FlamingTunaPictures

Characters, Comics, Original Stories, and Doodle Shite | Somehow I've also stumbled into sharing my unsolicited opinions on media... Instagram: Flamingtunapictures

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Finished a new painting this week and very happy with how it came out :) Boring domestic moments are my absolute favorite.

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colored anya from the SpyxFamily coloring book :)

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My friend introduced me to the wonderful world of Katamari earlier this year. This was an excuse to play with some new pens I bought and practice digital coloring~ I'm extremely happy with how it turned out!

Thinkin' 'bout setting up a voluntary donation page for the line-art of this piece to share as a coloring page :) Just gotta figure out a good way to do that... (Let me know if you're interested too)

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Refresh to an Original character design. His name is Cache and he comes from an old 2019 project called "Cyber Skull" about cyber/computer cops. Cache is Cyber Skull's police partner and is formidable in gathering all the information.

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November 3, 2024

I cried today because I missed my friends. I needed a hug but nobody was there to give me one.

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I made a new blog for my media reviews and thoughts

I'll be posting any future media reviews and opinions @extracontentmediareviews

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AA Spirit of Justice - Game Review

Tl:dr - A visual and symphonic triumph, this title delivers on striking visuals, a beautiful score, and a wacky, colorful cast innate to the AA DNA. Though there is absence of robust worldbuilding, the story is engaging, ending with an epic finale episode. 

Spirit of Justice is one of the longest titles in mainline Ace Attorney games, clocking in at an average of 25-30 hours of gameplay. It features a cross oceanic adventure that takes up courtroom calls in the familiar “Japanafornia,” but also in the new Asianic/Tibetan-inspired Kingdom of Khura’in. 

Visually and symphonically this game is an absolute triumph. The game falls in line with the latest generation of Ace Attorney games, defined by immaculate employ of 3D graphics and animations. State-side character designs and animations are some of the brightest, wackiest, and most memorable of the entire series. I have found over the years the AA witness designs I reminisce over the most tend to come from this game. The main eastern counterparts are equally visually striking, albeit not as compelling or memorable as they could have been (more on that later). 

The music, per usual, metered and complimented the world and narrative beautifully. From sentimental originals like Reminiscence: Inherited Hopes, to new cultural sounds of Defendant’s Lobby and reorchestrations of classics Allegro, Pursuit, and Troupe Gramarye, there was never a reason to turn the volume down.

Gameplay wise, the game functions virtually the same as all the previous titles with the addition of “Seance Divinations.” This new mechanic allows you to behold the final memories of the deceased…in order to point out contradictions in classic AA fashion. A neat thought, however not entirely memorable or largely contributive to the gameplay as a whole. If anything, it just provides another venue for player frustration at “obscure logic” to manifest (I’m looking at you “man’s voice”).

Most importantly however, as it comes to AA games, how is the story? As I mentioned before, this game is an average of 7 hours longer than your typical AA game. It features 5 episodes instead of the usual 4, bouncing between East and West to give all protagonists equal facetime. 

The first episode acts to establish the new Kingdom of Khura’in and the Divination Seance. It is quick, orientational, and full of excellent characters. My main criticism would be the generally insufferable characterization of Nick as the worst kind of tourist.* 

The second case brings you back “home” and treats fans to classic Apollo/Trucy shenanigans and more Troupe Gramarye lore. 

The (infamous) third episode returns you to the land of Khura’in to solve an unfortunately drawn-out and convoluted tale of death supported by a cast of uninspiring, vanilla characters. Its purpose was to establish plot points for the final episode. However, I’m not totally convinced they were necessary for the final episode to land as well as it did. For that reason, the main purpose of episode three was actually to celebrate the return of Maya Fey in the most Maya way possible: Maya getting accused of murder…again! 

The fourth episode brings you back stateside for a quick one day cross-examination of kooky rakugo school students helmed by Athena and special guest Simon Blackquill. It’s a rather inconsequential episode in terms of overall plot, but I found it delightful nonetheless. 

The game finally wraps up with its piece de resistance final act —Turnabout Revolution. This episode was a diligent convergence of East and West, giving both settings equal presence and relevance to the final arc. Not only did it lean into AA legacy locations/references like Kurain Village, but, much like Luke Atmey’s larceny case from Trials and Tribulations, the courtroom battle deviates from the typical murder-trial cadence. In the first act of Turnabout Revolution, Apollo and Phoenix go head to head in a civil dispute case. Gone are the too-oft’ drawn out rebuttals, ad-hominem attacks, and tangents on incompetency from the prosecution. In its place, a steady, well paced, respectful exchange is had between attorneys. The first case concludes on an ambiguously sinister note that forces the characters to deadhead east to Khura’in. It is in this new setting the final compelling plot twists, hard-hitting sentimentality, and absolutely stunning character designs are revealed.

MAIN CRITICISM

For as compelling and inspiring the final act was, there was much left wanting in this title as a whole. I think this is largely due to the Kingdom of Khura'in’s lamentable lack of depth and cultural development. Visually and musically it is executed beautifully, but nevertheless remains skin-deep. There is little for world-building fans to sink their teeth into. Consequently, characterization and story intrigue are sacrificed. 

While I could comment on the gimmicky religion that is too often treated with the reverence of parody, I would prefer to focus on what I perceive to be the largest under-miner to what could have been a robust Khura’in.

There was a notable lack of consideration taken towards the use of the Khur’ainese language. Sure, there is a word or two, the suggestion of a written language, and Sahdmadhi had that one VA line (that didn’t even sound like a convincing language), but nothing sociologically compelling. The names are some of the laziest puns in the entire series, opting to just drop letters and add apostrophes to existing English words. They are entertaining, but forfeit opportunities for a believable culture in lieu of a quick laugh.

Imagine the intrigue that could be infused if two Khura’inese characters (Dhurke and Datz for example) converse in <Khura’inese> in front of Nick. It would enforce the feeling of Nick being a foreigner in a foreign land and that the Kingdom of Khura’in is its own legitimate ecosystem. *Having characters converse in their native language in front of Nick would also help abate the irritating characterization of him as the “self-righteous,” boisterous, and meddling foreigner. The lack of basic tourist etiquette killed me during this game. I understand Phoenix is the main character, but sometimes taking a third person perspective to a country sorting out their own problems makes for a much stronger narrative.

Now let’s take a look at Apollo as another example of how the use of a <foreign language> could add more character depth. The man grew up in a foreign country and doesn’t talk about it — that is fascinating. Now imagine if the use of foreign language was mixed into how that story was revealed. What if, instead of just his father showing up after 10+ years in the Wright Anything Agency office saying, “Hi Son! Long time no see,” he said, “<Hi Son! Long time no see>,” and then Apollo responds in (rusty) Khura’inese, “<What are you doing here?>”  We would all become Trucy Wright in that moment, and the question wouldn’t just be, “How do you know this man?” It would bloom into, “How did you understand what this man said?”, “Wait, Apollo speaks a foreign language?” Then it would become “How do you know this man?” etc. The intrigue and layers this interaction alone could add to Apollo as a character are there for the taking…if only a second longer was taken to incorporate the use of <Khura'inese>.

Finally, the choice to not employ accents in the voice acting of the Khura'inese characters (Dhurke, Rayfa, Datz, Ahlbi, Guards etc) feels nothing short of lazy. The use of accents would have added a nice touch of texture to the already visually striking characters. If a game like Dragon Quest VIII can cast a variety of generically “foreign” accents to even its minor characters, there’s no legitimate reason the citizens of Khura’in should be depicted with the flattest American accents imaginable.

In conclusion, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice is a solid title to the main series. Though it suffers from weak world-building, its story is still largely compelling and enjoyable to play!

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[eunnieboo]

every single time

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pretty much #hasbro >:(

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Spiritfarer Review - 8/10

Tl:dr - Spiritfarer offers a profoundly emotional story with an engaging cast of characters, beautiful artistic execution, and a sentimentally charged soundtrack. However, as a “game,” it toes the line between cozy and tedious, unfortunately falling to the latter more often than not.

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While Spiritfarer is certainly a polished product, the core design choices reveal a system that ultimately frustrates the resource-management genre: turning cozy mundanity into monotony and, ironically, getting in the way of its own story.

Resource Efficiency is an Illusion - Resource-management games are defined by balancing early-game tedium with late-game automation/efficiency to maximize every second of gameplay. In Spiritfarer, there is a lot of unavoidable dead time (see section “Back and Forth and then Back Again”) in addition to perpetually high demands of a player’s attention just to acquire raw materials. It doesn’t matter if you’re processing your first log or your 1000th log, you have to “play” a precision cutting mini-game every time. This process can never be automated, and, even after finding the efficiency upgrade, will still require you to earnestly play the mini-game to maximize the output. Save for perhaps farming, flour processing, and cooking/fermenting, 90% of the resources in this game cannot be automated. 

Variety Does Not Guarantee “Fun” - Almost every resource has some kind of “mini-game” or drawn-out action tied to it. There are at least 12+ independent “activities” you cannot avoid in order to harvest resources. These are also scattered throughout the entirety of the vast map. While initially interesting, the activities can quickly degrade into chores. “Need to build that new house for your new passenger? Oh, you need 15 more wood first. Now you have to dedicate 5-10 minutes processing that wood, assuming you don’t first have to travel to an island out of your way to harvest it. Oh, and harvesting requires you to move your joystick back and forth in a specific way a couple of times too. Oops, can’t remember the quantity you needed for that building? Guess you have to run back to the blue-print table to check, then back to whichever facilities or islands you need to use to finish gathering the materials.” The drudgery stems from the fact that none of the “mini-games” are particularly “fun” after the first few runs.

Animation/Action Length - The animation lengths in this title are a nuisance with no way to skip or abbreviate them. Despite being expertly executed, they are unnecessarily long: often drawn out with extensive anticipated and follow through actions. When tasks and actions are expected to be performed tens, if not hundreds of times, every unnecessary second becomes increasingly aggravating. For example, shearing the sheep takes an entire 6 seconds. The initial encounter is endearing and informative: the everlight becomes the shears… the sheep is nervous to be shorn… then, in a fanciful blur of action… wool is harvested! But every single time, for only 2 pieces of wool? The animation could easily take 3 seconds or be entirely skipped after the first encounter, instead. The smithy and ore harvesting (when you accidentally overexert) were other offenders unequivocally guilty of this.

Back and Forth then Back Again - This entire game is a constant back-and-forth fetch quest with resource walls and travel distances that drive indefinite plot “intermissions,” and fatten the gameplay with “dead-time.” Take the Shipyard upgrades for example. Upgrades are required to progress the game and fulfill character requests, as many locations exist beyond geographic barriers. Assume you are ready to upgrade your ship, but when you get to the Shipyard you realize you are short on a single resource by only 1 or 2 quantities (i.e nebula thread). This single resource happens to be one you cannot farm on your boat. It also happens to be on the opposite side of the map. Even by taking the most efficient route with Alex’s bus stops, you will probably need 10-15 minutes to:

Travel to the bus stop

Sit through the fast-travel animation/loading time

Reset your navigation and wait for the ship to get to the resource location

“Play” the mini game (and hope you get enough resource in the single round)

Process the material (if needed)

Travel back to the bus stop

Wait for the fast-travel animation again

Reset your navigation back to the Shipyard and wait for the boat to travel (again)

Wait for the boat to “anchor” and the dinghy to become available

Finally pay for the upgrade.

This is a very common step analysis for almost every story-oriented task in this game; it is an example of a process that can never be made more efficient beyond anticipatory farming.

In many cases however, even that cannot mitigate the amount of time you spend bouncing between one or two locations multiple times just to get a few seconds of plot-significant exchange for a single character. Exacerbate this with forced anchoring at night*. Why? I am here for the story, but I can’t complete requests unless I can bounce between locations, which I want to do as efficiently as possible but can’t when I’m forced to anchor at night and waste 30 more seconds pressing unnecessary buttons to “sleep.” Even your boat becomes tedious to cross. As you progress your boat will get bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and bigger; to the point it can take 10s of seconds to get from one end to the other just to harvest, activate, or deliver something. It may not sound like a big deal, but again, considering this game’s strongest quality is its story, all the “dead-time” compounds and gets in its own way.

*iykyk

Is It All Worth It? - When you finally do reach those coveted character moments and dialogues –the glimpses into their background, their life, loves, and regrets –it’s almost worth it. The soft world building and sentimentality are expertly infused into every line, and intrigue for the characters is genuine. Accompany this with the calming yet powerful soundtrack, I cried at several of their goodbyes. I only wish the game itself, in its (mostly) uninspiring tedium, wasn’t such an obstacle to these moments. It ultimately succeeded in killing my motivation to finish the game, which I heard takes an average of 30 hours to complete.

In conclusion, Spiritfarer offers a truly intriguing premise and narrative, but, as articulated by a friend, the question becomes, “Was ‘game’ really the best way to tell this story?”

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Honest "Death’s Door" Review - *7/10*

Tl:dr - A good game that delivers a challenging and polished souls-like gaming experience, however its choices in story/world building; repetitive dungeon structure; and lack of simple navigational tools detracted from a thoroughly enjoyable adventure for me.

OVERVIEW

Overall Presentation - A clean, polished game with well developed systems and beautiful art. Combat is challenging but not impossible, and visual style is graphic and engaging without being too juvenile.

Music - Wonderful soundtrack. Each area boasts a variety of fun thematic instruments. I found tunes and arrangements very reminiscent of Okami.

Gameplay - Challenging combat that rewards patience, with a variety of ranged and melee weapons a player can interchange fluently in battle to fit their personal fighting style. Puzzles are balanced, never crossing into so-hard-lose-interest territory. The game can be 100%-ed in a reasonable time without guides if one chooses to do so.

Despite my initial impression, the shrines were also fun riddles to solve. I loved the local pub's “hearsay” method with “Jefferson” at the Sunken Sailor. It was a fun touch of flavor and helped make the shrines feel tangible.

3 MAJOR CRITICISMS FOR DEATH’S DOOR

Game progression is extremely linear and dungeon structure lacks core differentiation. Each dungeon’s objectives are structured the same way: you explore an area and fight through mini-boss rooms to free 5 crow souls. These unlock the next power upgrade via almost identical combat challenges. This is followed immediately by ascension to the final stage of a dungeon; concluding with the boss fight. While each dungeon offered their own unique puzzles and layouts, the lack of variety in objectives started to feel more like a checklist than an exciting opportunity for discovery. It’s worth noting as well, the game is linear (Urn Witch > Frog King > Betty) as each previous level provides you with a necessary upgrade to access the next challenge.

The lack of a map made the experience of exploring vast areas (extremely) frustrating. This frustration was exacerbated in the world-scouring post game collect-a-thon. The fact that a map was not even an option was incredibly infuriating to me. I understand the creators of the game declared their creative choice “promoted as organic of a gaming experience as possible,” and aligned themselves further with the “souls-like” label, however it does not feel like an infallible decision. Take Hollow Knight to compare and contrast this. Maps were provided throughout the game but the player was also given the choice of how much they wanted to engage with, or take advantage of the map. Maps had to be purchased, making it entirely possible for a player to forgo it completely if they chose to do so. There was also a balanced trade-off of forfeiting an equipment slot to attach the Wayward Compass charm for effective use of the map. Death’s Door doesn’t even give you the option.

The game’s narrative feels hollow, lacking in any commendable character depth or motivation. Essential world lore is delivered too late, is confusing, and detracts from the drama’s overall impact. I finished the game feeling underwhelmed by the plot despite the game’s (self)positioning as a prolific drama.

(spoiler alert) - I found myself floundering to feel anything for the final act, or to really make sense of the world’s logic and lore between the end of act two and beginning of act three. From what I currently understand (having 100%-ed the game) the world, since coming under the rule of the current Lord Of Doors, became a place of stagnation… Most, if not all (?) creatures were living unreasonably long lives (past their “due dates”) because the Lord of Doors cut off Death itself from the worlds, and subsequently the Crow Commission (who had assumed Death’s role of reaping souls). With no no one reaping souls, nobody was actually dying? But then why was the Grey Crow aging with the threat of death looming over him? Or why did all the crows who got cut off from the commission die? Or how were the free-crow’s movement for that matter, that promoted the natural order of embracing death, actually fulfill their own creed? I should not be this confused or have this many questions at the explanation of the state-of-the-world after playing the game for 20 hours.

Secondly, many of the significant “reveals” in the 3rd act felt underwhelming. Starting with the “Free Crows” movement (a trope-ish rebel group that “fights the system”). Their presence and justification provided almost all the context to the world’s supposed stagnation. Thus, their late-game reveal (almost the end of act two) caused me to completely reevaluate and question if I had understood anything from the soft world-building up to that point. Their motivations felt generic as well, and lacked any kind of originality or robustness. Additionally, the pacing between defeating the Grey Crow and the sudden “call-to-arms” from the Free Crows felt very jarring and like the story was just trying to quickly wrap things up. It did not feel justified.

Death’s reveal was equally underwhelming. His reveal should have felt like a reward for the arduous efforts it took to open his door. His reveal should have left me feeling like I finally had answers… but because I was not aware the world was “stagnated” until moments before I encountered him, his presence felt confusing, and honestly, a little insignificant to me.

As for the final two bosses, the Grey Crow and the Lord of Doors, another reviewer captured the narrative's failure best: It felt like the story was telling me to care about these characters more than actually giving me substantial experience with them to want to care about them. I found myself uninterested in the final boss’ motivations in lieu of just wanting to finish the game. 

All these things considered, it really boils down to me not finding the lore of this game’s world particularly compelling*.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Death’s Door is a quick (10-20 hours, including post-game) adventure challenge that offers a polished gaming experience, and pleasant visuals and soundtrack. Combat will leave you gnashing your teeth if you don’t employ a little patience, solidifying its position as a “souls-like” game. I would definitely say it’s worth your time if you enjoy games like that. If you’re looking for a more compelling world-lore, convicting story or just better navigation support however, I would recommend something like Hollow Knight instead.

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*Even the “truth” revealed after completing the post game did not feel like it added any significant detail or insight into the story. For how much effort it demanded to unlock, it was another narrative disappointment.

One exception exists however with the Gravedigger. He was by far the most compelling character. His sad story was the only one that drew an actual reaction from me when I realized just who “Monty” was (hint, look at the shiny-thing locket you find). His final battle was the most satisfying and his emotional departure felt wonderfully delivered.

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The Animators - Book Review

Tl:dr - On top of the characters being largely unlikable, the production timeline described for the characters’ animated film is so egregiously misinformed and offensive I found my willingness to suspend belief forfeit.

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This is a book about a couple of animators pouring their entire beings into their work and being recognized for it. Readers get long drawn-out narratives and meandering ups and downs (mostly downs) of their life together as business and creative partners. The story is told from the perspective of only one of the partners (Sharon).

There are a myriad of reasons I did not like this book both in terms of literary style (*purely a personal preference, the author should get credit for doing the do technically well) and characterization.

The characters are incredibly unlikable and irritating – toxic, immature, and impulsive with no measurable proclivity for considering “maybe I should try to be a better person.” They act and speak rashly, often betraying unbelievable selfishness and the psyche of an incredibly immature teenager. Which could be fine, if it weren’t for them being in their 30’s. I found myself constantly yelling “grow up please!”

In addition, the sheer amount, and lack of self-control, concerning substance abuse, hurtful statements, and destructive behaviors – all attributed (understandably) to their difficult upbringings becomes increasingly grating when they seem to forgo responsibility for their actions in lieu of blaming their circumstances.

All of that aside, let’s get to the real reason (and only important reason) I did not like this book.

The book is called The Animators. You would expect a book called The Animators to have some semblance of a realistic production timeline for a full-length animated film. This book does not do this.

This story expects you to believe that a two woman team (and only two) work tirelessly to bring a full 70-75 minute feature film to life in less than two years. The details are thus:

The project is traditionally animated (the first half accomplished completely by traditional means with onionsskins etc)

Only two people are working on it (maybe there was a little bit of help from an eager fan of their work, but nothing realistically substantial)

All this work was accomplished with one of the individuals regularly sleep-deprived, mal-nourished, and a little coked up

(this is the real doozy) The other half of this two woman team (that wasn’t coked up) was actively recovering from a stroke in which she temporarily lost, and had to relearn, how to speak, read, walk, and draw.

The moment my suspension of belief completely gave way however, was when the characters were in Louisville, Kentucky. During this time they essentially start the serious work on their project. After the three month mark they are showing off their first full 20 minutes of their film. We are to assume that this 20 minutes is fully animated, composited, and overlaid with sound. Not just an animatic.

I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E.

20 seconds could probably be achieved in two to three months by an animator of their supposed caliber. Never 20 minutes under traditional methods with only two people. (Did I mention one of them was still recovering from a stroke?) And then the story goes on to confirm that the movie was a full 70-75 minutes long and that the characters finished, published, and were on tour for it in less than 2 years after its inception.

A project of the described magnitude, under the conditions assumed, would take a minimum of 5-7 years, unless the animation was just really scratchy, choppy, and unrefined (which again, was implied to not be.)

This gross misrepresentation of the amount of time traditional animation actually takes is to the narrative’s detriment: completely ripping the reader out of any sort of believable reality (at least, if the reader has any personal experience with the medium).

To be dramatic, I would even say it’s downright offensive.

I’m mostly writing this review because I haven’t seen any other review yet actually call out this aspect of the book. (I searched for one).

That’s all folks. Have a nice night. Read it if you want.

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Buff cass. Because, y’know. I could.

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Feels like a nice time to bring this back into circulation

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Processing Mistborn, The Hero of Ages with more doodles... bruhv.

*TRIGGER WARNING*/*SPOILERS* - (Next image:) BODY MUTILATION (Decapitation)

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been reading mistborn for the first time. I. am. in. love.

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Throne of Glass - Series Review

tl:dr - A true-to-genre series that delivers no ground breaking concepts but provides a marathon of enjoyable mental cardio

I recently finished reading the Throne of Glass series per a recommendation from a friend. I listened to the first 4 books and then read the remaining 4. Tower of Dawn was my favorite book from the series purely for Hasar’s line in how “she needed a fatter ass for her lover to grab at night.” I will not expand. My favorite character was probably Lysandra because of her vicious competency and unexpected plot relevance and relationship-dynamic change.

The story felt well paced with enough intrigue to keep me reading (even in the face of great irritation at the voice stylings of the audio-book*). It continuously delivered on action and visceral drama and climaxed with a satisfying conclusion to the epic 5000 page tale. The characters and world were robust and communicated effectively, albeit not entirely original. 

This is probably my greatest criticism of the series. Throne of Glass digs its heels hard into almost every trope in the YA fantasy repertoire, with a few of the author’s personal favorites becoming very apparent with how often they were used (enemies-to-lovers in some form or another applied to well over 70% of the main romances in this series). There was everything from the impossibly beautiful, dark, mysterious and deadly protagonist (whomst every man falls in love with, is near-never outsmarted, and always has a lifetime of trauma before the age of 17 including murdered parents and abuse by whipping. Why is it always whipping?); relatively generic magic systems of bursting elements; main characters “discovering” their magic for the first time then becoming immediately competent and disproportionately powerful; larger-than-life dark lords; threats of worlds plunging into darkness; prophecies; a pantheon of (revealed to be false) gods; and a generic Christmas reskin, are just a few of the additional tropes ToG employs. Most importantly however, we mustn’t leave out how almost every character significance is beautiful beyond reason, hot, sexy, incredibly competent, and always outfitted with either the most alluring curves, or hardest muscle known to the genre. Oh, and why is that fantasy heroines are always sluts for chocolate? What is that?

The heavy presence and soon-forged expectation of these tropes allowed me to skim guiltlessly over large swaths of the story, as I already knew the gist of most plot points without actually having to read them.

All that being said however, I have nothing against tropes or the use of them in storytelling, nor do I think the absence of them guarantees a good narrative. I very much enjoy reading stories that are rife with them. Some stories (i.e Not So Shoujo Love Story or any parody ever) thrive off the self-aware exploitation of tropes. However I do find the overuse of them can make it difficult for a work to really “stand apart” from any others in the same genre. This is the case for ToG. It is a very engaging world but there is nothing truly original in it. I think a reader’s steadfast allegiance to this world will largely depend on if it was the first of its kind they read.

Besides suffering additionally from little YA genre stylings, such as the overuse of the word “shit,” (specifically in this case the phrase “all went to shit,”) and a variance of dramatic transitions loosely summarized as  “all faded to black,” ToG delivers an excellent, cohesive, and engaging story worth the time of any reader looking for a YA fantasy book.

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*Now let’s talk about the audiobooks. My opinions on the audiobook performance does not impact my overall sentiment to the content, as laid out above. However! To put it bluntly, I could not stand them. The inflection, cadence, and overall delivery dripped with an arrogance and haughtiness (which, to be fair, were all very fitting for the main character) that ultimately oozed an unpleasant “pick-me”, ”middle-school cringe” energy. (Look at me! I’m so dark and mysterious and cool. I’m an ASsAsInnnnNNNN *fweu* *fweu* as I toss imaginary knives at my friends on the playground, promptly run up the steps three at a time and lift an entire chair over my head because, I’m so agile, and strong.)

Okay, that’s all. Bye bye.

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A friend got married this past March and her wedding was "loosely #atla inspired." I was v excited at the opportunity to put together a #watertribe inspired #outfit that was #nerdy but still appropriate for #formal events. . The outfit was planned out and explored using quick #photobash in #photoshop before I gathered all the pieces. I had the pants and shoes already, bought the vest and shirt, and made the tie, bracelet, and shoulder cape. (@erinkennedydesigns actually made the cape because she's amazing). . The #shouldercape was both for the touch of "ooh la la" and also because I needed to make sure I had something to keep me warm (how wonderfully thematic). . I ended up getting to wear this same ensemble the following week for #cabbagecon (where I was disappointingly misidentified as Varrick several times 😤) If I can, I'm hoping to wear it to #sdcc in a couple weeks too!