Anime Check-in: "K" ep. 1 (rewatch)
Dec. 20th, 2025 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluapapilio
Episode 1: The Red Clan are looking for someone, SCEPTER4 opposes them, schoolboy Yashiro gets mistaken for the person they're looking for and gets rescued by a guy named Kurou only to have him turn his sword on him, calling him an evil king (aka the one who killed the Red Clan's leader). Meanwhile a naked catgirl is running around.
Hard rewatching this knowing what happens to Mikoto.
Ahh the English, always fun to listen to. XD Izumo's wasn't too bad, he's voiced by Sakurai Takahiro.
Fukuyama Jun really suits Misaki's character.
Love angela!!!
Ughh the cat is so cute.
Noo I can only hear Hetalia Italy when Yashiro speaks!!! Man, he doesn't even look that much like the person Red Clan are looking for and his voice is different. But I'm biased. Kurou was like a white night swooping in to save him, there was no need to hold him like that. 😂😉
Two people in a row assuming Yashiro is evil without even doing enough research. 😭
Hard rewatching this knowing what happens to Mikoto.
Ahh the English, always fun to listen to. XD Izumo's wasn't too bad, he's voiced by Sakurai Takahiro.
Fukuyama Jun really suits Misaki's character.
Love angela!!!
Ughh the cat is so cute.
Noo I can only hear Hetalia Italy when Yashiro speaks!!! Man, he doesn't even look that much like the person Red Clan are looking for and his voice is different. But I'm biased. Kurou was like a white night swooping in to save him, there was no need to hold him like that. 😂😉
Two people in a row assuming Yashiro is evil without even doing enough research. 😭
(no subject)
Dec. 20th, 2025 07:18 pmkradeelav'man this reminds me of one of those ICU weeks' < not what you want to hear from me lol
was. another one of those days.
real glad i remembered a bunch of tricks like typing up all the detailed notes/timestamps in a 3 page file with multiple copies when there was an hour of lucidity since it's what got her in a specialist place tonight back in the big city again. (docs tend to take one a lot more seriously if you come in with a notebook of shit that can be cross-referenced with discharge papers. also helps to summarize things when your higher function brain is absolutely fried from lack of sleep. bonus if you speak that medical acronym language.)
now it's the waiting game again.
was. another one of those days.
real glad i remembered a bunch of tricks like typing up all the detailed notes/timestamps in a 3 page file with multiple copies when there was an hour of lucidity since it's what got her in a specialist place tonight back in the big city again. (docs tend to take one a lot more seriously if you come in with a notebook of shit that can be cross-referenced with discharge papers. also helps to summarize things when your higher function brain is absolutely fried from lack of sleep. bonus if you speak that medical acronym language.)
now it's the waiting game again.
Daily Happiness
Dec. 20th, 2025 03:34 pmtorachan1. We decided to skip Disneyland today due to the crowd levels, and instead we walked up to a little restaurant down the street from us that we recently saw on a "best breakfast burritos in LA" video. We'd eaten there before, but not for breakfast, so we'd been meaning to check it out. Carla actually went up there herself a couple times recently for breakfast burritos and confirmed they were very good, but this was my first time. It was indeed very good!
2. While I was walking back from the farmers market this morning, I saw some signs by the college across the street from us saying there was a holiday art fair this weekend. I didn't stop to check it out then, but I wanted to take another walk this afternoon, so I popped in to check it out. They had lots of neat stuff, though most of it was not anything I'd have a use for. I did get a couple hand blown glass ornaments, though.
I got the purple one on the bottom row left, and the multicolored one on the top row next to the yellow/orange one. I went without Carla today, but we might go back together tomorrow so she can look around, too.
3. We recently found this new to us variety of apples called Sugar Bee and they are so good! Really good texture and they have such a good sweet apple taste.
4. Gotta love those Gemma profile shots.
2. While I was walking back from the farmers market this morning, I saw some signs by the college across the street from us saying there was a holiday art fair this weekend. I didn't stop to check it out then, but I wanted to take another walk this afternoon, so I popped in to check it out. They had lots of neat stuff, though most of it was not anything I'd have a use for. I did get a couple hand blown glass ornaments, though.
I got the purple one on the bottom row left, and the multicolored one on the top row next to the yellow/orange one. I went without Carla today, but we might go back together tomorrow so she can look around, too.
3. We recently found this new to us variety of apples called Sugar Bee and they are so good! Really good texture and they have such a good sweet apple taste.
4. Gotta love those Gemma profile shots.
The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Saturday, December 20
Dec. 20th, 2025 11:48 pmveronyxk84 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
su_herald
XANDER: Ahh. Buffy and food.
WILLOW: Maybe we shouldn't be too couple-y around Buffy.
CORDELIA: Oh, you mean 'cause of how the only guy that ever liked her turned into a vicious killer and had to be put down like a dog?
XANDER: Can she cram complex issues into a nutshell, or what?
WILLOW: Maybe we shouldn't be too couple-y around Buffy.
CORDELIA: Oh, you mean 'cause of how the only guy that ever liked her turned into a vicious killer and had to be put down like a dog?
XANDER: Can she cram complex issues into a nutshell, or what?
~~BtVS 3x03 “Faith, Hope, & Trick”~~
[Drabbles & Short Fiction]
- [Collection] 9 BtVS works for Fic In A Box 2025 (various ratings) by Unrevealed Authors
- [Collection] 2 AtS works for Fic In A Box 2025 (various ratings) by Unrevealed Authors
- Toucan (Xander/Spike, E) by scaryfangirl2001
- Show Me You Care (Buffy/Spike, E) by IlliterateUnicorn
- Christmas Together (Xander/Andrew, G) by WoebegoneFred
- The Witches Two: (Tara/Willow, Kennedy/Willow, Buffy/Spike, T) by TheLightdancer
- i like the way you kiss me (Buffy/Giles, T) by Skyson
- Much Ado About Something, Maybe? (Buffy/Spike, T) by I_cant_find_a_name
- Riley the Vampire Slayer (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by ClowniestLivEver
- With Love From Me To You (Buffy/Spike, PG) by Lilacsandorangeblossoms
[Chaptered Fiction]
- Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 405 (jojo's bizarre adventure xover, T) by madimpossibledreamer
- Another's Shoes, Chapter 3/? (Buffy, Scooby Doo xover, T) by PurpleMelpomene
- Road to Forever, Chapter 9/? (Buffy/Angel, not rated) by twiddle3
- You Make Slaying Fun, Chapters 27-28/? (Buffy/Spike, Xander/Anya, Tara/Willow, E) by cosplayermadness
- Miss Edith, Chapter 22/? (Multiple ships, E) by BeppiGirl
- Buddy the Vampire Slayer, Chapter 15/? (Angel/Darla, Angel/OC, not rated) by
- Girl's Girl, Chapter 11/15 (Buffy/Spike, Giles/Anya, E) by LadyInQuest
- A Hellmouth Christmas, Chapter 20/31 (Buffy/Giles, E) by The_Crazy_Knight
- Neighbors, Chapter 7/? (Buffy/Faith, Tara/Willow, M) by Miath
- The Pull of Darkness, Chapter 1/? (Spike/OC, Faith/OFC, Angel/Buffy, Drusilla/Spike, E) by prettylittletraitors
- 19, Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Melme1325
- More Than Just a Slayer, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by tempestt
- The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Place, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by flootzavut
- Buffy and the Slayer - Season 3, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Sunnydale Sentinel
- Father, Lead Us Not Into Temptation, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by YouCutYourHair
- Crack and Peel, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, PG) by violettathepiratequeen
- The Mistletoe Mishegas, Chapter 4 Complete! (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Kenijo
- Harmony's Hanukkah Hit-List, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Kenijo
- Which Chosen One, Chapter 1 (Buffy, Harry Potter xover, FR7) by Imperias
- Dark Gift, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Davidf89
- The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Place, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by flootzavut
- Crack and Peel, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, PG) by violettathepiratequeen
- Harmony's Hanukkah Hit-List, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Kenijo
[Images, Audio & Video]
- Gifset: Best of Season 1 │ Angel & Gunn (worksafe) by starryeyesxx
- Artwork: my boyfriends (Spike & Giles, worksafe) by brekindelo
- Artwork: slayerrrr & watcherrrr (Buffy/Giles, worksafe) by buffyannegiles
- Artwork: To add to my kinda random collection of btvs sketches: Drusilla (worksafe) by youlivhere
- Artwork: little doodle for a challenge on EF theme was “transformation”. And I wanted to draw spike as a kitty. (Buffy/Spike, worksafe) by blue-star-charmer-art
- Gifset: Buffy the Vampire Slayer – 1.08: I Robot, You Jane (Giles, Jenny, worksafe) by sophsun1
- Icons: Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers in ‘Buffy, the Vampire Slayer’, S03E21 & S03E22 (1998) (worksafe) by gellaricons
- Icons: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) - 3x21, Graduation Day (1) (Faith, worksafe) by buffyedit
- Artwork: BUFFY LOOK OUT (Buffy & Vampire Pusheen, G) by LittleRaven
[Reviews & Recaps]
- Episode 12: Prophecy Girl by The Bitch Is Back with Charisma Carpenter
- S2, Episode 1 When She Was Bad by The Bitch Is Back with Charisma Carpenter
- Rewatch: What's My Line One - Part 1 by Re-Vamped with Juliet Landau
- Rewatch: What's My Line One - Part 2 by Re-Vamped with Juliet Landau
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer S3E3 "Faith, Hope & Trick" Recap & Review (Major Slayage) by Major Slayage - A Buffy Rewatch Podcast
- Huh? So I actually really liked Season 12 by Away-Staff-6054
- PODCAST: Who Replaced All the Rats Already!? (BtVS S7E2) by It Stakes Two
[Community Announcements]
- Season Two Rewatch Schedule (Part Two) by btvs-weekly-group-rewatch
- You may have noticed the tag on some previous reblogs and posts: faith lehane ep collection 1 by elizadushkudaily
[Fandom Discussions]
- something that will always bother me is that cordelia never went to see wesley after the whole connor debacle by five-degrees
- the tragedy of Buffy Summers looking at Dawn, this innocent teenage girl, a mirror of who she could’ve been by femmedefandom
- Cause I’ve thought way too much about where the other Hellmouths could be in the Buffyverse by dancinginthesapphicmoonlight
- how does willow remember when dawn first started writing her diary when she was 7 by true-bluesargent
- There’s something that makes me go insane about how Tara is the only one who is able to see that “Buffy” (Faith in Buffy’s body) isn’t herself by honourablepranksinatra
- Saw a comment saying Spike didn’t love Buffy, he was just obsessed with her, among other things by fleursolaris
- In season 5, we do see Buffy struggling to truly let Riley in, and be her support in all the ways she needs by yourfandomfreak
- one reason I like and appreciate the Buffy and Angel interactions in the crossovers by yourfandomfreak
- I know that by the time season 3 was airing, they knew that Angel was going to leave at the end to be on his own spinoff by yourfandomfreak
- season 7 [...] is the world’s best idea for a final season big bad by rorykillmore
- Dawn was originally meant to be younger! by bakedspoonie
- Oz... Wild At Heart by r401toronto
- How do you generally feel about Joyce as a character? Did you like her or are you not a fan of her character? by gloomydreamer666
- This show [AtS] hits me deep by Accomplished-Neck357
- My two-part hot take about [AtS] season 4 by SHough61086
- S03e10 Amends. Were The First always planned to be the series Big Bad? by HolocronSurvivor80
- what is your favourite and least favourite episode from the later seasons of buffy? by ProgrammerNo700
- Buffy: The Cliff's Notes by asophisticatedbitch
[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]
- PUBLICATION: 25 Years Ago Today, Buffy Got Rid of a Controversial Character (And Their Return Would Eventually Be Great) by ComicBook.com
- PUBLICATION: Not Bringing Faith Back for the Buffy Revival Is a Big Missed Opportunity by DenOfGeek.com
Activity #101 - Rainbow Mystery Box
Dec. 20th, 2025 10:48 pmtinny posting in icontalking
One of the few challenges that wasn't part of the round 100 free-for-all was the Mystery Box challenge, so we'll rectify that now. Welcome to our second Mystery Box challenge!
I created seven different themed boxes, and since I didn't manage to limit myself, they're actually kind of huge... Each contains 30-40 textures and color palettes with one predominant color. You can choose from:
- purple
- red
- orange
- yellow
- green
- blue
- black/white
You can also request a random box, then I'll choose one for you.
There's a comment thread where you can leave a comment to request a box. I will send you the download link for your box as a dm.
Note: I also need a box, and when I was assembling them, one in particular seemed like it would be very challenging for me personally, so that's the one I'll pick.
Special rules for this activity:
* You have to use at least one of the provided textures OR a palette for every icon you make
* You don't have to use all of the provided materials - if you want, you can make all your icons with the same texture
* It would be nice if you mentioned which resource you used for each icon, but it's not absolutely required
(the maker name is enough for me to identify it and link it in the result post - you dont have to link it yourself)
The usual rules:
* You can make as many icons as you like (if you need a goal, five is a good number :))
* There is no minimum, 1 icon is enough to enter this activity
* Please submit your icons (and URLs!) to this post, all in one comment (if possible)
* Everyone can participate, you don't have to be a member of this community
* I will collect all the icons from the comments and make a result post
* Everyone can leave comments on this post and the activity result posts
* There is no voting
Deadline: Saturday, January 17, 2025, your end-of-day
[ SECRET POST #6924 ]
Dec. 20th, 2025 04:44 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6924 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 52 secrets from Secret Submission Post #989.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Translation to radio (BBC LotR)
Dec. 20th, 2025 09:31 pmigenlode"Little Gentlemen" has now staggered up to a grand total of five views on AO3 since publication (as opposed to the most recently-updated fic in the fandom, which features "Spanking", "Bratting", "Light Dom/sub", "Boys in Love", "Caning", and "Fluff and Smut", and currently has 1744 hits *sigh*...)
I am still working my way through the BBC "Lord of the Rings" (currently on the mistitled episode 8, "The Voice ofSauronSaruman") for washing-up purposes, and am exceedingly impressed all over again by the way that the 'translation' from page to radio has been done.
( Read more... )
I am still working my way through the BBC "Lord of the Rings" (currently on the mistitled episode 8, "The Voice of
( Read more... )
Activity Results for #100 Free For All
Dec. 20th, 2025 10:32 pmtinny posting in icontalking
We had a huge turnout for this round, and icons for six different challenges!
( 43 icons by 8 makers )
Feel free to comment here or on each maker's threads linked next to their name.
Our next activity is coming right up.
My Winter 2026 Anime To Watch
Dec. 20th, 2025 02:39 pmbluapapilioMAL List
January 4:
-Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Hana-Kimi): This is a maybe, I read the manga so long ago, my tastes might have changed.
January 6:
-Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers: Maybe, depends on reviews
January 11:
-Hikuidori: Ushuu Boro Tobi-gumi
Ones I might read the manga for first:
-Tamon-kun Ima Docchi!?
-Isekai no Sata wa Shachiku Shidai
-Saioshi no Gikei wo Mederu Tame, Nagaiki shimasu!
-Odayaka Kizoku no Kyuuka no Susume.
-"Omae Gotoki ga Maou ni Kateru to Omouna" to Yuusha Party wo Tsuihou sareta node, Outo de Kimama ni Kurashitai
-Champignon no Majo
-Dead Account
-Kono Hon wo Nusumu Mono wa
Basically unless it's an original anime, I prefer to read the manga first more and more these days.
January 4:
-Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Hana-Kimi): This is a maybe, I read the manga so long ago, my tastes might have changed.
January 6:
-Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers: Maybe, depends on reviews
January 11:
-Hikuidori: Ushuu Boro Tobi-gumi
Ones I might read the manga for first:
-Tamon-kun Ima Docchi!?
-Isekai no Sata wa Shachiku Shidai
-Saioshi no Gikei wo Mederu Tame, Nagaiki shimasu!
-Odayaka Kizoku no Kyuuka no Susume.
-"Omae Gotoki ga Maou ni Kateru to Omouna" to Yuusha Party wo Tsuihou sareta node, Outo de Kimama ni Kurashitai
-Champignon no Majo
-Dead Account
-Kono Hon wo Nusumu Mono wa
Basically unless it's an original anime, I prefer to read the manga first more and more these days.
Weekly Reading
Dec. 20th, 2025 11:49 amtorachanRecently Finished
Strange Pictures
I was going to hold off on reading the novel version of this until the final volume(s) of the manga are released, since I've already read three volumes of the manga, but it came up again as recommended, this time on Hoopla, so I went for it. I do think Uketsu's novels work better as manga. Inserting the illustrations in the novel version feels more repetitive, whereas since the manga is all pictures, having the characters refer back to stuff feels more natural. I'm still going to read the rest of the manga when it's released (Strange Houses was five volumes, but Strange Pictures feels like it could be just four, so the next one might be the final one), just to see if there are any major differences. Anyway, I enjoyed this one but I do like Strange Houses better.
The Bletchley Riddle
Middle grade book about a girl who is trying to investigate her mother's disappearance. When she runs away from the man her grandmother hired to take her to live with her in America, she instead goes to live with her brother, who is working at Bletchley Park as a code breaker. The book is told in alternating POV chapters between brother and sister, and the audiobook had two narrators. I liked it a lot.
Murder on Platform Four
Another Tate and Bell mystery. These are very quick reads.
The Kamogawa Food Detectives
Speaking of quick reads, this one was super short. I got the audiobook in a sale and figured I'd check it out. It was only about five hours long. I did like the narrator, decent Japanese pronunciation, but the book itself was pretty dull. I think I might enjoy this okay as a manga, where you can just glance at the pictures of food and be on your way, but I don't need to listen to long descriptions. And a lot of what I like about mysteries is the process of the characters finding clues and working things out, but the way this is written is each customer's request is broken into two chapters, one where they come to the restaurant and tell them what kind of food they are looking to recreate. Then the second chapter is the food being presented to them. There is some exposition about how the guy figured out what they were remembering and how to find it, but it wasn't at all satisfying in any sort of mystery way. There are several more books in the series, but I'm not going to bother with them. It's not bad, just not for me.
Maps of the Disney Parks: Charting 60 Years from California to Shanghai
I bought this at Disneyland the other day. Nice coffee table book of maps of all the Disney parks currently in existence, with a small amount of text sprinkled throughout. I noticed several other reviewers on GR mentioned what I was feeling, which is that while this is nice, it's not quite what I was expecting or wanted from the title, which was the actual park maps. This has a few, but the vast majority of the maps are concept drawings and things like that. I would a book that compared park maps over the years.
My Home Hero vol. 18-19
Strange Pictures
I was going to hold off on reading the novel version of this until the final volume(s) of the manga are released, since I've already read three volumes of the manga, but it came up again as recommended, this time on Hoopla, so I went for it. I do think Uketsu's novels work better as manga. Inserting the illustrations in the novel version feels more repetitive, whereas since the manga is all pictures, having the characters refer back to stuff feels more natural. I'm still going to read the rest of the manga when it's released (Strange Houses was five volumes, but Strange Pictures feels like it could be just four, so the next one might be the final one), just to see if there are any major differences. Anyway, I enjoyed this one but I do like Strange Houses better.
The Bletchley Riddle
Middle grade book about a girl who is trying to investigate her mother's disappearance. When she runs away from the man her grandmother hired to take her to live with her in America, she instead goes to live with her brother, who is working at Bletchley Park as a code breaker. The book is told in alternating POV chapters between brother and sister, and the audiobook had two narrators. I liked it a lot.
Murder on Platform Four
Another Tate and Bell mystery. These are very quick reads.
The Kamogawa Food Detectives
Speaking of quick reads, this one was super short. I got the audiobook in a sale and figured I'd check it out. It was only about five hours long. I did like the narrator, decent Japanese pronunciation, but the book itself was pretty dull. I think I might enjoy this okay as a manga, where you can just glance at the pictures of food and be on your way, but I don't need to listen to long descriptions. And a lot of what I like about mysteries is the process of the characters finding clues and working things out, but the way this is written is each customer's request is broken into two chapters, one where they come to the restaurant and tell them what kind of food they are looking to recreate. Then the second chapter is the food being presented to them. There is some exposition about how the guy figured out what they were remembering and how to find it, but it wasn't at all satisfying in any sort of mystery way. There are several more books in the series, but I'm not going to bother with them. It's not bad, just not for me.
Maps of the Disney Parks: Charting 60 Years from California to Shanghai
I bought this at Disneyland the other day. Nice coffee table book of maps of all the Disney parks currently in existence, with a small amount of text sprinkled throughout. I noticed several other reviewers on GR mentioned what I was feeling, which is that while this is nice, it's not quite what I was expecting or wanted from the title, which was the actual park maps. This has a few, but the vast majority of the maps are concept drawings and things like that. I would a book that compared park maps over the years.
My Home Hero vol. 18-19
2026 Monster Theme Poll
Dec. 20th, 2025 10:43 amrunpunkrun posting in fancakeArrrre you rrrrready to rrrrrrumble??? It's the MONSTER THEME POLL at Fancake Memorial Coliseum!! In town one week only!! Polls close on the 27th!
Poll #33979 2026 Monster Theme Poll
This poll is closed.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 120
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 120
Pick 10 new themes for 2026:
Adoption
21 (17.8%)
Afterlife
15 (12.7%)
Aliens
20 (16.9%)
Angst
20 (16.9%)
Books & Writing
21 (17.8%)
Character Study
28 (23.7%)
Collaborations & Remixes
24 (20.3%)
Coming of Age/Rites of Passage
22 (18.6%)
Community
22 (18.6%)
Crack Treated Seriously
45 (38.1%)
Fandom (characters involved in fandom, works involving fandom, meta about fandom)
20 (16.9%)
Fannish Non-Fiction (meta, tutorials, resources)
26 (22.0%)
Fantasy (elves, unicorns, et al)
28 (23.7%)
Fluff
25 (21.2%)
Games & Competitions
11 (9.3%)
Gothic
21 (17.8%)
Holidays & Celebrations
14 (11.9%)
Horror
20 (16.9%)
In Denial
23 (19.5%)
Inept in Love
31 (26.3%)
Journey/Travel
27 (22.9%)
Just Like Canon
23 (19.5%)
Kink
23 (19.5%)
Kisses
19 (16.1%)
Manners & Etiquette (including mannerpunk)
20 (16.9%)
Matchmaking
21 (17.8%)
Meet the Family
25 (21.2%)
Mentors & Protegees
26 (22.0%)
Music
18 (15.3%)
Neurodivergent Characters
22 (18.6%)
New Releases (I'll let you determine what's "new" for the fandom)
16 (13.6%)
Original Characters
14 (11.9%)
Outstanding Prose
22 (18.6%)
Podfic
13 (11.0%)
Power Dynamics
28 (23.7%)
Protest & Revolt
11 (9.3%)
PWP (Porn Without Plot or Plot? What Plot?)
14 (11.9%)
Role Reversal
22 (18.6%)
Romance
19 (16.1%)
RPF
18 (15.3%)
Short Fiction (under 2000 words)
23 (19.5%)
Siblings
26 (22.0%)
Social Media
18 (15.3%)
Unpopular Characters
26 (22.0%)
Unreliable Narrator
40 (33.9%)
Vampires
21 (17.8%)
Villains
15 (12.7%)
War
9 (7.6%)
Whump
23 (19.5%)
Pick 3 classic themes you'd like to revisit:
Arranged Marriage
52 (43.7%)
Cops & Crime
14 (11.8%)
Epistolary
41 (34.5%)
Forced Proximity
36 (30.3%)
Future Fic
24 (20.2%)
Historical AUs
35 (29.4%)
Pining
42 (35.3%)
Threesome
38 (31.9%)
Worldbuilding
58 (48.7%)
Book review: Solo Dance
Dec. 20th, 2025 09:26 amrocky41_7 posting in fffridayLast night I wrapped up Solo Dance by Kotomi Li, translated from Japanese by Arthur Morris. This short book is about a young gay Taiwanese woman who struggles with both internal and external homophobia, and eventually moves to Japan looking for understanding.
Queer stories from other countries are always interesting to me and it’s a good reminder that progress has not been even all over the world. Much of the book is pretty depressing, because the protagonist struggled with fitting in even before she realized she was gay, and she has some real struggles. She is battling severe depression for much of the book and at several points, suicidality.
The book is touching in that the protagonist’s struggles feel real and she’s someone who is so close to having positive experience that could change her life for the better, but her luck keeps dropping on the other side each time.
I don’t want to spoil too much about the end, but while I was grateful for the overall tone of the it, it is contrived and not very believable. But I did enjoy the protagonist’s travels leading up to that point. It’s not at all subtle, and it packs a lot more plot into the final handful of chapters than the rest of the book, but it was still sweet to see the protagonist’s perspective shift a little through her engagements with other people.
I’m not sure if it’s the translation or the original prose, but the language is stilted and very emotionally distant. The reader is kept at arm’s length from the protagonist virtually the whole novel, and while we’re often told she’s feeling these intense feelings, I never felt it. It was like reading a clinical report of her feelings, which was disappointing.
This is Li’s first novel, and it reads that way. There’s a lot of heart in it, and I appreciate it for that, but it lacks a lot in technical skill. I would be interested to see more of Li’s future work, when she’s had more time to polish her ability, but I don’t regret taking the time with this one.