#my 2023 unofficial year in review | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

25shadesoffebruary · 9 months

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2023: A Year in Review

I was tagged by @pondsphuwin I know I was suppose to do this before the end of the year, but I'm doing it now lol.

rules: link your favourite and/or most popular post from each month this year (it's totally fine to skip months!) and tag some CCs you love!

January:

Most Popular: Sam getting her punishment from Mon

Favorite: Tinn and Gun on their unofficial official date

February:

Most Popular: Wen enjoying Jim's anatomy

Favorite: When Jim offered a ride but Wen was talking riding something else

March:

Most Popular: Uea and King consent talk in bathrobes

Favorite: Jae Won and Ji Hyun exchanging names

April:

Most Popular: We love being scientist in ABAB

Favorite: Khata and Dome running off into the sunset holding hands

May:

Most Popular: Gun and Cher's I missed you

Favorite: Gun in glasses

June:

Most Popular: I want to be your safety with Pat and Jeng

Favorite: above is my favorite

July:

Most Popular: My wedding better be bigger Phayu says Rain

Favorite: same as above

August:

Most Popular: What do you feel

Favorite: Boeing in his swimwear

November:

Most Popular: Chen Yi and Ai Di starring in Pin Him down & Share feels

Favorite: PhayaTharn Cap pull , Jasmine blooming with MorkDay

December:

Most Popular: Phaya's Orgasm Pleasure face holding Tharn

Favorite: FirstSprite B&W kiss , Day blushing , Kim punching Winner

This was fun going down memory lane.

Tagging: @forcebook @spicyvampire @smittenskitten @piningintrovert @markpakin if you have already done this ignore. Also tagging whoever wants to do this.

#ask game #gap the series #moonlight chicken #abab #a boss and a babe #bed friend the series #step by step the series #wedding plan #love in the air #dangerous romance the series #kiseki: dear to me #kiseki dear to me #the sign the series

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 1 year

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Kaiju Week in Review (September 3-9, 2023)

I was a bit nervous about GAMERA -Rebirth-; the animation looked dodgy and Netflix has a shaky track record with kaiju shows. I'm pleased to report this is the best entry in the genre that they've put their name on. Good characters, great action (brutal as always), and actual episodic storytelling that effortlessly weaves in elements from the Showa films beyond all the returning kaiju. Watch it immediately.

Tie-ins abound for GAMERA -Rebirth-: a two-part novelization, a manga adaptation, and a prequel manga that sheds some light on [UNBELIEVABLY MASSIVE SPOILERS]. That prequel manga (GAMERA -Rebirth- code thyrsos) is being published online for free in both Japanese and English. You can read the first chapter here.

In unofficial translation news, English subtitles for GAMERA.1999 (1999) and yokaipedia (2022) are now available. The former is Hideaki Anno's making-of documentary for Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris; the latter is a fun, child-friendly fantasy from Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki with a big ol' centipede-dragon at the end. (It's also maybe the first Japanese kaiju film I've ever seen with a major Black character.) I haven't gotten to GAMERA.1999 yet, though from scrubbing through it, it seems like a lot of dialogue was just ignored by the translator. Shame, as that's one I've wanted for a long time.

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We have a teaser for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, as well as a premiere date for the first two (out of ten) episodes: November 17. (I am being showered with Media for my 30th birthday.) The big news from this trailer is that John Goodman is reprising his role as Bill Randa from Kong: Skull Island. I assume that's going to be through flashbacks and old recordings only, since he was eaten by a Skullcrawler in that one. We also catch glimpses of two new creatures, a dragon and a crab from what I can tell. The latter looks to be fighting a Mother Longlegs.

Fandango and AMC have added mostly-empty listings for Godzilla 2000 on November 1. Fathom Events screened Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla on November 3 last year; despite randomly showing Tokyo SOS back in March, I gather they're making a tradition out of Godzilla Day. Note that the listed runtime is longer than the film itself. Predictions for the program: another message from Keiji Ota, the 2022 Godzilla vs. Gigan short, and the Japanese version of G2K. Interesting that they're running the last Toho Godzilla film to receive a wide release in the U.S. exactly a month before Godzilla Minus One has a wide release of its own here.

Gamera isn't a meta-defining Godzilla Battle Line unit... but he's Gamera in a Godzilla game, so I've been using him in every match since I unlocked him. He's gearing towards demolishing flying units, with fireballs that deal more damage against them and knock them back. A pity that he's arriving well after those units were at their most dominant.

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #3 still isn't giving me much to write home about, but the kaiju cult creeping to the forefront intrigues. Also cool to see Ebirah in a starring role.

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Marubeni, one of Japan's biggest general trading companies, put out a bizarre commercial featuring samurai, zombies, a meteor, and a refurbished GMK King Ghidorah. The ad now has English subtitles, and you can watch a Ghidorah-centric behind-the-scenes video here.

I cannot believe I have more Cleopatra Entertainment fuckery to report on with regards to their Shin Ultraman releases, but they're truly trying to take the "Worst Film Company of 2023" title from the members of the AMPTP. Their third attempt at a barebones disc is starting to reach customers... but the ones who already received the initial replacement disc are being told no more will be sent. @starestream is trying to figure out if they'll be selling the third edition on their site, since it seems buying it anywhere else is a gamble. (Physically, the third edition looks almost the same as the first two, set apart only by the "SUBTITLED" text on the disc.) Either way, it's another blow to a movie that truly doesn't deserve this.

#kaiju week in review #gamera #gamera rebirth #godzilla #kaiju #yokaipedia #Youtube

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dreamaze · 9 months

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.⟡. 2023 Year in Review .⟡.

cc year in review — every month in 2023 : link your favorite and/or most popular post from each month this year

tagged by: @shorelinnes, @xiaojuun, & @gnanii, thank you lovelies! ♡ tagging (no pressure, & the gifs were extra!): @ye-xiu, @eggheons, @nervousnotion, @honeyimissjoo (if you’ve already done this, feel free to drop the link! ♡)

Hello!! A brief(ish) recap before the actual list. It’s been a pretty wild year in wingsland, mostly thanks to finishing up my second master’s degree in December (finally, BYE!). Looking back, I’m surprised at how much content I actually created, but this has been a refuge and source of comfort for me while running on fumes between work and school and general adulting. 2023 also marked some changes in my listening and sources of inspiration. I fell more out of interest with txt (apologies to all followers who were here for them… this is the second time this has happened, oops?) but fell even more in love with Monsta X while discovering some other new or new-to-me artists (more on that in another post). Reason was my first official comeback with them, and it really lit a fire in my brain. I have a few ongoing series that I intend to continue, whether they’re gifs or audio compilations. I giffed a LOT of besties (minhyuk + hyungwon, the soulmates of soulmate besties). It brings me so so much joy to work on those sets and the various audio edits or just being excited about musical details in my music box tag. I also managed to squeeze in a few angsty mv sets along the way, because tbh I feel like I am thriving most as a creator when something is pulling at the heartstrings. I know mbbblr has been quiet lately (and must seem exceedingly so to those who were around years ago), but I will keep being noisy about them until mx6 is reunited and beyond. Thank you for sticking around with me ♡

(P.S. I am calling these my favorites and audience favorites because what even is popularity on tumblr, and also I am horribly indecisive and can rarely stick to one. Please enjoy the occasionally unserious post descriptions!)

January ⟡ My favorite(s out of an unusually prolific month): ‘Beautiful Liar’ lyrics + reflected shots, control imagery, & Minhyuk/Changkyun choreo; besties livestreams ft. minhyuk about to get his ass kicked by an indignant noodle & besties again not fighting ⟡ Audience favorite: Reason concept ver.3 (where did all those notes come from) followed by Hyungwon in Love Killa/Gambler/Beautiful Liar

February ⟡ My favorite: Besties Lone Ranger recording, Honey PD ’괜찮아’ Recording (ft. bonus honey threatening offering to kiss minhyuk on the lips), Hyungwon ‘Beautiful Liar’ mv + photoshoot behinds, & the following ⟡ Audience favorite: Unofficial art director Lee Minhyuk

March ⟡ The (only) favorite: Hyungwon FRED x Marie Claire (my favorite photoshoot coloring of the year)

April ⟡ My favorite: Minhyuk in Reason era & besties ft. not-very-tsundere hyungwon ⟡ Audience favorite: Hyungwon John Varvatos x GQ

May ⟡ My favorite: Besties All In mv + filming (for the 7th anniversary of All In) & the following ⟡ Audience favorite: Lights album preview

June ⟡ My favorite: Overdrive & “always you and me” besties ⟡ Audience favorite: Minhyuk x Singles

July ⟡ My favorite: Hyungwon x MV water imagery ⟡ Audience favorite: 1/2 of besties enlists (sobwail)

August ⟡ My favorite: Fighter performance video (…ft. besties), besties massage (fail), & the following ⟡ Audience favorite: Changkyun x Marie Claire

September ⟡ My favorite: Jaechan ‘Time’ ⟡ Audience favorite: Minhyuk vs the prop pear

October ⟡ My favorite: Besties with or without mx ⟡ Audience favorite: A pretty Joohoney

November ⟡ The (only) favorite: Minhyuk x Floun

December ⟡ My favorite: Giuk 'My Blue' & the consequences of putting besties next to each other in dance relays ⟡ Audience favorite: Hyungwon Givenchy Beauty x Singles

#reused my calendar layout from last year because why not!#shout out to all the artists i loved & intensely listened to this year even if i did not create for them #you're in my heart if not in my cc archive #wings.original #kpop #for fun

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crystal-mouse · 9 months

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My (unofficial) 2023 Tumblr Year in Review!

(header template by @frogayyyy )

I posted 12,282 times in 2023 That's 5,563 more posts than 2022!

332 posts created (2.7%)

11,951 posts reblogged (97.3%)

My Top Posts of 2023

1. 4,176 notes - Nov 26 2023

Ok but can we please talk about how groundbreaking it is for THE 60th anniversary episode to be SO trans positive- like yes, it...

2. 2,644 notes - Nov 7 2023

Hey, don't cry. 900 star trek episodes, many good, okay?

3. 2,100 notes - Jun 4 2023

4. 1,997 notes - Jun 2 2023

Sometimes it still blows my mind that modern/queer fandom exists cuz starfleets finest did some roly-polies in the sacred sands

5. 1,947 notes - Apr 5 2023

6. 1,484 notes - Jun 1 2023

7. 1,414 notes - Jul 2 2023

8. 1,407 notes - Sep 15 2023

9. 1,385 notes - Jun 2 2023

10. 1,345 notes - Sep 27 2023

Onto the next year!

(Stats from TumblrTop10 )

Last year's 2022 review

#tumblrtop10 #my year in review #my year in review 2023 #star trek #mouse rambles #what a year lads #so many memes #edited with frog's header template!!

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thatpaintedpony · 9 months

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It’s Christmas so it’s time for the 2023 year in review. This is going to be a rollercoaster so strap in.

We kicked off 2023 with a trail ride down to our neighbour’s place to ride on her lovely arena, and needless to say Sky took it all in her stride, though she was a little wide eyed when she met their many, many, many blood hounds. It was, however, extremely hot, and we both came home drenched in sweat and ready for a shower.

We had, of course, been preparing for our Novice debut for nearly 12 months now so we were also starting to work with a bit of elementary stuff, working slowly on our laterals and developing our walk to canters. January at work was deeply miserable, as my excellent manager had left and I was left in a job I hated, surrounded by people I didn’t like, plus I wasn’t allowed to work from home which made riding a bit miserable. Still, we plugged along through January.

I once more rode at the MARC Unofficial comp and did another two Unofficial Novice tests, with one scoring 73%! Unofficial scores are never a good indication of where you are realistically, but it’s always nice to see that score starting with a 7. Then, finally, FINALLY at the end of January, we competed in our FIRST Official Novice test at Bowral Dressage Club, more than 8 months later than intended. We had one more error (broke to canter in the lengthen trot) but otherwise put in two very solid tests and scored 64% for both, and placed 2nd and 4rd. Not bad for our first official comp! It seemed the curse was finally broken!

In February, it was off to South Australia to see Mum and Dad, during which time I went on a hot and rather random trail ride on a standardbred out the back of some random lady’s paddock, enjoyed some beach time, and went for a lot of dog walks. We did get excellent weather for change which was nice!

The end of summer brought a boon of blackberries, since our property at Gunning is rank with them and even as annoying as having a property full of noxious weeds is, at least these ones have berries.

We also started preparing for our Novice Freestyle, which was supposed to be debuted at the Festival last year, but never got finished due to the broken hand. This meant a few trips out to a local arena to get the timing right, which we also used to start to develop our elementary work a bit more.

In March it was off to Melbourne to meet my delightful cousin and her new hubby, back from London to visit the family, and Mum and I had an excellent time exploring some museums while we were there.

We had another solid official Novice at ACTDA in March, with 64% and 65%, keeping our scores fairly consistent. We probably could have done better but Sky decided to do a choose your own adventure test so was anticipating pretty badly. In March we also tried our hand at hacking, and did excellently, though it was revoltingly hot, and landed Champion Led Pinto and Reserve Champion Led Warmblood, and picked up a ribbon in almost all our classes.

April rolled around, and with it, Dressage in the Bush. We camped out at Bendick Murrell Showgrounds, and competed in the AOR Novice Championship and the Novice Freestyle. Our Freestyle went well and we won (after a bit of a snafu with the scores) and we placed 3rd and 6th in the Championship, only JUST missing out on Reserve Champion due to an error of course in our first test. But Sky was absolutely exemplary the whole time and I was SO proud of how well we went.

We also won a lesson with the amazing Susan Elekessy, who has become our eyes on the ground, helping us pick up little things that Peter can’t see through the Pivo. She was very complimentary towards Sky, as well, which is always nice.

After the excitement of Dressage in the Bush, a certain SOMEONE (looking at you Lexi) conned me into entering Elementary at the HDC Festival. I figured it would be a good opportunity to see how we would go, how solid our Elem work was. Afterall, we had most of the main movements alright, though our travers was less good. Due to a wedding, I wasn’t able to compete AOR, so I found myself riding my first ever elementary tests in an OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP. No pressure, right? And yet somehow my magical unicorn Sky managed to not only not embarrass us, but to PLACE 6th in the 3.2 with 65%, which ALSO qualified us for States. Insane! We also got 2nd in the Novice Freestyle. Unfortunately the big week and competing elementary meant that by the time we got to our Novice championship, Sky was exhausted, so while we put in decent tests we didn’t manage to place against the Open horses. Still, it was amazing to finally make it to the Festival that I worked so hard to help organise, to actually be able to ride with my amazing friends.

Post Festival, I finally started a new job at ANU, transferring from the Digital Literacy team back into the Library, taking on the role of Information Access and Training Officer, which was a HUGE step in improving my attitude towards work. I love my new manager and my new team, and I’m having so much fun being back as a librarian.

Peer Pressure struck once again, and I found myself entered at States in both Novice and Elementary. With not a lot of time between the Festival and States, I trekked out to Wagga to try and get one more ride at Elementary in before States. We did the 2.3 and the 3.3. We had some hefty mistakes in the 3.3 and ended with 62.8%. Even better, we cracked 70% at Novice for the first time in an Official test which is an excellent benchmark!

Before States I went back to South Australia to surprise Dad for his birthday. Little did I know, it would be the last time I saw him outside of hospital.

Then it was States again. On paper, it wasn’t the most successful Championship we’ve been to. We scored 57% in the 3.3 which was one of our worst ever scores, and 61% in the 3.2, which put us mid field in both tests, which considering these were our 6th and 7th ever Elem tests I was still pretty pleased with, however it did show that Sky was getting a bit scrambled about the simple changes. Then in the novice, again, she was tired, scoring 63% and 64% in the two tests with some silly mistakes. So no ribbons, but the fact that we were even competing at States in at two levels when before Sky the thought of competing at states AT ALL was far out of reach, so I’m still proud to have been there, and we were mid-field in all our tests so definitely not at the bottom!

We took some time off competing while we addressed the issues that had arisen in rushing our Elem start, namely that for a while we were entirely unable to trot, and could ONLY do walk to canters and canter walks. It was a whole thing. So we stepped it back to Novice while we addressed that.

In September, my dad unexpectedly went into hospital with severe pneumonia, among other things. I rushed down to Royal Adelaide hospital to be with him, and stayed for a week as he slowly recovered. He seemed to be getting better, so I came home. I competed at ACTDA in Novice, in a howling gale. Her tests were tense, but obedient, and we got 63% and 64% (at least we’re consistent).

Then, a week later, Dad passed away in the ICU at Royal Adelaide Hospital. It has been the most devastating thing that has ever happened to me.

I came home and tried to pick up my life again.

In November, my bestest for the restest and I decided to start a Podcast, revisiting our terrible writing from when we were teens, in an effort to try and create some sort of platform since apparently that’s what you have to do to publish a book these days.

Finally, it was time for the Canberra Classic. The big local championship that I missed last year due to Sky’s endless seedy toe. I was tough, being the first time I’d competed since Dad died. He was always so invested in my competitions. It was hot, and windy, but Sky put in two lovely tests. We got slammed in the first with 62% for having her poll too low, but scored 69% in the second test to place 5th AOR. If we’d competed Open we’d have been second! Still, I can’t complain about a 69% so was extremely happy, and we got to take home a shiny ribbon.

On the 18th of November we said goodbye to Dad with a wake at one of his old haunts in Balmain, spreading his ashes off Darling Street wharf. I was reminded how truly beautiful the friendships I’ve made are with the support of my amazing pals. I wish they could have met him.

Sky and I came 4th in the AOR Novice Horse of the Year rankings, and I was awarded a Bronze performance medal at ACTDA.

And so we have rolled onto the end of the year, starting to reintroduce our elementary work, getting stronger and ready to start competing at Elementary next year.

Then, approximately 10 minutes before leaving to fly to SA again, I bought a new towing car, a 2010 Mitsubishi Pajero. Hopefully it’s excellent, and I can pass my trusty Prado on to a new owner!

This Christmas is a little bit sadder. A little bit emptier. There were no power tools under the tree this year. Less beers in the fridge. The weather is crap and somehow appropriate. I wish you were here, Dad. Merry Christmas.

#horsblr #equestrian #equestrians of tumblr #horses of tumblr #dressage #dressage horse #year in review #sky

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indierpgnewsletter · 8 months

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New Games From December 23 and January 24

I. Dear Reader Another regularly scheduled roundup of games that have been released on itch.io that caught my eye over the last two months. Usual disclaimer that I haven’t really read or played these games; they just seem cool based on the pitch alone. Also, most of them now come to me by people using this form.

Protect the Child: A Forged in the Dark game about monsters caring for a strange, mystical child. Playtest version. (Mintrabbit, Free)

Aftermath: A solo-friendly sci-fi about a team of first responders trying to make the world a better place after a terrible war. (Ember and Ash)

Space Aces: Voyages in Infinite Space: A comedy scifi sandbox inspired by the Hitchhikers’ Guide. (Stephen Hans)

The Connection Machine: A cerebral scifi game about exploring a dreamlike world and overcoming trauma. (Tanya Floaker & Julia Nevalainen)

Daybreak on the Battlefield: An unofficial set of extra playbooks for Girl by Moonlight, the excellent magical girls game. (Ben K Rosenbloom)

Buried in Ice: A mystery for Apocalypse Keys, the Hellboy-inspired PbtA game. Something trapped in a glacier thaws out and causes havoc. (Morgan Eilish)

Boyfriend Dungeon: Life on the Edge: The videogame gets officially adapted into a PbtA game. Explore your inner psyche, confront you fears, and also smooch swords. (Trumoi)

Like Real People Do: A two-player prompt-driven game about a mage trying to keep secrets in a vault but the vault wants to be a real person. (Meghan Cross)

The Mystery Business: Scooby Doo-inspired mystery solving game with no combat. You beat the baddies by setting traps to catch them. (Greg L)

The Flood Bell Tolls in Saint Magnus: A system-neutral campaign set in a drowning city on the verge of rebellion. (Tempest RPG, PWYW)

Also, cheeky last minute addition, the Showcase Zero bundle features games that came out of my playtest community. It’s got my scifi horror game, This Ship Is No Mother, as well as the mecha game of friendship and war, Spectres of Brocken and more.

II. Media of the Week

People Make Games take a good look at jubensha, a gaming phenomenon in China that started out just as spiffy murder mystery party games but has transformed into much more, including what sounds like scripted larps where everyone cries at the end. Really cool story.

youtube

The new season of DiceExploder is back with John Harper talking about Psi*Run, a unique game by Meguey Baker that should’ve inspired a slew of games but inexplicably didn’t.

Please consider joining 100+ other patrons and support the newsletter on patreon to help keep me going.

If you’ve released a new game on itch.io this month, let me know through this form so I can potentially include it in the end of the month round-up.

III. Links of the Week

Reviews

Indie Game Reading Club reviews Stonetop, the community-focused iron age fantasy game from Jeremy Strandberg.

It’s a solid review and also features this neat bit of analysis about how PbtA developed: “Monsterhearts spawned the branch of PbtA games that are concerned with constrained, evocative moves with a strong editorial voice. Dungeon World, conceived as a reverse-engineering of Dungeons & Dragons style play, is concerned with efficiently resolving tasks, boiling down the activity to its core essence.”

Cannibal Halfling reviews Free League’s vanilla-ish fantasy game, Dragonbane: “…when we live in the world of Old-School Essentials (also a translation, though from Gygax to English instead of Swedish to English), there’s clearly recognized value in taking an old system, cleaning it up, and sending it back out.”

Explore Beneath and Beyond has a blog series reviewing and discussing all the early adventures and scenarios published for D&D. This is part one.

Possum Creek Games publish their 2023 year in review including completing the mammoth Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast.

DIY & Dragons explains why we should all probably stick to calling it “Jaquaysing”.

A short post about the oldest ttrpg forums – usenet groups.

Misc

ZineMonth 2024 is around the corner and since the “official” site isn’t ready yet, there’s an unofficial” page listing all the projects being crowdfunded. Take a look and submit your own if you’re doing one.

There’s a game jam to create a megadungeon in honour of Jennell Jaquays.

From the archive

Skerples’ cool blog post about how to portray aliens and alien intelligences in your game, approaching it from a bunch of different angles. (Issue #8, Sep 2020)

View On WordPress

#gaming #rpg #ttrpgsolidarity #indie ttrpg #ttrpg community #ttrpg #ttrpg design #Youtube

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ficklecat · 9 months

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9 and 13!! Happy new years eve fickle! May 2024 be great

Happy new year my friend! I still can’t believe it’s already about to be 2024 🤯

Thank you for the ask! I answered #13 already but here’s #9 for you! (TW for mentions of suicide)

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

I think it’ll have to be Afraid of What Might Be. Digging in to things like mental health struggles and suicidal thoughts is a heavy thing to do in something as seemingly low stakes as fanfic, but I feel so strongly about portraying those things with realism, dignity, and brutal truth. There are so many misconceptions about suicide in particular, so many harmful narratives in online and fandom spaces, and it was important to me to ensure that when I wrote my piece on it, I honored what I know to be true.

I wanted to be careful not to simply remove Kakashi’s despair and flirtation with death simply because he knew he was loved, I wanted to show that even loving people can’t save them, that living is a choice they need to make, and sometimes they do make the choice to stay but it doesn’t mean they’re “cured” or they don’t think about it. I wanted to show how grief can occur even when a life is “saved,” even when someone changes their mind. I wanted to show that not everyone is happy and elated and has a full change of heart after a suicide attempt. In fact, many times they may feel worse - lost, afraid, trapped, or empty. I wanted to show that the most important thing when any of that happens is that the people who love them don’t turn their backs, but also don’t become their unofficial heroes or life-jackets, that they simply remain there to offer hope with open arms, and that when you choose to hold onto someone’s hope, you don’t get to choose when they’re ready for it. You simply hold it as long as you can, and you keep it safe until they’re ready. And they may never be.

Anyway. That fic meant to say a lot. I’m not sure if it did. I hope so.

Send me asks about my 2023 in review!

#oops there goes axel talking about suicide again lol #thank you for the ask motor much love!#sorry if this got a lil heavy haha #axel replies #ask game #2023 in review

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hoarder-of-dragons · 9 months

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(unofficial) Note: The above template can be used. Just tag me :)

My 2023 Tumblr Year in Review

215 posts created (6.4%)

3312 posts reblogged (93.6%)

My Top 10 Posts in 2023:

#1.

4,322 notes - Dec 1 2023

[Season 2 summed up] Aziraphale's thoughts: Oh I shall team up with Crowley and make Nina and Maggie fall in love and make them...

#2.

2,723 notes - Mar 2 2023

[Merlin struck by an arrow] Merlin: I'll need your assistance. You'll have to pull out the arrow and stitch up the...

#3.

2,676 notes - Jan 24 2023

Arthur: I love you Merlin, stressed with the whole of destiny on his shoulders: I'm glad one of us does

#4.

2,611 notes - Feb 2 2023

Arthur: If something happened to Merlin I couldn't live with myself. Morgana: Of course, You wouldn't have to, because Lancelot...

#5.

2,464 notes - Jan 22 2023

[Merthur during a near-death experience] Arthur: I think... you're my best friend. Merlin: You think? Arthur: Well, I can't know...

#6.

2,302 notes - Mar 29 2023

Wedding vowes Arthur: I would die for you Merlin: I would kill for you Arthur: I would wage wars for you Merlin: I would kill...

#7.

2,242 notes - Feb 23 2023

Merlin in season 1 ranting: I hate Arthur so much. His stupid prattish attitude, his stupid cocky smile his stupid face his...

#8.

2,099 notes - Feb 28 2023

[After Merlin risks his life for Arthur again] Arthur: You absolute moron what were you thinking Merlin, preparing for another...

#9.

1,783 notes - Nov 12 2023

#10.

1,605 notes - Mar 28 2023

[Arthur accompanies Merlin for gathering herbs and sees Merlin slipping over a rock] Arthur: Merlin you incompetent fool, can't...

Created by TumblrTop10

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hegodamask · 9 months

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Year in Review 2023

Tumblr doesn’t seem to be doing a Year in Review like they did last year, so here’s my unofficial one. My top 10 original posts of 2023!

1. 3,685 notes - May 3 2023

2. 2,277 notes - Feb 15 2023

3. 2,254 notes - Jan 13 2023

4. 2,038 notes - Oct 21 2023

5. 1,688 notes - Jan 7 2023

6. 1,239 notes - Jan 10 2023

7. 1,081 notes - Oct 13 2023

8. 955 notes - Oct 22 2023

9. 893 notes - Feb 23 2023

10. 888 notes - Oct 15 2023

Created by TumblrTop10

#tumblrtop10 #year in review #really happy with this!#i'm glad it's all gifsets i worked hard on and not memes i threw together in five minutes #especially number 1 because I'm very proud of that set #number 7 and 8 were a surprise though

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drarrily-we-row-along · 2 years

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2022 At a Glance

So, I debated doing the AO3 Wrapped thing, I've been tagged a couple of times in year end reviews, and things for 2023; I've been putting them off and feeling a little like I didn't want to waste anyone's time with reading any of those things. But I never feel like reading those things for other people is a waste of my time, so it's not fair to assume anyone else does either.

Also, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to be kinder to myself and celebrate my own wins, so we're starting here. I'm really proud of how much writing I've done this year, so I'm going to share some of the things I'm most proud of. So many people in this fandom have offered me such kindness and loving support; I'm so grateful for the soft place to land here on tumblr.

I'm combining a couple of different things, so here's my year at a glance in fandom and a couple of hopes and dreams for the year to come:

1. How many words have you written this year? 413,515 2. How many works did you publish this year? 174 3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Against an Endless Tide is one of my favorites- not only because I love that iteration of Harry and Draco but because this work shows me how much I have grown as a human in regards to my own trauma. 4. What work of yours has the most hits? A Kiss to Build a Dream On 5. What work of yours has the most kudos? Drarry has not just the most kudos for this year but of any fic I've ever posted. And I'm honestly kind of mad about it. This was one of those fics that I spent 30 minutes on and sent out into the world (it's literally 1000 words and complete nonsense). And it has more kudos than things that I've spent weeks (months, years) plotting and drafting. Yeah, this was my least favorite look at my stats. smh. 6. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? Bro. Don't ask. I have so many WIPs it's like a graveyard in my docs. Who knows which one's will see the light of day. 7. What’s your longest work of the year? Making it Work which is very much not complete yet and will be coming into 2023 with me. 8. What’s your shortest work of the year? Jam (50 words) a microfic that I was very proud of because it feels like sunshine when I read it. 9. How many kudos in total did you get this year? 37,312 10. Biggest surprise while writing this year? How many people related to pieces that I've privately categorized as my "unofficial trauma response series". It's made me feel really sad that so many people can relate to the pieces that are written out of that grief but it's also really made me want to write more of that to offer hope. 11. Do you have a word count goal for the upcoming year? 500,000 words is the goal. (It might be worth noting that it was last year's goal as well and I achieved it, just not 'published' words.) 12. Do you plan to write any original fiction this year? Maybe. It's a long held dream of mine to be an actual published author of my own works. Yes, I'll probably (hopefully) write some but I don't know if I'll end up sharing any of it.

That's it, friends. Thanks for reading my fics this year and joining me in this year of self-discovery. I feel like my writing style has changed and I've really fallen into myself more. Looking forward to seeing what 2023 holds. <3

#personal #growing #happy new year

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queenofmalkier · 9 months

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Non WOT but I've decided I'm going to be posting book reviews over here. Since a lot of you have got me reading series (or ready to read them) I figured I'd point it out although I do read trashy romance novels amidst fantasy and sci-fi "serious" books. The goal is an official 50 books this year and an unofficial 100 since I read 92 in 2023.

(Yes, it is named after my favorite poor little meow meow.)

#honestly everybody should read bodice rippers they're fun and basically popcorn for your brain

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manonamora-if-reviews · 1 year

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New Year's Eve, 2019 by Autumn Chen

============= Links

Play the game See other reviews of the game See other games by Autumn or follow @cyberpunklesbian

============= Synopsis

Social gatherings are not your preferred activity. But this one is obligatory, and it threatens to ruin you. You are Karen Zhao, a senior in college who is home for winter break, and seeing your old high school friends for the first time in years. You are not ready, not even close, but perhaps you could make the best of it. Two endings, many paths to arrive there.

============= Other Info

New Year's Eve, 2019 is a Dendry* game, submitted to the 2022 Edition of the SpringThing. This game is a sequel to Pageant (review). *Autumn is also an unofficial maintainer of the Dendry format.

Status: Completed Genre: Dating-sim, Slice-of-life, LGBT

CW: social anxiety, panic attacks, depression, family conflict

============= Playthrough

First Played: June-2022 Last Played: 31-May-2023 Playtime: around 1h (1 full playthrough - 1 half-assed) Rating: 4 /5 Thoughts: A science-type forgets how to human, has a panic attack at a party. May or may not be fine at the end.

============= Review

Jumping a few years into the future of Pageant, Karen Zhao comes back, more anxious than ever, for a short evening, celebrating the turn of a new year*. Stuck in a house out of social obligation, Karen has the option to interact with a cast of familiar faces, go down memory lane, or hide from everyone as best she can to avoid starting a panic attack before the clock strikes twelve. How ever will she cope????? *and what 2020 brings... rolling eyes

Spoilers ahead. It is recommended to play the game first. The review is based on my understanding/reading of the story.

The one thing that I love about Autumn's games is how real the characters and their interactions feel. NYE19 is no different, continuing on the tradition of anxiety-inducing situation and self-deprecating humour bordering on self-loathing. But unlike its predecessor, Pageant, NYE19's tone translated less as slice-of-life-of-a-stressed-teenager-trying-to-make-it-through-the-semester-oh-god-is-she-having-a-panic-attack-again-just-kiss-her-you-dummy and more of this-is-what-a-college-student-forced-to-come-home-for-the-holidays-special-sitcom-epidose-feels-like. From the really awkward meetings with your old high-school friends (or did you date them? or were they crushes?), to the adults hounding you with questions about your future, or your family wanting to uphold a certain image around people. It's a party we've all been to, it's the kind we wish we didn't have to stay...

And Karen, our favourite anxious lesbian, does too. From the start, she warns the player she does not want to be here, really does not find having to engage in small talk (especially with people she's lost touch with), and actually wishes being anywhere but at this party. It is awkward to interact with people you knew (or more than knew) some years prior but with who you have lost contact (life...), finding how they have (not) changed, and how they've been fairing compared to you.

During the span of an evening, you meet (again) Emily, a trans woman (out of the closet then?) who helped you in Pageant to win (kinda) said pageant; Miri, your best-friend, who tagged along for the party because she did not want to be at her family's party* and became the social butterfly you could not be; and Aubrey, your high-school rival, who seems to still be doing just as well with her Harvard education, her Harvard boyfriend**, her probably-perfect-looking Harvard life... You also get to roam around the party daydreaming nihilisticly about the state of the world, hide in the basement to watch a MCU movie and be cringe to your brother, stuff yourself with food*** to temper with your imminent anxiety attack, play some mahjong and lose badly, hide in the bathroom and take selfies sending your into some self-loathing, play some games on your phone****... *the reason is pretty unclear, even with the option of confronting her. **who the fuck brings up the election topic on a New Year's party?!?!?! The gall of that man... ***which of course, I did... ****that one is hella meta, since you can play IF games AND a Pageant-like dating-sim

Whatever you do (especially your interactions), you are constantly reminded of your shortcomings from the past and how you let your anxiety cause the dwindling of your relationships. Your past haunts your every move and your every thoughts, and being in the presence of people from your past makes it all the worse for your mental being.

Half-way through the game, you sit down to have some dinner, forced at the kids-but-not-really-kids table where all your (former?) friends are interacting. It is very awkward, with Aubrey forcing everyone to introduce themselves as if they were having some sort of team-building meeting, her boyfriend forgetting about the No-No-Conversations (Politics-Religions...)... You can choose to participate in the conversation, eat, or listen, but no matter what happens, you will leave the table before the meal/conversation is over, leaving the party as well to go for a walk.

This is where things get interesting. Emily asks whether she can come along, and agreeing or not will give you very different outcomes. The latter will find you wallowing about your loneliness and how devoid of human connections your life is (much due to your own actions), while the former has a more hopeful and levelheaded conversation (leading possibly to a relationship...). With each still, and throughout the whole game, Karen goes on an introspection about the seemingly importance of human interaction, how easy it is to fuck up things, and the transactionality of relationships, all wrapped in a nihilistic and fatalistic bow (everything goes wrong, even if you do the right things).

Even if this sounds all depressing, it strangely is not. I found myself giggle at some passages*. The dry self-deprecating humour is honestly hilarious (especially the Narrator's comments). At any moment, I was expecting a laughing track to cue. Or maybe I was just playing this with a strange mood... * You have committed CRINGE. Kevin may not remember this, but you will. don't worry, game, I will remember...

The game is also very meta about what it is trying to convey. From playing a dating-sim game within an essentially dating-sim game, to the commentary on human interactions being comparable to dating-sims in the optimisation of [emotions/variables] to get the best possible outcome through a sequence of actions we hope is the correct one while we play a dating-sim where the sequence of choices can be optimised to get that "good ending", the story and the gameplay play quite interestingly on each other to get those points across.

Still, unlike other works from Autumn, while I enjoyed myself playing it, it didn't have the same impact on me. I didn't click as much with it as her other games, and felt a bit unsatisfactory? by the end of the playthroughs. The game has some strong moments, especially the part outside of the house, and some funny moments during the roaming around before dinner/before the countdown, but at other moments, it felt hollow. Maybe it is because of your limited agency in the way you interact with others or act, since Karen is an anxious and socially awkward person who has a hard time expressing her feelings and thoughts. Maybe it is because some of the characters you interact with and the way you defined your previous relationships don't feel as fleshed out (Miri and Aubrey comes to mind*, especially compared to Pageant or even Emily). Or maybe it is Karen's blasé look on dwindling and lost relationships that ticked me** that only allows her to have superficial contact with people (aside from Emily). Or maybe it is the more fragmented type of different gameplay/mechanics that didn't work as well as the Storylet format of Pageant***, or the more linear work of GG and the war. Or maybe because the end was a bit too abrupt... *I was wondering if you could choose to have had a relationship with either of those as in Pageant, but you can only with Emily **was it because the game called me out of doing the same as Karen did to some friends from school? Who knows... ***yes, it's bad to compare games that are inherently different...

There is a wonderful sentence from the post-mortem that really encapsulate the vibe of this game, and strangely reminds us of the hope Karen feels just before returning to the party... and this is where I will be ending this review: The past is inescapable, but the future is not entirely determinate.

There is still time...

Some loose points:

Dendry has some really interesting customisations, from the addition of backgrounds to extra assets in form of character portraits, putting the game in a strange text-only choice-based/visual novel limbo.

The conversation bits, especially the dinner between the gals, have such BPH vibes, which is not surprising, since his work is mentioned in the influence for this game. (with the character portraits style and the formatting of the dialogue with the colours (though the grey for Emily was a bit hard to read).

I really liked the inclusion of the Chinese characters in the dialogues in Chinese. This was only included on the first few lines in Pageant (continuing only in italics), but this really helped distinguished better the conversations in English and the ones in Chinese.

As with Pageant, some choices are worded in a way to form a full sentence or complete a thread of thoughts. I liked that.

#New Year's Eve 2019 #Autumn Chen #complete #interactive fiction #2022 #review #LGBT #romance #slice of life #dendry game #choice based #SpringThing

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