#Lol at my most popular post being 10 notes i am tiny and I like that <3

[persefoneshalott]

I posted 931 times in 2022

16 posts created (2%)

915 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nocakesformissedith

@strideofpride

@pilferingapples

@nenufair

@fromthemouthofkings

I tagged 718 of my posts in 2022

Only 23% of my posts had no tags

#les mis - 90 posts

#barricade day - 61 posts

#succession - 39 posts

#dracula - 34 posts

#les mis art - 32 posts

#shiv roy - 31 posts

#sfh - 23 posts

#do revenge - 19 posts

#&lt;3 - 17 posts

#dracula daily - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and he doesn't even know that he's being watched but he knows something's happening and his things get out of place nd even his writing his

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

My translations

Spanish adaptations of les miserables subbed in english Les Mis Musical 2011 Madrid Les mis 1971 Spain miniseries Les Mis 1943 Mexico movie

English musicals subbed in spanish: The Pirates of Penzance Oliver! Next to normal Heathers Billy Elliot Matilda Pippin

2 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

#4

question:

WHEN does the police find out who did the hit-and-run? I thought it was implied that they knew ever since they found his mom dead, but I'm rewatching to check and since they reveal it later on I guess it's possible that they knew post-funeral? But having the recording and all wouldn't they had found out right away?

Then finding out later would make more sense as to why they don't expect hyungsoo to turn on them, because they wouldn't done the association of 'his mom gets killed out of nowhere and then the gang of this guy he's trying to infiltrate happen to pay for his funeral and those two seem connected' BUT when I watched it yesterday I did took from the scene that they knew from the beginning??? Am I wrong?

also WAIT do the police know that he has told jaeho that he's a cop

I didn't think so but??????

2 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

#3

Mona Vanderwaal and Cheryl Blossom for Character Bingo!! ;)

(Mona Vanderwaal my girlll <3 )

it might be bc I interacted with so few people in this fandom but I feel like most content I saw about her fit how I saw her pretty well so <3

Only reason she doesn't get the "they've never done anything wrong in their life" is that I remember some 'the liars should be nicer to her' comments but don't get me wrong I think she's neat and should get to do all the crimes she wants <3 also I'm stretching it with the 'done dirty' but the fact that they kept giving her boyfriends in the show... W h y. There was so many vandermarin, monison and spona (even monaria if they had played mona and mike dating right) material to work with pls.

See the full post

3 notes - Posted August 18, 2022

#2

watching korean money heist and comparing it to og money heist under the cut

One of the first things I noticed is how it seems to be a lot more group focused, a lot more group scenes rather than having so much focus on tokyo and having all of them be separate? and how it seems the robbers like each other more as like, friends??? I've seen people say their characters are flatter and I agree but on the upside of that, Berlin is not a creep and Tokyo is a lot more likable so. I do miss og Nairobi and Moscu (and Denver, though korean Denver is very cute) because they were very very charming and rootable whereas I feel less attached to them (the Denver x Moscu dynamic is not hitting as hard for me as well?? it's hard to out-endear Paco Tous). Again, I think it's a mixture of the plot going faster and the downside of having more group scenes, because that means the individual relationships like Moscú and Denver or even the fun silly Nairobi and Mr Torres dynamic suffer :(

I don't know if this is a censorship thing or a choice that they made for this remake but there seems to be a lot less sex scenes or stuff related to sex which on the one hand, Berlin's rapist whole storyline doesn't happen as I mentioned which is nice, and it's less... annoyingly straight in some ways bc of this where in the og it was constant straight horny people (and being a bit homophobic as a joke, I don't the forget nairobi x tokyo dumb scene ) hvjcvhdkjsh BUT it is lessening the chemistry between Mónica and Denver on the downside and I don't know how to feel about korean Arturo just accusing korean Mónica of cheating before they get together? It felt more cathartic to have Mónica and Denver get together and then Arturo see it and seethe over it after what an asshole he'd been to her? (HOWEVER this might happen later, that and my favorite monica x denver scene bc it's on the ending of s1 which they haven't gotten to plotwise yet ! ) tbh korean Arturo is like... too much of a bad guy?? like I think spanish Arturo was a cowardly asshole in a way that felt realistic and you could see him still think he's a good person, but korean Arturo is a full blown super villain who fully gives her up not caring if she gets murdered and immediately thinks she's having sex with the robber and calls her a traitor and later tries to hit her. he doesn't seem like a real person. Another thing I'm very curious about is them dropping the abortion and then pregnancy storyline completely and having korean Mónica not be pregnant at all. I don't know why they changed that?? I guess it's not really important, I was never invested on the baby thing but it's just a strange change.

I'm very intrigued about it being set on a future where North Korea and South Korea have joined and whether they're going to go somewhere with that? because of course the whole Bella Ciao and professor's grandfather thing won't be a thing.

Another upside I forgot is that the ambassador's daughter is very cool and competent? I don't dislike og Allison per se, I think she gets a bit lost in the storyline at some point but I liked her evolution and I liked her scene with Nairobi, but it's interesting that this one is so competent and hasn't gotten in trouble at all so far. (she has now, as of ep finale but she's still. different)

Also korean denver is a baby, a himbo, a softie, even more so than og. Not complaining about that part at all. ( I love og denver as well though )

All in all I'm enjoying the show and am interested in it but I don't think the very emotional scenes that hit me hardest in the og will hit me (not just bc I know they'll happen). A fun watch though ! And generally the robbers are more likable and more like a cute found family. And korean Tokyo is my wife < 3333 she's so cute and is cold without being a complete asshole which is nice ! hoping for some bonding between her and nairobi in the future (this has now happened a bit nairobi x tokyo let's goo)

4 notes - Posted July 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ramble about kevin mcclain american vandal s2

the thing is Kevin LIES constantly. Dylan in s1 knows he's innocent but isn't believed by a lot of people, being doubted by peter at some point and with him the audience. But kevin KNOWS that he did it and yet encourages Peter & Sam to suspect in other people and keeps lying about being innocent until the truth leaks out. And we never get his pov of it, really, we only get his narration after he's already lied A TON. I think probably him lying started in part because he didn't want to disappoint Chloe after she was trying to help him and reached out after them having distanced in the past, but he's also a bit resistant to trusting her and reconnecting with her again at the beginning, I think because he felt angry and betrayed by her and with that comes the second part of why he lied, which to me is that he ultimately didn't regret what he did THAT much, not enough to be punished for it. And then when it seems like other people might take the blame for it, he goes with it.

And the people who are being suspected are the people that Grayson WANTS to take the blame, with DeMarcus acting as a substitute for the knight dude for him. And not only does Kevin go with that but he misjudges DeMarcus in the same way that Grayson does, he makes comment about him being a dumb jock and both him & chloe see him as this 'untouchable' person who can get away with anything because of his popularity. which is the exact reason why grayson wants him framed (an assumption, but that seemed like his original plan).

And THEN when drew gets framed in his place, someone who we don't think he has any problem with, he still lets that happen (and Grayson never gives kevin up or leaks their messages which *eyes emoji* is just INTERESTING why would he be so loyal to kevin but that's another story). This is the LAST EPISODE and kevin is still going with the 'I am innocent : ( I've been framed' act.

so when the time comes for Kevin to tell the 'truth' about Brooke I am VERY skeptical lmao because his story sounds very fake and he gives such a non reaction to being told grayson was behind it all. Also, this is another thing that was probably not intended by the writers, but the fact that they wrote him as so obviously gay is another thing that makes the 'I did it to impress Brooke' seem fake to me. I think, considering the condoms is one of the only stuff we have proof of (he did buy SOMETHING), he might've thought he liked her, but I don't buy that he didn't know brooke wasn't brooke after her last text, and that he didn't think back on all those familiar conversations with this person and connected some dots. (also we don't know that they didn't meet in person after *puts conspiracy glasses on*!) He even SAYS 'this girl that I had fallen in love with had never existed', and 'Brooke' tells him that she's a fake ('you're full of shit just like me') SO HOW DOES 'I was trying to impress her' MAKE SENSE. it doesn't.

but anyway I just think it's so interesting and I find what we know of his dynamic with grayson so fascinating, because they're childhood friends before, and he's the only one who grayson didn't get pics from, the only one who wasn't blackmailed because they both agreed on the plan. And grayson could've given him up at any moment, specially with the documentary happening, and he does not, even when he's arrested, even when he leaks everyone elses' part on the plot, he leaves Kevin alone, frames drew so the four acts match four people, and wipes his phone and laptop!! (of course to try and lessen his sentence, but if that had worked, that'd have left no evidence of kevin's involvement as well)

so all in all Kevin is a liar who lies and I love him and I love that dark side of his character that doesn't really get explored in the show and I like to think he's being an unreliable narrator until the end (: and idc if the writers intended him to seem genuine and want me to take what he says in finale at face value, I'm going watsonian and trying to make it make sense for the character, and it doesn't to me if he IS being fully honest.

I'm not saying he's a supervillain or anything to be clear lol, he's just flawed and I do think he didn't enjoy seeing the brown out happened. But again, there's feeling bad and there's feeling bad enough to accept punishment for it. and I find it very funny that he spends the whole season being like uwu I'm innocent I've been framed knowing full well he has not. He even admits 'it was thrilling' to fill the lemonade it but peter buys the 'he fell in love and was trying to impress a girl' story which. even if true. that's still his revenge fantasy. that they both joked about. this isn't him going after people who he has no trouble with bc he's being influenced. but no one ever doubts it! (and again, I'm not saying he wasn't manipulated bc he was for sure, but more in a veronica from heathers the movie way where it's all very ambiguous )

10 notes - Posted November 20, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[khaotunq]

Beloved Esme @itsallaboutbl tagged me (her post so u can see it done right) :))) thank you <3

Most popular / personal favs gifsets

I have published 222 gifsets this year, which is fun and possibly a bit insane. I've made gratuitous use of the archive feature so I've linked that on the weird chance anyone but me is interested in every set I've posted. (December link, and then scrolling down will take you back month by month)

As usual, I've done this entirely differently to how I imagine it's supposed to have been done (nobody else is doing numbers, for example), but I have no self control at all and I'm currently really fucking low so I'm concentrating on this to keep from The Thoughts :)

21 in January Most popular: the first of my First Kanaphan as Ryu in Wake Up Ladies sets, by a bit of a landslide. This did nothing until about summertime, at which point the notes went from about 150 to 700, lmao Personal fav: Akk (Eclipse): there's one dog that won't get to see me smile (immediately smiles) because that smile will always kill me (Honourable mention to this Ryu set because my own tags make me laugh, and this set that nobody liked but I can still hear)

17 in February Most popular: 2023 is the year of our Lord, Mark Pakin Personal fav: Jimbo, AKA: Moonlight Chicken's main character and there was also this because I'm a funny fuck

13 in March Most popular: Obnoxiously long real-to-me kiss gifset (Eclipse) Personal fav: Honestly probably the same as above, but perhaps S101: Tall being dragged by Tiny, and also Akk's hair looks excellent in those.

14 in April Most popular: S101: Do a barrel roll!Ayan Personal fav: wet Khaotung but also this progression of shots that nobody else liked (also, also this one because THE HUG ok i'm never ok about it)

10 in May (20 posts show up, but 10 of them are gifs/gifsets I sent in asks to Chiara) Most popular: Your World, My World Personal fav: Navigate edit because I'm still so pleased with it, though I think the 3rd gif's text should be brighter and I probably should've made the twinkling stars more obvious, and also the One Life edit for Akk I did because it's important to me and I spent so long making the text work... and I'm still not sure it does.

14 in June (16 show up for June but 2 are tutorially/gif process things) Most popular: Bold Gays: Ayan Personal fav: Enneagram Type 8: Sean but honestly all the Enneagrams were my favs they were fun, and I keep meaning to revisit the idea

23 in July (24 show up but one's a gif explanation) Most popular: Ray from the Only Friends official trailer Personal fav: Khaotung Thanawat personally coming for my throat or my continued slow breakdown over Sean or the first OFTS/SandRay edit I did with the original teaser trailer orrrrrrrrr Ayan being unable to keep his hands to himself

28 in August (hello, Only Friends and Eclipse Anniversary, lol) Most popular: Sand being a whole mood Personal fav: Ray mad in a car because it's still funny and also First Kanaphan's personal character arc

27 in September Most popular: Only Friends / Bad Buddy parallel that got me the most glorious threats &lt;3 Personal fav: I can't pick. There's Ray's naa-ing, this single gif that lives in my head forever, the Brotherhood of the Travelling Bruise, and Sand AM/PM because thiiighs

17 in October Most popular: K H A O A L A (which is still the funniest thing I've ever said) Personal fav: SandRay calendar because I'm fucking proud of it, even if there are a thousand things I'd change about it now, but honestly all my sets for October were personal favs I enjoy all of them immensely. I really loved my SandRay Kesha edit. Mostly the first gif, but the rest were fun and only mostly maddening to make.

16 in November Most popular: Yok & Mond and their shared braincell Personal fav: Boston and Meredith Brooks

22 in December Most popular: Twins characters/tag yourself meme/still haven't figured out what my intent was behind this set but I'm glad everyone's having fun with it Personal fav: Bold Gays: Yok even though the yellow one makes me mad and I want to redo it, and also Alan because kfdsjkhgfdh

Tagging! As ever, feel free to ignore: @raypakorn @sollucets @chinzhilla @theedorksinlove @chickenstrangers @5racha @khaotungsfirst

[uzuitengensfourthwife]

Fallen hard (Sanemi x femReader)

Warnings: none its pure fluff, and well my bad writing and grammar lol

Word count: 2410

Authors note: Okay I got to be honest with you guys. I wrote this back in September or October and posted it on Wattpad, I think (Yes I used to be on wattpad cries) But I really like REALLY wanted to share this on tumblr because its cute and sanemi deserves fluff. I really hope you enjoy it. Im already working on part 2 :)

Sanemi’s POV

,You're going this time right?'' Genya looked up at his brother, eyes full of hope that his brother would go to today's parents' evening. Especially now, that he had a new homeroom teacher. His brother, however, really couldn't care less, he maybe went once a year and that's usually the first and last time a teacher would see or talk to him. Still, he had to go today, Genya wanted him to go.

Yet his Brother's answer was bold and harsh. , And why would I?" Yeah, why would he? Genya started to think of a good reason why it was so important for him to attend today, but all he really could think of was his new teacher and that would certainly not be enough of a good reason for his brother to go. Well, he could at least try and give him this as a good reason to go, but in all honesty, he didn't want to get yelled at.

Sanemi however seemed to notice his brother's nervous behavior. , Just spit it out already.'' he demanded in a sharp tone, staring down at Genya. , W-well... we have a new teacher since last month... and don't you think you should show up? J-just to be polite...'' Genya stuttered, trying to avoid his brother's piercing gaze.

Sanemi just scoffed, trying to get away from this pathetic behavior of his brother. He would not join this damn parent's evening, not even if there was a new homeroom teacher. He already went once a year, wasn't this enough? Of course, the school disagreed with this, but goddamn it this was just a waste of time and that's exactly why he only went once a year. No more.

, Aniki, please... I'll do the dishes for the rest of the month!'' Genya tried again, he had to make his brother go and this was the last thing he could think of that might, just might work as bait on his brother.

Surprisingly, it worked. Sanemi then turned around, looking at his brother as he made another offer. , Two months, and I'll go." This was too good to be true. Genya smiled at his brother as he nodded, agreeing to his brother's offer. , Okay, sounds fair." - , Good. When do I have to be there?'' Sanemi asked. , 8 pm.''

Well and this, this was the reason why Sanemi was now waiting in front of the Classroom. Waiting for his brother's teacher to come out and finally talk to him. 

Sanemi sighed in annoyance as he thought about how convincing his little brother was. He should've charged him way more than just two goddamn months, he should've charged him at least a whole damn year. If not even more. Even so, he could not return time and now had to deal with this new teacher of Genya. And if he was honest, he did simply not care about this new teacher. He was already thinking of how great he'd feel when he could finally leave when the door of the classroom suddenly opened and a woman, most definitely younger than him, stood there smiling at him.

, Mr. Shinazugawa, please come in." her voice was soft like a feather, kind of soothing as she said his name, kindly inviting him to enter the classroom. He was shocked, he did not expect his brother to have such a teacher, all day he imagined her to be an old hag, but instead of an old hag, a wonderful young woman was standing in front of him.

, I'm Y/N L/N, nice to meet you." She held out her hand as she introduced herself and waited for him to take her hand for a handshake. And so he did. , Sanemi Shinazugawa, pleased to meet you as well." he coughed out, slowly shaking her hand. God, why was he so nervous all of the sudden? It was just his little brother's stupid teacher.

Yeah, what the actual fuck was he even nervous for?

, I'm glad you had the time to come, Genya was afraid that you might not be able to attend." - , Well.." Sanemi started as he looked in her (e/c) orbs, I guess I was able to take some time.''

Her smile only grew bigger, showing him to take a seat in front of the teacher's desk. , And for that, I am very grateful. There's a lot of stuff I want to talk about.'' She sat down in front of him, going through a pile of paper, probably looking for Genya's folder. , So... what did the idiot do?" Sanemi sighed out, already preparing himself to hear what Genya did wrong and what HE had to pay for. But instead of hearing any complaints, Y/N only chuckled, leaving Sanemi dumbfounded as he watched her with confusion. , Oh he didn't do anything bad. No, indeed he's a very good student! Everyone adores him!" But that, Sanemi didn't hear.

As she started to brabble how great of a student his brother was, all he could do was watch her. Examining her soft features. He was fascinated, nearly hypnotized by her beauty. For once, he was thankful that his brother was so convincing. Sanemi might be harsh, however, he was able to acknowledge a beautiful woman when he sees one. And this woman right in front of him, was out of his league, maybe even out of this world. If he had to describe her beauty, he wouldn't be able to find the perfect word. She was just too pretty, too beautiful, too stunning. Probably even an angel, sent from above. And her soothing voice just fit her beauty so well. God, she was perfect, and for the first time in a while, Sanemi had forgotten how to think properly.

,,-and that's why Genya has already gotten so many good reviews from teachers from all subjects. So- Mr. Shinazugawa?" He suddenly heard her calling for him, snapping out of his thoughts.

Oh god, he was so deep in his thoughts that he even had forgotten to listen. He knew the moment he saw her that he has fallen for her, but ....he didn't know he has fallen that hard., Ah... I'm sorry..." he whispered in an apologetic tone, rubbing the back of his neck. The teacher in front of him however just chuckled again waving her hand, as if she was telling him that there was no reason to apologize. , No worries! But well as I was saying, Genya is a really good student and has gotten many good reviews from all kinds of teachers. Not only that... but his grades are pretty good as well. Almost only A's!" She then handed him a pile of all the grades his little brother has gotten so far, he didn't care, but for the sake of her, he took a good look at all the reviews and grades she has handed him.

He hummed in response, once he looked through all of the stuff, giving her back the paper as he answered. , I have to admit, he isn't that bad." She shook her head and scoffed, taking the papers he was holding. , Please, not that bad? God, he is pretty amazing if you ask me!!" The young woman then leaned in closer, frowning as she looked Sanemi in the eyes. , You should be more proud of him. After all, he told me you are his role model. He looks up to you and thinks you are an amazing big brother." Sanemis eyes widened at the statement, as Y/N slowly leaned back, obviously waiting for him to say something.

He then let out a low laugh, once again not sure what he was supposed to say. , That's... surprising.." The young teacher then slowly shook her head. , Well..." she shortly after said looking back up. , Just remember that he adores you a lot... oh and with that being said... You should read through this. This is just one of Genya's amazing essays he has written." the smile was back on her face, easing the tension between the two adults.

She handed him over an essay his little brother wrote, he knew he was supposed to read through it, but oh god he was just so distracted by her.  So he just had to pretend he was reading, while in reality he still tried to get over the beauty of this woman in front of him. He wasn't usually the type to show affection towards anyone, nor fall for someone this easily. But she, for some odd reason, got him all riled up.

, So...?" the younger woman nagged, curious about what Sanemi was going to say. , I'm surprised that my brother is actually this good." She nodded, agreeing with him. , He indeed is very good."

Sanemi had to confess, he hated the way she was praising his brother, for basically everything he did. Of course, she was his teacher and was actually supposed to say these things and yet he felt like she shouldn't praise his brother, but him. Yes, she should praise him, however, she probably knew too little to even be able to praise him. Damn, they have only ever met. So where did this sudden jealousy come from? And why only after they have met? It would've made so much more sense if it happened months after they've met, but now? After literally 10 minutes. Stupid, he thought, that was just stupid.

No, he was stupid.

, Is that all?" Sanemi looked at the small figure in front of him, still, inside he was hoping she wouldn't let him go so easily, that she would keep him here a little longer.

, Hmm... let me think.." she went through her bag, that she had now on her lap, looking for things she still had to mention before she would let him go. , Ah yes.. here." she handed him a few brochures of Universities, smiling at him. , You should start talking with him about applying to a few Universities. Probably these in particular. They'd fit him really well.''

Sanemi grasped the brochures and went through them, just then he noticed those were high qualified Universities. Even the one he went to himself, was listed as well, which made him feel some kind of pride.

, I hope you have realized that those Universities are popular amongst qualified students." - , I know," he answered as he pointed at his former University. , After all, mine is listed as well." Her eyes widened in surprise as she took a glance at where his finger was pointing at. , Tohoku University?" She was amazed, he could see that right away. The way she just looked at the brochure and her tiny hand that was placed right in front of her mouth.

, Yes indeed, but I don't see why my little brother-" she shushed him without hesitation, suddenly standing up and looking him in the eye. , Mr. Shinazugawa, your brother is a smart and a very skilled person! You should encourage him to go to Tohaku University as well!" this time she wasn't saying it to just sound nice, no it was the other way around. She said it because she actually meant it. She was dead serious about this. , Why... just why do you think he is that great?"

She slowly sat down again, a small smile forming on her lips. , Because he's just as great as his bigger brother." Sanemi was shocked, no not shocked but rather.. surprised, yet, she didn't hesitate to add more to this statement of hers. , Now that I've met you, I can totally see the resemblance. He's just like you and I totally see why he has chosen you as his role model."

He was once again astonished. , Has- has he said that?'' She nods, as she watched him. , Yes he did. He has mentioned you a few times. Fact is, he looks up to you, so I've guessed you must be an amazing brother.''

Part of him was embarrassed and wanted to disappear right away, the other part however was full of pride, thanking his brother for talking so highly about him in front of his teacher. The teacher that left him speechless.

So, sanemi smiled a little, looking away und scratching his neck as he did so. , Guess my brother wants to be a Mathematics major as well, huh.'' She hummed in response as she put away his little brother's folder. , Well... I guess we have talked about everything. Is there anything you want to add, or mention?''  Sanemi started to search for something, but obviously, there was nothing he could think about. She had probably mentioned everything she wanted to talk about and he, well he didn't want to attend the parent's evening, to begin with. So, he sighed and shook his head.

There was nothing, and with that disappointment came. He didn't want to go yet, but he couldn't just possibly stay here and talk to her any longer, let alone ask her out. That would probably seem to be very rude. But little did he know, that she just felt the same.

The sudden silence that lingered between him and her, made both of them nervous and uncomfortable.

, Then... I guess there is no reason for me to hold you back any longer.'' she was the first one to break the silence, and oh god he most definitely didn't want to hear these words. And yet, he played it off cool, getting up and marching towards the door. But before he could even reach the door, she suddenly spoke again, stuttering at the beginning. , M-Mr. Shinazugawa?''

Sanemi turned around, glancing at her. He then realized that she seemed... somewhat nervous. But why?

, I know... this is probably inappropriate to ask... but... would you mind joining me for coffee once..?'' Without even thinking, he answered, I would love to.'' and with that, he smiled at her as he exited the room and leaving the young woman perplexed.

Strolling through the building, he realized that there was a stupid little smile plastered across his face. Oh these feelings, so exotic and wild. He was not used to them, but somewhat liked the thrilling feeling.

Falling for someone wasn't even that bad.

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia!! I love your work and have consistently been reading it for over a couple of years, currently every TIP update u post makes my days a bit brighter 🥰

It is also thanks to you that I started posting fics last year after more than three years not doing so. While some of my fics have been wildly popular in a fandom some others don't seem to have landed as well within the same one, so I wanted to ask, what do you do about those stories that excite you but that don't seem to have found an audience yet, or that they never will?? How do you work through the fear of them not being worth your writing time?

Have a lovely day 💚🍀

Hi anon,

This is a hugely complicated question.

For a start, for writing that is for income, if I think it won't do well, I don't write it (although only to a point, I wrote The Gentle Wolf because asexual representation mattered more to me than sales, but it still hit hard when that turned out to be true). I don't like to mess with things that pay the bills. I hate that I have to look at metrics in that sense, but I do. But thankfully we're not talking about original fiction:

For fanfiction, things are different, and there might be a lot of different things going on.

For a start, almost always, when people ask me this question they are still getting some interaction on their fics, just not as much as they wanted or imagined. It can really help to like, remember to be grateful for every person who interacts, and not just the 'quantity' of interactions.

I think like... I am a big fan of 'write for yourself' but it's also true that I write for interaction on AO3. Just... only you can decide how much of the former will compensate for not much of the latter. There are people out there who are like 'if I was only writing for myself I'd keep it in my computer.' I'm not like that, and I don't vibe that way. I write for myself but enjoy sharing it, in case something that worked well for me, works well for a stranger. Everyone is different and that's eventually going to be what the crux of this post is, lol.

Popularity is influenced by the fact that some fandoms are more dead than others and lack interaction across the board in general (Persona 5, for example, is notorious for this). Some fandoms like certain tropes more than others. Some fandoms are massively popular for three weeks and then die almost immediately. And so on and so on.

Ultimately fandom is fickle, it's loyal to the stories they like more than the authors they like, and you can't predict what will be a flash in the pan and what won't be, and it doesn't always have anything to do with the quality of the fic itself or the tags you used. (This is sort of like how sketches will sometimes get tens of thousands of notes and a 300 hour single piece of quality art will get 400 notes, while a professional artist tears their hair out in pieces).

Sometimes, a fic will be more interesting to me than the reality of fandom interaction and I'll write it. Touching and Melting for Houseki no Kuni is a good example of that. A tiny fic for honestly an extremely quiet and tiny western fandom in terms of fic, which looks like it had a lot of interaction 3 years on, but had almost nothing in the first few months. And sometimes the fic idea won't be more interesting to me than the reality of the fandom interaction, and I won't write it. I go story idea by story idea.

But I've also taught myself to really think about a) the way I talk about interaction and b) to really value every individual that leaves a kudos, or comments, or public bookmarks. When I sort of started out with Shadows and Light, I remember being so bummed when a story didn't do as well, and thinking that meant it was doing 'badly.' Let's be real, Game Theory when it started out had less than a tenth of the interaction of SALverse, and I thought I had failed. If I'd given up at that point, well... all of this wouldn't exist.

And then just looking at fanfiction, it's like.. well, sometimes fics do a lot worse than other fics, there's usually at least one person who will read it and leave a kudos. I remind myself that to that person, the story mattered or meant something, which meant I didn't just write it for myself anymore, there is interaction.

This is much harder on stories that have zero comments, and zero kudos, obviously, no one likes to feel as though they are shouting into the void. But it's also my experience that writers who've had popular fics, don't often have 'zero kudos fics' when they say a fic is doing really badly. They just..maybe need to value the individual interactions alongside how good a 'mass' of interaction can feel, or alongside how good 'quantity' can feel. I do really think that's a skill that a lot of like...enthusiastic fanfiction writers have mastered or at least are learning.

Sometimes it really helps to have somewhere in private to vent to when you feel emotionally overloaded or insecure, and honestly sometimes it can help to re-evaluate.

For some people, writing fic when a certain threshold of interaction isn't reached, just isn't worth it. I can't convince people like that to keep writing. If there's a deep seated 'this isn't worth it' then stop doing it.

If there's 'this is insecurity and I'm not good at valuing everyone and I feel down right now but it'll pass' then...work quietly and patiently and compassionately on strengthening your resilience and your trust in your own writing, and your ability to value individuals who interact and engage on your fics. If you don't do this, you may end up bitter and resentful, and that can influence your entire relationship with fandom, and worse, the people who interact with your fics.

Also, finally:

How do you work through the fear of them not being worth your writing time?

In fanfiction, I do not base whether something is worth my writing time on the quantity of people who will interact with it. It is worth my writing time because I'm really excited to write it, and I want to share it, even if people don't respond immediately, or even if only one person ever comments.

I don't...have this fear that you have based on the things you're basing it on - my fears are different to yours. It's fanfiction. It's worth my writing time because I'm eager to write or fix or alter something in canon or I want to make the two boys fuck because no one else was going to, and because I can generally trust that one person out there will probably read it, even if I go back over 10 years ago and my Livejournal fics were only getting like one comment per chapter. If that.

If your metric for 'worthiness' is 'quantity of interaction' then - I'm the wrong person to talk to, I'm literally motivated to write fanfiction by completely different factors to you. I didn't start SAL knowing it would get popular, I thought people would hate me because I killed Jamie in the first chapter, and up until that point none of my fics had been popular.

I can't convince you on the things that convince me, when our foundational motivations are different. If you want quantity and that's what 'worth' means to you, I don't know what to tell you, I would never have written SAL in the first place if I hadn't been the kind of person to just write fanfic for almost no / or no interactions, and still enjoy that single person who said 'I really enjoyed this thank you for writing.' I didn't spring into being as someone who was writing fics that got a lot of interaction, that came...years later, y'know?

So what is worthy to me sounds like it's also just different to what is worthy to you. Ultimately, there are people only writing fanfiction on the basis of how many people interact with them, and...I don't know how those people keep choosing to write honestly, and I think a lot eventually abandon it, because there's no algorithm to crack in order to be successful every time. Maybe...remind yourself that you've had popular fics in the past and therefore you will again? And that you can't get to that point without less popular fics on the step ladder in the meantime? Therefore, even a fic that doesn't feel 'worth your time' will be a stepping stone to the one that is?

Imho, I think my fics are worth my time because I enjoy reading them once they're finished. And then I think they're worth my time because other people enjoy them. Having a popular fic is fun and nice, but honestly, often a fluke, and doesn't always say anything about the quality of the writing (some of the most popular Yuri! on Ice stories with 10,000+ kudos were like...not always...the most well-written stories, but people were desperate for Content, and it was certainly that).

But yeah, how I think about fanfiction is very different to how I think about 'fiction that has to earn an income.' Ultimately I don't want to apply the latter philosophies to the former, other people do. If you're applying 'this needs to hit a certain threshold of interaction to be worthy' as your basis for writing fanfiction, then...we have very very different motivations for creating content in fandom! And I'm the wrong person to ask.

As I said, it's complicated, lol.

[sophrosinn]

the (un)lucky ones

story description:

“the story’s great, but I think it would be better if the story ended like this”

Affronted at the audacity of the comment, she furiously replies, “then write your own story, asshole!”

word count: 2,048

a/n: happiest solar anniversary to one of my best girls @vanaera! thank you for being the bestest friend a girl could ever ask for. this short story, which is loosely based irl, serves as my gift to you. i hope you’ll like it! 

shout-out to @senfleurs for being the best gal and helping me out with this. she even stepped up and edited this omg, and i cannot stress how much I’m thankful, lol especially she made sure that I get to finish this on time

—

3.

In retrospect, she knows better than to let some dumb comment, especially from someone on the Internet, rile her up this much. Even her followers tell her as much: it’s unwarranted, insensitive even. One of her followers, hippopopo tries to take it a step further, justifying by saying, verbatim: It’s her story anyway!!! So only she knows how the story should end best, okay! 😤😠💢

(in actuality, she has qualms about that, mostly because she had read some books which she thought didn’t end well. but that would take time to unpack and this story isn’t about that, no. she’s flattered at the support, nonetheless.)

And yet, there she is at 8 in the morning, her fingers furiously gliding across her keyboard as she writes a spite-filled story in response. Oftentimes, her muse for writing comes from movies she watched with her family, or from songs she heard on Korean dramas, or those meet-cute scenarios she gushed about with her best friends. This time, however, spite’s her main gal.

She finishes at 10. Later at 4 in the afternoon, she posts it. About an hour later, she doesn’t even try to contain the smirk lighting up her face when a familiar notification pops up.

—

1.

The story starts with an inconspicuous like from a user named agust-d five months ago. Back then, she thought nothing of it. A day later, agust-d comments on a story from her drabble series. Since then, every day without fail, agust-d leaves a small token of their appreciation for her works; brief, concise comments such as, “nice job on the flower descriptions,” or “i liked it.” 

Belatedly, she wonders if agust-d is a person of few words, because why else would they leave comments with only six words or less, even on her works with over 30k words? Don’t get her wrong, of course she’s eternally grateful for all the support she receives from her affectionate dears. But sometimes, especially on days her self-confidence plummets and she’s in need of reassurance, she ponders if all her efforts are for naught. (of course not, never, she gently reminds herself.)

And each day, she resists the growing urge to reply: don’t you have anything more to say!!! (but alas, she isn’t a rude person—unless provoked—she can’t so she settles with letting her mind wander.)

Three months of this and she finally caves in. With her interest piqued, she browses through agust-d’s posts. After two hours, she learns that agust-d goes by suga online. Coincidentally, Suga is a male student at the same university she’s currently attending. For a moment, she briefly considers a possibility—what are the chances that they’ve met, have fallen into step alongside each other, have passed by him in the large hallways, or have shared her table with him at the library during exam season? The possibility of knowing someone without actually knowing them? 

(that’s the funny thing about the online world, she supposes. you may know all that matters about someone: their likes, dislikes, kinks, fears, and horrid taste in music, absolutely everything except that one thing that matters the most: their names.)

Suga, she eventually learns, is not a man of few words. In truth, he’s got a few words too many to say about a diverse range of controversial topics. In his words, his passion burns bright and clear, but for her, he doesn’t shine any brighter than when he talks about music. It shows in his blog, which consists of a myriad of album reviews across different genres (fascinating, she notes, their music interests align as well).

Occasionally, he posts his renditions of some popular rap music, and as sporadic as this happens, she admits that his covers are her favorite part of his blog. And naturally, she refuses to acknowledge that it has everything to do with her fascination with deep, raspy voices, which, (un)fortunately for her, Suga undoubtedly has.

After some serious debating with herself, she decides to not follow him back. But she makes sure to check his profile every other day for no real reason, really, her soul wallowing in denial. In her defense, when did anyone need a reason to stalk someone?

And so, it begins, her fascination with this stranger on the other side of the screen. Never in her whole life did she imagine herself harboring a (teeny-tiny, infinitesimal) crush towards someone on the Internet. Certainly, she knows there’s always a one-in-a-thousand chance that it happens in real life, it’s just that out of all the 7 billion people in the world, she wasn’t expecting herself to be the (un)lucky one.

—

2.

The fateful day begins like any other. She wakes up to a brand new day, at 7 am, and like clockwork, she begins to stretch atop her pink yoga mat. Halfway through her workout, her phone pings with a new notification. Immediately, her phone screen lights up: agust-d has left a comment on your work!

Her traitorous heart skips a beat in the utmost display of betrayal. It’s Suga!

Ever since she scrolled through his blog two months ago, she has been exchanging messages with Suga. Her covert mission to surreptitiously listen to his song covers ends miserably when she accidentally double-clicks on a post he made two years ago. A string of expletives followed as she stared agonizingly at the post. She attempts to remove her blunder, but soon accepts defeat as it doesn’t even take a full minute until she receives a message notification from Suga. The internal debate resumes as her finger clumsily hovers on the computer mouse and she hesitantly clicks. From thereon, the rest, as they say, is history.

She ends up following his account the day after.

Although, if she were being truthful, all they’ve been sending back and forth are pleasantries. Suga seems hellbent on keeping the conversations polite and distant. She doesn’t understand, it’s not like she’s flirting with him! All she just wants is a compelling conversation with someone (because the Lord knows how much she needs an intellectual to talk to; and suga seems like an intellectual, if his posts are anything to go by).

She unlocks her phone and throws herself onto her bed. Normally, her lips quirk up automatically in response to seeing his name pop on her notifications, but it is not the case for this time. Instead, a frown mars her forehead as she reads his comment.

agust-d: the story’s great, but I think it would be better if the story ended like this

For a moment, she can’t believe her eyes. She blinks a few more times in the hope that her eyes were just playing tricks on her. Nada, it remains the same. 

If there’s one thing to know about her, it’s that she meticulously plans out every detail in her stories. She even spends weeks to outline a draft, and even then, it must be decent enough before she puts it in writing. Publishing her works online, for all the world to see, still intimidates her even after all this time. Not knowing how people will respond to her works frightens her, but what is life without a little fear?

In addition, she’s receptive to constructive criticisms, but criticisms that come from those she looks up to? It’s a bitter pill to swallow sometimes. Suga—he’s become one of those people, and seeing his comment really hurt. She turns her phone off and does her chores for the time being. The moment she logs back in, she is taken aback by the multitude of comments expressing the same sentiment. 

bubbleboy: “Yeah, I agree, I think it would be best if the story ended in this manner.” 

She can’t help but feel the bubble of anger gradually rising. Another even started with, 

orange-gloss: “No offense, but the ending being suggested by others is kinda good.” 

The audacity and the entitlement in this comment! Asking her to not be offended when it is within her right to take offense is absolutely laughable. Furthermore, who are you to even tell me how I should react? 

When she reaches the 20th comment, she explodes. The next two hours find her furiously typing out a decent response disguised as a story, albeit with passive-aggressiveness, addressed to all of the comments, but primarily to the one left by Suga. She talks to the rude commenters with the sweet addition of a phrasing 101 lesson. In her contained rage, she ends with the note: remember, it doesn’t hurt to be nice, and if you have qualms about how I ended my own story, do me and yourself a favor and write your own story!

She makes up her mind to take some time off her blog for a while. But after a familiar notification pops up at 5 PM, she resists the urge to run away and instead, opts to open the messages he sent.

agust-d: i’ll admit, the way I said it was rude

agust-d: but I stand with what I said

agust-d: you should consider the possibility as well

seen

(In hindsight, she realizes that, for once, Suga’s comment surpasses 25 words.)

—

4. 

After the whole debacle with the barrage of rude comments and her consequent outburst, everything has never been the same. Understandably, some of her fans have left since then, but the majority stayed with her and for that, she’s eternally grateful. Although she still publishes her stories and interacts with her followers, a certain emptiness fills her at times. 

A part of her thinks it has a lot to do with Suga, who she doesn’t talk to anymore. She… doesn’t know how to respond to him after her outburst. In a span of a moment, she manages to both defend her honor and drag agust-d through the mud, which was never her intention to begin with. Okay, well, maybe just a little bit. But she’s hurt, so it only makes sense to retaliate.

If only she could easily strike back in her current situation. 

Unbeknownst to her, someone with the handle void-mayo tags her on a malicious post the night before, calling her out for being fake. Apparently, she’s a ‘copycat writer wanna-be with no real ideas of her own.’

She only discovers it when her followers start sending her messages of reassurance and appreciation. Of course, she checks the post at once, reading carefully and taking in everything that was written. (Shit, at least I have a better username, she muses). And not for the first time, she feels hurt, uneasy, and anxious at the same time. Void-mayo is already an established writer, with years of exposure under her belt and a large army of rabid fans at her disposal. Meanwhile, she’s just started her writing blog. And although she’s diligent, thorough, and ensures that each of her stories has its own personality and flavor, most of void-mayo’s fans wouldn’t care. She can’t risk losing her credibility over a baseless accusation such as this! 

And with that, she feels anger bubbling from the pit of her stomach. She doesn’t get the purpose behind the destructive post. She gets humiliated, her reputation tarnished, and worse just because she had written a similar scene with an ice cream . It certainly doesn’t help that others are quick to join in calling her names and ‘cancelling her’ without even bothering to check the facts. 

And as she contemplates on how to proceed with such a delicate situation, her dashboard refreshes. At the top, she notices that agust-d reblogs void-mayo’s post with the addition of his response and for once, the word count exceeds 100.

—

5. 

In a roundabout way of saying sorry and expressing her gratitude, she proceeds to write the ending Suga requested. And illuminated by the dim light of her laptop screen, she can begrudgingly admit that he does have a point; his version of the ending does make sense.

—

fin.

—

omake

agust-d: so am i forgiven yet?

you: i don’t know

you: maybe you’ll have to make it up to me

you: and get me some coffee first?

you: 😉

—

a/n pt. 2: happiest birthday to you again! i’m so grateful to have met you in this lifetime. truly, like you’re the best. even if your internet connection’s always shitty, you always find ways to join our chats and discord parties. just thank you, for all the countless laughs that i’ve had with (and because of) you, for the counsel with my writing, and for the stories and advice you’ve willingly shared with us. here’s to our three years of friendship and counting! i love you so much! enjoy this day and stay safe! 

p.s. keep rocking and keep writing! we’ll always be here with you! muah! ❤️❤️❤️

p.p.s. hihi 🦆🍄

[kristallioness]

2016 | 2017 | 2018

*quietly sneaks back in*... Happy New THIS Year, my dear followers! In Estonia, we have this saying that if you wish someone a 'happy new year' after Three Kings' Day (the 6th of January), you gotta have a bottle of alcohol with you and give them a drink. *lol*

Anyways, I would like to apologize for the sudden disappearance that happened prior to Christmas. I was just busy travelling back home for the holidays, unpacking and putting away my stuff, watching some great, traditional movies or shows on TV, and most importantly, working on those 2 latest masterpieces that I posted (which barely got 30 notes each.. *sigh*).

But as you can (and probably will) see, the year of the yellow earth pig (i.e. my dad's year) was a rollercoaster of emotions and accomplishments, or lacking thereof.

My creative side seems to have suffered the most due to lack of leisure time. I only managed to finish 3 full digital drawings and left behind several sketches or unfinished WIPs (2 of which are revealed here under the months of June and November for the first time, I intend to finish the Korrasami one btw). At least I got to start 2020 with a completed drawing on the very 1st day, ha-ha! Perhaps that's a good omen for this year?

If so, then I hope I'll find the time to finish the rest of the 2019 Inktober prompts, since I only did 4/31 this past October (even though I'd thought of ideas for all of them). I brought all the necessary drawing utensils and sheets of paper with me, so whenever I'm in the mood, I'll try to sketch another one.

*calculates for the nth time*.. I wrote 18,110 words worth of fanfiction, plus 820 words for the UYLD prompts (making the total 18,930). Technically, you can count another 8k+ in there, since it comes from that unfinished story (of Aang taking care of a flu-ridden Katara, as illustrated by the September sketch), which I haven't finished within the last 4 months or so. Plus, I barely wrote 1/5 of the amount compared to 2018.. *hides in shame*

Then again, I was an excellent pupil for picking up an actual book and reading through 150+ pages (which means I have ~300 pages to go). I'm talking about the new Kyoshi novel that came out. As I once said, I haven't voluntarily read a book in years make that 2 years ago (most of the reading I've done in my life is either Tom & Jerry comics, now the Avatar comic trilogies and art books as well as fanfiction online, or compulsory reading during school). But this novel is freaking fantastic superb!

Not only that, I bought all the new comic trilogies and managed to read them through. Damn, did they give me feels.. especially "Ruins of the Empire" (ngl I squeed so hard when I saw the Korrasami farewell kiss on the 1st page of the 2nd part). I can't wait to read the 3rd part this year!

However, I failed to rewatch Avatar last year, and I haven't seen Korra since.. 2016, I believe? Wow, that's 4 whole years.. But I intend to fix that mistake starting from 2020. Hopefully I'm in the mood to start my rewatch this weekend tonight. *fingers crossed*

But as I said, I had much less time to focus on my hobbies since 2019 was the year for finally moving on with my life (sort of, I'm still working on it). I still remember how down I'd been feeling for a while and how valid those emotions really were. The first quarter of the year (+ like a month or two) was a continuous descent into desperation and feelings of utter failure, which already started around the 2nd half of 2018 and only continued to deepen around that time.

Everything began to change when I was first chosen to be part of a 2-month summer internship in an IT company, and I had to start building a new nest in a new location in Tallinn this May. And now, I feel like I've hit the jackpot by getting a permanent job in another IT company this October.

I got the opportunity to work in two different fields, in two different teams within a year. I met some awesome colleagues (a lot of whom are foreigners) and got the chance to really put my English skills to the test.

Thanks to the new job, I also had to go to a free health check, which went really-really well. Despite my nervousness in the beginning, I feel much more relaxed about my physical (and mental) health, cause the results showed that everything's okay (something I'd been worried about since March 2017).

Speaking of health or staying healthy, there were a few sports events that I went to, too. Our team held the first winter team event (it was the first one for me, at least) by going to do archery in a range on the outskirts of the capital.

I watched the football match between 2 teams of our local league at my hometown together with my dad on his birthday. Our home team won the match and came in 4th place overall in the league this year, which is their best result so far (I'm really proud!). And merely days before I started work, I visited the Tallinn International Horse Show for the first time (also with my dad). I last got to watch horses jump over fences or dance to their musical programs ~ 10 years ago, and I loved it!

Event-wise 2019 was pretty full of them. As has become tradition, I went to the Defence Forces parade on our 101st Independence Day (which seemed rather bleak compared to the centennial, even more so since we didn't have ANY snow at the time).

What will hopefully become new traditions, I visited the television tower on the Restoration of Independence Day (where Uku Suviste gave a free concert in the evening), and went to the Veteran's Rock concert (to honour our war veterans) on our Freedom Square on the 23rd of April (since I'm residing in the capital now, I should be able to go again this year).

To continue with the centennial celebrations (yes, some things are STILL turning 100), I saw and explored inside the armoured train no. 7 called "Wabadus" ("Freedom") in the Baltic Station. This armoured train was one of the keys that led our country to victory during the War of Independence from 1918-1920.

There was an even bigger (150th) anniversary to celebrate in the beginning of July, when I attended our Song and Dance Festival. This was a really important, if not the biggest event of the year. I intend to make a longer post about my experience, cause it's something that you foreigners need to see for yourself. I can't simply describe or put it into words, I have to show you some videos and photos.

But while we're on the topic of concerts, I should mention that I went to 2 more at the beginning of June - Bon Jovi and Sting - as well as 2 that were part of Christmas tours in December - Elina Nechayeva and Rolf Roosalu.

Besides that, I went to 6 different festivals, half of which I'd been to several times before, such as the Türi Flower Fair, Jäneda Farm Days (where I went on my first helicopter ride for my 25th birthday present) and the Christmas market in the Old Town of Tallinn.

The other half is comprised of festivals that I'd been considering going to for a while, or which took place for the first time. The latter applies to the Black Food Festival, whereas the "Valgus Kõnnib" ("Wandering Lights") and the duck rally, both of which took place in Kadriorg, fall under the first category.

The duck rally is a charity event held in the beginning of June. Regular people can buy at least one (or several) rubber bath duckies for different prices, which will then be dumped into a tiny stream that'll carry them towards the finish line. This event has grown more popular each year, and the money the Estonian Association of Parents of Children with Cancer (sorry, long name in English!) collects is donated to the Cancer Treatment Fund.

*wipes forehead*.. Phew! I'm surprised, that's a whole lotta positivity for 2019. I think there's one more important, but seriously negative topic I haven't covered yet, but I feel should be mentioned and explained.

When it comes to politics, 2019 was a complete disaster for us. EKRE (Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond in Estonian, or Estonia's Conservative People's Party in English) i.e. our populist/nazi/pro-Trump party is in the government as of April 2019, thanks to 100,000+ idiots (out of our population of 1.3 million) who voted for them and gave them 19/101 seats in the Parliament.

No, I am NOT going to apologize for calling them a nazi party, because their main leaders have repeatedly supported ideology that's common to nazis (they use aggressive rhetoric, blame the media for making them look bad, downgrade women, minorities, are racist, anti-semitic etc...). And I will not apologize in front of the people who voted for them, because "thanks" to this, EKRE has dragged our country's reputation straight through a mud puddle (not to mention the scandals that have accompanied 5 of their ministers, 3 of who have THANKFULLY stepped down from their positions) and.. *swears like the British*.. it's BLOODY EMBARRASSING.

I am done being nice, I have at least some kind of prejudice about anyone who supports them or their ideals. And I will certainly not let Estonia end up like America. So that is why I participated in two protest events against EKRE and our current government (because the 2 other parties, who were willing to form the coalition with them, are spineless jellyfish that simply seek to hold onto their current positions of power). I'm willing to take bets as to when our government falls (the sooner the better).

*shakes off the frustration*.. Brrr! So besides that, I guess the only downside to 2019 was my spare time falling back in the list of priorities (which shows in the empty square of July).

2020 is gonna be the year of the white metal rat. I can only hope (and take action so) that it'll be just as eventful, and much more creative than 2019. Thank you all for following me (or lurking anonymously) for so long, especially to the bloggers who've offered me support through better or worse! *raises a glass* Here's to 2020!.. *sip*

[lightsandlostbells]

so, overall, what did you think of season 3 of stranger things?

It took me a while to answer this question because I had to sort out how I felt about this season! I guess if I had to narrow it down to an overall opinion: enjoyable, but very messy. Had some of the series’ best moments but also, while I was watching, I had far more grumbles and gripes than the previous two seasons.

I’ve never really been hung up on whether this show is derivative or plays too into nostalgia or w/e. Plenty of media does that. And despite all the time I’ve spent dissecting micro-expressions and weighty silences in European teen dramas that are filmed for the cost of a candy bar … I am way into genre films and TV shows. I love monsters and superheroes and spectacle! I watched Stranger Things the weekend it premiered because I love ‘80s movies about kids on bikes having adventures, I eat that shit up. So I don’t expect this show to be a hardcore deconstruction and re-imagining of those tropes (though that sounds like a pretty great show), I’m fine with it being what it is: a solid, spooky sci-fi/horror throwback series. What matters most is whether the story and characters work. Personally, I would say whatever criticisms you can make of S1 and S2, they had heart, and unfortunately I think some of that heart was missing from S3. Much of that, IMO, comes from sidelining some of the familial relationships that were at the center of the narrative in S1 and S2, like the Byers family and Hopper & Eleven, and to some degree the important friendships like the party, although there were other friendships introduced in this season so that wasn’t as glaring. It’s not a surprise that one of the best-received parts about this season, Steve and Robin’s friendship, is also responsible for one of the most heartfelt scenes Stranger Things has ever done. 

There was also a way larger emphasis on comedy in S3. Comedy is probably my favorite genre, and I did laugh at a lot of humorous moments in this season. But I also felt like there was more comedy for comedy’s sake, like long sequences created intentionally to make the audience laugh. Whereas in S1 and S2, I can’t remember any scenes like that? The comedy was more understated and came from character personalities and relationship moments rather than joke set pieces. That’s perhaps another reason why S3 felt like it had less heart.

My hope for season 4 - and I am assuming there is a season 4, because apparently this show did mega ratings for S3 - is that they don’t add more major new characters (except love interests for the gay characters, go ahead with those, lol) and instead focus on the existing cast,  which is already a very strong ensemble, yet many of the characters have gotten pushed to the sides. I would love if they added to the episode count: a lot of Netflix series drag out their seasons, like they have enough story for 10 episodes but have to stretch it out to 13, but Stranger Things has the opposite problem. I feel like if they had 10 (or 11, ha) episodes they could have more time for breather moments and more space for character arcs. This season was really fast-paced in my opinion, and although that’s a positive in many respects, I missed a lot of the down time.

Also, I think every season has taken place over like a week maximum, not including the epilogues, and like … you can make the story last longer than a week! Not everything has to go to hell in like a day or two.

Some more specific opinions underneath, obviously lots of spoilers.

First of all, I gotta say, I feel like a weirdo, because so many of the reviews for this season are like A RETURN TO FORM AFTER A DISAPPOINTING SECOND SEASON and UP THERE WITH SEASON 1 NOT THAT CRAPPY SEASON 2 THAT NO ONE LIKED and uhhhh … I liked season 2 just fine? It’s probably my favorite. There are things I don’t like about it, but the stuff I love is stuff I really, really love. Hopper and Eleven’s relationship, for instance. Steve and Dustin teaming up and Steve Harrington becoming a guardian to four children. Those are not just great elements to the series, but directions that I think only a second season could have taken - Hopper and Eleven’s bond wouldn’t have had half the weight if they weren’t established as traumatized, broken people in S1. Steve Harrington becoming a babysitter would not be nearly so delightful if we had not known him as the popular douchebag stereotype from S1 - if he were just a cool dude hanging out with kids from the get-go, the impact wouldn’t be as great. After S1 used Will Byers as a MacGuffin in S1, S2 gave Will a much larger role and that little actor acted his ass off. His performance generated a lot of genuine suspense and chills. There was Sean Astin being lovable! Paul Reiser’s character being a surprisingly good guy! Yeah, there are big flaws in the season, and you can argue it’s too much of a repeat of S1, but to me it was a version of S1 that made the characters more specific and interesting. I’m just … genuinely baffled by how it’s supposed to be demonstrably worse than the others. Because of the Kali episode? I didn’t think that one was terrible, either. I think it broke up the momentum of the chaos at Hawkins Lab, and Kali’s friends were obnoxious, it’s certainly not the greatest writing of the series, but as a whole the episode is like. Fine. It’s fine. It’s mediocre, not atrocious. It’s not the worst thing ever. It doesn’t ruin anything about the story or direction or the series. Most importantly it’s easy to ignore or skip on a rewatch if you don’t like it. The backlash was way overblown.

My biggest disappointment with season 3 was Hopper. Whaaaaaaat. Whaaaat did they dooooo. 

Hopper in previous seasons is a flawed, messed-up human being, but I always knew where he was coming from. When he yelled at Eleven in S2, I still got why he did it. In this season he felt cartoonish. The overprotective paternalistic dad trope is annoying BUT I might have been less bothered had they connected it more to Eleven’s lack of experience with the world, less RAWRRRR KEEP BOYS AWAY FROM MY GIRL. Or if Hopper had not demonstrated like, actual rage toward Mike and we just saw him fuming about it to himself or venting to Joyce, if he was trying to keep that shit under control. (I did laugh at him singing “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” in the car, I gotta admit.)

But his attitude toward Joyce was what really bummed me out. I’m not into this show for shipping reasons, but I low-key enjoyed the possibility of Joyce and Hopper hooking up based on previous seasons. This season felt like they were writing a completely different dynamic for them, one that was much more aggressively obnoxious. I think their intentions were clear - they were going for a Sam-and-Diane relationship, something that was referenced early on in the Bob flashback - but the problem is that their relationship was not like that at all in S1 and S2. When I think of Joyce and Hopper from those seasons, I think about him supporting her after Bob died, or listening to her concerns about her son, or working together to find Will. They didn’t have this combative dynamic! Frankly watching giant-ass Hopper yell at tiny Joyce was viscerally unpleasant. (Side note but in the first trailer there was a shot of Hopper running at the Fun Fair with someone else who I assumed was Eleven, but no, turned out to be Joyce, Winona Ryder is just that tiny next to David Harbour.)

Also, considering this season ended with his death (and we all know he’s not really dead but OK) it’s such a waste that there were few Hopper&Eleven moments! Only the finale brought some quality content on that front. But otherwise their relationship was out of sight, out of mind for almost the whole season, which wasn’t a great choice, both to maximize the emotional impact of the ending, and to expand upon their situation post-S2. I mean, it’s been months since then, how has their relationship changed now? Hopper’s letter talked about the stuff he enjoyed doing with his daughter - why didn’t we see any of that on screen this season? It could’ve helped with the Mike angle, too, like show Hopper and Eleven watching TV together and laughing and having a good time, and then the phone rings and it’s Mike and suddenly Hopper’s watching TV alone as Eleven’s now focused on her boyfriend, we see his disappointment, etc. 

Scoops Troop - Now they were a delight. They had such a ludicrous story but for the most part it worked due to the characters playing off each other and because the writing/acting/directing embraced the silliness. 

Steve Harrington is easily one of the best characters on this show. I fucking love that guy. He’s consistently entertaining, he’s had possibly the best character growth out of anyone in the series, he’s evolved from a stock ‘80s asshole stereotype into someone who’s funny and sympathetic and likable. He’s this amazing blend of the ridiculous with the heroic. Steve and Dustin were great together, as they were last season, and I’m cackling that Steve acquired YET ANOTHER CHILD under his supervision without even trying. But the MVP of the season was the Steve & Robin friendship. Holy shit do I love that relationship. Holy SHIT.

Robin herself is a terrific new character, smart and funny and once you know she’s half-Uma, you can’t unsee it. I was loving her already and then the bathroom scene happened and I YELLED. I was so utterly overjoyed. If they had made Steve and Robin hook up, honestly … I would’ve been fine with it, like this show doesn’t need more heterosexual romance but at least they had a fun dynamic, but man, the friendship angle was so so superior. It’s a type of relationship that media is lacking, and the specific circumstances of this friendship made it genuinely moving to me. I keep wanting to write like a meta post devoted to just this relationship because I just have so many emotions about it! But they play well off each other as a comedic duo and as an odd couple friendship, and they’re really what each other needs, IMO. Steve needed this close friendship more than he needed a girlfriend; in this season he’s clearly adrift and we’ve seen the kind of shitty friends he had in like season one, is Dustin the best pal he had at this point? And I love Steve & Dustin but Steve needed a good friend his own age. Robin is a lesbian in small-town Indiana in the ‘80s, and she was clearly full of fear that Steve would hate her if he knew, and for him to accept her so easily, not even making a big deal about it? That’s kind of life-saving, really. I can’t wait to see more of them, if Netflix wants to make the half-hour Clerks-esque spinoff about them working in a video store and shooting the shit, I would be 100% down for that.

I have some mixed feelings about Erica because I think she could have benefited from getting the same humanization as the other kids (and I’m going to leave the discussion of racial tropes gently by the side at the moment but … yeah). The other child characters are played more like actual people with vulnerabilities, which has been part of the show’s appeal since the first season, and Erica was more like the sitcom kid who always has a snarky quip ready; however, she did make me laugh and I like that they tapped into her being a nerd, I wish they’d explore that in future seasons with the character. “I’m ten, you bald bastard” was one of my favorite lines of the season, I lost my goddamn mind. 

Billy - Lmao, so Billy in S2 was the woooorst. This dude had ZERO redeeming qualities. His abusive dad creates a smidgen of sympathy, I guess, but Billy goes so far beyond normal teenage assholery that it didn’t make a dent in my opinion of him. You can redeem someone like Steve Harrington, first of all because Steve actually feels regret and works to correct his mistakes, but Steve also didn’t go to a point of no return in the first place. Billy did, for me. Physically and verbally abusing his younger sister? Attacking a black middle-schooler for the crime of being in the same room as his white sister? What a piece of shit.

With that in mind - I have no problem focusing on him as a villain this season, I really don’t. It justifies his inclusion in S2 other than as a human antagonist who’s ultimately not really connected to the main plot, as it retrospectively establishes him as an even greater threat in this season. I also think the actor did a good job with the material he was given. However, ultimately this dude’s arc was underwhelming. The thing is … I can tell they were trying to show Billy struggling with the Mind Flayer, but Billy is so lacking in any positive qualities that it’s kind of like, where does that struggle even come from? Yeah, even the worst people aren’t going to be wild about having a monster from another dimension hijack your body and use it to collect people for spare parts, but this is the same dude who was about to run over Mike, Lucas, and Dustin on their bikes last season for absolutely no reason. He beat Steve to point of unconsciousness and could’ve put him in the hospital. He assaulted Lucas. So I really need some evidence of Billy’s moral compass because it is not inherent and there’s in fact plenty of evidence that it doesn’t exist. I’m not very enthusiastic about redeeming a racist, abusive creep, but I also think if you’re going to go for him helping Eleven at the end … you have to show some current potential for goodness, not just “used to be a nice kid.”

A really glaring omission: the lack of any family/home scenes with him, Max, and their parents this season. We left off last season with Max telling him to leave her and her friends alone. How is their relationship since then? Is there still a lot of friction? Is there a tense peace? Has their relationship improved in any way? We really needed to see that follow-up. I get that Max crying over Billy this season makes sense in that he’s still her family and we can still have love for those who hurt us … but I also feel that we needed something between them to justify her pain, like even just the potential of their relationship being a fraction better, or the suggestion that Billy used to be OK to Max before he went full asshole. And I think we really needed to see Billy’s dad being currently abusive in this season - tbh, missed opportunity that the dad didn’t get flayed like, out of revenge (which would have been both satisfying and horrifying), missed opportunities for suspense when we think Billy might serve up Max and her mom to the Mind Flayer, etc.

Another missed opportunity: drawing parallels between Billy and Will. Both are possessed by the Mind Flayer. Both had shitty dads calling them homophobic slurs. Both could be read as gay (I’m not hungry to claim Billy as LGBT representation or invested in this interpretation but his scenes with Steve in S2 admittedly have that sweaty homoerotic dick-measuring vibe, if you want to take it there). Their names are both William, FFS. The difference is that Will is a sweet and gentle kid surrounded by loving family and friends who fought to save him, and Billy is a violent, cruel dude who probably doesn’t have any real friends, just shallow connections. You could show how the Mind Flayer could more easily possess and manipulate someone like Billy, but that wasn’t really explored.

Also, is anyone going to dwell on the fact that like … Max is living with an abusive man as her stepfather? He’s shown hurting Billy’s mom. Does that not concern anyone that he is very likely to attack either Max or her mom? 

Oh, and thank God they didn’t take the Billy/Karen thing all the way. In retrospect, even weirder considering Billy’s mommy issues. 

Joyce - I get that it’s a big leap downward in emotional investment to go from “must save my son” to “fucking magnets, how do they work” but I liked that she had her own investigation that wasn’t full of emotional turmoil. Winona forever. 

Mike - Everyone is ragging on him but I think he was less terrible than people are making him out to be. He was bratty in a teenage way, but he wasn’t the worst kid ever. I didn’t take his now notorious line to Will (“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”) as something intentionally cruel or homophobic, just something that came out wrong and that he instantly regretted, and he and Lucas did seem genuinely apologetic over the D&D game and went over to Will’s in the rain out of concern. And the reason he lied to Eleven was because SCARY ASS HOPPER threatened him??? Also, his concern over Eleven overexerting herself was not misplaced, lmao! It really took that long for anyone to go, “Hey, should we be worried about the amount of blood coming out of her nose? Should we be concerned about the effects on her brain?” Sure, Eleven has the final say in whether or not she uses her powers, but tbh… she didn’t have a normal upbringing and her view of her powers is probably skewed. Like, would Eleven have enough basic medical knowledge to be worried about brain damage or nosebleeds, or would that just be the norm to her? Is she making these decisions with a full grasp of the potential consequences? Anyway, I don’t have a more negative opinion of Mike after this season. 

Eleven - I loved Eleven a lot in this season. I don’t know if it did a ton for her character arc, but it’s nice to see her slowly develop into more of a normal girl. And the season was rough for her in terms of getting her ass kicked, she goes through so much mental and physical pain! In the end she loses her dad and her powers!

Of course one of the bright spots was her and Max becoming friends! Not gonna lie, there was something a little … simplistic about some of that depiction of friendship for me - just that so much of it was SHOPPING and GIGGLING and BOY TALK, girls being GIRLS, when Max has been portrayed as a tomboy and Eleven is a telekinetic kid raised in a lab, that maybe their interactions shouldn’t have fit the mold quite so much - but it doesn’t truly bother me because they were so sweet and fun. I loved them tracking down Billy together and I appreciate that their friendship carried throughout the season, that Max was the person shown carrying an injured Eleven along with Mike, Eleven comforted Max after Billy died, etc. That was a definite sore spot of S2, the girl-on-girl jealousy and Eleven flat-out rejecting Max’s friendly introduction, and I do think they took that feedback into account for the better here. I also like that Eleven was clearly taking cues from Max, the more “worldly” of the two about boys and clothes and teenage attitudes in general - it gave their friendship a more specific shape.

I cannot WAIT to see her living with the Byers family next season. Like if they don’t spend significant time on that dynamic, it will be the biggest disappointment. There could be 8 episodes of just boring mundane Byers domestic scenes and I would love it, please inject it into my eyeballs, Duffer bros. I want to see her bonding with all of them, trying to fit in at school, attempting the most normal life she’s ever had. Also lmao, she and Will can finally have a goddamn conversation??? I hope they’ve been withholding that relationship because they were planning to go all out with those new sibling vibes in S4. They are the two characters who have been most traumatized by the Upside Down, we deserve to see them connect.

On that note, I have a lot of thoughts about Will in this season! Mainly - underused as FUCK. After all that trauma of being possessed by the Mind Flayer last season, they barely utilize this connection in the second half of S3. Even his Spidey sense hardly came in handy??? Now that was really weird, IMO, because the least they could do was have that feeling alert the others or be useful, but lmao it was practically pointless. 

It’s weird because I’m not sure if they just don’t know what to do with Will if he’s not being a victim (which is stupid because there’s plenty you could do with him), but at the same time, he has one of the most poignant subplots of the season. From the reactions I’ve seen, Will feeling rejected and left out as his friends move on really resonated with a lot of viewers. But then this thread is abandoned after episode 3, for the most part. Will cries and destroys the place that represents his childhood, a place that was created specifically in response to trauma (mentioned in S2 that he and Jonathan built it after their dad left), this is very rich emotional territory … and then the show’s just like ehhhhhh moving on. He’s just hanging out in the background and touching his neck for the rest of the season. 

And now I gotta talk about that other thing with Will.

I am so confused by what the Duffer brothers are trying to accomplish with Will’s sexuality, because on the one hand it seems like they have a really clear idea about it and on the other hand they’re just like¯\_(ツ)_/¯  The thing is … it seems very obvious they have always thought of Will as gay. This is blatant from the original pitch from the show as well as one of the S2 scripts (the only one that’s available publicly, so who knows what else they’ve written). I accept that people have different interpretations, but The Line this season is far from the only textual support for Will being gay, and I think it makes for a much, much stronger narrative if you read Will as gay in addition to not wanting to grow up as fast as his friends and being stunted from trauma - that is an entire meta post in itself, though. 

What gets me about the ~ambiguity is that the Duffer brothers planted the gay hints in the first place! They are absolutely not there by accident! Like I’m not speaking for the teenage actors but lmao, the adults involved in the writing and directing of this series absolutely fucking knew how that “not my fault you don’t like girls” scene would be interpreted, especially considering fans were debating Will’s sexuality from the beginning, based off the many homophobic comments leveled at him in S1. There have been TV shows where fans latched onto gay “subtext” that was likely unintentional, but this isn’t one of them. 

IDK, man, it’d just be nice to have some confidence in where this is going. I loved Robin and the bathroom scene made me think that yeah, they might do a decent job with Will’s sexuality, something I might have doubted before. Under no circumstances do I expect a Skam S3-style coming out arc for Will, but I’m also uncertain if I should expect anything from the show on this front at all or if they’ll play it coy to the bitter end. Though I guess I’d still take the ambiguity over giving him a female love interest after everything. Lol, that would be a giant oh-fuck-no.

Real talk, though, let’s discuss what an utter waste it would be to not write a scene where Joyce tenderly accepts her son when he comes out to her. You really aren’t going to bring that instantly iconic moment to life, assholes? You’re not going to provide that for Winona Ryder’s and Noah Schnapp’s Emmy reels? MAKE IT HAPPEN, BASTARDS.

Nancy and Jonathan have a reputation for the most boring plots but they’re fine, w/e. I’m not deeply invested in their romance but I don’t want to fast forward their scenes or anything. Nancy is an underrated character; she’s extremely proactive and always has been, and I enjoy watching her shoot things. I think the best thing they could do for both characters, though, is to separate them next season, not just physically but storyline-wise. Jonathan would be best in a subplot involving his family, because he’s at his most likable as a son and brother, and Nancy should either go off with Mike (a sibling relationship that is VASTLY undeveloped), or she should team up with Robin. I mean it, Nancy and Robin would be a power pairing, let me show you my manifesto. Both are smart young women who are good at solving mysteries. Would Robin think Nancy is a priss after Nancy unloads several rounds into the latest demogorgon chasing them? Would Nancy find Robin a refreshing alternative to the crushing suburban conformity that she claims to want to avoid? Oh, the possibilities. Meanwhile, Steve tags along in the background, all like OH SHIT, my lesbian BFF and my ex-girlfriend are in cahoots! 

Lucas and Max were playing relationship counselors to Mike and Eleven through much of the season. Max still had a fair amount to do, but Lucas needs a meatier subplot next time. I feel like they’re not sure what to do with him? I would like to see him and Erica interact more since their dynamic so far is one-note. 

There is one hell of a conversation to be had about the Evil Russians of this season, but I’m really not the person to do it. 

Also about the depiction of capitalism this season. That’s more thinkpiece-y than I am equipped to do right now. 

The product placement is something that should bother me more but I’m just like … shrug. Except that New Coke bit because that was an actual mood-breaker. 

Could have done without Russian Terminator guy. That was a blatant ‘80s homage so I get why he was there, he just wasn’t all that interesting. And was that guy supposed to be superpowered or something? Was he getting jacked on Upside Down steroids???  What was his deal???

Alexei/Murray was the true OTP of the season, let’s be real.

The trend of lovable, doomed minor characters continued with Alexei. Props to that actor for making you root for the guy. He even made me kind of love Murray? I was very WTF over that guy encouraging two teenagers to fuck in S2, and I’m still not into his habit of telling people to bang even when they’re adults, but I guess he just needed a sympathetic Russian buddy to win me over. 

There were a ton of moments where I felt like the characters made stupid choices as opposed to earlier seasons. Will getting dragged into the Upside Down in the first 10 minutes of the series is an impressive example of a horror movie character doing everything right and making good decisions - a 12-year-old, no less. And he was still overpowered by the demogorgon so it’s not like making good decisions will always save you! Whereas this season I was like LORD some of these characters are drinking dumbass juice. 

There was also so much silly stuff happening, like things that are even more far-fetched than previous seasons, but I just kind of went with it. Yeah, of course there’s a secret Russian base under a shopping mall. Sure.

This season is objectively disgusting in terms of gore and yet I was fine with it? And I’m someone who was repulsed by Barb’s corpse in S1. The Mind Flayer being made of people was some nasty shit but effective horror. I felt bad for the poor little rats :( Oh, and the flayed humans, too. Some of them. Was sad to see Mrs. Driscoll bite it but FUCK those cartoon misogynists from the newspaper. 

Visually beautiful! Starcourt Mall is an amazing set and I’m rather sad that the mall was destroyed, although that was basically a foregone conclusion. Some great cinematography, too. On a purely aesthetic level I had a great time just blasting this season into my retinas.

I have had the motherfucking NeverEnding Story theme song in my head for almost two weeks and I’m suffering.

[hayjeon]

hey hay I’m an i-army, and I was reading this article that translates basically Korean reddit into English and basically noticed that there are a lot of misunderstandings btw k-fans and I-fans. As a Korean person who lives in the us, what is your perspective??

Hey wow

That’s a really interesting and good question

First off let me say that I read the Pann (actual korean) versions of these posts so I understand what you’re talking about. For those who don’t know, Pann is basically a reddit for Koreans where anyone can post anything and anyone can reply to posts and upvote comments, etc.

English blogs like netizenbuzz or pannchoa will translate such posts and their top comments as well to English, and from wht I’ve seen, are pretty reliable/accurate. Note that however, these English blogs will only translate popular posts/top 10 or so comments, meaning that these posts are also the posts that are most controversial/have the strongest opinions.

Ok so to respond to your question, I will try and be careful to answer, but pls remember I’m not a representative of Korea or anything lol my parents are KoRean my friends are KoRean but I’m still very Americanized. So I am a…ki-fan lol

Anyway, i think a lot of the disagreements just come from the fact that korea is still a very conservative country at this point, and their society has been shaped and molded in a way ours has too. So a lot of things i-fans may blame/critique k-fans for, actually really lack a true understanding of Korean culture. For example, yes Koreans prefer lighter (both in context of less heavier + lighter colored) makeup. Don’t ask me why, lol but I guess it’s the same thing as why many girls in America prefer darker foundation colors + bronzers + heavier/smokier makeup than white. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it’s the trend.

Koreans blend their neck to their faces, while Americans blend their faces to their necks. Both look great, but if a KoRean sees someone with American Kylie Jenner insta makeup, they will critique it for being too heavy.

In the same way, idols and their makeup and even their digitally edited photos will follow this trend: lighter skin, bigger eyes, smaller faces. Because this is the beauty standard in Korea. In America, editing will lean heavily towards emphasizing the lips, the golden skin tone, or the body, whatnot. So when i-fans exaggerate that a lot of fan-taken photos are edited too much and whitewashed, yes some are heavily edited, but when they critique Koreans for being “racist” or “color-biased” because the k-fan chose to up her exposure a ton or brighten the skin, its a bit intense for me and makes me uncomfortable. It’s just the beauty standard for them, leave them alone, edit it again if you want, but please don’t call them trigger words like that without truly understanding the culture/society :(

Orrrr another example is when i-fans defend against plastic surgery rumors adamantly. Usually, plastic surgery is SO common and rumors and speculations exist bc Koreans are super observative when it comes to that. Tiny tiny nuances trust me, THEY WILL NOTICE. even me and my friends will notice right away the difference between someone who did and didn’t get double eyelid surgery done. It’s not that we’re obsessed with it, and neither did we get it done ourselves, but we have been raised within a group of people where discussing things like that is quite natural and common. So don’t be so offended when k-fans accuse or talk about an idol getting smth done, it’s very common for people there to talk about it so naturally, they don’t really know that some i-fans might actually feel offended/feel like it’s wrong for them to talk that way. And tbh usually k-fans are pretty spot on for finding and pointing out any procedures. Cause they’ve done it themselves too lmaooooo

But anyway my advice is just be patient...don’t fight or accuse, but instead spread positivity. Korea is still v conservative and narrow-minded, buT has so much room for so much improvement socially, mentally, emotionally, etc. so give them time, and know that changing an entire culture/shifting a society’s norm is a long and slow but sure process :)

Idk what else, I mean there are so many things but these two are a few things I’ve noticed recently, I think there was a post like this in Pann but I can’t find it anymore lmao

I’m happy to explain this further to anyone who’s curious!!! Or if you’d like to comment further on this, I am open to discussing! :)

[det-vackraste]

99 questions I stole somewhere so I could answer them

1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? I enjoy having them neatly closed, but I always hang clothes and stuff over them, so they end up being open 2: Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? Sometimes. If they've felt nice when I've used them. 3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? Tucked in. 4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before? No, but my dad stole one with a wild boar on it 5: Do you like to use post-it notes?<br> I do, never actually do it though.<br> 6: Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? Yeah.. 7: Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? Swarm of bees? 8: Do you have freckles? I do, but they're mostly visible after I've gotten some sun on my face. 9: Do you always smile for pictures? Very often, but I also do this very stupid thing where I sort of scrunch up my nose and mouth when people take my picture. Don't know why.. 10: What is your biggest pet peeve? Cliché, but chewing with an open mouth. 11: Do you ever count your steps when you walk? Not that I can think of, but I'm easily influenced, so I might start unwillingly now. Thanks. 12: Have you ever peed in the woods? Lol yeah 13: What about pooped in the woods? Lol yeah 14: Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing? Yeah. 15: Do you chew your pens and pencils? No, but I bite my nails when I'm restless 16: How many people have you slept with this week? One 17: What size is your bed? Queen size (?), 160cm 18: What is your Song of the week? Only Angel, by Harry Styles 19: Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Yes. YES. 20: Do you still watch cartoons? Don't really watch tv, so it doesn't happen that often, but when I do I enjoy it. 21: Whats your least favorite movie? I am legend. Fuck that movie. You all know what I mean. 22: Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? Somewhere too obvious for people to bother looking there. 23: If you're a girl, bra size? If you're a guy, pants size? Oh, let's see if I can get this right in some sort of international size.. 34DD (75E in Swedish sizes) 24: What do you dip a chicken nugget in? I don't eat chicken nuggets, but I would dip them in ketchup. 25: What is your favorite food? Tacos. End of story. 26: What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Spirit, Hercules.. probably more. I'm very easily entertained by movies. 27: Last person you kissed/kissed you? My boyfriend. 28: Were you ever a boy/girl scout? Nope. 29: Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? Don't like being public, so I wouldn't wanna be in a magazine. I could probably strip in a small club or at a party though. Wouldn't mind that too much. Could be fun. 30: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? Wow... eeh.... like 7 years ago when I wrote a letter to future me. 31: Can you change the oil on a car? In theory yes. Never actually done it though. 32: Ever gotten a speeding ticket? Nein. I'm lame in traffic. 33: Ever ran out of gas? No, close though. 34: Favorite kind of sandwich? Tomato, Swedish präst cheese, some salt and pepper on a nice sourdough bread. 35: Best thing to eat for breakfast? I really enjoy oatmeal with fresh blueberries and raspberries, and some cinnamon. 36: What is your usual bedtime? Depends on if I have work the day after. If I do, I try to be asleep by like 11pm. If I don't, I usually go to sleep at like 1am or something like that. 37: Are you lazy? Yeah.. 38: When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? Didn't really dress up that much for halloween. Live in a tiny village, so there weren't really that many opportunities. 39: What is your Chinese astrological sign? Rat I think..? 40: Are you horny? Man, most of the time yeah. 41: Do you have any magazine subscriptions? No I don't, had one when I was like ten. 42: Which are better legos or lincoln logs? Legos of course. What even are Lincoln logs? 43: Are you stubborn? I can be... but like in a low-key way. 44: Who is better...Leno or Letterman? Those names don't ring a bell, really... so I don't know 45: Ever watch soap operas? Not my thing really. 46: Are you afraid of heights? If I'm standing on a high edge, I am, but not otherwise. 47: Do you sing in the car? Lol yeah... too much and too loud. I think people on the streets can hear me go. 48: Do you sing in the shower? No, for some reason I don't really do that? 49: Do you dance in the car? Yeah 50: Ever used a gun? I've used an air rifle, but that's about it. Doesn't really count maybe? 51: Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? Uhhh...? Like... three and a half years ago for picture day? 52: Do you think musicals are cheesy? Yeah. They are. Love them though. 53: Is Christmas stressful? Can be. Especially when I've postponed Christmas gift shopping. 54: Ever eat a pierogi? Yeah man, made 'em myself many times. 55: Favorite type of fruit pie? Blueberry or rhubarb 56: Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Okey. So... I wanted to be a ballerina that danced around in a flower shop. No lie. 57: Do you believe in ghosts? Don't know if I believe in ghosts, per se, but I think it seems fishy that death is just nothing? You know? 58: Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? Too many times, man. 59: Take a vitamin daily? I try to take vitamin D sort of daily in the winter, to sort of compensate for the lack of sun we have here in the north during winter. 60: Wear slippers? When I'm somewhere sunny on vacation. 61: Wear a bath robe? When I borrow my boyfriend's to run to the bathroom at night. 62: What do you wear to bed? Nothing. Everyone should. 63: First concert? I think it was Amy Diamond, this really young, Swedish sweetheart that was popular like 12 years ago in Sweden. Saw her when I was like eight. Good one. Besides that, my first real concert was the ark I think.. Great Swedish band! 64: Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Don't have any of those in Sweden, and can't remember if I've been to any of them when I've travelled, so.... none? 65: Nike or Adidas? Nike? 66: Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos? Maybe? Never had 'em though. 67: Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? I like sunflower seeds, man. 68: Ever hear of the group Tres Bien? Nah. 69: Ever take dance lessons? Yeah I did. A took various kinds of dance classes for like six years. Classic ballet, street, jazz, musical.. really fun! 70: Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? Oh wow... man I don't even know what I picture myself doing. As long as they're happy with what they're doing, I don't care all that much. 71: Can you curl your tongue? Yeaaa 72: Ever won a spelling bee? Never been in one 73: Have you ever cried because you were so happy? I cry quite easily, so yeah. 74: Own any record albums? I do, very many. Enjoy the feeling of actually having the album. 75: Own a record player? Not anymore :/ 76: Regularly burn incense? I used to, but then I got lazy. 77: Ever been in love? Am in love now. 78: Who would you like to see in concert? Would be cool to see Bastille or arctic monkeys, cause I haven't seen them. Other than that I've seen most of the ones I want to see live. 79: What was the last concert you saw? Uhh... I saw Hozier last February. But other than that the last concert I saw was probably with my friend's band, Royal Prospect. Check them out, they're great and also up and coming! 80: Hot tea or cold tea? Hot. But also cold. Both. 81: Tea or coffee? Tea. 82: Sugar or snickerdoodles? What in the hell is snickerdoodles? 83: Can you swim well? I can, yes. 84: Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Yes. Is that a thing? 85: Are you patient? I can be very patient, but also childishly impatient. 86: DJ or band, at a wedding? Band. Jazzy ish. 87: Ever won a contest? Won a quiz at school once. Won chocolate. Good one. 88: Ever have plastic surgery? Nope. 89: Which are better black or green olives? Black. 90: Can you knit or crochet? I actually knit half a beanie in school like five or six years ago, but I barely knew what I was doing then, and definitely don't now. 91: Best room for a fireplace? In the bedroom, by the bed. But not too close. Be safe, kids. 92: Do you want to get married? Yes, I'd like that. 93: If married, how long have you been married? Am not married. In a 3+ years relationship though. 94: Who was your HS crush? My current boyfriend. 95: Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? Not really.. 96: Do you have kids? Nope. 97: Do you want kids? Yes I do. 98: Whats your favorite color? Deep, Slytherin green, sunset ish orange, or any shade of grey. 99: Do you miss anyone right now? My friend, who's been backpacking for like four months now, and is home in June or July. Also my other friend, who lives in Scotland, but moves home soooooon. Also my boyfriend, whom I met two days ago. I'm lame.

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Family Itinerary: A Long Weekend in San Francisco

Last June, our family spent my birthday weekend in San Francisco. In this post I share our long weekend itinerary exploring the City By The Bay.

 Day 1

 We arrived on a Friday at about 11:00 am. Went to pick-up our rental car (Got a free upgrade to a Nissan Armada. Wohoo!) and was finally able to get out of the airport by 1:00 pm. 

 Jollibee

Since hotel check-in was not until 2:00 pm, we decided to have lunch first. First meal in SanFo, Jollibee. #Priorities Born and raised in the Philippines, it brings back good childhood memories.

 There are a lot of good restaurants close to the airport though. In my original itinerary we were supposed to have lunch at New England Lobster Market and Eatery. 

 After lunch, we headed to our hotel to check in. We chose a hotel closer to the airport because they are way cheaper compared to hotels in San Francisco City proper. However, I won’t mention which hotel we stayed at as they didn’t fulfill my expectations. Yes, I matched my expectations to my price point affordability. Yet this hotel still did not manage to get to that level.

 Once we we’re checked in and freshened up, we headed back out, this time driving towards San Francisco City proper. 

 Painted Ladies

First touristy stop, the Painted Ladies. A row of painted Victorian houses, also known as Postcard Row, popularized by the sitcom Full House. The painted ladies are right across Alamo Park where there is a nice playground. So after a couple of pictures, the kids had about an hour playing in the playground. Then a couple more pictures before we headed to Lombard Street.

 Lombard Street

This is the most crooked road in North America. Marc parked the car on top of the street and we walked up and down Lombard street for photo ops. 

 It was the NBA finals at the time we visited, next game is being held in the Chase Centre. There was a red mustang convertible driving down Lombard Street bearing the Raptors flag as we we’re walking back up. I couldn’t help but yell, “Go Raptors!” #CanadianPride The occupants of the car yelled  “Go Raptors!” back at least.

 Marc wanted to experience driving down Lombard Street, so we piled ourselves back into the car. He drove from the top of the street all the way down. Then it was time to visit the Palace of Fine Arts.

 Coit Tower

Another SanFo touristy landmark is the Coit Tower. Anybody watch the movie San Andreas Fault? Yes, that’s The Rock. 

 We chose to skip this place because I read a recent TripAdvisor review written by a mom, that says she doesn’t feel it was safe for young kids. Marc and I have actually been in the tower before, and yes, I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking Kaeden and Kenzie up there based on previous experience.

 I did however take photos of the kids on Lombard Street with the Coit Tower in the background. 

 Palace of Fine Arts

By the time we got to the Palace of Fine Arts, the kids were already tired from our adventure. Kaeden had a power nap in the car while Kenzie had an extended 30 minute nap on the stroller.

 We took a lot of photos while walking around the Palace of Fine Arts. I think this was my favorite part of the trip because we were just having quality time with family while taking in the sights. 

 Alioto’s Restaurant

For dinner that night, we had reservations at Alioto’s Restaurant, in Fisherman’s Wharf. I made the reservations online about a week before our visit. 

 Dinner was superb! Nothing can beat eating fresh seafood with a view of the bay in front of you. 

 Although, in all honestly, Marc and I still had a nightcap of Jollibee Chicken Joy. LOL

 Day 2

Another reason we chose the hotel we stayed at was because breakfast was included. Nothing fancy, just your typical continental breakfast buffet spread. It prepared us for the day’s adventure. 

 Golden Gate Bridge

First stop of the day was Golden Gate Bridge. We left the car in the lower level parking lot and walked all the way up to the bridge. Obviously, also took a lot of pictures along the way. 

 You can cross to the other side of the bridge through the walkway underneath. The kids had a good time looking at the underside of the bridge. There was also an exhibit explaining the history of the bridge and the engineering design utilized for it.

 No tourist tour is complete without visiting at least one gift shop. LOL We browsed but didn’t buy anything. My mom and Dad ended up buying some souvenirs. Did I mention that my mom, dad and brother were with us on this trip?

 Barrel House Tavern

After spending almost half the day at the Golden Gate Bridge, we drove to Saulsalito for lunch.

 On my original itinerary we were supposed to eat at Scoma’s. I mistakenly did not make reservations, and we didn’t want to wait 45 minutes for a table. So we walked up to Barrel House Tavern and had lunch there instead. 

 Food and drinks were excellent. Calamari and mussels hit the spot. And the kids had fun sitting on a bar-height table.

 Sausalito

After lunch, we walked around this beautiful sea-side town. Marc and I had been here back in 2012. We both remember it being smaller and quaint. Fast forward several years later, it has grown a lot, possibly due to the fact that it accommodates tourists from all over the world. 

 Lappert’s Ice Cream

You can’t visit Sausalito and not make your way to Lappert’s Ice Cream Shop. We treated ourselves to scoops of ice cream in waffle cones.

 I love that they have different flavors inspired by places around the world. The kids definitely  enjoyed their scoop of ice cream while looking out to the ocean.

 After enjoying our ice cream and a long walk, we piled ourselves back into our Nissan Armada and headed back to San Francisco. The kids enjoyed nap time while in the car.

 Ghirardelli Town Square

Since dinner was still a couple of hours away, we spent some time in Ghirardelli Town Square.

 There are a lot of things to do here. Several stores have interactive play for kids outside. And did I mention that the Ghirardelli chocolate shop gives generous samples?!

 I think the kids went back a couple of times for chocolate. LOL. Marc and I may have also gone back for seconds, we won’t confirm.

 After buying some Ghirardelli chocolate packs to take home, it was time to start walking towards Fisherman’s Wharf for dinner. 

 Parking Tip: Since our rental SUV was quite tall, it was too high for the underground parking at Ghirardelli Town Square. So we opted to park near the park to the left of the square. There are a few spots there. However, parking is only for 2 hours. So just before we headed to dinner, Marc moved the car several spots down. There were more spots open then because our dinner reservation was booked for 7:00 pm.  

 Cioppino’s

For my actual birthday dinner, I made a reservation at Cioppino’s, an Italian Seafood restaurant. Because seafood and pasta, how can you go wrong? 

 The service was great but the food was okay. It wasn’t mind-blowingly good. Also the restaurant is slightly dated in appearance.

 But the servings are massive. All of us had to take about half of our meals back to the hotel. LOL. But in all honesty the service was excellent. I wish I can remember the name of our server. 

 Day 3

We woke up bright and early on Sunday for our day 3 adventure. We were first in line at the breakfast buffet. 

 Chase Centre

Marc wanted to watch an NBA finals game but ticket prices were ridiculous. So he just opted to drive up to Chase Centre for a photo op.

 Security was tight though because of the NBA finals so he didn’t even have a nice photo. But at least he saw the arena. While the kids and I had some time to catch some sleep before we started the day’s adventure.

 Cable Car

After we parked the car again in the same area near Ghirardelli Square, we walked over to the Cable Car station. Tickets for a 1-way trip cost $7 per adult.

 We rode the cable car down to the downtown area. Kaeden and Kenzie at first were terrified, thinking they would fall off. But then they got the hang of it and enjoyed.

 Downtown San Francisco

Once in the downtown area, we stopped by Starbucks for drinks. We walked around a tiny bit. There was a huge event happening, so there were too many people, and we are just not into that.

 We took a few pictures and decided to head back to Fisherman’s Wharf. We lined up to take the cable car back. The line up was so long!

 Senor Sisig

Luckily we spotted the Senor Sisig food truck near the line up. This is one of the most popular food trucks in San Francisco. Bonus that it’s Filipino cuisine based. 

 We purchased a couple of orders of sisig and happily ate lunch while lined up. The kids had Burger King chicken nuggets and fries. Everyone was full by the time we boarded the cable car. 

 Fisherman’s Wharf

We got off the cable car at a different spot where we initially boarded. So we left the kids with my mom & dad in Starbucks, while we walked to the car.

 This time we parked the car underground in the building where Ross is. It was a $10 parking fee, but it was a hot day and the fee was for the entire day. 

 After we met up with my parents and the kids at Starbucks, we headed down to the pier. At the pier we purchased tickets for the Bay Cruise, this is what we plan to do in the afternoon.

 Originally we wanted to go on the catamaran cruise, but with the kids, we thought the boat cruise would be less stressful for us adults. LOL.

 Since our cruise time was not until 3:30 pm, we decided to walk around the Fisherman’s Wharf area, take some photos, and try the famous fish and chips from The Cod Mother’s Fish and Chips. It’s our linner! The meal between lunch and dinner when you’re on holidays. LOL.

 Bay Cruise

At 3:30 pm we lined up for our Bay Cruise. It took us around the bay area, near Alcatraz, under the Golden Gate Bridge and then back to the pier. We took A LOT of photos. Like really a lot!

 It was fun to just sit back, relax, and have the boat tour us around. A nice break from all the walking we’ve done so far. The kids certainly enjoyed it!

 Note that we specifically did not go to Alcatraz because Kaeden and Kenzie will not appreciate it. They’d probably just be scared if we go in there. The Bay Cruise went close enough that they can see it and we can touch on the subject but not delve too deep into it. 

 Shopping

After getting off the boat, we headed back to the car and drove to Red Ribbon. This is a famous bakery for Filipino people. We bought a lot of pastries to take back home. There is no Red Ribbon in Canada yet.

 Next stop, Target and Trader Joes. We stocked up on Trader Joe spices – Everything But The Bagel, Chilli Lime, 21 Seasoning Salute, and the coffee rub.

 All of us got stopped at airport security, our baggage checked, because it was just full of spice blends. LOL

 The kids were allowed to buy a $10 item in Target as a souvenir, obviously they chose a toy. 

 Isla Restaurant

For dinner on our last day, we decided to try a popular local Filipino restaurant. We chose Isla Restaurant through a recommendation by my Mom’s friend. 

 Dinner was excellent! Definitely satisfied my Filipino taste buds. And they gave us a free dish because it was still my birthday week. Gotta love that!

 Day 4

Our flight back home was at 12 pm. As usual we had breakfast at the hotel. Did a rejig of our luggage – each of us only brought one carry-on suitcase and a back pack, including the kids. So we had to distribute the pastries and spices accordingly. 

 Dropped off the rental car and was surprised that there was no line up at security.

 We were relaxing inside the airport about an hour and a half before boarding time. So we had time to eat a mini-lunch and let the kids burn off some energy before flying back home. 

 I hope you enjoyed and picked up a thing or two from our long weekend family itinerary in San Francisco. If you want to see photos of our trip, head on over to our Instagram (@this.family.life.we.live). If you like what you see there, please follow us. We always appreciate new tribe members!

The post Family Itinerary: A Long Weekend in San Francisco appeared first on This Family Life We Live.

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MIghty Morphin Griffin Rangers – Review & How Did You Do Poll

Hey there readers, with all the Morphin come to an end, and all the Lycra back in the closet, what better for us to waffle on about what we thought about the event in general. Yes, Mighty Morphin Griffin Rangers saw us spend 4 weeks cosplaying and battling evil Kaiju, and to be honest in my game there wasn’t a dull moment. 

Well it all started with the announcement of a Power Range themed event from TinyCo during their Facebook Live Q&A. And I’ll say I was surprised, as the Power Rangers have never really featured in Family Guy.  So why Power Rangers, well it was obviously part of a promotional tie-in for the new Power Rangers movie which hit many of our cinemas last month. I admit my first thought was, Power Rangers… Meh!!! But here I am 4 weeks later, having quite enjoyed myself, so a good lesson there in not judging a book by its cover, or in this case an event by its theme.

And I have to say when the guys at TinyCo said their would be some new gameplay introduced, I was hooked in and ready to Morph it, just to see what it was all about if nothing else.

The game update unfortunately had some unusual App Store rules, in that it wouldn’t be available in a whole raft of mainly Asian countries, including Japan, the county that brought us the original idea from which the Power Rangers was born, so I’m sorry if any of our regular readers had to sit this one out, I’m sure TinyCo are too, but licensing obviously played its part here. I’m honestly not sure there’s an awful lot TinyCo could do about that.

The event certainly started on a positive note for me, I’d taken a chance on buying Rita Repulsa in the pre-sale and within minutes of the event launching she was working away clearing Cosplayers and giving me a real leg up in the first week. Also there was a clam generator building to buy, the Angel Grove Juice Bar. Buying this immediately would see me make enough clams in profit  to cover the cost of Rita Repulsa. Win- Win situation.

I was also immediately delighted to see this was a 4 week event, I think this is starting to work well for events, I prefer it to the 6 week events. And I think TinyCo are getting that anything longer than this becomes a grind, I’m certain,y finding that over at Tapped Out where the repetitive 6-8 week events really drain the fun out of things.

This event also seemed to bringing about some nostalgia, those that were Power Ranger fans were delighted at the chance to have Power Rangers come to Quahog, a bit like my delight when the yellow brick road appeared. It’s always nice to see comments from players who are having a blast in events.

I also decided to try a different kind of strategy in this event, as I previously said I purchased the Week 1 premium character, Rita Repulsa , partly because I liked the look of the character but also to see just how good a leg up it would give me going forward in the event.  I’m liking this move to characters/costumes not only being useful during a single phase but for the whole event. I continued my premium spending with the Alpha 5 Bot, just because he was cute, and I wanted him in my game. So those 2 characters and the Angel Grove Juice Bar were my  premium buys.

But now let’s take a more in-depth look at the event, and yes I will say this from the off, a lot of players found the early Phases extremely tough going.

FORMAT: A 4 week event that had 2 dreaded timed characters, and a return of the much maligned leaderboards. Now 4 weeks was fine, I like the 4 phase events, especially when the final Phase isn’t too content heavy. Phase 4 being content light was great for those playing catch up, I think it’s good TinyCo listened to us when we said there was often too much to do in the final Phase, but they need to remember the players who are completing events, so there needs to be a reward, a little something for completing the final Main Questline, a bit like the weekly challenges, for players completing all an events Main Questlines a little Clam reward, say 40 clams for a 4 week event such as this, basically just 10 clams for each of the 4 Questlines completed. It gives those who play to the end a little happy ending, and happy players in my mind are more likely to spend money.

CONTENT: Movie tie in, no Family Guy history for the content, but I strangely found myself having fun, and I’m maybe a tiny Power Rangers fan now, hopefully I’ll get over it soon.

ZORDS AND KAIJU: I liked the new gameplay of creating Zords, but felt some players didn’t fully understand that our Zords could be used on their own without combining with other characters, this saw many fall behind as they delayed attacking Kaiju until they had unlocked characters. So if you were one of those players I’d like hear where you ended up.  But as I say the Zords were fun, and the battles were short but the rewards were hit or miss, again random drops brought many players to a screeching halt. I think TinyCo need to look at this, especially in this event when it came to the Zeo Crystals, a supposedly Uncommon drop that for me didn’t drop once from over 30 defeats of the Earth Kaiju, c’mon TinyCo that’s criminal stats.

CHARACTER DROPS: With regards to gameplay it was good to see less characters have multiple tasks for different drop items, I know there was still some crossover but that will always happen as core characters that were unlocked in the early Districts are used in events to allow newer players to join in events. I really think TinyCo got the balance quite well in this event and used a good ratio of characters and buildings with drops. Also good to see more old characters being use for even just PowerCon Pin  drops, players have been asking for that for a long time..

CHARACTERS: What did I like, well we got quite a couple of  new freemium characters as opposed to just a whole lot of costumes. Although we got load them too. Didn’t like that they didn’t realise a female Power Ranger, players were hoping for one. But I’m sure they just picked the most popular or those the rights holder allowed.

WEEKLY CHALLENGES: The weekly challenges were a bit easier, especially the Week 2 challenge, lol. But the 4th one was a tough ask, and may have seen many payers fall at the final hurdle. One thing that would help players make decisions on clam spending for weekly challenges is if TinyCo would verify the Grand Prize is a decoration in the challenge screen.

LEADERBOARDS Yes they returned for the first time in a while, and I’m glad to say many players seemed relaxed about them, which I think is the right attitude. I’d still rather see a Community leaderboard format. And as ever I will not spend clams trying to pursue the leaderboard, I just finish wherever my play takes me,

GAMEPLAY: TinyCo promised us some new gameplay and we got it in the Combining of Zords to attack the Kaiju, but for me although I loved the Zords, the gameplay wasn’t radical enough to cause a lot of excitement in event after event burnt out players.

SUPPORT: There has been improvements in this area, but more work still needs done, I had reason to contact them a couple of times, and found a mixed bag in how my issues were dealt with, one was dealt with as I’d expect, and I was happy with that but the other which should have seen a similar response wasn’t dealt with at all. Frustrating!

MYSTERY BOXES: It’s no mystery what my feelings on Mystery Boxes are, I’ve long despaired at the way TinyCo implements Mystery Boxes in events. But in one way they seem to be responding to concerns by putting returning characters in as potential prizes rather than too many useless decorations. But they also still have too many repeatable resources and the odds of winning the top prize continues to be brutal. Maybe put in a little gameplay that lets you win a free chance at the box.

BOSS BATTLES: These weren’t too bad to start with, freemium players could attack at lower levels. But as phases progressed some of the Kaiju heart levels were ridiculous, and of course the random nature of the drops isn’t something I like to see in Boss Battles, it takes a lot to build up what you need to do these attacks, to then not get a drop is really soul-destroying. And as for the seemingly Uncommon drop of Zeo Crystals, this was ridiculous, it was more like Extra Rare in some Kaiju and non-existent in the Earth Kaiju.

QUESTLINES: Now the dialogue and tasks were fantastic, no issues at all there, but what I do find troublesome is having a character with a task for an essential drop being needed for all the side Questlines, in this event it was Chris. I’m still clearing all the tasks he has built up now.

DROPS: Rare drops on an essential item should raise concerns with the development team immediately, as should random drops you can’t control on a timed character. Especially when losing out on those timed characters impacts your future event progress. These really are errors that shouldn’t be being repeated 3 years after the game’s launch.

So fellow addicts, that’s just some of my thoughts, and I want to stress they are just my thoughts, they in no way reflect what Bunny or Lotty felt about the event, but before I ask for your thoughts I want to say one last thing about the event and that’s how fantastic the animation has been yet again, really top work from the guys at TinyCo.

Anyway that’s my ramblings, now I want you to tell me your thoughts. But please don’t turn this into a boiling hot What the Deuce post by as Bunny will exile me from the blog for 10,000 years. Please give us your feedback and thoughts in a fun in the sun sort of way. Tell us what you liked, didn’t like? What you’d like to see more of, what you’d like to see less off. Share with us everything and anything you think would improve FGQFS, as TinyCo do read this blog and of course Bunny also takes your feedback to TinyCo. And if you can please take a minute to complete the end of event poll at the end of this  I’d be very grateful.

And just incase you can’t see the poll or find it jumps about when you’re trying answer, here’s the direct link:

https://goo.gl/forms/ASrxG4eM6FJ4ovxo1

~ Russian Tigger

MIghty Morphin Griffin Rangers – Review & How Did You Do Poll was originally published on Yatterz