#reviewer kindness

[okamirayne]

Hello lovely author, I have a question if you don't mind me asking (if you do mind then feel free to ignore this) from what I recall we only ever read the scene where Naoki and Genma were captured by Shuken from Genma's POV, so I've been wondering how did Shikamaru get from where Genma hid him to where Naoki and Genma were in that scene? Like did Shikamaru just wonder on by, was Kurayami looking for Shuken to finish the game or was he found by those chimaera/hybrid people.

Now onto my rave review.

I have no words to express how much I love your work. I have sentences and scenes that are carved into my brain. Naruto has alot of dark themes but ultimately has a hopeful tone so I really like the darker tone you've created for this universe and how you don't shy away the darker topics. But what I love most is how distinct and real ALL the characters feel (I don't normally like OC in fanfics but I got invested in all of yours), they feel so lived in and how you write the relationships between the characters is just👨‍🍳💋(I absolutely adore Neji and Kiba's dynamic and lack of chemistry).

I found it interesting that Shikamaru is kinda like a bridge between Naruto and Sasuke's traumas (Neji's pointed out similarities in HHU, the whole Orochimaru/Shuken thing and they've have all been hurt in some way by Konoha, Uchiha Massacre; System of lies -despite the good intentions- etc).

Chapter 10 was wild. The mental link reveal had me reeling for all the angst potential it holds. I wonder if that is how Naruto will find out about NejiShika🤔(if he does). None of the rookie13 are aware of their relationship, right? Wouldn't that be a fun reaction. I'm really loving the flashback scenes and Naruto's POV. I'm rooting for him to get his validation about the Kusa mission especially after he got dismissed by the other rookie12 in UTS (I find it funny how Sakura uses medical jargon to keep Naruto from suspecting anything but thats an instant tell).

Thank you for all the hard work you've put in to bring us readers this amazing story💕

Hello my dear Rave Review Anon, 💕

Firstly, I welcome your question, so thanks for taking the time! I'll do my best to answer. I appreciate your patience with me getting round to responding to you. 🙏🏼

[...] from what I recall we only ever read the scene where Naoki and Genma were captured by Shuken from Genma's POV, so I've been wondering how did Shikamaru get from where Genma hid him to where Naoki and Genma were in that scene? Like did Shikamaru just wonder on by, was Kurayami looking for Shuken to finish the game or was he found by those chimaera/hybrid people.

This is an excellent question which addresses a decision I regret making when it came to editing UtS. I chopped a whole heck of a lot of stuff out. I can add clarity here, in lieu of writing a chapter (maybe slipping it into a flashback might work better). You are correct in that Kurayami did his whole hostile takeover at that point and was the one who led Shikamaru back to where Shuken was holding Genma and Naoki. It would've been a semi fugue state in which Shikamaru operated, which is why he holds no memory of it. This is why it was told from Genma's limited POV. In order to fully write it, it would need to be told from Kurayami's perspective, and his full-on emergence came towards the latter end of UtS, where he was focused on annihilating Shuken, rather than reliving his memories. Shikamaru's flashbacks often came with big ass blanks in his head, due to the alter switch.

Simply put: Shikamaru woke up in a fugue state, was directed by Kurayami, ended up locating Genma and Naoki and losing his shit when seeing Shuken. Kurayami semi-disabled Shuken, at which point Naoki moved to shut Kurayami down and seal up Shikamaru's mind, getting a knife in the back (courtesey of batshit still-live-and-stabbing Shuken) for his efforts. Genma picked up Shikamaru and he and Naoki had to hightail it the hell outta there - which sadly resulted in Naoki succumbing to his injuries (as far as Genma knew) and telling Genma to go on without him. Shikamaru's little wander into the lion's den was experienced through Genma's POV, which is why there were blanks. It would need to be Shuken or Kurayami's POV to get the full picture and I regret not adding a different POV lens to that scene; though there's always room for flashbacks from Kurayami's perspective (or possibly Shikamaru's given that he'd integrated Kurayami by the end of UtS). I hope this answers your question, luv? Forgive the confusion, I appreciate it would've left question marks hanging. God knows Genma was WTF'ing his way through that experience.

I have no words to express how much I love your work.

And I fail royally when it comes to expressing how much I love that you love my insanity, you glorious reviewer.💜🫶🏼💜

Naruto has alot of dark themes but ultimately has a hopeful tone so I really like the darker tone you've created for this universe and how you don't shy away the darker topics.

Thank you, my luv, I am dastardly like that and I appreciate that the darker themes and tone don't make you go running for the hills. I have big love for you being in the trenches with these characters. Everyone has their comfort zones, and I am distinctively shit at giving much warning other than the bare-minimum kind of tags (habit of being an ffnet creature rather than an AO3 one). My human wiring is tangled up in the veins of these issues, and while that's sometimes gotten me flak, I will always tell the story that wants to be told and hope I do it justice.

But what I love most is how distinct and real ALL the characters feel (I don't normally like OC in fanfics but I got invested in all of yours), they feel so lived in and how you write the relationships between the characters is just👨‍🍳💋(I absolutely adore Neji and Kiba's dynamic and lack of chemistry).

Ah, damn. 🥹💖 I am so, so touched, chuffed, and ridiculously thrilled that you felt invested in my OCs. Though I've joked about interpretive dance being my only way to express my gratitude, I have no moves which wouldn't result in dislocation and hospitalisation. So please just know the feels are doing insane little flips and fancy twirls inside my writer's heart. 💖

Ha! Neji and Kiba.

Yes, well...chalk and cheese, oil and water...the list goes on...so does Kiba's insufferable ribbing. 😅

I found it interesting that Shikamaru is kinda like a bridge between Naruto and Sasuke's traumas (Neji's pointed out similarities in HHU, the whole Orochimaru/Shuken thing and they've have all been hurt in some way by Konoha, Uchiha Massacre; System of lies -despite the good intentions- etc).

Very true, luv. Those parallels are spot on.

Chapter 10 was wild. The mental link reveal had me reeling for all the angst potential it holds. I wonder if that is how Naruto will find out about NejiShika🤔(if he does). None of the rookie13 are aware of their relationship, right? Wouldn't that be a fun reaction.

*grins* Yes indeed. Sometimes I'm surprised by how much a character does or doesn't know and sometimes it only ever comes as I write. *waggles eyebrows*

I'm really loving the flashback scenes and Naruto's POV. I'm rooting for him to get his validation about the Kusa mission especially after he got dismissed by the other rookie12 in UTS (I find it funny how Sakura uses medical jargon to keep Naruto from suspecting anything but thats an instant tell).

Aw! I'm glad you're enjoying them. It's a whole new experience being in Naruto's POV. Especially when he's hurting.

I'm so glad I watched Shippuden from start to finish...that was a marathon worth investing in. And yes, precisely. He's more clued in than he lets on...or realises on a conscious level. It feels very reactive, visceral, and instinctive with Naruto. So different to writing Shikamaru, Neji, and other cerebral or controlled characters.

Thank you for all the hard work you've put in to bring us readers this amazing story💕

And thank you in return for being so kind and supportive as to give me this beautiful exchange via your feedback. It's the payoff that keeps me persisting when I'm getting hamstringed by burnout or low motivation. I appreciate it so damn much. You reviewers are precious. I salute you, dear Rave Review Anon, and I thank you again for making the time to reach out in solidarity and support - it matters in ways I can't express❤️💜❤️

[idontmindifuforgetme]

I love Tumblr because nothing matters here truly. There are no influencers. Having followers doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a site where people post their sporadic thoughts and rb pretty pictures. Anyone who thinks any of this matters is woefully missing the point

[lapdogchase]

[chalkrub]

various art trades from the past month! had FUN as usual

[celebrimborium]

the rings of power + color palette (season 2)

[charcubed]

There's one specific aspect of Deadpool & Wolverine that's important in relation to the queerness of Wade/Logan:

The fact that Vanessa isn't single.

I'm not kidding lol

Doesn't seem like people are talking about this so I'm going to be the one to say it I guess!

So… beyond trying to save his world / family, Wade's (flimsy) motivation is indeed partially motivated by Vanessa – or more specifically by things she said to him during their break up. He wants to figure out how he matters or how he can be a hero without being an Avenger, etc.

Shitty as it is that Vanessa is relegated to being a two-dimensional motivation mouthpiece… She and Wade didn't just break up; they tell us immediately that she's seeing another guy. By my memory, Wade never disrespects that, not even jokingly. And the plot isn't framed as a quest to ~win back the girl~ either.

The end scene underlines this too, where [SPOILER] he says he did it for her even if she doesn't want him or whatever the line is. Their little hand touch isn't really a romantic rekindling.

So, what am I getting at?

This all gives weight to Wade's mischievous flirting and (later) built connection with Logan.

If Wade and Vanessa were framed as "taking a break," or if she was still single and he was trying to win her back, the queerness with Logan wouldn't work quite as well. There'd be more room to claim it's an unserious joke.

But Vanessa's moved on.

Wade, taking LOGAN home, did too.

[t-hirstreview]

[canonkiller]

year in review, 2024. been a bit of a roller coaster; had a lot of health issues worsen, had a lot of personal stuff worsen too. lost a lot of dear friends and trying to stay a person for the ones i still have. but also started HRT this year, after a long time coming, got a doctor who actually listens to me or at least does so more often than the last one, and hopefully making progress towards living literally anywhere else than where I am now, so... here's to a gentle new year, knock on wood.

single pieces:

01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06

07 / 08 / 09 / 10 / 11 / 12

previous years

[maxdibert]

RIP Severus Snape you would have loved discovering the internet and not knowing how to use it for anything except compulsively leaving negative reviews on Google.

[wtfforged]

was supposed to be a warmup. colored it. bon appetit.

[cnl0400]

The new dating feature... What to expect?

(Apart from disapointment, of course)

Disclaimer: I only bought this because I had a lot of Google Play points, so I could shave a looooooooooot of the total price, but my condolences to anyone who doesn't live in the US because it's a lot more expensive in another regions... Including mine, of course

Disclaimer 2: I'm not telling you what to do with your money, this Is my personal opinion. If you are planning in buying this, do whatever idc, but since a lot of people are having doubts, I felt that I might as well tell everyone what Is this about.

So yeah... Since they announced the new feature, I knew It either would cost real money, It just sounded too good to be true, but I didn't expect to cost $29.99? Almost $37 in my country currency, a total scam, really.

But to be fair to them, this Is a bundle that comes with 300 DP, and considering the price of 280 DP, it's almost like you get the ticket for "free", right?? At least that's how Solmare probably thought It would look like, but the reality Is that the common player will see this bundle and just think that this ticket cost 30 fucking dollars (just look at the comments of Twitter and the tag Right now). In my opinion, just separate the DP and the ticket, and have the bundle as an special offert If you want. Remember that selling stuff Is also about framing... Most players that were planning on buying this might not be planning on buying the DP (like myself, I don't buy DP unless it's on special offerts) so the only thing people like that will think Is that "why this ticket costs that much?"

But what you get in the actual event, you might ask? The trailer was vague as hell in my opinion, and that's an instant red flag in my radar, especially for that spicy art that came with it

For a ticket date you get:

A 1min call

A 10min storyline (not fully voiced, apart from certain lines in the las part of the storyline)

A Majolish background with the date art

The event starts with you calling you boy of preference (in this case, I choose Mammon) to invite him to a date, the call ends and you get a 10min storyline. The premise of the Mammon's date Is that MC has won tickets to Phantom Park, and then Mammon & MC get involved to a game of tag to win a price. Then couple shennigans happen, blah blah blah.

The Story Is... Not bad? I found It rather cute actually, it's romantic and at least they make It explicit that Mammon & MC aré actually dating, but again, this could very well have been in a Devilgram, it's not worth the 30 dollars Solmare expects you to pay tbh. Just tip your favorite fanfic author and call It a day

The last segment Is the one they show in the tráiler, with Mammon getting out of the shower

In this scene, some lines are voiced, and tbh, If the actual story was like this, It almost miiiight be worth It (not the full price, but at least something). But as now? Save your money people, I wouldn't really recommend It.

The only way I would recommend buying It it's If you're already planning on buying the 280 DP offert, or you have a lot of coupons/GPP so you don't pay full price lol, but If you like Lucifer (or Asmo) just do yourself a favor and buy the ASMR. At least, that's what I think

[okamirayne]

AHHHH!!!!

As always, amazing chapter! Love, love, love how the plot is slowly unfolding. It will be interesting to see if Naruto figures out Shuken or Shikamaru’s past.

And Neji flirting while on a mic mid mission? Getting Shikamaru all hot and bothered! Was that part of the dream or an actual memory? Such a cute moment.

Just wanted to spend a few minutes to shower you with all the loves! ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for sharing your passion with us! It truly means a lot!

Hello dear, All-The-Loves-Anon ❤️🫶🏼!

Firstly...

As always, amazing chapter! Love, love, love how the plot is slowly unfolding. It will be interesting to see if Naruto figures out Shuken or Shikamaru’s past.

So, so happy you enjoyed it, luv! Ah yeah, the trouble of sharing headspace and heartspace is definitely gonna be border control of privacy for Shikamaru.

And Neji flirting while on a mic mid mission? Getting Shikamaru all hot and bothered! Was that part of the dream or an actual memory? Such a cute moment.

I can confirm that was most definitely a legit memory of Shikamaru's. Actual factual, you betcha.

Just wanted to spend a few minutes to shower you with all the loves! ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you for sharing your passion with us! It truly means a lot!

You taking the time to leave this kind message means a whole hell of a lot in return. It's bascially a chakra pill for me. So thank you for feeding my beast and for the emotional shower of happy hearts - they are both most humbly and gratefully received! 💖😍

[mizgnomer]

David Tennant Year in Review - 2023

David’s television, film, convention, charity, and other appearances from 2023, all in one convenient photoset - with extra special thanks to Georgia and her excellent Instagram posts

Please see my [ David Tennant Year In Review tag ] for prior year-end posts dating back to 2014

[jinprint]

"was that its name?"

rewatching the acolyte (well, parts of it) and i am currently obsessed with reading into the dialogue with a slightly different perspective. like during jecki's death:

sol: jecki!

the stranger: was that its name?

sol: she was a child.

the stranger [shrugging]: you brought her here.

the first time i watched this scene, i totally thought qimir called jecki "it" at first just to be a dick. but it really speaks to the fact that qimir finds the jedi's values and philosophies to be inherently broken.

was jecki a soldier or a kid? pick one. was she a tool or a child? if she was the latter, why would you bring her here to hunt down a criminal that already killed two masters? obviously this is not a person who will hesitate to kill jedi.

you treated her it like a tool, and now you see the consequences of that unfold right before you; hence qimir makes a point of this. (also interesting to wonder how this could tie into his backstory with vernestra)

why would you bring a kid there? is it the enemy's fault when you choose to bring a child to the battlefield? is the enemy really responsible for her death, or you?

referring to jecki as "it" is, i think, a jab at the jedi for treating their padawan as tools, for choosing specific moments to humanize them or weaponize them (perhaps as his master did to him?) it's not because he didn't see her as a person—it's because he doesn't believe that the jedi truly did.

"the jedi live in a dream... an acolyte kills the dream."

but that's just my two cents.

[adobe-outdesign]

I've been reading some of your Pokemon reviews and you've mentioned the design philosophies of earlier gens vs later gens and I wonder if you've ever done a post elaborating on that? Like, how later gens have Pokemon be more characters and such, and how earlier gens they can be more monochrome in color and such? Idk if I'm making sense

There aren't any hard "rules" and each Gen tends to have its own subtle design philosophies and whatnot, but as a general rule here's some Gen 1-specific design things that you don't see as much of later on:

Colors tend to be muted and less saturated overall. Trends towards naturalistic colors, i.e., lots of browns

Often (though not always, see the Dragonair line as one exception) very simple in concept

More naturalistic fur/feathers—compare original Arcanine's fur, which is very fluffy, to Hisuian Arcaine's fur, which is comprised of easy-to-model shapes

Anatomy generally fairly realistic; less emphasis on shapes (as they weren't originally thinking of things like the anime or plushies)

Gen 1 specifically had an entire subgenre of designs based off kaiju that tended to be abstract monsters with a heavily "plated" look. These tend to be some of the earliest designs and mostly disappeared after this gen

Kind of a vague idea of what a Pokemon is. Can it have mechanical cannons? Sure! How about an item it carries? You bet! (Pokemon carrying items decreased drastically after this gen with more thought put into what the item is and how they obtained it)

Lines sometimes less coherent due to different 'mons getting slapped together during production

Less emphasis on making the mons "friend-shaped", for lack of a better term. A lot more designs that are creepy or more monstrous

Tend to be more animalistic without as much emphasis on having pre-defined personalities (like how Gholdengo is a radical surfer dude or how Sobble is always sad)

Lots of triangle eyes along with common 90s anime faces

Not too many finicky details like lots of markings due to sprite limitations

Disconcertingly large amount of head spikes

Many lines either change really drastically during evolution or barely change at all with little in-between

[starcurtain]

What do you think Aventurine would be like as a boss?

Aventurine's first character story tells us that people both outside the IPC and internal to the Strategic Investment Department are explicitly racist toward him, so I would say first that I suspect Aventurine's team is much, much smaller than other Stonehearts like Topaz. For example, we constantly see Topaz's dumb "support squad" following her around in most of the events she shows up in, while we've never been introduced to a single "Aventurine support squad" member.

My suspicion is that, between the rampant racism and the undoubtedly common rumors about Aventurine's dangerous behavior, very few people are even willing to be put on his team in the first place. I suspect he's much more likely to be paired up with one or two "strategic partners" (like Ratio) and sent to handle things that way, rather than actually having a large group of underlings he directly supervises.

But just logistically speaking I'm sure he does have a few underlings, and I think... He's probably a very difficult person to work for, for a couple reasons:

He will almost certainly beat assholes to the punch. If a majority of the people who have been assigned to work with him don't want to be there, you can bet he's not going to wait around for new people to prove they are racist garbage. I imagine that, for the most part, he's off-putting and offensive to new people from the get-go. You ask which desk is yours and he just goes "Oh, feel free to set your things anywhere!" then turns around like: "Wowwww. Jim, this rookie is trying to steal the desk you've had for ten years! How inconsiderate our new friend is proving to be~!" New people on his team probably have the worst few weeks of their lives. (Because... If people are going to hate him on principle alone, he might as well give them a reason, right?) However, this has the effect of weeding out most of the people who are incapable of dealing with Aventurine's antics, so I imagine that the few who persevere through the hazing are probably genuinely decent folks. Those that make it past the initial "Let's see how much you hate Sigonians and disrespect me personally" vibe check probably end up on Aventurine's good side, and I think he eventually eases off his newbies after a while. (Not before they've proven their exceedingly high tolerance for shenanigans and even higher ceiling for shock factor, though. If a new employee makes it past the first month of working for Aventurine, literally nothing else will ever phase them. An elephant-sized Warp Trotter could warp them all six galaxies over and they'd just be like "Anyone got a working cell? I need to tell my babysitter I won't be back by 9.")

I think he's just never there. Absentee boss in the extreme. It's not that he ever slacks or doesn't do the work--it's just that he's constantly going off and doing the missions all on his own. It doesn't matter how many times the higher-ups assign him to do a team task, tell him he has to take the full squad... He just scampers off and does the deal entirely on his own, comes back covered in blood, and is like "Hey guys, I took care of the problem; enjoy some comp time on me!" I don't think he drags his average-level underlings into his dangerous gambles; I think he just does all the work with their clients by himself or with a high-caliber partner. You would think this would make him a great boss to work for, but I implore to put yourself in such an employee's shoes: You go into the office every morning only to see your to-do list is empty. Your boss isn't there to give you any new direction. After twiddling your thumbs for four hours, you find out the reason he isn't in the office this morning is that he's recovering from betting he could take an entire pack of Borisin in a fist fight. He's not in the hospital because of the fight (which he won). He's in the hospital because he was then promptly shot in the back by the guy he was betting with. Why is your life like this? Why must you be subjected to the soap opera of your boss's own self-destructive spiral?

Even when he's around, he's probably weirdly awkward. Don't get me wrong, I bet when he's in a good mood he throws all kinds of extravagant parties in the office, and his employees would never lack for bonuses and perks. But I think he has never really bothered to learn--or perhaps simply does not care--about normal managerial behaviors and boundaries. Like, you slip up and tell him your mother-in-law is in the hospital. He comes back five minutes later to tell you he's just bought six bouquets (sent from your address), commissioned a personally embossed card for her with your monogram, and contracted the services of the best-reviewed individualized medical team in Pier Point under your name. He's patting himself on the back for being an incredibly thoughtful boss. You don't know how to tell him that you haven't spoken to your mother-in-law in years, not since her last attempt to poison you. Every six months he buys the whole team new cars. You have no idea what to do with all these cars. It's too many cars. Put some cars back. He calls everyone his "friend," but even after working for him for years, you still have absolutely no idea about his likes, dislikes, or hobbies outside of the IPC. You could not name his favorite food if someone put a gun to your head. Does he exist outside of the workplace? You literally can't imagine him anywhere but on a mission or at a poker table. He's constantly bringing an "I am the party!" vibe to the room, but everyone else is a bored 8-5 worker who doesn't have a drop of enthusiasm left in their veins. It's like when a singer asks the audience to cheer along with a song, but nobody in the audience makes a peep. Absolutely no one in the IPC cubicles can match his particular freak. Aventurine's a smooth-talker and a street-smart cookie for sure, but something about the way his smile looks like it's made out of plastic when anyone tries to engage him in chitchat at the water cooler gives you the vague impression that he's probably never had an actual friend in his life. If "uncanny valley" was a vibe a workplace could have, Aventurine's office would have it.

Long story longer, I think Aventurine has very few people willing to tolerate him as a boss, whether because they are racist or simply because his quirks are just too quirky. However, I like to imagine the few who have hung in there are ride or die. You know they have an "Aventurine Protection Squad" group chat. They probably all wear peacock-teal and gold accessories in solidarity. They have definitely disappeared people for talking shit on their boss before. Aventurine has no idea how much they actually like him.