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blueberry-lemon · 10 months

Text

An introductory guide to getting into Sonic the Hedgehog...

…if you're a grown-ass adult who is busy and doesn't want to play a bunch of video games but thinks the characters look sorta cool.

If you've ever been curious about Sonic as a series but haven't known where to start, I have some recommendations! I think Sonic is a cool and still somewhat unique thing because it takes cartoony characters (like a Mickey Mouse or Felix the Cat) and lets them jump around in cool action sequences through the lens of a shonen anime. It's colorful and usually pretty light-hearted, and I think the character designs are pretty iconic.

There's two handy places you can start without prior context, to see if it's something you'd be into...

Getting Started: If You Wanna Read Something

The IDW Sonic Comics

There were years of different Sonic comics back in the '90s and early 2000's, but the franchise got a complete reboot and fresh start with IDW Publishing in 2018. If you're looking for the most straight-forward way to get into this world of characters, I think this is a great start. You don't need any prior knowledge whatsoever to crack open issue 1 and get started. All you need to know is "Sonic and his friends protect the world by fighting against an evil scientist named Dr. Eggman, who they just recently defeated after he briefly took over the world."

I love these comics and I feel that the writers and artists who work on it have a really good sense for this series. Reading issues 1 through 12 will get you the first major story arc. If you like it so far, I highly suggest reading up through issue 32, when another major story arc concludes. After that, the world's your oyster! Unlike the tangled web of Marvel or DC comics, IDW Sonic has a very simple and linear reading order. You pretty much just read the issues in order, and occasionally there are spinoff stories that are optional to read.

Getting Started: If You Wanna Watch Something

Sonic Mania Adventures

Maybe comics aren't your thing and you want something even quicker. These are a series of animated shorts that are lovely. Conveniently, they've been compiled together by Sega into one little video right here.

It's a great intro to some of the main characters, and combines cartoon slapstick with some amazing action sequences.

There's also a nice little epilogue short.

Sonic CD's intro cutscene

If I had to pick a single 1-and-a-half minute clip to embody what I like about this series, it would be this very simple intro movie that plays before Sonic CD. Check it out!

Sonic Origins/Sonic Origins Plus Cutscenes

In 2022, Sega released a compilation of the classic Genesis games on modern consoles. In it, they added a few animated cutscenes. You can watch those cutscenes, plus the Sonic CD intro and the Sonic Mania Adventures episodes, all compiled into one handy Youtube video.

Taking The Next Step: If You Wanna Read Something

The Archie Sonic Comics

You might have heard that Sonic had a comic series published by Archie Comics from 1992 to 2016. This was a vast, overarching series that wrote an original story by weaving together ideas from the different Sonic cartoons and games. It went through several different writers, many different artists, and obviously spanned over multiple eras of pop culture.

It's pretty cool! The fact that it was so long-running, and the fact that Sega wasn't very strict with what the writers could do, led to a lot of buckwild lore, new characters, and plot developments. That said, it's also pretty bizarre, complicated, corny, and cringey at times. There is a stretch in the middle that is pretty infamous among fans.

You have a few options for jumping in.

Option A: You can start at the very beginning and read all of it. If you do this, it is going to be like a One Piece / Homestuck / etc. kind of undertaking, and you're going to be pushing through the good and the bad of huge genre and tone shifts. That's your call!

Option B: You can brush up on the main characters on a wiki and then start at Issue 160, when Ian Flynn (who now does a lot of work on IDW Sonic) became the lead writer. More specifically, you can jump in at the start of a new story arc by starting at Issue 175.

Option C: You can start at Issue 252, when there is a universe-altering event that essentially retcons all of the characters and plot threads from the previous writers and starts completely fresh. Easier to keep track of and you won't have to worry about all the previous plot and lore.

If you want something you can read in a single sitting, you should instead read Sonic: Mega Drive, a short-lived miniseries published by Archie that follows "Classic Sonic" characters (aka, the same vibe and art style of Sonic Origins, Sonic Mania Adventures, etc.) It's really great!

Taking The Next Step: If You Wanna Watch Something

Sonic the Hedgehog (OVA) aka "Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie" (1996)

This is, essentially, a 1-hour Sonic anime movie. You can watch it in Japanese or in English. I adore it. It makes up its own lore and continuity so you don't need to know anything before going in, besides generally knowing a one-sentence synopsis of who Sonic, Tails, and Dr. Robotnik are. It's action-packed, well-animated, and has great music. Enjoy! Sonic X If you're enjoying what you've seen so far, and you want something much, much longer...there's an official 78-episode anime adaptation of Sonic called Sonic X. It's an original story that loosely pulls together some ideas from a few of the games. It's mostly intended for a younger audience, but I hear if you watch it in the original uncut Japanese, it feels a little less "for kids."

Other Ways To Get Into Sonic

There's some great video essays on Youtube about the series!

Professional animator Dan Floyd did an in-depth video looking at the highs and lows of Sonic character animation in the games starting from Sonic 1 up through Sonic Forces.

Super Bunnyhop plays through the first level of a bunch of Sonic games to compare how the mechanics, physics, and level design feel throughout the games' history.

Liam Triforce has a great deep dive on the franchise's music.

You can play The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a murder-mystery-party themed visual novel put out by Sega. It's nice and short, so you can finish it in an afternoon.

If you haven't seen them already, you can check out the live-action/animated hybrid films Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 featuring Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey, they're pretty good. That Sonic Prime cartoon that's currently on Netflix is pretty good too.

This may sound strange, but honestly you might enjoy poring over the sprite sheets from the old games. In particular, I really like the sprite animations from the GBA games, like Sonic Advance and Sonic Battle.

Sega is pretty lax about allowing noncommercial fan games, so there's at least a hundred different Sonic fan games out there by hobbyist developers. Check out the Sonic Amateur Games Expo and the Sonic Fan Games HQ.

You can watch LPs or cutscene compilations of the games on Youtube! If you watch Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Heroes, you'll get a crash course on most of the characters.

And finally, of course...you can play the games if you want to! There's a number of them that are available on Steam, Switch, Xbox, and Playstation if you don't have access to older consoles.

There's a lot of different angles to come at Sonic as a franchise, and lots of different entry points. Have fun!

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sth #idw sonic #idw sonic the hedgehog #sonic mania adventures #blogofkylelab

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solisaureus · 4 months

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how do you write a fic and make it like

long?

ok actually i did give a brief workshop in a fandom server on this once. Here’s the sparknotes:

Stage 1: brainstorming

- decide the topic of your story. write down the idea that sparked your inspiration and start there. this is your core concept from which everything else arises. write down everything that you come up with when thinking about your story, even if you don’t end up incorporating it.

- if you don’t have ideas, most of my fic ideas arise when talking about my fav characters with friends who also love them.

- pin down a few essential aspects of your core concept. is it an AU or canon compliant? ship vs gen? is it going to focus on an overarching plot or a particular character’s personal journey? what ao3 rating do you expect it to be? what trope tags do you think you’ll add?

- make a pinterest board and a playlist for your fic concept. i’m serious this helps you solidify the tone, setting, and mood of your story and can provide more inspiration

Stage 2: outlining

- now that you know what your fic is gonna be about, it’s time to break down the story and make it a complete narrative. Your outline can be as detailed or as bare bones as you want. some writers don’t make an outline at all, but i cannot even begin to comprehend their power, and if you’ve never written a long work before i highly recommend starting with an outline.

- the two most important things to keep in mind during this stage are PACING and STRUCTURE. Characterization is secondary in this stage but still important. Now is the time to establish the setting and the major plot beats.

- decide the narrator, point of view, and tense during this stage

- if you’re stuck for ideas, here’s a cheat for pacing — come up with just 3 things: a goal, a time limit, and stakes. What does your protagonist want to accomplish, how long do they have to do it, and what are the consequences if they don’t achieve it in the time limit? Character A is in love with Character B and wants to be with them (goal), but Character B is moving away at the end of the summer (time limit). Character B risks rejection, and losing their friendship with Character A (stakes). Boom, you already have the skeleton of a story. Try to identify these elements in your favorite stories, it helps you practice this and can give you ideas for your own story. Frodo has to deliver the Ring to Mt. Doom (goal) before Sauron’s armies overwhelm Gondor (time limit) or else the world will fall into shadow (stakes). Obviously, this is just one plot formula among a wide variety and there’s no one right way to write a story, but it can get you started.

- Another way you can start is by detailing some exposition events, some rising actions, a climax, and resolution. If you already have a climactic scene in mind, you just need to figure out how your characters get there and what they do afterwards.

- once your outline is done, you should have a general feel for how long the project will be

Stage 3: drafting

- now it’s time to write the damn thing. sounds simple but it’s not

- practice getting into Da Writing Zone. when it’s time for me to get serious, I have a few video game soundtracks i’ll put on through my noise cancelling headphones, i’ll make myself some tea, and i’ll light a candle. i have basically conditioned myself to write when i hear the journey soundtrack or when i smell my pomegranate candle.

- Each scene that you write should serve a purpose in the overall narrative. I personally determine whether each scene contributes to at least one of the following: worldbuilding, progressing the plot, or characterization. a good scene will accomplish two or even all three.

- consider the voice, whether you’re writing from first or third person. are you telling the story with stern reverence, poetic wonder, snarky indifference? consistency in voice strengthens the story.

- keep suspense in mind, too. you dont want the protagonist to know everything right away — be intentional about what information they learn and when. what the protagonist knows and what the reader knows can differ, too — this is the source of dramatic irony. or you can keep the reader ignorant and have them discover plot elements at the same time as your protag. the intrigue!

- take your time. pace yourself. writing is hard and you don’t have a deadline when it comes to fanfiction. if you’re in a rut, something that i do is that i force myself to write 200 words — if i do that and i’m still not feeling it, i stop there and try again in a few days, but a lot of the time i just keep writing once i get past that hurdle of just starting.

- beginnings are always hard. keep in mind that this is just your draft — whatever you write doesn’t have to be the final version. just start at a point that seems interesting to you.

- as a general rule of thumb, if you’re bored writing something, it’ll be boring to read, too. you may tell yourself that you HAVE to write this dry section about worldbuilding or write how the characters get from one place to another, but do you really? how much would it affect the story if you skipped that? can you approach it another way, or work it in in another scene?

stage 4: editing

- kill your darlings. if something you wrote is out of place or unnecessary for the story, but you like it anyway, get rid of it. save it in another document for outtakes, but don’t give into the idea that a section is valuable just because you spent time on it.

- having a second set of eyes on your draft is a game changer. if you can get a friend (ideally another writer) to beta read your draft and make comments, it can make a huge difference. i always like to thank my beta readers when i post a fic because i appreciate their input so much!

- now is a good time to decide whether you want to post chapters as you write them or write everything first and post it all at once (or on a posting schedule). there are benefits and drawbacks to both but you know yourself best!

- once you are happy with your draft, post it! :)

stage 5: stamina

- writing is hard, and writing a long fic is really hard. even if you’re super passionate about a project when you start it, you will probably lose steam at some point depending on how long it is. at times you will be discouraged and unmotivated. it helps to have a friend who has volunteered to be your designated hype man for this fic. i like to have at least one person who i KNOW is awaiting my next chapter.

- the fact that you don’t get paid for writing fic means you have to balance your writing time with your life and responsibilities. you might have to take a hiatus. coming back to the project after a while can be hard — this is where those pinterest boards and playlists you made back in stage 1 come in. they help get you back into the groove of the story when you’ve lost inspiration!

- when all else fails, try reading books or fanfiction. it counts as writing. words in > words out. bonus points if you journal/leave ao3 comments about things you noticed and enjoyed about it (or, if you didn’t like something, what about it left you dissatisfied. don’t write this in an ao3 comment though keep it to yourself), it genuinely helps you get better at writing. like it makes writing easier

- believe in yourself!!! believe in me who believes in you!!!!

#ask #ssavinggrace #robin text #writing advice #fic writing

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dextixer · 4 months

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Volume 9 was (Mostly) filler that did not need the Ever After to exist

When details about Volume 9 being set in a different world entirely emerged, a good amount of people started predicting that Volume 9 would end up being a filler volume. After all, if the characters are all in another world entirely, that means that the main plot of the show is going to be put on hold. While it was a fair assumption to make, it also received push-back in the form of people claiming that the volume could be used for character development, which would not be filler regardless of its interactions with the main plot. Volume 9 came and went, and so, the question remains. Was Volume 9 filler?

In my opinion? Yes. Mostly. While i cannot claim that the entirety of the volume was meaningless fluff, for the most part, the most important aspects of the Volume were centered in only 3 episodes. And i would like to cover why i think so.

What is filler?

Let us first begin with a simple question. What is filler? Its a term that first started when talking about anime adaptations, it described anime episodes/arcs that were made while waiting for the adapted manga to go forward. That however has not remained the ONLY conception of filler. Outside anime the term has been widely used to refer to parts of long-form art such as books, movies and the like, that carry no meaning to the main story line or character progress. That is the same definition of filler that most people, including in this very fandom use. The fact that so many parts of the FNDM decided to do bad faith nonsense and pretend that the Anime definition is the only valid one caught me by surprise, but regardless of their attempts to derail the conversations, the concept of filler has not changed.

Plot progression

So, with the definition of filler out of the way, we have to ask ourselves if Volume 9 fulfills the requirements to not be seen as filler. The first requirement of course, is the interaction with the main plot of the show. Since the very start of the show, defeating Salem has been the main goal, the main plot of the show, even if characters and the audience did not know about Salem in Volumes 1-2. Volume 3 revealed the main overarching plot line of the entire series.

Going to the ever after, as predicted, put a complete stop on the development of the main plot. After all, our main characters are no longer on Remnant. They cant work to unify the people, they cant fight against Salem, they are on a different plane of existence entirely. The only antagonist that came to the Ever After with them was not a representative of Salem, but rather, an antagonist with their own personal goals and desires that were completely detached from Salem.

The only thing that gave us ANY relation to the main plot was the revelation at the END of the Volume, that both the GoD and GoL were from the ever after. Besides that and the revelation of Summers last mission. Nothing more concerning the main plot of the series occurred.

So, as far as plotline progression goes, Volume 9 is.... Mostly a dud. Besides a single episode, there is nothing of substance there.

Okay, but thats not enough to say that the volume was filler, after all, character progression is still something that could exist! Right?

Character progression

Except it didnt.

Weiss - Did not progress as a character. Her entire role in Volume 9 was to serve as the "straight man" in the comedy act that was the Ever After. She was meant to be the serious funless person so that when slapstick situations happened to her, it would be funny.

And thats ALL she was the ENTIRE VOLUME.

Yes, the person whose kingdom and home is now destroyed. Father dead, father surogate (Klein) and the rest of her family fates are also unkown. And she gets NOTHING from it. I think there are 2 scenes in the entire volume of her feeling slightly sad over this, and then NOTHING. There is no progression. Weiss in Volume 9 is there just to serve as a CLOWN.

Marriage - Well, how about Blake and Yang? They did progress forward as characters, after all, Volume 9 is where they finally officially get together. Except that... Its very little actual character progress. Let us be honest with ourselves, Yang and Blake were already "together" by the start of V7. Them killing Adam together cemented them as a couple. They dont talk about their relationship at all and instead in Volumes 7-8 all we get from them is romantic fluff. So, when now in V9 they are forced by the universe to get together. Well....

Was there any character progression involved here? They were already together. Everyone already knew they were together. Making it official does not really matter in this case as much as in any other romance because in other romances, the official confirmation happens while the people in the relationship are still unsure about themselves. But Yang and Blake have been acting as a couple for at least 2 volumes now.

To call this progress is like calling a bar filling from 98% to 99% progress. Is it technically progress? Yeah, but... In the grand scheme of things its so minimal it barely bears mentioning.

Ruby - From the very start of the Volume, it was very clear that Ruby was going to be given a lot of focus as a character, she is now presented as a primary protagonist in the Ever After. The rest of the team are mainly there to be the supportive cast to Rubys experiences.

And for a time, her story was interesting, we could see how with each encounter she was getting more tired and tired. How she was slowly being broken down from her experiences and how she very much did not want to seek help.

The set-up was really good but then.... She drinks the Kool Aid. She commits suicide as the emotional crescendo of the Volume. And what follows after is.... Her returning back to how she was before. All of that build up? The emotional high? Wasted.

Ruby comes back the same as she was. Now, some people have told me that its fine for characters to have these kinds of "flat" arcs, where they go down and then up. And i agree, or i should say. I would agree if this wasnt the THIRD TIME that Ruby has experienced this SAME CHARACTER ARC.

She had this same arc in Volumes 4 AND 6. Something bad happens - Ruby becomes down - Ruby gets worse over the volume - by the end of the volume something encourages her and shes back to normal.

If this was the FIRST time that Ruby experienced this arc, i would be more lenient to it. But this is the THIRD time she has. And instead of it being a subplot as it was in V4-6. It is now the MAIN plot of the volume. What was GAINED in terms of her character from this? Can anyone answer? If her character didnt change, if this was a repeated subplot. WHAT WAS THE POINT!?

Jaune - Jaune is in the SAME boat. Unlike Ruby, he received a lot less time for development, but he also got a recycled subplot. Jaunes arc was a repeat of what happened with Pyrrha and her death. Everything i said about the recycling of Rubys character "development" applies here.

And he ALSO gets reset at the end of the Volume.

The characters that actually received character development

The only characters in V9 that received development were Little, Neo and arguably Alyx.

Little - Has a very coherent and understandable character progression in V9. They start out as a clueless yet also adventurous helper to the main cast. Of course, Little knows little about the world around them, at least not the specifics, so over time their role becomes that of a confidant to Ruby.

Little learns from the humans they are with while journeying forth. After Ruby runs away due to the fight with Jaune, it is Little who attempts to help Ruby. When Ruby is beaten down, it is Little that tries to help Ruby move.

Little is the little mouse that could. They grow from basically nothing to a dependable ally. Not really a storybook hero that saves the day by themselves, but someone who can simply help others. The Smith finishes this arc of Little by reviving the critter, this time in a more heroic form.

Littles entire journey was that of finding purpose, after all, when the protagonists meet them, they dont even have a name. And the arc ends with Little finding that purpose, even if unintentionally.

Neo - Neo also has progress as a character, except hers is a downward spiral rather than her becoming better. She starts the volume angry, suicidal, trying to kill Ruby no matter what. Once she lands in the ever after, she becomes stronger and gains more power to hunt down Ruby. Despite not looking like it, this is the start of the downward spiral, she might seem more "happy", but besides gaining power, all she is doing is descending further onto the path of vengeance, it consumes her.

Literally. Once she believes that she killed Ruby, she just... Shuts down. There is nothing for her to live for. Her revenge is done. What now? Nothing. Well, at least until the cat reverse vored itself into Neo.

After the cat is defeated, Neo is back. But now, with the same realization. She has nothing. And unlike before, she no longer wants or has the strength to pretend that Roman is still with her, he isnt. And so she... Commits suicide. Both literally and metaphorically.

Even if she comes out of her cocoon, it is doubtful she will be the same person.

Alyx - Alyx might seem like a strange inclusion, but despite her not really being an active character in the story we are watching, over time we learn of what she did/experienced in the past. She is portrayed as a person who went through the ever after through trickery and force, not a likeable character at all, especially considering what she does to Jaune. And yet, we also learn that at the end of the line, when it was time to leave the Ever After, she chose to stay, because she changed, she understood that the actions she did were bad.

Of course, its not exactly a detailed journey. Its very basic for what it is. Yet there is an actual result for the character that is presented.

So its mostly filler...

Therein lies the problem. The characters that received character progression were all side-characters. 1 of whom is dead, another in limbo and the third one is an afteran who most likely cant leave unless RWBY pulls an Avengers Endgame on us.

And thats the issue. Thats why i cant do anything else but call V9 mostly filler. As far as the most important information is concerned, only 3 episodes in this entire volume truly matter. The BB episode and the last 2. To get the world-building and the BB confession.

But besides that, what exactly does this Volume set-up? Weiss had nothing going for her. BB was confirmed but that relationship was already developed beforehand. Ruby and Jaune got reset. Neo was a side-character that never really mattered.

So.... What was the point of the Ever After?

Because as far as i can see the only thing it achieved is a time-skip so that CRWBY could skip the whole refugee crisis situation that team RWBY caused in Vacuo.

Let us remember that RWBY is not in good financial straits now. And yet in Volume 9 they decided to make it all happen on a DIFFERENT WORLD where they would need to create massive ammounts of new assets that they most likely wont be able to reuse. Why does this Volume exist? Why wasnt Volume 9 set in Vacuo and all of its "main" developments happening there?

Its just.... The entire volume is a genuine waste of time.

#rwby #rwde #rwby volume 9

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blueskittlesart · 1 year

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A while back you were talking about how you’d write a comic based on BotW and you mentioned you’d retcon the transphobic Gerudo questline. I was wondering how you’d go about doing that? I’m genuinely curious, cause that part of the game always made me feel weird as well 😅

yeah ok. so i think that the botw gerudo are. difficult to retcon because of some of the lore implications of their politics so this is a tricky situation. in this hypothetical scenario i'm trying to write this in a way that A. conveys the story fairly accurately or at least doesn't feel out of place in the overarching plot, and B. keeps most of the lore surrounding the gerudo intact, while still removing the major transphobic elements. in order to keep the gerudo lore and the overall vibe of the quest intact, I can't completely retcon the 'women-only town' thing out of existence even though the idea of women-only spaces can turn really transphobic really fast, so this is gonna be a bit of a balancing act lmao. bear with me here

what we need to decide first is how insanely dedicated we are to the sanctity of the original storyline and/or how much we're willing to overlook for the sake of canon accuracy. the easiest and most obvious way to fix it would be to retcon the obstacle that requires crossdressing entirely and give link another way into the town, by proving his identity to the soldiers on the outside or somehow contacting riju beforehand instead of sneaking in. however, i know that many (MANY) fans really like the gerudo set for. various reasons. and in this hypothetical scenario i can envision my head being bitten off by angry fans who didn't get their femme link content. so. we have other options we can look at.

if we want to keep the crossdressing, there's going to be some inherent transphobia we are going to have to overlook. for link to have to crossdress, he has to 1. be rejected from the town on the basis of his presentation and 2. sneak into a women-only space by dressing femininely, both of which can get really bad really fast. there are some minor changes we can make to make this feel a lot less overt, at least, such as cutting that shitty man outside the town who talks about wanting to get in to harass the women inside and either cutting or being a lot more respectful about the crossdresser who link gets the outfit from. no matter what, this isn't gonna be the perfect scenario, though.

what i think i would do personally is sort of. combine these 2. i'd have link get to the oasis, talk to a couple people and come to the conclusion that it would be hard (not impossible) for him to get into gerudo town as a man, and have him throw around the idea of showing off the sheikah slate or something as proof of his identity without actually going to the town and trying it. he'd rest at the oasis for the night, and the next morning would end up meeting either riju or someone in the royal guard at the oasis who recognizes his identity based on the slate and gives him the gerudo set, not to SNEAK IN to the town, but so he doesn't stand out/get stared at when he DOES enter. they would then enter the town together and the quest would proceed as normal from there. this is the best way i could think of to remove the idea of him cross-dressing as a tool of INFILTRATION without totally nuking the entire quest line. not perfect, but. well. look at what i had to work with here. i did my best

#asks

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glacierruler · 2 months

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Sides and Neurodivergency results!

This, this is gonna be a long post!

Taglist: @cutebisexualmess @oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat @nebulous-astronaut @pandagobrr @awitchbravestheverge

First I'm gonna look at all the general responses, and then screenshot some of the replies/extra info that was given in these!

Everyone who responded was really nice, so I'm definitely down to do these again, just maybe not for a little bit! Gonna do a read more, and put everything below that!

First, the overarching responses to the questions!

Every person who responded to it said Yes, they think it's okay to write the sides as neurodivergent. One person went on to say:

Which is a fair assumption of what I'm trying to ask, considering the phrasing of the question. However, I do want to clear up, that I asked this question to know your opinions on it, not to ascribe morality to it. I get that the wording is kind of confusing, but I'm unsure of how else to word it.

Next question is this one. I'm asking if they make the sides neurodivergent, which neurodivergencies does the individual give them? There was an other option for any that I didn't list.

As you can see there is a long list, a good chunk of the answers were put in by the people who responded by filling out the other answer box. Here's the ones that were cut off:

To the first one, yeah, that's completely fair. I'm also hesitant to delve into neurodivergencies if I don't feel like I've done enough research or have personal experience with it(and even with personal experience I get scared to do it still).

To the second one, thank you so much for this long list! I didn't know a good chunk of these existed, and this will be so helpful in any future polls about this subject that I do! /gen

The next two questions were optional, and I'll be sharing my favorite answers. The first one:

Why do you/don't you make the sides neurodivergent? And why that/those specific neurodivergency(ies) if you do?

I'll be putting the Image ID here, because some of these screenshots are too small for me to put it in the alt text.

Image ID: 5 screenshots of 5 different replies to the answer above. Screenshot 1 says: I make the Sides neurodivergent because it's mostly me projecting as a neurodivergent person. This includes me leaving things implied as I slowly figure myself out.

Screenshot 2 says: I don't usually focus on that part of the story, it might be implied, but not explicitly said. despite being a neurodivergent myself. Idk I guess I'm just more interested in fun fantasy world than real world problems that kinda stress me out. But I would totally read a fic that focuses on any sort of neurodivergencies!

Screenshot 3 says: I like to because i tend to project my own neurodivergencies onto them, and i use my fic writing as a way to cope with my own internal issues sometimes. Expressing them with problems similar or reminiscent of my own, even if not explicitly so, allows me to figure out and work through my own issues. I have diagnosed ADHD and self diagnosed ASD and C-PTSD, so i find myself able to write about my own experiences through them.

Screenshot 4 says: When I write them this way, it's for the same reason I write them with a handful of physical disabilities. I want to explore the sides struggling with things I struggle with in my life. Because it's cathartic for me and also it falls under the "write what you know" adage. I also find it comforting or cathartic to read about the sides struggling with these or similar things. I think it's important for people without any neurodivergencies to do a lot of research before writing fanfic (or original fiction) with neurodivergent characters. I would do the same for a neurodivergency that I didn't personally have. But people everywhere *are* neurodivergent, there's no good reason *not* to explore these topics in fanfic.

Screenshot 5 says: If it's all the sides with the same diagnosis, that's another thing entirely. Part of it being that it's applying a diagnosis onto a, albeit fictional, version of a real person. I understand that the *Character* Thomas is different from *Real* Thomas, but it still feels weird and icky to do so to me. I won't judge anyone who does so, because that's a me thing rather than a problem thing, but it's just not for me to diagnose someone via fanfiction.

End Image ID

All of these are fair, personal reasons as to why they make the sides neurodivergent or they don't make the sides neurodivergent. (I did not ask if they did or didn't, which was an error on my part imho).

I will say, that in fandom and fanfiction, giving characters neurodivergencies is not the same thing as armchair diagnosing a real person with a neurodivergency, but I totally get how it can feel similar to that. I think for most people, the reason they give the sides neurodivergencies is to feel more connected to these characters that they know and love, or even to explore the characters more.

As for not exploring neurodivergencies in fanfic, there might not be a good reason for it, but there are definitely valid reasons for it. Honestly, even though I hc Remus and Patton as being bipolar(like me), I'm always hesitant to write about it. Mainly because of my own internal anxiety of what if I get this wrong, what if this isn't true for everyone, what if etc... So I completely understand people being hesitant to write the sides as neurodivergent even when they have said neurodivergencies. It's not necessarily a fear that will go away with time, it just becomes easier to overcome some days(at least for me). And to anyone who is unsure about something when attempting to start writing neurodivergencies in fanfic, research and ask questions. There will be those who are willing to answer.

I asked if there were any comments or questions for me, and I'll share these two answers!

Image ID: 2 screenshots, the first one reads: I would love another form like this but specifically for what neurodivergencies people give each side, I’d love to see the data on that

The second one reads: you can do anything you want with characters, they aren’t real, and it isn’t unethical to portray them how you want! in the same way people draw the sides to look physically different from irl thomas, people are going to headcanon their internal lives differently too

End Image ID.

To the first person! That's such a great idea, and I'd love to do it when I have the time/energy for it, maybe sometime this summer?

To everyone who took the time to respond, thank you so much! Your answers have been very insightful, and it was really enjoyable doing this! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

#glacier rambles #sanders sides #thomas sanders sides

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barananduen-blog · 9 months

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Top Nine TV Shows tag game

Was invited to do this by @lovesickfolly I'm going to do it with cdramas, bc that's what I'm into lately, but if anyone wants to do this, you can do it with any kind of show.

My top nine cdramas, in no particular order...

Before I begin, I should probably point out that I'm more "plot" over "ship." I like ships, but usually as a means to showing character depth; they're not the thing I tend to focus on the most.

What these nine have in common is:

good plot and writing - not just the plot, but the storytelling

3D characters who are also likeable

hooked my attention - my mind didn't wander while watching, AND I wanted to watch more than one episode in a row

memorable

I'm going to include another indicator, too. If it "got" me good enough to make me make fanart: 🎨lol I mean, I'm SLOW. If I was willing to dedicate days/weeks to make a drawing out of it, that's SOMETHING. lmao

1 - Word of Honor🎨

Martial arts adventures (+ a steampunk sect), BL.

This was the first cdrama I watched, and I loved it and it still has a special place in my heart. I rewatched along later with @ginsoakedgirl80 and it was as enjoyable to watch the 2nd time as it was the 1st.

Awesome story and characters, beautiful scenery. And it gave me my first two favorite drama actors.😆*cough* My fav characters were, in order: Ye Baiyi and the Scorpion King. My fav actors, the same two, but reversed; I like comedians, OK? XD

Just a word of advice to anyone planning to try this: I don't know why the opening scenes character-dump on you; most of those people aren't even that important. Just learn Prince Jin and Zhou Zishu (a few others will show up later, but you can learn them then), and then start learning names only once Zhou Zishu becomes a homeless drunk man.

2 - The Taoism Grandmaster (technically, I have a drawing WIP, but it'll probably stay a WIP)

If the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter and a Final Fantasy video game had a child in ancient China, you'd get this, complete with items shop before boss battles (the store ox is so cute!).

No but look, this is like my gremlin child. I'm not a fast watcher, but this is the only one which I binged so many episodes in a row, that it made me lose track of time, and before I knew it, it was past 2am on a weeknight and I had work the next day. I may have made it to 4am one of those nights; I don't remember. After it happened twice, I had to set an alarm. Have also watched twice+

Yes, the CG is bad, the costumes were cheap sometimes, and the plants did not pretend to not be plastic, but I love the story. It's well written and has so many details and ways things tie together. And THE CHARACTERS! They're all lovable dorks AND I LOVE THEM!

3 - The Legendary Life of Queen Lau🎨

Romcom.

AAAAAAAAA!! I love comedy and this was GREAT in that sense! Really had me laughing out loud every episode! This is one to watch more for the funny and ingenious situations than for plot, but it was SO enjoyable, I'd even watch them do slice of life. So cute, so fun, love it love it love it!!🥰 Another one that I rewatch whenever I need something uplifting and cute. Also, one of my two favorite OSTs. So uplifting and danceable!

Alright, those are my top 3. The ones I'm sentimental for. The stuff I squee over. But I have 16 starred on my list as excellent / recommendable, so let's have six more.

4 - Song of Youth

Case-solving; mini-cases and the one overarching one.

I loved the format of one case per couple of episodes, so it was broken up into smaller chunks. Super interesting and creative - each case was solved in an unconventional way, which was fun and engaging. All the actresses did a fantastic job. The jewelry, props, lighting, etc. were absolutely beautiful.

5 - The Blood of Youth🎨

Martial arts adventures with a group of friends.

Story: 💯Characters: 💯 Fights: 💯 Visuals: 💯OST: 💯

Xiao Se as the tired babysitter I love him! Wuxin! OMG Wuxin as the sassy fake monk who monologues before every fight and people just let him. I love him! (Wuxin spinoff, please! and I love his theme song!) The whole cast is gorgeous and acted wonderfully, so no sacrificing talent for looks; these people had both in spades. The supporting cast, too. OMG Baily Dongjun and the thunder guy!😍 It had funny moments. Mr. Sikong! The fights were SO creative... how many ways can you design a martial arts fight?? Way more than I thought! No two were similar; it was amazing, the creativity.

As an artist, I really enjoyed the cinematography... the scenery, lighting!! composition, all absolutely gorgeous. Those shots of Xiao Se with soft backlighting? Chef's kiss. And, as a photographer, I know they're not as easy to achieve as it looks. Alright, this one got 2 paragraphs already; need to move on, but watch if you haven't. It's on YouTube.

6 - Till the End of the Moon

Doomed love fantasy; watch them struggle against themselves and their destiny.

THIS IS SO GOOD!! The story is great, excellent plot and pacing. Characters are 3D and always surprising. Gorgeous costumes (Tantai Jin's especially! And the clam clan makeup!), sets, and special effects. THE SOUNDTRACK IS EMBEDDED IN MY BRAIN IT'S SO GOOD (🎶favs: "Use my Body as a Shield" or whatever it's called, I keep seeing different translated titles for it; "Reborn" instrumental; and "Holding on to a Thought" instrumental).

7 - The Blue Whisper

Fantasy romance and adventure. Merman. Animal-spirit people. Angst, treason, and undying hope.

Gosh this drama is so beautiful. This, Till the End of the Moon, and Blood of Youth are up there as the top 3 visuals in dramas I've completed (there are others that have stunned me visually, but haven't been able to watch in full). Excellent story, too. It's a tearjerker, but it's SO GOOD!

8 - My Uncanny Destiny

Romcom. "Would you still love me if I was a worm?"

Lots of fun. Very enjoyable and bingeable.

9 - Guardian, the one with Bai Yu and Zhu Yi Long

Modern urban superpowers type of thing, which is a genre I like, and the story is so good! By Priest, the same author for the Word of Honor novel. Never a dull moment. Tearjerker warning, but so good. Excellent theme song, too, btw. (I don't have any screencaps that aren't a spoiler, so that's what this is XD)

I ran out of slots, but I'll list the other seven in my Excellent and Recommendable list. Order is just as I watched them:

The Untamed

Legend of Fei

A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College

Be Reborn (modern, heist/police)

The Romance of Tiger and Rose

A Familiar Stranger (mini-drama; watch the movie version)

Reset (modern, action, investigation)

PS: I've been here one month, and have done two tag games and they both had the number "9" in them; is this a tumblr thing?

#cdrama #Word of Honor #The Taoism Grandmaster #The Legendary Life of Queen Lau #Song of Youth #The Blood of Youth #Till the End of the Moon #The Blue Whisper #My Uncanny Destiny #Guardian #B text post #original post

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crepearchives · 2 months

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The Immediate Tutorial Process of “Cookie Run: Witch’s Castle”

⚙️ This tutorial is fresh off the printer unlike the others I’ve done before this one, so let’s get down to it under the context that you passed the DevPlay login page and downloaded everything. Spoilers are imminent, duh!

Enter Your Name

⚙️ This’ll be your username for the game, so make it a good one… or use the generator to get an idea for one.

Level 1

⚙️ According to relevant sources, the Witch’s Castle used to house a whole coven of Witches and then some. In the opening sequences, this is where *this* iteration of GingerBrave is baked to wake up- once again- in a fiery hot oven on a scorching hot metal pan. This is where the tutorial begins.

Moves: 999 (it’s practically impossible to fail)

Chosen Cookie: 🍪 GingerBrave

Controls - Making Moves: Tap a jelly that’s part of a group of two or more jellies of matching colors to pop them and interact with various board gimmicks.

🎯 Objectives - Vials: Pop jellies next to these explosive potions to send them into an overarching enemy target. In this case, it’s the Oven Doors. 10-15 vials should clear the level, where GingerBrave gracelessly falls out the window after a scripted tap prompt.

Level 2

⚙️ Uh oh! GingerBrave’s graceless jump away from the Shadow Witch just landed him in a horde of zombie-like Spoiled Cookies! But this time, someone else is here to bail him out.

Moves: 50

Chosen Cookie: 💫🪄 First Cream Cookie (Currently hidden)

🎯 Objective - Spoiled Cookies: Practically undead Cookie heads. Pop Jellies next to them to clear them. In this level and most likely in future levels, they will appear in waves. For this level, there are 50 spoiled cookies spread across three waves. Clear them all to win!

Power Jellies: These jellies will appear in the tapped square after clearing large groups of jellies in one move. Tap them to activate them as is, or tap one when it’s next to another power jelly for a stronger effect. These jellies mimic similar power-ups in similar blockbusting puzzle games, where they’ll pop jellies, destroy obstacles, and interact with objectives.

Cookie Skills: Each Cookie has one. Tap the Cookie when the Energy gauge is full to enable it, then tap your target square on the board to activate it. In this tutorial, this feature is unlocked on the 3rd and final wave of spoiled Cookies, where this skill will clear them all.

Episode 1, Chapter 1

⚙️ After GingerBrave escapes, he finds himself in the Witch’s Castle where he finds a witch-lookalike Cookie who taunts him in his efforts to escape out the window in… an attitude that almost matches mine?! NO WAY! Better clear the way for this guy, since he just had a bad collision! Start with these two obstacles, which require two Golden Star Jellies to clear.

Resources - Golden Star Jellies: You’ll get another Star after clearing level 2. That’s right. *Another.* You got one for level 1 too. Use them to progress the story and unlock new features. In this case, you’re clearing obstacles… but not for long. Better get back to the board for more Stars! Some levels will award multiple stars… like level 3.

Level 3

⚙️ Back to work, you know the drill. We need FOUR Golden Star Jellies to clear the immediate area this time.

Moves: 40

Skills: Disabled

Chosen Cookie: 🍪 GingerBrave

🎯 Objective - Wafers: These squares crumble once you pop jellies next to them. They are not affected by gravity if anything below them are cleared out from under them. In this level, there are 36 wafers in a 6x6 square. Clear all of them to win!

Bonus - Coin Bonuses & Level Completion: After clearing the level, power jellies are added to the board based on how many moves you have left. Afterwards, they all get detonated at once to pop jellies on the board to score some bonus coins on top of your base prize, tentatively being 160 Coins extra at most. More moves, more Coins! Each remaining move scores 10 Coins.

Rewards: 1+3 Golden Star Jellies, 50+160 Coins

Level 4

⚙️ Missing stairs? Get another Star. This level loosens the scripted restraints and lets you play the level as you want. Just clear the Wafers and move on already!

Moves: 38

🎯 Wafers: 49

Skills: Disabled

Chosen Cookie: 🍪 GingerBrave

Rewards: 1 Golden Star Jelly, 50+160 Coins

⚙️ That should be the last of it. From here, you’ll unlock the second floor and get a free progression reward of 20 Crystals. The rest of the user interface will also open up to you and the tutorial wheels essentially detach from here. There are some other tutorials and stuff that’ll open up as you click on them, but you can explore those whenever your brain catches up with everything. Happy Puzzling!

(Return to the Master Post) 🔗

#crepe archives #cookie run witch’s castle #gingerbrave #shadow witch #first cream cookie #witchberry cookie #cookie run

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elleashling · 7 months

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so i watched the fnaf movie and i have some thoughts. mostly not good but certainly some thoughts!

(FNAF MOVIE SPOILERS. DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT THEM)

unpopular opinion but the fnaf movie was frustrating to me because i didn’t feel like it followed the lore at All. like i appreciated all the references (kicked my feet and scream whispered in the theater to my mom when i saw the racing game print on the shirt of the guy who dies in the kitchen) but like the overarching plot made no sense to me. here are some rambling points. long post incoming

Plot Fails IMO

why did afton kidnap garrett (who is nonexistent in the games afaik) from a Campground? this is completely unrelated to the typical afton kidnappings and seems like a major stretch

why is vanessa his (afton’s) daughter? this feels like they tried to smash steel wool lore and scott cawthon lore together and failed worse than steel wool failed at making security breach have a point

why do we care about the mike schmidt namedrop if it isn’t an alias for afton’s son like in the games? why does afton recognize the last name and specifically get mike to work the job, then say he didn’t want mike to even get involved. my brother in christ YOU INVOLVED HIM

yet another piece of media where afton randomly dies. except Different. i don’t understand what is going on here this isn’t how it happened it’s a literal rewriting of the canon lore

the drawings thing was also very odd. the whole point of the animatronics coming to kill you originally in 1 and 2 was BECAUSE they knew an adult had killed them and they thought mike was william. there was no special drawing mind control. felt once again like a steel wool lore transplant, extending control over vanny (vanessa) to the animatronics

Springtrap For Fanservice™️. god im so tired of this stop jamming him in places he wasn’t in to start with

when would this take place even? i estimated somewhere between 1 and 3, clearly fazbear’s shut down but it’s obviously not to the point of fnaf 3 yet? why do they need a guard then? idk

abby schmidt? who

Other Odd Stuff

there was a weird split between horrifying fates and drawn out gore and people being cut in half in impossible ways and….. cutting the tension in half by building a table fort and tickling a child to death. really? every single climatic buildup in this movie felt like it was followed by comedy

my mother pointed out watching this movie that it continues a trope “autistic child provides key help through special connection with main plot problem, and then is immediately cured”. i have to say i kind of agree because why else call her mentally ill at the beginning? go out of the way to show her being by herself drawing (which is FINE! it’s OKAY!!) and then socializing with other kids after the ghost deal is over?

mike schmidt dream plotline. why

what was the point of aunt jane???

vanessa throwing the pills away was probably illegal in multiple ways lmao

sigh… as a long term fnaf fan i really wanted to like this movie but it came off as a whole lot of fanservice and diluting the story for mainstream while blending the new owner’s lore in poorly. i liked fnaf when it ended at fnaf 6!!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaahhhaggagah!!!!!!

if you want to contradict anything i said here (or if ur another big fan and you know smth i said is wrong lol) absolutely feel free i love lore and talking about it and if you love lore like me come chat and talk abt this w me!!!

tldr don’t get me wrong i enjoyed it for the references and the little details, matpat and cory and the living tombstone made me giggle, but i really thought they messed up the plot a Lot..

might add more in reblogs as i think of it

yeah anyways ill probably make another post rambling about all the references and stuff lol

#fnaf #fnaf movie #review #criticism #? i guess #five nights at freddy's

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heppyhenry · 2 years

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My main thoughts on the execution of the “Rayllum subplot” in S4:

So from what we know so far, the only point of Rayla leaving for two years was to create dramatic tension between her and Callum, which is… not a good writing decision, in my opinion. It seemed very forced and out of character for Rayla to leave for that long only to ultimately give up, return to Katolis empty-handed, and pretend that nothing ever happened and things can just go back to the way they were (besides her waiting to talk to Callum about their relationship). I don’t understand why writers continue to think that there has to be constant drama between love interests in their shows; is it so unrealistic of a concept to simply portray a healthy, wholesome romance between the leads where they don’t all of a sudden act like completely different people than usual just for there to be an emotional rift? Not every relationship needs to have some major conflict in order to keep the audience engaged. I would have much preferred for them to deal with some minor conflicts here and there instead of this ordeal, because their relationship is already such a small subplot as is that this season barely spends any time at all focusing on it. Really hoping that changes in Season 5 or else we legitimately might not see them fully get back together until Season 6 or even 7.

Wonderstorm themselves said that the audience would not need to read TTM to understand S4’s plot. While that is technically true, not reading it certainly does make Rayla’s absence and abrupt return feel even more awkward, confusing, and out of place. I really thought the handling of TTM’s ending in the show itself was executed very poorly.

With both of those thoughts in mind, however, I actually do think their relationship was handled nicely this season (that is, when the show actually took some time to focus on it lol). Callum’s anger and resentment was completely justified and I’m very glad that he and Rayla didn’t make up immediately. I also appreciate that the writers took several moments to show that they still do love and care for one another, and that this isn’t a complete reset of their relationship, nor is it a “will they, won’t they” scenario. We all know they will eventually rekindle their love, it’s just going to take a little more time before Callum is ready to have a Big Feelings talk with Rayla.

Also wanted to share my thoughts on people’s criticisms of the overall writing quality of S4:

I think people should keep in mind that Season 4 is the “set-up season” for the rest of this new arc, similar to Season 1. I see a lot of the same flaws in Season 4 that I did in Season 1 and while I do think that most of them could have probably been avoided simply with better execution, I also think that it makes sense why they occurred when remembering that the writers have to get the proverbial ball rolling for an entire multi-season arc in just 9 half-hour episodes. Those kinds of constraints are not easy to work around, and I think the failure to use all of the available time given in the best way possible is really what has led to the majority of this show’s problems.

Furthermore, here’s something to put into perspective: Aaron Ehasz, one of the lead writers of The Dragon Prince, was also the head writer of Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show that - according to Aaron - the team takes heavy inspiration from. That show had 3 seasons with 61 total episodes. TDP will end with 7 seasons, but only 63 episodes. There is a big difference in the amount of time that Ehasz has had to work with for each individual season’s story; because of this, I think that his approach is to simply put much more focus into the overarching story. In my opinion, I think it’s only fair that the audience does the same. I say this not to completely justify the growing pains of this show’s writing quality (particularly in its newest season), but rather to shed some light on potentially why it has probably been more difficult for Aaron this time around, and why it is important that we all stay patient and wait for the entire story to be finished before making any definitive claims about the show’s quality.

I do, however, 100% agree with the criticisms of TDP’s attempts at humor. It feels like there is less and less effort put into the comedy aspect of the show with every new season, which is really disappointing. Less fart jokes, please?

#rayllum #tdp #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #can’t wait for season 5 #please don’t let the rayllum drama drag on for the rest of the show #wonderstorm #tdp callum #tdp rayla

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the-red-mafia · 6 months

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hey everyone, fortis (@iamf0rtis) here. i just started working on the finale of part 4, which is a two-parter that will start on december 23 and finish on the 30th. so i decided to hop on here and get sentimental about the red mafia for a min. when we first came up with the original idea for the red mafia, it was a stupid bit. we had all shown up to homecoming one year with something red on and jokingly called ourselves the red mafia. the dance came and went but we took the bit further, as we do. we created alternate personalities and storylines that we were going to "play" online, mainly on the tumblr we made. it wasnt until a week or so later when i was like "hey wait, i could write something with this". and so the red mafia loUre doc was born the beginning of the end, in a way lol the original idea with the doc was just cute little short stories that wouldnt have any like overarching lore. think a sitcom but with velvet, mad, and maroon. oh yeah, the others were barely ideas at this point. the people who were supposed to play them had some idea but i hadnt been given character files until later, so they were cut from the initial bit. thats why the red mafia didnt start completely together and part 1 is spent collecting solana and thorn. there was also another guy named krim, whose only lore was he was an anarchist punk who really just hates the government. yeah, suffice to say he was cut lol. theres a lot of other funny things that were cut in the final character designs, but i want to save those for some posts after part 4 is over, which once again is december 30th, 2023. make sure you all are caught up, cause its gonna be a banger :) i just wanna end this sappy ass post with a thank you. the red mafia has grown from a small bit me and my friends have to a 512 page, 162,000 word project that has taken over nearly every thought in my brain for the past two years. because oh yeah, the red mafias tumblrs 2nd birthday was in october and i missed it cause idk how to check my email lol. all of this couldnt have happened without the support from our tumblr followers and the near 700 people who have read the red mafia on wattpad. so yeah, go read the red mafia. i think thats enough sappiness for today. ive got a finale to write fortis, signing off

#/the red mafia #/trm part 4 #iamfortis #go read the red mafia #also follow me im pretty cool :)#writing #writing project #wattpad #author #writer #writeblr #original work #original story #original characters #my ocs #ocs

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roguestorm · 3 months

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deeply sorry for the length of this ask. feel free to ignore. just contributing 2 cents on the manga/comic distinction as a primary manga reader who transitioned into comics! my limited experience has given me the impression that US comics are episodic while manga are serialized.

Within the sample of 80s-90s Marvel and a scattershot of indie/Wildstorm, comics have tended towards self-contained arcs of 1-5 issues, each issue hewing quite closely to the status quo-rising action-setback-climax-falling action plot diagram. Character development continues, but greater plots are spread thinly as hints that culminate in a crossover every 30-odd issues.

The inertia of shared canon comic continuity/the transition between writers resets or undoes development at regular intervals. So, each issue feels more episodic because any attempts to serialize will be undone in the next personnel shuffle. Even big 'never be the same again' changes like HoXPoX, the deaths of Jean Grey, Crisis on Infinite Earths, N52 will get undone in time and revert.

There's definitely a tendency to long arcs in contemporary comics compared to old comics, so my reading history here doesn't give that accurate of a view of the state of things. I've found that old comics write self-contained issues while post-90s-crash/post-digital comics employ longer story arcs and 'write for the trade'--possibly because that's the point at which trades become more accessible than issues?

Indie comics tend to have a more continuous plot without the constraints of shared canon, but are often planned for a limited run. These 5-12 issue runs can be structured in advance. This defined scope can lead to a more episodic series where each issue accomplishes a set goal, compared to the haphazard rushing-to-the-deadline manga flow that can leave chapters as abortive or half-finished.

By contrast, the sole-authorship/independent canon of manga allows permanent story changes without the status quo reset. This lends itself better to serialization. There is a lot of overlap between manga and indie here, and big magazines (WSJ) can exert significant control over mangaka. However, few manga are planned and executed as limited series and almost no manga have co-writers. The schedule pressure and lack of chapter limits means that mangaka can push events into/out of chapters, adjust pacing, change plot direction on the fly, and these changes aren't likely to be overruled.

There's less ability to keep chapters self-contained (you hand in what you physically can hand in, whether or not it's a complete story) and less motivation to do so (you have as many chapters as you want to write your arc, you don't need to shoehorn your arc into the three issues you have left before someone else comes on to the book). Manga work in arcs that last anywhere from 5 to 50 chapters or longer, with each arc representing a permanent change in status quo.

From my reading, manga tells a single overarching story with arcs split up into relatively small chapters of a larger whole (any big shounen e.g. HxH or Haikyuu, a lot of seinen e.g. Berserk, most big shoujo e.g. Ao Haru Ride or AkaYona). Because of the length of manga arcs, it's difficult for all of 30+ chapters to each be a self-contained story while contributing significantly to the main plot. US comics on the other hand tell a series of short, tight stories. These legally have to end where they started if published under the Big Two or another shared universe. In other words, a manga is a log of cookie dough cut into chapters while a US comic is a row of individually formed balls of cookie dough, some of which are grouped together.

This is all limited though--the big exceptions to this rule are indie comics, which don't have the shared-universe limitations, and non-romance slice-of-life manga, which do have to return to exactly the same status quo. And the definition of episodic I've used here is less about the proportion of 1-issue/1-chapter arcs and more about the change of/return to status quo at he end! My conclusion based on my reading was that SFF manga are almost all singular, large-scope stories that change continuously (serialized) and SFF comics are largely repetitive, small-scope stories that resolve to a status quo (episodic)--so it's interesting to see that there's still solid evidence for it being the other way around!

This is exactly the kind of reply I was hoping for! I think it's interesting that you are using this other definition of episodic, based around the overall trajectory of the stories, and then kind of working backwards from there to how it affects the single-issue level. The status quo argument only really affects the long-term episodic-ness (and it definitely does make like any deviation from the status quo into an episode that can be picked up or ignored as you choose), but it's interesting how that can end up making a difference on the issue-by-issue level as well.

Using The Walking Dead as my Western example did I think skew the argument because it was a very particular type of comic in that it was not Big Two, written by a single person, and always intended to be this big sprawling epic that just keeps going. It is perhaps more like a manga than a typical Big Two comic in that way. As you say, it's certainly true that a lot of Big Two comics do change hands regularly enough that it prevents any real long-term arcs from forming.

#asks #daisyachain #lots to think about. sorry this isn't the most in-depth response

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thenewfuture · 8 months

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Ranking the Mainline DanganRonpa Entries

Hey guys. The mastermind ranking list brought a lot of discussion and attention here, and I had a lot of fun making it. Now it's time to start list that won the second place on the poll; ranking all of the main series entries.

Oh, beloved DanganRonpa. How you started out as a niche spiritual successor to Ace Attorney, to now becoming your own big entity that can rival the best of them. Where have the years gone?

Quick rules to explain the process here:

-Like I said this is only the mainline entries. Fanganronpas like the Another series, Rebirth, Blowback, etc. will not be counted.

-That being said, I will also not be including any side content like Summer Camp S, The Kirigiri, Togami and Ultra Despair Hagakure novels, Killer Killer, IF, and Zero. For one, because a lot of them don't do much to add to DanganRonpa's overarching story. And two, a good half of them I have not seen nor am I interested in doing so because they don't much for the main series anyway. Apologies...

-This list is going to be INCREDIBLY SUBJECTIVE AND OPINIONATED, if you disagree with any of the spots I've put them in; that is completely fine, just don't be a jerk about it.

-And finally, the following will contain massive spoilers for the DanganRonpa series and their respective games and entries. View at your own risk. But considering this is on a story blog that takes place after three of the entries here, maybe you shouldn't be here anyway, but I'm still warning others just to be safe.

#5 DanganRonpa 1: Trigger Happy Havoc

Why is the subtitle for the game way bigger and upfront on the cover while the actual series name is way smaller? I don't get it...

To kick off our ranking list, it's the game that started it all. The very first DanganRonpa game, Trigger Happy Havoc! Now don't get wrong, even though it's this low doesn't make it the "worst", just my personal least favorite out of all of them. I mean I would have had to like the first game to some degree if I stuck with the series this long, right? I think this game has just aged......poorly...

The premise of the game starts out very well, each student is trapped in an enclosed environment and the only form of escape is to kill another classmate. This sort of environment encourages distrust of others so that when it's inevitably time for a murder, not only are you devastated that the character you were growing attached died but also saddened at how another character you liked could do something like that. That's all fine and dandy......here's the problem...

You can't convince me these guys were EVER friends! Not only is the player supposed to get attached to the other characters, the characters themselves have to from lasting trust and bonding experiences so that they too can feel despair. But barring a few good exceptions, it's not really done with anyone else. Let give a few examples:

Could imagine Sakura getting well with Kiyotaka? ......Hard, right?

Could imagine Leon getting along with Touko? ......No, right?

Could imagine Celeste getting along with Aoi? HA! Right?!

And that's not taking into account despair loving diva Junko and her sister Mukuro who would barely have any identity of her own.

Like I said; there are some great relationships here, I am not ignoring that. I was saddened with Kiyotaka having to get separated from Mondo too, and even more saddened when Aoi tried to get everyone killed because she believed the reason for her best friend's suicide was everyone else. But the comradery of the group doesn't work as well as it should or could have been we focus on these smaller groups and leaving behind the characters that exactly fit into a group of there own. Many of the other games fix this by having much more morale boosting events and activities for the rest of the remaining cast, meanwhile I can't exactly say the same here. As an unfortunate downside of this, it makes some of the characters bland and forgettable at best. Cast makes or breaks your visual novel game people, and the cast of THH leaves a lot to be desired.

The pacing's also very slow here. Because Monokuma doesn't outright say that a blackened has to survive and outwit the others in a class trial, the first chapter feels much more sluggish as a result. Future entries would go on to fix that issue by telling them right out the gate. And like I said, because there are hardly any events or anything of note going with the cast at times, most chapters play like: "waking up, meet up with everyone else, talking about what happened, explore new area, Free Time, Free Time, sleep, wake up, meet up, Free Time, Free Time, motive, sleep, wake up, meet up, Free Time, Free Time, sleep, Free Time, Free Time, oh hey someone kicked the bucket"

The slowness also translates to the gameplay as well. Having no breaks means going through 1 to 2 hour trials in one big burst. The joke of "Naegi, telling them" is very much true here and it's normally him, Kyoko and whenever he's not being a dick, Byakuya carrying the trials with everyone else offering their input every once in a while. "Gee, I wonder if we could spice this up by having other characters object to your line of thinking?.......NAH!" The minigames are serviceable as well, I mean Hangman's Gambit was never bit it's fine here, Climatic Return is always awesome, and while MTB is fine I just want to talk to the person that suggessted having this sort of action take place NUMEROUS TIMES in some of the later trials! And I have an unexplained, visceral, HATRED for the RE:Action prompt. Imagine having to watch and read some text explaing important information to just suddenly STOP TO A HAULT and press another button to get more info because your character to ask, "what do you mean?" by himself.

All in all, while Trigger Happy Havoc may not hold up as well as most of its predecessors, and maybe some of my reasons boil down to me spoiling myself on this game but watching a let's play of it and skipping down to see who survived, that doesn't mean there isn't a whole lot good to this game. The characters I do care about are written pretty well, Makoto is a good protagonist for this game and works in a number of ways, the trials are fairly simple to what we get later down the line, and the atmosphere works well for a killing game environment. I just have a few issues with it personally that question if I want to go back to it on numerous occasions. But as I said, if I didn't like the first game somewhat I wouldn't really be here, would I?

Just remember your first shot isn't always going to be your best, and that's okay.

#4 DanganRonpa V3: Killing Harmony

I consider V3 to be the Fire Emblem Fates of the franchise..............now I know that made sense to a whopping two of you, so let me explain.

Fire Emblem Fates comes off the massive success of its predecessor, Awakening, and fixes a lot of its issues. The gameplay is much more advanced and easy to understand, the music is really good, the environments look amazing, and there is a ton of content for many to enjoy. .......Everything else with it?

OH BOOOOOOOOYYYYY!!!!!!!!

A great number of characters are incredibly one note, has an insane number of unwanted fanservice moments, has numerous localization controversy, and the story is so GODDAMN convoluted, confusing and messy, surrounding itself in a mountain of incest!

.........So onto V3...

DanganRonpa V3 comes off the massive success of its predecessors, and fixes a lot of issues. The gameplay and mingames are much more easier to understand and scrum debating is awesome, the music is fantastic, the graphics and environments take use of its new console software, and there is a lot of content to enjoy. .....Everything else with it?

OH BOOOOOOOOYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!

Some of the characters are incredibly one note, has insane number of unwanted fanservice moments, has numerous localization controversy, and the story is so GODDAMN convoluted, confusing, twisted and messy, surrounding itself in a MOUNTAIN of incest!

..........Ya get it now?

I don't want it to seem like I'm ragging a whole lot on V3, but there are a lot of things that this game does that is straight up bad.

I will be nice and start with the good first however. I really like the cast and their designs, very unique and hard to forget even if I tried. The Ultimate Academy is a pretty cool set-piece for the killing game to take place in; having it be closed off to the world like Hope's Peak Academy but open to see the sky and other areas like Jabberwock Island, a pretty decent blend of the two. The music is a phenomenal treat for the ears, and for the eyes comes amazing sprite work for the new characters as well as Monokuma and great use of angles not before seen in the class trials. The new minigames for this game, Scrum Debate and Mass Panic Debates are also hella fun. And the bonus content is spectacular with Salmon Mode and Ultimate Talent Development Plan treating the fans to some actually GOOD fanservice.

That's about where the compliments end unfortunately. The other minigames aren't that fun to play through, Mind Mine is pointless and I don't enjoy it. V3 is notorious for having the ridiculous and mind stretching logic of all the class trials and that is a fact, Seesaw murders anyone? The back route mechanic sounds good on paper, and I'm not going to pretend that actually having multiple routes in a trial isn't a tremendous amount of work to pull off, but most of the optional ones are just time wasters as we don't learn much and just end up back on the correct path after a few minutes, so one has to wonder the point of all that. While I do like this cast, there are some stinkers that bring it down for me and can't compete with other ones. What the fuck is with all the incest in this writing?! And of course...the big two...

Why did we replace Kaede, a unique talent personality type who had tremendous potential for the first ever girl, main series, DanganRonpa, class trial protagonist.....for Shuichi? A low self-esteem, doesn't feel like he belongs, boy protagonist?

THIS IS THE THIRD TIME WE'VE HAD SOMETHING LIKE THIS!

We were this close to greatness....this close... And I love Shuichi too, but it still hurts everytime I think about it man, come on! Kaede could have done great things for this story or even have the two share the role of dual-swapping protagonists! And oh, that story though...

I get it, the power of fiction is real and it affects reality,and it does work for this game's overall theme of truth and lies, blah blah blah... But with how many times they HAMMER the message of: "Everything's fake! Everything you know and lie isn't real and it didn't happen! Look at you, the fans, you love killing games! You love DanganRonpa! Hahahahaha!" The message work so well it loops back around to feel insulting to not only the "fake" audience of the TV Show series, but also the auidence that's playing the game now. And apparently must have not worked enough because we still have people making videos on what they want in DanganRonpa 4, as well fans like me still being here and creating content discussion for it right now.

And with how ridiculous some of the characters' backstory are, such Gonta living with actual dinosaur people, Kaede preforming for famous kings across the world, Kirumi being the FUCKING PRIME MINISTER, maybe these were the clues all along to help you figure out this place was a fictional world. And I know that this is the series where a high school girl can overthrow the world into chaos, demigods are basically born left and right, and ghosts and aliens directly affect the plot, but I think we should have some sort of groundedness to this world, no?

Bottom line: V3 is a good game but has a mediocre story and because this is the last game in the series(maybe?), it leaves nothing but a bad taste in my mouth. I swear these writers aren't even trying anymore, DanganRonpa 17 was the best.

#3 DanganRonpa 3: The End Of Hope's Peak Academy

*THE BIGGEST AUDIBLE GASP KNOWN TO MANKIND*

Mod Freeze, isn't DanganRonpa 3 relegated as one of the worst installments in the franchise by the fans? Yes.

Mod Freeze, isn't the Final Killing Game a massive jumbled mess of time management, rules, and scope? Yes.

Mod Freeze, didn't DanganRonpa 3 not utilize a whole bunch of its characters as well as the DR2 cast? Yes.

Mod Freeze, isn't DanganRonpa 3 responsible for instilling the idea of the Remnants of Despair simply being brainwashed? Yes.

Mod Freeze, is this straw-man arguments tired out and old? Yes.

Mod Freeze, why is Danganronpa 3 so high? Well my dear reader, that is a long and extravagant answer.....

I like it.

........................

....That's it.

I'm not here to paint you a picture on how DR3 is the greatest piece of media in the history of existence, or even sway your mind from thinking that DR3 is so garbage that it could be mistaken for a Garbodor. I like DanganRonpa 3, for the simple fact that I enjoyed my time with it.

Now I am not blind to the various things DanganRonpa 3 has done wrong. It doesn't utilize most of the branch leaders well or hardly gives you any reason to care about them. A good chunk of the DR2 cast get left behind in the dust, especially those that should garner more attention like those present for the Twilight Syndrome case. And those that took the time to read and explore other lore such as DR0 do not get rewarded. Skips what could be interesting scenarios such as Chisa's time in the reserve course or even a few moments with the THH cast. And that's not even mentioning the Final Killing Game with all its confusing and convoluted bullshit.

But honestly, despite all that, I didn't mind any of that too much. I really liked the idea of a free-for-all killing game that Future Arc tried to implement, and seeing the fun and cute moments of the 77th class was such a delight. Some characters ere unfortunately narratively more built important than others, but some of them stuck out to me for the best of reasons. Chisa's fun mommy-sue nature, Seiko's tragic backstory and relationship with Ruruka, Koichi how he's trying to protect and be there for Kyoko, and a lot of the designs here for these guys kick ass.

Great Gozu is a more well-rounded character than a good chunk of others from THH and V3, and I can and will fight you on that.

Some of the returning cast was done really good here too, a real Chiaki for added wholesomeness, Hajime with his doubts of self-worth due to lack of talent, Imposter shined more than I thought he would, dude would ever imagine Imposter getting some shine in the main series, never me, holy cow. And we explored other characters who we hadn't known more about, like Izuru finally making him his own character, exploring the relationship and natures of Natsumi and Sato, and Mukuro.............y'know let's just not talk about that blunder...

I don't even mind the brainwashing portion either because.......that's what it always was....

And I had a talk with an anon a while back about this topic. I don't mind it too much because, if you're telling me that Junko can just switch your marolaity with a few words from her silver tongue, that makes her look too overpowered and the rest of the DR2 cast indigenous and kind of already shitty people. And I know a few of them can be swayed to despair give the right circumstances(Fuyuhiko, Peko, Mahiru, Mikan, Hiyoko, Akane), but honest to god how can someone like Imposter, Nekomaru, or ray of sunshine fall to despair with her words. I think we're stretching it here...

DanganRonpa 3 may have disappointment me as well as others on a quite few number of fronts, but kept me more invested in its story and mysteries than the past two entries. Again, my personal opinion of course... Without DR3, I wouldn't be making The New Future in the first place so it has to have some merit of enjoyment in here. And I think there could be more stuff to enjoy from this anime as well, squint and tilt it a little bit and you might find a gleam of hope...

But hey, what do I know? I'm the guy that likes DanganRonpa 3 :P

#2 DanganRonpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Okay how do you say this name?! Ultra Despair Girls: DanganRonpa: Another Episode?! DanganRonpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls?! DanganRonpa Ultra Despair Girls: Another Episode?! DanganRonpa 1.5 Final Remix?! THREE FIVE EIGHT OVER TWO DAYS?!-Wait.

These years have shown that not much has changed in the grand scheme of this list, as it's secured second place spot has not been challenged. And that's funny because I'm pretty this game is much more divisive in the fandom as well, and it has the unfortunate perk of being more well known than the anime series. I mean, a game with no class trials, no investigations, no definite mascots, smaller cast than normal, a huge change in gameplay, and Monokuma being demoted to near Goomba status. It may be a spin-off entry, but these are some drastic changes to the formula, almost a whole new game at this point.

However, I think Ultra Despair Girls is a fantastic entry to the series, and you would do yourself a disservice by skipping out on it. Makoto Naegi's little sister, Komaru, fights through the streets of Towa City for survival against the Monokumas and the Warrior of Hope with the help of a returning face, Touko Fukawa.Right off the bat, I have to say this idea for a story is really impressive. Because this takes place after THH but before DR2, we get to see kind of the world is during the Tragedy. Hectic, apocalyptic, barely clinging onto hope.. I may not be a fan of zombie or horrors movies, but the ambience here is top notch and works extremely well.

We have a ton of colorful characters as well, the Warriors of Hope are good antagonists with heartbreaking and understanding backstories, seeing relatives or people close to the first's game cast is an excellent treat as well like Hiroko, Kanon, Yuta and Taichi even if we get a little out of those two...and of course, the main big bad, Monaca. If you read my ranking list of the series' masterminds you know full well why I like her. She is a perfect villain for this sort of story, a twisted and manipulative person with the face of the child but the heart of a demon.

Of course, I can't forget to mention Komaru and Touko. Komaru's development from an average whiny high school girl who can't do anything learns to stand up and fight for herself. And Touko, who has outgrown her shell of being reclusive and venomous to others....while still retaining that somewhat, now has an active roll of helping Komaru get through these tough times. She offers her advice, lessons, support, everything. These two's relationship make this game for me and I'm sure many others would agree with me on that front.

Okay, time to get on to the negatives here, ah......oh boy....

For starters Towa City is huge and many areas here are really cool looking, but the path is quite linear and that can be quite tedious for exploring and hiding collectibles. It's not too hard, but there are a lot of collectibles to nab, and if you miss one you have to start the chapter all over again so be mindful. One of which is the wanted list that the WOH have to hunt down other "demons" aka, THH's families and friends. You give them to Hiroko to hopefully go get them, but do you ever seeeee or meeeeet them in the Resistance base. Nope! That's a missed opportunity if I ever heard of one!

And um.......all the.....uncomfortable....things this game does....hoo boy... From Touko's fantasies, to the scoring screen at the end of chapters, to.....the Motivation machine in Chapter 3, and.....j-just how manipulative and twisted Monaca can be in chapter 4, this game proves it is not for the faint of heart. Probably not even that too, those who aren't faint of heart might reel at some of these questionable decisions here. I'd call it fanservice but because some of these scenes involve, ahem, MINORS; I'd call it fansqueezing with how much it'll squeeze and hurt you with all this psychological trauma. I suppose I've either seen worse over the course of my life to not be affected by this, or I've endured these sorts of things in the game so many times that I have become numb to it. Remember folks, I platinumed this game.

Ultra Despair Girls may make you feel despair at times, but beyond that despair, lies hope. Hope of a game with a great story, great cast of characters, and a great episode for this franchise in general.

Oh, also this...

Another point to V3 being so low. How dare they tease us…

#1....DanganRonpa 2: Goodbye Despair

"Wow, shocking! The guy that's blog is about the DanganRonpa 2 cast ha DanganRonpa 2 as his favorite! I tooootally saw this coming a mile away!" Hey look man, I don't appreciate all that sass. I saw that train coming a mile away too and I didn't say anything. Also on you're right-

*HOOOOOORRRRNNN!* *CRAASSSSH!*

Eugh....oh, oh that looks bad.....A-Anyway....

Yes, if you follow me on my main blog you probably know that I love DanganRonpa 2 a whole effin' lot! I love mah boy Hajime! I love mah girl Chiaki! I love my other boys, Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi, and Imposter! I love mah other girls, Sonia, Ibuki and Mikan! I love DanganRonpa 2!

Everything is so right here. The gameplay, the setting, the story, the characters, it's all great!

Mind Dive and Rebuttal Showdown are excellent additions that keep the mystery paces going as well utilizes other characters and their outlooks on certain things. It's almost like it's a real trial here guys. And some would say that an island doesn't really fit for a whole killing game setting, and I agree somewhat, but I love all the places of Jabberwock island and I can argue waking up and finding yourself on a deserted island far, far away from any signs of civilization works just as good too.

And the cast, the cast is perfect! A great combination of personalities coming together to make every moment feel that much more impactful and memorable. And even though I may not like afew of them(Hiyoko, Nagito, Teruteru), they evoke more of a emotional reaction out of me and stick out in my mind far more than other members of the other casts. Not to mention there are plenty of group activities and moments together that serve to boost the character's morale and hope. While again, some of them are locked behind presents, some that aren't work well enough. The party at the old building, a beach party on the second island, Ibuki's concert, there are so many ways for the characters to come together that when some of them do die, it is really sad and heart-wrenching. Like what THH was trying to do, but better!

And the main story is really good as well. Having characters we all know and love turning out to responsible for the Tragedy set up in the first game is a really nice twist, as well as learning that it may be possible to bring them back. Some say it a cheap action that miiiiiight devalue all the tragedy and lose the player and characters have went through, and again, I can see that point being made. I personally believe if you give me the option to have them back I would take it a heartbeat.

If there is one true negative I have for this game, it's that the motives are fundamentally lacking in some regard. The motives for chapters 2 and 3 are very much targeted for specific people, and don't affect the others too much, which made the motives in THH work so well is that anyone could fall into the temptation, everyone was treated equal. And with those two chapters, eehhhhhhh.....not so much....

But even still, I hold DanganRonpa 2 very near and dear to my heart. It was the first game I saw and watched from beginning to end, the first game I played and even why I bought a Vita in the first place. I would come back to this game at a moment's notice, the emotions I felt through every chapter make me want to sit by the beachside and experience it all over again...

DanganRonpa 2: Goodbye Despair is my favorite game in the entire series. I cannot express how much I love it so much...

-Mod

#the new future #mod freeze #ranking #danganronpa #super danganronpa 2 #danganronpa ultra despair girls #danganronpa 3 #new danganronpa v3

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pirateswhore · 8 months

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"someone. someone send me an ask. one that I can abuse and write a 10k word analysis of."

so this is what i been thinkin: season two feels transitional, it's good but it is perched between two seasons with a very defined "complete" self-suficient plots that are very tightly wrapped up and season two to me kinda feels... undecided? even tho a lot of stuff happens in it agree or disagree?

agree;

season 1 was very clearly the set-up for the show and its dynamics (duh). introduced us to characters, how stuff worked, etc etc. while it wasn't fully settled on everything, it did a decent job of setting up a story that people would want to follow.

season 3 (and onward) also had a plan in place and structure to follow - continue off of the cliff hanger in previous season's finale, deal with that crisis, that somehow leads into another crisis, repeat.

season 2 ?? felt... idk. transitional is DEFINITELY a good word for it; some stuff from season 1 was still being worked through (the aftermath of people regaining their memories, the consequences for Regina, magic being restored, etc), but then also had some of its own mini-plots ? cora n hook, neal, Greg n Tamara. none of them were truly overarching for the season, more-so tying up loose ends from s1 and setting up for s2.

none od this is bad on its own, especially since the show was in its (relative) infancy and testing the viewer interest, but unfortunately, it does mean that s2 sort of ? doesn't have its own identity when compared to other seasons of the show. many scenes that I swore were from s1 turned out to be s2 on rewatch. each season can stand well enough on its own (and personally, I can rewatch only 1 season if I want), but s2 feels too tied to s1 n s3.

I was too young to know or care about the show's production at the time (what did 9yo me know ab show running?), so I don't know what was going on online/behind the scenes then. BUT what I think the show was trying to do with its first 2 seasons was ease people into the concept. seasom 1 was the setup, season 2 was dipping its toes in what the show will be (main cast fighting evil), and then s3 onwards, they fully committed and ran with it.

#tumblr asks #ouat #ouat season 2 #3am thoughts

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drama-pop · 5 months

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Dramas I Watched in 2023

There was a lot more time between dramas this year and except for 1, all of them were new to me this year. I ended up watching 9 dramas again, like last year. Here are the dramas I watched this year and I what I thought of them!

Dream High (7/10)

2nd watch – My sister and I watched this through winter break and finished early in the year. It wasn’t as fun as I remember it being in my first watch, but I still enjoyed it a lot. It took several episodes for my sister to be convinced that this was going to be worth watching. The fashion, camera quality, and acting hasn’t aged that well, but the music and desperation of youth still endures.

Hometown Cha-cha-cha (6.5/10)

1st watch – I have a love-hate relationship with this drama. I liked it a lot at the beginning and end, but once Hye-jin started on her whiny “Hong Banjang,” I kind of stopped caring about her character. The townspeople are quirky, yet lovable. I thought they did a good job fleshing out the character of the second male lead as well. I cried a lot in the final episodes of the show though! It’s worth a watch. “Romantic Sunday” is an excellent driving song on a sunny day, just throwing that out there.

Little Women (7/10)

1st watch – I had to watch this one in small doses because it was quite disturbing at times. The acting was very strong all around. If you’re like me and developed a crush on Wi Ha-joon after Squid Game, I’m happy to report that he’s looking as fine as ever, even though I wasn’t sure if I could trust his character (or anyone else, for that matter!). Had the show been the traditional 16 episodes, I would not have made it. 12 dark episodes was enough for me! If you like mystery thrillers, I recommend Little Women!

Crash Course in Romance (7.5/10)

1st watch – I liked a lot about this drama. Jung Kyung-ho and Jeon Do-yeon were fantastic and it was refreshing to see a cast with older leads (despite my initial hesitation). Sure, there were a few twists that felt a bit contrived, but it’s a K-Drama! What was I expecting? This is one where I couldn’t wait to start the next episode and find out what would happen next.

Mystic Pop-Up Bar (9.5/10)

1st watch – This was the highlight of the year for me. I loved the characters as individuals and as an ensemble. The casting was perfect, in my opinion. The overarching story was mysterious and the cases that Wol-ju had to solve were touching. One episode in particular had me bawling my eyes out. This drama is one that you can enjoy casually or one that could inspire you to reflect on your life and the people in it that you love.

King the Land (7/10)

1st watch – Sadly, I can’t recall much about this one. I remember that I liked the characters, especially the lead and how hard she worked. It had a nice balance of silliness and touching moments. One thing that I thought this drama did well was develop the female lead’s friends. They had their own side stories and shared a genuine friendship. And this show has a vacation episode, which I live for!

Crash Landing on You (7.5/10)

1st (full) watch – My mom and I tried to watch this one in 2020 and completely gave up on it after the first episode. I know in my heart not to judge a K-Drama by its first episode, so we gave it another try this year. It was really well done and the ensemble is fabulous. Seriously, if you only watch it for Captain Ri’s soldiers (or for Captain Ri…what a handsome guy), I wouldn’t blame you! While I had a hard time warming up to the second female lead, I thought that the way she was written had some refreshing twists. She's not the confident woman you'd think she is from her appearance and ice. The show made some choices near the end that I didn’t agree with, but it was an overall great watch. I’m glad I gave it another try!

Touch Your Heart (7/10)

1st watch – I loved seeing Yoo In-na and Lee Dong-wook back together again and with a happier ending than in Goblin! The drama was a little silly at times and took a while for me to get into, but I grinned a lot at their cute relationship. If you like seeing your leading male looking confused and lovestruck, this is a good one! Lee Dong-wook makes the most endearing faces.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (4/10)

1st watch – I’m so sorry. I wanted to like this drama a lot and kept watching episodes hoping that it would grip me, but it just didn’t. There were a lot of plot elements that I couldn’t get behind and some that I flat out said, “that’s it, I’m not watching this show anymore.” Of course, I did finish, but it took everything in me not to give this drama up. I personally know someone who puts this as her top drama, but it just wasn’t it for me. Mimi the dog is too cute to be real.

And that’s it! I hope that you have a happy new year and that 2024 brings good things for you! Feel free to send me any drama recs!

#kdrama #review #Happy New Year!#2023 #dream high #hometown cha cha cha #little women #crash course in romance #mystic pop up bar #king the land #crash landing on you #touch your heart #do do sol sol la la sol

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beneaththetangles · 1 year

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Fantasy, romance, and shonen feature prominently in our reviews this week, but so, too, do two rarer releases for manga-associated brands. They include Guardian of Fukushima, a Franco-Belgian work inspired by Japanese culture and the 2011 earthquake, and Tezcatlipoca, a Japanese novel combining Aztec mythology and modern organized crime. Read on to see what we thought of these departures from the usual, as well as more typical light novel and manga fare!

Ayashimon • The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses (Vol. 1) • Guardian of Fukushima • I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top • Sweet Poolside • Tezcatlipoca • Unnamed Memory (Vol. 6)

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Unnamed Memory, Light Novel Vol. 6

FYI: this is the final volume of the series, so some mild spoilers are unavoidable. The first volume of the story introduced magical mystery man Valt…and promptly killed him. Well, he’s back in a big way. This series has often had a mystery-of-the-week feel, but certain plot threads—Valt, time travel, witches, the anti-magic sword Akashia, a pair of mysterious orbs, etc.—have helped link the various narrative episodes about Oscar the king and Tinasha the witch, and many of them come together for this finale. I found it a little confusing, but some of that is probably because it’s been too long since I read the preceding volumes, and some of it is probably because time travel is supposed to be a bit puzzling. Be warned that this is a wild ride and you shouldn’t expect everything to be wrapped up in a tidy package. I found the ending is reasonably satisfying, but it’s definitely more “and the adventure continues” than “happily ever after,” and it left me with questions. The Afterword even hints at the possibility of a sequel series. The banter/bickering and mutual trust between Oscar and Tinasha remain charming and enjoyable, and (some) mysteries get resolved. If you’re looking for a fantasy-mystery-romcom, I definitely recommend the completed series that is Unnamed Memory. ~ Jesk

Unnamed Memory is published by Yen Press.

Guardian of Fukushima

This isn’t a manga; it isn’t even Japanese. Instead, it’s a Franco-Belgian bande desinée in the tradition of Asterix and Tintin, but one that tells a very Japanese story: of the earthquake of 2011, the devastation it wrought, and the one man who arose amid the chaos as the “guardian of Fukushima,” Naoto Matusumura. He is the one who returned to the restricted zone in order to care for the animals that had been abandoned during the evacuation—pets and farm animals alike (even ostriches!)—and who has remained there ever since, breaking the law on a daily basis and becoming the most irradiated man alive in the process. But Guardian of Fukushima is not just another retelling of an inspiring true story. Instead, Matsumura’s tale here is “liberated by fiction” (foreword), as writer Fabien Grolleau and artist Ewen Blain re-envision a 21st-century hero in the context of centuries-old Japanese folk tales, legends, and spirituality, in a manner reminiscent of Studio Ghibli’s eco-activist films and Kawatsura’s The House of the Lost on the Cape. The work draws on a rich tapestry of references: from yokai and guardian spirits to the giant catfish Numazu whose thrashing is responsible for earthquakes, to the tale of Urashima Taro, the fisherman and champion of sea life who returns home to find a world transformed—much like Matsumura himself, as the foreword points out. And it works really well, most of the time (the yokai sequence being the exception—it’s not very well integrated into the overarching narrative). Matsumura’s story is moving, but the volume wisely resists becoming overly sentimental and instead emphasizes the protagonist’s steadfast commitment to his conviction that the value of animal life is on par with that of humanity. The graphics are stunning, with the brilliant color work characteristic of bande desinée and a charming hand-drawn feel, right down to the quavering panel lines. The animals are full of personality, and much care has been taken to render the natural landscape with the vibrancy of spring, even amid the destruction. All in all, this volume is a treat for the eye and the heart as well, and a fitting tribute to a man who has laid down his life for creation. ~ claire

Guardian of Fukushima is published by TOKYOPOP.

Tezcatlipoca, Novel

A bold attempt to mix ancient myth with a modern crime tale, Tezcatlipoca is creative, heavy, and for long stretches an absolute page-turner. But it’s also ultimately underwhelming. The modern-day myth traces the lives of a number of characters caught up in a horrifying crime trade (I won’t spoil it here except to say that it’s very 21st century), but two men in particular: a neglected boy with extraordinary strength who is confined for an act of violence he committed as a juvenile, and a drug lord whose family has been assassinated by another drug cartel. The latter, Valmiro, is fueled by his grandmother’s stories about the Aztecs and their great warrior kinsman, as he bides his time in building a new empire with ancestral determination and through cruel, ritual killings; his is a story of revenge against those who killed his family. Tezcatlipoca is an epic tale, beginning decades earlier and an ocean away from Japan, where the main story eventually moves to. It reminds me of another novel involving cartels, Clear and Present Danger, in how absorbing the straight-forward explanation of events are in both novels and how deep the authors dive into character descriptions. Unlike that Tom Clancey book, however, Kiwamu Sato’s similarly lengthy tome spends a great deal of time in the abstract world of Aztec myth and religion, as Valmiro creates a “familia” that is centered on that fierce and brutal culture. In fact, Sato spends too much time on the Aztecs. As compelling as they are, the gangsters’ imitation of the ancient warriors becomes a bit repetitive in the tale, and there are too many gods and terms to follow along closely. While weaving the past with the present, the author seems to lose sight of the drug lord, who is the most interesting character in the novel; it’s a major oversight, particularly because the entire book hinges on weaving together his story with Koshimo’s, and it doesn’t happen with the same care as how their backstories are crafted. Instead, that and most of the elements in Japan are rushed, including a slam-bang climax and a final scene that is wonderfully poetic but would have made a deeper impact if given more time to develop. It’s a disappointment because if Sato had written the final act with as much patience as he did the earlier ones, Tezcatlipoca very well may have been a special novel rather than the mixed bag it ultimately is. ~ @animepopheart

Tezcatlipoca is published by Yen Press.

Ayashimon, Manga Vol. 1

One of newest entries into the “beat-’em-up” category of shonen manga, Ayashimon is bursting with energy while sticking to the tried and true of the genre. And it appears that the formula has produced a winner. Ayashimon‘s protagonist is Maruo, an impossibly strong young man who is dissatisfied with life since it’s nothing like the shonen manga he adores. His worldview totally shifts when he encounters Urara, the daughter of the deceased leader of the now-fractured Enma crime syndicate, who contracts with him to be her muscle in a quest to take power. The one-on-one battles, which take place within the concept of “ritual” duals, are cleanly drawn and dynamic. The characters are stylish and the world is creative, flipping Kabukicho into a den of demonic yakuza—the titular ayashimon who wear human faces to disguise their monstrous identities. It’s a violent series, featuring beheadings and amputations, but it doesn’t feel graphic, perhaps helped along by the ayashimon “dying” for only 99 years and their bodies transforming into cash upon “death” (I’ll let you make the symbolic connections there). Meanwhile, Urara and Maruo make for intriguing anti-heroes, criminals who are not-so-bad compared to the awfulness around them. Volume one ends on a cliffhanger involving what appears to be one of the series’ main antagonists, creating high stakes for a series that feels like it shouldn’t have any because of the immortality of the ayashimon and the OP qualities of Maruo. It just goes to show what a talented mangaka can do with an entertaining concept. What a great start! ~ @animepopheart

Ayashimon is published by VIZ Media and releases on March 7th.

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses, Manga Vol. 1

I never expected Miss Miyazen Would Love to Get Closer to You to have a potential rival when it comes to shonen romcom cuteness, but The Girl I Like Forget Her Glasses is a worthy contender! Komura is excited about his new homeroom and the cute girl next to him…who happens to forget her glasses all too often! While he is happy for the (multiple) instances when he can talk and help his crush, he feels his heart might give out way too soon from how close she has to get to him so she can see his face! This was such a cute read! I was surprised by how fast I read it, but Komura is so, so, so adorable that it was hard not to look ahead to see what his expression would be on the next page! Ha! His reactions are always worth seeing, especially when Mie gets very close to his face. Mie was also pretty funny, and I loved how she would talk like a samurai sometimes because it honestly just added more to her cute charm. After reading this first volume, I’m so excited this will be getting an anime, as I think it’s going to be such a delight to watch onscreen! Definitely recommending this series if you like sweet and wholesome romances with some great art! ~ @lauraagrace

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses is published by Square Enix.

Sweet Poolside, Manga

Shuzo Oshimi’s first weekly serial has finally been published in a bound volume. Nearly twenty years after it originally ran and followed by many other successes (The Flowers of Evil, Happiness), this one-volume work exhibits Ochimi’s talent but is deeply flawed, as the author admits himself in a cute side manga at the end of the work. Sweet Poolside is about the relationship between two swimmers, drawn particularly from Ota’s point of view as a boy whose body is less mature than some of his classmates. In fact, he has baby-smooth skin and no hair on his body other than atop his head, which is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the beautiful Goto, who feels enough of a kinship with the boy to ask him to help her improve her confidence by shaving her. Strange, yes, but you could see how such a storyline could develop into a warm and meaningful series, can’t you? And there are nice moments in this limited-run manga, mostly in the awkwardness that Oshimi puts on full display through Ota’s thoughts and actions, but there are not enough to make it as warm and sweet as I would have hoped from this coming-of-age story. Sweet Poolside also features erotic elements meant for the male gaze, as Goto is illustrated in sexually charged ways—while Ota, though arguably shown more graphically, is drawn as such only to add to the adolescent awkwardness of the story rather than to its eroticism. Sweet Poolside would have been better and sweeter if Goto was treated more fully like Ota. As it is, we’re left with a story that doesn’t quite come together and a female lead who’s nothing but her body—not a manga I would recommend. ~ @animepopheart

Sweet Poolside is published by Kodansha.

I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top, Light Novel Vol. 1

Volume one of I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top serves as a reminder that sometimes an adaptation exceeds—in this case far exceeds—the source material. I called volume one of the manga a “pleasant and unexpectedly fine read,” but the original light novel which it adapts is dreadful. The story is precisely the same—Allen, a bottom-tier, no-talent swordsman, punches a “100-million-year-button” that takes him to an alternate dimension where he trains for that amount of time (and then again and again), leading him into OP-hood before he begins to attend a special swordsman academy. Yes, the idea is silly, but the manga tackles it with optimistism and fun. The light novel has the same tone, but the writing is too atrocious for me to enjoy the cute characters and funny events. The narration is only slightly better than “And then I did this…and then I went here…and then this happened…” as the story moves from one scene to another without rhyme or reason. More visual media are able to hide these issues, but awful writing is more obvious in a light novel. Other substantial problems, like a lack of characterization and creativity in the world-building, also derive from the weak writing. I encourage you to skip this volume, but if you want a fun and upbeat fantasy/school story, check out the manga adaptation—it features all the good parts without being weighed down by the bad. ~ @animepopheart

I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top is published by Yen Press.

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

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