#and realistically a person who has just been shot could well make a lot of pained noises

[hephaestuscrew]

Sometimes I think there are certain parts of Wolf 359 that feel so familiar to me that I almost forget what they are like the first time round.

Like, I've just been thinking about how in the finale, after Minkowski gets shot, we don't hear any noise from her all through Cutter's gloating speech. We hear her gasp as the bullet hits and the show immediately cuts away to a different scene. Then when we rejoin the confrontation with Cutter, we don't hear Minkowski make any noise - not even a groan of pain or a laboured breath - for over a minute. And because it's an audio drama, this means that we don't have any direct indication of just how injured she is, of whether she's fully conscious, of whether she's even still alive. Lovelace's reactions can't tell us much while she's struggling against Cutter's control. And I wouldn't put it past Cutter to gloat to someone unconscious.

The first noise we do hear Minkowski make after being shot in the stomach - the first proof we have that she's still with us - is her gathering her strength and declaring "Renée Minkowski... and that is more than enough to kick your ass!", before punching Cutter. Which is always an incredibly powerful moment. But there's a particular power to it when it also serves as the reveal that Minkowski is still conscious and able to put up resistance. The moment when she asserts her ownership of her own identity feels almost like a moment of rising from the potentially-dead.

[meraki-yao]

RWRB: A list of thoughts on the Campfire Scene

Ok I went to sleep for another hour to calm myself down and now I can form coherent thoughts about the scene and not just scream and squeal

It's a three-minute scene with two shots. The first shot is a little over two minutes

When Alex asks his question, Henry, who was looking into the fire, tilts his head towards Alex as if to listen better. After Alex finishes, Henry looks up towards the sky, like he's wondering how to answer

Alex doesn't really react to Henry's "Once upon a time" even though he's not directly answering Alex's question. He just listens, and that's such a beautiful thing

Nick deserves a round of applause for this scene, his monologue was two minutes long, and monologues are really hard to perform because it's just you who keeps talking, you don't really get to react to other things or people, it's just you, so Nick is a fantastic job

Nick's delivery and tone, and the way he sometimes ends a sentence a bit like a question (ex: "acutely") makes it sound like Henry's been thinking about this story/ metaphor for a while but this is the first time he ever verbalizes it, so while he knows what he wants to talk about thus he doesn't need to pause a lot to think of the story, he does occasionally need to think of the next word or line because again, he never actually said any of this out loud before, and Nick does that so well

@pippin-katz pointed out that Nick misspoke and said "sent the suit a prince of armour" which is hilarious, and while because movie, this shouldn't happen, realistically we all have moments where we mix words up so it almost feels more... authentic? Also, I didn't pick it up but now that Pippin mentioned it I'm really aware of it lmao

Also Henry/Nick's voice here is so soothing? I can almost imagine him telling bedtime stories to his and Alex's kids like this in the future. I wonder if Henry would write children's books because it feels like it'd be something he do and something he could write really well, if this clip is anything to go by. Plus I stumbled across an audio of Nick reading "The Emperor's New Clothes" before (I literally have no context of why he was reading that and it was literally just audio, not sure if I can find it anymore) and it was so soothing and calming that I fell asleep to it one night. Besides the full-cast RWRB audiobook that I'm practically demanding at this point, I wonder if he would be interested in doing more audiobook/narration stuff. He's really got the voice for it

The King sending a suit of armour to protect the prince's heart kind of further proves my point of the King being a much more loving grandparent to Henry than the queen in the book, and him worrying more about Henry himself than the image of the crown. He noticed that 1, Henry is an emotionally sensitive person, 2, Henry is gay, and both of those things could be turned against him easily, and he will get hurt. He does love Henry, just not in a way that's good for Henry. If we get a sequel I do hope we can see them reconcile in one way or another. It'd be a nice example for people in the same positions.

The "Nothing will ever happen to him" line!!!! I wrote a whole essay about Kensington and this line because somehow this line was one of the most powerful ones to me, but to know that it was originally Henry's word just adds another level of pain to the Kensington scene

You can see Henry's face light up when he starts talking about the peasant boy. And Alex's quick eyebrow raise and deep chuckle. It's so beautiful, I wanna cry

We talk about Alex's heart eyes, which, yes, but Henry's look of pure adoration and love at Alex when he says "Truly Alive" makes me want to melt

I yelled a little at Alex when he started to lay back down (as in I verbally shouted "DAMMIT ALEX LOOK AT YOUR MAN") because I felt like if Alex saw Henry's face in the following lines he'd figure out Henry has issues earlier? But then I saw a take saying the shot was framed like theatre where Henry's both centre stage and in the spotlight so the focus is on him, so Alex was designed to lay back down on the timber bench to make the entire space for Henry

Henry's look of sad longing when he talks about the peasant boy pulling apart his armor is heartbreaking

I wonder if this was originally planned to be the changing point from Alex's POV to Henry's POV? Because in that case I do think the lake scene worked better as a changing point

I also wonder how did Henry end the story in his head up to this point? Because as hopefully as the last line is, at this point in the story, Henry still doesn't believe he can keep this

I get why scenes are cut because when you're putting together a movie, there are a lot of things you don't see for individual scenes until you put them together. This is why as much as I want the cast and crew to get the premiere they deserve to have, I don't really want an extended cut of the movie, because things were cut for a good reason

That being said, if the cornetto scene and this scene proved anything, is that the scenes themselves are fascinating, and I WANT THEM ALL

[dreaming-hibi]

In this rant I will—

I read something that made me think quite a lot the other day but, if you ask me what it was, well, I wouldn't be able tell you because I forgot. What I can say is that: I'm about to rant on KHR again.

Unsurprisingly, the rant is about our dear protagonist Tsuna (my love for Tsuna is both logical and personal, so let's not go there). I don't interact enough with fandom to make statements like "Most people do" and "Most people don't" — in reality, I've barely interacted with more than 5 people who know this manga in my life. Anyway, of those people, I remember some who were frustrated with the childishness and indecisiveness of the characters, especially someone like Tsuna.

Like, what?

It is only years laters that I finally have the composure to answer this claim with calmness.

"Tsuna is indecisive and childish."

First of all, how can anyone expect a 14 year old to know exactly what they want to do with their lives? Heck, there are some people that only figure out what they want in their 30s, if not later! And some others that never do and live their life trying to make every day count. How is a 14 year old, who had never been entrusted with any kind of expectation, just supposed to know?

Oh, is it because Naruto knew he wanted to be Hokage at 12 years old? Or because Deku was firm in his conviction that he wanted to be a hero at the age of 5? Or again because Edward Elric decided he was going to be a state alchemist and achieved so at the age of 12 years old?

Well, if that's the point of reference then, actually, Tsuna is the most realistic teenager I've seen in a shonen manga with fantastical elements and Amano-sensei did a wonderful job with her teenage (and child) characters. She sure as hell hasn't forgotten what it means to be 14 years old, unlike some people.

Furthermore, Tsuna is a teenager trying to tell what is very much an adult, who has shot him on more than one occasion for trying to oppose him (granted, I know Reborn did it knowing Tsuna could overcome whatever he threw at him and he seemed ready to intervene should it ever seem like Tsuna couldn't do it, it still doesn't change the fact that beginning Tsuna was actively terrified of this baby killing him on accident), that he does not want to be the boss of a mafia family he has, realistically, no obligation towards. Tsuna, at the very least, knows what he doesn't want, and he's vocal about it to Reborn... It's just that Reborn wants to hear none of it.

[Chapter 283 "Simon Middle School", Tsuna telling Reborn that he has no intention of becoming the boss of a mafia family and that he doesn't want to be involved with the mafia anymore.]

If you see Tsuna as childish for the way he keeps insisting that he doesn't want to be part of the mafia, is because you have forgotten what it's like to be 14 years old. Tsuna is not childish in his desire to not want to be involved in the mafia.

Actually, this issue lies in the reader (apart from the whole having forgotten what it feels like to be 14 years old) and in Amano-sensei's representation of the mafia. In Katekyo Hitman Reborn, we see a mafia that has been severely toned down from what it truly is. For us, this "mafia" is interesting, fascinating and, we do not see any problems with Tsuna joining it. After all, "if this is the x, then sign me the fuck up!" right?

Well, no.

Fictional mafia or not, Tsuna shouldn't be forced to join any of it when he doesn't want. Like, it seems like Tsuna is the only one seeing KHR's mafia without the rainbow-tinted glasses. I don't know how the boy does it, because we barely ever see KHR's mafia as being anywhere near as bad as the real mafia is, but Tsuna does anyway and he's right in no wanting any part of it.

I support Tsuna not becoming Vongola Decimo. But I also admit I have no idea what that boy could become if not the boss of the strongest mafia family.

We are introduced to a Tsuna who has no particular life skill, nor any particular hobbies — in fact, that's why he cannot understand Yamamoto's suicidal act in chapter 5, because he himself admits he has NOTHING he ever felt passionate about enough to take his own life.

Though Tsuna gets trained on how to fight, by the end of the manga he still has no life skills to talk about and, that's completely normal. He fought those battles because he HAD to. Those battles did nothing to enrichen his everyday skills.

Yeah, sure, he can go into Hyper Dying Will Mode, but how is HDWM gonna help him pass his algebra exam?

Tsuna needs a hobby outside of the mafia.

[evillex11]

might get flamed 4 this but comments like “gege is just killing everybody now, gege needs to stop cooking, gege doesn't know what he's doing, etc.) r getting annoying ngl like they're posting that on every chapter no matter what happens 😭 and it's fine to criticize something obviously that can't be avoided but these empty comments that provide no actual/meaningful input into the criticism is just so redundant 💀

+1. these kinds of comments kinda encourage the disrespect gege receives... cuz they leave these kinds of comments everywhere to the point where it's pretty icky. and not much ppl bat an eye cuz some might think it's all lighthearted or normal when rlly, it's getting a bit too far. like there's ppl who r genuinely saying he deserves to get sick n stuff?? bc he kiiled ur favorite character?? bc u don't like the manga??? 😭wtaf

+2. y'all have something to say when a character “has plot armor” and y'all still yap when a character doesn't... so rlly there's no winning 💀and I, personally, don't think jjk is meant to be one of those “defeat evil with the power of friendship” shows,,, mind you, they are going up against a supernatural being who's named the king of curses and is known to be impossible to beat—of course that 17 year old ain't gonna beat his ass just cuz everyone's counting on them??? nor will that adult who's never encountered a being that strong before. it feels kinda corny saying this but the outcomes of the battles in jjk are a bit more realistic ... “gege's just killing everybody now” obviously they're going to die???? they're going against a power beyond them what do you expect 😭 i get that it's a fictional show but the characters are still humans ... even with their cursed techniques and weapons, they're not always gonna survive ... not every plan or tactic of theirs r gonna work or turn out the way they expected

+ they're at a war with something rlly powerful so ofc they're gonna fire every shot they have which, in this case, are their comrades

+ it has been addressed by the show/series itself that jujutsu tech lacks the manpower to protect everybody, this is literally part of geto's reasoning for his actions—he knows he and/or his fellow sorcerers r bound to end up with a pile of their colleagues' bodies bc there arent much sorcerers in the world esp ones that could survive for a v long time. if a character is aware of this, that means gege is as well bc he literally wrote him to think about that

+3. if u hate the writing so much JUST DROP IT 🤯 crazy idea, never been thought of before, I know !! but some comments rlly are not necessary.... just stop reading if u can't take it anymore... no one is forcing you to read it. and if u feel compelled to cuz u already read so much, then don't leave harmful comments towards gege?? it's so easy to stfu and be a decent person on the internet 😭 you're contributing nothing by leaving comments like that under someone's work. if u hate how it's going so much then go make an au and satisfy urself. it's just so unnecessary

+4. idek if gege gets paid enough to deal with reader's bs ... people need to remember these mangakas are also people with real lives who are just trying to live and get by. some authors rlly get dehumanized just bc of the art they make

idc if I get called a dickrider,, as an artist myself I'm just so annoyed I'm sawry 😓😓 drawing and writing takes a lot of work.. I get concerned abt gege's well-being when the quality drops a little in the manga. maybe they're seeing something that I'm not, that's why they leave comments like that. maybe I got something wrong too, I'd like to be enlightened if that's the case /gen

[jane-john-doe-tournament]

John Doe (Malevolent) Propaganda:

Spooky gay eldritch disaster (am I doing this right?)

Could have chosen any name for himself and picked John because a kind person called him that :)

fractured piece of an eldritch god that shares a body with a private eye after being fractured. chooses the name John Doe after said private eye goes into a coma

Because he’s an eldritch god who wants to feel human and who overcame a lot of obstacles and dangers!!! He sincerely cares about the main character!!! And he chose a name himself! Isn’t he cute??? He lost his body, he almost lost his memory, he fought for his right to exist, he loves animals, he loves his friend Arthur and I love him!

Being an ass, friendship, spooky supernatural stuff, he’s got it all

My man heard the name John Doe, realized he didn’t actually have a name, and just. Took it for himself.

I LOVE HIM. MY SON. HE’S TRYING TO CHANGE AND BE BETTER AND :(((( He’s a fragment of the soul of the King in Yellow (god of trickery and suffering iirc??) that gets trapped in a book in our realm while the rest of the King stayed in his own separate realm. When a human named Arthur Lester opens the book they get linked and John gains control of Arthur’s eyes & kills his partner (oops!). They proceed to go on a quest to find a way of separating them because neither likes the situation, and at first John (or The Entity, which is what he’s called at first) just wants to trick and use Arthur, and control his entire body (through the first season he also gets a hand & a foot) even though he doesn’t remember being The King In Yellow at the time, but Arthur makes him change and become more human. His turning point is when Arthur is shot and falls into a coma for a month. They get treated at a hospital and while John waits for Arthur to wake up so they can carry on, the body itself still gets taken care of. The time John spends alone, contemplating on humanity & everything he’s seeing and learning from Arthur, as well as the way a certain nurse speaks to him every day (specifically, she greets him good morning and good night, despite the body being unresponsive, John still hears because he is an entity linked to the body) and calls him John (they didn’t have ID on when they were found so they were classified as John Doe), changes his outlook and plans for good, and he asks Arthur to call him John; from this point on he admits he cares for Arthur, looks for his wellbeing too, and in general attempts to be a better person and to live for himself. The rest of the podcast (ongoing!!) explores Arthur & John’s relationship, struggle to survive, adventures in the eldritch… All while tackling each of their issues with themselves and each other and watching them both grow. John in specific learns to be the person he wants to be, how sometimes you’ll take a step forward and two backwards; he can be cruel and manipulative sometimes but he still tries. Personally I love his journey, it’s very realistic and you can see he is trying his best, and how he wants to be better than he was as the King In Yellow, and how much Arthur has changed him and how much he cares about him because of that; and how he’s slowly growing into being his own person :) if it ends badly ill cry so hard but!!! he’s John Doe because that’s the name he was being addressed as, and he’s made it his, and being John means he’s no longer the King and that he wants to be different, and John can fail or make mistakes but it’s part of who he is now, and that’s what matters. I am So Normal About Him

JOHN DOE (Malevolent) SWEEP

Jane Doe (Team Fortress 2) Propaganda:

Soldier’s name, Jane Doe, emphasizes the core aspects of his character. We’re given sparse, mostly comedic, details about Soldier’s past, having been rejected from every branch of the U.S. Military. Soldier represents this parody of the idea of a U.S. Soldier. He’s taken every trope to heart and blown it up, but gotten it slightly off. Hence, his name is a reference to an unidentified person, someone without a real identity, but skewed slightly to the left from just being your standard John Doe.

Rejected from every branch of the military. Used sour-cream to found a racoon sanctuary in his ex-roommate's new castle. Has lead poisoning. Him and his fiancee are like if Gomez and Morticia Addams were meathead jocks. Strips naked and douses himself in honey in order to fight things like bears and killer robots. Collects severed heads. I love him.

[todomemolesta18]

The amazing digital circus! (review)

So... people actually want my opinion and Im like

*sniff* Ok, guys! Im gonna try to do my best to review (?) the pilot ep for Tadc! (Spoiler alert: I enjoyed a lot!)

First of all, the animation. IS. BEAUTIFUL.

So elastic, so expresive, so shiny, is just perfect!

Like, for example, just look at her pupils, how she slightly moves her head, is something little but add a lot of life to the character.

And they are so expresive like you can see their fear and stuff, especially Pomni.

(I love this shot of her haha)

Everything is so full of life and colours, I just love when animators actually take advantage of animation and go crazy with it.

And the designs are really good too! I love them. The best ones are Caine and Kinger.

They are so... crazy. And thats great! Besides, I think the giant eyes on Kinger just makes him look more traumatized, which makes sense, because for what we know, he has been in the circus the longest.

Now the characters themselves. I like them. Just so much personality, and fun. Specially Jax.. he is an unapologetic asshole and I just love that.

Ragatha is nice. Hope to see more of her, but rigth know I dont have a lot to say about her, but she is likeable and kind. She is just what Pomni needs.

Il talk about Pomni, but later, cause I wanna comment some interesting stuff about her.

Gangle is cute and deserves a big hug.

Zooble is... okay too. I dont dislike her and she has some funny momens, but like Ragatha, I need to see more of her to make a more complete opinion. I KNOW is the pilot, but I still need more content. IM NOT CRITICIZING, IS JUST MY OPINION. Actually is good that they dont focus a lot on ALL the characters, because it would be a confusing mess, so, well done there, Glitch and Goose.

Kinger was freaking hilarious. Like when Jax mentions how stable Kinger and Gangle are, Kingle start to shake in a really weird but hilarious way. Or when he screams randomly and says that Gangle startled him.

I like this guy :D

Then we have Caine... oh boy, he is one of the most interesting characters, with Pomni and... Kaufmo.

He acts so happy and cheerful and stuff, and like a presenter. He is actually kinda nice, but is obvious that he is hiding something, like when Pomni asks about the exit and he gets all weird.

NOW. Lets talk about my waifu- about Pomni.

She is so realistic and human and relatable and I love that. And not just because she is so super confused and scared and anxious, but for other scenes.

The moment where Ragatha needs help, and Pomni actually extends her hand and grabs her, only to start glitching. She gest scared, apologizes and runs away. But she feels guilty and comes back to apologizes to Ragatha, who forgives her.

I LOVED THIS SCENE SO MUCH. Pomni became more than just the anxious main character and became a bit more tridimensional.

Another moment I loved related to her. This:

Is a very short scene... but it means so much. How she is just in shock an touches her face, like she just cant believe this is her. This is happening to her. And it adds to the existencial horror of the show.

And the most incredible one and amazed me is when she actually goes in the exit door. Like... she did want to help Ragatha, but this could have been her only chance to escape. Im sure anyone of us, including myself, would have done it.

But then the poor woman is traped in a bucle and starts to get crazy and laugh... I think I would have reacted exactly the same.

Or that last shot of her and her disturbed face.

DAMN, EVERYTHING IS SO GOOD. AND THE MUSIC TOO.

I LOVED THE INTRO. The comedy too! And the outro was so cute!

This show has showed us the potential it has for the horror AND I CANT WAIT.

This are all my personal toughs! What do you guys think?

[mycupofteafanzine]

My Cup of Tea contributor announcement: part 1!

We are excited to share our list of artists in the zine! You can also find our cosplayers and writers here. See below the cut for links to their socials and their answers to the question: Why do you love Martin?

Ghoulie | tumblr

Oh man, what's not to love? I fell for him immediately for his sweet nature and softness and ended up admiring his inner strength even more. I see so much of myself in him and he makes me want to be better by killing with kindness and finding beauty and love for others even in the loneliness.

Willow | tumblr twitter insta

martin is just a silly little guy. he is one of my favs of the tma cast bc i love his voice tbh LMAO

Bori | tumblr twitter insta tiktok

He's such a sweet character while also being an absolute bitch when he wants to and I just love that for him!! 80% of my love for him stems from "he's just like me fr" and the other 20 is just "he's so effortlessly funny, damn mister there's-a-door-in-the-way"

Charlie | tumblr

He absolutely steals the show--Where else are you going to find someone with an aficionado for spiders, tea, and lying? The perfect man's right here.

Pikachic | tumblr youtube

The second I heard his voice in podcast I was like “oh no I’m going to love this guy aren’t I” and I was right! I initially just liked him because he was the nice one, but I found myself relating to him a lot and I loved seeing his character arc unfold.

Wormthist | tumblr insta

I really enjoy his growth as a character over the series!

Elias | tumblr

I relate to him, I feel loneliness in a very similar way and I'm way too nice and forgiving to people who may not deserve it. When Annabelle said "Because you always managed to get what you wanted through smiles and shrugs and stammerings that weren’t nearly as awkward as they seemed." I had to reconsider a few things about myself. Also I adore whenever he gets to be a bit bitchy, he's just an interesting character overall.

Sprig | twitter insta

I love Martin because of how passionately loyal he is. It takes a truly special person to prefer the world ending over losing someone they love. He deserves as much love as he gives out.

Dol | tumblr

I’m bad at putting feelings into words, but let’s give it a shot. Martin is a well written and complex character, and his arcs throughout the podcast really gets to me— but in a good way! A lot of the things that he say in relation to the Lonely and general loneliness hits quite a bit close to home, and not to mention his responses to situations and the occasional comedic/light-hearted moments that just,, make him Him! He’s portrayed realistically to me (or, well, as realistically a horror anthology podcast can be), and is just,,, a really good character trying to make the best out of the situation he is given. But I get sad thinking about him so thinking of him being happy is also ideally the short version to this aha

Squeeney | tumblr insta

I really connected to his storyline with the Lonely and his overall struggle to be the one that 'keeps it together'. He's incredibly multifaceted, like many characters in TMA, and I love the way his character is explored through how others choose to perceive him and his actions.

GUTPUNKS | twitter insta neocities

squishy

saintmalev | twitter

He represents that we can all just but that little guy who can do great things and fall in love. The epitome of 'the littlest people can make the biggest difference'.

Ochre | tumbr ko-fi

he tries his best <3

yakov-ukha | tumblr

Great guy, hater of rollercoasters, overall exquisite person.

Lee | tumblr

Martin has been such a relatable character to me and thats why I first started liking him. I slowly fell in love with how silly, cute and sweet his character can be.

Hawkfurze | tumblr

I love him for being both a sweet character and being so so flawed, its much more interesting than the blundering sweetheart they could have went with

Butzenscheibe | tumblr

he's a great representation for all us people pleasers, those guilty of self isolation and people with hearts big enough for everyone but themselves. he is someone you're not sad to recognize yourself in and it's a thing of great importance

Jox | tumblr twitter tiktok

Mmmartin,,, Martin is a huge comfort character for me and I heavily relate to him alot, i love his character development over the series and his interactions/ appearances too. I found that he was the first character i started liking when first listening to the magnus archives !

Mossii | tumblr tiktok youtube

mmmmmmartin. I think he's an incredibly well written character. The way he interacts with and is affected by trauma is very well done, not to mention how it then changes the way he experiences and approaches relationships. Overall he's a very three-dimensional character, something that probably isn't easy to create with an audio-only format. Also he's sassy.

K.M. | tumblr

I’m accidentally a Jon kinnie so did I really ever have a choice? Big /jk there. An honest answer would have to be how much he kept surprising me- kept me coming back for more!

Gammija | tumblr insta

There's a lot of answers to this, but most of all I love how multi-faceted he is. He's kind, a people pleaser, he wants everyone to be happy, and he's passive aggressive and needs his alone time. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and he lies about stuff all the time. He avoids acknowledging the awful truth as long as possible, and he has already considered the worst case scenario. And on top of all that he likes spiders. Character of all time.

Xenoglssie | tumblr

I like that he’s sympathetic and emotionally intelligent, but also kind of really mean. He’s a really well written character.

Leland | tumblr insta

Because he's Martin!

Wyatt | tumblr insta

"I can't hear you, Elias, there's a door in the way" or whatever the quote is ywy

Taro | tumblr insta

I have a crush on him <3 also because he's such a multifaceted character with so many layers to him. I love his bitchy side and his sweet side. He's very dear to me and I relate to him in some aspects.

Candlecoo | tumblr

Martin is just such a strong character emotionally, he is the teams rock taking the blunt of everyone's (mostly Jon's) outbursts yet still comforts them when he can. He's not perfect but he try's. and I think that's rather admirable. He's also really funny and relatable too, but that's just an added bonus.

FateSpoiled | twitter insta

It's Martin, have you seen him? No but, for real, he's such a sweet character who goes through so much across each season, and grows from each experience. His character development from that soft, bumbling idiot (as John portrays him) into the Antichrist's +1 is beautiful to watch, and, quite frankly, I love his voice!

Starryspells | tumblr twitter insta

Martin is a character that slowly found his way into my heart! He has so much depth to him beyond first glance, and I really resonated with his story and feelings! I’m overwhelmed with gratitude at the opportunity to express my love for this character!

[itscubetime]

Honestly, I fee like a lot of Osemanverse fans treat the books rather unequally. Let me explain.

I'm going to make a ranked list of all of Alice Oseman's books/series in order from most loved to least loved (based on my observations in social media and the availability of different books). I hold no biases in this list, since I have read/watched all of them. Only observations and some opinions.

Heartstopper. I'm pretty sure most people who have heard of the Osemanverse heard about Heartstopper first. You can find elements of this series everywhere, from all the webcomic platforms like Webtoon and Tapas, to the physical books in bookstores and libraries, to reposts of favourite moments, to the piles upon piles of fan-art and, of course, to the Netflix adaptation, which had immaculate casting and has already been green-lighted for two more seasons. I think this series deserves to be high up on the list - after all, the representation is casual and exemplified in the right places, nothing feels forced, the love story is healthy, but no so perfect that it's entirely unrealistic and the characters all have their spotlight moments. However, I feel like the series sometimes overshadows the other books, which I find interesting, considering this is the only book/series that is centred around a romantic love story.

Solitaire. This is probably the most well-known YA novel for a couple of reasons. One, it is the debut novel, the one that is praised in the front cover of every other Oseman novel, with the familiar phrase 'The Cather in the Rye for the digital age', so most Osemanverse fans have heard of it. Two, it's the novel that ties in with the Heartstopper story the most, by far, especially considering that the main character of Solitaire, Tori Spring, is the older sister of Charlie Spring, one of the main characters in Heartstopper. Three, its depiction of mental health issues, particularly Tori's implied depression, is healthy, realistic and educational. Overall, it deserves the love it gets, especially considering how dark it can get compared to Heartstopper.

Radio Silence. Honestly, I think that this could be tied with Solitaire in some cases - it was, after all, the book that first introduced me to the Osemanverse. It doesn't link with the Heartstopper universe as much as Solitaire, but it does focus more on Aled Last, one of the side characters in Heartstopper, and one of Charlie's friends, although it appears that the two drift off before the events of Radio Silence. I absolutely love this book for two reasons. One, the amazing relationship between Frances and Aled, the two main characters, never goes beyond anything platonic, showing that a boy and a girl don't have to be in a romantic relationship to thrive together. Two, it's the first book in the Osemanverse that shows explicit ace rep - better yet, demi rep - for Aled, which was so nice to read even before I began questioning if I was aspec. I love the cameos it gets in Heartstopper too, especially with Aled in the same shot lol.

Loveless. I'm so mad that this book is so far down the list, but I understand that's because it's the latest one. Firstly, PLEASE READ IT!!!! It follows the first-person perspective of Georgia Warr on her journey to discovering that she is aroace. This book has done wonders for the aspec community in giving them awesome representation and increased attention from the rest of the community, because yes! we exist and yes! us being aspec doesn't mean our lives are sad and lonely and YES! not all love has to come in romantic form!!!!! The fact that Oseman was alluding to their own uni experience in this story is just so amazing! Secondly, it deserves so much more attention in the Osemanverse fandom. Oseman put her whole heart and soul into this book and we are gonna love it like it deserves!!!

I Was Born for This. And now, we come across the book with the least amount of copies sold, available in the least amount of places and talked about the least in the fandom, despite it literally being about the fandom (eyyyy). This was the only novel I had to buy because it wasn't at my library (edit: it is now but it wasn't before) and none of my friends had it, but it is so good and criminally underrated. I understand every other story has something going for it. Heartstopper has impactful rep, Solitaire is the debut novel, Radio silence has Aled and the Universe City and Loveless has aroace rep. However, this book deserves love too!!! It focuses on the chaotic mess of fandoms and the impact it can have on the* artists behind the content, because gaining fame doesn't automatically make everything better, in fact it can make thing worse, like with Jimmy's anxiety. The story also having a muslim MC is also really awesome to see, especially since I haven't read many books with prominent muslim MCs (should probs change that soon lol). Anyway, this book is so so good and you need to read it somehow aaaaaaa!

Anyway, this has been sitting in my drafts for a year now and everything beyond the *asterix has been written today, but most ideas in this still stand. Most of the low-ranked books focus on queer people just existing without the plot being carried by a love story (no hate to the latter but i would like to see more of the former too). Anyway, it's time for the post to be brought into the world, especially considering Heartstopper season 2 coming up in August (yayyy!!!).

What did we learn today, kids?

Give all of a creator's work a chance, not just the most popular one! You will discover many gems!

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

🔥 Happy Birthday Katniss Everdeen 🔥

What's your first impression of Katniss after reading or watching The Hunger Games?

Do you find Katniss likable? Do you think her characterization is realistic?

What do you think the strengths and weaknesses of Katniss?

If today, you can make new movie/series adaptation, who would be suitable as Katniss? Based on visual description and acting talents.

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

This actually from last year @curiousnonnyblog because I just... year it's been a bit of a ride the past year.

Okay so! Confession time. I am an unabashed Everlark shipper, but honestly? I fell in love with Katniss first. I loved her so much that when she was suspicious of Peeta throughout the first book, so was I. I took her word for it. If this guy was shady in her mind, then I didn't trust him either. Somewhere between her saying that she tried to drown Buttercup because he'd be one more mouth to feed, the line "District Twelve, where you can starve to death in safety," and her frantic volunteering for Prim, I was 100% behind Katniss. She was just so delightfully prickly, but also... caring. Compassionate. She tried so hard to present this front of badass, untouchable survivor, but then she tries to be kind to Madge when Gale's a jerk. She tries so hard to comfort Prim, and she just seemed so darn lonely that I wanted to hug her.

There are many aspects of her character that feel realistic to me, but I want to focus on one that maybe doesn't get a lot of attention (?). I could be wrong about that lol. I know there are a LOT of oldest children in this fandom. Welp. I'm a middle child and I am here to tout the realism of Katniss thinking she's responsible for literally everything in Prim's life to the point that she volunteers to take her place in a death match because "Prim's afraid of her own shadow." But also... my dude, we younger siblings are not nearly as helpless and dependent on you older ones as you want to think we are.

Do I think Prim had a real shot at winning the Games? Mmmm not really, but that has less to do with the Katniss's perception of Prim and more to do with the reality of their situation. At fourteen, Finnick is the youngest Victor ever and he had a boatload of sponsors, which Prim likely wouldn't have been able to garner.

So that aside, Katniss tends to see Prim as more helpless and more perfect than she really is. Prim proves her mettle in small ways through the rest of the series. She seems "bland" or "too perfect" because that's how Katniss portrays her. In reality, Prim has bite. She sasses Plutarch Heavensbee, she takes on the role of healer beside her mother which... Katniss herself admits she's not good at that because she's squeamish about blood and pain. Prim just dives in to deal with it, proving that she's got way more of a spine than Katniss sometimes gives her credit for. And then she runs into combat as a medic at age thirteen. Without hesitation. Basically, Katniss doesn't know her younger sister as well as she thinks she does.

Anyway, I find that older child syndrome aspect of Katniss's personality supremely realistic.

I don't know that there is someone who'd I want to see recast as Katniss if they were to remake the movies or if they actually made a series like they should've in the first place. Mainly because I'm not familiar enough with the current young actresses out there. Because I live under a rock where celeb culture is concerned. I'd rather see someone young and relatively unknown be cast, though, so she could grow with the series and it wouldn't be a blockbuster franchise that's more about the names in it than their ability to portray the characters.

Thanks for the ask, even if it took me ages to answer this one!

<3 kdnfb

[olderthannetfic]

You might get a kick out of this article someone linked me to, to try and argue that BL is in fact fetishizing (because Yada Yada women consume it and produce it and all that)

https://www.youthoutright.org/articles/fetishization-of-the-queer-community

Article is a fairly short read. But I have to chuckle at it as "evidence" since it makes a fair amount of claims with 0 sources:

That young teenage women make up a majority of fandom (and that's whose consuming/producing BL)

Straight, white women get paid more to write gay romance novels (and that these novels often feature Adonis like males with 0% body fat and no body hair; play into gender/hetero norms)

Etc.

Honestly the....article, if I can even call it that, isn't cohesive. I do find myself agreeing with its first two paragraphs...and surprisingly only the first two. However, this article spends a lot of its time focusing on fetishization of Trans bodies and chasers who go after transfolks bodies (which I'm not too familiar with this so if anyone wants to speak up on this point...)

I'm very confused by how someone could read this and think "this proves my point!"

--

Sigh.

I don't even agree with the beginning. Trashy "girl-on-girl" isn't what's making men think women exist to serve them. Society is doing that. Porn is a reflection, not a cause.

Not to mention the fact that f/f-for-dudes is astronomically common compared to shitheads pestering lesbians in bars. The latter are too common because the correct amount is 0, but just based on the numbers, a lot of dudes are capable of consuming this porn without being confused about what's fiction and what's reality.

The mass quantities of f/f-for-dudes do make it hard to find f/f-for-ladies, but this article has taken the wrong message from that. The correct takeaway is that we need better labeling and search features that are driven by the nerdy desire to categorize and not by algorithms that want to sell you stuff.

As long as het romance novels or porno movies for straight guys or bestselling thrillers or whatever are popular, they're going to drown out the algorithmic results for more niche things one is interested in.

Libraries and AO3 don't have this problem. Amazon and Youtube do.

the world of “slash fiction” (fanfiction portraying a romantic and often sexual relationship between characters from a given source) began centering gay men

Wow, article writer. So you know nothing then.

it’s been claimed that straight, white women are paid more than gay men by publishers to write gay romances

I'm honestly embarrassed for this article writer. First, most of this burgeoning field is selfpub anyway. Second, many established writers in the romance field are women, and established names will probably have a shot at better pay than new people.

Third, anyone who injects "white" like this is a moron and a wanker. If we're talking about racism in the Romance field (and boy howdy is there a lot), white gay men are no better, and men's race is just as relevant as women's. Either we're talking about race or we're not.

As it stands, this author just comes across as a misogynist piece of shit.

The overwhelming majority of these romances portray relationships between white, cis, abled men with no fat or body hair.

I have bad news for them about cis gay men's media. (Well, okay, some of that has a lot of body hair and interminable descriptions of the smell of ball sweat and stinky armpits, but still...)

Men who fit the first archetype will take the position of “top” in the numerous, inaccurate, graphic-as-possible sex scenes that are central to these stories and also appear to be central to many readers’ enjoyment.

I see we're in the usual "I, a sex-repulsed person, speak for all of humanity" mode.

People like horny art. News at 11.

These are complex issues deeply rooted in society. It’s difficult to envision mitigations and solutions. However, somewhere to begin would certainly be promoting more positive, intersectional, realistic representations of queer people and queer relationships. A vital action that can further this goal is choosing to consume media with queer representation that was created by queer people whenever possible.

Honestly, my response to this ending is:

Fuck off, you entitled git.

This uninformed little whiner is equating all kinds of unequal things. Chasers are all over the place, but they aren't the ones writing fanfic or any other amateur, personal writing. We have no right to other people's hobby time. Sure, we can vote with our feet, and we should, but this article doesn't really sound like it's advocating that: it sounds like it's crying that other people have different taste from the writer. Boo, hoo, hoo, someone I don't like got attention.

It's the usual ignorant trash.

Embarrassing.

[akilice]

Rin gasped as the ribbon -the last remains of Ariadne- disappeared from her hand. It was gone. Just like Sakura. Just like Shirou, when he walked out of her life, only for her to find out years later that he was executed. Just like Setanta, whose blood was now dry on her shirt. Rin let out a shaky breath. This lostbelt's king is dead, and it's time for everything to fall apart. "Tohsaka! What are you doing? We need to get out of here!" Chaldea's master called out. Yeah, this place is falling apart. Soon, one of these rocks will come down to crush her. "Tohsak-" Rin shot Hakuno's shoulder with a Gandr. The shot only grazed her skin, leaving Hakuno and Mash confused and on alert. "I'm not going with you." Rin glared at them. "Leave, or I'll kill you." "Are you kidding me?! This is not the time for-" "Face me! Chaldea!" Rin shot again, but Mash blocked it, and looked at her with somber eyes. "Either face me, or leave me!" "Tohsaka-senpai…" Mash's eyes begged her to stop. "Is this really how you deal with an enemy?" Rin smirked. "You just beg them to come with you? You really think you can do anything with that soft attitude? You think being 'good' and 'helpful' will turn everything around? Well, it doesn't!" Rin's smirk faded, and her expression was just tired. She was too tired to even feel angry anymore. "Good people never get the rewards they deserve. That's the kind of world you're protecting." Hakuno's expression hardened. Was she upset? Good. This will make things a lot easier. Hakuno walked towards her, and Rin continued to point her finger, ready to shoot. "Do you get it, now? You just have to get rid of anyone who stands in your way." Kill me. Rin's eyes quietly begged. Please let me die. Life has been nothing but hell. Hakuno suddenly punched her, making Rin stumbled backwards. Now that's a pleasant surprise. "Senpai?!" Mash was surprised. "I guess you're not all soft…" Rin spit out some blood, and laughed. "You can pack a punch, who would have thought?" "I jusr figured that you might need a wake up call." Hakuno then pulled Rin by her coat's collar. "So you're just going to let Setanta's death go in vain?! Did everything Orpheus say to you mean nothing? You've tricked Ariadne all this time, and you think you can just get away and not deal with the consequences?" "Yeah. Pretty much." Rin shrugged. "Would be better for us both if you let me just die." "Well if you want to kill yourself so badly, do it when I'm not around!" Hakuno tightened her grip. "I can't let you die." Rin hated this woman. Hakuno's expression looked pained, as if she was trying not to cry. What's with her? Why couldn't she let her die in peace? Everyone Rin has ever loved is dead. "Fine. Let's die together, then." Rin pulled out her gems. "I can make all of these explode right now. I can just take you with me." "Sure you can. You can't even die properly." Hakuno glared at her. "You couldn't even kill me." "What?" "I was barely conscious when we both fell. You had your knife against my throat, and yet you threw the knife away." Rin sighed. "Right… The knife." Before Hakuno could process what she was saying, Rin pushed away and grabbed her knife. "Idiot!" Rin dug the knife into her chest, much to Hakuno and Mash's horror. "You idiot!" Hakuno was quick to catch her. "Mash! Quick let's carry her out of here!" "Didn't think… The last person I'd see was you, but oh well." Rin's chuckle was cut off with a cough. "A lame face to be sure, but at least it's not a Matou. That's a special brand of ugly." "Tohsaka-senpai! Please save your strength!" Mash carefully carried her. "We'll heal you once we get back!" "Idiot… The point is that I don't…" Rin sighed. The sharp pain in her chest made it hard to talk. Oh well. "You won't die!" Hakuno said as they ran. So stubborn. But… So kind as well. Rin smiled, and closed her eyes. She was hoping to see Sakura again, but realistically speaking, she was probably going to hell. Still, it's a nice tought, isn't it? Gathering around with the people she loved under the cherry blossoms? What a nice dream… That would be…

[anim-ttrpgs]

TTRPG WIP meme

tagged by @ostrichmonkey-games

We’re a small team with a lot of aspirations among us, but thankfully we can each help keep the other on track.

TTRPG projects in some form of active development:

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy (99% complete, external playtesting)

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is, well, our main big thing that we’ve been posting about a lot. It’s a rules-medium 2D6 system for investigation-oriented adventures in any time period between about 1850 and the present day, with a bit of a supernatural twist. It’s made to be partially setting agnostic, able to run just about any adventure that isn’t based entirely around combat, and even effortlessly run adventure modules from other systems. There are many unique things about Eureka, but we have been posting in-depth about them for weeks, so you can just check out this blog if you want to know more. Instead, I’ll just rapid fire off a few: A unique approach to investigation that builds up points with each roll even if the roll fails, and with enough points a previously failed investigation roll can be retroactively turned into a success, resulting in a ‘eureka moment’ where certain pieces of the mystery finally fall into place.

Fast, but deep and realistic combat, with a lot of strategy based more around the environment and positioning than use of special abilities; guns will typically take a target down in one shot, so keep your head down—or better yet just don’t get shot at in the first place if you value your life.

Freeform character creation where you can easily make either a normal person or a supernatural creature of the night without being constrained and forced to compromise by the system—so long as the monsters adhere to a few basic rules: Must be able to pass for human at a glance, must have some supernatural weaknesses that don’t just apply to combat, and must feed on people in some way. There is also the option to make a much less powerful supernatural character that doesn’t have to worry much about weaknesses or eating people, but they won’t be the combat powerhouses they the monsters tend to be.

Unique roleplay mechanics where supernatural PCs must hide their true natures from not only society at large, but the party and even the players at the table as well. Even if you’re on the same side, it’s usually best not to tell your teammates that you’re an eight-hundred-year-old vampire. They’ll start asking uncomfortable questions like “Where are the neighbors?” That’s between you and the GM only.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is coming to Kickstarter later this year. Follow this blog for more information and updates.

FORIVA: The Angel Game(99% complete, external playtesting)

FORIVA: The Angel Game is our first “completed” adventure module for use with Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, and i really could not be happier with how it has turned out. It is a horror-mystery adventure, as most Eureka adventures will be, and man is it scary. I’ll link the post we made about it here

but also give a very short synopsis of the hook: The year is 1999, and a small American city is quietly panicking as more and more teenagers end up either missing or hospitalized in a strange half-catatonic state. Those who can still talk don’t seem to remember anything about their regular life or identity, and only talk incoherently about an “angel” they see. It will be up to the investigators to hunt down the cause of this phenomenon, and put a stop to it, if they can.

Eureka Kickstarter Page(80% complete)

This is self-explanatory.

A.N.I.M. Substack Newsletter(70% complete)

Also self-explanatory.

Oil Rig(70% complete)

“Oil Rig” is only the working title, we hope to come up with something better before release. But hey, it does take place on an oil rig.

This is another horror-mystery adventure module for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, though this one really leans more towards survival-horror. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, an oil drilling platform in the open ocean has been reduced from a crew of 200 to a crew of roughly 12, but is still expected to keep up the same level of efficiency for no extra pay of course, even when an unseen force begins to pick them off one by one. Sound familiar?

At the time of writing this, “Oil Rig” is about 70% or 75% complete, but this post is going in our queue, so by the time you read this is might have already been handed to playtesters.

Free Demo Module(30% complete)

“Free Demo Module” is of course the working title for what is going to be our free demo module, made to work with the free demo rulebook we plan to release. This module is going to be short, and only engage with the mechanics that will be provided in the free demo rulebook for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy.

On Halloween, the investigators try to unwind with a fun visit to a local haunted house/escape room experience where they will have to use all the wits and skills at their disposal to solve a staged Victorian murder before it’s too late(and they have to clear out and let the next group have their turn.)

But, is everything as it seems? (Yes it is, this module is intended to showcase the Eureka system’s ability to run investigation and puzzles. There is almost no possibility for combat or death or supernatural hijinks because those things are something you’ll have to buy the full version for.)

TTRPG projects on the backburner:

Seedtown(30% complete)

Seedtown is not just an adventure module, it’s a full campaign for use with Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, centered around several mysterious disappearances in a remote rural town in the mountains of Arkansas. The plan is for this one to be even more ‘sandbox’ than the other smaller modules, which already anticipate that different parties will reach conclusions in different ways. This one is just bigger and longer because it has more locations, more NPCs, and multiple mysteries that may or may not overlap and lead the investigators to a terrifying end.

Eureka Mobster Manual(10% complete)

This is another working title, but we might still keep it because it’s funny. This will be a sold-separately supplement for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy packed with fully statted NPCs, bad guys, and monsters for GMs to populate the world of their campaign with. The monster entries will also include behavioral guidelines, possible motivations, plot hooks, and weaknesses that aren’t necessarily “just bring a really big gun”. Even when weapons are involved, defeating most monsters in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy will be more about thinking, researching, and planning rather than just having better stats.

Even though this will be sold separately, we plan to make it a very affordable price, probably even “pay what you want”, because unlike some RPGs, we don’t want our game to require 5 $50 books as the bare minimum investment to play.

Eureka Medieval(1% complete)

This is what it sounds like, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, but set in the Middle Ages rather than the modern era. It will use the same core systems, but with more advanced and deeper melee combat and armor rules, and of course plenty of setting information for how to run realistic and historically accurate mysteries for investigators of the 14th and 15th centuries, and guidelines for how to create historically accurate player characters. (And no, that doesn’t just mean “everyone is covered in dirt and women aren’t allowed to exist.”)

Death Bed(50% complete)

This is another working title, but one we might stick with.

Death Bed is the result of me being stuck at home for over a week with no car and a chip on my shoulder about the fact that the “official dark souls tabletop role playing game” is just a D&D5e reskin. So I spent three days typing literally all day writing a system that I felt might actually translate the gameplay of Dark Souls to a turn-based RPG. It is still, in some ways, a D20 system, but borrows more from AD&D than any 21st century iteration, and borrows some from the dark souls board game as well.

Enemy behavior can be easily predicted, to the point that the GM doesn’t even hardly do anything during combat. When you attack, you don’t roll to hit, you just roll your weapon’s damage, and when an enemy attacks, you only roll to dodge or block.

PCs may die and return to life multiple times in the same combat encounter, though each death puts them closer to the brink of madness, at which point they will become another shambling corpse the rest of the party will have to defeat to reach their goals. Each stage of this regression grants the character unique advantages and disadvantages as well. For example, those right on the brink will be recognized by some enemies as one of their own, making them less likely to be targeted by attacks.

I wrote so much of this in so short a span of time that I had to stop myself and force it into the backburner, or else I might’ve dropped dead.

Eureka: Overdose(1% complete)

Similar to the Mobster Manual, this is a planned supplement book for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy.

This book will also be sold separately for a very low price, and feature a large number of pre-made combat encounters complete with environments and fully statted enemies to be slotted in as big climactic showdowns in Eureka adventures. Each of these encounters will feature multiple difficulty levels changed by adding or removing certain elements from play, and guidelines for estimating what a party of investigators will be able to handle.

And then of course we also have a whole document full of one-sentence to one-paragraph synopsises of adventure modules to write for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, but none of these are quite out of the idea stage, so I’m not including them on this list.

And we are tagging @efangamez, so everyone can hear about her projects as well!

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s4 ep5: Revulsion

This one is quite the hodge-podge of totally disjointed stories. There's a horror story about a murdery hologram, an awkward comedy about Harry getting a crush on Seven, and little subplots about the Doctor wanting to go on more away missions, Tom having to fill in in sickbay, and Tom and B'Elanna deciding to get serious with their relationship. It's a lot, and tonally, none of them really fit together well.

From the first shot of the teaser, which is of a dead body being dragged across a ship by a hologram who's clearly just murdered the guy, it doesn't set a good tone. While it takes our crew the rest of the episode to figure out that the hologram who supposedly lost his crew to disease and requests their help is actually a psycho who murdered them all, the audience knows it from the beginning, which makes the whole episode feel slow, and makes the characters look kinda stupid for not being able to see it right away too. Especially since the actor who plays the hologram is so creepy and unpleasant to watch, and all the scenes on his ship are shot like a horror movie, with him looming ominously behind people in the shadows, while ominous music plays, it just feels way too obvious and heavy handed. (And I never like to see my girl B'Elanna getting put through crap- everyone needs to leave her alone, she puts up with so much!!) Knowing the whole episode that this creepy hologram is going to try to kill her at some point just feels so schlocky exploitation film-ish, it's not fun or interesting to watch in any capacity. I also don't buy that a hologram that's meant to do menial ship maintenance would have a sophistocated enough program that it could pass through some matter, and not others, at the same time, at will. That was just too convenient to be realistic given what we've already established about holographic technology. But luckily B'Elanna is such a badass that even with her injuries, she still managed to destruct his program like a boss. Queen shit, as always. I love her so much!!

And then there's poor Harry, who gets basically a teenage crush storyline over Seven of Nine. It's supposed to be funny, but mostly it's just a heap of secondhand embarrassment. Idk why they have Harry acting like a dumb kid whenever they try to give him a romantic subplot now- he's in his mid-twenties, he's not a kid, and he used to have a hot girlfriend back home, who he used to go to concerts with in his slutty mesh top, which nobody who was shy and awkward would ever wear. He couldn't be that clueless and inept about dating. (Also, I guess he finally gave up on Libby for good at this point! Sorry girl, you're no match for the hottest lady of all- the USS Voyager!) The worst part is that Harry and Seven are actually kind of cute together, and it would have been nice to see them form a normal friendship, but that possibilty was stifled by giving him the stupid crush plot. Tom at least tries to talk him out of going for a romance with someone who's only been human for basically a few weeks, but Harry doesn't listen, and it just gets more awkward. Ugh. why.

Why on earth they expect us to believe that Tom is the most qualified person to fill in as a medic, I have no idea- there's gotta be some science officer who has more medical training than a pilot, but at least they were giving one of the regular characters more screentime, I guess. And I do love to see Tom taking care of people, it's a nice counter to the weird mean version of him from Day of Honor that I still need brain bleach to recover from. (Why would they do that to my sunshine boy??)

One of my favorite scenes in the episode is Tuvok's absolutely lovely and sweet banquet celebrating his promotion. I love when the crew have sit down meals together, it's always the most heartwarming, adorable stuff. Tom and Harry telling a story about a time they pranked him, Janeway presenting him with his pip, and Tuvok's thank you speech are just so perfectly lovely. Everyone is so happy and having so much fun, including Tuvok, and I love to see it. Whenever I see gifs or screenshots of this scene, it's always of Tuvok saying 'in three years I've grown to respect many of you, others, I've learned to tolerate' like he's being bitchy or throwing shade, but in context, he's actually being affectionate- there's a lightness in his voice and a twinkle in his eye, and Tom and Harry smile at him when he says it. This is Tuvok being happy, and expressing his love for his crewmates with his dry Vulcan humor. It's so good!!! Tim Russ does so much with so little- he always manages to convey the full range of Tuvok's thoughts and feelings in the extremely narrow confines of acceptable Vulcan behavior. With the subtlest of intonations and expressions, he shows us his whole personality and his whole heart, it's really exceptional acting. Tuvok has been and will always be my favorite Vulcan character in Star Trek.

Tom and B'Elanna get a small scene at the end of the banquet, where we finally get to see them talk about what happened in Day of Honor. Once again, Tom is the one to break the silence after three days and say they have to talk about it- they give each other a chance to wriggle out of the whole 'I love you' thing, but B'Elanna admits that she really did mean what she said. Tom responds by kissing her, which is adorable, but still missing the crucial words- all they had to do was tack an 'I love you too' on the end of that 'shut up and kiss me'- would that have been so hard??? Tom is always the one who wants to actually talk about stuff, he would not be reluctant to say it! Certainly not more than she was! What gives??? Idk, but they agree to meet up in her quarters at the end of the episode, so I guess we just get to infer that they talked about it later. (But judging from their earlier kiss, they probably just made out the whole time and never came up for air lol)

Tl;dr: The main plots in this one were both pretty poorly executed, but the little character moments sprinkled in were wonderful and made it worth watching.

[caretaker-au]

you’re probably offline again, and I don’t know if anyone is gonna see this. but your au is genuinely one of my most favorite Undertale AUs ever. I have been in the Undertale fandom for a LONG time, but I don’t think there will ever be something as well written as the Caretaker AU again. the amount of research and love put into it is so cool. it truly does feel like something that could possibly happen in the actual canon and I LOVE it.

your version of Chara is also one of the most best portrayals of them I’ve EVER seen in the entire history of the fandom. when you began releasing the final chapters for the AU, I remember just sitting at my computer and rereading Chara’s lines over and over again. because their character was just so interesting to see in action. even when it was still a comic, their goddamn expressions and words are just so memorable to me. I still and always will have that little sadistic smile ingrained in my brain. (that also includes literally every character in comic even the background ones.) I love how you handle Chara as well, how you made them a horrible person but not totally unrealistic. like that one asker said, you feel bad for them, but just a LITTLE TINY bit. because they always screw up everything for themself and then go blame a 12 year old for it.

speaking of Frisk, your portrayal of them is definitely so very canon to me. I love their design and personality so much. they are so just relatable too, possibly one of the most realistic 12 year olds I’ve seen in a comic. they remind me a lot of me in a way, especially when I was 12 lol. I’m beyond happy they got a happy ending, they deserve it after, y’know, everything.

I wish you all luck on any other projects you may be working on. and I hope you are proud of what you have accomplished. :) you crafted a truly beautiful story. now if you don’t mind me, I’m just going to go reread everything again.

(take a shot every time I say ever lol, sorry for any spelling mistakes, thank you for reading it all)

Thank you so much for your kind words. Caretaker truly was a huge labor of love. I remember back when Ellipsis came up with the concept how it just gripped me like a bear trap. I couldn't stop thinking about it! Eruto felt the same way and was saying we should make a comic, and I was like, "no no, I don't want to do all that line art" but then she was like, you won't be alone we can draw it TOGETHER and then to demonstrate she took one of my super rough sketches and lined and colored it. And I was like, wow okay maybe this is feasible.

The resulting 3-ish years it felt like we were spending every waking hour working on Caretaker. I carried my sketchbook everywhere and would draw out thumbnails during my breaks at work, I'd be thinking about it on the drive home, and then we'd get on a discord call together to draw, line, and color for hours at a time. I could go on but the bottom line is that I LOVED IT. Each finished page (drawn or written!) fills me with pride and I look back fondly on the time spent creating and maintaining this blog together. It was exciting, compelling, and at many times exhausting, but worth it.

As far as the characterization goes, glad that you appreciate it! We reminded ourselves to never lose sight of the fact that Chara was still a human being--full of contradictions and ego and multiple-facets--but we didn't want to justify their behavior either. We all know people who are selfish, manipulative, and arrogant, but what happens when a person like that gets naïve enablement and never has to face any repercussions for their behavior? Without the correcting force that is LIFE, a cynical, angry, cruel child like Chara didn't have any reason to second-guess their worldview. Of course anything that goes wrong must be the fault of someone else!

This has already gotten kinda long, so all I'll say on Frisk is thank you and glad you agree! Personally, I knew some friends of the family who had kids about that age so I tried to reference their behavior in my mind when it came to writing Frisk. (Though most of Frisk's behaviors boil down to "RUN!!") Through the many discussions and occasional rewrites of this story, we always planned on ensuring Frisk had a happy ending. ♥

Thanks once again for the ask, and I hope you enjoy the reread!

[chevvy-yates]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Not being tagged, just thought I could share some stuff I'm onto. :) Decided to tag others because I'd love to see an update from you as well (if you got sth, no pressure!).

So I'm tagging; @imaginarycyberpunk2023, @medtech-mara, @elvenbeard, @humberg, @ugh-my-back, @itzsassha, @kittenchrissy, @hydrasshole, @spicyraeman, @bnbc, @drunkchasind, @morganlefaye79, @gloryride FYI: some of you are currently hyperfixating bg3 I know; doesn't matter to me. You are welcome to share wips of this as well (even I'm not into it) bc you may have followers that may be interested to see that as well?

—

At first

So, last weekend I've been producing a little mass of Ryder in things VP I can now scatter over the next few weeks — at the cost of entirely neglecting my other boys once again. As always I feel bad about it, because they deserve attention as well (especially JJ bc he got the least atm, but @gloryride takes so pretty shippy pics of Enzo and him lately, I'm always melting when I get to see them! I'll give him and them love soon too I promise!). It is what it is — Ry happens to be my personal fav. I have to accept it and say it is okay.

— NPV

Some of you know I have him already as npv and I was about to get things ready for others who might be interested in taking pics of him or/and befriend him with their own ocs.

FYI: His npv is not only for me! So feel free to ask me about him. I do not bite (but he does) :)

However, just by using his npv version only a few times I knew I need more than the 15 outfits he already got due to story related things and general vp ideas with two or more ocs in my head. So only after like what? — barely three months he's going to receive an update with the rest of his outfits to be added. There's only one permission I'm waiting for. If I do not receive an answer in the next days, these two outfits will be added without that specific piece.

— VP

I. Nice pics

That I took a mass of him mainly happened bc I needed 2-3 pics for my info pdf as I grew tired of some older ones (without raytracing) and I was missing one for Formal, Summer and one for Merc anyways as well as the Special category, so I took pics in one of the outfits that are presented there.

I'll post them during the next few weeks. It's just pretty pics since their intention is more or less focused on the outfit in general.

I'm trying to get more interesting shots in between but I'm super critical with myself thinking my ideas aren't 'great', ' very conceptual' or 'interesting' enough (I do not feel forced to do it in the fandom, but I know I should do it ore often bc it is my job life too) – I do think the same about may daily business work and yet I receive comments from coworkers like 'You're so creative with this one' and 'glad I took your expertise', so I can't be that uncreative, heh?.

II. Sneak Peak

Y'all may have noticed that there's a new harness out for both female and male and ofc I was all bats about how it looks on Ry. So here I can show you his fine belly for now:

My Idea was to take pictures in green light (the Afterlife stairway). But once I started colorgrading afterwards in Adobe Lightroom, I almost deleted the entire green because the brown makes him look way more "realistic".

I'm torn between doing all pics this way or split it up into both. The green def. has a nice catch but I'm so sold to the colorgraded version. I want to bring him back together with Thyjs there anyways, so maybe I'll use the green for them instead and then pics in the Afterlife stairway make more sense (if I try think story wise) rather than jsut a nice photoset with lots of skin that could have been shot anywhere since you do not see wehere it is exactly. Next days will decide what I do with the green or not.

III. Reshots.

Ryder is turns 1 this year! September 17th is his creation day (his birthday is October 31st though). <3 So I took the opportunity to look at his first pics I did back in the day, where I had zero clue what to do with him. A few characteristics were set; like his black clothing only concept but in general I didn't know how he would react in pictures. Today I know!

Here's a another sneak peak. Taking him from emotionless oc to German Raver Dude™. <3

Fun fact: I forgot to add his blade cyberware back then on the first day and redid the pics already the next day (Sep. 18th) with the blades but left this pic on the left out bc I didn't like it that much. He looked at me like a psycho and made me think "Will I like you?"

Last year I tried to make my pics colorful, because Cyberpunk is a colorful game after all, but I forced myself to do bc usually my style is and always has been like the colors are in the right picture; desaturated, with a nice noise. I'm happy I went to retake his first pics and I'll continue with a few (e.g. The Atlantis, Konpeki red maybe too).

— FIC (snippet)

Here's one of my rp answers of a deep talk Ry and Arki are having during a rooftop party. It's only my reply so it's why Arki does not say anything here.

Ryder suddenly feels understood. He shifts into an upright position, placing one knee onto the other, his foot wobbling to the sound of the music playing in the background. Arki almost sounds like he’s battling the same, but on a different level. You feel like that too? Ry’s eyes get bigger and he gives off a rather surprised look as he listens further. He decides to sip his bottle again, takes a deep breath, then shifts into another position anew, looking at the reflection in the glass. “Yeah — ‘Bad. Enduring. Aggressing. Sinister. Termination.' — or in short: 'B.E.A.S.T.' That's how I started calling it that way.” Ry states, eyes back on him. “It forces me to do -bad-. It’s sort of an -enduring- beat in my head, I can beat Beast only for a time while listening to hard rave beats. — It makes me -aggressive- to no end. It -scares- me because out of not knowing what’s happening I am frightened to see what I’ve done again because— because it only ends with -termination- for my opponents while I’m just lucky to have survived each time.” Ryder adds with a cracking voice followed by a sigh.

Arki’s ‘You are not alone, Ryder’ gave Scharfenberg, to his own surprise, hope again. “Funny,” he lets out next, another tiny laugh leaving his lips. “Never thought someone could understand me, feel what I feel. And out of all it turns out to be you.” — He explained it to V and to Thy. They tried but will never understand it entirely because they do not –thank the netlords– have to deal with it as he has. “How it looks inside me, how it screams and yells in there. Tells me how I have to do it.”  I never wanted this, Ryder thinks for himself. Must kill! Beast barks at him immediately. Halt doch einfach mal die Fresse! Ryder yells back in German in his mind, his teeth bared a little behind lightly twitching lips as his expression slips for Arki to see. “But I—” he goes on, eyes continuing to fix onto Arki’s. Fetch me souls! “— how can I win? Be good? Get rid of it — the fire, the burning voice, the constant pounds and torment? That rage?” Ry throws in one question after another, gaze fixated on the other man as if he awaits an answer Arki surely may not have for him either after he told how he feels as well. Scharfenberg takes a bigger sip and enjoys the fizzing of the beer on his tongue again for a moment. “I can't escape it. Got to go the way it chases me. It’s an endless road.” His hand reaches up to rub his beard for a long moment as he leans back, hesitating if he should tell more or not. Let Arki eventually take part of his struggle he's been battling for almost eight years now. His gaze wanders off again to look literally everywhere, legs now both bob a certain rhythm even though the background music in the distance is currently off because Vijay seems to be searching for some other tunes. “For me it's a daily and constant ‘knock-knock’ that says: "Now where is that anger? That hunger to kill? You need it. Fetch me souls”—suddenly he swings back forth again, voice getting louder, teeth baring, white rings of his optics flaring up dangerously fixed back on Arki. ”Hey! — I'm here, don't you ignore me! Let me out! They harmed you. Kill them. Let me— Let me out! Must! Kill! All!" Ryder expresses himself citing Beast under repressed anger. He abruptly takes another big gulp, and falls back into the lounge, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as he’s busy for a moment pushing Beast back.

okay that was a lot actually. I could ad way more but I'll keep that for another wip post! xD

Thanks for reading and kudos to everyone who landed here!

[hecckyeah]

#3, 4, 15, 24 for the fic ask game!!

Hii!!! Thanks so much for the ask <3

3. Are there any specific themes you enjoy exploring in your fics?

Ooh, this is such a good question but I feel like my answer is going to be sort of vague. It really really REALLY depends on the themes I'm going with for each individual fic. I do love LOVE playing with the found family trope and all its facets and nuances, but I don't get to it all that often. But a theme that keeps cropping up (and I probably do this subconsciously) is fighting with the unknown, if that makes sense. In which my characters are making peace with something beyond their control. Hmm I wonder if my writing is reflecting my own psyche or something. Weird

4. How do you channel characters' voices and personalities?

HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS OF CONSUMING THEIR CONTENT. Oh my gosh I swear I've single-handedly kept the Youtube scene compilation people in business. I'll literally watch them over and over and over again until I'm thinking in their voices and I can't get rid of it, and that's when my best dialogue happens. I absolutely suck at dialogue unless I've been living and breathing those characters for days on end. If I can't hear the physical voices in my mind's ear (is that a thing?) then I basically can't write them. Same with their personalities and physical quirks. I need to be able to see and visualize each movement, or it feels off and foreign and I end up trashing whatever I write. Basically I have to play out the scene I'm writing in my mind like it's a movie, and if I can imagine that scene in the show/movie/book it came from, then I know I'm probably on the right track.

15. Do you plan your fics or prefer to let the story unfold as you write?

Hah, yeah I'm a write-as-you-go kinda gal. It works out well for one-shots, since the format lends itself to a wandering, thoughtful kind of style, but that's definitely why I struggle with longform multi-chapter fics, since my characters always make decisions they didn't clear with me first, and I'm usually sitting here rolling my eyes and trying to get the story back on track as they go do their own thing. Even the couple of times I did plan the fic out from beginning to end, I still ended up making changes on the fly and it ended in a totally different place than I'd imagined. Basically I just write in a direction that makes sense, and then I edit afterward to make it look like I planned it all from the beginning. Not always, because sometimes my brain cooperates and everything comes together without any need for post-editing, and I love it when that happens :)))

24. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing fanfiction?

I would definitely say, try out a few styles of writing and see what sticks!! If you hate longform or can't wrap your mind around first person perspective, then don't push it! Stick to what feels right and then hone that skill. Don't worry about what other fanfiction writers are doing, because having a unique style is a good thing. If you sound like every other author, that's how people will see you -- as just one of the masses. Write in the style you enjoy, and people will notice your passion and love for your craft.

If you haven't written a lot in general and are just starting out with writing altogether, READ A LOT, all the time. Read good literature, like the old classics. Read YA fantasy. Read graphic novels. Read everything. You can't write if you haven't read first, even if what you're writing for is a movie or show. It's like deciding to paint a picture of a shark, even though the only description you've ever heard of it is that it has sharp teeth and is long and bluish-gray with fins. Yeah, you might end up with a blob-type shape that maybe could be interpreted as an abstract shark, but in order to paint a realistic shark you need to have examined all its sides and colors and shapes and movements. You have to know the shark like the back of your hand. You can't learn anything about writing by watching movies. You need to know how stories are structured in a word format before trying to put it all together yourself.

And if you've written a lot before but are just starting out in the fanfiction world, I would just say that fandom is a totally weird and different beast altogether. Post small things, post big projects, and realize that not everything is going to be popular. Find the joy in the craft itself and see the recognition as the cherry on top.

Find a niche and explore it!! Dig into a couple of key moments of the piece of media you're creating for, and really expand and explore the themes there.

And in the end, just write because you love the media, and nothing else. If you fall out of love with the book/movie/show, it's OKAY to stop writing for it. You are NOT a failure for putting a fanfic on hiatus for a long time. You're not getting paid for it, and fans are not entitled to you slapping together a halfhearted ending to something you don't feel passionate about anymore. Leave the door open to finish it the right way in case you come back to the fandom and want to pick up where you left off. We're all just human, and obsessions come and go.

Write because you love to write, and try not to worry about the nitty gritty of it all.

---

questions for fic writers