#poor quality can be enjoyable and also good

[biowaredisasterbisexual]

Okay, so, I see a lot of people talk about “stats” on fics. Here, Reddit, other social media…often in a way that suggests one can gauge quality of a fanwork based on those metrics. Writers using them to try and determine if their work is “good.” Readers using them to filter fics for just the “best” ones. So let’s talk about stats.

And yeah, this is going to be long, so let’s have a cut, but TL;DR:

AO3 stats numbers can, in the aggregate, tell us some things but they cannot tell us the quality of a piece. Authors, stats don’t mean that your writing isn’t good, no matter what the “ratios” are. Readers, stats are poor indicators of fic quality, but you should know that writers are using those numbers as indicators of engagement with and enjoyment of their work; engagement is the encouragement writers use to keep writing.

I’ve read so many posts — on Tumblr, on the AO3 subreddit, fanfiction and writing subreddits, in other social media arenas — by both authors and readers talking about the stats on fics. Wondering if they’re good, or if they aren’t. Lamenting or judging a writer’s skill based purely on those numbers. Using those numbers as a way to filter fics to find the “best” ones. Wondering if writing is even worth doing in the writer’s fandom.

Usually, because of where I hang out, they’re talking about AO3 stats, but I occasionally see stuff about Wattpad in a similar vein. I don’t know Wattpad; I’ve never used it. So I’ll just focus on AO3 here.

So, first things first, I’m not going to tell a fanfic author that they should just not care about their stats. Not because I think stats matter, really, but because I know that’s an impossible ask. If we didn’t want people to read and enjoy our stuff, we wouldn’t post it. I can read my own writing with way less work and effort if I don’t post it, honestly. I post it to share it. So I get that saying “who cares what the stats are” is actively not helpful advice for a demoralized writer and doesn’t encourage participation for readers. So here’s what I’ll say instead about what we can, and more importantly can’t glean, from AO3’s stats as writers, and try to put those AO3 stats in perspective for writers and readers of fanfic alike:

AS A WRITER:

1) Comparison is the thief of joy. If you’re getting engagement with your fic and it makes you happy, try not to dwell on whether other authors are getting more engagement. I know this is a tough one to implement.

2) If you’re going to compare, it needs to be apples to apples, and I see a lot of folks comparing apples to oranges and then feeling let down by that comparison.

2A) Someone writing for the most popular ship in your fandom while you write a rare pair is probably going to get more engagement; not because it’s better, but because more people are going to see it. They will get more hits because more people are filtering for that pairing. That doesn’t mean what you wrote isn’t good or compelling.

2B) This goes even more granular: someone who is in the Neve/Rook tag on AO3 and either excludes M/F or filters for F/F isn’t going to see my fic. And that’s okay; they’re looking for something specific and I’m not writing it. I’m writing M/F Neve/Rook at the moment. The longer a fic is up, the more engagement it’s likely to have gotten, so I need to look at dates. If I were going to compare - and I don’t and shouldn’t for my own sake - M/F Neve/Rook posted within a few days of my post would be what I should compare myself to.

And even then, given that different fics tackle different subjects, have different OCs, etc., it’s still not likely to be truly 1:1.

2C) Multi-chapter fics and long fics get different numbers and ratios of hits/kudos/comments than one-shots. The engagement pattern is different.

2D) Smut/NSFW/Archive Warning fics also tend to get different engagement patterns than fics that don’t have those markers. Some people are concerned about their usernames being linked to those themes/plots/topics. Some readers are smut fiends (and we love that for them). Both these things can skew numbers here.

3) A registered user who is logged in can only kudo once, even if the fic has multiple chapters. Someone can read an entire 27-chapter 200k word novel and love it and only be able to leave a single kudo. Guest users are tracked by IP address, so if their IP address hasn’t changed they too can only kudo a fic one time.

4) The above means that re-readers are often not getting seen in kudo numbers even if they’re your biggest fans.

5) “Hits” counts individual views, but only if outside certain timeframes. If someone reads your fic 5 times in 24 hours it won’t count as 5 hits. However, outside that time box it will register as multiple hits, which may mean you’re getting more hits and no kudos because of re-reads.

6) Engagement from readers is lower across the board. There’s been entire articles about it. It’s not just you, I promise.

7) There is no “hits to kudos” or “kudos to comments” or “hits to comments” ratio that can reliably tell if something is good or not for all the reasons above.

AS A READER:

1) Writers want engagement. Crave it. If an author didn’t want engagement, they wouldn’t post their fanfic. It’s not like they’re getting paid. And it can be incredibly discouraging not to receive any. Writers use those stats numbers - hits, kudos - and those comments to determine if people are looking at and, more importantly, enjoying their work. It’s a way of gauging engagement.

Does that mean a writer is entitled to engagement? No. But if you want an author to keep posting fic, engagement is the way to encourage that. Like I said, I can read my own stuff with much less work if I don’t post.

2) As I said above, a registered user that is logged in (or a guest still on the same IP address) can only kudo a fic once, no matter how many chapters it has or how many times they’ve read it. If you want to show you like a new chapter after you’ve dropped that initial kudo, or show a re-read, you’ll need to comment. Even if it’s just a “❤️” or “have another kudo!”

3) You aren’t bothering writers by commenting on something; really, you’re not. I see so many readers worried that they’ll come across as weird by engaging.

Friend, we’re all weird here. Go for it.

I love when people send me a multi-paragraph comment or kudo 7 of my fics in a single night. (I also love all comments, to be clear. An “OMG” or keysmash is also great. So’s a random one-off kudo.) Don’t worry you’ll annoy the writer. We can turn comments off if we don’t want them.

4) Writing and posting fic is time consuming. There’s the writing itself (already a major labor of love) and, even if there’s no editing or beta-reading, formatting and summarizing and rating and all that. Bare minimum. If there’s editing or beta-reading, now there’s an additional (and often lengthy) part of the process that has very likely meant a time investment not only from the authors but the folks that helped them. Engagement is the only pay they get.

5) To put a finer point on topic 1: Yes, lack of engagement has absolutely ended fics people loved or led writers to stop writing/sharing fanfic at all. I don’t say that to insinuate you owe a writer your engagement, but no one wants to shout into an empty room; if fanfic doesn’t involve participation from both sides, the system does eventually break down.

If you read a fic and don’t kudo or comment, the author has no way to know if you liked it or if you accidentally clicked the wrong link and immediately fled. Writers aren’t mind readers.

If you’re someone who reads a rare pair, this is doubly true. Authors of rare pairs can face a lonely existence in fandom spaces if the readers that read rare pairs don’t engage.

6) Please read the writer’s list to understand why kudos/hits/comments numbers are poor indicators of fic quality.

In Conclusion:

I don’t say all of this to suggest that someone’s feelings about fic stats and engagement levels aren’t valid. Writers, you’re allowed to be frustrated or let down by engagement levels; I’ve been there, and I see you. Readers, I have absolutely been the person that read an author’s entire catalogue of fics and didn’t comment because I didn’t know what to say or if I should (though I’m working on that). Like many people, my earliest days in fandom were spent lurking with the lurkiest among us. I’m not judging. But I think some of this stuff is helpful to remember.

You all make fandom better by your presence. No matter what the numbers are. Be kind to yourselves. And, if you’re ready, maybe throw your writers a kudo or comment. It’ll make their day.

[sleepytoycollection]

Barbie Dream Besties "Brooklyn": A review

Barbie Dream Besties is a newly released doll line by Mattel, and is a spin off of their main Barbie line. Looks wise, they seem to be a spiritual successor to My Scene, Ever After high, and the more recent Barbie Extra/Barbie Extra Minis. Also trying desperately to compete with LOL and Rainbow High.

They are $20 USD each retail.

I was interested in these for three reasons: 1) I liked Ever After High and My Scene. 2) They have much more quality outfits than I tend to see from modern Barbie. 3) @queenofsquids enjoyment of them made me hopeful I'd like them too.

So do I? Let's find out.

I choose the character Brooklyn as I like her face up the best.

Her packaging is the standard plastic clam shell that seems to be all over the doll aisle anymore. I can't say I love it. I miss the cardboard boxes, so much easier to open and so much less plastic.

This box isn't super great aesthetically either. There's a lot going on in the service of nothing.

Which is a shame, because I do really like the actual character art on the box. It's super cute and matches the dolls really well. It would pop even better if the rest of the box was a smidge simpler. Sometimes less is more.

The back of the box.

We get more of this delightful artwork, showing of the full set of characters available at the moment.

We also get a short character bio for Brooklyn. She wants to be a choreographer, loves making dance routines, video editing, and creative writing. Despite her favorite color being listed as pink, she has no pink in her outfit and only one pink accessory.

Here is the box without the cover. This is what I meant when I said the box design was doing a lot for nothing. Over packaging isn't just a problem with Mattel dolls of course, MGA is arguably worse, but it's still frustrating.

Brooklyn herself is very pretty though. I tried very hard to pick one without a wonky face, but the way she's posed makes it very hard to tell.

I think one of her eyes is slightly bigger than the other. It's not enough to bother me at least. That said, so many of these were VERY wonky at the store. I would not buy these online unless you can see the specific doll you're getting. The QC is all over the place.

Here are all the accessories she comes with.

I do appreciate that all her accessories tie into her interests and character. That said, these are hit and miss.

The purse is nice, and does open.

The dog is okay, but I don't really care for these types of doll pets. It looks more like an in-universe toy than what's supposed to be an animal.

I initially liked that the phone and case were separate, until I tried to put the phone in the case and it didn't fit. It will not go in there. If I force it in, it just pops right back out.

It's a shame because I liked the 80's Barbie logo case, but without the phone in it, it looks weird when the doll is holding it.

At least the phone fits into the ring light stand.

May I also say some of these accessories feel really flimsy? The phone and Ipad are VERY thin plastic.

The boom box in hollow and unpainted.

I wish instead of having seven mid accessories we could've had two or three really good ones. Or nixed all of them and given her a stand. The doll herself is nice enough to deserve a stand I think.

Let's look at Brooklyn. She's pretty darn cute. She stands at the standard 11", and has saran hair with tinsel.

Her outfit isn't my favorite though. Mattel stop giving your dolls ugly fur sleeved varsity jackets challenge. This could've been so cute as just a regular varsity jacket.

Despite being ugly, the jacket is made pretty well. Though a button was already falling off mine. That poor QC strikes again.

Though I suppose it's moot as I doubt I'll ever put this jacket back on her ever again.

Now that she's free of that ugly thing, you can see how nice the rest of her outfit is. I didn't realize how much I missed dolls getting to wear neutrals until I saw her plain denim skirt and white tank top.

It's simple, but she's dressed like a real person. Plus, I can easily pair these pieces with a lot of other outfits. Doll wardrobes need pieces like this for mixing and matching.

Body wise she's a bit smaller than Barbie, and her feet are a little bit larger. This body reminds me a lot of the current bodies for the Disney Princess line now that Mattel has it back, though those have larger feet. If I can find the one I have, I'll do a body comparison to those later.

Her sculpt in three views. The Ever After High comparisons are very apt, though the screening itself is more reminiscent of My Scene mixed with a little bit of G3 Monster High.

For comparison, here's an actual EAH doll next to her. Brooklyn's head is just a smidge larger, but balanced out better with larger eyes, thicker brows, and bigger lips.

After this, I got Brooklyn redressed with just a few changes...

I replaced her jacket with this vintage Barbie and the Rockers one, added a necklace, and hey! Now she gets to wear her favorite color.

Final thoughts?

It's a good doll, but the quality control issues, on top of the same BS Mattel throws on all of it's dolls anymore, is dragging it down.

The fact you have to look through every single one of the shelf to make sure you're not getting a crappy one is exhausting. Plus, kids don't do that. They're going to get home with their new doll and then realize as they open it something's wrong. Kids don't deserve that.

The accessories are mostly cheap and not special enough to justify their existence. The purse, phone with case, and ring light would've been enough if they were made a bit better.

The outfit is well made, and a huge improvement over what I see in the main Barbie line, even if I don't like all the design choices, but again, that's if you get one without QC issues.

The doll herself is super cute though, and screw it, I like the tinsel. Fight me.

Overall I really love this doll, I just wish picking one out wasn't a hassle. Hell, I even bought a second one already.

I got inspired enough I wanted to repaint one, so I purposely bought this wonky Renee because she had the worst face up out of everyone at the store.

So I think there's definitely potential here. If this line continues, I hope they can improve the way G3 Monster High has improved from it's first wave.

I hope this can be the start of Mattel revitalizing it's Barbie line as well. It needs it. See ya next time.

[dallasgallant]

Time period post: General slang

Im going to keep my time period posts going, and since I pulled my “tough slang” up out of the depths of my blog I thought I’d also do a quick guide for more general 1960s slang that’s not greaser/JD specific.

Quick note:

There was also a greater use of expressions or sayings than we use today. Same goes for sarcasm, yes it still gets used but there’s a slight difference. People have always cursed even if it wasn’t the social norm/polite issue— so there was a a lot of creativity in insults, being rude or telling someone off.

This is just sort of a “quick guide” there is a lot out there and I recommend looking into more if you’re interested. Some sites repeat a lot of stuff but it’s neat to go digging

Amped : maximum, excited

“Around the bend” : crazy or strange

“Ate it” : wounded/got hurt

Babe: attractive young woman or form of address

Back off : leave alone

Bad scene: unpleasant place or event

Bag: steal or deal/problem

Bail: leave

Ball: Sex [Certain context]

“Beats Me” : I don’t know

“Beat it” : leave quick/ get out

Blast: good time

Big deal:

Bitchin’ : good or great

Bod: body

Blotto: extremely drunk

Boss: cool / great

Book: leave fast

Bomb around: drive around (usually speeding)

Brew: alcohol/beer

Broad : Female

Bum around: go around with no particular purpose

Bum[Verb] : borrow (ex. Bum a cigarette)

Bummer : disappointment

Cancer stick: cigarettes

Cat: guy/ person (presumably cool)

Chick: female

Chicken: coward ; game of bluff usually played with cars (chicken run)

Chicken shit: Coward

Chill/chill out : calm down

Circuit : round trip (in relation to cruising)

Choice: really cool

“Cop a feel” : second base with a girl (touch boob)

Crash: go to sleep/pass out

Cream: totally beat in a fight

Creep: obnoxious or eccentric person

Crocked: Drunk

Cruising: drive up and down a street looking for a race, girls, guys etc.

Decked out: dressed up

Dead soldier: empty can or bottle (typically alcohol)

Dig: understand/agree

“Don’t give me any grief”: don’t complain/make trouble

Drop dead: similar to get bent/Get lost/Go f yourself

Establishment: part of status quo

Flake: quirky or weird

Flake out: Chicken out/leave someone somewhere alone

Fine: good looking

Fucking A: expression of either positive or negative meaning

Full of it : wrong or lying

Fuzz: cops

Get kicks : get enjoyment: pleasure

Golly: God

Gosh: God

Going steady: dating (serious)

Going together/around together: see above, can be serious or non serious

Groovy: something good

Grungy: shabby, dirty, bad person

Had/been had: tricked/dooped

Heat: police

High: used interchangeably for intoxication- alcohol or drugs

Hip: cool, with it

Hit: take a drag

Hop : dance or dancing party

Hot: sexually attractive person

Hot (for someone): really into someone

Hunk: good looking guy

“It’s been real”: it’s been nice (usually sarcastic)

“It’s a gas”:

Jeez: Exclamation, way to avoid saying “Jesus”

Knock out: really good looking girl

Kiss off: stop or leave

Later: short for see you later/by

Lay rubber: peel out, drive fast

Let’s go: let’s dance | let’s leave | let’s fight

Lit: high/loaded/intoxicated

Loaded: high or drunk

Lousy: bad (feeling), poor quality/lame

Lump it: live with it

Made it : Had sex/had sex with

Mess around: to be playful in a general or in a sexual way

Moon [Verb]: take pants down and expose butt to someone (usually as a joke)

Neat: excellent/ nice or cool

Neato:

Nifty: skilled, cool

Not bad: good

No sweat: no problem: don’t worry about it

“Name is mud” : people are mad at you because of something you have said or done (or hadn’t done)

Out of sight: fantastic , neat

Pick up: flirt / offer to date

Pound: beat

Preppie: someone who is well dressed in expensive conservative clothing and has a private education (becomes more common in 80s) -> socialite

Put out: agree to have sex (most common use)

Punk out: Back out / give up (negative)

Ride: car/vehicle

Rod/hot rod: car/ supped up car

Save face: Maintain public image

Savvy: dig/understand?

Scene- community or place : someone drawing attention to themselves in a negative light

Scram: go away/ leave quick

Sharp- stylish : agreeing with someone

“Spare me”: used to express annoyance/disbelief

Spastic: stupid person, or a person who behaves or moves in a strange or uncontrolled way

Social: Short for socialite (Soc is short for it) - prep is similar but not exact

Struck out: be un successful/fail to pick someone up

Superfine: high quality / real deal

Submarine race: someplace secluded to make out, fool around or have sex (usually by water)

Swinging: similar to groovy or bitchin’ (good/cool)

Too much:

Trippy: weird or strange (inspired by effects of drugs like LSD)

Tuck and roll: type of car upholstery

Tube/boob-tube: television

“Up for grabs”: available

Wack/ wacky: not good

“What a waste”/ waste of: something not favorable

“Where do you get off?”: what gives you the right? How dare you

Way out: eccentric or unconventional

Wimp: weak or cowardly

Wiggy: crazy/ weird

Wig out: freak out

Wig city: crazy/ weird

With it: cool, digs it/understood

Wiz : pee (leak as well)

Zit : pimple

[austinramsaygames]

Thinking about Actual Play series and how there are 4 parts that IMO determine if people will want to listen to it.

1. High Concept: this is what the show is about narratively. Setting, plot, characters, themes, all the stuff you'd find in written fiction.

2. Performance: how compelling are the actors involved in the show? Are there suitably funny voices? Do they all have good chemistry? Is there buy in to the High Concept? And so on.

3. Production Quality: Bad mics and poor volume balancing between players can easily take some listeners out of the story. Some of this can be fixed in post, but it's always better to start with the best raw audio you can. That's the baseline stuff but some shows also add music (whether as theme songs or for ambience) and sound effects.

4. The Rules: the most unique part of Actual Play as a format. What rule system are the performers using to inform their performances? The rules place limits on how well the High Concept functions. If you try to tell a story where all the characters are super heroes but you're using Delta Green, there's going to be some friction (which of course could be the basis of the High Concept but absolutely needs to be accounted for).

Different listeners will have different priorities for each of these, and even within them. Really liking one of these aspects within a show may allow a less enjoyable one to get a pass.

For example The Adventure Zone's Balance season is something I listened to every week. I do not give a single shit about D&D actual play and am pretty ambivalent on the High Concept but the audio quality is great and the performances are stellar.

Another example: Friends At The Table's Autumn In Hieron has frequently bad audio quality but the great High Concept of the two diverging parties and the setting, combined with the good performances makes it stand out. Also doesn't hurt that I was interested in Dungeon World.

I don't think I'm saying anything groundbreaking here, but it may be useful for those interested in actual play, fans AND creators, to consider when starting a new show.

More thoughts like this from me on my Patreon! Patrons get early access to my game design work and thoughts. Just $1 a month!

[ilikekidsshows]

It's never been not funny to me when someone said Marinette is a good representation of strong independent woman and also a great female leader because for all Masashi Kishimoto claim about how bad he was at writing female character, Sakura, the most hated character by the fandom, is actually much more well written than Marinette, ever. Which make me wonder if miraculous is Marinette stan's first ever cartoon they ever watch or the show has perfectly gaslight them. 🤷

---

From what I've witnessed, it's kind of both and then something else, actually. A lot of people who are really passionate about Miraculous got here before the original retool. A lot of them were kids back then and Miraculous was their first big fandom instead of just a show they watched. This is also why claims about Miraculous' uniqueness are so common in these circles that still try to hype the show up. They hadn't really been in fandoms before Miraculous and they haven't gotten similarly invested in many other shows since. In addition to this, Miraculous' episodes are often contradictory, claiming at least two things about what's going on, and audiences could just pick the narrative they were more invested in. This earned the show a lot of good faith for delivering satisfying stories that carried it even as the quality started to deteriorate.

The unpredictable release schedule also makes following the show's continuity a nightmare even as it works great at masking the poor quality of that continuity. In other words, it's very easy for fans to come up with their own version of what goes on in the episodes. In addition, the fandom's so old and big by now that you have tons of varied Miraculous content if the canon isn't to your tastes. We can't ignore that fandoms for so many things also have a lot of people who haven't experienced the original story and only got into the fandom through a fan comic or something similar. Like, the amount of “at least we still have fanfics” comments under my posts tearing the Miraculous canon to shreds just proves that, to some people, the canon doesn't matter.

There's also the sunk cost fallacy. Like, we’ve spent years onto this show and fandom, for some it's been a full decade. It's hard to let go of that level of investment. In fact, I will freely admit I still haven't fully let go, but any investment has turned into resentment. I wanna see how bad this show can get before people finally have had enough, if there's such an insistent part of the fandom that they'll hang onto this garbage until the bitter end and turn around to claim Miraculous deserves a spot among the greats like Avatar and Gravity Falls. I actually tried watching S6 episodes after skipping seasons 4 and 5, and I just couldn't enjoy them. It was somehow more of the same bland nonsense, and Marinette is the least enjoyable part of any episode, because she still isn't allowed to do anything interesting, instead managing to find some way of annoying me in every single episode without even doing anything cool to make up for it.

[cosmictyto]

(Movie) Nimona Winter/Christmas Headcanons:

Experiencing a literal snow squall rn and it’s making me think of Khrismuh Time. So have some thoughts.

First: In terms of the Trio™️ and where they generally stand regarding “Holiday Spirit”

• 🎄 •

Ambrosius: Absolutely loves it. He naturally runs cold, but at the same time he loves wearing winter clothes. Sweaters, cozy socks, scarves, you name it. And his biggest “giving” love language IS gifts. (Meanwhile his “receiving” LL is physical touch. Dude wants cuddles.) So this holiday ticks all the boxes for him. He’s wants to celebrate the whole month long, wants to go do little traditions like sleigh rides and snowball fights, and he always had a couple decorations he put in his dorm at the Institute every year. Like he is IN it. And he’s totally the kind of guy who’s working on a list for Bal the whole year. Yes, he knows the season isn’t JUST about material goods. But he also absolutely loves the look on Bal’s face when he gets something he genuinely loves, or when Rose catches Bal wearing/using something he got him. It just makes him really happy.

• 🎄 •

Ballister: Moderate Christmas enjoyer. He naturally runs hot, so he doesn’t bundle up nearly as much as Ambrosius does. Usually only in a tshirt and some gray sweatpants (another reason why Ambrosius likes winter ayooo~) And maybe a turtleneck when it gets really cold. The gifts are nice, but he’s always been a quality time kind of guy. Which, works out perfectly. There was always a Christmas Break for cadets so they had time, + Bal n’ Rose could go out and do all those traditional little activities and have a good time. He used to have a hard time with the holidays when he was a kid for various reasons. For starters, the winter weather in the Danks can be a bitch. Along with general food insecurities plus a cultural emphasis on family and friends when you don’t have any doesn’t lead to anything good. Even despite the various charities that try to make that time easier. But, after starting his training, he had a stable home and food situation, he had a best friend who did his damndest to make sure he had a good Christmas, and yeah the Queen always invited him to spend the actual day with her (since she didn’t really have anyone, either.) So over time he’s built up good memories and associations with the season.

I also see him as 100% being the kind of guy who goes to do volunteer work as part of his traditions. (Not even just for christmas, I imagine he and Ambrosius do community work year-round because they’re both genuinely good, generous guys- though he definitely MAKES time for it during the holidays) Mainly because he knows how hard it is out there when you don’t have anything. And he’s benefited from things like soup kitchens, blanket and clothes donations, as well as toy drives when he was small. Now he’s an adult with the means to help and give back. Why wouldn’t he do that?

• 🎄 •

Nimona: She. Hates. It. The Grinchiest Grinch who ever Grinched. For starters, I wanna put down a Richard Adams quote, because it definitely applies here and how Nims would feel about winter overall:

“Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it. For them there is no winter food problem. They have fires and warm clothes. The winter cannot hurt them and therefore increases their sense of cleverness and security. For birds and animals, as for poor men, winter is another matter.”

The years she’s lived as various animals gave her enough reason to dislike the season. There are PLENTY of times where she’s hibernated as a bear or flown south to avoid the cold. Though when she’s stayed in the kingdom, she just does not have a good time. She’s had a lot of the same issues Ballister had as a kid, but she’s never had anyone to alleviate them. She’s just had to endure for literal centuries. Plus, the holiday’s messaging about “peace, love, goodwill towards others,” and all of that feels incredibly fake considering everything she’s been through. It’s hard to get in that christmas spirit when you’re just trying to survive in a kingdom that would happily hunt and kill you. Plus, she’s seen how the holiday itself has succumbed to commercialization. So it feels even MORE cheap and fake to her. She just doesn’t like it. (She’s more of a Halloween person anyway.) It’s just a bad time of year, with a boatload of negative emotions/baggage attached to it that lasts even after the events of the movie, and she’s more than happy to treat it like “just another day.” (I also imagine she deals with seasonal affective disorder. Get this girlie a uv lamp so she can bask under it as a lizard.)

That first christmas after she comes back from the canon incident? When she starts living with her boss and his boyfriend? She’s a complete grump. She sees Ambrosius (who is still “Nemisis,” “Goldielocks,” and “Goldengroin” in her mind) decorating the place during, like, the first week of December and she’s reacting like an angry cat. Quietly slinking into her room and avoiding everyone. Maybe even playing loud music to drown out the sound of cheesy movies and music. Ambrosius is pretty oblivious to why she’s being so sour about everything, but Bal immediately recognizes what’s going on and empathizes. Already forming a plan to give her some good experiences. And, like, they don’t really convert her into a christmas enjoyer within the year. But with each passing holiday they do help ease her out of hating it. It’ll never be her favorite holiday, but she stops dreading winter and christmas eventually.

[mothiepixie]

We all know that Sans (Classic) is an expert gift giver, but who else would be a giftmas expert (at least when it comes to Mottie)?

Oh, how fun!

The other best Giftmas Givers:

Swap Sans: he's very attentive and observant. He would make mental notes if something sparks a reaction out of her. But he would casually go around the other guys and lead the conversation to get other's present ideas/see what they got Motti. So he can avoid getting a duplicate gift.

Dream: Knows immediately if Motti likes something without her having to say a word or physically react. He may even know what she likes before she even realizes it herself.

Boysen: His gifts are always thoughtful and lavish. Nothing is too expensive, but he does know when to dial it back and get something midrange or just overall practical (nothing is poor quality tho!). But his gifts are also very romantic and with the forethought Motti will ALWAYS think of him when she lays her eyes on the gift.

The thought is there Givers:

Big Red: he's never 100% or certain of himself to get something she'll like. It's kinda mushy and makes him feel weird and he only knows to give jewelry (gold) as a gift. On the occasion he does take the safest route and gives her sunflowers (that would be the greatest length he'll go too since they're out of season).

Cross: It wouldn't just be a Motti thing, he just kinda sucks at getting gifts to anyone because he overthinks. His gifts usually land on the practical side. Motti will be given decorative knives as a gift, but hey, they're pretty but they can do damage. So a win/win in Cross’ books.

Ink: Either teeters from actually being really good at giving a gift or bombs it completely. But his strengths are the gifts he would actually craft himself. He crafts or paints a portrait of Motti in how he sees her, a very artistic take and not a hyper realistic take. Or he would make origami insects and pin them in her room to surprise her.

Farmer: He's just a simple guy and his gifts reflect that. Doesn't mean that they don't have any heart in it at all, oh no. Whatever he does give her, he wants it to spark joy and give the twinkle in her eye because that's all he wants. But he would probably propagate various plants and give them to her so they start young and she can recount how many months (or years) the plants have been growing strong. (More or less when she's not looking he's checking them over so they can flourish, not doubting her skills but just so they can stick around longer for her enjoyment.)

The ones who suck at being Givers:

Nightmare: IF he does give a gift, it's all for selfish reasons and trying to one up someone. Or he even stole a gift and presented it as his own. Never presented to Motti as loving and kinda sours the moment. Or Motti finds out he stole it.

Error: Probably would make a doll and then get fluster if she shows any positivity that he gets outlandishly embarrassed. Or just throw a bar of chocolate at her head that he stole from Red and say “she can't say he never gave her anything.”

[mikuni14]

4 Minutes - Ep 1-2

I haven't had much free time to keep up with all the series lately, I was planning to catch up and influenced by @my-rose-tinted-glasses enthusiasm I decided to watch 4 Minutes first 😘

So, ok. I love it.

First of all, I'm writing this before diving into the 4 Minutes tag, so I have no idea about the most popular theories. I have a few of my own working theories, but I don't feel like writing about them right now hehe. I will write what I like tho!

very good execution, but it's BOC, so no surprises here

aesthetics, actors, everything is 💯💯

I really like the mystery, suspense, crime, ambiguity, confusion, slow discovery of new plots, a certain kind of darkness that already created the delicious vibe in DFF ✨ I also like the pleasure and satisfaction I feel as a viewer, when I see something that I suspect might happen, it happens and the series doesn't force the opposite, doing stupid, illogical or ooc things, just to shock and surprise me (looking at you GoT). For example, I knew that Title wasn't found dead in this field, and when it turned out that he was alive, it didn't take away my pleasure from guessing it in any way. I love it when a show lets viewers guess what's going to happen and respects their intelligence

no matter what universe, Jet plays a complete dick who is in conflict with Mio's character ✨

Mio, Mio, Mio, Mio!! 💖💖💖💖 I gasped when I saw him, I'm literally conditioned to love this guy. He's ruthless and uncompromising again, gosh, my heart 💖💖💖(fair warning: I'm going to be insufferable about him, so be prepared 🤡)

the sex scenes are as bold and high-quality as ever

traditionally for BOC we have a juxtaposition of rich and poor, corruption, tragic choices caused by poverty, exploitation, overworking, fulfilling the expectations of ruthless parents, wealth as well as poverty being the source of crime

Bible plays a poor rich boy, which I really like. I also like his pairing, which wasn't at all predictable and obvious, because I'm probably the only person in the world who can't stand his pairing in KP (please don't hate me)

luckily Bible is a Cat Person and it shows, because he uses a Special Voice to talk to the kitty. The cat is relaxed, which is an exception in BL series 😑 (isn't that his cat? they seemed close 🥺)

of course I must comment on the BL in the BL series. So… yes! It's good! Bible as Great is wonderful but then again I didn't expect anything else from him. Tbh I was worried about what his partner would be like, whom I didn't know. Jes turned out to be sensational, first of all you can see his experience, he's 32 years old (!), as Tyme he's an absolutely captivating mix of an intimidating professional at work and adorable baka when he's just some dude liking a guy 😄 I really liked how the series is serious for the whole 1st episode, most of the 2nd and then suddenly there's a scene of Tyme smoothing out his feathers in a peacock mode, emphasizing his figure and shapely butt to look nice for his crush, it was so funny and cute. Also when he awkwardly tried to flirt with Great, the faces he made when he realized how clumsy he was lmao. I love the kind of men in BL shows who are strong and masculine but who turn into fluffy, awkward teddy bears 🐻 in the presence of their loved ones. When I saw Tyme in ep1 I thought he was going to be a stereotypical seme and I'm so glad the show lets him be a normal person.

It's interesting that Great gets a second chance every time he does something wrong 🤔 And I wonder why he sees a future with Tyme? This kind of future? Hm.

Overall I love 4 Minutes, I'm officially hooked. It's very interesting, intriguing and spicy, there are a lot of plots that are starting to overlap and connect, the series has actors that I like (some I even like a lot! just seeing Mio and hearing Bible speak English accounts for like 74% of my enjoyment lol), it's not afraid of controversial topics, the series doesn't treat viewers like children, the execution is at a very high level, Jes and JJay show infatuation at first sight in a very convincing way, the romances started very interestingly and I've watched the Tyme/Great scenes a few times already.

That means 3 series to obsess over in a week! Lucky me! ✌

(I might edit this post by adding some gifs later)

[its-dean]

I’ve been posting on other online platforms about Fossil Fighters for a long time now, and most who are familiar with what I share know that a lot of my content has a heavy focus on original vivosaur ideas. With these vivosaurs I come up with, as well as the stats I create to go with them, I notice that there are often people questioning whether what I come up with would be balanced or not from a gameplay standpoint.

As I’ve gone on with developing this unique vision for my vivosaurs, I’ve also slowly refined my idea of Fossil Battles entirely. All of us are aware that both the original Fossil Fighters and Fossil Fighters Champions don’t have the best balancing in the world. There are certain cast members and even a few core game mechanics that allow so many otherwise memorable characters to fall to the wayside, and with the stats I was coming up with I was only further encouraging that type of hostile environment. The more I worried about whether something I was coming up with would feel realistic or balanced the more I considered the fact that the formula itself may have been broken in the first place.

There have been others in the community that have projected their own ideas of how to change things up regarding gameplay, things like adding new elements or even having customizable skills. Because the series felt like it had ended so suddenly there's become so much to dream for in a potential sequel. These are the people that inspired me to attempt something similar myself back when I was making my vivosaur last year. It inspired me to take a step back with my thinking and ultimately led to me creating a total re-imagining of the classic battle system we all know and love. 

That's the thing, the games may not be perfectly balanced, but I always find how these games work to be something that's just inherently fun in a very unique way. Above everything else, with this project I wanted the new system I was creating to still have the "feel" of having a good old-fashioned Fossil Battle. These games have incredible potential for an interesting competitive landscape, just if only some of those unbalanced mechanics were to be adjusted. This is what I strive to achieve the most with my ideas: an environment where every vivosaur has something practical to them, a format where you CAN win using your favorite vivosaurs. The only thing that should stop you is how well thought-out and unique of a strategy you can come up with.

Fossil Fighters Odyssey is a personal project of mine that I've technically been working on for over half a decade now. Still, I think it's most important to stress the fact that everything I come up with and will be talking about in this post is for fun. This shouldn't explicitly be seen as a vehicle for a potential fan game, I make these things for my own enjoyment and have no plans or obligations to turn any of these ideas into tangible content in the future. We all can pretty unanimously agree that it’s fun to dream about a theoretical continuation of this franchise, especially because of how it felt like it came to such an abrupt halt in a way none of us were really ready for. This project is simply meant to represent the changes I'd most want to see if that were to ever somehow happen, and that vision of mine simply might not appeal to your individual preferences.

But now moving to the fun stuff itself. I strive to be as in-depth as possible when taking into account how I would rework the gameplay, taking a comprehensive look at the entire series. To keep things feeling familiar while also feeling like an "evolution" of sorts, I found it most compelling to try and utilize standout mechanics from all three of the previous games. Yes, that includes Frontier because, while I can't defend its battle system as a whole, I do think there are some features it introduced that can really enhance potential team building and strategy (mainly referring to the boost system it uses).

Since there are far too many changes to cover in a text post, I created a PowerPoint to explain everything in a more presentable and organized way. The link to it can be found directly below this paragraph, with the presentation being separated in order of different areas of discussion, from how vivosaurs have changed to the differences in the battle system to new and altered abilities and so much more! Plus, attached to this post are the stat sheets for every single vivosaur, #1-300. My own vivosaurs as well as the 10 unique vivosaurs from Frontier are included in the lineup, and all the vivosaurs you're already familiar with have received numerous changes and enhancements to their skill sets so that they can thrive in this new Fossil Battling format.

Link to the PowerPoint (in case the picture quality is too poor to be able to read on this website)

FFO Mechanics.pptx

Link to all 300 vivosaurs and their stat sheets:

FFO All Vivosaurs.pptx

(Disclaimer: not all of the vivosaurs have artwork to correspond with their dino medals, but those will be hopefully trickling out down the line in the future.)

To round things out, I definitely want to thank the people that have already been supporting me and the things I create these past few years elsewhere. Without the level of the recognition and approval I see from the people who always respond to what I make, I definitely never would've come this far with developing my ideas. You guys are the ones who've been enjoying these things, from vivosaurs to characters to the overarching story I hope to one day be able to share with you all. I owe it to you for allowing myself to become as invested in my favorite series as I now am. And hey, depending on how people react to what I have here I may make another post outlining the more creative story and character elements I have in mind… 

Thank you to everyone who's been there for all this time, as well as anyone willing to read through everything I've been able to put together here, this project never could've been completed without you all for me to share it with.

[beesmygod]

i think another issue with webcomics having any scene or being taken seriously at all is that its a lot of stale air, everybody got captured by ig/twitter/tumblr and subsequently become trapped in the trappings and style of those websites. all discussion is couched in the boring 'fandom' subculture on websites with pre-built in infinite scroll and shit search, so updates to their comics or body of work are just as ephemeral as posts that are basically 'lol i farted on my dog' and any criticism is 'just being mean' or 'dogpiling on a poor artist'. not to mention any discoverability of anything new is basically going down the twitter/instagram likes of 'known quantities' for your own comic taste because of how atrophied any discussion around the medium has become

I dont see any way to escape this beyond social media dying a brutal and unprofitable death

trying to argue against the webtoons/IG model was entirely pointless the few times i tried, but its a topic that's hard for me to not devolve into frustrated sputtering about. it's so obviously antithetical to the purpose of making art, enjoying things, creation, joy, goodness, etc. and i would, frankly completely irrationally, be framed as someone who had it out for vertical strips. a sentiment which makes no sense unless you assume im the biggest moron and dipshit in the world. im sure arguing against someone is easier when the position you saddle them with is a seriously stupid one.

the inevitable downward spiral of these platforms feels entirely predictable. any model that revolves around quantity over quality is an obviously flawed one in most circumstances but when applied to art its completely absurd. the ideal artist for these websites are people who have no interest in contributing to a vaster landscape of complex works and instead are hyper-focused on being part of a large scale skinner box experiment for adults with compulsive spending issues. the artists themselves have severe numbers poisoning.

these are purely ephemeral and unremarkable comics that are rarely ever seen outside of instagram for their lack of any exceptional or worthwhile unique elements worth passing around. they are created with a factory mindset; crank them out as quickly as possible and flood various websites with the comic equivalent of grey goo in order to amass the maximum number of clicks. their ideal audience is undiscerning and simply looking for stimuli that will not challenge them on any level. logically it follows that is work is explicitly for the largest possible audience one can acquire: the lowest common denominator. they are making work for a computer or an advertiser to enjoy. human enjoyment is secondary.

the unironic and sincere discussion of views and followers as if the numbers have ever been real was surreal. everyone was around for when facebook revealed that it had been grossly inflating its video metrics after strong-arming everyone into moving to video, causing the destruction of several indie companies and websites. you would have to be straight up delusional to think the webtoons numbers are real. like, it is genuinely hard for me to be nice about people who bark bark bark about "its where the audience is!!!!" when the worst comic you've ever read with 2 updates has 12876492375238576 views, 0 patreon followers and 8909 comments. the obviously AI generated comments by accounts with no profiles (as in, you can't click on profiles at all to confirm its even a real person commenting) are beyond the pale lol. its some emperors new clothes shit, if the emperor made his own invisible clothes and cried about how hard they toiled for nothing. and also they were emperor of synecdoche, new york

how does a reasonable adult look at this and conclude its real? isn't it an obvious fiction? its because it's mean to point out otherwise, and being mean is the worst thing you can be.

people used to bitch about how the "had to" made reels and i felt like i was going insane. superstitious nonsense about "the algorithm" spread and has incited people to tortuously warp their work to fit with advertising standards they don't see a penny of, in the hopes of finding an audience that doesn't exist. when the algorithm changes to better suit advertiser needs, they are somehow blindsided and betrayed by this, as if it has not been the M.O. of social media websites for the past 20 years. they will do it again. and again. and again. as advertising becomes less and less financially viable and more and more intrusive, public opinion is going to turn hard on the people who tied themselves to these ships.

call me a rat for fleeing, but i can't bear to entertain this stuff anymore. it's embarrassing, the idea of sacrifice in the name of a greater good (sacrifice being uhhhhh not using fail platforms lol) should not be such a shocking and radical act. it should be reflexive

[lutawolf]

The Sign Commentary Review Ep 4

We start off with a bang, staring at a woman's scared face. Ah, she's being interrogated by Phaya. Okay, so the whole investigation is a bit triggering for me, so I'm watching, but my only commentary is if he sexually assaulted someone and then is being victimized himself. Well, I'm okay with that.

Yai and Sand! Yai is such a drama king and I adore him for it.

Oh, someone is still playing hard to get. And apparently that is not limited to just Tharn, but also Thong. The way Phaya grabs Tharn and drags him is cute.

This just looks yummy! Haha! The way Phaya is getting annoyed about Tharn talking about the case is hilarious considering how one tracked mind he used to be. Now he is just trying to go on a date with his baby and Tharn is drawing a line. Business only.

Who is this woman that Tharn has bumped into. She's wearing Naga jewelry.

"Your life is short. You were supposed to be dead since when you were young. But your parents gave you to the Abbot... To extend your life and try to change your destiny. That’s why you’re still alive today. But young man, I warn you. You must look out for those whom you’ve wronged in the past life. They are very near. They are coming to take your life."

I love how Tharn's face says, tell me shit I don't already know, lady. She then turns to warn Phaya who had been doing an amazing job of looking like he wasn't there. He's like, I just want to eat. Why won't anyone let me eat!

Woman disappeared. Just poof. But then we see her and she is clearly Naga.

Phaya are you really concerned about Tharn or are you trying to get in his room? Him thinking over what the woman said and it's matching the Abbott. And to be honest, it matches with what he wants, soooo...

Oh, Tharn has a vision of Phaya getting stabbed right when we hear the doorbell, which we all know is Phaya. His excuse is his bike isn't working. You're a cop dude and that's the best you could come up with. I hope you at least let granny know.

I love the way Phaya pushes the envelope and always causes Tharn to back up. These two are hilarious. I really enjoy the clearly macho humor thrown in. I enjoy shows where one love interest isn't macho, but this girl likes variety and is enjoying the different nuances to this show.

Poor confused Tharn. What wait, is this real? It has a dream like quality. Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, good dream Tharn. Go back to sleep! Go back to sleep and finish it!

Haha! The dream got you so rattle Tharn it has you covering up Phaya with a pillow!!! Damn, his picture cracked. Which means someone is secretly watching him. That's not creepy at all.

Yes, Tharn, let's go back over that dream. *Nods head in pleased mode.* Haha, the way Tharn jumped back when Phaya took off that towel. What I find hilarious is that Phaya wore the towel when he clearly had that on underneath. Tease much Phaya.

I think this smile says it all. He did not stick his finger in the yoke! That's it, throw him out! Yeah, stick it in your mouth like you're a sexy bitch, but Tharn and I are on the same page. Phaya's face clearly saying that this did not go according to his plan.

🤣🤣🤣 Poor Phaya was trying to hard to bring sexy back and gets this instead. 🤣🤣🤣 He probably woke to those pillows covering his crotch and came to the sensible conclusion that with a little push he could have Tharn. He's just not as smooth as our baby is, klutzy.

Phaya, just take the enjoyment out of it that you can. Tharn cleaning up the ketchup for you. Tharn's solution to this whole mess. "Just go to work naked!" I can absolutely get behind this. Like literally... hahaha. These two coconuts are hilarious.

This dumbass, oh look, the bike is fixed. Magic! 🤣🤣🤣 Yai, God, I love Yai. He's just asking some innocent questions that Tharn is trying to cover up. Which Phaya is not having. He has been walking perfectly fine, but when he hears Yai, he starts yanking at the pants and acting dramatic. Then, when Yai ask HIM an innocent question, he tells him the pants are Tharn's.

Which leads to this beautiful interaction.

OMG... Apparently the pants were really too small. Hahaha!

Wait, doesn't that girl look familiar. Isn't that the Naga lady?

Maybe not, maybe just similar looking. Either way, Phaya catches the significance of the conversation and goes to ask them abut the influencer. They've got a clue now!

Woot! I love all the strong females. Mayris is a hoot. Here comes Phaya sparing no feelings. I suspect Singh. With absolutely nothing to go by as yet.

He sees the future, though, not the past. Hmm. Tharn only had a seconds warning, now they are stuck and Phaya is running after the fire starter.

Tharn picks up Phaya getting stabbed. Gets them unstuck somehow with a chair. And is now going after Phaya.

Phaya, you are once again saved by Tharn. Why is Tharn playing doctor to Phaya instead of medical staff? I mean, he got hit in the head. I know he is hard-headed, but I'm just saying. Phaya being short-tempered and so confused about Tharn acting like he cares when he usually doesn't. Then Mayris reading the room and having fun with it. 🤣🤣🤣

Sneaky Phaya listening to the convo.

Tharn's face says it all.

Who is Dao... I'm sure this won't cause misunderstandings at all. Oh, I called it. Tharn is jelly! So jelly! Yai don't look happy either. You fucked up, Phaya. Hahaha! Of course, Yai is also going to take the opportunity to poke the sore spot.

Revenge has shown up in the face of Dr. Chalothon. OMG, that was so classic and yet still Beautiful. Chalothon asks Tharn if he is hungry and if he wants to eat before going home. Tharn looks right at Phaya as he says yes. Phaya has his priorities in order though and chases after them. But not smart enough to clear up the misunderstanding. Oh goody, when we incorrectly diagnose Schizophrenia without any data. Schizophrenia exists on a scale, the more extreme cases that refuse medication can be a danger whether to themselves or others depend on environmental factors. Also, Schizophrenia isn't as common as people think. On a global scale, it's 1 out of 300 people. 1 out 3 Schizophrenics can successfully get treated and recover enough to live independently. Ahh, there we go, he is using it to point fingers at Phaya.

Nobody told the good doctor this. You fell for that Phaya???

Aww, Tharn was so happy to see Phaya, but Phaya is not happy.

So much excitement about finding genitals. Oh, they might have found him. I'm not holding my breath yet.

Phaya looking at Cap while everyone else is looking at Tharn...

Ahhh, please let the scene in the preview not be a dream! Woot! Can't wait!

[cheesedtoteawithyou]

WOOP WOOP cheesedtoteawithyou here!

I don't have a WOOP WOOP mood today, but I hope all of you guys do. I'm sadly sick since today, and my photos didn't come out too well cause of my poor focus. However, I did enjoy this yummy treat: "Formosa Strawberry Oolong". Beautiful strawberry scent, sweetish and flowery taste.

On today's tea session, I tried to put focus on my brewing technique. I've been pretty vocal about liking mostly milder and lighter teas (white, light oolongs...), so ofcourse this was enjoyable for me, but there's a lot of stuff to keep in mind about ones brewing technique.

For example: my second brew here was pretty bitter and not to my taste,

Why? - Hotter water, and I accidently left it brew too long. These lil mistakes can make a high quality tea taste bad too! And you can also up a teasesh with a not so quality tea if you costumize the brew to your taste.

My tips for a milder brew: large and open or super tiny teacups, brewing with a water that is even 10°C less than reccommended, brewing for up to maximum 3-5 seconds, less closed of teapots (like gaiwans), not closing the lid

-tea is less strong and bitter

-lasts for more infusions (mostly oolongs)

Ofcourse, if you're on the oposite team, you'll do the opposite.

Now,I wanna hear your guys'es? experience: -How do you brew teas usually, so it suits your tastebuds?

-Some tips and tricks you've learned over your tea journey, and any funfacts you feel like dropping!

Lil dude also enjoyed this tea a lot, to show how good it was, he decided to wear its leaf as a crown!

[verucac]

Period sex

Dear fellow menstruating people who have or had sex during menstruation. I have gone down a rabbit hole: I am currently taking part in Kinktober. One prompt: (Day 17) period sex.

So I wrote a story – using the 'trope' of blood as a natural lubricant. During my research I often read that menstrual sex is more pleasurable because of the 'extra lubrication'. I was editing my story and everything I wrote just felt wrong. So I read some older stories about this trope. Problem: I can't agree with them. Firstly, my personal experience, and secondly, I am an engineer. So let's try to science/engineer the shit out of it: There are basically two problems here 1. Periodic flow is a good lubricant 2. Extra lubricant from period flow improves sex

1. Technically, lubrication is used to reduce friction. When you need lubrication for specific purposes, you have to consider the many specific properties of the lubricant (e.g. density, viscosity, demulsibility, etc.). Normally, the wetness of an aroused woman is enough to reduce skin-to-skin friction and make the encounter enjoyable. She has the perfect density and viscosity for this. (Dry sex is no fun, e.g. sex after removing a tampon).

A good artificial lubricant for sex is designed to reduce skin-to-skin friction over a long period of time (no drying out, stays where it is applied). Water, for example, might seem like a good idea, but no. Mainly because it has a very low viscosity (it also promotes corrosion, but that's not relevant here). Anyone who has gone down a water slide knows that skin contact on the slide slows you down. You can even get stuck. The water is pushed out from under you and you have high friction. (That's why I don't like sex in water - but that's another topic.) I quote my old professor: "Water is for cooling, not for lubricating" - to be fair, that was said in a different context.

The 'period flow' is basically just normal blood (which is actually watered down compared to the blood in your veins) and some of the cervical mucus that needs to be flushed out. It's not even a perfect emulsion (if you use a menstrual cup, you may have noticed that the consistency is quite uneven). To be on the safe side, let's take the properties of the worst component of this imperfect emulsion: Blood. It behaves like water. And (I repeat) water is not a good lubricant.

2. When a woman gets her period, there's some additional lubrication to her natural wetness (when aroused), but it's minimal. Period flow is often overestimated. It's a total of 60 ml (we could calculate an hourly flow), but let's make it easy and estimate a constant flow of the whole amount for a whole day, so 2.5 ml per hour. Or half a teaspoon per hour. This is really not a lot of 'extra' lubricant (and we have been very generous in our calculations).

Now we put the two together:

The problem now is mixing them. When you mix lubricants, their properties change. Ask petrolheads about motor oil - you'll get a free lecture. Or ask my old professor: "Mixing lubricants reduces their performance".

When you have sex during your period, two types of lubricant mix together. The natural everyday lubricant (perfect lubrication) and the "period flow" (poor quality additive). This reduces the overall quality of your lubrication during your period. Basically, the blood makes your vagina more watery. This means that sex during your period has more friction due to the poorer quality of the lubricant. A little more quantity might compensate for the poor quality of the mixed lubricant, but don't count on it.

Conclusion:

At best, sex during your period will be like sex at any other time because the amount of extra blood is so small (but maybe the thought of it will turn you on and make you wetter), at worst it will just hurt because of too much friction.

So, if this were a risk management scenario: to be on the safe side, use lubricant.

Sorry if I destroyed any kink fantasies.

Full disclosure: I haven't found any scientific papers on the lubricating properties of period flow vs. natural lubrication, (just a paper on whether women like having sex during their period) but please let me know if you know of any.

Am I wrong?

Any comments? Ideas?

Thanks for your attention. Sorry for the lecture.

TLDR: I wrote a story for Kinktober about period sex. Had big issues with the 'tropes'. Rewrote it according to my (not really scientific) research, which suggests that lubrication is actually worse.

[masha-nikita]

How strong is his Mars?- Bernard Montgomery-

Here I am, two episodes of “How strong is his Mars? all at once. I am going to test a theory in Astrology community- you’ve got to have a strong Mars to be competent in the military.

Whether that theory is true or not, you guys know I have to talk about Monty.

Monty has Mars in Virgo; you see, I am writing about his Mars back to back with Patton’s, because Patton also has a Virgo Mars- so far, that makes 3 outstanding generals with Virgo Mars-- even though it is my opinion that Manstein’s Moon, not Mars, is where his military magic happens. Here I can say, Monty and Patton’s Mars works against the odds, and performs better, above Erich’s score.

I commented on Manstein’s Virgo Mars as follows- if stands alone without any other aspects, this Mars is too detail-oriented for its own good, especially in a fast-paced battlefield. An earth sign Mars has poor ability to take actions by intuition and improvising, unless favorably aspected by Neptune or moon. Virgo Mars possesses delicate tendencies to handle smaller details but may easily lose sight of what needs to be done on a grand scale. This Mars makes its native a fussing workaholic.

Monty’s Mars trines Neptune; this indicates that he intuits enemy actions reasonably well. With Mercury and Sun in harmonious sextile aspects, he’s supposed to be very reasonable, and his decision making process grounded in reality. A 3rd house Mars endows active mind. Any malefic astro body in 3rd house becomes innovative and stimulating to the wits (yes, Mars is considered a malefic), which allows the native to be very smart during arguments. I do not think Monty appreciates small talks—small talks would be regarded as petty nonsense by him. His speeches do have very good leadership quality, very exhilarating to listen to.

This is actually a pretty good Mars, but poor Monty has other aspects that aren’t that good.

Monty’s Sun opposites Pluto and Neptune, just like Manstein’s. This brings the native great difficulty in assessing their ego (represented by Sun). This flaw would destine them on a long, hard journey to find who they truly are as an “independent self”. Manstein’s Sun is in 8th house opposite 2nd house Pluto-Neptune; he might have been secretly very concerned with how posterity would value him after his death. What is of personal value that belongs to Erich may be a source of great illusion and inner tension, if handled unwisely. This value struggle may render him a hard cynic whose only concern is money and self-preservation.

Whereas for Monty (4th house sun, 11th house Neptune-Pluto), it looks like worldly reputation for the Montgomery family name is the struggle here—or maybe it is just his own name to be his desperate concern. Family is where a person was born into, and where they eventually establish themselves, and then dies into. He may have an exaggerated sense of patriotism if he could not agree with the family he was born into, or could not find his own family to belong to. He might view anybody who’s outside of his immediate circle “the troublesome other”, a great source of power struggle. It is not easy for him to acquire a smooth friend circle. With a 11th house Pluto, some explosive shit constantly goes down between he and his supposed social groups—he’s a bit antisocial, in a neutral sense of the word.

Now moving on to his Saturn—any planet in conjunction with the ascendant should be given special attention. I admit it is not an amateur astrologer’s place to call a person’s chart “unfortunate”, but there’s something so deeply karmic with Monty’s Saturn.

This Saturn—which symbolizes rigid structure, hard disciplines, delays and pessimism, could act like an invisible iron prison for the native; the tighter the conjunction with the ascendant, the tighter the iron grip. Either he secretly denies himself any personal enjoyments possible, or life would strip him of happiness by taking away important loved ones from him. A positive side of this aspect is that, while it does not give good creativity to weasel oneself out of a danger, it is unphased by any kind of pain and suffering the danger brings.

A Leo Saturn is not fun to deal with, because Saturn is in detriment in Leo. Leo’s natural ruler is Sun; the key words of Sun are “accomplishments, authority, and self-worth”. Saturn not only hollows out Leo’s self-worth, but the native is also very suspicious of any authority over them. Monty may constantly question how come somebody deserves such authority, and how does himself deserve anything? We could hear from Churchill’s single quote on Monty showing how bad he is in getting along with authority- “In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable.”

It is very difficult for the native to learn about love, because love always involves a level of surrender. With such a karmic aspect, occasionally when Leo Saturn finds someone to love, he'd lose that person in a traumatic fashion. The native might end up going “fuck it, I give up.” Given this Saturn conjuncts ascendant, Monty sees no problem in denying himself worldly love and enjoyment. Leo Saturn is able to maintain some lightheartedness, a little bit of warped hero complex, thus the native is capable of dark humor.

Monty’s Saturn actually conjunct his ascendant from 12th house- a 12th house Saturn doubles down on certain problems. Saturn generally seeks to hold onto anything structured and concrete, yet 12th house is anything but. 12th house rules the afterlife, the disappearance, dissolution, the invisible worlds and creatures—dreams, unconscious, psychic realms, and illusions. Saturn in 12th native secretly believes in his own original sins, and is acutely conscious of and anxious about the existence beyond death. This Saturn has a tendency to draw the native into hermetic isolation and practices, because it is the world of the beyond that he looks at, the world where his loved ones have gone before he does.

However, sometimes this 12th house Saturn gives the exact opposite effect—what is beyond death and what is out there where everything dissolves into inmateriality, is such an acute issue that the native holds onto things and powers of this world to an excessive degree. For example, Vladimir Putin has a 12th house Saturn.

This series so far does draw a conclusion that perhaps it is not the Mars that brings forth a good general—I see no fire sign Mars. I haven’t even seen a Capricorn Mars (Mars is exalted in Capricorn). But I do see an unexpected common denominator- these commanders are all psychic on some level. I couldn’t help but wonder- what does “being psychic” really mean?

Perhaps it means the special ability either to reach into death, or to walk upon thousands of men’s life and death, the strength of coming to terms with the mortality of all the mortalities.

It might be a hot take for some people, but I really don’t see much psychic power from those famous 20th century occultist, especially Aleister Crowley. Neither his 8th nor 12th house is prominent; I don’t know what’s up with him. Maybe Crowley’s strength lies in his knowledge. I can statistically compare my own psychic ability against my friend, by measuring whose Tarot readings have longer projection into the future via client feedbacks, but what I see featured the most in many self-proclaimed magi isn’t psychic power, but the ego. Ego attracts egos, so there you go, a guru whose ego as big as the universe for the rainbow unicorn groupies to resonate with.

I digress. I love that there’s always smile in the corner of Monty’s eyes despite his Saturn, that’s the sign of an indefeatable man. This song is for him. May warmth and may love conquer all.

[measlyfurball13]

Seeing as your one of the only people I know who is into Transformers, would you mind info dumping about it?

I know very little of anything about it besides the old "Micheal Bay!" Joke, and that it was initially made to sell toys, but that doesn't really mean anything.

So tell me, is there "more than meets the eye" to this franchise?

HOOOOOOOOO BOY

The single most important thing to know about Transformers is that there is no singular canon. Rather, there's a TON of different continuities, or basically alternate versions of the same universe. Transformers is a franchise that basically tells the same story over and over again, altering each time while keeping some very basic core themes and characters.

Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots. Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons. The Autobots are the good guys, the Decepticons are the bad guys, and they have been fighting a war for millions of years. It is rare for continuities to change these core facts. They might be modified, but they will never be unrecognizable.

In one continuity, Optimus might be a younger, more inexperienced leader. In another, he may be old, wise, and powerful. In some continuities, Optimus and Megatron have personal beef with each other through their backstories, making them almost lost brothers of a sort. In others, Megatron is a stranger and Optimus is an impersonal victim of his cruelty. Each time this story, the story of Transformers, is told, little details like this change.

Generally, continuities try to keep a certain "feel" to them. While sometimes a continuity will completely reinvent a character, most of the time it will try to keep a character within a few (arbitrarily chosen) character traits and/or role.

So, if this story has been told over and over again, and there's certain established expectations for characters, what was this all based on? The answer is the original 1984 animated cartoon! This cartoon is referred to as "Generation 1", or just "G1" for short. This is the cartoon made to sell toys. The animation quality is poor, the dialogue and music are cheesy, and I absolutely love it to pieces. I would highly, highly recommend that you watch the first three episodes, which basically acts as the pilot for the whole show. It really writes the characters at their most iconic and introduces the setting.

Now that you understand that G1 is the base, you can go from there and explore other continuities! Remember, continuities don't connect across different mediums (with the very distinct exception of one specific continuity, which I'll get to right after this) so feel free to find one that interests you. In general, each cartoon (or close series of cartoons) is a continuity. Allow me to list some of the more popular ones:

Transformers Beast Wars. This is arguably the continuity that follows the established G1 pattern the least, since this is the cartoon that followed right after it. In this one, the transformers turn into animals and battle on a prehistoric earth. This one is well-renowned for its surprisingly deep character writing, but the antique 3D animation is the biggest hurdle to enjoyment. It's kinda the continuity that's the most forgotten.

Transformers Armada, Energon, and Cybertron. Also known as the Unicron Trilogy (no, not "unicorn"!), this one was made in Japan and then dubbed and exported. They introduce a lot of anime-inspired features into the lore such as powerups and the like. Armada is regarded very highly with good writing, the other two not so much. The continuity between them is fairly loose. You could absolutely get away with watching just that one. Here's a link to Armada.

The Michael Bay films. You already know this one. These live action films are in a continuity of their own. In all absolutely fairness, the first movie is pretty good, barring Bay's more childish flairs. If you don't mind the U.S. military being portrayed as the absolute good guys, I think you'll genuinely like it.

The Bumblebee movie. Special shoutout to this one! This live action movie is in its own continuity that's really fun. This is an excellent movie and I love it so much, please watch it at some point.

Transformers Animated. This is one of the most widely beloved continuities in the entire franchise. People really, really like this show. It takes the franchise in a refreshing new direction, with the first season feeling almost a bit more like a superhero cartoon than a "traditional" transformers cartoon. The Autobots are the absolute underdogs in this one and it's hard not to root for them. Here's a link. This one's a good one to start with.

Transformers Cyberverse. This one is a web series that was focused for a younger audience for the first season, gets decent in the second but then gets absolutely and insanely fucking unhinged in season 3. I. . . don't recommend this one for any beginners? It's a trip. That first season is pretty unbearable. The second season starts out feeling like you missed something, and then gradually gets kinda better. Season 3 is insane. Look, just tackle this one after you've tackled the others. Don't start here.

Transformers Earthspark. The newest of the bunch, this one is releasing on Paramount Plus. I've really enjoyed what I've seen of it! It's a much more down-to-earth approach to the story. It changes some characters but in interesting ways. The new characters are excellent as well. You can definitely start with this one.

And finally, without further ado:

Transformers Prime.

I fucking LOVE this one.

This one is my favorite and was what really got me into the Transformers fandom. This cartoon takes the good innovations from the Michael Bay movies and then actually tells an amazingly competent story with it. It's the Transformers cartoon with the darkest tone by a long shot, and it really sells that this story is about a war. Characters die! The serialization is suuuuuuuper tight- one of my favorite examples is that injured characters have to spend time onscreen healing back up.

This cartoon also gives a significant amount of focus and exploration of the Decepticons as a faction as well, which is rare for the franchise. Both the Autobot and Decepticon characters will charm their way into your heart.

This show is equivalent in quality to Avatar the Last Airbender to me. I know that's probably overhyping it. You may not like it as much. But I really really really love it.

Here is a link to the first season.

But wait! There's more. Welcome to the Aligned Continuity!

Transformers Prime is actually part of the franchise's first attempt to really connect a story across media platforms. The result was. . . mostly successful? Definitely a lot of plot holes/errors, and some of the continuity is trash, but I want to highlight two videogames specifically:

Transformers: War for Cybertron. This game is a third-person shooter by High Moon studios. They do an absolutely stellar job with this one. Taking place on Cybertron, the home planet of the transformers, this one acts as the first part of an indirect prequel to Transformers Prime.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. If the first game is good, then this game is amazing. The devs layer on more amazing mechanics to those introduced in the first game, with some of my absolute most favorite moments in all of gaming happening in this one. It acts as a second part of the prequel to Transformers Prime.

The writing in both of these games is so amazing, and the gameplay is so much fun. I know you love videogames, so that's why I'm recommending these two you. HOWEVER, the cost is that these games are stupid difficult to get ahold of. You'll most likely have to sail the high seas, yo-ho-ho, if you catch my drift. I play these on my Xbox 360. Best of luck to you!

Anyways, there are other entries into the Aligned Continuity. There's a set of three novels that I've heard are stellar. If you're looking for a show for young kids but that is also fun for you to watch, you could always check out Transformers: Rescue Bots. That one has a small but devoted fanbase of older fans.

But do NOT touch the cartoon in this continuity called Robots in Disguise. Do not. It's marketed as a sequel to Transformers Prime. It is not. Not really. It's like the Halo 5 of Transformers. Every day I am reminded that it exists I am in pain.

---

And there lies the end of my introduction! If you actually did read all of this, congrats to you. Ironically, I'm not sure that you've really ended up more knowledgeable than you started. I didn't really go over anything specific about characters or plot or lore or anything. But I hope I've illustrated my point that to do so would be fruitless- this story exists in so many different iterations that you just have to go out and find the one that resonates the most with you, y'know?

My recommendation for getting acquainted with the franchise is to start with those first three G1 episodes, then move on to either Animated or Prime. You could also pick Beast Wars if you're looking for something with a more retro 90s charm, which I know you like from Marathon.

[leserattevirginie]

Crown of Shadows by C.S. Friedman

Genre: Sci-Fantasy Star Rating: 4,25 ⭐️

Plot: ⬜️ Plot holes big enough for a herd of elephants ⬜️ I think I’ve read this before. (Unoriginal to the max.) ⬜️ No plot, just vibes ⬜️ Enjoyable but not super memorable. ✅ You have my undivided attention. ⬜️ Mind = Blown

Characters: ⬜️ Mary Sue is in the house! ⬜️ These are cardboard cut-outs. ⬜️ Good main cast, but the rest is forgettable at best. ⬜️ Generally well written. ✅ Complex ⬜️ What do you mean characters? These feel like real people!

Personal Enjoyment: ⬜️ DNF ⬜️ Somebody free me from this hell (but also no, I won’t DNF) ⬜️ WTF did I just read??? ⬜️ I don’t like it, but I also don’t hate it. ⬜️ It’s a good book but I just never want to pick it back up. ⬜️ No strong feelings either way. ⬜️ Enjoyable read ✅ What a page turner! This is fun! ⬜️ I think I’m in love ⬜️ (new) all time favourite

World Building: ⬜️ This takes place in our world. ⬜️ Worldbuilding what worldbuilding? ⬜️ This feels like a TV set. ⬜️ Not super deep, but present. ✅ Detailed, believable. ⬜️ You bet every single ant has its own 100 page backstory!

Pacing: ⬜️ drags/is rushed in all the wrong places ⬜️ Inconsistent ⬜️ something undefinable feels off ⬜️ I don’t love it it but it fits the book perfectly. ✅ Good/no complaints ⬜️ Amazing! Could not put this down!

Writing: ⬜️ This is painful ⬜️ I’m cringing ⬜️ Not great, but not bad either. ⬜️ Neutral (Didn’t really notice.) ✅ Elegant but not overly flowery. ⬜️ So beautiful I actually stopped and noticed it. ⬜️ I’m not sure if this is just a bad translation. ⬜️ I’m not confident enough in my language skills for this language to comment on the quality of the writing.

Wow, I can't believe I've finished the series this fast! That alone says a lot about how much I liked it :) As usual, here's a bunch of rambly thoughts:

For the most part I feel like I did about the other two books - plot is fine but character work and world building take the cake. The plot was still fairly straight-forward, but I will say that it was a bit more complex with the dual plot-lines. A bit I don't think I've mentioned before that I love: due to the set up we get sorcery and sword type stuff but also tourism, instant soup, insurance companies, etc. (Did I imagine the aspirin?) The mix between modern and old timey things is great!

Unfortunately I also still feel the same about the treatment of women within the series. Sure, the argument could be made that maybe it's just Damien who's a bit misogynistic in his POV, and Gerald is just generally The Most Terrible Person ™ around, but it still doesn't sit right with me. Especially since we start the book with Gerald's lunch committing suicide. Was that weird bit about Damien's landlady necessary? Was there no other way to explain how Iezu perceive the world other than "Holy shit can you believe that middle aged lady dares to think of herself as attractive, lol what a hag" ?? But hey, Narilka is still alive! I suppose if you exist to redeem the Gerald clone you get to live. (I can't believe I forgot poor Almea in my last rant. The fridging that started it all! ...is it still fridging if the man murders her himself??)

As for the plot lines, on one hand I really, really enjoyed getting more POVs! ...maybe just not the ones we actually got xD The patriarch was probably my favourite, even if almost every second I spent inside his head was incredibly frustrating. Some of that may be due to Calesta's influence, but for the most part it's probably just him being the fantasy-pope. There's a reason I left the church xD That being said, I appreciate that he actually whole-heartedly believes what he is preaching. The thing that confuses me the most about the church is its stance on working the fae. As I understood it, it was designed to focus the fae, making it a bit less dangrous for the general population. And also providing humanity with the concentrated power of the beliefs and faith of thousands if not millions, which could eventually be used for space travel. (Or something in that vein.) Anyway, I thought it was very clear that they are still manipulating the fae, just on an enormous scale, and disapproved of private sorcery. But at times it kind of felt like the patriarch sort of forgot that (or deliberately repressed it?). All those "no, this isn't witchcraft, this is a miracle from God!" moments felt so odd because - of course its the same thing? You literally created your God yourselves by those exact same means??? Oh well, church is hypocritical, fork found in kitchen.

Andrys and Narilka I actually liked well enough, as long as they weren't on page together. Or thinking about each other. Actually, scratch that. I liked Narilka when she wasn't being compared to teacups or dolls! But then she had to fall in love with Andrys after talking to him...twice? Andrys... I mean he was there and relevant to the plot. I do feel bad for him, but there wasn't really that much to him other than (admittedly horrific) trauma and an uncanny resemblance to his great-great ....-great grandpa. And drugs to cope with all of that. Small pet peeve: the nickname Andri. WHY. You're literally just taking of one letter (and changing the other because....aesthetics??)

On to more enjoyable ramblings!!! The Damien-Gerlad dynamic in this book was just *chef's kiss* You can't just hit me with the "You changed me" speech that early in the book, I was not prepared xD The many ways in which we see the depth of their...friendship... were just sweet (especially post-hell), and such a contrast to the first book! (Well, Damien still tells us constantly how hot Gerald is, that hasn't changed at all xD My dude literally described his very platonic bestie as "aesthetic perfection". A few pages after Karril rerminds us of how very straight he is, of course.) Now maybe at this point my rose coloured shipper glasses are just glued to my face, but that moment when he tried to explain how Almea supposedly feels also slightly came across as him projecting just a bit. (Gerald is right, Almea (or the Almea-thing) has every right to be pissed, honestly she should have shown up with ghostly divorce papers. Or maybe Damien was right and she just wanted to see him jump into a volcano for a good cause, who knows.) There are some things I would have loved to see more of: - the mental link between Damien and Gerald was criminally under-used, imo. Did it change Damien physically somehow, since Gerald no longer felt cold to him? Is he now part vampire for ever xD (And dear god that whole bit about taking the Hunter into his body, whyyy xDD) - honestly I would have loved to see Gerald readjusting to being human (and being incredibly annoyed about it) a bit more. It's been 900+ years, surely there's stuff he's forgotten? I mean he spent the vast majority of his life being the stuff of nightmares! - Gerald honestly wanting and trying to redeem himself (sure, he was ready to sacrifice himself in the end, but it kind of struck me as a last minute decision. And you can't tell me being the first to kill a Iezu and saving the world didn't also appeal to his ego). But I get that that would take another 10 books, minimum

Damiens break with the church was a long time coming, and handled well, I think. Oddly enough, priest never struck me as a job that you can just quit.

I just remembered about Gerald's apprentice (Amoril?). What an idiot. I would have loved to know how he came to be the Hunter's apprentice though. Can you apply for scolarships? Anyway, trashing a library is unforgivable in my book ;)

Oh, and Hell! Hell was surprisingly meh to me, but I did appreciate the insight into how the Iezu operate (which was probable the main point of that scene anyway). Love that Damien could just reason with the literal devil. (But the concept of the Devil as a non-unified entity was actually cool though). How did it take Damien so long to understand what the mountain of dead women could possibly be. Neither he nor the reader are stupid enough not to get it. Friedman usually doesn't hold our hand and over explains in the series, why start now?? Shock factor? I doubt anyone cared enough about Sisa? Sasi? for that to work.

OK I promise I'm coming to an end soon but guys. Guys. The epilogue. The freaking epilogue. What a trip that was xDDD 1) The Wedding. Karril POV was... certainly something! We now officially know that not only women find Andrys attractive. (Take that, Damien "idk, he's probably attractive to women but also aesthetic perfection" Vryce. Did I need to know about potential Iezu sex that only benefits the (currently presenting as) male partner? No, not really. Also WTF was that scene with Andrys' ex lovers. I know we're supposed to see and rejoice in the fact that Andrys is no longer a playboy, but did we really need that "women hating women for the benefit of some hot guy" thing in here? I swear there were bits in the series where I could have sworn it was written by man (derogatory). At least Narilka remained unbothered. Presumably moisturised. Very happy and in her lane. Focused on her wedding, as she should be. She gets to live on to be compared to countless fragile things made of porcelain, whether she wants it or not. 2) Freaking Riven Forrest. I was cackling throughout that whole bit. Not only does he get to hunt and terrify people just like his father, he also runs a successful (?) fishing rod business on the side. (I know, I know, hunting supplies in general, the rods just kind of stuck out to me). The fact that the intelligent prey he looks forward to hunting the most is once again a woman (even if it is an abusive, horrible woman) tells us exactly what part the Iezu mother chose to take from the OG Hunter, huh. Which is great for Gerald, but a weird choice on her part?? But dear God the last bit. He keeps a portait of Gerald above his fireplace??? I finally completely lost it at "Here's to you, dad" xDDD 3) The "dark haired youth". Of course he survived. I was suspicious as soon as we didn't actually get to see Andrys kill him. As for the new persona - I suspected who he was, but the moment I was really sure was when Damien started describing him in loving detail. For an entire paragraph. That was half a page long. But the ending. WTF. I could have accepted Gerald's Death, but this? You're telling me after all they went through together, and after he basically just risked his life again by saying hi to Damien in the most cryptic way possible, they just...never talked again?! Nah, in my expert opinion they just met up in the next bathhouse. Also I wanted to see the guy suffer be annoyed a bit more because he can no longer Work to maintain his image. (I'd also have loved to know Geralds criteria for his new body, vain as he is. What was his thought process? "Oh no, the wonderful world of magical horse-breeding is now lost to me! Guess I'll just have to make sure that from now on I have the most majestic ponytail out there!"? Although, come on. He might be willing to risk his life for a horse.) My last words: I enjoyed this series so much more than I ever thought I would, and these idiots now live rent-free in my brain. Also how the f- are we supposed to read these books as an entirely platonic relationship? The most I'll agree to is some weird, slightly cursed QPR. But come on. COME ON. Even if they are both heterosexual (notwithstanding Damiens constant thirsting casual descriptions) they are definitely in love. Or just so deeply obsessed with, and at this point, sort of dependent on each other (Gerlad's words, not mine. sort of) that it makes little to no difference.

I know there's some prequels (?) I think I might check them out sometime.