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marimbles · 5 months

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Hope you don’t mind me asking lol, I stumbled upon your blog and I see you are in the throes of Ouran hyperfixation 😅 What are your opinions on each member of the host club?

yes im definitely in the throes thanks for noticing<3 lol. i'd be delighted to share my opinions on each member of the host club !! this will be LONG bc i have a lot to say about these binches (also this will have manga spoilers). so i'll put it under a cut

Haruhi—honestly what's not to love. she's scruffy and apathetic and grumpy and direct and 300% done with everything, including gender conformity. "these damn rich people" yes king go off. also you're so valid for being 90% motivated by food. it's such a perfect and fascinating idea to drop a person like fujioka haruhi into a group of ridiculous dramatic people like the host club and see how they fare. impressively well, actually. she cleans up nice and is surprisingly charming and intuitive underneath the apathy. but this is only what you find out in like the first episode!!! she grows so much over the course of the story, especially in the manga, and it warmed my heart so much and made me so proud of her 😭 how her relationship with the host club members changed her as a person and even enabled her to better pursue her lifelong dreams. ugh. i love how falling in love with tamaki gave haruhi such a beautiful character arc. first her resistance (which was both understandable and hilarious), because he's so STUPID and RIDICULOUS and in her mind is the last kind of person she'd want to be with, but then she realizes how much she has learned from him and how much he's opened her heart, and she's so inspired by him—to experience new things and understand people better and challenge her preconceived notions and grow to be a better, kinder person, which will make her a better lawyer too. she's actually so brave, to step out of her comfort zone, and connect with others, and to learn how to accept help, when she closed herself off as a coping mechanism when she was so young. she has so much patience to deal with the host club theatrics and a lot of patience with her dad, who is also rather theatrical lol. she had to grow up young and mature so fast and i like how through the host club she learned how to have fun and let other people support and admire her too. ugh i just love her! she has such a soft and good heart and she learns to love so deeply even though it initially went against her nature! she's soooo stray italian greyhound coded to me.

Tamaki—my favorite. one of my favorite characters of all time now actually. im just obsessed with him. i already have a weakness for blond boys with sad backstories and i blorbified him so so fast. as a longtime adrien agreste stan it was inevitable, once i learned about his existence. i saw the most pathetic drama queen loser in all of fiction and i went "yeah he's perfect." i loved him as soon as i watched an episode but i think it was this post that really sold me on him and convinced me to read the manga. i mean isn't he just the guy of all time. as a sillyguy myself i can't not adore him, because he is SO silly and SO dramatic and SO larger-than-life ridiculous, and i am just a big fan of that. but at the same time he has a surprising amount of depth, revealed little by little, that just made me fall even more in love with him as i learned more! cause the thing about tamaki is that everything about him is over-the-top and outlandish—including the size of his heart, and the way he cares about other people, and the lengths he will go to to help them. he's like incredibly narcissistic and incredibly selfless, at the same time. such a fascinating contradiction to me. he has such big feelings whether it's overwhelming grief over a stranger's sob story or unbridled excitement over a mcdonald's happy meal toy. i think all in all tamaki's character can be summed up with one word: love. he just loves everything and everyone to an incomprehensible degree, and that love is transformative. he loves his broken family to the point of wholenesss, and his lonely schoolmates the the point of chosen family, and haruhi to the point of courage—because he was just as confused and afraid as she was, and they both learned to be brave enough to love in a way they always thought was impossible for them. he just loves the whole world and it loves him back, because when you put that much love out there it's bound to be reflected back to you. i love how essentially tamaki annoyed all his friends into becoming his found family lol, because as stupid and obnoxious as he is, he cares SO much, and that's how he won each one over individually, to the point that they'd do practically anything for him. despite being pretty obtuse about himself he's very intuitive about other people and he is able to see them as they really are, in a way they couldn't even see themselves yet, and understand them to a degree that allows them to understand themself. anyway im always crying about him, cause. yeah.

Kyoya—man i love him. so calm and cool and collected and lowkey an evil genius. i love how he plays off tamaki so perfectly. they truly are a married couple lmao. but again!!! in signature ouran fashion, there is much more to him than meets the eye! they're all so much more than the "type" they are assigned! because yes kyoya is the "cool one," the genius one, the guy who always has a plan, the one who's constantly strategizing internally and weighing pros and cons and thinking 9 steps ahead, who only does things for his own benefit … but also underneath he is so passionate. he has all the emotions he tends not to show. fear and anger and grief and love. the anime did such a good job of portraying this because sometimes i think about that scene with him painting inside the golden frame and then it zooms out and he's made a giant beautiful work of art outside the frame, with every color, and i just sort of wanna cry about it. the hidden depths of kyoya ootori...i love that, like haruhi, he learned that it's important to have fun, and if your best friend is a complete idiot, it's good for you! (albeit sometimes detrimental to your health and sanity, lol.) again i loved how they handled it in the anime where in the end he shows his father how intelligent and powerful and in control he was, just to let all of that go, because he found what made him happy, and that was more important than any of it. i love a guy who forms unbreakable bonds first against his will but then puts his whole heart into them! who learns to defy expectations and forge his own path! who learns that happiness is its own end! MAN!! ok also the part in the manga where he spends his whole paris vacation searching for tamaki's mom and completely exhausts himself and falls asleep in the street because of it, just because he wanted to be able to report back to tamaki that she was alive and well. i might cry. im a tamaharu shipper but i have a very soft spot for kyotama.

Kaoru—i get emotional about him sometimes. he is sooooo 😭 ok because at first, the twins are identical both in looks and personality. but as the story progresses, their individuality becomes more obvious, and kaoru reveals himself as the more emotionally mature twin. i love the twins for being mischievous and silly and obnoxious and just a tiny bit evil sometimes, and for always making fun of tamaki (i mean SOMEONE has to), but they both have a lot a depth underneath that which makes them so dear to me 🥺 and kaoru. oh. baby boy. he's so intuitive, often seeing what hikaru is unwilling/unable to see, and so self-sacrificial, always willing to put his brother's needs over his own. the way he was developing feelings for haruhi the whole time, just like hikaru was, but he was the first to realize and admit it to himself, and he gave hikaru space to figure it out too. and then how he is honest with haruhi and confesses to her but in the same breath tells her that his relationship with hikaru is too important to jeopardize, so he bows out gracefully even as he speaks up. UGH! sometimes i just think about that part in the manga where he talks with haruhi about how he wouldn't know what to do if he and hikaru wanted the same thing and both couldn't have it, and then later they have a box of cookies and there's not enough for everyone so he saves his for hikaru, and then haruhi points out that he found the answer to his question, didn't he? about what he would do if they wanted the same thing? so then he ends up stepping back to let hikaru pursue haruhi instead of him, promising to support him, and helping him grow and mature into a better person. wahhhh...... he's a sort of tragic character to me honestly. like it makes me a little sad to think about him. but he just has a good heart, and he ends up happy because the change he was afraid would make him lose the relationships that were most important to him actually made them even stronger.

Hikaru—i think i have a slightly softer spot for kaoru, but i really really love hikaru as well, and i think his character arc is one of the best in the series. he's definitely the brasher/less mature twin in the beginning, who tends to let jealousy and anger get the better of him and he lashes out sometimes because of his frustration and confusion about his own feelings. he struggles with self-awareness and kaoru knows that, which is why he gives hikaru opportunities to self-discover and figure himself out. hikaru falling for haruhi and admitting that to himself and others, even haruhi, was so important for him as someone who always defaulted to keeping others out and viewed everyone but kaoru as an outsider. he really didn't trust anyone but kaoru with his thoughts and feelings, but being part of the club made him open up, examine himself, and consciously choose to mature. one of my favorite hikaru moments is when he dyes his hair dark to show that he's an individual who is separate from his twin and wants to be viewed as such, but at the same time he makes it clear to kaoru that being individuals doesn't mean they have to drift apart or be any less important to each other—and he's determined for them to stay just as close even as they pursue separate paths for the first time in their lives. i also love his rivalry with tamaki over haruhi and how that affects him and forces him to grow. another favorite moment is when he demands that tamaki open his eyes and encourages him to not let his trauma get the best of him. instead of letting tamaki stay ignorant of his feelings for haruhi, which would be to his advantage, he makes tamaki realize them so they could have an equal chance to pursue her. he has so many sweet moments where he feels conflicted about tamaki, wishing he was out of the picture but also feeling so much gratitude and affection for him. he just really loves tamaki, and really loves kaoru, and really loves haruhi, and that love that started out with so much hurt and jealously makes him grow into a more selfless and genuine and mature person, when he finally, like kaoru, bows out and chooses to be happy for tamaki and haruhi. ugh he's a good boy even though he acts like a turd sometimes. lol.

Honey—i don't have as strong of feelings for honey as the others i've gone over but he is still a great character! obviously he's adorable, and i just find him very sweet and enjoyable. and of course the fact that the sweets-obsessed boy lolita who carries around a stuffed bunny is actually a genius and also a martial arts master who can take down 50 guys singlehandedly...yeah it's pretty dope lmao. i love how he learned from tamaki the meaning of true inner strength—not pretending to be something your not for someone else's sake, but being unapologetically YOU and embracing what makes you happy! honey learns to comfortably live a seemingly contradictory life, because he openly loves his cake and cutesie stuff but he remains a strong and well-respected leader and master of the haninozuka martial arts. it's funny and but also very fitting to me that in the manga he ends up with the girl from the black magic club—someone who's different from him in what appears to be every way, but honey is not afraid of contradiction and appreciates people being themselves!

Mori—he's the host i least connect with, just because he doesn't get much focus and also barely speaks lol. but i still love mori! i really admire his loyalty—just the truest friend anyone could ever ask for. he and honey are such an iconic duo. his "lovely item" lol. it's really sweet how much of a natural protector he is—not just how he looks out for honey but also haruhi and the whole host club. he's a very compassionate person with strong principle. one of my favorite mori moments is when he demands a fight with honey just so he feels like he has the right to tell him what to do and remind him to brush his teeth when they're apart for college haha. also shout out to the part where tamaki desperately asks "do you ever think about kissing honey-senpai" because he's freaking out about haruhi and mori says no but later is shown worrying that he screwed tamaki up by lying, because he does actually think about kissing honey 😂

ok this concludes my Opinion Of The Hosts soapbox hour, thank you for asking and sorry i answered:) tldr i love them all lol

#ask #starlightbelle #ohshc

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electronicwitchcollection · 4 months

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Hey. So, I read accidental mate in the bleach tag and I wanted to tell you you’re insanely awesome. I have never in my life read a Y/N fic because it’s not my thing but you’re phenomenal. I’ve been visiting your page daily to see if you’ve been updating and saw your post which said you’d been too occupied by too many ideas which I completely understand and relate to so I’m waiting patiently for the day you decide to upload the rest of the chapters. They’re worth it. Like that scene when you understood that Grimmjow hadn’t kissed anyone ever and she adapts her kiss to suit him. What kind of genius was that? It was wonderful to read. Also, your Y/N is soooo not annoying. I always expect the MC to be too innocent or unaware but honestly I kinda love her and wish her and grimmjow a happy life at this point. I’ve been thinking about messaging you for a week but yeah. You’re a wonderful writer. Very engaging. Every character, particularly female, you write them superbly well. I’m in love. Thank you for writing. I can kinda see just why it’s necessary for people to write what they want because if you hadn’t published it I’d never have read it and that kinda makes me sad. So, yeah.

So I have read this about a dozen times, and I’m still yet to come up with any combinations of words to accurately describe how this has made me feel. All I can really say is thank you, thank you for your kind words and support. I’m literally blown away with your praise, I haven’t been able to take this grin off my face for the past two hours.

Honestly, I never imagined the amount of people this story would reach, and how many of those would love it as much as I do. I’m aware I’ve indulged heavily on Grimmjow’s more animalistic/hollow part of his personality, but I’ve seen so many amazing fan fiction that didn’t delve into it, that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Reader figuring out Grimmjow had never kissed before was one of my personal favourites, but when I take the time to think about it, of corse he has never kissed anyone like that. He has been driven by his primal survival instincts for as long as he could remember, when would he have indulged in the practices of humans?

I once saw someone compare him to beast from beauty and the beast, and while it made for an interesting read, I could t associate the character with Grimmjow. The beast was a human, a prince. Grown up human and then transformed into a best. But he still has a man’s heart, his human brain. Grimmjow IS a beast. He has a hunters mind, a survivors heart, he’s only now learning about humans and their customs and adapting through it.

I also sometimes struggle with female OC’s / YN. Only because so many of them are either absolutely useless damsels in distress or some incredibly over powered, bad ass that it no longer makes sense with the fandom. So thank you, for realising how much effort I put into making a believable YN, someone who I hope most readers could associate with on some level. Is she so amazingly strong that she could take down Aizen with the snap of her fingers? No, of corse not, but that doesn't mean she doesn’t have her own strengths. Does she have flaws? Absolutely. Doesn’t mean she is powerless to help herself and others.

I actually loosely base all the female character off myself, as I find it easiest to put myself into the scenarios and decide how I would act. So the fact others are reading this loose representation of me, and like it! Finding her funny, relatable, kind and everything else, it honestly makes my heart want to burst.

Thank you again for reaching out, for making me so incredibly happy and proud of what I’m writing. Thank you to everyone who takes time out of their life to read what I write, to like share and comment on it. I love interacting with everyone and hearing what you love and other takes you have on the situation. I’m eager to write some more accidental mate tonight, encouraged by your love for the story. thank you 💜

#bleach #bleach fandom #bleach fanfiction #Accidental mate #Asks #cant get this smile off my face

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legacyshenanigans · 9 months

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Hi!!! I hope you're having an amazing day!!

I originally typed this at 2 am because my brain refused to shut off but tumblr told me to fuck myself apparently so let's try this again..

I know I read somewhere that you're definitely not creating an OC for Sebastian in your Volo/MC & Rominis world. I was curious if Sebastian is a jealous whiney fuck over their relationships or if he's just genuinely happy for them? Or does he feel jealousy over it but then feels majorly guilty about it because he feels that's being a bad friend to MC and Ominis. Or is he just an unfeeling cunt? I can see him being any of these honestly so I was curious what your thoughts are.

(I rewrote this to the best of my ability but it was certainly worded better this morning when the thoughts were in my head 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Thanks as always love

💚💚V

Hiii V 💜 Hope you are too! 💚💚

OK, so, Lemme explain first of all why I'm not creating an OC for Seb, I know you didn't ask that, but I feel like, in general, it needs to be said. I personally have noticed there's people in the fandom that don't like OCs being with the characters, because when people read fanfiction, they tend to like "MC" or "Y/N" because they can self insert, but when it's OCs you take that ability away from them, and people do NOT like that, because some people are fuckin crazy and can't cope with the idea that their fictional boyfriend is being written with someone's OC and not "them"(MC/YN) MOST people from my experience are fine with it though, but like, I get petty weird shit for Rominis sometimes 🤣 and with Sebastian statistically being the number 1 favourite in the franchise, I cannot be bothered going through the double hit tbh haha.

Now, to your ask haha.

It would give me the ick to make him all sad or jealous over the fact he's not in a relationship while MC and Ominis are thriving in their own at THIS point in the development of my VoloRomiverse 🤣

Sebastians chillin' he ain't bothered. So let's just go with "Unfeeling cunt" lmao. 🤣

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coralinnii · 8 months

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What are some pet peeves you have for manga/mahwa?

I feel like I answered a question similar to this but I’m too lazy to find that right now :p

I don’t know if I call them pet-peeves because I still would try to read it to the end just to see what the author wanted to do…but there are certain things in manga and manhwa that kinda makes the story a little harder for me to get through.

I’m putting it below the read more because some topics might be uncomfortable for others to read like abuse. If whatever I listed is something you don’t mind or enjoy reading, kudos to you. I’m not judging because these are just my own personal thoughts and preferences.

Teacher/Student relationships. It’s just too unethical for me. It doesn’t matter if the characters are the same age or if they’re childhood friends, as someone who wants to be a teacher this idea just makes me want to scream “too unprofessional!” If you want to pursue a relationship after graduation, that’s fine I guess… (with consent and everyone is age appropriate). Still, I know that there are people that enjoy this trope and that’s fine. I just can’t bring myself to really enjoy it.

Red flags that continue to be red flags. Look, we all know the “he’s a red flag, but I’m colourblind” joke and honestly, my taste in 2D men have some shades of red in them too. Moreover, some red flags are subjective depending on the person so what I consider a red flag may not be the same for someone else. But, I’m kinda disappointed when something that is a red flag for me isn’t brought up or taken seriously. Or if it does come up, there’s no remorse or consequences over this behavior, especially if this appears in main characters. I’m really not asking for much, maybe make them regret their behavior, grow out of it as the story goes on, have some consequences…hell even just acknowledge it’s canonically not good so everyone in the story and readers know this is not appropriate behavior! I have really low standards for this one!

Abusive for the sake of “love”. Tragic backstories is such a common trope and it works well for fictional drama (remember, fictional. Be good people in real life, ok). What I can’t understand though is when characters say that they did all these bad things like verbal insults and physical attacks because they need to protect the ones they love. Like what? I’m genuinely asking for the logic in that?! With avoiding someone so they don’t get hurt by association, that also heavily damages a person but that’s still more believable to me than directly inflicting pain onto someone you love! I just…can’t logically wrap my head around it.

Harem characters that are just for the harems. This is more sad for me because of the lost potential. I don’t hate stories with harems because they can be funny and enjoyable. But, if the characters are introduced to purely just be harem fillers and nothing else, that’s disappointing. What I mean are those characters that are literally just a trope and all they do in the story is appear and fawn over the MC without a role or significance to the story. If I remove any interaction with this character and the MC and there is nothing worthwhile about this character, that’s disappointing. Again, I’m not asking for much. Like if you make a knight character then make them do knight things that has nothing to do with the MC or have them interact with other characters without involving the MC. Seriously, not asking for much!

Characters that criticises others for being “conventional”. Basically it’s the incels, pick me characters, “I’m not like the other girls/guys”, the Nice Guys™, etc. Characters that criticises other characters for their failures because the other characters apparently fit the conventional standard and acting superior because they don’t. Maybe it’s because I’ve met people like this in real life, maybe it’s because I grew up in an era where having these characters as MC in all forms of media was popular and it dampens my faith in humanity just a little bit, maybe it’s because I did the same thing when I was younger which makes me feel ashamed of my actions. Either way, I can’t help but sigh a little whenever I see these characters and they don’t change for the better. Again, if you like watching these characters for whatever reason, that’s great. It just makes it a little harder for me to read.

#this was genuinely exhausting but it’s nice to reflect on things like this #coralinnii answers

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dear--charlie · 2 months

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Dear Charlie,

I feel so lonely. I know that I'm only 25 (and soon I'll be 26, and that doesn't feel right), but I also feel like I'm running out of time. More and more of the people my age that I know have gotten married or will be married later this year. And I've been invited to the wedding of a friend that I am honestly happy for and looking forward to seeing, but I noticed that my mood was brought down on the day that I got the invitation. And I didn't think it was related until I was watching a romantic show later in the evening and was brought to tears.

And, to be honest, watching or reading romance stories have always been something I've enjoyed but over the years I've been getting more and more jealous of these fictional characters. And I'm starting to think that maybe I don't enjoy romance stories anymore.

The way that the protagonists pine, and how they are being pined after. The way they see each other's flaws and have the desire to cherish them. The way they want to take care of each other, how they want to see the other happy, how they want so desperately their feelings to be reciprocated all the while they already are... I think these things haven't been making me swoon or feel giddy for the past couple years. They just make me sad. Because I lack them.

I've never even had a partner. I think the only time I had feelings reciprocated was in the 1st grade, and I didn't even know it. We were six, and we called each other "boyfriend" and "girlfriend," but insisted it was because "he's my friend that is a boy!" and vice versa. We were only six, but he got me a bouquet of flowers on Valentine's Day. And our mothers took us to Chuck E. Cheese and he gave me all the tickets he won. And it makes me happy that I had someone that liked me that much. But it makes me sad that that's the last romantic gesture I've had.

And for a very long time, I hadn't even had my first kiss. And I was getting impatient. I always dreamed about what my first kiss would be like. How it would feel like a crescendo. How delicate or rough it would be. Would it be behind the school? Would it be at my doorstep after a date? Would it be at the top of a ferris wheel? Would it be in the rain? But my first kiss was also during my first sexual encounter at 23. And we had only gone on a couple of dates. And afterwards, he ghosted me. I tried to convince myself it was fine; I don't think losing my virginity was this life-changing event (in many ways, I still feel like a virgin), and it wasn't like I was in love with the guy. But I felt played.

And every single time after the first grade, every single person I've liked has rejected me. And almost all the guys that have shown interest in me have turned around and been cruel once it was clear I didn't reciprocate. Without exaggeration, most of them became red-pilled incels. And it seems that's the main brand of dude that I still attract.

As for women, I haven't been pursued, and I attempted to pursue two. Both were unsuccessful. One even snapped at me. Both were bi, like me, so it wasn't like I was barking up the wrong tree. Both have even been flirty with me. It really seemed like I was getting moves put on me. But both were way more conventionally attractive than me.

And maybe that's the crux of it. Maybe I'm not pretty enough, thin enough, to be cared for. Maybe I'm only pretty enough to fuck for one night, to be someone's friend, to harass on the street, to be thought as obtainable by the detestable, to get a swipe to the right on a dating app but no messages.

I just want someone to think I'm worthwhile enough to give all their Chuck E. Cheese tickets to again.

Love,

Maria

#dear charlie #Maria

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witheredoffherwitch · 6 months

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Find it very funny how someone with a handle that shows they very clearly can’t stand Aemond as a character replied to tumblr comments made from a YEAR ago claiming that the showrunners can’t do anything in adapting alysmond’s relationship or add any sort of complexity that takes away from the fact that their relationship is not consensual and he is a r*pist. “No amount of pet names or cute moments will change that.” They are so unbelievably incapable of critical thought towards fiction. It’s unbelievable how they attack anyone who sees a FICTIONAL DYNAMIC as compelling and interesting. They had the audacity to accuse someone of “victim-blaming” for thinking Alys genuinely wanted to be with him of her own free will. You can absolutely recognize their circumstances were problematic but that does NOT mean people who enjoy dark pairings in media condone r*pe and to insinuate that is honestly disgusting. They even have “alysmond shipper? go kys” in their bio 💀 Imagine going that far because someone enjoys the possibility of a haunted romance. Just insane.

OMG 💀💀

I haven't seen this blog yet but there's a good possibility that I am already blocked by this individual... since my own blog doesn't shy away from showcasing my explicit biases for certain characters and their ships lol.

That being said, how FUCKING sad?? I totally get not liking a popular character or one of their ships, but to go out and make an entirely new blog dedicated to posting/reblogging 'anti- X' tags is so beyond ridiculous! It's a work of FICTION we're talking about here; how can another person's opinions really affect your own well-being? Asking people to KYS over a ship/character is the epitome of LOSER behaviour. I do consider myself a TG sympathizer, but I CANNOT imagine myself enjoying a fandom without my lovely moots who certainly don't align with my tastes or biases. That's why I try not to use anti- tags in my posts, opting instead for pro- ones which better represent my stance on a topic/discussion.

Anyway, I would just ask y'all to let them be! It's everyone's right to curate a fandom experience to their own liking. While I don't like my own experience to be this isolated, I can't fault anyone else looking to have their own 'exclusive' fandom experience.

That's all! 🤗

#anon asks #hotd fandom #alysmond hive #coven convening #aemond x alys #aemond targaryen

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firstkanaphans · 3 months

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hii! i'm a big fan of your fanfics, and as an aspiring writer myself, sometimes I feel sad 'cause I know and feel like I won't ever be as good as you are ☹️ I know I shouldn't compare myself, and I'm trying to get better at it, so I would genuinely like to ask, are there any tips you'd give to authors out there trying to improve? either their writing skills, plot ideas, planning and stuff. thank you, either way, love you! can't wait for your next work ❣️

So, the first thing I want to say is that I have been writing for a long time. I published my first fanfic when I was 12 years old and I’m 31 now, so I’ve been actively writing for the past 19 years (!!!) with almost no break. The way someone explained it to me once was to look at your years writing like levels in a video game. I’m currently at level 19. If you’ve been writing for ten years, you’re at level 10 and it’s certainly not fair to compare yourself to me because the only thing that’s truly going to make you a better writer is to write.

I’m assuming since you called yourself an “aspiring writer” that your eventual goal is publication, so I’ll gear my recommendations towards that. Fanfiction is a completely different animal, but a lot of these tips are applicable to both. The biggest difference is that there’s a lot more freedom in fanfiction. You can write what you want without worrying about three-act structures and you don’t have to invest any work in making people care about the characters because they already do. It is worth noting, however, that if you write, you’re already a writer.

First, I highly recommend that you read “Save the Cat” by Blake Snyder. It changed my life and I’m not even kidding. It’s an absolutely fantastic book on writing and although it’s geared towards screenwriting instead of novels, everything is still applicable. (There’s actually a newer version called Save the Cat Writes a Novel, but I’ve never actually read that one so I don’t know if it’s as good.) He goes over how to plot a story and also how to write likable characters, which is surprisingly one of the hardest parts of writing original fiction.

The second biggest tip I can give you is to let yourself write badly. Editing is easier than writing. The most important thing is to get words down on the page. You would not believe how bad my first drafts are—and that’s not just me being coy. Honestly, the next time I sit down to write a fanfic, I might save my first draft for anyone who’s interested to read because my first drafts are always bad. Like legitimately. There’s a lot of freedom in letting yourself fail and your writing will turn out better for it.

I would also recommend getting a professional critique if you are able to because you’re never truly going to know what it is you need to improve upon unless someone tells you. Signing up for a writing retreat is a great way to do this or you can look for online critiquing services. I’ve gotten several chapter critiques from Scribbler in the past and I found them very helpful.

But truly, the most important thing is to just have fun. I heard Lin-Manuel Miranda talking about writing Hamilton once and he said that what he constantly kept asking himself was, “If no one else ever sees this, will writing it still have been worth it?” And for him, it was. That’s the kind of energy I try to write with. I write what I want when I want and if I find myself struggling to write a scene because it’s boring, I do something to make it not boring instead. Change things up! Have fun! Because otherwise, what’s the point?

About six years ago, a friend of mine said virtually the same thing you did in this ask: “I’ll never be as good as you.” She had been writing for less than a year at the time. We lost touch when I left fandom to pursue original fiction, but when I came back last year, I looked her up again. She has a Tumblr ficlet pinned at the top of her page with 10K+ notes. I could never.

So don’t count yourself out yet. Just keep writing.

#asks #writing advice

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spiderlingh · 1 year

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TEEN WOLF SPOILERS !

jeff davis truly has got to be the most spiteful person out there to make this movie. teen wolf was my absolute favorite show as a teen. i remember being obsessed with it for like three years, at least. i’m glad i’m seeing all the fans of the show hate on the movie because it’s what it deserves.

the fact that jeff davis refuses to acknowledge that scott mccall was never the star of the show is plain stupid. stiles was the star from the pilot to the final episode. he embodied the show, gave it life. to this day, he’s still one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. the show would have been nothing without stiles. void stiles was one of the biggest highlights of the show (as it should). dylan o’brien shined every second on the screen in his role.

what’s even more wild to me is that stiles and lydia, one of if not the most popular pairing from the show, got broken up over something so incredibly stupid and irrelevant that it makes me question if i was even watching the teen wolf movie. stiles and lydia who had a six-season slowburn and were the fan-favorite ship from the very first season (at least that’s how it felt to me) and it got ruined just like that. i just don’t get it. like it was so unnecessary that it’s just funny to me.

and then there’s the also very unnecessary death of derek hale. my beloved. derek who probably went through the most in the show (if i remember correctly anyway, i haven’t watched it in a couple years). like this man had to kill his first love, his family died in a fire, he was sa’d by kate, and now they let him burn to death in front of his son??? respectfully, what???? that is beyond fucked up. i only liked the moment where he spoke about stiles’s jeep. i’m not really a sterek shipper myself but i do get why fans like them.

also the weird thing is — for the longest time i was bummed that i didn’t get my scallison endgame, and now that i did get it, i just… i don’t know. it’s not the same? it certainly wasn’t necessary for me anymore. her death was sad as fuck but to be honest i didn’t need her back.

can’t believe i’m only realizing it now, but i’ve grown to prefer kira over allison. allison used to be my favorite girl on the show for some reason but she definitely isn’t anymore. and the fact that arden cho was offered half of what the white actresses would be receiving for the movie?? what the fuck??? that’s ridiculous. i’m glad she turned the offer down because she deserves better than to be involved in this shitshow anyways. can’t believe all the other actors went through with the film while being aware of that. most of them are jobless anyways sooo

i feel like the movie could have worked if everyone had returned with a solid storyline (honestly everything would have been better than this, the majority of fanfic writers could come up with a better script than this). and when i say everyone i mean everyone. stiles, kira, isaac, you name them. but in all honesty? we didn’t need a movie. even though i feel like the show didn’t end on a high note (season 6 was shit if you ask me) i thought the ending was fine.

the show itself wasn’t fantastic writing or acting (it definitely felt better at the time but i was younger so yk) but its storylines were enjoyable enough, i liked the script and most of the characters and their dynamics were fun. it was a different time with all the supernatural-ish shows and stuff and whatever but i did love it for a long time. it’s sad to know they went in this direction with the movie but my expectations were very low anyways so i kind of saw it coming. i’m gonna attempt a rewatch of the show soon to see whether it was as i remembered it.

these were my thoughts, might add more later!

#teen wolf #teen wolf the movie #stiles stilinski #void stiles #derek hale #lydia martin #allison argent #kira yukimura #malia hale

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aihoshiino · 4 months

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okay so no idea how i should refer to myself as so: hi!! im the person who had way too much fun writing ai/nino toxic yuri on ao3! i was gonna just lurk (me, tumblr account with privated likes, reblogs and follows) BUT how could i with the promise of people being normal about fictional unhealthy gay women. idk if this is the optimal way to communicate i use tumblr with the sole purpose of following 4 people and digging up ai content

i am honestly so flattered (but also kinda upset at the lack of content on them aside from my own 1k word long oneshot please keep recommending if you find more stuff on them) that you enjoyed and recommended my fics considering i just straight up had no clue where i was going: okay so top priority i want them to kiss —> but also with how things are nino would probably lash out (read: bite) —> ai would be hesitant but also is so desperate that she’d still accept it happily —> this will fuel ninos idea of ai being the perfect, invincible idol —> and then i ran and tried not to trip with the rest

your translations of the side stories and blog was probably what helped me get in to oshi no ko again because even though i am still not over ai being dead i can now listen to someone talk about how great and tragic and sad and miserable she was along with all the other characters so thank you again!

also that ask for ai/nino toxic yuri visions was me lol, thanks for talking about my fic despite how short it was <3, i might de-anon myself at some point but rn im too shy for that

woof, this got a bit long. anyways love wins fr, if there was ever a day where i participate in an onk shipping war it’ll be on the side of them

LMFAO OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY TO HAVE JUMPSCARED YOU WITH YOUR OWN FIC 😭 WHAT A THING TO SEE ON YOUR OWN DASH....

that said it does make me so happy every time I hear people saying my relentless oshi no posting stands out to them to the degree that it does lol. I guess I'm in a similar place as you where, as happy as I am for it, it does make me a little sad that it feels like there's such little fan interest in lengthy meta and discussion on Ai herself outside of some really banal, surface level stuff. To a degree, I get that with other characters having so much more time on the page and having ongoing arcs to speculate about, but Ai is sooooooooo fascinating to me and it really drives me insane how often I see people make zero effort to engage with her arc beyond her utilitarian function in the story. It also really bums me out how often I see her get reduced to just a stepping stone in the arcs of other characters — even though the manga is literally shaking you right now and begging you to understand and empathize with her more than ever, I straight up see people cheering and crowing about Ruby 'surpassing' her or 'becoming the true Ai' as if this is a good thing and they are not completely fucking missing the point lmao.

ANYWAY!!!! That's enough grumping because the actual point of this response was to say: the Ai posting will continue until I am physically forced to stop!!!! I have so many thoughts about my wife constantly and if I do not share them I will explode!!!

(ps anon pspspspsp if you are ever feeling brave enough to unanon pls feel free to just send me your discord or your socmeds off tumblr if that is less intimidating for u.... honestly that goes for all my oshi no moots in general Please Talk With Me In DMs About My Wife)

#oshi no ko #oshi no posting #if ai has one million fans i am one of them if ai has no fans then i am no longer of this earth

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xelasrecords · 6 months

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Hellooo :) Honestly, I don't really know how tumblr messaging works.. I hope I'm doing it right 😢

Anyway, what I wanted to say is.. (and I hope I don't end up sharing TOO much!!) how much I admire your works. I find myself re-reading 'Wedding Scene' over and over again, I love it so much. It is actually something I go back to each time I feel down. Which might be weird.. since it's angst.... but I love it so much :)

Okay, here comes the TMI.. T _ T MC is very relatable (for me) in this fic! I absolutely love the part where Jumin reassures her that she is not a bad person.. Whenever I read that part, I just pretend that someone is actually saying that to me! It feels very nice & warm <3

You worded everything beautifully.. The storyline, the dialogues, the characters, everything is so beautiful! I first read Wedding Scene at the beginning of this year! Probably around April? And I keep coming back to it everytime I feel like I need to **feel** something!! And somehow, only your writing can do that. Your fic is my roman empire.. as a tiktok user would say...

I hope I didn't take too much of your time. Thank you, once again for creating such a beautiful story. :D

I woke up, read this message, and whispered "what the fuck" because I never dreamed of getting such a sweet message like this. Thank you so much for taking the time to craft this🤍 All I want from writing is to make my readers feel, preferably if they feel what I intend my writing to convey. And don't worry, you sent the ask correctly (unless you meant to message me privately? In that case, tap the "send a message" button).

I'm with you on angst being comforting. I think we like to sink ourselves in sad stories when we're sad because there's a comfort in having our pain validated and understood. You don't always get that in real life, so it's such a gratifying feeling when you find it in fiction.

Thank you for sharing about yourself with me! I don't think it's TMI, and I'm glad you could relate to her. Wow, April was a while ago. I had no idea there's someone who'd reread my work, let alone remember it for that long. I need to frame this and start a wall of fame or something.

To share something personal about my fics as a whole, I actually categorise them in a Before and After phase. Fics from Before have a more casual writing style, with the MCs' personalities more ambiguous so people could relate easier. And Wedding Scene was the last fic that I catalogued in Before.

I soft launched the After phase with Haven Burning where I experimented with a different way of describing things and ventured out with a more defined MC, someone softer than how I usually wrote them up until that point. But it was with The Love We Live For that I embraced the narrative style change and created an MC that I knew wouldn't be for everyone.

The point of all that? After I dove into the After, I rarely go back to read my Before fics. I thought they weren't that good since they were my early attempts at fic writing, but you altered the way I see them. So for the third time, thank you. You should know how much your message means to me.

#xela answers #jumin han #mystic messenger #jihyun kim

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brunettemermaid · 10 months

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You know when they say careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it....well YEAH. I used to think it was an stupid saying, why would I not be happy when I get what I want...but then, then, I met the guy of my dreams. He had all the things I’ve ever wished for in a man. He was literally Jess Mariano. He even wore the same blue jean jacket Jess wears!!!he was this cinematic kind of guy, he was this shy quiet but passionate and adventurous kind of person. I honestly didn’t make all the parallels when we were “together”, that occured in the aftermath of our short but quite intense believe me relationship. Then, he suddenly turned cold, couldn’t look me in the eye, left me in the most weird way, without any explanation and I thought to myself how could he do this to me, he’s Jess Mariano, he’s Angel, he’s Conrad Fisher, he’s perfect!! why is he acting cold and not communicating anything to me???? I get it now, it hit me, all my perfect men, all the fictional characters I’ve feel for in my whole life are the brooding but passionante non talking ones (emotionally unavailable maybe)....yayyyy!!!So...I’m messed up. I’m kind of having an existencial crisis here cause I can’t believe I loved Jess and Conrad so much that I didn’t realise they actually are so so BAD at communicating and at keeping a good thing going on. When I talk to my friends about this, they don’t get that this is me being sad or disapointed about a guy, it’s much more, it’s like a strong part of my set mind has been fading over this situation...He wasn’t a guy, he was the guy...If he wasn’t any of the things I usually love, it would’ve been easier, I just don’t know how to explain the feeling, but this is an attempt.

#me rambling #this is because I decided to watch the summer I turned pretty season 2 damn #jess mariano #conrad fisher #I don't know if I should tag this but anyway #if somewhere out there is wishing for this men I should say they're intense magnetic and you might feel for them fireworks but then have #in mind that the storm may hit you in one point

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rosenfey · 7 months

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Hey, I just want to throw in a few cents about my ace experience because your post about your sexual identity crisis really moved something in me.

"I wish I wasn't ace" is a pretty common thought for me to have, although it usually takes form of "I wish people wouldn't be so weird about sex". I know it's shifting the blame, and there shouldn't really be any blame here, but here we are I guess.

Growing up I always had this notion that love is this grand romantic thing we all experience at one point in our lives, the books, the movies, the games - I had no idea how it worked outside of them, so they all built up this expectation I had.

So I waited, and waited, friends from school turned their flings into relationships and I still waited. In the meantime I grew more and more attached to all the fictional people from all sorts of media and decided that this is what makes me the oddball.

So I stopped doing what I loved and went out to people. Threw myself into sexual situations with people I barely knew because... that's how people do it, right? That is what love is about?

Well, turns out it's not, and when having sex turned out to make me miserable I had no idea what's wrong. That was over 15 years ago and the concept of "asexual" didn't even come up. Any queer stuff barely did in my circles. Now I know I just kind of abused myself for trying to be "normal".

I'm well over 12 years in a relationship now, with a man I... care about. I wish I could say it's love, but I'm not sure. We have a child, we share a home, I feel comfortable. But I don't know if it's love because I didn't meet any person in my whole, almost 40yo, life I can say I loved romantically. I feel cared for, my partner doesn't cross any boundaries I don't wish to cross.

Nobody even comes close to how I still feel about those fictional characters from books, movies, games. I don't love them in the "I would marry their plushie at Vegas" kind of way, but they bring me comfort of exploring what I know I'm not capable of in real life. And it makes me happy.

And sometimes, I wish I could do all those things, and cry about it because I feel like a fruad. But what I'm trying to say is... do what makes you comfortable. I'm terrified by the thought of being alone, so I found someone to share my life with even though it's not what I grew up expecting. I love the comfort of it, if not the situation itself.

So...I guess you are not alone in your feelings, because I also sometimes wish for more, but can only play the cards given to me.

Feel free to post it public if you want to have this conversation in the open, or just ignore me, I won't mind, just wanted to share my thoughts.

First of all, thank you so much. This couldn't have been easy to say and the fact you took your time to say it anyway means a lot. ❤️ I often ask myself to what extent I'm disappointed in being ace myself or if the sadness I feel is over the fact that everyone else seems to be so fixated on sex which leads me to believe it's something I should be fixated on and if I'm not I'm missing out or something. Like I wish?? sometimes I wouldn't be into fictional characters and romance because that way my real life wouldn't feel lacking. But then again being into fictional characters and romance is the only way for me to experience these things. Which, in turn, as I said, makes my life feel lacking and lonely despite being in a relationship. My boyfriend is very kind and understanding and I should be grateful. But I can't help but feel sad knowing this is all life has to offer for me. I mean. Honestly. Marrying someone for security and the fact that they understand and support me should be enough. I will never experience that sort of passion and romance with my boyfriend and I think the question I want to answer is basically. Am I really ace or is it just that I am not attracted to my boyfriend? While I would hope that latter is the case and I just need to throw myself into sexual relationships to find the One™ it's also something I did in the past and it made me feel miserable. I'm glad I am not alone in this, at least.

#ask #vitanithepure

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moondal514 · 1 year

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Some fic reading numbers to wrap up 2022

In 2022 I bookmarked on ao3 1610 new fics (though only about 500 of those are in my public bookmarks). The fandom I read the most for was AFTG, accounting for a whopping 1271 of those new bookmarks

Here’s a multi-fandom list of 10 of my favorites of all the fics I read in 2022. I limited myself to only choosing from fics that aren’t a part of series or WIPs cuz otherwise I prob wouldn’t be able to limit it to only 10.

In no particular order:

Fandom: Alice in Wonderland

The Red Country by jibrailis

Before Alice ever fell down the rabbit-hole, there were two girls who found Wonderland first and who became, respectively, the White Queen and the Queen of Hearts. [Alice in Wonderland prequel].

One of the best wlw stories I’ve ever read

Fandom: The Book Thief/The Hunger Games

Pistol for a Mouth (the Perpetual Survivor Remix) by antistar_e/ @kaikamahine

”Well? How do I look?” He stood in front of her and fisted his hands atop his hips, and Liesel immediately covered her mouth.

Coal dust smeared him black head-to-toe, except for a bare patch that shaped the number “12” on his chest. She drew closer, whispering, “Rudy, it’s even in your ears!” [Hunger Games AU.]

Lovely but incredibly sad reintroduction to 2 books I hadn’t thought about since middle school

Fandom: Star Wars

those immortal dead by notbecauseofvictories/ @notbecauseofvictories

I care more for that long age which I shall never see than for the little of Time that I hold

Padmé Amidala is forgotten, not gone.

Lovely revisit of my favorite Star Wars character

Fandom: Coco

Work of All Saints by antistar_e

Her mother sends her a letter, after. We cannot help you, Imelda, it says. You are the consequence of your actions.

"This is not my fault!" Imelda shouts.

Imelda Rivera (b. 1899 - d. 1969), a story that includes but is not limited to: the finest music school this side of the Santo Domingo, three traveling musicians and the mess they made of love, the twice-cursed assassination of Venustiano Carranza, all the patron saints, and ninety-six ways a man can try to cross a bridge.

Best piece of historical fiction I read this year

Fandom: All For the Game

We Can Live Forever by mostly_maudlin/ @mostlymaudlin

PALMETTO HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC FUNDRAISER

WINTER SERENADES - $5 EACH

On sale Dec. 15-17 during lunch blocks. Support our teams, and let them show your friends how much you care through choreographed song and dance!

Participation in the fundraiser is mandatory for all student-athletes. Maybe none of this would have happened if they weren't pushed out of their comfort zones. (But honestly, maybe it was always going to end this way.)

A story about the joys of competition, the people in your corner, and, of course, the misfortune of being a teenager in love with your best friend.

Fic that cheered me up immensely during my lowest days of this year

Spark like empty lighters by butallmystars/ @butallmystars

Honestly, Andrew is just glad his number isn’t blocked. He thumbs at the lighter in his back pocket. Weighs the risk of numb fingers if he smokes with his free hand. And stops thinking entirely when the call connects.

There’s rustling—silence, and then: “Didn’t I get rid of you?”

3rd ever fic to make me physically cry

hold my hand, hold it tight by jingerhead/ @jingerhead

Neil sat alone in the kitchen and wasn’t sure if he could stomach the tea anymore. He’d had over six months to learn that Andrew was very much off-limits, but knowing that didn’t stop the clusterfuck happening in his brain. Because although Neil had never had a crush before he wasn’t stupid, alright? He knows that being jealous of someone else’s relationship has to at least mean something.

So, yeah. Neil has a crush on his roommate, Andrew Minyard, who just so happens to be dating his other roommate, Kevin Day. The whole thing sounds like the setup to a bad romcom.

1st ever fic gifted to me, won at my 1st ever fic giveaway

glass in the trees (objects in the rearview) by Major_816

Sometimes, Andrew thinks in ichor, and sometimes Andrew thinks in a mausoleum of god worship and tragedy.

2nd ever fic to make me physically cry

it takes two (but you and I are one) by kairospy/ @kairospy

Sometimes, not often — not enough for it to be concerning — he felt too much like him.

Andrew noticed the very moment Nathaniel walked into the locker room.

:*:*:

Nathaniel Wesninski had been dormant for too long.

Absolutely fascinating take on Nathaniel vs. Neil and just mind-boggling amazing prose

Hush, Don’t Say a Word by waterwings/ @amywaterwings

Excerpt from local newspaper, January 10, 2016

A Killer Is on the Loose at Palmetto State. Are You Safe?

For a detailed re-telling of the gruesome events that gripped the Palmetto State campus over the past eight months, please see the pages below. But I beg you, dear reader, tread lightly. You don’t know what’s waiting for you, out there in the dark.

~Katelyn Golightly, Student Journalist

Probably one of my favorite pieces of writing ever period

Thank you so much to all you fic writers out there. You guys make life that much more bearable

Here’s to 2023 being a year of lots of more lovely fic reading 😊

#fanfiction wrapped #fic rec #aftg #star wars #thg #the book thief #alice in wonderland #coco #fic rec list

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petrichoraline · 1 year

Text

thanks to @pondphuwin @tinybangtanx and @chinzhillababy for indulging me and in such an incredible way too 😭🥰💖

okay, so *cracks knuckles* this is my big episode 11 prediction theory (and how it came to be) these are my predictions based on these beautiful cryptic resumes showed above. i should post a full ep11 script later, i just really want to get these out in the open before i go offline

at first the oishii pp part made me think in this direction: "those bottle scenes are always a bit spicy so maybe tinngun were doing another round of will-they-won't-they and looking at each others eyes while seductively gulping down pp juice when someone, maybe tinn's mom? walked in on them (and this was the last proof she needed to go off on tinn?)"

but then i was gobsmacked with "only drink from drinks you know about" which is giving "bar safety for girlies 101"? and makes me think about that "how each member of ateez would react if you ask them to watch your glass" video but anyways

i really doubt they're putting drugs into the last ep of The Wholesome Show™️ so there is def something else going on but quite important if two people decided it was vital to mention it

let's go to the other common point: "there is such a thing as taking "falling for you" too far" and "never give up but always watch ur step as u go"

i thought at first that this seems simple enough, a part of a pair (cause it's ep 11, obviously it's not gonna all be about tinngun) clumsily fell while being cute..i did, however, find it a bit sus it's one of two things said that @pondphuwin found worthy to mention..

so @chinzhillababy's addition made me paint a more colourful picture - person A upset person B, some big relationship quarrel occured but person A was like "oh no, this can't be it, i'm fighting for this, for us!" (based on the vibes of love and persistance the clues are exuding) and going after person B in a dramatic fashion, they fell down a solid amount of stairs; i was thinking tinngun tbh but reading about this type of stupidity just makes tiw's face steal tinn's spot in my imaginary scene..i can definitely see por being the needy bf being chased too. this would make sense if them secretly dating was canon and they had a fight about going public..i do, however, think my dash would have been bombarded with posts about it, so i feel i have to exclude that theory

honestly i'm just imagining someone making a dramatic love confession, falling fatally, ending up in hospital and dying (cause tissues?? went off with their acting?? @tinybangtanx your comment is so simple yet so confusing and it sets my imagination OFF)

but i remind myself this is the The Cute Vitamin of the Week Show™️ and get my head back in the boring reality of everyone being safe and sound 🙄 (if someone is actually seriously harmed i will kinda laugh ngl just because it'd feel like i've lost a bet brutally)

i can't get rid of the feeling it's more about a cathartic moment rather than a completely sad one, some type of breakthrough - although i imagine gun being a part of it, it might be the final conflict resolution or at least the open confrontation between tinn and his mom (which i imagine the show wouldn't treat lightly, their mom/son dynamic has been one of the constant themes of the show and this conversation is long overdue, the tension has been building since episode 1); ah, they better not be doing anything to gun's mom, considering the operation went well i doubt they'll be playing a will-she-won't-she (survive) in the last episodes (but the ending of the first resume is so ominous, the type of comment a person who's been hit by a shocker in a show and has been crying over fictional characters and is emotionally exhausted would put at the end of a sentence 😑(this is me squinting at you, mint, this "<3" bothered me more than the tissues comment! two takeaways is a sus amount of takeaways!! it reads as "idk what to tell ya this was a mess and i'm still not sure what i just watched"😭)

ugh let's move on, "arms are NOT legs (sometimes)" was the point at which i stopped squinting out of fear of being spoiled and just snorted loudly... this feels like another drunk gun moment- ohh

okay if the drink comment was NOT about the oishii product placement? if they are two different things OR there's not juice in those bottles? if someone really DID get drunk by accident and this arms-legs moment is just so cute and batshit insane that it HAD to be mentioned (but wasn't that important to the plot)?

i saw the thumbnails earlier btw so i know tiwpor are in this episode for sure but just realised i dont remember the preview from last week as i was trying to figure out what info i have from the previous ep

the arm/leg thing just reminds me of that yeosang video where he put his leg up during a photoshoot instead of his arm because the words sound the same but anyways; it also makes me think of like "give me your hand" and then they give him their leg..? or walking on all fours up stairs? (like it's basically a lot of drunk behaviour imagery, i'm stuck in this scenario lmao) so let's see the rest of the "details"

but before that i want to mention "never give up" really feels more like a not love-related thing, like chase your dreams or run after smth, it's only because of the "falling for you" line that i stay on the "romantic encounter/quarrel track)

(this is my thoughts flowing in real time, if you can't tell, that's why this post is two kilometers long, written in short paragraphs for orderliness and reading it probably feels like being splashed with a shot of espresso in the face at every turn)

okay maybe the arm/leg thing is about a hit? slap vs kick? and the sometimes is like.. whatever gets the job done? lol dramatic por shit if you ask me but maybe soundgun are finally battling that sexual tension out idk (again, my feed would not shut up if that were the case)

"you don't always need to swat away mosquitoes" - okay who kissed who? like this is definitely about a cheesy ass romantic moment (im imagining a camping tent cause that's what i associate mosquitoes with apparently lmao but this ain't golden blood); like one of these guys sucked on someone's wrist or..?? maybe it's a cute nickname, maybe it's about the actual insect but someone (i am seeing tiwpor because of a thumbnail being stuck in my head) for sure turned a huh? moment into a cute type of confession thing (i can't get a tiwpor in a tent scenario out of my head, i'm corrupted);

"if you're feeling dizzy hold on tight" - the more i read the more i feel someone ended up at a hospital.. did someone fall off a bike?? did they fall from the stairs?? (there are school stairs in my mind and i can't do anything about that, they're part of my imaginary ep set now)

i am so sleepy at this point i just saw the cute poses they were doing in a gif (and immediately clicked away okay) that i also saw in a thumbnail but i'll try not to put that into my episode

okay so the boys went off with their acting which means that this ain't about gemfourth only probably? it feels like it's a more balanced or side-couple heavy episode; maybe tinngun appear for a mom conflict moment but the rest is establishing what is going on with the other guys? maybe a lot of group scenes again// it wouldve helped if yall mentioned names guys i am sweating over here;

like did the oishii pp come before the falling or not?? who winged their tags here?? this is important you guys :((

i just saw a gif of gun screaming angrily (and first - hot- but second nooo okay this is gonna solidify tinngun as the falling couple, tiwpor can get the mosquitoes and soundwin are on a bike)

speaking of soundgun the arm/leg thing could be related to their whole "i'll be your hands" thing and sound's injury, i feel like it could come back in this episode in some way?

the drinks thing sounds like a silly chinzhilla mess-around gone wrong or a complete accident one of the members caused, like he placed his bottle full of god knows what in the wrong spot and someone drank it in a hurry;

"you don't always need to swat away mosquitoes" feels like such a romantic line. like "things that seem bad may bring you more joy than you imagined and could be right for you", smth spoken while one is walking away and the other gently gets hold of their wrist (yes, this is still calm tiw sitting down on a chair in a tent holding por's hand who looks distressed and is also wearing shorts with a belt and an expensive shirt tucked in, no, that will not make the final cut, it's a draft i can't get rid of, you see)

I KEEP SEEING MEME POSTS LIKE SMTH TIWPOR SMTH PAT SMTH AND I AM TOO SLOW AND INTRIGUED AND LOOK AWAY JUST IN TIME YO THIS IS A BATTLEFIELD (like why did all these msp posts start coming in now, is it the americans, did yall just get home and start blogging)

okayy serious conflict and what they are makes me think about the drinks again. if these are reffering to the bottles, aside from the content of the bottle, what else could be important about it? an indirect kiss? someone took gun's bottle and tinn was jealous for example? but that's silly stuff. so maybe there was a note on one of them? i am assuming it's more than one but maybe it is precisely one bottle as the pp this time and there was a romantic message on it (this reminds me of another show that's not coming to me rn). so this note gets in the hands of someone who was not meant to see it so maybe that's how tinngun's relationship gets revealed to the band (i had completely forgotten that was a conflict and could be turned into a big deal, i sobered up a bit and remembered just now); i feel like im way more on track with this one ngl ngl feels.. revelationary

again back to "you don't always need to swat away mosquitoes" - this is soundwin. it has to beeeee. like mosquitoes are annoying but you don't always have to chase them away, you can be a big tsundere about it (prior or post starting dating depending on whether you're sound or win lol) and let them be a part of your life, something like that.

tiw's career expectations vs wishes situation might actually be more than just a throwaway line for the job consultation part of the show, if we get to see more tiw that may be explored a bit. i personally don't know shit about por aside from the fact he's a fan of a teacher and has a fun fashion sense (that might be on me, i have trouble with understanding chinzhilla members) so it's very hard to speculate what they'd do together when given more screentime, all i can think about is their tutoring session and how that relates to career choices so it feels inevitable from my pov that their plot is gonna involve the topic of growing up or defying expectations or smth

the only feeling of dizzyness i can think off aside from bikes is the one gun's mom experiences? or maybe tinn's mom would experience out of shock (y'know, lakorn style) and considering thats the last comment in those tags i'm guessing it's about the end of the episode so maybe tinn's mom finally reacts to tinngun and faints or smth and tinn has to do some doctor- we had that with gun's mom already, moving onn

I JUST REMEMBERED THE PREVIEW WAITT so the last ep ended with hot wave (i absolutely forgot that you do not understand how hard im giggling at myself for that rn, i have to binge shows, otherwise you get me writing about msp for hours and not recalling the most anticipated event of the show happening as a cliffhanger last week) and in the preview they were back at the resort and gun talked about how he didn't want the guys to regret staying with him and they did a group hug.. now the other stuff i don't remember.) i'm guessing they didn't win; the way i remembered is i was like "tf they doing for a whole episode? a road trip?" and it came to me) so if they're back in the resort with pat i'm guessing my dude finally took two minutes to give them some words of wisdom without acting insane; maybe this ending of sorts for them got por thinking about his future and that got him and tiw talking and bonding but some of those tags have to be about tiwpor and yet NONE OF THEM FIT WITH THIS THEORY

#msp #my school president #my school president ep11 #i consume a lot of ateez content on tiktok and it shows #lets stop here gn #no im not rereading this before posting #yes pleaseee if you do read comment on it but write SPOILERS if you talk about any #if you see soundgun i mean soundwin i mix them up a lit cause soundgun sounds better

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allseeinganalyst · 1 year

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Frozen II Novels - Review

It's been a while since I reviewed or analyzed anything here. This blog was made for that exact purpose, but I've posted one half-hearted review-ish thing about Mob Psycho and the Nanoha look-back is taking a while.

Part of that is due to being that I find myself in weird mental spaces more often than I'd like. The internet is a hell-hole, but it's also one that's borderline impossible (and certainly very impractical) to actually just sever ties to. I've ditched Twitter and I don't use TikTok (except to look at videos my partner sends me), but I still get, somehow, hit with a lot of LOUD, SHOUTY voices that seem to make it impossible to enjoy anything.

After about three-to-four midlife crises about things (i'm 30 this November), and a chat to my partner, I've managed to get the mental TARDIS that is my mind up and running again, ready to tour the fictional universe and enjoy what is has to offer, getting back into the things I love, without getting bogged down in the screeching of fandoms and social media.

Gods, that was a very long way of trying to say "I read a cool Frozen book."

Frozen 2 - Forest of Shadows and Frozen: Polar Nights - Cast into Darkness are two original novels set in the world of Frozen (Duh.) Forest of Shadows was released in 2019 and I actually read it back then, while Polar Nights was released in 2022, and I picked it up from Target and read it in march of 2023.

To get this out of the way, while it does sometimes throw people off, I am actually a big fan of Frozen. I've loved it since the first movie. It's not my favourite Disney film (that would be Tangled, and whoo-BOY, will we get to Tangled related media at some point on this blog!), it's probably a close second. I love the animation, I love the songs, I love the characters and I love the world. I was even sad when the hype for Frozen died down, and no, I don't think Enchanto is better - That's another LOUD SCREECHY OPINION that I'm not sad to hear less of.

These are obviously not the only Frozen novels out there. I do own "A Frozen Heart", which I've really got to get around to, because apparently it contains some Hans backstory, and Hans is a character I'm really interested in learning more about, and obviously there is a slew of additional Frozen media. Frozen-Mania gripped the world in a chokehold not seen since the god-damn Shrek movies, and it had an effect on our media and culture so great that no doubt, someday there will be an essay on youtube by Super Eyepatch Wolf explaining and analyzing the overwhelming impact of a Disney movie from 2013 and the INSANE fandom that sprung out of it - which I was a part of from very early on, and quite honestly you can use it as a self-contained example of how fandom has changed since then... BUT I'M DIGRESSING.

The point I was trying to make here is that, most of the media released post the original Frozen movie is fairly generic. Baring one or two things, and of course, the animated shorts, a lot of it is standard kids stuff - Storybooks, Quick Reads, Junior novels, picture books, etc. Some of it is really fun, and the art was almost always either a wonderful, bright cartoonish 2D style, or a painterly, soft style that's really pretty to look out - But not a lot of is espeically unique. It's got a "Frozen Flavour" to it, but it's all very standard. If you changed one or two things, you could swap out Elsa and Anna for Rapunzel, or Ariel, or any other number of Disney Princess characters and the stories would be more-or-less the same. Stuff that mum and dad can give to their kids to let them have their Frozen fix without having to endure "Let it Go" one more time. (Side note: If you do happen to be one of those people who're bitching about how over saturated that song is - Fuck you, I'm going to play it again on purpose.)

The point I'm getting around to is that these books, cheep target paperbacks they may be, are not that. There's a distinct world and continuity here, and it's even possible to place a timeline.

These books (I believe there may be a third between them for a reason I'll get too shortly) have recurring characters, direct continuity and callbacks. All of them expand on the world of Frozen, moving away from the generic Disney-Princess storytelling of kingdom mishaps and "oh-no! character X is lost/upset/lost a precious item/wants to do something special/has a special occasion/etc" and into a deliberately constructed world, with a soft but distinct influence from Nordic and Sandenavian folklore.

They are not perfect, but they are worth talking about. Spoilers abound below, for those of you who are interested!

I'm not going to summarize the plots. I want to talk what I find interesting, annoying, curious, fun or frustrating about these books. These reviews are intended as a form of looking after my own mental health anyway. If you're interested, I've given names and pictures of the covers. Go look them up. Or better yet, read the books yourselves and tell me what you think!

The coolest (pun 400% intended) part about these books is they are clearly on a timeline. They're designed to slot very nicely into Frozen canon, and do so very tightly I might add. The timeline that we can establish is:

Frozen > 3 YEARS > Forest of Shadows > Frozen 2 > Polar Nights.

Forest of Shadows leads directly into the events of Frozen 2, even referencing the scene where Elsa wakes up the spirits at the end, while Polar Nights is explicitly stated to be a matter of 2-3 months since Anna took the throne.

During that 3 YEARS period there, you can obviously slot in Frozen Fever, Olaf's christmas special and probably one or two of the storybook stuff released post Frozen. If the (hilarious) "Olaf Reenacts Disney Movies" shorts are in ANY way canon (and... They MIGHT be to some degree, I'll get to this later...) they almost definitely slot in between Frozen 2 and Polar Nights. Again, I'll get to why later.

I believe I am missing a novel or story somewhere that fits into the same timeline as Polar Nights references an event that's a bit too specific to not have been depicted in some form of media, but I can only work with what I find locally. Although I am in no uncertain terms a fan, I only have so many resources and time to put toward things, and Frozen isn't at the top of that list. If a novel appears on a store shelf, I'll buy it. If it doesn't, I go without.

While my thoughts are mostly focused on Polar Nights, because I read Forest of Shadows over 3 years ago. I'm talking about both novels for the most part.

They are decent in size. Small enough for kids to read with no trouble, but more than a short story. Both tell full length, original stories.

These books paint a slightly wider view of Arendelle and it's surroundings than what we see from the movies. Neighboring kingdoms are mentioned by name (including Corona - Rapunzel's kingdom from Tangled. - Again, I'm going to get back to this later), and there are several named, recurring characters like Tuva and Ada, lesbian blacksmith wives (explicitly mentioned as being married) or Sorensson, the Astronomer who lives far outside of Arendelle and is introduced in Forest of Shadows, then plays a small but significant role in Polar Nights. There's recurring references to Aren of Arendelle, the founder of Elsa and Anna's kingdom, and a secret room or passage discovered in one book is referenced and used again in the next. It's really consistent and it makes it feel rewarding to read these novels. I very much doubt that any future Frozen visual media will reference their events, but if the stories themselves can keep a continuity across writers, then that's good enough for me to feel like I'm really in a bona-fide expanded universe.

There's some stuff in these books that I have personally wanted to see since the first movie. Things like finding out how Anna never recovered the original memories the trolls took from her, or finding out what Elsa spends a lot of her time doing in Ahtohallan...

(conjuring ice memories, apparently. Yeah, seems like while she's not going to "drowning depth" again, she is using her magical ice powers to pull up home-movies of her parents... Gotta wonder if she didn't accidentally pull up one of their date nights and then shattered the whole thing into ice shards in a panic once her dad put on the Barry White music.)

The books ALSO give me something that I have held in my head since the very first movie - Anna cracking jokes about her past and her mistakes.

I've always loved the idea that Anna doesn't seem the type to get all "Shell-Shocked PTSD Veteran" over her traumatic memories. That's Elsa's job, so I've always imagined she makes a lot of jokes and lighthearted fun out of it. Like, she seems the type to go: "OH HEY! That's a great statue of me! And I'd know! I've been a statue! Made of ice! Wanna see me do the pose?"

And while we don't get that exactly, we do get her ribbing Elsa about having Marshmallow throw her out of her ice castle, grumbling about how "Hans isn't actually THAT good looking", and generally having a sense of "oh no, I remember what happened LAST TIME..." about her. It's not as explicit as I'd like, but it's there and it helps with that feeling of the world being alive and moving. These characters do remember what happened yesterday. They are actively learning their lessons and trying to avoid the mistakes of their past.

The stories are compelling enough. While not groundbreaking, edge-of-your seat page turners, they both offer an adventure that's very much on brand for Frozen, effectively utilizing the characters and the world. This isn't a story where you could change a few names and slap Aurora or Belle or Ariel in instead. These stories feel tailored to Elsa and Anna. Unfortunately, there's a bit of an issue that I assume arises from being an author hired to write your own original entry into a carefully curated, multi-million dollar franchise, owned by the real world's full on Mega-Corp.

See, while I love the connected, constructed world these novels build around the movies - They do in-fact, happen to be being built around the Frozen media franchise, and Disney have been notoriously strict with this before.

If you were a part of the early Frozen fandom (again, I was), you might remember the sheer excitement around when it was announced that Elsa and Anna, as well as Arendelle and a number of other movie characters would be coming to Once Upon a Time, flinging the universe of Frozen into unexpected live action.

I'm not going to get into my thoughts around OUAT, because... YEAH I'm trying to be focused and that is worth a WHOLE other blog post - which I don't have any REAL desire to write out unless someone BEGGED me to do it, but long story short, given that the show explicitly is alternate continuity for ALL Disney's franchises, it had a lot of leeway in what it could do with it's regular cast... But not the Frozen characters. Although the writers did get to play around creating new backstory and lore, and chopping and changing a bit, there was a strictness to what they could and couldn't do with the characters. They couldn't give Elsa a love interest. They couldn't dramatically change anything from the movie. Characters had firmly fixed personalities that were absolutely not allowed the usual "flex" of OUAT - No extra edginess snuck in, nothing out of character.

(They did have incredible costumes though. Way better than any other live action projects that I've seen).

My point in all of this is, that was explicitly in an alternate universe. OUAT had NEVER had any bearing on any of the franchises it pulled it's roster from, and was marketed to a whole different audience.

These books are NOT. They are marketed toward the same audience as the movies, and are intended to fit alongside it. And it is painfully obvious that Disney holds a tight leash when it comes to ways for writers to interpret their billion-dollar characters. Obviously this is pure speculation, but I would imagine the writers for these novels were given dedicated character bios of characters like Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and not allowed to deviate or even go into much depth beyond what was listed in those bios.

I say this for a couple of reasons - The most notable of which is the dialogue, and to a lesser extent the character actions. Characters have an unfortunate tendency to sprout stiff, unnatural dialogue, based on certain things that were mentioned in the moves.

Nowhere is this more egregious than with Anna and chocolate. The movies mention her having it as her favorite treat, and she has like two memorable moments involving it in the first movie, but the books treat it like it is NEVER off her mind. If the books mention Anna wanting to do ANYTHING, most of the time, it involves chocolate in some way. She brings it with her on expeditions. She can't wait to get back to the castle and eat some. She has a "choco-versary" with Kristoff, the anniversary of the first time they ate chocolate together. It comes off as a weird obsession, instead of the favorite food it was in the movies. Similarly, she's mentioned as having "Sandwiches" as her favorite meal a few times. Not only is this FRUSTRATINGLY non-specific, it also seems PURELY based on her one line in "Love is an Open Door" and it's callback during her conversation with Kristoff in the first movie... Although to be fair, this did also get a call back in Frozen Fever where we see her be enthusiastic about one, so... whatever.

It gets stiff with dialogue between characters too. Almost every conversation with Elsa and Anna seems to drift towards "we were seperated, but now we are together again, and I love you and am so proud of you!". They'll discuss the plot, and they do have some genuinely great moments (like Elsa talking about the trolls and Anna pointing out, somewhat sadly, that "no, sis, I can't remember, they took my memories as a child...") but a lot of it is re-hashing their end-of-movie "sisterly bond" stuff. It's a real shame especially in Polar Nights, because that is set AFTER Frozen 2. We could have had scenes of Anna asking Elsa for help ruling as Queen, or Elsa observing how Anna does things differently from her, but we learn nothing more about how these two interact than what we already knew.

The other problem that I assume crops up from Disney's strict oversight is that it's obvious the writers are not allowed to affect the world too much. They can play with the figures in it, but can't change the landscape dramatically. This is understandable, as it's unlikely the Mega-Mouse wants some kids novel throwing out a detail that might force them to change how they write the next movie. They're not going to kill off Kristoff, or suddenly give us a Hans redemption arc - As interesting as that would be, the writers need the all clear from Disney, and Disney won't want some hired novelist to make a major change to their giant money making machine which is no doubt shaped like Elsa's head.

This means that, although the stakes do feel real for the books themselves, there's a sense that nothing that happens within really affects the world that much. Characters don't learn a vital lesson or change in any significant way, and those that do are new characters, constructed for the book, who can easily be ignored by the wider narrative - Polar Nights has a whole segment with a pair of sisters, obviously designed to parallel Elsa and Anna, who's past and backstory, and the mysteries and mistruths thereof, form more-or-less the basis for the entire plot, but our ACTUAL sisters can't have a chat more complex that "boy I'm glad we're not separated anymore, also we're proud of each other!"

The result is - and this is kind of what I've been driving toward this entire time - these books give me a VERY distinct feeling, and it took me a while to identify what it was. I didn't catch it when I read "Forest of Shadows", but it WAS there, and Polar Nights has it there in full force.

These novels feel like FILLER.

Traditional, ACTUAL, filler.

SIGH - Quick sidetrack.

The term "Filler" is thrown around a lot these days, often by people that I don't think realized the term originally had a more specific meaning - At least from what my experience is.

"Filler" was primarily a term used by the anime community, referring to episodes of a show that were not adapted from the original manga. This practice was done as most anime, especially Shounen anime like those pictured above, ran almost continuously, and when your airing an episode a week which is sometimes able to adapt multiple chapters from the manga, you're going to close the gap pretty quickly.

This meant that things would be done in the episodes to stretch them out. Anything from lengthening fight scenes, to additional dialogue, all the way up to - perhaps most famously - whole new arcs created purely for the anime. These arcs had to tell their own stories that were entertaining, but obviously couldn't massively shake up the status quo, as they had no idea what would be coming next for these characters and this story. They relied on events distanced, often entirely unrelated to the plot at large (in-fact, rather infamously, Bleach once went to a year long filler arc in MID-SWORD-FIGHT BETWEEN CHARACTERS). Often they would invent new characters, new powers, and often draw on events of the past, or spotlight background characters to create an unobtrusive narrative.

These arcs can, and have, been good. There's nothing inherently wrong with filler, but as TV Tropes says: "These arcs can, and have, been good. There's nothing inherently wrong with filler, but as TV Tropes says: "At their most extreme, absolutely nothing that happens in a filler episode will affect things going forward, even if it seems like a character developed or grew in some manner."

Filler's definition has expanded a lot, and was never really as fixed as I tended to take it, though I still see it used incorrectly. If an episode of a show had the characters sitting around talking, with the plot not advancing at all, but we still learn things about the characters that matter, and have an impact or call back later, or their relationships change in SOME way, then it's NOT filler. In the words of my Media Teacher: "Just because it didn't feature a car chase and a shoot out, doesn't mean it doesn't matter." - Filler doesn't matter. Slow paced slice of life episodes can matter a LOT.

As a side note, to this side note, Filler in it's most traditional sense is dying out, and has been largely, though not entirely, gone from anime by the mid 2010's. Anime have switched over to the "cour" style of episode production, with a season consisting of usually around 12-or-24 episodes (a little leeway in either direction is common, like having 26 or 10 episodes), which focus on tightly adapting one arc or novel or portion of the story. They then take a break, and return with the next season whenever, picking up where they left off. This is why you don't really see stuff running for 200+ episodes in a row anymore, and why something like, say, Attack on Titan has five seasons. This has allowed for MUCH reduction of filler, and virtually eliminated the need for the filler arc. They do still pop up, but notice how today's "big shots" like My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer have multiple seasons instead of just running for a billion episodes like shows such as One Piece, or Naruto.

Though speaking of that, apparently some new shows are determined to carry on the traditions laid by their parents... *side-eyes Boruto*

AHEM. I really need to drop this topic and get back on track. QUICK, what's an appropriate Frozen-related GIF to use to move on?

I fuckin' told you I was gonna play it again.

ANYWAY, so my point is that - despite feeling like we've really entered a living, breathing world, with its own history and people, it feels like we're never allowed to see that world DO anything.

This wasn't too bad in Forest of Shadows, because even though it couldn't do anything massive, it could create the illusion of movement, by transitioning characters from their Frozen selves to their Frozen 2 selves, laying down hints of what would be fully realized in that move, but it is REALLY on display in Polar Nights - The set up involves exploring Anna's first major kingdom event as Queen, and yet, we really don't get any meaningful detail about that. We don't get a sense of how it feels for her to suddenly wield all this power and responsibility when, not just a few months ago, she was more or less the spare princess that could spend her days having picnics with snowmen. I mean sure, there's mention that she's nervous, but it really doesn't go into much detail. She's just "Queen Anna", the same way we saw her at the end of Frozen 2.

(Elsa's also still referred to as Queen - sometimes she gets directly called "The Snow Queen" - but this is a detail I like. It's not like the people forgot or disavowed her as their monarch. The two are called "The Queens of Arendelle" at one point. It's an interesting touch.)

The events of Polar Nights involve a lot of things happening (including major characters losing their memories of each other), but it all amounts to a problem that's easily resolved with Sisterly Love, and by the end of the book, everything's normal. I know these books are not going to affect the movies, but one of the cool things, as I mentioned, was that they did have continuity between each other. Sorensson was introduced as a man of science in Forest of Shadows, and then in Polar Nights, Anna and Elsa go to him for help with something they want a scientific explanation for. While some of these characters might pop up again to be mentioned in the next novel, it's hard to believe it'll focus on Anna dealing with the fact that... Say Dragurs are real, and exist out there, and that things like grudges and nasty legends and rumors can bring unwelcome power.

Some of the dialogue and phrasing is just plain awkward too. A lot of the time, when Anna spoke to Kristoff, it felt very bland, and forced-romantic, rather than their natural, more banter and warm interactions in the movies. We don't even get a call-back to "I prefer you in leather ;)" - Although that may have been pushing the biscuit. If they went any further with how Anna feels about that, the LOUD SCREACHERS might lose the ability to pretend she was being 100% wholesome and child-friendly with that line...

There's another line where Elsa's narration indicates she wants Anna and Kristoff to have kids so she can be "the cool aunt, literally" - A line that exists purely for that one lazy joke, since no other mention of them having children exists that I can remember.

(Though I am borderline certain that Frozen 3 will focus on their child, but again, that's getting distracted)

Polar Nights also avoids any direct appearances of Northuldra. No Honeymaron or Rider or anything - The only other significant characters that appear from Frozen 2 are Mattias (who fills a bit of a generic "general/captain of the guard" role, but that's his job so it's fine), as well as Gale and Burnie and the Water Nokk, who do have roles to play, but relatively minor ones. They are mentioned, but even when we see the Enchanted Forest, it's purely featuring the cast from Frozen, plus the wind and the new plush mascot lizard. Again, it's a shame because beyond: "Elsa loves the fact that she is living free" and "Elsa spends time pulling up home movies made of snow", we get nothing about how the former Queen is living as a spirit. Okay, I don't expect the book to explain about how Elsa hates needing to pee in a bush now or something absurd like that, but when you go from living in a castle to living in tents and caves, you've got to feel more than just "free" right? We don't even see how she interacts with the Northuldra. How do these people, who revered the spirits, interact with one who can speak to them in their language? Who can sit and chill out with them? Who can pop round for dinner? We get none of that, and it's sad, because it would have been nice.

Polar Nights features a mystery story between two sisters, one of whom is said to have outright murdered the other, several fights between Elsa and a Nordic zombie wraith that mimics her powers at one point, a Pirate Queen and her fleet sitting menacingly at Arendelle's borders, at one point escalating to firing on royal ships during a massive storm in an eternal night, Anna and Elsa traveling to a whole different neighboring kingdom, and Anna's fiance explicitly losing his memory of her, and anything they ever did together...

... and somehow it comes off as less compelling and impactful than Frozen 2, where - and I don't want to downplay or insult Frozen 2 because I think it's amazing and obviously it's themes run far deeper BUT - the main antagonist force boils down to "Dam that a bastard-man built one time".

(On that, Polar Nights is intent on reminding everyone that King Runeard was a Bad Man™ and every single character essentially goes "BOO! HISS!" whenever his name comes up. And yeah, the dude was an absolute bastard, and he only gets revealed to be worse in Polar Nights but you would think Anna and Elsa would have more complex feelings than "hate that guy" to their granddad who they believed was a bit of a legend up until the events of the second movie. Still, maybe they genuinely don't and at any rate, unpacking those feelings might be a bit more complicated than a novel intended mostly for kids is willing to get into.)

There's more that could be said, but I worry I've been sticking to the negative for too long. Yes, these novels do feel like anime filler. Lots of stuff happens, but it doesn't really impact anyone. There's new characters introduced and side characters discussed and all sorts of things that really don't mean that much to the world in the long run, and no doubt will be forgotten by the time Frozen 3 rolls around BUT...

BUT

The books are an enjoyable read. They let me return to the world of Frozen and explore a bit more of the land these characters live in. Yes, I wish the book featured a conversation between Anna and Elsa that didn't just feature them rehashing what they've learned in the movies, but it is STILL good to see them together again. It's heartwarming to know that Elsa still stays in the castle, that Anna let her keep their parents bedroom, that the people of her former kingdom still call her "Queen".

It's great to see side characters mentioned, and not just appear once. It's great that these books are allowed to look outside of the generic fairy-tale fare and bring up things like Dragurs and Huldrefólk and, while I do think the Sisterly Love being the solution to Polar Night's problem isn't the best ending, it does FIT with the themes for the franchise and it isn't a re-hash of Anna and Elsa, instead holding up a mirror to them and showing them what they could have been had their lives been but a tiny bit different.

They're good books, and I would rate them:

A solid B

Was originally a B-, but upon writing this out, I re-evaluated and I wanted to stress that I actually really do like them, and I hope they make more. I really want Frozen to be that thing that winds up having 20 different novel series, six comic books, two original TV series and a line of successful movies. It'd make me happy.

That is just about all I have to say on this topic except for:

OKAY SO YOU KNOW HOW I HAVE BROUGHT UP TANGLED A COUPLE OF TIMES AND I'VE BEEN SAYING I'LL GET BACK TO HOW I THINK IT INTERACTS:

Well - We all know Frozen featured Rapunzel and Eugene visting Arendelle and, ignoring some of the crazy and common fan theories (they're cousins I swear it still works if you squint), that suggests that there is a shared universe and I believe these books CONFIRM that when taken in conjunction with other evidence...

Consider that, Corona is directly mentioned in Forest of Shadows, and that would seem to confirm it, but I've still seen that, and the Tangled character's cameos waved off as cheeky Easter Eggs, BUT... REMEMBER THOSE FUCKIN' OLAF SHORTS? The ones where he re-enacts disney movies?

YEAH WELL, in the Tangled one, he has a bit of extra dialogue where he goes something like "this one is for one of my favorite people in the world, Rapunzel" or SOMETHING LIKE THAT THAT SUGGESTS HE'S MET RAPUNZEL PERSONALLY, and...

AAAAAND...

Polar Nights reveals that he and the others HAVE stayed in the Enchanted Forrest before, which gives him a timeframe where he could plausibly tell these stories in universe, AND AND AND AAAAANNNNND:

He also has a short where he re-enacts "The Little Mermaid" which IS CHEEKILY IMPLIED TO BE A BOOK THAT ANNA LOVES in Polar Nights, so Olaf has a REASON to know that story, AS A STORY--

AND BASICALLY THIS CONFIRMS THAT FROZEN AND TANGLED ARE SET IN THE SAME UNIVERSE AND THE FRANCHISE IS GOING TO CONCLUDE WITH AN ULTIMATE CROSSOVER THAT puts Avengers to shame and I SWEAR THAT IT'LL BE SO AWESOME AND--

The Analyst has been dragged off into the night by sensible people. Please ignore his ramblings.

#Frozen #Frozen 2 #Frozen Forest of Shadows #Frozen Polar Nights #Frozen Polar Nights Cast into Shadow #Anna #Elsa #Kristoff #Sven #Olaf #Review #Analyst #Ramblings #Tangled #Disney #disney princess

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