#what I'm saying is less love stories and more heists

[dormarunt]

If there is a second season maybe Palermo/The Professor will appear

Anon from your lips fingers to Pina, Alvaro Morte and Rodrigo de la Serna's ears. I would love nothing else, not even going to lie.

🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️🕯️

🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️Berlermo and Hermanos🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️

🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️🕯️in Berlin season two🕯️ 🕯️🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️

🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️🕯️

If it gets renewed, everyone is available and willing AND Pina makes a fantastic heist show like he did with the first season(s) of LCdP it would be amazing.

[tenaciousdragonmoon]

Kaz makes the world safer....by forcing the girl he owns to kill both good and bad men even when she doesn't want to - even when it's against her core values and religion. "he never hinted it was less a command to be obeyed"

Ahem, where to even start.

Oh I know, but let's adress it part by part shall we:

“girl he owns”

1. Six of Crows : chapter 3 :

“It had been a gut decision to pay off her indenture with the Menagerie, and it had cost the Dregs sorely.”

2. Six of Crows : Chapter 25 :

“Slavery is illegal in Kerch. Indentures are not. I know this contract is a sham and any thinking judge would, too. Unfortunately, Heleen has many thinking judges in her pocket. Per Haskell is offering you a loan – no more, no less. Your contract will be in Ravkan. You’ll pay interest, but it won’t break you. And as long as you pay him a certain percentage every month, you’ll be free to come and go as you please.”

So to clarify : Inej was forced into prostitution (simply put : underage rape) by Tante Heleen's Menagerie working as an indentured labour.

It was Kaz Brekker who recognized her talents, convinced Per Haskell to pay off her costly contract.

He then hires her, to work as a spy for the dregs. HIRES , I repeat. Which isn't completely freedom ofc but far beteer than the menagerie.

As as far as loans go, you'd know they have to be paid back with interest.

3. “He’d liquidated every asset he had, used the last of the savings he’d accrued, every ill-gotten cent.” : there you go the final bomb, crooked kingdom chapter 25

.............................................................

“forced the girl to kill both good and bad men, even when it goes against her core religion and principles ”

1. Yes, Inej did kill Van Daal in 2nd Chapter of Six of Crows: was she forced? Kaz wasn't putting a gun against her head, forcing her to kill the guard. In fact Kaz was in the shooting range. Inej killed the guard to avoid compromising their mission.

2. Other times she killed was to protect her crew (Kaz, Nina, Matthias, Jesper, Wylan) , to complete their heist and to protect herself.

..................................................................

Okay, hear me out. I’ve got a few more questions regarding this—I'm assuming from the same user? They mentioned that the power imbalance between Inej and Kaz is toxic and claimed that Kaz forced Inej to kill people (using the term “innocent men”). Here’s what I have to say:

1. It seems like you didn’t enjoy the book, and that’s okay. The morally grey themes it explores can be uncomfortable for many readers. I have nothing against anyone who doesn’t like this book; we’re all entitled to our opinions. That said, no one should force their perspective onto others.

2. Nobody is obligated to agree with the majority. Heck, even I don’t like certain things that are widely loved.

3. Personal preferences aside, I actually appreciate when people question the norm—it shows critical thinking. And that, my friends, is how we move forward as a society.

4. That said, if you’re going to make claims about a book, it’s important to back them up with specific citations. This ensures the discussion is grounded in the text and not just opinion.

5. Facts can be debated, but arguing about opinions is like going in circles. It’s pointless and exhausting.

6. I enjoy questions (I’ve always loved a good challenge), but what I don’t enjoy is when those questions turn into passive-aggressive jabs. Let’s keep things civil—it’s much more productive and enjoyable that way.

7. At the end of the day, we’re discussing a book. A fictional book. No book is perfect; all stories have flaws and plotholes. And we’re all allowed our own interpretations of the content.

8. As an asexual person, the dynamic between Kaz and Inej resonated deeply with me. It reflected a relationship where physical affection wasn’t the core foundation, and I saw myself in that. When I say this book is dear to my heart, I mean it wholeheartedly.

9. That said, I understand this duology isn’t for everyone. Believe me, I’ve often found myself on the other side of these kinds of debates.

Bottom line: Let’s be rational, respectful, and kind to each other. Disagreeing doesn’t mean we have to be unkind.

[nomadicism]

What are your thoughts on the live action Voltron movie? Personally, I'm not super excited for it for a bunch of reasons. Not even my love for Henry Cavill will get me to change my mind.

Great question!

I gotta say, I had zero interest until Henry Cavill was announced. I still can’t really see it actually getting made though.

If it actually gets made, I expect that I won’t be the target audience. While I enjoy the DotU story, I’m much more into Vehicle Voltron. Lion Voltron relies upon some tropes that were fine for the times, but that I think are too played out by now. If it were a tv series, then the story would have time to breathe and to develop characters, so the tropes would be less annoying to me (again I won’t be target audience, maybe other people would enjoy it just fine). Not gonna get that kinda development for a large cast in a film. It’s not like they have the luxury of the MCU.

So I expect the film to be focused on Keith and will probably aim for nostalgia and try to be edgy for any older audience. The story would be simplified to make it work in a film. Probably gonna feel hollow. In a series, you have time to develop more than one character. The story might well be decent, but it won’t have the depth (such as it was) of the series. It’s totally gonna be the Keith show.

I don’t expect them to try for a younger (child/yourh) audience, because no producer is going to front the money for that. The IP is too old for today’s child/youth audience in the US. They could go youth if they went for a Power Rangers vibe (which would be easy to do because Voltron is cut from the sentai cloth). I doubt that will happen.

Maybe they can do “action dude assembles a heist team” kinda vibe. They need to make sure that the CG doesn’t suck, because if it does then that will sink any future hopes for the IP.

Anyway, I hope to be surprised, but I can think of only a few directors who could do something worthwhile and interesting with the IP, and they are all very busy being awesome and in demand. Thus, my expectations are low.

[therealtsk]

What Your Favorite Worm Ship Says About You

some people have found my crusty, old ass tumblr post on this very topic, so im making a new one with my updated opinions! Cause those are, in fact, allowed to change. Enjoy! Taylor x Lisa: you're into relationships that could be dysfunctional or healthy with one push in either direction. also something something sun lesbian moon lesbian. Taylor x Rachel: You love dogs, and you want a girlfriend who can kick your ass. You're also into bomber jackets. I respect you. Taylor x Alec: Sadly, you do exist, and you did make it weird. Go away! Taylor x Amy: You read altpowers on the daily and complain about canon worm being too grimdark. Solid odds on you having never read worm. To be clear, it's worse if you have. also something something FBI OPEN UP Taylor x Victoria: You like the vibes of Lisa and Taylor's dynamic, but you want them to be a little more heroic and a little less dysfunctional. But only a little. Taylor x Clockblocker: You're straight and liked that one joke that cropped up. I also haven't seen any of you in a hot minute, thank god. No offense but this ship is mad boring.

Taylor x Sophia: You've come to realize that Sophia is a great character who gets done extremely dirty by the rest of the fandom. Also, rivals to lovers. Taylor x Emma: This can go one of two ways. Either you adore childhood friends to lovers, or you love enemies to lovers. Either way, you're obsessed with hurt and/or comfort fics. Taylor x Theo: You actually read Worm and recognize that Theo is criminally underrated in the fandom. Now just stop shipping him with Taylor and you'll complete the next step on your journey to enlightenment.

Taylor x Simurgh: I can't say for sure you're a anime fan, but you're definitely at least a little bit of a monsterfucker. also something something inherent eroticism of being world-destroying power couple. Taylor x Greg. You read Worm SI's unironically and get really defensive when people say that Greg is an incel. Completely unrelated, you haven't spoken to a woman other then your mother in five years. Taylor x Cherie: I've been informed this is a ship. I've yet to be informed as of a reason why I should like it. Cherie likers stay mad!

Lisa x Rachel: I don't remember the last time I saw this ship that wasn't also tagged as a polycule with Taylor, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're an OT3 enjoyer.

Lisa x Victoria: You’re into the “enemies to lovers” trope, but more of the "Spiderman x Black Cat" type then the "you murdered my entire home town but i can't help but find you sexy" type. Also you have a thing for blondes

Lisa x Faultline: Your ideal relationship dynamic is bickering married couple. You're also into heist movies.

Lisa x Simurgh: You have a thing for smart girls... who hate you. Also, you really liked Part of the Whole.  Contessa x Alexandria: You're fucking based. Also something something inherent eroticism of girlbosses winning Contessa x Numberman: you're friends with Peri and enjoy memes about pants and math Numberman x Jack Slash: You think serial killers are hot and are starved for m/m ships. Danny x Eidolon: You're losersexual and are starved for m/m ships. Also you frequent r/wormemes Danny x Miss Militia: Honestly, i think you all died out. I couldn't be happier, this ship is fucking dumb. Amy x Literally Anyone Besides Taylor: listen, there's like a hundred different jokes i could make here, but all of them boil down to amy defenders always defending the rapist for some reason so let's just agree amy defenders are fucking cringe and move on Dragon x Defiant: You understand that this is unironically the only healthy relationship in worm with some of the best character growth and romance in the entire story, and a majority of all of it happens off screen. You're extremely bitter that so many fanfics do both of them so dirty they get beaten into different characters. Alec x Aisha: You like the idea of this ship, cause two pranksters making everyone miserable is the kinda vibe you enjoy, but constantly run into the issue that Alec is...well. Alec. That or you're into Alec's brand of shit, in which case, FBI OPEN UP Aisha x Missy: You read It's Cold Out There Every Day. I did too. Fuck, this fic is so good. I'm going to go cry about the ending again. Lily x Sabah: Yes, you know the age gap is a little problematic, you just want to be happy with your relatively healthy canon lesbians goddamn it Purity x Literally Anyone: You don't understand why people keep calling you racist. You're not! You're just weirdly defensive of the hot milf who murders people of color and seem to constantly bring up that Kaiser didn't actually believe the nazi propaganda he was peddling. You are racist btw Taylor x Brian: You...are Wildbow

[calicohyde]

This is a bit of a weird question, but you're the only one I know about who regularly posts about pirates of any kind (admittedly on your other blog) so I figured I'd ask you: what's some stuff you'd want to see more of in pirate fiction? I'm fucking around with a pirate AU for one of my projects and that made me curious - @transman-badass

TL;DR bullet point lists, bolding for emphasis

Necessities:

even if not going for historical accuracy, make sure character designs accurately represent the setting

queer pirates, in particular trans/GNC pirates

POC (Pirates of Color), in particular Black and Indigenous pirates

pirates with body types befitting their lifestyle

religious diversity

Why did you pick pirates if you're not...

commentating on capitalism, colonialism, class, and "crime"

incorporating pirate legends/superstitions in some way

see above points about diversity

Things I personally want to see:

revisit points on diversity again

antivillains

dramatic irony

song and dance

vulgarity

narrative questions built to have no answers

a wider variety of genres; instead of sticking to action/adventure, fantasy, and romance, try a slasher, slice of life, or heist (etc)

More detail on these points + unintentionally effusive praise for Pirates of The Caribbean and Black Sails under the cut.

This is a bit of a (perhaps?) unexpected answer, but my favorite pirate media (that I remember rip) is actually the original PotC trilogy!

While I love the explicit queer representation in Black Sails and OFMD, as well as the political thriller aspect and social realism + commentary of Black Sails, and I'd obviously love to see more of that, they lack some things the first three PotC movies have that I just really fucking love. I don't think any of them are exclusive to pirates necessarily, but I do think a lot of them are particularly well suited to them, and in some ways when they're not incorporated I personally feel like something is missing.

The og PotC trilogy does have its own political aspect and commentary, it's just a bit less confrontational than BS. I wouldn't say it's so subtle as to be a subplot though, it's still a - if not Thee - primary driving factor to the overall narrative and its plot. In my opinion, no pirate media is complete without some aspect of anticapitalist/anticolonialist/antiassimilationist sentiment at its foundation, even if the pirates are not necessarily heroic or righteous - or are downright wicked (derogatory) - in any other way. Pirates make for the perfect antiheroes, antivillains, and villain protagonists, and the latter two are far less explored than the former. And truly what is the point of having a character cast of primarily career thieves if not to say some type of something about the constructs of money and crime?

Another thing is the incorporation of traditional pirate legends/superstitions! I certainly will not be able to find it at will, but there is a post on this site that I wholeheartedly agree with about how cool it is that PotC has a different set of accepted realities depending on who's territory the story is in - i.e. pirate legends are true when the characters are where there be pirates, but aren't on colonial land. There are also pockets of extra depth to the story and characters that only really occur to you if you look at the work through the eyes of someone who exists within the pirates' world, such as Elizabeth's Kiss of Death At Sea.

It also of course ties in perfectly with the allegory; the further colonialism/capitalism spreads -> the smaller pirate habitat shrinks -> the less magic there is/the more reality is confined to only what Is and can no longer extend to what Could Be, shown most directly by the beached Kraken and Jack's response of "The world's still the same [size], there's just less in it." Which in that particular context also reinforces the above highlighted built-in moral ambiguity/acknowledgement of the beauty and necessity of things that may harm you (or pose a challenge to your conquering power), in that only the movie before the Kraken was a direct threat to Jack, and in fact literally killed him, but he still recognizes its extermination as both an indication of worse to come and as a tragedy in its own right. Also shown really well in how an "incorrect" pirate-drawn map can get you places that, when using an "accurate" colonial-standard map, don't exist. And how Beckett can't get Jack's magic compass to work for him even though he knows what it's supposed to do, only a pirate (or pirate-to-be like Norrington) can use it. The Power of Belief in this way is and always will be my number one homie. I got slightly off topic and just started talking about PotC. Anyway.

The dual accepted realities allow for really great dramatic irony as well. Gods and monsters and cursed treasure and impossibly fast and unsinkable ships and the undead are all real, and the audience knows all that based merely on the setup, but to the characters it's a shocking twist. Black Sails has some dramatic irony that I really love as well. The audience knows that Black Sails is a Treasure Island prequel, and they know the culmination of the featured historical events, but the characters don't. I eat that shit up and it's fucking delicious every time. And I also love that good good opposite of dramatic irony in these too, where the audience will never know something the characters do. BS does it through a well crafted metafiction narrative and unreliable narrators. "A story is true, a story is untrue," and this story acknowledges itself as a story - one told by conquerers, liars, visionaries, and warrior poets. We will never know what "really" happened, and we're not meant to.

Anyway even if pirate legends aren't real or *shrug emoji* in-universe, I again think pirate media is incomplete if a few aren't textually present in some other way.

Back to representation stuff. As I said, while Black Sails and OFMD have it pretty good, there should be way more queer pirates, and in particular trans/gender-nonconforming pirates. I'd specifically like to see a portrayal of Mary/Mark Read as being trans/fluid/whatever, rather than "disguised" or "mistaken" as a man (if the piece features historical figures). Equally so, there needs to be way more racial diversity in pirate media, in particular Black and Indigenous pirates. Probably most of the famous Captains you could name off the top of your head were white Englishmen, but there's a lot of evidence that a high percentage of pirates were not. So tbh I think this is less of a "feels" incomplete thing and more of an IS incomplete thing.

Likewise, there should be more body diversity and religious diversity. These things are obviously inaccurate and a Choice to exclude anywhere, but again imo an extra level of dumbassery to exclude from a pirate thing. Model/movie star body types should be rare; we need to be looking at athletes and laborers when designing Golden Age sailors. We need to be taking into account the available medicine of the time period and the lasting consequences thereof, as well as more of the (known) cultural ideas about body differences, neurological differences, sickness, and death. And as for religion, there seems to be vast swathes of people who think once upon a time everyone was either a Christian (be that Good or Bad) or a Savage (whether Noble/Mystic or not). And that is SO deeply fucking annoying - to say it in the blandest, most diplomatic way possible lol.

Even if you're not going to go in for much historical accuracy, you're doing a fantastical/romanticized/comedic/etc version, or you're making a whole secondary world from scratch, you really should be figuring out what would be accurate to the conditions you create. If your piece takes place on a frigate sailing the open ocean in the tropics for long periods of time while the nearest land is being colonized by monarchic northerners in an approximation of the 17th century, the characters should reflect that just as much as the setting and plot.

Now for some things I wouldn't necessarily be disappointed about being absent, but that I would just be kinda jazzed to see. First: song, dance, storytelling, riddles, foul language, and bawdy jokes. This kind of goes hand in hand with the legends and all, but is an extra layer that isn't put on enough! PotC and OFMD have some song, and BS as already mentioned is pretty heavy on storytelling both diegetically and as a main theme. I just want more.

Second, I'd love to see a wider variety of genres. We're spoiled for pirate action/adventure, fantasy, romance/erotica, and coming of age. I want to see some scifi that isn't just pirates In Space (not that I have anything against pirates In Space or think it's not scifi Enough, but we're not starving for it). Pirate slasher. Pirate slice of life. Pirate whodunit. Pirate time travel. Pirate psychological thriller. Pirate disaster/post-apocalypse. Pirate slipstream/surrealism. Pirate heist!! Pirate procedural? somehow?? You get it.

I think I've talked enough now wkgoiuwksk.

[kustas]

Do you have reccs for "ugly" art (manga, comics, movie, etc.)? Thanks for the Tekkon recs btw I really liked it

That really depends on your own personal media landscape and what your definition of "ugly" is! As a random example, I've seen many people call ONE's art ugly because of the wobbly linework when I think it's lovely. Ugly could also mean something a bit shocking/crass in its themes. Etc, etc... I'm going to go with the definition of "something that's a bit jarring to look at or go through" here :)

Disclaimer: a lot of these tackle sensitive topics, sometimes for fun and not always tastefully. If there's themes you really can't handle in media, do your research before looking into them.

Manga

I keep recommending yes because it rules but Dorohedoro and its scratchy messy art and gore galore. talking about the manga exclusively here the anime is too polished for my taste

God's Child (Kami no Kodomo): tbh this one is for the art only I hated the writing. very gruesome & unique looking short story

I hesitate to recommend this one because it's edgy as hell but I shan't lie I had a lot of fun with Hellsing. it's "bad" in the same areas as something like berserk but unlike that one it does not take itself seriously

if you liked Tekkon i strongly suggest trying out more stuff by its author (saying this with immense biais). the most ugly/messy thing i've read of his, which isn't a lot because i find his work very delicate, is No. 5 which i would less describe as "good" than "very compelling to me". i also recommend this wonderful essay tearing it down

Comics (non JP)

FLEEP: a short story about a man who wakes up in a phone cabin seemingly encased in concrete. one of the comics i always recommend for its length and storytelling. (link leads to the artist's website where you can read it for free!)

The Astonishing Exploits Of Lucien Brindavoine: a young artist gets drafted in the first world war and goes through a series of almost supernatural adventures. beyond the adventure book aspect, a harsh criticism of nationalism/patriotism that's still awfully relevant

Animation

Ruben Brandt: Collector: a psychiatrist suffers from strange art related nightmares ruining his life. his clients, a bunch of high profile criminals, decide to help him fight off his demons by organizing one long vacation where they steal every painting involved. extremely unique visually, a fun heist movie with thriller elements.

Junk Head: goofy post apocalyptic movie about a man on a quest to save, who keeps losing sight his goal because cartoony violence episodes have his head tumble into new lows, literally. this is, perhaps, one of my favorite animated films ever, it's earnest and fun and lovingly crafted. very unique of a watch

The Apostle: freshly escaped from prison, a thief is on a mission to find treasure hidden by his old cellmate, and finds himself stuck in an ancient village who's strange looking elderly inhabitants are way too insistent on his stay. classic spooky folktale with its millennial curses and foreboding warnings, it's also a nice peek into the culture of Galicia and old world medieval weirdass catholicism. you can buy a DVD on their website

MKFZ: dumb as hell high adrenaline animated B movie with excellent animation. there's a plot about alien living undercover in fantasy california but you don't watch this kind of film for the plot. fair warning this is adapted from a french comic so of course, it's crass and racist

Blow to the Head - Lightning bolt: awesome music video (YT link)(warning for flashing/strobing lights if you're sensitive to that!)

Canon Fodder: from the Memories omnibus film. little slice of the life of a fantasy war obsessed industrial nation

with its new movie on the horizon, it's a great time to get into Mononoke, despite traditionally pretty visuals its got a unique style and gets pretty offputting

Live action cinema

7:35 in the morning: short film about the fear in improvised musical numbers where you don't expect any. it's on youtube in bad quality

The Draughtsman's Contract: an artist is hired by a Lady to draw several vistas of her house, in exchange for money, good drawing condition, and the Lady. follows a good hour of cunts in powdery wigs being awful to each other for their own gain. if you're into dark humor it's a good test, otherwise it has a really satisfying murder mystery to follow too.

Three Kings: during the gulf war, a group of US soldiers decide to steal Hussein's gold for themselves under the mighty standard of kuwait's loot repatriation. extremely caustic take on good ol murican international politics. i was shocked at how far it goes and it's express, low budget treatment which i did not expect from a hollywood film. the movie tires itself fast and becomes less good in its second half but the it's opening acts are interesting

Delicatessen: a sliver of humanity survives in an old timey stone building in the middle of nothingness on top of a functional butcher's shop. gossip follows the arrival of a new roommate. how does one even maintain a butchery in a no man's land? weird film with a unique(ly goofy) take on the post apocalyptic genre

Other

For traditional artists, I like the works of Beksinski (<3), Schiele, Giger. For modern artists Oleg Vdovenko (heavy gore warning for that one), Jeff Simpson

I'm less a fan of the MV and live performances they got infamous for than their music proper but I really like the band Cardiacs, who's judged by many of my friends to be extremely hard to get into lol.

[williamaltman]

Life is Strange 2 thoughts/feelings/review

So, Life is Strange 2. I finished the game yesterday and watched the other endings today. Things are not as fresh in my mind as if I had just finished and I talked a bit about it in other places so this feels a bit hard, but I'll try to lay down all my thoughts...

First of all... All my homies love LIS2, fuck you if you don't like LIS2! Seriously though, for years I've seen people say that the game wasn't good, that the characters weren't as good as the ones from the first one, that the Sean/Daniel relationship wasn't that interesting... I kinda did suspect it was just nostalgia goggles or whatever, but now I know for sure. I don't think there's anything wrong with connecting more with LIS1 and having a deeper relationship with it, but in this case I think you shouldn't even be comparing them and expecting the game to live up to that to you in the first place.

Now, onto the actual game. God, this was so fucking heartbreaking. I think I cried in every single episode. The very core premise of the story is just so sad, so unfair, and despite the powers so rooted in reality that it left me legit feeling uncomfortable with how fucked up their whole situation was. There are good moments, sure, but honestly every single thing that happens from the moment their dad is shot is just... Not how their life should've had to be.

Sure, LIS1 and BTS had dark themes too. But here, it's like, they lose everything from the beginning. Sean doesn't get to go to his party, to hang out with Lyla, to continue his normal life in any way. Daniel loses a part of his childhood. They're both forced to grow up so much faster than they should. There's a line Sean says in episode 3, and it's just a little idle VO, but it fucking crushed me, "Stop overthinking. You're not a teenager anymore". Even though he's fucking 16... He's 16 and he has to essentially become a parent. I knew what the game was about and lowkey followed it a bit when it was releasing, knew a few spoilers, but that didn't make anything any less heartbreaking.

I thought it was beautiful how the game took the opportunity to showcase and celebrate alternate lifestyles. The "family", Away, their freedom and how they interacted with society brings so much into perspective. I'm still a bit conflicted about Karen tbh, but I'm glad that at least they did show something beautiful through her story.

My biggest problem overall is probably how they handled the Finn romance route... I knew back when the game was releasing that despite adding a male LI, they pushed the female one more onto you and gave her more content, while locking the option to kiss him with a "bad choice" (I didn't know what exactly it was). And yeah, that is still true. I still think it was a mistake to lock the kiss with accepting the heist, and while I kinda understand the writer's explanation for that, I still think it could've been handled in another way, or they could've just let him kiss you and "betray" you by doing the heist anyway, since he still does that when you're friends lol.

I see people complaining that because they moved from place to place each episode, there wasn't enough time to connect with the characters... Idk if I'd say I disagree, but it just wasn't really the case for me. I was very invested in all the relationships, in Finn, Cassidy, Jacob, Chris, Karen. Everyone at the farm was cool and everyone in Away too. Lyla. You get so many tidbits about the characters even when they're not there on screen. The only thing I have to say which is kinda related to that, is that I think the time jumps were maybe a bit too big, and that the way they handled Mushroom was... weird.

I got the Parting Ways ending, and I'm satisfied with it. I kinda planned to get it, but only in the sense that I was spoiled that you get with Finn there. I didn't know that the whole morality thing had anything to do with it, and I played the first two episodes without even knowing that there was a points system about that and about brotherhood. I just made all the choices that were high morality (besides killing the cougar and the heist) because it was what I would do, and tried to be a good brother for Daniel. I figured that choosing to cross the border would most likely give me that one, but I just couldn't accept Sean having to go to prison for 15 years for something he didn't even do. If we were able to choose between Parting Ways and Blood Brothers, then I would actually be conflicted about which I wanted.

With the way the game's system works though, where you need to have low morality to get Blood Brothers, I couldn't really do it. I can't imagine myself teaching Daniel to be selfish and not care about killing people. I actually think it's super cool to watch Daniel use his power offensively and fuck shit up, but it just wouldn't be my version of the story. It's funny because, if we just played as Daniel, I wouldn't mind going that route. But since we play as Sean, with it being our job to raise Daniel, I feel a different kind of responsability towards leading him to become a good person. I also think it's beautiful that he gets to have the rest of his childhood, teenagehood, and live a "normal" healthy life with his grandparents. He does it in the redemption one too, but as I said, that just screws up Sean too much.

So, I'm a little disappointed that they're separated (and maybe can't ever see each other again? I'm a bit confused about Daniel's situation and whether he could visit), and that it's a bit shorter than the others (at least than the redemption one), but it IS the ending my playthrough led to and in that I'm satisfied.

I think this story is just incredible. It touched me so much, and the fact that some people can't see it genuinely frustrates me. The people complaining it's too political in particular can just go fuck themselves. It might not be perfect, but like with all things I appreciate, I'm just so glad it exists.

[littlespacereader]

Hello again!!

❗Tw: mention of diapers & accidents❗

I also have to wear diapers for medical reasons (stool incontinent bc of a birth defect) and I too view Nappies as a comfort item in my regression!

I think it's really cool of you to help others bring comfort to wearing diapers and "embarrassing" situations like accidents.

As someone who has to deal with accidents at least twice a week, that really means a lot!

So, I would love a story where a little one has an accident, in a public place/ event and their cg makes an "escape plan", like in an action movie, that helps the little one to feel less ashamed. Saying things like: "Okay, we have to secure the diaper bag, before entering the restroom, is sergeant Teddie equipped for the heist?" They make a game out of it, showing the little one that even in uncomfortable or embarrassing situations, one can have fun.

I'd also really like a scene of comfort, where the little one feels bad for "being yucky" and their cg assuring them that they are not. (It's something I struggle with a lot bc of my condition)

It's up to you to decide what kind of accident you decide the little one to have, whatever you're comfortable with! (I know many ppl find "No. 2 accidents" really triggering, so I completely understand if you don't want to write about that)

Feel free to use any of the pairings I listed in this ask of mine!

Ps. I forgot to mention that I'm uncomfortable with the terms M*mmy and D*ddy in the other ask, so I'm putting it here!

Thanks for reading, have a great day/ night!

For starters let me say how near and dear this request is to my heart. I can relate whole heartily to this. As someone who also uses diapers both as a medical necessity and as a comfort item to my regression this request hits home. So this ask really warms my heart. Thank you for being so open with this request @dino-boyo-agere 💞

It’s extremely embarrassing difficult having an accident in public. Age Regression isn’t a widely known thing and the fear of someone taking it for something like a kink is common. Plenty of insecurity and disgust runs through us when accident happen. Why I’m so adamant about writing these scenarios is to shed a light to those who don’t know and more importantly to show Littles alike that it’s okay. You’re regression is your own. Wearing diapers or not doesn’t make you more or less of a Regressor. Wearing and using diapers is okay! You’re perfectly valid and I’m here for you as a fellow Little who wear diapers herself. Accident happen but it doesn’t make you gross. You’re a beautiful Regressor, padded or not💞💞💞

With that little affirmation of love to my fellow padded Regressors please enjoy this fic💞

Thank you for this brilliant idea and for all the different pairings. I decided to go with Caregiver! Dean Winchester & Little! Sam Winchester! But I love the idea of a Caregiver being an older brother to their little brother Little so this immediately struck my heart!

I will be doing this fic as a number 2 accident which will be implied and not detailed in anyway in this story. I understand that it makes some uncomfortable so I understand if this fic is not for you. While it will be sfw in my eyes I can understand why it wouldn’t for others so hence there is no sfw tag added. With that I hope enjoy this fic!!💞

The Undercover Mission at the Fair

Caregiver! Dean Winchester & Little! Sam Winchester

Tags: diapers, accident, pacifier, stuffed animal moose

Nicknames: Sammy, buddy, kiddo, little one,

Sam and Dean arrived to a small town in Idaho hearing stories of a ghost killing those who walked home at night. Seemed simple enough for the brothers. But upon arriving, it was getting hard for Sam to keep a clear head and not regress.

Since arriving there were posters everywhere for the county fair. They had never been to a fair before! And this one was going to have rides, carnival games and as much junk food as a Little could want! The pictures looked so exciting!

The posters were in the police station, the hotel, the diner, EVERYWHERE! Sam, despite his best efforts was finding it difficult not to regress immediately. How could he resist?! It looked like so much fun!! And hey, maybe he took a poster on the way out of the police station to show Dean later…just maybe…

Regression was something Sam kept hidden from everyone for years. I mean how could he possibly tell someone like his father that he needed to regress every now and then.

No, never. He kept it to himself… College had been a God sent to Sam. There he was able to regress whenever he felt like it. He had stuffies, toys, diapers and even a pacifier all for himself. It was heaven on earth.

That was until Dean showed up on his dorms door step saying Dad was missing. Going back to his old hunter lifestyle and not regressing was a horrible combo. Shared motel rooms with Dean meant no privacy, which lead to disaster.

A nightmare in the middle of the night caused Sam to not only regress but wet the bed as well. But Dean was right there by his side to help him through it all. He didn’t question anything at all, not the diapers in his bag, not the stuffed moose he clung to and certainly not the pacifier he immediately gave Sam.

No, Dean stepped up like he had Sam’s whole life. He comforted him and helped him back to sleep eventually. After that day Dean became Sam’s Caregiver, making sure his little brother was always safe and comfortable when he regressed.

Fast forward to the present, in privacy of their hotel room Sam started to regress. The case dragged on today. Between talking to the police, to research at the local library, to interviewing victims families, Sam needed a break.

He grabbed his moose stuffie, got changed into a diaper and sat on the bed with his pacifier while watching tv. Suddenly an ad for the fair popped on and reminded him!

“Dean!” Sam said, pacifier dropping from his mouth as he rushed over to his suit jacket to grab the poster from his pocket.

“Yeah Sammy?” Dean was just walking out of the bathroom when Sam thrusted the poster into Dean’s hands.

“They’re having a fair here this weekend! See!” He pointed to the poster.

“Yeah I saw these posters around the town. What about it?”

Sam paused, “We have to go! When will we ever get this opportunity again?”

Dean smiled. As much as brother tried to keep his regression in the downlow this whole case, his careful Caregiver eyes spotted it right away. So it was no shocker to Dean when Sam brought him this carnival poster and asked if they could go.

“Sammy we’re in the middle of a case.” Dean tried to reason.

But Sam crossed his arms, “You’re the one who always says it can’t always be about hunts and that we need to take time for ourselves. Well this is time for ourselves!”

As much as Dean hated to admit it, Sam was right. He hasn’t regressed in a while which wasn’t health for him and Dean hasn’t had a break away from a hunt in a while. Maybe this fair was meant to be for them.

“You make a good point buddy,” Dean sat down on the motel bed and patted the spot next to him for Sam.

Despite being taller than his brother, Sam sat down and leaned forward to rest his head on his brother’s shoulder.

“So…can we go?” Sam asked again, giving his best puppy dog eyes.

Dean laughed, “Alright we can go.”

Before Dean could continue what he was saying Sam immediately jumped from the bed and was practically jumping around the room.

“Yes!!! Fair!!! Thank you thank you thank you Dean!! We’re gonna have so much fun!”

Dean smiled seeing Sammy’s excitement. He was going to add that they would go after the case was finished but he didn’t have the heart. Plus this case seemed to wrapping up soon anyway, why ruin the fun?

County fairs weren’t really something Dean and Sam got to experience when they were kids. Sure, there were plenty of times they arrived at a town with the fair happening. But John was so focused on whatever hunt he was on that by the time he had dealt with it, the fair had packed up leaving two disappointing Winchesters.

It’s no wonder Sam regresses with their interesting childhood… But Dean never minded Sam’s regression. Infact he encouraged Sam to regress when he was particularly stressed. Sam’s regression did as much healing for Dean as it did for Sam.

So, after a couple of days of dealing with this nighttime ghost, they arrived at the county fair. It was everything Sam had always dreamed it could be! They had tons of snacks! Crazy rides! And amazing prizes to be won! He didn’t know where to go first?!

Dean could see the wonder in Sam’s eyes. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Where first Sammy? You lead the way.”

Where first indeed.

Dean followed Sam’s lead, walking behind the tall little with his backpack on. Inside was everything he would need as a Caregiver. Sam’s stuffed moose, extra change of clothes, diapers and supplies and his pacifier. He prided himself on being prepared for anything both as a hunter and as a Caregiver.

Sam insisted they start off with rides! The first one spun around so fast that they couldn’t even stand up. Sam was giggling the whole time but looking over at Dean showed he was not having a great time.

After that the two made their way to the “haunted house.” It was honestly laughable going through the haunted house with what the both of them face on the daily. But it didn’t stop Sam was grabbing Dean’s hand as they made their way through the house.

Despite towering over his big brother, he always felt safer when Dean was holding his hand and leading the way.

They hopped ride after ride after ride, and in between eating some junky snacks and candy the fair had to offer. Finally after a little while Dean made the executive decision to grab something sustainable to eat and sit down for a moment.

They found a nice table to themselves and set their belongings down. Sam needed a bit of a break after the constant running around they did his morning. So a nice shaded table was perfect. Plus he wasn’t used to eating so much junk, so getting something a little bit healthier would be better for the two of them.

“Alright Sammy, I’ll grab us something to eat. You stay here and relax a bit. Okay? Don’t leave this table.”

Sam just nodded, focused on a clown that had walked past a couple of minutes ago. His stomach twinged a bit in pain. “D-Dean…”

Dean stopped a step away from the table. He turned around, “Yeah?”

“I think I’ll come with you instead.” He grabbed Dean’s backpack and jumped up to join him. The sudden movement caused his stomach to hurt again.

Dean looked in the direction Sam was just looking in. Something definitely spooked him since he went from his usual regressed happiness to anxious. Maybe it was that clown that’s been walking around? He took in the sight of his brother, one hand holding his stomach, the other gripping his backpack.

“Sammy, are you feeling okay?” Dean wasn’t sure if it was scared and holding himself or in pain.

“Yeah…yeah I’m fine.” Sam handed Dean his backpack back and followed his lead through the rows of food stands.

But his stomach hadn’t forgotten about him just yet. Another stabbing pain had him stopping in his tracks, holding his stomach and wincing. Maybe he could ask Dean for some medicine or to take him to the bathroom.

But when he looked up Dean was gone. Sam’s face went white as the ghost they just killed.

“Dean?” He looked around, “DEAN?!” He yelled. He was right next to him one second ago?! And now his tummy hurt and all he wanted was his brother, his caregiver, to make it all better.

Worst of all they were in public. He couldn’t have an accident with all these people around them?! There were crowds of people, or what felt like crowds, walking around him. He felt as though everyone’s eyes were on him, as if they all knew.

It was all so overwhelming. Tears started to sting the corner of his eyes as he wrapped both arms around his sore stomach.

“Sammy!”

Immediately Sam lifted his head and looked in the direction of Dean’s voice. There, only a couple feet away was Dean. Immediately Sam walked over and wrapped Dean into a hug, starting to crying into his shoulder.

Dean had only walked a few feet when he realized Sam was no longer behind him. He looked around for the tall Little but was blocked by a group of people. Once he made it away from them he could see Sam. He looked on the verge of a breakdown with his arms holding his stomach tightly and his head swiveling around to find Dean.

“It’s alright Sammy I’m here, I’m here buddy,” he rubbed Sam’s back soothingly.

When Sam all but launched himself into Dean’s arms, the Caregiver had a pretty good idea of what happened while the two were away. He sighed. He should’ve kept a closer eye on him, especially when he knew something was wrong. Especially when they haven’t been eating the healthiest today.

But now was not the time to regret anything. Right now he had to get him somewhere discreet enough to get changed. But he knew Sam would rather curl up into a ball than to start walking towards the bathrooms.

He needed to get Sam changed and he didn’t want him to be more embarrassed than he already was….a challenge indeed. But this is Dean we’re talking about, he always knows how to take good care of his little brother. That’s when an idea popped into his head.

Once Sam seemed to settle from crying Dean pulled away and wiped his tears away, “Its okay Sammy, it’s okay. I’m so sorry I lost you there for a second. Truth is…I was checking to see if we were being spied on.”

That started to peak Sam interest away from the accident or almost losing Dean. “Spied on?”

“That’s right Sammy. The intel I got this morning said that we might be spied on while at the fair here. Apparently they only send their top agents on a mission such as this one, which is why we were assigned to this job. Now Agent S, before we make our way to our mission’s checkpoint do we have the equipment we need?”

Sam started to get into the little game Dean was playing. A small smile started to appear on his face seeing Dean become over dramatic with their “secret mission”. He started to worry less about the accident and more about their game. “What equipment do we need?”

“Well we first need my backpack but I can’t find it anywhere! Have you seen it? Where could it have gone to?!” Dean said turning around to look for it when it was strapped to his back the entire time. Sam started giggling.

Dean turned around overly dramatic again, “Is something funny Agent S?”

“You’re wearing the backpack Agent D!”

“I’m- OH! Of course I am! There it is! Great job Agent S!” Dean praised, ruffling Sam’s hair a bit. “Now with our first item secured we only need one more thing before we make our way to the checkpoint, and that’s Agent M.”

Sam looked confused, “Agent M? Who’s Agent M?”

Dean opened the backpack and picked up Sam’s moose stuffed animal. “Agent M of course!”

Sam’s face started to blush a little. He didn’t normally walk around with Moosy in public. But he desperately wanted him right now.

Thankfully Dean had a quickly solution for that problem too, “But Agent M is really really undercover, so if anyone asks you where you got him, say you won him in a carnival game. That way we don’t blow his cover.” Dean winked.

It was the perfect excuse. There were plenty of people walking around with stuffed animals in hand from carnival games. He would fit in just fine with his moose. So with that Sam took his moose stuffie. He had to admit, having him close really started to help.

“Alright Agent S, Agent M, let’s go to the mission checkpoint,” Dean took Sam hand in his as they walked through the crowds to find a restroom.

Sam, despite being taller than Dean, stayed hidden behind him with every step they took. Anytime anyone walked even a little too close to the two of them Sam ducked his head near Dean.

Thankfully there was a restroom nearby. Dean smiled and squeezed Sam’s hand in his. “There we go Agent S! There’s our mission checkpoint. We made it! Are you and Agent M doing okay?”

But Dean could see despite their fun little game waking to the restroom, the toll of the accident was weighing heavily on Sam with every step he took.

He stopped and looked up at Dean fighting tears that threatened to spill, “It’s okay Dean. I can go in and get changed myself. I don’t want you to have to deal with this…with….a number 2.”

Sam went to grab the backpack from Dean’s shoulder but he immediately stopped him. “Wow wow wow, that is not happening. Do you think I wanted to be your Caregiver so I could do half the job and call it a day?”

Sam looked away. Tears started to roll down his eyes as he whispered, “You shouldn’t have to deal with this Dean. It’s gross, I’m gross.” At the admission, Sam started to cry a bit.

But Dean quietly swooped in. He pulled him in and held him in a tight hug for a moment. After he wiped the tears away, “Don’t you dare say that about yourself. You are not gross at all! It’s normal for little ones to have accident and you’re no different. I don’t have to deal with this, I want to Sammy. I’ve always been here for you and I’m not stopping now.”

He held his hand out for Sam to take again. “We have a mission to complete Agent. Not a solo mission, but a co-op mission. I can’t do it without you Agent S.”

Sam looked at Dean sincerely. He truly meant every word. Despite everything he never saw him differently, he still saw him as his little brother. So with a little hesitancy Sam took Dean’s hand in his own.

“After this I say we give you a little bit of medicine, rest a little whole and then take on a few carnival games. What do you think?”

Sam just nodded, still repeating what Dean had said to him in his head. After a moment he spoke again.

“I’m not gross?” Sam asked softly.

“Nope, never.” Dean replied, as they started walking into the bathroom. “The only way you would be gross is if you started saying Smart cars were cooler than Baby.”

Sam smiled. “What?! Why would I think Smart cars were cooler than the Impala?”

“I don’t know. But if you started saying that it was cooler than the Impala, well I’d have to disown you and call you gross.” Dean playfully shrugged.

Sam laughed. “I don’t think I can fit in a Smart car.”

Dean laughed as well. “I don’t think you can either.”

The two laughed as the entered the bathroom. After a quick changed followed by a bit of comfort, the accident was long and forgotten. The day went on uninterrupted after that with Dean winning Sam prizes at the fair and the two ending the night watching the fireworks display.

The fair had been everything they always dreamed it would be.

[reyreadersblog]

TIME FOR AUGUST READING WRAP UP (PART 1.)

Well summer ended like a week ago, so here is all the books i've read and my reviews of them.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Never lie was the first book i read at the start of August and it was very easy quick and twisty read. Finshed it in a day, the dual POV was really fun and it added more tension to it.

However the plot twist was very unexpected, and that's not the reason i disliked it, the reason is that it didn't really make sense. I mean her whole monologue was lie...

Overall i did like the book, i'd say if you want something fast paced read it, but it was kind of a dissapointment tbh.

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was so good! (Gave me major tig vibes)

I love any book that involves a kind of treasure hunt, and this book had added stakes with an inheritance hidden somewhere in the town. It was entertaining and very dramatic, although I wouldn't necessarily say that it was suspenseful, because it felt very over the top at lot of the time, so I wasn't exactly concerned with the characters' safety, if that makes sense. However, it is fast-paced and twisty, and I was excited to find out what was going to happen in the end. It had found family trope which i ADORE! It was so cute and fun to read about the team and what they went through in order to get the treasure. I also loved how many LGBTQ+ character were in the book.

The grieving part was done very realisticly, as someone who is going through grief rn, i fully realate to Lily.

This book was an example of how someone can take an inspiration from another author's work without fully coping them...*cough* Lauren Roberts *cough*

Raiting: ⭐

I love you Lynn Painter BUT WHAT WAS THIS😭😭😭

The main character was unlikable and obnoxious. She was not like other girls, she was just ✨quirky✨ and ✨different���

The mmc was SUPERRR boring, liks his character revolved around being hot and rich, literally nothing more.

What did i like about this book? NOTHING.

Raiting:⭐.5

I can't tell you one thing that i liked about this book, tbh i read it because someone said it was about a heist and a game...and i'm all for that (the hunger games habit i can't get rid off😔) but oh well...it was not good.

More telling, less showing. The fmc always talked nonsense, i couldn't understand half of what she was saying.

I get that romance wasn't the main focus but it was...so dry, so boring...it felt like she saw someone with the same skin colour as her and ✨immediatly fell in love✨ and i'm not saying any hate or something, i'm a poc but it was done so poorly and unrealisticly.

Uhmm the plotholes???

The characters were just too insufferable for my liking.

I didn't feel connected to any of them.

The authour kepr describing every single detail like it depended on her dear life.

I wanted to dnf so bad but for some reason i kept believing it would get better...it did not.

THE ENDING WAS SO DRY?

Raiting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The book was very disturbing but so so good!

Long story short it's about Ellery and Ezra are the Corocan twins, siblings that live every day hoping that their addict single mom Sadie Corocan comes home every night.

Usually she does.

But one night, Sadie crashes into a jewelry store while drunk and high. She's sent to rehab while the twins are sent to live with their maternal grandmother in the sleepy town of Echo Ridge

What love about Karen MCmanus' books is her writing. It's really interesting to read a mystery/thriller book with dual POV because occasionaly author drops clues and hints in each of their chapters.

very honestly speaking, this book was a thousand times better than One of Us is Lying. i was even one of the ones who really liked One of Us is Lying, and Two Can Keep a Secret was LEAGUES better.

one of the main things that really set Two Can Keep a Secret apart was the characters.

I loved the characters. I loved how cracked and broken they were. How they didn’t come from perfect families. How they made many, many mistakes. How they grieved for those they lost, but they also let it fuel their desire to find the killer. How they overcome their pasts.

This book has 2 plot twists, and the first one...did surprise me, i expected something better tho. THE SECOND ONE??? THE ENDING? Had me GAGGED and literally almost threw up.

Let me tell you.

The last line.

THE LAST FUCKING LINE.

*spoilers*

✨i thought she was your mother✨.

This woman dropped the most disturbing line in the book history and thought it was fine.

Overall, totally recommend🙏🏻👭

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐.5

I did like this one more than some of the others, but let's talk about its big turn-off: Brynn and Tripp. I love when a mystery book has romance subolot, tbh i can't read a book that has 0 romance in it, but it's kind of annoying when you can feel the author is forcing two characters towards each other.

Brynn and Tripp have no chemistry at all. One of them was in love with the other, then Brynn leaves town for five years and when she comes back they try to resolve this mystery in their life. One of them declares itself to the other, and the other thinks its look has improved with time. They kiss and then they live happily ever after.

What's the point, exactly? Why should they be together when they’re clearly better as friends? What’s supposed to happen now, they’ll have three fantastic months and then break up before college?

It was entertining but the "plot twist" was not it. Like what was the point? If you gave the book "that" kind of ending, what is the point?

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

IDC THIS BOOK TRILLOGY WAS ABSOLUTE 6 STAR READ. (Go read it! Now!)

"Ash Princess is a trope-filled book with a very common story line. Theodosia, or Theo, was six years old when she witnessed her mother's (the queen) brutal murder and had her country conquered from her. In her country there are magical caves that run underneath the temples. For fire, air, earth and water. These are very sacred and only those who have proved themselves to the gods completely can go and get the magical gems. Now, Theo's people are forced to work as slaves in these mines and dig up the magical stones.

For ten years she has been living under the Kaiser and his brutal rule, living quietly and trying to please him to survive. All of that ends when she's forced to kill someone and her childhood friend comes and offers her an escape and make things right for their people. She's filled with hate and determination to take back her kingdom and avenge her mother and people."

The fmc in this book, Theodosia has become one of my favourite fmc! An example of fmc that doesn't need to be a bloodthirsty monster from the beggining to be considered as strong, mindful and brave.

CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!

Even tho it's YA there are some serious and heavy topics in this book so be aware of that!

THERE IS A FOUND FAMILY TROPE!

There is such cute and heart warming found family trope..*cough* with traumatised kids *cough*

I loved literally every character! (Well except for a few...)

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATON OMGG!!!

The ROMANCE!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

One of the main reasons i loved this book,

Oh no, my guys, this has a LOVE TRIANGLE!!! [cue the groans of every person on the planet] LISTEN, I know y'all hate love triangles and I DO TOO!! but this one is somehow bearable, even though it annoyed me a lot. It's like one of "those" love triangles where it's obvious who MMC is. Theo has feelings for the Prinz and her childhood friend, some dude, whose name I forgot, because I DON'T FUCKING SHIP THEM. He's a really good guy, but Prinz Soren and Theo all the way, bitch. Like, they're both good boys, but idk something about the Prinz, man. HE IS BLONDE TOO!! It's a slow burn + forbidden romance.

Overall, I LOVED THE BOOKS, IT'S ONE OF MY FAV READS OF THE YEAR, and if you like high fantasy with great world building + found family + strong character + lgbtq characters + feminism elements GO READ IT ASAP.

Well this is part one! Also not proof read so please don't mind the mistakes🙏🏻

[himboskywalker]

Thank you so much for these many recommendations, i will definitely read some of them. I finally ordered lord of the rings, always wanted to do it but I finally did it.

I would love a separate rec list of less new books and overall classics. If you have the time of course. I always have a hard time finding new books for myself or to gift to other people.

Sure! And I'm ecstatic to hear you bought lotr! Another one to be welcomed into my fold! This list is decidedly less organized, but here's a list of more classic/ older works I always recommend or gift to people.

Anything written by our beloved Neil Gaiman. He's most well known, especially in this sphere, for "Good Omens" cowritten by Terry Pratchett, and rightfully so. If you've never read anything by either author, it is absolutely worth the hype, and even if you've watched the tv show, it is so incredibly funny and wonderful. "American Gods" is also phenomenal and very well known from its tv show now, but my personal favorite of Gaiman's is "Anansi Boys." No one does urban fantasy like him, and his works will always be the gold standard for me for this genre.

The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. There's 41 books in the series so it's a mighty undertaking, I myself haven't gotten through all of them yet, I think I have about ten books left. They are so wonderfully funny and philosophical and witty. I don't recommend reading the books in the order Pratchett wrote them, rather there are collections in the series you'll want to read in order. The Death collection and City Watch books are my favorites but there are many more than that you may like better.

"The Princess Bride" by William Goldman. This is one of my favorite books of all time and while the movie certainly gets the vibe, it's a whole different animal. It's just so incredibly funny and fun and smartly written, and I've given it to many family and friends for Christmas and birthday presents.

"The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch. This is commonly regarded as a fantasy genre must and I often vehemently disagree with what's considered a "classic" but I have to side with the powers that be in the lit community on this one. It's just damn well written and character driven in the exact kind of way I love in stories. If you start reading it and think "oh look morally gray thief characters doing a heist" just remember, Lynch published it in '06 and pretty much wrote the template for everyone who has copied him since.

Anything by Ursula Le Guin although I read the "Earthsea" series first and would recommend starting there as well. She just really is that bitch, it doesn't get better written or more observant of life than her. Outside of Tolkien I don't know if there's anyone I admire more as an author than Le Guin. Her prose are not only stunningly gorgeous, but line after line after line hits like a sucker punch to the side of the head for how she makes you see life and yourself in new ways. “Only in silence the word, only in dark the light, only in dying life: bright the hawk's flight on the empty sky.”

The Redwall series by Brian Jacques! I love them so dearly, they're fun and beautifully written and full of adventuring that only forest animals with swords are capable of. I do recommend reading them in order, or at least the original "Redwall" before you dive into the rest of the series, but "Taggerung" is my favorite.

This is a more divisive rec nowadays but Kurt Vonnegut. If you read "Slaughterhouse Five" in school and hated it I don't blame you, it's not my favorite of his and not what I urge people to look to if they want to fall in love with him like I did when I was a teenager. My favorite Vonnegut is "Sirens of Titan" and "Breakfast of Champions." Do look at content warnings for "Sirens of Titan" and I've seen a lot of vitriolic reviews of the book in recent years by younger readers, but I absolutely think it's worth the read and the shining glorious example of what I mean when I say protagonists aren't meant to be liked or morally right.

And speaking of squicky divisive recs! May I tell you about our lord and savior of "oh god I don't know if I can get through this" Margaret Atwood? Most people know her for "Handmaid's Tale" but I first read "Oryx and Crake." Seriously, read the content warnings, but Atwood is known for writing the best of speculative sci-fi for a reason.

Anything by Octavia Butler. My intro to her was through "Bloodchild" which I highly recommend, and I think is the perfect introduction to her brand of unnerving brilliance. She is most well known for "Kindred" and rightfully so.

"Perfume" The Story of a Murderer" by Patrick Suskind. It's weird, by god it's weird, and it's one of my absolute favorite "classic lit" novels. In 18th century France a weird little freak of a guy with a super sense of smell winds up murdering a bunch of people to make perfume. It's fantastic and the quintessential, I will not morally justify this, but boy am I enjoying reading about this little creep.

"Trainspotting" by Irvine Welsh. I also love "Filth" and "Porno" by him. I think Welsh is brilliant at characterization, especially when most of his characters are morally bankrupt and terrible. But what he does best is make you feel for these characters who have often put themselves in these terrible positions. They're just people, and life is shitty, and I don't think anyone writes that better than Welsh.

"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. O'Brien made a career of writing fictionalized recounts of his time in Vietnam. I love everything he's written, he is one of my favorite modern lit authors, but "The Things They Carried" is his best known work and what I first read of his. It's brilliant and beautiful and sad, and it was the first time I ever had to put a book down and read in chunks because it affected me so emotionally.

Cormac McCarthy, any and everything he has ever written. He's best known for "The Road" of course, and it's certainly worth the read but "Blood Meridian" is my absolute favorite of his. His stuff is brutal and wry and full of the dry irony that only the bleakness of reality offers, and by god is it well written.

And finally I'll leave you with a single nonfiction recommendation. I try to keep those minimal when I know that's not usually what people are looking for when they ask for reading recs. But since I'm giving a list of books I have often gifted, I can't NOT include this one. "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. I read this at 18 and it had a profound impact on how I think and view life. Any time someone I love has gone through a difficult time I've bought them their own copy.“For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth - that Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.”

[leonawriter]

Kaitou Kid

(I'm gonna just go with Kuroba Kaito rather than Kid as a composite character or whatever)

First impression

You know, I'm not sure? It's so long ago now. But I probably got caught up in the cool factor of "class clown plus Phantom Thief."

Impression now

Still one of the coolest and most amazing characters Gosho ever created. Needs more friends. Needs a hug. I think I'm less taken in by the "silly guy" impression that he wants people to have of him, but that just means I'm leaning harder on the "oh, oh no, he needs help, several more assistants, real friends, and a sense of safety."

Favorite moment

The first that came to mind was actually the "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN" and grin from the Midair Walk.

Also high on the list are: the moment he shoots out the windows of a building in, I think it's Private Eye's Requiem? As well as two less bombastic moments, with the Dove Scene at the end of that one movie (Lost Ship in the Sky, I think) and... spelling out Happy Birthday Aoko at the end of Blue Birthday.

Idea for a story

For all that I've got a lot of dramatic ideas up in my head, and I have the "Hakuba saves him from a collapsing burning building" one that I posted about a while back still in my head, I'm gonna go with...

A story that covers Kaito's own birthday. Maybe he's been having a bad few days, and someone has sent out a challenge for Kid (maybe Jiroikichi, maybe not) that coincidentally happens on the same day that he can't get out of, and he expects to just have the worst birthday since years back, but... instead, the heist is weirdly quiet and when he gets home there's a small party that's been waiting patiently for him to get back from "whatever" he's been doing - Aoko's made a cake, Akako seems strangely tired, Keiko's there with some of their classmates, and... Hakuba's finishing up a call with Nakamori to say he can deal with whatever's left another time.

Kaito realising these weirdos are his friends.

Unpopular opinion

Huh, I don't know? Being a cousins truther feels like low hanging fruit.

Perhaps that Kaito doesn't actually have anything against wearing black himself, as long as it's a) civilian clothes, or b) part of a trick to misdirect. I've seen the headcanon around that he won't wear it, but I think that expecting the bad guys to wear black more of a Conan thing?

Favorite relationship

His dynamic with Hakuba is the number one in my head right now, with Aoko is currently slightly under that.

It's compelling. Detective and Thief? Of course I'm interested. Add to that, the fact that Hakuba comes to his own conclusions about Kaito that don't align with following the law? When he's a detective? I'd love to get inside Hakuba's head. I'd love to see what got him from "I'm going to handcuff him" to "I'll call him from France and tell him how to succeed in his very illegal heist."

It's Hakuba being logic-driven and the idea of "what would happen if something pushed him to make an irrational, illogical decision in the heat of the moment, because he has to choose between Kaitou Kid and the law in a way that can't be rationalised away?" and it's "the one case that drives me crazy" and. YEAH.

Favorite headcanon

Hm... a lot of my ideas about him come from either canon or things I've seen other people come up with that intrigued me or that I adopted. I don't know where it fits in, but-

The idea that if he's not in full control of himself (in pain, or just drunk off his ass, or so tired he seems drunk) he starts slipping between all sorts of voices. Aoko is used to this. She doesn't get why Hakuba is looking at him like he's grown a second head the first time he sees it happen.

Thank you for the ask! :D

[canyouhearthevoices]

WORK MV First Reactions

Yet another ATEEZ music video released while I'm at work - love it....

Another thing I'm not keen on is the song itself. I haven't been super impressed with several of ATEEZ's new title tracks, musically. Luckily for ATEEZ, I don't really follow them for their actual music (although it is a shame that the newer stuff hasn't been my style). I'm especially unimpressed with the chorus, which reminds me of a combination of Australia's anthem, Down Under, and Bills, neither of which I am super keen on... I know ATEEZ's recent comebacks have been less serious, but... this just doesn't suit them in my opinion.

Luckily for them, their performance skills stand up, regardless of the quality of the music.

This MV is definitely more of a filler one - it has a lot of ATEEZ motifs and follows the story from the previous MVs, but doesn't add much else. I don't have that much to say about it, but let me say it anyway! Full analysis below the line.

So this music video seems to be mostly a lot of motifs to show that ATEEZ are becoming more and more successful, and that, through hard work, they will become even more so.

We can see this through the copious amounts of money they make, the copious amounts of work (or more like party-work) that they do, and through the MV showcasing signs like the Billboard sign. Seonghwa riding the ostrich at the beginning is another example of this - he has many different country flags in his bag, showing the many places ATEEZ have gone and will go.

This music video also continues thematics that originated with Dont Stop - first, the cowboy concept and 'Wild West,' which has ties to the anarchy that they're trying to create in the oppressive world of Strictland (omg change the name please ATEEZ I'm begging you). See my Bouncy analysis for the Wild West stuff.

We also get what I presume is the extension of the drug dealing in Bouncy and the heists in Don't Stop - the expansion of ATEEZ's business empire, which they will use to take over the world with partying and music.

I don't think there's anything super interesting visually story-wise which would require screenshots - Jongho being in the ground is a fun gag that shows how ATEEZ are fun, how they can literally work themselves into the ground, and is possibly a reference to Down Under, which has a man in the desert playing a flute-like instrument.

I mean, this is the only thing that I am aware of that it could be referencing, and this song is pretty famous as far as I know, and suits ATEEZ's themes well, but if you think it referenced something else, let me know.

The animals (mostly birds) vibing along to the song continues the animal imagery from Bouncy and other songs - even the animals will party along to ATEEZ's music, and of course, we have the golden eggs and the blessed hens which lay them - a symbol of wealth and also good fortune.

There's also the general outback imagery which contributes to the idea of the wild west, the office that Yunho and Yeosang occupy which shows work, sophistication, possibly some shady dealings, and so on. And the Motels show travel, which they are of course doing for their literal jobs.

I do like the scene with Hongjoong and Mingi looming over a city and showering down so much money that a money monster appears.

But it doesn't really have much deeper meaning as far as I can see - like, even if we consider it in relation to the Strictland storyline, it just shows that their presence looms over the city, and that they have tons of influence, perhaps even more than the Guardians and the government who occupy the tallest building.

Interestingly, as far as I can see, Hongjoong's armband doesn't appear in any of the scenes in the music video, although he does have his usual coat and cane.

The rest of the vide is just things we've seen before - the cars dance because the power of ATEEZ is so strong that even inanimate objects will work. The 'game over' screen when Hongjoong falls out of the car is reminiscent of the comic scenes in the Crazy Form MV... I just... did not find this music video particularly interesting or compelling. It doesn't feel like it has high production values, and it feels a little like it's trying to milk the virality and success of other music videos like Bouncy - but it just doesn't have what Bouncy does :( I can't even find any exciting Easter eggs or story tidbits in the props - like even the newspaper Yunho holds doesn't seem to be anything exciting. And although I'm sure they meant something by Seonghwa coming out of the egg, I'm not sure what, and I can't think of any potential storyline references.

Anyway, moving on to something that I was generally more happy with;

Lyric Analysis

Most of the lyrics are pretty standard and expected from this kind of song - about how cool and hardworking ATEEZ are and how successful they will be in the future. But there are some interesting things to note/ATEEZ lyrical motifs;

San saying that when he makes a move, the Guardians follow him.... like? Hello? What a massive potential storyline drop in the middle of this causal line. The reason this is weird is because there isn't really any other potential meaning of 'Guardians' here that makes sense that isn't the Guardians in the fencing masks. And it makes sense that those Guardians would follow them when they make a move, since, well, the Guardians are hunting them.

The Real is referenced in Hongjoong's rap - since they are the Real people, ie. genuine

Bright and blinding lights

Burning

Everyone dancing and getting involved

Everyone being unified as one humanity

Being unique and individual (this makes sense since in Strictland people can't be individuals)

Time

Fun fact, the phrase they say in the prechorus that I assume is in Spanish (Ganso que pone huevos de oro) apparently translated to 'goose that lays the golden eggs' or something similar - which, yeah, that makes sense, considering the music video.

Conclusions

It was pretty filler imo. It continued a lot of motifs from previous MVs and stories, but it didn't do anything unique or special itself, except for bury Jongho.

That said, it does seem to be building up to something where ATEEZ get power - a bit like a training montage - so my current prediction is that the next comeback is super storyline-heavy and super Gothic - because ATEEZ can (thankfully for me, based on their track record0 never stay away from the Gothic for long.

I mean, WORK is catchy - but so is almost any song that has a repetitive chorus.

[asleepinawell]

Fallen London: Ambitions

I've finished 3/4 ambitions now and am almost done with the fourth so I wanted to jot down my thoughts on each. I split it into opinions on story and mechanics for each. The tl;dr version is I enjoyed all the stories but had a range of opinions on the mechanics

some spoilers below

Note that I tried not to use the wiki guides too much while doing these (i wouldn't check what I'd need for upcoming steps, but i would look up how to find resources for the current step if i don't know). If I had I might have had less issues with some, but I don't think they should be judged on the assumption that someone is reading ahead on a guide

Listed in the order I completed them.

Light Fingers

Story: this ambition was Weird. really Weird. I mean that in a good way. I knew from glancing at the spoiler-free picking an ambition guide on the wiki that it was not actually about a heist and had an early twist that got really dark really fast. It contained two of the biggest NOPES for me (getting buried alive and pregnancy body horror) and despite that I had a great time with it. Loved the ending. Loved the Frank and Jasper comedy duo bit. Doing psychological damage to mr fires is my favorite hobby. Also loved the story tie-in at station viii which made me yell

Mechanics: This was my first ambition and I was kind of all over the place in fallen london doing all the things at once, so my memory of this is kinda vague. I don't remember having an awful grind or running into a wall outside of needing to level my stats a little more. It might be rose tinted nostalgia glasses but this felt like the easiest ambition to me and in a good way where it was paced out well.

Bag A Legend

Story: The story was really straight-forward, a complete 180 from LF. I know people consider Heart's Desire to be the more light hearted one, but to me this was the pure fun one. Kind of in a bloodborne way. Big fan of Sinning Jenny and April. Enjoyed the masters lore. Loved feral Veils and getting to make it a mlp. Just a good time all around.

Mechanics: This one went really fast. I'm not sure if it's actually shorter than the others or if I just sped along, but I didn't run into any major roadblocks that annoyed me. There's a big grind x3 near the end, but because it was split into three parts with an important story event between each I didn't mind so much. Also I could tell it was the conclusion so I was ready to work for my ending.

Nemesis

Story: I just finished this one so I may still be riding the high of that, but I think this was my favorite story of the bunch. Especially the whole ending sequence with Beggar's Wake. 10/10, loved it. I appreciated that it tied into the lore of the bazaar and the masters and gave some juicy tidbits on that.

Mechanics: oh, knifegate my beloathed. so I actually started nemesis on my seeking alt, got to knifegate and was like what the actual fuck this is worse than seeking and gave up. I made a new alt who I was committed to basically not playing at all for months to do the echo grind on and then halfway through that they nerfed knifegate. since I then suddenly had enough echoes it's hard for me to say if the nerf really made it more palatable. I know it's a grindy game but I don't think locking people into hitting one button over and over for actual real months for what isn't even the last hurdle in the ambition is a good choice. if it had been my first ambition I might have quit the game. if the grind had been split up the way it was in bag a legend and hadn't been just for echoes (which is so boring) it might not have been as infuriating.

the other thing that got me early on was the iron republic safe pass. if you don't look it up, there's no great way to know how to do it, and even if you find out you need counting the days unless you know to choose the bohemians as your closest to and look up all the places to get counting the days it'll take forever. if you choose the bohemians it goes extremely fast. i don't think that tying in that much of a huge time difference to what faction you choose for an ambition makes a lot of sense, especially when the whole counting the days thing is pretty confusing for a new player

so overall yeah, could use a few tweaks still in my opinion

Heart's Desire

Story: I haven't quite finished this yet, but I'm very close. As such I won't pass final judgment on it, but I'll say I enjoyed getting to meet a wide cast of notable npcs and learning more about them and how wacky it was at the start with the monkey. the boat trip through parabola also stands out as a great part. Could use more Virginia

Mechanics: At the start of this one I thought it was going pretty well, but then. There are a lot of pain points and they hit one after another. Several steps rely on drawing specific cards and like yes, I get it, it's about card games, but that didn't translate well to churning through the deck for weeks for one stupid card. multiple times. next was the 5 card lodgings requirement that dropped out of nowhere. since i got there in February i couldn't do it at sackmas unless i wanted to wait an actual year and the grind to get it starting from nothing was just painful. this is also not near the end of the ambition so it's not a final hurdle or something

shortly after the lodgings grind you find out you need 15 levels of a dream. on my main I didn't get 15 levels of a dream until I'd finished the railway. this alt had some-ish but not nearly enough. so that was another horrible lengthy opportunity deck rng grind. while you can theoretically do some other things while waiting for a card, it does limit you to london (unless you want to let your deck cap and miss chances to get it) and ducking in and out of stories or the lab constantly gets old really fast. so i mostly stopped playing other than for clicking through the deck. at this point I'd lost a lot of interest in the story because it kept being interrupted by huge delays

I am now up to the train with other players part and there's one item i need that there's no good way to work for other than hoping i can get rare successes on some rolls 5x (have not gotten one after two days straight) or wait for the rat market to have what i need if it even still has it after the overhaul. (i did find out there is one other way which requires a ton of prep work but at least there's no rng element). mostly I'm just ready for it to be over at this point which is sad because the story, when i can get to it, is fun

so yeah, 0/10 on mechanics for this one, especially when compared to the others

to put it another way: i started bag a legend and hearts desire at the same time, both on brand new characters. i finished bag a legend months ago. nemesis i started months after those two and it's now done and hearts desire is still grinding on. i started seeking shortly before this and finished that already as well

So yeah, final assessment is great stories all around, nemesis mechanics could have been better, and not a fan at all of hearts desire mechanics

[orcboxer]

Do you have any of your own recommendations for choicescript/interactive fiction? Your game was pretty much my entry point for choicescript and I'd love to find more

Oh yeah! So it won't come as a surprise to anyone who's played ORCS RPG but my favorite choicescript games tend to be the crunchier ttrpg-inspired kind. I won't get super in depth about it but suffice to say I prefer a high amount of interactivity. (also I'm gonna mention up front that all of these are ongoing series, none of which have wrapped up as of yet)

My current favorite is Breach: The Archangel Job, by Michael Maxwell and Ben Luigi, a heist thriller where you join a crime organization called The Archangels and well, you do heists. There's a ton of customization, lots of characters, a dice rolling mechanic, and even cheat codes if you like playing around with those. It's very high-energy, very silly, and you can play as almost entirely nonverbal if you want and nobody minds, which is a massive plus for me, as someone with selective mutism. I would love to see more choicescript games like this one, it makes great use of the medium, and I hope it sets some lasting trends in that regard, if I'm being fully honest. Also you get to design and wear your own special crime mask, and masks are badass. I love not having a face.

My second favorite is Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, by Jim Dattilo, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, a zombie survival game. I don't even normally like zombie stories, but this one kicks ass. Again, high customization, dozens of characters with their own arcs, a big inventory system, lots of exploration, crafting and shelter-building mechanics, it's buckwild how much stuff is piled into this game. This one started years ago and it continues to be one of the all time greats in terms of gameplay. I'm very much looking forward to Part 4.

If you prefer a less crunchy experience with higher emphasis on storytelling, may I direct you to the singular exception to my "don't talk to me about superheroes" rule -- Fallen Hero: Rebirth, by Malin Rydén. In this one, you play as a former hero who has decided to become a villain. Your power is telepathy, and my god, telepathy can be terrifying. The storytelling is incredible, and the massive sequel, which dropped this year, did not disappoint. This one dips into some very dark waters, particularly in regards to identity and depression and trauma, but it is also an exceptionally cathartic experience. I know this one is popular because I've seen folks taggin posts as "sidestep" in my activity feed.

Another story-based one with minimal crunch, and somehow the first fantasy genre game I've mentioned: I, the Forgotten One, by John Louis. I actually should have put this one before Fallen Hero because I am still reeling from how much I loved this one. You play as the Marshal, bastard child of the late king. Long ago disinherited and sent off to die in a bloody war that failed to kill you, you now find yourself in the unenviable position of not only delivering news of the king's death to a court that despises you, but also having to take up your sword to defend them all from a second war that is being waged against them by one of your old trusted comrades. And you are, unfortunately, incredibly good at your job. This is a story about trauma and violence and the horrors of war, and it is so, so, so good. Again, it touches on some very dark topics, so be mindful of the content warnings. But this one drew me in like a gotdam riptide, I could not put it down. Can't recommend it highly enough.

[lord-squiggletits]

I wish to love and appreciate idw optimus more too. But I also don’t want to read through the entirety of IDW 1.0. Can you please recommend me any specific issues/parts?

My best friend and fellow IDW Optimus lover made a post compiling all the comics with major story beats involving Optimus. Her list has a lot of the same things mine does, but also a lot more specific issues because she actually knows which specific issues of which series you can read specifically for ones focused on IDW Optimus. We don't agree on everything (I love some comics she dislikes and vice versa), but I would recommend her list simply because it's the most well-documented and thorough. Link I also have a lot of far less coherent but still genuine posts about IDW OP on my #idw op love tag.

As for specific parts I would recommend... since you don't want to read through all of IDW1, I'll go ahead and recommend you things based on in-universe chronological order rather than story release order, but if anything here interests you then I would recommend reading IDW1 in release order so that you get a better grasp of the story's context and how new lore was given out over time:

Chaos Theory and Police Action by James Roberts (The Transformers 2009 issues 22-23): I love love LOVE the way JRO writes Optimus talking to Megatron during the present day, it's very IDW-Optimus flavored because of how blunt, abrasive, and snappy Optimus is. There's a part in the comic where Megatron claims that he "knows [Optimus] better than anyone else," and he's right, but it's also true that Optimus knows Megatron well enough to see that he's bullshitting and it's very entertaining watching Optimus slowly lose his patience with him. I love the dialogue especially, no one (canon or fandom) has ever quite written the same IDW OP who's in this set of comics. It's also the most MegOP comic of all time because the sexual tension and the subliminal imagery of them doing BDSM together is unreal, plus it really captures their dynamic of two old soldiers who snap together with chemistry despite (or perhaps because of) being such long-time enemies. They just UNDERSTAND each other so well. Also, as a bonus point, Chaos Theory is where the pre-war lore for IDW1 began being published, so if you read Chaos Theory then the context for future pre-war lore makes a little more sense.

Shadowplay by James Roberts (More Than Meets the Eye issues 10-11): More pre-war lore that picks up where Chaos Theory/Police action left off. Important because it establishes a lot of IDW OP's character relationships, especially with "the Senator," Roller, and to a degree Ratchet and some minor side characters. I don't really know what to say about this besides it's just really fucking fun to read and features IDW OP getting to do cool shit like fight bad guys, investigate conspiracies, and do heists while also establishing one of his key character traits: being disastrously gay for suspicious men that he places entirely too much trust in to tell him what the right thing to do is.

Spotlight: Orion Pax by James Roberts: Okay, I'm really sorry for recommending JRO's stuff because it feels like favoritism and I don't even think JRO does the best version of IDW OP, it's just going in in-universe chronological order means that a lot of JRO stuff ends up first on the list. This one doesn't really have much of consequence in it and is honestly one of the weaker Spotlight issues, but like Shadowplay, it involves Orion Pax doing fun action shit and having way too much trust in a suspicious man (a new one from the suspicious man in Shadowplay).

The Autocracy Trilogy (Autocracy, Monstrosity, Primacy) by Chris Metzen: Oh my fucking god this is THE IDW Optimus to me, this trilogy is literally what made my ears perk up to even start liking IDW OP because it's what took me from "Optimus Prime, that's the guy who's the super awesome leader that everyone likes and is a paragron to everyone, yeah I know him" to "Oh.... holy shit this is such a good plot/worldbuilding, Optimus has so much CONFLICT and DRAMA with other people." It covers one of my favorite periods of the general Transformers formula, namely pre-war and early war plot events as conflicts come to a boiling point, there's political conflicts and personal conflicts, the planet is falling to shit and everyone is trying to escape and things are as depressing and scary as you would expect for a war that's literally about to consume a whole planet. I found the general plotlines to be gripping and intense (Autocracy is the weakest in this regard, but the writing gets better with each book) and I really like seeing how Optimus grapples with leadership. Especially the negative parts where people hate/fear him because of his association with Zeta's regime (the previous Prime, who Orion worked for), call his judgment into question, refuse his calls to action or waver in their faith in him, and so forth. I found it to be a really nuanced yet sympathetic view of IDW Optimus that made me fall in love with him. Because really, the thing that humanizes a character the most is making them flawed, and Autocracy trilogy Optimus is so incredibly flawed and conflicted. And also it shows him being shit on by other characters in a way that's well written in a plot that makes sense and doesn't feel like the entire plot is conspiring to shit all over him.

The Death of Optimus Prime by James Roberts and John Barber: This comic is basically the transition from phase 1 to phase 2, it establishes the branching plotlines of MTMTE and exRID, so this is another one of those comics that will help you understand IDW1 better if you want to read for more than just Optimus. Anyways, DoOP is great because it has a similar vibe to the Autocracy trilogy in that society is chaos and full of people who fucking hate Optimus' guts for the role he played in the war. You can also compare/contrast the way OP was before the war and early in the war versus the way he is after the war and see how much the war changed him (Chaos Theory also kind of is like this but it more shows bitchy Optimus specifically in his dynamic with Megatron). It also features a fair amount of Optimus Heroic Moments, Optimus Brooding, and Optimus being so fucking depressed he's literally sad when he wakes up and realizes he's not dead dude get some fucking therapy please I'm begging you--

Punishment by John Barber: This skips ahead quite a bit in the story but I think stands decently well on its own without having to understand the wider context. It's one of Barber's best-written stories and one of the only ones I've come back to reread for its own sake. It features Optimus trying to solve the murder-mystery of a bunch of Decepticons, featuring really cool plot conflicts like Optimus trying to navigate post-war society and the tensions that still linger from the Autobot-Decepticon war. I really like this one because it has that whole "not everyone loves OP and a lot of people hate him for justified reasons" thing that makes IDW OP a much more 3D character, PLUS it has some politics with the way Decepticons are treated post war. And I think it does really interesting things with Optimus in terms of showing how he DOES have this idealistic, merciful side that wants people to choose peace and letting go of vengeance, but of course it's not so easy to expect that of people after a 4 million year war. So when people inevitably choose violence, Optimus gets frustrated and angry and lashes out in a way that feels very real and understandable. It's a really good example of a comic that shows IDW OP in a nuanced way, showcasing both his virtues and flaws in a complicated situation that shows that there's no easy solution to these problems and no way for Optimus to escape without getting his hands dirty. Unlike future comics which involve OP being in complicated situations but instead the plot is super contrived and seems to overwhelmingly shit on OP without ever mentioning the very obvious ways that he could be defended, creating a story that's conceptually fascinating but incredibly mediocre in execution.

If I had to recommend any single one of these to read, I would recommend the Autocracy trilogy the most because it's literally the story that made me love IDW Optimus and made me realize "whoa, this guy is super nuanced and not what I expected of him." That's not to say that no other Optimi have depth and nuance, but I think the Autocracy trilogy was great for me personally as one of the first IDW1 comics I read. It struck a really good balance between "uh Optimus was part of some bad things that warrant being shit on" and "Optimus is struggling to overcome those bad associations he did, succeeding with some people and failing with others" and "Optimus is an optimist who has faith in others even when they don't have faith in themselves." Also, as a bonus, the Autocracy trilogy also features cunty murder-husband Megatron, an interesting character arc for Hot Rod, and the Dinobots as really interesting supporting characters (including their leader, Grimlock, having a cute veteran-rookie dynamic with Hot Rod that I wish we got more of).

[cadybear420]

Came across a Choices Ask Game thread from 3-4 years ago and I couldn't help myself.

Anyone else who wants to join is welcome!

1.) What book(s) did you think were too overhyped but everyone loved?

7+ months ago I would have quickly said Ride or Die, but after my replay in May, I now like that book. So my next picks would be Crimes of Passion and Immortal Desires. They were good for what they were, but I couldn't quite get into the hype for them. To be fair, I've only played the first book for each of these, but even when they were just on their first books they were pretty hyped. But who knows, I might like them a lot more when I play their sequels.

Actually, I could maybe still put Ride or Die here if I wanted to. While I did come to like it after my second playthrough, I still wouldn't call it amazing or consider it one of PB's bests like many seem to do.

Distant Shores and Nightbound were both indredibly average to me as well, despite the former being about freaking pirates and time travel and the second one being a supernatural horror-themed story.

Laws of Attraction is also one that was very popular but hard to get into. When I first played Book 1, I couldn't stand how quickly they just went between cases. Luckily this was less of a problem when I replayed Book 1 and then played Book 2, but it was also still hard to follow the lawyer jargon. However, I did enjoy the characters and I loved that MC was a flexible blank slate, which does make it a series I want to like. So I'll probably give this one a second chance at some point.

I'm also tempted to say The Cursed Heart, it's one that gets a lot of love and while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was amazing. But I'm kind of disqualifying it since not only have I only played Book 1, but also that pre-TCH 2 opinions were mostly divided. I remember lot of people hated Kieran kidnapping MC and that one option in a premium scene that leads to Kieran shoving MC's face into the ground. There are still people who hate that stuff, but the overwhelming majority nowadays seems to enjoy the series, especially with Book 2.

2.) What book(s) do you think deserve more hype?

Across The Void. Don't get me wrong, it has incomplete lore and inconclusive endings, but that's not really the story's fault as I remember hearing it was originally meant to have a book 2. Personally I found the good qualities to far outweigh the bad. It deserved so much better from PB and a hell of a lot more love from the fandom.

I also found Baby Bump really cute. It's not amazing and it has a lot of problems, but I never got why it was often deemed as one of the worst.

And maybe I'm just biased, but I also think the OG HSS trilogy deserves more hype. I guess it's technically one of the more popular and beloved Choices titles, but even then I feel like it doesn't get enough credit. Even though it may seem like a cheesy Disney Channel High School style story, the writing is actually quite polished, balancing out the thrilling high school hijinks with a vibrant cast of compelling and down-to-earth characters and character development. It's enjoyable and worthwhile, both as its own thing and as a companion to its predecessor (AKA the original HSS Prime mobile game).

Not only that, but it's quite rich in choices that actually affect the story/experience. Like, how many people know that you can make your MC a jerk to the Hearst kids in Book 3 and lose your tryouts spot over it even if their actual tryout was good? Or that the story acknowledges a Slow Burn romance if you choose to wait until MC and LI are official to have them kiss? Or that you can have MC completely screw up the Spirit Stick Heist? I've played this trilogy nine times already, I'm currently in my tenth playthrough, and there are probably like 50 more different playthroughs I wanna do for the different route/outcome combinations. The MC is just so flexible and wildcard, and to me that's peak Choices MC.

3.) What was a book series that you think did NOT need a sequel or more than 1 sequel?

The Nanny Affair would have been soooooo much better off as a standalone. I actually really like the ending of TNA 1, where Sam and MC are getting pinged with news headlines about Sam leaving Sofia at his wedding, and they start anticipating all the trouble they're gonna be in. It's actually got a touch of self-awareness to it that you usually don't get in smutty single-LI romance Choices stories.

Books 2 and 3 however just drag everything on, trying so hard to make it seem like Sam and MC have genuine feelings of love for each other, even though their relationship is clearly mostly lust-based. Then again, one of the smut scenes in Book 3 has an option that implies MC is putting a finger into Sam's bootyhole. And even over two years later, it is still the only scene in Choices that more directly depicts a female character anally penetrating a male (or male-coded) character. So maybe the suffering is worth it.

The first book of Surrender was pretty mid on its own, but the ending it got could have worked as a series and book finale. Book 2, however, just... made it all so much worse. Book 2 is the reason why the Surrender series is on my permanent Choices shitlist. As the worst title of the entire app.

The switch to a new MC and cast felt very arbitrary and unjustified. Not only were the returning characters from OG utilized poorly, but everything about it just did not feel like HSS. No flexibility in your main character or activity, which greatly cheapens the whole "you can be whoever you wanna be" and "you'll always be accepted no matter who you are" themes of the previous iterations; no sense of Berry being "high school but actually good" as it relies purely on trying to showcase average high school experience; so many of the side characters were useless and felt like overly mean-spirited middle schoolers rather than actually stressed and irrational high-schoolers; and the and finale and sendoff to the franchise as a whole was inconclusive dogshit. It was like "HSS" was an afterthought to CA. I'll give this its own analysis one day.

OG HSS did not need HSS:CA as a spinoff. Don't get me wrong, HSS:CA is pretty cute and does bring some interesting situations and characters into the HSS canon. But when you really think about it, it easily could have been its own new title, and it probably would have been better off if it was.

4.)What book(s) did you think needed a sequel/another sequel?

OG HSS Trilogy, the main cast of that one deserved a far better sendoff then the bullshit one that was the HSS:CA finale.

Laws of Attraction. That ending was so inconclusive.

Hero, an obvious one because the story ended right on a cliffhanger.

Across The Void, PB should have stuck to giving this one a second book. Instead we get these super-rushed endings and for what?

5.) What LI(s) do you think are overrated?

I'd maybe put It Lives here, but part of me is also kind of glad PB didn't make the third book because the It Lives Within fanproject is chockablock full of "PB could never"s. Granted their reason for cancelling it in the first place was kinda unjustified but yeah.

I'm not sure really. Maybe Gabe and Cas from ID, but I don't have strong opinions on them. It's moreso that I'm just not as into the hype for them as most.

6.) What LI(s) do you think are underrated?

Ajay Bhandari from HSS:CA, though with him it's moreso overhated than underrated. Didn't Ajay warn MC about Danielle in the earlier chapters? Why would he so easily believe MC was the one who sabotaged OG MC's auditions? Or at the very least, tell Danielle + Team C(U)NTs (Clint, Natalie, Trevor) to fuck off with ostracizing MC. Like they weren't just accusing MC falesly, they started being outright cruel to them.

Ajay is a character who cares so much about the play wanting to go perfect, so much so that he initially banned cellphones from the auditorium during rehearsal because he thought they'd be distracting or disruptive. Surely you'd want to be a hardass on other crew members who are acting like assholes??? I think his behavior during MC's accusation is just OOC, hence why I don't hate him. It's a problem with the writing rather than the character.

7.) Which LI's were most forgettable?

IDK. I think I've forgotten them.

9.) Finally, what book do you think would have been better/more popular if it WASN'T genderlocked? (This goes for both LI's and MCs)

Witness MC could have and should have been GOC. I found the book pretty average-with-issues upon replay, but I personally might have liked it a tad more if it was GOC. We rarely if ever get stories about men getting swept off their feet by protective bodyguard characters! (But sure, muh few female-locked stories).

I certainly would have enjoyed Roommates With Benefits a lot more if the MC could be male. Imagine, the studious goody-two-shoes "good boy" gets awakened to a more party-loving sex-loving side by the University's resident fuckboy/fuckgirl who happens to be his roommate.

Ride or Die was pretty fun as it is, but part of me still feels it would have been somewhat spicier if MC and Logan were both GOC.

With Every Heartbeat also, give me ONE good reason why needed to be genderlocked. Same with BloodBound. Seriously, you could have made the Bloodkeeper thing go to any gender and the story would remain exactly the same.