#HOLY SHIT . ITS BEEN 11 MONTHS . since i animated that

[waroferas]

i didnt know i needed to see wild going ham on a piece of bread until I saw your art… thank you 🙏

NO TY!!! someone get this guy a huge sandwich.

[bytedykes]

More ritsu questions!!!! 9 and 11 and 14

hehe yes... YES...

9. Your least favorite outfit of them

already answered this one but to reiterate, his clothes are so #normal i cant really hate any of them <3 they are just not that memorable to me also... genuinely cant think of any outfits he wears beyond school uniform, the orange hoodie, and like. normal house clothes

11. What’s the first thing you think about when thinking about the character?

HN... THE LOANS... as well as all the panels of him being so not normal about spoons as well as how fucking SILLY this boy is!!!!! i love him so much!!! he is so FUCKING silly i could write a fucking essay about how silly he is! everything about ritsu is just so many layers of him being so fuckign WEIRD but being so vehement in his denial of that... he's literally ridiculous. he doesnt even listen to music. kicking my feet and twirling my hair fr

14. Best storyline they had

FUCK EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE BIG CLEANUP ARC!!! I FUCKING LOVE BIG CLEANUP ARC OK. i think it is so well done. like. the absolute GUILT AND DESPAIR ritsu is feeling, he is being CRUSHED under the weight of what he has done, he beats himself up about it so thoroughly he fucking manifests psychic powers, the thing he has been wishing for HIS WHOLE LIFE. and the cause of all this is because his classmate wanted to frame some guy for licking recorders. what the fuck for real

ok no i have more to say. its been a minute since i watched/read the big cleanup arc so forgive me if this is wrong, but iirc the whole reason ritsu goes along with kamuro's idea is because he wanted to protect mob. and like. its SO INTERESTING because he wants to keep mob safe so mob doesn't EXPLODE! he wants to like, keep mob in a bubble, he wants to bubblewrap him because mob is volatile, mob is dangerous, when mob gets stressed bad things happen and ritsu is scared! but also he loves his brother! he doesn't want delinquents bullying him! and even though he knows it's not like, great of them to frame people for perv things, he does it anyway and that leads to like a month straight of ritsu having the worst most haunted guilty paranoid time of his life lmao

plus in the anime we see more of ritsu being a model brother/student/son before his joker arc, which makes the contrast that much sharper and more impactful when he goes completely off the rails. also like the big cleanup arc is fucking hilarious . local teen goes thru so much stress he gains ability to blow things up with his mind. local teen starts beating the shit out of p- oh my god i just remembered he briefly pretended to be white t poison too how can u NOT love big cleanup arc. LOCAL TEEN STARTS BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF OTHER MIDDLE SCHOOLERS WITH HIS MIND POWERS, all while not refuting the claim that he is his brother's gangster alter ego. like. WHAT!!! he is insane!!!!

on top of that. ON TOP OF THAT. local teen lets an EVIL SPIRIT possess him, which is just so uniquely funny because its RITSU! ritsu who is mob's brother! ritsu who KNOWS about spirits and how dangerous they can be! ritsu who sees a green fart cloud offering to possess him in exchange for being able to bend spoons a little better and goes ALRIGHT BET and just. lets him. he just lets dimple possess him... he just lets him...

AND i also love the resolution to the big cleanup arc. like. yeah the segue into the claw arc is a little ehh and i kind of wish we'd spent more time watching ritsu jokerify himself but the scene where ritsu is so angry and yelling at mob and then mob tells ritsu that he's his little brother and he loves him? and then they hug it out? AGHHH. SO GOOD. literally the siblings of all time i fucking love big cleanup arc. holy fuck

ok and going back a bit it is just. SO INTERESTING to see how the mask unravels. suddenly ritsu isn't the kind, awed little brother who just wants to help mob, who fixes his spoons for him at the dinner table, who checks in on him at night. suddenly we see ritsu being bitter and jealous and resentful and SCARED of his brother and it's all of these conflicting feelings mixing around in his little 13 year old self of a pressure cooker and when that pressure cooker explodes... GOD. its so good. i love that. not even necessarily the reveal of "oh hes a little fucked up actually" itself but the CONTRAST of the perfect mask he wears and then the messy conflicted struggling 13 year old he actually is. like WOAG!!! HE IS SO 13!!!!!

anyway. i love big cleanup arc. thumbs up emoji

[bleepblopbloop56]

100 things to do under the stars

(Analogical, no warnings)

1: stargaze

  Virgil dragged Logan out from the warmth of the truck and into crisp fall air. They were in the middle of nowhere, it was nearly midnight, and the clouds were practically nonexistent. There wasn't a light for miles, aside from the still dimming headlights of Virgil's pickup truck. They had to be in someone's backyard or private property, but with a field so vast and expansive who would know to say anything. 

“Virgil-” Logan started before swiftly getting shushed by Virgil. He jerked open the door to the backseat, pulling out piles of blankets and pillows. 

  “Lo, i'm gonna need you to ignore how sketchy this looks and help me pad the bed of the truck, there's a meteor shower tonight and i want you to see it.” Virgil tossed him some handfuls of quilts and stuffed animals. It seemed as if he found every even remotely soft thing in his apartment and shoved it in the car. They passed the truck bed and Virgil hoisted him into the makeshift bed, before bracing the side of the truck and hoping for himself. 

 They stayed silent as they got comfortable, that was Logan's favorite part about their friendship, they could just exist around each other without any pressure to perform social cues like small talk.. They could just be. Logan reached down and intertwined their hands, making virgil's heart skip a beat. 

“Thank you,” he mumbled, shifting closer to his friend “I needed this” Virgil swallowed roughly, laying his head closer to Logan’s as they watched the stars 

7: contemplate existence + 11: drink coffee

 “Do you think there's something else out there?” Virgil asked after a long stretch of comfortable silence. This time, they sat on the roof of the truck, coffee in hand and feet dangling off the edge of the truck. 

  “Be more specific.” Logan took a sip of his coffee, bringing it to his mouth with both hands. It provided a nice warmth against the chill of the night, something his black wool coat was vaguely failing to provide.

   “Life.. do you think we're alone here?” Logan wanted to say no with a definite certainty that Virgil was looking for, but that would be irresponsible to answer with a certainty he didn't have. 

   “Arthur Clarke once said ‘Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.’” he settled on instead. Virgil grimaced and pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged and turned his body to face Logan. He tried to make eye contact with him, but Logan continued to look up into the abyss.

  “That's not what I asked,” he said “I wanna know what you think.” Logan took another slow sip of his coffee to stall. Eventually, he brought it away from his mouth and turned to face Virgil

   “I dont know..” he admitted “it seems.. impossible that there's an infinite universe beyond our capability of comprehension that is simply empty. I don't believe there will ever be certainty on our end, so,” he put the coffee down and laid down, putting his eyes back on the stars “i'd rather not worry about it.”

32: question your own mortality *

   “What do you suppose the point of it all is Virgil?”  he had become rather acquainted with the empty field he and Virgil spent nearly every clear night in. They hadn't even got out of the car this time before Logan started their nightly talks.

   “I thought it scared you to talk about things like that.” Virgil jokes to mask that he didn't have an answer. He jerked open the door but didn't get out. 

    “Do… Do you ever question why we're here?” Logan knew the answer to that, and Virgil constantly thought about his life and his purposeless existence. Virgil took pity on him when he noticed his big brown eyes sparkling in the light the car turned on. So mundane, and yet Virgil had seemed to romanticize the smallest things around Logan.

    “Get out, I wanna show you something,” Logan followed wordlessly. “I think..” Virgil continued, once they were out of the truck and on top of it “that it's different for everyone. For me, I just want to spend my short existence here experiencing life for what it is. Good and the bad, mostly good.” Virgil smiled softly as he laid down on the roof “ look at that… all the stars feel so close i could touch and yet impossibly far away. I can't see a horizon from here, it feels like I'm in the middle of all of them, here with you.”

    Logan laid on his side beside him, still not fully getting it. “You think you were put into existence to look at stars?”

    Virgil hoisted himself up on his elbows, craning his head back to continue looking at the abyss. “I think that's what i'm choosing to do with my existence, what are you choosing to do with yours?” Logan stayed quiet for a long time, just looking at Virgil and thinking before he jutted his head forward and kissed him. Virgil pulled back, heart beating  a million miles a minute. 

“Logan?” he whispered.

“If we get to choose what we do with our lives then i wanna spend mine like this, with you, and i've wasted too much time thinking.” he almost had tears in his eyes as he leaned forward again, letting Virgil close the gap this time. 

* (+ 53: have your first kiss) 

65: and your second

72: and third

83: and many many more

99: propose

    They continued going to their favorite spot for years, when they got older they bought the plot of land that they called theres and built a tiny cabin on the edge of the field. And one night, after 5 years of dating, virgil pulled logan into the middle of the field, walking this time. Fireflies and the moon are their only real source of light so far out in the field. 

Logan giggled as he attempted to keep balance while Virgil swung him around 

“What's got you in such a good mood?” Logan laughed, getting pulled into a nervous kiss by his boyfriend 

    “Virgil!” he smiled a little wider, “what's the occasion?”

   “Look up, and name all the constellations you can see,” Virgil asked quietly, hands fisted in his jacket pockets. Logan looked suspicious before doing as he was told, listing all he could remember the name of. Just as he was getting to the end of his list, Virgil cut him off. 

“Hey Logan?” When he looked back, Virgil was kneeling on the ground with a small navy blue box in his hands. “Can I ask you something?” 

Logan did not consider himself overly emotional, he nearly prided himself on it, and yet he couldn't seem to stop the hitch in his breath and rush of tears to his eyes. He wordlessly nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

    Virgil opened the box and revealed a ring with a simple diamond in the middle of a black band with stars engraved into the side. He stayed silent as the tears started cascading down his face. “Do you remember when you said you wanted to spend your life with me under the stars?” Logan  had to pull his hands to his mouth to contain the sob of happiness he couldn't. Virgil was also crying, a wide nervous grin on his face “will you make that official with me?” 

    “Yes!” Logan choked out, nodding profusely and collapsing into Virgil's arms when he stood up to hug him. He pulled back and kissed him, he kissed him for the millionth time with all the passion and love of the first. He pressed his forehead into Virgils, having to bend a little to accommodate for the height difference. 

“I love you” he mumbled, tears starting to end their freefall, even if only for a minute. “So so much”

100: get married.

    Roman bustled around their small cabin with the kind of nervousness more reserved for the grooms than the best man. He had been preparing this day- well, night- for months and had been more of a bridezilla than either of the actual men getting married. Guests were starting to arrive just after the sun went down and the stars were starting to peek through the darkness. Fairy lights shone just enough to allow the guests to find their seats without hassle, but not too much as to outshine the stars. 

    “Are you sure everythings ready?” Roman asked Logan once again, meeting a hard eye roll with an exacerbated grin. 

    “Yes Roman, I'm positive.” He couldn't help the feeling of joy riding in his throat when he checked his watch. He was getting married… to the most beautiful man on earth, under the stars, in his own backyard with all his friends… holy shit

    “Logan!” Patton called from the doorway, excited to be helping even if he'd been there since noon “its time! Come on “ 

    Virgil was…. He couldn't think of the right word.. Gorgeous, ethereal, amazing, perfect, genius, beautiful, unreal, indescribable… Logan felt in his heart as he was walked down the aisle by the designated group dad friend. He wore a velvet deep purple suit with black trims and converse sneakers, hair freshly dyed from a week before, and on top of his head sat a small crown with diamond stars. As much as he despised wedding traditions, this was his “something borrowed” generously lended by Roman to tie in the night theme. The wedding was small, neither of their families even invited to attend, and their friend group tiny but close knit. Patton bounced down the aisle with Virgil's arm intertwined in his, Logan didn't think the concept of “handing off the “bride ``'' was appropriate here, but neither of them could deny Patton's puppy dog eyes. 

The rest of the night went off without a hitch, dancing, kissing, crying, a small potluck with a modest red velvet wedding cake, and in the center of it all was stars. The decorations, the rings, the vows and the night sky, all of it was perfect. When all the guests left, and Virgil and Logan were finally alone, Logan pulled out a wedding present he had gotten for virgil. 

“What's this?” he asked, still riding the high of “Holy shit i'm really married” 

“Open it.” virgil undid the navy wrapping paper, and opened the box. Inside, there was a book titled “100 things to do under the stars, by Logan Cade” 

Virgils heart jumped when he realised logan had used his new last name.  

[palettes-and-prompts]

Prompts for Beach/Pool Day

Dialogue Prompts

1) "The sun's out and the water smells not good." "I know, isn't it great?" "No. Why can't we stay inside?" "You have to get sunlight or you'll probably die." "I'm not a plant!" 2) "Let's go swimming, the ocean's right there!" "Absolutely not! Do you know how many creatures are living in a drop of water from the ocean?" "No because I'm not a nerd." 3) "I can't swim." "You're a full grown person though. No one ever chucked you in the water and told you to swim or die?" "What? No! Did that happen to you?" "Yeah." "That's awful!" "Yeah, but you know what?" "What?" "I can swim." 4) "My ice cream's melting!" "Eat faster." "But then my head hurts!" "Then don't eat it that fast." "But then it melts." "Oh my god, I will drown you." 5) "I love seeing those big boats all the way out there, they look so small, they make me feel like I'm a woman from the forties waiting for my strong sailor lover's ship to dock so he and I can spend a magical night together that'll result in my pregnancy. And he and I aren't married but he finds out about the baby and promises to make an honest woman out of me, but then he gets called back to the ship and I spend the next few months coming to the beach, rubbing my stomach and wondering when he'll return. And of course I go into labor and I get upset thinking maybe he's never coming back and I'll have to do this on my own. But then he rushes into the room and holds my hand and the doctor delivers our baby and they're so beautiful, they've got his eyes. And he promises to make me the happiest woman in the world and I just whisper back 'You already have, Robert.'" "Who's Robert? All I asked you was 'Are those boats out there?' I didn't ask for your sailor fantasy story." "Well, you should have. Maybe you should ask for more stories from me sometime. Robert certainly would." 6) "Wanna go swimming?" "It's winter." "So? What are you scared of a little hypothermia? Come on, don't be a chicken." 7) "Dude...I think there's something in the water." 8) "What the fuck was that? I just felt something swim by my feet!" 9) "Those waves look pretty high, maybe we should go back." "No way, it'll be fun!" 10) "You gotta help, A's stuck in the riptide!" 11) "If you go out on that ship there's a good chance you'll die out there." 12) "There's the boat...why aren't they in it? Person A, why aren't they in it?!" 13) "Why don't we go diving and see what kind of fish live deep under the water?" "That's how you discover terrifying creatures and get eaten alive so why don't you go fuck yourself?" "Wanna build sandcastles then?" "Yeah, sure." 14) "Wanna buy a boat and make money as deep sea fishers?" "You want to anger the sea gods? Yeah, I don't think so." 15) "Where are we going again?" "This is the place where all those feet end up washing up on shore and they don't know why." "Can we do just do one normal thing? For once in our lives?" 16) "Dude, we just found a body on the beach, wanna go see it?" "Ew. What the fuck?!" "It's got a lot of bite marks on it and it's bloated from being in the water too long." "That's disgusting. Let me get my keys and you can show me where it's at." 17) "Why's the government out here?" "I hear they got video of a unidentified fish out here and they found out it's real so they're trying to find it." "What kind of fish? Like megalodon?" "I heard they think it's a mermaid." “Ah, so less cool then.” 18) "Holy shit! You have a fish tail!" "Holy shit! You have human legs!" "..." "Yeah, see how fucking stupid you sound pointing out the obvious like that?" 19) "I found this shell and it reminded me of you." "Is it because it's ugly and incomplete without its other half?" "What? No! It's cause it's shiny on the inside and I thought you'd like it." 20) "Look at this colorful giant pearl I found!" "That's a bouncy ball."

Regular Prompts

1) A and B are in a relationship and decide to go sailing. A is hesitant because they've never been in the ocean and don't know how to swim. Despite this they go sailing. When they hit bigger waves A falls in and they get dragged by the waves unable to get back in the boat. When the boat is dragged too far away A notices a tail popping out of the water. Thinking it's a shark they start kicking hard and wildly but when they see a person's face they freeze completely. The creature introduces themselves as C and gives them the ability to be like them in the water and takes them to their kingdom. A gets so swept away in this world they forget about B for a while until the others mention the surface and A remembers. But by this time C's really attached to them. They have to decide to either return to the human world for B or stay with C. 2) A goes to the beach and ends up almost drowning while attempting to surf, only to be saved by lifeguard B just in time. B remembers them and constantly asks A if they want them to teach them how to surf. A says no and wipes out multiple times before admitting they need help learning. B helps and is happy to be around A more. 3) A and B haven't admitted their feelings for each other yet so their friends set up a beach and games, forcing the two to work as partners to win. 4) A and B are on rival teams for volleyball and have been competing every summer against each other. They're tied this year and once they both make it to the finals it'll decide who the winner really is since they wont be coming back to play anymore due to them going off to college. They don't like each other but outside volleyball they spend a lot of time together. After all that time and the competition is over they decide winning isn't important and share a kiss, both sad to be parting ways. (Bonus if they end up as roommates because they both applied to the same college.) 5) A's always had a thing for B but B's never noticed A before until they all go to the beach with friends and A shows up in a bathing suit that looks very good on them. 6) A and B are determined to build a huge house out of sand at the beach even if it kills them. 7) A and B go to a nude beach except they start to notice no one else is naked and A's starting to feel like they may have taken a wrong turn at that last sign. 8) A and B go to the beach but find dead animals everywhere concluding something isn't right. When they find people washing up things become increasingly scarier. A brings some of the sand and some of the water to a their scientist friend who informs them that it's not the sand or water. When strange writing appears and they see a mysterious woman they research her only to find out she’s a sea witch who is angry and that they must figure out a way to appease her or she’ll have to move onto land. 9) A wakes up on a beach but doesn't know who or where they are. They're found by doctor, Person B and brought to the hospital and there are no missing persons reports and none of their DNA is in the system. They can't remember where they live or anything about their past. All A can remember is the ocean and so B takes them back by themselves and soon they're in the water and that's how they realize A's not human and in fact a water dragon. 10) Strange items wash up on the beach and A's collecting them while B thinks they're trash. When they realizes all the items fit together like a puzzle it unlocks a message from Atlantis telling them they need help from the human world and they're immediately transported their and given things to help them breathe underwater. They meet mermaids and eventually help them. When they do they're given the option to become mermaids like them if they want. (Bonus if they pick this but also decide to come up to the surface for food.)

[sniperdonutkirby-blog]

So I Finally Played: VA-11 HALL-A

Jill is best girl. Just wanted to get that settled right out of the gate.

I’m going to be honest: I’m not a huge fan of the cyberbunk genre. Nothing against it, of course, and I don’t hate the setting by any means, but those kinds of media just don’t normally grab me, and a lot of them tended to just blend together for me. So while I was aware of VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartending Action (just “Valhalla” for short, and holy shit, what a title) when it came out back in 2016, and I liked the retro anime aesthetic, it didn’t quite catch my interest, even with several of my friends playing it and giving it glowing recommendations.

Now fast forward a few years and, for really no reason besides curiosity (and because I hadn’t played any games for months and was suffering from horrific withdrawal symptoms, and the Steam Summer Sale was going on), I decided to pick up the game at a decent price. Without any real expectations aside from that it would be pretty cozy time, I embarked on my journey through Valhalla...

...and I was floored. Like, damn, this was so much better than I could have possibly hoped for. 

This layout is pretty much what you’ll be seeing for most of the game. Trust me, it’s more compelling than it looks.

I guess I should give a brief rundown on what VA-11 HALL-A is all about, for the uninitiated. It takes place in the dystopian Glitch City, sometime in the vaguely-near-or-far future, where a corrupt order of literal ‘White Knights’ rules over the citizens with an iron fist, many humans are dependent on nanomachine implants, and a cup of instant noodles costs $60, apparently. 

You play as Jill, a grouchy bartender at the titular VA-11 HALL-A, trying to earn enough money to pay her electricity bills, stay in her apartment, and renew her VR porn subscription. While you’ll spend some time in Jill’s apartment in-between work days, the bulk of the game is in the run-down bar she works at. ‘Valhalla’, as it’s affectionately known, is just one of many bars in the city’s Neon District, but it’s exactly the sort of place where you’ll find all sorts of strange, delightful people you’ll never forget...

VA-11 HALL-A is a visual novel, meaning it has little to no gameplay to speak of besides scrolling through text - in this case, Jill’s interactions with customers, friends and coworkers - with some overlap here and there. As far as the genre goes, VA-11 HALL-A leans more on the ‘little’ side, as you prepare drinks by mixing a combination of five ingredients - Adelhyde, Bronson Extract, Powdered Delta, Flanergide, and Karmotrine (an alcohol substitute), according to your customer’s requests. Not exactly award-winning gameplay, but it’s easy to figure out and make a routine out of it, which is exactly the point. 

Serving drinks in VA-11 HALL-A is essentially the game’s unique take on dialogue options. When a customer asks for a specific drink, you don’t have to make them exactly what they want (though they will be pissed if you completely miss the mark). You can alter the order a little bit: some drinks give you the option to add no Karmotrine or as much as can fit, while most drinks have a ‘big’ option that’s made by adding twice the number of required ingredients. Occasionally, what a customer really wants will be something entirely different from what they ask for. Depending on what drink you serve them, the ensuing conversation might have a few small changes, or you might unlock hidden scenes you’d never see otherwise. While it’s not as intuitive as it could be, it’s an interesting mechanic that adds a lot of replay value, something rare for a visual novel. I’ve just finished the game and I already want to go back and find whatever conversations I might have missed the first time around. 

Anna Graem? Anna... gram? Anagram? What is this, Ace Attorney?

But what really makes VA-11 HALL-A so wonderful is the ‘story’ and characters. I say ‘story’ because there isn’t really one, at least not in the conventional sense. Important things happen throughout the game, but Jill isn’t a part of any of it - instead, they’re delivered through news articles and coversations with customers who are affected by them. I really did appreciate this sort of indirect worldbuilding, and it sold the idea that Jill was just a tiny part of a much bigger world, utterly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Instead, her story throughout VA-11 HALL-A is a far more personal one, and while I won’t spoil anything here, it’s pretty heartwrenching and I loved seeing it unfold over the course of the game (which covers about two weeks of Jill’s life, by the way).

The various characters who show up at the bar are an exceptionally diverse collection of eccentrics, robots, lesbians, and talking brains (yes, that’s a thing), and all of them are an absolute joy. Even the ones I didn’t like at first quickly grew on me as I spent more time with them, listening to their stories and realizing there was so much more depth to them beneath the surface. Between  Jill’s flirtatious hacker friend Alma, naive but hardworking soldier Sei, over-aggressive journalist Donovan, and many others, there’s someone here for everyone. What really amazed me is how later in the game I knew these guys so well that I could instantly tell what drinks they wanted, even when they didn’t specifically ask for it, based on past conversations or even just an understanding of their personality. The characters are exaggerated for comedic moments, yes (and there are plenty of them), but they manage to feel refreshingly real at the same time.

She’s your boss, by the way.

Oh, and the music is amazing. Did I mention that? Because it is. Before every work session you get to create your playlist of tunes that range from soothing to headbangingly intense to everything in between. “Every Day Is Night” and “Glitch City” are my favourites, and I had them near the top of the playlist very time. They add a whole new layer of atmosphere to the experience, though the game is smart enough to override the potentially-unfitting soundtrack for its more serious moments.

If there’s criticism to be found here, it’s that like I mentioned earlier, the gameplay’s nothing to write home about (though it’s not meant to be), and the drink-based ‘dialogue system’ isn’t perfect. Also, while the game has multiple endings, unlocking them can get a bit cryptic, which is unfortunate since a few of them provide closure to characters who otherwise just kind of disappear after a point. While I suppose that’s fitting for the small scope of this story, I do wish more had been done with some of these characters. 

Overall, VA-11 HALL-A was a surprisingly fantastic experience, and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s into visual novels and/or cyberbunk, and even those who aren’t normally interested in those things (like me!). More than anything, this is a game about people, and the different ways they try to live in a world that is far bigger than any of them. So if you think you can dig that kind of story, then put on your bartending outfit, boot up VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartending Action, and get ready to mix drinks and save lives. 

[fortysevenswrites]

11/11 Writing Tag

Tagged by one of my fav Rogue One writers, @theputterer, and I’m glad I came across it on my dash because I didn’t get the email about the @, so…thanks Tumblr…

I was also tagged a couple weeks ago by @incognitajones, so I’m going to answer their all 22 questions in one long post, so—be aware of that.

Rules: Answer the 11 questions of the person who tagged you; make up 11 questions; tag 11 people to answer them.

@theputterer’s questions:

What is your favorite fandom to write for?

I think my favorite fandom to write for would have to be whatever fandom is in the forefront of my mind. I’m not exactly one to hop from fandom to fandom. It’s more - here’s the current fixation, watch how it takes over my life. It’s how it’s been since…as far as I can remember.

So, I guess for an actual answer, it would mean The Punisher, which—I’m not going to lie—I started about thinking about writing for before I watched anything from either Daredevil or The Punisher. And I thought to myself, I have to be good and start from the beginning, but I didn’t feel like slogging through DDS1 (still don’t), so I said fuck it and started season two. Best. Decision. ever.

Remember - do whatever the hell you want.

What is your most “hot take” of a headcanon?

Hmmmmmm. That’s a good question.

For Star Wars, I’d say that Padme is definitely force sensitive as fuck (which also probably explains why I bring her in as a Force Ghost in all my Sequel Trilogy fic. Also, Leia Fucking Badass Organa is more force sensitive than Luke.

For Daredevil/The Punisher, I head canon that Karen doesn’t actually think of Matt as her ex-boyfriend. I really don’t. They went on a date and a half, and made out once. (I will give them credit for having a nice make-out scene, even though I definitely do not ship them and Matt’s not high in my hierarchy of favorite Netflix-MCU characters).

Is there a trope you just can’t stand?

I’d have to say a tie between ABO and Poly, but now that I’m typing it, ABO definitely comes out ahead. I just can’t. For poly ships, it has to be written REALLY well for me to be about it.

But mostly just, no.

In what writing area or style would you most like to improve?

I’d love to get better at action scenes. I’m great at exposition and dialogue, and dropping epic plot-twist bombs, but fight scenes are hard, yo.

What’s an AU you’d like to write but haven’t, and why haven’t you written it?

Since binging Star Trek Discovery this year, I really want to do a Kastle/Star Trek Disco AU, and that’s if I have to pick an AU. I’m really best served in the canon-divergence side of fandom, but if there’s one I’d like to try to tackle eventually (like after The Big Indulgence), it would be that one. Especially after how ST:D pulled off the season 2 finale, because holy shit.

Describe an OC you created for a fic in five sentences or less.

From my stilllllll unfinished MCU AU, Just Fake It (And No One Will Know You’re In Over Your Head) Charlotte Lewis:

1. Darcy Lewis’ younger sister.

2. Adorable genius.

3. Insomniac.

4. Badgers Bucky until he agrees to teach her Russian.

5. Is very, very, very (SPOILERS).

I promise, I’ll finish it someday.

What is your best writing tip?

Just write. Inspiration isn’t going to hit every single day, but if you want to be a consistent writer and churn out fic at whatever pace you want (or even your own original fiction work), then you have to just write. It doesn’t matter if it’s shit, as long as you get words on the page, you can go back and make them suck less.

Name a writer who has influenced your writing style, and how.

That woman who wrote Harry Potter (whose name I do not like using anymore, because reasons) inspired me to be interested in fantasy, and open the door to my love of reading and creating stories (including stories that are, you know, better).

Which character do you wish you wrote more about, and why don’t you?

I want to write more Mitchell Ellison, specifically Ellison interacting with Frank. The stories I read where they meet are some of my favorites. The only thing stopping me is that I haven’t had the chance to fit him into any of my current plots…yet.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

I have 2 favorite things to do. One is to just talk out the overall plot of the fic or story with a friend (that usually helps me fill and plot holes and get around blocks), or I go on a walk and run through the story in my head. That’s a great way to go about it.

If you wrote a story that was a fusion of two separate fandoms, which would they be?

Well, I’d also like to write a Kastle/Veronica Mars fusion, and damnit now I have another potential plot bunny to throw into my ALREADY FULL HUTCH DAMMIT.

@incognitajones’ questions:

What was the last book you read, and what did you think of it?

Fiction-wise, I recently re-read my one of my favorite easy reads, The Givenchy Code by Julie Kenner. It’s The DaVinci Code, but with fashion.

Are you a multishipper or an OTP type of fan?

It really depends on the fandom, but I tend to lean more toward OTP.

What’s a song you always sing along to?

Throwing it back to 2006: Call Me When You’re Sober by Evanescence since

If you could be adopted by a Star Wars character, who would it be?

None of the men.

But probably Padme or Sabe (#HandmaidensForLife)

A movie you can’t help but stop and watch when it’s on TV

Battleship. It has its problem, but it also has Taylor Kitsch.

What city/country would you really like to visit?

Japan and Australia. I’ve committed myself to traveling more now that I’ve left my job and started my own online business that lets me work from wherever I want.

If you had to live in a historical era (i.e. more than 50 years in the past), which would you choose?

Oh god, I don’t know if I could live without my laptop.

Would you rather be rich or have amazing talent in your chosen field?

You can have both.

That one little pet peeve you know is irrational but still bugs you

We don’t have time to list them all, but probably people who are bad at reading aloud. That’s been a big one since I was in school.

What’s a favourite small indulgence when you want to treat yourself?

Since cookie dough shops (like, places that are just like ice cream shops, but they sell edible cookie dough instead) are super in right now, there’s a shop around the corner from my place, and it’s super dangerous. I try to go only when I have something big to celebrate.

As a child, did you have a favourite toy or stuffed animal?

I had (and still have) a yellow blanket that’s super worn and threadbare and soft. It still lives with me in my bed. I’ve also had a stuffed cow since. Was 17 that’s traveled with me wherever I’ve lived. Including 10 months in Alabama.

And now, I’m going to tag for my 11 questions: @ck90, @the-restless-brook, @nxbodygoesafterher, @arms-and-arrows, @tuntematonkorppi, @heidiamalia, @ninzied, @thevampirecat, @ejunkiet, @kteague, and @jynirso (and anyone else who wants to answer.

Are you more of a Crowley or more Aziraphale?

What is your favorite fic you’ve ever read? (Give me recs, people!)

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve ever written?

If you had 8 million dollars to spend on your dream home, where would it be?

What is your Oh-Hell-No-est of NoTPs?

If money was no object, what would your career be?

What is a fandom you’ve never written for, but would like to?

One shots or series?

If you walked into a library and could not find a new book to read that tickles your fancy, what would your default be?

Are you afraid of clowns?

Do you prefer writing short-fic or long-fic?

[themodernsouthernpolytheist]

Thank the gods I thought to copy this text before I tried to queue it!!!

I’d have been soooo pissed after I wrote this out to lose it! I hit “save as draft” so that I could schedule the post since it’s a random ass time right now, and literally watched it just disappear. Get your shit together @staff @support *side eye* 

Anywhoo, @madamehearthwitch here’s the answer to your very sweet ask about eating offerings from last month! Sorry it took so long! 

Ok, so, this only took me a friggin month to get back to, but alas, I have info, haha. Before we get started, I wanna say thank you to my CI (especially @echtrai, @nicstoirm, and @nine-hazels​) folks for helpin me flesh out this answer!

The short version is that the idea of not consuming offerings is simply part of the culture, but we do have some textual references to it as well. Just keep in mind that these texts aren’t primary holy text akin to the Bible, Bhagavad Gita, etc.

The first one we remembered was from The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries. Rai talks about that here, so I won’t rehash all of it, but basically the toradh or essence is removed and therefore unhealthy. I haven’t read this one because college followed by grad school, but I’ve been told by these trusted folks that it’s got some somewhat racist and outdated language, so FYI.

Hazels also pointed out a book called Meeting the Other Crowd by Admund Lenihan. She says it “does essentially the same thing but is much more recent.” So that’s another one to look at!

And then I know I’ve read it in The Gaelic Otherworld. It’s mentioned specifically there on pgs. 11, 12, 17, 128. 175, and 177 if you have a copy, but all these references basically state the sidhe take the essence, leaving a semblance of the item, but one that is there only in technicality. This also applies to animals that are taken by the sidhe; the real animal is gone and basically a shell is all that’s left.

There’s also an article on Tairis that cites a “Walsh 2002, p. 127/129” but then doesn’t list it in the biblography. *stares in academic* Morgan Daimler has a source in one of her biblios for “Sacred Space in Viking Law and Religion, Walsh B (2002) so that may be of some use as well.

So, despite its extreme tardiness, I hope that’s helpful! It’s always good to have a refresher on where these specific things come from, even when you’ve abided by them for years. :)

[aidenwaites]

You tell your haunted house stories I'll tell mine

oh hoho nonny idk when you sent this but get ready for a STORY

So between about the time that I was 8 to 11 years old, my mom, my sister, my young nephew, my brother, and I lived in a double wide trailer out in the middle of the woods on Berry road. We also occasionally lived with a couple of my brother’s friends, who each had homes that were.. less than good, and who my mom was glad to take in, and one of my sister’s boyfriends. Rent was $300 a month and we practically lived off of food stamps and church donated foods. 

The landlady lived right next to us; Mrs. Dolly, who had to be somewhere in her eighties and who spent every day outside gardening, despite her bad back and her several hip surgeries. She lived alone in a cabin and my first exposure ever to the concept of Pride was through her gay son, who my sister went with a few years in a row. 

First things first: No one told me this when we first moved in, but I learned it from eavesdropping on my mom and Mrs. Dolly. Mrs. Dolly’s previous husband died in the trailer, in the bed that was in the master bedroom. This bed was also where my mom slept, because she couldn’t afford to get a new one. 

Now, I’ll tell you what I remember as someone looking back roughly ten years ago. (Holy shit, it’s been that long?) and as someone who was a child back then.

First of all, while living in that house, I developed an irrational fear of mirrors. Particularly, the mirror in the bathroom of the master bedroom. I refused to use that bathroom. I’d fight my mom when she’d make me take a bath or shower in there. (Oddly enough, years later and after we moved out, that bathroom is where a fire would start that burned the entire trailer down.) 

Second of all, I’ve always had vivid dreams, but while on Berry road, they developed a recurring theme. All of my dreams, though different, involved a shadow following me through the trailer. I haven’t had these since. According to my mom, this used to freak her out when I’d tell her about it, but she didn’t want to scare me. I also once dreamt that a man was sitting on our couch, dressed in a suit, and staring at the TV, which was blank. I didn’t see his face because I only walked behind him. Recently, when I told my mom this, she found it weird because the first time she’d been told about the husband, she had vividly pictured a man in a suit. 

I remember both my brother and my sister getting trapped in their rooms because their doors got stuck- a problem I never had because my room had sliding doors- and my nephew once getting trapped in the sun room around five in the morning when he was maybe two. 

Now, on to my mom’s experiences. 

I learned about all of this because, recently, we watched the Buzzfeed Unsolved episode about Hannah’s house together, and when Hannah described the knocking she heard, my mom had to pause the video. She told me that while living on Berry road, whenever she was alone in her bedroom, she’d hear what sounded like three, steady knocks coming from below the floorboards. Sometimes, when this happened, she’d try to get my sister or her boyfriend at the time into the room to listen, but it wouldn’t happen again. One of my mom’s boyfriends heard this a whole one time while he was sleeping over. 

It couldn’t have been an animal, because that would sound more like scratching or running or thumping. This was a knock. The only time my mom says she heard it not in the bedroom was when she was alone in the living room, and the sound came from the wall where my brother’s closet would be. She investigated, and nothing was there. 

My brother claims he saw movement in the reflection of his TV sometimes when it was turned off. My mom had a tendency to sleep walk while living there, which she never did before that and hasn’t done since. I think I remember Mrs. Dolly saying that sometimes things happened in her cabin that she found odd, but I don’t remember the specifics. 

All in all, its not much, but there were a lot of weird little coincidences that happened while we were there. Personally, I’m freaked out the most about the fact that my mom and I apparently pictured the same faceless man in a suit. 

[edelwary]

when you were first getting into art, what and how did you draw? (like did you just doodle ur masterpieces on pieces of paper and posted-notes or did you have a proper sketchbook) how did you find motivation? bc ive been trying to draw but I always get unmotivated and stop while still wanting to get better just by doing nothing.

REALLY LONG, LOTS OF ADVICES FOR ARTISTS : 

TL;DR ; skip to the HOW TO ACTUALLY FUCKING DRAW part bc i have a megaton of shit to say lol + The MOTIVATION part 

mmh… I’ll get into details with this one tbh bc it’s a long ass process ahah : 

I live by the sea ; when i was youung i used to draw TONS of boat, but like, dollhouse boats, you could see the insides and stuff ; i loved to add tiny details and stuff, and imbricate everything together !

around 8 or 9 yo, i went to the public library with school and discovered the wonderful world of mangas ! I basically… Copy pasted an entire Mermaid Melody tome x) 

For about 2 years i alternated between reading mangas and trying to copy them ! Then i just kept drawing in the margins of my schoolwork for about… 5 years ! I have a Fuck Ton of sketchbooks of that time, it was… The start. Lol. Never say it’s bad because it’s never bad, just not there yet !!

Around my 13 yo, i went every saturday, for two years, under a bookstore ; there was a cave, and drawing classes ; that teacher was mean and harsh and stuff, but like… Not really. He would take away my eraser for the class, force me to use pencil, to draw something else (bulky boys instead of magical girls). 

I’ve learned a lot, more in terms of How To LEARN to draw than to draw itself, but i still progressed a LOT !! 

Then i kept drawing by myself for a year and i really worked hard on it ; about hours a day, trying watercolors and stuff ; i have a real problem with colors in traditionnal art, but i’m much better with lines (i should scan some RAD stuff i made in the weekend, yall ive never done anything this good i stg i dont know why i always forget im so much better on paper) 

This gets us to my sweet 16 ; i have to year of advance, bc i got ‘’’promoted’’’ idk how to say it ; anyways, i entered my (current) animation school for the first year at 16; vERY IMPRESSIVE AND TERRIFYING. 

And i learned. A fuckmegaton. Of shit there. 

Now i’m going for my third year there and i can make photorealistic marmora blades and cyberkpunk decors if i want to and that’s rad, but here is

 HOW TO ACTUALLY FUCKING DRAW : 

I have one HYPER important advice, and i’m keeping it to heart since i’m like, 11 : Have. Sketchbooks. Please !!! It’s very important. Here’s why : 

You keep everything with you in one place. You have 1 sketchbook, it’s basically easy to take every where (a A5, or A4 are pretty easy to carry, i have like, 12 of those, and around 8 of A3) 

You keep track of what you’ve done. It’s super important, bc first you can cry of laughter at your old stuff bc its cute but not so good, and second, you can just be like ‘holy mama’ and see how much you’ve improved

It’s very important to be organized. I WORK in art, and trust me, if there’s something that i’ve learned this year through tears and missing files and bugs : Be. Impeccable. Now if it’s for fun, go a little loose, and just have a folder for art on your computer, and a sketchbook, no need to stress, but the better you try to keep a record of where is what, the better you’ll see whats wrong

Notebooks are friends !! You can draw, write, glue stuff, make notes, lists, everything !!! I have my life in those. It’s more important to me than any of my phones. 

Be proud of it. Like, not everything, duh ! But try to tell yourself than it’s like a RPG ; even if it’s only 2 xp here and there, one day you’ll beat level 40, and that’s super important : art is. Fuckin. Long.

I cant stress it enough. It’s soooo long !!! SO LONG !! it’s years. It’s like karate and fishing and ANYTHING. To be good at it, it takes time, but it WILL COME if you keep trying. There’s no secret passage. 

You’re gonna me it, believe in me who believes in you. 

Use. References. 

Coming from a little shit who’s got a really good visual memory, that can sound like bs, but i stg everything is always AT LEAST twice as good if you’ve used a visual support. 

I’m not saying COPY EVRYTHING (even though thats a good training) I’m saying, if you really want to do that asian tiger, please have at least two or three pictures of it nearby. Take photos of your hands, and stuff ! 

Make it harder. 

No eraser. 

Paint. 

I draw all my backgrounds on my sketchbook with INDIAN INK; no returns, no refunds. 

Ink, Ink, INK !! Don’t allow mistakes.

And if you make mistakes :

New page, restart

It’s okay

It’s for you

I once started back again a whole EXAM bc it was bad, i got one of my best grades 

You’ll improve and be more assured if you know you just have to DO IT. Trust me. It’s VISIBLE; if you can erase, you fidget and hesitate and ‘’kbeujebez hahhaaa idkkidsd’’ ; stop ; do it, and if you don’t like it ? Try again, there’s no time limit

Draw as large as you can 

There’s no interesting story here, it just helps. Bigger movement of the hand, more place for details, breathing lines

Thin lineart helps

Thinner. Make it even thinner

Break the rules, but not the ones that structure your art 

Big lineart ? Why not

Unfinished lines, vaporeous colors ? Pretty

Cubism is actually based on extensive and intense practice of classical art, it’s not wibbly wooblly ; the anatomy is more correct than you think 

Structure and composition are important, but so is movement and life ; choose your fighter ; mine is fluidity and fun, i’m like, a rogue/archer in drawing. Some people are dwarf fighter. That’s amazing and great. 

Don’t be afraid to do nothing

Pages and pages of my sketchbooks are actually just lance facing right and smiling, you know… 

Sometimes it just doesnt work : two ways :

Take a break, Kiki’s delivery service style

Keep trying, break your art until it obeys and comes back

Take breaks. Breath. 

Don’t compare. I do it, it doesn’t help at all. You’ll make it ; and if you compare, keep in mind that everyone’s different

I’m not gonna lie, it’s NOT easy, it’s even hard 

But I really, really think it’s worth it 

MOTIVATION :

My main bitch 

I’m always pumped for art because i can LITTERALLY NOT do anything else ; i love reading and writing and stuff but at the end of the day i just want !!! to draw !!!! aaaaaa-

Fall in love with it, and with the possibilities ; i have stories to tell, tell me yours ! Do your best, one day it WILL work

Actual advices : 

I have an inspiration blog where i just reblogs stuff i like to draw them later

Find a picture, copy it. Do it again. Change the characters (i have 2 ocs and Lance and Keith as default characters) in the pic. 

Like an artstyle ? Break it to its very core, analyse it, copy it, redo it, trace it and ABSORB it. Don’t copy/past, LEARN from your heroes.

Do what you like. I have 86578 pieces of voltron, this is not a coincidence. I have ENDLESS ideas for this show, wtf. 

Try new things. Buy indian ink im begging you. It’s so cool. 

Have a game with yourself, or a challenge. STICK TO IT. 

Study. When you’re bored, usually it’s because you’re stagnating. Make it harder or do hands until you cry. 

Love your backgrounds; make backgrounds, study trees, and tokyo streets, and venice’s bridges. Decor is just as cool as characters, if not more

Mess a little with everything. My roomate more than one found me stained from head to toes trying to DO STUFF 

Draw outfits. Draw what you want but can’t afford 

MAKE YOUR LIFE A COMIC. Remember those sketchbooks ? Make a comic a week/month/every full moon, whatever, and draw your life (mine’s the roomates au lol) 

Prompts blogs are cool too 

Make fanart of a fic you liked ; you have the characters and the pose already, you just have to illustrate ; double bonus, you probably will make a writer’s day, if not year !

That little movie that plays when you listen to your favorite song ? DRAW IT

Your favorite scene in your favorite movie ? Redraw each shot. On post it. Plus it looks awesome afterwards to have the infamous TREX scene of Jurassic Parks in post it

Get bored. That’s inevitable. Dance, scream, get back to it. Walk, draw everything you see. 

Make a paper google map street view : Take a walk : every 50 meters, draw what is in front of you. 

Snapchats your friends. Draw their snapchats when they answer 

Draw maps. Invent places. Invent bikes, and hovercrafts, and monsters. Make your everyday inventory. Make your life a video game, and do the concept arts of it. 

FETCH your inspiration. I have approx. 20 artbooks, full of drawings and concept arts of my fave movies/games ; take what you like and add it to the story you have since you’re 8. We all have one. 

Ask for it ; your sis, your mom, me even ! If you dont have ideas, someone will have them. 

WELL i’m gonna stop there, even though i got like, 9864567 more to say, but with this you should be fine ! Anon, i’m rooting for you ! we all start somewhere, just hold on!!!! 

[queen-of-hearts92]

Revue Starlight 11: Requiem for a Stage Girl.

First sight of blood spilled in the show! Um, hooray?

For the previous episode go here!

To go to the start of these posts, go to the Prelude!

YOOO! We are near the end everyone! Can you mcfucking believe it?! Man, this anime was a fucking ride and I loved it! God this is good, and gay! Anyways! Episode 11 was an emotional ride, oooo boy! Let’s waste no more time and get right to it then!

This time I couldn’t settle on a song title or lyric for this post I liked so I made one up! A requiem is a musical piece thats often played at a funeral. Hikari is pretty much treat like she’s fucking dead plus I like how it sounded.

>It’s the final countdown! *trumpets play*

We start where the previous episode left off, Karen falling rapidly off the platform. She is still in shock. Karen lands in the water that surrounds the stage and luckily she’s in a place where physics don’t matter so she has landed there safely. Giraffe announces Hikari as the winner of the auditions, he goes “ok time to harvest that starlight for your wish, what you want?”. All the other Stage Girls below watch and wait to see what stage Hikari will wish for. There’s an awkward silence before Hikari gives her answer, she doesn’t want it. Giraffe is surprised, Hikari says she doesn’t need any fuel for her wish. Perplexed, Giraffe asks if she plans to provide her starlight and only her starlight for the fuel. Hikari says, “Didn’t you want to see an unpredictable stage?” confirming that yes she wants to give herself up so no one else's is taken. She grips her knife blade hard enough to cut her hand causing it to bleed. The blood drips onto, not the ground but onto Hikari’s metal badge making anyone watching this go yooo.

Giraffe accepts her request. The tiara is on Hikari’s head as Giraffe announces that the audition duels are over and Hikari’s request was granted. We zoom out a bit to see a giant version of the tiara encircle Hikari, disjointed sounds play and then we hear the sound of a large door closing. Hikari vanishes, only position zero and Giraffe remain. Karen lies in the water too stunned to say or do anything. Position zero is shown one last time before the lights go out, plunging the screen into darkness.

It’s all over.

And then we get the opening.

*record scratch* *freeze frame* Yup that’s me, you’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.

One day after the final auditions, there's a notice on a bulletin board. Hikari has apparently transferred out of school. Karen is confused to say the least. She and Mahiru go to the office to ask their teacher whats up. The teacher confirms that yes Hikari left, all the documents have been filled out and they are stamped with Giraffe’s logo. Karen asks where Hikari went exactly but their teacher brushes her off and says doesn’t know. So yes the school is in on all this magic stage bullshit. Karen tries calling Hikari, but her phone has been disconnected. Cause that’s not incredibly alarming at all.

Two days after the final audition, turns out Hikari left all of her things behind. All of it, cause that isn’t alarming at all. Karen pulls out the Starlight book, Nana and Junna are concerned.

Three days after the final audition, Karen calls the London school to see if Hikari is there. Doing her best to speak english while Mahiru holds a notebook with the english words to help her. Futaba and Kaoruko are nearby watching them. Karen’s call was in vain though, Hikari isn’t there either.

One week after the final audition, Karen and Mahiru go to the police for help. They sit with two officers to talk to them. Officer 1 says that Hikari did file the correct documents to leave school but Karen is like “I mcfuckin doubt that.”. The officers are like ok ok, we’ll ask a few more questions then. They ask where Karen and Mahiru last saw Hikari and it hits both of them that saying “on an underground stage with a talking giraffe” would just make them sound crazy, they can’t answer that question. Well shit.

Two weeks after the final audition, Karen sit in the subway station texting Hikari hoping she’ll respond. She’s sent several messages actually. But no response, at all. Karen looks at her phone sadly.

Three weeks after the final audition, the final cast list for the Starlight play has been posted. It’s legit the same exact cast as last time. Alrighty then.

One month after the final audition, she goes to the Tokyo Tower shop alone and stares sadly at the lamp display.

Seven months after the final audition, it’s now December. Karen and Mahiru sit on Karen’s bed still calling Hikari’s phone, and texting it. Still no response. Karen gets up and put her crown hair clip on, she says “Let’s go Mahiru.” and the two leave to go to school.

Mr. White and Hikari’s suitcase being left behind is a HUGE indicator that Hikari’s disappearance isn’t normal at all.

We go to Nana and Junna walking to school, they’re in winter coats. Nana comments on how cold it is, Junna says it’s the coldest day this year and references Nana’s time loop by saying that Nana probably hadn’t experienced cold like this in awhile. Nana is like “yeahhhh.”. The two come across Mahiru and Karen at a mailbox, Karen is trying to contact Hikari via snail mail now. Nana asks Karen if she’s cold and gives her a hug saying “Hot Banana!”. The four of them smile and then Karen says via voice over the contents of the letter she sent. She talks about everyone preparing for the Starlight play. We see a pile of letters Karen has sent to Hikari, they’ve all been returned so no luck with the snail mail either.

Jun Jun certainly thinks you are Nana! *runs*

It’s now the evening, the girls are still working on the play. Junna is writing stuff down on a clipboard and Nana comes in with food for the stage crew. Nana and Junna are called away from the group to run though the script for the play. We go to our girls and Karen, isn’t doing too well. Ameniya (the script writer if you don’t recall) asks if Karen was injured, Karen says no. So she’s like “so, why the fuck are you performing so badly??”. Sanai (the director if you don’t recall) hits the mark by asking if it’s because of Hikari. Ameniya is about to tell Karen to get over it when Mahiru goes “LET’S NOT.” so she stops herself from saying that. Ameniya apologizes and is like “just try to focus ok?” Sanai says “If you aren’t feeling up to doing this role its ok, we can get someone else to do it”. Wow, now that’s a comfort fail right there. Anyways, Junna and Nana arrive and they get back to rehearsal.

While going through the scenes, Karen is still distracted. She starts wonder what was wrong with her, why does she not feel anything while performing? No joy, no fear, nothing. Karen stops practicing all together concerning everyone in the room. She questions why she wanted to be on stage in the first place. Hikari is gone, why should she bother? She speaks aloud saying she loves the stage but she doesn’t know why. Then, a realization hits her like a truck. She knows now what Hikari meant when she said you lose the most important thing to a stage girl if you lose the auditions. Karen’s starlight wasn’t taken by the stage but, with Hikari completely gone it might as well have been stolen from her. Karen realized that this did happen to Hikari, she starts to cry. She says she gets it but also doesn’t but she does. She says her realization aloud that Hikari lost her starlight. Karen cries out Hikari’s name and has an emotional breakdown in the practice room.

Yeah this is the expression I’d make too if I discover a magic ass stage gives you severe depression and it’s already done that to your gf.

It’s the next day, Karen is in her bed with the covers over her head. The other girl are outside sitting at a table together, they all know the truth now about the price of losing the auditions. They are all disturbed by this revelation and the mood is somber. We learn why Maya reacted the way she did to Hikari in episode one, it was the lack of any emotion whatsoever in her eyes. Maya says that since Hikari’s starlight was stolen she became a dead stage girl. Claudine points out that all of them still have their starlight and Futaba comes to the conclusion that was because Hikari didn’t steal it from them. Kaoruko asks why Hikari would do that. Nana gives a reason, Hikari couldn’t bring herself to do such a thing. Put someone through the same pain as she suffered put Karen through that pain. Futaba is like “well shit she saved all our asses then.” Nana says that Hikari ended up losing all of her starlight and wonders where she disappeared to.

Back with Karen, she’s looking at the childhood photo of herself and Hikari. Karen sits up and wonders if Nana was right, the Starlight play is a sad story about parting. She opens up the Starlight book and even though she isn’t sure if she can read this without Hikari she gives it a try anyways. Then, an idea comes to mind. Later, Mahiru comes home to Karen translating the Starlight book from English to Japanese. She’s pleased that Karen’s motivation came back. Then we get a montage of Karen translation the Starlight book and she even gets some help from her friends. After the montage, we see Karen has gotten to the end. And we find out what happens to Claire after Flora falls from the tower, Claire was punished for the sin of trying to seize the stars and was sealed into the tower just like the other goddesses in there. A new sinner, imprisoned away in this horrible tower thing.

The moral of the Starlight play is if you try for a happier ending you can go fuck yourself. Time to change that ending yes?

Karen is like, well this part of the ending isn’t in the play at all. Then she figures out where Hikari is, she’s imprisoned in the tower just like Claire was in the story. Karen is like “HOLY FUCK, I GOTTA GET TO THAT ELEVATOR!” and runs down the hallway towards it. On the way she grabs the same crowbar Hikari had used in episode three and gets to the elevator. She says while trying to break the elevator door down that where Hikari was isn’t their stage. They haven’t stood on their stage yet! Karen shouts that they haven’t Starlighted yet as she swings the crowbar down, the red light next to the elevator turns on. And, as if the school itself is responding to her, all the fucking lights turn on too. Karen finally is able to pry the door open, light next to the elevator is now blue. She looks down the stairs into the yawning void, here she comes motherfucker.

As Karen descends down the stairs, we get a new song! It’s an interlude. Junna appears next to Karen on the stairs, she goes “So, seizing the stars is a sin? Guess us Stage Girls are all sinners then. But fuck it, who cares if we’re seen as sinners. I don’t care! I’m going for that star anyways!” We pass by Junna’s props as they go down the stairs. Junna stops walking and tells Karen to tell Hikari that she will be waiting for her on the stage. Karen nods and they wave to each other as Karen continues onward. Mahiru walks down the stairs with Karen next, she says “We’re from different places and have different stories but we all met on the same stage. We discovered our starlight together.” Mahiru’s props are passed by, Mahiru stops walking and tells Karen to tell Hikari that she will see her on the stage. 

Next is Kaoruko and Futaba, they don’t walk down the stairs with Karen but they stand in one of their props (the dojo area). They both say that us Stage Girls are united as one by the stage. They ask Karen to tell Hikari that they will see her on the stage. Karen walks with Nana next, she says “All stages come to an end, so we should burn as brightly as we can while we’re there.” Nana’s props are passed by. Nana tells Karen to tell Hikari that she will be waiting for her on the stage. Karen and Nana wave to each other and Karen continues onward.

Claudine travels with Karen next, they take a gold elevator downwards. Not just any elevator through, the same one from the Starlight play. She says, “The stage keeps us going and it's where our hearts belong. It’s the stage the fulfills us.” Maya continues what Claudine was saying as she and Karen walk down the stairs, “Stage girls can be reborn endlessly, hence even if we fall we can get back up again.” Claudine says, in French, that she will be waiting for Karen and Hikari on the stage. Maya also says she will be waiting on the stage. Karen finally reaches the entrance to the theater, the other girls sit at the bottom of the stairs to see her off. They will all be waiting on the stage for her and Hikari. Karen goes inside, and the door shuts behind her.

Zettai. Unmei. Mokushioku.

No background music plays as Karen enters the stage, it's dark and it looks like the water is gone. And for the very first time, Giraffe isn’t present at all. There's only a small section of the Star Tower here. Something is wrong. Suddenly we hear a cell phone ring, Hikari’s phone sits on position zero plugged into an electrical socket. All the messages Karen sent to Hikari start flooding in. Karen runs over and picks up the phone, the phone turns into a ticket. A ticket for a show. She looks up and the Star Tower section now has an opening, Karen announces her name and class and walks towards the opening into the unknown. The credits now play.

But. There’s a post credit scene, Hikari is naked in a pink sandy wasteland. Her cape is stuck on the branch of a brush and the tiara lies in the sand. The Tokyo Tower lays on its side in the sand a little bit aways. Hikari says she remembers her promise with Karen. The episode ends here.

I’m sure she’s fine. This is fine.

>How to save your girlfriend from a pink hellscape: Discussion edition!

-Well well everybody we got ourselves a nice set up episode! I suspected that it would be a set up one. Also every passing episode, my fear of the stage grows. Hahaha. Ha.

-I fucking told y’all it's ALL the girls who lose get their starlight taken and not just second place! Not like that was hard to fucking know like, sorry I just saw folks going “only 2nd place loses their starlight” and I got annoyed. Good to have verbal confirmation man.

-So! 7 months have passed in universe, it's December now. Likely close to Christmas or New Years. SAVE HIKARI FOR CHRISTMAS KAREN!

-Hikari is pretty much just gone. Her paper says she transferred but all her shit is still at the dorm and her phone was disconnected. The paper was marked with a giraffe symbol which means the school is for sure in on it. So “SHE SENT ALL THE PROPER PAPERS IN” MY ASS. Like, god. Fuck, poor Hikari. ;;

--Also gotta take an aside to say everyone who called Hikari a snake or anything of that nature post episode 10 fuckin take that shit back cause she saved our girls! Hikari is good.

-While I figured that the school was in on this shit, I gotta rant angrily about them. I know they fictional but it always gets my goat (fictional or irl) when adults who are supposed to look after kids don’t do so and even worse when they let something like a severe depression causer creature even near these kids. So here I go! Fuck you Seisho Academy! You irresponsible selfish assholes, how dare you let this stage creature come here and feed off of your students. The fuck is wrong with you?! And then you lose track of a kid?! Really?! Also how is letting eight girls get depression gonna fucking help ya?! Like oh shit you just lost eight students good fucking job. What the fuck. I’m gonna go fight ya, meet me in the fucking pit.

-Even though Karen’s starlight wasn’t taken, the stage ended up taking what was most important to Karen anyways. It was Hikari, without Hikari’s existence she can’t muster up passion for performing on the stage anymore. Karen’s emotional breakdown was heartbreaking good god. Thankfully she bounced back!

-The other girls know the truth about the stage now, and realized that Hikari pretty much saved all of them from losing their starlight. This isn’t how I thought the girls finding out the truth would go but this reveal worked really well. Like, they heard the fucking giraffe talk about fuel and shit so when Karen realized what happened to Hikari they put two and two together. Also, looks like I was right about why Maya reacted to Hikari the way she did in episode one! Yeehaw.

-Turns out after Flora was zapped to the ground, Claire became trapped in the tower for her sins. Called it! Yes! I think it’s interesting that to find the truth we have to go back to the plays roots. Going back to your roots to rediscover your passion is something that’s happened a lot in the show. I like this theme.

-Well would you look at that, Karen’s princely vibe is coming into play! Hikari is a princess now like, she’s literally locked in a tower. And if Giraffe is a Kirin there’s even a dragon to fight! Fairy tale imagery is fun. Also oh man if Karen like gives her cape to Hikari I’m gonna cry.

--Also also, hey rev star. We got lots of girls dipping each other and that’s great but please, we need to see a bridal carry DO IT! The perfect opportunity is right here! Right now! Karen can do it! It happened in Hikari’s dream in the prequel manga Overture! Make Hikari’s dream come true DO IT!

-The lack of music when Karen walks into the stage is creepy as fuck. Makes the phone sounds all the more startling. Also the entire stage was much creepier than usual and that’s saying something! The lights in the audience were off, a good chunk of the tower was gone, and Giraffe wasn’t there at all. This, is alarming to say the least. Even more alarming, the stage is still fucking here. It hasn’t moved to a new location, why? Was it...waiting? Waiting on Karen to come and continue the tragedy? Jesus christ, this stage man. ono

-Hikari’s phone turns into a ticket and I. Fuck. That was fuckin wild. Really good editing in this show oh man.

-Hey guess what? CROWN SOUNDS ARE HERE AGAIN. 20 seconds in, fuck. I don’t really have time to snag a audio clip for it but, just letting you know it's fucking back and still fucking scary.

-I loved how Junna’s stair moment was her going “we’re sinners now? Ok, I’m still grabbing that star though! You can’t stop me!” God I love her, Jun Jun is great!

-Small detail but I wanted to mention it anyways but during the whole episode we never see Maya and Claudine too far from each other, always together. Even during the staircase part, Claudine was only a few steps away from Maya. Like quite a difference to see that right? They meant it when they said they’ll always stay together in the previous episode. It’s a cute detail and its nice to see their relationship going so well! I love them.

-So I wrote about the stage and its favoritism towards certain Stage Girls but it got really fucking long so it will be its own post one day!

-I love the Evangelion like imagery at the end there, this shit is gonna get surreal and I am ready!

-I wish all the Stage Girls were going on this rescue mission but oh well. The scene with Karen going down the staircase was so nice and sweet and I loved seeing all her friends support her! But, this part also felt like a goodbye. Like Karen isn’t coming back...hope I’m wrong.

-Each girl that walked down with Karen was in the same order as their duels. With Junna going first and Maya going last, nice touch!

-An Interlude is a musical piece played between acts of a stage production. So, does this mean we going to act 2 now? Possible season 2? Hope so!

>This speculation was brought to you by: Put that stage back where it came from or so help me!

-I wrote theory about why I think the stage is from the planet Venus! Check it out!

-Since Hikari lost her clothes cause she’s in the tower. This might mean that this shot from the opening is telling us that Karen will end up staying with her in there. They will then, literally become starlight. Just like Karen says in her audition speech. If this is the case then that could leave this show open for a season 2. That would be kinda sad tho, but it seems foreshadowed hm. The other options I’m thinking is that they both get out just fine or only one of them gets out. Or maybe they just, end up on fucking Venus and it’s like oh shit we gotta get back to earth. That option is a bit out there yes but hey, you never know!

-I’ve been shouting about the Starlight Gatherer for awhile now. We still don’t know who it is, I’m banking on Giraffe still! Or maybe the stage itself? Gdi I’m just gonna wait and see at this point, I don’t have any new theories here. Heres a good video about the Starlight Gatherer if you want some more speculation! Oh! And, let me just. Drop the little poem we saw about it right here:

Starlight Gathering is Forgiveness of Sins

Starlight Gathering is a Wonder of Night

Starlight, The Shining of Hope

Your Shines are the Starlight

The Starlight Gatherer

Gives The Beast from Over the Garden Wall vibes here...I don’t like it. ono

-I’ve pointed this out before but I’ll say it again. In her stage outfit, Hikari gets a crown of stars around her head. In artwork often the divine or saints get a circle of stars as a crown like that, these are known as Crowns of Immortality. I have been wondering how this related to Hikari, but I think I know now. Martyrs can also get crowns like that in artwork, and Hikari just martyred herself to save everyone's starlight.

>All good plays must come to an end.

I, can’t believe we’re near the end. Where does the time go? But wow, I love this anime! My gut feeling was right! Am I ready for the end? No. But it will come either way, let's enjoy while it's here my dudes! That’s how shit like this rolls, burns brightly but it doesn’t last forever so we should enjoy it while its here.

See you on the final stage for episode 12!

[xylianna]

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I have had a lot of rum today and will totally star for star with you....of course I will probably be sober by the time you get to this... MORNING RUM IT IS!!!!

48 STARS?   SERIOUSLY DO YOU WANT MY LIFE STORY?  CAUSE YOU’RE ABOUT TO GET IT.

1. my first pet was a rabbit named Carmel

2. my first cat was a yellow tabby named Orlith (Moreta’s queen dragon in the Dragonriders of Pern books)

3. my other two cats have been named Wolf and Lynx.  Wolf is my old lady cat, 18 years old.  Lynx I had to rehome when I moved a few years ago.  Orlith died years ago, the poor thing.

4. I learned how to hunt because I live in an area that is THE THING and also animals are tasty. I spent hours tracking a damn pheasant on my first hunt but because of my shitty eyesight/lack of depth perception, couldn’t see it, so my dad shot it. He still credited me with the kill since I tracked it.

5. I like to go fishing, if by fishing you mean “sit on the boat and read a book because its pretty on the water”

6. I like spreadsheets a little too much. Google Sheets means I can have them EVERYWHERE.

7. I love to sing, and its the one thing I’m actually a bit arrogant about. At least, I feel like its arrogance. Maybe its just being truthful? I have a really good voice. I trained it for a lot of years.  it’s one of the few things I can do that almost always lifts my mood.

8. I hadn’t seen any live concerts in ages, and then in 2016 I saw Final Fantasy A New World and the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

9. I have next to no confidence in anything outside my singing and it still boggles my mind that people like my writing. this isn’t me fishing for compliments, I’m honestly astounded. I read other people’s stuff and I’m blown away that those same people like mine, when theirs is just so fucking amazing.

10. sometimes I go anywhere between a day or a week without contacting anybody just to see if anyone bothers to talk to me if I don’t reach out first.  the results usually make me more sad than before I tried. and make me question most my ‘friendships’.

11. I’ve been single for two years and I kinda hate it, but don’t expect it to change anytime soon. part of the reason is i’m picky AF.  most of the reason is I have little to no social life.

12. I’m pagan and I am deeply spiritual but I generally don’t discuss it at all if I’m not asked by a close friend, because to me spirituality and religion is DEEPLY personal

13. I have never slept with a woman who hasn’t decided afterwards that she’s straight. this is probably why I’ve dated so few women. while logically I know there’s no correlation between my performance and their declarations (especially as my more recent ex-gf is dating another woman now), its still a pretty big ego blow.

14.  Sorry I just answering this to sing for like 10 minutes.   Currently trying to type while singing “Missing” by Evanescence.  ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST!

15. i hate going to movies alone and will actively buy people tickets just so I don’t have to

16. I hate cooking for just me when my son isn’t home, so instead I tend to batch cook and freeze a bunch to enable lazy dinners down the road

17. I’m a really good cook :D

18. Tomorrow I play D&D! I play once a month with a small group of family and friends. This is the third group I’ve had for the same campaign and I don’t think I’ll ever see the end at this rate, haha.

19. I also play WoW.  In WoW, I play Xylianna, the Paladin.  In D&D I play a Fighter.  I like swords okay?

20. work sucked this week but I have rum now :D

21. I had cancer when I was 17.   In 2 months will be my 18th anniversary of being cancer free. I celebrate that more than my birthday, or my wedding anniversary before I was divorced.  Nothing gets you to pare the bullshit out of your life faster than getting that diagnosis, let me tell you.

22. HOW THE FUCK AM I ONLY ON NUMBER 22 WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME *gets a third drink*

23. In my local kink community, my ‘scene name’ is one of my first OTP’s.

24. If 23 didn’t warn you, I’m going to talk about BDSM now. I’m a switch insofar as I’ll top without any real hint of dominance since I LOATHE the responsibility of being a dom.  Iggy in Discretion/What Would Happen is totally based off me, because I vastly prefer to give over control since my entire fucking life is me running everything. I run my dept at work, I run my house, I run my gaming group, I run my karaoke group.  Sometimes I just need a break okay?

25. also gimme dat pain

26. and I’ll give you some, too, because I enjoy service topping

27. Consent is Sexy, okay?   I go out of my way to portray consent being constantly re-established in my bdsm fics particularly, because its never okay to assume that just because I was allowed to do X last week, its okay to do X this week. I mean obviously in an established relationship, it would be different, but even then CONSENT AND COMMUNCATION, SO FUCKING SEXY

28. I wish I could play a string instrument. I bought a guitar and tried to learn it but it turns out I am not good at teaching myself something so different from what I already know, haha.  Chords  are confusing to me for some reason. Or I made them more confusing than they had to be.

29. I am embarrassed to admit how many years its been since I picked up one of my clarinets.  I wish I could find a local ensemble to join, but, that would mean reaching out and asking and aahhhhhh *hides*

30. I would also totally lose my shit if I could find a choral group to join that wasn’t attached to a Christian church. no offense at all to christian churches, but I feel a bit dishonest joining a group connected to a faith I don’t share, you know?

31. when I go to xmas eve church with my mom at her church, my brother-in-law’s mother does indeed make me join choir for that night, and its great!

32. i’m intensely lonely most of the time but I pretend i’m not because indulging in the feeling won’t change anything. and tbh part of it is my fault for isolating myself.

33. I have chronic severe depressive disorder coupled with a side of anxiety. So I feel like shit, and I worry about it, LOL

34. Prior to November 2017 NaNoWriMo, I hadn’t written in over 10 years, save for a couple 300ish word short stories.

35.  part of me is terrified certain family members will find my AO3/Tumblr. I actually talked to my psychologist about this fear at my last appointment. We agreed that if they go to so much trouble as to find my internet alter ego, they deserve to be offended by my work. Fuck ‘em.

36. just once I wish I could feel the support I give my family given to me. I have one supportive family member and its not even blood. my brother-in-law is my best friend, for real.  my Warder (if you follow WoT), bonded in balefire.  I wish the rest of my family would care about me, but I’m working on accepting they just won’t.

37. I love learning languages for the same reason I love studying music, and I love writing - my goal is to communicate as effectively as possible, make people really understand, and the more avenues open to me the better

38. when I get a little drunk, I forget English and speak a mashup of Spanish, German, and Japanese

39. I have to go to karaoke tomorrow night for the first time since I was sexually harassed at karaoke last October, and I’m kinda terrified

40. I get very down on myself when I realize in my writing I do no world building and very little serious plotting. I basically write angst, or love, or smut. I’m trying to be okay with that, but I admit I feel like I don’t do a good enough job.

41. wow way to kill the mood, Xy.   honestly, if anyone is still reading this, you get a fucking medal.  i’m not that interesting, and I probably should have stopped writing this long ago.

42. I really wish life would give me a fucking break, you know?  but that’s not how it works.  you gotta make your own breaks, and I’m too gods-damned tired to try at present.  Maybe I’ll try later this year.

43. I wish I lived alone. Ironic, since I’m lonely 99% of the time.  But having a roommate isn’t the same as having companionship and sometimes I just want to not listen to someone else’s blaring TV or have someone else walk thru the house while I’m writing at the table or have someone comment on my singing (even if its complimentary)

44. WOW I GOT DEPRESSED LETS LIGHTEN THINGS UP SHALL WE?  I love apple scented shit.

45.  I own at least 10 pairs of kitty ears, and two tails.  In fact I am wearing ears to karaoke tomorrow.  Meow.

46.  I want the relationship I write for Gladnis in my Discretion series BUT I’M NOT HOLDING MY BREATH FAM

47.  my son is 8 yrs old and he’s honestly the best thing i’ve done with my life, and he is the thing I am most proud of, even topping my joy in beating cancer

48.  in 2016 I lost 120 pounds.  in 2017 i gained 30 back.  in 2018… we’ll see.

HOLY FUCK THAT WAS HARD I DESERVE MORE RUM NOW OKAY

[dandonnarumma]

TOP 50 RELEASES OF THE YEAR PT. 2

Without a question, 2017 was the year of Planning for Burial. I've been a big fan of his music for a while now, and this year just further cemented Thom Wasluck's musical genius for me.  I can't say how many times I've listened to Below the House, but it's an absurd amount. Like, a ridiculously absurd amount. From the pounding and guttural bombardment of Whiskey and Wine to the droning and ambient anguish of Dull Knife pt. 2, that album is utterly enthralling, and encapsulates the mood and emotions of sadness and melancholy so perfectly. It's an album that I connected to upon first listen, and haven't stopped jamming since its release back in March. If one fantastic release wasn't enough, Planning for Burial also released Matawan-Collected Works 2010-2014, which boasts some of my favorite songs from him to date, including I Hope You’ll Pick Me Out and I Put Red House Painters on a Mixtape for You. A collection of rarities and unreleased tracks that were recorded between his first and second albums comprises this release, and god damn does it not disappoint.

I was also fortunate enough to see Planning for Burial twice this year-once with the mighty and amazing Have a Nice Life and then this weekend here in Rochester, NY. The Boston show will forever be one of the best shows I’ve ever witnessed, and seeing Planning for Burial and then Have a Nice Life was almost like an out of body experience. Both times I saw Planning for Burial, I was floored and amazed by what I was hearing and seeing, and by the fact that what I was hearing was just one dude, a guitar, an insane pedal board, and some amps. Like, what?! Conversely, Funeral Advantage's Please Help Me delves into the sadness of breaking up in a much more upbeat dream-pop manner. Please Help Me and CEOT7K are two of my favorite songs of the year, and I absolutely danced like a maniac to CEOT7K at my wedding back in August. This EP is incredible, and my only knock against it is that it's not an LP. I want more from Funeral Advantage, and hope we get some more music in the near future. From there, Blueprints for an Empty Vessel by Pallow continued to traverse the waters of  gloomy and melancholic music so thoughtful, creatively, and magnificently . Blueprints for an Empty Vessel's melodic gloomgaze immediately hooked me in with Holding and then punched me in the gut by the end of the album with Dreaming for Letters. I feel that this album will wind up being one of the most underrated releases of 2017, but it shouldn't be. It's a phenomenal album with incredible lyrics. Between this LP and their two EPs, there’s not a single song of theirs that I don’t think is awesome as hell. Do not sleep on this band. Next up is Long Island's amazing Iron Chic. I'm not sure there is any other band that fully encapsulates the doldrums of your late 20's/early 30's as perfectly as Iron Chic does, and Can't Stay Here is a prime example of that. I found myself relating to so many of the lyrics throughout this album, and totally sang them as loud as possible more than a few times. Iron Chic is hands down my favorite punk band, and Can't Stay Here is yet another slam dunk from a band that has released some of my favorite albums over the last decade or so. I can't wait to stage dive and sing along when I see them at the Bug Jar next month. Then there's Sannhet's So Numb. Good god does this band and album rip. Do yourself a favor, put on Sleep Well, turn the volume up as loud as possible, sit back, and prepare to headbang until your neck is about to break. Holy shit is this album incredible. I've yet to see them play live, and I've heard their live show is unbelievably awesome, so that's on the list of things I have to do. This album is amazing from start to finish, and these dudes reign as the kings of post-metal, as far as I'm concerned. Between Chelsea Wolfe's Hiss Spun, Death Bell's Standing at the Edge of the World, All Out War's Give Us Extinction, and All Pigs Must Die's Hostage Animal, my ears and brain were in heaven all throughout the year, and the amazingness didn’t stop there, as there would even be more amazing releases from some of my favorite bands as the year progressed. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, King Woman, my long anticipated wait for a Death of Lovers LP, Full of Hell, Big Brave, Incendiary setting the world ablaze, and Jacob Bannon's incredible debut of Wear Your Wounds all assaulted me, made me want to sing, dance, sit in a corner and be miserable, scream at the top of my lungs, headbang into oblivion, and pick up a guitar and write music. 2017 was a fantastic year for music, with some of my favorite music to date being released. If you’ve yet to check any of these bands or releases out, do it to it, Lars, because you won’t be disappointed.  

Here’s my top 25 releases of 2017:

25.   Damn.-Kendrick Lamar

24.   Auras-Deafcult

23.   Music for Chilling Out-The American Dollar

22.   Covert Cult of Death-Low Estate

21.   Every Country’s Sun-Mogwai

20.   Thousand Mile Stare-Incendiary

19.   After the Party-The Menzingers

18.   Voids-Minus the Bear

17.   The Dusk In Us-Converge

16.   Ardor-Big Brave

15.   WYW-Wear Your Wounds

14.   Trumpeting Ecstasy-Full of Hell

13.   The Acrobat-Death of Lovers

12.   Created in the Image of Suffering-King Woman

11.   Luciferian Towers-Godspeed You! Black Emperor

10.   Hostage Animal-All Pigs Must Die

9.  Give Us Extinction-All Out War

8.  Matawan-Collected Works 2010-2014-Planning for Burial

7.   Standing at the Edge of the World-Death Bells

6.   Hiss Spun-Chelsea Wolfe

5.   So Numb-Sannhet

4.   Can’t Stay Here-Iron Chic

3.   Blueprints for an Empty Vessel-Pallow

2.   Please Help Me-Funeral Advantage

1.   Below the House-Planning for Burial

[renaramblesaboutcomics]

Wednesday Roundup 29.11.18

Another week another grab bag of comics in what might be one of the highest rated weeks of the Roundup since I started over a year ago! But how does everyone hold up? How do they all compare? I’m asking for dramatizing’s sake but genuinely there’s nothing in this week that isn’t immensely enjoyable if they even remotely pique your interests. GREAT week for comics, everyone. GG.

Tesladyne’s Atomic Robo, Image’s Black Magick, DC’s Super Sons, IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters II, IDW’s Transformers: Lost Light

Tesladyne’s Atomic Robo and the Spectre of Tomorrow #2 Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener, Anthony Clark, Jeff Powell

There is a certain amount of dry wit and scientific community knowledge that is instrumental to getting the full experience out of the clever writing and deceptively simplistic design of Atomic Robo, and for the past few months I’ve been making a solid attempt to evaluate these comics and Robo himself based on the entertainment received without much of that. And, in all honesty, the more I’ve looked into this the more I wonder if that’s the wrong approach for “unbiased” evaluation to begin with. 

For example, I’ve been very firm on my description of Usagi Yojimbo as being one of those great comics that only gets more and more enriching as you grow a personal interest in history, Japanese culture, and mythologizing -- it’s far enough removed from our actual realities and accessible enough that I recommend it to people who don’t have those interests, but I find that those interests add so much more to the experience. The simple designs, the consistency, the way the narrative is built in episodic spurts more than long form narrative -- those are all reasons I can in good faith recommend these comics to people outside of niche interests, but those niche interests add so much to any reading that it’s difficult to really express why anyone would want to read without so much as acknowledging it. 

That all said, this particular issue continues that same level of quality and intrigue, but also rewards the emotional investment you may have in the characters involved. PersonallyI relate a lot more to Robo’s sense of self-exile and reclusive depression which only causes more and more problems to pile up far more than I’d have ever thought I would, and I don’t think I’d be alone in that. There’s also the long time readers’ reward in seeing consequences to that stollen crystal from Doctor Dinosaur’s island ages ago. All great stuff which is only more greatly emphasized by the creative use of familiar real world scientific organizations and entities wrapped up in this bizarre and surreal reality of Atomic Robo.

Image’s Black Magick (2015-present) #9 Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott

Sometimes the real value of storytelling lies less in identifying the complete package and more in being able to identify the way it weaves multiple elements and even genres at once to provide a new kind of satisfying narrative. And it’s in that way that I think Black Magick has so quickly become not only one of my favorite Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott comics, but one of my favorite recent publications in general. 

Black Magick follows a noir-style crime drama in structure, but its embrace of the supernatural and, especially, in witching stories provide the sort of edge that makes the tiredness of the former genre feel fresh even in the heavily saturated market for procedurals we have currently, while the latter feels completely reborn from that small but influential boom we felt in the 90s. I have never been closer to re-marathoning The Craft, Practical Magic and Charmed outside of the Halloween season. But each new issue of Black Magick brings me that step closer.

This issue also happens to follow the very specific to this week trend of leaning heavily on emotional stakes to really pull itself and its characters above even the thickest of genre settings however, and Black Magick specifically manages that while maintaining an incredibly tight hold on Rowan’s perspective. Which is fascinating because on reread you really realize how much the POV shifts away from Rowan and onto the other characters and their subplots but in reflection it all feels like it’s only in service to Rowan’s main story more than anything else. 

Nicola Scott continues to prove she is perhaps the most gifted and, really, the most prolific of comic book artists in the modern era and I maintain that seeing the true extent of her talents is best assessed by reading this comic and just allowing yourself to be blown away by it all.

This issue also gets major props for introducing a familiar. Good, comic. Perhaps not as action filled or breathtaking as the last issue which was a nail biter from start to finish, but most certainly deserving of those 4/5 stars. 

DC’s Super Sons (2017-present) Annual #1 Peter J. Tomasi, Paul Pelletier, Cam Smith, HI-FI

If you’re one of those people -- and let me absolutely clear that it is more than understandable to be one of these people -- who find super pets and the absolute general ridiculousness of a storyline that involves super animals in any capacity with a timeline that makes no sense and the only real dialogue that matters being literal growls barks and yips, this is not an issue worth your $4.99, you’ll hate it and be annoyed with people like me screaming from the rooftops that you should buy it and read it and love it. And that is completely and utterly fine and reasonable.

I am not fine or reasonable, however, and this is literally the most rewarding $4.99 I’ve spent on a comic in ages. Because no joke there were several times while I was liveblogging this issue both on my main blog and to my friends in PMs that I was literally in tears crying with laughter because

because

Holy shit guys.

In recent years a continued criticism I have carried for superhero comics is that there is a huge tone problem, in that there is a genre’s worth of tones and atmospheres that could be played off of to give at least each individual book if not each individual issue its own feeling and its own intrigue that would set it apart from the rest of the line that given week. DC, especially, has contributed greatly to this tone problem because as I’ve said many times, there was about five years there where even the color palettes for their comics had no variation between them. And it was maddening. 

So to have something goofy, to have something different, and to have it be fun, enjoyable, full of twists and turns, and not so damn determined to take itself beyond seriously, it makes this comic throwback feel like a breath of fresh air in the most necessary of ways. 

And I should be clear, I don’t mean that this comic is for everyone, or that Super Sons as a comic in general doesn’t manage to strike that cord a lot since it really is one of the most enjoyable comics DC has put out in years, but this really felt like a treat, an additional, ridiculous, hilarious story set so far apart from what’s come before. It’s greatly enjoyable. Genuinely deserve of my coveted 5/5 stars. 

IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters II (2017) #5 (of 5) Erik Burnham, Tom Waltz, Dan Shoening, Charles Paul Wilson III, Luis Antonio Delgado

We finally come to an end of this second giant mashup of Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, truly the sort of framework and pairing that is as old as time, and I get to reward everyone’s patience with me reviewing these for a month an a half straight with some final thoughts of sorts. 

I compliment both of these writers quite a bit for their respective contributions and the absolute mastery they both have shown for the voices of their respective franchises, but as this week is pretty well summed up with Rena Waxes Philosophically And Is Old, I think both of our times are better spent here by pointing out something a bit different that really came together with this issue. And that’s that for how pitch perfect these writers are for capturing the long expected voices of these beloved characters, the real remarkable compliment I can give them is how they have uniquely captured and redefined these voices to really make them their own.

Despite how much my childhood might have desired these team ups (and believe me, it so did) the fact is that these interactions and these relationships are utterly a modern invention, and what could easily fail outside of the concept states instead flourishes with us here specifically because they are sticking to their guns and not always angling for the obvious route with these interactions. That’s what makes all of this so fascinating and so rewarding as a fan.

In comparison to the predecessor, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters II does not have as tight of a storyline with a steady but consistent pacing and understanding of where it’s going. But I think because that set up was taking care of in the original these five issues allowed for more experimentation and more concentration on character development and fun scenarios. So if you’re far more invested in character interactions and in comics taking full advantage of the outrageous and unique tone of its medium, there’s probably all the more for you to enjoy with this compared to the first. But at the same time, it would be lying to say that the main driving plot and stakes, with Darius Dun’s ghost and the Fast Forward Evil Turtles-lite trying to harvest souls in a complicated and underused concept didn’t come off as overall a bit weaker than the original.

All that said, ultimately this comic is a joy for fans and it seems to be aimed quite specifically at that audience either way. And in that case I have to give it my highest regards.

IDW’s Transformers: Lost Light (2016-present) #11 James Roberts, Jack Lawrence, Joana Lafuente

Ever since the last arc of James Robert’s parent series, More Than Meets the eye, there’s been a few gaps in the concept of what happened on the Lost Light during and after the mutiny, whether or not the crew saw the Rod Squad’s las message, and especially curious to people like me who can’t help themselves but love our affable and entirely flawed co-Captain Rodimus, what was his final request for his burial and what not since we saw the rest of the crew’s.

And in the second part of this “Mutineer Trilogy” that we have for Lost Light, we are at long last getting our answers to many of those questions. And for a reveal that was a year coming, the Lost Light manages to pack all the twists, turns, and punches that we could hope to expect! 

It’s fascinating to see Getaway’s sense of grandeur when it comes to himself, his plans, and really the whole driving force with the mutiny, but I really find that where Roberts’ writing and where we as readers get the most out of is the interesting and very layered sense that Roberts has for the lore of the Transformers. It feels like every subtle piece of dialogue, whether it concerns lore and mythology of the universe or not, is really weaved throughout with a submersion in this fictional culture. And that, especially, is really revealing here. It’s a very rewarding way to handle lore and I greatly appreciate it. 

One that does make me apprehensive with the turns Lost Light has taken most recently, however, is that moral grayness sometimes feels really blurred with a light take or even somewhat forgiving light given to what are undeniably and outright stated as fascist and genocidal elements of the Transformers’ past, especially Megatron. Having this issue completely dedicated to Getaway’s perspective while tackling these themes doesn’t really help because he is most egregiously one of the most villainous and traitorous characters the series has tackled, but while it feels like he’s only using the aghast feelings of the crew toward Megatron, ultimately he’s the only one who gives a speech against Megatron’s past of genocide and fascism while also taking over in the most truly reprehensible and fascist ways possible himself. This is further blurred by having some very topical buzz words like “fake news” uttered by Getaway in a... lbr pretty nonsensical way in-universe, but then have him going around imprisoning or hideously killing all of the crew which doesn’t agree with him.

I’m basically waiting for Roberts to fully address all of this in the story but right now it feels very much like “both sides are extreme and bad” mentality that, given Roberts’ politics and statements irl, I don’t think is what he ultimately wants this story to be coming away as, but I’m nervous and would like for things to tread lightly considering the current environment. 

ALL of my apprehensions and concerns out of the way, this is still a fascinating and ultimately fantastic comic that I really truly enjoy and would love to see more of because if Roberts’ Transformers is guilty of anything it’s definitely guilty of raising my expectations and setting that bar so high because of how good and how complicated and interesting all of it ca be in the right hands.

Hey there! We finish up another pretty fun, if not quick, week in comics with lots of stories and characters, and another pretty great time from yours truly. And if you enjoy these write-ups or anything else I do whether it be the Roundups, my Rambles, my personal creative projects, or you’re interested in my upcoming podcast, you can help contribute through donations to my Ko-Fi, Patreon, or PayPal. For as little as $1 per project, you make all of this possible.

You could also support me by going to my main blog, @renaroo, where I’ll soon be listing prices and more for art and writing commissions.

RenaRoo Ko-Fi | RenaRoo Patreon | RenaRoo PayPal

[rakuraiwielder]

I'm working on your ask, but here's some for you: I, A, M, S, P, O, T

Ask prompt here: x

thanks puffin!! this is gonna be long and nostalgic eyy

I - HasTumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why? 

I wouldn’t say “actively dislike” butthe toxicity of fandom on this website has sucked away most of my passion for Voltron lol. I used to really dig itthe first month or so after getting really into it when S2 aired. I still havean unfinished draft for a 7-parter rarepair fic //ey guess my fav duo ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)// sitting in my folders. don’t think I’llbe touching it any time soon though. im rather burnt out from this fandom, evenif I do still enjoy watching all the new seasons thereafter.

another is StevenUniverse ah a. (but in its and my defence, I wasn’t really into it anywaysas compared to other fandoms. the songs are still good, but I haven’t beenkeeping up with the newer Steven bombs, one part because of motivation, andanother because the thought of going into the tags to reblog contentintimidates the heck out of me pffft)

A - Ships that youcurrently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone hasOTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

(puffin this question is gonnatake up half the ask oh god)oh bOY where do I start hahahaha. there’s so many aph and fe callbacks hahaha few otps aside I really have too manycrackpairs and platonic friendship ride-or-die squads I would die for. theseare only a few really relevant ones from the top of my head-

OTPS:

Norway/Vietnam (Hetalia) – alWAYS. i dont talk about and reblog much aph anymore but i still think about these two frequently. they were my first and closestthing ever to an actual otp in all my years of knowing what an otp was gosh Ihope to write about them again soon. their dynamics are the peak of mypreferences.

MU(avatar unit)/Silas (FE Fates) – thechildhood friends + loyal knight and liege trope + a pinch of memory loss wasnever really my thing, but guess there’s a first for everything ha h a ah a….silas is too pure for the angst I put him through im so sorry ಸ ل͜ ಸ

Berkut/Rinea (FE: SOV) – the second that one cutscene of these two played I got1000% more invested in the story pffft. anyways rinea may be top tier fav andberkut shit tier fav, and their story tragic as heck (and I would also arguethat he doesn’t deserve her), but their genuine and honest love for each otheramidst the incoming death flags gets me every time

707/MC (Mystic messenger) – honestly they can either be a really good platonicdynamic duo or a solid otp. purely from the perspective of my own MC, theycomplement each other well; perfect balance of light-hearted teasing and asolid wall of comfort for each other.

Ray-Saeran/MC (Mystic messenger) – ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

(Other) Ships:

Seychelles/Iceland/HK (Hetalia) – they are good togetherromantically or platonically hahahaha. a good golden trio of kids

Russia/Vietnam (Hetalia) – their potential relationship and clashof character due to conflicting personalities fascinate me. a totally differentnoir vibe from norviet and one I hope to explore if I ever come back to aph

Nyx/Leo (FE Fates) – nyx ships are reallyrare but half of them are surprisingly sweet and poignant. Odin and Laslow tooare really sweet candidates to woo this jaded grandma’s heart.

MU/Laslow (FE Fates) – got to thank a wacky7-11 employee au dream I had for this one. but in the games their supportconversations are surprisingly thoughtful and low-key flirting which was notwhat I expected at all. wholesome.

Ham/Kai (MUxMU, FE) – remember when I said protag/protagships are the good stuff? yea h thatprincess tutu au is coming along swell

Alm/Celica (FE: SOV) – the rare main canon couple I love whodon’t die and get their happy ending (LOL this sounds really pathetic now thatI’ve said it)

Leon/Valbar (FE: SOV) – no one is surprised LOL. romantic orno, as long as leon is happy with where he stands with valbar and valbar ishappy with where he is im happy for them both

Conrad/Rinea (FE: SOV) – I know there are a couple of youreading this whos gonna give me that look but liste n; they could have met, and there is potential for them.(honestly this is just like another norviet situation where I put my 2 topfaves together for crackpair experimentation bUT IT WORKS I ASSURE YOU)

Zen/MC (Mystic messenger) – zen is so earnest that I can’t refute himhahaha. he also has a special seat in my mysme heart, since he was the firstroute I played and made me create content for the fandom proper

707/Jaehee (Mystic messenger) – they are rapidly gaining OTP status ꉂ (´∀｀)ʱªʱªʱª aaaa nightmare flashbacks because justlike norviet they really are the rarest of crackpairs and have almost to no content(gonna get down to business and churn fic out one day). these two are moresimilar than they’d think too.

Cecil/Haruka (Utapri) – ahahaha a good ship from a guiltypleasure fandom

(Purely) Platonic:

Izuku/Iida/Ochako (BNHA) – the first golden trio of thisseries. I love them so much.

Vanderwood/MC (Mystic messenger) – they parallel each other. truly thebiggest ride-or-die duo I will support to the end of time

Zen/Yoosung (Mystic messenger) – zen is such a mother hen to yoosungwwwww truly wholesome

Chise/Ruth (Ancient Magus Bride) – platonic master/familiar-partner relationships where both of them care for each other so much to the point where they would die for the other are my one weakness. its the reason i love writing more fleshed-out pokemon aus and loyal dogs/animals in longer fics. anyways these two are good

M - Name acharacter that you’d like to have for a friend.

707. It would be a trip justknowing him. (apart from the memes. but my life is already 80% meme, honestlywhats the difference ahahaha aaa-) Just, I feel like it would be really fun tohang out with him and revel in his wackiness (even if that personality is afront, maybe one day when i finally get into his inner-circle of friends, I hopeto be privy and be a good listening ear to his truer, more sombre personality.)

On the other hand, myself-confidence and 2nd hand embarrassment will be directlyproportional to each other (And im 100% sure Seven is the kind of person whowill exploit that hAH)

S - Show us anexample of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Every relevant character inMysmes is either a type of asexual (greysexual etc.), or on various points ofthe bi-spectrum. Yeah; even self-proclaimed, “straight-laced” Zen lol.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (wealways need more ideas)

Vampire/Selkie AU ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

a selkie whose skin gets stolen and hidden from a human man is forced to become his bride and taken back to his village. there, to escape the stares of bigoted villagers and the clutches of her overbearing and possessive husband, she takes refuge in the only place he would not go; the old holy church.

only, she finds she isn’t the first to occupy this place of solitude. the master of the church notices her soon enough, and when vampire recognises the ancient weave of magic that flows within her, he appears; intrigued for something other than a fresh meal.

(basically a deviation from the standard vampire (romance-ish) novels lolol plot bunny hit me pre-Christmas eve dinner/yesterday and sofar im digging it. still planning the ship and fandom though; it might very easily be OC-based)

O - Choose a songat random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

since 1 is never enough, hereare 4 songs I was listening to recently:

Little Knights, Nem feat.Noire : Zen/MC(a zen-ish song through and through)

over and over, Yanagi Nagi : Saeran Choi + 707&MC(more saeran-centric with interpretative lyrics and referencing to both ray andunknown personas)

Finding something to do, HelloGoodbye : 707/Jaehee(fits their “don’t go where I can’t follow” dynamic haha ow.)

Life will Change, Shoji Meguro + Benjamin Franklin feat. Lyn Inaizumi : Kai(mui) or Ham(let)(honestly the entire persona 5 ost is massive fe fates protag feels)

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons thatyou will die defending?

Not really. I’m a very flexible person when it comes tointerpretable lore and content, especially if it’s the type of HCs that thefandom collectively comes up with. Unless it’s a canon fact, I like to dabble orjust stay away from HCs in general. If I have to come up with some in my fics,then so be it. But most of the time these HCs are either super vague or onlyapply to the context in this particular piece or series of writing. Basically Idon’t mind switching HCs for charas frequently as long as it does notfundamentally change their own character. (HCs for hobbies and loves and habitsand relationships apart from their inner circle, etc. are all fine)

Honestly it just boils down to expectations lol I know myown limits, and I know not to be disappointed when canon updates end updebunking (popular) fandom HCs or my own.

[persimmoniously]

I was tagged to answer these questions by @fanaticfandomfaun so. Ok

Name: zelimo

Nickname: zeli, that one over there, hey you, ect

Height: I don’t honestly remember but. I think 5"4? Maybe?

Star sign: capricorn

Sexuality: girls are gr9

Hogwarts house: doNT EVEN GET ME STARTED. IT GIVES ME A DIFFERENT ONE EACH TIME WHAT THE HECK. I HAVE GOTTEN LITERALLY EVERY HOUSE AND I AM FURIOUS THAT TEST AINT /SHIT/

Favorite animal: yeah

Average hours of sleep: anything between 4 and 11, but generally like 6

Dogs or cats: yeah

How many blankets I sleep with: 3, but they get thrown off all over the place

Dream trip: anywhere far away where I can start a new life

Dream job: ummm i like too many things to be able to answer this. Astrophysicist? Historical linguist?? Writer??? Visual developer? Animator? Classical cryptanalyst? Something philology related? Not a clue my dudes

When I made this account: uhh p recentlyish I think. Id have to check hold on

Its 9 months ago. Huh

Gender: nah. I’m ok going by she/her and stuff and it even feels like it fits most of the time but. Idk I just feel like they/them always fits and it just. Feels more comfy sometimes?? Idk man. It shifts I guess but like. She/her and they/them are both generally cool so just. Shrug

Why I made this account: so that I could see toastyhat’s stuff more conveniently

Number of followers: uh lemme check

28 HOLY SHIT THANK U GUYS

Ok I’m gonna probably make like. A gratitude art thing soon seriously I am amazed thank u for being here!!!

Reason for url: ok this one is good. So like. When I was 6 I got this really cool little. Something I don’t even know what to call it. On a keychain. It had like. Like. It was like a pompom kinda?? But with rubbery strings. And it had spring legs with beads on the end glued on and two googley eyes. I named it zeli. And then when I was 7 and made my poptropica account I needed a name exactly two characters longer than zeli. Thus the name zelimo was born! Seriously it was just a fit of 7 yr old creativity and it has been my online name since bc I love that name. I love the sound. It has a good aesthetic rhythm to it and I just. Absolutely love it its my go to name forever

Ok uhhhh

I tag: @biglittlespoon , @galaxyfun , ummm @mentosmorii , @delicatesmol , and uhh. I think that’s it i don’t know a lot of people

[chromemuffin]

Shoukoku no Altair / Altair: A Record of Battles

Another series I will be liveblogging, this time a wonderfully detailed manga set in a fictional version of the Ottoman Empire/Turkey (and written by a historian! how rare!). I guess Captive Prince got me started on a historical fiction kick, and I’ve been eyeing this manga for over a month wondering if I should read it or wait for the anime that comes out anyway...I decided to pick it up.

There are 18 volumes of this thing, so I suppose I should liveblogging by volume unless the posts start to get way too long. Which they may, if I get my hands on raws. I am a huge language nerd, so.

Chapter 1

First off, after reading the blurb at the end of the fan translated first chapter, I found out that the ‘shoukoku’ part of the title is a word the manga-ka made up. Composed of the words for ‘general’ and ‘country’ (a country run by generals), the translator found the word stratocracy (a government ruled by the military) fit the description best. Which is why the fan translations use the ‘Turkiye Stratocracy’, which is great because there is no confusion if you know what a stratocracy is, or take a second to look it up.

Meanwhile, the official Kodansha version calls it the ‘Devleti of Turkiye’. ‘Devleti’ is apparently Turkish for ‘state’ (so the State of Turkiye). Very different, and both good. I love translation work for this very reason. I think I prefer using stratocracy. It’s true to the original, and clearly distinguishes this story as being an alternate version of Turkish history to those who know the Ottoman Empire was a monarchy. There are already quite a few unfamiliar words around.

But. I also find myself liking Devleti of Turkiye haha.

HM THIS WILL REQUIRE MORE THAN ONE POST. There is so much to talk about before getting to the chapter itself.

First: the cover

all of them are so beautiful. The amount of detail in every article of clothing from the hat to the jewels to the pattern embroidered around the hem. And the sword. I know nothing about Turkish history or culture (and forgot what little my american schooling taught about the ottoman empire), but a quick search for Turkish swords yields some examples of the more intricately decorated ones. The manga-ka is a historian/majored in Turkish history which. is great.

It’s a pity the Kodansha volumes are digital only?? I’d pay for a physical copy (but don’t hate myself enough to buy a Jpn copy...historical stuff has too many complicated kanji)

I wish I knew more about their style of dress because it’s drawn so well. I’ll look that up another time.

I really love the asymmetry with the glove he wears for his golden eagle to land on. It’s not in every illustration, but it even goes up to his elbow as it should for a larger species of bird, apparently. it’s just. so much great detail.

his shoes

He has this like teeny tiny waist that is totally out of proportion with his massive hats. Also: how do you even figure out where all those folds go in those clothes.

Also, it uses the Turkish word for ‘chapter’, faşil. I’m assuming that’s the right one, of course. Manga likes to change up the words they use for chapters depending on the setting.

ANYWAY FINALLY THE STORY

Why is one of the months called ‘sugar’ in Turkish (sheker, or şeker more technically)??

Look at him, striking a cool pose. I find it funny that he strikes all these confident poses, but he’s actually quite tiny next to everyone else. He probably does it because 1) he is confident in his own abilities and 2) he’s still a teenager in a world of adults, and it’s held against him in this chapter. His inability to do anything later frustrates the hell out of him as it is.

AND HERE COMES HIS BIRDIE. my favorite already

the fuck this type of bird was supposedly used to kill wolves

and it weighs 8-11 lbs depending on male/female

This kid is stronger than he looks. Although, his is male (named Iskander, so I assume), and the males weigh less (avg of 8 lbs) but still. I guess that’s why he has a male one. The females are massive and would probably dwarf his tiny self.

How is this not a wonderful shot, though.

Also, thank goodness for katakana or else I’d have no idea how to even approach pronouncing his name.

As for the situation itself, we jump right into things with a national crisis.

He looks younger when caught off-guard.

Tell me you did not carry that 8 pound bird aloft on your arm all the way here.

The official translation forgot Halil’s nickname/title “大都市” (large city/metropolis).

And this is where things get interesting. Usually in the peace vs. war debate, one side will always seem unreasonable no matter how hard the characters try to convince you otherwise, but I like how this one is set up.

On one hand you have the side that wants war, sees the enemy nation as a threat, and even throws in that ‘do you want to make a scapegoat of one of your countryman just to avoid war’, though can’t really tell if that’s sincere sentiment or not.

But then the old guy, Halil just says ‘yes, if it means peace’. Kind of a classic argument? Reminds me of Akatsuki no Yona, and the state of their country before the story starts.

this. just. his face. I needed to show the two together. Zaganos is obviously not impressed.

and therein lies the problem with politics: its not really about what’s right. I mean, everyone in the room can probably guess that their own soldiers weren’t responsible. But for all present except Mahmut, the meeting was never about finding out the truth.

Also, I love how he rants to Iskander, and even asks him a question directly as if he can answer.

o.o don’t ask me i’m just a bird

Halil calls him “Mah-kun” in Japanese, but the English version gets rid of this. It’s a pity, since it shows how close they are.

“You only just became a pasha, and now this. You must be exhausted.”

Dude, if he’s exhausted then what are you. You’ve had this position for 20 years.

And! yay! He’s angry at himself and his inability to do anything, rather than be angry at Zaganos. Shows that he really is more mature than he looks (especially with his grumpy facial expressions and petite self lol)

He looks just like his mother. D: poor baby iskander and mahmut

the amount of detail in this manga. see the rabbits hanging in the corner? 

also about the next panel: holy shit he fucking heard that??? his mother getting killed right in front of him, and he managed to stay quiet. poor terrified child like holy shit. and he managed not to crush little Iskander

I’m not going to show it, but if you look closely you’ll see she was not only stabbed in the chest, but also had a hand cut off at the wrist. wtf

every panel is so pretty jslethasdk the amount of detail in every background

his expression here just kills me. he’s just coming to the horrible, heart-wrenching realization of what has happened and UGH

I just really like his range of expressions. He’s just so damn uncomfortable with his elder, a guy he obviously respects and has a history with, bowing to him like that.

How can your heart not break seeing this. All he has left is his bird, the bird whistle, and the container for holding the bird’s meat.

Oh you conniving bastard- I actually thought the Emperor was in on it until the second read through I’m doing now. It was hard to notice since the panel just cuts from one scene to the next.

TINY CHILD YOU. Mahmut is taller than Halil counting the headpiece but he is made to look so tiny in front of adults. I think he’s supposed to be around 17 at the moment?

Man, he had a plan. How the heck did he have time to prepare the animal blood anyway? What a classy way to deal with your enemies.

I’m also happy that the manga-ka can draw birds so well. Iskander looks lovely.

...And that is actually really fucking scary. Those golden eagles are huge and strong enough to take out wolves.

The subtle expressions are great. As is the exchange between Mahmut and Zaganos here. They will probably clash again in the near future, but it seems they’ve gained a little more respect/acknowledgment for each other.

And now THIS, this is very interesting.

It looks like a statue, and that is clearly Mahmut and Iskander. I won’t make any guess though, I’m usually dead wrong with speculations.

I love the lines in this though, so fluid with Mahmut and straight and angled with the knight guy.

onward →