#original fiction worldbuilds and does the plot and the characters and is a beautiful case of pure creation

[chnqin]

I just need people to know that I am currently about 2/3 of the way through No Paths are Bound by @cataclysmicevie and I am being totally normal about it, it is not consuming my every waking thought, I am not wishing it was longer than 1,158,737 words because I'll probably only have about a week's worth of reading left and I have separation anxiety issues. I am fine. very normal.

[cashewally-sarcastic]

It is hku’s 6th month anniversary, and it’s been a growing theme (tradition?) that I tend to write essays for said occasion, most of them being jokes. But instead, today I present a different kind of essay, one that isn’t written as a joke for once. This is an essay focusing on the grey morality of hku, and focuses on Siv as the example of said grey morality. Because of this, I do have to warn that there are major story spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t read hku or aren’t caught up to current events, I would recommend not reading this! This essay isn’t going anywhere, and spoiling yourself isn’t a very fun experience!

With that disclaimer out of the way, the essay (as per usual) is under the cut! Enjoy!

~~~

The Grey Morality of HKU

We live in a world that is not purely black and white, but instead many different shades of grey. Writing greyness into stories is difficult, especially when trying to create morally ambiguous characters, which is why most character conflicts in fiction is black and white. Moral greyness in characters is a very thin tightrope to balance on, since such characters fall in between heroes and villains, and bring layers of depth and complexity into the world. Most humans are not purely good or evil, and morally grey characters showcase this well. These characters can be incredibly complicated, and thus, it's difficult for authors to commit and stay on their tightrope. Sometimes they lean too far to one side and their intended moral greyness gets destroyed. But in Hyrule Kingdom Updates, or HKU, Quill not only walks this tightrope with ease, but does backflips on it and performs a whole circus act with their characters mimicking the same routine. One of these talented tightrope-walkers that performs in such a circus act is Asivus Hartell, better known as Siv. 

Siv is one of the main examples of the grey morality of HKU. He’s the sarcastic, pessimistic orator that serves as the role of the narrator for the story.  Introduced as a psychological egoist, or someone who believes that everyone’s actions are derived out of personal interest, his personality, attitude, and actions all reek of the scent of “villain”. He’s cynical, hates almost everyone in the castle, and is also a criminal. Over time, his egoist beliefs are slowly challenged, and when his ties to the people who challenge his egoist morals are cut, his egoism goes even further downhill, leading him to become a utilitarian existentialist.

Utilitarian existentialism is hard to properly define, as there is no clear-cut definition. It is the combination of two different philosophies, utilitarianism and existentialism. Utilitarianism is the belief that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority; if it provides the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people, it’s the right thing to do. Existentialism is the belief that there are no set morals for life and no specific meaning to life— people are free to create their own meaning and define their own existence. Utilitarian existentialism is the combination of these two beliefs, and Siv falling into this moral belief can lead to its own opportunities, both for the plot and for himself.

Siv, by the dictionary definition, is a villain. One of the core beliefs he holds, mostly thanks to his egoism, is that everyone is a terrible, selfish person except for him and Ganon. This is not only harmful to the rest of the population because of the possibility of the Calamity being revived, but it’s harmful to Siv as well. Thinking everyone is bad except for the entity that’s weaponizing your malice, or manipulating your trauma, is not the most healthy thing. In addition, as the readers, we can see things from multiple perspectives, and therefore know that not everyone is a terrible or selfish person. By seeing these multiple perspectives and knowing these things, we root against Siv and his goal of resurrecting the Calamity, for his view of the world and the people in it is flawed. Siv succeeding in his objective wouldn’t be good for anyone, including himself. If this was Siv’s only belief, it would be more of a clear-cut black and white story, and Siv would just be a villain. However, that is not the case.

The other core belief Siv believes is one that Astor leads him to: Getting rid of all the terrible, selfish people in the world is the morally correct thing to do, as the kingdom would be a better place and he’d finally be happy. “Defeating the evil in the kingdom will make everything end up good” is a mindset that many stereotypical heroes share. This is the belief in the stories of many people’s childhoods, and people root for them because it’s usually correct in the context of said story. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with Siv’s belief; he does have a point and does deserve to be happy. Furthermore, most of the problem causers in Hyrule would be gone, preventing all the hurt and trauma all the characters have to cope with from happening again. For example, getting rid of Ligero is something the entire reader-base has been cheering for since the old man was first introduced. It would be satisfying to see people such as those face consequences for their actions, and as readers, we like satisfying endings. Unfortunately, the problem is that Siv believes everyone is bad except him and Ganon, so he’d be getting rid of everyone, and effectively resurrecting the Calamity, something that devastated the kingdom and brought a massive amount of death, in the process. Taking that into account, you wouldn’t want Siv to succeed. And as a bonus, killing anyone and everyone he could possibly care about in any capacity would not be good for his already crumbling mental state. All of this creates a mental tug-of-war  in the reader’s head, because they're rooting for Siv to succeed but also hoping that Siv will fail. Is he in the right? No, because not everyone is a bad person and killing everyone by raising the Calamity isn't ever the right thing to do. But is he in the wrong? Also no, because utilitarianism isn't inherently bad, neither is existentialism, and the moral principle itself can have good intentions. Quill writes Siv to be a very complex character with no absolute right or wrong mentality. There’s no surface answer to if Siv is correct in his thinking or not, as this moral greyness goes a lot deeper than the surface level you see within the dialogue.

Siv walks upon the same morally grey tightrope that we, the readers, fight ourselves over within our own mental game of tug-of-war. His moral ambiguity is a huge part of his characterization, as well as a major highlight on the plot of HKU as a whole. The picture Quill painted is not only in multiple shades of grey, but also full of color and life. And out of all the shades of grey Quill used in their masterpiece, one of the most interesting shades is Siv. Quill did an excellent job at exploring this moral greyness and it shows well; you can truly see the care that they put into Siv as a character through how he affects the world around him. The kingdom of Hyrule is not made of black and white, but instead, is painted in multiple shades of grey that reflect our own world within itself, since nothing is as simple as it seems. 

~~~

Want to read more about Siv’s morals? Quill wrote an in-depth explanation themselves, and does a much better job of explaining it than I do, so I recommend reading it if that peaks your interest! Click HERE to be sent to that post! (also major spoilers, so be warned)

~~~

Now, since you got to the bottom of this post, and because I might be a little too polite, I need to give some thank-yous to a handful of people.

The first thank-you is to Rev (@swordlesbianss) for giving me the push I needed to actually write this thing! You pretty much kept me accountable for getting this done by mentioning your essay (which I look forward to reading when it’s ready, take your time), so thank you, Rev! You definitely got me to actually start writing the original version of this essay, and caused me to write it to where it is now!

The second thank-you is to Aura (@auroraborealis1890) who beta read the first draft of this essay! You made sure it wasn’t completely incomprehensible, thank you so much Aura! By being able to read it at all, you were a huge help to what was essentially a crazy person’s ramblings. You’re a great friend and I’m very grateful you read my first draft of bullshit <3

The third thank-you is a huge one to Bunny (@bunnywabbit229) who polished up this essay! All of the tone, spell checks, and really beautiful analogies were proofread by Bunny, some invented by them! They took a good 5+ hours out of their day and made this little rock of an essay become the shining diamond it is! I could point out so many things that they made better, but I don’t want to gush for too long. Bunny, I know I already told you this but if I could buy you a large brownie pizza, I would because you helped so much and I appreciate it so much!

The final thank-you is to Quill, the author of @hyrule-kingdom-updates, who made the inspiration for this essay. You have made such a wonderful story that’s rich with so many amazing characters and astounding worldbuilding. You made a masterpiece that inspired an essay of over 1000 words and I’m in awe. You truly deserve to know how wonderful your writing is and all the effort you’ve put into your characters and story is not going unnoticed. So thank you so much for putting your story out into the world, Quill.

[pentanguine]

Favorite books of 2020

So....about five months ago now, I drafted a list of my favorite books of 2020, and then I, uh, didn’t finish it. It languished in a draft gathering dust and I forgot that it existed.

But now it’s done! It’s hideously late and also out of date, because I’d change many of the rankings now (see below), but I decided to keep them in the original order to reflect how I felt when I actually meant to post this.

Gideon the Ninth- What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said? It’s like nothing else I’ve read before, in the most unabashed, off-the-walls, grandiose way possible. It’s incredibly complex, well-written, goth, and full of memes. There are, indeed, lesbian necromancers in space.

Harrow the Ninth- I read this 500+ page book in one day and didn’t notice an earthquake while doing so, if you consider that an endorsement. There’s so much going on here it almost feels like it shouldn’t work, and yet it does, brilliantly—it’s so intricately plotted you’ll want to reread it immediately because there’s no way to pick up on everything your first time through.

The Starless Sea- This is just a magical delight of a story, with prose that flows like honey: slow, sweet, and delicious. The story unfolds like a series of wonders nested one inside the other, with each section adding another layer of whimsy and metafiction. It’s half a dream, and half a maze.

Young Miles (The Warrior’s Apprentice/The Vor Game)- The Miles books (the early ones, especially) are wild and unrepentant romps through outer space, and reading them was one of the highlights of 2020 for me. When I finished the Young Miles omnibus, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken such pure delight in a book. Even the heavier, more thoughtful moments were part of a well-told, enjoyable story.

The Stone Sky- Speaking of heavy and thoughtful books…The Broken Earth Trilogy is definitely not a light undertaking, but it’s just a masterpiece of world- and character-building. The Stone Sky is the final installment, and it does not pull a single punch in delivering what the previous books have been building towards.

This Is How You Lose the Time War- I keep instinctively wanting to call this a novel in verse, although I think it’s technically an epistolary novel with prose-poem tendencies. In any case, the writing is lovely—lush, vivid, sensual, romantic. I recommend reading this one with your poetry glasses on.

Cordelia’s Honor (Shards of Honor/Barrayar)- I tried to limit myself to one book per author on this list, but I didn’t succeed here. I loved the Vorkosigan saga too much, and I had to include the omnibus about Miles’s mother, Cordelia, whose life and personality could easily be the focus of another half-dozen volumes. (And if you’re looking for a well-developed m/f romance, you’ve found it here)

An Unkindness of Ghosts- I think this is the book that kicked off my sudden interest in sci-fi last year. It’s dark and beautiful, definitely character-driven, and everyone is truly strange in ways that protagonists rarely get to be. It’s also got one of the loveliest, most satisfying endings I can imagine.  

Code Name Verity- An incredibly intense YA book that delves deep into one of my favorite fictional themes, Morality. It’s a rollicking spy adventure novel that focuses on a close friendship rather than romance (although you can read it as sapphic if you want), with descriptions of flying over England at sunset that made my heart ache.

The Raven Tower- I enjoyed this story for reasons probably particular to me—I like long digressions into abstract questions like “How do we exert power over the world?” and “Where does the meaning of words exist?”, and entire sections of The Raven Tower are devoted to the inner meditations of a very contemplative rock. It’s also a retelling of Hamlet, if that’s more your speed.

Network Effect (and Murderbot novellas)- I’m going to quote my immediately-after-finishing review: “Murderbot always gives me feels. I would love to give a more literary summary, but I’m still overwhelmed by the tentative vulnerability of two bots being best friends and watching TV together after [redacted].” The first Murderbot novel definitely did not disappoint.

The Monster of Elendhaven- Decadent, blood-soaked, and morally depraved, it’s kind of like The Picture of Dorian Gray by way of Hannibal (NBC), with probable influences from a dozen other macabre works and no restraint whatsoever. Reading it felt very self-indulgently delightful.

Before Mars- A deliciously unsettling sci-fi thriller with a refreshingly blunt, unsentimental female protagonist. Also definitely an …interesting book to read at the end of March 2020, but explaining why would definitely be a spoiler. Suffice it to say that the book goes dark places not advertised on the tin, and it made me cry.

Orange World- Karen Russell is one of those writers who make you wonder “how did they come up with this?” Every one of her stories is a totally original marriage between two wildly different concepts (like a Bog Maiden and high school romance, or new motherhood and the devil), and they’re a nice blend of literary and fantasy that I love.

Something That May Shock and Discredit You- It’s so hard to rank this one, because its two primary concerns are Christianity and transness, one of which means very little to me and one of which is breathtakingly important. I couldn’t justify putting it any lower, because it made me feel an ungodly number of feelings, but I couldn’t really justify putting it higher when a solid third of the book went right over my head.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January- A truly wondrous novel, one that fully immerses you in the delight of storytelling and imagination, and the power of escaping to other worlds. It’s very much in the tradition of “books that pay tribute to the love of books,” and an homage to a hundred portal fantasies before it.

Braiding Sweetgrass- I’ve got such a fondness for nature writing that doesn’t even try to be scientifically detached, and instead leaves you with the feeling that the trees and fields around you are bustling with (nonhuman) people.* Kimmerer’s writing is steeped in indigenous ways of knowing, and emphasizes the respect and reciprocity we can hold for the natural world. It’s lovely writing, and I can’t recommend the book highly enough.

Call Down the Hawk- Full of all the ingredients you expect from a Maggie Stiefvater book: fast cars, ancient magic, questions of art and truth, and borderline overuse of the word “cunning.” Every time I read one of her books I want to start taking notes, because she’s got such a signature style that’s both poetic and readable.  

The Unspoken Name- For some reason I wasn’t much into epic fantasy last year, but I’m glad I gave this one a try. I love morally grey characters, of which there are plenty, and the plot took a number of refreshing twists and turns.  

A Memory Called Empire- Not a fast-moving read, but perfect if you like your sci-fi novels poetic, complex, and intellectual. The worldbuilding is incredibly immersive, in a way that reminded me a bit of Ursula K. Le Guin, and I remember this stuck with me for weeks after I finished it.

*Let me be a nerdy weirdo for a second: Most of the time Kimmerer is writing about New England, an area I’m not really familiar with, but “The Sound of Silverbells” is set on a mountain somewhere in the South, and I adored it. Suddenly she was writing about dogwoods and redbuds and poplars, and I was sitting there going “!!! Those are my friends! My friends are in a book!”

Changes I’d make now:

Bump The Starless Sea down a couple pegs, maybe to #6

Swap out Cordelia’s Honor and Young Miles

Bump The Raven Tower way down to #16 and bump A Memory Called Empire a few spots higher, maybe to #17

Braiding Sweetgrass can go up where The Raven Tower was

[cygnahime]

FFX Liveblog Repost 1

I posted this on my DW (cygna_hime FTR), but no one seems to be interested in talking about my FFX Opinions over there today, so I’m reposting it over here. This just gets us to Besaid village. Yeah, I talk a lot.

I'm feeling a yen for cutscenes, so am starting a new save, this one with the original sphere grid and music. I also have a save that's in the endgame sidequest zone, but I'm not feeling blitzball or monster catching at the moment (and I'm never feeling chocobo racing, worst minigame in history that isn't an escort mission). Tidus is very different in the brief time we see him in his element in Zanarkand, where being a sports star has slightly gone to his head (or at least made him think he can flirt). Being perpetually wrong-footed is good for his personality. Although, if I were a national (worldwide? it's not like there's anywhere but Zanarkand) sports star at seventeen, I'd probably have some ego too. When was he allowed to start playing professionally? He has to have been new and shitty at some point. Duggles player with the braids remains super hot. That's just facts. Too bad she's, like, double-fictional. I also still want Bahamut's excellent hoodie. Good fashion choices, although I would wear a shirt under it. So is the sword one of Jecht's old ones, or is it literally a "gift" in that SinJecht has been leaving presents on Auron's doorstep like a cat for the last ten years? Someone fic that, please. It is profoundly hilarious to me that Auron is supposed to be like 30, the more so now that I'm 30 and still have a severe case of babyface. He still looks much more like my dad (age 60-odd) than like me - more hair, but also deeper face lines. Then again, I guess when you're dead you look as old as you feel, in which case I don't want to think about how I'd look. Quantumly uncertain, I suspect. Is she a Literal Child or aged beyond belief? It's both! Still, JRPG ages tho. G-d, I'm older than almost all these characters who still "feel" my age. I mean, part of it is that life-stage-wise I'm somewhat younger than Tidus still (job whomst), which is...pretty depressing...and part of it is that JRPG ages are fundamentally arbitrary, but also, fiction is funny that way. I mean, Tidus, Yuna, and Rikku are believable as teenagers, it's just that when I see them I'm on some level their age and meeting them for the first time. Spiran ecology count: 1 hawk/eagle/seagull thing. It took me a minute to figure out the Al Bhed Compilation Sphere, which I'm not sure I've ever actually used before. I want to know what the Al Bhed at the beginning are saying for once. I'm impressed Tidus knows how to make a fire with flint and tinder. I sure don't. Maybe he was a Zanarkand Scout. It makes pretty much 0 sense that the Al Bhed, an ethnic minority, are confused by the idea of someone not speaking Al Bhed. Especially considering that Rikku speaks Spiran/Common/whatever without even an accent. So does her dad, for that matter, but her brother struggles later to put together a few words. I guess it's a skill only some Al Bhed take up? I presume anyone who goes among Yevonites with any regularity speaks Spiran, even if they pretend not to. It can be a great advantage to be assumed not to understand. Spiran ecology count: a bunch of fish. Tidus's brain carefully elides the fact that in his world no places other than Zanarkand exist. I mean, that's how dreams are: you don't always think about stuff. And of course Jecht shows up to get us on course for the plot. This is much less of a plot device if you think of it as the character having an itinerary for Tidus to follow. Spiran ecology count: a flock of seagulls. aaaand it's my dude Wakka! He knows two things, and they are blitzball and adopting stray teenagers. Well, I guess he's also fairly well up on Yevonite religious doctrine, but that is literally all lies he's going to have to unlearn in the course of the game, so it doesn't count. /gently swims over to pick up the Moon Crest before Tidus has any reason to know it's there or might have any use to him whatsoever. I love the Aurochs, not least because all of them (except Letty) give me free items. I try to keep as many of them as I can on my blitz team. Unfortunately in my other save I had to let Datto go to make room for Nimrook. Can't let other teams have Nimrook. There's an entire post in here about FFX and breathing underwater, which is apparently just a skill that you can learn that then allows you to play a five-minute half of physical activity and being tackled without coming up for air. I have a feeling Wakka and Chappu pushed each other over that cliff a lot. Wakka is probably literally wondering if this is his brother somehow come back with different hair and clothes, on a subconscious level even if he doesn't let himself think it out loud. Tidus is not yet having it. He'll get there. They're both friendly guys. Spiran ecology count: 1 fuckton of coral. Beautiful. "If we give it our all, I can walk away happy." No, Wakka, we are going to win, and I will reset as many times as it takes to make that happen. I wonder what the religious landscape of Spira was like in the pre-Sin days. They presumably had one, or several. It's a people thing. Something animistic, maybe? I mean, presumably fiends and the whole pyrefly situation were still there. Spiran ecology count: 2 cats with weird spine fluff. I want to pet them. Spiran ecology count: 1 dog which I also can't pet. I wonder what the many other statues in the temple are supposed to represent. In my little worldbuilding corner, they were all High Summoners, and the four big statues are just the most famous or recent. Keeps the stonecarvers in business. But I think it's supposed to be that only the four were successful, over a thousand years. That's a little too depressing for me, though. Especially given the number of summoners per year we see kicking around. Three at a time at least, plus more for there to be "rumors" of them disappearing before any of the named ones were missing...Surely it's more likely for one of them to make it through. If you don't turn her away, Dona shows up in Zanarkand shortly after you do. I really love the NPC dialogue. Everyone has their own sentence or two, and they change throughout the game based on plot progression. There's worldbuilding - I love the fact that Besaid is known for its weaving - metaplot, and just all kinds of flavor that make the world feel lived in.

[brynwrites]

Conveying Worldbuilding Without Exposition!

(As requested by both an anon and @my-words-are-light​)

One of the hardest parts of writing speculative fiction is presenting readers with a world that’s interesting and different from our own in a way that’s both immersive and understandable at the same time. 

Thankfully, there are a few techniques that can help you present worldbuilding information to your readers in a natural way, as well as many tricks to tweaking the presentation until it’s just right.

Four basic techniques:

1. The ignorant character. 

By introducing a character who doesn’t know about the aspects of the world building you’re trying to convey, you can let the ignorant character voice the questions the reader naturally wants to ask. Traditionally, this is seen when the protagonist or (another character) is brought into a new world, society, organization. In cases where that’s the natural outcome of the plot, and the character has a purpose in the story outside of simply asking questions, it can be pulled off just fine. But there’s another aspect to this which writers don’t often consider: 

Every character is your ignorant character. 

In a realistic world, no person knows everything. Someone will be behind on the news. Someone won’t know all the facts. Many, many someones won’t have studied a common part of their society simply because they aren’t large part of that fraction or don’t have the time for it.

Instead of inserting an ignorant character and creating a stiff and annoying piece of expository dialogue, find the character already existing in the story who doesn’t know about the thing being learned.

2. Conflicting opinions.

A fantastic way to convey detailed world building concepts is to have characters with conflicting viewpoints discuss or argue about them. Unless you’re working with a brainwashed society, every character should hold their own set of religious, political, and social beliefs. 

Examples of this kind of dialogue:

“The goddess Irelle would never ask for such a sacrifice! That’s a blasphemous addition to the sacred texts that only a damned cultist would propose.”

“The new lamps in the cockpit might give off a funny light, but they’re entirely recyclable! Think of all the dumps we wouldn’t need back on Earth if everyone would just switch over. If we’re ever going to successfully repopulate the planet, we need to stop polluting it further!”

“This is a peaceful country, yes, but one build on blood and stolen land! If you left your worthless barn more often, you would see that. The rest of the empire is not as placated as you think.”

And as a nice bonus, the reader gets to learn something about the characters beliefs, how they communicate, and how open-minded (or stubborn) they are.

3. Historically and culturally significant places and objects.

Characters bringing up worldbuilding topics out of the blue can feel forced and disruptive, but giving them a reason to talk about a specific topic helps soften the blow. Strategically places buildings and objects can ease the conversation into historical, religious, scientific, or political discussions. Things like:

Religion: Temples, holy books, idols, imagery, religious leaders out for a walk, worshipers praying or singing.

History: Monuments, statues, ancient buildings, historical artifacts (likely replicas), culturally significant designs that arose from mythology, historical fiction novels. 

Science: New inventions being installed or tested out, academic buildings, seminar announcements, advertisements, hospitals.

Politics: Propaganda, reminders to vote, new laws being put into practice, angry citizens, protests, war preparations. 

(Note that many of these things could also be applied to magic systems!)

4. Ignore explanations entirely.

Sometimes the best way to convey how a world works is just to dive straight in. Let the reader learn about the world by watching the main character interact with it.

This method is also a great way to start out writing your first draft, because there will always be time to adjust and add in stronger explanations for things in later drafts.

Alternately, you could go for the opposite first draft method, and write exposition for everything during your first draft, and then cut it down the the bare necessities once you start editing and rewriting.

** Scroll up to point one to check for an update!

A long list of things to remember:

- Dialogue is better than internal monologue. Whenever possible, let your characters talk about something instead of thinking it through. This eliminates daunting chunks of text and allows the reader to learn more about the other character(s) in the conversation, and the character’s relationship(s) with each other.

- Sometimes you still need internal monologue. Don’t be afraid to slap in some extra sentences of explanation when the PoV character is in a position where they’d naturally think about such things. You can always take them out if readers say they understood without the addition.

- Not everything must be known upfront. Don’t force any concepts on your reader unless the reader absolutely needs to know in order to understand the current chapter.  

- Build your worldbuilding. Each concept and piece of information should build off what you’ve already establish. This means you give the very simplest concepts first, and develop them further as the story progresses.

- Use linguistics in your favor. To help your readers remember new names and terms, try giving related objects, places, ranks, etc, similar sounding words or an otherwise consistent naming scheme. 

- Keep the first chapter pure. Little to no exposition should be included in the first chapter, whenever possible. That being said, readers who were immersed in the first chapter and are eagerly starting the second are now much more likely to sit through exposition because they’re already connected with the story and characters.

- Immersion is good. (Drowning is bad.) Set your first chapter somewhere the read gets a decent view of what sort of world this is at its foundation. A lone character walking through the forest could live nearly anywhere, in any era, in any type of world, with any number (or lack) of friends of family. A character and their sibling leaving a steampunk pseudo-Japanese theater pressed up against the same forest says a lot more. 

But remember: not everything must be known upfront. Don’t try to introduce so much of the world that it becomes overwhelming.

- Little details say a lot. Things like architecture, curses and slang, styles of dress, typical food, even the objects a normal person carries with them, can all give major hints towards the worldbuilding, and they serve to make the world feel more real and immersive.

- Emotion is everything. How does your character feel about the world? 

How to they describe the parts of it they love? The parts they hate? 

What do they find scary about it? 

Are they intrigued by advances in technology and society, or do they cling to the old ways? 

Are they attracted to old toppling buildings with historic significance, or to new, beautiful constructs? 

Do they sneak past the market eagerly searching for imports from distant countries, or do they make a beeline for the family owned business that’s sold homecooked pies on that street corner for seven generations?

- Different genre, different expectations. Every genre has a different ‘norm’ for how much detail (and exposition) is acceptable in the worldbuilding. Hard science fiction and adult fantasy tends to involve huge amounts of lengthy explanations, where as young adult fantasy and soft sci fi are far more immersive, occasionally to such a point that you can get away with underdeveloped worlds. Know what’s expected in your genre (though don’t necessarily feel the need to follow it.)

- Unique isn’t always better. In spec fic there’s a myth the most unique and original worldbuilding will be the most successful. But the truth is that, while you should certainly include original concepts, the more of them you have and the more original they are, the harder it will be to make the reader understand them. Readers will try to relate every piece of worldbuilding to something they already know. If they can’t find anything else similar enough, they’re likely to either never understand it, or contort it to better match something they do understand.

- If your PoV character doesn’t need to know it, neither do the readers. This doesn’t mean you should never include information your PoV character doesn’t need to know, but rather that you shouldn’t try to shove in a detail about the world just because you have it written in your notes. If it’s not necessary and it don’t come up naturally, don’t force it. 

- The PoV character is the center of the world. Each character will see the world you created differently. The things they focus on, the opinions they hold about it, and the emotions it makes them feel will all be unique to that character. They aren’t simply a person living in a vast place you know a lot about, but rather a filter through which to put all the worldbuilding information through.

- Critique will save you. Worldbuilding is hard, and it will never be conveyed perfectly the first time. When you let people read your work, be sure to ask them specific questions about the worldbuilding. Having a reader describe your world in their own words will tell you a lot about whether or not you succeeded in immersing them in an understandable world. 

For more writing tips from Bryn, view the archive catalog or the complete tag.

Purchase Bryn’s debut novel, Our Bloody Pearl, today!

[the-apocryphal-one]

Novel Review: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

I’m sorry, but when you open up your book with that paragraph, intentionally invoking and subverting typical fairy tale tropes with a fun tongue-in-cheek narration...you’ve got me hooked. And if you get me hooked like that, you’d better follow through. And this book did. Hot damn it was good. I binged it in a day.

Apparently the author used to write fanfiction; it shows, because she took away all the good lessons you learn from it and left behind the bad parts. Uprooted is a stand-alone medieval fantasy with a refreshingly original tale and lovely use of fairy tale tropes and you should definitely check it out.

Summary: Once a decade, the Dragon comes and Chooses a single girl from the valley he protects as payment. Agnieszka (Nieshka for short) doesn’t worry about being taken; she worries about her beautiful, talented, perfect best friend Kasia, who everyone knows will be Chosen. But for a reason Nieshka can’t fathom, the Dragon picks her instead, and she gets sucked into a world that is dark and horrifying...but not in the ways you’d expect it to be.

Spoiler-free cliffnotes review:

- After a while, YA female protagonists start to get cookie-cutter. Nieshka is not at all cookie-cutter; she’s unique, sweet, and genuinely flawed. I never found myself irritated with her, and I kept getting prouder and prouder of her as she grew into her own.

- Likewise, YA romances tend to be cookie-cutter and feel shallow or lust-based. And don’t get me started on the love triangles. But thankfully, there are no love triangles here, and the romance is background, slow-burn emotional goodness. Bonus points for neither lead being hot; they’re actually kind of plain. Poor Nieshka especially gets called horse-faced and nothing special to look at.

- The other characters are all developed well; Kasia, the wizards at court, the royals, the antagonists, they all have their own distinct personalities and motivations. And boooooooy I love Nieshka’s friendship with Kasia, it is Good and Strong and we need more platonic relationships like that in literature.

- Worldbuilding was enticing, I was genuinely interested in the different legends and histories and songs. Downside is the world itself felt a little confusing in terms of layout; nothing that created a plot hole, but I could have used a map.

- Novik’s prose is beautiful, and especially shines when she’s creating atmosphere, but can be a bit too long at times. It definitely slowed me down while I was reading.

- She’s great at pacing and tension. The stakes start small but important, and then they grow a little larger, and then they just spiral up and up and more and more is at risk and I kept holding my breath waiting to see how the heroes would get through it this time.

...And have the spoiler version below the cut:

The Gushing:

- honestly I love Nieshka because she is just so unlike your typical YA protagonist. A lot of them are cold, brave, loner-types who don’t need help. Nieshka’s a self-admitted coward, genuinely clumsy (she’s always dirty from spilling stuff on herself and tripping), and anxious...but also a big sweetheart, idealistic, and kinda spacey. Like the Dragon took her to teach her magic, and she keeps thinking about how restrictive it is. Then she starts thinking about it in terms of wandering through the woods not knowing what she’s looking for, but she’ll know when she finds it, and she’s picking berries in her head, and suddenly: boom, magic. And the Dragon is furious because that’s too unorganized, what do you mean woods there aren’t any woods here, how are you doing it????

- it is essentially Wizard vs Sorcerer, to put it in DnD terms, only she is the only Sorceress in a world of Wizards and they can’t. get. it. it’s hilarious. (but she also can’t do their stuff, she has all the power without the precise control. They’re all stronger working together, so it’s not “super specialness”, it’s a fair trade)

- Delicious slow-burn, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance, yum. It’s written subtly and beautifully; I love the detail when she stops thinking of the Dragon by his title and starts thinking of him by his name. You just see the relationship changing without being told it is. 

- speaking of, I love the Dragon. He’s laid out as nuanced and “not a bad lord” from the start--protective of his vassals, enough to personally step in to help them, but also extremely distant. He thinks of the needs of the many vs the few, he’s grumpy, he never socializes, and he demands a sacrifice of a girl every decade--just to clean his tower, but everyone thinks the worst because he doesn’t do anything to make them think otherwise. So no one likes him except in that local proud “he’s our lord” way. And he keeps getting taken off-guard by Nieshka (again: “HOW ARE YOU CASTING LIKE THAT?!”) in a way that’s kind of adorable.

- Nieshka's profession at the end is becoming a druid-type healer. I LOVE THAT. there’s like some stigma against women doing feminine things in YA literature, and Nieshka just goes for it. She has the power to be a war-witch, and she’s used her magic that way, but she hated seeing battle and death. She goes “nope, I’m gonna peace out and heal the damage caused by this war.”

- I love how Nieshka knows the Dragon is gonna run from their relationship and decides she’s not gonna beg him to stay bc he needs to figure that out for himself. If he doesn’t come back, she’ll be sad, but she’ll move on. Her life doesn’t revolve around him, that’s refreshing, and it makes the moment he does come back (bc of course he does) that much better.

- Nieshka and Kasia’s friendship is the Good Shit, they’re just completely devoted to each other and it’s not at all framed in a romantic way. ACTUALLY their platonic love is the central relationship of the story instead of the romance, and I LOVE THAT, because romance shouldn’t be The Only And The Biggest bond in our life. But they also have their secret envies and hurts, but their friendship just grows stronger for it??? it’s just so good???

- Okay, for some non-Nieshka things (but seriously I love her), how about the side characters? They’re never reduced to “stop mattering when the hero leaves the screen”, they get motivations explained and other facets of their character explored. Alosha the witch-blacksmith, the Dragon’s rival the Falcon, KASIA, Prince Marek. Marek is like the perfect shadow archetype of Nieshka, they both really want to save someone they love from the Wood, they both refuse to quit, and it’s just plain bad luck that his quest was doomed from the start. So even though she hates what he does, she understands why he’s doing it, and admits she might well have done the same in his shoes.

- The Wood is terrifying. Novik uses a lot of pretty descriptive words in her narration that borders on flowery at points, but when it comes to the Wood, it underlines how horrific that place is. At one point, the Wood corrupts Kasia, and she describes sap seeping out of her eyes and mouth and I gagged reading it. Or here, take this paragraph:

“I could see light shining through my own skin, making a blazing lantern of my body, and when I held up my hands, I saw to my horror faint shadows moving there beneath the surface. Forgetting the feverish pain, I caught at my dress and dragged it off over my head. He knelt down on the floor with me. I was shining like a sun, the thin shadows moving through me like fish swimming beneath the ice in winter.”

- yes thank you I really needed the imagery of living evil fish swimming under someone’s skin in my life (translation: beautiful prose but ahhhh!)

- plus the Wood is alive and incredibly smart. It spends the whole book playing speed chess and keeping you double-guessing every apparent victory the heroes have. Combined with the supernatural/horror aspects, it really feels like an eldritch and dreadful force of nature. 

- there are like three books’ worth of plot in this one, but they all get developed and paced well. there’s just so much content, and it’s varied and exciting and gripping--training with the Dragon, rescues in the Wood, courtly intrigue, a siege on a tower, kickass magic battles, and The Big Final Mission which ends in a way I don’t want to spoil, even in the spoiler section.

Critiques:

- I really wish Novik included a map of the land, because I just kept getting confused where everything was. At first I was under the impression the Dragon’s tower was to the west, closest to the Wood; then it and the Wood turned out to be in the east? And the capital is...north, northwest of that? But then why are Nieskha and Kasia crossing mountains to get to the Dragon’s tower in the south, the mountains are in the east too, dividing them from Rosya, right??? where even is everything??????? it’s possible I was a dumbell and just misread/misremembered stuff, but that’s why a map would have been helpful.

- Novik’s writing style is beautiful, it’s fairy tale-esque and fits the setting...but once in a while it’s too much, you know? She really, really wants you immersed in the physical sensations of the world she created, and in cases like the Woods, it works well to convey the sheer monstrosity of the place. In other cases, it feels kinda like a slog; there’s one point where she writes at length about the pattern of a carpet. How interesting.

- Usually in YA fiction, the heroine doesn’t care about her parents or vice versa. Thankfully that’s averted here, but Nieshka mentions she has three brothers...who she doesn’t really think or care about. There’s a nice scene when she first arrives at the tower and starts crying about how she’s lost her parents, but her brothers? Nada. They don’t even get names or show up, with no explanation; at the very least a line about how they’re so much older than her that they’re not close would have satisfied me, but there’s nothing like that. It’s not huge, but it’s jarring.

- while I love the Dragon and Nieshka’s emotional relationship, I do admit the physical aspects felt sudden. Novik basically has it so that magically working together creates a charged intimacy between them, and the first time it happened I loved it because it seemed like it was gonna be ‘the gateway’ to more. Instead, it kind of ends up a crutch for their physical relationship. It’s like “slow burn, slow burn, magic, KISSAGE, slow burn, slow burn, magic, SEX”.

[cinderstorm]

Writing Tips #12: Aesthetic in Story Design.

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Writing Tips. Today’s topic centers around the aesthetic components of your stories. Though this post will focus primarily on speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, etc.), these principles can be applied in any sort of writing.

So what do I mean when I refer to a story’s aesthetic? Well, there are several considerations, but basically it comes down to how your reader visualizes the environment of the story they’re reading. Part of their perception will come from cover art/design, but most aesthetic decisions can be made as you’re considering the following story components:

Setting: Where is your story set? When does it take place? Is it a real place, or a secondary world forged from your imagination? If it is a real place, are you writing historical, contemporary, or futuristic fiction?

Setting is the most basic component of aesthetic, as well as being one of the first things writers think about when they’re designing their story. Those of you who do a lot of worldbuilding will likely have extensive notes on settings, with broad overviews and specific, plot-relevant details. But setting is not the only consideration when it comes to aesthetic. You also want to consider:

Tone: What kind of story are you writing? Is it a lighthearted adventure? A fast-paced thriller? A dark crime drama? Do you want your readers to be inspired by the boundless altruism and potential of the human spirit, or do you want them to face the bleakest depths of humanity?

How you answer these questions will affect the way you write about your setting. For examples of this, I will refer you back to lesson X, where I talked about how to evoke emotion through description. Tone is all about how you say what you want to say. Two pieces could have the same setting--say, a carnival--but if one has a whimsical, comedic tone and the other has an eerie, haunted tone, your reader is going to imagine those settings in very different ways.

Motifs: This one isn’t quite as important as the others, but it’s still worth consideration. Motifs rely on recurring imagery, and can be specific to a setting, character, or plot-line. They also tend to have some symbolic value within the story (more on motifs when we get to the examples).

Whatever you’re writing, you want these three elements to complement each other. An adventure story demands a world filled with wonders and excitement. A thriller requires an uncertain and treacherous setting filled with ruthless enemies and potential traitors. Certain types of stories need very particular aesthetic details and motifs. For instance, if you want people to describe your book as a “swashbuckling” adventure, you’re probably going to need pirates, ships, and maybe a sea monster or two.

Examples: For today’s lesson, we’re going to be looking first at Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy, then at Beauty and the Beast. Let’s get started.

The Mistborn Triolgy has one of the best visual aesthetics of any book I’ve ever read--and I’m not just saying that because it has a pretty cover (though it does). The opening line, “Ash fell from the sky,” (Setting) establishes a major element of the aesthetic right away, immediately impressing upon us the grim undertones of the series as a whole (Tone). Ash continues to be a major aesthetic element throughout the rest of the trilogy, to the point where (in future books), this era is referred to as the “World of Ash.” Though the ash seems relatively benign at first, by the third book, the Final Empire has been almost entirely buried by it, showing the progression of the dark forces working to destroy it.

Mistborn’s other major aesthetic element, the mists, (Setting) act as a counterpoint for the ash. Each night, the mists shroud the world, softening sights and sounds, but taking on a playful aspect in the eyes of our main characters. This monologue from Kelsier in the first book pretty much sums up how we’re supposed to feel about the mists (Tone):

“This, Vin. This is ours. The night, the mists---they belong to us. Skaa avoid the mists as if they were death. Thieves and soldiers go out at night, but they fear it nonetheless. Noblemen feign nonchalance, but the mists make them uncomfortable.

“The mists are your friend, Vin. They hide you, they protect you . . . and they give you power.”

There are other elements which enhance the Mistborn Trilogy’s aesthetic. The Gothic architecture, the elegant dresses and suits, the dichotomy of black and white. The last example is a motif, representing Ruin and Preservation, respectively, though there are cases where this motif is subverted.

Let’s examine another work which uses visual aesthetic in a compelling way: Beauty and the Beast (note: I’m specifically using the 2017 live-action Disney adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, as I feel this is currently the most relevant version, but most the elements I mention here are consistent across other adaptations).

The setting consists of an alternate version of France where sorcery exists and an enchantress, upon being denied shelter from a storm, lays a curse upon the selfish prince who tried to cast her out, turning him into a beast. However, the enchantress offers a way to break the spell: If the beast can learn to love, and be loved in return, before the last petal of an enchanted rose falls, the curse will be broken and the beast will become human once more.

The tone reflects the fairytale atmosphere of the original version of the story. This is a realm where you can expect themes like “True Love Conquers All” and “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.” The fairytale atmosphere also makes the existence of magic feel more plausible while still creating a sense of wonder for the audience.

And finally, we have the motifs, the most prominent being the rose, which is used both as a symbol of love, but also as a symbol of imprisonment. The rose is sealed in a glass case, just as Belle, our heroine, is imprisoned within the castle, and as the Beast is imprisoned within his inhuman body. It is only after the Beast allows Belle her freedom that he can be freed from his own condition.

Regardless of what sort of story you’re telling, it’s important to consider how it will appear in your readers’ minds. Just as a compelling character makes a story engaging, a compelling aesthetic makes a story memorable.

Thanks again to everyone who has read/reblogged/followed. If you have any questions, feel free to message/comment. I hope you found this post helpful, and I’ll see you in the next one.

[theconservativebrief]

As a deeply jaded Harry Potter fan, I sometimes have to make a conscious effort to focus on the positives. So I think it’s worth noting that I didn’t have to try too hard to find some positives to focus on in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

The second installment in the Harry Potter prequel series is now in theaters, and with it, author J.K. Rowling, who writes the screenplays, has introduced a host of serious wrinkles in her own established universe. The plot is confusing, disjointed, and seemingly devoted to setting up a convoluted storyline that will play out in future installments.

Watching the film feels a bit like being dropped into the middle of a very thick novel that’s full of words whose meanings you don’t know. And this holds true no matter your level of Harry Potter fandom; Rowling does a ton of worldbuilding on the fly, and expects viewers to roll with it and figure things out as they go. That’s difficult to do, and it makes The Grimes of Grindelwald hard to review, because it’s so obviously laying the foundation for some future film.

But even given all of that, there are things to like about it; and the things to like are, I think, pretty interesting things!

The Crimes of Grindelwald picks up where the first Fantastic Beasts film left off: with the dark wizard Grindelwald (the controversial Johnny Depp) sitting in jail after infiltrating the American magical congress. (Why he wanted to infiltrate it in the first place wasn’t ever fully explained, but it clearly involved being generically evil.)

In the opening moments of the new film, Grindelwald dramatically escapes prison, leaving Professor Dumbledore — an inexplicably de-camped Jude Law — to decide how to respond. Dumbledore, who was canonically in love with Grindelwald as a teen and may have once been in a relationship with him, is either unwilling or unable to fight him now, in adulthood, so he sends our hero Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to battle Grindelwald in his stead. This involves finding the one person who can effectively fight him: Credence (Ezra Miller), who we encountered in the first Fantastic Beasts film as a frightened orphan, confused about his identity and unaware of his own tremendous magical abilities.

The Crimes of Grindelwald then follows Newt as he attempts to locate Credence in Paris. It also follows Grindelwald as he attempts to locate Credence, and as he launches what must be the most hastily assembled and disturbingly muffled political allegory ever thrown together by a writer capable of much greater nuance than this. The driving force of The Crimes of Grindelwald’s plot — though it’s difficult to refrain from putting sarcasm quotes around “plot” — is for Newt to find Credence before Grindelwald can, because the implication is that whoever gets to Credence first will have the best chance at deploying his magic as a weapon for their side. (More on what those sides are fighting for in a moment.)

Along the way, the movie gets sidetracked by a tangled web of subplots. Characters keep tossing around fragments of prophecies whose origins are never properly contextualized and whose predictions are never fully explained. There are baby-killings, cases of mistaken identity, mysterious characters with mysterious backgrounds, dramatic flashbacks, and several different moments that disrupt the established canonical timeline of the Harry Potter universe in ways that are sure to break the brains of Harry Potter fans across the internet. There’s even a giant Chinese fire-dragon cat-thing that needs to be dealt with. (It’s cute!)

But none of these subplots further the narrative beyond providing an occasional dramatic reveal that ultimately goes nowhere. Characters show up, deliver backstory and dramatic revelations, and then, more often than not, die. The effect is basically that watching the The Crimes of Grindelwald feels like staring at that spinning top from Inception for two hours straight before eventually realizing it’s never going to fall over, because it doesn’t have enough mass to upset its inertia. There’s just no story, no substance . And what little substance there is essentially forms dramatic exposition for the next Fantastic Beasts movie.

It’s especially unfortunate that this wheel-spinning for the sake of expository setup was one of the chief complaints of critics who reviewed the previous Fantastic Beasts film. But the previous film had so much more actual plot than this one that by comparison, The Crimes of Grindelwald feels extra-flimsy and empty. At least in the previous film, there was a set of clearly achievable objectives involving the rounding-up of a bunch of fantastic beasts!

But. But! Do we watch Harry Potter movies for the plot, or do we watch Harry Potter movies for the wizarding world? Because The Crimes of Grindelwald contributes beauty and a solid sense of setting and depth to the Harry Potter universe, and it deserves credit for that.

One of the things I continue to admire and love most about the Harry Potter film franchise in its latter-day installments is how director David Yates, who has helmed all of the movies since the fifth one in the main franchise, remains fully committed to J.K. Rowling’s vision, no matter how obscure it might get. And let’s be real, Fantastic Beasts is a totally new franchise arc that’s headed who-knows-where, and Rowling’s vision is deeply obscured in The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Yet Yates, with the trademark mix of sensitivity, detail, and emphasis on sumptuous worldbuilding that he’s deployed in each of the six Harry Potter films he’s directed so far, manages to make things work on his end. The Gilded Age wizarding world, Art Deco with a splash of steampunk, moves from vintage New York to London and Paris over the course of the film, and it looks as lovely and inviting as ever.

While the magical elements can feel a bit paint-by-numbers at times, it’s clear that Yates, Rowling, and longtime Harry Potter screenwriter-turned-producer Steve Kloves are still thinking deeply about how to keep the details of this world feeling unique and magical. And I think, for the most part, they do feel magical; that is, they feel like a world I enjoy spending time in, even when I’m exasperated by the lack of story.

It helps that Fantastic Beasts’ characters are, for the most part, characters I enjoy watching. It’s hard to overstate just how unique Redmayne’s Newt Scamander is within the annals of fictional heroes. Not only is he plainly and unremarkably neurodivergent, but he subverts typical onscreen representations of masculinity in refreshing and unexpected ways. Rowling seems to have written him by consciously sidestepping the tropes of toxic masculinity, and the result is that Newt, however overshadowed he is by plot dramatics, always feels like the answer to the questions she’s trying to ask about violence and propaganda and side-taking.

Unfortunately, those questions aren’t very well-posed. Grindelwald’s dark wizardry is a tangled mishmash of World War I-era fashion, militant Fascism disguised as leftist rhetoric, and concern-trolling about Nazis and World War II, designed to appeal to pureblood wizards of all races, including at least one character who’s coded Jewish. What Grindelwald’s actual politics are beyond wanting Muggle genocide is anyone’s guess, but given that this film is arriving during one of the most politically confusing and polarized eras in recent history, it’s mildly worrying that Grindelwald’s actual message is as vague and “insert-your-own-ideology” as possible.

And then there’s Grindelwald himself. The sheer number of characters in The Crimes of Grindelwald means we spend less time with Newt and his core group of friends than before, but we arguably spend the most time with Grindelwald. And though Johnny Depp’s performance is notably subdued (for Depp, at least), Grindelwald still feels like the series’ flamboyant gay villain (a stereotype that’s exacerbated further due to how toned-down and butch Dumbledore has become) — he’s always standing a little too close to his potential allies, always tacitly seducing them into joining him on the dark side, always being framed by the film as representing something irresistible and innately evil.

It’s weird and uncomfortable to watch, and I wish I felt like more of that weirdness and discomfort is because Grindelwald is a Nazi and not because he’s queer. (All of this potential association of Grindelwald’s evilness with his queerness is built into the narrative of the Harry Potter books, but given that so far, there are only two known queer characters in the entire wizarding universe, and given that one of them is an evil genocidal Aryan and the other one is in love with the evil genocidal Aryan, we can be forgiven for feeling a little queasy about how things are playing out.)

But commenting too critically on The Crimes of Grindelwald could, at this point, amount to unfair speculation. Rowling is clearly in the middle of juggling eight or nine plot points at once, as she loves to do, and it seems somewhat futile to do anything more than stand back and let her at it, until we finally have a coherent 10-hour film that we can judge as a whole. What we clearly don’t have in The Crimes of Grindelwald is a movie; instead, we have a heavily fragmented, not terribly coherent piece of something larger.

Whether that other, larger thing eventually coalesces into the sparkling magical story we came for, or whether it disapparates into oblivion, remains to be seen. But for Harry Potter fans who’ve put their trust in J.K. Rowling for all this time, the best thing I can say about The Crimes of Grindelwald is probably this: It won’t make you want to put your wand away any time soon.

Original Source -> Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald feels like a giant prologue for some other movie

via The Conservative Brief

[recentanimenews]

AnimePalette's Guide to Fall 2017

This article is cross-posted with the permission of AnimePalette that does not reflect the opinion or values of Crunchyroll 

    The chart is meant to be a compact tool to quickly pick the shows you might be interested in. The longer reviews below were written by a few friends of mine from the 2016 /r/Anime Awards jury, who frankly who have been helping me out with the charts for quite some time now.

The Ancient Magus' Bride The show to watch. Maybe not the best of the season (critics will give that to Land of the Lustrous, Girls' Last Tour, or one of the sequels), but certainly the best compromise between quality and accessibility.

Magus Bride starts out like a shoujo cliche - a frail, sensitive girl, troubled by life, gets rescued by a gentle, mysterious individual. One might question the relationship (words "Stockholm Syndrome" are bound to appear), and such unhealthy relationships are kind of a plague in fiction written for girls - but this is not as much of a problem as it might appear to be. Whatever your questions or problems are, the show will address them, and will not let them go as easily. However, the romance element is in the background, as the show's main strength is the breathtaking journey into the world of magic and fantasy. Magus Bride manages to enchant the audience with a world, cast, and visuals that never fail to cause the sense of wonder and amazement.

Let it bewitch you. If you're a fan of Mushishi or Natsume's Book of Friends, this is most certainly a must-watch. [lukeatlook] Land of the Lustrous A true hidden gem of the season, Land of the Lustrous finds it hard to shine in the shadow of Anime Strike’s truly outrageous double paywall as well as being ignored or even straight up called “awful” by prominent voices in the anime community. However, this show is hardly the type to fracture under stress, as so far each episode has delivered a landslide of interesting character interactions and solid animation. That isn’t to say Land of the Lustrous is a perfectly cut gem - the low frame rate and lighting effects can sometimes be jarring to those sensitive to unpolished frames. However, this diamond in the rough is a jewel of a show and has left me glassy-eyed and over the moon with how it’s shattered my expectations for CGI anime. While it’s certainly not perfect, I would adamantly recommend everyone give this show a shot. [Pandavenger] Land of the Lustrous is an adaptation of a fairly esoteric manga with the same title, about a group of androgynous immortal gems that inhabit a small island in a (post-)post-apocalyptic world, while defending themselves from the Lunarians who want to take them to the Moon and make jewelry out of them. Such simplicity in premise and setting, while leaving many questions to be answered, allows the focus to be put on the dynamics of our long-lived characters, who day by day face the existential horror of being immortal beings, by questioning the meaning and value of their existence and fulfilling their small but meaningful roles constantly. Through the eyes of Phos, our clumsy but good-willed and charismatic protagonist, we slowly get to discover the nuances and tensions of these relationships, as well as slowly get to know more and more about the current state of their world.

The series features excellent comedic timing, and balances both its lighter and more dramatic chords competently, managing to capture at least a fraction of the bittersweet melancholy its source material presents, helped by a brilliantly composed and utilized OST featuring subtle percussion, with piano and strings being at the front. The choice of getting this adapted by a CGI studio like Orange is a good one, given the fast-paced action and intensity of movement the manga has, since CGI animation allows to make this kind of action look consistently good with extra technical freedoms, which is also the staff’s specialty in this case.

Definitely recommended for those looking for something out of the norm in terms of presentation, don’t mind lack of a clear-cut plot direction, and want a more world/character focused show. [Karmic_thread]

  Kino's Journey -The Beautiful World- Kino’s Journey is a show of two parts - first, there is the titular journey to a multitude of culturally, politically, technologically unique and diverse nations (more like city-states), which serve as a setup for hypothetical thought experiment showcasing a philosophical dilemma. In essence, they act as parables and you view this via the lens of the second part of the title, Kino, who’s a biased but non-judgemental protagonist with a moral code that allows you to come to your own conclusions about the actions of both parties in any given episode. That’s the core appeal of the show, really: it forces you to interact with the stories it puts forth, leaving you in deep thought about the core moral issues at play in a wide array of contexts. It engages you, yet lets you choose your own way, accepting any answer that you present it as truly yours and thus worthwhile - and that’s honestly a pretty rare thing in media.

On a side note, given the inherent nature of the show, it’s a totally episodic affair, and this new adaptation is trying to appeal to both fans of the old series, by adapting mostly new stories, as well as newcomers to the franchise by readapting the 3 stories that are crucial to understanding Kino’s unique viewpoint. Considering this, I’d highly suggest you check out the 2003 series if you have the time, as while this new show is pretty good, it stands nowhere near the level of the original, in terms of not only the presentation of the material but even the content of the material they have adapted, at least thus far. [AdiMG]

  Girls' Last Tour "Wow, is this like Made in Abyss"? Eh, not really. But the comparison is fair - little kids adventuring into a dangerous and unknown world sounds familiar, right? However, I believe this is where the similarities end, as Girls' Last Tour is much more of a slice of life before anything else. Even though the setting is terrifying (a presumably post-apocalyptic world, with no human civilizations in sight), the focus of the show lies in the interactions between the main duo, Yuuri and Chito, and those tend to be light-hearted with a tendency to the cute and/or funny side. Despite the focus, Girl's Last Tour still approaches subjects common in any post-apocalyptic story, such as the meaning of existence and the value of weapons in comparison to food and other resources. Still, even when dealing with such matters, Girls' Last Tour tends to take a positive view on it, leaving the depressive storytelling for other shows. Rarely do you find a tale that handles themes like these this way, but more importantly you not often find anime that use their setting as well as Girls' Last Tour does, utilizing a rich and detailed worldbuilding to tie in amazingly well with the characters and their way of life, resulting in a beautifully developed canvas for the plot to take place in.

It is, of course, possible that at some point this light-hearted approach to a presumably hostile environment will change, after all a theoretical threat is present and it could cause Yuu and Chii some degree of suffering in their future, frankly though, I doubt we will ever get to such point. You can probably watch this and expect nothing more than smile-inducing moments, beautiful backgrounds and exploration, and the occasional philosophical question.

Overall, Girls' Last Tour has so far introduced us to a mysterious and intriguing world, a couple of main characters with great comedic and dramatic chemistry with each other, and a narrative that might go in several different directions, making the viewer as curious as the girls themselves to what the future holds for them. If you are a fan of unique slice of life shows don’t miss out on this one. Oh, and it has one of the best OP and EDs of the season. [Patureau]

  JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR There have been some new battle royale anime in recent times, most noteworthy the oh-so-popular Fate series, but here we have another challenger entering the fray with Juni Taisen. The rules of this clash is a simple ”last man standing” deathmatch with all the participants more-or-less content with that. The show managed to make the characters interesting and relatable by delivering backstory for one of them each episode.

The animation and choreography, especially in the fight scenes, are great. For the fans of action series, this show is pretty much a must-watch. And while you can criticize whatever flaws it has, it's indubitably the least bad edgy action show this season has to offer. [MilanY]

GARO -VANISHING LINE-

There are numerous shows centered around a superpowered protagonist fighting monsters. The newest addition of Garo takes this seemingly simple format and turns the action up to 11. While the two previous iterations of Garo occasionally shied away from the exciting fights, Vanishing Line absolutely revels in it. Set in the fictional town of Russel City, the show follows our battle-hungry protagonist as he fights monsters known as Horrors while searching for the truth behind the words “El Dorado”. Are you a fan of incredibly well-animated action fights? Complete balls to the walls action sequences with entertaining characters? A fresh MC who's virile and joyous? Then Garo -Vanishing Line- is definitely the show for you.

  IMPORTANT NOTE: Although Vanishing Line is the third installment of the Garo anime-series, it is not a sequel. All three series are completely standalone, and there is no preference to watch any installment before or after another. Each series also has a dramatically different tone and atmosphere, making it closer to three completely different shows. [Vaxivop]

  Just Because!

Dozens of school slice of life shows come out each year that try to stand out among the others by using all kinds of quirks carrying from revenge plots to age pills, but usually failing to stand out in the most core parts of slice of life. Just Because!, on the other hand manages to shine above most other school slice of life shows we’ve seen this year while staying true to the core fundamentals of the genre: Characters living their ordinary lives. Just Because! manages to have some of the most interesting, entertaining and charming slice of life characters of the year while still keeping everything simple. The show has a very good grasp on the ‘simplicity’ of its setting and manages to use that combined with strong production to make the show feel genuine, human and true to life. The driving force behind the show is the friendships and romances blooming between the cast but the show never overplays them for cheap drama.

  Overall Just Because! is a show worth checking out for any fan of character-driven light slice of life shows with a mild focus on romance. It’s not much more than that, but it’s damn good at what it is.

[DoctorWhoops]

  Recovery of an MMO Junkie

Seemingly just another MMO focused romantic comedy, MMO Junkie is a pleasant surprise of the season, showing charm in many aspects, and providing the viewer with a mostly pleasant experience. The plot follows Moriko Morioka, a 30-year-old woman who willingly quits her job to become a NEET and play computer games all day long. Here we can already see one of MMO Junkie's main appeal, its unusual main character. While the NEET MMO player is a trope overused at this point, a relatively old woman who fits the description is something new, and thankfully it does not fail to deliver an interesting approach to this type of character. Morioka’s funny/sweet’ reactions and thoughts are the main driving force of MMO Junkie, making all the usual MMO tropes a lot more bearable.

But that's not all MMO Junkie has going for it, the romance between Morioka and her in-game guildmate is surprisingly well done by this point. Both characters have been making rational logical decisions (not much Misunderstandings! here) and their relationship has been progressing in a nice, believable pace. Now the show is set to have 10 episodes only, so it is hard to assume such development will maintain such qualities until the end, but it's a possibility.

In the end MMO Junkie is a nice romantic comedy that does not rely on fanservice to get the viewers attention, instead it showcases a (mostly) mature relationship between two adults with constants modern gaming references, like gacha mechanics, and it's certainly worth a try for anyone looking for a decent romantic comedy.

[Patureau]

  BLEND-S

Welcome to the meme town - Blend-S hits off with the inherently most memetic opening of the season, creating fertile ground for dozens of parodies. The anime features a cast of characters working in a maid cafe. Unlike typical "cute girls doing cute things" shows, it's not all cute girls - there's male characters, too, which makes the whole ordeal a bit akin to Working!!. Certainly a positive change in cast dynamics, because it's still a "cute girls doing cute things" at heart, with girls standing firmly in the foreground.

  It's a simple idea, really - in this maid cafe, the girls embody several popular anime archetypes - the tsundere, the imouto, the idol, the sadist, the older sister... thing is, none of the girls are anything like the characters they're supposed to play. Their real personalities are far, far away from the ones they act as - which creates a simple yet effective vibrancy of the cast.

  Watch this if you're looking for the most upbeat comedy of the season.

[lukeatlook]

  A Sister's All You Need

There was a AnimeMaru article once, titled “Eromanga-sensei’s Author No Longer On Speaking Terms With His Sister”, which was a satire on the works of the infamous author of OreImo. This show, in particular, seems to follow the exact same joke - by portraying a character who lives off writing light novels featuring the incest romance taboo - in a cynical manner that Watari’s Oregairu and Gi(a)rlish’s Number would be proud of.

  At this point, it doesn’t even surprise me that the most upvoted reactions of the community are the ridiculously blatant lewd jokes. The irony is not lost on them - we’re just horrible people and this show knows it. The first few minutes are what you'd call a "normie filter", and hopefully you're expected to be on the verge of dropping the show there. Otherwise, I fear for you.

  Watch this if you liked Eromanga-sensei. Watch this if you hated Eromanga-sensei. [lukeatlook]

  INUYASHIKI

The opening 10 minutes or so are some of the most gut-wrenching scenes this season has to offer. I don't think we've seen a protagonist that shat on by life in a good while.

  Inuyashiki is most probably going to be a complete adaptation, which is already great news, of a somewhat popular or at least acclaimed manga. Animated by MAPPA, with OP from MAN WITH A MISSION (this time not as memetic as the legendary Database), this is a solid piece of anime with an odd taste of CGI that you simply need to get used to. [lukeatlook]

  KONOHANA KITAN

Do you like Hanasaku Iroha? Do you wish it had fox girls and yuri vibes? Look no further, Konohana Kitan is the anime for you! The story follows young and adorable Yuzu as she moves into the Konohana Inn and starts working there while interacting with a cast of lovable youkai, ranging from a Kanna-esque little girl to a tsundere-ish black haired beauty, these are all likeable characters, even though they don't have the most original templates, through good comedic timing and decent writing one can grow attached to them rather quickly… and by the way, there is a Saber with fox ears.

  Konohana Kitan is one of the best slice of life series of the season but, despite being the trademark of the genre, comfy relaxing moments isn't all it offers, even though these are abundant, Konohana also brings in some quality tidbits of possible romance between the girls and some genuine heartfelt moments, wrapping all that up with a great atmosphere of Japanese culture, presenting interesting references to religion and customs of old age Japan. Also, did I mention it has a fox-eared Saber? [Patureau]

  URAHARA

Urahara is definitely one of the most controversial shows of the season. Despite the fact that the show sits at a very meager 5.29 on MAL, it is garnering praise and attention in specific circles. With the unconventional (yet gorgeous) style and plenty of quirks and absurdities, the show hasn’t left the best impression on most people because it’s quite difficult to get into. However, I think despite this I think it’s a show that really has to be checked out.

  The visual style is bright, expressive, and beautifully comes together with other elements of the show like characters, setting and narrative to create a very complete picture of how the show and world express themselves, and the more you watch of it the more it builds upon itself. The character interaction is charming and entertaining and also a has a very distinct style to it. The music is one of the better if not one of the best soundtracks of the season and all these parts come together to create something unique and highly engaging if you take the time to get used to it.

  Of course, it might not work for you, but it’s definitely worth the try. If you get into it, it’s an incredibly unique and highly entertaining show to watch. I won’t call it a ‘must watch’, but definitely a ‘must try’. [DoctorWhoops]

  My Girlfriend is a Shobitch

Remember My First Girlfriend is a Gal from the last season? If you take that and dial the lewdness waaayyy down, you get Shobitch. The side characters, although mostly one-dimensional, seem much more mature in regards to how they react to relationships. While the show is still chock full of sex-jokes and one-liners, it forgoes the panty shots (mostly) for a bit more of an innocent atmosphere. This overall results in a much less frustrating watch, at least for me. It feels more like Seitokai Yakuindomo in regards to its humor, as opposed to a raunchy ecchi-comedy. While it’s certainly still a “trashy” show to watch, it’s certainly not awful. not to mention we get to hear the wonderful voice of Aoi Yuuki talk about sex positions.

  If you like slightly more innocent sex humor, give this a shot. If you’re specifically looking for a show full of ecchi tropes, this show might not be for you. It’s certainly a fun show to sit down and watch after a long Wednesday. [Pandavenger]

  Anime-Gataris

Something something Monogatari watch order joke. So far, I haven’t been impressed with Animegataris and I genuinely thought I was going to like it. The character designs are cute and interesting and the surrealness of the talking cat and beret still have me intrigued, but the episodes are a drag to sit through. While many can certainly appreciate and even laugh at some of the references in the show, it feels like it has no soul. The characters we’re supposed to relate and empathize with are just caricatures of each subsect of the anime community and, as a result, all they feel like are characters reading out a script. Credit where it’s due though, some of the references made have been very on point, and the meta-ness of the third episode, where the characters literally talk about the show getting dropped if nothing happens in the third episode only for nothing significant to happen, could potentially pay off if the rest of the show executes on it.

  The first three episodes haven’t left a positive impression, but there’s plenty of screenshot and meme fodder here, and the premise and set-up is still very intriguing. If a (potentially surreal) show about the adventures of joining an Anime Club with a bunch of uber-weebs interests you, give this show a shot. [Pandavenger]

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~

Straight women and gay men rejoice! We have another cute boys series besides Free! that isn’t complete garbage! Following a ragtag group of bishonen versions of famous fictional characters such as Arsene Lupin, Frankenstein, and Van Helsing, Code: Realize centers around a girl named Cardia who disintegrates anything she touches. This superpowered gal is taken by our previously mentioned squad in order to keep her away from a dastardly secret organization who plans to use the relic replacing her heart in a terrorist attack.

Overall, the show doesn’t do anything special but is still very enjoyable. An interesting steampunk Victorian London setting, fun characters, and a plot that at the very least makes sure something exciting is happening keep the show afloat. Perfect for casual viewing, but nothing more. [chrispy294]

Love Is Like A Cocktail

There’s not much to say about this. Each week is a 3-minute clip into the life of a complete lightweight whose husband loves to get her drunk (and who can blame him? Drunk anime girls are C U T E!) There’s a short recipe for each cocktail at the end of each episode as well. Watch this if you enjoy drinking cocktails, want a new recipe to impress your weeb friends, like drunk and/or adult anime girls, or just have 3 minutes to kill each week. [Pandavenger]

TWO CAR

From the studio that brought you beloved shows like Tanaka-kun is Always Listless and Kokoro Connect comes their 10th-anniversary celebration show about sidecar racing that no one asked for.

  I have no idea why a studio that usually makes romances and comedies would do a racing show, but I guess they thought it would be a great idea! Somehow, beyond all believable doubt, they managed to suck all the excitement and tension out of racing. Pair that with poor animation, rough art, and annoyingly bad characters, and you have a mess of a show worth no one’s time. Unless you like staring at CGI anime girl butts as they go around a curve? [chrispy294]

Black Clover

Have you ever been watching anime and had the sudden urge to listen to something that’ll make your ears bleed? Well then, Black Clover is perfect for you! With an amateur voice actor, poor direction, and an obnoxious shounen MC cliche, this anime is perfect for all your deafening needs.

Horrible voice for the MC aside, Black Clover otherwise isn’t much more than another mediocre shonen battle anime. If you like Naruto and want a fantasy version that doesn’t even reach the low bar set by the long-running series, then maybe you’ll like Black Clover. For everyone else, the shallow characterization, bland storytelling, and overabundance of poorly-used tropes probably won’t do it for you.

[chrispy294]

King's Game

What do you get when you cross-breed Mirai Nikki, Mayoiga, and Another? Well, I’m not sure what it is but it’s called King's Game and goddamn is it entertaining. Combining the worst elements of all three shows and wrapping it up in a whole lot of awful writing, this show becomes something so hilariously bad that it reaches levels only rivaled by the unintended comedy classic Garzey’s Wing.

  The show follows a class of students being forced into a death game by a weirdly fetishistic almighty being called the ‘king’. The King forces them to do a variety of unusually sexual tasks that vary from licking each other’s feet, to forcing characters to have sex. All these tasks have to be obeyed to avoid a cruel punishment which usually ends up being a violent and bloody death only matched by Another in its ridiculousness. If you think you’ve got the jist of just how silly and ridiculous this show gets, then prepare to have your expectations blown away as every time you think you’ve seen the worst the show can offer it manages to pull a brand new beautiful disaster out of nowhere. If you love a good shitwatch, or want a beautiful example of just how low Anime can get then Ousama Game has got you covered, probably much more than you bargained for. [DoctorWhoops]

  EVIL OR LIVE

A strong contender for the "least watchable", "most edgy", and "unintentionally funny" awards. If you're puzzled by how silly the title sounds, the entire show is exactly like it. Watch only if you want an experience you'll get to share with fewest other people possible. [lukeatlook]

Dies irae

Ever since Saga of Tanya the Evil, the community has had a hankering for some good (but, also not good) evil Nazi anime girls. Dies irae tries to cash in on that demand, but with an emphasis on “tries.” The prologue episode was confusing and impossible to follow and, while the following episodes were better, it wasn’t significant enough to convince me to continue watching.

  The show itself is a mess, and while I am assured by the visual novel readers that it will get better (and in their defense it does appear to be very critically acclaimed), I think I can see myself more likely to sit down and play the VN rather than continue watching the show. I’m 100% sure clicking through the VN would be infinitely less boring than sitting through the anime. The music is pretty epic and that’s about it. If you like the character designs or the premise of the show, I would say that you should keep watching in case it does get better. It’s certainly not anything I would recommend anyone pick up, although I think I might check out the free common route on Steam. [Pandavenger]

Welcome to the Ballroom

Adapted from a critically-acclaimed and successful manga, Welcome to the Ballroom comes in as easily one of the best and highly-anticipated shows of the season.

  The focus of the story lies in our young protagonist who only just finds out about the wonderful world of dancing and gets dragged into a dancing school. The show explores themes of rivalry, competition, and talent like you’d expect from sports anime with finesse and great writing, but on top of that manages to be an incredible story of overcoming anxiety, finding your passion, and opening up which is told through the awkward but dedicated main character. On top of that, the show has lots of fun characters like the many rivals and some of the dance partners Tatara meets in his career from zero to hero.

  Don’t be scared off by the fact that this is about dancing, because Welcome to the Ballroom is one of the most well-written and highly enjoyable shows of the season that shouldn’t be missed out on. [DoctorWhoops]

  MAGICAL CIRCLE GURU-GURU

Hailed by plenty of avid anime fans as the "hidden gem of the season" this renewed adaptation of an old '90s manga holds up as one of the more interesting watches this far down the list.

The show tells the story of a young and incredibly smug hero and his adorably bubbly magician travel companion, who set off to defeat the demon-kin in a quirky RPG style comedy story. And with RPG style I mean that quite literally, with 8bit text boxes showing up on screen and the show often resorting to classic elements and tropes. The show is filled with a silly but incredibly fun style of comedy that makes it a great watch. The old style is there, but it holds up, and the show’s humor doesn’t feel outdated. If an old-school JRPG comedy with a totally unique style sounds like your thing, you can’t miss out on this. [DoctorWhoops]

Altair: A Record of Battles

Turns out that when you write a Middle East historical drama from the Far East perspective, there's more than enough interesting cultural groups in what's modern Turkey alone and the European perspective goes out of the window.

  That means there's no DEUS VULT memes, but it's alright as a political drama. Nothing to write home about, but if you're a fan of the genre, go ahead and give it a try. [lukeatlook]

Food Wars! Third Plate

Boobs! Foodgasms! Hype! Asses! Epic Soundtrack! More Boobs!

  Yeah, you know the drill and, if you don't, do yourself a favor and go back and watch the first seasons. Just don't be too sad when the animation quality drops for this season, because it does. But hey, maybe it will improve again later on. [Patureau]

March comes in like a lion

This show can’t save anime, anime can only… wait shit, wrong Shaft show. In the newest installment of Homura-chan did nothing wrong… wait fuck, that’s not right either. Which one is this again? Oh yeah, more shogi with plenty of Shinboisms! So 3-gatsu no Lion is back and, of course, it’s as beautifully powerful as ever. Directly continuing from the ending of season 1 this season approaches one of the most highly anticipated arcs of the manga. Anyone who liked season 1 cannot miss out on possibly the best sequel of the year. [chrispy294 & DoctorWhoops]

Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond

When Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond was announced, a lot of fans were understandably worried that it wouldn’t live up to the previous season, given the director change. Luckily, there was no need to worry. The second season of BBB is as strong as ever, this time seemingly focusing more on the rest of the cast instead of the first season's heavy focus on Leonard, Black, and White (the latter two being anime original). All its charms, all its wacky nonsense, and all its over the top action is retained and if you liked the first season, then you will definitely not be disappointed in Beyond. [Vaxivop]

  Osomatsu-san

Probably the least noob-friendly show of this season, wildly popular in Japan - a successful remake of a cult classic cartoon. If you "get" the Japanese humor, this might be the pinnacle of it. [lukeatlook]

Himouto! Umaru-chan R

Surprisingly enough, a genuine improvement upon the first season. R changed focus from Umaru being a spoiled little ball of hate to her learning to be a normal human being and having fun with her friends. It’s still not great, but it’s much less annoying.

[lukeatlook]

Yuki Yuna is a Hero

Last but not least, the second season to what I like to call the milestone of post-Madoka magical girl anime. Watch the first season to understand why. It's got the punching kickass action from Symphogear, the melancholic mood of Madoka (just with acid trip dimensions being colorful instead of creepy) and the upbeat joy of cute girls doing cute things slice of life - all in a mix that acknowledges its predecessors and plays with the audience's expectations for the story.

  The second season is... weird. Half is a prequel, based on a light novel that was published alongside the first season, and it was already released in a movie version. Second half, however, is a sequel, with no source material to speak of, so let's just say the fans are pretty fired up for that one.

  In Japan it sold pretty well (we're talking top 2 of the season), hence the continued development of this multi-media franchise. The confusing release made it look pretty niche and forgotten in the West, but it's certainly a show with a dedicated fanbase. Taking just the production values at face value, it's got the character designer of Sword Art Online, the composers of NieR:Automata, and... well, the scriptwriter is the mangaka of Akame ga Kill, but hey, it's all renowned titles.

  Give it a shot. Everything's gonna be daijoubu.

[lukeatlook]

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[prinzenhasserin]

Yuletide!

Dear Yule Goat/Creator/Person I Will Love Forever,

I am very excited for anything you write for these fandoms. Please feel free to take my prompts and likes any way you wish, as long as you stick to my dislikes. Don’t feel like you have to stick to the prompts! I’m always open for other characters. Generally, I will be delighted with any rating from gen to explicit. I hope you have fun creating!

My AO3 name is Prinzenhasserin, here. If you want to browse more of my letters, here are some at my exchange letter tag. 

Likes:

fake/pretend relationships, arranged marriages

loyalty

odd couples

found family, dysfunctional families that nevertheless love each other

historical stories for same-sex pairings that aren’t unhappy but that fit with the society of the time (so like, spinster ladies living together; bachelors-for-life)

cultural differences, age differences, height differences

heists, rescue missions, case fic

dragons, fairy tales, magical realism, urban fantasy

competent characters

people not realising they’re the most competent at their job/hobby

people failing their way to success

happy endings, earning your happy ending, open yet hopeful endings

cynical humour

mutual pining

suits, corsetry, fancy dresses

Identity shenanigans (secret identities, mistaken identities)

Blatant Lies

Enemies finding common ground and becoming friends/lovers; rivalry

outsider POV, 1st person narrator

epistolary, fictional non-fiction, worldbuilding, interactive fiction, poetry

orange/blue morality (that is, not entirely human morality); grey/grey morality

people not usually found in law enforcement solving crimes

non-verbal expressions of affection

contradictions: that is, I like my fantasy with the mundane (doing taxes in a mythical land of dragons, or space pirates!) and I like my mundane fiction with outrageous happenings.

Kinks:

wall sex! overcome with sudden desire! sex with clothes on! 

shifting power dynamics (outside the bedroom, and inside the bedroom), actions on both sides, basically

stiff characters letting go of their iron control inside the bedroom; characters feeling guilty of their desire but not guilty enough to stop; coming to terms with the guilt

lots of foreplay, drawn out orgasms, edging

desperate sex, drunk sex, we-just-can’t-help-it!sex, sex for life-affirming; sex pollen

sex toys

Dislikes (Do-Not-Want):

rape played for laughs, or as backstory

sexuality, or gender as the focus of plot or used for drama

suicide

tragic endings (ambiguous endings are fine, though!)

RED (Movies)

(Characters: Victoria, Sarah Ross)

This movie, goddamn it. It’s so silly, and so! much! shit! explodes, but I can’t help but find it charming and adorable.

If you want to write me Victoria teaching Sarah how to handle her weapons and shoot shit up, I am absolutely here for that. I would also love secret spy shenanigans, or a situation where only the secret skills of the customer service person Sarah or the filling skills of a bored bureaucrat (also: Sarah) save the day in a spectacular manner.

Or Victoria taking Sarah under her wing and teaching her everything she knows about life, men, and how to end both. Or trying to protect her from the fucked-up shit in her life, and then maybe realising that maybe Sarah doesn’t need to be protected.

I am a fan of the age difference, too, and I do ship them together, if you rather want to write that. Give me all the fucked up femslash! Going on murderous rampages together, and having sex amid the slain corpses of their enemies, yes, that. Bedsharing because circumstances have them hiding out in the Siberian Tundra. Victoria dressing up Sarah and taking her as a trophy wife to diplomatic functions? Seducing Sarah so Victoria can rub their togetherness into Frank’s face. Taking people of guard, because the expected a toy boy, and not -- whatever Sarah is.

DNW: mommy kink

Gokusen (Manga)

(Characters: any -- Fujiyama Shizuka, Kuroda Ryuuichirou, Sawada Shin, Yamaguchi Kumiko)

How do I love this manga so much? I have no idea. I’m not even near high school age anymore, and yet the plot (and tbh, sometimes its ridiculous nature) always gets to me. I’d read more about any aspect of this canon, and if you want to bring in any other characters, and leave others out, feel entirely free to.

Post-canon would be great, but anything goes really. Focusing on just one character would be terrific. Having all of them would be great!

Kumiko has adventures with another class, or her minions! Does she continue with being a school teacher? Maybe she starts leading the Yakuza group, and still goes to school to teach her kids manners, and morals, and how to fight the system?

Shin goes to law school/Africa/some place, but gets lost on the way there! Will he come back to Yankumi? Will he eventually lead the Yakuza group?

Fujiyama Shizuka doesn’t get why she’s the one without the beautiful student toy-boy, and tries to find one herself, and instead falls in love with, idk, the new female teacher? one of Yankumi’s brothers? the new janitor? Or she watches and cackles a lot as Yankumi and Shin date, and then maybe found a Yakuza orphanage, and/or marry.

Kuroda Ryuuchiro and his quest for the rightful heir to his Yakuza group! How does he feel about his granddaughter running around with the police chief’s son — does that bother him more than the whole student thing? Does Shin really inherit the Kuroda family group? Does he become a Yakuza lawyer? Or does Yankumi make him stay away, or maybe Kuroda makes them stay away?

I ship Shin/Yankumi but gen is delightful also.

How does Shin convince Yankumi to have sex with him? Is he getting kidnapped left and right before they actually get together because all and sundry already think they’ve been doing each other for years?

If they are already in an established relationship, how does Shin deal with Yankumi’s students (especially when one of them develops a crush)?

I have no problems about depicting violence, or graphic criminal activities, but please keep the violence perpetrated by the nominated characters within the spirit of the manga? I like to root for morally ambiguous characters, but not if they are truly evil.

Roundtable Rival - Lindsey Stirling (Music Video)

(Characters: Durango Black, The Violinist (Roundtable Rival))

I love this music video! It’s so silly and fun! It is here, if you want to watch it yourself, but basically, people are fighting each other with music instruments to a jaunty tune, set in the Wild Wild West.

Basically, fighting with music! Foiling dastardly plans! I want to read more about this! And anything goes, really. If you want to focus more on one character, or want to show this from an outside perspective, either would be great.

Lowkey, I’m really a fan of rival-dynamics, and love to ship enemies, so bringing a lovestory between Durango Black and the Violinist would make my day. Or if there’s a dynamic like "You are the only one allowed to catch me"? —Perfection

Maybe they know each other from before? Maybe there’s epic discussion about different ways to fight each other with music (I’d be into reading about that!).

Would also be into PWP where the Violinist dominates Durango Black. Some Bootlicking, maybe? Or creative uses of the music instruments. Or clothing porn!

Or case fic where The Violinist tours around the country, catching criminals; or just a glimpse into how music developed its own fighting style — or performing tricks like shooting an apple out of the air, just with music instruments!

(Additional question for worldbuilding: What is that clear liquid they serve in beer humps?)

DNW: rape (dubcon is fine, though!)

British Romantic Writers RPF 

Characters: John Keats (British Romantic Writers RPF), Lord Byron (British Romantic Writers RPF), Percy Shelley (British Romantic Writers RPF)

Okay, I’m not even vaguely sorry. Here’s my confession: I ship all of these with each other, as pairs, or as threesome. I’d read them writing spite!fic, or rather spite!poetry, about each other, though! Or a zombie!AU, in which they are all stumbling incompetently around the dead suddenly among the living. Or maybe they turn out to be surprisingly competent at killing/evading zombies! (I’d expect nothing less from Percy Shelley who seduced people on graveyards, tbh)

Hey — at least they knew of each other! I am into the really very dysfunctional relationships with each other, here. Who is to say they wouldn’t have been very happy with each other in various constellations? Lord Byron seemed to have detested Keats — or at least thought his poetry as "mental masturbation" — I’d dig them in a rival relationship, that suddenly develops into a sexual relationship. Maybe even romantic? (Definitely romantic in the original sense)

And I can definitely see Lord Byron condescending down on Keats for his poor upbringing, without being aware that this is what he is doing, and Keats so not having that. And Percy Shelley with his continued efforts into giving all his money to charity while having the luxury to seduce women and traipse around the continent!

How about an AU in which Keats doesn’t die and joins Percy Shelley in Pisa (and for some reason Lord Byron is there, too — I will not read this for the historical accuracy, believe me)

Basically! Literature! Orgies! Seducing people in graveyards, and skinny-dipping in French rivers, that’s all I really want. I’m not saying no if you do decide to go down the historical accurate road, but I’ll also read all sorts of wild AUs.

Or adventures in Greece during the revolution in an Everybody-Lives!AU?

Percy Shelley wrote an elegy about Keats, and said this when he invited him to Pisa: "I am aware indeed that I am nourishing a rival who will far surpass me and this is an additional motive & will be an added pleasure." Added pleasure? (He means fucking! says me) I am just very into rival relationships that turn sexual or more.

Look, I’m just here for Lord Byron and Percy Shelley seducing a reluctant Keats — and Keats maybe anchoring them a bit down to earth. Or various combinations.

I am not into the long-term effects of drug use and the suffering thereof, but if you want to mention it, that is totally fine. I wouldn’t want it glorified.

DNW: contemplation of suicide, vore

Miss Marple - Agatha Christie

Characters: Jane Marple

I am a fan of Miss Marple. I, too, have lived in a quiet town where you can see into the abysses of the human condition :D

I’d love to read something that lead her to the person we know her as, maybe when she went to the girl school in Switzerland? Maybe during her time in the cypher division, during the war — maybe the cypher division was really a cover for Miss Marple’s spy activities for the war office?

I’d also love fic about her as we know her: spending time in St. Mary Mead’s and solving crimes, quietly knitting her nephew another sweater. Holiday themed fic! Somebody keeps stealing the geese for the holiday celebrations!

Honestly, I’d also really like to read about her in a relationship, especially one that people wouldn’t expect of an elderly woman. Did she have a youthful indiscretion with the prime minister, and now that he is widowed, he visits her again, and Jane’s nephew is entirely shocked by the whole thing?

Was she maybe in love with a woman the whole time? Did she quietly retire into a cottage with her best friend, and they have a romantic relationship with each other?

(Or crossovers! It would be super interesting if Miss Marple knew a wizard from the Harry Potter universe, or maybe she’s a squib or a with herself? Or maybe she knows Phryne Fisher, or Lord Peter Wimsey!)

Island of the Aunts | Monster Mission - Eva Ibbotson

Characters: Dorothy (Island of the Aunts)

Look. This is one of my favourite books. I would read absolutely anything about every single character— I choose Dorothy, simply because she’s my most favourite, but if you want to write a story where she’s not the focus, I’d still be ecstatic.

That said, omg, Dorothy. I love her (and her wok!) and I would read countless stories on adventures she had while going off of the island in a rage to be angry at polluters, or hunters of endangered species, or both. I like that she seems to be the most competent in dealing with outsiders, even though usually she rather likes to resort to violence.

So! Pre-Canon, or Post-Canon, whatever; either would be great!

How is the work on the island? How is Dorothy dealing with her piranha farm? Maybe she decided to pursue some other, even stranger, protection against various and sundry? Does the Kraken return to the island?

How does Dorothy deal with the mermaids? Is she tolerant of their foibles, or is it a similar relationship to the one she has with her sister Betty, that is: polite bewilderment?

How does Dorothy feel to be suddenly the responsible one, who didn’t kidnap children and make them work with her? How’s her relationship with Etta, and does Dorothy milk it for all that it is worth?

Did Dorothy ever fall in love? Was it someone off the island, campaigning for more environmental protection? A mythical creature of her very own?

Who did she meet in prison? (Was Archie someone Dorothy pulled in?) How did she deal with prison in Hong-kong? Is Dorothy the reason there are now forest cities in China (— this is maybe a bit of a reach, since Hong Kong isn’t really mainland China and all, but I’d love if the Aunts have a bit of an influence on the world, even though Fabio is probably never going to be Brasilians prime minister. Though I would read a story about that.)

(Burning questions I have that aren’t relevant to Dorothy as a character: Is Herbert ever going to return? Is the younger Kraken?)

DNW: unhappy endings

If there’s something confusing, please don’t hesitate to ask! (Anon happens to be open, too.) And I hope you have a fun Yuletide!

[bigboobshaunt]

Have you ever made a top 10 list of vidya you like? I enjoy reading your insight into games and I think it would be interesting to see that list and your reasons for liking them.

What is your favorite… sibling? Body part??

OK like, technically I did already make one, on this very site a long time ago (technically I reviewed the 10 that made the cut, separately), but I’m not super crazy about my analysis skills then and many that were on that list just ended up changing with time - both because I played more games and because I just ended up realizing I liked different games better.

Given that I absolutely love running my horrible mouth for probably way too long, your ask made me want to do one again, which was already an idea somewhere on the back of my mind.

A couple of disclaimers before we actually get into it: 

No game is perfect. Games are made by human beings, who carry personal biases and intrinsic flaws. I love a ton of games and they are All flawed in different ways and amounts. If anyone tells you a piece of media is straight up perfect, you should run. I am not claiming any of the games on this list are perfect, and I am well aware of their issues. I have eyes and can read.

This is my list, the barometer for it is Me. If anyone reading this takes issue with picks (which is something I keep seeing happen and it still makes no sense) just simply don’t interact or make your own list. Not looking for arguments here.

These are not, of course, gonna be in-depth for all of the games, just what exactly makes me like them so much, which was what I was asked. There are only so many spoons an enby can have, after all.

I tried keeping it to one game per franchise (barring one arguable exception) because otherwise this would get much, much harder than it already was.

Additionally, I failed to round out 10 of them, only managing 9. I beat around the bush a LOT about what the 10th one was gonna be, but no matter what choice, I always felt like I was gonna betray myself in the end, so I have reserved a section for honorable mentions at the end. These are also not numerically ranked, because while I have a long-standing Favorite game of all time, which is the last one I’ll get to, the other ones occupy uncertain, ever-changing spots.

I’m currently sitting atop a good pile of games I’ve been meaning to check out for ages, and since 2 games I’ve played recently made this list, I think it’s prudent to also make a spot for games I plan on playing to completion soon.

Here you go, anon! (And anyone else who might be interested)

Stardew Valley:

This game is both the most recent release to be on this list and also the newest entry, since it literally hasn’t been a month since I’ve finished it, and that’s part of why I placed it first here.

Though saying I “finished it” is kind of a lie, and that in itself reveals the magic, even after the “soft ending” I just keep going back to it every day, because it’s a world that just puts me in such a relaxed state… I want to spend time in my farm with my bisexual husband every day and I’m already planning two other playthroughs even if my first one is already creeping up on 100 hours!

See also: I’m… not particularly into farming sims? I’ve tried getting into them before but I just found them a little inane and unfocused, if that makes sense, so if my love for a game can transcend even a genre itself, I’d say that’s a pretty well-executed game, generally speaking.

I just also find it super endearing that the entire game was made by one person. From the artwork, the writing and the soundtrack… it’s crystal clear that a LOT of love and genuine effort went into it, and that’s very heartwarming and gives me hope.

Speaking of love, it’s also the entry in this list that has the most queer representation in it, and that’s a huuuuge plus for me, as a nonbinary bisexual. It’s a pretty cute game, and it also still manages to juggle a lot of complex themes which are very personally relatable to me with surprising tact.

Pokémon Black and White:

This is going to date this post pretty hard, but I’m actually replaying this one riiiight now. It’s actually right next to me on the table. How quaint!

These have been my favorite main Pokémon games since their release, and it’s largely a case of me being awed by its story and characters when I didn’t expect to be. I also really appreciate the risk these ones took by excluding Pokémon of previous regions to post-game content, since it forces you to get to know the new ones (which are both plentiful and incredibly creative imho!!) as you make your team.

I really appreciate the moral themes explored in this game, and how they even toyed with core concepts that had been with the series from the word go, questioning the morality we were just supposed to accept from the onset of this franchise, to the point that I’ve seen many people feel guilty about opposing this game’s main antagonistic force, N (who’s one of my favorite characters in fiction, at that).

If we’re talking strictly about casts as collective, this one has my favorite, without a doubt, in terms of rivals, antagonists, gym leaders, and even other minor npcs. I liked how they managed to effectively tie in the gym leaders with the plot, which really should be done more often, and I feel the games suffer when that doesn’t happen (hey X and Y! what’s up). The character development a lot of characters get in the sequel (which while still good, I’m not as fond of) is also very good!

Am I also still salty about folks passing this one up and then posting misinformed, under-researched opinions about it, or even deriding the Pokémon designs? Maybe! …Yeah, okay, I am. I have vivid memories of forum posts at the time, okay?

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky:

So this was the exception I was hinting at before, in the disclaimers. It’s a spin-off that’s quite different than the main series in gameplay, so I’m counting it. I really couldn’t live with myself if I made a list of my fave games and didn’t put this one in it, seeing as it’s one of the most surefire ways to make me cry there ever were.

Much like the previous entry, this one is yet another case of the writing taking me entirely by surprise. It would have been very easy to make this spin-off a quick cash-in just using the Pokémon name, but hot damn does this one’s narrative deliver in good writing.

The previous Mystery Dungeon game was absolutely no slouch in touching very dark themes, but I do feel like those were executed both better and more uniquely in the “sequel.”

Every part of this game past the time travel is just lip-smacking, and although it starts slow, you can definitely see pleeeenty of foreshadowing nearly everywhere, which makes replaying this one very fun. It’s definitely also on my “Must replay at least once a year” list as well.

I think every game in this list has a great soundtrack, but this one takes the cake in utilizing it to heighten my emotions. I think everyone reading this who’s familiar with the game knows what I mean when I say that the farewell scene (and the track that plays in it) is completely heartwrenching and beautiful. Definitely one of my favorite scenes in gaming.

I’m also gonna give a shoutout to the relationship between the player and the partner here for being super endearing and genuinely touching, whether you see it as romantic or platonic.

Sidenote: I will have the liver of that one reviewer who stopped at Apple Woods and then said this game was nothing special.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask:

The prize for reused assets done well goes to…

I would follow that up with a joke, but I’m not gonna. This is legitimately a good thing imo. I think it’s incredible that this game was made in one year because they had to rush it, and there’s a lot you can learn about game design and creatively cutting corners by the way Termina was created, too.

The fact that this game came out as great as it did is almost a miracle, everything considered! I really like the setting here, it’s so delightfully weird, and it makes me care about the fate of even its incredibly minor characters, which makes their impending doom and that of Link’s even more harrowing.

I could see how the time-management aspect of it wouldn’t fly with a lot of people, and admittedly I’m most familiar with the 3DS remake, so I can’t comment too much on how it used to be originally, but I think it largely synergizes well with the story. This IS a world about to end, so it feels warranted in a way that could be tough to justify otherwise.

This game also does something very well with horror, both in-game and in backstory, which is that it doesn’t spell out every implication and event out for you, but it implies juuuust enough that your mind makes you even more anxious and paranoid, as nothing could ever be as scary as your mind actually makes it out to be, and toying with this is way better than outright throwing scary shit at you… even if this game does that as well, what with those mask transformations and whatnot! Jeez.

Undertale:

I don’t know how to start this entry without outright saying this in some shape or form, so it’ll have to do - I don’t care about the fandom. I just don’t. They’ll do whatever the fuck they want with those terrible AUs and character biases, and I’ll bemoan it as usual, but I actively refuse to stop loving Undertale as it is because of them.

This game is a brilliant commentary on video games as a whole and has a great metanarrative! Pretty brilliantly and excellently executed, to be honest. It’s also yet another game that makes me cry frequently, and also makes me introspect more than I already do.

The gameplay itself can be hit or miss for me, but I don’t feel like it hurts the strength of what is there in other areas like storytelling, worldbuilding, soundtrack and character writing. It’s a bit like pinching a very hearty, stout elephant!

The different endings offer very, very different experiences that ultimately contribute to this setting and its commentary as a whole, even if I’m too much of a goody-two-shoes to ever do the No Mercy Run, but I enjoy the fact that it exists AND that the game itself calls me out for not doing it myself but watching it on youtube. Boy, did I get read for filth with that one. 

It’s also a game that masterfully implements a very specific kind of humor that I can’t get enough of, and it does so while simultaneously developing its characters and giving each of them just enough time to shine. It’s a great cast, all in all. I just wish people would appreciate more than one of the characters.

Fire Emblem: Awakening:

Like the game that made me etch a symbol on my fucking flesh forever wouldn’t make the cut. Come on.

I feel like this is the game in the series that comes the closest to getting the balance of qualities I appreciate about gaming right. It could always be better in a multitude of areas, but there’s a reason why it’s one of my most replayed games in general. The more whimsical tone? Doesn’t actually come close to bothering me, at the end of the day.

A lot of people don’t really attempt to get to know the characters like, at all, and then go on to say really dumb shit about them on social media that I’ve been known to flip the fuck about, just a little. But there’s just so many little details and anecdotes about them that you can learn through supports that make them feel more familiar to me, personally, than other casts even within the same series.

This game is also the one responsible for getting me through a really hard time in real life, so of course I still hold it extremely dear while growing out my critical lenses about it simultaneously (Yes, this can in fact be done). It did something similar to the franchise, too, which is always incredible and noteworthy!

It’s also responsible for me being on this site, so you really can say that its impact on my life is the biggest on this list, and I’m… not at all ashamed of admitting that.

I’m pretty sure I’ve spent over 500 hours with this one, without even counting the hours spent re-reading supports and other convos for my writing. This is a lot of goddamn time, but I don’t necessarily want it back, and that’s a good thing.

Udobure owns my soul.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia:

If you were to suck out my brain into this fucked up jar thing and make it spit out my aesthetic biases in creative goop that creates games, two of them would come forth from this messy birth - Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and Bloodborne.

Given that I’ve actually played OoE myself, it goes on the list! End overview.

…Now, that’s not exactly untrue, but I would be underselling the game if I left that as is, so I’ll clarify other aspects about it that I enjoy.

The main character, for one, she’s one of my favorite protagonists, and it makes me glad she seemed to be popular, but I’m not exactly thrilled with how what a lot of people (and the company) remember about her is fanservice. 

Her story really struck a chord with me. She’s been robbed of her own emotions and memories at the start of the game, and when she regains slivers of it throughout the game, they still feel foreign to her, but even when things look to be at their absolute lowest (REAL nice plot twist, by the by!) not even that will stop her from performing her duty.

Another thing I enjoyed about this one was the difficulty. Normally, I’m not one to prefer the higher settings just because, and even when I try them, I frequently find myself in the position of questioning the absolute bullshit some games pull to fake any actual difficulty, but it works here because it’s actually balanced really well with what you can do and what you have available to you, making you actually think strategically.

Another thing I liked about this title that makes it stand out from the rest of the series is the map variety, since Shanoa isn’t constrained to Castlevania for the entire run, the game has an actual opportunity to show different locales, which is nice, even if they sometimes get reused in a boring way with just a different paint job.

Bayonetta:

Thiiiiis one gets on here for the longest period of courtship, without a doubt. I’ve been wanting to play it ever since it came out, but only got around to it this very year, since it was finally released on a platform I owned.

Well, alright, that’s one of the reasons, the other reason it’s here? It’s fun as FUCK to play! Every movement you make, every action flows into another and the combos all feel very natural, easy, but not devoid of strategy or thinking behind them. Beyond the gameplay, the entire thing is so darn over-the-top in typical Platinum fashion. It’s a very enjoyable ride that never forgets video games are supposed to be fun, above all.

I absolutely adore Bayonetta herself as a character. She is so amazing and multi-faceted despite the fanservice packaging. She’s quipping like the best of them in one scene, like nothing ever affects her, and then also ripping your heart out later when she shows believable vulnerability. 

I would be remiss to not mention the soundtrack, since it’s one of my favorites in gaming (beaten only by the very next entry on here) and is also my go-to for writing; Between fun, catchy themes like Mysterious Destiny and Tomorrow Is Mine, reimaginings of older songs that imho are better than the originals, like Fly Me To The Moon and Moon RIver and utterly jaw-dropping boss themes like Blood and Darkness and The Greatest Jubilee, the OST conveys every beat of the action spectacularly and makes the experience even more memorable than it would have already been.

Bayojeanne forever.

Legend of Mana:

I swear I’m not trying to be hipster-y by having my favorite one also be the least popular one on the list (by a long shot) but it’s likely that the fact that content for it is so rare somewhat influenced how close this game is to my heart, in a way. I think it made me cherish it more.

You won’t find another game quite like this one, I don’t think. The setting is extremely unique in that… you build it. You have to decide where every area in the game goes and all. It’s actually implied you’re rebuilding this world after all the magic in it has gone to shit. It’s something I really like, for sure.

It definitely makes you work for its story, and though the gist of it is presented in a cumbersome way, being exposited in history tomes you can acquire and view in a specific location… even they don’t completely spell out the backstory of this world, but in a good way rather than the usual “we blatantly didn’t finish this” kind of way. It helps that there is a lot you can learn about it from environmental storytelling and interpretation, as well. I like that, being asked to think about symbolism and what it means.

Another good point about this game that’s difficult to articulate is that it manages to create an entire world with its own set of morals and philosophies that, if taken at face value, can sound completely alien to us, but the game immerses me so deep into its world, that I end up understanding what they mean by it anyways and sympathizing where I might have not. I think that helped shape my introspective nature a lot, in retrospect. 

 There’s also the fact that although the four biggest story arcs aren’t actually linked at all, they do still absolutely play into the same major theme… even if a lot of people end up missing what it is due to how obtuse this game can be (It’s love, my dudes. Love and its classical understandings are the theme that permeates this game’s setting).

It’s also absolutely impossible for me to talk about Legend of Mana without gushing about its art design. Even if the graphics themselves aren’t great, the way it implements backgrounds still completely floors me every time I play. It does really interesting things with perspective, which you don’t see often. Hell, even the aptly-named Junkyard is unreasonably gorgeous.

The soundtrack, then? It’s Yoko Shimomura at her absolute best. It goes all the way between upbeat melodies and soul-rending compositions and it’s just intensely distinctive. A special note goes to the song City of Flickering Destruction, which still makes my heart tighten even after so many years.

Whew uh, this got long… if you’ve read this far, congratulations! You certainly can put up with an untold amount of bullshit. I’m sorry this became so disorganized, but I also… really enjoy sharing these. Really, I do. I hope I at least piqued your interest with even one of these entries. That alone would make writing this worth it a thousand times over.

Honorable mentions: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, Earthbound, Bloodborne, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon Sun, Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia,  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Digimon World Dusk, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros., Super Smash Bros For 3DS, Silent Hill 3, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil: Revelations, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Bravely Default, Night in the Woods, Shovel Knight, Zero Escape: 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors, Okami, Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

To play list: Dragon Age: Origins, Transistor, Bastion, The Darkness II, Skyrim, Hollow Knight, Dark Souls, Dark Souls II,  Sonic Mania, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 6, Alan Wake, Sonic Mania, Kingdom Hearts.

[thelowercasegimmick]

YA Review, 9/19/16: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Speculative fiction is often divided into two sub-categories: fantasy and science fiction.  Ostensibly, the difference between the two is that fantasy is completely impossible, whereas science fiction is at least a little grounded in reality and what could be possible in the future.  But in terms of what gets categorized as one or the other, that distinction is basically meaningless.  Star Wars, under that definition, would be unambiguously fantastical - the force is nothing but magic, with no reality-based explanation, and it’s set in a fictional galaxy, far in the past.  Yet it’s almost always called science fiction, or at most science fantasy.  The real difference between fantasy and science fiction - the one that publishers and bookstores care about when they decide if a book is one or the other - is aesthetic.  Star Wars may have magic, but it also has spaceships, robots, and gunfights, all of which match the generic conventions of science fiction more than fantasy.

I bring this up because this is a book about dragons, and I read it at the recommendation of a sci-fi blog that called it one of the best science fiction novels of 2012.  Having read it, I might not go quite that far, but I see why they say that.  This book has a lot of strengths, and one of the biggest and most interesting to me is its use of genre in its worldbuilding.

At first glance, this appears to be a traditional fantasy setting.  Fantasy tends to be backward-looking and mythology-oriented, and that’s the case here: this is a book about dragons, with the standard quasi-mideival setting, complete with princesses and knights.  But as Hartman develops the world and the dragons within it, you start to question whether it’s that simple.  I wish I could link you to the review that inspired me to read this book, but unfortunately, it’s from a now-defunct blog.  But anyway, the central insight from Sean Wills, co-author of that review, was that if you replaced the dragons here with aliens, you’d have a fairly standard sci-fi premise.  The dragons are sort of outside invaders to the humans, and the focus of this book is on the culture class between humans and dragons.  Apart from hoarding, the dragons here don’t follow much of the mythology associated with dragons - Hartman downplays the fantastical elements that would make them players in an epic fantasy story.  Instead of being enemies faced in open combat, the humans force the dragons to ‘pass’ as humans, hiding who they really are so that they make the humans more comfortable.  This is something that is sometimes explored in fantasy, but is far more common in sci-fi.  Most non-human fantasy cultures are shown to be ‘barbaric’ somehow (usually racially coded), whereas aliens are shown in this light far more often.

So basically, Hartman takes an allegory familiar to sci-fi (aliens representing a culture different from ‘our’ culture that isn’t devalued by the narrative), and applies it to fantasy.  What results is some of the most original epic fantasy worldbuilding I’ve ever seen.  Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of epic fantasy, mostly because so much of it seems to recycle the same tropes and ideas, with only minor variations.  What Hartman does here feels new, in a way that little else does.

Of course, this wouldn’t mean much without a good protagonist to see the world from.  And Hartman more than provides that, with Phina.  So many authors would write a human protagonist, just by default, but I’m glad Hartman chose to write about a dragon, even though a human protagonist likely would’ve been more relatable.  Hartman pulls you into Phina’s world and conflict effortlessly.  There are some scenes that feel viscerally real, particularly in Phina’s self-hatred and desire to be more human, in her efforts to fit into the human world.  It’s the kind of thing that works better if you experience Phina’s arc with her, but suffice it to say, Hartman takes an allegory that could’ve felt tired or perfunctory, and invigorates it with such a compelling character.  In some ways, the worldbuilding and allegory resembled the Kiesha’Ra series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, and while Atwater-Rhodes nearly matches Hartman in originality and quality of prose, Atwater-Rhodes’ characters have never come to life in quite the same way.

Speaking of prose, Hartman’s prose is simply beautiful.  Epic fantasy writing can get purple and a little ridiculous to me sometimes, but Hartman’s prose manages to feel elegant without ever falling into that territory.  I guess the prose is the most fantasy-ish thing about the novel, but that’s certainly not a problem - it recalls the best of the genre.  And it fits perfectly with what I think is the crux of this novel - using fantasy language (both in the prose and the ideas) to tell a sci-fi story.

My only real problem with this book was the slow pacing - the plot is potentially exciting, but Hartman often fails to really deliver on any sense of urgency.  I normally like books with a focus on character interactions and exploring cultures, but here, it undermines the tension, rather than adding to it.  And that’s a shame, because the effect is to take away from the allegory - it’s harder to understand the weight of the situations Hartman writes about when the ticking clock feels a bit too slow, the stakes too distant too far into the novel.  With some plot tightening, this could easily be one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read.

As it stands, though, it’s still damn good.  Hartman is an incredibly talented writer, and she has lots of great ideas to explore.  I look forward to reading the sequel to this book (it came out a while ago, I just haven’t gotten to it yet), and I look forward to whatever Hartman decides to do next.

[laurietom]

My Favorite Anime of 2016

In the final installment of my 2016 entertainment round-up, let's cover my favorite TV anime of 2016. Since I ended up watching quite a bit, I decided to remove any sequels (since people generally don't jump in the middle) as well as restrict the list to my Top 10. Unless mentioned otherwise, all series completed their runs in 2016. Anime listed are not ranked, but presented in the order I watched them. Erased Erased has a killer premise. Satoru has the uncontrollable ability to go back in time (in his own body) to correct the past before someone is hurt or killed, but when his mother is murdered he's sent back a shocking 18 years in time to when he's a 10-year-old kid. He thinks by saving the life of a classmate who was murdered he'll be able to save the life of his mother in the future. If the ending had lived up to the first half this would have made my top 3 of the year, but it couldn't quite pull it off. Prince of Stride: Alternative This is apparently based off an otome game, but I actually watched it for the sport (and there is surprisingly no romance in the show either, so it's either the pretty boys or their athletics). Stride is a fictional sport that works like a cross between an obstacle course and a relay race. Honan High School used to have the best stride team, but has fallen on hard times until our intrepid first year students manage to fill up the remaining team slots and revive the dream of winning the End of Summer championship. I don't watch much sports anime so I can't compare to others of its genre, but as someone who ran track and field in high school this rang true for me. Schwarzesmarken I never watched Muv-Luv so I can't speak for Schwarzesmarken's place in that universe, but the spin-off is fairly stand alone and I didn't feel the need to watch the parent series. In an alternate 1983 aliens have landed and are slowly wiping humanity off the planet in a grueling land battle. It's a mecha series and despite all the political shenanigans, it never forgets it is a mecha series, with a pivotal battle every episode that never feels like filler. Every round of combat has a purpose and moves the story forward, resulting in a lot of plot and character development that other series wouldn't be able to fit in a similar amount of time. Joker Game Joker Game follows a group of spies affiliated with D-Agency, a fictional Japanese spy unit from World War II. Unlike most of the Japanese army at the time, they aren't staunch nationalists, blind to anything but the success of war. Taking an anthology format, each episode or two-parter revolves around a particular character who either belongs to or comes into contact with an agent of D-Agency. It's a dicey topic depicting Japanese spies during World War II, but is made palatable by the fact that D-Agency's rules forbid killing and the spies are more interested in protecting Japan than attacking other countries. Knights of Sidonia The two seasons of Knights of Sidonia ran in 2014 and 2015 respectively. It's a far future hard science fiction story about the remnants of humanity fleeing into the depths of space in search of a new home after the mysterious alien Gauna destroyed Earth. Centuries later the Gauna catch up with the generation ship Sidonia and a new war begins. Unlike most mecha series, Knights of Sidonia injects a heavy dose of realism, ranging from how pilots can relieve themselves in a sanitary manner while stuck in a mecha for hours on end, to the effect on people's bodies when a vehicle as large as a generation ship has to sudden change course. The series is great for people who like science in their sf, and narrowly misses being in my top 3 of the year. Orange * Orange is instantly relatable for anyone who was a shy and awkward teenager. Teenage Naho receives a letter from herself ten years into the future, telling her to watch for a new student, Kakeru, who will become very important to her. The letter is full of future Naho's regrets and how she would have done things differently if given the chance, but the crux of the matter is that it's easy for adult Naho to say such things, and considerably more difficult for teenage Naho to act on them. I won't spoil the real dilemma of the series, but it's not hard to find with a little searching. Orange does falter around the final third of the series, but its feelings and treatment of isolation and depression are expertly handled and make for a beautiful ending. Psycho-Pass * The other older series I watched this year, Psycho-Pass, originally ran in 2012-2013 (and I have not yet watched the sequel) and after I finished I just could not get it out of my mind. Taking place in a dystopian future, Psycho-Pass follows the members of Division 1 from the Criminal Investigative Department (i.e. the police). The interesting thing is that they are law enforcement in an authoritarian police state, and yet they are essentially good people, who are doing their best to work with an oppressive system that in many ways works against them. The worldbuilding is fantastic and brings up excellent questions that the series both notes and addresses. Things get technical, but I never felt lost, and the series is self-contained without any need for future material, even though it exists. It's dark and a tad on the violent side, but soooooo good. 91 Days I have a weakness for no-doubt romanticized period pieces about the mafia, and 91 Days stands with the best of them. Though made by people an ocean away, it's clearly a love letter to mafia media featuring mafiosos who are fully capable of being caring friends and family while ordering a hit without breaking a sweat. Angelo Lagusa is a bit of a cipher as a protagonist, but even if the audience isn't privy to his inner thoughts, the motivation for his single-minded quest for revenge is understandable. This is a show where how the protagonist does something is more interesting than whether the audience would have done the same. Reactions to the ending might be a bit mixed, but considering where the show is coming from, it's clear that there would never have been a happy ending. ReLIFE I dithered on including this or Ushio and Tora and ReLIFE edged out in that the cast is the more relatable of the two. I wasn't sure how well the manga would transition to anime considering that it's essentially a series of short scenes, but it holds together remarkable well, pulling itself together into a solid episode format. I know people who are or have been in exactly Arata Kaizaki's position, being intelligent people who graduated from a university but can't seem to land a full time job. I'm not sure they would have taken the opportunity to be de-aged ten years and sent back to high school, but the premise is the charm of the series, with Arata coming off as strange or weird to other high schoolers due to his actual age and the actual teenagers behaving more like actual teenagers. Yuri on Ice * It may be too soon to truly rank Yuri on Ice as one of my top 3 of the year, seeing as this just wrapped up in December, but I'm a huge figure skating fan, and combining realistic figure skating with an amazing cast of characters, is just like catnip. You can see how much effort went into recreating the sport in the animation, the details of what it's like to compete, and even cameos by former Olympic skaters. That this is one of the most gay positive portrayals in anime is icing on the cake. It's refreshing to see a show where the characters are comfortably attracted to each other and it's given the same respect as a heterosexual romance rather than being fetishized for the straight female audience. And this concludes my Top 10 anime viewed during 2016. The three series I tagged with an asterisk (*) were my favorites of the year, where I found myself looking forward to every new episode or binge watching in Psycho-Pass's case. Though not an anime I'd also like to give a thumbs up to Voltron: Legendary Defender for capturing what was good about the anime original while still updating it for present day audiences.

Mirrored from: The Rat’s Den