#Some are sillier and lighter while some are more serious | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bonbonbunny · 4 years ago

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Do u have any good lady's isekai falls-in-love-with-a-prince-from-a-novel type webcomic recommendation? I read 2 and now im hooked

Do I EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most of these I find on Webtoon. If you join webtoon and read regularly, you'll see them suggesting more things you might like, and new stuff on the main page, and you'll discover more and more of them, too. 💖

Happily Ever Afterwards - The heroine is reborn AFTER the epilogue of her fave novel, after her favorite character has been exiled from the kingdom due to the story’s events (he’s a tragic, sympathetic character). She sets about traveling to the cold, difficult kingdom of his exile to try to convince him to marry her, so that she can give him the happiness he deserves to have after all of the sad events from the book! This comic is SOOOOO sweet, cute, and fluffy-fluff! ☁️

The First Night With the Duke - Starts out with a lot of comedy, but has gotten much more serious as the chapters have progressed, with some intense scenes that I haven’t been crazy about. The heroine completely derails the plot of the novel by being born as a random, unnamed side-character who accidentally seduces the male lead, and no romance between him and the actual female lead ever even has the chance to happen. 😅

The Matchmaking Baby Princess - The heroine is born as a tiny baby princess, who uses her super cute charm to influence the characters around her so that things turn out better for them than the way the novel goes. This one is still fairly new, so the episodes haven’t shown a whole lot about how she derails the story yet, but, it is REALLLY CUUUUUTE!! And has very beautiful scenes of palatial gardens and such. Also obviously the heroine herself is not the one that the romance happens to lol.

His Majesty's Proposal - This one is a bit similar to The First Night With the Duke, with a rando side character getting proposed to by the prince after spending a night with him. A fun twist with this one is that the heroine is reincarnated from a crotchety old woman in her previous life, so she uses all kinds of old person slang (like calling people “whippersnappers” and stuff like that lol) and is kind of rude and grumpy lol.

Every Rose Has a Death Flag - Pretty typical isekai where the heroine is reincarnated as the villainess and knows that all of her ends are bad ends, so she tries to remove herself from the attentions of the prince and the other main characters, but through the process ends up endearing herself to them instead. Good stuff without any weird quirks or gimmicks. 👌

Tricked into Becoming the Heroine's Stepmother - The protagonist is actually one of the AUTHORS of this novel, so she is familiar with exactly what will be happening to all of the characters! She is reincarnated as a rando townsperson though, and doesn’t have much influence, until she appeals to the prince and just spills the fact that she’s the author and knows everything that’s going to happen to the princess (his daughter) in the future lol?! And he believes her?? And employs her to his household in order to prevent any of the princess’ suffering??? Also did I mention that the princess is the most adorable little toddler ever, with fluffy hair like a chestnut? 😭😭

The Male Lead's Girl Friend - Again, the heroine is reborn as the villainess of the story, and attempts to distance herself from the male lead as much as she can (endearing herself to him in the process). Some of the interesting quirks here are that she ships the male and female lead SUPER HARD, and is trying everything she can to hook them up together, but they both only seem to fall for her harder with every attempt. 😄 There is also a cool school/academy setting to this one to set it apart from the others with similar plots, as well as BIG YURI VIBES between the protagonist and the female lead.

How to Survive a Romance Fantasy - This is the most comedy-intensive of everything on this list. In fact, it just kept getting sillier as its chapters went on, and I actually dropped it from my reading list because it wasn’t making me laugh as hard anymore as it was in the beginning.. 😅 In this one, three normal-world folks are reborn in the fantasy world, as the heroine, the prince, and the villainess, and ALL THREE of them hate it and want nothing to do with the plot, so they run away as far from the plot as they can, and are also keeping their identities as the main characters secret from one another. It is very, very silly.

Non-Webtoon Webcomics

These have not been officially picked up & translated. To read them in English, you will have to find them online where they are posted by fan translators.

The Villainess is a Marionette - This is for real probably my very favorite comic on this whole list, and can you believe how beautiful the art style is??? The tone of this one is totally different from any of the others here. The protagonist is reborn as a malicious villainess with particularly cruel endings in her future, and she sets about to avoid them by using her power, influence, and wiles to manipulate the royal intrigue happening around her. She’s... RELATIVELY kinder than the original villainess was in the story, and several characters that were her enemies in the original story are endeared to her now, but she’s still got her claws sunk into the royal family’s shady dealings. This is a “bad boss b*tch” kind of heroine lol, and it’s super satisfying to see her come out ahead of the other villains with her crazy 4D chess manipulations.

Sincerely: I Became a Duke's Maid - A super snuggly, sweet, and fluffy story where the protagonist is reborn as a maid during the tragic antihero’s childhood. He is afflicted with a painful curse, and the protagonist, knowing that only more pain is ahead for him, does her best to befriend him and make his youth a little bit lighter.

Who Made Me A Princess - Yet again, a tragic end awaits this princess that the protagonist is reborn as in her childhood, so she uses her cute charm to change the king’s attitude toward her (he was neglectful in the original story). Some interesting original-plot-derails happen in this one, where her innate magic power is much stronger than it’s supposed to be, and she needs the help of a magical pet creature and a very handsome wizard to sustain her life in this world.

Seduce the Villain's Father - This one wins the award for having the most hilarious title in this list. 😆 It’s much cuter and lighter than it sounds!! This protagonist derails the original plot by allowing herself to be kidnapped by the villain’s kingdom instead of the intended character (her sister). She is reborn among characters the generation before the events of the novel, so the villain himself isn’t here yet - but his handsome dad is! And if she can convince him not to marry the woman that would become the villain’s mother, then the storyline is saved! Probably!

Special mention:

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Roads Lead to Doom! - This anime is probably the main “reincarnated as the villainess” isekai that introduced most of us to this concept. 😅 I’ve linked to where you can watch the anime for free on Crunchyroll, but there is also a manga if you’d prefer to read it! While there are many, many comics that use this plot hook, this is the only one that made it to anime form, so it’s like, required watching!

To close this long list up, all of these recs are JUST ISEKAI!!!! If I were recommending my favorite webcomics in general, there could also be Cursed Princess Club, The Remarried Empress, The Princess’ Jewels, and Men of the Harem in this list...

There are so, so many comics with beautiful art styles featuring gorgeous princesses, it’s crazy!! 😭😭 I could for real spend my whole life reading them probably?? 👌👌 Those millions of women that read romance novels about dukes falling in love with noble women are suddenly extremely relatable.

#asks #isekai #webcomics #webcomic #long post

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dukeofonions · 4 years ago

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The Problem With Asides

Before I get into anything I want to clarify that this is not going to be a criticism of the two Asides episodes we’ve gotten so far. This is a critique of the concept of Sanders Asides as a separate series from the original Sanders Sides. A second note I want to make is that this is, just as all my other posts are, a personal opinion. This is not meant to be an attack on anyone, just a general criticism from a confused writer and viewer of the show.

And final disclaimer: A lot of what I’m going to say is based on information that I no longer have available. It’ll mostly be me recalling things I heard and if I at any point get something wrong please feel free to let me know.

That being said, let’s get into this, shall we?

(Fair warning this post is very long hence why I’ve divided it into parts so feel free to read then come back as you wish)

Part One: The Concept of Asides

Some time ago last year, I believe shortly after Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts came out, was when the idea for Sanders Asides was first announced. The basic concept of it being shorter, more lighthearted videos focusing on the Sides outside of the main storyline. This format would allow them to give us more Sides content in between the long waits for the main series since those episodes were beginning to take more time to produce.

Of course, everyone was eager for more Sides, so the majority of people were excited. Not only that but due to the main series tackling heavier themes, the episodes were becoming more angsty with less time for the characters to just relax and goof off with each other. The idea of having episodes reminiscent of the low stakes, sillier, happier content of season one was a welcome break from the more complex episodes and would be a nice return to form for the series.

We were also informed that these episodes would be much simpler than their main series counterparts and wouldn’t disrupt the work being done on Sanders Sides, which meant we didn’t have to worry about long gaps between the main story episodes, right?

(Another disclaimer: I am perfectly aware of the main reason why we were not given as much content last year and am not blaming Thomas or the team for doing what was necessary to keep themselves safe and hope they continue to do so as this continues into the new year)

Jump to November 22, 2019, where we got our first official episode of Sanders Asides, roughly five months after DWIT came out. Which, for this fandom, was record time to get more content and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly they were able to get this out. Though at the same time, I wondered why it took five months to make what was meant to be a short, simple episode.

So imagine my surprise when I went to watch the episode and saw it was nearly 20 minutes long. Which, okay, isn’t that bad when you compare it to the lengths of the more recent Sanders Sides episodes. But at the time, I was under the impression that the Asides would be, well, much shorter. The longest I expected would be maybe 15 minutes, but you know what? It’s the first episode and it has been a while since we’ve had Sides content, so maybe they wanted to give us a little extra due to the long wait.

I started the episode and at first, I was overjoyed when I saw the first shot of all the Sides sitting in the living room in their onesies about to have a movie night. This was exactly what I’d been hoping to see from this series! It’s pretty much a staple thing in the fandom for the Sides to have movie nights together, and now it was happening in canon!

At the moment, I had high hopes for this series and was filled with joy.

Then that hope and joy were immediately crushed when I realized this was yet just another Virgil-centric angst episode. In fact, this entire episode was, well, exactly like a regular Sanders Sides episode. Sure, there were some jokes here and there, but the tone of the episode was no lighter than the last Sanders Sides episode. If anything DWIT felt lighter in comparison to this one.

Which leads me to ask, what the heck happened?

Part Two: Literally the Same Show

At this point in time, we’ve only had two episodes of Asides. Usually, I try to hold off my judgment of a series until I’ve had at least one other episode to see if my original criticisms still stand.

To be fair, I did think Flirting With Social Anxiety was a step in the right direction. More comedy, a lighter tone, yes. Perfect. But again, just like with Are There Healthy Distractions? This episode quickly dove right back into the angst pool, and just like ATHD it was a pretty long episode, clocking in at almost 25 minutes.

Not only that but again, both FWSA and ATHD don’t feel any different from the episodes we’ve been getting in Sanders Sides.

1. They’re just as angsty.

2. Roughly the same length as Sanders Sides episodes.

3. Take about just as long to produce.

4. Contain a lesson to be learned.

Which, okay, you can have lessons in lighter shows too, but we’re already getting that in Sanders Sides and Sanders Asides was described as, well, being less plot heavy. Yet so far both episodes are still tied in with the main plot.

ATHD deals with the aftermath of DWIT, not directly but it’s pretty obvious that the whole thing with Virgil’s reveal at the end of that episode is being addressed in the background. Which, kind of takes away the impact of that ending, but I’ll get to that later.

Then FWSA takes place after Putting Others First and again, is dealing with things from that episode in the background. Again though, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It makes sense to see the characters dealing with things from past events.

So why is it a problem here? Because, again, Sanders Asides is meant to be a separate series, and all the subtext brought on from the episodes in Sanders Sides makes the plots in these two episodes confusing.

For example, I was perplexed during my first watch of FWSA because I couldn’t understand why the focus of the conflict was lying. I didn’t understand why Virgil and Roman came to the conclusion that Thomas’ reason for being unable to approach Nico was because he was lying to himself, when both the title of the episode and what we were shown points more to, well, social anxiety being the problem.

(Quick note: One could argue that this was done purposefully to have Virgil putting the blame on Janus since he doesn’t like him and wouldn’t want to admit that he was the one responsible, but this series has had a bad habit of favoring Virgil in the past so until we get more answers I’m gonna leave this on the backburner)

It didn’t help that I had no idea when this episode was meant to take place in the timeline, and I originally thought it could take place a bit after season two since Roman and Virgil seemed to be doing better, but more on them later.

All of this bugged me until I found out that FWSA takes place after POF, and after watching the live stream that followed and getting some more context, the lying thing made a bit more sense, but the fact that I was as confused as I was just caused more frustration to build up. And I wasn’t the only one who got thrown off by the “Lying is wrong” message of FWSA so I had to ask again, why was this episode a Sanders Asides when apparently, you need information from the last Sanders Sides episode in order to understand it?

So you’re telling me, that the second episode in what is supposed to be a separate series that isn’t meant to be a part of the main plot, is now integral to the plot of the main story you’re telling in what is, as you have said, a separate show? How does that make any sense?

Okay, one could argue that Thomas getting a love interest doesn’t really fit with the current storyline that’s going on in Sanders Sides, and that is a fair point. The problem with that is, FWSA takes place right after Putting Others First.

You all remember what happened at the end of that episode, right?

Part Three: Intrusive Plots

At this point we’ve all become rather accustomed to the long waits in between videos, it’s nothing new to us, and for the most part they haven’t done anything to harm the current plot of Sanders Sides. Sure, the length of time between videos can cause people to lose interest, but for the most part the tone of the last three episodes of Sanders Sides hasn’t differed much and the story flow is still going along smoothly.

Let’s start with Selfishness vs Selflessness, which is the episode that sets up the big climax for season two. It’s still got its jokes and funny moments, but the overall tone is far more serious than previous episodes have been. This carries on into DWIT where Thomas has been so stressed out lately that he’s begun to have trouble with his intrusive thoughts.

Virgil even gives a pretty good summary of Thomas’ current mental state: “He recently realized he’s a bigger liar than he thought he was, he doesn’t understand himself, he’s committed to skipping a big callback, and he’s sleep-deprived. So yeah, he feels like a piece of dirt who has no control over his life.”

And all that was a direct result of the ending of SVS, despite DWIT not being the direct follow up to that episode the two are still intertwined. Remember that for later.

DWIT ends with the long awaited reveal of Virgil having been a “Dark Side.” Even though the majority of the fandom had figured it out by as early as Can Lying Be Good? That didn’t take away from the emotional gut punch that this scene was and it’s one of my favorite moments from the series. I may have to make a whole post breaking that scene down but what matters is that this scene was a turning point for Virgil’s character.

We’ve seen him trying to hide the truth from Thomas ever since Janus and Remus started popping up, and there were close calls with both of them nearly revealing it themselves and continuously dropping hints to Thomas. Only for Virgil to admit it to Thomas himself, and leave before Thomas can even say a word.

We don’t know for sure how Thomas is feeling in this moment, but it’s clear he’s been shaken by this. He doesn’t really have a lot of time to process it before he remembers to acknowledge the audience and close out the video.

This comes up again once we finally get to the monster of an episode that is POF, the follow up to SVS that everyone had been waiting over a year for. Right away we see that Patton and Roman will be at the forefront of this discussion with Logan popping up every now and then, but who doesn’t show up in this episode despite having played a role in SVS?

Virgil.

He’s nowhere to be seen and his absence is definitely felt. Why wouldn’t he be part of this discussion? He was there in SVS and had a lot to say on the matter, he was even part of the decision to choose the wedding over the callback! So why wasn’t he there?

Well, just look at the ending of DWIT and there’s your answer. Of course he isn’t about to show his face after that. Not when Thomas is already under so much stress already and he isn’t sure how Thomas will react to seeing him-

*insert random voice whispering off to the side*

Wait, Virgil has seen Thomas since DWIT? When?

*whispers continue*

Oh, right, they interacted in Sanders Asides. How did that go again?

*whispers explain*

Huh? Thomas said he’s cool with Virgil despite revealing that he’s been hiding something from him this whole time? That “something” being the fact that Virgil was once considered part of the others that were currently making Thomas’ life miserable?

*whispers confirm*

Really? They’re both okay with each other now? Well, good for them.

So wait, then why didn’t Virgil show up in POF? He was there during the first discussion and honestly he’d have more of a reason to show up than Logan who wasn’t really present at all in SVS.

*whispers explain*

He just wasn’t need there? Hm, alright. Guess that makes sense…

Well okay, Virgil and Thomas are on good terms once POF rolls around, Virgil isn’t present during the conversation because he isn’t needed and I suppose his presence would make things worse. Especially once Janus revealed himself, he wouldn’t allow him to get a word in. Even though Janus could probably silence him but I digress.

Fast forward towards the ending of POF, remember when I said to remember how SVS and DWIT were connected? Well DWIT is just as important to POF, acting as a bit of bridge between to the two episodes.

Janus brings up Remus (both directly and indirectly) twice in this episode.

First here:

Notice how Roman’s breakdown is already being foreshadowed here, the camera focusing on him while “Logan” says this isn’t an accident.

The second time Remus is brought up is at the very end after Janus has revealed his name:

“Oh, Roman thank God you don’t have a mustache. Otherwise between you and Remus, I wouldn’t know who the evil twin is.”

(No I am not posting screenshots of this scene I already got emotional over the last one)

As we saw at the end of DWIT, Roman does not have a good relationship with is brother. So much so that when Thomas refers to Remus as such, Roman creates a different analogy that compares Remus to a mirror, reflecting everything Roman doesn’t want to be.

Roman desperately wants to distance himself from Remus, not wanting anything to do with him. We’ve only gotten a glimpse of just how far this loathing goes, and part of that comes from Roman finally breaking down after being told by Janus that if it wasn’t for a mustache there’d be no difference between him and Remus.

This shook Roman more than anything else in the show has so far, moreso than him being the one to decide that Thomas should give up the callback. He was the one that pushed Thomas to make that decision, believing it was the noble thing to do, only for it to only make Thomas feel worse and then be told by Janus that his “noble sacrifice” was all for nothing.

Janus, the one who had been supporting Roman throughout SVS, buttering him up and encouraging him to go after his dream, told him that his sacrifice was worthless. Then to top it all off Janus admits what he did and brushes it off as a joke. He doesn’t apologize to Roman, leaving him in the dust, then when Roman responds by laughing at his name he’s shot down even lower.

And when he looks to Thomas and Patton for help, for answers, anything.

They stay silent.

Patton tries to reassure him, telling Roman that they love him, but he doesn’t believe it. He sinks out, and that’s the last we see of him.

Selfishness vs Selflessness, Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts, and Putting Others First are three of the biggest (and dare I say most important) episodes in the series. The three almost act like a trilogy, with POF leading to something bigger, the season finale. Which will be culmination of all three of these episodes.

We’ll be seeing Virgil’s reaction to Janus having been accepted by Patton and facing his own past as a “Dark Side.” Then we’ll find out what has become of Roman after he disappeared at the end of POF, and how it now affects his relationship with Thomas.

*whispers return and begin to whisper*

I’m sorry what?

*whispers repeat*

Virgil already knows about Janus getting somewhat accepted? Well okay I guess he would, wish we could have seen his reaction to that but oh well, no big deal. At least we got the Roman and Thomas confrontation to look forward to.

*whispers whisper*

Roman has already interacted with Thomas since POF? When?!

*whisper*

In FWSA? Oh yeah, how did that go again? It was super awkward right? Since Roman doesn’t really trust that Thomas loves or values him?

*whisperly whisper*

They get along just fine as if nothing happened?

*whispersty*

It looks like he might still be upset with him since he’s being a bit passive aggressive?

*whisper*

Can’t really tell because the three are too busy trying to talk to a cute guy at the mall?

Okay, I guess that all makes sense…

Looks like Roman and Virgil still aren’t on the best terms with Thomas but are able to push that aside to help him talk to this handsome stranger, and hey, it worked! Thomas now has a boyfriend! Just look at Roman and Virgil at the end, they’re both so happy with Thomas!

Looks like now they can focus on this new chapter in their life and leave the events of POF behind them. I mean, now that Roman and Virgil seem pretty cool with Thomas it would just feel weird to suddenly have them angry with him again, wouldn’t it?

Part Four: The Problem

Sanders Asides was originally described as being a series separate from the main storyline of Sanders Sides. Promising us shorter, less complicated episodes to give us a little something in between the longer, heavier episodes in Sanders Sides. This was a great idea that ended up falling apart the moment it began.

When I was going through SVS, DWIT, and POF I mentioned that the three of them felt like a trilogy. All three of them link together to tell one bigger story, and on their own they get the job done. They set up the season finale perfectly to the point where you have an idea of what to expect and what to look forward to.

The main things being the aftermath of Virgil’s reveal and Roman’s breakdown, which would most likely cultivate in them teaming up against Janus. This would also involve Virgil coming to terms with his past and Roman having to face Remus.

Of course, none of this has been officially confirmed, but given everything we’ve seen up to this point it just makes sense.

The story for season two is nearly complete, all we’re missing is the conclusion.

Then Sanders Asides showed up and threw everything off course. What was supposed to be its own thing crept into a story that was already (for all we knew) set up and being put into place.

We were told that the Asides wouldn’t do anything to disrupt the flow of Sanders Sides, yet it’s been confirmed that there will be one or two more episodes of Asides before we get the season finale.

Why? Why are these episodes necessary when everything was set to move forward after POF? If these episodes are that important that they absolutely have to be made before the finale then why are they simply not part of the main series?

You could say “Well they’re not directly tied to the main plot, that’s why.” But need I remind you that Asides as a concept was just intriduced after DWIT came out? These episodes were written specifcally for Asides, which unless I’m wrong means that they were just added into the main story with no planning whatsoever.

FWSA honestly feels like it should have been the start of season three, something that should have waited to be introduced after season two wrapped up because it’s just too much.

We already have so much to unpack from SVS, DWIT, and POF now we also have a new love interest on top of that?

Virgil and Thomas’ resolution doesn’t even feel all that special because it wasn’t talked about directly between them. Thomas was indirectly letting Virgil know they were still okay, so what does that leave for us? All that build up about Virgil being a “Dark Side�� only for it to be brushed over like it was nothing, and this happened in an Asides episode, not even in the main series.

It also makes Virgil’s absence in POF confusing when they had already set up the perfect reason for him to be absent in DWIT, but according to the first episode of ATHD Virgil and Thomas are okay with each other. Sure, Virgil being there might have made things worse but at that point everyone was making things worse.

We no longer have a confrontation between Thomas and Roman to look forward to because in FWSA we see them interacting as normal. Even the passive agressiveness isn’t anything new to Roman and really, it all just sounds super petty which he had been known to behave like that even when nothing is seriously wrong. Not only that Roman is overjoyed at the end, having finally gotten something he desperately wanted, the happy ending he deserved.

All that’s left for him is to fave his feelings towards Remus, but what would even happen there?

The problem with Asides isn’t the quality of the episodes, FWSA is actually one of my favorite episodes. The problem with Asides is that the team is taking what should have been something small and turning it into a far too elaborate for what its original purpose was: To give us more lighthearted content to enjoy in between the waits for the heavier episodes.

Instead it just feels like they’re adding onto something that really didn’t need adding on to, creating more work for themselves when it just isn’t necessary, and that worries me.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, it’s hard for me to make all these judgments when no one has any idea what the finale is going to be like. And usually, the team is able to excede my expectations and create something amazing.

But with all these new Asides episodes that feel like they’re just being crammed in at the last second, it makes me wonder how the rest of the series will go if they continue down this road.

Season two started September 1st, 2017, it is now January 3rd, 2021. Throughout season two the production of episodes became more elaborate, and there have been complications that arose from trying to make these videos as a result that sent production screeching to a halt. And on top of that, these Sanders Asides have been added to create even more work for Thomas and the team.

I don’t understand why they’d do this to themselves when it’s already become more difficult than ever to make videos in general, not just Sanders Sides.

We were offered something simple that would have satisfied everyone during the difficult times, only to be given something that honestly, wasn’t even needed. I do appreciate Thomas trying to get us more content, but I don’t think he or the team realizes just how content we’d all be with just a five minute video of the characters we love just doing something as simple as hanging out and having fun, especially with how dark things have become all around us.

We don’t always have to be watching these characters struggle, sometimes we just need to see them be genuinely happy.

(Thanks to everyone who took time to read this monster of a post, I did not mean for it to get this long but it’s been dwelling on my mind for a while and I wanted to make sure I got out everything I wanted to say. Again, this is all just a personal opinions and you are not obligated to agree with me. If you have an objecting opinion I would not mind hearing it but please keep any discussions civil.)

#dukeofcritical #sanders sides #ts criticism #sanders sides criticism #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #logan sanders #long post

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faelune-home · 3 years ago

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FFXIV Write 2022: #22 Veracity - Pastry Plunder

(a/n: A sillier, lighter piece this time, cos I’ve been doing a lot more serious pieces and lore focused building for most of these entries. So just a bit of fun this time.

Set vaguely during early Endw, but no strong spoilers. I’ll leave the ending ambiguous even when I go to edit it, the actual culprit isn’t important. ^^ So it’ll be up to readers if the ending hint is the real deal or just a red herring ehe~

Word count: 954)

The Andron had been turned into an interrogation room. Alisaie had dragged her brother away from his research by his collar, all the way from Noumenon. He now sat in a chair looking utterly bemused, circled by her like a shark, face like thunder. Fhara meanwhile, sat in a chat near the door, intrigued at the goings on, having only heard Alisaie storm out earlier in frustration then return with the flustered Alphinaud in tow.

“I have a conundrum on my hand here, and you are currently my only suspect, brother,” Alisaie huffed, coming to a stop in front of him, crossing her arms.

“Suspect? In what crime, may I ask?” he sighed, shifting so he was at least comfortable in the chair, if he was apparently stuck there till his sister was satisfied.

“I had a little pastry ordered from The Last Stand, but I was busy on an errand for Krile, so I had it put aside with an ice crystal to keep it cool. I returned here and it was gone,” she scowled, turning sharp to grab a used pastry case from the side counter, holding it into her brother’s face. He recoiled, gingerly pushing her hand back to give himself space.

“And your first thought was me?” he countered, eyebrow raised. Alisaie matched the gesture, one of the rare occasions the similarity could be eerily seen in the two of them.

“Truthfully, no. I know you’re not exactly one for sweet things so you weren’t originally my prime suspect. Until I asked around and some students said that they saw you in possession of a similar dessert near The Last Stand half a bell ago.” Alphinaud shook his head, sighing again.

“I ran into some old classmates and agreed to join them for a spell. And perhaps I’m not quite the sweet tooth that you are, Alisaie, but every once in a while, I don’t mind it as a light snack. I bought my own then went on my way back to Noumenon after we were done. I’ve been there all day, until you crudely dragged me out for this farce.” Alisaie’s scowl deepened at his dismissal.

“You aren’t taking this seriously,” she said, to which he frowned and shot back, “I do believe you are taking this too seriously, sister. Why not simply buy another?”

“It’s the principle of the matter, that someone saw fit to take something that wasn’t theirs and didn’t think to ask first or admit it.”

“My word, do we need to fetch your mother to mediate between you two? Surely you’re both old enough to discuss matters civilly.” All three in the room jumped, turning to find Y’shtola watching from the open door with a curious frown. Fhara’s ear flicked, sheepish that she hadn’t even heard her arrive despite her close proximity to the door.

“What is this about anyway?” Y’shtola asked, marching in further, looking between the pair.

“Pastry theft, simple yet devious,” Alisaie stated, causing her brother to roll his eyes.

“And presumably I am now free to go, and I may leave you to this nonsense,” Alphinaud said, standing up. He was stopped suddenly as she stepped in front of him, poking a finger into his chest.

“You may leave, brother, but you’re still a suspect until I can verify that alibi of yours.”

“I shall be sure to give you the names of my accomplices later,” he deadpanned, pushing past her and heading out. Y’shtola watched him go, a smile tweaking at her lips.

“All of this over a pilfered pastry?” she asked, “I can understand being upset, but making an investigation of it?”

“Just trying to be thorough. We need to be wary of our own allies apparently, if they think it okay to take that which doesn’t belong to them nor to confess to their crimes,” Alisaie said. Fhara hopped forward, a determined furrow in her brow and an energised lash in her tail.

“So, we’re gonna go back out and question more suspects?” she asked.

“Should you be encouraging this?” Y’shtola said, though her amusement at the fuss of it all outweighed any real irritation.Her query was ignored though, Fhara’s tail curling once Alisaie nodded.

“Of course! We have a few students to ask about the matter, and I haven’t seen G’raha or Thancred since this morning, but I would like to ask them as well, in case they passed through here while I was away.” They both turned to Y’shtola.

“Care to assist us? The help in covering more ground would be appreciated,” Alisaie asked.

“As entertaining as this sounds, I will decline for now,” Y’shtola responded, “I have mine own research to return to, I came here to collect a tome that Krile had found for me. Though I do wish you all the luck in your ventures.” They both bid Y’shtola luck and farewell, preparing to set off and go their separate ways, when she called out to them, a devious look in her eye.

“I would say however, if it would help,” she said, ear flicking, “perhaps start with asking G’raha about his morning. I met him earlier and he had some rather sticky fingers. Last I heard, he was on his way into Labyrinthos to check matters with a gleaner.” Surprise crossed both their faces, and they raced out the door without a word of thanks. Y’shtola returned to her work, a lighter wave in her tail after the confrontation.

As silly as it was, it was a harmless affair; even Alisaie would probably only give her found culprit a harsh tongue lashing before finally calling it bygones. Better to enjoy a moment of levity before the storm broke in future.

#ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2022 #alisaie leveilleur #alphinaud leveilleur #fhara laali #my wol #keeper of the moon miqo'te #y'shtola rhul #my writing

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scoutception · 5 years ago

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AI: The Somnium Files review

While it wasn’t the first visual novel series I played, the Zero Escape trilogy- Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Virtue’s Last Reward, and Zero Time Dilemma- is what made me interested in exploring more visual novels in general. Featuring a creative mix of normal visual novel sections and puzzle room sections, with stories involving fascinating pseudo science theories, colorful and interesting characters, fast, tense pacing, and great music, the series is an insane adventure that’s absolutely worth a try. The series also got me interested in the other works of Kotaro Uchikoshi, the director and writer of the series, which led me to the subject of today’s review, and his most recent work: AI: The Somnium Files, which proves to be quite the change of pace, to say the least.

Story: Kaname Date is a member of the Advanced Brain Investigation Squad (ABIS), a special, secret division of the Metropolitan Police Department. Using a device known as the Psync Machine, Date can explore the subconscious of another person by entering their Somnium, a dream world which often holds secrets they would not reveal otherwise. 6 years ago, Date lost his left eye and all of his memories, left with no link to his past, not even his real name, except for Boss, his superior in ABIS and longtime friend. His left eye was replaced by an advanced AI called Aiba, capable of functions such as night vision and x-ray, as well as serving as Date’s avatar within Somnium.

One gloomy November night, Date is called in to investigate a murder victim found in an abandoned amusement park, having suffered multiple stab wounds, tied to a merry-go-horse and missing her left eyeball. The victim is Shoko Nadami, an acquaintance of Date’s, and the ex-wife of Renju Okiura, Date’s best friend and president of the entertainment company Lemniscate. Date’s initial investigation proves unfruitful, and comes to a halt completely when he discovers someone within the merry-go-round’s central column, traumatized to the point of being unable to speak and cradling a bloody ice pick: Mizuki Okiura, the 12 year old daughter of Shoko and Renju, whom Date took into his care 4 years ago.

Date continues the investigation the days afterwards, meeting Mizuki’s friends, the internet idol Iris Sagan, aka A-Set, and the otaku and aspiring light novel author Ota Matshushita, Iris’ mother Hitomi, and Moma Kumakura, leader of the Kumakura yakuza gang. Though Date finds a number of odd connections and occurrences, such as Renju falling out of contact, a call from a mysterious prisoner only known as #89, who claims to know the identity of the killer, and a large number of incidents among the Sagans, the Kumakuras, and others, all of which seem to date back to 6 years ago, he finds little in the way of actual evidence. Left with no other recourse, Date begins to Psync with both suspects and witnesses in the hopes of preventing the killer from striking again.

While it’s a fairly standard plot on the surface, it’s very well done nonetheless. The various mysteries and plotlines are all compelling, and are all given a good amount of focus. Adding to this is the use of a route system, similar to Zero Escape, complete with a flowchart allowing you to easily go to any point in the story. Completing certain Somniums in different ways alters the course of Date’s investigation, causing certain plotlines and characters to gain or lose relevance depending on the route. While every route needs to be completed, each one containing their own reveals and clues, there’s only 5 in total, making keeping track of the distinctive events in each fairly simple. The pacing is also well done, taking its time and allowing you to get used to the characters, while throwing just enough new hints throughout to keep it interesting.

Speaking of the characters, the cast is easily my favorite part of the game. The characters are very, odd and colorful, pretty much to be expected from Uchikoshi. Date himself is a pretty entertaining protagonist, with a tendency for perversion, making bad puns, and coming up with very odd and often ineffectual ideas for progressing in Somnium, going against his serious demeanor and appearance. The supporting cast doesn’t slack either. From the rational, yet sassy Aiba, who turns much sillier within Somnium as well, to the peppy and friendly Iris, to the playful Boss, whose office is an absolute mess decorated with just about any nonsense you could imagine, to my favorite of the cast, Mizuki, the mature, sarcastic, and inexplicably strong kid who spends a good deal of her time arguing with the rather distant Date. It’s hard to dislike most of the characters, with even the most minor of them being good for a laugh or two.

That’s not to say they’re just goofy, though. Almost everyone carries some sort of baggage or secret with that adds a good deal of depth to them, and the various routes give them a lot of development. The game can be pretty damn emotional at points, and the routes focusing more on the characters than the story are the biggest source of them, especially Mizuki’s route. The lighter tone the game takes most of the time actually helps this. Most of the time, interacting with random objects trigger dumb jokes and commentary from Date and the others, and the relaxed pacing and atmosphere, at least earlier on, make it easier to get gradually attached to the cast. Once things do become more serious, the game starts cutting down the jokes, and stops them outright for the most serious of scenarios, meaning it rarely actually becomes jarring. It’s not often a game can juggle a tone as well as this one.

Overall, the writing of the game is superb, and while it’s quite different in tone and setting, it still has enough of the feel of Zero Escape to feel familiar to those who played it.

Gameplay: While I call AI: The Somnium Files a visual novel just for the sake of simplicity, it definitely more has the feel of an adventure game. There’s two types of gameplay segments, investigations and Somniums. During investigations, Date travels to various locations, talking with various characters or investigating important object. Your only control here is controlling Date’s view, and selecting different dialogue options or objects to investigate. Date often has to investigate several locations during a segment, and while you often have to visit them all, you’re given the freedom of picking where to go in whatever order you choose most of the time, giving just enough nonlinearity to not feel like a chore.

The real meat of the gameplay takes place during the Somnium sections, which are comparable to the escape rooms in Zero Escape. Within Somnium, Date and Aiba must break the various mental locks the information they are seeking are hidden behind, which involves interacting with various objects according to the logic of each Somnium. Basically, they’re purely logic puzzles, and it’s actually quite fun figuring out how everything is supposed to work.

Of course, not everything can be that easy. Every Somnium has a hard time limit of 6 minutes. Going over it causes Date’s consciousness to be absorbed into the subject’s, causing a game over. All interactions also cost time, and many incorrect decisions can drain your time pretty significantly. Thankfully, the game has many mitigating factors that keep this from just being stressful. Firstly, time only drains when you’re making choices, or actually moving around. Standing still causes only milliseconds to pass, allowing you to get a clear look around without wasting time. Additionally, all objects you can interact with have a purple outline surrounding them, and are given name tags as well, meaning you don’t have to just wander around, running up to every object in the hopes this one is usable. Not every interactable object actually has a purpose, however, with some only existing to waste your time, so you’re not completely in the clear. The progress meter on the left also gives hints, if sometimes vague ones, as to what you have to do to progress, so you’re not just fumbling in the dark in that regard, either.

Another important feature at the TIMIEs, objects you gain when you interact with objects. These cut the time actions take to perform by varying amounts, or make it take a fixed amount of time. Good use of TIMIEs can save you a lot of time, and a lot of later Sominums enforce it, making it rather strategic. Sometimes, just rushing to the correct solution burns way too much time on its own. You may have to do something you know is wrong, but takes little time and grants a good TIMIE, to be able to save more time on a much costlier action. This aspect isn’t entirely simple either, however. Not all actions display what kind of TIMIE you’ll get, making it a gamble at times, and some, including mandatory actions, give negative TIMIEs, that actually increase the amount of time an action will take, and force you to use them the action after you get them, often forcing you to do something incorrect, but with low time cost, just so you won’t game over.

Each Somnium also has two conditions that unlock album entries, which provide pictures and concept art. The first is for clearing a Somnium with more than 1 second left, as you’re actually allowed to go over the time limit if the final correct action is what pushes you over. The second is for finding special eye shaped items within the Somniums, which are often hidden out of the way. Finally, even if you’re struggling with certain sections, you’re granted 3 retries per Somnium, which allow you to return to a previous part of the section, with all the time you had left at that time, allowing you to optimize and save even more time, though it costs more retries the further back you go. Finally, even if you can’t win, you can simply restart the Somnium section with no penalty, and are even allowed to do so at any time in the menu. Overall, the Somnium sections are actually a lot of fun. Between the interesting logic and strategicness of it, not to mention some of the funniest dialogue in the game between Date and Aiba, they’re some of the most enjoyable parts of the game.

Finally, the game features a few “action segments” during the investigation segments, where Date will be faced with an actual physical threat. Aiba formulates plans to deal with the situation, and you just need to handle each step by pressing a button prompt, like a QTE, or hovering the cursor over a certain area for a long enough time. It’s not exactly difficult, but they serve their purpose. There’s also a few interrogations segments, where you must present relevant evidence to someone in order to prove a point. You can just randomly pick until you get the right one with no in game penalty, but there are achievements for clearing these sections and the action sections with no mistakes.

Graphics: AI: The Sominum Files is a surprisingly pretty game. It has a similar art style to Zero Time Dilemma, which, to put it bluntly, was downright awful in the visuals department, with unemotive character models and terrible animations that killed almost all of its attempts at being unsettling. While a few of the animations in this game can still look janky, it is on a whole much. much improved. The characters are much more expressive, helped by the designs by Yusuke Kozaki, best known for games like No More Heroes and Fire Emblem Awakening, fitting the style much better, while still being distinctive in their own right. The locations have a lot of detail to them, and the lighting is very well done. The highlight of the visuals, though, are the Somniums, which manage to give existing locations very distinctive, well, dream like qualities to them, such as shifting colors or heavy lighting, and are always a joy to explore.

Sound: AI features a downright fantastic soundtrack by Keisuke Ito. It manages to capture a similar feel to Zero Escape’s music at points, despite being a different composer, but still manages to stand out. Every song manages to fit the situation perfectly, while also being very catchy on their own, especially the Somnium themes. The music, combined with the visuals, give the game a very strong atmosphere. Whatever mood the game is attempting to set, nostalgic, tense, peaceful, or unsettling, it nails it very, very well, and had me immersed very easily.

The game also features some fantastic English voice acting. Greg Chun as Date and Erika Harlacher as Aiba are the main stars of the show, with their performances capturing their characters perfectly, but the rest of the cast is just as good. Jackie Lastra as Iris, Zach Aguilar as Ota, Corina Boettger as Mizuki, Allegra Clark as Boss, Kaiji Tang as Moma, pretty much everyone does a great job.

Conclusion: Overall, AI: The Somnium Files is something I highly recommend to most people, even those who haven’t touched another Uchikoshi game. It’s a fascinating, emotional, and satisfying experience that successfully manages to devote attention to just about everything it brings up, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Honestly, I enjoyed it even more than any Zero Escape game, and considered I still look on those very fondly, that’s an achievement. With that, this review finally comes to a close. I shall likely be checking out the games Uchikoshi worked on before even Zero Escape: Never 7, Ever 17, and Remember 11. Till next time. -Scout

#ai the somnium files #kotaro uchikoshi #visual novel #game review #long post

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sidekickjoey · 5 years ago

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SAF for the musical ask!

(bless you ahh)

Favourite Character: Owen Carvour, babyyyyy! This might be somewhat inspired by the way fanfics and such portray him pre-Russian affair, but I just really like his character. I like that he’s so complicated and so conflicted with himself. He makes horrible decisions, but I think there are a ton of redeeming good qualities about him that we didn’t get to see that would make him such a compelling figure. I mean, Curt fell so in love with him that he spent four years drinking himself into a grave. There had to be reasons we did not see that made him incredible. Also his accent my god. I love Curt with all my heart, but something hits different about Owen.

Least Favourite Character: Um probably the informant? I loved a lot of his jokes, but he just seemed like an extra character. I would have been more content giving some of the time spent on him to seeing more of Owen pre-Russian Affair, or having more time to see him post-reveal.

Favourite OBC Cast Member: So I’m gonna take these two questions to just scream about Curt and Joey individually because there isn’t much of a different cast and they are legitimately my two favorite people. ANYWAY:

Curt is the sweetest, most selfless person I’ve ever met??? Legitimately??? He puts so much of himself into everything he does and genuinely strives for greatness. He played Agent Mega so freakin well, and you can just see when he’s performing (as him or any other time really) that he is having the best freakin time of his life. It brings so much happiness to me. Honestly, how he hasn’t been snatched up and put into something huge astonishes me. Also his voice makes me cry it’s so damn good- ANYWAY

Favourite Current Cast Member (If Applicable): Ok so now Joey. Joey is JUST AS MUCH the nicest person out there and is so freakin funny. I don’t know how one person managed to capture my humor exactly, but every single thing he’s in and has his hands on makes me laugh like an idiot. He’s incredibly talented in such a criminally amazing way. I really think Spies is the best he’s ever sounded vocally, and it shows his acting range so beautifully. Each time I watch, I don’t see Joey, I just see Owen. I am forever in awe of him. Softest boi rights!!!

Favourite Song: This changes every damn day omg. The one I keep going back to however is One Step Ahead. Maybe it’s because there’s so much backstory and emotion packed into one song. Maybe it’s because it’s one of the few times we get to see Curt and Owen actually interact in the show. Maybe it’s because Curt and Joey’s voices have never sounded more incredible. Whatever it is, I absolutely am a huge fan of it. Such a powerful and intense song.

Least Favourite Song: Honestly? Probably Eyes On The Prize I. I freakin love Lauren with all my heart (if I could give her more money on Patreon my dumb ass WOULD), but the song itself just doesn’t do much for me. Eyes On The Prize II has the intensity and depth I think the song needs. With Susan’s ‘you gotta’s (though funny), it just kind of loses it’s weight for me. Lauren’s voice is godly no matter what she sings, but I think a hard-nose character like Cynthia deserved a song more along the lines of Linda’s solos in Black Friday than the lighter of the two EOTP jams. It would have fit better.

Favourite Act (If Applicable): THIS IS A HARD QUESTION UGH. As a whole, I’d probably have to go with Act I. It’s got the best jokes, the story flows well, there’s a lot of intrigue and angst™. I love getting to know Agent Mega and see him trying so hard to bounce back. I also love the DMA. Aside from Vanger (god I love him), Doing This, whatever background dance Curt does in his seat during One More Shot, parts 5 & 6, and Spy Dance, Act II doesn’t do a ton for me.

Favourite Ship: NO QUESTION AT ALL -- Curtwen. Seriously. I love everything about them and forget so often that we only really see them as “them” in about three parts of the whole show. There’s just two really complex and complicated characters who you can TELL loved each other and had something so serious going on before everything fell apart. My heart aches whenever I think about just how much they had had to love each other for their dual reactions to have occurred. I love them so freakin much.

Least Favourite Ship: I literally stay away from so many other ships because I’m just really into Curtwen lmao, but I guess Owen & Tati? It’s fine if it’s as a joke or for a mission, but like...they ain’t it if it’s for real.

If There is Something I Would Change about The Musical: Oh boy, I’ll give you my top five:

1) GIVE US MORE CURTWEN BACKSTORY!!! I just want to know more of their time pre-Russian affair. I want to see why Curt was so crushed and why Owen became so spiteful. There are reasons, and maybe TCB has a thing in mind to show us those reasons, but damn I would’ve loved to know more. Even if we didn’t “see” it, just having Curt talk about it. Man.

2) Speaking of Owen, TELL US MORE ABOUT HIM! I felt myself craving more information about him and his character. All we learn about him personality wise is through Curt’s fondness in Spy Again and in the bits about him in The Coldest Goodbye. But I want to know more about him. How was he in private? Why was he so absolutely against secrets that he was willing to commit himself to Chimera? To the Baron? Curt hints that he used to lift Curt up. I would have loved to see a bit of him doing that so we could see even more prominently how big of a contrast Chimera!Owen was, why Curt was so willing to shoot him. I feel like we got tastes of him, but not anything super concrete. I wanted more.

3) I wish we had gotten a serious scene like we did with Curt and Tati with Curt and Barb. The ending scene with them is cute and sweet, but I think Curt apologizing to her or even possibly confessing he can’t ever love her the way she wants, but can love her as a friend as much as she needs, would have been wonderful. God, it would have been wonderful. She just deserved better than to be dragged along.

4) During One Step Ahead, instead of having the pause be so we can check in on Barb and Tati, I would have loved pauses where Curt and Owen were firing back and forth trying to stop each other? Talk things out? And this isn’t just me being #1 Curtwen stan over here, trust me. I think it would have been interesting to see more of their emotion carrying through the chase and not just assuming it was emotional through the song (though it does a very good job). It could have added to the suspense and buildup, and contrasted well against the sillier aspects of their modes of transportation. We could have had the Barb/Tati scene fit in there still, but a few pauses in the song to have Owen and Curt speaking and Owen being like JUST SHUT UP CURT, YOUR WORDS MEAN NOTHING while Curt’s like BUT IF WE JUST TALK IT OUT. Idk, I want it.

5) PUT COLDEST GOODBYE REPRISE ON THE SOUNDTRACK PLEASE AND THANK YOU

Ratings: 9.5/10, this show took over my life. I stan it so hard it’s not even funny.

Leave a musical in my ask and I’ll reply with this list!

#carvour

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bookswritinghappiness · 5 years ago

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Title: Yes No Maybe So • Authors: Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed • Number of Pages: 436 • Rating: 5/5 Published: February 4, 2020 • Read: February 15, 2020 - March 2, 2020

Goodreads Synopsis: Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya. Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her. Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.

My Review: I had very high expectations for this book because it’s Becky Albertalli and I love everything she writes, and this book went above and beyond. I’m also really glad that this book introduced me to Aisha Saeed because I loved her writing as well and I will most definitely be checking out her books in the near future!!

The representation in this book is so amazing and so important!! As a Jewish person, I don’t often find myself represented truthfully in mainstream media, especially in YA books; Becky Albertalli includes Jewish characters in every one of her books in a way that feels genuine and accurate to what being Jewish is actually like. Jamie’s Jewish identity is an essential part of his character, but not in a way that overpowers any of his other defining traits. His character experiences both the sillier aspects of being Jewish (for example, worrying about having to give the perfect toast at his sister’s bat mitzvah so that he doesn’t embarrass himself in front of her preteen friends) and the more serious (for example, realizing for the first time that there are still reasons to be afraid to be Jewish in America). There are just as few Muslim characters in YA, and while I can’t speak as in-depth about Maya as I did about Jamie because I am not Muslim, her character and her perspective have given me a glimpse into what being Muslim is actually like. Like Jamie, the fact that Maya is Muslim is just one of many essential aspects of her character and she is not completely defined by her religion. There is also LGBT+ representation in this book as well (as there is in all of Becky’s books).

Something that I think makes this book stand out is that it tackles serious topics without losing the humor and lighter tone that I love about Becky Albertalli’s books. This book is set around an election, so there’s no way to avoid bringing up something serious. Yes No Maybe So centers around the proposal of a bill that seems to target Muslim women, a bill that would be impossible to prevent from passing if the Republican candidate wins the special election because the Republicans would have a supermajority in the Georgia House and Senate. Even with this looming on the horizon for Jamie and Maya, the book does not lose its lightheartedness, which is a difficult balance to find and one I always appreciate when it’s done well (which it definitely is)!!

Also, Jamie and Maya are such adorable dorks and I love them to pieces!!

Overall, I absolutely loved every second of Yes No Maybe So and I highly recommend it : )

Yes No Maybe So on Goodreads This Review on Goodreads My Goodreads

#original #book reviews #yes no maybe so #becky albertalli #aisha saeed #5 stars

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angryangryaces · 6 years ago

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Poison

The air smells of rain, burning fuel, and the countless small poisons that circulate in the city, and my scars ache in the cold, a filigree of pain tracing out the lines of my skeleton. My damned, addicted brain is hissing for me to press the button. I don’t listen to it. I throw my bag into the transport and pick a seat.

“Caller” walks us through the job on the way in. It’s straightforward: get in, grab a prototype from the testing labs, get out again. Minimal casualties, which is why he told us to bring hammerblow rounds. Ideal for a pack that doesn’t want to make the news.

One of the others looks at the chain holding my gun to my wrist. Must be a rook. They’ll learn. You can always tell a seasoned wolf; they stop looking at your little tricks and secrets and just let you get on with your job.

As we come in for a landing, I pull my hat down and make sure my kerchief is going to hide my rebreather. Combined with the goggles and the coat, it should be almost impossible for the watching gargs and other cameras to tell who I am. I’ve already checked my gear: submachine gun, machete, grapnels, a few kinds of blasting charge, a couple of different poisons.

***

The windows break the neon light from outside into rainbow fragments, which play over my coat. The stylised illustration of a winged figure giving gifts from heaven isn’t spiritual; it’s marketing. The gifts being dispensed have brand logos on them for the corp’s subsidiaries.

One of them has the stylised atom of Nucleus Energy on it, and my scars flare into pain for a split second. I know it’s psychological. I grit my teeth behind my collar and carry on.

Phase one is a cakewalk. “Caller” had some inside intel that this part of the building was going to be low-security, and that seems to be working fine: the rook, who I’ve learned is called “Mooch”, is keeping the cameras under control, looping some footage so none of them pick us up. It’s not going to last forever, but it doesn’t have to; we’re not under any given eye for too long, and most of the gargs are outside.

The next corridor is wrong. The walls are riddled with bullet holes and carved with a filigree of blade marks. The mutilated bodies of corpsec guards are everywhere, limbs wrenched from their sockets and throats ripped out. Even through my rebreather, I can smell blood and gunfire, mingled with another smell: a thick, animal musk.

I’ve heard the rumours – everyone has, everyone knows this is happening, no matter how hard corpsec try to suppress it – but I hadn’t expected to see it here. You never do, right? It’s always a friend of a friend that runs into this shit.

This is going to suck.

***

“Mooch” is the first to pull the trigger. Not wise, exactly, but I can’t blame them; the dead guards are mute testimony to how deadly these things are, and it’s not like a full pack in tac gear is exactly subtle. Within seconds, everyone else has joined in. Hammerblow rounds patter off its hairy, gore-spattered skin like rain. A couple of them provoke flinches, leave a mark, but don’t slow it much.

It looks like someone took a very large, feral wolf and mashed it up with a man. Its head is mostly canine, although its teeth are larger than any reasonable animal’s, but the rest of it is chimeric: its apelike stance and powerful arms are human, or at least close to it, but its tail and hair are lupine, and its clawed hands aren’t really either. It’s also covered in blood and shreds of what might, once, have been a corpsec uniform.

It howls in fury and leaps at us.

***

According to “Mirai”, it’s all the fault of the veins and the other rich bastards. Says some conspiracy site put her onto it. Supposedly, the reason corpsec guards are so loyal to the veins, so weird and bootlicky, is that the labs figured out some kind of gene treatment, isolated the stuff from dogs that makes them so loyal, and the suits give it to the When it goes too far, they change, when the scum at the top finish draining their humanity.

“Sigismund” says she’s full of shit. Genetics don’t work like that, and even if there was some secret tampering going on, it’d be more likely to lead to cancers than monsters. Mind you, he thinks it’s magic, so I’m not sure how reliable he is on the science. (He’s got a wild set of ideas about that, too. According to him, the beasts are nature unfettered, lashing out at the corp-choked world in a violent frenzy. Says he’s trying to figure out how to use that power constructively. Hasn’t gotten anywhere yet.)

Right now, though, the cause isn’t particularly critical. It doesn’t matter if it was made by mad science or black magic or if creatures like this are just a thing now. It’s bearing down on me, and there isn’t much I can do to stop it.

I hit the button.

***

Not a literal button, of course; jek doesn’t use physical controls. Instead, I mutter the activation phrase, and a pain like cold fire stabs into my veins as the injectors pump poison into my bloodstream. My whole body convulses, and the cold fire begins to heat up. The part of me that’s given in, the addict in my mind, it tinges the whole process with an edge of lust that shames me. Even so, I’m not stupid enough to pick this fight without it.

The effect is almost immediate. My gear feels like it’s made from cotton candy. My original bones would have already shattered from the convulsion, but the substitutes are doing their job. My vision fogs around the edges, but it’s almost supernaturally clear at the centre – I can make out the beast’s individual hairs, and the shattered remnants of a corpsec radio headset dangling from its neck like a collar.

I give it a burst in the face before it hits me. I can tell it felt the impacts, but it barely slows before tackling me to the ground and knocking my gun out of my hands. Fine by me; the bullets aren’t helping much anyway. The others will have to go on, take care of the mission while I fight. It’s probably best; jek isn’t just physical, and it’s poison for a pack. Nobody on jek is a team player.

The force of the tackle rolls us into the last corridor, but my armour protects me from the impacts. Coat’s not going to be salvageable, though; it has claw marks in it now. Without the jek, I’d have been knocked a lot sillier than I am.

As the beast lunges for me, I bring up my machete. It doesn’t dig deep, but jek-fuelled muscles drive it through the skin. The beast’s blood is surprisingly bright – what little of it comes out, anyway.

It seems to have decided I need to be tenderised before I’m eaten. It scoops me up and slams me into the wall. My goggles dim; the beast has its back to a window, and the neon light from outside would be streaming into my eyes, so they’ve compensated.

Then it all comes to me at once: the window could be my solution here. The beast is recovering quickly; it’s already stopped bleeding. I’m not going to win this one-on-one, and if the pack know what they’re doing, they’ve already headed for the objective. I have to do something unexpected.

I fire one of my wrist grapnels. It hits the window, and the motors whirr. It’s designed for heavy loads, and after a frozen moment while it calculates the weight, it retracts, dragging both of us into the window.

The beast is surprised, but not enough to disorient it. It thrashes around, its rage twisting metal and driving tinted duraglass out of its sockets.

The window gives way, and we both go over the edge.

***

On impact with the wall, one of my charges goes off unexpectedly. My spine doesn’t enjoy it, even through the pain-deadening haze of jek, but it doesn’t do serious harm; it just blasts a chunk out of the wall and flings us into traffic. The beast sinks its jaws into my left arm, and I let go of my machete; it disappears, never to be seen again.

As we tumble, I try and find some weakness. I can’t go for its eyes with any kind of accuracy, its bones are nearly as tough as mine, and even striking at the stomach only seems to make it angrier.

Our descent is bluntly interrupted by a corpsec lighter. Our impact with the cockpit shatters the duraglass canopy, so we must have been going down pretty hard – but, fortunately, the beast hits it first. The impact solves two of my problems at once. First, while landing still hurts like a bastard, even with jek, the beast takes the brunt of the impact. Second, the beast’s breath is laden with pink froth. After a moment, the rage flees its body, and it goes limp. Probably had some of the canopy driven into its lungs; not a pleasant death, but a final one.

The lighter skews wildly off-course, and I realise after a second that the pilot is either unconscious or dead. Corpsec lighters do have autopilots, but some people prefer the personal touch or are worried about reprogramming (a valid concern; “Mirai” once sent a half-dozen corpsec troopers on a routine patrol out of state as a prank), so not everyone uses them.

I don’t have a chance to get to the controls, but luckily, we’re headed towards a window. The pain in my entire body worsens a step as I see a giant Nucleus Energy logo, and then we hit.

***

I stagger to my feet, somehow still conscious. It’s almost impossible to break my bones now, but my right leg is definitely not as straight as I remember it being.

The window in question was right next to a meeting room, apparently. A stunned silence hangs in the air, but in a few seconds – even ones drawn out by jek – people are going to start yelling and running.

The big logo on the wall confirms it. This is a Nucleus Energy office. The bastards whose strontium leak cost me everything. Their poison had seeped into my bones, forced me to get them replaced. Left me with a debt I could only pay off by taking wolf jobs here and there. All my scars, all my wounds, this growing addiction to jek – all their fault. I can’t tell if I’m hurting worse because I know it’s them, or if my body is already redlining my pain receptors.

My jek-focused perceptions show me that one of them has a refrigerator briefcase here. A vein, then, carrying his supply of transfusions around with him. I can’t tell which of the others are veins, but they all might as well be: even if they haven’t had the treatment, they have the same kind of mind. The suits in this city are all the same: cold, bloodsucking bastards, they only care about themselves. The veins took a treatment that would strip their empathy and didn’t even notice. Even before that was developed, they gutted the land, poisoned the water, pumped fumes into the air. We’d be better off without them.

The weight of my gun dangling from my wrist is still there, and with jek reflexes, I could do a lot of damage here. Start at the door, work my way across. Even a vein’s boosted body can’t take a good hit to centre mass, and none of them look to be wearing much armour.

It won’t solve much, but it’ll be a little less poison in the city’s bloodstream.

#short fiction #chrome wolves #cyberpunk #werewolves #I was working on a setting idea and this came out

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