#i have a gardener character i need will to interact with for Plot Reasons and i was like oh work

[tellthatbrokebitch]

pairings so far for the zombie au are: byler, hopclair (i think that's el and lucas' shipname???), eventual elumax bc ofc, ronance, vee poly with jargyle and stonathan, jopper, possibly dustin with an oc but almost might just leave him single but also that feels exclusionary but also they don't all NEED to be paired off but also-

[derinwrites]

Plotting a story -- inductive and deductive plotting

When it comes to plotting habits in writing fiction, there’s a scale. Most people label the ends of this scale ‘gardener’ and ‘architect’, although the terms ‘plotter’ and ‘pantser’ are also in use. If you’re a writer, you probably know this scale, but I’ll briefly explain for those who haven’t and then get into my model.

An architect, or plotter, is a writer who thrives with a lot of planning. Like an architect planning a house, they assess what story they’re telling in advance and what needs to happen to tell it. They assess the materials, plan and measure the acts (if they’re using an act structure), decide on the climax and how the characters will develop and map those onto the plan. Then, with a plan, they write.

A gardener, or pantser, by contrast, writes ‘by the seat of their pants’. Pantsers may or may not know where their story is going in broad terms, but they certainly don’t know in any detail beyond ‘this’ll be a cool scene if I can get it there’. To these people, writing is less like architecture and more like gardening – you can build your beds and plant your seeds, but a whole lot of what’s going to happen next depends on how the plants grow, and all you can do is keep an eye on them and prune or train them as necessary. You can dream about what your garden will look like in the spring, but you won’t know until you get there.

Plotters and pantsers are not two distinct categories of writers, but ends on a scale. The writer who ad libs sentence by sentence with no goal at all is extremely rare, as is the writer who starts from an overall view of the plot and cuts it down and down until they’re planning on the sentence level. Most writers tend towards one end of the scale to a greater or lesser degree, but very few write completely using one method and none of the other.

The plotter/pantser scale is one that many writers find incredibly useful to help them understand their own process. By knowing where you are on this scale, you can better understand how you write and better understand how the habits and advice of other writers may or may not be useful to you. (A pantser trying to meticulously plot their story in advance following some formula they found in a writing advice book is wasting their time.) However, this model has little utility beyond that, which is why I find it more useful to address the phenomenon not as a scale, but as the manifestation of two separate skills, that I like to call deductive and inductive plotting.

In logic, deductive reasoning is when you take broad rules or generalities and apply them to specific circumstances to predict things – you start big and go little. “Things fall when you drop them, therefore if I drop this rock it will fall” is deduction. Inductive reasoning is the opposite – you start with small observations and build them into a pattern to predict something bigger. “I dropped seventeen objects and they all fell; therefore, perhaps when you drop things, they fall” is induction. (There’s also abductive reasoning, but that doesn’t fit into our plotting skill metaphor.)

In my experience, these skills match to the habits of plotters and pantsers. Plotters, or architects, assemble a big picture of the story they want and then deduce their individual scenes and fill in the lines to map to their overall general picture. They are deductive plotters. If you ask a deductive plotter to start writing without an outline, they become lost and their output seems directionless and erratic – how can they know what to write if they don’t have an outline to break things down from? Deductive plotters tend to think of stories in terms of overall structures and themes that can be broken down into characters and events and put on the page.

Pantsers, or gardeners, are the opposite. They’re if-then writers, and build the plot upwards from the individual actions of their characters and create the story from the sum total of those interactions. They are inductive plotters. Brandon Sanderson often describes a pantser’s first draft as just a really thorough outline, and he’s not wrong; a pantser needs the scene-by-scene minutae to know what happens next. How are they supposed to build an outline if they don’t know what happens next? If you ask an inductive plotter to build and follow a thorough outline, their writing often comes out as wooden and arbitrary as they have to force the actions of the characters between the restrictive rails of predetermined plot. Inductive potters tend to think of stories in terms of characters and discrete events that build up into something bigger with a consistent mood or theme. Inductive plotters sometimes complain of their characters having a life of their own and defying the plot – this is the effect of their moment-by-moment if-then reasoning of the character’s next action not matching their initial predictions, and surprising them.

Again, the vast majority of writers have some rudimentary skill in both inductive and deductive plotting. A strong deductive plotter (architect) can usually sit down and infer line-by-line a scene that their outline lists as “the three characters meet in the coffee shop and share evidence, Rosemary sees Harold’s notes and realises where the gun went.” Similarly, a strong inductive plotter (gardener) usually has some idea of where their story is headed next even if they don’t know how long it’ll take to get there or what complications will pop up in the meantime. But I’ve never met a writer who is equally strong in both inductive and deductive plotting; most writers specialise heavily in one, and tend towards one end of the scale. I think this is because there’s such a huge overlap in utility; when we start learning to write, we start plotting in whatever way is easiest for us, and train that specific method over decades. There’s little reason to invest even more decades into getting just as good with the other method when your favoured method already achieves everything you want.

I find that viewing this scale as the result of two skills, inductive and deductive plotting, can be very helpful in understanding specifically how we write. Thinking of myself as a heavily inductive plotter with rudimentary deductive plotting skills has really helped me understand why some methods of writing work for me and others don’t, as well as help nail down specific weaknesses in my writing. I also find it useful to think of writing styles and strategies not as some unchangeable characteristic we were born with (as the plotter/pantser scale is frequently envisioned), but as skills that can be built. You don’t write the way you write because you happen to be a plotter or pantser – you write the way you write because that’s what you learned to do! And it was hard! And you did it! Be proud of your skill!

[coffeegnomee]

An analysis of having a rigid character in mcrp vs being swept up into playing a character in mcrp.

I was reflecting on dreamsmp and qsmp the other day and realized they both lost me when the lore shifted to a rigid character of the streamer.

Quackity approached the late-game lore as a cold, calm, businessman, completely devoid of the goofy, unserious charm that is Quackity. And in qsmp he was the alcoholic father. 

I didn’t watch much of qsmp, but I got similar vibes from Celbit and… heck I forget his name. The one who became president. 

Like they approached every stream from a very serious point of view, getting into character before the serious moment happened, not chatting with chat in the lulls between yapping as they journey from one destination to another. 

And they lost me. 

That’s not what the medium of streamed Minecraft rp is about.

What it is about is logging on, bantering with chat, walking around the server, and then other members approach, they take the lore seriously, and subtly change it from a normal interaction with another streamer into something that is moving the plot forward.

There’s two examples from the dsmp era.

Tommy is the obvious one, and doesn’t need much explanation. Especially in the exile arc he would be fine and happy and bantering with chat until Dream showed up. Then the tone shifted. He always had moments where he was his annoying happy self before being drawn into the serious character he was developing. All of it was an act, but he planned to let his character be moved from one emotion to another through the conversations that happened.

But the same happened with Foolish, which I find fascinating since it was widely acclaimed that Foolish doesn’t really lore. Not on purpose at least. He’ll never be the one to overtly plan something, but he’s one of my favorites to follow because he will always get swept up into it.

I followed the Foolish/Leo lore through clips and tiktok, and it was the only aspect of qsmp lore that could draw me in. 

And in the dsmp, the L’sandburg arc and everything that happened at the summer home never had server-wide implications, and yet it captured the charm of the early months of the dreamsmp.

There was a day when Sam joined vc but shifted into the SamNook character and stopped actually talking in vc, just playing the animal crossing noises while writing in chat.

Foolish played along for a bit, and then they both returned to building in the hanging gardens, Sam making a tree while Foolish was doing like material collection I think, talking to chat.

Sam continued only communicating in chat until one moment when it was more helpful if he began actually speaking about the tree instead of being in character.

And I, and Foolish, literally jumped, forgetting that Sam was there and we weren’t talking to SamNook as a real npc.

It was so bizarre. 

We were swept up into the lore of the moment, and kept there through the efforts of the other streamer. 

And again, this happened one day when Bad and Foolish were arguing and Dream showed up in vc as Dreamxd, talking just to Foolish as if he was in his head and Bad couldn’t hear him. The conversation that followed was so hilarious as Foolish had to manage two streamers who refused to acknowledge that they could hear each other.

Without realizing it he was swept up into the lore. And he took us along with him. 

The reason this matters to me is the Lifesteal smp.

In Lifesteal, Zam takes this concept of casual banter with chat and moves it, when the moment arises, into something that is suddenly extremely RP.

In an instant it can go from random conversation into something that is moving his character forward and changing the fabric of the server.

I think we saw it best with the Joker arc. 

Every Joker day began with a threat given to either Minute or Jumper. Something to goad them into lore. 

He had no real plans, just a threat that he would do, a base he would blow up, if Minute or Jumper didn’t do anything to stop him. And he let them do anything they wanted to stop him. 

It was completely unplanned.

And you could hear in his voice the changes from, here’s my silly plan for the day, to, you just unlocked the Joker.

Changing it from a casual stream to something overly lore. Not going into it with a perfect character but using the encounter itself to bring out the character.

Interestingly enough, we all know that the Joker arc landed weirdly in relation to pb&j and how they were swept up into the lore.

And I think, in part, it had to do with the a flipping of roles compared to my above analysis about Foolish.

Zam was, more often than not, the one who was live AND the one who was going to take lore seriously and bring others into it. 

Vs Foolish being live and Dream/Bad/Sam being the one to take it seriously.

It broached a new style of mcrp, one that created streamers/characters who were resistant to doing lore, I think because they didn’t have the stakes behind it of being live. They were there for their recording, but they always knew they could cut it out of their YouTube video and it wouldn’t matter to their characters.

You only have to look at the difference between the Jumper/Zam yap session and Minute confronting Clown and Leo to see the difference going live had on them being wrapped up into the lore. 

Lore they did not expect to be doing when they first went live. 

As opposed to Jumper’s stream where she killed Mappic - she went into that with a plan and a character to play.

As opposed to Ash’s streams when he had a character and plan to execute.

They lost me on those streams because it was obviously so planned out and they entered the moment completely in character and resisted changing in response to anything that was said to them. 

Why does it matter? 

Because a character’s 3dimentionality comes from being fully fledged out. 

And you can make an extremely complex and compelling character when you draw on aspects of yourself. It doesn’t (and probs shouldn’t) just literally be you, but if you willingly draw on who you are as a person, the character comes alive. 

And the medium is Minecraft live streaming. It’s long winded. Time in the story passes by similarly to how real life time passes - day to day something new happens unlike a book or movie where they have to cut things out.

And the stories you create when you approach the medium of live mcrp is substantially different than any book, movie, or video. 

The method of storytelling allows you to explore a character over 100s of hours of content rather than a couple hours. 

And for my money, boiling that character down to something you put on for an hour or two at a time around completely unrelated grind streams, is so much less compelling than if both merged together and you never knew when a moment would turn from casual banter as a streamer into a character moment. 

[soulfulazrael]

I think the Vs being in the same season as Heaven was such a massive error. Seriously they barely showed up and the stakes got fucked because honeslty what threat do the Vs actually pose? Charlie herself could probably bitch slap them and even if she didn't want to, she could cry to her daddy and have Lucifer to do it and then shred Angel's contract in a paper shredder. They already sent Heaven packing, the Vs themselves don't pose a threat and would need some other op villain to prop them up(Probably Eve or Roo or whatever).

Like all Vox did was get pissy at Alastor and for some reason has a crush on him? Like this just feels like fan service for shippers? Like can we just have people be rivals? And Velvette sang. Val is the only who did anything and even then, it doesn't really go anywhere because they shove this heaven stuff in at the same time.

Yeah. I think this is the example of how little patience Viv had when it comes to Hazbin Hotel. Yes. She had no clue if she was gonna get Season 2, but she should have adapted and instead of shoving everything into one season she should have tried to make season 1 feel like a cohesive and well done story that has a beginning, middle and end. Treat it like a one season series like Over The Garden Wall where while she cannot put all of her ideas into it she can put in some of them and give them time necessary for them to be developed into something great.

To me they should have cut MOST of the plot lines and put in maybe only Angel Redemption where you can focus on it. Let this one idea be focused on and be well developed. Let it be the overarching goal of the season. Redeeming your first sinner and make it feel impactful so even if you do not have a season 2 you still have one cohesive story with beginning, middle and end that can end on an impactful and hopeful note as you explore what it means to redeem someone and feel the weight of redemption when it finally happens. You can explore in depth the most important element of the story, the thing that this story is build upon and what the titular Hotel is all about. Redemption. Through that you can delve into Angel's character, show his flaws and issues that he has to overcome, sins he committed in life he has to atone for and get over and people that he hurt through them. Delve into this idea and explore it as much as you can and when redemption happens you know how much it takes to redeem someone and what it means. And then if you DO get Season 2 you can show this happen a lot faster with more sinners and that would lead to sense of progression around which you can write more drama. Maybe with Charlie who may be getting more and more conflicted as she sees people she grows to care about go away.

Also this allows you to take more time with character interactions. Make them more varied. Maybe through trying to get this one person redeemed you can have everyone contribute in their own way where you can either learn more about them, Angel or both and around that can be made unique interactions between ALL of the characters and it lets you explore more of the hotel which helps you care about it. And it also can lead you to introduce more characters, but those would be all centered around this story and one goal, making it make sense and be cohesive when they show up. It would immensely help with character interactions which are LAUGHABLY sparse as characters barely interact with one another besides the ship pairs like Vaggie and Charlie or Husk and Angel where neither of those even have much of a chemistry at all and require the audience to already be invested in those. Which makes the entire cast feel very shallow. Not to mention that we barely spend any time at the hotel and we see barely any location inside it besides the main hall so when it finally is broken we feel nothing as we barely got to know that location. And it's fixed in ONE song. That's not how you do it. Think about it. All of those emotional beats. First redeemed sinner. Death of Pentious. Death of Dazzle. Destruction of the Hotel. Appearance of Heaven. All of it feels WEAK as none of those ideas were given proper time and so they are barely noticeable. And that was the ONLY chance Viv had at doing those. And she wasted them on this rushed season.

And let me tell you. If I had a choice between putting all of my ideas into one story and almost all of them being underdeveloped and bad in execution or putting fewer ones and letting them be developed into something great then I choose the latter. People may not see all of my ideas, but those they will, they will remember and looked back at fondly. Something I DO NOT think will happen with this.

My idea for seasons of this series would be like this:

Season 1 - redeeming first Sinner who is Angel Dust and main villain is Val. Exploration of Angel and many other characters through trying to get him to achieve redemption where each character gets explored as they try to help out in their own way and either you learn more about Angel or a member of the cast. Ends on Angel ascending and Val beaten and killed by other Vees who in this version may be abused by him and they end up being antagonists of next season.

Season 2 - Other 2 Vees become antagonists as Charlie is now redeeming far more sinners, but she starts to grow weary as she realizes she will be alone eventually which Alastor also exploits to corrupt her. Ends on maybe Velvette being killed as Vox himself may find a way to also attain more power and Charlie becomes more corrupted and destroys a lot of her work while Alastor regrets his actions.

Season 3 - Dealing with Vox and fixing Charlie. Heaven is now being more hinted at and Lucifer himself is now far more involved (who is not as positive character as in the show). Eventually leads to Heaven getting closer as Hotel stops working during this time and population increases again.

Season 4- Heaven and Hell in conflict as everyone tries to fix their mistakes. Maybe ends with both Heaven and Hell now rejecting the main crew as maybe at the end Hazbin Hotel becomes actual Purgatory where sinners can be judged when they die. Abandoned by both Hell and Heaven Charlie and those who remain can forge their own paradise and their own purpose beyond Mandates of Heaven and Cruelty of Hell.

Just an idea

[bridgerton-bard]

Bridgerton Season 3 Rambles

Warning: Spoilers for Romancing Mister Bridgerton and Season 3 of Bridgerton on Netflix

Just a compilation of thoughts that I have had about Netflix's adaptation of Romancing Mister Bridgerton for Season 3.

The combination of writing and/or editing was definitely different, and not necessarily in a way that I enjoyed. I am not a cinematographer, so I can't necessarily say why, but this season definitely felt like a much faster pace than S1 & S2. This is especially true for part 1. Prior seasons felt like they were meant to be watched casually and understood easily on the first watch. This season was so dense that I ended up re-watching part 1 again just to make sure that I didn't miss anything. Part 2 did feel like a slightly more reasonable pace, but still faster and more chaotic than any other Bridgerton season. Given that Netflix controls exactly how many episodes and how long they are, I wish they had decided to do 10 episodes so that the story could be slowed down to a more enjoyable pace and less context for each storyline had to be cut for time.

I liked all of the side stories. There are no characters in this show that I don't want to watch. Knowing the backstory from Queen Charlotte, it was so great to see Violet with Marcus (her garden is most certainly in bloom 🌸) and to see Lady Danbury get some closure from the past. It was also great to see more of the continuation of Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte's friendship. Watching the Featherington women reconcile with each other was probably my favorite of the side plots. I enjoyed the Mondrich storyline. (🎉 Welcome to the ton, officially, Mondrich family! 🎉) I was a little skeptical about how the Benedict/Lady Tilly storyline was going to prep him for S4 (🤞) at the end of part 1, but fully onboard after part 2! I just wish we had more time to see the romance between Colin and Pen build before and after their wedding.

Side note: Do we think that Netflix/Shondaland had always planned for Benedict to be bi/polyamorous, or do we think that choice was made after they were heavily accused of queerbaiting in their characterization of Benedict?

Colin's realization of love seemed rushed even in RMB, but it seemed out of place as it happened in the series. There needed to be more development. Maybe we were meant to see his feelings growing through Colin's conversations with Eloise about Penelope and Cressida, but due to his characterization as "good guy Colin", it mostly just seemed like an older brother who wanted his two friends to reconcile? There was something missing. If the show had gone in book order and Kanthony/Benophie had been around, Colin maybe could have realized his love based on witnessing how those couples interacted?

In my opinion, all of the time in part 1 spent on the Queen coming up with a new name for a diamond ("sparkler") and then agonizing about naming one could have been put to better use. I know that the show doesn't want to bore watchers by automatically having the female Bridgerton lead of the season being named the diamond on repeat, but it's functionally the same and 10ish minutes of screentime that could have been better served elsewhere. Especially with the Queen playing such a big role in the potential match between Francesca and Lord Samadani as well as the reveal of Whistledown, I could do without the agonizing over the special title the female lead will get.

I really missed Lady Danbury playing the role of encouraging Penelope to be herself the way she did in the books. I know Lord Debling might have taken on some of that role in the Netflix series, but there's a different dynamic when Penelope realizes her worth based on a suitor compared to the objective perspective of a smart woman in the ton. To me, Netflix Pen felt like she gained some confidence simply based on that Debling was interested and not that she actually realized she was desirable. Whereas in the books, Lady Danbury encourages Pen to be more confident and show more of her personality because it makes her more authentic and fun to be around.

Speaking of Lord Debling, we were promised during the press tour that Debling wasn't going to be used as a plot device to make Colin propose, and that Colin would express his feelings to Penelope without that sword hanging over his head. But what we got was Violet mentioning to Colin that Lord Debling was planning to propose to Penelope which prompted Colin to rudely interrupt them and cause Debling to rescind his proposal????? I really did enjoy that book!Colin loved Penelope for being Penelope and proposed to her even though he knew that nobody else would and it would lower his social standing to marry the unpopular spinster girl who read romance novels.

In general, past seasons have felt like even where Netflix/Shondaland changed plot points in the books, the changes were still correct in the characterization. While the above might be correct to Colin's characterization it's a significant downgrade from the story that was already written. Why did that need to be changed?

Speaking of characterizations, I really enjoyed the characterizations for Francesca and John. They're such different characters to the other leads on the show and I really appreciated that both seemed to be characterized as neurodivergent in some way. It's nice to see the show acknowledging that gay people, neurodivergent people, etc. still existed in regency times even if the public awareness/conception of them was different.

I wish we had seen more of Colin and Pen repairing their relationship after Colin learned that Pen was LW. I know they were trying to build the drama, but the whole time it felt like Colin was two seconds from applying for an annulment, which was not even mentioned in RMB. Again, it just felt like too much was implied and not shown here, or that the show's characterizations were off from the books.

I enjoyed the peek into Cressida Cowper's world that we got this season. She's no longer just an antagonist cardboard cutout that's moved around the ballroom to create conflict. It's nice to understand her motivations. I really appreciated her storyline this season and I'd love to see a spinoff about her life in Wales and her eventually making her way to the continent or back into the ton. The scene where her mother threw her under the bus as she was counseling her that it was every woman for herself in the ton was beautifully sad. I think it was only in that moment that Cressida realized the only way for a young woman to do well for herself in the ton is to befriend and rely on her peers. I appreciated the aspect of tragedy that Cressida only realized her bad moves when it was far too late to go back and correct them.

Another issue with the writing: some of the modern language was slightly jarring. I know Bridgerton flirts with the modern/regency dichotomy because there are multiple parts of the show that aren't period-accurate. That being said, you're really on the cusp when a character in a regency period drama says "Don't come for my cane". I'm not saying I want it to be 100% period accurate with bonnets, etc. However, I think maintaining the use of Regency slang and slightly modernized regency phrases/syntax is part of what helps make it feel "regency" even though the fashion, music, and social norms about race and sexuality are not accurate to the regency period. The same can be said for obviously acrylic nails. Not everything needs to be period accurate, but some things are definitely a step too far. Big disparities like this are distracting and remove people from the story.

I know people have a lot of feelings about Michaela Stirling, however, I want to let Netflix/Shondaland cook. We don't know yet whether Francesca is also going to be bi or whether she's going to be a late-to-life lesbian. We truly have no idea. I have liked how they've handled Francesca/John so far, so I'm just going to wait to see how this plays out.

I think that's all for now. I'd love to hear anything you'd like to add, as I could yap about Bridgerton for hours.

Varley . . . release the BUGS!

[briefobservationdreamer]

Missing Potential About Organisation XIII Members

Some things about Organisation XIII members that I thought was a shame we haven't seen (yet)

The events of Chain of Memories being touched on. Like, how do Lea and Riku interact with Aeleus, Ienzo and Even? What about Saïx’s involvement, how much of it was from Xemnas, Saïx or just Axel's initative? Imagine Sora dealing with Marluxia and Larxene in KH3 with their history remembered. And let's not forget Riku Replica.

Marluxia and Larxene actually share very little one-to-one screentime for two villains who are working together, they only have a single short scene in KH3 before other characters show up. What was their relationship as Nobodies like? How did they come to trust each other enough to try and orchestrate a coup together and be loyal enough to die fighting together twice? We know Marluxia didn’t remember his past, but what about Larxene? Does the history of their Somebodies still factor in, even though they might not even remember?

Seeing the Organisation’s earlier history. How and when did they claim the World That Never Was as their base of operations and start working on completing the artificial Kingdom Hearts? How did they all get their powers and weapons and learn how to use them? How was it run before Saïx became mission control, how did he get that job and what kind of training and missions were they assigned to turn it into the Organisation we see in Chain of Memories, Days and 2? What are the details of Axel and Saïx’s story, how they lost their hearts and plotted their coup, how Axel got his teardrop tattoos and how Saïx got that scar and got possessed. How did Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia and Larxene get recruited (twice)? The original Organisation XIII doesn’t actually get to be an organisation of 13 people for very long, if at all, and there is only a brief period at the beginning of Days where we have a chance to see all members interacting with each other. I know there were at least two coups being plotted but they are never seen acting collectively as a single unit.

Lea still keeps his affinity for fire magic since being recompleted, but what about the other recompleted members of the original Organisation? I’d have to assume that the others still keep their powers post-recompletion too, and if so it’s a shame we don’t get to see the Radiant Garden crew using their powers more. Or Aeleus and Dilan showing off their fighting skills in general (even in a war), they are castle guards after all.

The Radiant Garden crew adjusting back into society after all the human experiments they did, especially if they remain respected authority figures.

Lea losing much of his potential character development in KH3 - exploring what his keyblade and being a wielder means to him, making up for his mistakes and fighting to get his friends back and earning all of those things - in favour of ignoring a lot of the harmful things he did and turning him into comic relief who doesn’t contribute much to the war. He deserved better than that.

The whole possession thing is kind of glossed over in KH3, in that it doesn’t really seem to affect the Real Org members. The way Xigbar described it in DDD makes it sound like some kind of hive mind to me, so I wondered about Xehanort being able to completely control any of them at any time, all of them forced to share the same thoughts and feelings from Xehanort about what he wants them to desire (or even sharing or sensing each other’s thoughts and feelings?), and in the Keyblade Graveyard none of them are themselves at all until their deaths. There was a reason Xehanort did this after all, and it would not only keep the members trapped and make betrayal more difficult, but make it even more impressive that Saïx, Vexen and Demyx were able to pull it off despite this.  

The traitors in the new Org doing more than drop off a replica body at Radiant Garden right when it was needed. Maybe there could have been more communication between the traitors and the guardians to make cooperation easier and give the plan greater chances of success, maybe even pass along information about the organisation's plans and movements (easily done by Demyx if he was always sent on recon missions). This is really more of an idea I had.

Group dynamics in general. So many contrasting personalities and motivations with so much potential for interesting interactions just by putting some of these characters in the same room for a few minutes.

All the former Nobodies adjusting to having a heart again after being recompleted. Even though there would be a lot that's similar for them, I think each of them would experience it in their own way, with their own unique challenges, needs and coping methods about the process.

[aciddaffodil]

Winter 2024- What I Finished

So as this anime season is coming to an end. Here are the shows I actually kept up with and overall enjoyed immensely.

There will be spoilers so be warned lol

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer

I have enjoyed this series, the way Rentt is so determined to become a mithril-class adventurer even as an undead. The 3D models for the fight scenes move pretty well with the background matching them, especially in episode 9. This series is a slow-burn, even with the story progression, but I appreciate it because we see so much character growth for Rentt and how he interacts with the people and his friends. The music is fairly average for the series, but it does have some good moments especially when Rentt is in thought or making a choice. I loved coming full circle and him regaining his "human" features even though he still is very much a vampire now. Shun Narita, the composer for the series had some standout moments (fight scenes and contemplativeness) of music throughout the season so hats off to him.

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

I fell in love with the humor of this series from the get-go and not a single episode is a disappointment. It is so full of life and this past week for episode 11, the line " Now that's the wrong way to use healing magic" was used in a perfect moment. The lead up of Usato's characters growth and seeing all his hard work and "torture" from Commander Rose's training *actually* matter was brilliant. Element Garden has done a great job with the music that just gets your blood pumping. Probably will make a separate post for this series once it's over.

A Sign of Affection

The shoujo everyone is talking about, FOR GOOD REASON. To see the romance between the leads develop was so satisfying and wholesome. The development of the side characters so far is handled well, and at times the flashbacks scenes take over an episode but they are necessary. The art style and the use of lighting are done so well. It was a very cute show and always will love seeing an adult romance.

Solo Leveling

What can I say that hasn't been said already? I started reading the manwha in 2019 and have reread many times since. Hiroyuki Sawano was a great choice and the soundtrack WILL be on loop once it's released fully. Smart pacing choices to have it end with him gaining a job, this week will be a blast of an episode. Wish it had been slotted for 24 episodes... The last two episodes KILLED it, the animation, the music?! I was on cloud nine.

Mr. Villains Day Off

A perfect wholesome background anime, that is just about a Villian who loves pandas on his days off. The episodes where they focus on the Rangers aren't super interesting and makes you question the ethics of the world? It's a very cute show and sometimes, it's just a need in life. Ending was split between resolving the previous episode and the lead up to the Rangers and the Villian's battle.

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord

The Isekai'd into an Otome game genre is SO saturated but somehow I ended up loving this show. Yumielle is so autistic coded and straightforward, no one quite knows how to react to her. Patrick is head over heels for her, not that she ever notices, and they're dynamic is adorable. I have laughed watching this show and the only reincarnation anime that didn't bog me down with guessable plot.

Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!

I fell so hard for this anime that I binge read the manga...who's art is definitely butchered in the adaption, it's so wholesome but the way episode 11 ends off MY GOD the miscommunication hurts me, and people will definitely riot watching the finale...and then picking up the manga to suffer for 40 chapters...BUT it's worth it. Tsubasa and Fuyuki all the way, they're chemistry is the best in the show as they each influence each other to open up, to be serious about the future and to help themselves grow as people. So sad to see this show go but maybe we'll get another season?

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!

This anime has me kicking my feet in joy and makes me miss my long-distance partner so fucking much. When Kurosawa and Adachi kissed? I was whooping in happiness. Adachi has a lot of room to grow with his communication with Kurosawa but pretty sure the final manga cover is a wedding outfit? My poor notes app I use to write my thoughts/observations as I watch seasonal anime is " SO GAY. KISS PLEASE." for several episodes between them. I loved that the end credits was the wedding but I can't wait to read the manga to compare it!

Gushing Over Magical Girls

I'm not one to watch ecchi shows but this, THIS is just such a delight to watch. Utena is such a loveable protagonist, a magical girl loving person who gets turned into a villain and has to "fight" the girls she loves. By fighting its not LMAO. I adore all the characters in this show and how fresh the writing for them is. Its beautifully animated and the finale was so much fun to watch!

Mashle S2 - Divine Visionary Arc

I picked up the first volume at the bookstore halfway through the season to try reading, after Bling-Bang-Bang-Born blew up, and I was not disappointed. Binged Season 1 and caught up in a day. There's just something so satisfying with gag humor and shounen fight scenes. I love everyone (besides for Innocent Zero, fuck that guy) and will for sure be binge reading the manga. The music, as always, is so hype and having rap for the fight scenes is very interesting. The soundtrack for S2 just released yesterday and has some amazing tracks on it.

Shangria-La Frontier

What. An. Amazing. Show. Never thought I'd like a VR Gaming anime as much as I do now, but this was just so vibrant and humorous. Sunraku's tenacity at gaming and taking on challenges, plus my love for rogue/assassin builds from DND, made him such a likeable character. The entire Weathermon fight to be slotted for 4 episodes was just..gorgeous and stunning. The Music?!? God its perfection. The NPC's of Rabitzu... to have characters and just to not be weird was very much appreciated to me. I sincerely wish it had the fandom that other Fall 2023 shows, cough cough Frieren, Undead Unluck and Apothecary Diaries, has because I just want more merch sobs. The cosplans I have for this show? Too many, and its already in production for another 2 cour season for this fall!!

The Apothecary Diaries

What a spectacular show and fabulous 24 episodes. The animation, the music (Satoru Kosaki, Kevin Pinken, Alisa Okehazma), the characters, the backgrounds?! I enjoyed watching the characters interact and loved the humor in the animation. I also just read and caught up with the manga in 2 days...so it's that good and a worthwhile watch and read!

[misty-moth]

I have seen you talk passionately about Leon. (From this RB : https://www.tumblr.com/misty-moth/736722062035615744/alright-so-ive-been-thinking-about-this-when)

If you want to, i would like to listen (read) you rant about Leon. Stay safe 💜

I did get very passionate 😂 I feel like I could write an essay on each character tbh, but especially Leon when it comes to plot.

If I were to add anything to what I said before, it would be explaining the “why are they always in the training grounds??”

Warning: this became another essay 🥲

To elaborate, I think the other princes are put in places/situations that show off their personalities. Examples: Yves/Licht in the gardens, Licht on town patrols/escort missions, Nokto establishing relationships outside of the palace, Chev/Clavis out on ~mysterious missions~. (Luke is sleeping somewhere, and we love that for him)

The reason I think location is so important for Leon is that he is a man of action. When I think of him, I don’t think of sitting in an office all day doing paperwork or in the training grounds shouting commands. That feels more like a comfortable fit for Jin.

Leon is a leader with great people skills— a trait that would go really well with seeing him interacting with citizens and showing his collaboration with them to solve issues/gather intel.

He’s a leader that’s incredibly street-smart— put him in situations where he has to problem solve on the spot. Where there isn’t an obvious solution, so he has to go with his gut.

He’s a leader who is an even match for Chev. I will die on this hill. “Chev is always right” when has Leon been wrong? “Chev is an astounding fighter” so is Leon, and he’s gone toe-to-toe with Chev. Their ruling styles are clearly and purposefully different, but I also think their “pr team” is out of whack, and I’ll explain that too.

See, Chev is incredible. He wants people to know that and respect/fear him accordingly. He is not shy about his ideologies, his intellectual and physical talents, and all the things that make Chev undeniably powerful. He makes sure people know.

Leon is incredible. He doesn’t want to intimidate anyone. He also isn’t shy about his ideologies, but he does his best to only flaunt his intellect and physical talents when talking won’t cut it. He has the people skills to solve issues without taking unnecessary losses. We’ve seen this many times.

Leon and Chev are both crazy interesting. If they were both given equal intel, they would be an unstoppable duo.

But if you were mc and had what felt like “an impossible to solve problem”, who would you go to? The guy who is always referred to as a genius, or to the guy who is always referred to as “nice”? I know Leon won’t flex his skills, but god I wish he would.

Okay, okay, this has become a whole essay, so I’ll just add a last thought:

Leon is also incredibly mature… and a damn good actor. It isn’t that his past isn’t hinted at in other routes, it’s that he doesn’t show anything that doesn’t need to be seen. He doesn’t want anyone to carry his burden or to see him differently. As far as coping goes, he’s probably doing the best. (To clarify: his trauma isn’t lesser, his coping is just stronger imo)

All of the princes have varying traumas, and we don’t know what they are until we read their route. So I truly don’t think that’s what he’s “lacking”. He doesn’t need to dwell in a past when he’s kicking the past’s ass. I want to see the emotional strength he’s gained kicking the future’s ass 😎

Also gonna tag @leonscape in case you’d like to read me ranting and raving again 😭

[spotaus]

Thinking I might redesign and/or finally design a smarter base for ec-4o!Dust. Because a farm-house is funny, but doesn't make much sense anymore.

So, I think it's smarter to have an old government base as his location. It'd have good space for storage when Blue eventually comes along, a bunch of old firearms for Dust's obsession, and would be a safe and defensible location as long as Dust's Paps keeps an eye out for intruders. It makes sense for a lot of plot points too, and adds an extra symbolic layer?

Like, Dust being there, he wasn't familiar with the government so he just clears out and burns whatever is left in the "office space" so he can make it into a house. He patrols the other two or three buildings every once in a while, but for some reason he doesn't know, folks avoid the place like the plague. He lives the solitary life he wanted.

Then Blue shows up, and he lets him and Rust share the space with him, for supplies and money in turn. Society is rebuilding, and Dust is gonna need to catch up. Blue has no clue why it's intimidating for his shop to be set up in an old government lab. He's unaware of the implications, but he's such a friendly guy that customers eventually warm up to him. The scariness of the government is lessened, because the old government that destroyed the country is gone, and now there's a kind soul helping others in its place. Rebuilding trust and comradery unknowingly.

And later on when other characters interact with the space, it gets Life in a way it never had. When Ink gets his hands on it and paints murals on the walls of the workshop in vibrant colors. Saejun is my favorite, because when he moves in, the other extra workshop is transformed into a garden, a green-house. He does hydroponics and breathes life slowly but surely back into the dead dirt, flowers cracking through the concrete style. It's a bright green spot that branches out in all directions like veins. Plants grow up the sides of the office, and harmless nature-creatures reside there.

When Cross, and Error, and Night and Dream find this place, when they're repaired, it has very little life. They're afraid of the war just as the organics are. Will it happen again? Are these people tampering with our codes? But no. They get to see this place turn into a home. Shelter others. Recreate lost things from scratch. It's a paradise they never got to see in their lifetimes. It was never in their calculations.

And then when Geno and Reaper show up. Geno, a guy who'd been stripped of his whole life, forced to start and finish a war that took millions of lives. The answers he seeks are all in an old government building, a place that ruined his life. He swore he'd see things to the end, though, so he approaches it expecting the worst. And instead of government officials that somehow escaped his vengeful wrath, he finds a ragtag group of monsters and robots, who are living peacefully in the location. Some of them resent him for what he did, but others accept him with open arms. He's not sure how to react for a long time. The belief that something good prospered through the war us unthinkable.

Then Reaper. He's under the belief that tech is his enemy. He was raised to resent the robots, even before the war. The war only proved his family right. And so seeing this place, with robots living freely? It made him furious. He'd been stripped of his weapons after attempting an attack, though, so he had to bide his time. And yet, the longer he stayed, the more he heard of each robot's story. How they were manipulated, and had their very essence altered. Their bodies and functions forced to do something they never wanted to. That struck a bit closer to home. But it was Saejun and Axe that really hit hard for him. Axe was raised in a Cult. That was what he'd called it. One that made him believe things that harmed him. One that forced him to do things against his will. For everyone else this was a place of relaxation, but for Axe it was a place of healing. And Reaper realized, begrudgingly, that Axe's story felt a lot like his own. And maybe, just maybe, he might've been in the wrong.

And idk this place that once brought so much fear, a place where robots were customized for a horrible war? One that Dust barely survived, one that Blue was too young to remember, one that everyone either participated in or was forced to live through? The place that started it all heals the damage done by it. Smth smth story symbolism?

Oh, one last thing: Lust's recovery was initially meant to be in a hidden room of the farm-house, but now I'm thinking there was a scrap room in the warehouses that no one ever got to, and Lust was put in there because his model was just too impractical for the remodeling for war-machines. There's a lot in that room like him, but he's the only one with his files still in his ecto. So, his experience with this place is jarring too. Last he remembered, he was being ushered into a building with other ectos, and they were being scrapped. Now he wakes up in the same location, but none of that horror is to be seen, instead replaced with a bright workshop and even brighter eyes looking him over worriedly. He was freed from his programming constraints while Blue worked on him, so he has to learn to be an actual person, and this place he was sent to to become a pile of scraps became his first real home.

[sebbyisland]

not to sound insane but I think Mizi will switch roles of their "lowest" point with Ivan in the semifinals in that she can find the fuel to keep going/rebel against the system through her love, but her love will never join her, while Ivan will be forced to watch Till die despite neither trying to win or lose.

Till dying "in front of" Ivan rather than "because of" Ivan, similar to Round 1, would be an interesting arc for both of the characters. 1)It would parallel the moment where Till runs back to life in Anakt Garden when Ivan offered him a chance at freedom. Once again, Ivan would be unable to save him. Once again, Till would suffer despite only having the purest intentions. 2) From what we've seen, Ivan is neither the vengeful nor sacrificial type, so trying to beat Till or lose on purpose seems unlikely. Ivan clings very tightly to self-control, which is why Till is so appealing to him and also could be read as a coping mechanism following his childhood trauma, in which he had no control of his fate. Many people are interpreting Ivan’s cold stare at the end of ep3 and ep2 as a form of resentment, but I think it’s more like a bitter surrender to his reality. Ivan does not care to escape Alien Stage without Till. At the same time, he values putting up a bravado of control and elegance even while fighting to survive. Trying to harmonize with Till allows him to neither appear submissive nor disregard his own feelings during the semi-final round. By singing WITH Till, not against or over Till, he can feel the most alive. Furthermore, wouldn't his love be that much more profound if he spent his last moments with Till during the one time he can monopolize all of his attention on him, instead of Mizi? Till is not in LOVE with Ivan but he does still care about him more than Background Character from Round 2, and at the very least knows that Ivan is a capable singer. They acknowledge each other in their own way, which was further teased by this promo art by Vivinos. It's not that far off to think they might have a genuine rivalry or friendship going on that might play into how their round goes.

My final thoughts on why I think Till will Lose and Ivan will go against Mizi in the FINAL round is thematic reasons. If we assume Mizi will last until the final round since she's kinda the "main" character, then we need to think about what would be the most intense and meaningful matchup for her at that point in the story. Unless something happens that totally messes up the competition, Luka and Hyuna can only show up within the same bracket as Mizi. THis means Mizi will have to face off either Till or Ivan in the final round.

Mizi vs Till: While Alien Stage focuses more on drama than the competition itself (right now), it's very likely that by the time the story is in it's final stages, the scope of the competition will be beyond just Alien Stage but more about the ongoing Alien-Human hierarchy. A Mizi vs Till fight would just be about the their love triangle drama, and there wouldn't be enough room for an overarching plot. Also, while Till would be devastated if Mizi died, the stakes would be much lower for Mizi. It wouldn't truly be a finale for their character arcs.

Mizi vs Ivan: This. THIS. Is the drama I'm looking for. Mizi and Ivan have their own philosophy on navigating a world where their love, their universe, is gone, and this battle would be their confrontation. Mizi speaks from the heart, Ivan hides his emotions and relies on self control. However, they are also both deeply hurt by Alien Stage, so I can see them potentially working together to destroy it. Ivan would want to do so in honor of Till's death. Mizi would want to do so in honor of Sua's death, but only after interactions with Luka and/or Hyuna help her break out of her shock to find a purpose for herself.

Alternatively, after Till's death Ivan could be resentful/hateful of Mizi, and this would prevent them from working together. However, their fight would still be full of so much passion and I would to see maybe Mizi and Ivan show a bit of their true feelings to each other in such a high-stakes situation. It just feels like there’s more potential for a Mizi vs Ivan scenario than Mizi vs Till.

Now, I could be proven so totally wrong by next episode but like. i feel very strongly about this. #wlw/mlm solidarity for the win LOL

[loosescrewslefty]

I thought when one of the directors released a promo art of hunter and willow holding hands and the other promo art of them looking back, I thought they were gonna be canon in the first special but it felt like they were tricking us into thinking they’ll become canon in the first special. Any thoughts about this?

I know a lot of people are complaining about the lack of Huntlow in the special, but I'm actually pretty happy with what we got. At it's heart, The Owl House is a show centered around FAMILY, not romance. Even Lumity really didn't have a massive presence in the special, just a few nods that they're together and happy in between the main plot about Luz, Hunter, and Camila. I'm actually a little more disappointed that we likely won't see much more of Vee going forward, since she seemed to fit in pretty well with the group dynamic (Especially with Willow) and I'd love to see that continue to build.

As far as shipping goes, I've always been really happy that Huntlow is a pairing told through implication and build up instead of being blatant. This leaves fans like me with a lot of room to fill in the blanks, and makes rewatching the show rewarding because you notice little clues about the relationship you might have missed before (like the post I just made about Hunter having his own copy of the photo of him and Willow gardening together, and keeping it next to his bed)

For me as a fan, having the freedom to interact with the media, characters, and ship on a personal level is the most fun thing a show can give me, and it fosters a community that talks with one another and bonds over a mutual passion.

And I'm pretty sure that that environment is entirely intentional. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Lumity B-Plot in Any Sport in a Storm ended like this;

Canon crumbs are fun, but I don't need anything super in-your-face as far as Huntlow goes. The entire reason I usually settle my attention on crackships is because there is so much freedom to explore with them and build the relationships (the first date, nicknames, what they argue about, how they'd be as parents) with your own hands without ever being concerned about canon invalidating those ideas. And Huntlow gives us JUST enough canon tease to get us more attention than a crackship ever would without taking that freedom away from us.

[defiledtomb]

I love IF and I'm always on the hunt for something new to read and oh boy, let me tell you just how happy and grateful I am that I found Ouroboros! I finished reading what's available today and I have almost to none coherent thoughts but so many feelings I have to share with you! The first thing that got me hooked is how unique your world is. Honestly, you're the master of world-building, I have no words! It's like nothing I've seen before, beautiful and horrifying, so vivid and alive. It was like reading a myth, but with with all the details and psychological reasoning and characters' motivation. And when it comes to the characters, I absolutely love how real and human they are! The interactions felt so natural, what's said and unsaid raw and full with complex emotions and motives! I'll be keeping them all close to my heart from now on and thinking about them every day (L/MC/Id poly is a gift to humanity, you've no idea how excited I am for their dynamic). And the plot! Honestly, I can't solve a mystery and figure out who is trustworthy and who's a backstabing bastard to save my life, but you got me at the edge of my seat, I need to know what's going on and I'm so ready to stumble my way through the story to whatever doom or maybe not so horrible end (possibly happy end? please? as a treat?). But I'm rambling and it's getting awfully long, sorry. Just want you to know that I'm in awe and you got one more very happy and grateful reader 💖

I- oh I barely know where to start. First of all I just want to thank you for giving me life, I have seen you frolicking through the ouroboros-if tag and it just put such a huge smile on my face, such a light in my heart, that I almost fear it because I can see how it could become addicting. I can't believe that another person with flesh and blood and a whole other life is enjoying something that came from the scrambled mess of my thoughts. Thank you, for sharing this, it is a huge boon that outweighs the fear of sharing my writing publicly. I wish I could invite you over for breakfast in the garden.

As for happy endings, I would never advertise the story as romance unless there is a happy ending/happy-for-now ending states. There for sure are some ways for your MC to end things in a blaze of evil glory, or in horrible tragedy, but those paths will be clearly signposted and you will have no doubt in what path you're headed down. :>

[chikaras-garden]

https://www.tumblr.com/chikaras-garden/737469327338536960/how-do-you-go-about-writing-your-wips?source=share

yeah, like your long fics. Thank you btw!

Thanks for waiting for me to get around to this one 🖤

There are a few points I want to make before I get into it:

I find that a lot of writing advice online simply does not apply to the way I write. The reason I say this is that what I’m about to get into might not apply to you, and that’s okay—don’t force yourself to write my way.

Especially on Tumblr, a lot of writers get wrapped up in posting schedules or writing fast. Don’t. It’s one thing to say “I’m going to challenge myself to write 1,000 words this weekend” but it’s something else to say “if I don’t post every Saturday I’ll lose followers.” Work on maintaining a mindset that your longfic is for you, and you’re simply sharing it with others because you love it so much—your mental health will thank you.

In a similar vein as the above, a longfic is a massive time commitment, and I encourage you to be patient and gentle with yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint; the fastest I’ve ever written one was 50,000 words in six months, and that was from plotting to final edits.

Now for actual writing advice.

I follow the three-act story structure model religiously. Every story has a beginning (act 1), a middle (act 2), and an end (act 3). Each act also has a beginning, a middle, and an end. I’m not much of a sports person, but I find it helpful to make a baseball analogy here: the beginning is the wind up (setup), the middle is the pitch and the act of the ball sailing through the air (tension), and the end is the hit (payoff). The hit is the direct result of the wind up, and you should be able to visualize the arc the ball traveled from the pitcher’s hand to the bat. This analogy is useful to imagine as a way to make sure your story makes sense from beginning to end.

So how do I plot that? My story ideas usually come to me by imagining my two protagonists (because, hi, I’m a romance writer). What do they want? Why are they the way that they are? Why, at the beginning of the story, are their desires and backgrounds in conflict? How do they need to change during the story to achieve what they want and end up together? Every story needs character development—and this can be subtle—to drive the plot.

Once I have characters whose personalities, desires, and backgrounds I feel confident about, I’m able to start imagining individual scenes. Usually, I come up with something tense first. It could be smut, a kiss, a confession, a realization, an argument—anything goes, really. Naturally, this initial scene ends up being toward the end of act 1 or act 2. So I have my scene, I write it down, and I start to figure out what happened to get them to that scene (“what is this the consequence of?”) and what happens after that scene (“what are the consequences of this?”). As I ask these questions, I write down one-line summaries of my answers in a Google doc. These become major story beats, and writing them down creates your outline.

Now, I feel confident enough to break my story beats into chapters. I start making more Google docs, name them chapter 1, chapter 2, etc. and copy/paste story beats into each. As you start writing your story beats into scenes, you’ll realize that you need to add additional scenes—character development, backstory, worldbuilding, a subplot, interactions with side characters, some nice relationship moments—to deepen your main plot and explore your two characters. Continue to build around your story beats until you feel like you have a complete chapter.

You can probably tell by now that I write out of order. Not all writers do this (in fact, I think a majority writes chronologically instead), but because I spend so much time outlining early on, I’m able to jump around to whatever inspires me—and even cut and paste scenes from one chapter to another. I organize my longfics in a folder with the outline, each chapter separated, a research doc with links and notes, and a doc called snips. If I cut anything, it always goes in snips because I usually end up reusing deleted scenes in a different chapter or even in a different story.

All that said, my outlines are really fluid. For this ask, I looked back at the original outline for the longfic I’ve been writing, and I found that I reorganized it multiple times and re-plotted the entire third act twice. So my advice here is to not feel chained to your outline even though I’m telling you that it’s important to think through how your story progresses; sometimes your characters and the scenes you write will point you in a different direction. Follow the natural progression of your story instead of chaining yourself to an outline that can be rewritten. Listen to your creative instinct.

Kill your darlings. Seriously. Once you’re in the editing phase, cut mercilessly if you think something slows the pace of your story or takes away from the point you’re trying to make. Put it in your snips doc and save it for later—you could even post the outtakes as bonus material if you want to.

As a last note, I really like the writing advice Abbie Emmons has on her YouTube channel. The way she presents the three-act story structure is digestible and relatable, and her advice is the basis of mine.

[uwandapieceofme]

Perplexing Enjoyment in "The Manchurian Candidate"

“The Manchurian Candidate” is an interesting film, to put it politely. Most of the way through, it’s wholly engrossing, if in large part because of its perplexing tonal shifts, from melodramatic to comedic to sensitive, sometimes making these jumps within the same scene. Some of the dialogue (especially Eleanor’s interactions with Johnny Iselin) is corny and contrived. At other times, it’s surprisingly modern and clever, such as the meeting of Ben (Frank Sinatra) and Eugenie (Janet Leigh) on the train, though it doesn’t quite work because everything seems to happen so quickly, and for no apparent reason— Eugenie makes quips while Ben leans against the wall, sweating, looking like he’s about to be sick, tortured by his nightmares about Raymond. 

The romance, certainly, needs very little introduction. Courtship would only bog down the plot, so it’s dealt with quickly— within minutes of meeting their respective partners, Ben and Raymond (Laurence Harvey) find themselves in love, making proposals. Unfortunately, Eugenie’s brevity, which on its own is vaguely amusing, makes no sense opposite Ben, a character who seems to be half-alive at best, sleepwalking his way through the waking world. He plays frustratingly straight in a film that seems to have no use for such things. For a moment, there’s the promise of humor in his performance, as he’s listing off subjects of all the books he’s read. This humor, however, is very quickly dispensed with to make way for… Well, nothing.

“The Manchurian Candidate” is at its best when it’s being absurd. A great film by no means, the sheer oddness of it makes a fun watch, until the last fifteen minutes or so, which become a drag, as though the writers got to that point and reluctantly trotted out a conclusion. 

As it happens, Raymond, a character who spends a fair amount of the picture just looking blank, or being softly disagreeable, is the heart of the picture, telling Ben about his love affair with Jocie (Leslie Parrish), playing drunk very amusingly (until the end, when he breaks down crying, which is not convincing in the least), and making himself quite relatable, though he says the word “lovable”, one thinks, a bit too often (in the same way Raymond’s mother and Johnny say “hon” and “babe”, as though the scriptwriters were trying to seem hip and modern by using the slang endearments). 

There are a number of likable characters in the film, even though many of them make only brief appearances. James Edwards’ scenes as Melvin, unfortunately, are pure melodrama and some of the worst in the film. Mr. Gaines (Lloyd Corrigan), on the other hand, introduced to us sitting in bed, wearing his wife’s fuzzy robe— which he defends by saying it’s the warmest thing in the house, perfect for reading in bed— was a highlight.

The opening dream sequences I found very difficult to follow. The speechifying, and the constant switch between the garden party and the meeting of delegates was a bit much, especially since it’s barely mentioned in the rest of the film. That does seem to be how the movie operates— discard a thing when it no longer moves the plot along— and confusion can occasionally lead to an engrossing picture, but in this case, the absurdity never lets up and the conclusions do little to tie things up satisfactorily.

Whatever “The Manchurian Candidate” is not, it’s a fun film, and the perplexity of it adds to that sense of enjoyment. It’s strange, and I appreciate it for that. I would certainly recommend it to others, if I won’t be running back to see it a second time.

[staticl0ve]

WRITER ASK (I might have just seen it🧍🏻‍♀️)

🌈 - is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

🎀 - give yourself a compliment about your own writing

🤍 - what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

��� - what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

AND ANOTHER EXTRA ONE I MADE UP because I can and you cant stop me 😌:

👀 - ARE THERE any scenes from any fics of yours that didn’t make in the final cut?

LOVE YOU BABE♥️🫂♥️🫂♥️🫂♥️🫂♥️

AHHHHH. Girl, I love you so much 😭. Gonna SOB MY EYES OUT before I can write this. ✨

🌈 - is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

I wanna say, Garden of Eden’s chapter 8 where it’s all about machine!Connor and there’s so much tension before the filth. Getting the tone down, plus making sure he felt reasonably like a machine was extra hard.

In the same vein, of TBND, You Drive Me Crazy’s part two with Cain/Nines was SO DIFFICULT to write. It took weeks of back and forth cutting and moving aspects of that chapter around to get the vibes right.

Something the two examples have in common is trying to find the motivation of a cold, emotionally removed character and making the spark of change happen in them. It’s especially hard because these colder characters don’t talk a ton and can’t wear their emotions on their sleeves and there’s a need to sprinkle in sexual tension so it’s not all stiff and mean interactions.

I love Nines, I wanna write more Nines. He’s just a difficult man to properly portray and be interesting/sexy the whole way.

🎀 - give yourself a compliment about your own writing

Uh. 🧍‍♀️Whutchu mean?

I jk. Put that gun away.

I’m pretty ADHD as hell so I wanna say I think I enjoy the pacing of my scenes. I try to jump around or keep things interesting/getting to the point, cause I personally can’t focus on something too long if I’m writing it. I’ll even cut stuff from scenes when I edit if I feel like it’s too much to read and doesn’t have to be there.

🤍 - what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

Funny enough, I left so many clues in Dollhouse about the plot and even fully explain it in the last chapter and I got comments where people were confused or didn’t understand how it could have happened that way. 🤣 Most people got it, I think I leaned really heavily on the pop culture reference of hoping others read the tags and watched Ex Machina and had a sense of what they’re getting into.

💫 - what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

Any! I love all comments, they make me feel so fuzzy on the inside. 💙✨

In particular, I always love it when people comment about the character dynamics, enjoy a scene or if they’ve found my side jokes in the narrative. I recently had someone laughing over a joke I slid into Dancing with the Devil and it made my day.

👀 - ARE THERE any scenes from any fics of yours that didn’t make in the final cut?

SNEAKY. I love your questions, they make me think.

There was meant to be a family picnic scene planned for Sixty’s TNBD part two. I thought it would be entertaining if Hank gave his son crap and embarrassed him further in front of his reader. I forget why I cut it, and chances are, it was cause I wanted the pacing to not get stalled by a scene that at the time… I still felt too new to dialogue to confidently tackle and keep interesting.

Some scenes don’t get cut, but morphed entirely so it reads really differently but the original vibes are there.

The Pig and the Fox was actually drafted with the interrogation scene first, looooong before I even thought about the plot. The scene was really different, at the time I just wanted a focus on the sexual tension of two characters: one who wants the other and one who’s aware of the other but “hates” them.

So the dialogue was a lot meaner and more spiteful. It took a fair amount of workshopping to adjust the scene to fit the plot since that scene ultimately ended up in chapter 3 where a lot of context has changed how the two characters would interact. I’d like to think I still preserved the spicy tension though. ✨🔥

-

Ty again, babe. 💋💙✨ These questions are so sweet!

Ask me anything from this writer ask.

[quoteablebooks]

Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4 out of 5

Trigger Warning: Death of parent, Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, Grief

Summary:

Darkness blooms in bestselling author Kalynn Bayron's new contemporary fantasy about a girl with a unique and deadly power. Briseis has a gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch. When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined--it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri's unique family lineage. When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for tinctures and elixirs, Bri learns she has a surprising talent for creating them. One of the visitors is Marie, a mysterious young woman who Bri befriends, only to find that Marie is keeping dark secrets about the history of the estate and its surrounding community. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it . . . until a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir. Up against a centuries-old curse and the deadliest plant on earth, Bri must harness her gift to protect herself and her family. From the bestselling author of Cinderella Is Dead comes another inspiring and deeply compelling story about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her.

*Opinions*

So, there is an entirely materialistic reason for reading this book, as embarrassing as that is to admit. While I had heard good things about this book, it wasn’t until I saw that I could buy a gorgeous edition from one of the box subscription services that I decided to get it from the library. While my motives might not have been pure, I am so glad that it got me to pick up this title because I had such a good time reading this novel. I found the characters loveable, the magic interesting, the plot went somewhere I did not expect it to, and I never would have guessed the ending. 

I found the characters in this novel extremely likable and all their decisions, even the ones that seemed foolish to me, made sense in the context of the story and the characters presented. Every individual in town who needs Briseis’s help also felt real and as if they had a life outside of their interaction with the main character. Briseis is a smart and very active heroine in her own story, which isn’t always the case in novels. Every one of Briseis’s actions was rooted in her numerous shifting emotions, whether confusion, loneliness, or a desire to understand who she is and what she can do. The fact that Briseis had always had her powers and she just didn’t come into them at sixteen was also a refreshing change to a lot of other novels. The magic as well is just really cool and made the environment a character depending on where Briseis’s was and her emotional state. One thing I really enjoyed was the fact that Briseis’s parents are very present in this novel, which is rare in a lot of Young Adult novels. Both Mo and Mom are supportive, distinctive from one another, yet still allowed Briseis the freedom to be independent. You grew to care about them and understand how they worked as a couple and as parents who are trying to navigate having an exceptional child. They never get upset with Briseis or treat her like she isn’t smart enough to understand her power or the dangers that they face. There was never the “you just don’t understand me mom!” moment, for which I was grateful. I am interested to see how they are handled in the next novel, given everything that happens at the end of the novel. 

Weirdly, I have more thoughts about Karter than I do about Marie, maybe because we had some more page time with Karter. I really can’t go into either one's character without giving away spoilers, but they felt like fully realized characters even from the first interaction. It was also nice that Marie and Briseis didn’t tiptoe around each other too much. Both were obviously interested in one another, though they didn’t make any moves to make anything of that attraction in this novel. While there is a trope used that is going a bit out of favor, in my opinion, if everyone and their cousin can use it, so can Bayron. Again, I can’t go into it without spoilers. 

The use of Greek mythology was really well incorporated in this story and an interesting and fresh take on the old stories. I will admit that while I have a pop culture understanding of Greek Myth, it’s been a long time since I’ve read the Illiad, Odyssey, or any other “original” text. I enjoyed that it gave a different perspective on Medea and Hecate, one that I quite enjoy. While the true revelations about the connection between Briseis, her birth family, and the old myths doesn’t become clear until the very end of the novel, it didn’t seem forced or rushed. Bayron does a good job of weaving in hints and clues throughout the novel so that it all makes sense in the end. 

I also have to commend Bayron on putting high stakes in her novel and making the reader feel and understand them along with Briseis. The end confrontation aside, we start the novel with Briseis believing that her experimentation with poisonous plants was going to lead her to die. While that is not the case, Bayron’s writing made the reader feel Briseis’s fear and then confusion when what she expected did not happen. The first confrontation in the forest was another great bit of writing that brought both her powers and the danger off the page. I was sitting on the edge of my couch reading through the end of the book and was genuinely surprised by the stakes and outcomes that Bayron presented. This book gets tense in some areas and I love that I care enough about the characters to care about what happened to them and that the writing put me in the danger alongside them. 

I really can’t get into too much more detail without spoiling anything and while I have some spoilery thoughts, none that I feel really change my opinion on the book. Overall, this was a really fun read and one that I will (and already have) recommended to others. There were just a few pacing issues that kept it at a four-star read for me, but I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.