#the formatting on the original version of this was annoying me so I changed it

[zutaranation]

Wishing for the Netflix Live Action Avatar series to be bad and jumping to conclusions based on one-off interview comments isn't it. This show is reclaiming its culture inspiration and being led by a majority POC cast and crew, so the hope for its downfall is icky to me.

I've discussed this on Twitter a lot, but not on here. I find it incredibly frustrating that people seem to be wishing for the live action Netflix version of Avatar to fail. This fandom is so dead set on commiserating and hating that they're damning the show before it even comes out and they see a single second of it based on a few lines from interviews taken out of context.

The watering down of sexism from Sokka could be done in just such a way that translates better to a live action format. It makes sense for Sokka to be sexist in a way that believes in rigid gender roles, but still appreciates the roles women perform. In the cartoon, he was more disparaging of women's roles in general. I think this would be a suitable change that still addresses sexism.

The change of Katara's role in regards to sexism I welcome as a breath of fresh air if it's done how I expect. Katara was portrayed as motherly, and I hope that stays, but her motherliness was seen as nagging, annoying, and a bad thing. She can keep these traits, but be appreciated and not depreciated every second and seen as a bore. She is also a child and deserves to be viewed with the same depth and appreciation as the others.

The Game of Thrones comment also makes sense. This is a show primarily for older audiences who grew up watching Avatar. GOT is a popular, beloved fantasy drama series. Many people who watched ATLA as adults compare the appeal of Avatar to GOT. The comment does not mean that the show is going to have sex scenes and SA scenes. It means it's going to appeal to that sort of audience, which makes complete sense for a fantasy live action series. The head runner of the live action show also stressed that the integrity of the show and its characters remaining intact was pivotal to their depiction. So, striking a balance between making this something fresh and interesting in its new medium, but staying faithful to the original should actually be seen as a promising aspect for the series, not something detrimental. I'm so hackneyed by this fandom's obsession with dragging everything down.

Azula having a bow and arrow is badass. Zuko had the dual swords. I have no idea why anyone is mad about this. It's cool. Her coming in early in an 8-episode series makes sense. She's the best villain in the show, she SHOULD get more screentime. It's not like Toph where her Book 2 introduction is concurrent with the pacing of the plot. I also hope Zuko is on the gaang's side for the entirety of Book 3. I always thought that would have made more sense, gave us better friendship building moments, and improved pacing. This criticism confuses me.

And, the thing about Aang not going off on side quests is simply logical. Of course Aang can't be mentioning side quests and frivolous detours like riding on the sea eel (sorry I forget its proper term rn lol) because the way the show is being adapted does not have any time to show these kinds of filler episode scenes. It's being reimagined as a mini series drama with 8 episodes. It makes no sense to subdivide these episodes to include filler moments, so of course Aang needs to be more plot driven becasue there's less breakdown in the episodes because there are less of them. It doesn't negate his childlike eagerness and faithfullness to his original portrayal. It could also serve as an enhancement where this 20-year-old series fell short, despite its successes.

This is a reimagining, otherwise there's no point. A carbon copy would be absurd and terrible for anyone to watch. Wishing a show to fail that was created by an almost entirely POC cast reclaiming the show's culture is so icky to me and I think it's a disservice to this fandom. I'm hoping for the best and being cautiously optimistic. Of course, things could go sour, but why expect it? Why not hype the show up instead of aspire for its failure? Especially in the Zutara fandom, we should be better than this. There is so much opportunity for this series to correct the problems our fandom at large has been complaining about for years and years.

For the bulk of the fandom, including casual and nostalgic fans, they don't know the horrors of the behind the scenes nonsense Bryke, the two white guys who created ATLA caused. So they're crapping on this version left and right because Bryke left. Bryke didn't even create these characters' depth. They didn't write the intricacies of the beloved episodes or develop the characters the way people are so found of. That was the other writers. Bryke wanted Toph to be a boy and have a love triangle with Aang and Katara. They also wanted Azula to be a boy. They wanted Iroh to betray Zuko and be pro-Ozai at the end of the show and Zuko have to choose between Iroh and the fate of the world. The other writers changed this. Look at the mess they made of LoK without the input of the other writers when they were writing entirely on their own in Legend of Korra book one. Their removal is a chance of further improvement.

[karasbroken]

This tiny moment is one that I completely misinterpreted for the first decade or more and I still don't know exactly what I think but I'm going to ramble anyway. I played with filters to make the tie more obvious, because for the longest time, I thought Moya John threw scissors and Talyn John threw rock.

And that makes sense, right? They had two different experiences while they were parted for several months, and that made them into two different people. He talks later to Aeryn about not being the same person, and that her feelings, "you're just like him, you are him" are wrong. So I never questioned when my dark DVDs and fuzzy TV made it look like they tied.

But then I saw the 4k versions, and I was watching on a good screen and I could slow it down and pause and replay, and nope! They are both clearly throwing scissors. And the whole beautiful symbolism falls apart. Why did they tie? Does that actually mean they are the same person? Why doesn't John or Aeryn truly seem to believe that?

Everyone will have their own opinions, but how I think about it now is that this was a promise from Talyn John to Moya John. Yes, they had different experiences. Yes, that means they diverged. Yes, being with Aeryn changed Talyn John in ways Moya John couldn't (yet) understand. Talyn John feels older, calmer, more settled and mature in a rather dramatic way to me. But the tie is a reassurance that they are still both John. That they can be made whole. That the core of who he is, the man that loves Aeryn and controls wormholes is still capable of being loved by Aeryn (and learning to control wormholes). It will just take time.

We aren't wholly our memories and experiences. Which is reassuring to me, as a person who struggles with long-term memory formation.

John was twinned. "Equal and original." They are both him. They were always both him, even if he doesn't remember what the other twin experienced (yet). Moya John and Aeryn both struggle to believe this, though, for similar but related reasons.

Aeryn can't believe that he is actually John because she is terrified of loving him. She isn't mentally strong enough (yet) to survive his loss again and she knows that John is about to throw them all into terrible danger. She tries to convince herself that he's just a copy because she has to for her own sanity (but ultimately, eventually, she gives in. He is John, she does love him, and she can't won't stop herself from wanting to be with him).

Moya John can't accept that he is the same as Talyn John because it's just too psychologically weird. He was in two bodies having two different lives, and the whole time he knew, he deeply knew that the other guy was with Aeryn. Because he would have upended the universe to make it happen with her, so of course he did. A lot of Moya John's irresponsible and annoying behavior can be explained by the constant maddening awareness that his life was in the middle of being stolen by himself. For his sanity he has to create some sort of mental accommodation to survive being twinned, and turning the other guy into The Other is how he manages it. And then the Other is gone and now he's on this long journey to recombine his two selves.

I think the tie is a promise that they haven't diverged too far. That they're still both him. John doesn't realize it yet, but he is already starting to reintegrate his two selves. We will see him eventually, slowly, recover all the memories and knowledge that Talyn John possessed, he will even join together with him physically (it's not a coincidence that he injured his head in the same place, leaving the same scar, when Einstein unlocks the wormhole knowledge). Only when his integration is complete can he fully move on, marry Aeryn, have their child, and move forward to the next stage of their singular destiny.

That unification is something John can't even imagine in this moment. But the tie, that's hope.

[wanderinghedgehog]

Time to finally relay my thoughts on the Les Mis I saw August 3rd, 2024.

Keep in mind, I went into this as someone who wanted to get my mother and brother to like this story. Also, I’ve seen a million and one recordings, so I know the show pretty well already and am aware of my preferences concerning it.

Act 1

Intro was so good. I like the boat format for the prisoners. It gives the actors something to do and is good and clear tonally.

This Javert did not make a strong first impression. He seemed extremely muted idk.

So I’m not a Nick Cartell fan. I’m sorry. I just don’t like him that much. I might be able to explain why at some point.

The lighting was amazing in these opening scenes.

The bishop had such a nice voice. I always love the bishop.

Valjean went nuts with the “took my fliiiiiiiiight”

Oh I forgot to mention that all of the house lights hadn’t turned off yet. It was a little weird. They eventually got turned off either before or after Valjean’s Soliloquy.

Speaking of the Soliloquy, I’ve heard a recording of this actor singing this song before and it definitely sounds better in person. Better, but still not my favorite. Nick Cartell has a tendency to stray from the melody for acting purposes in a way that I’m not a fan of.

Also, this version had Petit Gervais. It was weird. And distracting. And disjointed. I didn’t like it.

I love a good ensemble number, so at the end of the day was great. Also, the transition from the crowd to the factory was so smooth.

I remember the foreman I think had a line that changed from the original that I was kinda confused about. Overall, I think this was a thing with both at the end of the day and lovely ladies. Like there were a handful of words that were switched and I didn’t understand why.

This Fantine was quite good. Like I’m glad this was the Fantine that I saw with my mom and brother. Solid performance.

This Bamatabois was odd. I think he was too much of a caricature.

Once again, Javert is quite subdued. Intimidating, sure. But not all that interesting otherwise. No swagger.

The staging of Fantine’s Arrest felt just a little busy, but that’s really a nitpick.

When did they cut part of Fauchelevent’s line in Runaway Cart?

So I really listen for how an actors says the line “forgive me sir I would not dare.” This was fine. Nothing special.

I will say that I liked Nick Cartell’s version of Who Am I.

Fantine’s death was so sad. I prefer versions like this where they don’t have her get out of bed. It’s simpler and it gets across her weakened state a little better, I think.

Confrontation was amazing. This Javert was really starting to prove himself here. It’s like the actor just started having fun with it.

This little Cosette was absolutely adorable. I’m not usually a fan of Castle On A Cloud, but this was great.

This production had a good Thenardier couple. Their comedic timing was great. This is not to discredit the amazing job that they did, but I’m not a huge fan of the Thenardiers. My family liked them a lot though, so they were definitely very funny.

So Look Down was a success because my family immediately liked Gavroche. As they should. My brother said that that the Look Down melody was one of his favorites.

Now I think it’s good to mention that this version didn’t have the time skip projections. Like those things that tell you what year it is. None to be seen. It confused my family. I was cool with explaining it though.

My brother found Marius annoying. +1 sibling point. We can make fun of Marius now. (to be clear, the actor was very good)

This Eponine was pretty cool, but my mom pointed something out that I think is worth mentioning. She’s not lit very well. My eyesight is shit, so I’m trusting my mom when she said that it was impossible to see the actor’s face.

This Cosette is so adorable. Like everything about her so sweet. In love with her.

This scene had an interesting set design that I don’t know if I’ve seen before. It looked a little more slanted than usual. It was cool though.

The beginning of Javert’s Intervention got a laugh, so that was good. He really leaned into the drama more than before.

During Javert’s Intervention, I tend to find Thenardier’s part a little overwrought and distracting. Unfortunately, this was one of those cases. My brother liked it though.

Javert kinda went back to being subdued for Stars. Actually no. He brought some energy for “and so it must BE”

Les Amis in this production were fantastic. My mom really liked Red and Black apparently.

This Enjolras had a weird fluttery vibrato that I’m kinda obsessed with.

Kyle Adams’ performance as Grantaire was magical. I don’t know if I can point out specific moments, but it was fantastic.

I am once again in love with Cosette.

Neither my mother nor brother were fans of the romance aspect of the story. I don’t blame them.

That said, the harmony at the end of heart full of love was angelic.

One Day More is always a showstopper. No notes.

Actually, I will mention that Javert hasn’t changed costumes yet. We don’t get to see his disguise til the second act. I kinda like that because, if you don’t recognize him immediately at the barricade, it makes the reveal later kinda fun to watch.

Oops turns out I’ll have to post this in two parts

[dreamsarebutterflies]

Are you watching the live action Link Click? Thoughts?

Hi Anon! Glad you asked. This review will be spoilers free✨

Link Click is a particular show, very different from everthing I've ever seen. I got warped into the rabbit hole in the matter of 5episodes. The fifth episode being about the earthquake.

As for the live action, the narrative choices (/changes) are so weird to me and the pace is not engaging at all. The acting isn't too bad, but I don't see any chemistry between the actors, which is a shame. To be perfectly honest, I think the scenes are too long and only half of the dialog is useful. As a writer, I don't like the show on its own. It is kinda badly written. Sorry. In my opinion, the most annoying part is Qiao Ling (the acting is off, her job barely brings anything to the story and outside of it, she has no purpose - I only watched 8 episodes though).

There are still interesting plotlines! The whole psychological aspect was surprising. The show literally broke me with CXS's PTSD after the earthquake episode. I didn't realize I needed this. It felt like the fanfictions I read everyday 😂🤌✨ I'm curious about the shrink who took an interest in CXS, and I believe he's played by the most charismatic actor in the show. The second good point is that we don't revisit the same photograph as in the doungha, except for the earthquake arc. Sadly, the "cases" aren't as interesting but it is still worth mentioning. We also get more of LG's background! And finally, the way CXS and LG dive is different. The set where they communicate is a good way to show their shared mindspace.

CXS and LG's relationship is slowly evolving into a caring one and I'm here for it. LG is an asshole and CXS is dumb, though. I don't mean it is a bad thing, but it is still disturbing that they are so out of character? The manhua made LG too sweet but it could easily be explained by his desire to make CXS happy. The doungha and the chibisodes gave them more complex personalities as well while the live action struggles to show them as flesh out characters.

That being said-

Dear anon, you must know about my headcanon: EVERY DIFFERENT FORMAT/SUPPORT IS A DIFFERENT TIMELINE. Hear me out: the donghua, the manhua, the live action, the musical are all different timelines. The live action being release right before the yingdu chapter is not innocent at all, and it is the rawest version of the story so far.

Take Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang's relationship for example. After so long, we have an understanding of Lu Guang's motivations. He knows more than he lets on, and the main reason for that is that he already lived through most of the events we, as viewers, are following. In the live action though, he doesn't understand, nor "like" Cheng Xiaoshi. He wants to test him. It could be the first or the second time Lu Guang is going through the storyline.

If this theory is revealed to be correct, the live action itself could serve as ORIGIN STORY, which would be so cool!

[and-stir-the-stars]

Alright, it's come to my attention that there are people desperately in need of media hacks, so here's my list of hacks that yall should absolutely be using.

Use Firefox. It's got a great collection of extensions, and the biggest plus, it ISN'T google.

Firefox extension: Dark Reader. Allows you to switch between light and dark mode, mess with brightness and contrast settings, etc.

Firefox extension: Leechblock NG. Lets you pick times to block websites so you can be more productive.

Firefox extension: Ublock origin. Blocks ads and pop-ups-- and it works on youtube, so long as you watch youtube on your browser instead of through the app. Might seem inconvenient, but it's definitely worth it, especially because...

Firefox extension: Video background Play Fix. Allows you to play youtube videos in the background (so long as you're using the browser, not the app) without paying for youtube red. Ublock + video background fix basically gives you all the benefits of spotify premium for free, imo.

Firefox extension: Unpaywall. Gets around article paywalls by automatically searching for free pdfs of any article you click on.

Firefox extension: Ghostery. Blocks ads and protects your privacy from trackers.

Firefox extension: sponsorblock. Automatically skips sections of youtube videos where the youtuber asks you to like/subscribe, talks about their sponsors, etc etc. You can go into the extension and modify what it does and doesn't automatically skip. Unfortunately, this is the one hack in this list that won't work on mobile; this extension is bugged on mobile (it fucks with your landscape vs portrait video playing mode on youtube), but works perfectly fine on pc and laptops.

Pc App: Keepstreams. Allows you to download youtube videos for free. The app WILL constantly tell you that you have to buy the premium version and/or update the app to use it, but this is A BLATANT LIE. Close out of the "you must select which plan to buy" pop-ups when they appear. If you copy and paste a youtube url, keepstreams will automatically open a little window to download the video (you can choose between mp3, mp4, etc). Downloading keepstreams will make the app start up every time you open your laptop, which can be annoying af, but you can easily stop it from happening by going into your computer settings. Go to settings > app > startup, then find keepstreams and toggle it off.

Website: upmovies. Lets you watch pretty much ANY movie/show for free; but you NEED to use adblockers if you use this site.

Website: sflix. Same as above. Use adblockers.

Discord server: BreaTheBook. Helps you find free pdfs of books to download, from fiction books to college textbooks. Dm me if you want an invite to the server, and I can help you figure out how to use the server (it's not complicated). However, because it gives you pdfs of books, these pdfs can take a long time to open, so plan accordingly and open any textbooks you need before in class in advance so it's ready for you when you need it.

Mobile app: Galarm. Lets you easily set repeatable alarms and reminders. You can use custom alarm sounds!

Website: addic7ed. Lets you download movie subtitles.

Wesbite: cram flashcards. Lets you make digital flashcard sets and organize them into folders. I use this instead of quizlet because cram lets you put pictures on the flashcards for free. You do have to get the premium to tweak the formatting (change font, bold/italicize words, etc) but it's pretty easy to make flashcards without that anyway.

Firefox extension: untrap for youtube. Lets you hide irrelevant youtube features, from comments to related videos and more. There's a bunch of different things you can do with this extension.

Happy not paying for shit <3

[batmannotes]

Super Friends: The Complete Series (DVD & Blu-ray) Box Set

Super Friends: The Complete Collection Box Set comes in two different formats; standard definition DVDs and for the very first time, High-Definition Blu-rays. 

Super Friends 1973 Blu-Ray Screenshot

The Super Friends is an animated television series which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday morning cartoon lineup. Sadly, kids today will never know the excitement of waking up early on a Saturday morning and watching wall-to-wall cartoons. Back then there was no streaming your favorite animated series on your tv or mobile devices whenever you wanted, however you did get your fill of kids programming on the weekends. 

The All-New Super Friends Hour 1977 Blu-Ray Screenshot

The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera, who was behind tons of cartoons back in the day like the Flintstones and Jetsons. The Super Friends were obviously members of the Justice League from DC Comics that were rebranded in name. Throughout the show’s 12 year run it had slight name variations like The All-New Super Friends Hour, The Challenge of the Super Friends (which was my personal favorite year), and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, among others. Here is a list of the different name changes through the years. 

Super Friends (1973–1974) 

The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977) 

Challenge of the Super Friends (1978) 

The World's Greatest Super Friends (1979) 

Super Friends (1980–1983) 

Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984) 

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985) 

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985) 

The great news here is that you will find all 9 seasons of the 12-year run in this box set including The Lost Episodes. This release has an amazing runtime of 3142 minutes. The Blu-ray version contains 16 discs and the dvd version has 21. Upon doing a side by side comparison of my old DVDs of the show and the newly released version of DVDs, I really can’t notice any difference, however since the old DVDs are out of print and hard to find nowadays this is a great way of collecting all the episodes in one place if you simply want to collect the show on DVD. 

Comparing the original DVD (left) with the 2024 release (right)

However, my excitement for this release is definitely for the Blu-ray version. This is the first time that fans can add the high-definition version to their home library. Looking at a side-by-side comparison of the original standard defintion DVD version next to the newly released Blu-ray version you immediately notice the beautiful upgrade in color. The animation gets a boast in chroma, unfortunately, that seems to be where the upgrade ends. Little attention was given to cleaning up the film cels that make up the picture here, as spots and other insincerities are still obvious. After so many complaints about how Warner Bros. remastered Max Fleischer's Superman cartoons, the studio is a bit more careful now on how they clean up these older animated titles. Here they were a little too careful … maybe even just lazy.

Comparing the original DVD (left) with the 2024 Blu-Ray (right)

You will also notice this is a very bare-bones release. There is no accompanying booklet or physical extras and NO DIGITAL COPY. On the discs themselves you will find the same extra featurettes that were on the original DVDs such as One-Dimensional Goodness: The Super Friends and the Good Old Days, The Super Powers Collection: The Effect of the Toy Industry on the Super Friends, among a host of others. These featurettes do not receive any upgrades in picture or sound. One of the most annoying things to me is the actual box the discs are in. The discs do not pull out easily from their holder and they certainly don’t pop back into to place without some serious frustration. The bracket on my box set also broke away from the box itself within the first couple times of opening it up. The discs themselves are also extremely basic. No artwork of the characters like most of the original DVDs had on them. That said, the titles are easy to read and presented in an assorted color for each season. 

Shot of open Blu-Ray Box Set/Discs

But let’s face it, the real reason fans are grabbing this release with such delight is for the show itself. For many of us this was an introduction to the superheroes such as Batman & Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Green Lantern. Long before I picked up my first comic book, I watched the Super Friends each and every Saturday morning, rain or shine. Not only was this how I discovered comic books, but it was also my entry way into superhero toys and collectibles. Last year I was really pushing to get this box set released for the Super Friends 50th anniversary, but I will say it puts a huge smile on my face to own every episode now in HD in this mega box set. The lack of extra aside, this is a must-have for Justice League fans. Check out the link here where you can grab a copy for yourself. 

Check out links below for purchase options

The greatest of the DC superheroes work together to uphold the good with the help of some young proteges. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, Super Friends is an animated TV series, featuring the Justice League of America, that ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part the Saturday morning cartoon lineup.

Blu-Ray Box Set available: https://amzn.to/4d8hfaR

DVD Box Set: https://amzn.to/3Bbi99l

Watch the video review below:

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Someone recently claimed that the new Davies era of doctor who has no more wokism* than the show used to.

Now, maybe I've just changed in the past few decades, but from what I've heard of the 60th anniversary specials it does seem a tad more concentrated. Cherry-picking SPOILERS, sweeties.

- Donna got married offscreen. To what I can only assume is the last black cab driver in London.

- Her kid is trans. Specifically, non-binary, female presenting, says the wiki.** - In the next episode, we learn the Doctor is gay/bi when he thinks Sir Isaac Newton is hot. I'd smugly say this bit has no real relevance, but...the actual scene does carry the episode theme of accidentally changing reality. It's just the queer bit that seems tacked on. Though it does carry forward themes from 10s era. - Sir Zack himself is played by a half-Indian actor. It's not exactly hard to tell. I'm assuming they're running on Bridgerton logic. https://twitter.com/frozenaesthetic/status/1731332492282429950 - This episode is basically just Donna and the Doc exploring a weird location, and running into monsters, who happen to look like them. It would be a bottle episode, except for the large vfx budget. And yet ol' Rusty somehow managed to awkwardly wedge in an  progressive issue. - In the next episode, the villain explains how he's just exploiting the divisions that already exist in human society, including cancel culture. - no wait he's got a point. Jpg - This is ironic, given that Davies and/or his broadcasting house masters are pretty blatantly on the team that a) coined the word,  b) cancels people the most often, and c) defends the idea of Internet lynch mobs*** (***as long as they're left wing. If not, they're *ist "trolls", even if they're just complaining about the latest sacred cow.) Maybe the Davies was criticizing his own team. * Because the Toymaker was kind of racist back in the day (white dude dressed like a stereotypical Chinese dude), Davies made the new version a bit racist "as a callback to his original, problematic depiction back in 1966." - TVtropes, ref. DW Unleashed. On the other hand, the Toymaker also mocks and dresses as several other cultural archetypes. All the ones I've seen were white European ones. He just does this to everyone, apparently. - Toymaker also weaponizes the Spice Girls hit "Spice Up Your Life". No, I will not explain. Though I will note that a line about the "Yellow man in Timbuktu" was apparently drowned out in the episode. Probably for being a tad spicy. - One new UNIT character is a lady in a wheelchair. When the new Tardis - no, I will not explain - has a wheelchair ramp, she happily points it out. Which makes me wonder why the blue box would be so limited, considering it often deals with alien species. - Also, the same actress played a disabled Companion in the Big Finish audio dramas. I'm not sure why it was considered essential to do so in an entirely audio format, but there have been controversies over this sort of thing before (EG Artie on Glee, various racial voice acting controversies). - At this point, casting Ncuti Gatwa as 15 doesn't even register. Not really a blip on my radar. Black Doc? Whatevs. His sonic screwdriver has Rwandan words on it? So? I go to church with lots of Africans. Heck, I'm a black immigrant to ol' Blighty myself, just from the other side of the pond. Ncuti is, chronologically speaking, more British than I am. - Though given that he's Rwandan-Scottish, there may be some debate on the "British" part. - Wikipedia says the actor is pretty left-wing, but the actor seems good so far, so I'm willing to give him a sha-

Oh, come ON!

Maybe the original person speaking was comparing it to the Chibnall “history has always been a whitewash” era, which had a character who was a paper thin Trump satire. A tad ironic, when the whole point of bringing Davies, Tennant, and Tate back is to play on nostalgia.

*Tangent: that word was apparently voted  the most annoying words in English. Which is kind of hilarious if you know that it was originally created to self-describe certain progressives. And the "you can't even define that word!" meme was almost certainly ripped off from the right wing "what is a woman?" Meme. ** This is apparently because she's part Time Lord, through Donna. It seems a tad interesting to me that a few works featuring non binary characters happen to make them enby due to some sort of supernatural (Omniscient Reader) or sci-fi (SW Squadrons) influence which the vast majority of IRL enbies don't have. ...As far as I know.

[microcomets]

can i ask for your thoughts on the netflix atla adaption? 👉👈 value ur opinion on media

aw, thank you!!! i admit i'm only halfway through watching s1, so my opinions may change as i reach the end of the season, but i can outline some of my thoughts so far!

pros:

overall, with a few exceptions, i think the casting so far is really solid. the asian and indigenous representation within the show is something they clearly took very seriously, and it shows! especially for a netflix show, that's something really groundbreaking and important and refreshing to see; and obviously a huge improvement on past whitewashed adaptations. overall, i think most of the effects are good, despite some weird cinematography choices — there are a handful of moments where the CGI looks particularly egregious, but overall, the bending and choreo look COOL. the opening scene of the pilot had me by the throat, even as it made very clear what a different kind of adaptation this would be. overall, i tend not to be too fussy about an adaptation altering things from originals to make more sense in different formats (with caveats, as i'll mention in the cons lol), so i wasn't mad about the way they've fused some of the storylines to make it flow better in a 60-minute format. (although i do question bringing in s2 stories so early, such as the secret tunnel.) there have been some moments where they've either built out character relationships (like zuko and iroh) or brought in supplementary canon from korra and the comics, which i have also enjoyed as a huge fan of the original. there are a few additions that i've really loved and had fun with — zuko's dream journal, for one, lmao, and his and aang's street fight in omashu.

cons:

honestly, my biggest gripe so far has been the alterations to characterization and character motivation. the cast and crew were sort of smugly talking about removing misogyny from the original and "updating" it, which is ironic because i think the live action is actually more sexist in many ways.

my BIGGEST disappointment has been katara, with no shade to the actor. this is one of the characters who means the most to me from the original, and the character that has hands-down been the least recognizable in natla. her fire, her temper, her unruliness, and her bossiness — all to say, her human traits — have been completely sanitized, presumably to avoid drawing any kind of criticism that she's "annoying." her anger is quite literally what kickstarts the entire show: katara losing her temper with sokka cracks open the iceberg that releases aang. katara's anger is, in a lot of ways, an outlet not only for her sense of injustice in the world, but also an outlet for coping with 1) immense colonial trauma and 2) the burden of being parentified. this, in my view, is IMPORTANT for young girls and particularly young girls of color to see — that anger doesn't have to be something you shy away from, but that you can embrace as a weapon of resistance. this anger is missing entirely, except in small snatches, from natla katara. the moments that make katara a flawed, interesting character — such as her stealing the waterbending scroll and getting jealous of aang's natural prowess — have been scrubbed completely. it is nearly impossible, at this point, to imagine this version of katara bloodbending or taking vengeance for her mother in s3. i think the re-characterization is a big misstep, due more to poor writing than anything. even the agency of katara's bending is "unlocked" and coached by male characters like aang (ep 1) and jet (ep 3), when katara is supposed to be the one teaching aang!

the inversion of sokka and katara's relationship — that is to say, parentifying sokka and making katara more of a "little sister" figure — is also a huge misstep IMO, because it misses a lot of the characterization fundamental to katara's arcs in the original, and even her later conflicts with other characters like toph. in s3 in the original, sokka says when he pictures his mother, he can only picture katara's face — this is, again, a central aspect to their dynamic and to katara's character! my guess is that they removed katara's overmothering qualities to avoid accusations of being anti-feminist, but ironically, by not acknowledging that in-text the way the original does, it bakes misogyny unspokenly into the atla world rather than explicitly acknowledging and challenging it. to clarify again, i have NOT seen the end of the season yet — i am curious what they do with katara's confrontation with paku, which is one of the biggest grapplings with misogyny in the original text. but for me, removing katara's motherly qualities/parentification, and above all her unsavory traits, are not accomplishing anti-sexist work the way the writers think they're doing, but rather sanitizing the original's social commentary on gender altogether.

one of my biggest squicks thus far has been suki and sokka's relationship; i saw suki's characterization described by someone here as a farmer girl p*rn trope where a naive village waif looks to a man to show her the outside world, or w/e, and i hate that this is what they did to suki's character. they keep her warrior qualities, yes, but this is undercut for me by the cringe comphet romance tropes of making her a wide-eyed blushing virgin around sokka. the insta-romance in the original makes more sense to me, obviously because of the format, but because in the span of 20 minutes, suki has taught sokka what it is to respect and reevaluate his relationship with women and femininity. the writers bragged about removing this from the natla representation, so what we have now is that suki doesn't really teach sokka anything substantial about himself, other than some moves. rather, it's sokka teaching suki about what it is to be "worldly" and how to unlock carnal desires. tbh, i hate that! lol! but that's just my onion.

zuko has been one of the strongest and most well-acted characterizations by far, but i do have a gripe with how they shifted his primary motivation from regaining his honor to reclaiming the throne. zuko at his essence has never been a power-hungry character. his entire drive, as we are told exhaustively through both the show and memes of the original, is regaining his honor — which is also an important cultural trope for many japanese warrior characters (though others not me can speak far more in-depth to this). his search for lost honor is incredibly important, if not central, to his entire character arc, which is zuko discovering that his honor does not come by acknowledgement from his abusive family or even imperial power, but through his own integrity and ethical code. so to have him make several lines about rightfully regaining what's his, the throne, and to make that the primary point of contention between him and azula.....is a misunderstanding, again, of the crucial aspects of zuko's character.

my other nitpicks with the characters are smaller — i miss sokka's slapstick, which has been substituted with very dry humor (and i understand this makes more sense for live action). i am still on the fence about how i feel about making ozai and azula such central characters in s1; i understand why they felt this was necessary for live action, but having those two be shadow figures in the original s1 was a really cool narrative effect for not only establishing zuko initially as a villain within his own right, but for building narrative suspense as to the fire nation's motivations.

ultimately, there's just some secret x ingredient that's missing from the live action that the original nailed effortlessly — maybe it's the sense of fun and wonder? i haven't really had fun watching this adaptation; i'm more just spectating, like watching some pretty fireworks before i move on with my day. my opinion may change slightly, as i hear the show is stronger in the second half; i wouldn't even say it's a BAD adaptation, but overall i feel like it's just kinda....meh, and i still question why it needs to exist in the first place when there are some things that animation as a medium just does far better.

also i just want to point out that i find it extremely frustrating that this show leans very hard into showing the atrocities and Moral Evil of genocide in literally the first 20 minutes of episode 1 and that while netflix wants the virtue-signaling brownie points for that, they'll still continue to give giant paychecks and platforms to brazen zionists. because after this dies down, the stranger things promo cycle is going to start up.

[softness-and-shattering]

About the Mean Girls musical movie

I know Ive had conversations before about the cultural context stuff, that it seems like the message was not as effective as the first movie when the stuff its talking about, how girls are wrong whatever they do and everything is up for criticism and filming, and you have to pretend to be sweet and kind fairy princesses instead of being allowed to be human. And Id have to go back and find those posts to see what I do and dont agree with now. Because I just saw the movie. And honestly, I liked it. A lot of the visuals were really fun and interesting, which I think is impressive in a movie that mostly takes place inside of a high school. Regina more than once looks like she's in a music video, and that works because shes so hyped, its like she lives in a reality where not only do people break into song, but she's always in a music video. She really sells the character, self-assured and in charge and perfectly manipulative, and even when she's being vulnerable you're like, but is this another deception? She's more villainous in this version, and by the end maybe more human as well. (also the costuming is phenomenal, that Halloween angel dress?? The entire Halloween Someone Get Hurts sequence might be my favourite. )

Also Renee Rapp, who plays Regina, is just incredibly hot. She also played Regina on Broadway so it makes sense she has the character down. Thats not film critique thats my personal admiration. Its almost a little silly with the "oh no Regina is gaining weight she cant fit her clothes" because she looks amazing. [Edit: She's also obviously - I was gonna say she seems older than the other "teens" but actually she's 24, so Im having a moment of feeling old. And she's actually the same age as Auli'i Cravalho who is a lot younger in my mind because holy shit Moana came out EIGHT years ago?? Angourie Rice/Cady is 23, Jaquel Spivy/Damian is 26, Avantika/Karen is 19, thats more the age I thought they were but not the cast seems to be mostly 23-26. Its so weird when times moves the same for people while your image of them in your head stays the same. So Rapp isn't older she's just a bit bigger (neutral/positive). And she's been playing the role for a long time. And Im allowed to find her hot because she's a goddamn adult and so am I. This paragraph is not critique it is me blogging on my blog. Now Im annoyed at myself for Caveats of Fear but Im gonna stop dwelling on that now.]

On that note, though I originally liked the musical quite a lot, the significant fatphobia in it soured it for me. And Im happy to say in the musical movie, they changed or omitted those lines. I was waiting to cringe and they just sang something else. So that was great. I think the only fat character was Damian (why does that suddenly look like a vampire name?) - Jaquel Spivy - and he seemed comfy and cool, no self deprecating fat jokes or anything. Generally the lines/jokes that were uncomfortable or a bit bigoted have been changed. Though there isnt any disability rep, and theres a random character the burn book claims puts alcohol in her inhaler, like a 3 second joke.

And the big thing is that a lot of the meanness is shown in montages of vertical video and comments - no-brand tiktok obviously - and I think thats pretty realistic, and also in the original theme of not being mean to peoples faces but talking all kinds of shit behind their backs. And I think the montage format is effective in mimicking that endless scroll eyes glazing over stuck in the doom scroll/stuck in the spectacle. The music was good. I really liked how they overlaid the Spring Fling/thematic music with the math competition. If anything, Cady is not as good of a character, her Plastic switch is basically overnight, the scene with Aaron at the party is still kinda of awkward, she doesnt get as much room to breathe, while almost everyone else comes off really well. Heck even the candy cane/glen coco guy did well, I was actually suprised at how differently and yet excellently the actors acted their lines, compared both to the previous movie and the musical. Auli'i is fantastic, scary Janis is *scary*. And I simultaneously want to be her best friend. (It certainly helps that her art is augmented with embroidery and she's carrying embroidery hoops in multiple scenes. Fiber arts my loves.)

When I first saw a trailer my thoughts were "ugh we dont need another movie of this," but I think Ive changed my mind. Its similar enough and different enough that for me its a good adaptation. Also - I almost forgot to say - Janis gets a girlfriend for Spring Fling. Its not a plot point, we're just montaging getting ready and Janis goes to pick her up (in the lavender suit), and Damian is taking photos with two other sapphic couples. And he gets a crush/admirer who again, is just there to be there and doesnt interfere with the main story. I might change my mind again once its had time to settle in my thoughts, but initial impression is that its a fun movie I would watch again. Maybe we want the social commentary to be more incisive than it is, and in the end it is entertainment that needs to not be too boring to hold peoples shortening attention spans. (also neutral). Maybe thats wishing for it to be a movie that its not trying to be, and thats always a recipe for disappointment and also not great or fair analysis. What a fantastic line to end on*.

[keroradio]

There's one more spoken track from the Pekopon Shinryaku set, a thank you message from the show's cast, it's close but I just made it for August (After this I'm hoping to do the Giri Giri dramas on a similar schedule to the Pekopon Shinryaku ones)

To make scripting easier, I've used the same marks for the actors as I did for their characters whenever I could identify them, for example the "K66:" used to mark Keroro's lines in the scripts for the dramas is also used for his actress, Kumiko Watanabe

The next set of CD dramas has a message from the actors who took part in each story as a separate track after it, but the format is also a bit different; giri giri feels more like they're specifically CD dramas, while these were meant to feel like audio only mini episodes (albeit ones where the characters describe things a bit more than usual), complete with short versions of the theme songs and previews of the next episode. So this track feels like the project wrap party, and a peek behind the curtain, listening to things like this or seeing retrospectives on the actors' blogs, it feels like this series was a lot of fun for everyone who worked on it (^.^)

In a way though, it's a little bitter sweet hearing this now; since this was made as the first season was airing, Fuyuki is voiced by his original actress, Tomoko Kawakami, who had to step down part way through season 5 due to illness and died shortly after the original anime ended

Keiji Fujiwara, who voiced the Narrator, Paul, and a few side characters (including the Nyororos, so there's at least one character of his who got merchandise) also died in 2020. Though I'm excited for the new series it will be strange hearing somebody new fill those roles

You may not know this, but the Narrator's outfit isn't based on a ninja outfit, rather both are based on the outfits of Kabuki stagehands (typically, ninjas just dressed like everyone else to blend in, and the idea of them dressing like this came from a play where a ninja character was disguised as a stagehand); because Kabuki often uses a black backdrop, people working puppets, moving sets, doing effects, and helping with quick changes wore all black so they'd blend in

Looking up how many roles he played, it feels fitting that Mr Fujiwara's main role was a character dressed like this, considering how many roles he played without us realising....

Either way, let's begin:

K66: Greetings, I'm Sergeant Keroro's actor, Kumiko Watanabe

(applause)

K66: Thank you.

Uh, at the time we were recording this drama CD, or rather this year had quite a lot of typhoons, uh there were really a lot of typhoons appearing.

There were really a lot, and a range of people had a range of problems outside this show. Anyways, that was Kumiko Watanabe, who plays the frog who calls typhoons, Sergeant Keroro! (applause)

TMM: I'm Private 2nd Class Tamama's actor, Etsuko Kozakura

(applause)

TMM: Uh, there had been a lot of typhoons, so I bought boots, I'm even wearing the boots now. E-he, it's a little unusual, see you

(applause)

G66: Uh, good evening, Merry Christmas, I'm Jouji Nakata's actor, Giroro

(applause)

G66: Greetings! One moment, to everyone lonesomely listening to this CD tonight- on this wonderful night, I also won't be able to talk to or meet with that Natsumi. Well everyone, please do your best too! Thank you very much

(applause)

966: Ku ku ku. Yes, I'm Sergeant Major Kururu's actor, Takehito Koyasu

(applause)

966: I understand, I understand, during this time I finally reached 33 consecutive shots at pachinko slots. Yes, in one go 100,000 yen (about $1000) I was so happy, I really was.

(applause)

966: Thank you. On the other hand, before this I was walking and heard some kids talking about Kururu, or rather about Keroro Gunsou, and they said Kururu was gross.

(laughter)

966: They said he was annoying and gross!

D66: I was Lance Corporal Dororo's actor Takeshi Kusao

(applause)

D66: Hey, please remember me.

Uh, next year is the first year of the Keroro era, so I hope the show continues another year, it builds up more and more, doesn't it? It would be nice if Dororo-kun's appearnces increased. Right Koyuki?

KYK: Oh that's right!

D66: Or so I think, thank you

(applause)

FYK: Alright, I'm Fuyuki Hinata's actor Tomoko Kawakami

(applause)

FYK: This time too, the CD dramas were really powerful and a lot of fun to work on.

Uh, I never did the butt-fire-cracker prank, however I did do the butt-straw one when I was in kindergarten. I'm sorry, frog-san. Ah, but when you farted, you'd be able to swim properly again. Everyone, don't try it yourself, thank you very much

(applause)

723: I'm Natsumi Hinata's actor Chiwa Saito

(applause)

723: Um, if I had say which one, uh, I like Giroro

G66: (chuckling)

(applause)

723: (Joins everyone in laughing) I don't- I'm not interested in Saburo-senpai

Everyone: What?

723: Well Saburo-senpai keeps ignoring her

G66: What about Koyuki?

723: Koyuki? Ah, ah, ah! Koyuki

FYK?: This time make your statement!

723: It's great. I'm happy she's so well liked, now who

(laughter)

I'm looking forward to seeing who she'll choose

(applause)

326: Hey there, it's Saburo! I'm also called Mutsumi!

(applause)

326: That's right. Why is it that this is the 5th Pekopon Invasion CD volume, it took until the 5th for me to have a turn, WHAT IS UP WITH THAT!? That there are all these fun sounding stories I don't get to appear in, WHAT IS UP WITH THAT!?

WHAAAT!? Kururu, invite me....It's kind of, it's kind of depressing

???: Kururu lives with you, right?

326: Damn it. Damn it! I'm stuck doing radio alone!

(applause) ???: That's not your voice, Ishida-san

MMK: Good evening, I'm Momoka Nishizawa's actor and, Inner Momoka's Haruna Ikezono

(applause)

MMK: Momoka-chan has tried buying an island, then she tried establishing a shopping district, and tried using money in a variety of different places and ways, when I see that, for some reason I felt that love can't be achieved with money. For next year, I want her to be romantic with Fuyuki-kun

(applause)

Moa: I'm Angol Mois' Actor Mamiko Noto

(applause)

Moa: Ah, near my house there was a Keroro gachapon machine, but when I thought I'd go they had already ended the gachapon

TMM: Why!?

Moa: They already changed it!

G66?: Oh, that one's all over the place

Moa: Really?

G66?: Why?

Moa: Please bring it back!

(Laughter)

Moa: Please let me get them all at once! Uh, I don't really have anything to add from here

(applause)

KYK: I'm Koyuki Azumaya's actor Ryo Hirohashi

(applause)

KYK: Like Koyuki, recently when I'm somewhere crowded and a girl with a soft body shows up I find myself leaning forward. It's almost as if I'm bowing. Uh

723: Really?

KYK: Yes, something like that, I think a girl with a soft body like Natsumi's is nice. This was the Hirohashi that likes soft bodied girls

(applause)

N: I do- I do the narration, I'm Keiji Fujiwara

(applause)

Um, there aren't any character goods for me, are there? When we're relaxing in the studio, everyone has phone straps, or plush toys, or other cute stuff with their character and I don't, I always feel a little bitter about it

(laughs)

N: I think "Why isn't there anything of the Narrator, even though he's in every episode?", but they probably won't make anything

??? It's kind of sad

N: I think so too, well, it can't be helped, can it?

???: There's Paul

??? That's right, Paul

N: Paul would be good, as a cellphone strap, please make it

(laughter)

Yes, Paul would be good, please make a cell phone strap. I leave it in your hands

(laughing and applause)

K66: With this, the invasion CDs end, but the anime will still continue, so everyone, please continue to support us, yes sir!

(applause)

That's right! We hope everyone will keep supporting us!

---------------------------------------------------

[simlicious]

Hi, I’m loving the advent so far! How do you get your patterns to look so natural? Whenever I make patterns I either get these crusty lines at the edges of some channels where one channel bleeds into the other. Or, I get these super sharp unnatural edges on them that never look any good. Teach me your magic please lol.

Thank you so much for the compliment :) I made a fancy tutorial, because more people might be interested in this topic!

There are a few things you can do to solve color bleed and crusty lines while making the Sims 3 patterns. These tips are for Photoshop and the TSR Workshop pattern tool, though they also work for Delphy's pattern tool. The EA CAP tool compresses its image files automatically, so you have no control over it afaik. Save your textures uncompressed! Most of your problem should be solved by saving your images in an uncompressed DDS file format (depending on what DDS plugin you use, it "8.8.8.8 argb 32bpp unsigned" or, in newer versions, "8.8.8.8 bgra 32bpp unsigned". This is an image of the newer dds plugin export dialog with the settings I use:

This reduces blockiness and color bleed significantly! Note: For maximum visual clarity and the sake of our eyes, starting from now, I will show just the contents of the individual color channels of the image, specifically green and blue. If you click on a single color channel in Photoshop, it will be represented in greyscale. My screenshots therefore also represent a single color channel and do not show how the colors interact with each other. I thought it would be distracting and hard to see if I presented everything in color and this tutorial is not about how to build a pattern, but how to get crisp outlines and the best possible quality.

What is the issue with compressed textures? EA's pattern textures are DDS files that use DXT compression (DXT1 for non-alpha/5 for alpha images, BC1/3 in the newer plugin). If you save your image as a compressed DDS file and reopen it, you will notice that certain areas are blocky/blotchy. That is because lightness and color information is not retained for every pixel, but areas get grouped together in a more or less chessboard-like fashion. In this first example, I increased the contrast to make these compression artifacts more visible so you can see what's going on: Notice the grey blocky areas?

These cause color bleed in the final pattern and the textures look blurry or washed out. EA's textures have this issue too, because they use compression. In some patterns, the effect is less noticeable than in others, but compressed files will always have a reduced image quality compared to the original image. Deciding to go with uncompressed textures was essential for me to achieve the quality I offer. I reasoned that the patterns are only 256px in size and the performance impact should not be very noticeable. I once made a survey in which I asked whether my patterns cause performance issues, and most said they did not, so I stuck with it.

You could test it out for yourself and decide! If you want to continue to use compression, make sure to change the quality of the compression algorithm to get the best possible result. In the screenshot I posted at the beginning of the tutorial, you can see that I set it to "highest" instead of the usual default "fastest", though this is not really needed if you save uncompressed files. The old DDS plugin used on older Photoshop versions also has that setting, it is just a bit more obscure. I do not have that anymore so I cannot say where exactly. Is it a bug? Lines all around the edges of some channels could also be a Photoshop bug*. This was a regular occurring bug in older versions (before CC 2020 or so.) The issue was that when you scaled down or sometimes even just saved an image that was not just the background layer but had stuff on other layers, there would be a faint line around the whole image. Suuuper annoying! *clarification: It's not an official bug, but a lot of people get annoyed by it. I still had this happen to me with the current 2023 Photoshop version when using bicubic (sharper) on an image with layers, but I do feel there are less problems with saving layered images now. Idk, this might be "feature quirk" after all... Anyway, to avoid the faint lines around your image, follow these tips: Using the bilinear mode when reducing an image's size helps, as does flattening the image before image reduction or file export. I like to create a copy of the entire document using the shortcuts ctrl+shift+alt+e to make sure it appears flattened without actually flattening everything. You could also paste the flattened copy into a new document, merge it down and export the dds file from there. Just try what works best for you. Retaining maximum quality on resizing Most images need to be resized to the pattern size, or you might have made a larger pattern and want that in smaller sizes. You may never have paid much attention to the settings in that image size dialogue, but it holds some key elements to make sure your pattern comes out in the best way possible! Per default, the resizing mode that is used by Photoshop to make an image smaller is "bicubic (sharper)". This mode has a sharpening algorithm that causes halos if the pixels are not white or black, which can create unwanted effects such as white outlines around grey pixels, or grey ones around black areas. Note: even if you have the "bicubic (automatic)" setting, it will still use the "bicubic (sharper)" if you reduce the image size! Let me show you an example: Below, you can see a comparison of bicubic (sharper) reduction vs bilinear reduction. The channel with the black and white checkers has some greyish edges after using bicubic (sharper), which can cause the texture to become unwantedly transparent in these areas, making the colors become muddled in these areas. Using bilinear or nearest neighbor modes (the latter is great for very geometric, crisp shapes), the result is very clean.

This is why do not recommend to use the bicubic algorithm on your textures. Go for bilinear and nearest neighbor modes, these are perfect for patterns. I do any sharpening of the channels in a more controlled way later.

The best way to sharpen your texture To make the textures look as crisp as possible, you immediately think about the "unsharp mask" feature, right? This might not be your best option though!

If you have a white shape on a black background with a rim of dark grey pixels around it and you want to make it crisp and want that dark grey outline to disappear, unsharp mask will actually do a pretty good job, because it mainly targets those grey pixels and there is nothing to lighten or darken on pure white or pure black. But if you have a lot of grey tones, the algorithm "attacks" a lot in your image, depending on how you set your radius in the options dialogue. Most of the time, the radius is set to a small number, for sharpening details, but it creates a problem for us in the form of halos/bright or dark rims around shapes.

I like to increase the contrast of the individual channels to make the image appear sharper without those halo effects that the "unsharp mask " feature often creates. I love to use the "levels" tool for adjusting the contrast, I use it all the time! I have grey pixels as a starting point and then applied an aggressive "unsharp mask" (strength 100, radius: 1px) to it so you can see the effect. The results are bright halos around the shapes. This will make the edges of the shapes more opaque on the final pattern and can look strange! On very delicate lines, this might be what you want, but for larger areas, this is less desirable.

Sharpening without actually sharpening

Instead of using "unsharp mask", I like to increase the contrast of the individual channels to make the image appear sharper entirely without those halo effects that the "unsharp mask " feature often creates. I love to use the "levels" tool for adjusting the contrast, I use it all the time!

On this layer, I have some intricate shapes, which should appear fully opaque. The are already bright white, but the edges are a bit too soft right now to get a truly crisp result, so I use the "levels" tool to increase the contrast and make the edges crisper. You can also use the curves tool for this, but I find the levels tool a bit more intuitive for this process! The curves tool gives you even more control over pixel values and lets you adjust them individually, which can be great, but for the purpose of creating controlled contrast, the levels tool will suffice.

By moving the marked sliders towards the middle, the contrast is increased. This also works nicely on grey pixels without creating the halo problem.

Another use for the levels tool in this context is to control the thickness of your shapes by moving the middle slider too, like this:

Final words "Levels" is your friend when adjusting contrast and making things sharper. In some cases, "unsharp mask" or other sharpened options can create a desired effect, such as on more realistic textures such as carpet/fabric textures, wood and stone, where you might want these halos to increase the depth of details. There is always a right time to use any tool, so if levels alone do not give the effect you desire, by all means, give "unsharp mask" a go! Experiment, and find the best way for you. The biggest gain in quality will come from saving in an uncompressed format though. Thanks for reading through the tutorial, I hope it was helpful!

[keeperofquestions]

Blog Rules (Mobile-Friendly Version)

Hello, my name is Skye (she/her, age 30+) and I’m the mun here. I’ve been RPing for nearly 20 years across fandoms and formats. If you want clarification on any of these rules, please feel free to send me an ask or IM. Rules are subject to change and will always be announced.

Last Revision: 07/10/2024

The Obvious. Respect one another and our characters. I expect we will write with each other and not for each other, not presume anything about each other’s characters, and generally be here for the love of storytelling.

This blog is non-exclusive. I do not require my writing partners to be mutuals with me for interaction, however I do reserve the right to choose who to write/RP with. I often do not follow personal blogs. By that extension, I don’t have exclusives or “mains” when it comes to interacting with canon characters. If you follow back from a blog that isn’t your RP one, please let me know who you are. Mutuals-only blogs: If I follow you (and you’re active) and after a week or so I don’t hear back, I am operating on the presumption that you’re not interested in interacting and I will unfollow. Unless specified or requested, I won’t be blocking anyone, though. If you just don’t get around to it and you follow me later on even after this, I’ll very likely check you out again. There is a non-zero chance I will forget something and refollow someone who I unfollowed through this process at some point. If this happens and you find it annoying, please feel free to block me.

Communication is a must. I’m almost certainly going to be jumping into your IMs on first contact unless you have rules about not using it. Either way, I highly request that we chat a little out of character before the first thread is written so we can hash out dynamics ideas and headcanons to avoid conflicts or confusion. I may not always answer new asks/starters right away if we haven’t done this yet. My IMs are always open. Always. If there’s a question or concern you have about anything, feel free to bring it up- within reason. Criticism is fine, harassment is not. I reserve my discord contact for consistent writing partners if we’ve been writing for a bit feel free to ask.

Mutuals are always permitted the following, including but not limited to: Send whatever nonsense you want through asks and submissions. Steal my memes. Reference my muse and our threads outside of them. Tag me in whatever memes or posts you wish. Send in random starters.

This blog is multiverse. There is no singular canon to this blog. Interactions with one character will not change interactions with another character unless all parties involved want a shared story. Multiple versions and do-overs are always perfectly fine. I do RP with duplicates of canon characters, but for the sake of keeping my verses and plotlines straight, if we’re planning a thread and I already RP with another version of a canon character, your version must have a different dynamic with my character than the first one does. I will inform on this ahead of time when plotting.

No crossovers with other franchises/original settings and lore. I just find them messy to deal with. Phel is meant to exist inside the world and setting of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss entirely. I do accept random asks and commentary from just about anyone, though. If you have a Hellaverse version of another character, I will make an exception to this rule.

I prefer to plot things out. This goes for both story ideas and character dynamics. By default I presume Duedephelon isn’t connected to anyone nor do I expect him or his artifact to be recognized. However, I’m always open to both of these things and any ideas my writing partners may have about what any unanswered parts of Phel’s story may be.

You do not have to match my post length. I tend to be wordy in my replies, but this does not mean you have to do the same. If your style is an icon and a few lines, that’s perfectly fine. I enjoy quick one-liner interactions as well as the larger posts. Not everything has to be a grand story after all.

I have a post queue. Currently this means that plotted threads will be in a daily post delay with one post coming out a day. I may change this if the queue is backed up by over two weeks. However, roughly a week or so is the time expected for replies. However, don’t expect a hard timeline or ETA. You are always free to ask me where a post is in terms of drafted vs queued if it’s been a while. I will usually write the post, then talk to you about what’s in the queue in case we want to plan out any other details ahead of time. I do not limit how many threads I can have with any one person.

I don’t do NSFW RP. I mostly mean this in terms of smut RP. The source material can be fairly raunchy, yes, but I don’t prefer to write it. I also don’t write/reference anything extreme in terms of gore or taboo sexual content (I won’t list specifics here but if it would get someone arrested in the real world, it’s safe to assume it won’t be here.)

I don’t do fights or shipping scenes at the start. I don’t mind writing either of these but it shouldn’t be the first interaction our characters have. This is entirely a matter of my personal preference. I may occasionally make exceptions if it’s very well planned out.

I’m flexible with canon. Everyone has headcanons and parts of a series lore they don’t know or like. I don’t expect perfect lore knowledge or strict adherence to Hellaverse official lore out of my RP partners. However, unless someone’s headcanons or blog details specifies otherwise, I’m going to be operating on all available defaults for the shows as presented. If I assume something incorrect about your character, please feel free to correct me! I will always go through canon character profiles with the same bespoke care I would give to OCs. Everyone’s portrayal of a character is different, or even wholly canon-divergent, and I have no trouble RPing with canon duplicates as a result. 

Please discuss any triggers or boundaries with me ahead of time. I don’t have any particulars that need to be brought up immediately, but I do assume that anything that goes on in the shows that inspired this character is an expected default in terms of subject matter and tone addressed. If there’s any subject matter you don’t want brought up, just say so. I want this to be a fun and safe time for everyone. Followers are always free to ask something be tagged for any reason. I tag my triggers as “tw ”

I have a day job schedule. I likely will not be able to be contacted, let alone post on most weekdays before the evening. Furthermore I have other obligations so there may be days I will be inactive. I ask you please be patient with me if I’m not there for a while. My time zone is EST (GMT -5).

I always plan fight scenes out ahead of time with RP partners. Phel is capable but not an expert fighter and isn’t intended to get into a lot of heavy action scenes, but in the chance they do I always want to plan out the outcome ahead of time in a way that will tell an interesting story rather than simply to showcase one character’s power over the other.

A note on shipping. Phel’s age is vague but his “actual” age will be close to that of a shipping partner if one starts. I don’t personally like large age gaps in ships and this sort of Schrodinger’s DoB was my solution to that. I presume he’s 18 or 19 (in Hell years) at a minimum but can be older. ICly, Phel is extremely hard to actually woo and anyone genuinely interested in him would have to be the one to approach him, but there’s no guarantee he will reciprocate.  OOCly, I don’t often plan ships and prefer muse chemistry develop over the course of a story. Though, I am also okay with one-sided ships and if your character winds up feeling a certain way toward mine (positive or negative) go for it.

The Do Not Interact List

Here is the list of blogs I will not interact with:

Minors: This is a character set in a very mature franchise intended for adults and some kinds of mature content are inevitable.

Personal Blogs: Questions are okay but I want to focus on writing/roleplaying with Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel characters and other OCs.

Blogs that contain hateful content/ideals: Specifically if it’s the mun who expresses intolerant/hateful views. Characters can be huge assholes so long as it’s acknowledged. This blog is to be an inclusive and accepting space and a refusal to also do so is a no go from me. Tolerance requires rejecting intolerance.

[flhoarder]

Calling you JV the way you say 'don't make me seem like a Lana fan' and then give him *Fishtail* instead of a more popular one <3

(which if anything in this hypothetical modern day billboard 100 AU is possibly even more incriminating than him doing Young and Beautiful or something he can just blame as a random earworm from the radio because they kept playing it)

Also potentially cursed version of that ask, new karaoke place, but they (if you want to do the rest of 41st as well go ahead) only have the top 10 pop singles from like 2000s onwards. What songs are they singing (or forcing themselves to sing). Who demostrates their Lady Gaga knowledge, pulls out some quickly forgotten 2005 hit, or reveals apparently the only popular songs they know are Gangnam style and Pineapple pen of all things ect.

NONO I CAN EXPLAIN

...Okay, Norman and Ocean Blvd are pretty cool. And possibly Chemtrail. Possibly. And Lust for Life. IM NOT A FAN

-

Aha it is cursed and I like this a lot, upon first glance it's embarrassing how many of these songs I can still sing along to

...Alright then, 41 C wing (supposedly and mostly, anyway) karaoke. A handful of people agreed to go. Pryce is paying. They left the station all at the same time but somehow some of them are still late.

Sorted by the order of their arrival time:

McCoy: First one to arrive because he has discipline and he makes his partner do a song with him. Threatens to do WAP but no one is surprised by the choice of song coming from fuckboy McCoy, which discourages him. He ends up doing Circus by Britney Spears and Starboy by The Weekend instead. One is a feel-good confidence boost for him, the other is just straight up truth. He is a motherfucking starboy with the highest body count in the whole building. Competition? He don't pay attention.

Vicquemare: Doesn't want to come but knows Harry's going to be here so he's here too. Annoyed that McCoy's on time but Harry isn't, even more annoyed to see McCoy doing a song with his partner. Goes on to get out a few dry lines from Show me the meaning of being lonely in the name of soundcheck before the second group come in. He's got the right vibes for the song, but he waits until Harry gets here and goes on to do Without me by Halsy, the entire time not breaking eye contact with Harry. It’s probably the most downbeat and grim version of the song anyone has ever done in history. He also doesn't hit half of the notes even after dropping 5 octaves from the original vocal but its the message that counts. The only people who don't find this unnerving are Harry and Ptolemy Pryce. Actually it’s so uncomfortable that no one even brings up the question as to how he even knows about the song, they are just happy to see him pass the mic.

Minot: Arrives with Jean. She's not against coming here but it's not one of her top 3 places to be. Thinks its a good idea to get the song out before the second group show up. Puts out a few solid lines from Formation by Beyonce before calling it good. Jean is the only one who's not surprised by how much she rocks the song and how well it works with her voice. She slays.

Kitsuragi: That's right, he's here because Harry literally called up 57 every other day for a whole week just to ask him to come. He finally caved on the 7th day and said yes to that. Does Maps by Maroon 5 and before anyone is shocked, he explains that he doesn't dedicate songs but if he had to this would be dedicated to his partner. Jean rocks back in his seat when he hears that but an insider tells him just in time that Kim is referring to his previous partner at 57. Kim drops 3 octaves from the original vocal and manages to make the song sound mournful with a hint of wistful longing. There's not a dry eye in the audience when he's done, and he knows it. (RIP, Eyes. You are missed.)

Pidieu (Jules:) Was planning on doing This I promise you by NSYNC because he's heard it way too much when he used to drive Apricot to school. Last minute changes to I want it that way by Backstreet boys, a song he's also heard way too much during that time. The reason for the change is because Apricot told him that young people nowadays actually still liked that song. Turns out she’s right and the song becomes a group effort as soon as Jules hits the *my fire* line.

Pidieu (Apricot:) New Rules by Dua Lipa, some of the boys are curious as to why she cuts into this song like nobody's business, a brave one almost jokingly requests Hips don't lie, but one look from her shuts them all up. Not everyone can handle Pryce's business like she does, and it certainly shows.

Torson: Alejandro by Lady Gaga. He says he's doing it for a joke and makes a really bad attempt at the accent, but after passing the first two lines he gets really serious about it, at the end it almost makes him choke up. He actually really likes the song, it makes him feel some kinda way. He's not afraid to admit it, there are two women that no one can make fun of in front of Mack Torson, one of them is his mum, the other one is Lady Gaga.

McLaine: Super Bass by Nicki Minaj. Somebody tell them who the fuck he IS. Its a good attempt and he gets Mack to join in on the chorus to give the song a boost. A for effort and the energy is off the fucking roof, even though he doesn't hit many notes.

Heidelstam: Is late because he had to drop Mikael off home and make dinner first. Gets on the stage and whips out Positions by Ariana Grande. He heard this song on the radio and liked the tune, played it a lot on his commute even though he couldn't make out most of the words in the song except something about kitchen and bedroom which he felt spoke to the depth of his soul. After a while he finally looked the lyrics up, it didn't change his opinion, but he doesn't play it when Mikael is in the car anymore. Anyway, he kills the song, even though there's mumbling in between where it gets a bit more explicit. Gotta appreciate a dad's attempt, though. He also benefits from having a relatively higher pitch in his voice comparing to the rest of 41.

Du Bois: When Harry gets here he's already got a bottle of red down. Crawls up the stage to sing Perfect by Ed Sheeran, dedicating the song to EVERYONE in the audience. Jean is very snarky about it but becomes visibly less annoyed after Harry mentions his name on the list of people he likes during his drunk chat on the mic. Kim doesn't comment on it, but he thinks Harry does the song solid.

Gottlieb: Shows up close to the end, off his face drunk. Chooses Swimming Pools (Drank) by Kendrick Lamar to sing. Even at his drunkest he knows his voice and knows exactly how to use it. For most people it's a tough song to do, and not many can get the song exactly right, but he does. It's not like he's going to remember this tomorrow morning, but he woos the crowd tonight.

Pryce: Oh yes. Did you think he was going to miss out on this? Sadly he has to go because Captain duties. The song he put in the queue earlier on was We R who we R by Kesha. It's not clear whether he intended to sing or just queueing it up for when the timer ran out. Don't ask.

[trekwiz]

I used Tumblr's feedback function about the recent changes. But, fuck, it was hard to get it short enough. It had to be under "5,000" characters--but the system's broken so it required me to get it to around 4,700. I don't think the short version makes as much sense, but I'll provide it under a cut. And I'll follow with a long version.

You want to drive engagement: that means being more fun than nuisance.

We hate snoozing Live. Disrespecting users' preferences and giving busy work means you'll never convert us to Live users: you've only built resentment.

Some users turn off push notifications for being annoying. What does Tumblr have that requires urgency? A friend who needs a ride to the ER is not asking on the fun meme site. When you push notifications, it's your decision to get my attention, instead of my choice. There's no way to spin this as a positive.

The persistent banner in "Activity" warning that notifications are off, is a rude reminder that you feel entitled to my attention. Your intention to SPAM users like me is worse, but we're the kind of users who are also motivated to click “Report Spam” to hurt your domain score in retaliation.

Users hate algorithms. Most users turn off “in your orbit” etc. They made your site harder to use--it's confusing and awkward to see posts of unexpected origin. I had a look at the separate feeds, but I haven't used them again. The chronological feed is more appealing.

Users don't want your vision of condensed reblogs. You'll destroy popular memes that only work in the current format, such as the speech bubble gag. You will lose users if this humor is tough or impossible. 2 better ways of rolling this out: 1. Offer it in the editor, like polls. Users will choose when threaded is better. 2. Offer a toggle on posts. This allows threads to be viewed when it makes sense.

Users like duplicate reblogs. This is social bonding, unique to Tumblr. duplicates show which mutuals share your tastes. The joke about seeing the same post shared by 5 mutuals is endearing, not derogatory.

Be more thoughtful with your ads. You have a lot of LGBT users. Why show ads from a hate organization like Chik-Fil-A ads? It's very offputting.

Don't "fix" the things you do well; improve where you're doing poorly.

Search needs work.

Users who remove their blog from search are confused when they can't use the search bar inside their blog. They turn on favorite tags which can't be used in that case. It would help to have an option to enable search only from within the blog.

Search is inconsistent. I can type a whole post from days ago, with no results. It's not clear why some posts aren't searchable.

I want duplicates in my feed, not search.

Sometimes I lose a post after an accidental refresh. An option to search blogs I follow would help.

Add search to the follower/ing lists. And if you follow someone called 1Funny1 now, it would help to know that they were NotJoking8 when you followed last year.

Fixing search might seem low impact. But it's probably the one thing that will stop users from calling the site broken. That will encourage new users to join.

We want a "mutuals" badge. You're mimicking the worst parts of social media, but we love friend lists. An indication of who's a mutual is helpful. It should increase engagement as well!

Your hate speech policy needs improvement. The bar to remove LGBT-phobic content is too high. The "mundane political speech" has deadly consequences. Allowing LGBT-phobic content if it's "not extreme" normalizes attacks on our human rights--you're influencing public policy by treating these ideas as if they're civil, despite the harm. And we deserve a place to escape the hate.

Next, there are better ways to spotlight content. You could build a tab for curation. 3 kinds: 1. Official Tumblr Curators 2. Sponsored Curators ($), and 3. User Curators. Users should be able to select which type they see at any time. This should include categories for browsing, and search. They should highlight bloggers, especially creators. This allows users to find new content organically, instead of being forced--this is a marketable feature.

For revenue: Editor+. A robust text editor that matches Google Docs, etc, with unique Tumblr enhancements, like a way to favorite gifs and emojis for faster use, and a meme generator--something that fits the most common meme formats but allows quick insertion of text and graphics. Those exist elsewhere, but integration is convenient. That means value to the user.

You should also leverage the Marketplace better. Gifting would be great for digital products. Send DoorDash gift cards, or gift an online watch party or music through Tumblr. The Marketplace is a lot more appealing if it can include useful services.

Closing thought: after a bonus at work, I was about to go ad-free. But the announced changes will be more nuisance than fun: I can't imagine staying here if you make the site unusable. These are obvious errors that will decrease your userbase, and it's surprising that you didn't immediately realize this.

[blaaaaask]

My Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review:

Spoilers ahead, you've been warned!

So here are pros and cons of what I thought about Rebirth.

Overall I really liked it, can't wait for the next installment. I still have a few items to wrap-up with side quests, but I did beat the game with a large portion of items done in 94 hours.

Pros:

Character development is on par. Lots of 'getting to know' not only your teammates but characters they introduced from the Remake version as well. This kind of feels like an Easter Egg moment sometimes, and gives the game consistency and charm.

Gameplay during battle is smooth, consistent, and the added synergy attacks are interesting. Playing as a larger group of people with their own assets can be a little overwhelming, but fun to find your favorite playing style. Using different characters feels absolutely necessary for differing battle mechanics, and I think they did a great job in providing the opportunity to keep all characters relevant rather than 'backseating' someone. The side quests and even main storyline ensure this.

Storyline. The intense amount of speculation people have been doing has been a little blown out of proportion and I kind of like that. I mean we weren't wrong about differing timelines, the game does have that, but the way it is incorporated was done beautifully. They followed the original story very well, and moments that were changed only seemed to enhance the clarity that was occurring in those scenarios. Moments that I had thought of prior were now in different tones, giving different meanings. I enjoyed that.

Voice acting. Using new voices can be a bit of a dealbreaker for those of us who enjoyed the original VAs, but I think they did a great job in continuing with VAs that fit the tone of this 'newer' version of the FF7 world. I do still miss some of the originals, but with the storytelling in this format I think it's done very well.

Music. I really don't know what else to say other than the blends and tones and meshing of songs and the moments they're in is just. It's everything. It really makes every. Single. Scene. If you played the demo you know exactly what I mean.

Scenery. Everything is so gorgeous. Ugh. I just want to paint every little scene into a pretty landscape.

The comedic value is gold. Random characters will bring up points from Remake that will make you die of laughter. Side quests can be beyond hilarious (looking at you, Johnnys).

The intense amount of flirting and goofy moments of people hitting on Cloud is beyond amazing and very fitting. The dating scene I ended up with was with Tifa, and it played out beautifully. I am totes excited to try out the others, too.

Cons:

Too many minigames? It might just be me, but it felt like every mechanic had an unnecessary 'challenge' to it that robbed the enjoyment of the side quests. Each mini game has its own rules, mechanics, and is oftentimes poorly instructed to the point you will be redoing them in multitudes. Precision is key to every single one of them, but getting there seems too difficult at times. It's probably just me lol, but the piano keys with a PS5 controller can be incredibly difficult to get accurate notes. The march portion of the game was increasingly difficult, too, borrowing from the dance mechanics of Remake and yet somehow making it more motion-sickness-y. Granted, it was still funny, but the practice rounds they allow you do not compare to the actual hell hole that is the 3 march portion. It felt like when a teacher tells you '1+1=2' but on the math test they give you 'If Jimmy sells 83 portions of apple purple, who is the sun representing in the third movie of cryptocurrency?' Fort Condor makes a comeback from Yuffie's DLC, which is fun and kind of annoying. I am terrible at timed things so don't mind my venting here. And don't get me started on MOG HOUSE. The weird slide mechanics of trying to 'push' things around in this minigame while trying to avoid haphazard death feels a little too much like reality for me and I cannot deal, yo. The 'Run Wild' or whatever Red XIII game has a similar mechanic, which only makes it frustrating for the harder challenges they throw at you in making goals. Also, every minigame seems to incorporate an insane amount of R2/L2 button mechanics. Being left-handed feels like a bit of a disadvantage in some of these games, and it sometimes feels like the PS5 controller has too much of a 'soft push' on it that doing full trigger clicks is like a whole hand exercise. These games crippled me hahaha. I would love a Story Mode for us cripple-y old fucks that makes it so I don't have to do minigames. To add to that, Queen's Blood ended up being a relief for me after the hell that I faced in all the other minigames, but only later in the game once you get better card decks. However, I am currently stuck on Dale in Nibelheim. Yes. Dale. Don't laugh at me.

Not all characters fit the aesthetic of the original game. I'm mostly thinking of Kyrie and Regina. It's such a dumb nitpick on my part, but I kind of wish they had toned down their looks to match the game a little better that way it isn't such a 'sore thumb' kind of vibe. The moogles are also a bit terrifying to look at. Why did they give them such horrifying teeth?

And speaking of sore thumb, Chadley and MAI. I like the banter but oof what an annoying duo, hahaha. The 'fun' mechanics they're trying to implement with having these two talk to you through the PS5 controller was a bit of a fun and novel concept in the first 2 seconds, but MAI's voice is a bit too grating for me that I had to turn off that feature.

Speaking of voices, Red XIII's splits back and forth at times between his 'pretending to be sophisticated' and 'teen' voice. I prefer his sophisticated voice, and it's a pity they don't have an option to choose what you want to hear. I think I just hate the sound of children's voices, so anything that is too high pitched sounds a bit like nails on a chalkboard for me. I am guessing no one else cares about this, hahaha.

Chocobo mechanics. I like sweeping onto a chocobo smoothly without button pressing, but sometimes Cloud gets off the bird in a direction that accidentally makes it possible to get back on the bird. Also, the open world trekking is only fun in the Grasslands area, after that it is a bit of a nightmare that continuously gets worse the hillier things get. I spend a lot of time staring at the map trying to figure out where I'm supposed to go because you can't actually 'go' wherever. This is a bit unfortunate because it can make simple tasks of 'I need to go here' turn to 'I need to make 70 different turns to get there.' And the traversing for specific regions can also feel like hell, mostly in Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon.

Controller mechanics. Kind of already talked about this, but because the PS5 is supposed to be a 'new, novel console' with things like speakers in the controller, touch sensitivity, motion sensors, etc, they go at it hardcore here. Tilt mechanics, sliding things, and all that garbage is just annoying. I turn it off as soon as I can. It is especially annoying during Cait Sith's time in the Shinra Manor. Boxgate. That is all, lol. If you like silly things like this then more power to you.

I am sure I am forgetting things, but to wrap-up: the storyline is what I'm in it for, and the story was beautiful and therefore I enjoyed it even with my stupid gripes. Please remember this is just my ridiculous opinion. I am merely a purple dinosaur on the internet and should not be held as gospel.

[quaranmine]

Book Reviews with Quara

Since I keep talking about audiobooks, now I want to do a sort of mini book review of the books I've read since starting to "seriously" pick up reading again last year. Also I just like typing about things. I'm skipping Fire Season by Philip Connors and Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams because I've spoken about them already. Keep in mind I am not super-super critical of reading material; generally if I enjoyed it I'm giving 5 stars. If I disliked it though I get a lot more critical because then I want to start analyzing what didn't work for me. Now go forth and learn about what my reading taste is when I'm not reading/writing angsty mcyt fanfic!

Books I loved, aka 5 stars:

Cold Storage by David Koepp

This was the first book I checked out from Libby and it was a banger. I am still trying to replicate that high tbh. When I gave my mom access to my library card in Libby (her rural library has nothing and my city library has everything) I made her check it out too. The narration on the audiobook is fantastic. My mom raved about the narration and basically says she doesn't want to check anything out that wasn't as good--regularly her reviews to me are "good narrator, not as good as that Cold Storage book" lmao. You may know David Koepp as the guy who wrote the Jurassic Park screenplay. This is his first novel.

It's about a mutated fungus that is a sci-fi version of the very real Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which is more commonly known as the zombie-ant fungus. In this book, a version of Cordyceps can infect all lifeforms, including humans, and has been locked away deep in a former US military vault that has since been sold and converted into an underground storage facility. The plot follows two unlikely protags who work in the storage facility, as well as the two retired military people who are the only ones to have seen the fungi in action, as they try to prevent it from being released into the world. It's funny, horrifying, and gory.

They are making a movie of this book. The release date is tentatively 2024, but I worry about it because I have heard so little news on it. They did do filming though. I have high hopes because they cast Joe Keery as a main character, which I think is perfect casting for the guy in question. I have low hopes because they cast Liam Neeson, a white man, as a character who was originally Hispanic and (as I just noticed while writing this) changed the character's name to be more white. Ugh. Who is Robert Quinn and what did you do with Roberto Diaz???????

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

What if you got kidnapped and woke up in a parallel world where everybody knew who you were, but they think you're someone else? What if you're just a quantum physics professor, but this other version of you is a successful theoretical researcher? What if your wife never married you in this universe, and your son was never born? How do you get back home? This book is constantly pulling out interesting new questions, twists, and places to explore. Also I liked that while it does feature romance pretty prominently, it's about a guy who just really loves his wife of 15 years and wants to see her again. I just like it when men love their wives.

Also, a fair amount of Goodreads reviews poke fun at this author for having way too much fun hitting the enter key on his keyboard, but since I listened to the audiobook I never had to deal with any annoying formatting choices lol

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

I feel like we all know about this one already, tbh. If you don't, heavy tw for child abuse and eating disorders. Tread carefully. It's worth it though if you are confident you won't get triggered. If you haven't read it I recommend the audiobook specifically because Jennette narrates it herself and that gives the book so much extra. It was a 6 hour audiobook and I was gripped by it all day.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

BACKWARDS TIMELOOP BABEYY!!! This one was great. It's about a Mom who witnesses her teenage son kill a man. Every day she wakes up in the past again until she can solve why this happened, the mystery leading up to it that entangles her family, and try to prevent it. First she ways up the day before, then two days, then three, then a two weeks, then a few months, then a few years--until her son hasn't even been born yet. I enjoyed it. Also a plus for British accent narrator (can you tell I'm American....)

A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong

This one was fun. I checked it out because it was longish and I had to drive like 8 hrs roundtrip for a work trip, so I listened to this the entire way. It's about a (Canadian) woman named Mallory who was a police detective in the modern day, who gets attacked while out for a jog in Edinburgh, Scotland. The attacker strangles her and she goes unconscious. When she wakes up, however, she finds herself in someone else's body--in the Victorian era. She's now a 19 year old housemaid, and has to adapt as quickly as possible to avoid suspicion. She quickly finds out that she works for a man named Dr. Duncan Gray, who is a medical examiner. And there's a person who's been murdered in a very similar way to how Mallory herself was attacked. And she's quickly finding out that the person who's body she's in was not well-liked.

My favorite part about this one is the emphasis it has on early forensics in Victorian Scotland. Dr. Gray is a fantastic character and it is so interesting to see him doing his lil cutting-edge forensics research (which Mallory, being educated in modern times, wants desperately to help him with.) Also the narrator, while being Canadian, does Scottish accents for all the Scottish characters. I'm not the best person to ask as someone who isn't Scottish but I thought the accents sounded pretty good lol

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

My mom recommended this one to me. It's also a lot of fun. The title is, mostly, accurate. Ernest Cunningham (protag) is a writer, who mostly creates how-to books for mystery novelists he sells on Amazon. No, he doesn't write mysteries, he just writes the how-to books. But he's very well-versed in the "rules" of how to write a classic mystery! He promises that, as the narrator of this story, he will always be an entirely reliable narrator. The book itself is obviously fiction but within the narrative of the book, it is being told like a nonfiction account of something that the main character is writing down. This book is sort of a bottle mystery--strange murders while everyone is snowed in at a ski resort during a family reunion, anyone? The main character is funny and breaks the fourth wall often. I am convinced that there is a separate audiobook specific version since the narration within the book references it being an audiobook. The main character will be like "so, you probably realize this isn't the real killer, since we still have 4 hours of the book left to listen to" lol. I almost want to check out a print copy of this to see if the text is different.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

First one on the list that I didn't listen to as an audiobook. Honestly, I probably read this book in 4 hours flat. Three of those hours just dead-focused while on a plane (with the book's hold expiring as soon as I landed and took my phone off airplane mode.)

I don't really know how to explain this one. I don't think I understood what it was about until I actually got like 4 chapters in and then I couldn't stop. It's just off-the wall ridiculous. There are talking cats. There are dolphins that want to unionize. There is a volcano lair. There are explosions and assasination attempts. There is a reasonably bleakly accurate capitalist picture of what "villainy" means in our world. There is a poor main character in over his head as he learns he's inherited all this from an uncle he never saw. This book is like...satire comedy. Comedy and outlandish but you're also depressed about billionaires a little while reading it.

Books I thought were Okay (3-4 stars but actually I gave both these 4 stars I think)

The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong

The second book to the book I mentioned above. Honestly, I remember very well what the first book was about (i typed the summary by memory) but I have trouble remembering specifics about this one. It's a bit too long as well, at 14 hours. I don't have anything bad to say about it, I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first one.

But honestly I do remember it was still a good time. I just really like Dr Gray as a character and the setting, early forensic science focus, etc. These books are also setting up to be an EXTREME slow burn romance between Gray and Mallory, which I don't mind. (Literally by book 2 the most we have is that she thinks he's attractive, so at this rate it will take us 3 more books to get anywhere lol.) I will be checking out the 3rd book when it is released this spring.

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moines

Also a book that suffered from being too long. It's a 12 hour audiobook but I think that it could have been 8 or 9 hours and gotten the same point across. My mom recommended this to me. It's narrated by Daisy Ridley, who does a good job. I enjoyed it, but I also started to feel like I really wanted it to be done?

Also unsure how to describe this one. Slightly-contrived-but-cute plot about how a bag switch up in a gym connects two women's stories. One is a, frankly quite annoying, American woman who married rich but has now been completely cut off from her money (and even passport) by her ex-husband who's cheating on her with a younger woman. One is a British woman with low self-esteem and a bad job who is struggling to keep her family afloat while her husband suffers from severe depression. I think my favorite was a side character named Jasmine who brought light to every scene imo.

Books I disliked (2 stars but after writing this review I almost want to make it 1 star)

Aurora by David Koepp

David I really believed in you after Cold Storage. But imo, this book isn't it. It throws away every interesting part of its apocalypse-level plot to focus on the characters. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a good character-focused plot, except I never connected with anyone in the book. I just kind of didn't enjoy any of them. This is a story that is supposed to be about a solar flare taking out all electricity and communications for most of the world. And it only covers like a few days after the disaster AND THEN TIME SKIPS LIKE 8 MONTHS UNTIL EVERYTHING IS HAPPILY SOLVED NEIGHBORHOOD UTOPIA STYLE. I'm sorry????? Assuming I can believe that this little suburban Illinois cul-de-sac has managed to set up subsistence farming in a few months and is living perfectly happily, why would you....not show me how that happened.....

Also the "everything fits together" character moment at the end felt unearned. I was like yeah, okay, I guess this slots together. But the author didn't earn that moment for me. Instead of connecting with the characters and the plot and getting invested I felt like I was just being....told that everything worked out?? Or told that this was an important moment instead of actually Feeling the moment? It's hard to explain but I was like ok great thanks let's all go home now.

Sigh. I just can't get over the whole "throwing away the most interesting part of your setting" part. Again. Why would you spend a significant time setting up the science and how much of a disaster the solar flare is and then not show any of the characters figuring out how to survive it long-term....?

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

This book has such a high rating. It's very popular right now. It took me like 12 weeks of waiting for my hold to come up, and that's with the library having 7 copies.

It is, supposedly, about a smart octopus named Marcellus who helps an elderly lady solve the mystery of her son's disappearance at sea when he was a teenager.

In practice, it is about one minute at a time of Marcellus (the best part of the book) and extended sections of characters that I don't care about at all. I assume all the pieces of the story were supposed to come together later, but I was just highly bored. I was so bored that I DNF'd at 25% when my hold was up. I do not care enough to wait weeks to check it out again. Based on the one star reviews I read, the characters I didn't like did not develop into better people later and remained similarly annoying. Now, I don't need characters to be good people of course. But I do expect to be interested in them. I still don't know how the son's disappearance factors in because I felt like I heard barely anything about the supposed main character woman.

I feel vindicated because my coworker also checked out the book and told me a few weeks ago that she was at 50% and there still wasn't anything happening in the plot. I will ask her tomorrow if she finished it or not and if it ever got better.

Write an entire book for Marcellus the octopus and I'll check it out...

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

This book had so much potential. It's about a group of four women who were formerly assasins but are now retiring at 60. To celebrate retirement, they go on a cruise and then realize that they're the new targets for assasination, presumably because they know too much about the organization that used to employ them.

In execution....very meh. I actually had a Libby glitch on this one, where I think I missed about 1.5 hrs of narration total because the book skipped twice. I have no concept of which parts I missed. What I do know is that, the book was already so cobbled together before the first skip that I didn't realize I had missed anything until the end. Like sure, parts didn't make sense, but I was ready to accept that it was just Like That since the rest of the book was like that. After reading a bunch of reviews of this book I am convinced that there is NO way that all of its flaws can be explained by me missing a small part. After all, I did listen to 8.5 hours of it still.

The characters never felt their age to me. I felt like they either acted like they were 80 or 90, or like they were 20. It just seemed odd to me. The characters also felt very 2D, like the author wrote down three traits per person and called it good. There's a younger woman who appears to know the main character and conveniently helps the group, but I literally never figured out where their relationship originated or how they knew each other. Maybe I missed that too. By the end of the book I still didn't know who anyone was and couldn't remember which person was the main character. The plot jumped around to new locations constantly and often with little transition--this happened even on the parts where I definitely didn't get a skipping glitch. The main villain was a guy I literally had barely heard anything of til that point, although perhaps he came up in the 1.5 hrs I missed. They described the same painting in excruciating detail THREE separate times. It was...too feminist? Feminist in a contrived way where I have to be reminded every 5 minutes the characters are women? Like, I know, I am reading a story about women. Please don't mention it several times a chapter. There are ethical and moral considerations about their profession and chosen organization that never really get given the weight required. There was a love interest for the main character that I hadn't heard of once until he was introduced like an hour from the end--maybe I missed more about him in the parts I skipped? Unknown.

ANNND THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!