#she knows the twists and she knows the backstory and she is an observer who cannot tell anyone or save anyone

[anistarrose]

to me, the most fascinating (and utterly unintentional) feature of TAZ Balance's narrative structure is the way that on the first listen, Tres Horny Boys are the audience surrogates because they, much like us, have no idea what the fuck is going on, but on all subsequent relistens, then Lucretia, and sometimes Barry, and arguably especially Lup in the umbrella become the new audience stand-ins, because just like us, they are, in fact, painfully aware of what the fuck is going on :)

[twilight-deviant]

Pompous Pep Week - Day 5: Age Swap

This is over a week late, but I finished it, which is a win to me. xD

My thoughts on this universe of teen Vlad and adult Danny...

Vlad is a teenage boy constantly trying to appeal to his crush, Maddie, though she seems to have eyes for their friend Jack. The three still have a ghost portal accident like they did in college, occurring earlier in life due to more available technology in the modern age of 2004. A little less unstable as well, no ecto-acne.

Vlad, still a victim of Jack's impulsiveness, hides his emerging ghost powers as he figures them out. He does not yet have the crooked notion to use them robbing banks and getting rich.

One day, while in his ghost form, he encounters and defeats a low-level ghost. Maddie and Jack happen to observe and find it fascinating. Maddie thinks the winning ghost is strong and remarkable, worth studying further. This leads Vlad down a hole of instigating more fights with ghosts to impress her, with eventual plans to reveal his true identity. When he can't get fights going organically, he begins bribing ghosts into it or summoning them with ghost tech/magic, unmindful of all the collateral damage caused by these battles. Over time, he devolves further into wanton damage and cruelty to the losing ghosts.

Enter Danny Phantom, a (formerly retired) ghost hero who can't ignore the new influx of ghosts and what this new ghost boy is getting up to. Plot twist? Turns out he's half-ghost too... and Maddie's father. (No, obviously he's not also Jack's father. lol.) Their introduction is a battle, one which Vlad swiftly loses, causing him to transform back human. [See above art]

Danny is shocked to meet another half-ghost (and it's his daughter's friend!) and tries to take Vlad under his wing, teach him how to use his powers. Naturally, Vlad fights the implication he needs help— and fights Danny too. They become unfortunate enemies, with Danny constantly torn over the question if it's okay to hit a kid. Haha. But the boy is being evil! He at least needs a time-out.

I imagine parts of canon plot still transpire. Things like Vlad researching the Ghost Zone for ways to become more powerful but it backfiring, leading to him running to Danny for help. Danny always assists, but he rarely receives a thank you.

On a personal level, Maddie can't understand why Vlad hates her dad. Meanwhile, Danny has to watch the very apparent tragedy of Vlad having a crush on Maddie, knowing she likes Jack. He can't give advice or suggest Vlad look elsewhere for love because the teen bites his head off anytime he tries to help him. None of it will end well.

For Danny's backstory, it can't transpire along canon lines with an accident in his parents' lab. I therefore decided he received his powers through magic and the occult over science. And we can blame Sam for that. Haha. When the Satanic Panic of the 80s/90s hit, she rebelled even harder against her parents and bought every dark tome and trinket she could find. Yes, this led to her summoning a portal to the Ghost Zone, and yes, Danny was caught in a reaction when the portal destabilized.

After half-dying and becoming infused with ghostly aura, Danny worked to develop his powers and stop any ghosts who made their way into the human world. I imagine that, like a Ouija board without a goodbye, the portal is open (sometimes in various locations) until they realize to close it properly. This actually takes years for them to do. In that time, Danny likes to play that he's a hero. (Ooh, fun to imagine things like meeting Ember when she was still alive.) But eventually, they did close the portal and the need for his heroics... ended.

Eventually, he and Sam got married. They had a daughter. They got divorced. (It's complicated~) If you want to ask how they have a red-headed child, go look at Sam's parents again and discuss with me whether her hair really is naturally black. Hmm.......... Also maybe they have another, older daughter named Jazz. Hahaha.

If it's necessary to pick a day job for adult Danny, he still wanted to be an astronaut. Especially with an adjusted timeline and him being alive during the thrill of the moon landing. Unfortunately, the program required incredibly thorough medical examinations, something his half-ghost biology could never pass without serious questions. So he did the next best thing with all that training. He's an airplane pilot. Flying comes pretty easy to him, after all.

He retired from ghost hunting. But also lately there seem to be new ghosts showing up in town?

[saccharine-arts]

*knockknocknock*...hello? A fellow Olrox enjoyer? A penny for your thoughts on the best man ever?

HELLO HELLO WELCOME TO MY HOUSE!

I have so many thoughts Raimagnolia I am overflowing. I'm such an Olrox enjoyer and an excuse-maker and a simp. He's never done anything wrong in his entire life and I love him so much.

He's incredibly sexy and the moment I saw his character design I was like "oh fuck oh no I'm gonna be Normal about him". And then they went and made him such a complex, interesting character with themes of love and revenge, who is anti-colonialist and eat the rich AND HE LIKES GUYS?? And he's animated Like THAT?? It's over for me I've got it so bad.

Mizrak you landed a bad bitch like that and FUMBLED HIM??? Move Over buster, and you better apologize for that "animal with no soul" line (I know you were worked up, buddy, but he literally just risked his life and blowing his cover saving you, and poured out his heart to you and you say that???).

Okay okay but some of my Olrox Takes:

I'm so so excited for the possibility of him meeting Annette and seeing them interact and bounce off each other because I think he would love her. She is so filled with passion and represents so much triumph and hope against colonizers and slave-masters as a Haitian revolutionary. I think it would be interesting too, because he has strong feelings about faith and religion and I wonder how he would see Annette's vodou. (Also the theory of him being connected to Quetzalcoatl is fun and would tie into this).

It absolutely kills me that he has learned to be so strategic and patient and observant, from all that he's lost and all the people he's seen die. That he sees an inner fire and faith in a cause in other people and craves that for himself, but CAN'T let them lose their lives to it because he's lost so much already. He just wants to protect what he has, and that kills me.

I can't wait for next season, I want the fallout and the drama with Mizrak and the potential slow burn. I love him being possessive and over-protective of Mizrak as a character flaw and I am hoping for more next season... get Spicy with it.... I'm also hoping that maybe He's the one who needs to be saved and Mizrak shows up. :> I think Olrox deserves better but I love watching them together, I will eat that up.

I want to know more of his backstory!!!! GIVE US FLASHBACK!!

I want him to be the one to kill Erzebet Bathory in the end. So bad. She represents everything he despises, and I think it would be sick as hell and a fun twist or deus ex machina moment.

He. He handsome and smart and h hot.

Olrox wrap me up in your mist and take me far away....

yea

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!! How about you!! Also are there any screenshots you'd like me to redraw or art to make of him?

Also I love the communism meme you added to my art post, I laughed so hard and sent it to my friends, it made my night.

[hils79]

Hils Watches Mysterious Lotus Casebook - Ep 15

Thank you to everyone who explained that this is supposed to be a woman disguised as a man. They could at least have given her a fake moustache or disguised her voice or something which is what they usually do. Apparently Li Lianhua is the only one who has figured it out because he's super observant or something. Okay, sure.

I think the butler did it. I have absolutely no evidence. I just think it would be funny.

Well, I did not have 'dead dude used to drink blood' on my bingo card

Ehehe! Maybe the butler did do it

I miss Di Feisheng. Like this case is fine but he really does add a fun dynamic to their group.

Wait, does he know she's a woman now?

Also, laughing that Li Lianhua only forces his experimental cooking on Fang Duobing. Everyone else gets nice food.

Okay, I guess he didn't know and it's a subtitle error

Bisexual man and his boyfriend confronted with heterosexuality

Fang Duobing gets revenge for Li Lianhua's 'if you talk you will die' lie. He did say he'd pay him back for that.

OMG is she the murderer?

Oh, of course it was a setup. I'm stupid.

I shouldn't laugh

Good lord this case has more twists than a soap opera

Back to my 'the butler did it' theory

Oh my god the butler is also secretly related to the victim

Okay, what the fuck? I legit have no idea who did it now

Is it him? He's the only one left now who hasn't explained their backstory

[edotvie]

Part 1

Part 2

????

This

Note: Tav has a backstory. Post-game but not very spoilery I think?

"So," Astarion smacked his lips to break the pregnant silence, "Your brother."

Tav grimaced, her back turned to Astarion where she sat in the opposite end of their tent. It had been an eventful night and the Sun would soon come up, leaving them to hide within layers of fabric and the partial cover of a cavern.

"My brother," she echoed with a hint of exasperation to her tone. Astarion sat up, having been lounging casually over their travel beddings.

"Putting aside that you have a brother who is a Monster Hunter--"

"I told you, I didn't know he'd become one."

"...You've barely even mentioned your family before, Darling."

She twisted to face him, brows furrowed and lips pursed. A picture of frustration.

"It... It just wasn't relevant," she argued clumsily. Astarion rolled his head to the side while observing her reactions.

"So there are no more pleasant surprises we should expect? No more drop-ins by cousins, siblings or mothers-in-law?"

Tav visibly bristled in response.

"I'm not married," she immediately retorted, "You should know that."

"Should I?" Astarion found himself hissing, "Just as I should've known to expect this chance encounter, I'd wager. Do you realize that it took me months to find out your full name? And that's only because you happened to write it out in a document for the bank. Honestly, love, I understand humility is considered a virtue in your little charity, but you could stand to talk about yourself a little! At the very least to the person you consider your partner, don't you think?"

She was stunned into silence by the outburst. Within that silence, his genuine complaints began to sink in, as well as the realization that came with them. Her face fell, eyes flicking downward when facing Astarion became too much.

"You're right," she said in a voice thinner than air, "I only talk about things that, that don't entirely matter. Things that are shallow."

Fiddling with the end of her braid became much more interesting than whatever Astarion may have been doing. She heard a slight shuffle of the beddings, but shame kept Tav's head bowed.

"I can't take back the moments where I held back before. But I can try to be more open from now on."

There was only a moment more of silence before Astarion answered:

"I don't need your entire life's story, Darling. Not right away. However, I don't know how to be there for you if I don't know anything about the things you've been through. And to be extremely clear, I want to be there."

His hand came into her field of view when it was placed over hers, still toying with her hair. Hesitantly, she lifted her chin to meet his beautiful set of eyes. They were filled with a warmth for her, complimenting the gentle tone he'd used to soothe her. A small smile came on at the love she detected in this treatment.

"What would you like to know?"

Astarion leaned back against his hands, getting comfortable for the ride.

"Let's start with something easy. Where did you grow up?"

"The High Forest. Our commune was at the North Western edge of the woods."

"Commune?" he questioned with a tilt of his head. Tav smiled.

"It's a small village of about six or so families, depending on where you draw the lines... I have several half-siblings. We don't use currency amongst one another and instead share our resources."

"Well, that certainly is... Different," Astarion hummed, forming a smile and yet failing to disguise the wrinkle between his brows. Tav only chuckled at him.

"It's alright. I understand some of the Wood Elf ways aren't common in the rest of Faerûn. It was a culture shock for me too, when I first started mingling with other races."

"And when was that, dare I ask?"

There was a small pause to Tav, her demeanor shifting minutely. Being who he was, surviving the way he'd had to for years and years, Astarion immediately picked up on these small differences. The way her shoulders lined up, how she subtly averted her eyes. The smile that was just a little too tight to be genuine.

"I went over twenty years without ever meeting anyone but another Elf," she started with an almost unnoticeable tremor to her words, "and when I did, it was because a settlement had formed right outside the forest.

"Our village went on high alert. I should explain that we had strict traditions, and the Elders were passionate about protecting the High Forest from outside influence. No one was happy that these people had moved in what they considered to be too close."

"Let me guess: No one but the sweet little Yarkona, excited to flee into the real world from her cozy woodland cocoon," Astarion sang. Tav moaned, pulling up her knees to wrap her arms around.

"Yara," she corrected, "That's what I was called back then.

"Like you said, I didn't feel as everyone else did. I was the youngest in the village, and maybe that's why I was so curious to see it for myself. So I snuck to the settlement to watch the people in it. Spying like I did was my introduction to the world outside the forest."

"And tell me: How did it disappoint you?" the Vampire cut in, leaning closer with a leering grin. Tav raised her brows in surprise, gazing upon her lover. Then her expression softened at once, her hand moving to cup Astarion's cheek. She knew where his pessimism came from and skipped questioning it entirely.

"In fewer ways than my own people did, that's for sure," she instead stated with a faint smile. This one wasn't tense, but also didn't quite reach her eyes, leaving shadow where there was meant to be a glint of joy.

Astarion turned his head within her hold, humming as his lips met the skin of Tav's palm. After a few appreciative kisses, she sighed pleasantly. Red eyes met hers and a toothy smirk spread across her lover's features.

"You've done well sharing tonight, Darling. I think you deserve a fitting reward for such good behaviour," he practically purred, crawling closer until he hovered right over Tav. It was skilled the way he ran his hand up her thigh, causing her to unfold from her guarded position as if in invitation.

Their lips collided in a heated kiss with Tav ending up pressed against the rugs functioning as the tent floor. But when Astarion's lips strayed from hers and down her jawline and neck, he suddenly felt the pressure of a hand on his chest.

He leaned back as prompted, gazing down at Tav with a sheet of confusion over his expression. She was blushing like she usually would under his ministrations, her eyes pretty with pupils blown out, dark despite the lantern light.

"I don't want to do this with my brother's tent ten feet from ours," she murmured, the color on her face growing more intense. Astarion felt a laugh come on at the admission.

"We can find creative ways to stay very, very quiet, my love. And besides, now I know you grew up in a polyamorous home where all the Elves were fornicating with one another. I'm sure your brother wouldn't be embarrassed about the prospect of what I wish to do with you."

"It's not like they were 'fornicating' out in the middle of the village for everyone to see," Tav hissed in exasperation, "I-- I'd like at least a little bit of privacy. Please."

When it settled in how serious his lover was being, Astarion's expression smoothed over. He sat up, holding out a hand for Tav in order to help her do the same.

"You don't have to beg, Darling. As lovely as it sounds when you do," he mused, giving her hand a pull when it finally settled in his. She relaxed with an outward breath, fingers curling against Astarion's as they sat together.

"By the way," she said suddenly, "I didn't miss you calling my elected faith 'a little charity' before."

Her brow quirked and Astarion pursed his lips in disdain. Before be could answer, Tav landed a kiss on his mouth, effectively stalling the effort.

"An argument for another day," she stated with a hint of amusement to her, laying down on their beddings to begin settling down for the day.

[frazzledsoul]

I've been thinking of a Literati Civil Wars AU based on the excessive amount of Civil Wars lore I know, so here goes.

Joy Williams was born in Michigan but grew up in California. Her parents were involved in ministry and she was a CCM artist for many years, releasing three albums that sold well and was nominated for three Dove Awards (which are the CCM version of the Grammys). She married her first husband at the tail end of her CCM days and then decided she wanted to branch outside of the genre (he was her manager). Her first big gig was a song for an Oscar Meyer weiner campaign. Then she had some songs on Grey's Anatomy, met John Paul White at a songwriter's camp in Nashville, and alt country history was born.

So I'm thinking this backstory doesn't work if Lorelai raises Rory, but it absolutely does if her grandparents do. So Rory grows up the adored daughter (granddaughter) of devout Christians, who is a CCM teen prodigy and rises up quickly in the industry, fulfilling all the expectations of multiple generations, all the while she is yearning to break free and do her own kind of music and be more like the independent biological mother she barely knows.

So the husband/manager is Logan, of course, who Rory married young and has an excessive amount of influence over her life and career, as he is the route out of the CCM world she wants to leave behind.

John Paul White was born a Muscle Shoals boy (represent, y'all) but grew up on a chicken farm in Tennessee. He seems have been raised Catholic while Joy's background is probably evangelical (I don't know this for sure, just an observation). He recorded a few albums on his own before hooking up with Joy at the songwriter's camp.

IRL, John Paul is married and has four kids, but I don't want to incorporate that into the AU here. So I'm thinking Jess grew up with his mom on the chicken farm (spoiler alert: there's a cult there) but his family's roots are in Muscle Shoals and that's where Luke lives. So Jess is drawn to the musical culture of that area and all the history that comes with it, as its his route out of his own background. And yet he's an iconoclast and doesn't quite fit in there, because of the Catholic thing. He starts writing super dark lyrics and wearing a full suit during every performance.

So John Paul (Jess) and Rory (Joy) meet at the songwriter's camp. Sparks fly. Their disparate backgrounds and varying religious beliefs make up the yin/yang of their buoyant yet deeply depressing songs, which are always about that attraction you hate yourself for but can't fight. They don't travel with a band (The Civil Wars didn't, either) so their reputation is just based on the music and their chemistry onstage. They become fabulously successful with their first album, win multiple Grammys, and prepare to start recording their second album.

Then Rory becomes pregnant with Logan's baby (hello, AYITL plot twist) and things really heat up: Rory and Jess's emotional affair proceeds to a physical one, and Logan starts to realize that even the baby that he thought would save his marriage isn't enough to fight the chemistry. He's the manager and starts to steer their career towards featuring only Joy, wanting Jess out of the way ASAP. The baby is born and things get worse. Rory is torn between the two of them. Eventually they go on deep hiatus and Rory and Jess stop speaking. Jess retreats to Muscle Shoals and refuses to promote the second album: it wins a Grammy, which he accepts alone because he and Rory can't be in the same room together. Their last release is an alt country version of You Are My Sunshine.

(Most of the aforementioned events happened to the actual band, except the affair, which I can't prove, of course).

Rory releases a pop album that does nothing. She and her family move back to California. Jess starts an acclaimed indie record label in Muscle Shoals, where he releases albums by local artists as well as an all-but-forgotten Muscle Shoals songwriter/session player who he takes on tour with him (IRL, this would be Donny Fritts. Look it up). He releases a few solo albums but never reaches the success he had with Rory. The record label would be the alt country version of Truncheon Press, I think.

So IRL, Joy has a second child several years after the first one, breaks up with her husband almost immediately afterwards, and releases an alt-country album that is not as good as those in her Civil Wars days. Both she and her husband remarried in the years afterwards. John Paul White continued to tour, record, and produce albums for other artists. I saw him in concert twice and he absolutely never mentioned The Civil Wars. They remain on non speaking terms, apparently: they re-recorded Safe and Sound with Taylor Swift separately and under their own names. What actually happened there? Who the hell knows.

So I'd make the Literati end of this saga simpler: she can never really make it work with Logan again after falling in love with Jess, and they divorce. She meets Jess at the joint session of re-recording the pop star's song and they fall in love again, have their own kid, and make beautiful music once again. The pop star credits herself for playing Cupid.

[ruelin024]

I wanna have opinions so uh, what do you think of my SacredFell AU? (So far anyway haha)

Hello, my mutual compadre, @littleyukki5033 , I have traveled down to the depths of your blog and will now commence judgment.

Kehehehe. ψ(｀∇´)ψ

[Gonna be long, I like/wanted to try making my responses worthwhile and attentive, to show you I went in on your AU and posts.]

(And you can laugh at me or with me on this, but I may not be the best at giving opinions, 😖 I think. Just know I'm typing this with my miniscule overthinkin’ brain and hurt wrist.)

START!

Feb 4: Don’t be afraid to post your AU and talk about it, beautiful or not, unique or not, complicated or not, similar or not, cringe or not, demented or not, eh or not. 

Share your mind, you’ll find people who share it with you. And if you get hate, show them San’s ass or something. It tells others how nonexistent they are to you. (though I’ve seen someone draw Sans very beautifully thicc, we will keep in mind he is bones, which we indeed simp for). 

Observe Exhibit A:

(I found this silly image saved on my desktop, so I thought it'd be cool to share it with you.)

So never let a negative comment change your love and view of your au and undertale. 

Undertale is amazing, it’s good to ramble, even if others don’t talk about it, even if you’ll never get reciprocated. There’s other people there reading it, like me sometimes I read and forget to heart, or I don’t heart a post because I don’t wanna bombard their notifications and all that. 

Yes, post your art, even if you’ve got no idea what to post, doodle, ask for ideas, or even take a break. I think it’s beautiful to share your mind’s eye. Show no fear, you’ve got this!

Everyone starts where you were once. 

Feb 12: Your Introduction of your own Underfell AU called SacredFell

I am interested. I am in fact one of many who are and will be interested for days to come, for as long as you build and love your AU, as it becomes whatever completion you dreamt of it to be, so on and so forth, even if one day you stop.

I’m finna be there bruh, late or on time.  

And imma let you know that right now as you reading this. You actually asked me first about your AU and lemme tell you, you beat me to it. I actually have fanart for you. AND was gonna find a time to ask you first.

(~(>_<。)＼ Usually I'm ready to send art cause I plan before hand, but someone used a wrist twist move on me for fun recently. ಥ_ಥ)

Anyway, moving forward.

Frisk and Chara of SacredFell: I enjoy teh designs. And me personally, I like Frisks design, the fact Frisk went through multiple design phases is nice to know. Would you ever show Frisk's previous designs?

Oof, you changed SacredFell Sans height from 5’2 to 6ft, damn what a stretch. And he part of the Royal Guard, whoa! 😆hotsome big skeleman.

Also, I love the art style of @/melikitinas, too. 💖

Feb 14: … ScaredFell Papyrus…. I-... 11ft height, yeah, we gonna need a height chart. I short, so they a fucking tree at this point, imagine Paps just bending at the waist towards a shorty like me, he’s gotta be prone on the ground or something. AND his fine ass a 2nd in Command Royal Guard, too. ○( ＾皿＾)っ AWWHEHESJDHWU ✨

Feb 21: LORE Ah, so the beginning is different, interesting. *reads through it with glasses* (I was recently working on my other OCs at the time as well :D.) 

Yukki sounds like a good character! And portaled? Oooooh, portaled, I wanna know backstory! 

Did Yukki not go through the ruins? She just collapsed in Snowdin? Was she unconscious the entire time she was taken to Asgore, up until Toriel saved her?

And usually humans, are strong, is Yukki weak due to something? (you don’t have to reveal too much lore unless you wanna) How much power does Yukki have? Why does it drain so quickly? 

Also, love Toriel, to save one instead of all, what a mother. Even if Yukki wasn’t her own, that was such a big sacrifice for the price of saving one child over freedom. I would love to see how you draw that part out.

And Toriel left Yukki behind the waterfalls, why not take Yukki with her? 

Why out of all the souls, Kindness was taken, would this serve as a significant plot point in the AU?

Would Yukki grow to harbor bad intent or negative emotions towards the monster or would she end up sacrificing herself after understanding the monster’s want for freedom, would she find another way, would she resort to genocide at some point(despite her being weak)? 

Would Toriel come in clutch next time Yukki is in grave danger? 

And what plans would Asgore have after he gets Toriel, I would’ve expected that he wanted Toriel dead, not with a bounty on her head to be returned ALIVE to his home. I'm probably just thinking to the extremes. 😂

I like this plot. I’d love to know how Frisk and Yukki will come together. And if within the one or two years, Yukki stayed with Sans and Papyrus, would the brothers falter when they need to get their jobs done for Asgore when the time comes? Would Sans and Papyrus eventually come to value Yukki as their own friend? Does Yukki know Sans and Papyrus are working to gain her trust to betray her in the end? 

Also is Toriel and Sans doing the knock knock joke through the gate in this AU too? What’s Toriel’s relationship with the characters so far? Within the time Yukki was living in the Underground, does she come to meet Toriel again?

Feb 23: YUKKI I agree Yukki is a main focal point in the beginning of this AU, I really like this. I can’t wait to see how you build this lore up. Would Toriel act again when Frisk comes? Would Toriel talk to Frisk about Yukki? How old is Yukki again? To me, Yukki looks like she has a strong presence, tongue sticking out, seems playful. ✨

Feb 27: Comic Heh. Middle school art is always nostalgic to look back on. I wish I still had some of mine. I threw most out due to the fact, I didn’t want physical evidence of my cringe art tying back to me, but looking back on it now. I was stupid and paranoid. 

Now cringe art is one of my favorite art pieces to discover, it brings a certain emotion outta you, am I right? Yeaahh.  

Anyway, I admire you for sharing your old art and comic. 

An AU, especially when a creator is lovingly dedicated to it, can become hectic and mentally crowded and out of order, or as you say “all over the place.” Good luck on that journey, creating comlex stories is hard! I was overwhelmed by my own ideas and burned out at some point and stopped entirely. You make me wanna go back to my little world.

And Yukki and SacredFell Sans look like they get along noicely. yukki hand on her hip, confidence and power ✨👌 makin' Sansy sweat.

Mar 7: Yay Toriel Character Sheet Me like tall woman. She taller than Sans, haha. I gotta learn how to draw a goat at some point. And she looks good in my opinion. Do SOUL Protectors gain power from the souls? Wouldn't they accidentally at some point absorb the soul? Has any of the protectors even thought of doing that? Doesn't the barrier need one monster soul and one human soul to break the barrier, or is that different in this AU?

Mar 11: Another comic redraw, SacredFell Asgore WIP

Aw SacredFell Sans and Yukki smiling together, your old drawing of them is cute. ANd that’s a jump, good to know they're out of the underground. Hope you eventually find the right design for Yukki, that you’re gonna be satisfied with. I’m excited to find out how they got out of the underground, too.

What's the key on Sans? And the heart necklace on Yukki?

And yes, I think Tumblr does something with the quality of an image when posted, because compared to my computer view, my phone view of some posts are different a bit.

Yass, show off the Goat man. 

ANd I also saw your Avatar DTIYS, looks awesome! I love the coloring, shading, and perspective! 

Mar 15: Update Eh, it didn’t take a while for me to gather info on your AU, it was spread out a little yes, but not so much, for me the pacing was alright. 

Ah and the ask blogs, yeah I dunno how I’m doing this tbh. 

And a webtoon would be great! But I hear it’s a lot of work to put into it, take small steps, so you won’t stress or burn yourself out. But I would definitely read teh webtoon if you were to make one. 

Mar 16: SacredFell Undyne WIP I love Undyne, I just dunno how to draw her yet. Love the art! She pretty. 

Mar 16: SacredFell Flowey Flowey in a bag, hahahahaha. I like how annoyed he looks in the drawing.  

Mar 17: SacredFell Monster Kid Another main character, you developing a lot of lore right now I bet. I wonder how MK will play out in your AU. 

Mar 18,22 : It’s UNDYNE >.< Fangirling. Another Tall strong woman. And missing parents during gaster’s disappearance, is this what I think it is, a lore hint?!?!   

Mar 23: Alphys Alphys is gonna be somewhat of a sly character in the plot huh, wow! And she fights, you gotta make art of that at some point! Alphys having bravery is interesting! 

Pfft, you spelled “Bavery” I didn’t even notice until you mentioned it. 

Mar 23: Gaster I love how you drew Sans and Papyrus in at Gaster’s “You’re in Trouble” expression.

And me like the tinted glasses as well.

Mar 24: Mettaton! He a Bravery SOUL Decoy! Was that Alphy’s idea to make him like that? Is he famous in the underground as well? He’s a looker. And he got four arms! Yuuusss! 

Mar 26?: Muffet Indeed a 5’7 lady spider is a cutie patootie, the arms are good, multiple is betta. Good design!  And she is also part of the Royal Guard, what will the fight be like? I’m curious! 

Mar 26?: That Sacredfell Mini Comic/Story was nicely put together! The end where SacredFell Sans responds with, “I don’t know.” I enjoyed reading this conversation! And Undyne in her royal armor MWUAH!  

So from all this, hopefully I did something good for you, most are just questions and comments, but I hope it served as an answer. *ahem*

A new character was added. [Yukki] = Will lead to more plot. *Check*

There’s a different backstory before the arrival of Frisk. *Check*

Toriel makes an act against Asgore before leaving, Asgore ordering Sans and papyrus to gain Yukki’s trust until the “time” comes = Complicated relationships *Check* 

I can fangirl, which means I can simp, which means, I’m invested. ✨ *CHECK CHECK CHECK*

The concept is really good! (The fact Asgore would entrust the souls to another and make them SOUL Protectors, and you still fight Alphys even in the pacifist route, and I sense "things" though not sure what, but it makes me look forward to your lore.) *ChecK* 

It’s a Fell type Universe. (I love Underfell) *CHECK* 

The art is noice!!!! *CHecK* 

I find interest in how characters will interact or encounter each other. *Check* 

I can see the work put into this AU! I see their dedication based from the dates you posted things about your AU. I really look forward to seeing how you continue to develop and make art for your SacredFell AU! With what you’ve shown at this time, I can happily tell you, for me this AU is interesting, there’s potential in many areas, character development, choice of dialogue, different relationship dynamics, personality, world building, plot changes, etc.

I wish I had more to say, I think most of my response here sounded... I think repetitive, maybe some questions were even answered already and I didn't catch it? Though hopefully I conveyed to you that I think you're doing well for what've you've shown thus far!

That's my grand opinion. 😁✨

Also, I found you through graphictale au. 💕💖👌✨

😙 Both ya'll wonderful.

[moviemunchies]

Some Octobers, I think that I should actually watch movies that are vaguely spooky. I don’t do horror films, but there are plenty of other movies that might fit the bill for Halloween. Usually, though, I don’t get around to it.

Well this year I got to re-watching Tucker & Dale vs. EVIL and I think that works for Halloween.

Tucker & Dale vs. EVIL has this premise: a group of college kids go to the woods, and when one of their own gets kidnapped by hillbillies, they decided to fight back. The twist is that the main characters are the hillbillies, and they’re not villains, they didn’t kidnap a college girl, they saved her after she hit her head. Her friends don’t know that, though, and since they’re clueless, stupid, college kids, they keep getting themselves horribly killed while trying to rescue her. Blaming it on the hillbillies, they resort to increasingly ridiculous and violent methods to fight these two guys who only want to vacation in a cabin in the woods.

It’s violent, it’s gory, and it’s hilarious.

The movie’s message is obviously that people shouldn’t judge each other based on appearances. Dale is very awkward and comes across as weird to Allison and her friends, but he’s a great guy. If anyone had actually effectively communicated, if people had sat down and clearly explained what it is that they were actually doing, this Plot would have been avoided.

Mind you, it’s also because the people in the movie are pretty dumb. The kids are pretty dumb, in how they keep dying, but Tucker and Dale aren’t exactly super observant either. They walk into a cabin with bones hanging from the ceiling, and newspaper clippings of horrible crimes, and absolutely no warning bells go off? It works for comedy purposes (“I think an archaeologist lived here!”), though it makes you wonder if communication would have worked to begin with the more you think about it.

I’m also not familiar with horror movies, but I feel as if I’ve watched/read a ton of stories in which college-aged kids are surprisingly competent in combat and survival. Of course, most people have no idea what they’re doing, and the kids here don’t either–they quickly rush into situations and get themselves killed in stupid ways.

There’s an element of the ending that is a little bit of a copout? Spoiler alert, but it’s revealed that the homicidal leader of the college kids, Chad, is actually the son of a violent hillbilly. The idea that hillbillies aren’t any worse than anyone else is undermined by the notion that actually yes, there apparently are killer hillbilly genes out there that can turn someone into a murderous maniac. Communication wouldn’t work if it’s just in his DNA, right? 

Then again, I think the point isn’t necessarily that Chad has killer DNA, it’s that he’s prejudiced against a group of people that he himself is related to. Still, I don’t know that Chad needed a backstory that gave an excuse for him being evil. The idea that he’s a young man so full of himself that he doesn’t question his prejudices, because it lets him live out his hero fantasy, even if it gets his companions killed… that’s strong enough.

I suspect I’m thinking too hard about this, though.

I am not really a fan of horror films, so I cannot speak to how well this movie resonates with that fanbase. I’d like to think that fans of slasher films will enjoy it, but I don’t know. I did enjoy it quite a lot, though, and I think if you’re willing to try a spoof of middle-of-nowhere, killer hillbilly slasher movies, then you’ll have tons of fun with Tucker & Dale vs. EVIL.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Eh, I'm not entirely convinced. After all, we want to think that Jinn is an unbiased observer...except it's clear that she and Ambrosius have their own biases and personalities, and the former can clearly show things based on what you ask of her (in this case, what is Ozma hiding), and that could just as easily be interpreted as "What is Ozpin hiding based on what HE thinks is true".

While I do think Jinn tries to put forth the truth as best as she can, I think she can only do so in relation to what is allowed up to a point depending on what she is asked, and the mindset and circumstances of the question being asked and WHO is asking.

And I don't think it's a coincidence that the recurring motif between all of the relics so far are chained djinn. Djinn who are notoriously known in legend as tricksters who can distort or twist details depending on their mindset and mood. And all of them so far seemingly created solely by the God of Light, who very much has a some kind of motive related with Salem. With that in mind, what would stop him from basically setting in restrictions and controls on what they were allowed to show or say?

After all, why would he pick Ozma of all people to send back as an immortal, knowing that the guy would try to reunite with Salem?

Salem so far has shown that as flawed as she may be, she is not a fool. She cautions about the power of magic and its costs to Cinder, despite her supposedly being a magic supremacist? She noticeably doesn't react at all to Yang's accusations of her throwing a tantrum despite the trauma of losing her lover being a major part of her backstory. She praises the humans for their tenacity against the world basically being against them in her opening dialogue way back in Season 1, and yet wants to wipe them out? Honestly, for all we know, Ozma could have completely misinterpreted Salem's words about humanity way back when because he was deliberately set that way by his God, or she just explained it in a way that was poorly worded.

There's just too many little details that don't really add up under further scrutiny.

I should note that this doesn't inherently mean I think Salem was secretly the good guy, but the reality is that I think that the situation is far, far more complex than the story proving her completely wrong, and that the heroes will solve everything that she couldn't. We've already seen that the situation is far too complex for that alone.

To counter a few points, Jinn is clearly presented as benevolent. I'm not betting on her making a major mistake just because she's a djinn and djinn are tricksters in myth. Thus far, she's been nothing but truthful.

Salem doesn't caution Cinder about magic. She said to Cinder that her "newfound strength came with a weakness" to hide the fact that the Grimm parts of her were what made her vulnerable to silver eyes, not her Maiden magic, so she could continue to modify and experiment on her and convince her to accept the Grimm arm.

She praises the humans for their tenacity right before saying she'll do everything in her power to snuff it out. That's not admiration, that's her gauging their weaknesses so she can attack them more easily.

Even if the situation is more complex than that, everything here is speculation, and very thin speculation at that. It feels like stretching the canon to fit around an idea rather than extrapolating from canon first. It's an interesting idea, but I wouldn't put stock in any of it being canon without much stronger evidence.

[rutilation]

This latest chapter reminded me that I have thoughts about this guy. And by thoughts, I mean questions. But, before I ask those questions, I want to share my thoughts about a few other side characters in Part 2. I have a point I wish to make through them:

Miri has been used, abused, and dehumanized his whole life. It makes him suffer, but it's also as ubiquitous and imperceptible to him as water is to a fish. After Makima died, he tried to drag himself into the light, and take back control of his life, but he ended up backsliding into old habits, and wound up neck deep in a violent cult--new window dressing on the same old shit.

Fumiko deeply despises Chainsaw Man for not saving her parents, but sublimates that hatred into pity for Denji. When he's toeing Public Safety's line, she squeezes him like he's her personal stress ball, alternately degrading him and flattering him, all while telling herself she's protecting poor, scared little boy who was forced to become Chainsaw Man. But, when the chips are down, she takes every opportunity she can to twist the knife in Denji's back, and exact her vengeance.

We don't know a single detail of Barem's past, but it's nonetheless clear that he's like a version of Denji that couldn't bring himself to break free of Makima. He's a true believer in the worldview she created to rationalize her own inability to connect with others. He wants that perfect world, with no bad movies, where he never has to think or make decisions for himself. He hates Denji for taking that possibility away from him, and he hates Nayuta for outgrowing Makima.

None of these characters have had a huge amount of focus or backstory in the grand scheme of things. But, while they are rough sketches, drawn with few lines, they're still complete sketches. And, whether or not they ever get any more meat on their bones, I can confidently say I know what makes them tick.

We have not, however, gotten a complete sketch of Yoshida, rough or otherwise--just disparate puzzle pieces that don't yet fit together.

Yoshida keeps his cards close to his chest, but one thing about him that is painfully obvious is that his brain currently exists at the bottom of a crab bucket. From being crowded by speech bubbles full of excuses for his loneliness, to affirming to Denji that alienation is the heart of normalcy, to him losing his cool when Denji says he wants both his normal and superhero life, it's crystal clear how much he doesn't want to imagine a better world, not for himself, nor for anyone else, and how much he resents any notion to the contrary.

What has me confused atm is trying to square that with his apparent attitude and outlook during Part 1. He didn't seem happy per se, but he was definitely way more carefree than he is now. In particular, his scene with Kishibe seems to stand in stark opposition to his current situation. What I got out of that conversation was that he was well aware of plots and conspiracies surrounding Makima and Public Safety, and was feeling smug about the fact that none of it affected him--he had finals to worry about, you see. But, somewhere between parts 1 and 2, he went from haughtily observing the crab bucket from on high, to being at the bottom of it. How did that happen? And just what is the true nature of this bucket?

To speak in less metaphorical terms: If his new job at Public Safety makes him miserable, why doesn't he just quit? He could certainly make it as a civilian devil hunter. And, given how he was willing stand by and watch as Yuko killed a bunch of his fellow students, I doubt he's in the bucket out of a sense of altruism or duty. Based on the information we've been given, he shouldn't feel the need to put himself through any of this. He has no reason to be Public Safety's Saddest Middle-Manager. So why is he? Out of all the questions I have, I feel this one is the most glaring. This, right here, is the puzzle piece being withheld.

Another question I have: why are he and Fumiko 2 different characters? On the face of it, from a writing perspective, they're seemingly fulfilling the same functions in the story. They're both projecting hard onto Denji, they're both being so very parasocial about it, they're both stand-ins for Public Safety's tyranny, they both betray our protagonists, siding with authority when the chips are down, and they are both. such. cops.

Their only difference is their respective attitudes--where Fumiko approaches her role with gleeful cruelty, Yoshida does so with sour-grapes resignation. I don't feel, though, that such a difference would be enough on its own to warrant making them two separate characters. So, why are they? The only reason I can come up with is that the two of them are eventually going to end up in very different positions, thus necessitating two different characters. One of them needs to be a bastard forever, because The State is always going to be a bastard forever, and between the two of them, Fumiko is the more motivated bastard.

That's the main reason I believe that the general fandom expectation of Yoshida having some sort of redemption arc down the line has weight to it, and isn't *merely* the result of fans automatically siding with--and ascribing unearned depth to--the biggest twink in the room. That said, I would like to point out that just because he seems likely to eventually break with Public Safety, does not necessarily mean his endpoint is going to be sympathetic, or heroic, or conducive to shipping; it's just going to be different from Fumiko's.

Finally, standing above these questions is a broader question: why is Fujimoto stringing us along like this with regard to Yoshida? All those other characters I talked about made total sense within ten chapters of their introduction, so why not him? What's the point of making Yoshida a puzzle in the first place, of withholding answers for this long?

The longer this particular shoe takes to drop, the more convinced I am that it's going to end up being a bombshell. After being left in suspense for this long, I'll be disappointed if it isn't.

[yumeko2sevilla]

Irene Anasaki

──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆────────

"Unlike what you think, I'm not kind at all."

_Irene Anasaki_ Eyes Of The World

Full Name: Irene Florence Anasaki

Japanese: アイリイン • フィレンツェ • 亜那作生

Other Names:

_Irene-san/Prefect-san

_Anasaki (Lilia)

_Cramoise Sorcière (Rook)

_Red Melodies Of Despair

Twisted From: Mother Gothel (Tangled) + Ayano Tateyama & Snake Of Clearing Eyes (Kagerou Project)

Voice Actors: Tsunko (Japanese) + Elizabeth Maxwell (English)

──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆────────

Age: Unknown, presumedly 19

Birthday: August 15 (Leo)

Species: Human?

Height: 188 cm

Gender: Female (Any Pronouns, usually She/Her)

Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous

─────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆────────

Homeland: Tower Of Heaven

『Family:

Mirai Onizaburo (Distant Relatives)

KAFU (Descendant)

Sebek Zigvolt (Godson)』

Dormitory: Ramshackle

Grade: Senior

Class: 3-D (No. 15)

Club: Light Music Club

Best Class(es): Alchemy, History Of Magic

Hobbies:_

Favorite Food: Iced Mint Apple Tea

Likes: KAFU, Sebek Zigvolt, her "puppets", her "child", networking with others, socialise

Least Favorite Food: None

Dislike(s): Lilia Vanrouge, Crowley.

Talents: Emotional Manipulation, Acting, Emotion Observance

"One of the Prefects of Night Raven College. A friendly girl who acts kind with others. Although, it seems she knews more that she showed off."

──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆────────

Personality:

Unlike what you think, Irene isn't kind, at all.

Well, in most cases Irene always wears a friendly air, waving hands and talks to others. She has an energy to her, one that make people feel warm around her.

Irene loves her children! Especially the Secondary Prefect, KAFU and Sebek Zigvolt! They were her greatest creations after all.

However if anything, Irene is a manipulative person. With her soft voice and ensuring expression, she can hypnotize people to do whatever she want.

Irene-san is cold. Her voice always has a kind of malice, it doesn't show very well to others.

Despite she's polite, Irene is just... Unreadable to others. Nobody knows where she came from, and even forgot what she looked like.

Irene-san is insane. Irene-san is a genius. Irene-san is cute. A cute insane genius? Now why's that?

──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆────────

Unique Magic : Connection Of The World (世界のつながり

⋅☆⋅An ability that will connect people's souls together with their own.

The user's wrist will have a sliver thread tiding on it, the other side of the thread'll tied on the person's hand.

If anything happened to the user, the other person would face the same.

──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆────────

Trivia:

•Backstory: ___

•Name Meanings:

Irene: Derived from the Greek word eirēnē of the same meaning. In Ancient Greek Mythology, Eirene is the Greek goddess of peace, who was known to be the personification of wealth and harmony. Florence: Coming from the word florentius in Latin, this name means “blossoming,” “flourishing,” and “prosperous.” Anasaki: "亜那" means "inferior that one", "作生" means "create lifes."

•Irene is the Prefect of Ramshackle because she got sorted into Heartslabyul, Scarabia and Octavinelle.

•Irene likes to singing! You can see her humming an anonymous song out of nowhere.

•Irene seems to know Lilia, although they are not in good terms.

•Irene is the Vessel Of Pride and Wrath.

(Pixel banner: @arcdiris

BIO inspired by: @rosietrace )

@anxious-twisted-vampire @writing-heiress

[shinjisdone]

Sorry about that I wanted to give you a quick rundown of her character since I was deleting things that weren't necessary and I was really tired

So could I please ask for a platonic yandere riddle with kianna

Personality

Kind-hearted but stoic

And to be very cold and cruel to people that deserve it

If you manage to earn her trash you actually find a quiet kind of person

Dislikes

Society and Society in general

Doesn't like bugs

And doesn't like her father

Likes

Playing video games that have a slice of Life General to it

Reading story books

Science and reading

Cute clothes and Lolita

Cats

Facts

Very intelligent

Has scars on her back and belly

Loves her sister more than anything

Extremely hard to manipulate and guilt trip if so you'll probably end up with two words

Can't be manipulated

Is an overachiever due to trauma

Is never late to class usually comes in early

she feels very lonely sometimes

Mentally she isn't the best and still suffers with PTSD

Backstory

She was raised in the church but neglected a lot the only time her father ever hit her is when she tried to get in the way of his plans with her sister

She eventually left the church and she ended up going to the house of her sister's alleged

kidnappers for a while she just observed them and didn't intervene until she had enough information and so

she eventually realized it was too late so she took a knife and killed the ones that hurt

her sister she eventually burn down the house and passed out just to wake up and twisted Wonderland

Surprisingly she still has her clothes and her flip Amy had just said phone

She likes Lolita and Gothic and anything that is fashionable

She doesn't like pants

And prefers to wear either dresses shorts or skirts

And she likes wearing platforms and flats

And prefers wearing tights and likes anything that has Ruffles or lace

Most of the time seen in either a skirt or shorts

She used to have a normal phone but it was broken by one of the brothers that tormented her sister

Eventually got a flip phone as a gift

She can easily use it and her contacts only have

Ema(oc)

Arlene(oc)

Yuutsu(oc)

And her phone screen is a picture of her sister

The picture:

Sorry I'm deleting posts I see that are unnecessary and just go for posting three pages of an OC or four pages

But hopefully this is a good summary of her character

Hi! It's very sweet that you took time out of your day to describe your OC to me, thanks for your time and effort. But unfortunately I cannot work with it.

I thought a long time about this but OC X Canon does not work for me when it comes to writing. Simply reading through information is not the same as actually 'knowing' the character, especially when someone else created it. Trying to keep a character 'in character' while not really knowing them in a setting they aren't a part of AND trying to put it all into a fic with canon characters who have their own relationships, is almost impossible for me.

Im sorry but I have to decline the request and all future requests that are OC X Canon.

[whimsicallywiddershins]

Mikado is a terrible protagonist in Durarara. He is boring and kinda useless, and causes problems for no reason. Anyone could've started the Dollars. Aoba could easily influence the Dollars from the inside. The writers should've just kept him as a lovable, innocent side character, with him being dragged into the plot by his best friends, who are far more interesting!

We have Masaomi, who is this random country kid who somehow became the leader of a huge street gang before he entered highschool! And not bullshit leading it, like Mikado and the Dollars, but actually actively leading and fighting with a street gang. He knows Izaya personally which is quite something for a kid. Also, he got shafted in the show, he literally got thrown off a season having a "vacation" in the country with this girlfriend we never really got to meet or get invested in.

Then we have Anri Sonohara. Anri should have been the protagonist, taken Mikado's role. Anri is fascinating. She has an insanely tragic backstory, an abusive father who tries to kill her, then her mom hills her dad and commits suicide in front of her! She then becomes a host to a demon sword and then makes friends with a high up Yakuza hitman. Her best friend is Mika. She is very close friends with Celty. She is also very close with Erika and Kudota's crew. She knows Akane. Then there is that sortoff rival relationship she has with Vorona and that meetup with Rochi. Anri is deeply connected with most of the characters, is observant, badass, has a complicated relationship with herself and self-esteem, and is, all in all, an amazing main character.

She did have a great part in the show, but it would've been much cooler (and braver) to have her be the main character, not Mikado. The Saika twist would've been much more satisfying too, way more startling to hide such a key part of the main character for so long.

[centrally-unplanned]

Have finished Season 1 of Rings of Power, so for the last two episodes:

Episode 7: HAHAHA they *killed Celeborn*, *offscreen*, *in the backstory*. My man can never catch a break. Virgin till the end

Episode 8: Okay on its own terms this episode is an improvement, finally Galadriel has real character moments and like, rings show up, name of the show and all that. But, as everyone knows now, “Halbrand was ~Sauron the whole time~”, what a twiiist, and he tempts Galadriel to join him.

Alas it really doesn’t make any sense. Its funny because I complained about the bad writing in Episode 6 about how the people of the Southlands never mention the king that Halbrand claims to be, their country gives no evidence of having a king, etc, and it turns out that was true! They haven’t had a king for a thousand years, he was lying. But that doesn’t resolve the contradiction, because the world contorted to support the lie; the people of the Southlands cheer the arrival of their king when he shows up. Why did they do that now, in their memory they never had one? Galadriel & the Elves say “we have had little contact with the Southlands kingdoms for so long we don’t know their royal family status” my dudes in the first episode you had an entire Elvish base in the Southlands, monitoring the kingdoms to make sure they didn’t align with evil like they did with Morgoth! That is why Arondir’s characters exists! Literally what were they doing if they didn’t know the kingdom fell 1000 years ago??

And this is not a ‘guessable’ twist because Sauron’s plan is now to....get shipwrecked and drown in the Sundering Sea? Flit around Numenor, get into bar fights, try to be a smith? Then fight a bit in the Southlands, achieving nothing while down there? Then he fakes an injury to get into Eregion? This isn’t a plan, this is a retcon, if you told me they decided this twist literally while writing the Episode 8 script I would buy it. Sauron in the show is an idiot, this is an awful use of his time. People mention that he ‘manipulated Galadriel’ but he didn’t, he just hid his identity - every single thing Galadriel did she wanted to do from the outset, she was crusading against the orcs, she discovered the ‘symbol is a map of the Southlands’ thing with Elendil, no manipulation happened. I can see Sauron being an opportunist observing to find an opening wherever he is, that doesn’t bother me - but not about the One Ring, that should be a plan, not a rush job. The ring plan almost looks like an accident now, nothing he did all season was related to the rings at all! It was about Galadriel, who isn’t special to him, and wasn’t part of the ring plotline.

Outside of being the Main Character of course, and our PoV. Twist addiction and media tropes are really reigning here, and way too much is being sacrificed for them. You can make this story work, but not without Halbrand being way more suspicious to give his actions logic, and that is anathema to the showrunner’s priorities. Which is sad, because the Galadrial/Sauron scene in Episode 8 is, in isolation, very good. You can make this work. You just have to put in the work.

[treesap-blogs]

Happy Saturday, everyone! Review of “The Lost Dreamer” by Lizz Hurta!

Hello, Tumblrians! My apologies for the sheer number of reviews last week, I was trying to clear all of my reading queue before I read The Wicked Bargain :). (Review won’t be in a while though, I didn’t wanna have a reading void and as a result restocked my reading queue for the next two weeks oops.) (Eh, it’s fine, it’s mostly fun!!) I’ll be changing up my format a bit, too! Although this is purely for fun, I’m not a fan of how I don’t sound qualified or put-together a lot of the time.

(No epic Story Discovery Backstory for this review! I just stumbled across it during a trip to the library closest to my house.)

Published in 2022(most of my reads are very recent), The Lost Dreamer is a YA fantasy novel taking place in ancient mesoamerica, following two perspectives, Indir and Saya. We don’t really know how the two perspectives are connected, besides them being in the same world and both characters being Dreamers at some point, until the last quarter of the book. (Dreaming being a practice where people essentially connect themselves to the spirit realm, almost always to prophesize, it’s rare for a Dreamer to actually interact with a spirit inside. It’s mainly done to observe the fates of their home/land and anyone they know.) Indir’s a Dreamer who works for the Fire Temple, and lost her ability to Dream after Dreaming for the former king before he died, while Saya’s a Dreamer who goes around village to village with her mom while she tries to pass her abilities off as her own. I was intrigued by the premise of this, it seemed very unique and I appreciated the added bonus of the dual perspectives! (That was something I liked in Hunted By The Sky, I was looking forward to it here too once I put that together.)

It took me a while to get through this book, though, literally due to the fact that its pacing was very slow. I saw complaints about that in the reviews, but I thought “it’s only 380 pages or so! How bad can it be?” and ugh I definitely underestimated that. Now, while I get that not all stories have to be fast-paced(Our Wives Under The Sea is a different genre/demographic but fits that pacing), and authors have different ways of fleshing out their worlds and introducing their lore(see: Dune), this book seemed to just be a standalone? A standalone that ends on a cliffhanger, granted, but a one-and-done thing nonetheless. Needless to say, I found that frustrating and it made this a tedious read.

Also! This is nitpicky, sorry, but I thought the perspectives were also confusing in the context of trying to connect them together. I was unsure if Indir’s events were affecting Saya(or vice-versa??? I thought from the Lost Dreamer talk Indir would find her on her journey initially), if they were unintentionally following each other, that kind of thing. It was explained by the end, though, which I thought was..strange, but explained the timeline of the perspectives, so.

SPOILER SECTION’S BACK, BABEY!!! (end of it will be listed ^^) seriously tho huge spoilers

So it turns out, Indir and Saya’s stories are not happening at the same time. Indir’s is years behind Saya’s and, essentially, history to her. Indir is revealed to be Saya’s actual mother; the one that paraded around Saya until she ran off to go on her journey was one of Indir’s former friends until she kidnapped an infant Saya. Indir figured out somehow that her daughter was going to be the Lost Dreamer, and was trying to find her all this time.

What the fuck????

Not to say that the twist came totally out of nowhere because there’s bits and pieces where you might be like “Celay might not be her real mom because she’s been relentlessly cruel this whole time and lies about everything!”, “when the spirits mentioned Saya’s mom making sure she was safe, it could be a different person because Saya doesn’t really address Celay as her mother anymore”, and I thought the second thing actually, but I was thinking it would be like a..chosen family thing? Not that route.

 I don’t know what else to rant about in the spoiler section, sorry y’all 😭literally just wanted an excuse to be like “the ending was weird what was that”.

And then we get some kind of tease that they’ll go back for the first time since The ChaosTM that left a scar in Indir’s childhood, but the story ends. It’s like sequel bait but with no sequel???!!

    Raugh.

END OF SPOILER SECTION!! I did not have a lot to ramble on about, actually. I am running out of ammo. I am drained as I write this.

Basically, for those who didn’t read the spoiler section, I just said the ending was weird and I didn’t like it lol.

Do I think this is a bad book? No. I do not think so. It just wasn’t my cup of tea, although I can see why other people may enjoy it because it has an interesting plot and background to it. It felt like it was mediocrely executed for something that had a lot of potential, and I’m pretty bummed about that. I’m worried I might be too harsh on it, though, as this is just Lizz Huerta’s debut book, so I’ll allow her some space to hone her craft before judging her as an author. 

Book Rating: ⭐️⭐️½ or ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. 

-Paz, signing off!

(Book trigger/content warnings: Childbirth scene, verbal and some physical abuse from a parent, mentions of kidnapping, animal cruelty, violence.)

[ma1kayl]

shinobu mail & mayoi hell - FUCK YEAH!!!! (owarimonogatari)

of my now three big long rant posts, i think it's very fitting that two of them are about monogatari. what can i say, it's a fucking good show.

when we last spoke, i had just started shinobu mail, which is the last "arc", if you will, of owarimonogatari I. after finishing it,

holy SHIT WAS THAT A RIDE

WHY THE FUCK WAS EPISODE THERE?

for those of you uninformed, episode was one of the 3 (4?) main villains of kizumonogatari, the (chronologically) first story in the series. he has a giant ass metal cross that he likes to throw around.

this guy.

i don't really understand why he was reintroduced at the end of shinobu mail, because he did

absolutely fucking nothing.

but it was still cool.

i honestly could have cared less about the "duel" between araragi and "the first", i didn't bother remembering his name.

but afterwards.

holy fuck.

i know that monogatari isn't really known for having a cohesive timeline, but the fact that this took place right before the ending of nekomonogatari white, which is probably my favorite ending to any monogatari arc just because of how batshit insane it was.

nisioisin is a fucking literary genius.

as for mayoi hell,

i liked it.

i must say, i was mildly disappointed at first, because the thumbnail of the episode on crunchyroll led me to believe that maybe this would be a story where hachikuji was mad at araragi for something.

i thought her sendoff at the end of mayoi jiangshi in second season was very sweet, but maybe she observed his actions afterwards and got disappointed? i dunno.

i thought it was a very nice story, though. just hachikuji and araragi walking down memory lane (figuratively and literally) while they make the trek to get him out of hell.

the reveal that teori would be the one assisting in his resurrection was an interesting and welcomed little twist. i appreciated the bit of backstory we got for him. also,

OSHINO CAMEO!!!!!

kinda.

i don't know why but i always get really excited whenever he's alluded to.

moving swiftly along.

the highlight of the episode for me honestly was the little half speech/half argument between hachikuji and araragi towards the end. i thought it was really heartwarming coming from the one individual who suffered the brunt of araragi's sexual harassment.

i think i could've done without araragi dragging her back to the world of the living along with him, but it means the potential for future stories with her, so i'm okay with it.

also, seeing full-blown kiss-shot acerola-orion heart-under-blade instead of just adult shinobu for the first time in a while was very cool.

i think that'll do it for now. i look forward to finishing this series and getting onto zoku owari. i hear it's super good, and i think the concept is fucking awesome. but we'll get there when we get there.

my pc is too far down the shitter to support installing other languages anymore, so

mata ne--