#posting the first 4 pages to judge interest

[mrsthunderkin]

Look at me

Making a fan comic

Who am I??? Who do I think I am???

Part 2

[johannesviii]

Two months ago I wanted to comment on trauma-express' excellent post about the more or less one-way emotional support dynamic between Grace and Simon, but then I realised that it wasn't polite to hijack a post, and that I had far too much to say about these two idiots. And by the time I decided to make my own post, the thing had turned into a fucking essay. Then the essay developed branches and turned into a mini-thesis on the main characters of Book 3. At this point the thing is like 20 pages long, so I’m going to divide it between several posts because it’s going to be unreadable otherwise. I don't know when I'll post the other parts. but yeah

So here's a part I'd like to call

On the nature of leadership

Grace and Simon have fundamentally different ways of seeing what it means to "be the leader", and each is, in my opinion, a direct consequence of their stubbornness in developing their toxic traits and defining themselves by their problems rather than solving them. And each is also visible very early on in Book 3, way before everything starts going completely awry

Grace obviously cares about all these lost children. But given her behaviour in Book 2 and throughout the first episode of Book 3, I think her central problem, this lack of affection and recognition that makes her do anything to get attention, has led her to conflate "attention" with "affection". For her, being the leader means being admired, being the centre of attention, having total control over other people, and never, ever being neglected.

To be admired, and therefore in her logic, loved, she quickly discovered that the easiest way was to lie, consciously or not, so as to appear to always know what she was doing, and to always look like the one who is right and who knows how things work. She built an entire cult out of it, and it seems to be almost by accident! It was simply the most effective way to get attention, to be surrounded by a lot of people, and to have total control over them.

It clearly puts a massive amount of pressure on her. It’s no coincidence if that golden mask is a recurring motif with her - she’s constantly trying to keep the illusion intact, and in turn, it prevents her from examining her own issues too closely. We literally know her by that mask before we even know her face or her name in Book 2. It defines her, and it defines her vision of what she has to do as a leader.

And we see in episode 4 that it makes it really hard for her to talk about how she really feels, because she’s afraid people won’t see her as the leader anymore, and by her own logic, neglect her. She's genuinely scared to show any kind of vulnerability, even for only a couple of minutes, and even if it's only to her best friend. It breaks my heart

By contrast, among the Apex, Simon is clearly less popular than Grace, judging by Lucy's attitude in episode 1. I'm under the impression they go to Grace first when they have a question or need something, and don't interact directly with Simon that much. He's not interested in being admired or popular, it seems.

Instead, he clearly has an interest in anything resembling rule systems (he quotes protocols regularly and episode 2 implies that he writes a lot of them) and pseudo-militaristic structures - he too wants to feel like he's in control of everything, but in a very different way. He wants to follow the rules, and he wants to be right because he's following them.

My guess is that his central problem, this need to be right all the time, was fully validated when Grace was the leader, so he didn't actively want to take her place. For him, the leader is the one who is always right, and who doesn't break the rules. And she was exactly that person for him, so he didn’t mind her being the boss – if anything, he liked it because he didn’t have to make choices, something that clearly stresses him out.

When you're insecure and under the impression (regardless of it being correct or not) that you're in perpetual survival mode, following strict rules and having someone else who calls the shots for you according to the same rules feels really safe. It feels validating, too. I've been there. I mean just look at his stupid smirk whenever Grace confirms he's right about something

So basically in one corner we have someone who thinks being a leader is being admired, and who does that by pretending she knows how everything works and that she's always right - and in the other corner, we have someone who thinks being a leader is, in fact, being always right, and who admires anyone who he perceives to be like that.

The thing is, because they both seek validation in these two completely complementary ways, they created another negative feedback loop (I’ve talked about the cycle of abuse they both perpetuate in this other post) that was slowly but surely turning them into the worst possible versions of themselves

[bearsinpotatosacks]

So, I'm planning a post-final reckoning, also a top gun crossover fic at the moment, and while researching Duke Mitchell (this is going to be a Ethan and Mav are long lost brothers fic), I found a discrepancy either on the wiki or with Top Gun as a whole. It says that Duke was stationed on the USS Oriskany with Viper while they were with the V-51 squadron, where Duke was shot down in an F-4 Phantom.

Yet, when you go on the USS Oriskany's Wikipedia page, you see that the V-51 squadron was never posted on the USS Oriskany, and there were never any F-4 Phantoms on there in the first place!

Also, the V-51 squadron started using F-4 phantoms from about 1971-1978, meaning the earliest Duke could've died was 1971. Mav was born in 1962, meaning he was at least 8/9 (depending on whether he'd had his birthday or not) when he died.

I'm not sure if any of this is common knowledge and my time out of the Top Gun fandom has made me forget, but I swear it's the general fandom consensus that Duke died when Maverick was younger than 8/9, since the only photo we have of Duke has Mav looking fairly young (although I am not a good judge of how old kids look compared to their actual ages), so it's very interesting to see how time away from the fandom, plus some too in depth research changes things up

[gofancyninjaworld]

Hello!!

I would like to ask. What do you think of the negative reviews regarding the current direction of the OPM manga?

I have seen a lot of negative opinions that OPM is going to failure because of Murata (and even ONE), because the Blast Vs Void fight has been uncertain for a long time since the manga break, and then we were introduced to the neo heroes arc. That many have found it boring since the story of the ninja village was interrupted, and that the last chapters have been very short and it feels that the work progresses very slowly. In addition, OPM has had constant redraws and the last arc of MA and cosmic garou was somewhat controversial for its resolution, added to the redraws.

In addition to this, I see that people support that the work completely forgets about Saitama, pointing out that the main character is not forgotten since he practically does not appear (beyond the covers). Finally, I have also seen that some people point out that ONE has decreased the quality of the work because of being involved in other manga. And that OPM has lost quality completely.

I would like to hear other opinions, because I feel that they are somewhat exaggerated. But honestly I have been frustrated not to see Blast and Void fight, and I feel that many people waiting for this fight makes them lose interest in Neo-Heroes because they feel like they introduced this reunion at a bad time. I feel that Murata and One are overlapping these WC arcs, and developed in parallel. But that's my speculation....

Lol. I laugh now because the reality of watching OPM being made is a bit like the pitch experiment. It flows but not a timescale that makes sense to sit and watch it.

I started following the manga in 2016, right at the tail end of the time when Murata would only get a storyboard every 2-3 months, and would often post only a handful of pages of redrawn stuff. Then it went to every 2-3 weeks with month-long pauses but at least new story, 15-20 pages. Then it started to be 30+ pages at a time, every 3-4 weeks. Then it started to be 30-ish pages at a time, every other week. ONE has managed to deliver storyboards consistently enough that there's a whole generation of people who joined in the last 3-4 years who have no damn idea it was ever any different.

This is far from the first time that many updates have gone into making a single chapter: Saitama vs. Genos, the Giant Meteor, all the chapters of the Alien invasion, King, to just name a few, advanced a few pages at a time over many weeks. This is not the first time that Saitama has been gone from the story for months: when it's compiled, he's away from the story for only a few chapters but it sure doesn't look that way following chapter-to-chapter.

And as for redraws, BITCH, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STORY WHERE THE FIRST CHAPTER WAS REDRAWN FIVE TIMES! If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know, I don't know what does. I used to tell people regularly that if you don't want uncertainty, buy the volumes or wait for the anime. That's when you'll see the story as it was intended to be seen. Want immediacy? Then you have to make peace with the fact that this work does change regularly.

As for whether it has lost quality... make your mind up for yourself! 'Quality' is a meaningless term without a set of criteria. A good quality F1 racecar is a poor quality 18-wheeler -- and vice versa. So what quality are you referring to? Sure, I've heard some people grumble about having fewer panels they can hang up on the wall as decontextualised art pieces but they're losing the point of the panels as being moments in a sequential story. There's people who are annoyed at it not being the webcomic with nicer art, to which I say, 'DUH!' The manga has only one job, and it's the only quality criterion on which I judge it: does it delight me? Its only job is to entertain... hopefully enough to induce you to part with some disposable income.

If you're not entertained, give yourself permission to drop it. Life is short and excellent works are many: don't hang onto something that doesn't bring joy to your life. The OPM manga delights me. If that changes, I will drop it.

Hope that answers your questions.

[sgiandubh]

Keepers of the Quaich

This time, we're going to look at things a bit differently and this could very well be my most speculative post ever. So be it: it is a risk I am taking and warning you about from the get go.

The only thing Mordor understood about the next October 4 event organized by the US Chapter of The Keepers of the Quaich is something that probably gave them collective relief: S is not going to be with C on her birthday. Not together. Not on the same continent. Shut up, shippers, you are stupid.

As usually, Mordor takes things at a very primitive face value, without bothering for context. But they always focused on the lewd side of the story, not on its deep ramifications, of which there are many. Anything that denies S's halfwit manwhore image upsets them greatly.

The Scottish society of The Keepers of the Quaich is not one of those old, steeped in tradition clubs, but it is damn selective. It only dates back to 1988, which is almost five minutes ago, for Europe (and especially the UK) and is deeply rooted in Highlands' lore, celebrating excellence in whisky trade and promotion worldwide. General facts about it have already been discussed elsewhere, but with a bias and little to no context. Also, really LOL at Mordor's idiocy to think that was a fan promotion event and go ballistic for the members-only and by invitation access to it.

Membership is by co-opting and with a five-year proven performance history only (ten years, if you step up to Master level). You need not one, but two recommendations, which makes it harder to join than a Masonic lodge or the Rotary Club (and I know what I am saying, heh). That S could actively seek to be inducted, rather sooner than later, is pretty much clear, as he could use the network it readily provides, along with the prestige:

(Sourced at: https://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/341/people/keepers-of-the-quaich)

I first had a look at the list of its International Chapters and it is interesting to notice Muslim countries as Turkey or the Emirates each having their own chapter, which clearly tells me it's all about luxury and more specifically, luxury hospitality business, in that case. If inducted after the customary five years' wait, S could also make good use of the German chapter's (a market that proved to be very problematic for him) network, along with the Nordics and Netherlands, if he would think about cleverly expanding his trade in the EU. Last but not least, I would keep an eye on Brazil and India (along with the more predictable South Africa and Australia), because he already has a solid fanbase in the first one and well, Asia is always interesting, when it comes to alcohol business.

I did not really bother with the list of the Patrons, which spells a good and prestigious sliver of Debrett's Peerage's Scottish section. But I also looked at the list of the Management Committee, who does all the hands-on dealings and is directly responsible for the induction ceremony of new members. Aside from representatives of Diageo and Pernod Ricard (giants of the alcohol business world), a familiar name popped right at the bottom of the page:

Annabel Meikle, Director of The Keepers of the Quaich and as such, directly involved in the management of its activities (and probably also in all the underground shenanigans leading to the induction of new members, too). A great contact to have in your rolodex, judging by her public CV on LinkedIn:

Glenmorangie (also a member of the Keepers) - keep that reference under your sleeve, we are going to need it soon :).

Could she be related to...

I am leaving this without an answer, because I don't know and I will always refuse to go data mining for anything, but that sure as hell is not a common surname, as Smith or Martin!

At any rate, Mrs. Meikle is also (along with the Duke of Argyll, the current Keepers Grand Master) a member of The Scottish Committee of something very, very prestigious: The Worshipful Company of Distillers (https://www.distillers.org.uk/), based in London and founded in 1638, by Royal Charter (for “Body Politique and corporate” to govern the “Trade Arte and Mystery of Distillers of London” - how I love history, people!) granted by Charles I, a Stuart (of course). I am speculating and having visions of Livery status and Freedom of the City, followed by Knighthood for S (no bong needed, this particular narrative writes itself and believe it or not, it's not entirely without logic). And it is my strict constitutional right to be a poetic coo about it - that guy is smarter than we thought and I would curate that contact to death if I were him (but I am not, I am just a benevolent and intrigued observer, as you all know). Back to Earth from these optimistic conjectures, I will keep a tab on it, as I dutifully took note that one of their current interests is tequila:

Onwards to the US. We can have a fair idea of October 4th event just by looking at one of their few press releases on the occasion of the Chapter's launch gala, on September 25 2019, in New York (https://www.distilledspirits.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/KOTQUSA-Release-10.04.19.pdf - with quotes selected by me):

Moët Hennessy. Another reference to keep under our sleeve, for it will be soon very relevant. So yes, what has been speculated by Miss Marple is partially true: more business than aristocratic. But this is only if we do not consider as American aristocratic the venue of the next event. The Metropolitan Club is a very East Coast, WASP old money and (well, technically yes) Republican (but not MAGA Republican and this, to me, is very important for some reason) organization:

That was the state of play on Friday, folks, and I was already excited to share my optimistic findings with you. And then, C went to Paris and more dots started to speculatively connect. Bare with me for this long passegiata, I think it's worth it.

It was particularly important that C would be seen in a very friendly-casual pose with Delphine Arnault, out of all the other people attending that event. Not because Arnault is currently the big boss of Dior and Loewe (as I already explained here: https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/729801825900953600/city-of-lights?source=share). And not only because C suddenly seems very interested to renew and expand her fashion days' old network. But also, because, as I already said, Delphine Arnault is also the daughter of her father and in France, business and family are always closely entwined. Always.

The French luxury market is roughly split between two behemoth players: Bernard Arnault (LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A) and Antoine Pinault (Kering, ex- Pinault-Printemps- Redoute). These people and their businesses are number 1 and 2, respectively, on the global market. And out of these two, the only one very interested in the alcohol business is Arnault (Pinault does not deal in this sector).

So I took a look at his very diverse alcohol and spirits brand portfolio (25 references - https://www.lvmh.com/houses/wines-spirits/): rhum, brandy, champagne, tequila, wines (Argentina and even China). Two Scottish whisky brands: first Ardberg (the graceful peat from Islay). And - oh, hello, Mrs. Meikle - Glenmorangie, acquired by Arnault in 2004, after a bitter battle with Pernod Ricard (https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/21/business/world-business-briefing-europe-france-scotch-maker-acquired.html):

Back at Mrs. Meikle's CV - hers was a pivotal role in the post-acquisition reshuffle, as part of LVMH:

Coincidence? I think not.

And then also a bourbon reference. Woodinville (based in the state of Washington, USA) with a pitch that made me grin again like the Cheshire Cat:

Sounds familiar? Rings a bell? See a pattern? You should: no, it's not S in disguise, but it could be SS in a couple of years, if S decided to sell it for a hefty profit.

But I was also interested in what is missing from this catalogue.

NO GIN.

Who knows? Maybe these French people could be enticed? In that case (and remember: I am SPECULATING), it would have to be a brand with a proven track record. You see, Arnault is famous for always buying only brands with a proven history and proven recognition (Tasting Alliance, anyone? LOL). Up until now and as is, FMN is just a pet project and a virtual endeavor. Nothing more and we shall see. But that little wild Scottish gin which could win hearts and already an award in Frisco is something completely different.

Now, then. You connect the dots. You draw your own conclusions. I see something very intriguing here and, as I already told you, the business underground situation is completely different from the bland façade.

You see, this is not about papers or checking a pulse or awkwardly grabbing a fist on some stairs. This is show me the money time. This is all about finding unexpected connections, at a very high level and on a very narrow niche.

So you think S and C can't stand each other anymore?

Humbug. They have each other's back from Day 1. And more. Ship on, ladies. Whatever clownery these days might bring, I know what I know. And by now, you should start asking yourselves the real questions, not if Waldo is with Carmen Sandiego (we KNOW), nor if they were online at the same time or not. I mean, that's cute: but to be honest, I think we're past that... uh... waypoint?

Next on my list is that Lallybroch trademark thing. This is the most complex one and I will take my time. I may speculate, but never without a logical base. And I always take these things very seriously.

Keepers of the Quaich, indeed. :)

[pleasereadmeok]

 “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?”

A very young Matthew Goode - who had recently decided that he might as well try being an actor!

@asgoodeasgold 's post today reminded me about this. From Matthew's biography page on matthew-goode.net. [I wrote this a LOOOOOONG time ago so don't judge 😂]

He does remember ‘performing’ from an early age – “Probably being the youngest and fighting for attention is something to do with it.”  “I’d always been someone who sang in the choir. I was head chorister of my choir at my prep school and we did school plays and bits and bobs.”  [Backstage]

Jenny Goode (Matthew's mum) was also an amateur theatre director –  “She did have a huge passion for the theatre, though, and ran The Campion Players, the local amateur dramatics group. She involved me from a young age. I always thought that actors were an incredibly fun bunch and smart with it.” [Red] Matthew has been on stage since a young age.  He remembers playing a singing rodent in ‘The Wind and the Willows’ when he was about 6. Matthew’s mum says – “From an early age in junior school productions, I saw that he had considerable presence on stage and found learning both the script and the music very easy. At that age of course children show a wide area of abilities, he particularly loved all forms of sport and had a good ear for singing and playing a musical instrument.”  [Devon live]

He says that his mum was an orphan and joked that – “She genuinely at one point thought she was Laurence Olivier’s love child. She had an incredible passion for it.”  [Herald Scotland]

[Matthew with his mum Jenny at the Brideshead Revisited premiere / Richard Young]

Matthew enjoyed being around theatres, amateur actors and being out until late in a “Brilliant adult fantasy word.” [Clocktower Radio].  However he never considered acting as a career and as he got older he got shy about performing because he tended to be a blusher.   He admits that his first kiss was on stage – “Michelle Halford was her name – she was a little minx.” “We had a kiss on stage.  It wasn’t particularly enjoyable but it was my first.”[New York Times Screen Test interview]  Unfortunately he gave up acting in his teens because he went red on stage, [Guardian] and he was more interested in sport, “so it sort of went on the back burner a bit” [Backstage]. Matthew didn’t take up acting again until he was in Sixth Form (about 17). Meanwhile Matthew excelled in sport.  Matthew Rhys asked him “How big a part does sport play in your life?” Goode: “It used to play a phenomenal part in my life, because I used to play a lot of county sport, a lot of sport for my school. I love team sports”.  [Interview Magazine].  He played hockey and cricket representing his County/school but golf became his main sporting passion. Matthew started playing crazy golf with his brother James, then progressed to ‘pitch and putt’ and on to the full size version when he was about 14.  His parents loaned him some money to pay for club fees. “I was the dream child for the holidays.  My parents would drop me off [at the golf club] first thing and pick me up when the light was going.” [Robb Report]  He reached a high level of skill at an early age with a handicap of 4 but that has dropped to a 7 today. [Discussion with Greg Kinnear at Dunhill Links Tournament]. Matthew talks about his relationship with his late father very fondly – sadly he died early in Matthew’s career.  He refers to how his father taught him about wine and Scottish whisky.  Matthew’s father also taught him to fish and he talked about this in an interview with his friend Matthew Rhys. RHYS: When did you first start fishing? GOODE: I will never forget it. I used to go to Wales for canal holidays. When I first started fishing, I was on the Brecon Canal in Wales. We pulled up in our canal boat and Dad got out these two maroon, telescopic fishing rods, and put a reel on. RHYS: Was your father a fisherman? GOODE: Yes, he loved it. In fact we used the tackle he used as a boy. It’s no longer with us. He put a couple of maggots on, cast it out, and handed it over to me. I would’ve been eight or nine. Then, about five second later I saw the thing just drift away and I had got one, and it was a beautiful roach—a perfect little roach, silver, about three-quarters of a pound. RHYS: What is it about fishing? GOODE: It’s quite exciting—it’s like acting, some bits are quite exciting and then there’s moments where you’re not doing anything or nothing is happening.  [Interview Magazine]

Education Matthew’s parents worked hard to pay for himself and James to have a private education.  James boarded at his school while Matthew was a day boy at Exeter School, an independent school in the city of Exeter in Devon.

[DevonLive]

Matthew studied A levels including Geography, Drama/Theatre studies and English.  He was considering a career in Archaeology. “For a time I wanted to do archeology, also because my father was a geologist.”[Style Magazine Italia] but his drama teacher, Stephanie Tratmore, had spotted his talent and encouraged him to take up acting again.

[Matthew’s drama teacher Stephanie Tratmore/Crupeck – Exeter School]

Stephanie was putting on a production of Sean O’Casey’s ‘The Plough and the Stars’ and persuaded Matthew to audition for the part of socialist ‘The Young Covey.’  He was reluctant because he hadn’t been on stage for a few years and he was still a blusher. Stephanie got her way and he enjoyed playing the part.   “it wasn’t until I was 17 that I really caught the acting bug,” [Herald Scotland] During this time Matthew was in many Exeter city productions including ‘Richard III’ (as the ambitious Buckingham) and ‘Waiting For Godot’. [Devon Live]  He recalls being in productions at the Northcott Theatre and Barnfield Theatre in Exeter.

[Northcott Theatre Exeter]

[Barnfield Theatre – Exeter]

Stephanie and Andrzej Chrupek taught Matthew drama at Exeter School.  He got top marks in GCSE drama and A-Level theatre studies but worked hard at his craft. Mrs Chrupek said: “He had amazing concentration when he was on the stage and an intensity. He was also very intuitive and had incredible stage presence.”  Mr Chrupek added: “He had a very charming smile, which is obviously his trademark. He hasn’t changed a lot. He was great, great fun to be around and he had charisma on the stage. Your eye was drawn to him when he acted.”  [Devon Live] His mum proudly says – “Towards the end of senior school, I began to see someone who could sustain and create a character and make it his own and I increasingly began to think that a career as an actor was a real possibility.” [Devon Live]

However Matthew decided to go to University rather than go straight to Drama School. “By the time I got to 18, I had to get a degree to make my parents happy.” [Backstage].  Matthew was also considering a career in sport and briefly considered Archaeology [Style Italia] before he finally decided to study Drama at University because he didn’t think he was good at anything else. There was a lot of competition to do drama as a degree course and so he needed high grades. He remembers that most drama courses required an ‘A’ and 2 ‘B’s at A level.  The University of Birmingham offered him a place if he got 3 B’s so he opted for their course.  He actually got 2 ‘A’s and a ‘C’ at A level so he was accepted to study a BA in Drama and Theatre Arts – graduating in 1998. [Clocktower Radio Interview] Matthew remembered some good times studying at Birmingham in this Birmingham Mail interview:- ‘The 31 year-old star has fond memories of the city where he attended Birmingham University to study drama. And as well as treading the boards in the city’s theatres he managed to hit a few of the dartboards in its pubs, too. “It was bostin’,” he laughs. “I had a great time. I used to live on balti. There were a lot of curry houses that used to open late that I remember fondly. I wasn’t thinking about being an actor but I enjoyed doing drama and it had a very good course.  I really came out of my shell and I met the people who are still closest to me there.  We were like cock of the walk and thought we ran the town, or we thought we did as far as the drama course went. We were members of the summer darts league at The Brook Pub in Selly Oak, which got in the way of a lot of work.” [Birmingham Mail]

[The Brook Pub in Selly Oak – now demolished from Our Brum]

[Screenshot from ‘Silent Night’.]

Towards the end of his degree Matthew still wasn’t totally set on a career in acting but he says that his friend Gary got a place at Drama School and “I knew I was a better actor than him [laughs] so I thought I could do it too!”  “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?” [Backstage]  He says – “If you ask my teachers and my mother they would say ‘We always knew’ – but I didn’t!”  [Clocktower radio interview] Matthew applied for a loan to attend drama school and got a place at London’s Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.  I went up to London to audition and managed to get the postgrad course there.”

By the way - this is Gary - we have a lot to thank him for!

Goode fans owe this guy EVERYTHING!!!!   He is Gary Crystal - Matthew Goode’s mate from way back.  Matthew wasn’t heading for a career in acting until this guy applied for Drama school and got in.  

“I knew I was a better actor than him [laughs] so I thought I could do it too!”  “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?” [Backstage]

Gary is now a director/editor/writer.  And Matthew Goode?  Well whatever happened to him?  

[📷- IMDb]

[televinita]

Reading Triage

I'm in a bit of a reading slump at the moment (a word which here means: I have only finished 4 books in 2 weeks), so what better way to fix it than by chucking back all my library books, picking out a brand-new set and/or placing holds, and then talking out the options!

CURRENTLY READING / LISTENING

1. A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid: this was all the rage last fall and I shrugged it off as "fantasy, not my thing," but fantasy IS kind of turning out to be my thing this year. So when I saw the new special edition w/ stenciled edges (featuring shelves of old books) in a Goodreads giveaway, I immediately investigated it further and oh, we're starting in dark academia, in an architectural college?? There's a house design contest?? Well that sounds great! So I'm giving it a go; got about 40 pages in last night.

2. The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst: this is my 2nd time around with it, because I wanted to hear the audiobook version. About 90 minutes left, and I better hop-to because it's due in 2 days.

3. One Of Our Own - Lucinda Berry: this is a just-under-4-hours audio exclusive thriller (is thriller the right word, it seems like a pretty domestic mystery), and I am literally only here because it's dual narration and the main narrator is A.J. Cook. The plot looks bland and unpleasant and after only 8% in I can all but guarantee it would be a 2-star in print, but I might give it 3 because listening to her voice is a treat.

AVAILABLE NOW

4. Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree: attempt #2 to salvage the cozy coffee shop vibes out of an otherwise uninteresting story, now that the temps are finally about to drop down into at least the 50s, and if it doesn't work this time I quit forever because I have better fantasy places to be (but I really do wanna savor the romanticizing of coffee + baked goods).

5. Strongheart, Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen - Candace Fleming: I didn't buy it, but I am now more motivated than ever to read this. It's actually much shorter than I thought, being about 50% illustration, and I want to dive right in. Might even do so as soon as I post this, tbh.

6. Passenger Princess - Morgan Elizabeth: I feel honor-bound by winning it to read enough to offer a review. Honestly, the first chapter was quite fun, so if I just go in with determination to skip straight over the porn and judge the rest of the story on its own merit, I might enjoy it. (I will of course be judging more harshly for its Goodreads rating)

7. In The Shadow of Lakecrest - Elizabeth Blackwell: a 1920s Rebecca-esque novel that I own and have been meaning to read for 2 years now. I got so close to cracking it open this time...and I still might, but more likely the other books on this list will take priority.

8. Final Girls and/or The Last Time I Lied - Riley Sager: the references in Middle of the Night finally got me interested in these 2 I skipped the first time around, but it's still just...so hard to convince myself to try them, even when I crave a guaranteed good thriller. There's a reason I skipped over them the first time around, and that reason is they just look and sound generic as hell.

9. The Book of Cold Cases and/or Murder Road - Simone St. James: I spent literally the entire month of October a) not reading any ghost stories for lack of good options and being sad about it, and b) forgetting about this author literally every time I went to the library until the 28th. But now they're here! So...maybe! (more than likely pushed off til next year though. I don't feel particularly excited when I look at them, even though the first book at least has been on my TBR since its release)

10. The Widow of Rose House - Diana Biller: almost forgot one of the few remaining from my last round! A random checkout because it looks like an unusual sort of historical romance with like seven different appealing elements; lemme just copy the summary:

It's 1875, and Alva Webster has perfected her stiff upper lip after three years of being pilloried in the presses of two continents over fleeing her abusive husband. Now his sudden death allows her to return to New York to make a fresh start, restoring Liefdehuis, a dilapidated Hyde Park mansion, and hopefully her reputation at the same time. However, fresh starts aren't as easy as they seem, as Alva discovers when stories of a haunting at Liefdehuis begin to reach her. But Alva doesn't believe in ghosts. So when the eccentric and brilliant professor Samuel Moore appears and informs her that he can get to the bottom of the mystery that surrounds Liefdehuis, she turns him down flat. She doesn't need any more complications in her life--especially not a handsome, convention-flouting, scandal-raising one like Sam. Unfortunately, though Alva is loath to admit it, Sam, a pioneer in electric lighting and a member of the nationally-adored Moore family of scientists, is the only one who can help. Together, the two delve into the tragic secrets wreathing Alva's new home while Sam attempts to unlock Alva's history--and her heart

COMING SOON

11. Tracker's Canyon - Pam Withers: a YA novel about a teen using his outdoor/trailing skills to find his dad and evade people who may want to harm his dad (or him). It's been on my Goodreads TBR for 5+ years, picked when I was scrolling through looking for I.L.L. options. Looks fun and also relatively short, under 200 pages. Should be here in a week or two at the most.

12. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher: library doesn't have a physical copy so waiting on the e-book, estimated 3 weeks. I haven't read her before but I kept seeing this on BookTube and its title and cover looked so fun and cute. Probably a 3-star time but I still want in.

13. Piranesi - Susanna Clarke: this was on my original fall TBR at the beginning of September, and I've been slowly making my way towards it. No promises I'll read it this year, but if I don't get too distracted by the new shinies, the fact that this is much shorter than I thought has made me more willing to listen to its many rave reviews. Currently on a waitlist; "my" copy is due back on Halloween but I of course have zero faith in the people of this county at this point, so I'm going to bet more realistically on the second week of November (next copy is due back 11/9).

14. Before We Were Us - Denise Hunter: romance about an engaged woman who develops amnesia, not only forgetting her (relatively new) relationship but still viewing her middle-of-nowhere job at his family resort as a pit stop and ready to get the hell outta dodge; he must convince her to fall in love with him again. I WILL be going full Chuck/Sarah with this. Currently on-order at the library and I am first in line.

15. Beyond Ivy Walls - Rachel Fordham: This whole summary just sounds Immediately Great and like the kind of historical (1903) romance I love; wish I had access to a physical copy but waiting on the audiobook instead, estimated time 3 weeks. Love 2 have everything come crashing in at once!

All of Monticello believes Otis Taylor has been away fostering his musical genius. But the truth is that his father exiled him long ago, rejecting Otis's appearance and the scars that came with it. . . . At twenty-three years old, Sadie West left her family farm and found employment at the Hoag feather duster factory. Desperate to save money and help her family make ends meet, she trespasses and finds shelter in an abandoned building--and is thrown in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor. Otis's wounds are deep, but as Sadie's friendship with him grows, she begins to fall for the man beneath the mask

COMING EVENTUALLY!

16. Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio: the reviews are so middling and I am also sure it will be a 3-star at best, but damn it, I got excited about this one months ago and now I HAVE TO KNOW (this is why knowing about new releases sucks! don't do it!). Waiting on an ebook copy because the library doesn't have a physical one. It is an absurdly long wait for such a short book (14 weeks?! i am PRAYING for a physical copy to be ordered soon).

17. Games Untold - Jennifer Lynn Barnes: on the other hand I am first in line when this releases in a couple weeks. Beyond excited for a collection of short stories and novellas aka BONUS SCENES for The Inheritance Games. (sometimes knowing about new releases doesn't suck)

18. 26 Ways To Come Home For the Holidays - Jennifer Joy: a "Thanksgiving to Christmas" novella romance about a department store in the 1940s. I have been excitedly waiting for it to be seasonally appropriate (for maximal impact) since spring. I still gotta give it 3 or 4 weeks though.

19. What Does It Feel Like? - Sophie Kinsella: 12th in line for 8 copies, at the library that doesn't show due dates so I'm guessing this may not arrive until December, at which point I might roll it over to the new year. Still, if it comes sooner, interested in this novella mirroring her real-life health crisis.

[absolutebl]

I've been thinking obsessively about story structure lately. Are there any BLs you consider particularly well structured/paced? Or at least very typical? Especially for Thai BL, since so many are 12 episodes and that makes it easier to compare. I know we can all think of examples of shows that just kind of happened without any structure...

Now in the above post I wasn't thinking specifically about pace. I think that post is more about what you're calling structure (the narrative backbone brought to light via the script).

Thai stuff is always gonna be slower paced than Korean stuff. Because it's longer and jsut less tightly controlled by the directors.

Also something like 4 or 6 act structure (popular in China, Taiwan, and sometimes Japan) will often FEEL slow to western viewers.

I think the pace of a show is partly a judgement call on behalf of the viewer, but also heavily cultural, so let me try to explain.

Structure, Pace, Plot

Structure, or the writing of a narrative script, can be divided into plot vs pace as follows:

Plot: movement of characters through time (scene by scene) and space (setting) and the people they meet along the way (dialogue).

Pace: how the plot is executed in terms of which scenes follow which, length of scenes and shots, presence or absence of flashbacks, cuts, voice-over work, but also literal words on the page - staging instructions, dialogue sentence structures, monologuing, and so forth.

Plot = what is written in the script

Pace = how it's written in that script

This is going to get further complicated once an entire film crew gets ahold of that script.

Plot is characters moving through time, space, and interactions in the show AKA WHAT the characters are doing.

Pace is how that script and story now in the hands of the performers is relayed to the viewers using camera angles, dialogue delivery, staging AKA HOW those characters are filmed.

Plot is the responsibility of the actors and script writers to convey.

Pace is the responsibility of the directorial and editing teams to convey.

Thus a part of the world that has good talent but poor production values (like Thailand, Philippines, or Vietnam) will always be weaker on pacing. But they can churn out something raw and brilliant IF they have a good script.

On the other hand, a place that has great everything but just really likes to mess with story structure and style, like Japan, might ALSO have weak pacing because that isn't their focus or interest.

In the first case, they lack the editing talent, money, and technology, in the second they just like to play with structure A LOT.

But it means each country that produces BL ends up needing to be judged on its own merits and choices (or lack of options) IMHO.

So, I stand by my list above. I think of it as representing all round story execution to the capacity of the country of origin. They are still the best story, although by western standards that story structure may feel a little off - depending on how you feel about that country's style of BL.

I might add a few to the above list (from late 2022-2023)

Semantic Error - of course. This show is perfect, after all.

The Eighth Sense - Korea went gritty and tense, outside their comfort zone, and executed it sublimely well

Love Tractor - Korea frmly and entirely in their comfort zone but the pace never lets up

Jun & Jun - a master class in pure sappy fluffy romance but still knuckle biting tension, I was upset at the end of every episode that i couldn't watch the next one INSTANTLY, in TV that = pitch perfect pacing

Tokyo in April is... - this is paced beautifully for Japan, very tense but with Japan's signature artsy atmosphere, it's not it's fault I didn't like the story

Laws of Attraction - this is a plot-based pacing story, like UWMA, and these tend to be the ones Thailand paces best using plot to amp up tension, unfortunately that best can still feel a little weak on actual story strcture and basic plotting, e.g. they can go off the rails easily like Manner of Death or KinnPorsche, but at least this kind of Thai show keep us intrigued for the next episode.

I'm gonna mention Bed Friend here as a lesson in pacing. If this show had stuck to it's guns and stayed 8 episodes, rather than stretching to fill 10 at the last minute, it would have been a near perfect high heat show out of Thailand. But it didn't have the confidence, and it likely wanted the money from those two added episodes. It's a real shame.

I gotta say I think this is the fans. fault.

People always want more of a good thing, or more of the same thing, it's why we get shitty 2nd seasons. Sometimes what we need to truly better cinema is LESS of the good thing - better editing, tighter scripts - because that way the pace will be superior.

Bah, anyway,

Be you didnt' want a film lesson with your spontaneous ask?

[hokkyokusei]

Characters' body proportions, "long legs syndrome" or why some people create hatred for the sake of hatred

First, let me explain to people who may not understand how proportions work in drawing.

I also want to remind you of a simple truth: change is not bad. Note: I took extra art classes in elementary school for 4 years and then completed 5 art classes(years) at art school. During my last years of study I had the most wonderful teachers. Still love one of these teachers so much.

And that is why I am sure that what is now considered a trend and supposedly the norm is a VERY BIG mistake.

I've noticed a trend of hate towards Onmyoji's game developers, and while I agree with some of their f#ck-ups, I still want to remind you that there are PEOPLE LIKE US working there. Hateful comments are not constructive criticism!

So who here thinks that the characters supposedly have “long legs syndrome”? Where and how did you get this information and who told you THAT THIS IS TRUE?

I was just furious when I read this nonsense on Weibo, the worst thing is that people don’t even understand this and blindly believe it! Don't blindly believe everything the Internet gives you! You can always check for yourself or find people who understand this topic!

Today I found out that the art team has changed and we can actually see that this seems to be true as the latest designs have changed.

I see a bunch of accusations and dissatisfaction against the developers that they draw incorrectly. Again, has anyone seen a sensible answer other than just a comparison of heights compared to previous works?

Secondly, I want to break down this stupid idea of long leg syndrome in characters.

The correct proportions in drawing are considered to be 7-8 heads from head to toe.

Hair growth, heels, levitation and other attributes are absolutely NOT taken into account. Only the skull and so the heads need to be counted 7-8.

There are times when artists can draw up to 9 heads in height. For example, big heroes.

Individual haracteristics, injuries (for example, a hernia in the back will make the height shorter, too tall growth will slightly change the proportions) must be taken into account.

The people “with long legs syndrome” are you and I look like in reality. Frequently, this is a European type of appearance. Asians, for example, have lower butts than Europeans (tested on Koreans lol), that’s why they think that our legs are longer, although they are also beautiful in proportion.

But another fun fact: we don’t have ideal proportions, because our fingers, arms, legs, etc. are longer and shorter by a few millimeters invisible to us.

But we're talking about basic anatomy in drawing, right? Teenagers and children have different proportions, but since they were not compared, I won’t describe them here; if you’re interested, you can find them on the Internet.

Proportions also differ between men and women.

+ in humans, proportions change with age.

For those who compare with the old character models in the game: Apparently, the art team has changed. So now they do what they want. And they do it competently and correctly in terms of proportions in the drawing. I don't judge past artists; Every creative person sees things differently. But the game continues to develop and this is ABSOLUTELY normal and natural. I don't think that old models will be remade for the sake of correct proportions, they will be optimized, but not completely remade in a new way. I think it's cool, kind of showing respect to those who originally worked on the character model.

People suffer every day and express their hatred online. I do not defend the mistakes of the developers, but I also ask you not to incite hatred everywhere without understanding the topic well.

Also remember that sometimes mistakes happen. As one wonderful mangaka said when asked about the difference in the height of characters on different pages of the manga: there was an uneven floor somewhere!

I hope this post has helped you and now you see things from a different perspective. If you have questions, you can ask them here or in DM.

And if you have the chance, send this post to people who believe in "long legs syndrome" characters, or send them to the Internet to google information about correct proportions (o˘◡˘o)

[ach-sss-no]

I've been tagged by @pazithigallifreya ! There's no one I can think of offhand to tag so just do it if you want to

1 How many works do you have on AO3? Aaahhh, well, the official number appears to be 5. I have some scattered orphans out there somewhere.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 262,523. Officially. If you were to track down everything I've orphaned it might go up a bit.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Good sir, I only have written five fanfictions, so I'll just stick to the top one

Schrodinger's Hobbit

Ah yes, the one that was posted on a regular schedule and has characters people care about in the tags, giving readers a ghost of a chance to discover it and give it a 'well it's about gollum but I'm desperate for pippin' click

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

In theory, yes. In practice, if I don't reply to a comment as soon as I see it, I sometimes forget to go back and reply because I've tricked myself into thinking I already have. Because I usually reply right away, you see.

Fortunately I do eventually see the comment as unreplied to in my inbox and circle back to it.

However, sometimes if there's no question posed and a simple 'thank you' doesn't seem to apply I honestly can't think of an answer and will just appreciate the person in silence.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Uh, well, there's... oh, there's this one that's orphaned somewhere on AO3! it ends with Gollum learning how to eat people

I think I also wrote something once where it ended on a guy going 'oh no I am going to go insane just like my mother' but I don't know if it still exists anywhere.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Maybe Schrodinger's Hobbit? It ends with Aragorn saying 'Gollum isn't going to jail and we're just going to keep him' which is a happy ending from one point of view (Gollum's)

I usually just stop writing stories at the point where they stop being interesting.

7. Do you write crossovers?

The answer is no except for the time I did a crossover webcomic between two games no one cares about.

The first really ambitious fanfiction project I did was some kind of three way crossover with tons of canon/oc shipping and it was so bad.

Also there's a thing on my account that's technically a crossover but it's between Disney properties, which are already just one big lump.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

There's a TVTropes page out there with people railing about how bad my ambitious fanfiction project with tons of canon/oc shipping was. I am not going to find it for you.

In terms of comments, no, except for the one time I wrote a shipfic in a particularly eccentric fandom. People got bad about that. Oddly enough the people who liked the ship were the ones that got mad. Failed step one.

I've never gotten hate on AO3. (Not yet! 👀) Only the wild west of fanfiction.net and TVtropes.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do not.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so. I don't monitor for that, though.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've had some people get permission from me to do translations, but they never told me if they posted anything.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Ahhhh I used to years and years ago. I think one co-written thing is still floating about somewhere on ff.net.

I wouldn't be opposed to trying it again one day if I met someone with a compatible writing style and the circumstances were right, but it's not something I'm seeking out.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I guess I'm not really that into shipping. Sometimes a ship will catch my interest enough to produce content but there are none I currently find interesting enough to claim as a favorite.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

If I haven't finished it by now, I don't want to ;)

15. What are your writing strengths?

I don't feel well-equipped to judge my own work, so I will go off of what other people have said about me, which is always a great method for determining your self-concept.

A bunch of different people have said independently of each other that I'm good at characterization and dialog, so it's probably at least partially true.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh I don't know how to write a plot.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

There are so many different ways that could be done that this question feels too general to answer.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Lilo & Stitch. Almost 20 years ago now! The Internet has changed a LOT since then.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I'd like to try writing original fiction- wait, come back! Come back!

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh, now, that's hardly fair. You expect me to READ these things?

[dem0nguy]

RAMBLETIME 4 (I somehow have more)

We’re rambling about Brutux fellas!

This man needed so much goddamn explanation for his backstory that we just never got…

First off, he’s like, a fuckin gang leader. And that’s just completely glossed over.

HE RUNS A FUCKING GANG FOR BOOKS!!!

And he very clearly has a HUGE influence in the post-apocalyptic world. Like he created a whole monetary system based on credits and bartering. Where you can turn in treasures to him or others affiliated with the gang in turn for credits or goods.

Such as the bartender in the first episode. He mentions Sheriff not having enough credits to pay for food, so Sheriff gives him a rubber duck to pay for it. The bartender then tells him “But this doesn’t settle your debt with Brutux.” Then throws the duck into a vault.

When that vault is destroyed, and the bartender goes to Brutux to tell him that, Brutux sends him to the dungeons to be tortured. When Joe questions him about his decision he says, “I’m the biggest smuggler on this cheek. I can’t let anyone make a fool of me.”

So my guy is REALLY important in this world, and he knows it too. So why tf did he drop everything to join a ragtag team of people trying to make the impossible happen??

Honestly I headcannon that he’s actually still part of the gang, he’s still leading it while also being part of La Résistance.

It would be interesting to have seen a concept like this explored in the show, and to see Brutux reach out to his gang for help every now and then. Or for the others to question his true intentions, because everyone in this world likely knows of Brutux at the very least.

I also think he stuck around because of Dr. White. Cause that’s like his idol, and hanging out with him has probably been Brutux’s dream since he started reading.

When Brutux was a kid we know he was in a gang, I think his parents were also in a gang and that’s how he got affiliated with them in the first place. His parents probably died at some point and left him on his own, so he joined a ragtag kid gang. Then we know he created his own gang sometime after that when he fell in love with books. He kept growing that gang until the Big Fart, and then modified it to center more around finding artifacts than books. He gradually gained influence over the post-apocalyptic world, and that leaves us to the present day.

Now ima just move on to some basic headcannons that I don’t feel like writing paragraphs about:

- he tall fella (~6’2)

- has had several identity crises (both about his sexuality and his general existence)

- loves using big vocab words just bc he can

- taught himself French, Latin, Italian, and a little Greek

- has French heritage

- Has survived three assassination attempts, one of them left him without an eye.

- Always wanted to open a school, but the apocalypse crushed that dream

- writes in a diary (he starts every page with “dear diary”)

- is a homosexual

- he wears makeup, not a lot but enough

- loves listening to Dr. White talk about his hyperfixations

- might have a crush on Dr. White (he would never admit it)

Overall Brutux is a really interesting character. I just love the concept of him being a gang leader for the soul sake of getting books. I haven’t seen anything like that anywhere else, we usually get “tough guy but softie” or something like that. But Brutux isn’t a softie, he’s a tough guy, he just likes books.

He isn’t judged for it either, except by Sheriff, but I don’t think Sheriff can even read in the first place…

He’s also a theatre kid, and like, I love that. He’s a big guy who loves dancing around a stage essentially playing pretend and that just fits him so well. <3

Unrelated but in the episode “Grandma’s Cookbook” Brutux pretends to be a french girl while shirtless?? And like, Ms. Paper just goes with it?? I mean, ally Ig slay

Ok I think that’s all I got :D

( @spinningbagel I GOTCHU HOMIE TAKE SOME HEADCANNONS!!)

[jay-j-otter]

hey hey, do you mind sharing your akiyama headcanons? just saw ur tags talking abt how theyre dark and im very interested!!!! your fem ryuaki fuels me in ways i cannot describe and i havent even played dead souls FHKGJG and your tanimuras have my whole entire heart!!!

Oh wow first of all THANK YOU for the ask!! It's been only couple days since I've discovered I've had them disabled all this time so I'm very happy I noticed it before you found my blog (,:

I've already complained a bit on twt that when I've started to write down ryuaki headcanons, it prompted me to make a 35+ pages google doc with meta on both of them 😅 It pushed me to write more fun drafts tho, so all is well, but it won't fit in this post for sure ahbfght

But ofc, I will share a little about Shun specifically. (TW for implied SA)

Akiyama... I have complicated feelings about him, because on the one hand, he got betrayed by his closest people, lost all the standing in society and lived as a homeless person for a long time, and that's a big trauma to have. But on the other... He's got back up by a miracle, and now he's trying to recreate the miracle for others. He assumes the role of a judge for other people while himself being too young, too flawed, having black and white morals.

(In Y4 I downright despised Akiyama when he refused a loan to an abused woman on the basis that she didn't want to apply for sex work, but in the same substory gave some cringefail guy 4 chances to complete the test just because it was amusing.)

But I've just completed Y5, and it gave me lots of food for thought.

First of all, from what I see, Shun here was written (rewritten?) as a more sympathetic character. For example, now when it's implied that he's gonna make some woman "use her body" for the loan, it means he's sending her to work on the construction site. Well, alright. I'll take the bad taste joke over previous cases.

There's also an important quest when Akiyama meets his former boss, who not only initially fired him on false accusations, which started his downfall, but also married his ex-fiancée. And Akiyama finally admits that at first, he wanted to use his position as a loan shark to be selfish and to get revenge, but got disgusted with himself after seeing some humanity and principles in the former boss.

So, here finally comes self-awareness about his actions. Interesting tidbit.

Another big part of the character building we see now: when he is alone in Osaka, without Hana around, he's a complete mess. His new office is dirty, he barely eats some instant ramen and clearly just uses the place to escape Tokyo and the responsibilities he created himself. If in Y4 we saw him within his element, managing Elise and doing loan business (with a messy table because he's just soooo quirky and lazyyy \s), then in Y5 we get to see a bit of what's inside his head. And it's not pretty.

He's clearly distancing himself - from Hana and his new yakuza friends, because they have their own lives to care about. (Tanimura too mayhaps, but this is a separate friendship that I also like to talk about a lot)

Aaand he escapes to his ugly nook to have his ugly depressive thoughts. Can't let them witness it, can he? They'd lose all the respect for him.

At the same time, he throws himself into helping Haruka with passion, because that's the thing he actually cares about, for the first time in a couple years. (He also provides her with some much-needed parenting about the importance of being selfish, because, being raised by Kiryu, she's entirely too self-sacrificing.)

And suddenly - he's lively and energetic again, he's bouncing off other characters, he risks his life for what he deems right, he's helpful, organizing, charming. He's everywhere.

(But he's also afraid to acknowledge that he's got too close to people again. So he's ready to literally die for them and Haruka's dream, but avoids calling them friends, settling for "acquaintances")

Not much needed to imagine that, after everything settles down, he falls apart again. Because in his head he's never really needed or too important for the people around. They carry on with their life and plans. Such as Eri, Arai, Yasuko. Even Hana got fed up and left at some point, and has been keeping him at an arm's length since. (Good for her, that was unhealthy)

He's not only not that interesting, his trauma is "ugly" (by his self-admission). It's not heroic and it's very mundane. There's no clear villains to blame, like with Majima's torture in Y0.

It's just - waking up is hard. Akiyama can't see the point in much of what he's doing anymore. Money is just paper for him now, they might have bought him the freedom of choice, but somehow it didn't help. Even with all the financial help to struggling people he can't buy healing for himself. Most alive he felt actually was when he lost the money briefly in Y4 - it made him work to get them back again.

Now it gets a bit tricky, hence the TW.

I think that a lot of things about him actually make sense, if while living on the streets, he had it bad enough to the point of selling himself for food. Like, I don't want to make it into torture porn or downplay the traumatic experience of homelessness overall, but something for sure ruined him and his self-perception. That's why he's bouncing between playing a self-righteous entity and hating himself.

Aside from his crippling depression from all this being shunned deep inside and not addressed, there's the attitude about sex work I've mentioned he has in Y4. He is distancing himself from the situation yet again. A little bit of a trick to calm his mind: "If I treat it like every other job, it won't feel as dehumanizing applied to myself". And also: "Well, I was not above doing that! I was not too proud to do it! Why should anyone else be?"

Now, of course he doesn't want to subject his former boss (and, by extension, Eri) to the same hardships. Even though he is, actually, a bit of a cruel person.

So here's Akiyama in Y4-5. Not super pretty and kind of greasy, but nevertheless charming, gallant and crazy smart. Fighting and dancing and singing and networking equally well. VERY annoying, because he considers himself an expert in all things he read about even once (I also hc him eidetic memory, which makes it worse). And with every year getting more secluded and miserable.

That being said, fem ryuaki has slightly different tone even in all-fem AU because of gender expectations. Akiyama's upbringing for example.

I hc his parents seeing him as this very "proper" son, encouraging his risk-taking neurodivergent activity ONLY when it helped to build onto that image. They happily bragged about their son - with prestigious business degree, good banking job and pretty fiancée. But ofc, when it's all came crashing down, they didn't want to hear about him anymore. Nowadays they acknowledge his existance with some disdain, because they care about reputation more then about him or his wealth. And he has some "disgusting jobs, no respectable friends and no wife".

(It's all kinda complicated from both sides, mb I'll get deeper into it in fanfic that I'm writing)

(And forgive me for saying this, but fem Akiyama is more interesting for me to write in this narrative, because she needed to balance fitting "proper little quiet Japanese woman" with her loud banking career, and while she was always openly feminine, she was never proper or quiet "enough". And now she's "not enough" among actual living legends.)

Well, that's all I have to say for now!

I'm always open for further questions and discussions 😊

[kindaoptimisticsquirrel]

Trigun Bookclub Trimax Vol14 Part 2

Vol01: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3  | Vol02: Part 1 | Part 2

Trimax: Vol01 Part 1Vol01 Part 2 | Vol02 Part 1Vol02 Part 2 | Vol 03 Part 1 | Vol03 Part2 | Vol04 Part1 | Vol04 Part2 | Vol05 | Vol06 | Vol07 | Vol08 Part1 | Vol08 Part2 | Vol09 Part1 | Vol09 Part2 | Vol10 Part1 | Vol10 Part2 | Vol10 Part3 | Vol10 Part4 | Vol11 Part 1 | Vol11 Part2 | Vol12 Part1 | Vol12 Part2 | Vol12 Part3 | Vol13 Part1 | Vol13 Part2 | Vol13 Part3 | Vol14 Part1 | Vol14 Part2

Review for chapters 3 - 5. I'm emotionally dragging myself through these last chapters.

Chapter 3:

Ugh, this looks like an arm or a leg hanging out from the inner part of the plant? I wonder if in Knive's raid to collect all plants, some might have even got hurt? (and, not all plants are in Knive's custody, though a lot)

Yes clever bastard! You know I'm kinda rooting for Knives here. As smb else already said in their post, the earth guys can't just come out of nowhere, meddle with this conflict and solve it deus ex machina! (and I do love that drawing of Knives here. He looks so cool)

Yucky. I don't think I want to know what came out of the tube the other times.

I also read another post about this scene though I can't recall what it said anymore, I think it might have been another emphasise for the whole plant telepathy thing. And that's what's happening here! The lost girl gets contacted by the feather, and as a result, her thoughts are being transmitted to the people around her. It's such a cool concept! That one time Meryl was stuck in Vash's feathers, obviously she got overrolled with memories and feelings and the impact was much stronger, it was a steady contact with the feathers and the entity itself (Vash). So the feather alone, or maybe specifically the feathers by the dependant plants, can transmit thoughts (and mabe feelings?) of the being they touch to the surrounding areal? It could be purposefully done by the plants as a means of communication, so maybe the feathers don't always do that, just in this case. Hmmmm so many thoughts!

Trigun Mad Max style

And Knives is obviously feeling something, but he can't trace it...interesting. Does he feel as the plants scatter their feathers to the planet below or does he feel impressions from the feathers on earth?

These pages with all the different impressions that plants had are so so cool...I especially loved how there are even kindergarten kids/preschoolers that were brought to the plant facilities to learn about them! That is so cute! Then, Kuroneko! And the other image of these two guys, it kinda looks like Nightow might be wanting to make a hidden cameo of someone? It's not super fitting..but I headcanon these two guys to be from Lupin 3rd.

What an epic showdown though. On the one hand we have the inhabitants of the planet, trying their best for a peaceful out, and it looks like their efforts might bring them somewhere, because we have this beautiful montage of plant impressions. And then we have the earth fleet that just threaten to eradicate everything our protagonists ever fought for, despite them being kinda on the same side of the battle. Though who am I kidding, there are no real "sides" and no real good and bad people in Trigun.

Chapter 4:

Can I just post these images in a row...in this unconscious dream, Vash is seeing all the people he lost...first the terror of the last life he took, then Wolfwood..(he's smiling! Not judging him, but smiling at him!) and then people from home, from July...and his shocked eyes are breaking me. And even more hurtful is him reaching out to Rem, to his mmother...but he cannot touch her or any of them. Because it's still not his time to follow them. And he looks so done at the end but it's here where he finds his resolution to go on and to keep staying in this world for now, isn't it? A pitch black unknown future on one side, and his lost and loved ones where he cannot yet follow on the other.

The plant amalgamation is giving me either nge or final fantasy boss vibes

So many evil decisions to make for so many people in this series...!

Thanks for explaining because I wouldn't have understood any of what happened just now!

Truly, his own kind of angel.

You tell him, girls!! I love how they are the perfect example of the people of this planet that no matter what, get back up again! And I'm sure this is all thanks to hard work and lots of tough experiences through Vash. At the start of the series, maybe they would have acted another way, but meeting Vash changed them so much, and gave them so much hard earned hope and belief that now there's nothing that can easily bring them to their knees!

And he gets back up!!!

Chapter 5:

Maybe I was a bit fast with saying in the last chapter that was were he made that decision? Cause it looks like..it was parts Meryl talking, part the barrier, and part Knives yell that woke him up and had him keep going. Anyway, the first page here :( What's there left to see? Aw baby.

I like how the plants start to question what they're doing...maybe not directly with thoughts but in their plant way, they are sad about what they do, sad because they did not only have bad moments on earth, and especially sad because I'm sure they don't want to hurt anyone.

Aaah he's scared of making the connection

And rightfully so. That looks painful!

Beautiful beautiful ethereal page

Knives too, literally breaking apart...and cutting the literal last string of hope!

I have never read a series that was so much about hope and transporting the theme so well as Trigun. In this moment of reading you really really hope together with Vash. Incredible how much these last chapters of Trigun had me as the reader in their grip.

Probably 2 more posts for the lat 3 chapters...only 3 more!

[spiritelectric3]

My Journey Through Homestuck Act 3 (Pt. 2)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Time to prioritize my heroic destiny over the heat death of the universe!

This post goes from page 002842 to 003053

-Yes. This is all about Jade's pet.

-So he's a god. That's good.

-The pet was foreshadowed by the PUMPKIN!?

-wait, what pumpkin?

-Why does it feel like Jade is on the "The Witness" island?

-Also crater lagoon is an unoriginal name.

-As shocking as it is to John that is father is just an ordinary guy who likes to keep clowns around the house, I immediately get the sense that something is up. This room is constructed too specifically to not have a secret compartment. Also, even without the clowns, there is still a sense of performance in the room, with the cards and the handcuffs, which we already know John's dad knows a trick around. John may not be able to judge this book by its cover.

-Did the Midnight Crew predict the realm of darkness? Actually more importantly, is Midnight Crew canon to the series its fictional in!?

-Cool. New character Jack Noir. I think I'll just call him Jack.

-Heheheh. Fourth wall.

-Is he evil, or is he just grumpy?

-Also, I'm a little unsettled by the implication that everything important in John's life has immediately become the basis for the entire culture of the dark realm (and presumably the light realm). It's such a strange notion to take a single household, and rapidly world build an entire civilization such that nothing in the house is out of place.

-Y'all, I think he just doesn't want to wear the hat. He shouldn't have to wear it if he doesn't want to.

-Boring, but this really is the best way of doing the fetch modus for this circumstance. Again, John likes to wing it, so this is perfect for him.

-Ah yes, because everything in this series goes well when you fire something up and see what happens.

-Also never mind on the fetch modus thing. This is way worse.

-Imagine eating build grist

-He's so fancy now.

-Fruit gushers aren't candy though

-Wow. I can't wait for Betty Crocker to become lore relevant.

-Wait, is Jade's pet the adult in Jade's life actually? What!?

-I like how whereas the parents and adults are eldritch because they are adults whose behavior is strange to children, Becquerel is just an incomprehensible beast.

-So he is a dog! Cool! I'm assuming that he is, for all intents and purposes, a dog.

-At least Jade has a good relationship with him.

-I can't wait for Homestuck to become the Fly

-Why is every adult in this secretly an agent of God or something?

-*** ****, **** ** * ********* **** **** * ***** **** ************ ******** ** **** ** ***. *** **** ******. **** **** * *** ****, **'* ** ********* ** **** ****. (I was advised to cut this. Basically it was me putting forth the argument that John is "as cisgender as they come", though apparently there's a popular interpretation of John as transfem based on info that comes up down the line. So, instead I will list the four main characters from most to least eggy they come off to me thus far: Rose, Dave, John, Jade)

-Also this attitude feels so shitty after we just saw Rose be put into hell.

-Why does Jade have a robot?

-Why does Jade need a dream robot?

-Someone else will do the dance in late act 4.

-Interesting portrayal of dream logic.

-If the robot dies, does Jade die for real?

-John's birthday package? On John's birthday!? (p a c k a g e)

-Ooh, another flashback.

-Ah, yes. The Hell of winter birthdays... You know, Andrew Hussie very well could have just put all of the birthdays in different seasons. But NOOOOO, they're all gonna be in WINTER!

-The TROLLS! Do we love them in this household? WHOOOOO KNOWS!?

-You know, I know just enough about the story of homestuck to actively question to what extent the series was planned

-What do you mean John? You finally have a poster for the Joker movie! (He would have one, wouldn't he?)

-Huh. This is like the first time the comic has cut from a character going from one place to another. This is both intriguing and terrifying.

-Wait whaaaaa...?

-Also I love how every character in this is constantly slowed down by problems which require the most inconvenient solutions.

-I can't wait to find out who through this spear several acts later

-OHHHH NOOOOO!

-Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad Jade's gift has some use.

-Wait, in the future/the actual fucking now that is just being introduced, there is a time sniper pointing at the WV (Wayward Vagabond) hundreds of years after the apocalypse happens in OUR modern day?

-Oh. Never mind I guess, but can you fault me for thinking that HOMESTUKCK would do something like this?

-Oh ha ha ha. His name is Aimless Renegade and they have an AR. That's infinitely clever. (I'm being sarcastic, but it actually kind of is)

-Wow, I can't believe Andrew Hussie looked at pictures by M. C. Escher.

-Wow. I can't believe that Homestuck Act 3 is making me look at Homestuck Act 2 to prove a point (The posters were unchanged in Act 2. I would venture to guess that this is some multiverse BS).

-Actually, if we're sticking to the name puns, would that make WV... West Virginia?

-Tbh, I'd be more concerned that the posters have looked like that to Rose since before the meteor hit

-Ah, more perception shit in a comic entirely about perception.

-Also, here's a quick note. Most of the Lightners and Darkners we've met are known by two words that are easily put into initials (WV, PM, JN, and AR). I want to note that every character here has done the same thing with their screen name (GG, GT, etc.), which is different from their actual initials. One wonders what the difference between traditional initials and these screen names is.

-Also to Rose: OBJECTION! The rules of Sburb have explicitly been that Rose can only see what John perceives, so if John can't see the scribbles, then neither should Rose. (Also this is probably wrong logic, but I don't care FIGHT ME FIGHT ME FIGHT ME FIGHT ME)

-Or maybe John's dad is clown obsessed, but doesn't like to keep the clowns in his room, what do you think of THAT!? This is evidenced by the magician shit he still keeps in his room anyway! HA! IN YOUR FACE!

-AHA! YOU JUST SUGGESTED THAT THE SCRIBBLES WERE A RESPONSE TO WHAT THE FATHER WAS KEEPING AROUND THE HOUSE! PLUS, HIS FATHER KEPT BEING THE ONE TO CORRECT JOHN WHEN HE CALLED THEM CLOWNS AND NOT HARLEQUINS. (I should note here that I do not fail to see the irony that Rose is explicitly failing to make these same observations about herself).

-Something I'll note is that this is being framed as John's journey to make, but it's Rose who has to do the building. That isn't to say that John isn't doing any work, but he's not the one doing the main progression thing. He's kind of just grinding.

-I like that Jade's instrument isn't that absurd if you think from the capability of growing arms.

-Whaaaaaa..? Is this where we get to the everyone has their own planet thing?

-WAIT! Is that why Earth doesn't matter? Cause killing Earth is effectively killing one person. (Also forget coming up with people's planets, what's Earth's person?)

-So Jade already has a path to the medium, but a very different one. Huh.

-Wait, are the kingdoms of Dark and Light the afterlife?

-Aw, this is adorable... for a scene of two people being shot at.

-Let me guess. There are like... 2 other towers right?

-ha ha IRONY

-I like how John's gift to Jade is presumed to be wonderful on little info aside from the fact that Jade ACTIVELY DISCARDED THE GIFT

-I'm gonna be completely honest. I have absolutely no idea how this new hole pattern is achieved, and why a conditional or wouldn't just make an arbitrary item with some aspect of either/both item.

-HOW TF DOES OVERLAPPING CARDS GET YOU LESS HOLES!?

-Ohhhhhhhhhhh waaaaaaait. I get it now. John is scanning the cards overlapped. Not punching them. That's how you get less holes.

-Okay, this is actually pretty Molly Millions-core (Someone please get that)

-As useless as a lot of these items are, this is certainly satisfying my neurodivergent need to know so many combos.

-Interesting that symbology is incorporated into this. I mean, you'd kinda have to if you wanted a system that understood what a hammer was. (Ah, yes, phenomenology. Time to spend five hours talking about tables).

-Also, game design wise, this is a pretty cool weapon customization system. Probably one that I'd actually use. Okay, mini rant though: What is up with the over reliance on weapon customization in video games? All that does is require you to constantly give up on your comfort objects in favor of a ridiculous power creep. Just let me pick a weapon early on and role with it, or at the very least, let the weapons be more about personal taste. See, this is why I like shooters like Half-Life and Bioshock (not Infinite. FUCK Infinite). They actively work to invite you to come up with your own fighting style based on which weapons you gravitate towards. Or at least be like Adaca and force players to try out different weapons due to things like ammo and not a stupid sense of quality control that's really just the developers making one number higher than another. Okay rant over.

-Also, it's obvious which ghost dad poster was gonna work.

-Also, why not prioritize the pda/computer combos? One of the biggest challenges thus far has been keeping consistent communication with Rose. Why not ensure easy access?

-I love that ---- (has his name been revealed yet? Do we even know?) led Dave to a big fight just so he could win and THEN give Dave the game. Something something "He just wants his little bro to be better" probably being why he's a known problematic fave on tumblr. I mean, it would be stupid to not give him the game at all. Presumably all of the adults know about the incoming apocalypse, and the need for these kids to succeed.

-Also, why did he destroy Cal?

-OMG he has a fucking iphone

-I... don't really know what's going on in this sequence.

-Also it's really fucking weird how she's texting John in the dream in real like.

-Are the clouds how she sees the future? That's a bit weird

-It's nice that they're accelerating Jade in time so we can adjust less.

-This is some petscop shit

-Wait. The fucking og meteor was ancient. THE FORESHADOWING THAT THERE WERE METEORS WAS A METEOR IN A DREAM!?

-Wow. Rose is an architect.

-Ah, the record on dave's shirt is broken. nice touch

-Awwwwwwww

-I love how it is still just a little spiteful. Oh, Rose, you are such a joy.

-John's gift does feel just a little bit passive aggressive.

-Oh, God. I'm gonna have to go back so I can keep track of the trolls. Can't wait until I have all 12 (though tbh. It'll probably be easier once I can see them).

-Also, this was a while ago, but I can't get it out of my head. John's supered up outfit has real drag king energy. I actually might be tempted to dress like that depending on the circumstances and how I'm feeling, which makes June Egbert make a little more sense. Not saying John is an egg. Just saying that I like the outfit, and John rocks it.

-Okay, so GA (why so many Gs?) is super intellectual or something. I wonder if the 12 trolls split up such that 3 of them must seek to torment exactly one of the protagonists

-Aww, they'e getting along

-AT's assertion, knowing the trolls have some time traveling capabilities, is a little unsettling. Did Dave not do nothing wrong?

-Also this conversation is getting uncomfortable

-You know what. Dave didn't do nothing wrong! HE'S DOING SOMETHING WRRONG RIGHT NOW!

-I am dying inside

-I am dying inside

-I am dying inside

-Good on you TA! I don't know who you are, but I'm rooting for ya!

-As for the future people. It's interesting how Homestuck focuses on teenagers when these characters carry an atmosphere of behaving like children playing with toys, except the toys are guns.

-Wow. AR is just pissed at everything.

-Also Jade grandpa

-I like the storytelling choice of building up all the stuff about Jade's grandpa and guns, and then for that to lead to AR having a fuck ton of them.

-AR NOOOOOOO!

-Oh my god. THEY ARE ALL CRAZY

-I can't believe he just veered to the left and shot the sphere

-Oh my god. Is this just to deliver a present?

-Wow. The old man isn't dead. Huzzah

-This is actually really sweet.

-Also, based on what little I know from the fandom, I find this blue and green dichotomy fascinating. John even wrote in blue. I wonder to what extent green is just how he's been presenting. Oh, god damn it! John is an egg!

-This time travel shenaniganery is... interesting.

-No more hat! No more hat!

-The guitar thing actually worked?

-Hey! He's finally drinking the juice without fearing that it is piss!

-What the fuck is the plant?

-Wait. The void sends things back in time?

-Is that a motherfucking FLCL reference!?

-Wait, WHAT!? THERE IS SO MUCH HAPPENING OH MY GOD!

-I don't even know wtf was happening with those copies of sburb, not to mention ALL of the weird time travel shenaniganery going on here!

-I think I get it now. Homestuck was not meant for Andrew Hussie. Homestuck is a god meant to be brought forth by some other prophet who fell absent, resulting in a false prophet becoming true. Now the god seeks to dig into our souls and bring forth what it has meant to this whole time.

And that's it I think. The story's certainly ramping up, and we finally got Rose to the medium.

Okay, so some quick housekeeping. Firstly, I think I'm just gonna... not do the longer analyses. Firstly, the college school year has been going a bit, and I have both schoolwork and extracurricular projects to prioritize. Secondly, there is a lot of info in homestuck, much of which has not been revealed, and it is too easy for me to make claims that are proven false way down the road. It's one thing when I do so off the cuff in these posts. It's another thing when I make a bold statement that falls apart. As for the "What is Act 2 about?" question, I think I'm just going to settle for it being about the characters who hadn't already taking the steps needed to rise to the challenge that they must face for the remainder of the story. John must get his bearings and focus on getting to the top, and Rose and Dave begin their quest to get the remaining sburb copies in earnest. That's good enough for me.

As for our actual next steps, next up is the intermission, which I should be able to take care of in one post. First though, I plan to take a look at Jailbreak, one of the previous mspaintadventures, as an example of my own intermission before we get all game of thrones in Act 4, which I believe should take about five parts, if I'm staying on my "roughly an hour" setup. For now though, I'll say that we ALL KNOW I'M STILL AT THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.

[bogwitchmediaconsumption]

hi ok been EVEN more months haha oopsies

ok i kinda didn't know what to put on this blog because i started getting way too obsessed with superheroes and stopped consuming as much dw(i still love it but like... superheroes are so COOL) so i thought that in order to keep this thing updated, i'd just expand my horizons by porting over my big media watch/read/play/listen list! this is gonna be a massive post of everything so far, and then new updates will be new pieces of media! everything listed in order(and some brief thoughts)

Batman: The Court of Owls - Snyder/Capullo (Great!) Batman: The Court of Owls Vol 2/The City of Owls - Snyder/Capullo (Alright...)

Batman: The Night of Owls - Snyder/Capullo (Meh, but I had incorrect expectations)

Inscryption(Fucking phenomenal, play this bizarre ass game)

Doctor Who Series 2(Very good!)

Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare, a reading (Loved this one)

Neon Genesis Evangelion - The Original Show (yeah this was a fixation for a while too)

Undertale (really good, but not as loved for me as others)

Julius Caesar, a reading - Shakespeare (Good one Billy)

Donmar Warehouse Production of Julius Caesar (go women go)

A Page of Madness - 1926 Movie (makes no sense but hell yeah)

Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages (God this game frustrated me so much)

As You Like It, a reading - Shakespeare (I think I remember which play this is)

Howl, and Other Poems - Allen Ginsberg (Liked this one! Howl is the strongest by a lot though)

Lunch Poems - Frank O'Hara (Very cool!)

Rewatch of Over The Garden Wall (god this show is so fucking incredible)

Everything Everywhere All At Once - 2022 Movie (my movie of the year so far, it's beautiful)

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop - 2021 Movie (Cute! but it's not much more than that)

Cat Soup - 2003 Short Film (Awesome but also What the Fuck?)

Swamp Thing Vol. 1: The Root of All Evil - Millar/Hester/Morrison

Cat Soup Rewatch (Had to share with a friend)

Bee and Puppycat Season 1 (Adorable!! so lovely and cute)

Everything Everywhere All At Once Rewatch (had to get a friend to see it for the first time)

Bee and Puppycat Season 1 Rewatch (Ok don't judge me)

The Residents: Triple Trouble - 2022 Movie (idk how to start with this one)

Watchmen - Moore/Gibbons (got some nitpick gripes with the ending: but it's fucking brilliant)

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (Really good! Better ending than the show)

Leonor - 1975 Movie (nothing quite like a theatre yelling "jump off the bridge")

Smiling Friends Season 1 (I knew a lot of the jokes going it, but it's still gutbusting)

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (get his ass Gawain, or get yours got, I guess)

Bless The Daughter Raised by A Voice in Her Head - Warsan Shire (a couple really standout poems in a mostly just ok volume. if this one comes across as harsh, i had to analyze this for 3+ weeks for class)

Adventure Time Season 1 (it's my roommate's favorite show, i'd never seen it)

Doctor Who: The Heralds of Destruction - Cornell/Jones (it's good, with material that does hold, but it's not any spectacular)

Batman & Robin - 1997 Movie (Awful, but also not that)

Super Mario Bros - 1993 Movie (This shit slaps, idc what anyone else says)

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Volumes 1-3 - Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (It's good on it's own, but it's especially interesting as an adaptation of the show)

JLA: Earth 2 - Morrison/Quitely (I really like it, but also wish it was longer)

Adventure Time Season 2(still cute!)

The Amazing Spider-Man: Edge of Spider-Verse - lotsa people (They're mostly fine Spider introductions with the man-spider guy one being notably bad and Peni's being notably good)

Adventure Time Season 3 (fun, I started getting really into the show at this point)

Adventure Time Season 4 (fun, still ramping on excitement)

Adventure Time Season 5 (good, but maybe my least favorite season. just a lot of sadder episodes in this one)

Fahrenheit 451 - 2018 Film (it sucks. also they should've been gay. but what do I know)

Ariel - Sylvia Plath (yeah ok cut out my heart why don't you)

Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask - Akira Himekawa (very fun interpretation of the story! but i wish it was a bit longer)

Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons (I like this one more than ages, but not by much)

Scott Pilgrim Comic Reread, All 6 Volumes - Bryan Lee O'Malley (I still love it and find a LOAD in it, despite it's occasional drastically poor choice in language or implication

Le Mani Sulla Citta - 1963 Film (god i could watch italian guys argue all day) watched between Scott Pilgrim Volumes 1 and 2 but I wanted to keep it neat

Adventure Time Season 6(maybe my favorite season? either this one or season 7)

Dracula Ballet - Milwaukee Ballet Company (Good show! read the book first or it won't make a lick of sense)

Robo Sapiens: Tales of Tomorrow - Toranosuke Shimada (very very cool, super interesting almost a little martian chronicles esque)

Murder On The Orient Express - 2017 Film (very fun and interesting movie to watch: should be noted i've never read the book)

Adventure Time Season 7 (on rereading episode lists, this one is probably my easy favorite. so many good ones)

Pokemon Blue (i was trying to do a generationlocke, you see)

Never Open It: The Taboo Trilogy - Ken Niimura (really really good, the art is especially great in this one)

Pokemon Crystal (see?)

Pokemon Emerald (SEE???)

Adventure Time Season 8 (Great, but the beginning of a slight downward trend in my enjoyment of the show. it becomes more plot focused than character focused here, and that did make it a bit less fun. still great though)

Loveless - Alice Oseman (I love a lot of her books, and I love this one too! but for some reason it just doesn't strike me as fully satisfying and i don't know why)

Pokemon Firered Omega (SEE???? also i wanted to add romhacks to make it harder)

Adventure Time Season 9 (some really good character moments, but it is even more plot focused here)

Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse - 2018 Film (holy fuck this movie is incredible, maybe just as loved as EEAAO?)

The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman (really good! art is great, and the metanarrative is super interesting)

Pokemon Blue (I died)

Time Guardian Volume 1 - Kishi/Ichinose (it's fun, but nothing really beyond that)

Pokemon Blue (guess who died again)

Adventure Time Season 10 (finally did it! the most plot focused of the last seasons, and thus it's maybe the least memorable to me. still really good though)

Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse - 2023 Movie (it's great, but not quite as good as the first because it doesn't stand-alone. chock full of the best visuals, voicing, and story of the year though)

Pokemon Crystal (ok....)

Pokemon Emerald (uh huh......)

Ghost in the Shell - 1995 Film (Really weird and interesting and pretty! I liked it)

Knives Out - 2019 Film (it's very good, especially because of the family banter and performances. without it's cast it would probably not be so great. though the plotting does come together in the end for me)

The Spectacular Spider-Man Season 1 (oh my GOD this show is so good)

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (it's good, but I really love to see the detective/criminal battle of wits in mystery/detective movies and that's really not what this movie is)

Snow, Glass, Apples - Gaiman/Doran (interesting take of a fairy tale!)

Punisher 2099 #1 (it's ok)

Punisher 2099 #2 (it's also ok, neither here nor there)

Batman: Fear State - Tynion IV/Jimenez (I do like it, but i wish it placed more character moments front and center. it also tries to juggle SO many damn characters, and a lot of them just feel like cameos)

Shin Godzilla - 2016 Film (you can TELL that the evangelion team worked on this, it rocks. also the movie is very good)

A Field In England - 2013 Film (it's interesting, and weird, but maybe not anything special quality wise)

The Mexican Night - Lawrence Ferlinghetti (spongebob screaming meme I LOVE READING JOURNALS. I LOVE HEARING NOTHING BUT YOUR THOUGHTS AS YOU GO ABOUT YOUR DAY)

Vern, Custodian of the Universe - Tyrell Waiters (it's cool, and the visuals are great, but the plot is not especially good and it starts to lose what makes it interesting later on)

Barbie - 2023 Film (hilarious, incredible)

Beowulf Graphic Novel - Petrucha/Chamberlain (an interesting take on Beowulf, the art is great![no, i don't know how many times i'm gonna keep saying it either])

Bloom - Panetta/Ganucheau (it's cute and good, but it doesn't go into enough detail or character depth to stick with me)

Inferno - Hickman/Caselli (it's like. alright. it's mostly a political thriller, which is not what i was hoping for when i got it at the library. that's one thing, but i also don't think it's an especially good political thriller. I also don't think it knows where it's going really. i still don't know where it was going and i read the ending and everything.)

Pokemon Blue(it had to all come crashing down eventually, right?)

Cucumber Quest: The Doughnut Kingdom - Gigi D.G. (it's cute and charming! not a lot here beyond that)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - 1954 Movie (it's engaging and interesting, but i'm not sure what to think critically. good? bad? i kinda don't know. also it's disney in the 50's, there's some gratuitous racism)

Porco Rosso - 1992 Film (the whole "oooh fio likes porco" thing makes me a little uncomfy, but besides that the movie is BALLER. go porco go)

The Golem: How He Came Into The World - 1920 Film (it's interesting, but it's not as enjoyable as stuff like Caligari or Page of Madness)

Superman: For All Seasons - Loeb/Sale (oh my GOD this rocks. so good, so down to earth, so enjoyable. i love this)

All-Star Superman - Morrison/Quitely (I really like this a lot, but I do feel it kinda is off base with what's appealing about Superman to me. it takes Superman and really spins him as a mythical god level figure, to the point where Lois refuses to believe he's Clark and... what the story is is very good. but Superman being regular ol' Clark at the end of the day is what makes him so wonderful to me. This is absolutely a Superman that pretends to be Clark Kent. feel like that's a big distinction. lex's characterization is PHENOMENAL though, SO good.)

And now... my most recent watch............

yeah ok it's more superman

My Adventures with Superman Season 1 (it's phenomenal. like spectacular spider-man levels of good. The voicing, animation, designs, writing, it's ALL here. the overarching plot is also particularly capturing in this show, which sometimes fails to be the case for some superhero shows! i will say that i start to dislike SOME elements of the overarching plot introduced in Ep. 7 and beyond, but they don't diminish my love of this show very much at all. cannot WAIT for season 2 foaming at the mouth, chomping, zinging around my room etc)

alright! so that just took me like an hour and a half. but that kinda stuff is what i think i wanna do with this blog for now! so if that's your cup of tea keep hanging around! and if it's not... well there's always a chance i decide to change it again so idk your call.

[markibloger]

How to Market Your hackathon 2025 Project After the Event

Winning or participating in hackathon 2025 is just the first step. Now it’s time to take your hackathon project and market it to the world. Whether you want to scale your idea, attract users, or get funding, a well-planned marketing strategy is crucial.

Here’s how to effectively market your hackathon project after the event and make sure it gets the attention it deserves.

🎯 Step 1: Build a Strong Online Presence

The first step in marketing your hackathon project is to establish an online presence:

Create a website: A simple one-page website can act as a hub for information about your project, including its purpose, features, and how users can get involved.

Social media: Create profiles or pages on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to share updates, news, and milestones.

Blogging: Start writing about your project, the problem it solves, and how you came up with the idea. Use SEO strategies to increase visibility.

By establishing an online presence, you’ll give your project the exposure it needs to attract interest from users, partners, or investors.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Step 2: Leverage Your Network

Networking during hackathon 2025 is just the beginning. Now, use your network to spread the word:

Reach out to mentors and judges who were impressed by your project. They may have connections in the industry or be able to offer valuable guidance.

Engage with fellow participants: A strong network of like-minded innovators can help promote your solution, offer feedback, and even collaborate on future opportunities.

Alumni communities: Leverage communities formed around past hackathons, incubators, or accelerator programs for additional support and exposure.

Networking is one of the most powerful tools to keep your project going after the hackathon.

💬 Step 3: Tell Your Story

One of the best ways to market your hackathon project is by sharing your story:

Why did you build this solution? Share the inspiration behind your idea and the problem you wanted to solve.

What challenges did you face? Let your audience know what it took to create the solution and the lessons you learned.

What’s next for your project? Share your future plans for scaling, improving, and implementing your solution.

People connect with stories—and a compelling narrative can help attract the support and attention your project needs.

📊 Step 4: Use Content Marketing to Generate Interest

Content marketing is a great way to keep your audience engaged and informed about your project:

Write blogs: Post articles about industry trends, your project’s journey, and potential impacts.

Create videos: Share behind-the-scenes footage, product demos, or interviews with your team.

Webinars or live sessions: Host live demos or discussions to engage directly with your audience and build a community around your project.

Content is key to keeping the conversation going long after the hackathon ends.

🌱 Step 5: Engage with Communities and Forums

One of the most effective ways to market your project is by getting involved in relevant communities and forums:

Reddit and Quora: Answer questions related to your project or its field. Share your insights and link to your project as a valuable resource.

Slack/Discord groups: Join communities related to startups, innovation, or your industry and share your progress.

Industry events: Attend conferences, webinars, and meetups to showcase your project.

Engaging with the community not only increases visibility but also connects you with people who can help you grow your idea.

💡 Final Tip

Marketing your hackathon 2025 project is an ongoing process. The more you put yourself out there, the more opportunities will come your way. Be consistent, share your story, and use your network to amplify your reach.