#it's my personal taste i know others don't enjoy this type of narrative so i get the criticism

[cat-mentality]

Not, like, to passar o pano to everything like a fool or to sound too delusional but like.................... the Federation coming up on the last moments to save the day makes sense.

Okay, hear me out.

The whole point of the Federation is to make the Islanders happy, to make sure they enjoy the Island and shut the fuck up about anything else that may be going one.

They have them the eggs. So that they could go around and play house and to make the Island feel like a home so that they didn't try to leave.

They made them fragile, so that they could be used as bait, as they could subtly keep people in line by making it clear that they could take the eggs away as easily as they gave them. I like to think the nightmares are actually real, but that the Federation just decided to act and restore the egg's life and make everything feel like a bad dream (Since we KNOW they can bring the kids back, as seen with Flippa, and also mess up with people's memories).

But even so the Islanders start to hate them. They hate the Federation and they rebel against them, they are neither enjoying the Island or playing nice like the Federation wants them to and that is not acceptable something has to be done.

They try, but they fucking fail every single time, in fact they basically make it worse.

And then the eggs run away and the Islanders go missing.

Of course the Federation will jump ship to save the kids the moment they discover where they may be.

What better way to make the Islanders happy? They were out of control when the kids are missing and blaming the Federation the one time they are actually innocent, the only way to fix it would be to push themselves into the savior role and bring them back

Present the kids with a smile and a subtle "Look at us. Look at us doing what you failed to. You tried to bring them back and you failed, you almost lost them, but we brought them back, we rescued and took care of them, we gave them a extra life, aren't we nice? Aren't we great?", putting themselves as the saviors, as the heroes, as more powerful than the Islanders, as able to take care of them better than they can take care of themselves. (Breaking serious analysis to say: Mother knows best vibes. Literally the Federation is fucking Gothel)

Everything is perfect now! The kids are back, there are new kids for them to love, the Island is as good as new again!

No one has to pay attention to those who are still missing. They are gone! Don't you see, we went to the Island and we didn't find them, they are gone (how fucking tragic that those missing are the loose lines, the worker who they know they can't trust, the experiments who knew too much, the infected islander, the man who couldn't keep himself out of their bussiness), what a tragedy. But focus on the children! They are so weak and fragile now, they need all your attention, you wouldn't want them to be sad would you?

And now this.

Now there is this entity wrecking havoc, putting the children at risk, destroying everything when things are still trying to be fixed.

And the Islanders can't do a fucking thing against him.

But the Federation can. They know they can. But they wait, they wait until the last seconds, they let them try, they let them plot, they let them die.

And when they are desperate, when they are begging for their help, when they have no other choice, that's the moment the Federation comes.

They come and they fix the issue easily.

The heroes, yet again, taking a away the danger, saving the children. Another message "You can't do this without us. You are weak, helpless, what would you do without us? Don't you see? You need us."

Of course the Federation will come and save the day over and over again, they want to make sure the Islanders feel they depend on them.

[zahri-melitor]

A Quick, Somewhat Joking Discussion of 'the Best Ways To Get Into Comics' (TM)

Be 10-14 years old, pick up a random comic at the library/bookshop/someone's collection and become obsessed. This is proven the best method and the level of confusion engendered by it is actually more useful long term than any other method. (At that age you are going to fall deeply in love with random texts that are never going to quite have the depth your brain imparts on them)

Mention to a friend who does like comics that you want to 'get into comics' and said friend, knowing your preferred types of tv shows and books, your favourite characters and having asked what you're hoping to read, carefully picks out something that is objectively a good starter comic that fits your tastes and makes your brain go brrrr. (god tier level, that friend is a keeper, also congratulations on the fact you are never going to replicate the feel of reading that first comic again)

Lurk or hang out in some fandom space where you are regularly exposed to discussions of comics that includes actual panels and storylines of recent comics, and work out from that what seems to have a vibe you like, so you go and pick up that run (solid option, being able to taste various writers and styles of run before diving in gives you a better chance of choosing a run that hooks you, I was introduced to so many runs via scans_daily in this way back in the day).

Wander into a library or comic shop or bookshop that has a decent number of comics with the idea that you want to look into reading these, and then flip through a bunch of trades in what you think you want to read before something catches your eye and you pick that up (less likely to be a definite hook, but has the benefit of being far more likely than any option listed further below to involve newbie-friendly art. And newbie-friendly art is something that isn't discussed enough in terms of recommendations but is one of the biggest reasons people just getting into comics bounce off the format).

Only here will I mention recommended character reading guides. In my experience they're useful in certain contexts, particularly for characters who have hard-to-trace chronologies, for finding out what runs that person considers essential to the character, for untangling the order of comics in particularly confusing large events, and for narrowing down and directing people where there's a big chunk of material to read about a character. My objection is they tend to be treated like gospel by newbies, they frequently don't consider whether the artwork is going to make their eyes burn, quite often they are more focused on the 'best' stories for a character rather than the 'most accessible stories' for that character (these are two separate concepts!) and they tend to sell a narrative of 'don't read X' where X is quite often a comic which people don't enjoy but where an important event happens or is simply an older comic that's particularly affected by community expectations and standards having changed since it was written.

You know that '75 Years of Comics' series of prestige hardbacks that DC did? They're great to hand to a newbie looking to get into a specific character or mantle, because it's got stand alone stories that are highly regarded or solidly introductory about that character from each era, they can page through it and work out what version makes their brain happy, and then follow up on those leads into more reading. (Expensive but perfect for libraries)

The first trade of a recent run for the character in question by the current or second most recent writer. Most runs when they change lead writers are going to have some level of onboarding simply because a lot of people DO switch what they're reading depending on what team is on the book, and by going with a current run you manage to sidestep a lot of the 'this feels weird and old' problems.

[vesperlionheart]

Hello｡◕‿◕｡

I have had an idea in my head for a long time. But it is large, so I wanted to ask a few things.

How do you juggle all the characters? Do you write the setting first, and then create a backstory for each character? What is the most convenient way to prescribe all this? And how not to be afraid that no one needs my idea, and I'm wasting my time on unnecessary things? If my goal is to create my own fanfic and get feedback.

I like the idea that my story will end and people will still be writing reviews 5 years from now. How do you feel when you receive feedback? When did you decide it was time to write your first story and see it through?

large world building projects are so much fun, it always feels like snuggling into a comfort blanket or sweater you can really immerse yourself in, at least for me it does.

Juggling a lot of characters can be a struggle since I'm personally a world driven type of author as opposed to the character driven and plot driven types of authors you might run across. What I mean by that is for me the world usually appears first in my mind and I have to build it out before I know exactly who lives in it or what's happening. I think the most convenient way to prescribe all the steps you want to take starts with knowing who you are as a writer and what your personal style is cause we're all made a little different. I got to know myself better as a write after reading The Curiosities, a collection of short stories by three different authors who all are a different type or have a different approach to writing. (I loved their notes to each other reviewing their stories and its a great read.) Knowing what works for you is what's most vital, and a lot of trial and error shouldn't be feared in order to better understand yourself. You'll never waste time trying to grow and improve yourself, even if you don't achieve the fame or money in the end.

For me, when I come up with a story idea, I am usually provoked by some other media I see and feel the urge to make something more suited to my tastes. I read about vampires or werewolves and wanna do my own spin on an urban high school for monsters, I get a fraction of information about some obscure mobile video game and want to run with it in a new direction that gives it lore and meaning beyond the pretty visuals. What do you enjoy reading or playing or watching? Chances are those are topics you might enjoy creating with. For me writing is like 'play' and I enjoy playing with some things more than others as my tastes change and mature with time. On the more technical side of things, in order to build a functioning story I try to make sure I have a problem in my story and I try to ensure my protagonists are characters with needs or desires that push them along through the narrative. These can change depending on the setting they're in.

When I first started writing I was like 12/13 and I just wanted to write for the fun of it and didn't know what I was doing when I posted my first fic online. I appreciated the validation of others who read my work and commented/reviewed, and I think later on that motivated me to switch up my style and try new things for the thrill of it. (No regrets, 10/10 would do again.) You asked about "how not to be afraid that no one needs my idea, and I'm wasting my time on unnecessary things?" Believe me when I say people need stories. I'm not sure about a lot of things in life but I know stories have existed as long as people have lived and there's a reason for that. We need stories as a species. Maybe you do create a story that gets 0 comments or only a few likes and clicks. It happens to most of us when we start out. We think we're making crap and never realize our fields need that fertilizer for a better harvest in the future. You'll make some bad poems and stories and mess up plays or scripts in your life and that's good as long as you don't let it stop you. Keep trying and figure out what works for you. Keep digging until you strike gold. Your brain and your soul deserve the nourishment creating gives them. Make art any way you want and don't look back.

It's fucking amazing to know someone loved what I wrote, even 5-10+ years later. It's humbling and haunting at the same time. I'll never stop being in awe of how great it is to know someone, somewhere in the world of endless possibilities, found some joy in my story. I'm forever in awe of how cool that is. But the older I get the more I realize this writing thing I do, this expression of creativity I gravitate towards, is a gift unto me for my own sake. I need to create stories. I want to live a little in these dream worlds of mine before the daylight burns it all way and makes me go back to work. Writing is a means of self preservation at this point, even though it's a lot of hard work I still mess up on. I find so much joy in the ideas I try to flesh out, so I hope you can discover for yourself the unique joy of creating too. Don't let fear hold you back. Write your story.

[yeyinde]

Ok, so that gang bang fic .......

How do you write sex scenes when it's more than two people? What's your process? How do you make it so good and seem so natural?

I'm trying to write a threesome and just feel like I am writing an instruction manual instead of it flowing naturally IYSWIM.

Also, do you ever feel cringe about posting these types of fics? I have so many nasty ideas, but am afraid of letting other people know what goes on in my mind!

Ahhhhh, that fic lmao it was pretty daunting, but! It was VERY fun!

This is what I do whenever I’m writing threesomes or gangbangs. I hope it helps!!

—I usually have a very clear idea of how the smut is going to unfold (beginning—how it happens/why it's happening/who started it; foreplay—leading up to it; positions/roles—who is doing what; and finale—how it ends).

—I also stick to one character to follow through the whole narrative, which is usually the MC/Reader. People are not omnipotent, and so it's easier to get away with vague imagery/emotions over actions. I like to change it up with a "x did this" follow by a "y made you feel" so it isn't reading like a porn script. this helps it feel less clunky to me.

(One thing I do if I'm unsure/don't want to describe something, just make the MC close their eyes. They can't see what is happening and now neither can the audience. This gives me a chance to change things without it sounding clinical.)

You can also mix it up with taste, smell, touch, sound in-between heavier action scenes so it reads more smoothly.

—Each person gets a moment to stand out. This was important in the GB, but is the same in threesomes. It's okay to step back and focus on MC x Character A for a bit while sidelining Character B. It makes it feel a bit more grounded, like the MC is ensnared by them in that moment. You can add a simple line to show where the other character is so it doesn't seem like they got lost in the void. Have them do something, or add something vague (a noise they make, how they're touching the MC), and then you can just focus on two characters for a moment.

Then just switch it up by bringing them back into the fold. Have them say something or do something before you set that up so it reads more coherently.

And that's pretty much it! I just kinda get a feel for when I need to pull back and add emotion, or when I need to focus on the physical smut.

(A great resource is other fanfic/artwork/videos to see how certain positions play out.)

As for cringe: I have no shame whatsoever. If I discover something I like, I'll throw it into a fic. I wouldn't worry so much about it—no matter what, someone will enjoy it, and if you find it interesting/fun, then why not explore it a bit more if you want to.

And nothing you write in fic has to 100% be what you subscribe to. I've written smut that isn't really my taste, but it was fun to delve into that. Just because you write it, doesn't mean that it has to be a kink of yours! I def don't look at what other writers write and immediately think "oh, that's what they're into?" So I'd say, just have fun with it!

I hope this helps! 🖤

[thefirstknife]

I think one reason people are very polarized on LF is that, not only is it a very fine line to walk between "too self-contained" and "too reliant on external content", but there's a large borderlands around that line on either side that fall into the realm of "personal taste". Some people like things that are more self-contained, and some prefer things that are more externally interlinked. And, honestly, even at the extreme ends of "purely self-contained" or "purely empty filler reliant on external stuff to enjoy" you *still* have people who prefer one or the other and they're not objectively bad. It's a complicated matter of balance and taste. And I think more people need to let go of the idea that their taste is objectively correct for things like this. And I say this as somebody who did find that my taste and the devs' vision didn't quite line up this time. It happens! It doesn't mean we need to get nasty about it like a lot of people are doing... :(

I definitely agree! It's one of the reasons why I find most of the discussions on this topic to be really pointless a lot of the time. It's just people screaming over one another about things that are incredibly subjective while claiming they're not. Everyone thinks they're right, on top of a real issue in balancing that line.

For a lot of people, it's really frustrating that the game expects them to play just Destiny in order to understand everything. And then for a lot of other people who DO play just Destiny (or simply have more time/money), it's frustrating when there's breaks and content droughts and when there's seasons that end up feeling meaningless. And a lot of people who are in between! Bungie can never satisfy all of them. Someone will always feel left out.

Actually one of my issues with the entire Witch Queen year was that the expansion itself was a banger and had a lot of stuff in there and a lot of further hints. But then the seasons did not really focus on any of those questions at all. We didn't get more insight into the Lucent Hive, we didn't get more about Savathun's meddling with the Collapse, we didn't get anything more about her since she died, we didn't get anything substantial about Xivu either and time is running out. We had stuff that was setting up plot points for Lightfall, but they were also not fully expanded on.

I would've LOVED if all seasons in WQ were more narratively important and connected. If every season we got a fresh new hint about Savathun's plans and schemes, about things she's done, about a whole new set of Hive that, for all intents and purposes, we should be trying to understand and get close to. I'm definitely not the only one; I've seen a lot of people lamenting the lack of information and lore about the Lucent Hive and what they're doing.

If Bungie is entirely truthful and we will for real get into the thick of it during the seasons this year, I actually prefer that. It means that I have something to look forward to during the whole year and that we will slowly be given information about burning questions that will keep us entertained as we prepare for The Final Shape. Because a lot of questions from WQ have still not been answered and aren't directly relevant anymore so who knows when they will be up for answering.

I also understand people who just don't like this style at all. And neither of us is inherently right or wrong. So when people go online and insist about "bad writing," it's really silly. And ultimately, Bungie can't really cater to us both. It's a strange place to be in and I think we should keep giving Bungie feedback. In a normal way, of course. The type of outrage that Lightfall caused has not been pleasant at all. We can definitely let Bungie know that they maybe pushed one side too much over the line without being nasty.

[pendragora]

bestie, my single braincell is again wreaking havoc on my brain.

BUT, as I know you are a fellow enjoyer of jason todd, I'd like to say that he is the better man between him and aemond.

why? I shall illustrate it quickly.

his attempt at kinslaying didn't end up well (if you don't consider all the aus in which he does succeed, but hey...).

he has an actual code of ethics which involve never involving minors in his murder sprees, don't you think that's charming?

in conclusion, considering I loved jason since I was 18 my taste in men has grown worse.

alright, alright I am off, but babe I hope you are doing alright and having a lovely life!

If we do put them on a scale, I would say that Jason is a better man than Aemond due to his stable morals. I MUST ARGUE THO, they are completely different when it comes to the type of character they both are:

Jason is a tragic hero, a survivor, a very classic Greek Tragedy type. He is the by-product of what happened to him, of his trauma - the ressurection, the death by Joker's hand and receiving no justice whatsoever. The main motive for him is mainly in the fact that his death, his suffering was pointless and devalued because Bruce never took action Jason expected to be taken, which makes him take the action into his own hands. He does what he does for the sake of others, not for the personal gain, but because he does not want anyone to go through the things he went;

Aemond is... moraly grey perhaps? He cannot be called a hero at all. He also comes from a place of trauma, of neglect, of mishandling, of the harsh realities the world and society around him is shaped and shapes him. But he is not a righteous hero type. He is heroic, sure, in his own way, in the way he does what he does for his family, but there is so much boiling rage that breeds violence, and the more he allows himself down this path - the more he likes it and revels in the way he is. Aemond is a fallen angel that was corrupted by dark things that he learned from people around him and he learned to enjoy them (unlike Jason, who is neutral to what he does).

What they have in common is killing people, being a second son to a high-moral character, having a tragic fate, being a nerd and being doomed by the narrative. It's technicalities that make draw them out as different characters completely (tho Jason was Aemond-like piece of shit not so long ago ^^)

I personally like the tragedy and trauma aspect to both, but in my own mind I can't put them together because I enjoy them very differently (they are both hot tho. they are both so hot in all that dramatic tragedy-driven meow meow type of way)

ANYWAYS I WENT OFF THaNK YOU FOR THE ASK LOVE YOU SM BBY 💖🌹🥺

[kimium]

For the ask game: 7, 17, 21, 25!

(From this ask HERE)

Thank you so much for this ask, friend! I'm so excited to answer this!

Remember everyone: this is all subjective and just my opinion. You can disagree with me; that's fine.

7. What character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because of how the fandom acts about them?

I cannot stand how fandom views Camilla from Fire Emblem Fates.

Before I get into this however, I want to clarify that I do NOT hate Camilla at all. In fact, I quite like her. With that out of the way, let's get to my thoughts.

Camilla loves her family with all her heart and soul. They're the most important people to Camilla and she'll do anything to protect them. Many of Camilla's fears are rooted in the fear of those she loves leaving her behind. In Birthright and Revelations, Camilla is devastated by Corrin's "defection" and that soul-crushing weight of her fear becoming reality makes me feel so much for Camilla.

This fear is also shown in Camilla's supports with Selena, where she explicitly tells Selena to "not leave her". I'm certain there are other supports.

Yes, I am aware that Camilla in turn to having her fears become reality does suggest or actually act violently, but cut the woman some slack, especially in Birthright where her family is literally being torn apart from the inside out. Also, her country is going to war.

However, I've found that some of fandom has distilled Camilla's personality into my least favourite mature female trope of "Ara, ara you poor thing. Let me hug you to my Very Well Endowed Bosom so fans can fantasize about being pushed up to my chest too. If you try to escape me you're being naughty and need to be punished, tee-hee-hee".

Which, brings me to another point: Camilla is more than just her very well endowed chest. I know the series shoves it into our faces in both Fates and Heroes, but she has more depth than just being there for fanservice.

17. There should be more of this type of fic/art.

Uh, I'm not too sure what to say for this one. In general I like all types of fanart and fanfiction for series. I don't think there is a specific type I want to see in particular.

However, if we want a series I want to see more fanart/fic/attention for I will keep singing my praises for To Your Eternity. It's a fantastic series with such depth to the characters and story telling and I want more to watch and appreciate it.

21. Part of canon you think is overhyped.

Again, not too sure what this question means, so I'm reading it as "a particular part of a series that's overhyped either by the narrative or the fanbase".

-I found Chainsaw Man a bit overhyped for my tastes. Don't get me wrong: I think the art is beautiful, the animation breath-taking, and the character designs fun. That, however, is where my enjoyment of the series sort of fades. I enjoyed the anime and I'm decently caught up in the manga, but the series never hit me emotionally the way other shonen series in the past have. Sorry, everyone. I wish this wasn't the case but I just enjoy it generally.

-Sometimes I think tournament arcs in anime can be overhyped by series. Please do NOT get me wrong. My favourite tournament arc is the Dark Tournament in Yu Yu Hakusho and that series was one of the first pioneers of the trope.

However, over the years some series try to change it up by having an "interruption" to the tournament and sometimes I feel that invalidates the entire build up to the arc in the first place. I also think that allows the writers to chicken out of showing who would actually win.

25. Common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing.

I am so sick of reading about people arguing over ships. Look, people can ship who they want. They're all fictional characters anyways. Even if it's a ship that you REALLY dislike, there is no reason to attach anyone over it. If you don't like a ship and you see someone else like it, ignore them and move on.

[siover]

In regards to the notes in your last post about Travis-- yes, while he isn't really my favorite character (just comes off as a bit... boring?) I think he is deeply sympathetic, and obviously just a kid-- a teenage boy grappling with grief and emotions and unfortunately being a bit of a jerk about it.

That said... It really rubs me the wrong way about how he treated Javi in season one. I know the death scare made him do a complete 180 (and I actually think their bond is super sweet and one of the most redeeming things about Travis as a character), but Javi was mourning his father too in the first season, and Travis acted completely distant and cold in a situation where Javi was the youngest one and clearly vulnerable. Also, I think his reasons for being mad at Nat are currently completely justified and understandable (though I see it from Nat's perspective too.)... but the slutshaming in the first season? Yikes. I get that he's a teenage boy, and he was socialized that way and was making up for being insecure about being a virgin, but that doesn't justify his misogyny that she sort of just... put up with? In short-- season 1 travis << season 2 travis, but I still need more from him to be fully won over. he's just kind of a guy? who's a dude?

hi hello i typed out like three paragraphs to this and tumblr deleted them......but the gist was. yr not wrong at all !

i think part of what finding travis unsympathetic about in s1 is how, like w the girls, we get a set up of a character archetype that is then subverted by showing us the unsustainability of the performance that demands it.

travis in s1 is broken w grief and (from the pov of his assigned duties as they fall to his narrative role) he fails his brother. the thing is javi does start forming bonds w the girls but natalie is the only person travis gets close to in s1, and the implosion of that + his misguided misogyny imo serves an equal and opposite function to jackie's loneliness, in that we see how being estranged from society doesn't remove the tensions inherent to these social dynamics but rather warps them. jackie's repression is physically incompatible with surroundings that require your blood in exchange for survival. it's also shown most obviously in how jackie and travis have sex with neither of them really enjoying or wanting it, but the alternative would be to lose whats kept them sane so far.

thats the branching path here, i think. the horrifying scene at the doomcoming with the girls assaulting travis, and jackie not participating but having had sex with him earlier, both serve to display the hunger of the narrative for the dregs of what holds power in "society." its why travis goes from being in love with natalie and too immersed in his grief to look at javi to worshipping lottie and not only making up for his earlier neglect of javi but also going out of his way in the acknowledgement of javi's potential connection to The Thing Out There when he comes back different.

and this is only one (messily-worded) interpretation among what is imo a nesting doll of character motivations and arcs as pertaining to travis alone. obviously there are other factors in this change that coexist with and comment on The Horrors, not all of which i agree with, but i don't want to make this any longer than it already is especially given its been a while since i watched s1 and i'll have to rewatch to fully get into what the show's exploration of themes says in ways im barely scratching the surface of here

all this is like. far more speculative than what youve talked about and its not to say i disagree with anything you've mentioned !! im marginally interested in travis primarily for what his relationship with natalie does for his survival out in the woods but hes very much a tertiary character!

my post was more abt how ppl managing to hate travis and like jeff at the same time is in such poor taste bc like......ive seen the jokeposts ive seen the reasoning for why jeff understands shauna but he really doesnt lol. he does see her, and thats bc he read her diaries w/o her consent. propping up jeff as some pinnacle of spousal support when he cowers from who shauna is at every turn, while failing to understand why travis acts the way he does and disliking him bc his (past) misogyny was more overt than jeff's is, is very shortsighted. caveat that ppl are free to dislike whoever they want, i disliked travis in s1 too, etc etc

ok lastly. im very interested in the seeds of lottie/travis and lottienat in the cadence of prophet/worshipper and prophetskeptic respectively in that they're all performances akin to how they had to play a part outside. and it wasnt any less about desperate survival outside than it is now, its just that the transparency of the stakes has changed. so travis' role has my attention for now

[hxhhasmysoul]

22, 31, 45 for the writer asks

Thank you for the ask <3

___________

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

a lot actually. i write primarily to suit my own tastes and to have stories i'd like to read.

genre i wouldn't write a comedy because as i mentioned before i'm just not funny and it would be unintentionally cringe. other than that i would be open to most genres if i stumbled on a good enough idea for them that i'd feel is within my capabilities.

_

pov i wouldn't write a whole story in 1st and 2nd person pov. it's not like i've never used them. when i write the inner voice of the character i use both depending on the scene because that's how i talk in my head to myself sometimes in 1st sometimes in 2nd person. so i think they both have their uses but not as the primary pov of the story. and like i have no problem with empathising and sympathising with the 3rd person pov the other two make it actually harder for me.

with 1st person i could probably write a full drabble though i'm not sure if i've ever written a whole scene like that. and i don't like to read it when it's the primary pov, it just feels off to me as a narrative tool. like there've been some instances i've seen it work but that's the exception not the rule in my opinion.

2nd pov makes me actively uncomfortable, like i have physical reaction to it. i've always hated when people tried to put thoughts in my head and like after having gone through fandom harassment and discourse wars i react even more viscerally to it. and i know this is not the intention of people who write their stories in 2nd person but this is how it feels to me and i physically can't read them.

_

tropes wise, there's stuff that i have no problem reading but would never want to write myself because i'm soft and gooey inside XD and i sympathise too much with the characters when writing so there are emotions i just don't want to put myself through that actively. so like i can read hurt no comfort, torture or toxic relationship or non-con and sometimes even major character death but i wouldn't write it myself.

there are also tropes that i'm not very into but when the stars align i could and will write them. like i'm super meh about fairy tale retellings because i find them tired and overdone by popculture and i hadn't pictured myself as ever doing one. but i got into a new ship recently and in my head they felt perfect for a "beauty and the beast" inspired au and people weren't doing it on ao3, not that i could find anyway. so now i'm trying to write it in a way that suits my tastes. or like i can remember 1 slow burn i enjoyed and didn't find aggravating, plus like that one worked because the story and setting really facilitated a very slow development of the relationship and it didn't feel forced. but i don't think i have that kind of fucking patience.

then there are tropes that just make nope. there are some kinks i don't want to think about in fiction or rl - not that i think people shouldn't. but for more generally used tropes stuff there's abo for example. from what i've seen and what i understand from others talking about abo for me it just fails in every metaphor people claim it tries to be while being steeped in what reads to me as the worst kind of heterosexuality. and like i'm not going to write it because it's impossible to make it suit my tastes.

31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

I'm not even entirely sure what starting with characters means exactly so i might be talking out of my ass here. but like for me it's kind of a feedback system. like i don't think i can create them separately.

and i think i start with the setting actually, often an aesthetic feeling. and from that the plot and characters emerge simultaneously and heavily feed into each other and the setting feeds into it as well. it usually happens in a bout of adhd madness. like when it takes off it's an extremly fast process. my first fic ever emerged within a few hours with extensive backstories for all pov characters, worldbuilding with cultural aspects and most of the plot for the first 5 chapters which all ended up 10k plus up to almost 20k.

45. Do you want to break your readers‘ heart or make them laugh?

neither really. if i wanted to make my readers laugh it'd be dooming myself to fail because i'm not witty and my sense of humour doesn't resonate. i do write angst but it's always with the promise of cheese so like i don't think i can break the reader at least not for long maybe i can scratch them a bit. i once left my fic open ended and people didn't like it but idk if it broke them, more like i think they felt it was unfinished? idk

i mostly want my writing to resonate. i want to feel i connected with the readers on some level. i'm very much in the art as communication philosophical camp - probably because my only true identity is a linguist as embarrassing as that is XD

____________

Get to know your fic writer!

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Although I have loved and enjoyed all of TJR's books, I think Carrie Soto Is Back may be her best yet. My particular favorite. Call it her GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), if you will.

As a former athlete myself with a dad-coach who was always in my corner even when he was he running me ragged with drills, goals, strategy, and pep talks, there was something about this book, and Carrie herself, that resonated with me deeply.

We--well, we understood each other. We CONNECTED.

Carrie's comeback story felt familiar to me, almost personal in a way. Despite never having swung a tennis racket in my life, let alone never having played in a high-stakes professional match to uphold a Grand Slam record, either, I could still relate to all the time, effort, and drive Carrie poured into her sport. Into becoming - and remaining - the greatest player tennis has ever seen.

I could understand why she was considered a force. A battle axe. A bitch. (While men with her same focus and attitude were looked on favorably.) I could see why she not only wanted, but needed, to win. I also know what it means to chase after medals and titles and accomplishments that, if you won them, would leave the whole world cheering your name forever. Just like I know the gaping pit of despair that waits for you if you believe you'll fall short of your goals.

(I was an athlete once too, after all. I had similar dreams, I faced similar obstacles to success.)

So although you don't need to have a sports background/interest to be enthralled by this story and its characters, that aspect, that competitive "gotta be #1" ambiance and energy, added something extra for me. It made it easier to be submerged in the narrative, to be consumed by it. I could slip back and forth between engagement and reverie--reading, remembering, re-living.

Suffice it to say that I lost no time at all before I was swept up in Carrie's ambition and ruthlessness to succeed at almost any cost, with the odds against her notwithstanding.

She was such a bold and unapologetic character. Stubborn, too. I couldn't help but root for her to reclaim her title from upstart, Nicki Chan.

There's a hardness about her though, I won't lie. There's a toughness that takes time and patience to penetrate. Forged like she is from the fires of drive and determination, she is not the type of personality to bend or swerve with delicacy, not even with the people she loves, but I think therein lies her true beauty: She's tireless. She's tenacious. She's a force to be reckoned with that is made of the solidest stuff there is, and because of that, you'll never be able to forget who she is.

The name Carrie Soto will forever tumble from people's lips in awe, in respect. It will go down in infamy.

She is a character who is impossible to forget.

That said, what I loved most about this book was how I could slip on competitiveness like a second skin and live in it. I was able to see the tennis world through Carrie's eyes, yes, but I also could peer backward through my own mind's eye to re-visit some of my own sports-related experiences.

There were so many times while reading when I could taste the sweat, feel the twinge of Carrie's tired, burning muscles. Moments when I could smell the grass and clay beneath her feet as she trounced another opponent to dust, the thunder-roar of the crowd like that of a drug that adrenalizes the heart to keep an ailing yet agile body moving. There were times of triumph and failure. There was frustration, felicitation, stagnation--all of it culminating in a flurry of conflicted emotion that grew more intense with every turn of the page and begged readers, as well as Carrie herself, to ask, "Is there more to life than winning? Is being the best the only thing that matters?" There were even a few occasions when a father-daughter stratagem felt like it'd been ripped out of my own life's playbook.

What else is there to say except I was held hostage by Carrie's comeback? I was riveted, ensnared. I disappeared into the game, the stakes, the outcome, as if I were there. I let the characters tie me into knots every step along the way: striving with them, playing harder against them. I won. I lost. I felt hope swell in my chest as well as deflate. In short, I fell headlong into the nail-biting, ball-bouncing, heart-rate-spiking suspense of it all.

Chapter after chapter, I would close my eyes and sink down deep into old memories, into old feelings that arose while I competed in my own youth, back when I was still kicking up dirt, two French braids flapping against the white numbers on the back of my shirt, and it was like I was right there playing alongside Carrie for all the marbles--in the moment as well as in a memory.

It's rare to find a book that lets you live in it twice. But in this one I did: once as Carrie Soto, the other as myself. It was as vicarious a read as a reading experience can be. So for that, top marks all around!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[pyrait]

On my adolescence

I've taken it upon myself to revive this ol' blog.

I was eighteen when i was last active on here. Graduating high school. Before that, i'd been reposting a lot of um, not-so-inspirational not-so-healthy pics of half-naked women of a certain body type if you know what i mean.

Harder than looking at others' skeletal bodies, was coming to understand deeply the feelings that where going through my own body at that age. Starting from 15 years old, i had a pretty tough time. Undiagnosed mental issues, diagnosed eds, negligent and abusive family members, and a lack luster social life is something i cannot just erase from my past. However, i've always felt this urge to hold on tightly to the resentment these tragic stories meant to me, fearing that since no one else seemed to pity me for it, if i decided to let them go, all of my suffering would've been for nothing.

I really thought that magically, once i had everything worked out and "suffered long enough", the universe or my ancestors' ghosts or god or whatever would congratulate me with a bag of coins and a puppy to my doorstep. :p

And well, i kinda got everything I wanted. I've moved out of my parents' into my own big apartment, i have a loving long-term partner, a bunch of diverse friends that are kind and soft, i graduated from my undergrad and got a job right out the gate.

Would you be surprised if i told you that i felt more miserable than i ever had after all this? Ofc you wouldnt.

A classic story of crazy expectations. Coupled with not knowing who the fuck you really are or want beside the "wants" you plea for yourself.

I've spent the last month or so in bed, half depressed, half slacking. Asking myself what's so wrong with me.

During that time i realized some things. 1) i can't expect some divine reward for anything. 2) no one's gonna come on a white horse and save me and 3) in short, my life is mine and only mine to build and enjoy.

And believe it or not, a crucial piece to this whole self-loathing mystery was in this here blog, lol.

Despite how nostalgic i usually am, i never revisited this blog before. While exploring old reblogs and personal confessionals, besides the obvious body image and eating issues i had, what caught my attention at first was how i actually had... tastes.

Like, i liked pretty pictures, and aesthetics. I had a soft spot for beautiful landscapes. I loved art and history even then. It might seem banal but I realized the girl i thought was only a caricature of suffering and awkwardness was more than that. We shared the same worries. We both thought that our time was running out, that we were both undercooked, immature.

I was a kid. Unfortunately, due to the environment i was in (all girls school, conservative vibes) the only outlet for self development of my adolescence i had was through the lens of sexuality. Basically, being a teen girl was all about being skinny, hot and luring in boys. I remember distinctly making out and giving out my body to a university guy just to feel pretty, or getting an bad-boy-later-on-actually-abusive boyfriend in order to increase my social capital in school.

I didn't really get to explore my teenage years in the way i see others do. With much more flexibility to figure out what you like and don't like. I also don't really have a lot of great or exciting memories from back then, unfortunately. But, what's important to me here is that ive been able to see how this narrative i used to have about me always being confused and devoid of personality was all just, the insecurities of a girl i am not anymore, but that i love profoundly and genuinely.

Truth is, at my old(?)ish age, I was kinda blaming everything wrong on the trauma my parents gave me, on how my peers ostracized me, on how intelligent yet misunderstood i was. Just, a bunch of stories that are definitely engaging, but unproductive and definitely untrue and unhelpful if i am to become a sentient adult who just, lives their life.

Im opinionated, smart, sensitive, nostalgic, beautiful inside and out. im creative, hardworking and ambitious, and im working on becoming a more compassionate leader who builds a life for themselves full of boundless love and generosity.

I don't relate to that depressed girl anymore. If anything Im a newly renovated, depressed adult :D jk, but i see the opportunities ahead, something i didnt for a long time.

love,

[themountainsays]

how do you ship incest? im really not trying to send hate but i dont understand

Hello anon! Well, since you asked so nicely, i was going to direct you to another ask i replied to with a similar question, but i can't seem to find it 😔 thanks tumblr. If I find it I'll drop the link here. But in short: I know it's a bit weird, but it's a subjective taste.

EDIT: I FOUND IT

When I was in elementary school, I religiously watched The Walking Dead with my family. I loved it. We were all fascinated by the amount of blood and violence. One day I was on a school trip, and there was this episode airing, and I didn't want to wait until I got home to watch it so I convinced my classmates to let me watch it in the hotel room. When they realized what it was, they were angry and horrified that I liked something with so much blood in it. I didn't get what the big deal was, because I thought blood was badass as hell. Now, I was a mostly well-adjusted kid. I had my problems but none of them were related to blood or violence lol. My parents are quite responsible and today, as an adult, I respect their decision to let kid!me watch something like that, because I had a lot of fun and it left no negative impact on me. I have a normal relationship with irl blood and violence. My classmates still thought I was weird and gross though.

Incest shipping is not everyone's cup of tea, but as soon as you understand there is nothing morally wrong with it*, and it becomes a matter of subjective taste, then it's not all that unreasonable to enjoy it. It's perfectly fine if you think it's gross. Everyone's comfort levels are different. I have certain things that make me VERY uncomfortable as well, that most other people wouldn't bat an eye at.

(God I just hate summer so much, can't wait for winter).

As for why I like it, gosh I really hope I find that post because it was LONG 😂 but basically, I find the guilt-acceptance narrative cathartic, I find the taboo romantic (romantic as in romanticism), and it's a special element that allows you to tell unique stories. Also, sometimes I just think two characters are cute together. There's a whole new set of dynamics to play with. Personally, I really like the golden child + scapegoat child dynamic. It's not impossible to tell that story without incest, but incest adds another layer of conflict that may ultimately benefit the themes and narrative. It's not a fetish for me. There's nothing all that sexual about it. I don't project onto the characters my secret incestuous love for my sister, because I don't have any secret incestuous love for my sister. Sibling and cousin incest are just types of character dynamic that I enjoy, and if you don't, thats alright (i don't particularly enjoy intergenerational incest, though).

*I'm convinced there's nothing morally wrong with it because, if the abstract concept of having sex with your sister is immoral, then the abstract concept of killing people like it happens in The Walking Dead should be immoral, too. In fact, it should be even more immoral, because murder is the greatest crime, right? You can't top that. But if the greatest crime is okay in fiction, then lesser crimes should be okay, too. Neither truly hurt anyone in real life. Just don't rub it in the face of people who are uncomfortable with those things.

[retphienix]

I Have A Lot To Say So I'll Read More This.

The short of it?

I'm glad I played Joker- I played it because I wanted to know how DQM evolved when it reached the DS and I got my answer.

It's mediocre. Not bad exactly, I enjoyed playing it, it adds some REALLY appreciated features to the DQM series and if you were playing it at release it had online play which plays well with the post game content which I haven't touched by the time I wrote this:

-but there are some engine/console specific things that made it a drag and there are some parts of the game that are just weaker than the previous games which is amusing since the previous games were simple GBC titles.

And finally, I don't really recommend playing through Joker 1. Can't speak on the sequels, but Joker 1 was a pretty middling experience for me so I'm the wrong person to get a positive recommendation from.

And since the opportunity presents itself: If you like monster RPGs and haven't tried it- go emulate Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 for the GBC, it's really good and also if you emulate you can fast forward the GBC era grind if that's your taste- really a win all around.

On to my rambling:

I debated on writing, rewriting, rewriting, and better presenting my thoughts on this game and the series as a whole but nah, Joker ain't getting that, I'm ramblin'- lol

I will split it slightly between "The ending" and "The game as a whole" though.

Ending:

1:07 - This is slightly a 'game a a whole' thing but honestly it's funny to me that you unlock a permanent repel in this game by doing the main quest. I entered this dungeon feeling strong enough to beat the game, so I just avoided 90% of encounters entirely.

5:00 - I genuinely got a laugh out of Sparkpug's whole deal in this finale. Not story wise, that's fine, no complaints- I mean that Sparkpug is clearly built to be a monster that can carry an ineffective team. He's clearly meant to be bred a few times and a god tier member of a potentially inexperienced player's team- but I literally never used him after the intro.

So during this scene it's supposed to be like "I'm a demi-god monster, you can't possibly beat me" and I'm thinking "Dude, you're like level 10 and shit tier, you can't win, this is hilarious."

Obviously it's a real boss fight and not 'face the monster you once had' but I was having fun roasting him behind the scenes of this recording.

45:00 - What an entirely unexpected change of pace.

Like, I had it spoiled for me by a screenshot that Dr. Snap becomes a monster or something- but I thought maybe he was always a monster or something, and also I got a bad look at him.

HE TURNS INTO A BODY HORROR BEAST, THAT'S NUTS.

Genuinely a highlight of the game.

52:00 - I fucking laughed what a meaningless exchange where the payoff is saying "He was stupid!", it's honestly just silly and dumb but not necessarily bad just dumb lol

55:00 - Not a great 'you won' victory lap. Like at all. Kinda feels like they should have just made this all a cutscene where I appear back at town and see that Solitaire is the leader now etc etc.

I kinda don't understand why it's a victory lap at all? Because all anyone says is "They picked a weird successor to Snap >:(" or "Snap went to the island? I bet he was stopping the calamity :)"

If you have 2 lines of dialogue prepared, maybe don't make a victory lap???

1:00:00 - What a fucking stupid payoff lol

Like sincerely, Solitaire does NOTHING the entire game! She's meaningless from start to finish! And the 'surprise' is that she's the new commish??? And she got the position because she's a rich spoiled brat??? Like LITERALLY that's why????????

What a stupid fucking ending lol

Now her proposed evolution of the contest is fair enough, I mean it's childish as hell, but to be fair- more contests is a fine idea especially since prior games and this game demonstrated the public's interest in watching monster fights. And the goal being to fight her as the final fight is fucking egotistical and stupid- BUT- it does play into the fact that the player didn't get to fight her the whole game so it's whatever?

1:03:00 - This is both the best and worst lol.

This game has no story, like at all, it's fucking empty front to back, and only explodes with like- 1 event at the very end.

This moment is a montage of memorable moments with your 'best friend' Sparkpug. It's cinematically very nice to be honest! Even includes a moment I don't remember at the arena which probably didn't happen lol.

So visually it's cool- I dig seeing the camera zoom out as we run across the beach, and the flashback moments intersplice over us making our way to the scout memorial- that's very well done.

The content is empty lol

As I said there's no story, these moments are nothing lol

And that's that.

All said the ending was a very nice challenge to face with my team- I had to abuse items like mad but I MADE IT! It was a GOOD fight.

The rest I've already said.

On to the game as a whole:

I have issues with this game, but there's good too. It's really like 4 steps forward 6-7 steps back it's weird, it's really weird.

Positives are neat!

> First and foremost- TRAITS!

Monsters in Dragon Quest Monsters have always had a problem with keeping their identity for long. The way I'd explain it to an outsider to the series is that Monsters DO have special stat variance and intended movesets and all that jazz- but the breeding system completely and entirely destroys that relatively early into the game.

While a monster might normally have really high defense and low other stats while knowing buffing magic- breeding, EVEN UNINTENTIONALLY, will have that same monster come out with 9 billion attack and all ice magic.

Monsters in DQM have a habit of becoming canvases for the breeding effects rather than their own mons- and this is undeniably a downside. It makes the game feel unique, it doesn't 'hurt' it, but when by mid-game monsters are more easily identified as sprites rather than strengths and weaknesses or even types (family) it's a slight downer on the series.

Traits fix this a lot by making every specific monster have unchangeable traits which offer things like "immunity to x type of damage" or "higher crit chance"- it's small, but it gives each monster more identity.

> Second and secondmost- SKILLS!

The older games didn't use trees, it used each individual spell as a potential pass on during breeding.

Each monster could have 8 spells, and when you breed two monsters you pass on all 16 spells to the offspring (they don't learn them all at once, they learn them as they level up) as well as the natural spells the monster would learn by level up.

So in the older games it is really easy to end up with a refined and overpowered list of 8 spells on each of your monsters.

Now spells are tied to Skill trees and your monsters can have 3 skill trees total (which are passed on as OPTIONS when breeding).

All to say skills do a lot for removing the "Master of all, weakness of none" spell lists that the older games made trivial to make, now you have to limit your builds and be more specialized- also they added skills like "Attack up" to add more variance to a build- instead of having spells you might just have high stat buffs as skill trees.

Overall I think Skills are an improvement because coupled with Traits it makes each monster feel much more specialized and unique and less like a sprite with no identity.

> Breeding is improved.

This is very much because of skills and traits- again- but also the system is just improved in general. Instead of being told "That's a monster you haven't had before!" and judging your decisions based on the name of the offspring breed, now you get to see a small sprite of the resulting monster to help you decide- ALSO instead of getting 1 result for every combo (to the point where you have to back out and choose Monster A + Monster B and Monster B + Monster A as separate options), you now get up to 3 results to pick between for every breeding opportunity.

It's just better.

> The engine is impressive.

At least to me. This is a DS title using (from what I read) a rework of the DQ8 PS2 game's engine- it certainly looks like it.

Combat models are nice, using moves looks nice, overworld exploration looks nice- it looks nice.

Now for some negative and general nonsense- all of which is more often than not 'weird'.

> I gotta be unfair and say "The Story" first and foremost.

DQM 1 and 2 are not intense story games. They aren't.

But they both knew how to handle their story well for what they wanted to tell, I can and will praise both for their narratives because they know what they are and do it well.

DQM:J does not. It's fucking bad.

Basically: The overall story doesn't exist- you're told to be a spy, but that comes up 1 time towards the end of the game and LITERALLY doesn't matter at any other moment INCLUDING the one time it comes up.

You have NO meaningful objective from the start up until near the end of the game. You show up and have no goal- so you get told to get some crystals with no meaning behind it (not even a lie because they are clearly evil- not even a lie to motivate you! NO MEANING IS PRESENTED! JUST DO IT! TO DO THE CONTEST I GUESS! WHY? SHUT UP!)

So 90% of the game time you're not doing anything meaningful. So what about the islands? Any small narratives to keep things moving?

NO!

NOT AT ALL!

So you go 90% of the game having no real objective, just kinda wandering forward mindlessly- and then the game suddenly goes "Oh! Guy who seemed sus! He's evil! He's gonna unleash the calamity that you were 'kinda but not directly' working towards with your dog! You know, that plot point that's kept vague and paid 0% attention to the entire game? Yeah it's happening! Aaaaand you're done! GG!"

Basically there's just nothing going on in this game, it's all background noise until the last 10% of the game. And that's lame.

DQM1 had a light story- but from the very intro cutscene you have a clear objective which makes every action you do seem relevant as you are working towards that goal.

From the start of the game you know "My sister is gone! The king says a magic wish can get her back! I'll go do that!" and then you do!

DQM2 has a much better story!

You have a goal from the start (The kingdom is physically dying and you have to save it by getting a new plug!) AND it has stories for each world you visit!

THAT'S MILES BETTER! THIS GAME COULD HAVE DONE THAT FOR THE ISLANDS!

Anywho. Story is lacking and empty and lame especially when DQM2 has a similar format but does every part better- you have a clear objective you're working towards AND side stories to keep the light narrative moving!

WTH!

The spy plotline doesn't matter! It could have been used to build suspicion on who's the good guy!

The islands are so empty of story!

DQM2 has a fun mix on how a rival character works which makes every world interesting to see how they get involved!

This game has a rival that does NOTHING!!!!!!!!!

It's just such a step back from the previous games, it's weird to see DQM 1 land a solid simple story and DQM 2 build a great format to expand the story going forward- and then DQM:J just slams its head into the dirt and wipes out.

> Game's slow.

The engine switch is a good thing overall, but it makes combat slower (a lot), adds loading screens to combat (primarily), and they didn't bother speeding up the grind from previous games.

Because of the grind still existing which isn't a problem in and of itself- the game becomes SLOW AS HELL because the engine makes that grind take longer.

Also world exploration is slow which is to be expected when moving from 2d to 3d, but this is countered by adding things to the world to find or do- and Joker tries but it's still noticeable. The world exploration isn't a problem, it just stands out alongside the combat being slow as hell.

The engine change was a great thing- but it feels like they should have put more work into speeding up combat to counter the slowdown of load times and flashy animations.

A GOOD WAY TO FIX THAT MIGHT BE XP!

> Music ain't great in my opinion.

DQ has amazing music. This game has some weak renditions in my opinion. The CELL HQ theme song is a pretty good poster child for the worst there is, but just in general even the better music is lacking compared to the chiptunes of the GBC or the better mixes of the main series.

Maybe it's unfair, it's a DS game, I don't know, I just know I ended up just muting most of the game because it didn't sound great. I played the GBC games OSTs instead for a large portion of my playthrough. I listened to videos instead for the bulk of the game.

It's just not pleasant to me, sorry to say.

> XP!!!!!!!

I'm being a spoiled ass on this but yeah!

XP SUCKS IN THIS!

There aren't good placed to grind until you beat the game! (apparently)

The first level blatantly has too low xp which makes you grind before you can tackle the boss of the island- and the late game has you mindlessly grinding low xp rewards in order to be ready to face the final boss.

It's WEIRD!

Why is it so low!

> Tech is weird!

I could ramble on this alone but here's the short version:

DQ has a unique fantasy world aesthetic that each game has explored in its own way. It's basically "swords, magic, monsters, and charm- things feel light but aren't afraid to get scary sometimes :)"

This game... doesn't.

This game has fuckin' tech watches, jet skis, TOWER PCS????

This ISN'T dragon quest on a world building level.

It's like, contemporary modern world but with slimes.

And that could be good I guess, but it feels so fucking weird to see PCs right alongside swords and axes and a dracky.

Like... why?

It's a poor aesthetic according to my tastes. Maybe I'm an ass for that. The tech is weird.

All to say, in a poor rambling "I gotta get this out of me" kinda way, is Joker was fine.

I enjoyed breeding. I enjoyed seeing the engine. I enjoyed the unique additions like a 'hero monster'.

But I also had to grind mindlessly on a slower game.

I had to endure a story that forgot to show up until the very end.

I sat there thinking about replaying the older ones the whole time.

It was fine.

It's mediocre.

I'm glad I played it.

I'm done now :)

[bisluthq]

People always get dumb when you try and analyze 1989 because the biggest audience that loves 1989 is… dumb. Like I’m sorry besties that your queen made an inferior RED but it was ~sonically cohesive~ and pop. It’s still a boring album lyrically and it made sense she couldn’t find anything to write about after that either because she believed love would be red - and she said all she could on that - and then black and white - and there was nothing to say. So 👀

You sound like a pretentious asshole who thinks that people who like 1 album over the other are superior for some reason when music is subjective and depends on personal taste. You're also assuming a whole lot of shit because 1989 is not my personal favourite album even if I enjoy it a lot. I love Red more probably. What I don't understand is you trying to push the narrative that 1989 is her processing feelings about Jake. You can believe whatever you want but it's low key shitty to try and romanticize a toxic short term relationship with an older man. Or the fact that you keep claiming that Joe is an upgraded version of Jake when they have very little in common. It's laughable that you think she was so into Jake that she didn't feel anything for anyone until she met Calvin or Joe. Honestly only Taylor would know what the album is about and what was going on in her life in that period. I'm not going to truther anything because I can enjoy the songs without attaching them to a muse. I just find the Jake angle very unnecessary.

I am a pretentious asshole - like especially when it comes to lit and lyrics - that’s so true. I fucking hated Taylor Swift for a long time because her music seemed dumb and about dick and I was like… judgy. I still dislike Fearless.

1989 is one of the lyrically stupidest albums I’ve ever listened to. It like… makes me lose brain cells. Every time. It’s terrible (to me). If she wasn’t so fucking hot when she made that and that didn’t make me keep up an interest until today I’d probs still be an anti.

It’s also a regurgitation of the themes on RED but more boring and more ~sonically cohesive~

I don’t think she was still into Jake, I think she wanted to make a better RED and was able to do that because she didn’t care about any of the flings that much but could also channel them for bits.

Also me saying Jake and Joe are similar is mostly a joke and pointing out her type, they’re not majorly similar but they are both intelligent, blue eyed actors - one is just a MUCH Better Man.

[mistwraiths]

2 stars

Apologies for the blurry picture but I couldn't seem to find a good one. The Crown of Gilded Bones is the third book in the From Blood and Ash series. I want everyone to know I'll be putting on my clown makeup after I post this review because despite rating the first two books low and having issues with them, I somehow deluded myself into thinking this one might be better! It wasn't and dare I say it I think this was the worst one by far.

I'm genuinely trying to find something good about this book ot at least something I really enjoyed. I do like that the books pick up right where the last book ends up. The first few chapters are pretty exciting. Around page 600, the last few chapters are fast paced and things are happening. Other than that, I can't really think of anything I really liked about the book.

Crown of Gilded Bones majorly suffers, like its predecessors, in the same four ways. Being too long, repetition, world information and building, and nothing important to the central story or plot happening for huge chunks of pages.

I firmly believe that all the books were half their length and the story beats were quicker coming and longer, it would be far more enjoyable. Instead you're forced to slog through inner monologues that don't add anything new, Poppy getting dressed by Casteel, showers, and other mundane parts. I thought knowing that it would be slow would help me enjoy the book but nope. The whole deciding to go to the realm of the gods literally doesn't happen until nearly the end of 500 pages in.

The worst part about the book being far too long and nothing happening is that when something does happen, it gets rehashed several times to the point where I, as a reader, am exhausted about reading about talking about it. I'm a big lover of communication. I love it when characters who are working together or are together tell each other important information and trust each other, but this is different. Once something happens, it gets talked about it detail for a handful of chapters, usually lasting longer than the actual event itself, and then is brought up again to go over, and then again. It's frustrating because I just want to move on but the story is so determined to go over everything again.

That's not the only instances of repetition. I know authors tend to reuse certain words over again. SJM and her "croon" and "toes curl" and "barked/roared". I can forgive stuff. I can look over Jennifer's constant use of dimples. The honeydew part is the most disgusting. I don't care what flavor Poppy's vagina is. There's a difference when it comes to the same thing happening with the near similar responses/situations being used over and over again as an attempt in humor but it falls flat after its been used several times. I'm talking about the "I have a question" "No one is surprised by that" parts and the Poppy being prone to violence makes Casteel horny and Poppy has to be like you're disturbing. If it showed up once or twice after the initial one, I could get over it. But it's reused every so many chapters. If it's an attempt at humor, it is a poor one.

This book is number three in a series and this book is still chock-full of world building and world information. I could possibly forgive it since I suppose at the start Jennifer didn't plan for a big fantasy series, but it's too much. There's so much information being crammed at you and it's in a very obvious way. Poppy asks and Kiernan or Casteel answers. That's pretty much the only way Poppy and the reader learns anything. At this point, I feel like I need a glossary and timeline because there is so much information.

In fact, despite nothing happening, l don't know how it still feels that there is a lot going on. There's the Solis problem. There's the Poppy should be queen problem. There's the people have concerns of Poppy being queen. There's the Unseen problem. Another Dark One problem? Poppy's lineage/past mystery. Something about waking up the Consort? And a little bit more. It's a lot.

In the second book, I liked Poppy (sort of), Casteel, and Kiernan. However, I find myself not liking any of them that much. From personality to saying similar things, they all feel very much the same character. There's not much difference in personalities or dialogue. About the only difference is that Kiernan is cool, Poppy is compassionate when it suits the narrative, and Casteel is protective. Other than that, there's not much of a difference between any of them.

Poppy is pretty much the same as always. Massively overpowered and incredibly special, doesn't know anything about her world that she lives in, and somehow despite being so special and powerful, she's kidnapped and hurt and then levels up again. We are forcefully spoon-fed how Poppy is so strong, so beautiful, so intelligent and clever. I haven't found one instance that I've been wow that was smart. Poppy's powers she inherently knows how to use perfectly the moment she gets them.

There's also almost no female interactions or female friendships with Poppy. Tawny was barely there in the first one but when she surprisingly shows up here, she's immediately rendered injured and unconscious. We're told Vonetta and Poppy are friends, but there's been almost no interactions. Vonetta gave her clothes once and then delivered a message later. Is that a basis for friendship? Vonetta eventually falls in a hole and Poppy saves her. That's about it. Ileana and Eloana are both older motherly types but also significant worrisome individuals for Poppy internally. Again, there's like one conversation each with them individually. Lyra is introduced to us by giving Kiernan a blow job but no interactions. Hisa and Nova are soldiers but no interactions. It's even mentioned that female draken are rare, but I'd argue that female characters are exceptionally rare. It's ridiculous. It's like there isn't any female that's allowed to have a moment of spotlight or competency other than Poppy. Poppy also has a moment of nastiness that's out of character when she threatens a woman who admitted to her that she had no interest in Casteel and Casteel had said the same and he wasn't interested in her, and she threatens to rip her limb from limb. It's so sudden and startlingly and leaves a terrible taste in my mouth.

As for Casteel, I no longer like him nor do I think he's a good guy. I think he's capable of good, being good, doing good but there's too many times where he's been vocal about killing anyone and burning his own kingdom down if Poppy doesn't get her own freedom of choice or what she want and what not. It's played out as the most truest love but to me, that's like a villain kind of love. If someone I loved burned down a city because I didn't get to choose what I wanted, I'd call the police. The craziest thing I had to read is people believing that Casteel would make a good king when he legitimately states that Poppy's needs comes before his own kingdom's needs. And if hers are met, the kingdom's could be met. That's not how any of that works!

He also does something incredibly reckless. I get it, he couldn't live without Poppy so he chooses to Ascend her. I can wrap my head around it. The fact of the matter is that Casteel refuses to take the blame or even entertain the consequences that could have resulted in that and how reckless it was. Poppy even refuses to allow the conversation. They are both like: I am not a vampry. Nothing bad happened so let's move on. It's astounding. Not only that but I felt it extremely odd that Poppy would have been okay with Casteel making her into a vampry, something incredibly dangerous and something she hates and would never want to be. It's just oh okay well luckily I didn't turn into one. And that's... it? It would have made good tension but no. Instead, they're just in love so much we have to listen to Casteel tell her how strong and beautiful she is every twenty pages.

I was excited to learn more about Kiernan but I still couldn't tell you much about him. Best friends with Casteel, a wolven, and he's always like "no one is surprised by Poppy having question". That's about all I know of him. Those are all things I knew about him in the second book.

Some other things I had issues with is that the villains are eager to spill everything about their plans. I feel like I'm watching a cartoon show with their villain monologues going on and on. Everyone except for Poppy is knowledgeable about everything!! People are constantly apologizing for things they have no control of. Characters somehow know exactly what to say to Poppy all the time like mind reading. I'm annoyed that the gods realm and the draken were such short parts.

When the reveals and the action which took 600 pages to get to happened, I really couldn't find myself caring. Reading felt like a chore. I'm not worried about any of the characters. I don't know if I'm interested anymore in reading this series because it feels like work trying to read it. I'm here for enjoyment and I'm not having a good time.

[halfasleepoetry]

I'd LOVE to read more Archer x Rogerina!!❤ Don't have any specific requests so maybe just something from one of the prompts you have? And I agree, I don't care what Joe's in as long as I get to see more from him!!!

Omg thank you for asking for Archer x Rogerina because I do have something to share that I couldn’t quite fit into the ongoing narrative! So this is not based on a prompt, but since Trip The Light Fantastic is told in Ben’s POV, as I was working on Joe’s character, I wrote his version of that night. And here it is:

I catch you looking back at me, looking through a cloud of steam

Archer x Rogerina AU, Joe’s POV

Right before senior year began, Joe had just broken up with his then-girlfriend who was cheating on him with a mutual friend for almost as long as they were together. That was enough to put him off any kind of relationships for a while. Besides, he thought he’d give being completely and truly single, a try. He kind of miss the sex and occasional cuddling, not that he’s particularly the cuddling type, but it’s nice to have a warm someone in bed and not wake up cold and alone sometimes. But to compare that with the kind of serenity and peace he has now and the headaches he saved, he’d rather keep being single, thank you. He has more time than ever now to read and write and drive by himself, and he has even started dancing regularly again.

And then there’s the Halloween party at the Maleks’. It’s the kind of party that all seniors go to, many juniors get invited to, and selected few sophomores could get in by miracle, and freshman could only dream of going. Maybe next year, or the year after. The host of such a party is always that one kid in the senior year who is filthy rich and you’re lucky if he isn’t an asshole who also buys his way through college. Well Joe sure is lucky. That kid, or those kids, because there are two of them, are his childhood best friends, Rami and Sami, whose father is a rich Egyptian-American business tycoon who moved to New York and built himself a business empire working closely with the Arabs and their oil in the 80s. 

It was last year that Rami told him he has his eyes on a certain London girl who is majoring in arts together with Joe, who is in her sophomore year. Her name is Lucy. Of course Joe knows her. Joe knows everyone. It comes with being occasionally recognized as that kid from Jurassic Park, and every time one of his professors brought up the fact we have someone in the class who is here on the personal recommendation of Steven Spielberg, he would slowly slide down his seat a little, hoping the remark would remain just a remark, and it would be forgotten by the end of the class. Sometimes it works exactly like how he wants it to be, sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, it earns him a reputation that he plays down and many friends, no, a large group of people he socializes with regularly. So he is some kind of a popular kid too, although a somewhat reluctant one. 

The Maleks’ mansion is pretty much his second home, and he was in his element that night, having accepted Lucy’s dare to show up in a girl’s character costume, and she even volunteered to do his make up, on one condition; no glitter involved. She did manage to put on something metallic-hued on his eyelids though, because he looked in the mirror and his eyes sparkled subtly whenever he blinks. Lucy had shrugged it off and told him, it wouldn’t be too noticeable, the house would be dim and there would be light strobes instead of actual lighting.

Lucy smiled up at him as she gave his make up, her handiwork, its last touch. “My goodness, you’re beautiful,” she marvelled. “Don’t make me change my mind, Luce,” he warned her. “No, don’t!” Lucy protested hurriedly. “No, no, no. Now let’s go.” But not before she stopped one last time to take a selfie with Joe, no, the Archer.

His Archer costume was a hit, apparently. But he made it very clear that he’s there just to enjoy the company of himself. And dance like mad, which was great because he had gotten back at it and been practicing for a while now. And that’s when he saw Rogerina. One sulky Rogerina who was drinking beer alone and trying not to look like he’s staring when he pretty obviously was doing exactly that. Joe thought that they look kind of wildly different, him and Rogerina who has a more muscular build and moody-boyish look. He even stood with his legs apart, chugging his beer with one hand on his hip, not even trying to appear feminine. But even across the room, Joe could feel his eyes on him, and they’re crazy-intense. He didn’t even know how to describe it, but he had never been stared at like that since he was five and sitting in an audition for Stanley Kubrick. 

He thought about it, but Rogerina obviously isn’t one of the people he knows, because he knows everyone here. Almost. Let’s find out who you are, Rogerina, he thought as one of his favourite songs came on, and he danced to it with an added flair, his moves all smooth and pronounced. Rogerina kept staring even as he made his way to Rami and Lucy. Lucy asked him if he’s murdering people on the dancefloor, and he just laughed it off. He headed to the kitchen to retrieve some rum he knew is kept somewhere safe and away from casual partygoers, half-hoping Rogerina would follow him there. And he wasn’t disappointed. Well he had to talk with Chace first, and the first thing Chace said to him was, “Hey there gorgeous.” 

“Asshole.” He laughed him off, because he knew Chace well. He’s always trying to get into someone’s pants, gorgeous girls or boys alike. They’ve fooled around before, but decided it’s better to remain friends as they are now. They talked shop and laughed, but from the corner of his eyes he could see Rogerina approaching the kitchen. He had never wanted a friend to disappear so fast before. And he’s glad when Chace decided to go looking for pretty girls at the pool.

The masked hesitation he could sense in Rogerina’s voice as he said hi to him was cute, to say the least. When was the last time he had been chased after like this? He was so determined too. He told him he came looking for a light for his cigarette. Classic excuse. He has a deep voice, British accent, and a very boyish smile. Definitely not a senior, maybe not even from the same department. He’d have remembered someone like him. Joe found himself looking into green eyes as Rogerina stepped closer to him to light up his cigarette from the mini kitchen lighter he was holding. He smelled nice, with a faint hint of aftershave. He wondered if he’d taste like beer and cigarette and something entirely different or surprising.

Mint, Joe thought later as they began kissing and he’s savouring the blonde’s lips. The cigarette he lit up earlier must be his first, as the taste was very faint, and it soon disappeared. The bitterness of malt and mint on his tongue fits right in with the Coke and rum sweetness on his own. 

Rogerina kissed him like he meant it, like the persistence by which he went after him to the kitchen, which found him pressing the sides of his knees on Rogerina’s hips, and that’s when he found the lighter innocently tucked in the side pocket of his skirt. He wasn’t even surprised, but he was absolutely delighted at the thought of this green-eyed British boy going after him and cooking up a lie to flirt with him. Makes him want to give him exactly what he wanted, and set him on fire while doing so. So he kissed him deeper, tongue all the way in, a hand in hair and another on his back, gripping him through the white shirt. He pushed himself forward and closer, so Rogerina could touch more of his exposed thigh. There’s growing heat at the base of his guts, and he slid even closer to give friction to it, and that’s when he realized they’re both hard.

Holy shit, he thought, and almost immediately wanted, no, needed more of this delicious friction. They’re separated by layers of fabrics, but fuck if this doesn’t feel so good, kissing a boy indecently in an open space, pushing and rubbing against each other fully clothed while the sound of the party droned on in the near distance. There’s no way this would not look exactly like what it was, and the thought of anyone potentially walking in on them is an incredible turn-on.

But Joe did pull away from Rogerina, mainly because he did not actually want anyone to walk in on them, and he needed to at least get a name. “Ben,” he told him in between breaths, eyes still transfixed on his lips. He looked like he was dazed and drunk, or somewhere in between. They were kissing again in no time, and when Joe deliberately pushed himself against Ben as he slid down the kitchen counter, they both moaned loudly into the kiss, and he almost lost his mind a little. They’re fast becoming like magnets, one gravitating to the other as soon as they pull away. He wanted to get his hands everywhere on Ben, wanted to touch him, kiss him, make him moan his name. They were strangers barely ten minutes ago, it’s so fucking insane, but there’s nothing else he’d want more right now than this green-eyed Brit in Rogerina costume. But not just yet.

So he smiled sweetly to him when he asked him nicely if he’d want to get out of the party with him, and he thought there’s no way he’d say no to that. They were kissing slower now, heartbeat calmer, desire kept in check. He held his hand close, making sure he wouldn’t change his mind. Something’s telling him he needed to do this right. This isn’t just a party hook-up, a fooling around kind of fun.

That same something’s also telling him he’s hooked, and it felt headier and sweeter than anything he’d drank tonight.

So when they did get out of the party, not before he caught Rami for the barest seconds to say goodbye, surprisingly without Lucy by his side, he decided they’re not going immediately to his place. He still has Ben’s hand in his, and he’s looking at him and smiling with his lucid green eyes and Joe wondered if it felt a little bit more than just infatuation or hormones. He thought about how ridiculous it was to think of it as anything more than what it was, but it lingered on long after.