Obikin Big Bang Fic Recs | 12/15/24

There are so many good fics in the Obikin Big Band. It's going to run through the end of December, so I've decided to make a few fic rec posts of my favorites. I'm making separate ones for all the fics that I beta, so those won't be included here.

I tend to like canonverse and canon divergent AUs, just fyi! That will become very apparent from my fic recs if you haven't caught on already.

Also please go check out all the other fics and artwork over at the Obikin Big Bang on tumblr!

Obikin Big Bang Fic Recs

• lines in the sand (wash away with the tide) by Laeveteinn (T) - One of my favorite Vaderwan fics ever! For reasons that defy human comprehension, Obi-Wan won’t stop asking Darth Vader for tech support.
• we'll speak in our secret tongues by teaforkenobi (T) - A soulmate AU based around songs/music. It's a lovely idea and works so well with Anakin's history.
• Heartlines by LilRedGhost (E) - Woah what and angst fest!! Anakin defeats Palps and doesn't fall, but Obi Wan is seriously injured. When Obi Wan wakes up, Anakin has left him (っ °Д °;)っ
• Do The Same For Him by thegingerwrites (M) - Anakin gets caught by a bounty hunter, and Obi Wan drops everything, including the Jedi Council, to save him!
• Real Boy by Graciously (M) - Anakin and Ahsoka find an Obi Wan fansite!! This fic is fantastic and hilarious!! And it immediately reminded me of robocryptid's actual site!
• The Galaxy's Biggest Tease by invisible_ink31415 (M) - This is another hilarious fic where Anakin gets hit by Obi Wan's "Negotiator" skills!
• lost canines by blahzarry (E) - Canon Divergent AU where Anakin doesn't fall but leaves the Jedi order. Obi Wan gives him one of his teeth that got knocked out in battle for his birthday . . . who knew teeth could be hot? I think everyone on tumblr is losing their minds over this fic

The Star Wars Fics that I beta'd are posting!! | 12/14/24

I've finally got my Star Wars page here up and running, so I'm catching up on my recs from the Obikin Big Bang (host on tumblr) that I helped beta for this year!!

I think I've said it before but I honestly really loved being a beta!! And I think it's a good way for me to interact with fandom writing bangs in the future. Much better than being a writer and having to drop out due to deadline fatigue.

The first fic that I helped with has posted, and it's so good!! It's a canon divergent fix it fic with a sweet ending ❤

I’m Some Stain There on your Bedsheets, You’re my Diamond in the Rough by deathbyobiwan,🔞rated M

When Anakin barely stops himself from turning to the Dark Side, his confidence crumbles. The revelation of Chancellor Palpatine as the Sith Lord makes him question everything about himself, and it’s only the consistent presence of Obi-Wan that keeps him from running off to the farthest corner of the galaxy.

But when their relationship gets more complicated after a drunken rendezvous at a ball, Anakin is at a loss what to do. His love for his Master nearly made him join Sidious — how could it help either of them recover after the war?

And here's the link to the beautiful accompanying artwork!!

Dead Boy Detectives Fic Recs | 12/1/24

So, back in October, I made a post reviewed Dead Boy Detectives series on netflix. Since that time, I've been reading a ton of payneland fanfic, and I've absolutely fallen in love with the fandom. It's so nice to finally be back in a fandom that's positive and excited!

There's 3 DBDA events planned for December that I know of. There's DBDA Yuletide, 12 Days of Ghostmas, and a low moderation gift exchange (linking the Ao3 collection here but they both have accounts on tumblr) and the Payneland Prompt Fest!

I made my own wishlist here: Not that I expect to have any of them filled, but I wanted to participate!!

I also wanted to put together a rec list of some of the Payneland fics I've really enjoyed. Many of them are some of the already more popular ones, so I'll likely make another rec list in the future.

Payneland Fic Recs
• Mending Things by Asidian (T) - Edwin remembering how to play the piano. This fic is so sweet and so kind.
• I Turned Back One Last Time (just to prove you were there) by isnt_that_wizard (T) - Charles deals with the aftermath of Hell and feels desperate to touch Edwin all the time.
• Won't Fear Love by coloursflyaway (T) - Charles takes Edwin on a series of dates to figure out if he loves him. This one is sooo good!!!
• after the insects have laid their claim by lolotr (T) - Edwin's body was never found after his death and Charles wants to give him a proper burial. Wow, obviously heavy subject matter, but this fic is so good.
• And possibly I like the thrill (of under me you quite so new) by Leandra (E) - The agency takes on the case of a young man who has recently been killed, leaving his boyfried behind. This fic is fantasic and ties in the other Sandman characters so well!
• For the First Time Twice by LikeMmmCookies (E) - Charles loses his memories and thinks that he and Edwin are in love and married!!!
• A Heaven Like They Talk About by LikeMmmCookies (M) - A witch curses Edwin and Charles to be human again
• if i could hold you for a minute by hyperfixationbox (T) - Touch starved fic!!!!!
• job officially jobbed by vernesatlas (E) - What it says on the tin y'all
• Love You Like That by Pa_tr0_clus (T) - post-canon, Charles and Edwin actually communicate with each other

Thoughts on Fontaine Genshin Impact | 11/28/24

Ok I've done some behind the scenes editing for the site over the last week, and I'm finally catching up on blog posts!

First, I'd like to talk about the Fontaine arc of Genshin Impact that I finally finished playing last month.

I know I said that Sumeru was my favorite but I think Fontaine archon quest beat it out. It is now one of my favorite storylines in the entire game!! It kept me on my toes the whole time.

First off, the trial and detective scenes were SO FUN. And they staged it like ace attorney, which was great!

I also loved the Fortress of Meropide part - it was so fun and interesting! There's so much lore behind it!

And Furina and Neuvillette's story and how everything came together at the end was so well written and well done. They're some of my favorite characters now, which is saying a lot!

I also finally got around to playing through some of the old content that I missed when it originally was released. Chongyun has been part of my main party for a long time, and I finally got to play his hangout event. Poor dear, he really has a rough time of it!

And finally, I caught a double rainbow in the game??? I've never seen one before, so snapped some pictures of it.

I'm playing through Natlan now, and I'm not sure how much I'll post about it because I agree with a lot of the criticism. It's pretty insane that they made a game based on Africa but didn't put any truly dark skinned characters in it. Like seriously, I try to give grace to different social customs and realize that this game is not Western media based but this goes beyond that. I look at other games that have obviously black characters in them that are also not produced here or for a western audience, and it shows just how bad this really is. Anyway, that's my short thoughts on it, and it really is glaring while playing the game.

Thoughts on Dead Boy Detectives | 10/19/24

Long time, no see. I've been extremely stressed out this past month, so haven't been able to update here as much as I'd like.

However, I did end up making mastodon accounts instead. It's been easier for me to post short form posts while I'm this stressed. I'm @cowcatridesagain@urusai.social for manga/anime/danmei/easter media and @pendagger@blorbo.social for western media fan content. I also made one @cowcatandsilver@tech.lgbt for posts about me learning how to code. So if you also use mastodon, you can find me at any of those places, and it's split by topic so hopefully that's better than one giant multifandom mess like I normally have.

Anyway, I had a knitting project over this weekend, so I finally sat down and watched dead boy detectives. I have a lot of thoughts, and wanted to talk about it here.

The premise itself sounded like a slam dunk hit for me! I LOVE spooky/supernatural detective series where each episode focuses on a new case (this is partially why I love books like tgcf and mdzs that have separate cases throughout btw). So I was very excited to watch it.

However, the pacing at the beginning almost put me off of it. I felt like we were jumping locations too quickly and being introduced to too many characters at once. AND there were people changing to and from animals, and just, it was a lot at one time.

I think this series would have benefitted immsensely from having more episodes - like an old tv series with at least 15-20. I think the writers did what they could with the space limit, but having that time would have taken this series from 7/10 to 10/10 in my book! So it does make me sad that we can't have things like that anymore.

That said, once the world and characters were established, the ending was much much better! Edwin and Charles give me WWX and LWJ type vibes. And like, I really love all the characters. It's really amazing how they were able to establish such well rounded backstories for everyone within the time limit. It makes me sad that we won't be seeing these characters again.

So yes, I know it's been cancelled and maybe that was partially related to the whole Neil Gaiman blow up over the past 2 months or so. I ALSO have a lot to say on that subject but in summary: I started following Gaiman's work almost 20 years ago when the Coraline and Stardust movies where originally released, and even then, there were rumors circulating about his behavior. I thought everyone on tumblr who liked him had just decided to ignore all of that, but apparently they didn't know. Anyway, I wasn't necessarily shocked when I heard the news, and I understand if that was part of the reason for the cancellation. But it still makes me sad. Another good series left unfinished on Netflix. I think it will be a long time before I try to pick up anything new on there again.

Thoughts after reading 2ha vol 6 | 9/28/24

So I haven't mentioned 2ha here before. For those of you who don't know: it's one of the major danmei novels being translated to English. However, it's not written by mxtx, and it's the first danmei I've read by another author.

I'll talk more about how the writing/plot differs from mxtx style, but first I'd like to talk about vol 6, which is the most recent volume released. I just finished reading it this week!

The following will contain spoilers up to volume 6

Read spoilers

Vol 6 had so many fluffy moments in it. Actually more than I thought it would have!

I normally enjoy the build up/tension before the main pair gets together, so now that they've had some time together in the middle of the story, I'm worried about how angsty this will turn. I've heard from others that 2ha is very angsty, so I know it's about to hit.

However, what I really want to talk about is where the plot is heading. This volume revealed that Mo Ran knows there's another person who has been sent from the other timeline, and it seems that he doesn't think it's anyone from Rufeng sect/Xu Shuanglin. But it is someone who knows all of Mo Ran's most advanced techniques from his past life.

Maybe I'm reading the hints wrong, but for me this points to the original Mo Ran being part of the current timeline and himself being the evil mastermind here? I don't know if this makes since, since our Mo Ran is technically the original Mo Ran too?? But if there's someone behind all this who seems to have original Mo Ran's goals and all his techniques, who else could it be?

I do think it would be interesting to see current Mo Ran face his past self off once and for all.

However, I also think that Mo Ran's flashbacks maybe hint that there was another force behind how dark he became in the first timeline to begin with?? Or maybe it was just himself all along? I think this one is harder to parse out right now. Personally, I think it would be a more rewarding story to read if there wasn't an outside factor in Mo Ran's original darkness and that it did all stem from himself...and he eventually has to face that.

If you've already finished it, don't spoil me, but if you haven't, what do you think?

Here's my thoughts on meatbun's style compared to mxtx:

So I love reading mxtx novels because of the episodic plot structure (ie wwx or xl go on missions and fight ghosts and that builds up the real plot). Mxtx also writes comedy and character's showing personality through their actions really well.

2ha has some of these things but definitely less of them. The plot moves rapidly between locations, and sometimes that can get overwhelming for me.

However, one of the things that has bothered me about the mxtx novels has been the recurring theme of the mc not realizing they're gay until they meet their love interest. Which is fine as a trope one time, but bothers me when it's there in one way or another in every single story.

2ha 100% does not have this problem with the mc at least. Mo Ran is extremely gay the entire time lol. A lot of people don't like Mo Ran at the beginning of this novel, but I've liked him entire time. He's an extremely interesting character from Ch. 1 and a great MC.

What are your thoughts? Let me know on my guest book.

More Thoughts after the Olympics | 8/23/24

I know it's been a while since posting here, so I'm trying to catch up now!

It's been over a week since the olympics ended, obviously with women's artistic gymnastics being at the top of the followed sports here in the US. And I just can't help but compare it to women's figure skating as it currently exists.

It's so hopeful to see "older" (ie later 20s) women competing who have been able to go to multiple olympics. This hasn't always been the case with gymnastics, and it's really sad to see basically the opposite happen to women's FS over the same time period. It's slightly improved since the last winter olympics with multiple skaters returning for multiple seasons and hopefully lasting to the next olymic year, but it's such a stark contrast to watching the gymnastics competition.

It also made me sad to compare how much (I won't say better) but more objective the gymnastic judging is than FS. It obviously still allows room for objectivity and errors but it's nowhere near as much as in FS. Gymnasts are given credit for what they do and docked points for what they don't. There's no figuring in consistency, etc into the points.

I don't know where I'm going with this besides these two points. But I can't help but believe that there's a better way to judge figure skating that awards everyone for what they do during the competition and pushes the sport in a more sustainable direction.

Anyway for Site Updates: I plan to continue updating my links page this weekend!! I'm also participating in the Obikin Bang as a beta reader. The fics I'm reading are so great, so expect a Star Wars page update in a month or two when the fics drop!!

Site Update | 8/9/24

I updated my About Page with new Quizzes, memes, and picrew sections. I'm gradually adding the links for the picrews as I have had them saved for a long time and will have to search for each one.

I also updated the Links Page with my Kitty Friends Pixel Club collection. This is my kitty: .

Future plans: revamping my css to work better with screen readers. I've learned a lot about css since I made mine for this site, so planning a revamp soon. I don't think it will really have any visible changes, but it will be better organized and labeled.

Thoughts on Olympics | 7/26/24

So . . . I had time to watch the opening ceremony today of the Olympics, and, wow, I loved it! Just the whole thing was so creative!

I've gotten so used to watching a projection show on a stadium floor, and they really flipped all my expectations today. I loved watched the boats and the river - it's so fun, and I bet it was amazing in person to see. And on top of that, I wonder if it ends up being better for the city. One well known issue with hosting the olympics is that the city sinks a ton of money into a stadium for the opening ceremonies that is never used again or used rarely.

I wonder if this was better from that standpoint. It sounds like instead they sunk a lot of money into cleaning up the river - but that's something that's beneficial for the community I would hope.

The cauldron was also beautiful and so unique! I wonder if they're going to keep it up the whole time? or if they have to lower it to refuel it?

And then seeing Celine sing at the end was magical and so special. I don't tear up for most things, but I did at that.

Anyway, let me know your thoughts? Did you like it or not? Let me know on my Guestbook.

Site Update | 7/12/24

I now have an RSS feed!!!!!!!!! You can find it here:RSS and in my sidebar!

Petz Update | 7/8/24

I made an asexual dragon hex for the whiskerwick pride competition. I've finally cleaned it up, and I've made it available as a breed on my Downloadz Page!

MDZS - Xicheng Fic Rec | 7/6/24

One of my fandom friends, bee, who I originally met through yuri on ice has recently released a xicheng fic, and it's so good!!! It's a really different approach to Lan Xichen's characterization in regards to Jiang Cheng than what I normally see in xicheng fics. I personally love it and think it's very true to the character. Lan Xichen is kind and often passive in canon, but he definitely has a blind spot to certain people which I don't think is confined to JGY.

Anyway I highly recommend giving this fic a read. It's halfway finished right now and has arranged marriage and enemies to lovers vibes.

placeholder, for now (it'll come with time) 🔞rated E

In the aftermath of the novel, the Lan elders cite an old Confucian rule in refusing to acknowledge the unwitnessed marriage between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji: it is inappropriate, they say, for a younger brother to marry before the elder.

In the face of mounting attempts to drive Wei Wuxian from the Cloud Recesses, and rampant infighting for the position of Jin sect leadership, Jiang Cheng proposes marriage to Lan Xichen. The marriage, he says, will cement their allyship and bring stability to the crumbling coalition of the Great Sects.

Unfortunately, the new couple just do not get along.

Xicheng enter a marriage of convenience. After much strife, they agree to try anew. Eight years pass in peaceful co-existence, but they eventually capitulate to requests from elders to annul the marriage and beget heirs. However, they soon realize that it's not so easy to put eight years of marriage behind them. Falling repeatedly into bed together, they begin to navigate a shameful, secret relationship.

Another Petz Update | 7/5/24

I finally fully updated my petz crew page with all my current active petz!! Take a look to learn which petz I might talk about on my petz site! I also posted a couple crew litter adoptions up on the Adoption Page! Please take a look, there are many petz up for adoption!

Petz Update | 6/23/24

I made some major overhauls to the petz side of my site today! I've been participating in Petz Book Bingo on Whiskerwick, and I've got a lot of new petz and hex projects now! Check out my entries here! And take a look at the petz page as well - I updated almost every page. I have new crew updates, new links, a stamps page, and adoptions up!

Update | 6/9/24

So I've been sick... again for a few days

And instead of doing anything productive, I finally watched Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss - and Wow! I really loved them both. I think Hazbin Hotel is my favorite of the two - mainly because it has a better structured plot, and I really love some of the characters like Alastor, and honestly Charlie (and her dad). But Helluva Boss is really charming - it reminds me more of a classic cartoon and the invader zim inspiration is definitely there with this one

All of the characters' relationships are really charming in both series - and I love the musical numbers. So yeah, I get the hype now!

I'm still interested in the backstory here - how did anyone get amazon to host one of these series? and how are they funding a full animation team and staff through a youtube and patreon account?? I'm glad they exist, but I'm just surprised, I guess, given the last few years when content crackdowns have become ever more severe on SMS and the internet for regular users in general, what gets aired on traditional streaming platforms and not cancelled is more strict than ever, and remakes abound.

It seems like Helluva Boss is in the clear to actually air all of its seasons eventually since it's hosted on youtube. But that also looks like it takes them years sometimes to update between seasons. I really hope Hazbin continues to be renewed until its story is completed

Anyway, I did really enjoy watching them, and I do recommend them for adults who enjoy classic cartoon gags and also musical numbers. Hazbin has the more serious plot and character development arcs out of the two. However, season 2 of Helluva Boss has basically been about everyone's backstory, so it's also had a more serious note recently.

Site Update | 6/4/24

Making some updates to the site! You'll probably see me updating different pages over the next few days. Today I added a long overdue links page. I added some friend site buttons to it! I hope to eventually archive/log different links that I've saved over the years in my bookmarks and tumblr there as well! I'm also planning to format the css for a few of my fan pages and add a fanlisting page.

Shoma Retiring :( | 5/12/24

Shoma Uno announced his retirement two days ago, and I'm honestly heartbroken. He has been one of my favorites for such a long time. He has a beautiful style that has only improved over the years, and I wish he would have had a better skate at World's. I think we could all tell this was coming. He's been skating all season like he's cherishing the moment, but it just hits hard. I feel like he's one of the last of the "old guard" so to speak that's been skating since I've been able to follow fs as an adult. Jason Brown is one of the last left now.

Anyway, I'm following his youtube channel now, which looks way more chaotic than Yuzuru's lol.

His Turandot FS is one of my favorites - it's from a few years ago before all his jumps were as polished as there are later in his career, but I love it! Turandot is so overdone in the skating community, but Shoma really sells it!

Below is his Olympic performance:

And this is his Skate Canada performance - he doesn't fall on the first jump here but the Olympic program is more polished overall imo:

Updated one of my yoi fics | 4/22/24

I may have been motivated by spite but I updated A Voice Weeping in the Distance after *checks notes* uh . . . 7 years

whoo

Check it out on Ao3

He was sitting in the stands, then, watching Victor Nikiforov skate his winning program. And as Victor finished his program, spinning fast and halting with his back arched and his arms thrown over his head, Yuuri felt . . . hate.
Hate.
It was from his soulmate. Yuuri’s hands shook. He balled them into fists.
His soulmate hated Victor Nikiforov.

Ice Adolescence officially cancelled | 4/19/24

So the official Yuri On Ice account dropped this tweet last night. Ice Adolescence is cancelled for sure.

I think we had all known that it was but the confirmation still stings.

And this wasn't just another cancellation like Netflix shows get. This movie was already well underway - animation had started. They already had music and coreography! Multiple famous skaters were working with them. They had released a trailer for it--and then it all got dropped.

I agree with Denki here - something major happened that we'll never know about, whether that was the Olympic committee or politics or MAPPA channelling resources into other series like AoT or JJK.

Either way, it stings. Yoi is literally the show that put MAPPA on the map, and it had a giant international audience. Like just looking at how many different languanges are under the announcement post is enough to show how beloved it was. This tweet from Junicihi Suwabe (the voice of Victor) really expresses it.

And I've always loved the fandom. It was a welcoming and happy place to be back when the show first aired. I don't think fandom can really exist like that anymore. I was even part of a zine that was focused on guessing what the plot of the movie would be (┬┬﹏┬┬)

I don't have a yoi page here yet, but I'll make one soon.

Anyway, if you're reading this and have never seen Yuri on Ice, go watch it. It's available on dvd, bluray and I believe crunchyroll still has streaming rights to it. It's literally a masterpiece on Sayo and Kubo's end of things and has excellent characters and storytelling. The story of the series is complete and won't leave you on a cliff hanger or anything like that. The movie was just supposed to be additional stories about Victor.

Let me know what you think on My Guestbook.

Update | 4/14/24

More updates to my Petz pages!

I added downloads for Golden Doodle and Catsuki breeds! And I'm working on the petz crew page.

I also added some new breeds on the Chicken Smoothie page today. They're inspired by the recent eclipse! Really cool!

Update | 4/6/24

I updated my Petz pages today!

I posted the Makkachin hex for download! So if anyone likes Yoi and petz, please check it out!

I also converted the Cat from Outerspace hex to a unibreed for Petz 3 and 4 use!

Update | 4/5/24

I joined Chicken Smoothie - a virtual pet site and I adopted some pets!! I really enjoy sites like this that are relatively low commitment but you can still watch your pets grow!

This site was actually partially made by the founder of the petz Sherlock Software and their sister. So that's how I found out about it!

Pets are free to adopt. They start out as babies and grow up over the course of a month. They release new pets to adopt every month and you can trade for older ones. There's also a unique forums and art system on the site, but it's optional.

Anyway, it's just a really neat little free site that I don't hear about a lot. Really fun way to reconnect with an older type of web and forums site!

Check out my pets on my new Chicken Smoothie page. You can check out the Chicken Smoothie site here.

Pet's name: Crystal

More Thoughts Figure Skating World Championships | 3/29/24

So I've had some time to digest everything now, and I'd like to make a more thoughtful analysis.

I'd like to preface that I mainly follow the individual competitions. I missed watching the pairs and ice dance this time around (although I heard three was some controversy).

For women's: of course Kaori was fantastic once again. Since RU has been disqualified, I finally feel like for the first time in years that the women competitors are able to stick around long enough for me to actually follow them. I'm so happy for Kaori!! And the entire women's competitive scene makes me so happy this year. I'm looking forward to and wishing for slower turnover, at least for the next Olympic year.

Mens: So anyone who knows me knows that Shoma is my current favorite so I was devasted by him this year! I hate seeing any of them fall, so seeing my favorite go down was hard! Jason has also been one of my favorites for a long time, and I really enjoyed his performance.

The main controversy for the men's competition as far as discussions I've had with others is Ilia. And I'd like to address this more thoughtfully.

Read More

Thoughts on Figure Skating World Championships | 3/24/24

So for those of you who don't know, the ISU world championships free skates were yesterday in Montreal! Which means the time difference was close enough for me to watch it live!!!

******Spoilers ahead so please be aware*****

I missed the pairs and ice dance. I did get to see Kaori skate!!! She's so beautiful and deserved to win!!! So happy for her!

The men's competition was the most wild journey. Adam did so well so early, and he just sat in the medalist chairs forever lol! I was so upset about Shoma - he's a long time favorite of mine. I hate watching him fall.

And I going into it that Yuma was going to win, but no I was so upset about him too! Honestly hate seeing any of them fall.

Jason was lovely as always, I still wish that he could be more competitive for the top spots as far as jumping goes

I do think that Ilia deserved to win though. It's amazing to watch him do all those jumps including the quad axel. And when he lands them all, it really is impressive, even if he lacks artistic elements compared to the others.

What did you think? Let me know on my guestbook!

Thoughts on Sumeru Arc Genshin Impact | 3/17/24

So I finally finished the Sumeru archon quest today ... and wow it's my favorite one yet

******Spoilers ahead so please be aware*****

I feel like it's been the most cohesive storyline so far. In Mondstat - when Venti's gnosis was stolen from him, it didn't really feel like a complete storyline if that makes sense. In Liyue - I really respect Zhongli for retiring but we really didn't see him have much character growth during the quest itself - he started out wanting to retire and finished that way too. The Inazuma story was ... a lot. I felt like we never really got to know Ei like the other archons - she was the antagonist for most of the plot.

But for Sumeru - we're friends with Nahida. She has an entire arc come full circle. She's constantly overshadowed by her predecessor to the point that she almost allows herself to be completely forgotten. And as she learns her own worth and to become her own person - she has to completely let go of and erase GLRD - and learn to stand on her own.

It was just really well done, well written and moving! I thought Venti was my favorite archon but now I'm not so sure anymore.

Anyway, if you've played Genshin, what do you think? (Keep in mind I haven't played through Fontaine yet).

Updates | 3/16/24

I finally got my fic rec page up!! My first post for it is an oldie but a goodie - my GOAT fanfic rec list. I actually have another fic to add to it now, but I'll do that later. I made it about a year ago.

Starburst is still my favorite fanfic of all time I think - it's a fanfic but it has enough original elements to stand on it's own. So definitely check it out if you enjoy Stardew valley or just farming/cottage/country fics.

I've been playing a lot of Genshin lately - I'm behind on the updates with it, so I'm trying to catch up! Hopefully I can before the next major update!

My GOAT Fanfic Rec List | 3/16/24

I was going through my bookmarks the other day and decided to make a greatest of all time fanfic rec list (at least in my opinion). These are IN ORDER - or at least I tried. They're all great so it's hard to choose. I want to bookbind all of these one day. Cross posted from tumblr.

1. Starburst by dracoangelic and GingerD - Stardew Valley, Shane/Farmer - Literally the best fanfic I've ever read!!! The author's OC is one of the main characters and is so well done! The world is expanded in the best way. The ending is perfect. I can't say enough!!!
2. Dresden by hedera_helix - attack on Titan, Eruri - Historical/WW2 AU - The 2nd best fanfic I've ever read and the best historical au. The setting fits so well with the characters. The grief of the war and of being queer during that time period. There's so much here
3. Victor Effing Nikiforov by shysweetthing - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri - My favorite YOI fic and the best oneshot! It's cute, funny and has a great plot twist!! Love
4. This is Not a Courtship by midnightsnapdragon - MDZS, Xicheng, unfinished - WOW this is a recent fic but there's so much sexual/emotional tension that builds up so gradually and is SO well done
5. Les Mignardises by idiopathology - Detroit Become Human, Reed900 - best chef au, I LOVE this fic, I love food and I love reading about characters who love food. The best chef/restaurant AU that I've ever read
6. Eighteen Wheels on an Uphill Climb by blackeyedblonde - Detroit Become Human, Hankcon, Trucker AU - once again an au that fits perfectly with the characters! as someone from the us south, this fic is nostalgic and fun. A calming read with a sweet ending
7. Beneath Your Bones by cloudsmachinations - Thor Series, Thorki - I'm surprised it's taken a thorki fic this long to show up on my list but like I said many tough decisions were made. This fic is SO GOOD. I won't call it a soulmate au, because it's not, it's a host? au I guess but so well done. LOVE and my favorite thorki fic

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Updates | 3/15/24

!!!! I have now made the site responsive to mobile!!!! YAY - it's still best viewed on desktop, but it is now usable on mobile

The menu has been converted to iframes - so you no longer need to use js to make the menu work! The only remaining js is for the visitor counter.

I also updated my about page and am trying to join a few more webrings. But I'm so excited. Most of the coding for all my sites is done!! I can now focus more on real posts here.

Updates | 3/9/24

Hello! I've finally resurfaced. I've actually been working on my separate bookbinding site, which you can find here:. So if you're interested in books and reading, check it out!

I've also been playing a lot of Genshin impact recently, so I hope to get that page up and running soon! Also I've fallen into the obikin fandom so I might get a star wars page up and going as well! We'll see ;)

I'm planning to make a few tweaks to the site today. On the to-do list: switch menu from js to iframe, fix favicon, make genshin page, join some webrings. Also to-do: keep working to upload my petz hexes!

Updates | 1/21/24

I made a ton of updates on the 19th! One of the biggest ones is that I now have one of my hexes available for download!! You can find it in the adoption center under the petz page.

I will eventually have the remainder of my hexes up for download, but I have to clean them up first! Besides updating the petz page, I also uploaded what I hope is the final version of my button, and completed the dbh page as detailed in the 2 previous posts.

Let me know what you think!

DBH and Fandom | 1/19/24

I won't say that DBH was a unique fandom phenomenon, but its fandom highlights how fans can create a wealth of stories and art from a canon that was underwhelming.

This is my analysis of the reasons behind the fan interest in the game and why it sparked so much creativity. Although I'll preface this for those of you who don't know that many fans enjoyed creating for the series; however, some of the largest creators never even played the game. Large communities of fans renounced canon content - especially some of the most prolific communities like Twitter Jericho.

There are I think 3 large reasons for this:

1) The first glaring reason is the structure of the game itself. There are 3 main playable characters: Connor, Kara, and Markus. Connor's gameplay focuses on in-game detective work - which is actually very engaging and fun to play! Connor has the most traditional "android-like" demeanor of the 3, and he has long been the fan favorite for both of these reasons and his relationship with Hank that you can decide to build or reject through the gameplay. Kara's side of the game focuses on escaping an abusive situation and caring for Alice. Kara's story is compelling due to the need for escape/peace. Both Connor and Kara's stories focus mainly on small personal moments inherent to the characters and their relationships with their companions. This gives fans a great starting point to make all kinds of derivative stories and art - about the Androids' relationships, work, trying to move on with their lives, AUs, etc.

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DBH Page is Up! | 1/19/24

So I'm gradually moving over my content from tumblr, and my detroit become human page is up and running now!

Of course, this game is quite a few years old by this point but still has a small but strong fandom presence.

I have a lot of thoughts on why fandom, myself included, likes to make content for a game that most of us either don't like in total or don't like major parts of. I'll be posting an analysis of this later that sums up some of my thoughts from over the years.

Back in the day, I read a ton of DBH fanfic very quickly, so I ran a fic rec blog on tumblr for a while. I've left it up on tumblr as an archive. However, I had spent a lot of work making the css/html tumblr site useful and nice. Now that it's extremely difficult to even reach a main blog page on tumblr, I've decided to mirror the main fic rec masterpage here. Please check it out if you like reading DBH fanfic.

I have recs for Hankcon, platonic Hank&Connor, and Reed900. The page has an included sorting system that was designed by @hunterthemes on tumblr - which is now inactive but also still up for viewing.

Site Updates | 1/14/2024

I finally have my Petz Page up and running!! Please check it out! You can find some of my hexes under the Adoption Center page - but I'm still trying to figure out where to host them to make them downloadable.

30 Questions for Your Dark Urge | 1/13/2024

Here is my Durge!!

I finally managed to make a png of him! I really enjoyed the character creation options on bg3, but as I said before, I had no idea what I was doing. So my Durge is a sorcerer with wild magic. I still don't know if that's a good thing, but I do have a lot of charisma, so it's been easy to talk a lot of my enemies out of fighting!

These questions are from this post on tumblr. I'll answer them gradually as I figure out the answers!

1. What circumstances led to your Dark Urge becoming their Class/Subclass?
   He was born with unharnessed wild magic abilities and has gradually learned to use them to his advantage.
2. Did your Dark Urge have any romantic and/or sexual relationships prior to their illithid adventure? If yes, who was it with and what was it like? If no, how did they feel about being single?
   No, he was fine with it - there's been too much going on in his life to slow down and have a relationship
3. What would your Dark Urge consider to be their greatest skill? Is this accurate?
   His inherent ability to pull on the magic around him. I'm not sure how to answer the "accurate" part? Like based on stats? I guess this is accurate.
4. What would your Dark Urge consider to be their greatest flaw? Is this accurate?
   Hmm well I still don't have any memories so not sure, but based on current skillset - I'd say relying too much on his natural charisma and being too headstrong about his own opinions.
5. What opinion does your Dark Urge have about the Gods?
   Ok I know next to nothing about the gods in DnD so not sure, but my Durge is chaotic good with a disdain for authority. So I'd say he doesn't like them, but he knows he has to learn to work around them.
6. How does your Dark Urge react to waking up with memory loss?
   Not well. He knows there's something major missing and is worried he will lose control of his powers. However, he's a practical person, so he focuses on the current tasks in front of him to distract himself from the panic.
7. How does your Dark Urge feel about the wilderness?
   He likes the wilderness for it's freedom and beauty - so long as he is there with other people
8. How does your Dark Urge feel about the city?
   He likes the city for the activity and people who live there. He doesn't like to feel like he is alone.
9. What motivates your Dark Urge to either embrace or resist the tadpole?
   He resists the tadpole because he knows he has his own power the makes him strong - he just needs to remember how to use it
10. What motivates your Dark Urge to either embrace or resist the Urge?
    He resists the urge. He definitely has his own way of doing things but ultimately he enjoys being around others and wants to protect his friends.
11. How does your Dark Urge feel about killing?
    He knows he's good and efficient at killing but as above, he wants to protect his friends so he must contain it.
12. How good of a liar is your Dark Urge? How do they feel about lying?
    He's very charismatic and pretty good at lying when he needs to. It's much harder for him to pull off a lie to his friends. But when their survival is on the line, he'll do what he needs to do.
13. How does your Dark Urge feel about love?
    He hasn't had much time to think about love, but he does have a strong desire to protect those he cares about.
14. Is your Dark Urge open about their Urge or do they try to hide it? Why?
    He's fairly open about it to party members/friends once he realizes they won't attack him just for admitting it. He'd rather them know up front so they can protect themselves.
15. What first impression does your Dark Urge give off to strangers?
    He's very charismatic so he can convince a lot of people at first glance to trust him. It's just that the longer someone is around him, the more they see through his mask and realize something is ... off.
16. How does your Dark Urge feel about giving and receiving orders?
    Oh he'd much rather be giving than receiving orders in any situation. However, he will acknowledge when someone knows more about certain topics/situations than him and will let them lead.
17. How well does your Dark Urge function under pressure?
    As above, he focuses on the task at hand to get things done - then the emotional impact hits him after the fact

More Baldur's Gate 3 | 1/12/2024

You know how I mentioned how the companions came on rather strong once you get them to fair/good approval ... well it got worse!! Lae'zel literally tried to kill me one night. I talked her out of it - then the next morning she wants to jump my bones!! The whiplash is insane (⊙_◎)

I ended up romancing Astarion because my approval isn't high enough yet with Karlach and like ... Astarion also comes on strong but I can handle it better because it's part of his personality. But also once you romance him - everything he says is way too over the top and cringe/corny. Like for their first little "clearing in the woods" (which I really hope isn't a twilight reference btw) scene, everything he says is so corny and if you don't compliment him for it he gets so upset LMAO What am I supposed to do with this X_X

One thing I did like - I chose the "taller" build for my Durge, and I got to pick up Astarion. Like YES I DO want to pick up my tiny bf. Thank you for giving me this small win!

Initial Thoughts on Baldur's Gate 3 | 12/31/23

I'd like to preface this post by saying that I've never even tried to play DnD before ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Starting this game felt so clunky because of that. I had no idea what I was doing!

I decided to play as the Dark Urge because I wanted to customize my character but, as I tell everyone, I'm secretly evil and I thought I could relate.

Turns out the Dark Urge is a little bit more bloodthirsty than me...

Anyway I made myself a tiefling who's a sorcerer with wild magic. I had no idea what any of that would do--I just thought everything sounded cool. However, I'm doing ok so far so must have not made too many wrong choices with the stat selections.

I don't really know what to think of the companions. This game is a little bit odd to play as an asexual person. I feel like a lot of the companions come off as wanting to date/have sex early in the game (I'm still in Act 1) without much encouragement, so it's a little jarring.

For instance, Gale is my least favorite. He comes off as a douche - maybe it's because I'm a sorcerer. Not really sure. But he likes to mansplain magic and comes off as greedy eating all the magical artifacts LOL. Unfortunately, my stats with him went up quicker than anyone else's for unknown reasons. He was the first one to have a cut scene where he tried to kiss me while we were using magic together and he was looking at an image of his ex-girlfriend apparently. Like what? I turned him down, but I mean COME ON 🤦

Here's my opinions on the others: Wyll is my second least favorite - he's too obsessed with being good without realising his own mistakes. That really rubs me the wrong way. Shadowheart and Laezel are bitches but I think we'll get along eventually as I progress through the game. I wish Shadowheart had some more bulk to her so that she could actually survive a battle to heal everyone. Maybe I should get her some better armor.

Astarion and Karlach are my favorites so far. Karlach's probably my most favorite. She's very straightforward and sincere and goodhearted. (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) Astarion is kind of the opposite, but he can be surprisingly honest when he decides to trust you. Like the whole opening up about being a vampire thing, and his secret strength is being happy. Like wtf am I supposed to do with this. It will be really difficult for me to decide who to romance between them. Unfortunately I think my stats are lowest with Karlach because she joined my party last. Hopefully, I can turn that around. Maybe I shouldn't romance anyone, but I don't think I can unlock all the dramatic dialogue for characters if I don't so not sure.

The Boy and the Heron - thoughts | 12/31/23

I finally got to see The Boy and the Heron yesterday! ****This post contains spoilers so if you haven't seen it, don't read!****

And wow--I just, I absolutely loved it. I'll try to make this some sort of review, but it might not be coherent.

The feeling of grief, saddness and wrongness at the beginning of the movie was so amazingly well done. We were shown how it permeated all of Mahito's world.

The the introduction of the new world also felt wrong but in a different way. There was also grief there but it allowed Mahito to see how others handle grief, and that he wasn't alone. I'm still trying to process the recurrent theme of the wrongness of the birds there - and how they were fine and happy in the real world and starving monsters in the other world. I need to think more about why it was specifically birds and not some other animal. However, it did show that great grand uncle hadn't considered some of the consequences when he built his world, and supposedly hadn't been able to correct them.

The thing that really impressed me though was this - I really expected it to go the way of almost every movie I've seen recently. When his uncle offered him the no malice blocks - I expected him to take them. As in the central theme of the movie would be buildiing a world without malice. And I was happily surprised when he didn't. Because the real theme of the movie was Mahito learning to live again and love his imperfect family.

And that's such an honest theme. And despite this being a children's movie, it felt honest as in the sense that it wasn't sanitized or watered down. And that's what I've been missing from so much of the media I've been exposed to lately. This movie was such a breath of fresh air in that sense.

I also noticed that there weren't many children there, but I really think this movie is a good one for any age. The emphasis on learning to process grief really stands out as something that older children could process. Maybe it was because the showing we went to was later in the day though.

What did you think of the movie? Let me know on My Guestbook.

Updates 12/31/23

It's the last day of the year, and I've finally got my site up and running!

I've built the pages for Baldur's Gate 3 and Studio Ghibli (bc I have posts for them), so please check them out!

In other news, I took this uquiz about creative motivations, and this was my result:

This really got to me. I thought I was going to get hope because even though I feel sad, I often write about happy things. But I feel like love really rings true for me. It's why I admire people like Chuck Tingle - ie people who write with love. I always try to put love into my work whether it's happy work or sad work.

Hello!

This is the second neocities site I've ever made, and I've coded everything from scratch minus the visitor counter.

If you don't know me, I'm Jo!

I'm building this site to more or less replace my tumblr. This will be my main hub for my original posts about my fandoms and other current obsessions.

I also hope to host some of my petz hexies here! I love playing around with the petz code - it was actually my first experience with coding anything. So if you're a petz fan, please stick around. It will take me a couple of weeks to get all the other pages on the site up and running.

I also write and draw. I've wanted a site separate from my Ao3 account to interact with other fans and people who read my work for a while. I'm planning to use my guestbook to answer questions and interact with others.