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Mar. 2nd, 2026 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cahnTime to update on the kiddos! ( Screen time; E's classes; math competitions; A's school is not visibly a dumpster fire which is I guess progress; A is growing up )
cahn
Lily watches: "Land of the Lustrous"
Mar. 2nd, 2026 11:05 pmatamascolilyThis was a gorgeous 3-D animated series from 2017 that I am just now catching up on... evocative of Steven Universe (sentient gems with the properties of their namesake) and the Ship of Theseus (all kind of fascinating philosophical questions about identity and personhood). Overall, the vibes are tragic and existential, which is not a bad thing, but it can be depressing at times.
The aesthetic and the fight animation were my favorite parts, hands down. I knew I was going to like this show the moment the antagonists - "Lunarians" who are hunting the gems - turned up with their ghostly Buddhist-themed floating pavilions, like a cross between Madoka Magica and the Lotus Sutra, and it did not disappoint me. Chiwa Saito does a fantastic job voicing a pink snail, and there are some fun character moments amid the tragedy and heartbreak - and literal breakage, as gems shatter and are pieced back together in every episode.
Special shout-out to episode 10, which had me on the edge of my seat for two-thirds of its run; rarely have I been so invested in an extended action sequence. And then episode 11 has the most unexpected resolution possible! Incredible. I'm going to be thinking about that for a long time.
One thing I didn't like is that there are so many gem characters, it's hard to keep track of them all, and most are in the background unless it's their turn to hang out with the protagonist. Sometimes it feels like gems literally show up as they're needed instead of being there from the beginning. The protagonist starts out as the typical klutz with a good heart, which can be annoying at first, but they quickly got put through the wringer and transformed to the point where I ended up missing their old personality - an excellent example of "be careful what you wish for"! Also, there's one relationship that is heavily teased in the opening credits, but while those characters are important to each other and the plot/themes, they don't get a ton of screen time, so the opening is not as representative of the show's contents as I expected.
Unfortunately, the anime is only 12 episodes and it ends on a cliffhanger, and season 2 is non-existent after almost a decade and may not ever happen. The manga is complete, and I read a summary of some of the key plot points and... I only got a small fraction of it, but what the fuck. What the actual fuck.
I'm torn between reading the manga in full to see if it's as wild as the summaries claim, or if I'm better off pretending the anime is all there is and coming up with my own ideas. Either way, I'm glad I watched this and would recommend this series to others who are interested in animation and/or philosophy and who are up for characters suffering beautifully and being repeatedly traumatized by The Horrors.
The aesthetic and the fight animation were my favorite parts, hands down. I knew I was going to like this show the moment the antagonists - "Lunarians" who are hunting the gems - turned up with their ghostly Buddhist-themed floating pavilions, like a cross between Madoka Magica and the Lotus Sutra, and it did not disappoint me. Chiwa Saito does a fantastic job voicing a pink snail, and there are some fun character moments amid the tragedy and heartbreak - and literal breakage, as gems shatter and are pieced back together in every episode.
Special shout-out to episode 10, which had me on the edge of my seat for two-thirds of its run; rarely have I been so invested in an extended action sequence. And then episode 11 has the most unexpected resolution possible! Incredible. I'm going to be thinking about that for a long time.
One thing I didn't like is that there are so many gem characters, it's hard to keep track of them all, and most are in the background unless it's their turn to hang out with the protagonist. Sometimes it feels like gems literally show up as they're needed instead of being there from the beginning. The protagonist starts out as the typical klutz with a good heart, which can be annoying at first, but they quickly got put through the wringer and transformed to the point where I ended up missing their old personality - an excellent example of "be careful what you wish for"! Also, there's one relationship that is heavily teased in the opening credits, but while those characters are important to each other and the plot/themes, they don't get a ton of screen time, so the opening is not as representative of the show's contents as I expected.
Unfortunately, the anime is only 12 episodes and it ends on a cliffhanger, and season 2 is non-existent after almost a decade and may not ever happen. The manga is complete, and I read a summary of some of the key plot points and... I only got a small fraction of it, but what the fuck. What the actual fuck.
I'm torn between reading the manga in full to see if it's as wild as the summaries claim, or if I'm better off pretending the anime is all there is and coming up with my own ideas. Either way, I'm glad I watched this and would recommend this series to others who are interested in animation and/or philosophy and who are up for characters suffering beautifully and being repeatedly traumatized by The Horrors.
Manga Review: RG Veda by CLAMP
Mar. 2nd, 2026 03:21 pmjuushika
Title: RG Veda
Author: CLAMP
Published: Darkhorse, 2016–7 (1989–96)
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 2070 (197+200+192+208+208+208+200+200+192+264)
Total Page Count: 566,540
Text Number: 2136–2145
Read Because: still working through manga referenced in that "the joke is that Hannibal is quite specifically a 90s dark shoujo anime/manga/light novel" Tumblr post also I just like CLAMP, borrowed from Multnomah Public Library via Hoopla
Review: This feels as it is, CLAMP's first effort: their later structure and themes are present, but in trial form. The mythic inspiration and structure, combined with retrospectively familiar and not particularly complex characters, keeps early chapters of this at a distance: character archetypes bond while defeating episodic, oversized villains; meanwhile, big and intense and much deeper interpersonal relationships are forming, queer and indelibly rooted in violence or social transgression, but these are backloaded into a too-little-too-late denouement. I'm glad I read it, it's certainly relevant to my interests, but I'm more glad CLAMP realized what they were able to achieve here and carried it forward; X in particular shares DNA, a mythic quality cut with more interpersonal, character-driven arcs, but the balance in X is significantly better and also it's one of the best manga (let's go ahead and say) of all time, so—it takes practice like this to achieve something like that.
Author: CLAMP
Published: Darkhorse, 2016–7 (1989–96)
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 2070 (197+200+192+208+208+208+200+200+192+264)
Total Page Count: 566,540
Text Number: 2136–2145
Read Because: still working through manga referenced in that "the joke is that Hannibal is quite specifically a 90s dark shoujo anime/manga/light novel" Tumblr post also I just like CLAMP, borrowed from Multnomah Public Library via Hoopla
Review: This feels as it is, CLAMP's first effort: their later structure and themes are present, but in trial form. The mythic inspiration and structure, combined with retrospectively familiar and not particularly complex characters, keeps early chapters of this at a distance: character archetypes bond while defeating episodic, oversized villains; meanwhile, big and intense and much deeper interpersonal relationships are forming, queer and indelibly rooted in violence or social transgression, but these are backloaded into a too-little-too-late denouement. I'm glad I read it, it's certainly relevant to my interests, but I'm more glad CLAMP realized what they were able to achieve here and carried it forward; X in particular shares DNA, a mythic quality cut with more interpersonal, character-driven arcs, but the balance in X is significantly better and also it's one of the best manga (let's go ahead and say) of all time, so—it takes practice like this to achieve something like that.
Book Review: My Loose Thread by Dennis Cooper
Mar. 2nd, 2026 02:48 pmjuushika
Title: My Loose Thread
Author: Dennis Cooper
Published: Canongate Books, 2002
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 120
Total Page Count: 564,470
Text Number: 2135
Read Because: once again, this gay incest book list, hardback borrowed from Tacoma Public Library via ILL
Review: Fellas, is it gay to have sex with your kid brother because you're both in love with the same guy? Also, gun violence. Insufferable and gladly suffered, this has the heightened-but-stunted emotional register that best evokes adolescence, plot placed between the staccato, sparse, dialog-first lines of scenes where the protagonist repeatedly bumps against the limit of his emotional capacity. More than 120 pages would be too much, and yet I'm putting the rest of Cooper's oeuvre on my TBR & this one on my list of books to reread. It really worked for me.
Author: Dennis Cooper
Published: Canongate Books, 2002
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 120
Total Page Count: 564,470
Text Number: 2135
Read Because: once again, this gay incest book list, hardback borrowed from Tacoma Public Library via ILL
Review: Fellas, is it gay to have sex with your kid brother because you're both in love with the same guy? Also, gun violence. Insufferable and gladly suffered, this has the heightened-but-stunted emotional register that best evokes adolescence, plot placed between the staccato, sparse, dialog-first lines of scenes where the protagonist repeatedly bumps against the limit of his emotional capacity. More than 120 pages would be too much, and yet I'm putting the rest of Cooper's oeuvre on my TBR & this one on my list of books to reread. It really worked for me.
Chat corner, dressed up (or down)
Mar. 2nd, 2026 07:32 pmannathecrow posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
dreamwarsHi everyone,
I'm here with the weekly chat post. Something to share? (I really loved all the pet comments last week, by the way.)
~ ~ ~
Okay, hmm... I haven't done anything Star Wars-y lately. I did seriously consider wearing my SW sweatpants to work today, though! (Laundry organization failure. Again. I am a functional adult.) Do you have any SW-themed clothing? Merch, cosplay, casual cosplay, something else?
The Jewish War: First half of Book 2
Mar. 1st, 2026 08:02 pmcahnLast week: Discussion on how Herod stacked up against various Roman emperors in terms of body count of his nearest and dearest; how Friedrich Wilhelm might hear the Josephus text; Herod throwing money around; Cleopatra!
This week: ...uhhhh there was a lot going on and I haven't actually finished the reading yet *ducks* -- I am doing that right now and I should most likely be able to comment tomorrow. (I don't anticipate this being a problem again for at least two more months, and most likely not then either; this was a confluence of various time sinks that doesn't usually happen all at the same time.) But I wanted to go ahead and get the post up because I know you guys have read it...
Next week: finishing up Book 2!
This week: ...uhhhh there was a lot going on and I haven't actually finished the reading yet *ducks* -- I am doing that right now and I should most likely be able to comment tomorrow. (I don't anticipate this being a problem again for at least two more months, and most likely not then either; this was a confluence of various time sinks that doesn't usually happen all at the same time.) But I wanted to go ahead and get the post up because I know you guys have read it...
Next week: finishing up Book 2!
February recs: 6 belated Yuletide recs
Feb. 28th, 2026 07:43 pmschneefinkThis is the first weekend in a long time for which I had no outside plans, and it was sunny and I was so looking forward to going for a walk, but instead I was sick in bed. Uuuuugh.
But it is the last day of February so have some last-minute recs for some of my favorite Yuletide 2025 fics with no canon knowledge required.
( 6 fics with no canon knowledge required: Chalion Saga, Dangerous Crow Boy Whose Job It Is To Destroy Plastic, The Lottery/The New Yorker, Sieben Jahre/18th century Prussia RPF, FAQ: The Snake Fight portion of your thesis defense, Knives Out movies )
But it is the last day of February so have some last-minute recs for some of my favorite Yuletide 2025 fics with no canon knowledge required.
( 6 fics with no canon knowledge required: Chalion Saga, Dangerous Crow Boy Whose Job It Is To Destroy Plastic, The Lottery/The New Yorker, Sieben Jahre/18th century Prussia RPF, FAQ: The Snake Fight portion of your thesis defense, Knives Out movies )
Multifandom: Be The First
Feb. 28th, 2026 06:16 pmgalerian_ash posting in fandomcalendarBe The First, the annual challenge to write for a fandom that has no fics, is now open for sign-ups!
• FAQ
• Sign-ups
• Fandom Promos
• AO3 Collection
• FAQ
• Sign-ups
• Fandom Promos
• AO3 Collection
Initial Pinch Hits #1-6
Feb. 27th, 2026 05:43 amslashmarks posting in goreswapThe following pinch hits need creators and are due at the same time as assignments, on April 12th at 11:59 PM EDT. Assignments must be at least 500 words or a sketch on unlined paper, and must include significant gore content. To claim a pinch hit, either comment on this post or email me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com including the assignment you want and your AO3 username. Comments are screened. If you post an anonymous comment, I can't reply to it.
( Pinch Hit #1: Art, Fic - The Starving Saints - Caitlin Starling, Trigun (Anime & Manga 1995-2008), Blue Eye Samurai (Cartoon), Dredge (Video Game), The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling )
( Pinch Hit #2: Art, Fic - Stranger Things (TV 2016) )
( Pinch Hit #3: Art, Fic - 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), 镇魂 | Guardian - priest )
( Pinch Hit #4: Art, Fic - Gachiakuta (Anime), ダンジョン飯 | Dungeon Meshi | Delicious in Dungeon, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Helluva Boss (Web Series) )
( Pinch Hit #5: Fic - Night Prince - Jeaniene Frost, グノーシア | Gnosia (Visual Novel), Dracula Rising (Cartoon) )
( Pinch Hit #6: Art, Fic - W.I.T.C.H., Winx Club, D.Gray-man (Anime & Manga), カヤちゃんはコワくない | Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai | Kaya-chan Isn't Scary (Anime), SK8 the Infinity (Anime) )
( Pinch Hit #1: Art, Fic - The Starving Saints - Caitlin Starling, Trigun (Anime & Manga 1995-2008), Blue Eye Samurai (Cartoon), Dredge (Video Game), The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling )
( Pinch Hit #3: Art, Fic - 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), 镇魂 | Guardian - priest )
( Pinch Hit #5: Fic - Night Prince - Jeaniene Frost, グノーシア | Gnosia (Visual Novel), Dracula Rising (Cartoon) )
( Pinch Hit #6: Art, Fic - W.I.T.C.H., Winx Club, D.Gray-man (Anime & Manga), カヤちゃんはコワくない | Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai | Kaya-chan Isn't Scary (Anime), SK8 the Infinity (Anime) )
Assignments Out!
Feb. 27th, 2026 05:33 amslashmarks posting in goreswapAssignments are out! Have fun creating, everyone!
Assignments are due April 12th, at 11:59 PM EDT. They must be at least 500 words or a nice sketch on unlined paper, with significant gore content, and respect your recipient's reasonable DNWs. Remember to stay anonymous until creators are revealed on May 1st! Do not contact your recipient directly. If you need to ask a clarifying question, or have any other problems, please contact me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com, and I will pass the question on anonymously or otherwise assist you.
Assignments are due April 12th, at 11:59 PM EDT. They must be at least 500 words or a nice sketch on unlined paper, with significant gore content, and respect your recipient's reasonable DNWs. Remember to stay anonymous until creators are revealed on May 1st! Do not contact your recipient directly. If you need to ask a clarifying question, or have any other problems, please contact me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com, and I will pass the question on anonymously or otherwise assist you.
Delay + PDPHs: 2, 4, 9, 10, 13, 14, 22, 29, 30, 32
Feb. 26th, 2026 08:37 pmtavina posting in au5kNavigation: Rules and Info Post | 2025 Collection | Mod Contact: TavinaFanfiction@gmail.com
As we still have 10 pinch hits in search of a creator, we will be delaying reveals for two weeks in order to find pinch hitters. Work reveals will now be on March 15th, at 10pm EDT and creator reveals will be pushed back to two weeks after that, on March 29th at 10pm EDT.
We currently have 10 pinch hits due on March 13th, 2026 at 10pm EDT.
Pinch hits must meet the assignment minimums (see minimums under “assignments” on the Rules and Info Post.)
In order to pick up a pinch hit either email the modmail or comment on this post (all comments on this post are screened) with:
- The number and or username of the pinch hit you would like to pick up
- Your ao3 username
- An email where I can reach you
Fandom Promos
Feb. 27th, 2026 01:30 amgalerian_ash posting in bethefirstHave you already decided what fandom(s) to write for? If so, how about doing a little promoting? :D
We've all chosen tiny obscure canons, needless to say. But by posting here you might be able to entice someone else to give it a try — or perhaps you'll even run into a fellow fan, who can't wait to read your coming fic.
Your promo can be long or short, and contain whatever you feel like. Want to post a couple of intriguing screencaps from a movie? Quote a few paragraphs from a book? Rec the best episode of an anime or a TV series? Talk about why you love your favorite character and/or pairing from your fandom? It's all good; anything goes!
We've all chosen tiny obscure canons, needless to say. But by posting here you might be able to entice someone else to give it a try — or perhaps you'll even run into a fellow fan, who can't wait to read your coming fic.
Your promo can be long or short, and contain whatever you feel like. Want to post a couple of intriguing screencaps from a movie? Quote a few paragraphs from a book? Rec the best episode of an anime or a TV series? Talk about why you love your favorite character and/or pairing from your fandom? It's all good; anything goes!