The Sunshine Blogger Award #4

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I…have been selected again for a Sunshine Blogger Award; this time courtesy of Extra Life Reviews who has solid opinions and the chops to back them up.  You should check him out!

The Sunshine Blogger Award ChallengeI might have let this one go by the wayside if I wasn’t so intrigued by the questions.  So without further ado, let’s get to it!

Have you ever watched a critically acclaimed show only to feel it didn’t live up to the hype?

I tried watching The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and I just couldn’t get into it. It’s possible I’ll like it upon a second viewing since that’s what occurred with me and Arrested Development.  There’s also The Office (American version), but I attempted that years ago, and I was a different person then.

After truly getting into the medium and observing the many times film critics failed to see eye-to-eye with fans, I’ve come down to the conclusion that the former faction could stand to improve themselves. How do you think they should go about doing that?

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The State of the Writer: 9/9/18

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<–The State of the Writer: 8/26/18          The State of the Writer: 9/23/18–>

A biweekly post updated every Sunday discussing my current writing projects and any completed the prior two weeks.

Finished Projects: 2

Project: Story
Title: The Broken Rose
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Fanfiction (FFVII) Novel
Current Word Count: 258,319
Prior Word Count: 259,639
Word Difference: -1320
Status: Preparing to (Re)Post
Progress: Early chapter review complete

Extremely realistic painting of a white rose with pinkish interior with the artist standing in the right cornerI don’t even remember when the hell I decided to go back and do this revision, but I think it’s finally done.  I completed a third edit of Chapter 11 yesterday, and while I think it would benefit from a fourth, there’s no reason I can’t start reposting the beginning chapters at this time.  This week’s plan is to figure out the best way to do that, since it has to be done on multiple platforms.

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Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer #1)

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Title: Strange the Dreamer
Series Title: Strange the Dreamer
Author: Laini Taylor
Date Added: April 18, 2016
Date Started: August 26, 2017
Date Finished: December 20, 2017
Reading Duration: 116 days
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult (YA)

Strange the Dreamer coverPages: 528
Publication Date: May 28, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Media: Hardback

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

When we become waterlogged, and the cage disintegrates, we will intermingle.  When this paper aeroplane leaves the cliff edge, and carves parallel vapour trails in the dark, we will come together.

-Dear Esther

The dream is strange and strange is the dreamer.  Lazlo, the only other name he has.  A war orphan raised by monks, he very early on falls in love with story even as he’s near broken by abuse, and the one tale he can never forget is of the forgotten city of Weep.  Lazlo’s passion for this lost land is equivalent to mine for Final Fantasy VII, which no one can ever quite share.

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The State of the Gamer: 9/4/18

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<–The State of the Gamer: 8/21/18            The State of the Gamer: 9/18/18–>

A weekly post updated every other Tuesday detailing my current gaming projects.  I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!

What I Played

Title: Octopath Traveler
System: Nintendo Switch

Octopath Traveler coverDate Started: August 11, 2018

I found two Job Shrines: Scholar and Thief.  I gave thief to Tressa at the recommendation of Drakulus and gave Scholar to Olberic, because he’s my permanent party member, and I want someone to have the Analyze ability (at all times). It was confirmed for me that each character’s special ability (like Therion’s chest opening skill) remains their own even if you give another character their same job, so I’ll continue to bring the thief with me into new territories and dungeons.

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The State of the Reader: 8/29/18

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<–The State of the Reader: 8/15/18          The State of the Reader: 9/12/18–>

A weekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Books Purchased: 8

There were a lot of sales these past two weeks, and I’ve started getting emails from Goodreads for deals.  I also conveniently just received Elric today in the mail.  I’ve been looking for this book forever.  It’s either ridiculously expensive or nonexistent, so I was happy to get it for less than $10.

Books DNF: 2

Title: Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood
Series Title: Monstress
Author: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Date Added: August 21, 2017
Date Started: August 9, 2018

Monstress, Vol. 2: The BloodMedia: Paperback (Library)

When reading something becomes a chore and it’s not a reference, it’s time to put it to the side.  The artwork is gorgeous, but I really don’t like the main character, so I don’t really care about her journey and mission.  This is another one where you’d think I would; I mean she’s trying to piece together her dead mother’s life, but I was more interested in the little fox and the two-tailed cat.

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The Gamer Confessions Tag

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I can’t remember the last time I did a game related tag if I ever have, and this one comes from one of my favorite bloggers Drakulus whom I helped convert into a Final Fantasy fan yass.  Nah, he’s an open minded guy who, along with other blogger buddies, has helped convince me to give FFXV a chance.  ANYWAY, this looked like fun so I snagged it.

Gamer Confessions Tag

A game everyone loves that you can’t stand

Okami picture

Okami

“Can’t stand” is kind of harsh.  I don’t hate this game, but I certainly didn’t love it as much as I thought I would.  It seems like something anyone into Zelda would adore, but I just couldn’t get past the annoying bug helper character and the weird vocalizations.  I loved the wolf though.

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The State of the Writer: 8/26/18

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<–The State of the Writer: 8/12/18          The State of the Writer: 9/9/18–>

A biweekly post updated every Sunday discussing my current writing projects and any completed the prior two weeks.

Finished Projects: 5

Project: Story
Title: The Broken Rose
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Fanfiction (FFVII) Novel
Current Word Count: 259,639
Prior Word Count: 261,248
Word Difference: -1609
Status: Review
Progress: Chapter 11 First Edit

A lot of cuts these past two weeks.  I decided to move the nail polish thing to another chapter (…it’s amazing what writers deem important lol), because I think it would better serve in a place that’s not introspective and more active.  I’m in the process of doing the first edit, and it’s only been difficult because I’ve been so tired.  But I persevere.

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