#A pirate love interest from a visual novel I was working on
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Cap gets into Sonic
I miss liveblogging/keeping a record of my interests as they develop, so I'm gonna list which Sonic stuff I've seen so far and what stuff I'd still like to see.
Stuff I've seen:
IDW Sonic:
Very good! Seeing Scrapnik Island at work was what made me interested in Sonic in the first place, and I'm super glad I decided to read the comics! The artwork is gorgeous and the storylines are so fun! I really like the running theme of owning up to your decisions and sticking to your principles for Sonic, and my fave arcs are probably the Metal Virus arc and Surge's arc. Super excited to see what happens next!
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006):
First saw this game from the snapcube dub (which I still love) then watched brutalmoose play the full game on stream. It's objectively a stinker of a game, but I can see a lot of what they were going for and I like a lot the concepts. I think Sonic and Elise's relationship could've worked more if she were a child (or, a younger child), but at its core I love the idea of Sonic encouraging Elise to feel free. I also love Team Dark's loyalty and friendship to each other in this game, wish I got to see it more in others.
Sonic and the Black Knight:
One of my top faves! I loved every bit of stylization and story telling this game had, and Sonic's characterization was peak! The combination of Sonic characters and medieval armor is also so fucking good too. Overall a really simple but solid narrative with great characters and cool as hell aesthetics.
Sonic Unleashed:
I'm surprised how much this game sticks in my mind, I think it's also in my top faves (tho watching penny play it is probably a bit why). There's something about it that has so much heart that just seems so Sonic, despite the lackluster visual novel-esque segments. The Werehog is such a fun concept and a fun role reversal for Sonic, and a lot of the little moments of humor were really good, like Sonic taking pics for Chip while Eggman monologued.
And this def isn't unique to this Sonic game alone, but the music Slaps. Most of my fave music comes from this game, including the werehog's boss battle theme. I play that shit on loop sometimes at work.
Sonic Riders & Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity:
I prefer the fandub's spin on some of the story elements (and the Babylon Rogues's relationships, and just Storm in general), but I still enjoyed this game, especially the ideas behind the Babylon Rogues! I'm still not super clear on their lore (these two games felt like they lacked a lot of explanations for who/what/where) but I like the idea that these three are technically heirs to this long lost civilization and technically have this responsibility to it but they're super into being pirates instead. It's charming! Makes me wish I saw more of them in a serious capacity in IDW.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog:
Played this game on my own and I loved how fun and bright it was! The art was absolutely gorgeous and the music was fun too! I super adore seeing characters "outside" their roles in a more relaxed setting, where we get to see more of their personalities, and I felt like I got to know all the characters a bit more in this game. My only gripe is that the "Think!" sections had some god awful color choices for the tiled runway, it made everything blur together really badly. But otherwise, another top fave!
Stuff I still need to see:
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Heroes
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic Forces
Sonic Frontiers
Sonic Prime
Will probably reblog this post with additional thoughts as I finish watching other stuff!
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Art of Aardman
I found myself a cheap copy of the Shaun the Sheep movie, so I was rewatching a bunch of Aardman films earlier this month and decided to hunt down some books too. For anyone that doesn’t know, Aardman is a British stop-motion studio that does fantastic work like Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, Early Man… tons of cool stuff. They’re always quirky and funny and warm-hearted. This was just a very nice art book for anyone that’s a fan of Aardman stop motion and wants to see a bit extra; it shows some cool concept art and blows up the neat details in Aardman work, especially in their intricate stuff like The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
Asterix and the Picts (Asterix and the Chariot Race, and How Obelix Fell Into The Magic Potion)
I decided to try a couple of the new Asterix comics that were done by the new team, just to see if they stand up to the old ones (that and How Obelix Fell Into The Magic Potion cause I’d never read that one before). They were pretty decent! Asterix and the Picts was my favourite of the two though I wouldn’t say either are going to contest for my favourite Asterix comic... but still! The art looks good and the stories felt like what I would expect, they made for a pleasant couple evenings of reading especially since it’s been so long since I’ve read a new Asterix comic. If you’ve never read Asterix it’s one of the biggest name French comic series in North America, as far as I know and very worth the read. It’s about a single Gaulish village that’s holding out against the invading Romans through sheer force of will, slapstick hijinks, and a magical super-strength potion brewed by their druid. Lots of fantastic visuals and cute wordplay, even in the English translations.
Bear
I found out about this bastion of Canadian literature via tumblr post that was losing its collective mind over the fact that some bizarre bear-based erotica novella somehow won the most prestigious literary prize available in Canada. Since I too found this hilarious and unspeakably bizarre I had to give it a read, obviously. And yes, the flat surface level summary is... a librarian moves out into rural Ontario and falls in love with a literal for-real not-supernatural-not-a-joke bear. And I have to say… it is actually worthy of an award, which I was not expecting given that I was there for a laugh. It has beautiful writing, and the subtextual story is pretty interesting… it kind of makes me think of The Haunting of Hill House actually in terms of themes. (Womanhood, personhood, independence, autonomy partially achieved through escaping the male gaze by claiming non-human lovers... listen if I were still in university I would right a paper comparing the two novels).
I dunno man, it’s fucking weird. Actually a well-written book, but sure is about a woman falling in love with a literal bear. Give it a read if you want something bonkers but like… high-brow bonkers.
Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites
Best book I have read in like… a while. A long while. I am not a fast reader, and I consumed 90% of this book over a weekend. It’s not at all like Terry Pratchett, but at the same time it scratched an itch for me that I haven’t had satisfied since Pratchett’s death. A very clever, hilariously funny poly romance between a disabled werewolf, an anxious vampire lord, and an incredibly powerful woman, with heaps of social satire, political commentary, and sinister undertones. The whole thing reads a bit like fanfiction and I say that in the most flattering way possible -- it is so easy to jump right in and be immediately taken over by the characters and the world and the plot, you never feel like you’re fighting to engage even though the world-building is fascinating and expansive. It welcomes you in right away, it was the book equivalent of a quilt and a hug which is something I sorely needed with all this pandemic bullshit. If you read any of the books on this list, go read that one while I sit here in pain waiting for the sequel.
Kid Paddle
I watched the cartoon of Kid Paddle as a kid and was thinking about it recently, so I decided to hunt down some of the original comics online. They’re fun and weird, with a cute art style and fantastic monsters designs. (My favourites are always about Kid either daydreaming or playing games that involve Midam’s weird warty troll creatures. It’s like a cross between Calvin and Hobbes and Foxtrot with the fun sort of quirks that I love in Belgian comics. Unfortunately, unlike Asterix, I’ve only come across these ones in French, but if you can read French it’s totally worth popping over to The Internet Archive and reading the ones they have available.
The Last Firehawk: The Golden Temple
The lastest Firehawk book. Despite being written for quite young readers, I did enjoy the early books in this series quite a bit. They’re about a young owl and squirrel who found an egg for a magical species that was believed to be extinct. With the newly hatched firehawk, the three of them head off on a mission to find an ancient firehawk magic that could save the entire forest. Very basic adventure story but a good intro to the tropes for children. Unfortunately the quality really feels like it drops with each subsequent book; this will probably be the last one I bother reading.
Lumberjanes: The Moon Is Up
I honestly think I enjoy these Lumberjanes novels even more than the comics just because it really gives time to delve into each story and examine how the camper are really thinking and feeling about everything. (Also I’m always weak for novelizations of anything.) The Moon Is Up is a book that focuses more on Jo, and takes place during the camp’s much anticipated Galaxy Wars, a competition between cabins that goes over several days. While the campers prepare for these challenges though, they also run into a strange little creature with a penchant for cheese and theft. Roanoke cabin needs to keep ahead in Galaxy Wars and somehow deal with the fearsome Moon Pirates that a closing in...
Lumberjanes v4 (Out Of Time)
One of the Lumberjanes comics, a cool, girl-focused, queer comic series. Honestly, this is just a fun series that I never got as into as I should have. My advice is honestly to skip book one because it gets better as it continues, and I’ve really been enjoying the later books now that I’ve given it another go. It follows five campers at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types (Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley) as they handle all sorts of challenges, from friendship to crushes, camp activities to supernatural horrors, getting badges to not being brutally killed. Great if you liked the vibe of Gravity Falls but want it to be queer-er.
Mooncakes
Another queer graphic novel, but unfortunately not a very good one. It really looked appealing and I had high hopes, but the book itself really didn’t hold up… I actually couldn’t even finish it, the plot was just too… non-existent. The art is fairly mediocre once you actually look at it, especially backgrounds, and it feels very… placid. Not much conflict or excitement or even a very compelling reason to keep reading. If you just want a soft queer supernatural you may get more mileage out of it than me, but it didn’t really do it for me. There’s better queer graphic novels out there.
New Boy In Town
One of the worst books I have ever read. My girlfriend had ordered a very different book online but through a frankly stupendous error was sent this 1980s pulp romance instead. Absolutely nauseating on levels I couldn’t even begin to enumerate here. Naturally we read the whole thing out loud. Probably took us 10 times longer to finish than it warranted because I had to stop every two sentences to lose my mind. If you like bad decisions, baffling hetero courting rituals, built-in cultural Christianity without actually calling it that, and gold panning then boy howdy is this the book for you.
(seriously, you better have patience for gold-panning if you attempt this one, because I sure learn that I don’t)
Piggies
This was a picture book I enjoyed as a kid and had a reason to reread recently. Honestly it’s just very cute and simple, and the art is completely mesmerizing. Wonderful if you know a young child that would enjoy a simple goofy boardbook.
Shaun the Sheep: Tales From Mossy Bottom
Related to my Aardman fascination earlier this month. I tried reading a varieties of Shaun the Sheep books — most of which are mediocre at best — but the Tales From Mossy Bottom Farm series is genuinely good. Just chapter books, of course, but the illustrations match the series’ concept art and each story feels like it could have jumped directly out of an episode. They’re just cute and feel-good! Kinda like Footrot Flats but more for kids, and from the sheep’s perspective moreso than the dog’s.
#aardman animation#shaun the sheep#lumberjanes#kid paddle#asterix#the last firehawk#hunger pangs: true love bites#marian engel#bear#canadian literature#canlit#queer lit#book review#book reviews#chatter
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Five Kind of Obscure Things I Like
This is my way of gushing about stuff I like and trying to get other people to at least give them a chance. Four of these are video games and one is a cartoon.
Vincent the Secret of Myers: Visual novel. You play as an amnesiac women investigating an old corporation that had produced cyborg parts. It's still in development and looks like it's going down an interesting path, so I can't wait for the rest. The art style is such eye candy and I love the characters. It can get a bit rushed at times, but the dev is going to work on the current chapters before the 5th one comes out. TW for blood, gore, jumpscares, and medical experimentation.
Therapy with Dr. Albert Krueger: Visual novel. Takes place in same world of VTSOM. I recommend playing this one first since it's finished and there's a few references to it in VTSOM. You play as a nb young adult who finds themself in therapy with the titular Dr. Albert Krueger who may or may not have their best interests in mind. Albert is the best scrimblo okay. Love him. I wrote a whole one shot based on this story and finished it that's how you know I like it. Trigger warnings are displayed on the itch.io page.
Milo Murphy's Law: Cartoon. Two seasons. Made by the creators of Phineas and Ferb and follows Milo Murphy, a kid voiced by Weird Al who's constantly affected by Murphy's Law (what can go wrong will go wrong). Involves a B plot following the most gay time travelers ever. I know we love pirating but please watch it legally; the show is in limbo and it's unknown if a third season will come out or if it's canceled.
.flow: Yume Nikki fangame. .flow isn't exactly obscure to Yume Nikki fans, being one of the most popular fangames to exist, but if you're not already into Yume Nikki or RPG Horror games you probably don't know it. You play as Sabitsuki and use her computer to access the dream world. The story here is a lot clearer than the one in Yume Nikki and it resonates with me a lot which is part of the reason I love it so much. Huge TW for blood, gore, jumpscares, and medical themes.
Wireland: An RPG where you play as Byubyu, a catboy trying to help his catgirl girlfriend get her body back from alternate versions of herself. It's really sweet and cute and the art is nice. What's also really cute is the dev made it for her boyfriend's birthday! Heads up that the game forces you to save before the boss fight so save on a separate file if you're like me and kept forgetting to upgrade your weapon and keep getting beat over and over again and then you're forced to redo the whole game because you can't change your weapon and get to the ending. If you decide to read her post on the meaning of Wireland, TW for sexual assault, trauma, and depression.
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Fic Writer Questions
I was tagged by @allwaswell16!
1) How many works do you have on AO3? Approx. 57
2) What’s your total AO3 word count? 896,137
3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? 1
4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Small Doses (Loving You It's Explosive)
Tell Me This is Paradise
Buried Like Treasure
I've Always Like the Fireworks (Um... who knew this had this many kudos?)
Far Afield
5) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
Personally, I think it's But Now Together, We're Alone because it's mostly unresolved by design. SPOILER The prompt was based on the song Stockholm Syndrome and Harry goes back even though nothing has changed and the court is still super toxic because Louis is the sun king and Harry is what he wants so that's what he gets.
6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
Literally all of them? But, I tend to fade out pretty early into them getting together in any fic on the assumption that yes, from here on out they're together, the end. I could go with my most cathartic endings which are probably my longer fics because they have more build up. Here are the ones I think are most cathartic:
After Dark, After Light
Lend Me Your Hand
The Earl and His Duke
Buried Like Treasure
One Minute to Midnight
7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?
I've written two Harry Potter-verse fics:
Sun-Dappled
Drop to Hold You
and my Bon Appétit-verse...
Felt Nothing Like Home
I just realized that those are both problematic now, haha. Cool.
Ooh! Also a pseudo Agent Carter-verse.
In a Little Bit of Trouble
An argument can be made for a Pirates of the Caribbean-verse.
She's Never Been One to Stay At Home
8) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
Yes, definitely. Also "what kind" is an interesting question. You want some wlw? A little BDSM? Blow jobs? I got something for everyone.
9) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
Haaaaaaa. This came up the other day. I do respond to comments... about twice a year. I'm terrible at taking/responding to a compliment and have terrible executive dysfunction which is a perfect storm for me. BUT I will say, I read and appreciate absolutely each and every single one.
10) Have you ever received hate on a fic?
I have, and I pretty much knew it was inevitable? At the very least I'm glad it was a substantive argument and not just like... blind hate.
11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Yeah every once in a while my longer or more popular fics pop up on Wattpad. Somehow never the wildly popular wlw one, though. Funny how that works.
12) Have you ever had a fic translated?
No, I don't tend to allow translations. Mostly because I don't like that I can't guarantee they're not changing or twisting my words, which is absolutely NOTHING against the people who actually spend their time doing this. Just a control thing!
13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Yeah! With twenty of my closest friends for @louandhazaf!
Wine Not?
14) What’s your all time favorite ship?
Louis/Harry! Pretty much why I'm here. But I read Sterek every once in awhile because this fandom has a surprising lack of werewolf fics.
15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
Oh, man. I'm going to change this a little: I have two WIPs that I'm definitely GOING to finish: Buried Like Treasure 2 and my Pirate AU that was supposed to be for the Omega Harry fic fest.
16) What are your writing strengths?
I've gotten a lot of compliments on my pacing in longer fics and I think my dialogue. Also, the statistics have made it clear I'm pretty good at wlw smut, ha.
17) What are your writing weaknesses?
I'm not very visual -- we had a whole long (super interesting!) conversation about mental visualization in one of my group chats and it turns out... I don't have that gene, haha. I think it comes across in my writing too. You might not know what they're wearing at every single moment or what the room looks like, but you'll always know how they feel!
18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
I'll drop a word or a line but I will NEVER leave you as the reader without context clues as to what it means. You should never not know! This is a big pet peeve of mine.
19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?
One Direction
20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
This is a really tough question... I think overall my absolute favorite is my newest long fic The Earl and His Duke because I came up in the world reading romance novels and it's the closest to a traditional one that I have. BUT that's my latest fic so is that why? I'm not really sure.
I think also Buried Like Treasure is high up there, and the most underrated of all of mine that's also very high up on the list of my favorites is One Minute to Midnight. I think people might get put off by the age gap in that one, but if they were to actually read it they might see that 1) there's no mental age gap because Louis is cursed into an older body but his mind is the same age 2) everything is strictly professional while there is an age gap and both parties are respectful of that 3) Both parties are hella confused by this weird pull towards each other and ponder the ethical quandary of it all
---
I'm going to tag @lululawrence @sadaveniren @londonfoginacup @disgruntledkittenface @crinkle-eyed-boo @laynefaire @jaerie and @a-brighter-yellow
#fic writer questions#this was fun!#I'm also terrible at tag games but you caught me at the right moment
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Hello again Novel. 👋🏼 I know this isn’t from the response you gave to my ask, but it does go hand in hand so I thought I’d add to it here:
“Since starting that one, I’ve written hitman!Jamie (which might have more, we’ll see), vampire!Dani (which might have more, especially if I keep looking at that sick piece of artwork), a handful of one-shots, and a half-fleshed-out pirate piece that may yet see the light of day. So. All of which to say: I did not mean to write Bly fic at all. Cannot stress enough that I thought I was done being a fic writer (and possibly a writer altogether) when this show punched me in the face.”
I know muses are a fickle thing, and I’m just so happy yours is still supplying you with inspiration for Bly stories. And though you are out of your comfort zone, you somehow make all these AU versions of Dani and Jamie work. They still feel very much in character, even though they’re in a completely different world. But, because you find ways to still tie it to the show, they hit home every single time. I really hope you continue writing, even after Bly (which hopefully won’t be any time soon because this show just hits so differently from ANY other fandoms I’ve had over the years) because you have such a gift for words that it would truly be a loss to your readers. And I realize you can’t guarantee it, but Roman’s vamp!Dani drawing is seriously having me jones on reading the next chapter - no pressure. Lol. It’s just so breathtaking to look at! And obviously I’d love to see what those two badass hit(wo)men you have would do next. 🥰 And a pirates one too? Is it Christmas already?! Now, I have all these visuals...Dani in a corset, Jamie with a cutlass, Dani surprising Jamie with a good natured sword fight because she’s just full of surprises. Look what you’ve done! 😂 Plus, one shots and the band one you reminded us!!! You keep us so well fed, and also keep these characters alive and thriving. Thank you for that, it’s such a joy and comfort slipping into your stories. 💖
I’m really glad these stories are still hitting, and hitting in interesting ways--and that, 30-odd stories in, I’m not just walking over the same ground on repeat. I will say that inspiration/imagery is never in short supply; I’m so invested in Dani and Jamie and this world that I can’t seem to stop inventing new ways to look into their characters/relationship. If I’m having a problem at this point, it’s simply with the words not being as willing to pair up with those images as they once were. Which is frustrating. I want so much to give life to the ideas in my head, but I’ve also been doing this for five straight months, and it can be a bit difficult to coax plot along by this point,
That said, I’m still very much enjoying myself when it’s going well. I can’t make any promises for any of the above projects being completed--I can never make promises on stuff like that--but I do hate wasting words. Because I’ve already hit the ground running on the above AUs, I feel like they deserve to be finished, even if it’s extremely slow-going in the process. And I’m glad to think someone is waiting for them to finally come together, no matter how frustrated I get that it’s taking time. As for writing in general...I don’t really know who I’d be without it, it’s such a part of my identity. That’s why those years where I thought I just couldn’t do it anymore were so difficult, and why I’m so fucking grateful that this show lit a fuse in my brain. Sort of reminded me of who I am, in the strangest way, and I am...grateful. For the story, for the spark, for the readers. Very grateful.
(And yes, very invested in the imagery of vampires and hit(wo)men and pirates. Just need the words to behave as well.)
#ask#kind writing words#fic talk#thank you very much for sticking with me#i know i've been...slowing down a bit#and my mental health has gone back to its usual fuck-around-and-find-out vibe#but i'm really glad to know people are still hanging out and enjoying the stuff that comes out whenever i manage it#crow25
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alright these girls have haunted me for about a whole month now time to break it all down for anyone vaguely interested in them
hololive/vtuber 101 below the read more
THE FUCK IS HOLOLIVE?:
An idol agency except all of its roughly 20 or so girls are youtube streamers who have their identity protected by a live2d avatar. They recently had a very fun live concert and all of them have or will have 3d models, but the majority of content is just them streaming whatever's their fancy at the time. (As of 2/17/2020 a lot of them play a lot of ARK, thank Coco for that) Therefore, they're part of the new form of niche culture called Vtuber.
THE FUCK IS A VTUBER?:
Virtual youtubers. Like a normal streamer but, again, live2d portrait instead of their actual face. That's basically it. Content is about as varied as any other youtuber.
ALRIGHT, WHO WE GOT?:
Hololive's split into OG Tokino Sora, the girls alongside her who are also primarily 3d, and then 'generations'. Just plug in their names and you'll find their channel easy. Again, variety differs between all the girls, but expect a lot of Nintendo games, chat streams, karaoke, and Minecraft across the board.
-Tokino Sora
OG mom slash idol, debuted all the way back in 2017. Probably the only proper idol in all of Hololive. Warm, friendly, relaxing. She mostly does 3d variety streams and song debuts so she's hard to follow without advanced japanese.
-Roboco(-san)
Pose happy killer robo with a notably smokey voice and calming demeanor. Plays a large amount of minecraft and first-person games in general; recent streams include ARK, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon remaster, Apex, and Fortnite.
-Sakura Miko
ELIIIITE MLG miko idol with a tendency to swear a bit. High energy, fully embraced 'press f', gives herself sunglasses during streams, great friends with Pekora. Also notably into eroge. Did a full playthrough of Papers Please lately and is one of the most addicted to ARK (21 streams at around 4-5 hours each.)
1st Generation
-Yozora Mel
Sleepy vampire with the occasional killer instinct. Soothing, gentle, kind of lewd. Very much into nintendo games with Smash, Ring Fit, SwoSh, and Mario Kart being her latest content, but she's a little slower with the output. Part of the lewd blonde club with Aki, Haato, and Choco, who were demonetized until recently.
-Aki Rosenthal
Cyber elf with detachable twin tails. Pretty similar to Mel in disposition, though less sleepy and more...I want to say 'fantastical'. Recently gained popularity due to her buck naked superhuman beefcake character in ARK, with Kerbal, Go Home, and some ASMR rounding out the rest of her content.
-Natsuiro Matsuri
Eternal 17 year old cheerleader from the class next door, Matsuri is a high energy raging lesbian who's also a complete sweetie. Her infamous bandaid clip is what got a lot of western fans into Hololive. Plays a wide variety of games but also twitcasts at random times of the day like when she's in bed or in the bath, just to chat with her viewers about what's on her mind. Well loved.
-Akai Haato
The ESL transfer student, girl next door, Haato is, well, exactly that. Commonly traveling for studies, Haato is a bubbly girl with a fine sense for aesthetics; you'll catch her making elaborate builds in Minecraft or playing visual novels during streams, along with a smattering of other games. Notable in that she's the only girl that'll do purely English streams, likely to help with her own education. Also kind of a baka.
2nd Generation
-Minato Aqua
Disaster masochist maid who's actually stupidly good at video games sometimes. She's both mischievous and hard working, massively popular in China, and, again, stupidly good at games. Soulsborne speedruns, PUBG, ARK (also one of the most addicted), Minecraft (seeing a pattern?), League if you catch her bilibili streams...but she's also the one who will spend a stream calling the other girls and asking them to bully her. Wild card gremlin.
-Murasaki Shion
Genius mage who doesn't do a lot with her magic. Pretty well known for her 'neeeeeee', with a distinctly smug avatar/voice. Pretty good at games too, with a variety of Pokemon, retro games, Minecraft, Smash, horror, Mario Kart, etc. Excellent singing voice too, would recommend her covers.
-Yuzuki Choco
The totally-not-a-succubus demon nurse at your highschool, Choco embodies :sweating:. Obviously she's lewd, but there's also a silly and petulant side to her that's fun to watch too. ASMR is her specialty. She's also, surprisingly, really into Dead By Daylight, so if that combination sounds fun to you hit her up.
-Oozora Subaru
If Haato is the girl next door, Subaru's the bro next door. A very down to earth but energetic and sporty tomgirl, she recently spent three streams and sixteen hours on trying to take down Sans. Other recent things include Live A Live, The Witch's House, and GTA. Refreshingly easy to relate to compared to the other girls sometimes.
-Nakiri Ayame
Hello, honored humans~ Hololive's millenium old oni. Has a peculiar way of speaking, especially in her pronouns, which lends a certain charm if you can got on board with it; happy go lucky, easy to like, and really cute on top of all that. Recently recovered from sickness (as of 2/26) so was the last to get on the Ark craze, she's actually very fond of multiplayer games as a way of 'getting to know mortals'. Apex Legends, Mario Kart, Splatoon, etc.
GAMERS:
A sort of generation on its own, and also a kind of weird designation when all the girls game so frequently. Oh well!
-Shirakami Fubuki
Fox. Not a cat. Super cheerful, makes a lot of weird noises that people turn into youtube poops (that she encourages), and also a helluva gamer. Plays plenty of battle royales, ARK, and of course Nintendo/Minecraft stuff. Infamous for her absolute feral hunter instincts in Project Winter, where she commonly massacres the entire map on her lonesome when she's the traitor.
-Ookami Mio
Mom wolf who has to play tsukkomi (straightman) to basically all of Hololive sometimes. Which makes it all the more hilarious during her semi-common charisma breaks, like during Haato's recent English Exam stream. Has been into EDF, Pokemon, Ghost Trick, and Splatoon lately.
-Nekomata Okayu
The sleepy smug cat with the most chill personality. Notably very, VERY close with Korone, and in general kind of a playboy in general. Never denies it or any of her myriad transgressions though. Her Mother 2 run has been fun recently, but really you could just tune into her frequent chat streams and relax that way.
-Inugami Korone
Dog. An oddball who kind of just goes at her own pace, playing all sorts of weird games like Nyanpo (the pokemon prototype) and weird PS1 retro games. Shows a disturbingly violent side sometimes; her ongoing Blasphemous run and recent RE4 runs have shown how much she's into that kind of stuff. But also she's still a dog, so really don't worry.
Inonaka Music:
-AZKi
AZKi is closely associated with Hololive but is really more of her own thing, being even more idol than Sora is. Doesn't stream much if at all, has her own album out, does music collabs more than anything else, etc. Helluva singer though.
-Hoshimachi Suisei
The vtuber idol who's totally not a psychopath, and totally a goddess at tetris. Like Fubuki, made a name for herself with her psychotic rampages in Project Winter, and also very much unfazed by horror games. Really fucking good at tetris too, doing 98v1 streams lately in Tetris 99, and a godly songstress too. Her karaoke streams are to die for.
3rd Generation:
Also known as Hololive Fantasy. These girls are particularly close to each other. If you can find translated clips, I definitely recommend their host club streams where they compete in seducing other Vtubers. (Yes. That's serious)
-Usada Pekora
AH^HA^HA^. You'd think she was a cute rabbit, but no! It's a Tewi level shitposter combined with some legit video game skills. She likes playing the heel deliberately just for shits and giggles, like when she nearly walked off with Miko's Nether Star. She's in fact very close to Miko, their relationship being both great friends and great rivals. Definitely one of the most addicted to ARK too; she's been making headway in conquering the ocean.
-Shiranui Flare
Handsome half-elf archer, Flare's the designated tsukkomi of the third generation. She's definitely the most down to earth of them, charismatic to boot, and does as she pleases with a relaxed personality and husky, smokey voice. Very very VERY close to Noel. You'll find some really fun playthroughs of various action games like Dark Souls, Bayonetta, and Sekiro on her channel, and thanks to her picking up game mechanics fast they're fun to watch for anyone.
-Shirogane Noel
Knight Captain of the Shirogane Knights, Noel's...kind of an airhead, actually. But she's definitely a pleasant, softspoken sort of person who's incredibly relaxing to listen to. Also a big eater, you'll hear her talk about beef bowls and muscles a lot. Just try not to stare too much at her 'pectorals.' As mentioned, VERY close to Flare (they just had a two day long date to a ryokan). Plays whatever with no focus in particular.
-Uruha Rushia
The cute, soft, innocent apprentice necromancer, Rushia occasionally comes out of the gates roaring with rage filled screams before chilling out. An absolute cutie though, who loves her fans very much (though really every Hololive member does), her attempts to be cool and reliable lend to some great comedy. She's got a great singing voice if you can find one of her bilibili streams, and otherwise plays a wide variety of things.
-Houshou Marine
A~hoy~. The completely safe for work, modern, not-cosplay eternal 17 pirate...and everything I just said was a lie. Most of it anyways. Marine's a riot of a lady with an incredibly dirty mind and dirtier motor mouth, great voice acting ability, and knack for art that she'll happily show off (among other things). Definitely one of my favorites, you'll find plenty of chat and art content on her channel, along with some of the most Ark addiction and a full array of Touhou game playthroughs.
4th Generation:
Hololive's newest five girls, it's been a month and change since they debuted. They're notable for working together on some of the most wild content Hololive's put out so far, all helmed by a certain dragon. But we'll get to that.
-Tokoyami Towa
The little devil that does whatever she wants, Towa's known for a couple of other things at this point: refreshingly honest personality, Pokemon playthroughs with an eclectic choice in team comp, and her charmingly atypical tomboy voice (though her mic's not amazing). Great singer, super funny if you can find the rare translated clip of her, and was an absolute menace at the recent Hololive werewolf/mafia game. How she managed to fake being a Seer from day one and nearly win, I'll never know.
-Tsunomaki Watame
Hololive's bouncy sheep. Ram? Something like that. A very girly, friendly, lightly ara-ara personality, she's an honest and open with her feelings sort of girl. Earnest laughter at chat and games, real emotional tears while watching the live concert with her generation mates, Watame's a total sweetheart who streams a bit of music everyday as the pre-show to Coco's Morning Shitposts (official name). She's also gotten very close to her senpais in some regards...but above all she likes singing, chilling out in Minecraft, and recently playing through a couple Kirby games.
-Himemori Luna
If you want to see a completely innocent cinnamon roll looking character say things like 'ass' and 'don't f*cking take crystal m*th', Luna's your gal. Her high pitched, almost childlike voice takes a bit of getting used to but she's a sweetheart that just has fun no matter what she's doing. But she'll also say a bunch of really funny shit while doing it just from sheer juxtaposition of her voice/appearance and the vocabulary. Surprisingly good at video games too.
-Amane Kanata
PP Tenshi. Perfect Pitch, Powerpoint...Kanata's a bit of a sheltered honor student sort of girl who has an incredible vocal range, so much you'd be forgiven for thinking she was a professional voice actor or singer. She loves playing along with jokes even if she doesn't get them some times, and is really close with Coco. If not for said dragon she'd be the biggest memelord in the 4th generation, but alas; her channel has lots of collabs with fellow members and a series of cute 'research' videos on the various generations of Hololive. Unfortunately untranslated though.
-Kiryuu Coco
The one, the only, the President of Nishinari herself, Coco has been a force of nature since she debuted. Her vulgar sense of humor, rapid fire jokester nature, fluent English speaking, and complete conversion of Hololive to the wonders of dinosaur taming in Ark has made her one of the most subscribed girls in a matter of weeks. Every day at 6am JST or 1pm PST, she does a quick 20 minute gig called Coco News (officially translated as Coco's Morning Shitpost) where she reports on the various ongoings in Hololive. This ingeniously brings attention to the silly crap everyone's been up to, really fostering a sense of community between the girls you don't see elsewhere, while also being a riot to watch as she roasts everyone for their silliness (with full permission). Other notable memes include her stalwart boycotting of Nintendo Switches, her desire to fund a Hololive house, and her recent Hitman 2 run.
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This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria
Read: 10/02/2021 - 12/02/2021
Rating: 5/5
Rep: aroace main character, non-binary side character, achillean side characters & relationship, visually impaired side character
CW: violence, death of a parent, homelessness, kidnapping, loss of bodily autonomy, very brief internalised aphobia
Review:
To put it simply, I’m pretty sure that this is a new favourite book of mine.
I really loved both main characters, and the friendship that develops between them! Karis and Alix were both really interesting and likable characters, and I enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives equally. Karis is one of those protagonists who just wants something relatively simple, in this case to find her brother, but in trying to do so she ends up stumbling upon something much larger, and unfortunately for her she’s too good of a person to be okay with walking away from it all. This is such a fun trope and Victoria executed it wonderfully! Alix has a much more personal connection to the Scriptorium than Karis does, but he doesn’t remember most of it at first. Karis and Alix’s initial decision to team up was one borne of pragmatism, and neither of them expected to end up meaning as much to each other they ended up doing. Their deep, wholly platonic relationship is the emotional core of the novel, and it means so much to me!
Queer characters are able to simply exist in this book without it being a huge deal. When the non-binary side character is introduced, they and their sister give their pronouns along with their names, and the exact way that scene plays out prompted me to send the quote to my partner in excitement because I loved it so much. Karis’ own aromanticism and asexuality is never questioned by anyone and is always respected. Terminology such as ‘non-binary’ or ‘asexual’ isn’t used within the text, likely due to such terminology not existing in the book’s setting, but there’s no ambiguity here. Finn is non-binary. Karis is aroace. And it makes me really happy to get to see queer characters in stories that aren’t about the fact that they’re queer.
A lot of this book is dedicated to discussions of free will, what makes someone a person, bodily autonomy, and consent in non-sexual situations. Alix isn’t human. He’s an automaton. And due to how automatons work in this book’s world, that means that he can be controlled by others. He can be given orders that he’s forced to obey no matter how much he doesn’t want to obey them. This is horrifying! And it would’ve been so easy for this to be glossed over, and for the implications and what this means for Alix as his own person to be ignored, but it isn’t! It being horrifying is fully acknowledged and explored, and I really appreciated that.
Another thing that I liked was that Alix wasn’t Karis’ only friend! Her friendship with Dane is also really important to her, they care a lot about each other, and they’re secure in their friendship with each other. As Dane is introduced at the start of the book it’s said to be popular among the girls on Tallis, but at no point does he give any indication that he’s interested in Karis like that. They’re best friends! They’re practically siblings! They love, support, and respect each other, and it brought me so much joy!
Also they end up joining a kick-ass pirate crew, which I’m so hyped about!! If that doesn’t convince you to read this book then I honestly don’t know what will.
I received an e-arc through TBR and Beyond Tours in return for an honest review! You can find the complete tour schedule here!
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TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 26 of 26
Title: The Princess Bride (1973, 1998/2003 reprint)
Author: William Goldman
Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, First-Person, Third-Person
Rating: 9/10
Date Began: 9/14/2020
Date Finished: 9/25/2020
Young Buttercup has found her one true love -- a farm boy named Westley. Westley leaves to seek his fortune so that the two can be happy. However, when she learns Westley’s ship was attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, a man who takes no prisoners, she knows he must be dead. Devastated, she vows to never love again. Despite being a commoner, her beauty catches the attention of the horrid Prince Humperdinck of Florin. Buttercup is soon forced into a loveless betrothal to the Prince.
Now a princess, Buttercup is kidnapped by three mysterious men-- the Sicilian criminal philosopher Vizzini, master swordsman Inigo Montoya, and Fezzik the gentle giant-- and learns the three plan to murder her and frame the neighboring country of Guilder. However, the group is tailed by a relentless, mysterious man in black, who seems like he will stop at nothing to catch them.
"Fool!” cried the hunchback. “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is ‘Never get involved in a land war in Asia,’ but only slightly less known is this: ‘Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.’”
He was quite cheery until the iocane powder took effect.
Minor spoilers(?) under the cut.
Somehow, I've never read The Princess Bride. Considering I read a lot and have seen the classic movie maybe two dozen times, that seems like a gross oversight on my part. So I figured, why not cap off my reading goal for the year with a classic?
It's really hard to review this book without the context of the beloved 1987 film. If you've reached this point in your life and have not seen The Princess Bride, please close this review and go watch it-- if only for the pop culture clout you'll get from it. William Goldman wrote both the book and the screenplay, and the adaptation is alarmingly faithful to the source material. Almost every classic line from "inconceivable!" to "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die" is lifted straight from the book. Aside from a few differences, the story beats are virtually the same. Reading this felt like watching an extended cut of the movie, and it's impossible for me to imagine book scenes without picturing the stellar film cast.
That's not to say they're identical pieces of media. Each has distinct advantages over the other. The Princess Bride novel is much more detailed. You learn more about supporting characters like Inigo Montoya and Fezzik and their backstories. Certain locations are different, such as the Pit of Despair actually being something more complicated/gruesome called the Zoo of Death. The written format also allows for some running jokes that are either absent or heavily modified in the film. For example, Goldman makes fun of the anachronistic nature of the story by referencing time in odd ways, like something taking place "after soup, but before Paris". Fezzik compulsively rhyming, a one-off joke in the movie, is a recurring gag in his narration. Stuff like that.
The frame story is also more complex, centered around a fictionalized version of the author (though many memorable beats from the movie's frame story are still there). The gimmick of the book is that William Goldman is adapting a "good parts version" of a classic historic fairy tale, based on what he remembers from his father reading it to him as a sick child. While I rarely see frame stories done well, Goldman utilizes his to really up the comedic value through constant editorial comments and asides. It mostly enhances the story, though the intro drags a bit, especially because it's longer in subsequent editions.
Where I think the movie shines compared to its source material is, unsurprisingly, the visual component. The sword fight choreography in the film is amazing, and while the novel makes a valiant effort, it just doesn't compare to seeing it performed. Ironically enough, I think the movie succeeds as a "good parts" version of the book by condensing the story in a satisfying way. While the book is inherently more detailed, I don't feel like anything big was lost in adaptation, just simplified or shifted around. This is so rare in film adaptations that I'm still shocked. Holes is the only other film that comes to mind that does this so well (though there’s probably other examples I’m just not aware of).
But how do I feel about the book itself? It's fun. It's set up like a fairy tale adventure story with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor about the genre. If you like classic adventure stories with seriously memetic humor and memorable characters, it's hard to go wrong with The Princess Bride. Some tropes haven't aged super well, and I think a more modern take would be interesting, but for a 1973 novel it's pretty good. I don't have much more to say about it!
The 25th anniversary edition (1998 and onward) has some bonus stuff, mainly one chapter of a (fake?) sequel called "Buttercup's Baby". The frame story again has a super long, dragging intro. There is little to the actual story, just a few bonus scenes of what happened/may happen to the main characters after the main story. While I like some of the jokes and ideas, I'm not sure I really "get it". Did Goldman work on a sequel at one point and scrap it, and published this bit for the reprint? Am I missing a joke? No idea. There's an early joke that the full thing should be out by the 50th anniversary in 2023. Unfortunately, Goldman passed in 2018, so we'll probably never see that particular joke (or surprise publication) pay off.
If I really, really had to pick between the movie and the book, I think I prefer the movie just a little more. It could be nostalgia, but I feel the movie has most of the book’s memorable writing with the excellent visual presentation and stellar cast. It's a perfect realization of the source material. What more could anyone want? But I'm glad I read the book for the nostalgia trip and extra insight into one of my favorite movies.
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Meet The Squad?
Contemplating posting this for such a long time now, I am pretty private when it comes to selfship, OCs (be it self insert ones or nah) and OC ships and such. But you all have been pretty supportive, and I wanted to share a little bit. ╰(*´︶`*)╯Still a little self conscious cause these are nowhere as fleshed out or cool as some of the OCs I see pass by, so please bear with me as I carefully tiptoe back into properly creating OCs, something I haven’t even done properly since I was 16 or so UwU.
Anyhowwwww... heres my 4 One Piece Ocs, some half worked out, some actually getting super fleshed out. Eventually I want all 4 of them to be 100% fleshed out with their own story. Most of these were born out of RP Ideas or something similar. (Or I just wanted a certain DF, oops)
All these visuals were made with the Missangest Avatar Creator (in the google app store).
Click keep reading for a short introduction of my 4 girls and a kawaii a/f picrew I did today UwU. See this as a teeny introduction to their general looks and stories, and Im pretty sure you will get to know them all better soon! (but one in particular).
Top Left: Tae
Fox Zoan user (I wanted a Kitsune actually, but then that was taken in series, I’ll probably die mad about it) - she is blind, and an absolute brat. Lives for mischief, and loves small time crimes. Is attracted to the pirate life for the freedom (and the crime).
She has a big mouth that gets her in trouble often, usually cause she does not know when to shut up exactly. She likes playing pranks on the wrong people, is a master at thievery, and prefers snacks over dinner. Playfighting > actual fighting, but no worries, she will rip your throat out if needed. Actions over words, and 20/20 hindsight. oops.
Top Right: Mayu
Mayu is an ex-slave Doctor. She’s never been treated horribly since she and her medical knowledge were always useful to the troops occupying her island, but she has definitely seen enough death and misery to last her a lifetime.
Her story definitely involves some revolutionary freedom fighters and she’s going to join them as a medic for the Revolutionary Army.
More of a strategist and a thinker than a fighter. Only way she can fight is with a scalpel, knowledge of where the arteries are and enough luck to actually launch an attack because if she’s overpowered, which is 100% easy, she’s helpless. She’s not meant to be fighting anyway. Calm and generally quiet, definitely a pessimist, but how would you be after a good few years living oppressed?
Bottom Left: Charlotte - call her “Lott”
Okay I have a love-hate relationship with this OC, cause much like Tae, she’s born out of a Devil Fruit Idea more than a character idea, but Lott’s DF idea is a bit more complicated. It’s a paramecia temperature type of fruit and I have yet to figure out the exact uses and limits for it.
Even though she’s a devil fruit user, she’s not much of a fighter, and has very little interest in becoming one. She’s the mom (tm) on board of a pirate ship. Initial thought was getting her to be part of the Spade pirates, I’ll hopefully be reading the novel to make sure that is even possible. (or make it possible lmao).
She’s a little naïve, but it’s mostly because of young age. Other than that she’s a little ball of sunshine. Which is why I am very inclined to throw a big bucket of angst on there, nothing like some trauma to give your OC more character. Who knows, she’s the least worked out I’d say out of all these 4.
Bottom Right: Layla ‘backstabber’ Thornes
Saving the best for last, Layla is actually my most fleshed out character so far, and simultaneously the one I am most eager to write about. She has that full on backstory, as well as half of a huge a/f character sheet filled in. She was born for a DnD campaign tryout and well, for that you already gotta give them more specific skills and such, and thus, the train of thoughts started and never really stopped.
Layla is an ex-marine, who was trained from a very young age to become at the very least a marine captain, hopefully even a Vice-admiral. It was all fun and games until she started thinking more and more about the cover-ups the marines did for the world government and vice versa and how the whole justice system may not be as full of justice as it seemed. I’ll spare you the details (for now) but one day, she rather dramatically made her exit and has been on the run ever since.
From there on out, Layla’s story is still open, there’s a few directions I’ve got in mind for her, but she can go many a way. One thing is for sure. She’s not going back to the marines.
She was raised to be polite, soft spoken, well mannered while being ruthless yet feminine on the battlefield. Needless to say, she went the ENTIRE other direction the minute she ‘left’ home. A foul mouth that gets her into trouble and manners that only manifest out of habit than her own volition. Like hell she’s going to be polite in a world where pirates distrust you and marines chase you. Quite confident in her abilities, even though she is not a devil fruit user. Very proficient in haki and sword fighting though. She is also rather small, especially for One Piece standards, which helps in dodging attacks. speed over power, but don’t think shes weak, hecc she’ll punch you in the face and break your nose for a cornchip. Oh, and a random fun fact, she’s a terrible drunk. It’s hilarious.
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Once I get the time to properly write, Ill be spending a good few hours filling in those xxl OC sheets and maybe do some OC ask game... If y’all would be interested in that, that is? Most I have for all ‘cept layla is looks, personalities and a vague sense of powers and I’ll be working that out soon!
Oh! And before you ask, they all do have potential love interests to go into their stories, but I am not sure if I want them all to have a love interest in the end? So there’s some ideas floating around, but nothing set in stone? This will probably come as I write and think about it more? yall can try and guess though lol
For now, enjoy this picrew that I made this morning of these lovely ladies!
(its cut off but Layla is definitely giving yall the finger, Im sorry she’s rude)
https://picrew.me/image_maker/321535
Hope y’all liked this teeny tiny introduction a bit? Expect more content with Layla for sure! And I know myself, once I write out the backstories for the other three I will fall in love as well, as I do with all my DnD characters now, and Ill have a whole collection of fictional characters living in my head that I am needlessly emotionally attached to. *sighs dramatically* such is life...
Stay safe, healthy and hydrated my loves!
Sending you all much love, and kisses and all the good vibes you may need!!
Hazel out!
#one piece#OC content#One Piece OC#4 horsemen of the OP apocalypse#Naku no OC#Layla Thrones#Tae needs a last name#so do Lott and Mayu#maybe they need to get someone elses last name UwU if yknow what I mean#ok ill shut up now#lel idk why i am scared to press post
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Elements of Chance Part 4
So apparently my Word program has decided to work so I’ll post the next part of the book. Again, I like comments, reblogs are good, whatever you want to talk about from the post. Tags are at the end.
“Can you at least for once tell me where we’re going? For the better half of the day I have been at your mercy.” I questioned for something, I would be happy for even a hint of the destination.
“Well, it’s not as though I sat and planned this day out. I think you will like where we’re going. No, I think you will love it! I think you might even hug me to thank me for the surprise.” He was smiling as he said this.
“Don’t push your luck. So if I love it I will hug you and if I hate it can I hit you?” He wasn’t too keen on that idea as I could see from his expression. “So do we have a deal? I mean if you are that confident in your assumption, then you won’t mind the wager.” I could see I was pushing it and he was playing along.
“Fine, you can hit me if you don’t like the place that I’m taking you. Care to shake on it?” Now he was just being coy.
“No, I trust that you will hold up your end of the deal.” I smiled at him as we continued to walk a little further. If he left me here, I would have no idea where we were. I’ve been in London and some of the areas I’m very familiar with, however this was not one of them. Eventually we came up to a store with two large windows framed in bright yellow. It was very eye catching and quite bright for the area. The yellow caught your attention and was a pop of color against the dull brick facade of the building and those around it. I read the sign, it was a book store. He was right and I would have to hold my end of the deal.
“So, do you like our destination?”
“Yes, I love bookstores! How did you know?” I was surprised and flattered by his observations of me.
“After your display at the museum when you became distraught over not being able to buy some books I figured you would love a place like this. Come on, let’s go inside.” He reached to open the door but before he could reach the handle I reached out and embraced him. I gave him squeeze and stood upon my tip toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you!” I was touched by his thoughtfulness and kindness. Why did he have to be so perfect? Why did he have to be so hard to resist? He smiled and opened the door and I walked in ahead of him.
The smell of the bookstore was amazing. I loved the smell of old books. It had a familiarity and history that you can’t get from a big bookstore with bright lights and a crowd of people competing for overpriced books. From the sign on the front I read that it sold rare and used books. When I was in London previously I had taken home several used books from a charity shop in Chelsea near the flat where I was staying. When you find an old used book, it would seem to me like a pirate finding a treasure and the contents of the treasure were truly valuable, even if only to you. We split up and began to look for different things. The shelves were tall and the store had a yellow border that wrapped around the inside perimeter. Books were in almost every corner, like a buffet waiting to be devoured by famished brethren.
What he was looking for I did not ask about and vice versa. I didn’t know where to start, so I began in the back of the store and worked my way to the front. Going aisle by aisle browsing for anything that caught my fancy, I was in a reader’s heaven. He was the opposite and worked from the front of the store to the rear. I found a small stash of Edgar Allen Poe and decided to buy a book of his short stories. It was in great condition for a hard back and had an interesting dust jacket. I continued my journey through the narrow byways of the store searching for a jewel in the rough.
I found a jewel in the rough; he was standing in the same aisle as me. Tall, blonde, fair skin and sexy as sin, he was like a leading man from a novel too good to be true. I could picture him riding horse-back in an Austen novel through a field on a cloudy day to find his true love; with the wind in his hair and the determination to get to her at any cost set in his face. He looked over at me and smiled. I smiled and looked away. I could see him out of the corner of my eye, watching me, waiting for his moment. Would I allow him a moment? I looked back toward him and he mouthed hello. I gave him a short friendly wave with my hand and went back to my book. I wondered what book he was combing through. Should I take a chance and go to him? No, I could never do that. He looked my way again and I figured I would go for it. With all of my courage I looked him in the eyes, put a kiss in my hand and blew it to him. He caught it and then did the most unthinkable thing he could ever do, he put it on his crotch. He then gave me a sly, devious smile. I rolled my eyes and looked away in complete disgust. It was funny and I hated to admit it. Smiling at him with slight disdain, he casually walked over to me. No matter how distasteful his joke had been or not, he was inexplicably handsome in his caramel colored suede jacket and dark blue jeans.
“You had to ruin it didn’t you?” I told him with disappointment in a low voice.
“I just wanted to make you laugh, that’s all. Hey you have to admit it was funny.” He was grinning from ear to ear.
“Alright it was a bit funny and you may wish that, however I will have nothing to do with that area of your body.”
“I can dream can’t I?” He laughed lowly as not to disturb the others in the store.
“Yeah one of your better dreams…” I wasn’t finished looking at books. So I looked back to the shelf I was before.
“So you don’t do everything, do you?” He was questioning me, continuing his game.
“I believe that my sexual prowess is none of your concern.” I continued on.
“You’re a hard one to figure out.”
“Me? You’re the one making vulgar gestures in a bookstore.”
“I’m not giving up on you, no matter how difficult and prissy you are.”
“Congratulations, you’re figuring me out.” I put my arm in his, “And you like me to be difficult and prissy.”
“See, there you go, you win me over again. I do like difficult and prissy. Although I didn’t know I did until today.”
“So, what book did you find?” I asked him about his selection.
“I found an old copy of a song book, words and music from the Doors.”
“Oh, I love the Doors. I had such a crush on Jim Morrison….I would look at the album cover of his single face, while my mother played it on our turn table, a 78.” I wistfully looked at him as I remembered back. “May I look at it?”
“Here” He handed me his book and took mine to browse through. “You like Poe?”
“No, I love Poe. His dark, brooding energy, it gives me chills. I have several different compilations of his, nothing like this one though. It will be perfect for my collection.”
“He is quite interesting, I like him as well.”
“This is a really good find.” I gave him the book back. I continued to look through the art section. I found three others I decided to take. There were mainly picture books of Helen Frankenthaler, Gustav Klimt and Andy Warhol.
“So you collect picture books too?”
“Yes, I started when I first entered college and haven’t stopped since. I started collecting them of Georgia O’Keefe, since she was my inspiration to try painting. The more I really started to study art, not just as an artist but as an appreciator, then I began to collect many other artists. I will always collect my favorites first, but now if I find a good book of any artist that I feel remotely has an impact on art, and then I will add them to the collection. My goal is to have a library of picture and biographies of artists in my studio. I would like my children, if I have any, which I doubt, to be able to go to my studio and pick up a book and find out what they need to. A visual art history if you will.” He was not surprised by this; he seemed to understand me more than anyone on this. What my desire was and how I was fulfilling it.
“I think your ‘children’ will be inspired by your commitment to their art education. I know I try to do the same with mine as well. Art is a natural reflection of life. Some of its good, some not, but the beauty of it all is that it is a part of all cultures in any time throughout history. There’s nothing more pure and contrived hosted in one thing out there. Well, maybe music, we aren’t talking about that though.”
“No not today, but we can sometime.”
“It’s good to know you were listening and not just imagining me naked. I know that is very difficult for you not too, but please, I have my dignity.” He stood next to me and I rolled my eyes at him.
“Oh my God, I’m going to vomit.” I put my hand over my mouth and made a gagging sound. He smiled at me and then I said, “I would have thrown up had I’d of had anything in my stomach.”
“So you are saying you are hungry?”
“No. I’m not hungry, why would I be hungry? I mean I haven’t eaten anything all day come to think of it. We should go eat. Are you hungry, too?” I asked him.
“Yeah, come on. Are you finished looking around? I am. We have been here for a couple of hours. They would probably be glad to get rid of us.” I followed him to the counter. “Ladies first”
“Thank you.”
“Hello and how are you this evening?” The clerk asked me. He was a younger man, in his early twenties.
“I’m doing very well, thank you.”
“Was there anything in particular you were looking for?”
“No, not really, mostly just browsing and whatever looked appealing, well then you just take, right?”
“Yeah that is the way to browse, have an open mind. Art enthusiast?” He asked me.
“Yes, all my life I’m afraid.” I smiled at him and he returned the smile.
“You know she is an artist herself. She even has a show going on. You should check it out. Here is the card for the gallery.” He gave the clerk a card from the gallery. When did he confiscate that?
“I will; thank you.” The clerk smiled at me and then at him.
“Oh, here put them all together.” My friend handed the clerk his book.
“No they are separate purchases. Thank you though for offering.” I smiled at him and handed him the book back.
“Wait I owe you some books, remember.” He put the book back on the counter and the clerk took it swiftly and rang it up before I could try to take it from him.
“That’s right you do owe me some books, however these will not make up for the others.” I slightly scowled and as the clerk laughed.
“I think I owe you much more than the books.” He said and the clerk looked down and began to put our books in a bag. He gave the clerk his credit card and we waited for the transaction to finish. The young man gave him the receipt, the bag of books and thanked us.
We left the bookstore in search of something to eat. I really was famished. I was starting to get light headed.
“You know the restaurant is a bit far from here, so I’ll get a cab. We have done quite a bit of walking today.” He hailed the cab for us and as usual I was the first one in. He told the driver the address and we were off.
Tags @nightcrawler0213 @dracris33 @xmarveled @michelehansel @melodramaticfanatic
#the elements of chance#My Book#Alek and Katherine#norway#london#Tate Modern#modern art#angsty love story
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Sorry if you have answered these before, but how did you originally get into otome games? What was the first otome game you played? Also, what other types of games do you enjoy? :)
I believe I’ve talked about it at some point but that must have been years ago!
Well the first Otoge I played was without even knowing what the “Otome” genre is haha. It was Hiiro no Kakera and I just decided to check it out because I liked the art (it’s why I still have a sweet spot for Kazuki Yone). Since the game was in japanese I just kind of trial & errored my way through it while listening to the music and looking at the gorgeous art. Though back then I was at my peak of understanding japanese because I watched a LOT of anime. So in retrospect now that I know the story of the game I’m actually kind of baffled by how much I understood simply by listening. Hiiro no Kakera also gave me my trauma of shota characters lmao but that’s a story I’ll put under a cut for those that are interested.
A little while after Hiiro no Kakera I became aware of the Otome genre and eventually Voltage released “Pirates in Love”. It must be hard to imagine for people who got into the genre later, but back then that was it. For a long time we only had this one mobile Otoge, and it would take months until routes were translated. I still know Russel’s (Hayate) and Nagi’s route by heart because I replayed them that often.
I can’t tell you exactly when after, but eventually the first big Otoge release we got overseas was Hakuoki. And since then I’ve played all the Otome games that have gotten a localization :)
As for other games I’d say that I like visual novels in general, but the other big genre I play a rpg’s! I’m a big fan of the Tales of… series, Nier, Drakengard, Persona, Dragon Age, Rune Factory, Fire Emblem etc. Aside from that I also greatly enjoy simulation games like Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley and so on. Usually what interests me in a game the most is the story though, if I find a premise interesting enough I may step out of my comfort zone to try something different. Recently I played Liar Princess and the Blind Prince because I was interested in the story and art and I liked it a lot despite being easily frustrated by these types of games.
Thanks a lot for your question, this was very fun to talk about! A nice trip down memory lane.
Alright and here’s the story of my shota trauma for those that are interested lol:
So as I said I could read absolutely zero japanese back then, not even Hiragana and Katakana. I completely trial & errored my way through the game, luckily I’ve got pretty good short term memory so it wasn’t too difficult. After a bit of back and forth (aka me trying out how the game works) I ended up on Shinji’s route and decided to roll with it because back in like 2009 when I was still sweet sixteen he seemed like a reasonable choice and was pretty cute. Things were great for a while.
However.
Eventually the story gets to a point where *big story spoilers if you haven’t watched the anime or played the game* you end up in the enemy base which is a mansion. The mansion of my trauma lmao. There’s this girl called Mitsuru who was like a housekeeper/works at the shrine where MC lives. And she just goes absolutely crazy since she has a thing for Shinji and to top things off they’re actually related like ajskskldl (that much I actually understood back then). So I don’t know how many bad endings are hidden in that part of the game because I couldn’t keep track of things anymore, but I died over and over in that mansion. The game actually had a system where previously picked choices turned green so I figured if I just pick everything I have to get out some time. But eventually all choices were green and I was just like ummmm ??? excuse me. After that I rage quit and didn’t touch the game for days lmao. Once I picked it back up I actually got out on my first try but I was still so very mad. Since then I’ve had this kind of dislike for shota characters because they bring back bad memories lol, though now that I’m older it’s more of a running gag than an actual thing.
Fun fact that incident is also why I started writing down my choices every time as I play VN’s. Because I never wanted to experience getting stuck like that again. In a way Shinji and his crazy sis are the reason why I make Walkthroughs lol.
#hiiro no kakera#pirates in love#otome games#otoge#asks#answers#I still get mad when I think of that mansion#lmao
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11/11/11 (or more like 44/11/11)
Rules: Answer 11 Questions, Ask Eleven Questions, Tag Eleven People!
alright, so i had a lot of people tagging me in this one and i was really happy about every single one! but to sum things up a little (and also so that i wouldn’t have to come up with 44 questions myself) i decided to put it all in one post. i will tag 11 people with 11 questions of my own and answer all 44 questions i received under the cut.
thanks to the wonderful @thewritingsofart, @i-rove-rock-n-roll, @writingsonesdreams and @waywordwriter for being awesome and for tagging me! xx
now, here are my 11 questions:
1. if you had to rewrite the earliest work you remember writing, what would you change?
2. have you ever written fanfiction? if so, what was your first fic about?
3. do you have any foolproof methods against writer’s block?
4. have you ever thought about quitting writing?
5. is there an author who you feel influences you as a writer?
6. would you like to have fanfiction written about your works?
7. what is the nicest compliment you’ve ever received on one of your works?
8. have you ever cried over one of your own stories?
9. do you draw about your own stories?
10. have you ever written an au about one of your own stories?
11. have you ever written something creative in another language than english? if so, which one was it? and which language do you prefer?
sooo, those were my 11 questions. now my 11 victims are: @storyteller-kaelo, @metaphors-and-melodrama, @wasted-hymn, @authorified, @writingnosefreak, @quilloftheclouds, @bookenders, @vhum, @madammuffins, @catgirlwarrior, @blueinkblot
and for those who are interested, here are my answers:
@thewritingsofart
1. In what other format do you enjoy reading a novel? Script, Poem, Diary, Illustrated, etc.
i love stories of all kinds, the format doesn't really matter
2. What POV do you prefer reading from? Writing from?
third person, both reading and writing. it doesn't matter if the narrator is omniscent or stays up close and personal with the protagonist
3. Do you remember what your first creative writing piece was?
i remember the first one i created outside of school lmao it was awful but i've also grown a lot since then and i still remember my first work fondly. and tbh i still like the idea so i gottagive little me probs for that. it was about a girl who wakes up with no memories, in a world where everyone believes to have a certain destiny and thus doesn't question what happens to them bc they accept everything to be part of a greater scheme and she starts rebelling against that bc she doesn't want to accept that she was supposed to forget everything about her life and then tons of stuff happens
4. What are you working on now?
a fantasy novel which is a collab with a writer friend that i still know from school and a drama novel, set in the 1960's
5. How do you get in the mood to write?
usually i just reread what i've already written and that does the trick for me but if not then go back to my outline and work a little on that which reminds me of all the cool stuff that i wanna write that's yet to come
6. What in your daily life inspires you to write?
everything and anything. inspiration doesn't come from a certain place from me, it's compeltely random. i just hear or see or read something and it sparks an idea and then i'm stuck with it
7. Do you have a favorite writing snack(s)?
i don't snack much whilst writing tbh bc then i need my hands to write. but i snack a lot to procrastinate and then any snack will do
8. Who do you go to first when you want someone to read/look over your writing?
the friend i do my fantasy collab with is the only friend whom i'm entrusted with almost everything i've written in the last three years and i've even shared some of my older stories with her
9. What got you started in writing for pleasure?
i can't remember if there was a specific reason that got me started. i always liked the creative writing tasks that we got in class so one day i wanted to try writing a book. that was pretty much it
10. How do you create your characters? Do you use a character sheet or another method?
my characters are usually the first thing that come to me so i don't actually use any specific method to create them. they all serve the plot and are built for necessity around my protagonist to create the most believable and most fun dynamic that ultimately leads my main oc to where they need to be
11. If you could have one famous person, from today or history, to read your best piece of writing, who would it be? This includes authors
jane austen probably bc i think she could give me good advice on character dynamics and would smack me on the head for making a man the pov character in my drama novel. but i also think she would be super nice and encouraging in her advice. also she's one of my favourite authors so there's that
@waywordwriter
Heels or flats?
flats! i can't walk in heels properly
What’s your favorite Starbucks drink?
i don't go to starbucks. if i go to any café i usually get tea if i stay in or coffee if it's to go
Winter or summer
both are very uncomfortable, temperature-wise. but i'll go with summer bc it's nice to be too hot for once when you're usually always too cold
Do you write short stories?
heck yeah i do!
Favorite author?
jane austen bc i always feel good when reading her books
3 words to describe your protagonist(s)
going only with daniel from my drama novel: repressed, oblivious, gay
3 words to describe your antagonist(s)
well, in my drama novel there is no clear antagonist as in it's not a person and in my fantasy novel the protagonists are kind of the bad guys so i don't really know how to answer this. capitalism? prejudice? believing you know what's best for the people you love and acting on it until your behaviour is downright abusive? none of these are three words but i'm rolling with it
Favorite school subject?
constantly changed. when i graduated it was english, german, spanish, art and philosophy
Favorite book(s)?
also ever-changing but since i picked jane austen as my favourite author i'm going with pride and prejudice
Favorite music genre?
don't have one, it all depends on the song but atm i listen to a lot of old rock
How was your day today?
veryyy stressful and emotionally exhausting but i also got to see a good friend of mine that i hadn't seen in some time now and that was nice!
@i-rove-rock-n-roll
1. What part of worldbuilding do you like the least?
i'm a sucker for worldbuilding to the point where i procrastinate writing bc i worldbuild too much. there is no part that i don't like
2. Do you write in your own language? If not, why?
i do! but i also write in english. at first bc it forced me to simplify my sentences due to a lack of vocabulary but now bc i like it and it gives me the possibiliy to share my work with a wider audience!
3. How many of your characters are orphans or have absent parents?
not too many, actually. i think it's mostly a thing in my drama novel where it's 2.5/5 (one being an orphan, the other having abusive parents and one case where i'm not even sure if it's just a very complicated relationship or if it counts as downright abusive but the story doesn't dive too deply into it either). in my fantasy novel it's just 2/6!
4. Do you have any happily married couples in your story?
uhhh... now that i think about it.. i don't. wow. never realized that, you really got me there!
5. What kind of visual arts (cinema, sculpture, painting…) inspires you and your stories?
all.
6. Did you ever go somewhere and think “this is exactly my story’s setting”?
not really. but certain places do sometimes inspire me to set my story somewhere similar. my trip to cambodia led to an outline for a pirate story that has yet to be written
7. If you take public transports, do you ever look at the people around you and imagine their story?
yesss, i am 100% that creep that is constantly observing and analysing other people
8. What is the last book you read (or are currently reading)? Would you recommend it?
it was "the death of mrs. westaway" and i definetely recommend it! it was a good read. even though i guessed the ending it was still thrilling and it didn't chip away any of the suspense bc the author always kept me questioning myself and always had me asking "but what if i'm wrong?"
9. When was the last time you read fanfiction and what was it about?
maybe about two weeks ago? i can't remember what it was about bc it was just small bits of fluff but i do remember that it was a merthur fanfic
10. What is the first thing that came to you for your WIP? Was it a scene, a character, or something else?
going with my drama novel: it started out with the idea to write something where the story couldn't stand the way it does if a single sentence where to be taken out. to have something written so minimalistically that only what is absolutely necessary remains but still have it be interesting, engaging and compelling. so i started writing something from the pov of someone who is just the most oblivious rhabbarb the world has ever seen. the rest evolved around it
11. Is there a genre or writing format you’d like to try in the future?
not currently. these things tend to come to me with time and as soon as they do i try them out at once bc i can't wait haha
@writingonesdreams
1. How much of your writing is influenced by your daily life? Like does what happened during the day affect what and how you write?
not intentionally but when it happens (and i notice it happening, usually) then it influences mostly my characters. their aspirations, their internal conflicts. the reason why daniel is struggling with the expectations of others is bc it's something i experience myself, although maybe not as strongly as he does. but then again, that's kind of a universal experience so it's not that noticable
2. How much of you is inside your characters?
every single one of them has something from me but i always make sure to never make them too similar to me and whenever i see myself too much in them i start changing them around until i can distance myself enough from them to be able to write about someone else's experiences instead of my own
3. Do you start writing from the beginning or somewhere else?
yes, i usually do
4. What is the most difficult for you about writing?
connecting scenes. i never know when to write something out or to sum it up in one sentence and just dive into the next scene. it confuses me to no end
5. What is the hardest part about creating characters for you?
my characters tend to come very naturally to me. they're born out of necessity for the plot and thus are fitted to it. i guess what is most difficult for me is reminding myself of the fact that all my charas have a live outside of the plot, except for my protagonist and usually have more than just that one (1) friend
6. What are the themes of your wip and what do they mean to you?
both my wips deal with questions of morality, loyalty and autonomy and those are all themes that i spend a lot of my free time thinking about and/or that are very important personally. especially autonomy was always something that i was taught to value as a child and that my parents value a lot as well, even more than most germans which is saying something.
7. What books/movies/series whatever inspired or influenced your current wip the most?
i honestly don't know. they're both not consciously inspired by specific media although i don't doubt that i was influenced by a lot of different works
8. What would be the biggest appreciation of your work for you?
if someone loved it. if someone would read it not just once but then again just bc they felt like it and wanted to insert themselves into the world again. if someone would love the characters and bond with them. if my work meant something personal to someone.
9. Why did you choose to write this wip and not something else? What’s so special about it?
my fantasy novel: i wanted to do a collab with a friend of mine whom i've known for a while now and she only writes fantasy so i thought it would be a good excuse to try myself out in the genre
my drama novel: i honestly don't know. i can't even remember how the idea came to me but suddenly i was heads deep in a 1960's period drama about a gay dude and social pressure. i guess it was the way i write it, as minimal as possible, that appealed most to me
10. What kind of scenes do you not want to write/don’t enjoys writing but can’t get around them?
scenes where i don't know what's going to happen plotwise but only the feeling that i want to get across
11. What part of the writing process is your favourite? (Coming up with the idea, thinking, outlining, researching, writing itself, editing, reading what you have written, etc)
worldbuilding and creating characters bc i get to enjoy the creative process without worrying too much about perfection and editing bc it's meditative and bc i feel proud for completing my draft and don't have to worry about still having to write anything out. but i also love reading what i’ve already written! i guess in the end i have fun with all the parts lmao
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Writers are Readers tag
Thanks for the tag, @minny-king !
1. Favorite genre to read
Fantasy/Sci-fi
2. Genre(s) you REALLY don’t like reading
Non-fiction or romances, I just think it’s super boring when the main plot in a book is ppl falling in love lmao gimme magic curses or giant robo pirate space wars or something interesting
3. Favorite part of the writing process
Probably outlining honestly, I love to worldbuild and organize all my info into powerpoints and flesh out my characters and their motivations.
4. Least favorite part of the writing process
Editingggggg is my nightmare
5. Author(s) you’d recommend to everyone
Leigh Bardugo, V.E. Schwab, + Jo Walton
6. Book that has changed your outlook on literature
Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley. Ok this book has plenty of lowkey embarrassing ‘grown adult trying to write from the perspective of a millennial child and overusing text speech awkwardly’ BUT it’s the first book I had read that got me back into reading my sophomore year of high school. It has an amazingly unique plotline and the characters are so weird and great. It’s so eclectic and odd I think of it as the fantasy Perks of Being a Wallflower.
7. Favorite line you’ve read
“My nights I observed by pricking my fingers in remembrance of a home that already seemed infinitely dim and distant in my mind” (Green, Jay Lake)
8. Favorite line you’ve written
ooh this is hard... maybe “Without them, he would be dead - but, without them, maybe he would be at peace,” Or “When the sun burned hot, and the clouds dissipated, a flat, angry horizon rose to meet the sky.”
9. What do you wish other writers knew?
I guess just that writing is hard! We’re all out here struggling so don’t feel discouraged when a scene isn’t turning out the way it felt in your head or the writing feels stilted and wrong. Writing is just like art, there’s no end to improvement, there’s not a level you reach where you can’t get any better. We’re all learning and growing at different rates so be kind to yourself and your creations, and know that even if it feels discouraging, you’re learning right now
10. What made you decide to write your current WIP?
Tinderbox started as a little freewriting thing where I would go to get a few words out when I felt too blocked to work on Otherworld, but I ended up really liking the story and now it’s got a full outline and I’m 5 chapters in
Otherworld was a story that hadn’t felt right as a novel for the longest time, at first I really wanted to have it as a webcomic or some sort of visual story rather than a novel but I made a lot of revisions to the characters and plot and after that I realized that I did want to write it out as a novel so here I am
Tagging: @royal-artichoke, @carumens, + @necros-writings (if y’all want to) and ofc anybody else that wants to do it!
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The Three Musketeers (2011)
Forget everything you know about The Three Musketeers, accept this story as something else entirely, as something, not all that bright... and you can have a good time. You haven’t seen a film plays this fast and loose with the original material since The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. That said, the film is enjoyable for its silly and lighthearted action.
The story begins in 17th century France with young d’Artagnan (Logan Lerman) leaving his hometown village for Paris. He dreams of becoming a Musketeer, one of the fabled swordsmen for whom adventure is a daily routine. When he meets Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and Aramis (Luke Evans) he finds them disgraced and barely making ends meet. After the four men catch the attention of King Louis XIII (Freddie Fox) and his wife, Queen Anne (Juno Temple), the Musketeers discover a sinister plot that threatens to plunge France into war: Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) is conspiring to frame the Queen by placing some fake love letters from the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) into her quarters and placing her diamond necklace on Buckingham’s quarters in England. With Athos’ former lover, Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich) acting as a double (or is it triple?) agent and conspiracies on all sides, the Musketeers will have to pilot flying airships, evade deadly traps and dodge all sorts of outrageous weaponry to save France.
This movie never attempts to take itself seriously. We’ve got the Musketeers dressing up as ninjas, secret Leonardo da Vinci flying machines, Indiana Jones-style booby traps and technology you know they never even dreamed of in the 17th century all over the place. Is it a complete betrayal of the novel? Yes. In its defense, this also makes it unlike any other interpretation of the story and therefore unpredictable throughout. The insane ahistoricisms aren’t surprises, they're front and center. If you're complaning that it's ridiculous, I dunno what to tell you, there were plenty of warnings.
The best parts of the film are the sequences of action and, in a surprising development from director Paul W. S. Anderson, the characters. We’ve got exciting scenes of sword duels and a terrific flying ship vs. flying ship fight in the sky. At first, it plays out like your standard nautical battle would. The ships fire at each other from the same height. Soon after, they enter a storm and they begin weaving through the clouds, with the Musketeers hiding from their enemy and counterattacking from above. It’s lunacy, with a rotating Gatling-gun cannon, a lot of explosions and the ships beginning to fall closer and closer to the ground below as they battle over the necklace but it's never boring.
When it comes to the people populating this world, they’re a lot of fun too. Freddie Fox as King Louis XIII, I found particularly good. You think the King is just going to be a cartoonish, one-gag character but he’s actually quite likable and has some nice little moments. Each of the three Musketeers is given distinct personalities. They might not be very deep, but we have a ton of characters in this film: d’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, Milady, The King, The Queen, d’Artagnan’s romantic interest Constance (Gabrielle Wilde), the Duke of Buckingham, the villainous Captain Rochefort (Mads Mikkelsen) and finally Cardinal Richelieu. Despite this, there’s no way you can confuse who is who and what their objectives are because they are all distinct not only in terms of their looks but in their mannerisms and actions. Christoph Waltz pulls out a pretty solid performance as the villain too. He’s got some great lines (“The wonderful thing about fighting an imaginary opponent, Captain Rochefort, is that he is always greatly skilled yet easily defeated.”) and makes what could have been a hammy character actually enjoyable to watch.
I’m not saying this is a great film. What I am telling you is that if you give it a shot and keep an open mind, you will have a good time. It's got neat action, a twisty plot and some of the visuals are so crazy you've got to see them. I might be the only one saying this out loud but I wish they would've followed through with their plans to make this obvious Pirates of the Caribbean/Sherlock Holmes hybrid wannabee into a franchise (the end credits hint at a sequel). It’s loud, it’s dumb, it’s fun and in 3-D it was pretty cool too. The Three Musketeers may be Paul W. S. Anderson’s best work. (2-D Version on DVD, May 23, 2014)
#the three musketeers#the three musketeers movie review#the three musketeers film review#movies#films#reviews#movie reviews#film reviews#paul w. s. anderson#andrew davies#alex litvak#matthew macfadyen#logan lerman#ray stevenson#gabriella wilde#luke evans#milla jovovich#orlando bloom christoph waltz#2011 movies#2011 films#3 star movies#3 star movie reviews#adamwatchesmovies
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What’s a piece of media you either have a love/hate relationship with or just have a mixed opinion on?
To answer my own question, I suppose one piece of media I have a love/hate relationship with (if that’s the right phrase) is the FATE franchise. I shall give a brief explanation of what the heck that is. It’s this franchise that to my knowledge began as one of those visual novel things. The basic premise being about Seven wizards/mages are chosen/choose/ get together to participate in an all out battle royale to be granted a Wish in an event known as the Holy Grail War. The weapons of this War being their own magical ability (or lack there of in some cases) as well as summoning heroes and figures of Mythology, History and so on called Servants in one of Seven Classes. Saber, Archer, Caster(usually magical people. Also almost always the EVIL ones), Rider(having some kind of cool mount/vehicle), Lancer, Berserker, and Assassin. They play with the premise in some cases (one being two teams of Seven each with their own Servants. Or one where there’s a real one and a fake one going on simultaneously), but that’s usually the basic idea. My familiarity with the series comes from watching the Four anime adaptations available on Netflix and searching TV Tropes while bored. Once I give a brief thought or two on those, then I’ll get into the reasons for liking and disliking...
Fate/Zero adaptation of a prequel novel series to the original Fate Stay Night. The best of the four I’ve seen, and quite possibly my third favorite anime behind Stein’s; Gate and Spice and Wolf.
Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works. Enjoyable. Good, some elements which weren’t so good.
Fate Apocrypha. Was over all terrible suffering from the elements I dislike which I’ll get into shortly. Had a handful of good things which I could expand on..but another time perhaps.
Fate EXTRA. Bad. Bad, just...bad. That’s it really.
Now, to sum up this entire franchise in my opinion, it has some really good ideas here and there with and overall nice premise....but it is plagued by poor execution, stupid or insulting character motivations/ Designs (mostly in terms of the legendary characters).
For the Good, you’ll have some cool and likable characters doing cool and awesome things (fight scenes being a highlight), you’ve got some nice arcs, and a handful of pretty good relationships. Some romantic, others surrogate familial, and so on. You’ve got some characters with interesting motivations ( one character’s motivation and wish in Apocrypha being perhaps one of the few good things to be said).
But then there’s the bad. Oh dear, the bad.
First there’s the character design, that’s the big one. For one you’ve got several figures who are white washed...which is kinda ridiculous because clearly dark skin tones can be done in all these series....they just...don’t? Then you have other designs that are just...No. one of the worst that come to my mind is Jack the Ripper. So get this...in this universe Jack is apparently the amalgamation of the spirits of Children who were abandoned by Prostitutes....kay...but what they dress said child in is just....wtf Japan? Give her some damn clothes! And this child Jack...just wants to eat Souls or hearts or something...What’s weird is they have a second version of Jack the Ripper, and that Jack works so much better as a design and for a motivation. Going off the legend of Jack the Ripper, so the Fake Jack’s ultimate wish (the Spirits all have their own wishes) is to know who the hell is Jack the Ripper...
Another thing with the franchise is what I understand to be called the Saber Problem. Referring to the character of Saber (aka Arturia Pen Dragon) one of the most popular characters from the Stay Nights, and Zero...and a bunch of others no doubt. For one thing a bunch of other characters keep looking like her for really no reason? Also...they keep genderbending Historical figures? Like doing so with Arturia, that works that’s your own thing, your staple and stuff. You go and what not. But they keep genderbending Historical figures? Which for one seems like they’re just not doing enough research to find Awesome women from History and Mythology? Which is just..what? Like for example in that afformentioned awful show Fate EXTRA two of the first Heroic Spirits we meet turn out to be Nero and Sir Francis Drake? And with Drake I’m just sitting there wondering...if you wanted an awesome Lady Pirate wouldn’t it have made more sense to have that Chinese Pirate Queen whose name escapes me?
Another problem is motivation and the wishes of some the Heroic Spirits. For example in that Apocrypha series you have Achilles summoned as the Rider of Red team or some such...his whole wish is the vague and dumb ‘I just want to be a true hero’. Really Achilles? That’s it? You sure you don’t want to ..oh I don’t know wish to go back to the Trojan War and get out of your tent and fight so as to avoid your lover dying to inspire the troops? You sure you wouldn’t want to accomplish the specific goal of saving Patrolocus? No? Just be a hero? This worked with Diramuid in Zero because he kept being betrayed and stuff.. but you just want to be a hero? Okay Achilles. Other wishes are actually interesting. Take Vlad the Third, his wish is simply to eliminate the existence of or him being connected to the Dracula Vampire stuff.
Another thing of wasted potential/confusion relates to the special anime bs superpowers the Servants have. This will be some nitpicking I suppose. Abilities which are supposed to be derived from their legends/lives/etc. Some of these are awesome. One character for example is able to become instantly proficient with whatever weapon he is using. This can be Swords, Spears, Machine guns, Jet Planes you name it. Hm. Come to think of it...there’s only like two I can think of off the top of my head (that I recall anyway) that either confused (didn’t live up to it’s potential) and frustrate (because it clearly should have belonged to another character).
So yeah. Great premise, some really cool characters, and a lot of misteps, dumb ideas, poor execution. I can recommend Fate Zero...and I suppose FSN Unlimited Blade Works? If you have Netflix. The other two...Apocrypha has like three to four good things? But the rest is just bleh. Don’t bother with Fate EXTRA. Should note, said shows can get quite violent so..keep that in mind. Another note is that in Fate Zero there’s a lot of uncomfortable harm done to Children (given who one of the characters turns out to be..) and that’s all really...unpleasant. It can be a very unpleasant show I will not deny that.
Has some of the best fight scenes I’ve seen in anime (Fate Zero and UBW I mean)Best character of the Franchise is probably Isekander from Fate Zero?Mordred was one of the good things to be found in Apochrypha. I’m reminded of a failed attempt in college to try and make a home brew Whatsit based on the Franchise. Thought of how John Dee would work as a servant, but I digress.
So yeah. There’s that. Hope that answer is sufficient Bliss. My apologies for the Walls of Text.
Make of this what you will.
Al, the Chronographing Cottager and Prince of Naming.
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poptropica islands, rated.
Early Poptropica Island: a lot of intense aesthetic mismatching. the 8-bit “early poptropicans” gag is genuinely pretty funny though. nostalgia value is waY HIGH but that’s sort of the only thing it has going for it. 2/10
Shark Tooth Island: a step up but still average. had “A Plot” and a consistent aesthetic throughout. not much, but better. 4/10
Time-Tangled Island: utterly and completely flawless. 10/10
24 Carrot Island: b movie-esque sci-fi/horror romp. absolutely no idea what was happening on this island but that bunny guy had such a Look going. 6/10
Super Power Island: a bunch of supervillains broke out of prison, thus ensues the Top 10 Anime Battles of All Time + you got super powers. tight af. 7/10
Spy Island: weird plot-line about hair? 5/10.
Nabooti Island: I Bless The Chaos Emeralds Down In Africa. 7/10.
Astroknights Island: medieval knights in space and you gotta save the princess from a chaotic neutral cyborg bard. no clue what kind of aesthetic these dudes were going for here but I love every second of it. 8/10.
Counterfeit Island: spy island but better. genuinely one of the cooler plot-lines on an island about thwarting an art heist. rad female villain. 9/10.
Mythology Island: one of the coolest things that ever wracked my feeble child body. cool outfits and quests and I think you become a god in the end? sign me the fuck up. bonus points for having the balls to make zeus the bad guy (@ rick riordan, lookin’ at you). 10/10.
Skullduggery Island: pirates. you are one. a single point deducted, however, for trying to stealthily teach me about how bank loans work. 9/10.
Steamworks Island: interesting premise where you spend pretty much the entirety of the island alone, exploring a post-disaster steampunk city. Not as strong story-wise, but one of the visually cooler islands they ever did. 9/10.
Cryptids Island: poptropica was so ahead of the cryptid curve and this island kicked ass. how can you go wrong with a cryptid hunting adventure?? bonus points for possessing the fucking gall to have the player ride a motorcycle into the new jersey woods at night to explore an abandoned shack and see the fucking devil in the flesh. 11/10.
Wild West Island: cowboys but you don’t use real guns because i think they got in trouble for the devil thing. 8/10.
Wimpy Wonderland Island: Jeff, i appreciate your work but i don’t want this. 2/10.
Red Dragon Island: magic treehouse-no-jutsu. i know we’re all upset this island wasn’t based on thomas harris’s acclaimed 1981 crime thriller novel of the same name but the weeb-ass ninja shit was cool and I did spend time in prison there, so it is kind of like red dragon! points deducted for being sell-outs tho. 7/10.
Mystery Train Island: TRAIN MYSTERY SET DURING THE CHICAGO WORLD’S FAIR WHERE YOU CLUDEO THE FUCK OUT OF HISTORICAL FIGURES AND HAVE A BOSS BATTLE ON A FERRIS WHEEL. IT’S FLAWLESS. 10/10.
Ghost Story Island: it had genuinely terrifying voice-acting and it made me shit myself. 8/10.
#i can't believe i spent time on this list lmao#poptropica#i got hit by mad nostalgia last night so i drafted this and here we are#clare says things
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