In a surprising (?) twist, some of the original NaNoWriMo crew, including founder Chris Baty, established a site called nano2. They promise not to support AI and to guarantee the safety of minors. No obligation for 50k words, just to write in November. They also promise badges. Am currently watching from afar.
Sometimes I wish DW has a like button for posts, like on social media.
udm14, for AI-free search results (new to me).
thirty30, write 30k words in 30 days. It takes place four times a year, and the next challenge is live in November.
After a long time, I get v. excited again over a shounen anime, and it is, not surprisingly, Demon Slayers/Kimetsu no Yaiba. I love how kind-hearted the siblings are, and how the story forgoes the "must fight a group of super powerful good guys first before facing the group of bad guys" trope. Will just wait for the movies to be available online.
NaNoWriMo is as good as, if not officially, closed. I'll just remember the good things, like how it's helped launch my writing career. (I guess I can call it that?) One of the alternatives that have sprung up is Weeknight Writers. Their First Draft Fall event, whose goal is to create a first draft, will begin on October 1st and run through December 13th.
Thank you very much ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pensnest for the DW points ♥
My favorite video this week: D.O.'s cover of Love Wins All, feat. IU.
Knights of the Zodiac: The much-maligned live-action (...) adaptation of Kurumada Masami's Saint Seiya is a forgettable movie and remains a puzzling one. Why was it even made in the first place? Fans didn't ask for it, and non-fans wouldn't be interested. Unless they just want to watch Mackenyu, which, valid. Production values are so-so. Marc Dacascos steals every scene he's in. The Athena character looks better with the purple wig, and Marin looks formidable.
One thing I didn't expect and did like is the mother-daughter bond. I need to see more of that.
tw // mention of child predators
A Twitter thread on why there's been little investigation on NaNoWriMo's part on the following allegation: that one of their mods is a child predator. In a nutshell, they're dismissive and handwave-y about it, and hasn't welcomed discussions held by participants and MLs.
Per March 27, 2024, all MLs have been removed from their regions. Which makes it easier for me to consider deleting my account.
I've done NaNo since 2007 and been an ML since 2011. Joining the event has been tremendously helpful for me. I wouldn't have been where I am today without it. For the past few years, however, I haven't been contributing much. I'm also no longer in a place where I want or need to write 50k words every November. So it's time to let go.
Link to the situation summary at the end of the thread.
Interview with Kubo Tite (mangaka of Bleach) and Morita Masakazu (Ichigo's seiyuu): on staying in character after ten years, a new battle that isn't in the original manga, and more. Kubo mentions that his favorite series are Gegege no Kitaro and Saint Seiya.
Speaking of Saint Seiya, if you're a fan of the franchise, you've probably already seen the trailer for the live-action movie. It looks.... very Hollywood-ized.
Actors who have played the same Jin Yong characters twice:
Jason Piao Pai: young Guo Jing 1976, adult Guo Jing 1995
Elvis Tsui: Xie Xun 2003, Xie Xun 2021
Zhou Xun: young Huang Rong 2003, adult Huang Rong 2022/to be announced
While I'm here: Chen Kun as Guo Jing is.... something I thought I'd never see. We live in an interesting timeline.
My mobile internet package comes with a Disney+ subscription, so I easily keep up with Marvel releases.
Brief thoughts on WandaVision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Loki, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals.
( Spoilers )
