#How do I even tag that series that light novel/anime of the same name definitely owns the tag

[obsidian-warthog]

The night expeditions in Pikmin 4 have the odd side effect of making me sad about how the Overlord games died, because a tower defense lite mode would have also fit with Overlord. When the premise is being an evil Overlord, defending your tower just makes sense.

#Pikmin #Pikmin 4 #Overlord game #How do I even tag that series that light novel/anime of the same name definitely owns the tag

[x0401x]

Violet Evergarden Movie Summary

The initial plan was to make this a short bullet-point thing, but I felt like there was too much to clarify and I had no choice but use novel references to explain certain parts, so I decided to just write a normal summary. Many thanks before-hand to my friend Yuuki, who gave me all this info.

Apologies for taking relatively long with this thing. Not even I expected that I would end up writing this much. Buckle up for the ride, ‘cause it won’t be fun.

Nope, not kidding. It really won’t.

First thing I need to make clear is: this movie is one and a half hour long and divided into three parts and two different timelines: the times when Violet existed and the times after she dies. Already in the beginning of the movie, Violet is dead.

Yes, you read this right. She’s dead.

Now, I don’t mean that she’s dead in the literal sense. This is 60 years in the future. She might be alive or not, but it’s never said. However, the timeline of 60 years later is considered an era without Violet, apparently because she has retired and her “legend” is over, so to say. It’s also a time where Auto-Memories Dolls don’t exist. That’s one good punch in the face. Let’s keep counting.

The movie is sort of like a tale being read by someone else, which at some point goes into Violet’s first-person POV. The whole thing is kind of a look back on Violet’s life tragectory and how it took a new turn when she decided to continue looking for Gil despite all the mess of the TV series.

The era where Violet exists is an era where telephones are being introduced to the people, so Auto-Memories Dolls are starting to become unnecessary. I would argue that the creation of the telephone isn’t enough for an entire occupation to start disappearing so quickly, since new inventions are normally extremely expensive and not everyone has access to them (or even knows about their existence) so immediately after their conception. Realistically speaking, ghostwriters would still be important as long as there were still so many people unable to buy phones. Not to mention that this is a steampunk world where compulsory education doesn’t seem to be a thing yet, so even in the off chance that everybody can buy a phone, there would still be a lot of people who can’t read or write on their own. But all of this clearly went over the animators’ heads, so not only ghostwriters but also the mail business in general are nearing their doom in the movie.

The one looking back on Violet’s life was Ann, who was telling it all to her granddaughter, Daisy (who, by the way, is voiced by Morohoshi Sumire, the same girl who voiced the seven-year-old Ann). Ann had kept all the letters that Violet ghostwrote for her mother, as well as the newspapers about the CH Postal Company. Looks like the article was printed after Violet left CH, since she isn’t in the picture with everyone else.

In this era, CH’s main office has been turned into a museum. Nerine is shown working in it. Of course, she’s a grandma by then. Speaking of the CH personnel, Erica also quit being an Auto-Memories Doll and became a playwright like Oscar. She appears in the newspaper, though, so she probably a while left after Violet did. Taylor also appears there.

Back to Daisy, she was writing a letter to her parents, in order to learn how to properly convey feelings with written word. The message of this scene seems to be that, no matter the tools, what’s important is that we convey our feelings to the people we love.

As we see in the trailer, Gil’s mom has passed and Violet runs into Dietfried when visiting her grave on the anniversary of her death. To anyone who is wondering: yeah, Gil never went to see his mother and she died thinking that he was dead.

Nobody knew that Gil was alive. Not his mother, not Dietfried, not the Evergardens and not even Hodgins. No one.

Here’s what happened to Gil in the anime: he survived the incident at Intense, of course, but got separated from Violet in that explosion. His tag miraculously stayed on the same spot, though, as we saw in the TV series. Now, since this isn’t explained in the anime at all, I have to make it clear: the tag is that necklace the soldiers wear. It contains their names and ranks, so that their bodies can be identified even when they’re irrecognizable. Without the tag, the people who rescued Gil had no idea who he was, so he was sent to a different place to get treated. He ended up at a monastery hospital instead of the one in Enchaîné. I would debate that his uniform alone is enough to identify him as someone from the Leidenschaftlich Army, or maybe they could’ve just asked him which troop he belonged to after he woke up and relocated him to where his fellow men were, but who even cares about all these plot holes anymore? Definitely not me.

Anyway. After Gil was discharged, he ran the fuck away. Like, literally.

If anyone out there was hoping that Gil would finally have his moment to shine as the self-sacrificing, thoughtful and ridiculously kindhearted character that he is in the novel, I have bad news for you. What we had here was even worse than it being Gil’s excuse movie. It’s like the whole thing was made to drag his character so deep through the mud that he’ll never be able to get up again. There’s pretty much nothing in this one and a half hour that actually justifies what he did to Violet. I’ll elaborate on this as we go on.

Anime!Gil became a nomad and went traveling. He offed his ass to the island where that lighthouse displayed in the most recent official art is located (that’s why Gil and Violet were at the beach on the movie poster). He doesn’t have a prosthetic in the anime because, apparently, he was more worried about disappearing as fast as possible to somewhere he would never be found, and never attempted to contact anybody. So nobody knew that he was alive, hence the grave, which, as we feared, was not a fake one. His family really did think he had died.

This is a point that I have already addressed before, but that also means Gil really did abandon Violet to luck. If anything dangerous ever happened to her (as it did, and it was always very obviously likely to happen, since she was the southern army’s most outstanding soldier and quite literally fled from the military), he wouldn’t even know. If word ever got to him, it would probably be too late. And even if it weren’t, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to help her. More than allowing her to live freely, it felt like he was running away from his responsibilities regarding Violet.

Punch on the face count is currently at six.

By sheer coincidence, Violet learns that Gil is living in that island. She goes to see him and Hodgins goes with her after trying to stop her at first. When Gil finds out that they came to see him, he outright refuses to meet them. It pretty much takes the near entirety of the goddamn movie for them to see each other face-to-face. I say face-to-face because all of the following shit happens:

Hodgins goes to talk to Gil. It lasts about 20 minutes.

Gil talks to Violet from behind a door. This one is about 10 minutes.

Dietfried also comes to the island to talk to him. Also about 10 minutes.

At long fucking last, Gil goes to see Violet. But that, too, is only for about 10 minutes.

Hodgins gives him a speech very similar to what happens in chapter 8. Now get ready to fall back from your seats: Dietfried basically goes there to tell Gil that he won’t run away from taking over the family anymore, so Gil can live freely. Yes, Dietfried is officially a better Gilbert than Gilbert himself. I crave death.

So, after much ado, they come to a conclusion: Gil will stay in the island. In order to completely free himself of the shackles of his bloodline, he stays behind, living the way he wants to. ‘Cause all anime!Gil wants is to rot away alone by the sea, apparently. Now prepare yourselves, for it gets worse. Ready?

Violet stays with him in the motherfucking island.

That’s right, ladies and gents. Another fear became true. She quits her job at the CH Postal Company and goes to live with him. Well, at least, not as a housewife. She starts working with mail services in the island, and Gil helps her with it. Her life goes on like this and she dies in the island as well.

This is where the timeline after Violet passes away comes into light, parallel to the era when Violet was alive. Daisy talks about what happened after Violet left CH, as if it were a tale from the distant past.

That’s it.

The movie paints this as a happy ending. I can hardly see it as one. I know it almost looks like everything was solved, but it just got swept under the rug.

The main point that makes me sad in this ending is that Violet’s character development did a 360 degree flip. In the end, she threw everything to the air and went to live in someone who she always put before everyone else, even herself, but who didn’t do the same for her (in the anime). She’s gone to a crammed little island, where she led an uneventful life away from everyone and everything that’s ever had a positive impact on her. All she has is Gil.

Of course, he’s all she needs, but he isn’t all she should have, and that was the entire point of pushing her to go live on her own. Which is exactly what she earns in the novel: two loving parents, a father figure, a brother figure, a best friend and several other friends and acquaintances whom she formed a bond with. She has all she needs, so she doesn’t have to cling to Gil for any reason. There’s no emotional dependance on him anymore. She doesn’t need him to be whole. She just wants him because he happens to be the best person she’s ever met.

Anime!Violet is most definitely not whole. She almost got there, but then she backtracked completely. And anime!Gil... in my friend’s words, is a weakling. There’s nothing in him actually worth all this undying blind love. Sure, he’s full of regret and shit, but it’s too easy to only act upon it now, by vanishing into thin air like a coward.

The deal with novel!Gil is that he looks around at everything he has, everything that had been burdening him and killing him on the inside all his life, and decides to make use of it for Violet’s sake. He continues being family head and working in the army, amassing money and connections in order to have every means possible to protect Violet should anything happen to her. And as it turns out, he does end up having to use those means, more than once, but he will keep this up for as long as he needs to, because he lives for her now. That’s what makes him worth all the blood, sweat, tears, mental sanity and even body parts that she gave away for his sake: he pays it back. Every cent.

Punch in the face count ends at twelve. Thirteen if I include the fact that the movie ends with a last shot of Violet after she and Gilbert do a pinky swear. Looks like they were really trying to buy everyone with tears.

Oh, well.

I hope this has been a good enough summary. Sorry if I rained on anyone’s parade. I’m pretty sure we won’t get a remake ever, so I really wish we all can get over this soon.

#violet evergarden #fyeahvioletevergarden #kyoani #kyoto animation #violet evergarden movie #summary #gilbert bougainvillea #claudia hodgins #dietfried bougainvillea

[joyful-soul-collector]

About Me

I was tagged by @theswordofpens! I started a new post for this cuz the other one was getting hella long with reblogs lol. Anyway, let’s get on to the questions!

How tall are you?

5′7 or 170.18cm

What color and style is your hair?

That is a debated topic actually. My hair is dyed bright blue, but the natural parts of it people can never decide if it’s black or dark brown. In the summer sun, it’s dark brown, but it’s not always summer and I’m inside 90% of the time, so it looks black very often. So really depends on the lighting of the situation. Though people tend to focus more on the fact that my hair is blue rather than what color the natural parts are lol. My hair is a pretty basic short haircut, short on the sides, little longer on top, a bit of bangs that get in my eyes sometimes. 

What color are your eyes?

Again, debated topic, and for the same reason as my hair. Sometimes dark brown, sometimes black, depends on the light. 

Do you wear glasses?

Yep! They’re red on the inside and black on the outside. 

Do you wear braces?

Yeah, my family was finally able to get me braces a while ago! I guess most kids get them when they’re younger, before their teeth have the chance to get worse, and they only have to have them on for a year or so? But we were only able to get them when I entered sophomore year of high school, so I have to have them for three years since my teeth had gotten so bad. They’re a lot better now, and hopefully I’ll be able to get them off before I go to community college 😅

What’s your fashion sense?

Does fandom nerd count as a category of fashion? I wear a lot of shirts with references to tv shows. All of my shirts have some sort of graphic on it, and I also have a couple zip-up hoodies that are tv show references. I also wear bright red sneakers every day, big bright red headphones that I wear every day, and a wallet chain that I wear every day. So all of that, combined with bright blue hair, seems to make for a... noticeable person haha. 

What is your full name?

Marko Polo

(Nice try, I’m not saying personal stuff on here haha)

Where were you born?

Not gonna say exactly where, but in the more southern part of California. 

Where are you from and where do you live now?

Alright, so technically I’m from a few different places. I was born in southern CA and lived there til I was 8, then we moved to super north-western WA where I lived until I was almost 13, and then we moved to central PA, where we celebrated my 13th birthday like a week after arriving. I’ve lived here in PA ever since, so that’s five years here in a couple months. 

What school do you go to?

A High School

What kind of student are you?

I’m an alright student? I struggle with school, especially with all the moving I’ve had to do. Different schools have different expectations and vary in a lot of ways. I also have ADHD (more inattentive, less hyperactive) and Anxiety, which has not exactly been a help haha. I’ve always needed tutors and extensions and my 504 Plan, but if I have those I can often get good grades!

Do you like school?

School is meh. It’s stressful and exhausting, which is frustrating because I have other stuff I want do outside school, but I can’t do half of it because I have hw and chores and any other random things that need to get done. But my school is very high quality compared to most public schools! We have so many resources and amazing classes, and I love attending there, but unfortunately the people are not my favorite. Most of them are rich kids who have never attended anything other than really fancy schools, so they often take what they have for granted. I’ve heard kids say “our school is trash” while sitting in our Forensic Science class, in front of a school issued computer that we get to take home every day. It bothers me to NO END how some of these people act, but oh well. 

Favorite subject?

English! English has always been my favorite subject, I love stories. 

Favorite TV shows?

Ohhhhhhh man here we go (in no particular order): Firefly, Dollhouse, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Demon Slayer, Legend of Korra, My Hero Academia, Sense8, Sherlock, Death Note, Lovesick, One Punch Man, Series of Unfortunate Events, The Good Place, Galavant, Parks and Rec, The Office, iZombie, Kill la Kill, Community, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, The Umbrella Academy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Naruto, Batman The Animated Series, Travelers, Sex Education, Cells at Work, Death Parade, The Promised Neverland, RWBY

Tbh there might be more but those are the ones I could find haha. If you haven’t seen these, watch em, pretend this is a rec list, and then come and yell at me about how good they are. 

Favorite movies?

Again, here we go (in no particular order): The Iron Giant, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Cabin in the Woods, any and all MCU movies (but especially Spider-Man), Into The Spider-Verse, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, anything Bo Burnham, anything John Mulaney, James Acaster: Repertoire, The Prestige, The Usual Suspects, Planet of the Apes, Lars and the Real Girl, Her, Newsies, Baby Driver, Serenity, Liar Liar, Crazy Stupid Love, Bandersnatch, ARQ, Cloverfield, A Silent Voice, Klaus, How To Train Your Dragon, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

There are definitely more, I just couldn’t think of them haha. Again, watch these, and then come and freak out with me about how they’re amazing. 

Favorite books?

Let’s do this one last time (in no particular order, of course): Ready Player One, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter, the Gone series, Saga, Sweet Tooth, Chew, Nimona, The Tea Dragon Society, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lumberjanes, Invincible, Runaways, Calvin and Hobbes, Prince and the Dressmaker, Here, Plutona, Sculptor, Invincible, The Sword, Ultimate Spider-Man, Holes, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, The Giver

There are definitely, 100% more books that I haven’t listed, again, I can’t think of them rn. Also, if you don’t recognize half of these titles, you probably don’t read comics/graphic novels. You should be reading those. Read them and then come and rant about how good they are so I get to tell you I told you so. 

Favorite past time?

Writing! Watching tv! Reading! Spacing out so much people have to say my name ten times before I come hurtling back to earth! Talking to friends!

Do you have any regrets?

Yeah, I wish I’d stood up for myself when I was younger. I was bullied for a really long time, and even though it’s been a couple years since the last I was bullied, it’s still really hard for me to tell people what I want and and don’t want. I think I’m a little better than I used to be though, which is good!

What’s your dream job?

Author definitely, but I doubt I’ll be able to do that for a real job. Tbh I just want a job that I can do in my sleep. Repetitive, pays well, not too exhausting, that way I have energy and time to do my writing and all the things I want to do at home. 

Would you like to be married?

I think so. I want to have a person I can live my life with, who I want to care for and who wants to care for me. If I’m not married I’d like an S.O. or even just a really good friend to live with. I think I’d get sad living by myself haha. 

Do you want kids?

I want to be a foster parent! I’ve loved helping people my whole life, and I think this is one of the best ways that I can help someone going through a rough time. I don’t want biological kids though tbh, not really for any one reason, just for a bunch of little ones. 

How many?

Dunno man. I wanna help as many kids as I can. 

Do you like shopping?

I do! However I don’t do it often because I have no money. I do like walking around stores and looking a cool stuff though, especially nerdy stores like Hot Topic or Boxed Lunch or any book/comic shop. 

What countries have you visited?

Canada, usually to visit family, once to see Niagara Falls! Never been anywhere else though, but I have a whole list of places I wanna see

Scariest nightmare you’ve ever had?

TW: SELF HARM/DEATH

Oof, see my dreams are always nightmares, and my nightmares are always hella terrifying. Often they’re of my worst fears: family telling me they hate me, finding the body of someone in my family, old bullies coming back, but in my worst one I found my little sister cutting herself in an old warehouse. I don’t actually remember much of what happened after I woke up, it was so bad I disassociated for the whole day. But luckily, I don’t dream often. 

Do you have any enemies?

No? Maybe? I have people I hate, my old bullies mainly, but I’m not around them anymore so it’s not like I spend time hating them. 

Do you have any self doubts?

Yeah I have this hilariously fun thing where I think everyone is just pretending to like me because they can’t pick up the courage to stop hanging out with me. Or that if I talk about what’s making me sad/stressed out then I’m being a burden on other people or being dramatic. Slowly working over that but it’s still hard. 

Do you have any significant others?

Nope

Do you believe in miracles?

Depends. I don’t believe in fate or the idea that something higher up is pulling strings. But I think crazy cool stuff can happen. But that’s just luck and coincidence. For me, miracles are the positive ends of luck and coincidence. 

How are you?

Meeeeehhhhh. School sucks, my sisters stress me out, and my parents are breathing down my neck about fifty different things. But I have a couple good friends and my writing and good stories to read and watch, so it’s not all bad :]

Tag ten tumblrs (tag last ten people in my notifications): @tracle0 @humblesavant @holystudenthologramy @federluftmask @phahbiyah @topazastral @dragon-s-bane @cassius-mortemer @saiko-tsuki @writing-another-star

#tag game #about me

[sanhatipal]

Tagging Game

I was tagged by: @emily-cheshire and @i-prefer-the-term-antihero . Thank you both so much! I really enjoy these,but thus time I was super slow,I got no excuse , forgive me ;-;

I made the questions purple '^'

How tall are you?

5 feel 1 inch. That is 154cm. Yeah,tiny,and full grown. I used to hate it,but I've come to terms with it. Also it's my king Arturia's height,at least that's something to be happy about.

What colour and style is your hair?

Pitch black,and well...not really styled? It's pretty long, comes down to the middle of my thighs,and is a strange mixture of straight and wavy(straight the first foot or so,then gets wavy as we go down,curls at the tips) but I swear I've never styled it. It's side parted,with irregular accidental bangs formed from when a part of my hair got caught in rubber cement a few years ago,and I chopped them off close to the scalp,and they grew to become bangs, because obviously they're shorter than the rest. I usually keep it tied in a Jack Vessalius type braid that reaches my lower waist :")

what color are your eyes?

Brown, slightly reddish

do you wear glasses?

Aye,and I'm pretty blind without them.

do you wear braces?

No

What’s your fashion sense?

....it only exists while buying the clothes,while getting dressed....I put my hand in the cupboard and pull out something,if I'm ok with it I wear, else put it back in and pull out something else if I don't like it

That being said,I like simpler clothes with soft fabric. I wear either knee length or slightly longer dresses/frocks(the simplest type,with a stitch at the waist),or jeans(full length,black,blue or brown because anything else gets dirty too easily) with formal collared shirts or casual tops. If it's not collared, I like to have at least part of my collarbones exposed, but all cleavage hidden(yeah I'm picky). Most of my wardrobe is red,so much that my mom gets scared if I reach for something red in a shop, but also a lot of white, brown,maroon and peach,and a few blues, purples and pinks.

And oh yes,black heels, practically the only thing I wear, and everyday the same pair,unless there's some event or trip or something where I know I'll have to run, then I take the effort to take out converse shoes and the pain to tie laces.

Full name?

You all already know. Sanhati Pal.

when were you born?

27th May '97, in the height of the sticky Indian summer. That too around noon.

where are you from and where do you live now?

India,and I still live in the same city too.

what school do you go to?

I graduated from school in 2016. I went to an all-girls' convent. Now I'm in medical school,which is I guess actually university?

what kind of student are you?

The kind that absolutely hates studying but does it dedicatedly anyway. It's ALWAYS been that way. Teachers think I'm studious,but trust me, I'm not. I just push hard.

do you like school?

I loved school from the later half of 6th grade onwards. I guess 7 and half years in the same place gave me a sense of control. I still love my school and muss it. But college... not really. But then I get restless at home without regular classes or work,so I guess I do,to some extent.

favorite subject?

Back in school, Physics, Literature and Biology. Now, Forensics (though no way in hell will I take it up for post graduate atudies) and Orthopaedics.

favorite tv shows?

My head isn't really working but if anime counts,I guess SKET Dance, 07-ghost,Your lie in April,Fate series, Anohana, Little Busters, fmab, Fairy Tail, Noragami, Chihayafuru, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki kun....what else?

I enjoyed the shows 101 things that changed the world, and You have been Warned, I guess?

My favourite shows at 10 were Art Attack and Backyard Science

Oh ! The first ever TV show I'd ever watched was incidentally an anime called Heidi,girl of the Alps, when I was 5. I recently rewatched it twice,and while there might've been a nostalgia factor for me,I definitely recommend watching it! It's there on YouTube!

favorite movie?

Good grief..... Uh... I'm just gonna list some randomly without order: Brave,Bridge to Terrabithia, Into the Woods, Kimi no na wa, Coraline, Maquia when the promised flower blooms, Brother Bear, Song of the Sea, Spirit Stallion of the cimmaron, Kiki's Delivery Service,Laputa the castle in the sky.

favorite book?

THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBLE TO ANSWER QUESTION but.... I think The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis is a good candidate. I love high fantasy and adventure like Narnia,LOTR,but also slice of life books like Ruskin Bond's Room on the Roof. Most of my favourites centre around children or young teen protagonists,and while 90% are in the English language, there are some in Bengali that are close to my heart too. Basically, everything I illustrated in Inktober 2018.

do you have regrets?

Aye,too many to count but that's okay. I've accepted them and moved on. I've acknowledged my faults. I'll never forget,but I won't whine.

dream job?

Book illustrator and doctor. I'm already halfway through the process of becoming a doctor, it's what I've always wanted and I'm happy, but I still crave to illustrate children's novels,YA fantasy and Light Novels.

do you like shopping?

...I never thought about it.. I guess it depends on what I'm buying and with whom,if it's art supplies,knick knacks, interior decoration,books or plushies,DO I ?!! But if it's clothes.....eh. Oh yes,I only go out with my mom,I don't like spending my money,I know if she's with me, she'll pay,and unlike classmates who insist on buying stuff, she'll make sure I don't buy unnecessary stuff I'll regret later.

what countries have you visited?

None

scariest nightmare you have ever had?

Something I saw when I was 6,or at least that's what had ever frightened me so much. And not once, 2-3 times. I honestly don't remember much,but it had something to do with a possessing virus that turned the host's eyes light(i.e. in our case, yellowish,given the usual colour here is brown),made them kill or something,and jumped to a different host if they died. There was something to do with burnt banana trees too(what the hell), though I don't remember well. It had frightened me so much back then that for a few weeks I'd run whenever I saw people with golden irises(incidentally,there were two or more such people in the neighborhood I lived in then),and after that freak for a few months. But that's all in the past,and it kinda makes me laugh at myself now.

Look at me loving Gilbert Nightray more than anything and anyone else now, it's proof that I've long since gotten over that dream.

any enemies?

Probably yeah. It's not something I've actively avoided,and with a temper like mine, you're likely to make some. But hey, that's okay. Also,I don't consider myself an enemy,more like a hurdle at times,and a malfunctioning machine at others.

do you believe in miracles?

I do. It's a miracle we haven't gotten hit by trucks or died till now. It's a miracle we're alive. Life in itself is a miracle. There are a million ways to die,even without people killing each other,in spite of trying to prevent it. And I've grown up seeing these,and I will keep seeing them for the rest of my life. That is the life of a doctor. I've come to realize how fleeting and fragile this life is,and come to treasure it. There are terrible things in this life, but it's also precious,and I've come to be grateful for it. I don't pray for miracles,I don't believe they'll work that way, I've seen too much to think that way. The fact that we're here right now is a miracle in itself. I will never ask for a miracle,but will always be grateful for all the miracles I already have.

how are you?

I'm fine, nothing wrong at the moment.

I tag(it's ok if you don't want to): @maddyisenough @moody-marshmallow093 @madness-of-lost-memories @miloomezai @k-amui @lolpurple @bagel-san @anyone else who wants to do it

[thelivesoftargaryens]

Tagged by @chillyravenart . This looks like a fun challenge so thanks for the tag :)

Rules: Answer the 10 questions below. Then make up 10 of your own for the next person to answer, and tag people. 

1. What are your top 3 favorite houses in Westeros? 

Well... Of course the Targaryens are my all time faves, but the Velaryons come a close second, and i’ve always loved the Martells. (Sorry I just have to add in the Daynes here too!) 

2. If you could live during one era in GRRM’s universe, what era would it be? (Age Of Heroes, Valyrian empire, Conquest of Westeros, Dance Of Dragons, etc.) 

As much as i’m the biggest fan of the Valyrian empire... They’d most likely have me as a slave (But let’s hope i’d be born into one of the ruling families and get to have a lil’ dragon of my own :) ) I will have to say The Dance Of Dragons though, because even though i’d probs not be highborn enough to get within Daemon’s vicinity, a little bird told me he liked to hang out in Flea Bottom too, so i’d most likely search this badass up and just ask him to adopt me or take me to wife, mistress... whatever works for him. Y’know, I ain’t picky-- Just make it happen. 

3. What is your favorite episode/scene from the Game of Thrones series?

My favorite episode will have to be when Dany is in THOTU to retreive her stolen children and she sees all these forebordings. My favorite scene is stuck between the scene in the same episode where Dany meets Drogo again and Rhaego (it just hurts the soul, man.) and the scene where Bran tells sam that Jon is Rhaegar’s son. 

4. What ruler do you think brought the most change in Westeros, be it good or bad? 

This is one tough cookie, but i’ll have to say Fat Aegon (aka Aegon the unworthy, Aegon the fourth) Because this absolutely thick, dumb fool thought it would be a great idea to legitimize all of his bastards and then fuck up the line of succession, leading to oh, so many rebellions and wars. Absolutely idiotic. 

Honorable mentions go out to Viserys I, the one who couldn’t make up his fucking mind and declare the heir who’d be succeeding him once and for all, and Jaehaerys (father of Aerys) Who thought it would be a great idea to marry his son and daughter to each other, because some randy dwarf that his brother’s peasant wife had brought to court (thinking it was a child of the forest) said so. (No hate to Jenny though, she seemed swell) Though I can’t say that I wouldn’t have seen Aerys and Rhaella wed, because then we wouldn’t have gotten Rhaegar the hot sad boi™️ 

5. If you could ask GRRM one question, what would it be? 

Ugh... I have so many, yet now I can barely think of any. I won’t ask the obvious but I would ask ‘’Why is it so dangerous to travel to Valyria after the doom and why did so many go missing?’’ It was trademarked like we’d get to know this in Fire & Blood, but either I must have completely missed it or it was fake advertising hmmm.... I still want to know, i’d love to know more of the Valyrian freehold. 

6. If GRRM could write a short novel/series about one other family or historical time (besides the Targaryens) in this universe, what would you want it to be about?

Personally, I’d want it to be about the Daynes and how they gained their Valyrian features (silver gold hair and purple eyes) without being of any kin to the old Valyrians and Targs. (I know Maekar married Dyanna Dayne but their kids didn’t marry back into the Daynes, so they didn’t gain the features from that one wedding.) It would also explain why Dawn is such a badass, superior sword (even toward Valyrian steel.) 

7. What was your first introduction to ASOIAF/ Game of Thrones? Did someone tell you about it, did you see it online or did you come across it at a store/shop)

Well... I first came across the series after it was broadcasted on TV and my dad told me that Tywin hated Tyrion, though more of a direct quote would be ‘’Look at this show, that one hates his son who’s a dwarf.’’ And then I binged it all but forgot about it for a few years. Then I randomly started to watch it again after it was hyped up, but i’d say I discovered the series like 5 years ago. 

The books came a little later, however and It was during a Swedish class that I discovered the book (we had quiet reading time and i’d forgotten my book, so I got to choose a random one and thought ‘A Game Of Thrones ‘ looked interesting. It was in swedish though and I only read Dany’s chapters because she was the only character that I knew for sure, who she was. 

After reading her chapters, I forced my friend to come with me to the library and I borrowed all of the books and read them during the summer. 

Fun fact: After I finished them all (circa 6 months) I began rereading them again because so much had passed since the first book and I for some reason wanted to jog my memory. This was around 2-3 years ago. 

8. What was the one thing that bothers you about GRRM’s series? 

As @chillyravenart put it, the women dying in childbirth all the time irks me a bit, because i’d wanted characters such as Laena Velaryon and Joanna Lannister to have lived and even though dying in childbed was common back in the days... That the child they’d birthed almost always died, seems a bit overused too. 

9. What’s the one thing you unbashedly love about GRRM’s series?

The Targaryens and Valyrians beeetch. I’m a sucker for that light hair and purple eyes (and inhumanly sexy, might I add, features.) They’re basically gods to me. Yet I love how he also shows us the rawness of characters and the human heart in conflict... There’s not really black or white, a lot of things come in varying shades of grey (except like Joffrey, fuck that little shit) and I love the way he describes everything, it’s all sex, sweat and regret--Passion, heartbreak and the ugliness of war.

10. What are your feelings about the prequel series in development at HBO right now for the Long Night?

Unpopular opinion, but i’m not tooo excited. I mean i’ll watch it but I really wanted one about the Valyrian freehold. I’m still hoping for it though. The long night ain’t really my cuppa’ tea. 

Now for @chillyravenart ‘s questions...

1. Which Westerosi castle would you like to live in? 

Hard question but i’m stuck between Dragonstone and Starfall. Probably Starfall since Dragonstone would be a little too cold and damp for my taste. 

2. Would you rather be a rich and influential lord, born into wealth and privelege, or would you rather be someone who wields power from the sidelines, like littlefinger? 

Tbh i’d probably like to be born as a rich lord because life just seems to be easier if you’re already at the top... Idk if i’d be clever enough to be as smart as littlefinger lol. Make me a Targaryen princess and i’ll be content. 

3. Pick one: Platinum hair or purple eyes?

This is a really tough one but definitely purple eyes. I can just color my hair platinum but purple eyes are rare and ethereal and I just love them sksksk.

4. Based on a tag I made once, based on your physical features, which part of Westeros/which house do you belong to? 

I’d probably say the Martells.

5. Who do you think will actually defeat the Night King?

Oh, a hard one. Probably Daenerys and the other two unknown dragonriders. In the series; Jon and Dany. 

6. Three people you think will die in season 8?

Tyrion, Cersei and Euron. 

7. What would you name your dragon/direwolf?

Well I’d probably name my dragon something like ‘’Valerion’’ and my direwolf would probably be ‘’Viséa’’ idk why lol. 

8. How must Ser Pounce be avenged?

Do what Cersei did to Ser Pounce, twice to her. Honestly reading the articles about Ser Pounce’s death was horrible for me, since my favorite animal are cats. I’d make Cersei suffer. 

9. Whose POV chapters are your favorite?

Dany’s are a hard favorite but Cersei’s come a close second. I always fancied Arianne’s chapters, too. 

10. Your favorite ASOIAF/GOT antagonist?

Don’t lynch me but I love me some Viserys. *Shouts from the rooftops, hidden behind a bench* He was misunderstood, okay? 

Here are my own questions; Sorry if they’re shit in advance haha.

1. What do you think about Arthur Dayne?

2. Do you think Rhaegar truly loved Lyanna, or was he fueled quite a bit by his obsession for the prophecy of TPTWP?

3. Why do you think Ashara Dayne killed herself?

4. Do you believe that Young Griff is the real son of Rhaegar and Elia Martell, or a fake?

5. What do you think will happen to Daenerys in season 8? 

6. What are your thoughts on Cersei? 

7. Do you think Tyrion will betray Daenerys in season 8? 

8. Who do you want to sit atop the iron throne and rule the seven kingdoms? 

9. List your top 5 characters and a short explanation to why. 

10. Thoughts on Fire & Blood? 

I don’t really know who to nominate so i’m nominating random people I follow, sorry lol. @mhysaofdragons @eliaamartell @where-is-the-winds-of-winter @rhaegardaily @wolvesofspring @ladyofdragonstone

And... I hope whoever reads this found my answers mildly interesting, even though no one will probably see it. Also, Tis my first post. YAY!

#asoiaf #targaryen #house velaryon #valyria #house dayne #house martell #housetargaryen #asongoficeandfire #GRRM #challenge #thelongnight

[quilloftheclouds]

11/11/11 (... x7???)

You guys really love this tag game, huh? XD Tagged by @madammuffins, @bigmoodword, @shadeshadow234, @writeouswriter, @bookenders, @kaisha-writes, and @penzag.

Rules: Answer 11 (77 in this case??) questions, tag 11 people, write 11 new questions.

Taggin’ taggin’ @scottishhellhound​ @i-rove-rock-n-roll​ @capricious-writes​ @writerlyclaire​ @bookenders​ @kidsarentallwrite​ @inexorableblob​ @vieliwrites​​ @abalonetea​ @runningonrain​ @candy687​

Oof. It’s my own fault for letting these gather dust for so long. QUICKFIRE QUESTION ROUND. (And super duper long post below the cut.)

Okay first up I’m gonna post up my 11 questions for tagged people to complete up here so y’all don’t have to scroll all the way through my nonsense:

1. Put yourself in your wip(s). Are you dead? Why or why not? 2. What is your favourite kind of scene to write? 3. What genre is your favourite to write in? 4. What genre do you want to/wish you could write in? 5. Which of your ocs outfits would you consider wearing yourself? 6. What’s the worst thing you’ve done to your ocs (out of context if spoilers)? 7. What’s the nicest thing you’ve done to your ocs? 8. Does your writing style have any characteristic traits? What are they? 9. What are three things you think you’re good at in writing? (NO SKIPPING OF THIS QUESTION ALLOWED) 10. Do you listen to music/white noise while writing? What kind? 11. Come up with joke titles for your wips. What are they?

And now let’s get started!

Do you title your chapters, why/why not? Do they pertain to what happens in the chapter or are they random? I do! I may actually post them all up at some point, I had a lot of fun coming up with them, and I find them clever? A lot of them are puns, it’s great. All except the first and last chapter are titled with one word, related to the ocean or ships, alluding and symbolizing something that happens in that chapter. I made it a sort of word search, too, since every chapter title appears somewhere important in that chapter! As for why? I think it adds to the reading experience, especially with the way I employ them!

Do your main characters seem to have common traits or characteristics? Uhhhh, uh? Huh. Lemme see. I tried to be pretty creative and use a lot of variance in my characters, but sometimes they just... end up that way, whether I want them to or not. Dione and Phoenix are both tall? Both Phoenix and Colin can be pretty friendly and have the same sort of attitude towards certain things. Other than that, I’m not sure!

Why do you think this is? Honestly, it’s likely more coincidence than anything. Also because Phoenix and Colin both work on a ship’s crew, and they have to work well with other people because of that.

Do you borrow real life people or parts of real life people to insert into your novels? Why/why not? Yes. From me especially. Probably subconsciously from other people. It happens! But also, relatability. Accuracy.

Do you stick to a word count in your novels/chapters? Why? Used to, don’t now. It can really add to the tension if a chapter is very short. It can hold the reader in suspense if it’s very long!

What do you want your book to say to those who read it? What do you think your book says about you? Uh. I mean. I’m a simple writer who just likes sharing my worlds with the world, yunno? Maybe when I get further into writing it, I’ll realize what. (But I hope it shows I’m an interesting person that cares about representation and sharing exciting stories??? Mebe?)

If your WIP gets published and goes far would you sign over your rights for a movie adaptation, even if it means it gets butchered like the Eragon (or similar) series did? Ohhh gosh. Yeah no. I’d wait until I was sure it wouldn’t be. I’m not in this for the money or fame, I’m here for the enjoyment of it and the helping others through sharing stories with people they can relate to. Especially those that don’t have much to relate to already.

What is your favorite kind of character chemistry to write? Sexual tension, anger, resentment, jealousy? What about it do you like so much? I really like softness. Someone trying to cheer someone up, nice caring-ness and encouragement through humour and inside jokes. Gives me warm feelings. Oh. That sounds a lot like Colin.

Which settings are your favorites? Chill cafe, Gorey battle field? Why? I like natureeee. A lot. IRL and in writing. I especially enjoy fascinating, eccentric and magical seeming places even if they’re not magical! Think the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, or the Ice Caves of Baffin Island. That sort of thing.

What element represents your main character and why? HAH SPOILERS. Elements play a major part of OSS, my friend. How about I just put the elements, and you decide who’s who. Earth, Fire, Storm, Forest.

If you could pick an AU for your WIP (alternate universe) for a fan work, what au would you choose and why would you choose it? AKJHKDJSH I’VE ALREADY PLANNED OUT MY OWN AUs, MY FRIEND. My fave at the moment is magical modern spies. Because a lot of my characters are immortal and I love to imagine what they would be like in modern times! ...Oh wait, that’s not what au means. -u-

1. Who was your first OC? Of One Siren’s Soul’s cast, Celestine! Overall, that I can remember... a German scientist/mechanical engineer named Suin Omera. Ah, so many memories. 2. What was the first story you ever wrote? That I can remember... a little short story for school about a girl who lost her dad and discovered he had been secretly living in the arctic for a long time so she goes to try and find him? I don’t remember much about it. ^^’ 3. What book (or other piece of media) has most inspired you? AH. Most??? Literally the unpublished books of my two closest friends. @waterfallwritings​, I’m looking at you. >u> 4. How do you fight writer’s block? Badly. 5. What is your favorite genre to write in and why? Fantasy and sci-fi! Or a mix. You can find a more full answer here. 6. How would you describe your writing style? Uhhhh, I have a very action-y writing style? Unless the sort of mood requires, I don’t tend to use a lot of description and I more often focus on action and dialogue and character thoughts/narrative. It’s fitting to what I write, I suppose, because it’s an action packed pirate adventure, with a lot of focus on character. 7. In general, do you think you’d get along with your protagonists? Phoenix and Colin are nice. Dione maybe after a long while, since we both like literature and plants. Celestine... no one ever gets along with Celestine. 8. What do you love most about your WIPs? Oh. I uh. Wow. I only have one right now, but I like characters and their interactions and their thoughts on each other. But mostly I just love how far I’ve come already. That the wip even exists. ^^’ 9. What is your favorite character trope? Ah. Not good with tropes... I reblogged something on this a while ago, but that scene where someone spends forever taking out a comically massive amount of weapons from unexpected places on their person? That’s fun. 10. What is your least favorite character trope? Mmmm hmm. Hm. Mostly ones that discriminate or are based on negative stereotypes. Some of them can be done well, but not... many. 11. What’s an upcoming scene you’re excited to write? Someone’s gettin’ STABBED.

What was your first character like? See in an earlier question ^^^

What’s your most recent character like? Oh, this is neat. Who’s my most recent character? Uhhhh, um. I think it’s actually... I don’t have a name for them yet, but it’s a young siren that appears in book two that helps our main cast on their adventure!

Out of all of your characters, who’s the least human in appearance? Hehe. HEH. Oohhhh, this would definitely be Light. You don’t know who that is yet.

Who’s your worst character, and what would you do upon meeting them? Worst? The Scientist. Punch to the face.

If you could meet any of your characters, who would you choose? Uh. It’d be really cool to meet Forest! You don’t know who that is yet, either. ^^

Two of your characters from different WIPs meet! How do they get along? I don’t currently have another wip, but from my prospective wip at the moment, meeting... Celestine. Surprisingly it wouldn’t be the worst, because both would just start nerding out about each other’s technology.

Which out of your OCs just wants to live life out peacefully? George is so done with this trash.

Which one of your OCs is most definitely not living their life out peacefully? I want to say George again for the jokes, but the worst off at the moment is probably Dione. Sorry, Dione!

Is there any songs that make you think specifically of any of your characters? Ohhhh yeah. I’ll likely be making a full post for that at some point, and that’s also on each characters part of the wip page, but to save time, have this.

Which one of your OCs actually had a pretty good childhood? Dione had a relatively normal childhood, for the pretty-near equivalent of a princess. That is, of course, until she turned 24.

Who would have a fistfight with god out of spite? This actually happens. This ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN MY WIP. It’s Celestine.

1. What’s the weirdest thing you were ever inspired by for one of your WIPs?

Hmmmm, I mean tardigrades are pretty weird, right? Also awesome. They’re one of the most resilient known animals, able to survive both some of the highest AND the lowest temperatures known to have ever been survived by an organism? Awesome.

2. Do any of your OCs have famous face claims? If so, who are they?

Colin’s face claim is Booboo Stewart! He’s pretty famous?

3. What’s your favourite season and why?

Autumn. Pretty colours, perfect temperatures with a small jacket/sweater, and you get to experience the whole range of seasons from early Fall to late!

4. Do you have any superstitions?

Despite being a very logically, scientifically minded person... I am a Maritimer, and superstitions are huge. Never ever say before you go fishing that you’re definitely going to catch something. You’ll be skunked.

5. Rural, suburbs, city, in which do you live and which do you most often write about?

I guess I most write about rural, since... wait, what does the open ocean count as?? Anyways, I live in the suburbs.

6. What’s your favourite book series?

I dunno ‘bout favourites, but I like The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.

7. Is there a book/series that ever left you intensely disappointed? (Or one that left you pleasantly surprised?)

Uh... I mean, The Hunger Games was actually really good, but I was disappointed by the public’s focus on the love triangle?

8. What’s one of the weirdest/funniest out of context lines from your WIPs?

“Don’t tell me the boatswain has got ‘imself into the rum store again.”

9. A movie/show that made you cry? (Unless you’re dead inside)

AHHAH I AM DEAD INSIDE AND TRULY A FICTIONAL SOCIOPATH. But, I think Simon Birch is one I can recall getting misty eyed from.

10. What movies or books or shows do you think are criminally underrated?

Uuhhhhhh Treasure Planet is one? I’m not good at this one. OH. You wanna know some shows I loved way too much from my childhood? Hot Wheels: Battle Force Five, and Storm Hawks. I was a terrible nerd.

11. Which fictional character would you like to steal borrow from any world for a crossover with your own WIP?

Ehheee, honestly, I could work with anything, pretty much. But the magic system colliding with the Avatar from The Last Airbender? Ehehehe, that would be hilarious.

Do you own and fun socks? What are they? My best friend love fun socks, and for my birthday she got me some: I have two pairs, a black pair with colourful gardening tools on them, and one with little labelled garden herbs on them. They’re adorable and I love them. ^u^

How many notebooks do you have? What do they look like? How full are they? HAH. SO MANY. Most are sketchbooks, but out of notebooks, I have... three? One’s for schoolwork, one’s full of old writing, and one is for OSS notes.

Grab the book nearest you. Turn to page 70 (or 16 if it’s a tiny book). What is the 8th line on that page? How do you feel about it? Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson: I haven’t actually had the opportunity to start reading it yet, but here: “She’d never seen him at work, never experienced him as the type of person who could tend to another’s needs.” Considering I have no idea what’s going on... I have no idea?

Have you read any short stories? What’s your favorite? I’m not much of a short story reader, but there was a really cool one from a sci-fi compilation (that I can’t remember the name of). It was about time travelling and how it had already been invented, but because no one could ever go back in time, they could only go forward, no one had realized. It was kind of sad, now that I think of it, since the MCs ended up trying to travel back to their time when warned against it and they end up alone in the far future. Whoops.

Have you ever tried knitting? Do you still knit? What about other crafty things? What do you make? I tried it when I was back at home, but at the moment I don’t have the materials! As for crafts, I’m trying to get into bookbinding, card making... other sort of paper crafts. ^^

Of the books in your living space right now, which has the coolest cover? I’m sad now because I basically have no physical books here... aw. Um, The Cloud Collector’s Handbook by Gavin Pretor-Pinney is really pretty. Pastels and colourful skies and clouds are my favourite~

Do you know any camp songs? What did you used to sing in school, or at recess? Oh stars. I’m a Cub Scout Leader, my friend. OF COURSE I know camp songs. What did I used to sing in school? What’s the one with the “That’s the way, uh huh, uh huh/I like it, uh huh, uh huh” with the special clapping? That one. What’s that?

What’s your favorite fairy tale? How would you twist it? Well technically OSS includes some twists from The Little Mermaid, so does that count?

Are there any cool local events where you live? Ah, well daily we have the highest tides in the world. That’s pretty cool, huh?

What’s your favorite sea creature? Sea snakes. They’re deadly and pretty.

Do you like turtles? Why? Yes! YES! Turtles are adorable. Don’t put your finger near a Snapping Turtle’s mouth though.

1. If you could meet one author for lunch, who would it be?

Ooh, I’m bad about this. Say time travelling is an option: Roald Dahl. That would be amazing.

2. What are your thoughts on visual stories? (apps like Choices: Stories You Play, Episode, etc.)

Ah, I don’t really have much experience with them at all, so I can’t really say anything!

3. What was the first book to make you cry?

Have I ever cried at a book? Uhhhh... I may not have. Whoops.

4. Do you ever base your characters on people you know?

I mean, subconsciously probably? But I don’t typically think about other people when creating characters.

5. Name the worst book you’ve ever read, and tell me why it was bad.

Iiiii did not like Divergent. Sorry, that’s just a personal opinion. I guess it was too... dependent on a system that didn’t really make sense to me? I dunno, mate.

6. Do you have a trademark writing ‘quirk’?

I like short sentences in action-y scenes. Maybe that? I also really like using way too many em dashes and double line breaks to emphasize something.

7. Do you have any (un)helpful pets? (I couldn’t resist asking this one. Also, if the answer is yes, please send me photos.)

I don’t have any pets! I have planties though. Cute lil’ succulents.

8. What advice would you give to a person who is new to writing?

There are going to be times when you’re not happy with your writing! But any writing is helpful, because no matter what you write, you’re improving your skills to be better the next time. Plus, a first draft can be edited later! You can’t edit what’s not there~

9. Tell me your ideal writing environment.

My family partly owns a lake cabin out in the woods which we go to every summer. It’s so peaceful to sit in the hammock chair on the porch and write to the gentle lapping waves on the beach, the birdsong, and the swish of the tree branches around me. On a day with a perfect not-too-hot warm temperature, it’s very nice.

10. Sad endings: realistic, or unnecessary?

It depends how it’s executed! I prefer bittersweet ending to sad ones, since those tend to give me the most effective emotions. Certainly I tend to seek out happier endings instead, though!

11. You’ve decided to write under a pseudonym. What is it?

Ooh. Oohhhh, well. I’m actually thinking of changing my name legally. So that’s a thing. For a pseudonym, I think I would love to go with... hm. Gale Silver. Because I love puns and that hits on two major nature aspects I’m a nerd for.

what’s your favorite movie from your childhood? has this movie had an impact on your writing at all? have any movies had an impact on your writing? Hands down How To Train Your Dragon. I am a nerd who loves dragons and the music and scenery is gorgeous. Also just... so many of its themes snuck into my wip and I didn’t even realize until just recently. Whoops.

do you struggle to write for any ocs? why? are any of your ocs really easy to write for? Io is a little hard for me to write sometimes just because she’s so darn cold. Just. Apathetic towards everything, and super formal, yet at the same time very curt and to the point. I’m used to writing either a “formal” through super flowery language or a “cold” through Celestine’s mean snark, not just... Io.

do you have any big milestones coming up for your wip? (or blog? or work? or whatever?) I’M LESS THAN 2,000 WORDS AWAY FROM 50,000 IN MY FIRST DRAFT. YEAH MATE

what are your favorite writing resources for face claims, picking first names/surnames, etc? (feel free to just pick one resource to share but you’re welcome to share as many as you’d like!) Oh! I’m still pretty new to finding face claims and what not, but naming wise Wikipedia can cover all your bases sometimes. As I’m writing a historical fantasy, to find names that fit the time period, I’ll sometimes use this site.

if your ocs had a name for their group of friends, what would it be? (for example, most of y’all have noticed by now that the friend group for b’tzelem elohim is nicknamed “shalomies”) Okay but I still have such a love for that name. XD I call my group simply The Crew! Since, you know. They’re in a pirate crew by the end of the book. (My creativity knows no bounds.)

on a similar note, would they have a groupchat? (if your world doesn’t have technology, pretend it does!) Modern times, yeah prolly. Dione and Celestine would just have it muted except for emergencies, and Phoenix and Colin would just constantly be sharing memes and terrible puns.

how many languages can you speak, if any? how many can your characters speak, if any? I speak English and (Acadian) French! Trying to learn ASL at the moment. As for my characters? Hoo, boy. Without spoilers, Celestine is multilingual with four languages, Colin is almost trilingual, Dione is trilingual, and Phoenix... I think Phoenix can only speak English. Yeah that may seem like overkill, but in context it makes sense. ^^’

how much time do you spend planning/researching before starting your wip? Fun story about that! For one of my first serious wips, Soul Tied, I first came up with the ideas perhaps... six years ago? And I have yet to write a single thing. ^^’ For OSS, the story took maybe a month to completely plan out and outline, though I still do a lot of research and planning ahead as I write the first draft, too!

do you have a preferred area to write? (ie your bedroom, the coffee shop, the library, your kitchen, etc.) My desk in my bedroom!

what’s your favorite writing snack or drink? Ohh, I don’t eat while I write ‘cause I’m actually incapable of focusing on something while I eat, but I normally really like having apple spice tea or some other kind of herbal tea!

lastly, what should you be doing right now instead of this tag game? (ps: stop procrastinating even though, as i type this, i’m currently procrastinating) HAH. STUDYING FOR MY CHEMISTRY MIDTERM. IT’S FINE. NO.

Well that was long!

#oof #this is why you shouldn't procrastinate so much Quill #will i ever learn my lesson? #no #it was fun tho #oss #one siren's soul #tag game #writeblr #11 questions #11 questions tag game

[mihanada]

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Donghua Episode 2 (Part 2)

I decided to leave all parts aside from part 1 out of the main tags like I do for the novel live blogs, so just a heads up there (this is part of my effort to organize this blog lol gotta start somewhere).

Jin Ling trips! I like this part in the animation, it shows the momentum continuing and forcing him to crash very well. It’s the little things that count!

“This reckless brat is worrisome.”

lol same Wei Wuxian, same. Ugh, you can sense his desperation whenever he fights.

So, Wei Wuxian ended up making things worse before he made them better in this version. I don’t totally get what was up with the leaves he used to fight and how the demonic cultivation somehow made the ghost hand attach to it (??).

Continuing this ghost hand plot line also made Lan Wangji look incompetent in when he was facing off against Jiang Cheng too lol.

This...might be cool in theory? But it looks really weird to see a giant bell appear out of nowhere...Oh well, at least you tried, random mook.

Well, damn that escalated.

JIN LIIING

you silly kid if it wasn’t for Wei Wuxian, you would’ve gotten yourself killed.

Ah, they even flash back to what Jiang Cheng told him about not wanting to see him if he doesn’t get a “prey of value”.

I’ve gotta admit, I didn’t like Jin Ling much at first, it took until the Yi City arc for me to like him. Putting the flashback in makes it a little easier to see why he’s so stubborn and reckless. (though I guess the haughty attitude can be annoying xD)

aw look at him. he’s trying.

most of my screenshots this time around are of Jin Ling oops.

Ah. yes. Wei Wuxian’s terrible flute skills start. they’re still pretty damn good for having spent a minute flat making that thing but at least they made it whistle and fluctuate.

Also LOL Wen Ning what were you doing underground??

The perspective shots in this...there certainly are a lot of them lol.

sorrynotsorry for another Jin Ling. He is very photogenic. he looks shocked but also behold that tragic look in his eyes. before anyone tells you anything, you know that these two have some history and it is one filled with much sadness. 

ah, the merits of a visual medium.

then this look turns into one of determination then anger. LOOK, A WORTHY PREY. jiang cheng i want to beat you up

hahaha ooh look it’s Jingyi who calls Jin Ling’s name. welp you two got us into this mess so

wow these perspectives are wild wth. also, cgi grass hi

interesting, interesting, we get Wen Ning helping out to subdue the hand in this version. While the events are totally weird, it does add even more to the ‘hey, he’s helping us?’ angle.

I was gonna screencap Sizhui looking cool while he sealed the hand into the bag but then it looked like he was making a “shh” gesture so I decided against it. xD

WHY DOES THIS IMAGE LOOK SO FUNNY.  because none of you can come close to scratching wen ning.

Then a very nice, if implausible shot from Jin Ling’s arrow pinning the chain to a tree.

I really like the scenes where Wei Wuxian plays the flute and how it sounds uneven and screechy.

yikes the music takes a turn for the scary dramatic here. 

why does he look so tense here? is it taking that much effort to order Wen Ning away, is it nerves from Lan Wangji literally holding his wrist, fear of being found out...I think it’s just concentrating on getting Wen Ning the heck away fast.

But the way he slumps after that, I guess he figured “I’ve been found out now.”

Zidian’s scary purple glow of doom. interesting choice of lighting, it highlights just how close the whip is getting.

yay Lan Wangji to the rescue with his impossible guqing playing skills.

also lol at Jiang Cheng’s dramatic entrance #2 this time from on top of a tree

this is the grin of a beautiful evil mastermind

why did they make Jiang Cheng’s lips so glossy

it’s really scary jfc

wow that is some serious anger like damn. his eyes get even narrower half a second later. this is exactly what “a look of murder in so-and-so’s eyes” is

lol “as long as they’re good-looking, no matter man or woman, plant or animal”

I think you’re exaggerating here Jin Ling xD but well at they tried, with the censorship stuff this is the best we can get probably

(yes this guy totally went and drooled over plants??? he is that desperate xD)

lol “though he was scum, he was charming scum and totally not into guys”

it’s alright, apparently the person in question didn’t even realize it himself

Sizhui the only one who remembers his manners (Jingyi never bows or makes a hand gesture before addressing Jiang Cheng xD)

lol “why he is so insistent on protecting a nobody” this always makes me laugh because hELLo. Hanguang-jun is known for upholding his sect’s righteousness motto and you drag back people who are definitely not Wei Wuxian and torture them so like...is this surprising.

aH they gave Lan Wangji a new line. “His path is uncommon, but his deeds are righteous. For sentiment or reason, he deserves gratitude.”

...now it sounds like Lan Wangji was the one possessed. he was known for vehemently opposing the demonic cultivation when Wei Wuxian was alive and I don’t recall that anyone ever gets the impression he changed over the years so this is a bit weird. yeah they say he deserves their gratitude for saving their juniors but that first bit “his path is uncommon, but” is out of place a little.

on the other hand, these lines sound really cool and I like them

JINGYI POINTING IS RUDE.

aw that guilty face that he hand to be saved. Actually, in this shot he isn’t reacting to Jingyi yet, this look on his face is caused by his uncle. after all, we all know what he told him last time...

but go Jingyi pointing out that he saved Jin Ling too.

i will resist screenshotting more Jin Ling...

LOL now Wei Wuxian is insulting Jiang Cheng. “It’s not like I’m attracted to just anything good-looking.”

did you just compare Jiang Cheng to a bull

ACTUALLY I SEE THE RESEMBLANCE. both are >:| 

I’ve already talked about Lan Wangji’s eye narrowing and how his eyes are the only way to gauge his emotions right now. xD

these rabbits scare me

i love Wei Wuxian’s crying voice though xD lol he’s so dramatic

HAHAHA actually this makes some sense. “I like Little Apple too but I don’t want to live in the donkey shed.” I’d like it if you stopped comparing people to animals but this sort of makes sense considering how you can’t even breathe too loudly in the Cloud Recesses

Sizhui looks like such a gentle good child

you and Lan Xichen are, like, the only sane people in this whole series

do you see Jingyi’s smile when Lan Wangji says to let him cry, drag him inside when he’s tired.

this is a little silly for the Hanguang-jun we know in this part of the story but on the other hand this is hilarious. how did he figure out it likes apples though?

Now, time for AWKWARD TRANSITION TO THE PAST.

i really like the perspectives though

what’s with the jars of Emperor’s Smile? he literally stored them at the base of a tree for later that night??

I like how they actually look younger 20 years ago though, good job there

excuse me. what’s with those devious eyes.

Next episode: adventures in the Cloud Recesses! aka before everything went to shit and when everyone was happy (except Lan Wangji lol)

Next Up: Episode 3, Part 1 ← back • forward →

#mdzs donghua #donghua live blog #episode 2

[dlamp-dictator]

Allen Rambles about Cross Tag Battle

So I already did an Under Night In-Birth Rambling a few months, and I don’t feel like retreading that game again for the sake of another half-baked Rambling like the Persona 4 Arena one. No, I’ll talk a bit more about Under Night In-Birth and it’s Light Novel elements another day when I actually have the drive to do so. Instead, I’ll  jump straight into talking about about Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, namely, expanding on my initial thoughts of it. 

I had a chance to play the beta of the game when it was available, had a lot of fun playing it, and left it feeling confident this game could sell well, but a bit uneasy as well. 

But first before I get to explaining that...

The DLC Issue

It wouldn’t be my Rambling unless I got out of the elephants in the room straight away, now would it? 

So... that DLC, huh?

I’m not gonna’ bother defending this, but I’ll say this much in its defense. The season pass and the game is about 70 US dollars all together. That’s 50 bucks for the game 1 dollar for every extra character. That’s not a bad deal on paper. Let’s be real here, Dragon Ball FighterZ has more expensive DLC than this and much more expensive season pass combo pack, Blazblue Central Fiction had more expensive DLC than this, and several other fighting games have done worse practices. Dead of Alive has cosmetics that total up to hundred of dollars. From what I’ve seen and played Street Fighter 5 has a handful of costumes can only be purchased with cash rather than the in game fight money, among a few other practices I’m not cool with. And we can probably go on and on about EA’s DLC practices. Worse has been done, and if an extra 20 buck for 20 more characters on an already decent rooster seems bad to you, then... well I think you haven’t been playing fighting games that long to not see this coming.

However, that’s on paper. In context, this is just flat out shady and I’d even say exploitative.

I’m not going to pretend that what Arc System Works is doing is okay. Let’s be real here, a lot of the assets we’re seeing are being ripped and reused from each character’s respective game save for some new animations, the gameplay itself is very simplified, and the fact that they announced such a large amount of DLC before the game was even released is already shady business. I hate it when companies do that, and Arc System Works shouldn’t get a pass for it either. 

Not to mention the fact that a portion of their EVO line up is DLC characters. That just kills me a little. I’ll admit that I have a negative opinion of the FGC and competitive fighting game community as a whole, and I’ve already talked about my opinion of EVO in the past, but I really don’t think this game deserves to be in the EVO line up when it only has a little over half its full cast in the game for competitive play, with about a fifth of that cast being DLC. That means you need to shell out at least 6 extra dollars just to have an idea of certain match ups and playstyles, or worse, play your main. That’s no where near fair on a competitive level, that’s a scam and I hope someone more familiar with the competitive side of the fighting game community calls Arc System Works out on it. If your main is locked behind a paywall then you have a right to be angry and even go as far as to boycott this game for this kind of practice. 

I’m not happy with the idea of paying to just to play as Orie and Naoto, but as I’ve said, worse has been done in the gaming world. If you aren’t buying this game for the reasons I mentioned, then I respect you’re opinion. However, I’ll also ask you to at least try and get this game on sale otherwise, as there is a good fighting game here, just one that needs to shake off a bad first impression. 

Ah, and speaking of the game...

This Game is Simple

Like I said, I took some time to play the Beta, and I have to say this game is a little too simple for my liking. Not that I’m some genius fighting game player that could tell you all the frame data and hitbox nonsense, but I feel like I’m grasping this game’s controls a little too fast for someone of my skill level. 

Let me explain. 

In the majority of fighting games I play I usually maintain a 10%-20% win rate, so I usually win 1 out of 10 matches. For a casual fighting game player that’s not bad considering I’m usually fighting competitive players, but with Cross Tag Battle I left the beta with a 50% win rate. That’s... quite a jump, but I don’t think that’s due to my skill, but how simple it is for someone that’s familiar with fighting game mechanics to understand the system. Now I’m also keeping in mind that everyone was learning the ins and outs of this game along with me during the beta, but this still.

This simplicity isn’t a bad thing. It works in the game’s favor and makes it much easier to grasp how all these characters works, which is needed for a tag-team style game, but it is something that makes me wonder how long this game will be popular. This game has two auto combos, for every character, and all the characters that aren’t from RWBY have a diluted moveset of their original game. It feels like you know everything about a character in about an hour of practice.

I had similar feelings about Dragonball FighterZ, all the character felt too similar to each other outside of some special moves. Cross Tag isn’t as simple and not all characters feel the same, but one of the big appeals of a fighting game is being about to learn a character for months and still find new techniques and strategies with them. Cross Tag Battle doesn’t feel like a game I’ll be able to do that in.

 Again, that’s not a bad thing, but it’s just something that has me wondering about the direction fighting games are taking... or maybe this is just a product of team-based fighters. That simplicity might be needed for the sake of everything meshing well. I mean, if Ragna could do all his rushdown stuff and have an assist to reset combos he’d be a nightmare to fight against. And Nu... don’t get me started on Nu.

 But then again, Skullgirls has a good balance of complexity, and the potential for 3-on-3 combat. All their characters feel and play in very unique ways too, so maybe my worries are founded in some ways...

But speaking of...

How Characters Play/Feel

Like I said, this game is very simple. These characters only play slightly like their original games. I've only played with a few people, namely my mains, but Yosuke doesn’t feel like the Yosuke P4A with his 48 mix-up tools, Linne and Hyde feel like themselves, but with less combo options than in their original game. Sadly, none of my Blazblue mains are in the current roster, so I can’t say much about them, but Ragna feels like a watered down version of himself at the very least. I think that goes for most of the cast. They all feel very watered down. This isn’t bad, it’s just different, and I’m not sure how I feel about that yet. 

I’m excited to know I’ll have Orie and eventually Izayoi in the game to play with, but I’ve seen gameplay of Orie, and she doesn’t play the way I play her in UNIEST. I get the feeling a lot of people are going to be playing around with the cast for the wrong reasons.

That said though...

The RWBY Characters

The RWBY characters play the best too me, but that should be obvious. They were made with this game in mind from the ground up. As such their combo animations are smoother than the rest of the cast, their sprites are a little nicer, and I can really see a lot of love went into make them feel and play like how they are in the show. The references and callbacks are great as someone that’s a fan of show, and I honestly think their voice acting improved a little in this game... then again, I’ve been hearing their voices for a few years now so I might just be a bit numb to how they’re directed in their series, but I’m surprised how well they mesh with the overall cast. I can see the shipping possibilities and fanfics already. I’m definitely going to have Blake in one of my presets when the game comes out, probably pair her up with Linne or Hyde.

Speaking of voice acting...

The English Dub

Thank God we have a dub again. It’s great to hear Patrick Seitz as Ragna again, and the rest of the cast as well. The Under Night In-Birh cast sounds great too, my favorites being Linne and Gordeau. Seriously, the UNIEST cast sounds great and their voice actors really capture their character well from what I’ve heard so far. It really makes me wish we got a dub for that game so those overlong light novel portions didn’t feel as long. 

I did little blurbs about voice actors when Elsword and Persona 5 voice actors were announced, and I’ll definitely do the same kind of blurb for Under Night In-Birth once all the voice actors are known. This game gives me hope that the next Guilty Gear will have a dub and then I can finally care about the story again.

But moving on...

The Roster (AKA Allen Gloats About Being Right)

So we know the full rooster of the game thanks to data miners (the buzzkills), and it looks like I can safely, confidently, and haughtily state that I was right with a few of my calls when I made my speculations. For the sake of maximum gloating I’ll give you all the breakdown from my Rambling on the matter.

Charge Characters

Mitsuru 

Kagura

Vatista 

Puppet Characters 

Carl

Relius 

Chaos 

Ken

Required By Popularity

Tsubaki

Adachi

Yuzuriha

Required by Tier List

Izanami

Margret/Elizabeth

Seth/Merkava

ArcSys’s Persona OCs

Labrys

Sho

Looking back, I wish I stated Nine instead of Izanami, but Izanamis were kicking my ass by the time I wrote up my speculation and I was very salty about that. I also wish I added Mika into my curve ball list instead of my wishlist, but... well, I can’t predict everything. Speaking of that wishlist, a few people made it like Izayoi, Hakumen, and Akihiko, but that was my personal wishlist and not a speculation, so I won’t count those.

Anyway, I got 5/14 right. I’d consider that pretty good for pure speculation.

My Hopes

I’m just gonna’ list these down, as now we’re getting into my unorganized thoughts.

A simple, fanservice-y story mode. Like I originally said, this game is Arc System Works fanservice incarnate. Frankly, trying to tell a serious story with all these properties, while possible, will just be a giant mess, especially trying to deal with all the quantum mechanical, timeline jumping, dimension hopping nonsense of Blazblue, so I really hope this story will be more like Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s Subspace Emissary where the story is simple and more fanservice for fans of all these series and just see everyone interacting with some fights in between. From what we’ve seen of certain cutscenes CGs being released this just might be the case.

Free DLC. I already bought the Season Pass because I’m a degenerate, but I really hope this game does what Skullgirls did and have all their character packs free on at least the first day of their releases. I have major issues with this kind of business practice and completely understand if you guys don’t buy this game because of it. I’m hoping Arc System Works will realize this and make all the packs be free for at least their day-one release to try and dowse the flames a little. And hey, the first pack and the rest of the RWBY team is free for the first while, so I think that’s exactly what their doing.

...

...

... 

I’m gonna’ feel like a chump for waste twenty buck if that’s the case, but hey, I do like the series.

A Good Single Player Experience. I know it’s a fighting game and all, but I hope it’ll have something that’ll make this game fun three years from now when the online community is dead. Something BBCP’s Abyss Mode (because CF’s is garbage) or Persona 4 Arena Ultimax’s Golden Arena Mode. Something like that. I doubt that’ll happen, but it’s a hope for a reason.

Overall, despite my mixed feelings, I hope the best for this game. And as we count down to the final days before release, I hope you all enjoy this game as much as I will.

Unless you roll out with Team UNGA. If you do, then fuck you, fuck your family, fuck your house cat, and everything you stand for.

#blazblue #blazblue cross tag battle #your dictator is speaking

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

What are other books/series that you'd recommend that are in the same vein as Animorphs?

Honestly, your ask inspired me to get off my butt and finally compile a list of the books that I reference with my character names in Eleutherophobia, because in a lot of ways that’s my list of recommendations right there: I deliberately chose children’s and/or sci-fi stories that deal really well with death, war, dark humor, class divides, and/or social trauma for most of my character names.  I also tend to use allusions that either comment on Animorphs or on the source work in the way that the names come up.

That said, here are The Ten Greatest Animorphs-Adjacent Works of Literature According to Sol’s Totally Arbitrary Standards: 

1. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L’Engle

This is a really good teen story that, in painfully accurate detail, captures exactly what it’s like to be too young to really understand death while forced to confront it anyway.  I read it at about the same age as the protagonist, not that long after having suffered the first major loss in my own life (a friend, also 14, killed by cancer).  It accomplished exactly what a really good novel should by putting words to the experiences that I couldn’t describe properly either then or now.  This isn’t a light read—its main plot is about terminal illness, and the story is bookended by two different unexpected deaths—but it is a powerful one. 

2. The One and Only Ivan, K.A. Applegate 

This prose novel (think an epic poem, sort of like The Iliad, only better) obviously has everything in it that makes K.A. Applegate one of the greatest children’s authors alive: heartbreaking tragedy, disturbing commentary on the human condition, unforgettably individuated narration, pop culture references, and poop jokes.  Although I’m mostly joking when I refer to Marco in my tags as “the one and only” (since this book is narrated by a gorilla), Ivan does remind me of Marco with his sometimes-toxic determination to see the best of every possible situation when grief and anger allow him no other outlet for his feelings and the terrifying lengths to which he will go in order to protect his found family.

3. My Teacher Flunked the Planet, Bruce Coville

Although the entire My Teacher is an Alien series is really well-written and powerful, this book is definitely my favorite because in many ways it’s sort of an anti-Animorphs.  Whereas Animorphs (at least in my opinion) is a story about the battle for personal freedom and privacy, with huge emphasis on one’s inner identity remaining the same even as one’s physical shape changes, My Teacher Flunked the Planet is about how maybe the answer to all our problems doesn’t come from violent struggle for personal freedoms, but from peaceful acceptance of common ground among all humans.  There’s a lot of intuitive appeal in reading about the protagonists of a war epic all shouting “Free or dead!” before going off to battle (#13) but this series actually deconstructs that message as blind and excessive, especially when options like “all you need is love” or “no man is an island” are still on the table.

4. Moon Called, Patricia Briggs

I think this book is the only piece of adult fiction on this whole list, and that’s no accident: the Mercy Thompson series is all about the process of adulthood and how that happens to interact with the presence of the supernatural in one’s life.  The last time I tried to make a list of my favorite fictional characters of all time, it ended up being about 75% Mercy Thompson series, 24% Animorphs, and the other 1% was Eugenides Attolis (who I’ll get back to in my rec for The Theif).  These books are about a VW mechanic, her security-administrator next door neighbor, her surgeon roommate, her retail-working best friend and his defense-lawyer boyfriend, and their cybersecurity frenemy.  The fact that half those characters are supernatural creatures only serves to inconvenience Mercy as she contemplates how she’s going to pay next month’s rent when a demon destroyed her trailer, whether to get married for the first time at age 38 when doing so would make her co-alpha of a werewolf pack, what to do about the vampires that keep asking for her mechanic services without paying, and how to be a good neighbor to the area ghosts that only she can see.  

5. The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner

This book (and its sequel A Conspiracy of Kings) are the ones that I return to every time I struggle with first-person writing and no Animorphs are at hand.  Turner does maybe the best of any author I’ve seen of having character-driven plots and plot-driven characters.  This book is the story of five individuals (with five slightly different agendas) traveling through an alternate version of ancient Greece and Turkey with a deceptively simple goal: they all want to work together to steal a magical stone from the gods.  However, the narrator especially is more complicated than he seems, which everyone else fails to realize at their own detriment. 

6. Homecoming, Cynthia Voight

Critics have compared this book to a modern, realistic reimagining of The Boxcar Children, which always made a lot of sense to me.  It’s the story of four children who must find their own way from relative to relative in an effort to find a permanent home, struggling every single day with the question of what they will eat and how they will find a safe place to sleep that night.  The main character herself is one of those unforgettable heroines that is easy to love even as she makes mistake after mistake as a 13-year-old who is forced to navigate the world of adult decisions, shouldering the burden of finding a home for her family because even though she doesn’t know what she’s doing, it’s not like she can ask an adult for help.  Too bad the Animorphs didn’t have Dicey Tillerman on the team, because this girl shepherds her family through an Odysseus-worthy journey on stubbornness alone.

7. High Wizardry, Diane Duane

The Young Wizards series has a lot of good books in it, but this one will forever be my favorite because it shows that weird, awkward, science- and sci-fi-loving girls can save the world just by being themselves.  Dairine Callahan was the first geek girl who ever taught me it’s not only okay to be a geek girl, but that there’s power in empiricism when properly applied.  In contrast to a lot of scientifically “smart” characters from sci-fi (who often use long words or good grades as a shorthand for conveying their expertise), Dairine applies the scientific method, programming theory, and a love of Star Wars to her problem-solving skills in a way that easily conveys that she—and Diane Duane, for that matter—love science for what it is: an adventurous way of taking apart the universe to find out how it works.  This is sci-fi at its best. 

8. Dr. Franklin’s Island, Gwyneth Jones

If you love Animorphs’ body horror, personal tragedy, and portrayal of teens struggling to cope with unimaginable circumstances, then this the book for you!  I’m only being about 80% facetious, because this story has all that and a huge dose of teen angst besides.  It’s a loose retelling of H.G. Wells’s classic The Island of Doctor Moreau, but really goes beyond that story by showing how the identity struggles of adolescence interact with the identity struggles of being kidnapped by a mad scientist and forcibly transformed into a different animal.  It’s a survival story with a huge dose of nightmare fuel (seriously: this book is not for the faint of heart, the weak of stomach, or anyone who skips the descriptions of skin melting and bones realigning in Animorphs) but it’s also one about how three kids with a ton of personal differences and no particular reason to like each other become fast friends over the process of surviving hell by relying on each other.  

9. Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar

Louis Sachar is the only author I’ve ever seen who can match K.A. Applegate for nihilistic humor and absurdist horror layered on top of an awesome story that’s actually fun for kids to read.  Where he beats K.A. Applegate out is in terms of his ability to generate dream-like surrealism in these short stories, each one of which starts out hilariously bizarre and gradually devolves into becoming nightmare-inducingly bizarre.  Generally, each one ends with an unsettling abruptness that never quite relieves the tension evoked by the horror of the previous pages, leaving the reader wondering what the hell just happened, and whether one just wet one’s pants from laughing too hard or from sheer existential terror.  The fact that so much of this effect is achieved through meta-humor and wordplay is, in my opinion, just a testament to Sachar’s huge skill as a writer. 

10. Magyk, Angie Sage

As I mentioned, the Septimus Heap series is probably the second most powerful portrayal of the effect of war on children that I’ve ever encountered; the fact that the books are so funny on top of their subtle horror is a huge bonus as well.  There are a lot of excellent moments throughout the series where the one protagonist’s history as a child soldier (throughout this novel he’s simply known as “Boy 412″) will interact with his stepsister’s (and co-protagonist’s) comparatively privileged upbringing.  Probably my favorite is the moment when the two main characters end up working together to kill a man in self-defense, and the girl raised as a princess makes the horrified comment that she never thought she’d actually have to kill someone, to which her stepbrother calmly responds that that’s a privilege he never had; the ensuing conversation strongly implies that his psyche has been permanently damaged by the fact that he was raised to kill pretty much from infancy, but all in a way that is both child-friendly and respectful of real trauma.  

#ya sf #book recs #sci fi #children's literature #animorphs #a ring of endless light #the one and only ivan #my teacher flunked the planet #moon called #the theif #homecoming #high wizardry #dr. franklin's island #sideways stories from wayside school #magyk

[topazpearl]

I was tagged by @klanmural a few days ago and I’m finally doin it haha (thanks for tagging me I enjoy doing these)

Name: Megan

Nicknames: Meg, or topaz occasionally

Zodiac sign: Scorpio

Height: 5'8"

Orientation: straight

Ethnicity: white/caucasian

Favorite fruit: strawberries or oranges

Favorite season: despite the ungodly humidity i have a soft spot for summer

Favorite book: there’s a novel length fanfic i rlly like does that count i like the first pjo series and harry potter, and the first hunger games book

Favorite flower: sunflowers, and also hyacinths

Favorite scent: freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and like, that smell of a summer evening yknow? Where it smells warm and fresh at the same time?? Yknow???

Favorite animal: crows

Coffee, tea, or hot cocoa: all three

Cat or dog person: like both but Definitely leaning more towards dogs

Favorite fictional character: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Cooro from +Anima

Dream trip: Squad road trip into the mountains or beach or smn

Blog created: VALENTINE’S DAY 2012 HOW MUCH OF A LOSER AM I

Number of followers: almost 2000

What do I post: +Anima whenever i can, voltron, miraculous ladybug, svtfoe, haikyuu, ,, yknow. Cartoons and anime. Dank memes

Do I get asks on a regular basis: no

Aesthetic: Can be best described as “bright and warm”; orange and yellow colors, hanging lights and lanterns, fields, sunlit forests, campfires/candles, sandy beaches, sunsets, stars, etc

Fave band: owl city, tho fob and 21p are up there too

Fictional character I’d date: keith is beautiful but its either yamaguchi tadashi or theodore thatcher tbh lbr

Hogwarts house: *deep voice* HUFFLEPUFF

This meme was goin round the ki.dge shippers so if yall are in the clique i tag u

#actually about me #ramblings

[dlamp-dictator]

Allen’s Seinen Adventure

Well... it’s finally happening, I’m finally talking about Seinen manga like I said I would last month. This is my first time talking about manga specifically and tagging it, so... hello manga readers and fandom people reading this, as well as my usual followers that like these sorts of essay-type posts I do when I’m not shitposting about Blazblue. For those that don’t know, I’m Allen X, I post little essays about niche fandom stuff I’m into on tumblr called Ramblings, and every so often try to write stories and fanfics when the mood hits me. A month back I made a post saying I was going to talk about Seinen manga since I’ve reached that lovely age of 23 where theses types of manga would interest me given my age group. I’ve been buying more and more manga in this genre as of late and I wanted to give my thoughts on the ones that have grabbed my interest and why I like them.

In my last Rambling on this topic I said I was going to try and make separate essays for each Seinen manga I wanted to talk about, but... I can’t. I just can’t. I realized it when I talked about Symphogear, I really don’t feel comfortable breaking down manga and anime the way I do with video games. I don’t know, video games are more inclusive and universal than anime and manga. When I talk about video games, gameplay, enjoyment factor, and so on, I feel like I’m talking on a level that everyone would get, at least every gamer. With manga and anime... it’s kind of niche genre, especially the stuff I’m into, so to try and talk about them in the same manner of general appeal and interest just doesn’t feel right to me. Plus, God forbid I miss something super vital about an anime or manga from my western perspective and get roasted for not understanding something in context and harping on it... God, that’s a fear I have every time I tag a Rambling. 

In any case, I figured I’d do this in the style I do my Anime Updates. I’ll give a brief summary of each manga, say what I like about them, what I don’t, and if I think others should into it. So, let’s get started.

Oh actually, before I get started, just gonna’ warn everyone now that since I’m talking about Seinen manga, sexual content is bound for all that I talk about. I won’t be showing pics or anything, but just know these are +18 rated manga. Anyway, back on topic... 

So, first up is Murcielago. If I had to give this show a western comparison I’d say the show Archer would be a good one. Now, I’ve only seen bits of season 1 of Archer, but I think the idea is the same. Murcielago is about a State Appointed Executioner named Kuroko Koumori, a former serial killer turned government agent, and the adventures she goes on with her loli sidekick and driver Hinako as she kills, slaughters, and executes criminals just as, if not more, dangerous than she is, as well as attempt to bang every female without a two-mile radius. Actually, now that I think about I think Killer is Dead is better comparison for this manga. Now if only Kuroko gets voiced by Patrick Seitz if an anime comes out... 

I don’t know, there’s just something engaging about watching this sex-addicted, murderous lesbian go about her day. This is sort of a popcorn read, something wacky and ridiculous that just makes you laugh. The gore is over the top, the situations Kuroko gets into are just so nonsensical that you can’t help but laugh at them, and the way she gets out of jams and gives out cheesy one-liners just makes me think this manga is just a hyper-violent, hyper-sexual action movie with an sociopath protagonist. And I'm always cracking up a little when I see Hinako react to all the hyper-violence going on around her. The fact that Hinako is so innocent and carefree despite who she works with is actually pretty endearing. I like how she’s, for the most part, an innocent little loli just having to put up with all of Kuroko’s shit. I hope it remains a running gag that Hinako is at most just inconvenienced by all the violent, sexual nonsense around her and is never truly effected by it.

Like I said, this manga’s a popcorn read, and if you need some crazy, B-tier action movie nonsense in your manga collection, I recommend buying this when you can. The second volume is out and it concludes the Murder House arc. I’m looking forward to volume 3 and seeing where it goes from there.

And since I’m sticking this in the Murcielago tag, yes Murcielago Lamborghini fans, Kuroko does, in fact, drive Murcielago Lamborghini. Well, Hinako drives it specifically, crashes it every other chapter, and Kuroko buys her a new one in the following chapter... I hope that remains a running gag too.

Next up is Ubel Blatt, AKA, Not-Berserk. 

Now, before everyone tells me to stop reading this and start reading Berserk just hear me out. The main thing keeping me from reading Berserk is the fact that it’s currently on volume 38 here in the West, and I’m not sinking money into an on-going manga that’s ran that long. My personal rule for long-running manga is that if it exceeds past 18 volumes I either stop at 18 or whatever arc I feel is a good stopping point and wait until that manga finishes, or I have a damn good reason to pick it up again and sink all that money back into something that could get put on hiatus at a moment’s notice depending on that artist’s health and condition. Berserk... is just too risky an investment for me to get into, and Ubel Blatt’s plot is telling me that this manga’s gonna have a clear ending at some point, likely around the volume 15 mark, so I’m choosing this one for my edgy, medieval, violent story... thing. I was scrolling around the tags a bit for Ubel Blatt to get a consensus on this manga and saw a few people essentially calling this a poor man’s Berserk. Well folks, since I’m poor as hell I’ll glad sink money into what is currently at volume 10 and not play catch up with Berserk until it finishes.

Now, onto the manga itself,  I find Ubel Blatt interesting in that this series has a very clear goal and that main character is making clear strides in accomplishing that goal. The main character, Koinzell, simply wants to avenge himself and his fallen comrades after being betrayed by his former allies. It’s... basically an even edgier Tales of Beresia except with a half-fairy-elf man instead of Velvet Crow. The world is already saved, but the ones that were sacrificed for that end are less than happy about it and want revenge at the cost of screwing the stability of the world over again. I’m on volume 3 at this point and I’m pretty hooked. It really does remind me of Tales of Beresia with out they show the heroes being flawed and even devious, but the public love them regardless... well, those that aren’t being enslaved by their rule anyway. 

I especially like female lead, Aht. I’ve always like the warrior-princess archtype, and Aht is definitely winning me over with her loyalty toward Koinzell, even willing to change her body and appearance to help him in combat. My only regard about her is that we don’t get to see her in that badass black dragon rider armor she was wearing in the first few volumes when she was going to try and kill Koinzell for killing her brother. That armor just hit all my aesthetics for warrior princesses... but alas, I still like her though. 

I believe this manga is up to volume 10 here in the States. Now I say 10, but it’s numbered 9... for some inane reason there’s volume 0 that is not a prologue volume, so please read, as it is mandatory to understand the plot... it’s the one thing I’m gonna’ knock about this manga, but it’s a good read so far. Looking forward to getting the rest on payday.

Alright, time to talk about a manga I’ve been reading exclusively online for awhile now. As of this point I know the light novel of Goblin Slayer is out in the West, but I’m... hesitant to get it since I was hoping the manga would come first, and I honestly prefer manga to light novels anyway, the only exception I made was Magical Girl Raising Project. According to Amazon a physical copy will be for sell around December and there is a digital version out, so I think I’ll get the digital copy as a way to support the series.

 Anyway, Goblin Slayer is basically about... the adventures of a goblin slayer. Yeah, I know it sounds generic, but it’s good, I swear. In Generic RPG Video Game World #492, this fine fellow kills goblins and only goblins after they killed his family. He is basically medieval Batman if Batman killed. He knows everything about goblins and how to kill them, and with his party of a healer, an archer, a shaman, and a dwarf, he’ll make sure all of them pay for taking away the ones he loved. 

This manga is a bit of a deconstruction of typical RPG tropes. If you guys are familiar with anime Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, then I’d say this is very similar to that, but with more mature themes in it. I found the world of Generic RPG Video Game World #492 rather interesting in how the goblins themselves are enough of a threat that they can kill newbie adventurers who are unprepared (and often are given goblins are seen as weak in this universe), but not enough of a threat for the higher leveled adventurers to bother fight them without high prices. It creates a cycle a of death and tragedy, real depressing stuff as the characters lament on their situation. The Goblin Slayer’s party members slowly start to understand why he hunts goblins and only goblins despite his rank, and the healer is such an endearing character. I like her interactions with the Goblin Slayer. Her innocence really compliments his gruff, silent nature, and she’s one of the few that can get more than a sentence out the guy save for his other love interest the Female Farmhand. 

...

...

...

I know it sounds like I’m giving them generic names and whatnot, but manga really doesn’t give these characters names, like, at all. The Goblin Slayer is just called the Goblin Slayer by everyone in-universe, the healer is called Priestess I believe, and so on. It’s... really weird, but it works. I like where the story’s going so far, and it tempts me to get the light novel to see where things go from there. I’ll skim a few pages next time I head to the bookstore and see if the writing interests me.

In name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Lord grant me strength as I speak about this manga. 

So... Tsugumomo... where do I even begin with this one? I dread talking about this manga. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine, emphasis on guilty. I... don’t know if I can do this, but I’ll try.

Before I start, I’ll say this much, I like the premise. It’s basically a more Japanese version of Soul Eater. Special beings called, well, Tsugumomo, are objects that gain sentience after generations upon generations of use. Once sentient, they can take a human form and weaponize their original form so that exorcist can use them as tools and weapons to battle against evil spirits and demons. So yeah, basically a mix of Soul Eater and Twin Star Exorcist, other manga I happen to enjoy reading. And being the giant weeb I am, anything with a Japanese aesthetic to it is gonna’ get my interest. It’s how I got into Nioh, it’s how I got into Samurai Warriors and the Warriors series, so it appealed to me on a surface level. So when the anime came out, I watched the first episode and... immediately dropped the show there. The first minute had me clicking away to something else since it opened on a boob gag with middle school aged characters. However, episode 3 had a really good fight scene in it, I saw some gifs of it, and being a sap for a good fight scene, I gave it another shot. Episode 2 wasn’t that bad, episode 3 wasn’t either, but... I believe it was episode 5 that had me drop the anime again. I’m not against middle school aged characters discussing sexual topics, but... well, I can’t stand the first omnibus volume of Negima! for a reason. However, much like Negima! I decided to see if the manga was just as bad. After all, if The Sacred Blacksmith had talk me anything, it was that anime spin offs tend to play up the fanservice for the sake of making a quick buck. So i went to the manga to see if that was the case.

It was the exact opposite. The anime turned down the fanservice by quite a degree.

However... despite that, I’m still interested in the story. I’m going to spoil a bit from her, so be warned.

Much like with Negima! I skipped quite a few chapters, starting at around chapter 72, when they went into Kanaka, the main character’s mother, and Kiriha’s, Kazuya’s former Tsugumomo, past and relationship. I didn’t want to bother reading chapters of fanservice to get to what was interesting, so I skips around until I found something worth reading, and boy was this part worth reading. I found Kanaka to be real interesting character. It an interesting take on the whole “Too Strong to be Approached” angle. Or I really liked how she was emotionless until she was able to find a good opponent to fight and then essential became a more cheerful version of Blazblue’s Azrael, her strength being seen as something to be feared to the point of the Exorcist organization literally feeding her demons and evil spirits from their SSS-rank list just to make sure she wouldn’t try to take them out due to boredom. I liked how she trained her kids solely so they could give her a good fight when they mature. Her personality and how she grew in those chapters really hooked me to her character. 

To read those chapters, get attached to those characters, only to realize both Kanaka and Kiriha were dead and that Kanaka’s son had to kill his own mother because of a mistake he made when he was younger... I was shocked by how invested I was already. 

Also, there’s a tournament arc going on as of chapter 100, and learning about the exorcist academy and how they have different political beliefs in how Tsugumomo should be treated interests me as well, so there’s that.

With Tsugumomo I feel like it’s a Shounen manga trying to be a Seinen one by adding a bunch of nudity and sex scenes. Trust me, there are enough bare breast and sex scenes to be a hentai in this. And this very much much hits a nerve when it comes to my limits on fanservice. Dear god, the lewdness of this manga. I swear every chapter someone’s getting naked for some asinine reason or another. The sheer amount of underage nudity and sexual content is just enough to make me [RETRACTED]. Seriously, this the manga equivalent of Shadow the Hedgehog and the Dante’s Inferno video game. The mature themes in this manga detract more than add to the story...  Also, Kazuya’s character design makes me want to stab my eyes out, but that’s a story for another day.

Again, I didn’t read anything else before that, so if anything I think Kazuya’s abilities are a little OP since what was keeping him from his full potential was goddamn amnesia of all things, but... I’ll let it slide since I don’t have the full context. Much like Wanna’ be the Strongest in the World and Ikkitousen, I wouldn’t recommend this manga to anyone, I can’t do it with a clear conscience, but this is certainly a guilty pleasure of mine... and boy do I feel guilty for liking it.

And lastly, to get the taste of Tsugumomo out my mouth, we have a good manga, The Scared Blacksmith. I’m gonna’ be brief with this one because talking about Tsugumomo drained me a tad, but... 

I. Love. This. Manga. 

I just finished it last week and I’m so glad I bought. I’m actually shocked this is a Seinen. Save for a bit of fanservice in a first few volumes and... the stuff that happened in volume 6, this manga’s actually clean for the most part. It’s mostly about the Knight Cecily Campbell and her life in the Independent Trade City... no, that’ really the city’s name. Okay, quick tangent, but what’s with these fantasy Seinen manga and their borderline parody location names? I know the names just serve a means to an end in the grand scheme of things, but... really? 

Anyway, Cecily Campbell is a female knight joined the knight guard since she’s the only daughter of a noble family of knights, and... the story takes off from there. Again, Tsugumomo drained me a tad, but trust me when I say this manga is good. It’s got action, romance, a decent female character. I said this before in some of my other Ramblings, but Cecily is one of my favorite female characters ever. The anime didn’t do her justice... but anyway, this is a good manga overall. It fully out in the West so I recommend you all buy it when you can.

And so... on a lackluster note, I ended my rambling about Seinen manga. I’ll do The Sacred Blacksmith justice a later day. I’m beat now, so I’m gonna’ just... read some manga, maybe draw a bit... feel free to message me if you guys have question... I’m just... gonna’ be here. Phew, I’m tired now...

#murcielago #ubel blatt #goblin slayer #tsugumomo #the sacred blacksmith #your dictator is speaking