹🇭 (6/12)

Uhhhh... Shit is going to hit the fan really soon! I am here for it. What I am not here for is Fadel crying! My poor boy! Don't hurt him! So Bison and Fadel now know Kant and Style are fake, but boys, their feelings aren't fake! But the story needs some plot to work with, because right now, it is boring. Only Style & Fadel are keeping my interest up.

4. Word of Honor 🇨🇳 (25/36)

Yes, I kept watching. Well, this will take me a while to finish, I fear.

5. Your Sky 🇹🇭 (7/12)

I looooved the talk between Fah and his parents. They support him so much and they love him so much and they will love Rak with everything they have! I just hope we can get Fah and Rak becoming the best versions of themselves during the next episodes without drama and wit a lot of fluff and love. We still have five episodes to go. But for now I live in this version of the kiss and the fact that both boys are so damn much in love with the other one! They give me life!

Finished in December

Series

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days 🇨🇳

They can be glad to end this one with a happy ending! I would have thrown hands if they end it with them to never see each other again. I liked the series. It has such a wonderful melancholic feeling. It is calm and has topics that go very deep. But. The rending was very rushed. I guess we could have shorten some parts of the second couple (I really don't like them that much) and give some more time for the main couple. That is just my feeling. There were just too many questions open in the end for me. And as said, the ending was too rushed. I give this a good 8 out of 10.

Sweet Home Season 1 🇰🇷

I started this series because of him. I love him in everything he touched so far. And after a rough start this series captured my attention and I couldn't stop watching. After a while my best friend joined me and now we watch the rest of the series together. I usually don't watch horror stuff, but this one is really good. It is not too gory or to spooky and there are no real jump scares. I really enjoyed this first season. Overall a 9,5 out of 10.

Sweet Home Season 2 🇰🇷

The reason I kept watching were those two! Yes, I can see everywhere at least one bromance that should be a romance. Come on! Who looks at the lips of someone else like this if they don't want to suck on them too?! He wants to kiss those lips and this kiss would be reciprocated. Because they are in love with each other! Besides that this season was a mess. The storytelling was boring, there was no tension, too many new characters and no real connection with those characters like in the first season. I give it 6,5 out 10 just because love those two and I read some nice fanfics about them!

Sweet Home Season 3 🇰🇷

At least they could hold hands for a short period of time. I am happy Sergeant Kim survived. I am happy most of the characters I liked survived. The ending was... not what I expected. It was not bad, but the tone was a tiny bit off. The rest of the season I really liked. It was tense and the action was good. I had a blast with my best friend and finally I liked some of the characters again. But where did all the monsters gone. Not all transform into neo-humans. And what is the conclusion? Emotions and needs are bad? I don't know. A bit more explanation would have been nice. Over all a good 8 out of 10.

Movies

Short Films

Dropped in December

Love In The Air: Koi no Yokan 🇯🇵 (4/10)

Who am I kidding. I dropped this a while ago. I really couldn't care less about this series. I didn't like the original and don't really like this adaptation. It is the story I can't stand. So it is a drop for me.

Looking forward to in December

0.5D (Dec 4th)

Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai 2 Haime! - Trailer (Dec 4th)

ThamePo - Heart that skips a beat - Trailer (Dec 13th)

Eternal Butler - Trailer (Dec 20th)

Sangmin Dinneaw

Eyes On You - Trailer (Dec 11th Pilot)

[rebuke-me]

be more chill : hero, heroine, both or neither

or, jupes cares way too much about the journeys of media and audience reception

to start, am I allowed to flex my (near) college degrees? I'm going to. I'm doing college level research into the heroines journey, writing, and how audiences respond to it, and I have a fascination with fandom experiences. this is going to be mostly intellectual, but also be an attempt to be accessible for non-obsessed nerds like me. but this will assume you have at least a passing knowledge of the plot of the musical be more chill, a semi-awareness of the heros journey, and care about storytelling/writing.

now that that's out of the way, there's one more thing I want to get out of the way: my critiques of this show and it's writing is not reflective on the fans that enjoy it. I am a fan of it. I also like media analysis and criticism of things I love. if you are the type of person to take media criticism personally, this post may not be for you. 

on with the actual crux of my post! 

most (fictional) media falls into one of two categories: the hero's journey or the heroines journey. if you've dabbled in media criticism or storytelling, you've probably heard of the hero's journey. if you haven't, maybe you've heard terms like the Call to Adventure or The Death of the Mentor. if you still have no idea what I'm talking about, it's okay, I'll explain beat for beat later.

the heroines journey is more complicated. most writers aren't taught it, it's swept under the rug. which sucks, because it's a very popular storytelling medium, arguably more so than the heros journey. it's just frowned upon and ignored because it's mostly used in genre fiction, like romance novels. I don't have time to unpack misogyny right now. just know that the reason you probably haven't heard of this is because of misogyny.

also, to clarify: a hero does not have to be male, and a heroine doesn't have to be female, at least in the context of journeys. male characters can go on a heroines journey, and vice versa. stories also don't have to hit every single plot beat of a journey to be considered one- it's more of a guideline than a checklist. 

onto the actual topic of be more chill.  I saw a post that sent me on a rabbit hole, that mentioned bmc in the context of a heros journey. and I was like, hold on, no, it's a heroines journey. sure, it has some plot beats of the heros journey, but it's a heroine. right? 

kind of. 

but also kind of not. 

see, be more chill is an interesting media, because it follows, at its core, both journeys at the exact same time. 

we'll start with the heros journey first. it's more familiar to people, and therefore easier to explain. 

the Hero usually has a magical or fantastical birth. strike one against bmc- Jeremy, at his core, is just some guy. he's not special or magic. he's some teenager. 

however, he does get the Call to Adventure- rich, offering him a squip in the bathroom. Jeremy is promised everything he'd ever want. popularity, girls, respect. and still he Refuses the Call at first. he hesitates, then goes and seeks answers on his own, bringing him to the payless, where he buys his squip. 

the squip acts as the Supernatural Aid/Mentor figure. usually, these are male parental figures, or wizened old men. the squip guides Jeremy through his new life and prospects, giving him help that's almost magical. it is the reason he does a lot of things in the plot. this is jeremy’s Withdrawal/Quest- he wants to get popular, get the girl, so he Abandons his Community (his dad and michael) to do so. he metaphorically leaves his home, and it’s all self-motivated. he chooses to leave. 

the next part of the journey is encountering obstacles which is, in fact, the rest of the show. between brooke and chloe, christine liking jake, the halloween party, etc. if there’s a part between jeremy taking the squip and him getting rid of it thats hindering his goals, it falls into this category. 

then there’s the Visit to the Underworld. this is, in most modern media, purely metaphorical. it’s a place where there’s intense pain, death, the main character is at rock bottom. for our purposes (both here, and in the heroine’s journey) this is the play. its entire thing is zombies/zombified people, which is a big thing in metaphorical and literal underworld areas. 

this is where the hero’s journey falls apart. usually, the hero has to face the villain one-on-one, drawing strength from his isolation. he deals the killing blow, he takes down the whole thing, either in a noble sacrifice or with his own wit/skill. 

but jeremy, notably, doesn’t do that. michael brings the mountain dew red, jake attempts to help michael save him, and even in the end, christine is the one to drink it, shutting down the entire web of synced squips. jeremy, as a whole, doesn’t really save himself. potentially, you could argue that him giving the last of the red to christine is him giving a noble sacrifice, but he still had no intent to defeat the squip for himself, get revenge, or get glory, which are the hero’s main motivations and pillars of success. so strike two against the bmc hero’s journey. 

the ending of the journeys are arguably most important. it determines whether or not the media sticks the landing, if its satisfying for the reader. so how does the hero’s journey end? with the hero returning home, fundamentally changed, unable to fit into his previous role. he’s acknowledged for success, rewarded and honored, and receives glory, but also has to leave, isolating himself, but receiving a boon. 

jeremy receives a boon, sure, in the form of christine. (sorry, christine, i wish you weren’t reduced to being a prize to be won, but i can’t pretend that isn’t what you are, from a hero’s journey lens.) but he’s not isolated, he has no reason to leave his community. he gets the best of both worlds. he gets the girl, new friends, new self-confidence, and he keeps his old friends. if this is a hero’s journey, then it’s a terrible ending- jeremy seems to have gone through all of that for nothing. it lands poorly. so, if be more chill is a hero’s journey, it sets it up pretty well, but fails to commit to the ending.

but what about a heroine’s journey, i hear you asking (if you’re still here, that is.)

this is where it gets really interesting. because the heroine’s journey, at its core, is the inverse of the hero’s. it all focuses on community, networking, making connections. there’s a reason a lot of romance novels fall into this journey. It falls into three main arcs- the descent, the search, and the ascent. 

interestingly, if bmc is a heroine’s journey, the Descent starts before the musical does. the first step of the heroine’s journey is the breaking of a familial network. jeremy’s mother has left, leaving just him and his father, who do not get along, and michael, who doesn’t understand, not entirely. jeremy Withdraws. usually, in heroine’s journeys, the heroine withdraws involuntarily, but jeremy chooses to do it. he pulls back from his support network, because of a main factor in the heroine’s journey- Family Offers Aid but No Solution. 

if that doesn’t describe michael’s role in bmc, i have no idea what does. michael’s the one aiding jeremy on his journey, at the beginning. but his aid is “just stick it out,” but that’s a further down the line answer, not a solution to jeremy’s problems now. so he has to pull back from the support system he had, because its not working for him. 

this leads him to Isolation and Danger. because he meets with rich in the bathroom alone. he takes michael to the payless, but he makes the decision alone. and when the squip activates, he’s left by michael, surrounded by people he doesn’t know. he’s isolated, maybe not on the stage itself, but metaphorically. 

this starts jeremy on his Search– he forces himself to withdraw, all to search for unity. he breaks all ties to his previous life, just to look for the one thing he wants. 

in the heroine’s journey, there are two main throughlines– Loss of Family and Disguise. jeremy loses his first family, disguises himself, and attempts to create a surrogate family network. he tries to rebuild his community, shaping himself into something different, trying to find something that he can be or do to be worth it. each of his obstacles is an appeal to a new community, and each one is rejected. 

and then comes the play, which, again, is the underworld. death imagery, loss of control, the literal rock bottom for the characters. jeremy is at his lowest point, everything he’s done is falling apart. and what happens?

his family and friends render aid. as previously mentioned, the hero’s journey focuses on isolation, strength in loneliness, the value of doing things for you and only by you. but the heroine’s journey focuses on strength in numbers, in relying on others for help, in the importance of being saved, sometimes. jeremy’s dad reaches out to michael, who knows how to help, and christine is the one to drink the mountain dew red in the end. jeremy, as a whole, is nothing and would get nowhere without his friends. 

with the defeat of the squip, the Ascent can start. and this is where we, again, ask the question of if be more chill sticks the landing. sure, maybe it didn’t succeed with the hero’s journey ending, but if it sticks the landing for the heroine’s, then its fine, right? it successfully completed one journey, at least!

not really, actually. 

there’s parts where it does land. jeremy’s new network (the popular kids) is established, meaning he has more friends, more opportunities and advice handed to him. his previous network (michael and his dad) is re-established in an altered form. his dad is going to attempt to be better, more involved, and michael is more understanding of where jeremy is at. jeremy also establishes his connection with christine. the defeat of the squip is, as a whole, kind of irrelevant, from a “villain defeat” perspective. there’s no revenge or glory in it. it’s not even entirely gone, but the defeat is more metaphorical. 

so why doesn’t this work? i just told you that it mostly succeeds, that it fits almost all of the criteria. but there’s one fundamental issue with the ending of be more chill as a heroine’s journey. 

see, the heroine has to make a sacrifice, to make negotiations, to give a compromise. otherwise, it feels too easy to the reader. so what sacrifice does jeremy make? he keeps his previous friendship with no issues. he makes new friends who don’t question his decisions. he gets the girl. he gets (mostly) rid of the voice in his head, or gains the ability to ignore it. he gets a happy ending, and it doesn’t feel earned.

so, is jeremy a hero? a heroine? did i just draw you into reading this to leave you with a wishy-washy answer of “he’s whichever you think he is!” maybe a little bit. 

the hero’s journey doesn’t land because there’s no isolation, no sacrifice that jeremy makes to his own connections. he doesn’t draw away and stay there. the bad is defeated, and he doesn’t have to make sacrifices. the heroine’s journey doesn’t land for the same reason, because he doesn’t make a compromise. there’s nothing to prove that something’s changed, that he’s grown, because he’s given everything he wants in the end. 

this is why the story of be more chill, as a whole, doesn’t land for most people, even subconsciously. critics, especially those who love the hero’s journey, are upset that there’s not a satisfying ending to the hero’s journey, that it feels too childish. the happy go lucky “everyone is friends at the end” moment falls flat for those looking at the journey from a hero’s journey perspective. the bones are all there. the plot beats make sense, for the most part, with some minor flaws, right up until the end, where it trips and falls flat on its face. 

but what about the heroine’s journey lovers? well, if you’re in this fandom (or any fandom, for that matter) it’s probably you. (its also me, hi, im calling myself out here, too. i wouldn’t be writing this if i wasn’t so into this.)

the heroine’s journey is particularly attractive to those who are active in fandom. there’s a reason there’s a lot of fanfiction focused on relationships, connection, group dynamics, and not so many on the characters put in a vacuum where they have to defeat the big bad alone. not to say that there aren’t any, but fewer. so how do people who love the heroine’s journey cope with the lack of a satisfying ending? 

fanfiction, mostly. fanart. alternate universes. seeing potential in the bones of the thing, the messages it offers, and making it our own. and there isn’t anything wrong with that. i do it, if you’re reading this, you probably do it, or like when others do it. 

personally, i am more intrigued by be more chill as a heroine’s journey. clearly. i’m biased, i know. because, while it doesn’t stick the landing entirely, it has the messages of a heroine’s journey. that your strength is with other people. that you are not alone. that you should ask for help, you should be kind, you should find the people who care about you. your friends matter, old and new. isolation and disguising yourself as someone you aren’t is never going to help you achieve your goals. and that’s an important factor. 

maybe you see jeremy as a hero. maybe you see him as a heroine. maybe you think that both of these journeys suck and you don’t think it matters which one it follows, or if it follows one at all. but clearly, there’s something to love, to latch onto. there’s flaws, which give us something to analyze, to pull apart and make art and creative works and essays about. it’s not perfect, and that’s why we love it. 

[ because im a library science student, i’m going to give brief sources. i drew my knowledge of the plot of be more chill from my own brain, if i missed anything, its because of that. feel free to point out if i said something wrong, if i did. the hero’s journey is the one by john campbell, and i used the heroine’s journey structure from gail carriger’s book. some other heroine’s journey sources may not fit this as well. if you’re interested in any part of this concept, read The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger, its a fascinating read, and its pretty tongue-in-cheek, and goes way more in depth with a lot of the stuff i touched on. ]

[ also, this should not be used in any actual classes, this is a 20 year old college student with autism and a hyperfixation, i did not do in depth research, i have not graduated yet, i am simply a bitch with a weird brain. do your own research babes <3. with that, thank you for reading this, if you got to this point, feel free to reblog this or like it or leave a comment or whatever. ]

[danjaley]

Storytelling ask game:

8, 17, 20, 25 :3

Thank You!

8: What about your story are you proud of?

Whenever I read a book set in 18th century Britain and there is something similar to how I did it in my story, that's kinda magic. Yes, I did these things right by accident, but it still makes me proud. I guess being a historian helps, but I made it a rule not to mix up free-time and work and go overboard researching for the McCarrics.

17: What about the process do you hate?

I'm struggling with one of those points right now: When I write, I think in terms of the real world, not Sims worlds. So I wrote they'll organize a crossing in Le Havre and then they're in Portsmouth, and then in London. And when I get there, I realize I need to find Sims worlds to stage this in. And there aren't very many 18th century city worlds. Not to mention that I have to set up a new save every time...

20: Choose your favourite shot from your story so far

The moment of perfect bliss between Andrew and Fergus. I love everyone's expressions in this one. And it's always a special challenge to find good poses for teenagers.

25: What inspirations have you drawn on for your story?

The first inspiration were the Scottish novels by Frances Hodgeson Burnett. By now there are so many! A lot of inspiration comes from my research, and I'm excited as we get closer to the times and events I really know a lot about.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

John Musker recently spoke of his final years at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and on directing MOANA under the stewardship of John Lasseter. There's some stuff worth noting in here...

To start off, he kinda repeated the words Bob Iger said when evaluating Disney's 2023 movie releases that didn't do very well at the box office, in describing what's not working with WDAS' most recent films. Namely the box office bombs STRANGE WORLD and WISH...

We weren’t trying to be woke, although I understand the criticism. The classic Disney films didn’t start out trying to have a message. They wanted you to get involved in the characters and the story and the world, and I think that’s still the heart of it. You don’t have to exclude agendas, but you have to first create characters who you sympathize with and who are compelling. I think they need to do a course correction a bit in terms of putting the message secondary, behind entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters.

The key takeaway here is "you don't have to exclude agendas".

While I found Iger's similar statements to be confounding and toothless, seemingly catering to all the angry assholes on YouTube who call everything "woke" and think about Brie Larson 24/7/365... What John is saying is a very basic thing about storytelling, in that it's character first.

That being said, I personally don't feel the problem with WDAS' recent movies is that the messaging is front-and-center. I think that so-called messaging, like some of the character work, feels like an afterthought too. Specifically in STRANGE WORLD and WISH, not so much ENCANTO. But it is instead the rushed and hurried pacing of their over-crammed stories, the sort-of plainness of the presentations, weird dialogue choices (throughout my first viewing of WISH, I kept saying "Who talks like this?"), kinda reheated old hat tricks. It sometimes feels like the films made under CCO Jennifer Lee's watch are just trying to recapture FROZEN in some way or another... Without understanding why that film ticked with audiences and where the overall zeitgeist was in late 2013/early-to-mid 2014.

Also... Messaging. I'm not taking Musker to task specifically, because I know what he means in his words... But when others say it: All art is either political or about something, anyways. Choosing NOT to say anything is still saying something, it's still a political act to bow out or to be indifferent. Every Disney animated movie is about something, and they are indeed the works of their creators, so that means that their views on life and the world are somehow within the stories themselves. "Message" in this context, to me, reduces a work of art to a mere statement, like an after-school special or something. John and Ron Clements' Disney animated movies simply knew how to mix the themes with the character work, the storytelling, the worlds they put together, etc. You can't tell me with a straight face that something like THE LITTLE MERMAID, ALADDIN, or MOANA aren't about something or aren't political in any way, shape, or form. Especially the first of those three examples. The spirit of Howard Ashman would have a word with you if you think otherwise.

John also points out that the Lasseter years, which a lot of people online alarmingly pine for, weren't these amazing halcyon days. And this statement only confirmed the rumors I had heard about MOANA's production, how both John and Ron Clements were warded off on various things during its making:

MOANA was a very difficult project. It was our idea, but with Pixar and John Lasseter, our story kept changing hands. In the ’90s, we had Jeffrey [Katzenberg]. He was an emperor, you know. But there weren’t 10 Jeffreys. Now, you have too many people to satisfy, before we didn’t have 15 directors telling you how to make the movie. But in some ways, they were right, it was a good thing.

I feel like John's being very balanced in his words, finding the positives of that kind of environment while still calling out the not-great stuff. I love to hear these stories in former directors/animators' own words, and what the Lasseter and Lee regimes have been like. I feel that there are potentially fantastic movies buried in STRANGE WORLD and WISH, the former I rather liked still and the latter I found a fairly pleasant diversion.

I feel the fault lies in the execution, not so much the concepts, themes, or ideas. While some pockets of animation fandom online strongly feel that that earlier iteration of WISH with a younger version of Asha's grandpa being some kinda Star Boy would've been automatically better than the released film, to me it's down to the storytelling itself. Like, I think Asha, the silly goat, and the cute star thing could've been a fun trio and the movie itself a pretty fantasy flick, but it doesn't really get there. The Human-Star WISH, if made, could've also suffered from the same writing problems and similarly underwhelming songs.

STRANGE WORLD could've been this really dynamic sci-fi pulp adventure with a funny and super-enjoyable bickering family at its core, with the environmental themes intact... but it's mostly just kinda there in its execution, the characters kinda flat, the dialogue is forced a lot of the time, the dramatic beats aren't properly built up, and the film's editing makes it feel like it had been thrown into a dicer. There doesn't seem to be the hand and personality of the directors/filmmaking team, it's almost like a template is set for them. And they fill in the blanks and eke out as much personality as they can. See, I don't get that out of Pixar's recent films, all of which feel much more director-driven. And ARE about something, too, whether explicitly political or not. This current iteration of WDAS would not have made a movie like LUCA or TURNING RED.

For the forseeable future, it's sequels to favorites from last decade, who knows how those will be executed. Maybe an original or two sneaks in, I don't know, but I wonder if Lee and the leadership themselves looked at the response to WISH, STRANGE WORLD, et al. and are figuring things out. Or staying the course. But it isn't just people online saying it, nor critics. More than one Disney veteran is saying it... WDAS is in a bit of a rough spot at the moment. The solution isn't as simple as "they need to have romances and villains again" nor "they need to be less left-leaning", to me it's really... Let the filmmakers try something cool, even if it doesn't land. If it doesn't land, it'll be a cult classic thereafter. Live-action directors get to mess up all the time and make these 45%-scoring-on-RT released-by-A24 movies that later get hailed as auteur classics... Why do some animated movies have to live up to this weird nonexistent standard?

Back to Musker... In addition to this, John still expresses interest in adapting the DISCWORLD book MORT, from Terry Pratchett. He and Ron tried to get that going at Disney Animation after finishing THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, but it didn't pan out, so the pitch that morphed into MOANA happened thereafter. He feels it's a tough sell in today's "risk-averse" environment... Though somehow, the DISCWORLD book THE AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RATS recently happened as an animated feature. The interview seems to confirm that METAL MEN, the DC animated adaptation that he and Ron were heading up at Warner Animation, isn't a thing anymore. John's new thing is his self-made short I'M HIP, so hopefully that circulates somewhere we can all see it.

[mjfsupremacy]

Let's talk about this.

CM Punk was a bigger star than everyone else when he came in. That is 100% fact. We would be crazy to deny it. He came in on legend status, 7 years of fans wondering if they would ever see him again. That's huge and he was a big get and for the first few months, whenever we saw him it felt like a big deal. He was putting in decent matches, he was doing incredible storytelling and he was adding so much value to the company.

That didn't last long. It became apparent well before the all out media scrum that he'd very much gone into business for himself and that he'd allowed his ego to run rampant. The list of names pouring out weekly that he had pissed off just kept getting larger and larger, and no, I don't think all the issues he had were his fault but a great many of them he claimed some fault in at least.

That media scrum was the perfect example of a man whose ego has been left to go unchecked for too long, someone who has clearly decided he's better than everyone else in the room and what he has to say matters more than what anyone else does.

After that, he was no longer the name he came in with. It's surprising that seeing AEW be completely fine without him didn't humble him even a little bit because when he came back, he didn't come back with any integrity or willingness to work to make AEW better, he was clearly, again just there for himself. Maybe at this point, he was already hoping to go back to WWE, who knows, but it was apparent he wasn't there because he cared about AEW and the fans knew it. It's an interesting bit of revisionist history happening right now that apparently WWE fans either willingly or ignorantly don't know that a large collection of AEW fans wanted him gone, because they were so tired of his attitude or they sensed he didn't care about AEW like they did. AEW fans are getting straight bullied on the internet because WWE fans think they are jealous or salty he went to WWE when that, honestly, for most, couldn't be further from the truth.

Of course he doesn't rate the top AEW guys highly, his actions for the entire time he was there showed that he didn't care that this was more than a job for them, this was a dream to put American pro-wrestling on the map again, this was a chance for wrestlers who dont fit the mould to do what they love on a huge stage. (Not a knock on WWE, by the way. They aren't wrestling. They specifically do not brand themselves as such.)

As for the WWE guys in AEW waiting to go back, they should be released. Let them go back. There seems to be this fear that if AEW releases talent that clearly wants to go back to WWE that it's a loss. It shouldn't be, they clearly don't have the companies best interests in mind, and if AEW is going to survive, it need people who believe in it 100%

AEW needs to refocus and they desperately need a restructure. They need more women in leadership for one. They need someone who can keep the egos in check but most importantly they need to remind themselves who they are and why they were so special to begin with. They have always been about heart, and wrestling, and having something to say, and passion. Some of that's been lost this year.

I firmly believe they will find it again, but I think the key is to move on, and keep grinding. Keep putting in work that silences the naysayers and is something to be proud of. I honestly wouldn't even mention Punk ever again, I'd literally scrub him and if the few friends he has left there don't understand why, I'd be asking them if they believe in what's best for AEW or what's best for them.

Anyways, here's a quick list of AEW stars that could carry the company on their back tomorrow and would smoke CM Punk on his best day.

- HANGMAN ADAM PAGE

- Orange Cassidy

- Ricky Starks

- Trent Bereta

- Wheeler Yuta

- Daniel Garcia

- Kris Statlander

- Hikaru Shida

- Julia Hart

- Willow

- Skye Blue

- Eddie Kingston

- Wardlow

- Bandito

- Konosuke Takeshita

- Kyle Fletcher

- Penta

- MAXWELL JACOB FRIEDMAN

(Edit: Darby Allin was originally on this list, I was not aware of his previous SA history with his ex or his alleged behaviours toward homeless people in his past. I'm genuinely sorry if anyone was hurt or offended by this.)

[boneslikebarerootsrp]

How long do you estimate for this final arc to be? And do any mods have any future projects for after this roleplay ends? I am interested in applying, but as an example, I'd prefer not to join for just a few months :(

Good question! And completely understandable!

This final arc, at minimum, will last a year from the opening time-- so at least up until November 2025 guaranteed. When I say at minimum, though, I mean it could easily stretch up to another year or two. This is pretty dependent on our pace and player plotlines. I tend to notice we have seasons of more activity, and seasons where everyone tends to be busy all at once (whether its with exams, or college applications, or job stuff, etc etc) so things work out pretty naturally. We're going to go at the pace that works best for us as a whole group honestly, and we've always run a little on the long side! There's a chance that things pick up before then, but regardless of that we will be here for another year.

I do have a future project planned that will start after BLBR is wrapped that's in the slow cooker right now. It's a human/humanoid roleplay about establishing a safe outpost 60 years after the end of the world as we know it. In the efforts of 'bridging' the gap for my lovely players more used to feline roleplay, we have a humanoid species that evolved from big cats. BLBR players seem excited for this, we have a containment channel in BLBR for it. If you'd like to read more, feel free to browse the deeply WIP website for it-- with my silly notes included. It is another 18+ roleplay like BLBR, but will be allowing for more mature themes that aren't touched on in BLBR due to the nature of the beast here-- please be warned when clicking through!

Roleplay is honestly my favorite way of storytelling for its collaborative and interactive aspect, and I will probably be running roleplays for a long time. I have a special love for the meta aspects of putting them together, managing them, maintaining a community, and of course telling a story. It's honestly one of my passions.

My mod Buzz as well is planning on opening up a kitty forum rp too! I'll be joining when it's time and it's time soon, though I'm not modding there as my focus is solely on BLBR until we see our final threads tied off. He's a good egg, though, and I'm super excited for what he has planned.

[motheatenscarf]

I keep telling myself I'm being too harsh and that other expansions must have been this slow as well, but actually, no, I'm on level 92 stuff and by this point in EW, the Tower of Zot had been done and in SHB, fucking Holminster Switch had come and gone.

This is just not economical storytelling and the pacing's off.

I was momentarily excited when Gulool Ja Ja summoned up the WoL to meet. The duel was cute and it felt like I actually got to do something, it was reminiscent of the duels with Raubahn and Zenos where the player character is given the chance to just. Have a fun fight for glory's sake and nothing else and revel in it.

I'd noticed that people had been prompting the WoL a lot for their input on how to proceed, but very little in the way of introspection and how they might feel about things or what their motives might be. Which, yeah, actually, that's been a little disappointing given how Endwalker was literally an expansion about, hey, how you feel about things matters, and how Shadowbringers was, hey, why people do things matters.

Like. I don't need the WoL to be the main character or the main focus of the story right now, I acknowledge that Dawntrail is Wuk Lamat's story and our role is, as stated in text, to guide her and mentor her. That's fun! That's new! That's different!

...

Let me do that! There's a difference between not being the main character and feeling like a non-entity in a story. And like. Kinda everybody here feels like a non-entity except for Wuk Lamat. And she's fine as a character, she's just. There's not a lot to her. There are no real flaws that aren't cute or endearing, and like, that's fine, not every character needs to be Oops! All Flaws, Aymeric is one of my favorite characters in this game, but the narrative isn't challenging her and her convictions beyond tummy hurty and alpaca's stinky. Aymeric was STABBED and spit on and had to watch people scorn his name and nearly watched children be murdered in opposition to his dream of peace. He got put through the ringer! Wuk Lamat gets motion sickness and isn't taken very seriously and she feels inadequate when comparing herself to her brothers. Cool. That's relatable, sure, but not compelling. I also get motion sickness and don't feel like I'm as smart as my brother and know that my mom likes him more than me. I'm not the protagonist of a Final Fantasy game! And if I was, I'd hope someone would make that family dynamic the FOCUS of the story at the very least.

Everyone else is like. Why are they here? The twins have nothing to do here. The WoL has nothing to do here. Krile in theory has a quest but she doesn't seem particularly driven or excited about it and we've learned almost nothing of consequence regarding it. We now know she was an orphan but she isn't interested in who her parents were or why they left, and also her earring is special, I guess.

Thancred and Urianger have more to do than this group. Koana and the other one are kinda one-note but they've at least got the advantage of like. Being withholding and letting me interpret the things they say and do sometimes, rather than telling me.

I keep thinking, god, maybe Erenville will be interesting but he's starting to feel a little one-note in his interactions with Wuk Lamat. We know a little more about him now but it's like. Trivia. He was from this village and his mother tasked him with finding the Golden City. Cool. What does that mean to him? How does he feel about it? Why did he obey her instructions to become a gleaner to search for this city? Nothing we've learned is of substance.

I'm... frustrated. We're at 3/7 of these Feats completed and I do not have any greater understanding of these characters and their reasons for being here or their roles in the narrative than we had at the start of the contest. We're still just establishing the setting 1/5 of the way through. It's frustrating. I've been pretty patient, but I don't think my continued urge to fuck off and do something else every hour or two is misplaced. I've almost finished grinding fates in the first 2 zones just because I wanted to take some time to sit and think and digest what I'm feeling about all this and why.