#but now that I've actually read more strategy in it; it actually is pretty interesting

[sparklepirate]

Alright, final thoughts on Inheritance.

;-;

Eragon continues to be the guy of all time. I love him. He really displayed a maturity in this book that I think supersedes anything we've seen of him in all the previous books, and just like... His strength really is that he is compassionate and thoughtful towards everyone. Even Murtagh, now, too. He had the realization of how close he was to sharing his fate, sought to understand him, and that was ultimately what led him to realizing his true name had changed, tearing down Galbatorix's wards, etc etc. I don't know that I could properly articulate everything about him here, but Eragon definitely became the hero he needed to be by the end of the series, 100%. He is the only person who could've possibly thought of the final piece of magic to defeat Galbatorix. Even the dreams of starlings are equal to the worries of a king. Ahhh, it's so good. ❤️ I'm so proud of him.

On the other hand, Barst was some bullshit. Bro. Like, on the one hand, it was a very good climactic battle for Roran to participate in, and his triumph was the perfect culmination of his character- cunning in battle, cunning in strategy, the intelligence and charisma to sway everyone around him into cooperating and working together, sheer determination so intensely strong that he was able to crush and Eldunarí with his bare hands. His role was perfect! But Barst as a villain was kinda... Well, first of all, he came completely the fuck out of nowhere. He wasn't mentioned at all until they were already on their way to Uru'baen, and then he was only MENTIONED. They didn't hype him up enough before the actual battle in my opinion. And ONE human and one Eldunarí being enough to beat the QUEEN OF THE ELVES in hand to hand combat...? I mean, I guess that could work but... Ehhh... I dunno. It kind of felt like an excuse for Islanzadí to die, and Roran to triumph more than anything. It was cool, but it was probably the weakest part of the plot in my opinion.

That said though I think it's pretty safe to say this was my favorite book of the series. I'm having trouble recalling all the iconic shit (I took a pretty long break from reading about halfway through the book) but there was soooo much cool stuff in here. The Nasuada being kidnapped and being helped by Murtagh arc is GOLD, Vroengard was amazing, and all the battles were SO well written??? I need to study these books more closely just to learn how to write compelling fight scenes. Honestly, it's gripping stuff. I was on the edge of my seat, despite knowing how everything turns out.

Nasuada is amazing, Arya is amazing, Saphira is amazing, Roran is amazing, MURTAGH is amazing... I think I already liked basically every character in this series going in, but I somehow like them even more now that I've read it again. Everyone is so good, and interesting, and I want to be everyone's friend. I think the only character I liked less this go around was Orrin (sorry to my Orrin stan friend out there). That said, though, I don't dislike him, I think I just went from positive to neutral about him.

Orrin honestly just didn't get nearly as much screen time as I remembered? We only see him a handful of times throughout the book and each time the only thing he's doing is getting drunk and making an ass of himself, though... Idk, he also has a point? He has his own unique point of view, and his own unique experiences that lead him to his own ideas of how to conduct things, and it is definitely kind of true that like no one ever really listens to him or takes him seriously, despite being the King of Surda for w while at that point. I don't think there was a more graceful solution to the division of power/territory after Galbatorix was killed than what was decided upon, because like... Realistically, Orrin was never gonna be high king. He had good reason to assert for the throne, sure, but actually ascending to the throne? That is SUCH a far reach for power, unless the aim was to assimilate Surda in and have all of the humans under one crown. Nah, Nasuada giving up territory and ascending to the throne was the better choice, even if I do empathize with Orrin's point of view. It seems like Nasuada did as well, because even though she was persistent, she seemed to be gentle and sympathetic with him. He even had his line about like... "Why do you even want to do this?" "None of you would understand." Idk. Very interesting, but not tremendously notable compared to others, and he definitely was a bit of an asshole at times.

Murtagh my beloved my BELOVED I'm honestly just gonna make a whole separate essay post about him because his shit is Complicated™️ but one little note it was such a small detail at the end but I love that he said to Eragon "Hey check in on Arya about killing Shruikan. It couldn't have been easy for an elf to kill a dragon." And Eragon hadn't even THOUGHT of that and Arya probably would've been the last thing on his mind but he still was just so thoughtful. He is thoughtful like his brother and he cares so deeply and AHHH!!! And actually I want to see him and Arya be buds. I think they would have a cool dynamic. And also I love that he never once hesitated to acknowledge Eragon as his brother and just wanted to be with him and finally Eragon also acknowledged him as a brother too that last scene with them was just so good 🥹

Also I love how Thorn's like only spoken line in the whole series (until November) is to boop Eragon on the forehead and say "Hi. Thank you for not killing my rider. :)" and Murtagh is just like "Yeah thanks for that. 😒"

Love how quick Saphira and Fírnen hit it off lol. They really played tag and wrestled for like five minutes and then were like "Alright we're gonna go fuck like now see y'all later ✌️" And Eragon's like "Is this??? Okay???" And Saphira's like "Pfft dragon's don't mate for life 🤷‍♀️" Their little romance was so cute.

CAN WE FUCKING TALK ABOUT QUEEN AND RIDER ARYA??? That shit is by FAR the wildest endgame decision Chris made because like. That. That's so fucking. Oh my god??? Like, one, poor Arya!! She just wanted to be a rider and have adventures! She probably would've either spent her time happy herrying eggs across Alegaësia, or she would've gone with Eragon to Mount Arngor, but you can NOT convince me that she would be particularly happy as queen. She's grieving the loss of her mother that she barely had a relationship with, and denied the other eleven leaders for a full week before they convinced her to do it!!! Girlie!!! You deserve to be happy!!! And, two, the obvious point of holy shit that is such an enormous power imbalance in favor of the elves. Like, there is a REASON the riders were separate in the first place!! And, you know, Galbatorix JUST died and now there is another rider/monarch and it's the ELVES who have historically been both the most powerful race, and the race with the best relationship with the dragons. And Arya is the ONLY RIDER LEFT IN ALEGAËSIA!!! Because Eragon is gone (and stubbornly convinced that He Shall Never Again Return Oh Woe Is Him) and Murtagh is... Also gone to an extent. He at the very least holds no political power. Basically everyone hates him, and those that don't can't do more than, like, pardon him, for whatever that's worth. I just can't see this not rubbing people the wrong way, and not coming to an eventual head. Nasuada and Arya are both great, but I just get the feeling there is going to eventually be some sort of conflict between them, no matter how much neither of them want it. I do think Arya is perhaps the least corruptible person, other than maybe Eragon but... I don't knowwww maaaan it's complicated!!

Also I regret to inform everyone that rereading the last little bit did make me ship Eragon and Arya a teensy tinsy itty little bit. Just a liiiiittle bit. Like idk the last fairth and the telling each other their true names and calling each other their true names and Eragon's grief at leaving and his vow to love her forever and her insinuation of maybe one day just got to me alright???

There were a lot of cool magic things in this book! Like the pocket space that the Eldunarí were kept in? Cuaroc's body? More shit that I'm forgetting? God I would just love, like, a magical encyclopedia or something idk. Lots of cool shit. And artifacts!! I want to learn about more magical artifacts.

Also at my Galbatorix stan mutual? I'm a certified Murtagh Girlie™️ and therefore obligated to hold a grudge but like. I do get it. He is a... Very competent villain.

Alright I think that's it for now but. Wow. Man oh man. There is a reason I love this series. I'll probably think of some more things to talk about later, and I'm gonna be participating in the Big Bang, and I'll probably post about The Fork, The Witch, and The Worm as I reread that but yeah!!! Can't wait for November!!

#can't WAIT for November!!! #ashna reads the inheritance cycle #inheritance cycle #eragon #inheritence #murtagh morzansson #saphira #murtagh thornsrider #nasuada #roran stronghammer

[glade-constellation]

I've seen your takes in eclipse, and as a new TSAMS fan I honestly agree, man's a cornered dog that everyone's been trying to put down ever since they learned of his existence. That said, do you know about any fic recs that actually explore the points you're making? I would appreciate if you share some! Or just tell me about an ao3 tag I could visit!

Sorry this took me a moment to get to! I’m terrible at not bookmarking things so I had to dig through the TSAMS tag. This list isn’t in any particular order. Not all of these dig deep into Eclipse’s character but, if they don’t, they’re still good Eclipse-centric fics that I recommend giving a read.

For a general tag to check out, usually “Eclipse Redemption”, “Redemption Arc”, or even “Fix-It Fic” will get you something. There’s not really one definite tag for it sadly, and stories that aren’t redemption arcs don’t typically go deep into Eclipse as a character.

As for fic recommendations, I’ll put the list under the cut :

Rising Eclipse (Sun and Moon AU)

by BrightStar2000

After Sun's minor spell mistake, Eclipse finds himself alive, and not exactly well. He can't move without causing himself immense pain. He has nothing, but time, and Eclipse finds himself reflecting on his actions, and actively regretting them. What will begin as a revenge mission, becomes his chance at redeeming himself.

First in a series! I do recommend the whole series if this one interests you. This takes place after Eclipse’s first death, and goes into a lot of the guilt Eclipse V1 was shown to have. Mostly from Eclipse’s POV.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

by thedemonsurfer

"the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial"

Or–

Eclipse has put too much effort into getting the star to give it up now. Even if it kills him.

Honestly recommend anything by Demon. All of their stories do an amazing job at digging into Eclipse and why he is the way he is. This particular one takes place after Eclipse V2 gets the Star, and shows how the Star affects him both mentally and physically.

Forgotten But Not Gone

by Smol40

Eclipse did...something. Why can't Sun and Moon remember?

Another Eclipse V2 where Eclipse has the Star. His loneliness and guilt gets to him, and he decided to try and wipe everyone’s memories to make his own family. (I would pay close attention to the tags on this one, especially the “Bittersweet Ending” one.)

Ghost in the Machine

by Snorp_Lord

Emails start coming through on Moon's computer with helpful information, but no name on them. Each email gives him more questions.

The sender turns out to be the last person he expects.

Short but good. Takes place when Eclipse V2 is working with Killcode and is trapped in the computer system. Moon and Eclipse actually get to talk about a few things.

Karma’s Bitter, But So Am I

by SinisterShepard

He lost. Eclipse actually lost. Banished to a forest with no one to help his quickly degrading state, Eclipse has to decide between his dignity or death.

And, once the pain sets in, he quickly realizes how much he's willing to lose for the promise of another day. Even if that day involves pushing Lunar even further away than before.

Amidst all this, he still manages to say the wrong thing, which...may end up costing his life all over again, judging by that look in Blood Moon's eyes.

~

Set after "The Death of Eclipse"

This will have 5 parts, and is a sort of redemption arc for Eclipse. That isn't obvious in the first chapter though.

One of the things I love about this series is how Eclipse still keeps his asshole-ish personality after his redemption. It’s one of the fanfics that I feel still keeps him pretty in character to canon after he’s supposed to be better.

Canaries in a Cage

by 22FluffyTheSpider123

Life in the terrarium while far from convenient, was somewhat getting a little easier. Even if most days left Sun with little to do and bored out of his mind. But he was still alive at least, which was certainly something given the name and overall existence of his captor.

Perilous situation that forces Sun and Eclipse to actually communicate and work together? Amazing.

Charade

by thedemonsurfer

Even false comfort is welcomed when you have nothing else.

(Is it really fake or are you just in denial?)

---

Sun and Eclipse share a moment of mutual comfort despite agreeing that they hate one another.

Another Demon recommendation. Another good fanfic that goes over Sun and Eclipse’s relationship.

Kill Code, You Are the Father

by I_See_Four

An Alternate Dimension where KC tries to build his family and connect with his sons. Due to miscommunications and general Kill Code shenanigans, it's a rocky road but attempts were made. Lunar gets caught right in the middle.

Just when things are looking up, old conflicts and threats of alternative dimensional possibilities come back to haunt them.

Diverges from the Sun and Moon show lore roughly around "Bloodmoon and Killcode TEAM UP?!".

This is not Eclipse-centric, but does do a very good job at dealing with both his and Lunar’s trauma. Honestly, just an overall good fix-it fic for TSAMS.

#Glade Gossip #🌟 Ten Talks #tsams #sams #the sun and moon show #sun and moon show #tsams eclipse

[drdemonprince]

Reading/hearing about the research around neurotypical's biases towards autistic people even when we mask makes me pessimistic and disheartened about meeting new people honestly, like I can't take the thought that I'm playing with the cards stacked against me. Do you experience this? if so, how do you cope with it?

Oh ]localpussyboy I have a ton to say about this -- and most of it is actually pretty hopeful. I'm going to make an Autistic Advice column about this for you -- Aug 15th pub date since I already have a piece scheduled for August 1st.

I dont want to leave you hanging entirely, so I will say this much right now: that research only holds for people interacting with someone whom they do not know is Autistic. When a person knows they are interacting with an Autistic, research shows they like the person more, they are far less biased against them, and they show an interest in learning more about Autism! Self-disclosing as Autistic can be risky, especially in professional or educational settings, but when it comes to making new friends and teaching people how to be a good friend to you, it comes with real benefits.

There are a variety of other reasons why the situation understandably feels dismal but isn't actually as dreary as it seems, and while the biases we face are huge and very real, there are some strategies i've found for working through a lot of past trauma and developing greater faith in my own and others' lovability. I will get back to you with more on that in the column!

[actuallyadhd]

Hey, I have ADD that only just got diagnosed. Pretty sure my 5yo daughter has the exact same style of it. I had trouble listening to people because I legitimately couldn’t focus on what they were saying, and she’s also struggling with it.

For other situations, I’ve taught her the strategies I figured out and taught myself over the years. For the listening… I don’t know how to help. I still struggle with not interrupting people, noticing people are talking to me, etc, and I’m nearly thirty years older than her!

It’s driving my partner bonkers, though. They don’t know how to get her to listen to important information and asked me for help… Do YOU have any advice? I tried googling it and got stuff about discipline that was just…awful.

Side notes: I’m autistic, she might be, too. She’s easily frightened so surprises can make her burst into tears. Not sure if you might need anything else.

Also not sure if you’re still active, but I’m desperate enough to send an ask anyway.

Thanks for your time!

Sent August 3, 2023

My 8yo also has trouble listening. I think it's a pretty normal thing regardless, but of course we ADHDers can struggle more than typical people because our attention is so variable.

What can help with this issue (everyone is different, some might help, some might make things worse):

Fidget toys--sometimes if our hands are busy, our brains can focus better.

Visual aids--use pictures to illustrate your points.

Limit distractions--if there's something that particularly affects her ability to listen, have an expectation that she stop that thing when someone is talking to her. For example, if words are in front of my face I don't hear what people are saying to me: the text shuts down my ears. So I have to ensure that I'm not looking at words if someone is talking to me.

Choose your times carefully--it's normal to struggle more when something is out of whack, and ADHDers aren't great at noticing these things. Don't try to tell her something important if she is hungry, needs to use the bathroom, is too hot or too cold, is really tired or overwhelmed, or is in a heightened emotional state.

Keep age in mind--There are things that are developmentally normal for 5yos, and I think tuning out adults is one of them. The number of interesting moments I've had with neurotypical 5yos (back in my babysitting days) is pretty high.

I would also recommend the book How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen, by Joanna Faber and Julie King. It's apparently available in print, as an e-book, and as an audio book. I haven't read it myself (I bought it when my kid was little but he's 8 now so I guess I don't need the book anymore) but lots of parents recommend it.

Followers, have you found ways to get yourself to direct your focus to what you actually need to pay attention to?

-J

#adhd #actually adhd #asks #anonymous #parenting #listening

[as-if-and-only-if]

So, I think I'm finally going to apply to grad school for math!

But there are a few issues!

One issue is that I've got pretty severe ADHD. I think that means I ought to look for a professor first, and a school second. I think I need to find a particularly accommodating professor who's willing to take on unorthodox Ph.D. students.

Then there's the issue of: well, what do you want to do research in? And honestly, I kind of want to spend some time learning a lot of things in multiple areas of math. I already have a lot of exposure from taking mostly grad courses in undergrad, but I want to understand things more deeply. I don't want to be tied down to a specific area; generally, I'm interested in: understanding complex systems; connections between different fields of math; the foundations of "abstract nonsense"; fundamental theoretical physics; the places where group & representation & number theory come together; computer realizations of mathematical practice (UX for actually doing math research, knowledge organization, and formalization); and some more "philosophically-oriented" things which tend not to be part of any named fields. I've also got interdisciplinary inclinations and have some budding interest in nanotechnology; and I'd like to be in a place that mixes everything together, and exposes me to even more things to be interested in.

So really, I'm looking for either a professor or two who are also interested in all sorts of things, or a department that allows you the freedom to do all of this stuff at once! A lot of Ph.D. programs seem to signal that they prize specialization, but that's just not an option for me. Sure, I'll do a thesis about a particular thing, but ideally it'll involve a lot of things!

And that's another crucial desideratum: I want a vibrant culture. Far too often I hear about grad experiences in which the grad students are working away in isolation without much community or energy. I want to be around people who are excited about all of the things I'm excited about!

So, three things: accommodations for unorthodox working style; encouragement of interdisciplinary/wide-ranging interests; and a vibrant, exciting culture.

This is really a diary/processing post, but feel free to consider it a request-for-info post—if you happen to have any helpful ideas or connections, pls don't hesitate to share! :D

(I could also use some advice on how to find what I'm looking for, including pointers to groups of like-minded people or places to ask questions. Right now my strategy is "read the faculty bios on university websites, see if anything jumps out, and cold-email the professors", which, you know. We'll see how that goes.)

#math #gradblr #<- oh—that exists? #grad school

[batboyblog]

Nagging potential voters while offering them nothing has been a losing political strategy every time it's been tried. If you actually care about wresting political power from fascists - yes I am questioning your commitment - you'll get involved in on-the-ground organizing instead of acting like an asshole online. Because I cannot stress this enough: what you're doing here on tumblr? That hurt us in 2004. And 2016. And a bunch of the off-years too. Knock it off. And before you complain about my tone: I'm using the same one you did in your post. If reading this made you upset, maybe sit for a while and think about the implications of that.

lol, I honestly can't tell you how much this makes me laugh so thanks for the early morning comedy

I don't actually have any idea which of my MANY posts you found and decided to have an issue with.

Any ways, I have a Tumblr, which is mostly non-serious because in real life, my real life my real work is very serious and political and this generally is a decompression space away from that were I can express other interests, US Senators generally don't want to hear my take on comic books (well Pat Leahy....)

I'm not gonna lay out chapter and verse what I've done or do because I'm not doxing myself for an anon troll, but last election I knocked over 2,000 doors for Democratic candidates, I've been pretty open that I was HFA in 2016 and OFA before that

so generally in most of my posts I'm asking, basically begging people, to get as involved as I am, well maybe not AS involved, you don't all need jobs In politics someone has to drive the buses after all. But its very easy as a volunteer to make a huge huge impact on your local Democratic Party and on elections around you and it's amazingly healing to get out and talk to voters, a day of walking around knocking doors and talking to voters will cure you of wanting to dive bomb a strangers in box with nonsense like this.

any ways since I was you know, there, in 2004 and I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume (since you assumed quite a lot about me) We lost that election because the Bush team totally shamelessly claimed our famous war hero candidate had in fact faked his Purple Hearts and hadn't earned his Sliver and Bronze Stars. Also they pretty shamelessly implied that a vote for Democrats was a vote for terrorism and stressed to evangelical voters that they'd ban gay marriage forever and always if Bush won re-election, which I think was very key to pulling Bush over the finish line in Ohio (and the election as a whole)

Not that that matters the "Nagging" narrative is silly, and mainly used by people who want to not feel bad for not voting being engaged. That its somehow Democrats fault for asking them to vote and pointing out the negative things that will happen if Republicans win. Thats how all campaigns since the dawn of time have worked however. All Campaigns are a mix of two things "here are the good things I would like to do" and "here are the bad things my opponent will do if they win" there's no way to campaign without the latter duh.

any ways like I said Tumblr is my silly happy place, but I'm still me, so sometimes I shoot off about the real life topics that matter to me. And here on Tumblr sometimes I can be blunter and ruder than I might on social media linked to my real life, thats not gonna change or anything I'm just saying.

finally I hope everyone gets involved, its fun its easy it makes a big difference, google your city or county and "Democrats" to find a local meeting, Everyone should check out The Sister District project, Swing Left, and Run For Something as I've said else where there are important elections happening all the time, Democrats have a chance to win the Governorship in Mississippi a dear friend of mine is down there right now working that and I couldn't be more proud of his unwavering efforts to blue the south (he helped get Andy Beshear elected in 2018) so random troll anon I hope you're doing more than uh... whatever this is, I'm gonna keep doing my thing.

#politics #elections #vote #voting #2024 election #ask #answered

[onewomancitadel]

If they had asked me I would've told them that trying to draw in an audience slash cash through crossover media and supplementary material was never going to work. To us fans it gave off the complete opposite impression (that they didn't give a fuck about the main material and were pandering to Beacon era) which made some of us quite anxious about our commitment but also that's not really how you draw people into a show? I can't think of a time I've ever seen something like that see a measure of success.

Obvs the issues are more fundamental and beyond RWBY proper (at this point I would be carousing upper management) and I also think RWBY proper has copped the RT financial strategy and if you're looking to wring as much money out of the next financial year to avoid, I don't know, being closed down completely, then you will make extremely stupid moves. I really don't understand sacrificing brand longevity (RWBY is basically the only notable property of RT outside of RVB) and I would take the loss on the nose for the long run incentive and put my entire strategy into trying to drum up audience interest in the interim until I know for sure I can renew it. It is extremely extremely extremely difficult to sell new shows (and new faces).

If you were to compare a a very similar situation (The Escapist) where the editor was trying to get new shows off the ground that weren't Yahtzee, it took a lot of dedication and a very selective hand and even that wasn't enough so they went and made their own company and now they have more cross-show viewer retention. So there is an example of this being done before and not good enough for the suits. The issue is I don't know what the intellectual property situation is with RWBY and there's much much more money involved than journalism/comedy.

As I remarked before I still think moving away from CR funding is going to be the wise move and from the beginning suggested desperation and/or mismanagement (we know they were quite a ways into V9 production - to the point of going well beyond writing, storyboarding, and animation - where the episodes were cut and presumably so was the deal). My hope would be is if RT strategy is improving (e.g. putting more hype on the ground for RVB/cutting RTX/trying to get more sponsorships) then you'd hope that bleeds into RWBY, and more importantly preserving RWBY, because brand and recognisable brand are everything. That people felt that brand was being diluted through crossovers is actually pretty telling, and of the people who saw those shows/read the manga etc., what of the minority is going to go and watch RWBY? Something isn't adding up about the furore V8 caused vs. the amount of people who actually paid to watch it (it was very easy to find pirated episodes) so I don't envy their position. But the cost of producing crossovers vs. the maximal effect on the show and the actual measure of revenue is not something I personally approve of and it sent the wrong message to the fanbase.

Of course it's easy for me to criticise, and the types of things I'm thinking that you can monetise surrounding the brand is made difficult by the relationship the fandom at large has with the show, but I also think knowing what audience you've got has a lot to do with it. If RWBY fandom is cult, monetising methods need to be cult.

#the [redacted] topic

[lilredghost]

15 Questions for 15 Friends

Tagged by @amadwinter 🥰

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope! My name is pretty uncommon, actually

2. When was the last time you cried?

Umm probably sometime within the last few days. I'm admittedly a bit of a crybaby

3. Do you have kids?

Nope

4. What sports do you play/ have you played?

I used to play a decent amount of soccer as a kid, but nothing now. I need to get back into something though because I don't exercise enough 😬

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Absolutely. Sarcasm is a way of life where I live

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

That's a good question 🤔🤔 I'm very bad at finding fellow nerds actually. I feel like I used to be better at it (or maybe everyone just wore their interests more openly at that age). I guess I try to see what kind of mood they're in, cause I don't want to piss people off...

7. What's your eye colour?

Brown

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

HAPPY ENDINGS, I literally cannot stress this enough! And scary movies are just not that interesting to me anyway

9. Any talents?

...good question. I guess, objectively, I have a good singing voice? I'm also pretty good at strategy games??

10. Where were you born?

For safety reasons I'm gonna go ahead and skip this question :)

11. What are your hobbies?

Big hobbies are writing and video games (last big thing I played was TOTK). Smaller hobbies including drawing, playing guitar, playing tabletops, and cross stitching.

I've also wanted to branch out and try some new things (sewing especially), but I need to make time for it (and I don't know where to start??)

12. Do you have any pets?

No. I like them well enough, but I don't have any myself

13. How tall are you?

Wildly I'm between 5'6" and 5'7", which is the exact same as the person who tagged me and both the people that tagged them. What the heck??

14. Favourite subject in school?

Definitely math. I was in ESL (English as a Second Language) programs for a few years growing up and even though I loved reading, I never really got the hang of it in school. Science was a love/hate relationship. History was just okay. Math made sense in a way nothing else did (even though it wasn't always easy)

15. Dream job?

This was always the hardest question for me as a kid, and I'm still not sure I've ever really found an answer. I just want a job where I have a good work/life balance and I earn a decent amount. Not that that's easy to find these days, but it's a dream for a reason, right?

I think the people I know who play tag games have been tagged already, so I'm gonna skip the tagging section on this one. But if you're following me and you want to play, consider yourself tagged! You can @ me as the source :)

#tag games #tag game #ironically I dont remember which tag I use on this blog

[librathefangirl]

Hey Libra! 👋

First of all I love your blog! And that icon makes me happy every time I see it :D

Second of all this is actually the THIRD time I’ve tried to type this ask. 😂😅 first time I was nervous. Then Tumblr deleted the second one seconds ago because it’s bad luck day I guess. The curse of the broken headphones is spreading. It killed my laptop charger an hour ago and is now directly deleting my writing. Is the universe trying to send me a sign? Luckily, I am not listening. Though I do tremble in fear

I am writing a SDS demon analysis essay inspired by zorria’s post that’s been circling around about Tristian and Io. I wanted to ask you if you’d like to give a special guest / character / concept mention that you'd like to see me ramble on about! I’ll research pretty much anything.

So far for writing topics we have: zeldris, cursed by light, ethics of our least favorite tryant parents and the consequences, the supreme dirty specifically making me concerned for the future of the goddess clan for 90 minutes, Elizabeth’s holy war shenanigans, and Jenna and Zaneri making me question the druids.

If you would like to submit a Thought to the “thinking about demons and what nakaba’s wild writing actually means for the worldbuilding” train please do!

None of our SDS mutuals have responded to me about this yet, so in the meantimeeee I'm writing a Pre Holy War fic because time to write my first fanfiction I guess! First two chapters are done and end on cliffhangers, inspired by your latest SDS fic which I love.

Featuring! TC Meliodas’s Questionable battle strategy, Zeldris being a literal brat (child Zel!) but a very smart one, the Ten Commandments doing their job well for once but behind the Demon King’s back, Fraudrin being forced into the role of NPC, the predecessors of the Six Knights of Black being even worse at their job than the ones the Sins best in prisoners of the sky, and the lack of goddess characters forcing me to come up with one on the spot. She has a randomly generalized name and her fate is undecided.

If you would like to submit a Thought to that as well, I'm all ears. In any case you and the mutuals can expect something interesting from me soon I guess.

Thanks for reading if you end up reading this. I have no idea now many asks you get on a daily basis.

Have a wonderful day!

Hey!! 👋 (I've been trying to answer this ask all day but I'm also helping my sister take care for my nephew who's sick at the moment and it's like I swear there were more hours in the day??)

Anyway! Glad you're enjoying my chaos ;) And the icon - that's exactly why I picked it! I just love that scene (no matter how brief it is) and always replay it so I can watch that smile again (so soft! so happy!) So I thought, hey why not make it so I get to see it everyday?

Oh no, not the Curse of the Broke Headphones! 😂 It really must be spreading tho. My standard video viewing program on my computer (that I prefer to use for my videos) just works like... 1 out of 10 times, for the past few days. No clue why. Kudos to you for being persistent! If you hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten this fun ask 😊 I feel you on the nerves though. I think I've only ever sent 1 ask. And that was to thank for hosting a whump event. And I know saying there's no need to be nervous is pretty pointless (because if you're like me you're gonna be nervous anyway) but just know you can write whatever to me. No judgement!

Okay. So, that essay sounds sooo interesting! And I... don't have anything specific in mind at the moment. (Like always, somebody asks me what's my thoughts on Topic are and I'm like... *cricket sounds*). But seriously, all those topics so far sound really good and interesting. Man, the SDS demons really are Something to think about, aren't they? Honestly, the demons, the goddesses, the first holy war are all so fascinating to think about. (And definitely something I wish had gotten explored more in canon). Like, take the goddess clan in that era for example (admittedly not something I think about as much as the demons but) and the SD's role in the war. Like obviously, as seen in Cursed by Light, she didn't want the holy war to end, wanting to keep her "game" and the balance between light and dark, but at the same time we have people like Ludociel, who is dead-set on not only ending the war but destroying all the demons. Actually, this goes for the DK and the demons too! Neither the Supreme Deity nor the Demon King wanted the holy war to end, yet had their best soldiers fighting tooth and nail to end it. It's just interesting to think about, how did their thought process work? The archangels and the Ten Commandments are their elite troops, right? And - what, they didn't actually expect them to win? Like what would have happened if one side had figured out a way to win that didn't include the disappearances of both demons and goddesses? So much to think about.

Oh! First fanfic, yay! I remember my first fanfic - or actually I don't. But I remember my first fanfic that I posted (not sure if that's the first I wrote or not). It was for Lab Rats over on FF.net back in 2016. (Oh, man, just typing that out made me feel old. Have I really been writing fanfics (on-and-off) for almost 7 years now?). To the surprise of absolutely no one it was angsty and family-centric.

And yeah, gotta write those cliffhangers ;) Happy to be of service (inspiration)! To share some excitement from my end as well, I am currently (as in as soon as I'm done typing this answer) working on chapter 2. So, hopefully I'll (finally) have that up soon!

Okay, let me tell you something: that fic sounds absolutely amazing! So many good things included. You've definitely got me intrigued already! And I feel you on the goddess character. I can't tell you how many times while writing my fics I've been like wait I need a goddess/demon character for this. And they need a name and an identity?? Not to mention the time I had to come up with a name for an entire dragon species. Thank god for name generators 😂 Usually I just generate names until I find one I like and then maybe change it a bit (like for the dragons where I swapped two letters around because I liked it better that way) or just take whatever name pops up in my head (that's sort of what I did for Mel's sister in my Dragon Meliodas AU; I took a name that popped up in my head and switched it up a bit to be more similar to Zeldris' for maximum angst). One time I even went: you know what, this goddess is a minor character, that's gonna flee the scene of the crime almost immediately and isn't really the point of the story, and then just didn't bother give her a name at all 😅 Actually! I'm in this spot right now too. I still haven't named my demon character in When the Past Comes Crashing, but it's okay so far. He's still an unknown mysterious demon to the readers, so I have time to figure it out 😂 😅

Anyway. Excited to see whatever you come up with! Also, this is like the fourth(?) ask I've gotten. Ever. So, yeah, there's always room in my inbox (or dm if you prefer) to come yell, rant or just chat with me about SDS, fics, or anything you want to 😊

Thank you for this amazing ask! And I hope you have a wonderful day as well!

#libra answers #hihopelessromantics #nanatsu no taizai #seven deadly sins #long post

[generative-adversarial-nitwit]

what are you using/studying to learn japanese? I've always wanted to learn but duolingo is famously bad for learning.

if you want sort of a firehose of knowledge, this doc from reddit was super helpful to me for sorting through strategies and resources and picking a few ways to start. it’s definitely worth checking out to see what sticks for you. most of what i’m using now actually came from there!

my main goal for right now is to be able to read decently. the “tangible” (sort of a joke, but somewhat genuine) goal is that if i look at a japan travelogue video on youtube, i want to be able to read the restaurant menus/signs haha

i’m currently using a combo of: wani kani (for kanji/vocab), duolingo (mostly for drilling kana), and Genki textbooks (grammar).

honestly duolingo is perfectly fine for kana, if a little slow. i’ve also found that i don’t need to be hardcore fast on the draw with kana just to be able to proceed with stuff like wani kani, and doing those things in tandem with kana practice helps to strengthen my memory of the kana.

wani kani is like a much more approachable, curated version of SRS utilities like Anki. it has a built-in curriculum that focuses on teaching kanji radicals (the building blocks of various kanji), then teaching kanji that build off those radicals, then vocabulary that use the kanji. since it has a built-in schedule, this is the main thing i’m structuring my learning around. typically i’ll do a review, then set an alarm on my device for the next review that’s at a reasonable hour, and then repeat, so i remember to do them. i do kana and grammar learning to pass time in-between.

i really like wani kani; it has a very friendly interface and will programmatically determine how strong i am on a given “card” (this is one of my hangups with anki, which depends on self-evaluation). the built-in mnemonics can seem silly at first but are genuinely helpful. more than anything i think the focus on radicals REALLY helps with efficiency and retention in the long run rather than rote memorization of JLPT vocab. the drawback is that some of the kanji/vocab might end up being a little esoteric in practice. it’s also slow to start — you have to keep at it to get a fuller review schedule. wani kani is also completely free until level 4, which is legitimately very chill of them because 3 levels is a crazy amount of knowledge to get for free and many people will quit well before that point. they also have an active community and a public API which means extensions and apps galore if you want to customize the experience

genki is good to read through at your own pace for at least the grammar. it can be found at a variety of booksellers or maybe other ways if you don’t have the budget. it has practice activities you can try if you like! i personally like to read through a lesson and then practice typing out my own sentences using the vocab and concepts that it introduces, but i’m not stressing too much about doing each chapter top to bottom. i really like having it as a reference text. the illustrations are cute also

listening/immersion can be anything you find interesting. in particular i like dogen’s channel because the dude writes/speaks very eloquently and is also just very funny (the thumbnails might seem a little bit annoying. the content is good i promise). he’s a foreigner who’s lived in japan for a long time and he has pretty insightful commentary from that perspective, which he delivers as like… comedic rakugō shitposts. he’s also a good introduction to the idea of pitch accent. my personal favorite of his is Uncle Magnet

OH also jisho.org is a very good dictionary resource. ok i think that’s all! がんばって!

[oleworm]

Tagged by @yvehattan, @discworldwitches and @fairybumpkin, thank you!

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

Favourite colour: Every time I’m asked this question the answer changes. I don’t think I can have a single favourite colour, rather a set of them, such as the Marian blue used in the Middle Ages as well as the strong yellows and reds that feature so strongly in works reminiscent of that era, if not necessarily created in it.

Currently reading: I’m reading “The Third Reich. A New History” by the historian Michael Burleigh. This was a book I impulsively asked to be bought more than a decade ago but never felt the need to read until now. I have a tendency to buy or ask to be given books that are very long and comprehensive and not deigning to touch them for a very long time, like with “The History of the Peloponnesian War,” which I actually finished recently, and “Anatomy of Melancholy,” the famous 17th century monograph on, well, melancholy.

I’m reading this book now right after “Peloponnesian War” because nazi Germany is a subject of which many of us know the generalities, bits and pieces here and there, but have not taken the time to actually study, and with these turbulent times we are living, I suppose that it is the way in which I cope! Some people read escapist romances to cope, others deep-dive into worst case scenarios. But it is also true that I want to understand. The political landscape is not identical to how it was after the First World War, and how could it be? But it is not insignificant that in certain regions you see some similarities. Economic crisis, middle classes falling into the lower class or fearing that they will be absorbed by it and share their standard of living; scapegoating of foreigners, Jews, the disabled, and other minorities for these economic problems, to a greater or lesser degree.

More disturbing is that extremist groups in certain countries are explicitly emulating the nazis not only in their spirit but in the strategies that they used to come to power. I remember reading an article a couple of years ago that it had been leaked some of them had admitted to it themselves. But it’s different to read an article than to read a whole book about it. The more I learn about this the more I understand how much the far-right is taking from the nazi proselytism playbook, from infiltrating neutral interest groups (remember cottagecore?) to turning everything into a rage-and-panic inducing matter of life or death. That is something that they were doing back then with very clear intention. A difference is that in the early 20th century they had to print these things out and distribute them or talk to people face to face, and with the internet it can be so easy for them as posting or programming bots to share their views.

The next thing I should read ought to be something that may more directly affect me. Something about US imperialism in Latin America, ha!

Last song: “Little Dark Age” by MGMT

Last series: A couple of weeks ago I watched The Sandman up to the third episode, it’s very pretty so far! I was sleep deprived when I watched the second and third, though, so I don’t think that I remember very much!

I’ll have to admit that I don’t watch much television. Before The Sandman the only shows that I remember watching in the past four years or so are The Terror (2018) that I rewatched ten times and never again and Оттепель (The Thaw), a Russian series about Soviet filmmakers in the time of Khrushchev, when attitudes to censorship became more relaxed. The main character was such a piece of shit! How shit he was impacted me until now. I’m still mad that such a man exists even in the mind of the writers, though it is worse that many like him exist in real life. I was intrigued by the drama of the other characters, but by God. The show was good and I enjoyed it, but it was instrumental in the choice I've actively made since then not to give my time to media that gives too much prominence to abusive straight men. My friend sometimes reads to me from Reddit relationship advice threads and it’s sad and cringe that men like this are still alive and that women can’t seem to let them go. Perhaps it’s inappropriate to see it this way when I know it’s because of patriarchy and abuse, but I don’t want to see something that in real life is so horrifying in what is supposed to be fun.

I realise it is the opposite of the reason I gave to the previous question about why I engage with certain material. Do I contradict myself? I suppose it is that I feel relatively safe from one thing, and with the other, I feel that I have to prepare myself in some way, though there are others that know a lot more than me and feel just as powerless.

Last movie: I don’t watch many movies. I don’t remember, sorry!

Sweet/savoury/spicy: All three! Together.

Currently working on: I’m writing a novel with my friend, which I won’t elaborate on because if I do my mind will take it as a sign that it is finished; I’m also working on a couple of other stories, though not they’re not as important to me as the first one. I’ve also been teaching myself Javascript and doing coding exercises daily; bracing myself to do this type of work in exchange for currency, ha. The social aspect is always more frightening to me than the actual work. There are a couple of important things that I need to research, also. This question reminds me that I need to fold my laundry, study and clean my room... I’m working on becoming stronger, so I guess I must do some weights as well!

Tagging @bacchanalium, @winking-owl ​, @plantpretender, @elbiotipo, @osmanthusoolong, @trying-something-old, @surumarssi, @panikpanikpanik, @lliona if you want to!

#cw nazism

[cat-denied]

👻🎁✨ :)

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

My wildest headcanon? That's a hard one. I don't really do a lot of headcanoning! Mostly I just turn stuff into actual fanfic rather than just headcanoning it, and so I keep a layer of separation between the canon and my fic, if that makes sense. I guess I have a lot of headcanons of Fire Emblem characters being lesbians in canon even while not strictly defined as such (like Minerva and Palla in fe11), but those are usually pretty common ones.

Here's a couple of headcanons for you:

Nico Minoru (of Marvel's Runaways and others) realized she was bisexual while on the team of A-FORCE (2016), i.e. while surrounded by gorgeous and powerful women. Because come on. (Context: in the original Runaways series from the early 2000s, Nico was portrayed as straight: in the new Runaways series from 2018, she had since realized her bisexuality.)

In Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, only characters who are lovers and characters with the Thief class can exchange gold. I think this is because the Thief (Dew in the first gen, Patty or Daisy in the second) characters happen to be people who deeply love all their friends.

I also headcanon...pretty much everyone as trans and/or gay. If I like them (especially for Fire Emblem, where characters often have very little character at all) they get the "YOU ARE GAY NOW" seal of approval.

Oh, here's a real wild one! Wolf (from Fire Emblem 11) is a trans woman! This is because YOU saw her and went "she's a girl" and I went "okay" and rolled with it. This may come up in my fanfic sometime, who can say

Putting the rest of this behind a read more because it got long.

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

I do! Here's a section from the first chapter of a Minerva/Palla haunted house AU I've been working on in the background.

The room is soaked in dust. At one point in time it had probably been a bedroom, and indeed a bed frame rots grayly in the corner. Rather than any mattress, however, it’s covered in boxes: boxes which have sprawled out to take over the rest of the room like an invasive species of plant. The walls are bare. The edge of the room’s one window can just be made out, the rest of it totally obscured by still more boxes. They stack five feet high easily, and though Palla is tall enough to circumnavigate the undergrowth they form with ease, and Catria at least tall enough to manage, Est can barely see over the box in front of her, and she complains loudly at this. Catria argues lightly back, and Palla smiles under her breath as she makes her way around, simply looking. 

None of the boxes are labeled: the lower ones have more the look of trunks, and Palla idly wonders when cardboard had been invented, whether this was someone else’s reshuffling of the Macedons’ remaining possessions after their departure. She cracks open the nearest top box to find stacks of books: unlabeled volumes in that old style you would see on the shelves of houses that had become museums. Carefully opening one, then another, to their title pages, she sees that they are books of strategy: for warfare and diplomacy. Interesting. 

I just love the Whitewings and Macedon and all that jazz! Also I should write more of this, I was having a load of fun with it.

✨️ Out of the comments you’ve received on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites?

! I love to receive any comments because it tells me that people enjoyed my work enough to tell me about it, and when you write for fandoms that are as relatively obscure as I do (in terms of fanworks), every little bit counts for a lot! The exception to the obscure fandoms of course is the Goncharov fic I wrote, which became hugely popular and now I'm considering writing a second chapter or sequel, just because of the absolutely hogwild response.

Here's a coupla specifics:

"Always happy to see the Nagi tag get a little bigger, and you have a fascinating version of her here! I thought your interpretation of the setting was brilliant and you really brought out the nuances of the characters you portrayed just before such a climactic final battle." from Oricalle on my fic Meetings, Manifestations, and Manaketes. (I have a lot of fun naming my fics.) They left this comment after I read through some of their works and left some comments, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Every comment on my Goncharov fic for being brilliantly in on the joke, but especially this one from tinuviel_tinuviel:

because not only did they call me out by name (blushes), but when I read and commented on one of their Locked Tomb fics, they called me out on it:

and yeah thats me now i guess. ao3 user road_trip_girl from goncharov fandom. whatup

Also, getting a comment from summer_society whose Robin/Nancy fics I consume like fresh water was an amazing time, seriously.

And finally, this comment from JajaLala on the same fic, because it made me go "! you know who i am!!!" I guess I'm really not used to fanfic sites, where you can be a fan of someone's work and then have them turn around and look at your work, and like it! It's a great feeling. (Also, I just realized we're tumblr mutuals, so, uh. Hi!)

Thanks for asking!

#ask game #roadtriptalks #fanfic #archanea #fire emblem

[hideyseek]

12.15.2022

hmm started talking to myself about the writing process during my lunch break so i wanted to jot some ideas down while they're fresh. lots of fic talk below the cut, mostly about reunion!fic, which i'm writing for the kazetsuyo january fandom event.

i'm definitely worried about my ability to produce all of the writing i want to / need to / am promised to produce by the end of this year! mostly i am worried about reunion!fic, which i'm writing for kazeweek 2023! and also i am juggling my secret saito fic. i've never had two writing projects w/ deadlines in the same overlapping space (bc never been active in two fandoms at once) however, i am reminding myself that: 1. i am a much faster writer than i was two years ago! 2. it will be fine!!!!! (can u tell i simply did not have a second thing but wanted to commit to this list format lol)

here are the things i'm not too sure about:

what will the revision process look like? i don't really remember what it was like to thoroughly revise a piece of writing because the last time i did that was ... like jul/aug of 2020 which is now 2+ years in the past

i really want to make sure i'm making interesting narrative choices with what happens in reunion!fic, and part of that is just: i want to make sure i'm not writing the same thing that has been written four million times already! i've done a fair amount of trawling through ao3 reading things tagged "reunion" or "10 years later" or other similar tags, but i'm just not particularly good at this kind of thematic story pattern-matching or narrative elements synthesis. there are a few fics about group reunions (well, one in particular) that i have read and LOVED, so at some point in the revision process i might reread and try to poke at what makes me love them so much.

however!!!!! i will be saved by tvtropes! i did a really quick search this morning before work, and there are a couple pages about reunion stories that i'll take a look at that can hopefully help me pull back and take a more bird's eye view of the story and where it's going.

i don't remember at what point i used to like, split off and just start rewriting the whole fic essentially from scratch in a clean doc. no idea how i used to do that, the thought of having to do this for reunion!fic is ... hugely intimidating and i really don't want to. i'll need to come up with some strategies for how i can do that same revision work but ... not in that one large chunk, but i have ideas. in terms of at what point to move to a new doc ... not sure! i would love to decide beforehand but i don't actually think that's necessary. oh -- no i just remembered: i moved stuff when i was going to start working on it. so after i piece together the down draft, i'll copy the whole thing into a new doc and work off that for my first round of revisions, and then send that copy to betas, and then create a THIRD doc with the raw content of the second draft to work on as i go through beta comments. this is fully just: i love archiving things sooooo much. but hey! it'll work, it'll separate things into pretty distinct stages. i think it will work fine, and i can always reflect and revise the process afterward.

anyway! i was thinking through the strategies that got me to the final draft of a to b (or really, anything else i've finished before) and, i think they are:

revising in chunks -- one thing i did especially close to the final draft was to pull out the scene i was editing and rework it in a separate document and then paste it back into the "main" document. i think this will also serve me well with reunion!fic. i've noticed that i tend to get overwhelmed when faced with large chunks (more than a couple hundred words) of writing to either produce or "make good" (a task that is unfortunately completely distinct in my mind form the actionable task of revision). i'm hoping that deliberately

revision wishlist -- this is not something i did when writing a to b but i've seen some writers on here talk about it, and it appeals to the part of me that works best given essentially, a checklist of goals to work through systematically. i think once i've got my rough / down draft completely (likely today, mainly pulling from my organizing doc of previous draft material and my drafting ("outlining" lol) doc that i've been putting tiny scenes into in the last week), i'll read through it and make notes of anything that i notice that is ... not what i'm looking for in the final draft. i might need to do this a few times, with varying levels of verbally guiding myself, some things i want to check are: pacing, haiji's emotional arc (does it exist?), whether the tension is being sustained/raised through scenes or if it diffuses in places i don't mean for it to, consistent characterization (or at least, believably older!haiji characterization, my number one nemesis aha).

i suspect that having a poetic or musical emotional "anchor" for the fic will help a lot, that definitely helped guide some smaller tone/mood (sorry to my english teachers i kinda don't know the difference) decisions for a to b. however ... this time i do not have a convenient buddy to send me music, and i am simply: not very skilled at mentally linking these things. well ... i also thought about going through some web weavings on here for the vibe and then seeking out the full texts. or i'll just go through my tag for reunion!fic and hope that past!me did my proper duty haha.

lol ok. cool. i am very excited!!! but also very nervous!!!

#godddd i cannot believe i have to GO BACK TO WORK instead of just... working on my little fanfictions!!! horrible #hidey speaks #hidey talks fic #do i have any tags for this lol. here it is i guess

[raincxtter]

🥣what's your favorite food?

💆‍♀️How do you relax?

🙂where do your morals lie?

💕how affectionate are you?

📖do you read, or are you illiterate?

👨‍👨‍👦‍👦do you have any family? What's your relationship with your family members?

for lycaon !!!

!!

🥣 what's your favorite food?

"hmmm... yknow, most people expect me to have an expensive palate. since, yknow, I grew up in the palace and stuff. but honestly? nothing beats just simple meat. pork, steak, chicken, veal... I'm down for it all!"

💆‍♀️ how do you relax?

"relax? spirits, i rarely got a break back before I changed. but even then, I'd usually just stuff my head into a pillow and scream. did the trick. for a few days at least. nowadays? I just find Jay or Aeon and sleep on them. it's therapeutic."

🙂 where do your morals lie?

"where the sun sets to and the moon rises from. joking, joking! I think I'm a relatively good person now. brutally... just? if I had to put it into words. but I'll admit that I used to be a bit of an ignorant jerk before."

💕 how affectionate are you?

"ough. affection. never really received much of it as a kid. I think I'm pretty average. with a romantic lover I'd definitely shower them with love. with friends, I do do a lot of shoulder and back pats."

📖 do you read, or are you illiterate?

"I read! I've read all the greats and classics and histories and strategies known to my world. fiction and storybook were always more my style though. but yknow. 'a prince needs his royal education'."

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 do you have any family? what's your relationship with your family members?

"I have my mom, Lady Akel. she's... an interesting figure, to be sure. she always acts airheaded in front of the court, but in actuality she's scary smart. my relationship with her is kinda just there, if I'm being honest. she did try and get me to become king so her people could infiltrate. and she expected me to obey her. my dad? not really present. I mean, he's emperor and all. he spent time with me when he could, but I get it. I have a younger half-sister that I love though. she's the cutest."

#~oc.lycaon #~moots.mocha

[crystalelemental]

Triangle Strategy continues. I'm on chapter...13? I think? I forget exactly.

To go through decision points I've had to make:

Visit Aesfrost (I did both in the demo, and fuck Hyzante in particular)

Refuse to surrender Roland.

Refuse alliance with that one house I can't remember. Silvio. That loser.

Reveal the illicit salt trade.

Refuse to hand over the Rosellans.

About to make a choice on battle tactics, haven't decided yet.

The game's events are coherent and interesting enough. If that sounds lukewarm, it's because it kinda is. I feel like the most interesting tidbits tend to be in the history books, which is not really where I'd want the focus of the game. Don't get me wrong, the general political machinations are interesting, and I think as a novel this would be pretty engaging. It's just...this is a game. And I'm doing a lot more reading than playing. Moreover, this being a game, they can insert little side shots that...kinda completely ruin the vibe of a game that attempts to force meaningful decisions.

Take the Silvio situation. Now, in an ideal situation, I would be looking at this through Serenoa's eyes and thinking on what I know. Logically, I'd probably take that deal. We're running on empty and can't fight this forever. But. The game insists on having a bunch of side scenes, including one of Silvio actively cursing your success in the last battle as ruining his intent. And because that scene played...we know exactly where this is going, long before it goes there. In a novel, a brief aside would just tip off the reader about what's coming, and probably be innocuous enough, or a hook of "oh man, that motherfucker, how are they gonna get out of this?" But when I'm playing the game, the tension of the decision is gone. I know what you're up to. Serenoa wouldn't, but I do, and I can now make decisions outside the scope of what the character should know and feel.

Which leads to problem 2: pacing and the general gameplay loop. So far, the voting sessions have been fairly...let's say not my favorite. In some situations like Silvio, it's actively annoying thanks to knowing exactly which way this goes regardless of your choice. Even when the decision is a bit more complex and you don't know exactly how things are going to go, sometimes there's a really obvious answer and instead of just pointing it out, you have to go hunt for specific pieces of information in a slow, drawn out exploration sequence to use as argument, one at a time, against the people opposed to your intended action. A good example is whether to go along with the illicit salt trade deal, or to expose it. And it's like...guys. Listen. If we do this, the guy running the show has so much dirt on us. We do this? We become the fall guy when he's done with us. Completely under his control. We can't take this deal. But I can't argue that with people outright, I have to dig through dialogue options to find the way to just bring up this very clear point.

The back and forth also leads to an odd situation where I feel like your characters are still fairly flat, despite talking so much. They're all very "Strong convictions, loosely held." Once you realize that the unlock dialogue isn't always beneficial to swaying someone, you can kinda crack everyone. Like I broke Erador down regarding Silvio's alliance first try, despite being told this would be like talking to a brick wall. Everyone claims to have strong personality and beliefs, but they all can be swayed in ways that average out to the whole cast being kinda mellow and, if I can be blunt, uninspired. No one stands out. And I am a character-centric kind of person. I don't care how involved your worldbuilding is, or how actually coherent your complex political plot is. If I don't give a shit about anyone in it, I'm going to stop caring. And the setting doesn't really do much to endear characters to you, really. Everyone is kind of an asshole? Like, Hyzante has a literal slave class they justify as goddess' orders, and Aesfrost's whole freedom scheme is quite blatantly stated to be a privilege of the strong while the weak are trampled. It's been very difficult to care about events, because no one had really gripped me.

Fortunately, there are two (2) characters I am now wholly invested on as of this chapter. Cordelia and Avlora, I'm a big fan of what you two have going on right now. Keep up the excellent work. I hope Cordelia gets her desire and stabs Gustadolph in the throat. Probably not given how the tone of this game operates, but I like her moxie. I remain cautiously optimistic on her tale. Every character named Cordelia is a winner in my book.

Kinda got sidetracked there...the pacing generally feels off, because it's like an hour of talking, 20 minutes of exploration, 15 minutes of playing a map. Which is not a great ratio. It may be because I'm coming off of Unicorn Overlord, which is delightfully fast-paced and engaging to the point I can drop three hours on it and feel like 20 minutes passed, but this game is like the polar opposite. Those 15 minutes of map fucking drag, it takes forever to beat one thing. I mean it doesn't, it takes like 15 minutes, but you get what I mean. It feels much longer than it is because things just move slowly, and actions take forever, and I have to keep fist-fighting the goddamn camera to stay at an angle where I can fucking see anything, because every time an enemy moves it has to whip around to some bizarro shot like it's trying to hide what it's doing from me. The camera thing actively gives me a headache, it's probably my least favorite part of the game. And the fact it keeps spinning means I keep having to orient which way my buttons work, because this game just cannot fathom looking at something directly, it always needs to be at a 35-55 degree angle, and depending on which side of 45 it is, the down button is either left, right, or maybe sometimes actually down. Drives me nuts.

My stance on the game is that it's fine. I'm enjoying myself enough to keep playing it, but I'm less able to binge it. I find myself needing frequent breaks just to work up the energy to slog through more narrative about characters I'm not invested in, or resting my eyes from dealing with the camera. But it's not bad, and there's at least some promise to how thing could resolve. Like with Cordelia, I remain cautiously optimistic.

#triangle strategy

[sunieepo]

If bad localization interests you, have you read how several recent Fire Emblem localizations try to "Christianize" fictional religions.

Like a recent artbook, Legacy of Archanea, completely altered and removed the polytheism, Naga being genderly ambiguous, and Naga being a minor god among many in favor of making everyone worship only Naga with no other gods, changing the male or gender neutral dialogue to refer to Naga to instead being solely female, and making Naga an absolute god.

Sorry for the late response - I was away from my PC for most of this weekend!

I haven't actually heard much about this, but in fairness to me I've kind of checked out of Fire Emblem series lore after FE14/16/17 LOL

The thing is, like, Fire Emblem localizations have famously changed a lot about the games. Like, way more than almost any other series I've played, down to altering the difficulties (ex: the infamous FE10/11 difficulty renaming/modifying switcheroo) or updating entire gameplay mechanics (ex: FE10's class change requirements were changed to no longer need Master Crowns in the English version, and the English version also doesn't use forging points).

The newer FE games (AKA FE13 and later) don't make gameplay changes like that anymore, but the number of translation changes they make are still extremely gratuitous. In very few instances, I can see why it's warranted - like the stuff with Soleil or FE17!Anna - but in other cases it feels like holdovers of old-fashioned Nintendo localization.

FE as a franchise in general is in a very confused spot, IMO. Like, look at FEH (or don't, actually). Nintendo, which has staked its entire brand on family-friendly entertainment, has FEH as one of their flagship mobile games, and it's literally about as scummy as FGO in terms of gratuitous fanservice and sexualization of girls. The newest FE games in general are just dripping with weird otaku fanservice and creepy anime tropes, and yet Nintendo still tries to damage control their English versions by stripping as much of the creep factor as possible.

This strategy might have worked before the age of the Internet, but nowadays everyone can tell how much they've changed, and not only that, but FE has now attracted a huge audience of horny weebs who scream and cry whenever you censor a single vagina bone, so they don't take ANY kind of censorship well. I wish Nintendo would just like... stop trying to change their shit depending on the audience and just maybe not make weird creep shit in general? LOL but who am I say.

Anyways I rambled way too much, all this to say, no I wasn't aware of all of this specifically - I did know that Naga has always has their "genderfluidity" censored and is always referred to as female in the English versions, but I haven't really seen much about the removal of the polytheism as that might be artbook-specific. In the FE games I've played, it's pretty clear Naga is only one of the gods, particularly in FE15, where the main god of the plot is Mila. But it also doesn't really surprise me, because it's Nintendo and they love to censor the shit out of their own material.

#thanks for the ask! #sunie answers #anon #anonymous