#listening to lightlark reviews

[girlhelpicf]

in no way am i a lightlark defender (i hate hate hate lightlark) but the massive amount of backlash it got is a little disproportionate considering the absolute bullshit a lot of people are pushing out, and when you consider the genre and the fact that alex aster is a woman, it feels like twilight pt2 (i also hate twilight and think just about every ounce of criticism is deserved). is a 5+ hour review of just shitting on the book necessary? no. will i watch the entire thing multiple times? yes. But it is a little weird

[takkamek]

about to finish baking mokkapalat, gonna then do makaronilaatikko, then try to outline my novel💪💪

[autisticempathydaemon]

Hi hiii!! :DDD Doing this bad boy to see what happens. >:333

What song are you fixated on at the moment? What lyric or verse, and why? Rule 34 and Dinner and Diatribes. I don't know. Something about the just barely masked tension in both those songs, the way they both fit so well with characters/ships/dynamics I adore, and their general energy and instrumentation SINGS to me. <3 <3 <3. I may not listen to them as often as others but they are my entire brain constantly. Favourite lines from both are: "You look so good There on your knees Such a good girl knows how to please Look at me look me in the eyes Forget yourself, surrender your mind" - Rule 34 (Mostly for the visuals and the change of voice) And "I knew it from the first look of The look of mischief in your eyes" - Dinner and Diatribes (This line sets the tone of the entire song so well, the visual is so interesting and the way it's sung is so intimate in a way I cannot describe. Literally so good.)

What is your Enneagram type? 4w5 :3.

Do you love gargantuan Youtube video essays, and if so, which is your favorite and why? I fucking love them so bad <3. I think currently the Lightlark and Nightbane ones by KrimsonRogue are really good. Just... so much content, and also writing advice, and also dying inside listening to a review of a cringe book. Literally sustains my life.

Tell me about your childhood imaginary friend. I didn't really have them in the traditional sense, but the closest things I had was imagining chatting with or interacting with characters I liked from shows, especially once I found visual novels XD. And that evolved into characters running around in my brain and now I am a writer. :P So. These bitches clawed their way into my head at age 10 and never left.

What is your go-to way to fall asleep? Rain sounds. Storm sounds. Wind sounds. Especially if they just come from outside but I also do just put them on on my computer and turn off the screen often, letting them play on the stereo. :P

If you had to change your name, what would it be, and why? (In tandem, if you have changed your name, why did you pick that one?) Names are fucking weird man. I am currently in the process of reconsidering mine, and I am starting to like the idea of something more wacky, and star themed, or snow themed. :P I don't know if I'd like it long term but Redacted and DnD have very much warmed me up to names like that lol.

What is your favorite of Redacted’s audios, and why? Why must I chose one? You're so mean. Uuuuum... Deferred Judgment methinks. It shows a lot of Vega's softness and even some selflessness, while also a bit of the risk that his mission entails and MAN- THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT WHEN IT CAME OUT WAS SO MUCH. I hated it way back when but damn... it was really good. Still is. Cannot wait to see him again. Miss him real bad.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. (I won’t judge, I promise.) Um... Guy, Ollie, NICK. OH GODS NOT NICK. And most of the fooliverse boys besides Milo. I am not exactly the type for sweet boys. I like some of them but their chaos or overt sweetness is... too much.

Tell me about that one book/movie/tv show you know all the words to. Can't say I have gotten that obsessed with media like that sadly. I am more of a Podcast/ASMR/Audioplay/Music person buuuut... hm... I mean- does a book I'm writing count??? I have quite a bit of the words of that thing up in the noggin often. It's not done yet but :P.

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Like- forget dating, which dude do you want to be your best friend? Oh man. Damien. He is super similar to me in his passion and his love of learning and his general personality (minus the anger, that I am less prone to.) And the other boys up on top of my list I am more queerplatonic about so. :P

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? (For example, my boyfriend knows I’m ready to sleep when I start talking about space.) Oh no I will ramble about anything at any time. <3 <3 <3. I am not well ever <3.

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo. Spicy or Soup chips (Salt and Vineger, Chili/Cheese, etc), often Doritos or Cheetos (or Hickery Sticks if they have them), and either mineral water or an orange Soda/Slushy. And if it's cold I often go chips, sour candy and hot cocoa <3.

Tell me about your favorite playlist at the moment.  Hozier's Unheard and Wasteland Baby. Both have songs I utterly adore.

What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why? None. I feel guilty about nothing that I consume <3 <3 <3.

And whatever else you think tells me about who you are! I am a lover of art and the arts, and am actually studying art currently for my major. I would consider myself very much Vampiric in some ways (My disconnect in the way I write/speak from a specific time period or place, humanity is familiar but also fucking weird, the sun burns, I'm dramatic and want the fashion to prove it, blood good (no I won't explain) etc.), and I am a weird philosophical bastard who likes to make characters out of vague concepts, and then explore them to their most painful depth. Also varied morality and/or moral quandaries are very important to me. Morality is a weird soup and I like to play with it. (Ironic since my own morals are so strict and fixed, and yet I love writing characters who have different ones.) Aka Evil Bitches Good. And also I am one of them (if only as a writer. Love writing cruel angst to hurt my friends and characters with <3 <3 <3.) Anyhow that's all for me for now. <3 <3 <3 (Hope this is not too obscenely long.)

Pssssst- .3. Hellooo- I submmited a matchup thing but I think I did an oopsie XD. I'm an Enneagram 5w4 but I think I flipped them. So- just saying that. If it changes anything lol- My baddd- I just noticed when thinking on it. :P

Hmm, this enneagram type is characterized as creative, intelligent, and stubborn, with something to prove to the world- which tracks as you relate to Damien. With that in mind, who else could I pair you with but Huxley?

Huxley is a kind, patient, go with the flow kind of guy but not too silly which you said you don’t vibe with. You give me the impression of an insular, cerebral person, someone with a lot of ideas and thoughts that need to be finalized and put on paper, and Huxley seems like a good partner to help with that, to be your rock (ha) and help you keep those trains of thought on track while also being vocally supportive and hyping up your work the whole time. He’s sweet to you but not so sweet he doesn’t love you and your love of villains and their fucked-up deeds.

And it’s a wonderful love Huxley gives you every day, with the sturdy support and cool shade of a great tree. When you’re studying or doing schoolwork, he’s always there bringing you water or food, massaging your shoulders if you’ve been slouching. He listens to your rambles with rapt attention and affection, retaining every detail. He is your beta reader and biggest fan. He drives you to and from school with a thermos of homemade hot chocolate because his leagues is better than the store-bought stuff, and he won’t let you forget it.

Song:

And I remember being younger and my mother told me the truth/ Find someone who grows flowers in the darkest parts of you/ Take heed when things get hard and don't you ever turn around/ You'll find someone, someday, somewhere that grows you to the clouds

I feel like this song choice needs no explanation. One, the vibes are kind of just right if you’re a Hozier fan; the folk-y, country-like longing is just what the matchmaker prescribed (the matchmaker being me). Two, it’s delightfully charming and ironic given your dislike of the sun and the pet name of Sunflower I will soon have him give you.

Runner-ups:

Cam is a fun runner-up for you because I think he, as a therapist, would have a lot to contribute to your writing and dissection of villains along with the empathy to see the depth and dimension you want to give them. Lasko is another runner-up I like given how much you relate to Damien, because Damien/Lasko has always struck me as a darling pair, two sides of the same coin.

Bonus: (For you, my one hundredth match-up~)

“Sunflower…”

“Fifteen more minutes, Hux; I’ve almost figured this out.”

“You said that forty-five minutes ago, baby,” Huxley says with a soft, warm laugh and big, warmer hands on your shoulders, gently turning your chair around. “It’s time for bed.”

“But my chapter-“ you say with a tone you won’t admit has a hint of a whine.

“Will be there tomorrow,” he interrupts, taking your hand and gently tugging you out of your chair against your weak protests. “And you’ll be able to write and edit it even better once you’ve slept.” You fall into the bed with a fwump, a deep sigh, and a muttered stream of thought falling out your lips like the air out of a balloon. The earth elemental can pick out odd, familiar words in the ramble like “heart”, “stars”, and “Vega” and chuckles as the stream peters off into slow breaths and soft snores. Huxley queues up a familiar YouTube video on the tv, a ten hour loop of light rain showers, and places a blanket over your sprawled, sleeping body.

“Good night, Sunflower,” he says softly, pressing a light kiss on the top of your head before climbing into bed beside you, turning off the light with a fond, content smile.

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

listening to crows review of lightlark 2 and how do you manage to make a character this abusive on accident. Grimm fucking collared the MC?

[vaugarde]

i was watching this video review on this really bad half baked catholic propaganda YA series (but from someone who doesnt get it beyond the aesthetic) but i was listening to the person making the review and their style sounded familiar and i couldn’t place it, and then they mentioned lightlark and i was like “WAIT THATS THE ONE WHO EVISCERATED LIGHTLARK IN THAT GIANT ARTICLE”

[kevin-sedai]

get to know you better game! answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to get to know better

Tagged by: @pelgraine, thanks!

Last song I listened to: Dies Irae by Vivaldi bc I listen to classical music while working lol

Currently watching: A rant review on Lightlark on YouTube lmao. My YouTube just goes and that was the next one, so I just let it go on and I'm giggling about it lol. Also on TV, The Bear

Currently obsessed with: Making hyperspecific polls, and making the general tumblr population see my url and groan and say, "Another one? Isn't he done YET?". I'll stop soon I promise everyone lmao. Also checking where what I ordered a week ago is. The mail people might just keep it with the amount of times I've checked lmao.

Tagging: (no pressure( @talysalankil @darkfeanix @tragediegh and anyone else!

[bogkeep]

ideas are cheap and execution is everything (actually im gonna talk about deltora quest just give me a second)

on one of the podcasts i listen to (leighton night with brian wecht)((oh god when did i become a podcast person)), one that often has creatives and creators as guests and thus often discuss the Creative Process, has brought up the notion of Ideas Are Cheap, Execution Is Everything. which, honestly, VERY refreshing to talk about in the age of "oh no you guessed the twist better change the ending" and "AVOID SPOILERS AT ALL COSTS". like, you know those guys who are like "I HAVE A GREAT COMIC IDEA AND I NEED AN ILLUSTRATOR TO DRAW ALL OF IT FOR ME, I CAN'T PAY YOU BUT IT'LL BE GREAT EXPOSURE"? like - a great illustrator/clever comics person/good writer can make any idea work, they don't need your brain crumbs and your exposure. likewise, all the stories out there that cause people to go "they have such a good concept BUT THEY'RE NOT UTILIZING THE POTENTIAL!!!!! AAAAAAAAARGH" just proves that it doesn't matter how good the idea is if it doesn't get pulled off right. (or maybe not just right for You, there's so many ways one idea could go! but that's a different topic.) ANYWAY so the other day i listened to all four hours of this review of lightlark (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH LARKLIGHT BY PHILIP REEVE. i keep mixing up the titles constantly) which is why i was having a discussion about Ideas And Execution to begin with. i liked the review because it actually took the book seriously on its own merits rather than just going THE IDEA IS STUPID WHO WOULD WANT TO READ THAT - like, that's not fair. you don't have to like Every Idea, but pretty much every story you love can be broken down into a stupid-sounding idea if that's your attitude! a decent story just needs some commitment and care, is all. SO I WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO TALK ABOUT DELTORA QUEST i haven't read deltora quest in a hot second, but i read the first eigth book series many times as a kid (in czech, so apologies if i don't know the translations for things). it came up a lot in the discussion of lightlark's plot beats with my friend, because apparently a large part of the book is a very boring macguffin collection quest. it's very easy to write a boring macguffin quest. but you know what has a GREAT macguffin quest collection plotline? DELTORA QUEST. like, okay, the premise for deltora is actually fairly basic. the main antagonist is literally a shadow lord who's super mega evil just because he hates everything that's good in the world, so he's been working to create a world that's horrible and unpleasant and everything is twists and turns and lies. BUT IT WORKS SO FUCKING WELL!!!! because emily rodda is not a coward about it!!!!! like the whole series was written to be like a video game, which is why it has such a standard video-game like plot of "to defeat the shadow lord you have to overcome these puzzles and challenges and collect these macguffins and find the chosen one to wield it". it's not high literature but everyone i know who's read deltora go FUCK YEAH DELTORA when i bring it up, so. it made an impact okay!!! and part of that is because the shadow lord is Literally Actually Terrifying. not only do you have all the horrifying monsters and minibosses and the terror of the land of deltora itself. not only do you have all the horrifying contingency plans to destroy deltora even in the case of his defeat. but the way he's played the long game to divide the country and poison the monarchy itself and turn its people against themselves with broken alliances? THERE'S LAYERS. i get CHILLS every time i think about the beginning of the first book, the slow realization of Something's Horribly Wrong, uncovering the erosion of traditions meant to keep deltora safe? under all the riddles you've got a story about how any monarchy that loses touch with its people is doomed to fail.

OH YEAH also the whole series is videogame-like in that you can Follow Along At Home - you're invited to try to solve all the puzzles and riddles and twists along with our heroes! you're given all the clues you could need - along with a hefty dose of red herrings (IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW). actually you know what? i think all those "if someone guesses the ending we have to rewrite it" shows should invest in some quality red herrings rather than rewriting shit. it worked for gravity falls! increases rewatch value, too.

im not saying deltora quest seems to have all the worldbuilding and plot beats and twists lightlark tried to have......... but i'm also not NOT saying that. i mean, it's a bit of a different genre, and i haven't read lightlark (i did read larklight though), and the presentation of what they offer is also different. i know there's been a lot of back and forth discussion whether or not "tropes first" promotion of books is good, and i don't think we'll ever reach a consensus on that, and i don't think there's anything worth moralizing about that. being told something is an MLM Enemies To Lovers story is going to work for some - hell, it's worked on me when i've had the very specific cravings for it - but it won't be my preferred way of recommendations most of the time. but like!! all stories contain tropes!!!! all of them!!!! and all of the tropes have the potential to be done well or badly! and we read stories with the tropes we love because we love them!! (DON'T TALK TO ME AND MY FIFTEEN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT COVERS OF SIÚIL A RÚN.) like, the controversy around lightlark doesn't really come from the plot or the clumsy writing, and it's honestly unfair to make that the target of your malice. the more you pick something apart for the sake of tearing it apart, the more likely you are to rip holes in stories and writers that did nothing to earn your ire.

[crow-caller]

first off, i absolutely adore your channel. i think ive fully listened through your lightlark review twice every day since its come out. i play it in the background while im doing the dishes or doing homework or writing (its great motivation, really “if this could get published, then by god some poor fellow on Ao3 will like my story”)

i left a youtube comment on your latest video about sweet evil that has the same premise as this ask, but either it just didnt go through or you deleted it yourself (which i kind of doubt, but if it did bug you then please disregard this ask lol) because i cant find it anymore.

your love for angels in literature is a very nice breath of fresh air among the booktube community, and that paired with your love for bad books made me wonder, have you ever read Georgia McBrides PRAEFATIO?

if you have, oh my god i thought i was alone in experiencing this horrendous novel, but if you havent i really do recommend it.

actually. “recommend” isnt the right word. i dont recommend this book to anyone at all. save yourself

the writing is so JUVENILE its painful to read, imagine my immortal but with zero edge and thats almost exactly the writing style of the first few chapters. at some points the book gets so insanely hardcore (like lightlark but the violence is somehow even more unnecessary to the plot) but then the mc is reacting to these things with such eloquent phrases such as “OMG” “WTF” and “OW”

the mc, grace ann miller, is (from my memory) newly seventeen and is also the most specialist nephilim to ever exist because she was actually the will of GOD, so that makes her better than the other nephilim.

she falls in love with a Hot Rockstar Fallen Angel™ named gavin who is absolutely not also 17, after he totally didnt kidnap her and when shes eventually saved— i mean ripped away from her one true love by the police— shes deemed INSANE and a victim of stockholm syndome. the entire book is meant to be her giving her police statement which georgia seems to forget for most of the story.

tale as old as time really.

id love to hear your thoughts on it if you ever get your hands on this garbage fire (or if you have already).

(also, georgia mcbride is totally in love with gavin and its a little weird, you can see her ramblings here)

I def didn't delete the comment, I've only deleted 1 spam comment the entire time I've done youtube, but I probably haven't seen it or it got caught somewhere in the web. I TRY to read and respond to every comment or at least like it to show I've read it, but as I get more videos and views that's increasingly hard to do. I'm bad at time management to begin with and now I have hundreds of comments to respond to!

The name Georgia McBride sounds very familiar but I can't tell why. I have never heard of PRAEFATIO, it doesn't seem very notable or wide spread but you're right in that it looks similar. And sounds bad. And the cover looks.... wrong.

They.... look so wrong. They both look extremely photoshopped and severely uncanny, the girl in particular looks like a doll and honestly, it really really creeps me out. It definitely is going on my list of books to read though because it sounds gloriously bad, and yes, I love angels and bad angel books a lot.

(It's the autism if anyone couldn't guess by everything about me... special interest: angels (and demons). Longest lasting special interest maybe I've had)

[tsukikoayanosuke]

😈 ✍ 🛒 🎢🎶⛔ and 🌞 please

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

To be fair, anything 'mean' I did kinda serve a purpose in the story, Though TW:OPT Octavinelle Arc in a nutshell is just bombing the Jonazul ship constantly.

✍ Do you have a beta reader?

Nope. I don't know how and am too afraid to ask for help.

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

You know that one shoujo scene where the love interest turns around, smiling softly, and the wind is blowing through their hair, and the main character just stares at them in awe? Yeah. I think I did that or at least imagine that quite a lot. Though, bonus for TW:OPT for having the whole "everyone deserve a second chance in redemption" things going.

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

I want to say Our Precious Treasure because almost three years, but "my best friend (M16) is acting weird, what do I do??" is kinda the next level of crack. Probably the crackiest crack fic I've ever written.

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

What I listen through varies from music to book commentary. Recently it's the Lightlark 3 hours review.

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

We do not talk about the FanFiction.net account, but also my now-deleted Private Tutor, Angel of Death, Philza Minecraft

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

I would say daytime or early morning at 3 am because nighttime is for college assignments until I passed out unwillingly

[spacebeyonce]

crow caller just put out a three hour long video reviewing lightlark 2 so lemme grab my tablet and draw while I listen

[guide-to-galaxy]

Lightlark by Alex Aster (BOOK REVIEW) || An interesting case... but not a good book

Strap in because I ranted a lot in here 😄. Listen, I think tropes and a lot of acclaim on an app is great, but that doesn’t mean the book is any good. Since the sequel is now out I decided to finally finish editing and publish the review 😄. So, let’s go! As always when I write dnf reviews or low-rated reviews, just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to. Maybe you’ve read it…

[icaruskeyartist]

Tbh maybe I’m just a book snob, but most of the popular books I’ve read or seen reviews of (Divergent back in the day, AToG recently, etc) seem just… bad. Very bad. Especially Colleen Hoover, which seems to romanticize abusive relationships. Very confusing to me.

I've not heard good things about Sarah J Maas's or Colleen Hoover's writing tbh. As you said, Hoover's last(?) book in particular I know she based on her mom's and her own experiences and even reviews and excerpts make it apparent that it's pretty tone deaf. And that's so bizarre because she's writing intimate experiences that she has first and secondhand knowledge about!

Professional publishing is really a matter of getting the right person's attention at the right time, and having tie ins to the industry somehow (be it attending panels with publishers and agents, being related, etc) makes it a lot easier. And since self-publishing and self-advertising is so much more easily accessible, it becomes easier for indie people to get their work out there in front of eyes. And if enough eyes see it, then there's a chance it'll be picked up by a professional publishing company (50 Shades is a good example here).

As for books a la Divergent, I think books like that get caught up in the trends. Hunger Games came out, and that was a game changer. According to some reviews I've listened to for Lightlark, Alex Aster came up with this idea originally around when the HG movies came out. So the fact Aster put in this supposed death game makes sense.

Side note, East Asian horror movies have a lot of death games. Squid Game is not very unique in that regard I've learned. Just more unique as being pretty blatant discussion about capitalism I think and catching on in Western audiences?

I really think it's the aesthetic that caught mainstream Western people's attention...

[queer-ragnelle]

WithCindy made two videos about how terrible Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is. I haven’t read it myself. But I agree based on the excerpts, the inclusion of which is one reason I really appreciate Cindy’s videos specifically. I won’t rag on a book I haven’t read.

However, I heard movie rights were sold. So I went to Goodreads to examine the general consensus. Baby Teeth was a 2018 nominee in both the Goodreads Choice Awards and for a Bram Stoker Award. But…many of early 4/5 star ratings appear to have been bought. Like the reviewers admit they got an Advanced Reader Copy (arc) from the publisher.

I could believe these to be genuine reviews if they were truly reviews. But most of them are just a regurgitation of the synopsis in different words, clicking the star rating, and throwing it onto their arc shelf.

This reopens a stubborn wound that won’t heal. Books like this and Lightlark by Alex Aster discourage me. As an artist, a writer, a creative, it’s so hard to avoid feeling hopeless. Like art is dead. It feels like everything is just manufactured for consumption, worsened when a person’s nepotism and influence artificially inflates their success. And of course this defines success as notoriety and monetary gain. Ideally people should be able to create for the joy of it. And if that thing resonates with others, then by their own merit and talent, they should earn awards and appropriate compensation for it. False promises shouldn’t be rewarded with grotesque displays of wealth.

I don’t want to see beautifully crafted stories flop because that person lacks a TikTok influence or a publisher with the means to foist free arcs onto people in exchange for “honest” reviews. But I literally don’t know what to do. The only way I can think of to combat this is utilizing libraries. Purchase zines and novels from authors directly. Stick to shopping locally, ordering titles that aren’t immediately available through that avenue, and waiting instead of defaulting to Amazon. But what else can be done? I’m genuinely asking.

[heatwa-ves]

Having the time of my life listening to the 4 hour lightlark review

[musashi]

all i did when i had COVID was watch booktube reviews where people tore apart lightlark so now every time i watch a book review of any kind i start to feel feverish and crave shitty ramen

[crow-caller]

just wanted to say that ive watched your lightlark video and now your perfected trilogy video as well and they were both really great! the amount of detail you put into the analysis and critique is really impressive and i just love the way your speak. im definitely going to look at some of your writing!

Thanks! They were fun to do, and like, I have been writing book reviews for years as a hobby, I just never imagined other people would want to listen to me read those reviews out loud. But they do.... again I have a book blog with a lot more like that, and I'll be doing more videos too. Prolly not every new review and I can't pledge a timeframe but it's been nice seeing people enjoy them

My stuff I write is maybe not. It's not analytical meta fiction, it's fun angel hours, but I'm also very fond of it and love people checking them out. I do free review copies and in gen urge rating/review of you do pick up my or any other indie author's books. It's kinda impossible to get readers otherwise!