#''now'' since october 10th 2023

[frasermints]

i'm pretty sure matthew knies lives in my brain now

[undercoveravenger]

Intoxication

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Male!Reader

Requested: Yes

Request: “love potion mix-up with Billy Hargrove??”

A/N: Happy Spooky Month everyone! Here's the first post for the 2023 Spooky Month event - the next post will be dropping on Tuesday, October 10th. Hope you enjoy!

-----

Things had been strange ever since the arrival of Billy Hargrove and his little sister, Max.

Well, things in Hawkins had been weird for a lot longer than that, especially since you and your best friend Steve had befriended the group of misfit kids that called themselves “the Party”. They’d introduced the two of you to a secret side of Hawkins, where magic and curses and strange creatures ran amok. One of the kids, a girl named Eleven, was able to control objects with her mind and see beyond what was there. Another, Will, was psychic and could connect to other planes of existence. Dustin had a way of knowing how things fit together before anyone else could even guess. Steve’s coworker from Scoops Ahoy, Robin, was a witch. And now, Max and her brother. Werewolves, if what Lucas had told you was to be believed.

But you really couldn’t bring yourself to care much about Billy Hargrove. Not when so much of his life seemed to be spent antagonizing your best friend and trying to disrupt your comfortable station within the school’s hierarchy, seemingly dead set on turning your life upside down. Even at stupid parties like this one, you could hear people chanting Billy’s name while he faced off against Steve in a match of beer pong somewhere deeper in the house while you try to coax the sticker-covered flask away from Robin in the kitchen.

“Robs, babe,” you murmur, sidling up beside her and leaning back against the kitchen island, “I think Vickie likes you already. I know it’s scary to risk rejection, but a love potion isn’t the solution here.”

Robin nods slowly to herself, but her fingers don’t loosen around the metal. “But what if I can’t do it?”

You cock your head, smiling as she meets your eyes. “But isn’t asking her and knowing better than using that and not knowing how she really feels?”

It takes a moment of consideration, but your friend nods, setting the flask on the chipped marble countertop. 

“It’s more of an enhancer than-” Robin starts and it’s clear that you’re about to get one of Robin’s infamous lectures on the science of magic when she is cut off by someone snatching the flask from its place in front of the two of you.

“Aww, so sweet of you to have my next drink ready for me,” Billy Hargrove leers at you, unscrewing the cap of the flask even as his usual infuriating smirk slips over his lips, pretty blue eyes fixed on yours in with that intense, holier-than-thou look he always had. Just because he was tall and handsome and had pretty eyes and hair that you kind of want to curl your fingers into and use to pull him closer to shut him up with a kiss, doesn’t mean he could do anything but irritate you by looking at you like he knew something he wasn’t willing to share.

Your heart lurches in your chest as he raises the flask, you know you have to at least try to stop him, especially since Robin seems so stunned you’re not entirely sure she could say anything at all.

“Probably don’t wanna drink that, Hargrove,” you say, reaching out just in time to catch his wrist. “Might end up with something worse than a hangover.”

Billy leans forward against the counter, using his other forearm to prop himself up, raising an eyebrow pointedly as he looks at your hand, holding tight around his wrist, before his eyes shift up to meet yours. “You threatenin’ me?”

A derisive snort escapes you, and you gesture subtly for Robin to make her escape. The last thing you’d want is for Billy to figure out she had anything to do with whatever happens if he’s stubborn enough to drink the potion and start targeting her once it wears off. She catches your hint and mumbles an excuse about finding Steve, disappearing quickly into the crowd. 

“Of course not,” you say, releasing him and holding your hands up placatingly. Sure, you didn’t really want to spend longer than necessary around Billy Hargrove, but you wanted to spend time with a pissed off Billy Hargrove even less. “Just think it probably wouldn’t be something you would like, so I was just hoping to get it back,” you reached for it as you spoke, leaning across the island yourself to try to make a grab for the flask. 

Billy snatches it away, taking a long gulp from the mouth of the flask, grinning at you all the while. He pulls a face, but doesn’t wince the way one might at the burn of alcohol, but you can see the moment the look in his eyes starts to shift and the realization hits you with all the weight of a semi-truck.

Billy Hargrove had just taken a love potion while looking right at you. Billy Hargrove was about to be convinced that you were the love of his life.

���Well,” you say, eyes flickering around to look anywhere but at Billy, “I should really be going.” You push back upright, swiftly turning to make your way out the back door of the house and starting off down the sidewalk in the direction of your own home before Billy could speak. You don’t make it far before you realize you’re being followed, the scuff of Billy’s worn leather boots giving him away as he trails behind you.

“You’re not as stealthy as you think you are,” you call back over your shoulder, pace remaining steady even as Billy speeds up to walk beside you.

“Wasn’t tryin’ to be,” he drawls, lips quirking up into something softer than his usual sneer. “Just walkin’.” 

You study him for a long moment. “Didn’t you drive to the party? Surprised you’d leave your precious Camaro behind.”

“I’ve been drinking,” he shrugs, clearly trying to appear nonchalant. “Drunk driving’s dangerous, y’know.” He’s quiet for a minute and you find yourself almost wondering what he’s thinking.

“You don’t have to walk me home if that’s what this is,” you say, shoving your hands in your pockets and focusing your eyes on the way the lights on the stoplight a few blocks down flicker. “Steve already made me promise to call him when I get home.”

Billy huffs and he almost seems to be pouting when you glance over at him. “Don’t see why you’re with that loser in the first place. ‘s not good enough for you anyway.”

His words shock you enough that your steps falter and you have to turn to face him to see if he’s joking or not. Billy looks more serious than you’ve ever seen him, steely blue eyes fixed firmly on you. 

You have to fumble for words for a minute, the first thing you’re able to force out being a weak protest. “Steve’s not a loser!” Then the rest of his words catch up to you, “And he’s just my best friend, anyways.”

Billy seems to brighten at that, a more genuine smile crossing his lips than you’d ever seen before. “So,” he says, moving toward you slowly. The dull orange glow of the streetlights makes his hair shine almost copper and his eyes flash that distinct werewolf silver as he stalks toward you, gently herding you backward until your back is pressed to the brick wall of some long-closed business and Billy’s in front of you, arms caging you in on either side. On any other day, you might’ve felt claustrophobic- trapped and threatened by someone determined to fuck up your life. But today- with that love drunk look in Billy's eyes and that fond grin on his face, you were hesitantly pleased with your position. "If you're not with Harrington," Billy starts, leaning just a bit closer, until you can almost feel the breath of his words against your lips, "Does that mean you're available to go out with me on Friday?"

Part of you is tempted to say yes- to give in to this sweet, intoxicating side of Billy and let this go as far as he wants to take it- but the rest of you knows that what's happening is wrong.

You press a hand to Billy’s chest, pushing him back enough to give yourself some breathing room. 

"I would, but this isn't real, Billy." You force yourself to say, "You drank a love potion tonight- this- you don't mean any of this."

Billy laughs then, full and unrestrained and the most genuine you've ever heard him be. "That shit doesn't work on werewolves. Metabolism’s too fast for it to really do much of anything," he says, grin unable to be helped even as his laughter subsides. "And even if it did, the stuff that your buddy whipped up just makes feelings that's already there easier to act on."

You blink, the pressure you'd been using to keep Billy at bay slacking as you think through what he'd said. If he hadn't been affected by Robin’s potion then- 

Billy nudges closer, slipping his arms around your middle and tucking his face against the side of your neck. "The reason I was always so shitty to Harrington is that I was jealous," he murmurs softly, and you can feel the way he grins just a little wider as you start to relax against him, "I wanted to have people look at me like they look at him. I wanted to have you look at me like I was him." 

You can’t help the way your hands come up to curl around him too, the way your fingers curl into his shirt, or the way you press just a bit closer to him. You can’t help the answering grin from carving its way across your cheeks at the thought of how pleased Billy seems to be at being the center of your attention, but you also can’t stop those few little questions from itching away inside your mind. 

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” The thought escapes you almost unbidden, before you can second-guess yourself, and you can’t help but keep talking. “Why didn’t you ask me out? Or- or just say hi? Something other than-” you gesture vaguely back in the direction of the party.

The tired sigh that escapes him makes it clear he knows you’re talking about his grudge against Steve and all the drama he’s stirred up for the two of you.

“It’s-” he has to pause and think over his words for a moment before he can continue. “My experience with love is… complicated. My mom died when I was little and my dad- he changed after that. Got mean. Angry.” He swallows hard, pulling away far enough to look at you, to really look at you. “He made it clear that he expected pretty specific behavior from me and anything that didn’t meet that wasn’t… good for me. Liking a guy- well, that was pretty far from what he’d expect.” His hands drop from your sides and he steps back a bit, arms crossing over his chest like he’s trying to distance himself from his thoughts. “So I was rude and sarcastic and I was mean to Harrington because at least that kept me in your peripheral.” He meets your eyes again, bright and open and honest in the orange glow of the streetlights, “But I don’t want to just be in your peripheral anymore.” 

With all of what he'd said playing through your mind, finding the right words is proving difficult. "If we’re gonna try this, you've gotta leave Steve alone," you start finally, heart squeezing with more fondness than you're ready to admit as you watch the realization of what you mean starts to sink in and a million-watt smile pulls at Billy’s lips. "And Robin and the kids, too.”

A giddy laugh escapes Billy and he takes your hand in his, tugging you back down the street in the direction the two of you had been walking. “That’s a deal I’d make a thousand times over,” he says, grinning brightly as he walked with you, fingers intertwined with yours, hands swinging easily between the two of you.

Conversation flows easily as the two of you walk and you’re more at peace with Billy now than you could ever remember being with any of your exes, he insists on walking you home no matter how many times you tell him he doesn’t need to. 

“Go out with me on Friday?” He says as the two of you stop at the foot of your driveway. “We could go for a picnic or to the drive-in if you want?”

When he’s looking at you like that, you can’t help but agree, quickly finding yourself more and more excited about your pending date. 

Billy kisses your hand before he lets go, stepping back as you turn away from him and head for your house. 

Billy smiles to himself as he watches you make your way up the driveway, keeping watch until you're safely inside, before turning and heading off in the direction of his own home. No, he knew he'd never have needed that love potion- not when it came to you. Billy Hargrove had been intoxicated by you since the first time he met you and he knows that isn't going to change any time soon.

[ycmalholidayexchange]

❄️🎁❄️You Could Make a Life Holiday Fanwork Exchange 2024❄️🎁❄️

Hello!

Hockey is almost back which means it’s time for another You Could Make a Life Holiday Fanwork Exchange!

Mixing it up a bit this year and the event will be organized by your humble Luigrein. We hope to see you all participate!

The format will be the same as years prior:

❄️What is this?

Just a pretty normal and chill fandom exchange to celebrate the holidays. In short, you create something for another fan and get something in return!

Anyone in the You Could Make a Life fandom can participate. You can check the wrap-up posts for 2019, 2020, and 2022, or check this blog's latest posts in 2023 if you want to have an idea of what people have previously created.

❄️What can I make/get?

The idea is to:

write fic of at least 1000 words; or

make 1 piece of fanart; or

make 1 playlist of at least 11 songs with a cover; or

make 1 gifset; or

create a short video edit (minimum 30 seconds); or

one complete and edited podfic of a text that is originally at least 1000 words;

one complete and edited podfic of at least 10 minutes.

You can specify whether you prefer fic and/or art when you sign up!

❄️What am I allowed to create/request?

Any pairing, theme and rating are allowed. However, since this universe is huge, please be flexible and include as many things you like as possible in the request and the offer. If you are only willing to receive a Trigger/Crane Matchmaker AU, while we appreciate your dedication to goalies, we may not be able to find you a suitable match! We may contact you if, for any reason, it’s impossible for us to find a match for you and we need you to think of more options.

❄️I don't understand podfic, tell me more.

It means somebody will record an audio version of a fic. If you are interested in receiving a podfic, you will be able to add links to works you'd like to have in that format (please make sure the author allows for this type of transformative work), or you could request any of your own fics.

❄️Timeline

Sign-ups are open now and end on October 10th 3pm EST.

After that, we will start matching people and you will be notified as soon as possible of the person you have been assigned.

By November 30th, we will be emailing you to confirm that you are still participating. If for some reason you cannot participate any more, please notify us as soon as possible, so that we can make sure we find a pinch-hitter.

The works will be posted between December 15th and 31st, in whatever platform best suits your work. Please make sure you inform us (tagging this blog, for instance, or via ask box/email) and the recipient. Everything will be shared in this blog.

❄️Ok this sounds cool, how do I sign up?

Just fill in this form! Please read the sections carefully since we have changed some wording/formatting things. And don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions or comments :)

Thanks!

-Luigrein

[bigfrozenfan]

A Fanzine Celebrating 10 Years of Frozen

It's really done, the Frozen 10th Anniversary Fanzine is finished and you can now download it as a pdf-file here. The outstanding quality of this fanzine and it's scope has inspired me to make the little edit above.

It's a whopping 134 pages (68 double pages in .pdf format), more than the "Water Has Memory" team ever expected, myself included. Full of personal memories and stories of how you experienced the Frozen films and how it changed your life, including fanart and even short fanfics. Plus, spotlights for each anniversary year on what happened between 2013 and 2023, with mood boards for the movies, books and other events surrounding the Frozen franchise.

I've just read through the fanzine in its finished form yesterday, although of course I've already seen the pages in the making, and I have to say, after eight months of teamwork, it's really unique! It was created with so much love, which you can see on every single page and I am thrilled.

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful "Water Has Memory" team for allowing me to be part of your team since mid-October 2023 and to work on this very important fan project. Thanks also to the Frozen fans for your submissions, without which the fanzine would not have been possible in the first place.

[kellyvela]

Sophie's Hon Vol. II Valentine's Day Edition ❤️

On January 29th 2024, the day I posted Sophie's Hon Vol. I [here], Sophie basically officialized her relationship with Perry by posting a carousel of their ski trip to Meribel, France, on instagram.

And by now, they are not only instagram official, but also event official!!!

Let's talk about what these lovebirds have been up to since the last days of January.

❤️ Sophie's Hon Vol. II Valentine's Day Edition ❤️

The little gif above is the logo of Perry's dad film company Cupid Productions, that produced films like Sympathy for the devil (1968) and Vanishing Point (1971), that I thought it was apt to embellish this post.

But before talking about their first public event together, let's talk about two occasions when Perry didn't appear in the pictures, but he was probably there in some form.

~~~

MOVIE DATE

According to Backgrid, on January 26th 2024, Sophie was seen arriving for a movie date at Everyman Cinema in Hampstead, North London:

We don't know if she was joined by her friends or Perry on that movie date, but what caught my attetion was that long, gold necklace around her delicate neck.

I know I can be wrong, but I think I have seen that necklace before, but around another neck.

Look, the necklace looks too long for Sophie, and that just increeses my suspictions that that piece of jewerly is Perry's Cowdray necklace, the one with his family estate sigil logo:

If I'm right, It seems that they are sharing jewerly since it's difficult to share clothes with a man that tall lol

~~~

CHRISTIAN WOOD BIRTHDAY

On January 27th 2024, Sophie attendend the celebration of her friend and Hair Stylist Chistian Wood's 40th Birthday:

In one of the pictures shared by Chistian Wood, you can see the hands of a man sat next to Sophie, wearing a green jacket:

I can be wrong, but I think that's Perry wearing the same green jacket he wore on January 17th 2024 during their evening stroll in London.

I can't believe that I am able to recognize Perry's limbs and other human parts on pictures now 🙈

And look at Perry liking Sophie's pictures from that night:

Anyways, now let's talk about sharing music with your Hon . . . .

~~~

THE PLAYLIST THAT WAS PROMISED

Everyone speculated about those songs Sophie were posting on IG back in December (most of them break up songs), but she was just sharing music with her Hon.

I can't take credit for this, it was shared with me by a friend that casually found Perry on certain Swedish digital music streaming service . . . . You know which one!

So, there you can find that Perry's latest playlist has a collaborator, that is not other than Sophie.

This playlist was created on October 31st 2023, so they were definitely together by then, and they both were adding songs since then until mid January 2024.

In that playlist you will find songs like Orange Blossoms by Goldford, shared twice, first added by Sophie on December 10th 2023, and added a second time by Perry on December 19th 2023. I love this song, and for me this is their song. I even posted about it here.

Orange Blossoms also appears in another Sophie's individual playlist.

The song All I Ever Asked by Rachael Chinouriri was added by Perry on January 6th 2024. This song also appears in another Sophie's individual playlist.

These two songs were shared by Sophie on instagram on December 12th 2023: Orange Blossoms by Goldford, and December 13th 2023: All I Ever Asked by Rachael Chinouriri:

The other two songs shared by Sophie on instagram on December 21st 2023: Fade Away by Susanne Sundfør and December 22th 2023: Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac, can be found in some other Perry's and/or Sophie's individual playlists:

Other songs from Sophie and Perry shared playlist that stand out, at least for me, are:

Candy by Paolo Nutini

You Give Me Something by James Morrison

Fade Into You by Mazzy Star

Real Love Baby by Father John Misty

Japanese Denim by Daniel Caesar

Get You by Daniel Caesar feat. Kali Uchis

This post was made while listening Sophie and Perry shared playlist, of course.

And now let's go to the main course . . . .

~~~

LUNAR NEW YEAR 2024 - YEAR OF DRAGON 🐉

So, on February 10th, 2024, Sophie and Perry made their public event debut by attending Stanley Zhu's Year of Dragon celebration aboard London's luxury steamer The Dixie Queen.

Just look at them posing as a couple for Getty Images photographer here:

They looked so good that night 🤩 Perry listened to me and got a better tailored suit 🤭 And Sophie, what can I say? She was a gorgeous and sexy mermaid 🧜‍♀️ 😍

Also, blonde Sophie wearing a necklace with 3 little dragons It's very funny to me 🐉 🐉 🐉

Some of their friends were at the party as well, like Sophie's childhood friend Tabitha Doherty; Rupert Gorst and Amadea Kimmins, the couple that joined them to their ski trip; Sascha von Bismarck and Ella Richards, another couple.  

Here you can see Sophie talking to some other party guests:

Here you can see Sophie watching the fireworks and dancing with her friend Tabitha Doherty:

Here you can see Sophie chatting with Sascha von Bismarck, Perry's childhood friend and roommate:

And here you can see Sophie posing with Ella Richards and Eleanor Wellesley, 📸 by Daisy Knatchbull, you can see her in the mirror reflection:

Sascha von Bismarck and Ella Richards are long time friends of Olympia of Greece (Perry's ex girlfriend). Ella is one of her closest friends, and Olympia also keeps following Sophie on instagram. So clearly the "cheating" allegations are a made up narrative.

Anyways, Sophie was enjoying the night and feeling the music and dancing this way . . .

. . . . and I have to say this, Perry, you lucky bastard!

They look so comfortable with each other and so happy together that I can only wish for them to have the loveliest first Valentine's Day as a couple.

Now, enjoy a little video compilation of Sophie and Perry hitting the dance floor:

It seems they both love to dance and I'm so happy for them.

UPDATE

Thanks to Stanley Zhu for releasing new pictures and videos:

~~~

Months later, Tatler Magazine reported about the couple's public event debut in its May 2024 issue:

HAPPY ZHU YEAR Stanley Zhu splashed out for Chinese New Year with a party aboard the Dixie Queen celebrating the Year of the Dragon. Giacomo Massimo and Eddy Downpatrick embarked in the nick of time before the boat made its glittering way along the Thames from London Bridge. Zhu, in black tie and dragon-embroidered slippers, welcomed 280 glamorous guests for a night of Studio 54 meets Shanghai. Setting pop culture abuzz by making their public debut on the social scene as a couple, Perry Pearson and Sophie Turner were first on board to dine on dim sum and sip champagne, before the red velvet curtain dropped to reveal the dancefloor. But the real showstopper was a dazzling firework display in the middle of the river, followed by ‘Tower Bridge opening up a few times for me', Zhu said, twinkle in his eye. —Tatler UK

~~~

I waited to post this until late in the hopes that Sophie would post something Valentine's Day related, but nothing so far. Maybe tomorrow? 🤞

I'm going to update this post as new content appears.

💕 So, Happy first (of many, I hope) Valentine's Day to Sophie and Perry! 💕

💕 And Happy Valentine's Day to you all as well 💕

[littlefoxwithadagger]

Zee's 2023 Reads

Stats:

Books read ˋ°•*⁀➷ 62

Books DNFed ˋ°•*⁀➷ 9

Five-star reads ˋ°•*⁀➷ 23

Note: ☆ counts as a half star, since there isn’t a half star emoji

I tried not to tag any books I didn’t like because I don’t like to hate on books in their fandom tags, so if I accidentally tagged something I have a bad review, please tell me 😭

This list is chaos and I defintely ripped into some of these books because I hated them. Be warned. (I’m sorry ACOTAR fans. Maybe don’t read this if that’s your favorite book series. I didn’t hate them, but I certainly had quite a few criticisms.)

Also, if you see the reviews start to get way longer in October, that’s because I started this post in October, so everything I read after that was reviewed immediately after reading.

↳ March (2)

Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard

March 3rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this by request of my aunt (it's her favorite book series) and honestly it was just kinda boring and not my taste...not to mention the ending REALLY pissed me off. The whole powers thing was kinda cool, but the dystopian main plot was kind of generic? Which is fine, but this was kind of bland for a first book. Will not be finishing the series.

Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard

March 10th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

This is the sequel to Red Queen, and frankly I think I read about three chapters of it before I DNFed. The main reason I DNFed this was because of the ending of the first book. I won’t go into detail about it because it spoils the end of the first book, but after my favorite character was taken away from me, I couldn’t finish this series.

Overall, I think this series had great potential but bad execution. I may try to read it again in the new year just to give the entire series a proper, full review, but at the time that I read this, I wasn’t into reading much at all and therefore couldn’t read a book just to say I’d read it.

↳ May (7)

Les Misérables - Victor Hugo

May 5th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

By far my favorite classic thanks to my mom encouraging me to read it. Loads of beautiful prose and a compelling plot line. I especially liked how he wove a bunch of stories that seemed not at all connected into one. Jean Valjean was a very complicated character, and I enjoyed following his story as it progressed. It felt very full-circle, even if the ending was a bit sad. The author took us all over France, and I felt very immersed in the world even though there was no visual for it. I also appreciated seeing the side characters grow over the length of the story. There were quite a few side characters who got a full arc despite not needing it. I'll probably reread this someday, just not now.

Flip the Script - Lyla Lee

May 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a cute sapphic love story between two teenage actresses starring together in a Korean drama. Fun fact - I didn't realize it was sapphic for a good while and was confused why sexuality was a hot topic in the book. Whoops! Cute anyways, and the plotline kept me interested.

The Selection - Kiera Cass

May 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This was my first reread of the year! I read this book back in 2021 originally by request of a friend. Rereading it was a bit of a let-down. I found the main girl annoying at times and overall the plot just kinda felt...meh. I will say that I was a bit disappointed that Maxon was the main guy at first because I really loved Aspen, but I think Maxon grew on me quite a bit more towards the end of this book. It was also easier for me to love him on the reread because I’d followed the full story already, so I think I appreciated his character more on this read than I did on the first read. I'm also not huge into dystopian, so that did kill my enjoyment of this a bit.

The Elite - Kiera Cass

May 27th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To continue my Selection reread, I read this. This book was better than the first one, though some of it was just very boring if I'm remembering correctly. It was nice to have a smaller group of girls and get to see them getting to know each other better, and this alone made the book more enjoyable than the last. I think the political tension upped a bit in this book, which I didn’t really like, but it did lead to quite a few great scenes between America and Maxon.

The One - Kiera Cass

May 28th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To complete the Selection reread, I read this. This was by far the best book in the trilogy. It was fun and full of action, and Maxon and America finally got themselves together. There was a great love confession from Maxon at the very end which will forever have my heart. Five stars just for making me swoon honestly. There were a few things that frustrated me in this book, such as the fact that America and Maxon still didn’t seem to trust each other for a lot of this book, but that’s their problem, not mine. I definitely enjoyed the scene where America saw Maxon’s scars for the first time. It was a very sweet scene, and I love emotional vulnerability between characters. 💔

Honorable mention - The Heir - Kiera Cass

May 29th, ⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book sucked to put it frankly. I recall enjoying it the first time I read it, but upon reread I found the main character entirely unbearable (making America look like a saint) and I think I made it about ten pages before deciding it wasn't worth the reread. I wish I didn't own this book.

The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood

May 29th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was what really got me back into reading, and I'd been wanting to read it for months after hearing about it all over the internet. I gave it four stars at the time because I cringed a bit at the number of times the main girl referred to the main guy as "big" or something of the sort but overall found it enjoyable. Honestly, I'd probably rate this lower if I re-read it, but I'm not going to bother testing that theory. It got me back into picking up books, and that's what matters.

↳ June (9)

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

June 10th, ⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book...was disappointing. This was the first book I bought from the store without reading it first because the internet had me so convinced I'd enjoy it. I didn't. I found myself so bored I didn't bother reading past page 100 before I returned the book to the store. I don't really have much to say about it other than it was boring, honestly. Feyre also annoyed me a decent bit.

The Romantics - Leah Konen

June 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book had the same problem as ACOTAR, only far worse. This book felt like it had absolutely no substance, and I read at least half of it. The entire book was narrated by the entity of Love, and all of the characters we got introduced to were only ever surface-level. I felt like I was watching a bunch of strangers interact with each other. Perhaps it was just that young teenage romance isn’t really my cup of tea, but I found the plot entirely uninteresting.

Once Upon a Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

June 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My babyyyyyyyyyy <3 My bread and butter, the reason I got into fantasy books. Definitely not as compelling as the second book, but compelling nonetheless. Jacks and Evangeline have insane tension and it was overall just great. I absolutely loved the whole kisses deal, though I’ll admit this book was NOT what I thought it was. When I picked it up, I was expecting Jacks to be an actual prince, and I was quite surprised to find that he was more of a demigod. Either way, it was a great book, and if you love romantacy, I’d recommend this for SURELY. (I’m biased, can’t you tell? This is a OUBAH blog, after all.)

The Ballad of Never After - Stephanie Garber

June 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'd give this book six stars if I could. This entire book was just pining and drama, and I live for it. Not to mention...the Hollow? Yes. Yes, yes yes. Everything about this book, yes. The curses in this book were completely crazy, and I felt like we got a lot more world building in this book. The entire world felt a lot more complete in this book, and we really got to start to piece together Jacks’s backstory. Lovely.

One True Loves - Elise Bryant

June 21st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm pretty sure I actually read this book last year, but it got put into my book tracker in July so I'm leaving it here. This was a cutsey little romance about a girl who goes on a cruise in Europe. I don't remember much about it, but I remember loving the two main characters and the realtionship they had with each other.

Happily Ever Afters - Elise Bryant

June 21st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pretty sure this is the book before One True Loves? They're in the same series, I know that. This was a cutsey little book about a baker guy and a writer girl who ended up at the same high school. Absolutely loved the character growth the main character had over the course of the book.

In Order to Live - Yeonmi Park

June 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a biography written by a woman who escaped North Korea. It was truly an amazing read, and this is the one book I cried while reading this year! I would definitely recommend this to anyone because it is extremely informative while also being very immersive.

Caraval - Stephanie Garber

June 27th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back to Stephaine Garber! Honestly, I started reading this series for Jacks, but the first book is something entirely on its own. I absolutely loved Julian and Scarlett, and I'll be rereading this again soon. The book very much immersed the reader, and I felt like I was a player in Caraval myself. There was so much fun to be had in this book, and honestly it could just be read as a stand-alone.

Legendary - Stephanie Garber

June 31st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I drove all the way to the other side of town to get this book, that's how good the first one was. This book was less enjoyable than the first, but the plot was extremely compelling. Sadly, I’m not a huge fan of Tella, so I struggled to immerse myself in this book the way I got immersed in Caraval.

↳ July (11)

(Was I ok in July? How many books is this, Zee?)

Finale - Stephanie Garber

July 1st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jacks. That's about all I have to say about this book.

Sugar, Spice, and Can’t Play Nice - Annika Sharma

July 2nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not sure why, but I decided to dump $16? $17? on this when I went to Barnes and Noble with a friend, so I had to finish it. There was a tad too much sexual tension and not enough romance between the main characters for my taste, but it was a good book. I especially enjoyed that the author did so much with her own culture in the book. Both of the characters learned the importance of truly connecting with someone over the course of the book, and I thought it was lovely.

The Spanish Love Deception - Elena Armas

July 2nd, ⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book was...something. I - yet again - purchased a book without reading it first. Learned my lesson this time. I have honestly no idea what this book is about because I read only fifty pages of it and there was...too much of her referring to him as "big" and "tall". I get it. He's tall and wide. Can we please discuss why you hate him? I'd love to know, really. Perhaps this book is for you if you like extreme sexualization of tall, buff men, but it’s not for me.

The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

July 6th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Queen. Puzzles and drama galore, and I love the boys. That's really all I have to say about this. I LOVE puzzles so this book was a big hit with me. Avery is a little genius and I appreciate it, and I also loved getting to see her adapt to her new life.

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

July 9th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This read is courtesy of my bestie. She had not finished the series when she recommended it. Still hasn't. (Nani, this is a plea for you to finish it.) I don't recall much of the book, honestly, but the plot was good enough for me to rate it four and a half stars, so...?

The Wicked King - Holly Black

July 11th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

Cardan and Jude...on the couch...with- ahem. I mean what. What was this book about? Also I love the way Cardan speaks. He’s very formally-spoken and I love that for him.

The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black

July 11th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

yESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. This entire book. The ENDING??? Insane. How do I not remember any of the plot of these books besides the end of this one? We'll never know.

Skin of the Sea - Natasha Bowen

July 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book was probably pretty great. I personally found the introduction to the plot a bit dragging and it lost my interest because of this, but it sounded like it would eventually be a good and intriguing plot. I may eventually pick this back up, but currently there are other books I am actually excited to read, so for now this will be only a DNF.

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong

July 17th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

Ahem...this was actually a great book, despite the DNF and star rating. I DNFed this book because it was too gorey, but I'm currently attempting to finish it. The writing is beautiful and the characters are very compelling. The tension between the main characters is lovely. I'm hoping to give this five stars when I finally finish it.

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

July 18th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Delicious. A heist, six morally grey characters, lots of fighting and tension - both romantic and plot-wise. Absolutely ate up the characters' backstories. I love a good trauamtic backstory. I was reading fanfics about this book before I even finished reading it, that's how good the character building was. (Sadly I got a ton of the plot spoiled for me between this book and the next because I decided to join the online fandom before finishing the books. I will NOT make that mistake again.)

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories - Holly Black

July 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A goofy short read about Cardan. I love him. That's it.

(Zee said no reading during birthday month apparently? Was I spending too much time being lovesick over my coworker? We'll never know.)

↳ September (6)

The Forgetting - Sharon Cameron

September 1st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book surprised me. I had no idea what it was about going into it, and I was entirely surprised. Apparently it's dystopian? Sci-fi? Who knew? (not me) Anyways, I loved the two main characters, and the plot was extremely creative. This is definitely going to be a re-read next year. Sadly, the sequel was not about this pair of characters, so I didn’t end up reading it.

Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

September 15th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well, this is a funny story. I put in a request at the library for this book in July, having about zero clue what it was about beyond dragons. I was intrigued, of course, because I LOVE dragons. By the time I got my hands on the book, I'd heard many reviews about how awful the book was. I was convinced I'd hate it, but of course, I had to read it because I waited TWO MONTHS for it. It took a few pages for me to be interested, but it was a VERY good book. I love Xaden. I will kiss him on the head. This got four stars because those smut scenes GAGGED me (and not in a good way), but I have since read worse smut, so perhaps this will be a five-star someday. The smut was truly something, though. I sat on the couch and sobbed from laughter while reading them.

The Stolen Heir - Holly Black

September 16th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was...gorey, honestly. But other than that, a great read. Both main characters are very compelling, and I adore Oak. Sweetest boy. I can't wait to read the second book. It really took us a lot farther into the world of Elfhame, and I appreciated the book for that.

Lightlark - Alex Aster

September 16th, ☆, DNF

I truly wish I could just say "No." and move on with this list, but this book was probably the worst book I've ever read. I read three pages and was so extremely confused that I couldn't continue. To confuse me that awfully in the first three pages of a book is a feat, I'll give her that. I would not recommend this book to anyone, and generally I believe that everything has an audience. I'm sorry if you're a fan of this book, but I just...can't.

Fireworks - Alice Lin

September 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cute book about a girl and her childhood best friend turned Kpop star when they finally reunite at age 18. Soooo much romantic tension, and I loved how the book dealt with mental health. I hope these two live happily ever after.

Reread - Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

September 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yes, I reread it a week after I read it. Sue me. It was a good book. I’ll be rereading it again when my holiday edition shows up.

↳ October (8)

Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli

October 5th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is going on the list of cutesy sapphic books that make me cry. Absolutely loved the way the realtionship between the two main characters developed, and I thought it did a good job about commenting on what it means to be queer. Also, arguably the best college friend group ever in this book. I'm jealous.

When You Wish Upon a Lantern - Gloria Chao

October 6th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was ok. It was cute, but I found it slightly boring. I will say it was very good for a first-person dual POV book, which I usually hate and refuse to read.

Assistant to the Villain - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

October 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a funny read, because I expected to hate read it, but it had me kicking and screaming, especially the ending. I was so insanely upset when I realized it was a trilogy (mostly because the ending was absolutely jarring and I didn’t expect it to end on a cliffhanger), but at the same time I'm glad this isn't the last we'll see of these characters. I love books where the villains are villains because they felt like that was all they could be. I love. Beyond all of this, I simply enjoyed to see all the characters interact with each other, and I felt like the author did a good job of humanizing all the characters. Not to mention Kingsley. He’s arguably my favorite character despite having no real lines in the book.

The Hawthorne Legacy - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

October 15th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Puzzles, Hawthorne boys, and...strip bowling (I forgot about this scene until a coworker told me she didn't read the book because there was stripping in it. I laughed.) Anyways I loved Jameson and Avery in this book and that's about all I have to say.

The Final Gambit - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

October 18th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok I’m going to be completely honest this book was one huge blur and it almost felt disconnected from the rest of the series. Don’t get me wrong, it was GREAT, but it was like complete whiplash while simultaneously tying up all the loose ends we had in the last two books. Also *spoilers* but JamesonAvery endgame YAYYYYYY.

Reread - Once Upon a Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

October 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I reread this in preparation for the third book and it took me a month to read. Idk man.

Reread - The Ballad of Never After - Stephanie Garber

October 23rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good soup. Send me to the Hollow, please.

A Curse for True Love - Stephanie Garber

October 24th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*ahem* drum roll please… 🥁🥁🥁 …LOVELY!! Evajacks kiss. This is all I wanted. Also his dimples. And Archer. And- Ok enough about that. To actually review this book, I think it was a great wrap-up of the series. The book had an amazing vibe, and I loved how the first half of the book felt shrouded in mystery since we spent the majority of the time in Evangeline’s head. I read this entire book in one five-hour sitting, completely skipping all the homework I had to do that night just so I could read this IMMEDIATELY. It was totally worth it. I also just loved seeing Jacks as the tortured man I always knew he was. Yes bby be so tortured. Now kiss.

↳ November (8)

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

November 3rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was...a book. It had potential to be a great book in the first 100 pages, but somewhere along the way it got kind of insane. Honestly, I feel like it should've been two books. It was over 600 pages and yet I found most of the scenes were a bit too short. Also, there were too many location changes, and this book is where the bad smut truly is. I couldn't even read the smut scenes...I can usually tolerate them. (Is it clear I don't like smut?). The first half of the book set up this lovely dynamic between Rhys and Feyre that I loved and showed me this new, fun world of the Night Court. I only wish that I’d enjoyed the second half of the book as much as I did the first. The second half didn’t get enough development and kind of just all ran together, which sucked. I would’ve given this four stars if the second half had had better pacing.

Honorable mention - The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black

November 8th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*cough* *cough* ahem. I reread like half this book for the scenes between Cardan and Jude…especially a specific scene in chapter 21 (if you know you know) and also the ending <3 yes queen get your ma-

Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros

November 12th , ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(I just finished this book right before I started typing this so excuse my screaming) BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. HANDS DOWN. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING ENDING AND I LOVE YOU REBECCA YARROS. If you like fantasy, I’d recommend this book. (Also rep for the messed up joints girlies 🙏🏼) I love Xaden and Violet sm.

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong

November 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was very good. Great prose, amazing characters, original plot. I only didn’t give it five stars because I personally felt just a bit disconnected from the story. I didn’t really feel all that stressed by the plot, though this may have been because I only had four hours to read the book. Overall, it was a great book and I’ll be reading the sequel when I have time. (Also, coming off the Iron Flame high does make this book a bit less fascinating.)

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

November 15th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After four months, I finally bring myself to finish this. A masterpiece. I didn’t want to leave this world, and yet I finally had to. The entire crew has my heart, and that ending broke me. I wanted so badly to simply not read it and make sure it didn’t happen, but here we are. Our gang all got their not-quite-happily-ever-after, and this may or may not have been the only book to make me cry ever. (That’s not true, but I can’t remember which other book I cried at. Perhaps it was my own.) Five stars. I will be returning to this duology someday to reabsorb the masterpiece that it is.

Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things - Maya Prasad

November 22nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was pretty good. The sisters had a cute relationship and the inn was fun. The book was split into four parts - one for each sister - and personally I enjoyed the first two the best. The third one was also pretty cute, but the last one…I didn’t connect with the character as well, and her plot seemed to drag. I actually stopped reading like 3 pages before the end because the plot was basically over like 20 pages before and it was just focusing on side characters. I think I’m just not a huge fan of slice of life in book form, so if you like that, then this book is for you. I have the sequel sitting on my shelf, but I might just take it back to the library at this point.

A Court of Wings and Ruin - Sarah J. Maas

November 23rd, ⭐️⭐️

This book was way too long, to put it bluntly. I considered DNFing it a number of times, and the plot just seemed to drag on. I don’t understand what Maas has against question marks, either. I can’t tell you how many times I read a question in here that ended with a period. I’m not sure whether it was supposed to emphasize tone or what she was trying to do, but it was extremely irritating and distracting. I didn’t notice this happening in the other two books, but maybe I just missed it. The only reason I finished this book was so that I could read ACOSF with full context because I do love Cassian and Nesta, but otherwise I probably would’ve DNFed about 2/3 of the way in. The fandom wasn’t kidding when they said ACOMAF was the best book in the series. I’m only glad I finished this because of the Nessian scene we got at the end 💔 my heart cried.

A Court of Silver Flames - Sarah J. Maas

November 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

To my surprise and delight, this book has question marks!!! Yayyy!!! To start this review off, I’ll begin by saying - Sarah finally got a decent review out of me. I really enjoyed this book except for a few small details. Now, that may just be because I love Cassian and Nesta, but I consider it a win that she wrote two characters that I LOVE.

That being said, this book made me dislike Rhysand even more than I already did. I’m not sure what it is about him, but I find him a bit intolerable. I won’t dwell on this point, but I found him especially irritating in relation to the Feyre B-plot. Oof. That in combination with the ridiculous number of smut scenes made me knock this down a star. I was fine with them at first, but then it just became too much. Google says there were only 7 smut scenes in the book, but I swear there were more. This is just a personal gripe and nothing against the book or its readers, but it certainly downgraded my enjoyment of it.

Beyond that, I really loved the tension between Cassian and Nesta, and I also enjoyed seeing the two of them work through their issues. They’re extremely sweet and I love them. One thing though - Sarah, why did you tease a mating ceremony for like three pages and then we don’t even get to see it??? Miss ma’am at the very least I wanted to see Cassian being all sweet as they consummated the mating or whatever. But instead we get another scene of someone crying over Feyre’s painting??? COME ON!!! This will probably be the only time I’ll rate an SJM book over 3 stars.

↳ December (11)

The Brothers Hawthorne - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

December 2nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To start this off, I was completely thrilled to read a book about the boys. Don’t get me wrong, I love Avery, but the three youngest Hawthorne brothers have always piqued my interest more. I honestly didn’t think a book in this series could be better than the others, but there was something about this book that was even more incredible than the trilogy. This book was even better than I thought it would be. I expected to enjoy Jameson’s part of the story even more than Grayson’s part, but I actually found myself enjoying getting to know Grayson quite a bit more. (Don’t get me wrong, I loved Jameson’s part of the story, but this book made me love Gray a lot more.). I’d give this book six stars if I could. Absolutely lovely and completely compelling read, and I love all the new characters we’re introduced to. I do hope that someday we get a book about Xander and Nash, but for now, this will quench my Hawthorne thirst. I definitely have a new favorite Hawthorne though (sorry Jameson). I will kiss Gray-

The Half-Life of Love - Brianna Bourne

December 9th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Uh so to put it simply. I hated this book (in the best way possible). I don’t know why I read this. I knew how it would end from the start, but it intrigued me enough that I read it anyways!!?? Haha. I sobbed at the ending. I never want to think about this book again. I loved the characters but I hated the plot. That’s it. (I will also say this book dealt HEAVILY with death and was very heavy so. Yeah. Be warned.) Update after a week of processing: I actually loved this book a lot, but it broke my heart. I loved the character development that Flint went through over the course of the book, and it absolutely broke me that that was the end. I may change my star rating for this before I officially post this, but for now it stays at 3 for hurting me.

Fireborne - Rosaria Munda

December 16th, ⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book was…odd, to say the least. It had potential, but something about the world building felt off to me. Perhaps it’s just not my vibe. My main gripe with it has to be the characters’ names. Some of them had very modern names, some of them had very old names, and some of them only went by extremely weird nicknames. The names alone took me out of the immersion of the world, because every time I’d finally get into it, I’d read a name and go oh, yeah, this is a book. It took me about a week to decide to DNF this, but after reading so many books I genuinely enjoyed, I just couldn’t force myself to finish it.

Greymist Fair - Francesca Zappia

December 16th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the season. I saw the cover at the library and was like oh, yeah, that’ll be a good read. I didn’t even read the summary. Turns out, I was so right. The book kind of has similar vibes to the tales of The Brothers Grimm, but oddly I didn’t find any of this story very creepy. It was dark and a bit gory, but I thoroughly enjoyed the progression of the story. I wouldn’t say this was a five-star read, but I really enjoyed this book. It’s a collection of stories about Greymist Fair that weave together very beautifully, and I absolutely love the atmosphere this book created. Come to find out after I read it, it’s classified as a horror book? I would’ve probably said it was more paranormal fiction, but alas. This was not a horror book to me. I should know, I hate horror. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes morally twisted fantasy books - especially classic fae stories. This book gave me similar vibes to those.

The Matzah Ball - Jean Meltzer

December 22nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was so much fun. I think I read it in 3.5 hours. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, because honestly it’s one of the four Christmas (this book wasn’t technically Christmas but based on certain themes I think you could categorize it that way) books I impulsively rented from the library, but I loved it. The main girl had a chronic illness, and as someone who struggles physically myself, I really enjoyed reading about a main character going through the mental struggles of such a thing. This book gave silly Hallmark movie vibes, but it was completely enjoyable. The main guy was extremely sweet albeit a bumbling idiot, and I actually didn’t mind the major misunderstanding trope that carried this plot. I also really enjoyed reading a book that included lots of Jewish culture. It felt like home. There were a few aspects of this book I found a bit childish for a book about two people who were nearly thirty, but I guess different people enjoy different things. It was a fun, quick read if you’re looking for something with a holiday theme.

These Hollow Vows - Lexi Ryan

December 23rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

I’m not really sure why, but I started reading this in October and couldn’t get into it. A couple pages in and I was HOOKED. I love me a book about Fae realms. (At least, the original Fae. ACOTAR was too far from the source material for me to enjoy it, sadly.) This book has all the mystery and wonder of the Fae lands while being extremely simple to read and understand. I LOVED the plot progression, and the plot twists were predictable in a roundabout way where you could sort of guess them, but they still surprised you. The ending made me scream in both an angry and excited way. I totally saw the ending coming, but it still pissed me off!

I can’t wait to read the next book, but sadly I must wait until I return from vacation. I would DEFINITELY recommend this if you like fae books, especially if you enjoyed The Cruel Prince. The only reason I didn’t give this book five stars is that I felt the side characters were all a bit underdeveloped. I’m not sure if this was on purpose since the book is from the main character’s point of view, but I felt like I didn’t even know the love interests well enough to actually make a good judgement of either of them. I did, according to the ending, end up pegging both of their true characters correctly, but I still felt they were underdeveloped for how much time they spent in the book.

Honorable mention - The Queen of the Tearling - Erika Johansen

December 24rd, unrated, DNF

I tried to read this book about ten different times before I had to return it to the library, but it just isn’t my cup of tea. It didn’t capture my attention in the twenty pages I read, and I don’t think I can follow the character on her journey. It’s very sad, because I truly love a learned royalty plot, but I couldn’t do it. Perhaps I will pick it up again someday, but I don’t plan on it being anytime in the near future.

Defy the Night - Brigid Kemmerer

December 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok, this one surprised me. I picked this book up at the library back in the summer, but I realized it was dual POV, and at that point I just couldn’t handle reading that, so I returned the book. I picked it up again on Christmas because my grandma bought me a kindle and I really wanted to try it, but the options at my library that were immediately available were limited. I’m so glad I gave it a second chance, because I loved it. This book had everything I love in a fantasy novel. There were so many twists I didn’t see coming, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book made me enjoy a wholly political plot, and I love that for it. Usually, I’m not a huge fan of political plots, but I loved the way this one developed. The romance was absolutely adorable as well, and it made me so happy I decided to give this book a second chance. As it stands, I will probably be reading the sequel tomorrow, and I am very excited, although I’m a bit upset the third book isn’t out until January! I was so happy to give another book five stars this month, because with how it was going, I didn’t think I would be.

Defend the Dawn - Brigid Kemmerer

December 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

Hah. This book. True to my word, I finished it the day after Defy the Night. I’ll be honest, this book was slightly disappointing after how amazing the first book was, but I’ll let it slide solely because we got to know a new and amazing character. Besides that, this book did BOUNDS of character work. We got to know more and more about our main characters, and they all learned to overcome their stubbornness in this book. One thing I really loved about this book is that we got to see more about how close the brothers are. I feel like I don’t read many books where boys are very close to each other, especially not in a royalty setting, so it was refreshing to read a book where two brothers rule the throne united instead of going to war over it.

I was a bit disappointed that they spent the majority of the book on a ship, but because of the development that happened in the ship both character-wise and plot-wise, I can’t necessarily complain. For one, we got away from Allisander in this book, and I really had no character in this book more than him (yet). I’m very excited to read the last book when it comes out, though I wish I could read it right now. This series is truly worth the hype it had when I first discovered it, and I can’t wait to see where the relationships go in the next book.

The Lost Sisters - Holly Black

December 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Truth be told, this was a whole lot shorter than I thought it would be. It was essentially a letter from Taryn to Jude about the events of the first book. I found it to be a very interesting character study, honestly, and it showed us a bit more about Cardan too. I would recommend reading this if you’ve read The Cruel Prince series.

These Twisted Bonds - Lexi Ryan

December 29th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh my gosh this book did more than I could’ve ever imagined it would. This book gave me all the character development the first book was lacking, and the way the plot developed was insanely amazing. I absolutely love Finn, and the way he calls Abriella Princess just absolutely melts me. The world got extremely fleshed out in this book, and I really enjoyed seeing how this author put her own twist on the world of the Fae. I also, oddly, really liked how the spice was done in this book. It was there but it mostly lacked detail and description, which is how I like my spice. I want a vague idea and nothing more! 😆 Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and it will probably be my last book of the year. I think it was a great conclusion to this year’s reading, and I’m glad I ended the year on a high note.

If you read this far, thanks for sticking around! For 2024, I will be doing monthly wrap-ups, so don’t expect another post like this…unless I decide to do a yearly wrap-up after my monthly ones are done…

If you have any recommendations to start my year off, tell me! I currently am planning on reading the Percy Jackson series, but that’s the only thing I’m really looking forward to reading

[a-silent-symphony]

Nightwish: “The whole theme of the album is time, history, humanism, mortality. It’s really optimistic”

Tuomas Holopainen gives us the lowdown on everything you need to know about the hopeful new Nightwish album, Yesterwynde…

In the four years since their last album, Finnish symphonic metal titans Nightwish have been through much change, challenge and uncertainty. And that's without the pandemic kicking the legs out from underneath a year's worth of touring plans for 2020's HVMAN. :||: NATVRE a month after it came out.

First, in December of that year, longtime bassist and vocalist Marko Hietala announced that he was leaving the band. In October 2022, singer Floor Jansen revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and successfully underwent surgery.

Then last year, they dropped a worrying newsbomb, announcing that upon completion of their then-current touring duties – which had included a mammoth show at Wembley – they weren't going to be booking any more gigs for an unspecified period of time. Including, they confirmed, even when a new album came.

“After the planned shows for June 2023 we will be ‘hanging up our spurs’ for an indeterminate time, as far as live concert performances go, and won’t be touring the next album," they wrote in a statement. “The reasons for this decision are personal, but, we all agree, vital to the wellbeing and future of the band. Be assured that we still love working together, and this decision has nothing to do with Floor’s pregnancy or our other individual projects."

They did, however promise new music. True to their word, they've just announced that in September they'll release their 10th album, Yesterwynde. A record immediately more heavy than its predecessor, it's also one that sounds refreshed, vital, optimistic.

"Yes, that's definitely a word you could use for it," says keyboardist and composer Tuomas Holopainen when we catch up with him in Berlin to get the skinny. "The whole theme of the album is time, history, humanism, mortality. And it has a really optimistic vibe going through it all."

The first track, Perfume Of The Timeless, arrives on May 21. Ahead of all that, we sat down with Tuomas to get the first look at Nightwish's next chapter…

You’ve been working on the album for ages. When did you start, exactly? “I started writing it in January 2021. It was the second year of pandemic. I wasn't supposed to start writing songs for this album yet, but there was nothing else to do because of COVID, so I thought I might as well use the time for it. So I used all of 2021 to do that. Then in early ’22, we did a demo with just me and the engineer, and had a listen to the demo with the whole band for the first time in May ’22, during our American tour. It’s always a really exciting moment to present the new songs to the band. And terrifying, to be honest!

“Then we started recording it last August, and it took a few months to record. And after that, four and a half months of mixing, and a few mastering sessions. And now here we are. And we're still working with the atmos mixes – there's going to be an atmospheric mix of the album and the orchestral version of the album.”

That’s not long after HVMAN. :||: NATVRE came out. Were you doing it with the hard intention of writing a full album, or were you just initially doing something just to pass time? “For some reason, I just felt really inspired. I felt like it was the perfect time to do another Nightwish album. And, like I said, there was nothing else to do. The previous album, HVMAN. :||: NATVRE was released in April 2020, about a month after the COVID lockdowns started, so tough luck there! It was frustrating, but as always, you have to try to look at the bright side of things. I thought, ‘Okay, maybe this album, now people can listen to it in peace. They have nothing else to do, either. Maybe it brings them some hope and comfort during the dark times.’ So you always have to turn things an optimistic way.”

This is a lot more of a metal album than the last one. Was that a conscious thing? “That just happened. We never, ever think about this stuff in advance, like, ‘Let's make a heavier album.’ It's just the stories need to be told in a certain way. And this time, they needed to be told in this way. And it's really interesting that you should say that, because there were two journalists yesterday who said, ‘I was expecting something much more metal. This is a really mellow album.’ Really? Okay, I don't hear it that way. But it's all in the listener’s ear, I guess.”

The first single, Perfume Of The Timeless, is nearly 10 minutes long. Not exactly easing people in, are you? “No! But, when we had the first meeting with Nuclear Blast, talking about the new album and singles, I told them, the first single will be a song called Perfume Of The Timeless, and it's eight-and-a-half minutes long, and the chorus comes in at 3:30. And they were like, ‘Perfect!’ I think that has to do with the fact that we have a long legacy. You know, we can do whatever we want, and I do, but it says something that we can do that, when I heard that for Spotify it’s good to have the vocals start after 15 seconds, or people skip it, they don’t have the attention span anymore.”

What does the title, Yesterwynde, mean? “It’s a made-up word. There's this thing called The Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows. It gave me the idea that if you don't have an English word to describe a certain emotion, you can just make your own. This particular dictionary is dedicated to that, like, the feeling of longing for a place that you have never been in. What is that feeling? And it was something weird, I can remember. And this album was born from a certain sensation that I felt really strongly, but I couldn't find a word in human language to describe it. So I started to talk with Troy [Donockley, multi-instrumentalist] and said, ‘Should we come up with a new word? Does that make any sense to you?’ And he's like, ‘Yeah, that's a brilliant idea. What did you have in mind?’ It was something like time, memories going black and white, sepia, and I said, ‘something yesterday’. Then he said, ‘How about Yesterwynde?’ That's perfect! But yeah, it's just a made up word to describe what the album is about."

A sense of longing? "Not so much longing as realising what time is all about. Realising that there is such a thing as time and past and history. The internet and YouTube is full of these old black-and-white images, and even video clips, that you first see in black-and-white, and then they have been coloured. Have you seen those? That's the effect that I get at the moment. It's like it's coming from an other dimension, these are black-and-white images, then you colour it, and it's right there, as if it was filmed yesterday. Something happens in my mind when I see those. I thought, 'This has to be put into a song or into an album somehow.' Suddenly, you feel so connected to the past generations, and those people that you see in those images. They've all had their lives, their ups and downs, and they don't exist anymore, except as atoms scattered all over the universe. And we're going to be in that state pretty soon as well. So that should give you something to think about."

Are you just worried about getting older? "Not at all – on the contrary (laughs). But they are the ultimate cliche of: seize the day. That's something that I think about more and more. We're all going to be dead soon. It's just a matter of what you're gonna do before that."

That's a very positive outlook. You can hear that in the record. There's an enthusiasm, rather than a sense of bleakness or defeat… "Yes! Spot on! People often ask, 'Where do you get the inspiration?' Well, just look at this world, look at everything's that happening. Look at the sky, the scientific innovations. History is so full of stories that are just a bottomless pit of inspiration. And also, especially these days, there's a lot of fear mongering going on, like end-of-the-world scenarios, which I find, let's say 'distressing', but also a bit annoying, because humankind has ceased to see the good that we have accomplished as well. There is no denying that the world is going through a horrible stage at the moment. But it's always been like that. If you go back to the Middle Ages, things were much worse. Throughout the human history, it's always been like this. But now because of fear mongering, and the media, and the authorities, whether political or religious, telling us that it's all coming to an end, we have to repent. And a lot of people buy into it, and they live miserable lives. Because of that, they forget the beauty of existence. It's an unbelievable stroke of luck, and a privilege, that we are actually alive. So you might as well enjoy it."

There's a song called The Antikythera Mechanism, which is the name of an ancient Greek device used for astronomy. You don't get many bands writing about that… "Yeah, it's considered today to be the first analogue computer made by mankind. So, imagine that 2,200 years ago, in ancient Greece, they were able to build a computer. It just blew my mind when I read about this machine in a science magazine, and I thought that the world needs to know about this. Well, now everybody knows because of the new Indiana Jones film, because that's also about this particular mechanism. But yeah, it had to be done into a song.

"I was just thinking that humankind was so advanced back in those days that were able to build a machine like this. What happened? What if religions hadn't happened, or the burning of The Library Of Alexandria hadn't happened, where would mankind be today? Maybe we would be living all across the solar system already. Who knows?"

Again, it feels like there's still a very positive outlook there in the music, rather than moaning that it's all gone wrong. "I think it comes down to the word 'imagination', which is the biggest strength that we have as human species, compared to the other lower species. We like to imagine things, imagine things that might be better on the other side of the fence and things we will never have. But also imagination takes us to huge innovations. So it's a really good thing.

"The ancient Greeks did that with their computer. They started to imagine, 'Is there a way to predict those solar eclipses or star constellations moving? I bet there is, let's start building this machine.' So it all started from the imagining. It's similar with creating any art or music. Could there be a way to tell a story through music? I do that a lot. There's a song on the album called The Children Of 'Ata, which is a wonderful story of these kids on a deserted island and surviving there for 15 months. I heard the story and thought, 'There has to be a way to put this into music.'

"It's a crazy story, from not that long ago, 1965. I think some of the kids are still alive. It's important to tell these stories, because it really did happen. And maybe it can change the human perspective of the concept that if you take a bunch of people and put them into an isolated place for a certain period of time, they become savages. But this is proof that that's not the case. So they are a perfect example that humankind has hope."

This is your first album since Century Child in 2002 without Marko Hietala. Did that change your approach to writing? “No, it doesn’t really change anything, except that now we had two voices instead of three, only Floor and Troy. But that's it – it really didn't change much at all. And Jukka [Koskinen], the new bass player, is such a grounding personality that it's so easy to work with him. And his bass playing skills are tremendous, quite different from how Marko played the bass, which also brought a new spice into the music. So nothing but positive things to say about it all.

“There are many bands in the world that don't have a single original member anymore. And I think it comes down to the fact that if the music is good, then that's all that matters, in the end. Maybe for some people, certain bands are so holy that they can stand if they don't have certain members in it, even though the music would be good, but I don't really think like that. I just listen to the music, not the personnel behind it. That's all that matters to me.”

Similarly, does it feel weird to be talking about an album that, for the first time, you won’t be going out to tour? “No, it doesn't feel weird. It just feels right. But people shouldn't get worried. It's not the end of the band. We just signed a multi-record deal with Nuclear Blast, so there will be more music coming, definitely. But as far as shows, we're just gonna have a long breather now and see what happens. That's all I can say at the moment. We got our fair share in 2022 and 2023 when we did a lot of shows. So that helped.”

Yesterwynde will be released on September 20 via Nuclear Blast

[niniiko]

My solar return chart of 2023 and how it went

Moon in gemini 1st house: 2023 was a year were I was very emotional, I had a lot of emotional up and downs, a total rollercoaster, since it was in gemini, I really reflected a lot on my emotions a lot and maybe even detached myself from them, but most of the time I was just very accepting of them and I let them flow. Since gemini is a mutable sign, I tried new makeup styles, new clothes styles, tried new hairstyles and got a failed haircut lmao.

Mars in cancer 2nd house: my self esteem was flunctuating a lot throughout the whole year, I gotta say that at the beginning of the year it was pretty stable, in the middle of the year was pretty bad and I regained back my confidence in October, I also started trying to find jobs but none called me back🥹Finances were also not stable at all.

Lilith in leo 3rd house: i was very active on social media this year which maybe without me knowing attracted some level of jealousy? I got into some arguments with friends online but we resolved it by talking it out. I also wanted attention on social media and followers and likes were kind of important for me, just because of comparison tbh, but we are good now, numbers mean nothing.

Vertex & SN in scorpio 6th house: My daily routine changed a lot in 2023, I began to add things into my daily routine that could help me have a more stable start of the morning, they will definetly will be kept doing in 2024, in terms of jobs, I didn't work throughout the year but I did try to find some.

Pluto in capricorn 8th house: I started to feel comfortable with my emotions and I also started to write a lot more, journaling more, I learned a lot about psychology, followed people who added value into my healing journey and people who talked about the stuff i was learning about.

Neptune & saturn in pisces 10th house: I feel like these placements were the ones at fault for me not getting any job in 2023 despite me trying to work 🥹😭Saturn when I catch you Saturn...Saturn when I catch you Saturn....I also wanted to work at jobs which I could've regretted working at if I actually got them thanks to neptune...lol. The thing I wanted was maybe not good for me and neptune just blurred a lot of my decisions when it came to work terms.

Sun, chiron, jupiter & mercury in Aries 11th house: like I said before, a very active year for me in social media, I posted a lot on my ig but at the same time a year were I compared myself to people online. I also spent more time with my friends and went out more, tried new things that I'd never did in my life, learned new things, my dreams and optimism this year were big. 2023 might have been the year where I went out the most with my friends. I also got to try new foods all very yum! I started to take morning walks with my friend every Monday and Friday at almost the end of the year and I gave her a lot of advice on how to stop procrastinating and actually committing to the stuff you put your mind into. I also have to say that I kind of stopped talking with some friends which I used to talk to and call with almost every day which made me think of cutting them off, I didn't let my impulses take over because I know I would've regretted it, I also cut contact with an ex friend of mine of 2021 due to disagreements of the genocide going in Palestine, funny because the original ruler of the 11th house is aquarius and aquarius is all about humanitarian causes so it all makes sense now.

Uranus, venus & NN in taurus 12th house: a very stable year mentally for me but due to uranus also being there it kinda shook it so thats why there were some ups and downs but I always got better. My dreams were also very weird and very vivid, almost prophetic too, I had a lot of prophetic dreams in 2023, I remember a dream I had back in February were I saw some snow on the mountains and 3 or 4 days later it snowed after like 5 years without snow!!! I also began to write them down too, wether in the notes app or on paper, it really helped a lot.

[vgperson]

What Did I Do In 2022?

Game Translations That Aren't YTTD: 1. Okay, maybe 1.5.

----

First of all, while I didn't add it until later in the year (not entirely unmotivated by the Stability of Platforms), my site now has an RSS feed for notable updates of any kind! I mention this upfront because I'm mostly just going over the things that are already listed there. It currently retroactively covers everything back to 2020, but I might add more past stuff over time so it can better serve as a general "everything I've ever done" page.

In February, I translated Kenshi Yonezu's POP SONG (and an interview). Noel The Mortal Fate Seasons 1-7 also got a revamped version on consoles (Switch, PS4); the console versions include a new Season 3.5 translated entirely by me, and the rest of the seasons have a revised script which is more thoroughly edited by me than even the redone Steam translation was.

In March, the update adding Kai to Your Time To Shine came out. Yes, he is Kai.

In April, I finally finished up my unofficial Japanese translation patch for Petal Crash. たのしいね、クラッシュ！ It actually just got some extra attention after the Petal Crash run for RTA In Japan about two days ago, which is kind of wild. Is this what it's like to be famous...? (clueless)

In May, I translated Kenshi Yonezu's Shin Ultraman theme song M87 (interview, interview), and the coupling song from the single, ETA. And there was an article about the 10th anniversary of his debut!

Also in May, the Ib remake came out on Steam in English! Told you they'd contact me. It was later announced to be coming to Switch, scheduled for March 2023.

In August, Your Turn To Die was announced to be coming to Steam. It's planned for early 2023, but to be clear, it'll release first in Early Access still with no final part, though with some exclusive mini-episodes and character profile sheets. Apparently once that's out, the actual completion is estimated for 6 to 12 months later... but, you know. Estimates are hard.

In September, I put together a guide for and officially "released" my Custom Translation Engine plugin for RPG Maker MV, the one I made for the Ib remake, and back-implemented into Your Turn To Die shortly after I was contacted about it coming to Steam. It's fancy (in-game language switching!), convenient (minimal direct editing of code!), and you can use it for your own translation projects if you want!

In October... well, I didn't do anything new for it, but I'll take credit for The Witch's House MV coming to consoles. (Switch, PS4, Xbox) I also translated everyone's favorite Chainsaw Man opening KICK BACK, associated interviews, and the single's coupling song Y'all Should Be Ashamed.

Finally, in December, after lots of spending my time elsewhere and indecision about how I should go about returning to doing some dang free game translations, I concluded that what I'd really wanted to do all year was translate Uri's PEDESTAL.

I think some people latched onto specific parts of Uri's original explanation for why it wasn't being translated, such as the cultural aspects (I honestly winced at her blunt remark that the story was "no good at all"), but while Uri indeed had those doubts at the time of release, the only real reason it wasn't translated at the time is that I did a less-than-ideal rushed playthrough that slightly hurt my overall impression of its quality, and I felt too busy at the time to work on something with lots of text that was likely to be divisive. So similarly, me finally feeling up to it was the reason it did get translated. I probably should've come back to it quite a bit sooner (after I was made to give up a certain other translation, say), but as I alluded to in last year's post, I was self-conscious about "my big return to free game translations" being something that might not have wide appeal. Uh, glad to be past that, hopefully.

Oh, and ever since finishing PEDESTAL, I've been working on all sorts of overhauls to my site, but like... not the kind that actually majorly changes any part of the visible design and annoys people (and if something did change in an annoying way, it's probably accidental). Some of it's just better consideration of mobile browsing (stuff like images or tables sticking out of bounds at mobile resolutions), or making things more convenient for myself behind the scenes (did you know I made a program to add "br"s to every line of all lyrics content before considering I could just have the page code do that, and also better?).

Some more major observable changes include general renovations to the lyrics page (bigger font size, buttons that hide individual languages to aid in side-by-side comparison), and more convenient navigation of OSTER's tweets, such that I could actually imagine someone reading through them all the way from the start without it being too much of a hassle.

----

While I'm glad to be over the PEDESTAL hump, I don't... necessarily have any definite plans for upcoming free game translations. I mostly just have some stuff on a list that I may have to make myself check out soon enough. Also, Game Atsumaru (which you may know as The Site That Hosts YTTD's Japanese Version) is ending in June??? So uh, might have to accelerate checking out stuff on there, though I guess it depends on how many creators are able to migrate. (Nankidai does plan to put YTTD's Japanese browser version up somewhere else.)

As I mentioned, Your Turn To Die's Early Access release on Steam should be coming up early next year with those mini-episodes and character profiles, and the game might be completed within the year. No promises. I mean, I don't have anything to promise, it's not my game.

Speaking of my game... also no promises. But I'd really like to release one. We'll see what happens. There's also a different kind of original project I recently returned to trying to make real, which could come early in the year, but who knows. As should be apparent, I'm working on a lot of different fronts here, so I frequently feel bad about neglecting such-and-such type of creative work, which sometimes means nothing actually gets done and released. Ultimately, though, it's probably better to follow what I most feel like doing, rather than force focus on one thing and end up not actually getting much done.

Which is to say: hoping to finish something in the new year!

[ghostofaboy]

Kinktober 2023 - October 10th

Day 10: Anal Sex, Kissing, Crying

Javier Peña x Male OC

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 1106 

Warnings: anal sex, period typical homophobia (implied), tiny bit of come eating

@absurdthirst Kinktober List | Ghost of a Boy Masterlist

Javier Peña was well known around the embassy for his visits to the local brothels, in fact, it had become something of a joke in certain circles. The reason he gave everyone was mostly true. To get intel on the narcos, you had to speak to the same people they did, and for the sicarios, that meant the same girls they visited. The other part of the reason was to scratch an itch, and any red-blooded man could understand that, right?

Unless, of course, they knew about the other brothel he liked to go to. The one just outside of Bogotá. The one that had nothing to do with gathering intel and the one he knew he could never tell Steve about. The reasons for visiting that one were simple and secret.

It had been about four months since his last visit to the house. From the street, it looked like any other residence, and if someone were to knock on the door, they’d be greeted by a kindly old woman with a smile and an offer of cake. But say the right phrase to her, and she’d nod, leading you through the house to a basement door and into the actual brothel. 

That’s where Javi found himself now. Sat in the clean and cozy waiting area for his evening’s ‘companion’ to come get him. Everything here was by appointment only, and to even get in, he’d had to been brought the first time by a… friend was too strong a word. One-night stand was closer.

“You are back.” Javi looked up at the voice to see Paulo, one of the younger workers here, smiling down at him. “But you are no here to see me? I’m hurt.”

“Lo siento.” Javi smiled, his eyes raking down Paulo’s naked body. “Maybe next time.”

“You are waiting for…?”

“Por mi.” Both Javi and Paulo turned to see an older man leaning against the door frame of one of the many bedrooms. It was Michael, who sauntered over to where Javi was seated, his large cock swaying with every step. Michael was a bear of a man, tall, broader than even Javi, with a tidy, graying beard and piercing blue eyes.

“Have fun, you two.” Paulo grinned, returning to his room.

“His English is getting better.” Javi nodded his head towards Paulo’s door as he followed Michael to the bedroom.

“Kid’s a fast learner.” Michael closed the door behind them before turning to Javi. “So, what would you like to do tonight, Javier? Same as last time or are you brave enough to try something new this time?”

“I…” Javi cleared his throat. “I did what you suggested and I wanna try it. With you, I mean.”

Michael chuckled at Javi’s nerves. “You been using a plug or a dildo?”

“Started with a plug like you said, then a dildo.” Javi could feel the heat coming off Michael as the larger man stalked towards him. “I can take it.”

Michael let out another soft laugh. “Oh, I have no doubt, but I want to hear you say it. Undress for me, then ask nicely.”

As much as he wanted to tear the clothes from his skin, Javi knew better. Michael would want him to take his time, and so button by button and piece by piece, Javi removed his clothes. Eventually, he stood before Michael, now sitting on the bed admiring the view, his cock straining upwards towards his stomach.

“Much better.” Michael cooed, stroking his thick length as he raked his eyes over Javi. “Now, what would you like to do tonight?”

“I’d like you to fuck me.”

==========

Javi's body trembled as Michael continued to lazily and rhythmically roll his hips. His cock stretched Javi's ass, which had been slightly painful, to begin with, but was now a satisfying heavy weight filling him. Michael was going easy on him, and he knew it. But despite this not being what he had in mind, Javi was grateful the older, larger, and more experienced man was taking it slow.

Each thrust sent sparks through Javi's body as Michael hit that sweet spot. He'd shifted Javi onto his back after a while, claiming it would blow his mind, and he was right. With his legs up on Michael's shoulders, Javi was almost bent in two, but it did mean that every single pump of Michael's cock into his eager hole was hitting its mark.

Michael's balls swung against his ass, and the sound of smacking flesh filled the room, accompanied by moans, gasps, and occasional "fuck" from Javi. Michael poured praise down on him, checking in with every shift in tempo and urging Javi on. Javi writhed in pleasure, sweat glistening off of him as his ass swallowed Michael's cock over and over.

Then Michael shifted himself a little lower and grunted into Javi's ear. "Gonna pick this pace up now. You're doin' great. You can take it. You ready to come?"

"F-f-fuck." Javi croaked out. "Yeah."

"Good boy." Michael growled, planting a sloppy kiss on Javi's cheek before snapping his hips forward suddenly.

Picking up the pace apparently meant fucking into Javi like a jackhammer as Michael began to plunge into him quicker and quicker. The pace was frenzied, merciless, and exactly what Javi had wanted when this started. 

As goosebumps danced over his skin, Javi could feel his control slipping. Then, like falling off a cliff, Javi was hit was the most intense orgasm he'd ever had. Arching his back and letting out a wanton wail, Javi's vision faded into black as his head filled with static. Shockwaves of ecstasy rippled through him as he gripped hold of Michael for dear life.

Eventually, the stars behind his eyes disappeared and Javi slowly opened one eye to see a very sweaty but satisfied-looking Michael leaning over him. Glancing down at his own body, Javi could see the thick pool of come starting to make its way down his side from his stomach.

Pulling out gently, Michael pulled his condom off before flopping down on the bed next to Javi. Dipping his finger into the come, Michael brought it to his lips, sucking his finger clean before chuckling at the sticky mess.

"You like that?"

Javi could only nod, his boneless form plastered to the bed with sweat, he wasn't sure if he could even sit up yet. Michael laughed again, louder this time, kissing Javi's forehead before getting up.

"Let me clean you up, darling." The large man smiled, grabbing a cloth from next to the sink. "Then we can talk about whether or not you're ready to ride me."

[twstedsecretsanta]

Directory & Timeline

This is the blog of the 2023 Twisted Wonderland Secret Santa run by @oseathepebble and @spadecentral! Since this event is online, you'll be gifting art or writing instead of real items

Thank you to all those who participated last year! I (Mari) decided to once again host a Secret Santa Event and now this year I have the help of the amazing Eli! Hopefully this year there will be more participants and more wonderful gifts created by you guys!

Timeline:

Signup: October 13th - October 25th

Giftee Receiving: November 1st

Check-In #1: November 20th

Deadline To Dropout: November 25th

Check-In #2: December 10th

Gifting Begins: December 25th

Gifting Ends: January 1st

Pinch Hitter Deadline: January 10th

(Times are in PST)

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[mathsandwhiteroses]

Tiara Predictions - State Visit from Spain to the Netherlands

King Felipe and Queen Letizia will be in the Netherlands today and tomorrow. The visit will focus Spanish-Dutch diplomacy, sports, energy, business, mental health, young people, the arts and technology.

Now to the predictions…

Tiara I want Maxima to wear: Dutch Sapphire Parure Tiara. I expect both Queens will bring out the big guns tonight and this is my favourite gigantic tiara so I’d love it if Maxima wore it! She last wore it in November 2021 for the State Visit to Norway.

My Prediction: Stuart Tiara. Maxima has worn this tiara six times out of nine when attending events with more than one royal family since debuting this tiara in 2018. She last wore it in an official portrait in November 2023 to mark the 10th anniversary of the accession of Willem-Alexander.

The tiara I want Letizia to wear: the Pearl Loop Tiara. This is my favourite large Spanish tiara and was last worn in November 2021 for the State Visit from Italy.

My Prediction: the Fleur de Lys Tiara. Similar to Maxima, Letizia has worn this tiara every time she has attended a multi-royal event ever since she debuted this tiara in 2017. She last wore it in November 2023 for the State Visit to Denmark.

The Tiara I want Amalia to wear: Dutch Diamond Bandeau Tiara. My favourite Dutch tiara! This would also coordinate beautifully with the Stuart Tiara if Maxima wears it. The tiara was last worn in October 2019 by Queen Maxima for the State Visit to India.

My Prediction: Sapphire Necklace Tiara. Amalia has attended 4 tiara events and has worn 3 different tiaras so this is the prediction that I’m least confident about. I really hope that Amalia wears this tiara if Maxima wears the larger Sapphire Parure Tiara. The tiara was last worn by Amalia in October 2023 for the birthday celebrations of Prince Christian.

I don’t have any strong opinions on the tiaras that Beatrix and Margriet will wear and this post is already long enough so I have only provided predictions.

Queen Beatrix: Antique Pearl Tiara

Princess Margriet: Laurel Tiara

[clarktooncrossing]

Didn't Wanna Feel Older in 2024? TOO LATE!

So long, 2023! You have been a weird-@$$ year to say the least. Between by having to repair old thumb drives, purchase a new printer, finding out I'm susceptible to anxiety attacks, trying out dating for the first time, getting my Discord and Steam account hacked, starting a new Discord server since said account was never unhacked, opened myself up to commissions, managed to post art for Halloween, got Covid, summoned more Kaijus to play an elaborate game of poker, and had a merry enough Christmas. Here's hoping 2024 will prove better. At the moment I have no new goals, since I just want to relax after four months of constantly being active. There's a mile of books, movies, and TV shows I need to get caught up on! My opinions on all of them will be given in future Giraffe's Eye Views, but for now let's get to what you all came here for: yet another unnecessarily long list of things celebrating major milestones this year!

You all loved it when I did this last year. In fact it got more attention that anything else I posted, including the original art I put way more effort and time into. Nah, that didn't sting at all. Seeing my sketches get ignored is so much fun. Passive-aggressive joking aside, I do still love making these lists, so let's get started with some major stuff this year.

Thanksgiving wasn't too long ago, so why not mention that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade turns 100 this year? I know, that's insane! Watching this festive event has become a seasonal staple in my house and is the only reason I've ever signed up for Peacock. Thank goodness in all those years it hasn't been smashed by a giant monster.

Godzilla turns 70 freak'n years old this year! How crazy insane is that? Here's hoping his old age won't slow him down when he teams up with King Kong this April. Even if it does, Gojira will continue being cinema's coolest character!

Contrasting with the King of the Monsters, Mary Poppins turns 60 years old this year. This movie, considered to be Walt's last masterpiece, has aged considerably well even after all this time.

Oh yeah, and Mickey Mouse enters the public domain this year. Still not entirely sure how that works, but whatever. What I do know is...

Anything from 1974 turns 50 this year. That includes-

The Fort Wilderness Resort (January 1st)

Happy Days (January 15th)

Blazing Saddles (February 7th)

"Waterloo" by ABBA (March 4th)

“Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot (March 25th)

"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" by Steely Dan (April 25th)

Herbie Rides Again (June 6th)

"Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (June 24th)

America Sings (June 29th)

Gone in 60 Seconds (July 28th)

Hong Kong Phooey (September 7th)

Shazam! (TV series) (September 7th)

Little House on the Prairie (September 11th)

Wolverine debuted in The Incredible Hulk #180 (October)

Arkham Asylum makes its first appearance in Batman #258 (October)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (October 11th)

Phantom of the Paradise (October 31st)

Earthquake (November 15th)

The Year Without a Santa Claus (December 10th)

Young Frankenstein (December 15th)

The Godfather Part II (December 20th)

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too! (December 20th)

The Island at the Top of the World (December 20th)

An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players

“Bennie and the Jets” by Elton John

"Hooked On A Feeling" by Blue Swede

“The Loco-Motion” by Grand Funk Railroad

Anything from 1979 turns 45 this year. That includes-

Captain America (The TV movie) (January 19th)

The Dukes of Hazzard (January 26th)

The Warriors (February 9th)

John Carpenter's Elvis (February 11th)

Hair (March 14th)

"In the Navy" by the Village People (March 17th)

The Bad News Bears (March 24th)

Phantasm (March 28th)

"We Are Family" by Sister Sledge (April)

Nickelodeon (April 1st)

"Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind, & Fire (May 6th)

Alien (May 25th)

Rocky II (June 15th)

"My Sharona" by The Knacks (June 18th)

The Muppet Movie (June 22nd) - THIS MOVIE SLAPS!

The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (June 27th)

The Amityville Horror (July 27th)

"Highway to Hell" by AC/DC (July 27th)

Apocalypse Now (August 15th)

"Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra (August 24th)

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (September 2nd)

The Bugs Bunny / Road Runner Movie (September 14th)

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (September 22nd)

Spider-Woman (TV show) (September 22nd)

The Black Stallion (October 17th)

Atari's Asteroids (November)

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (November 6th)

Pink Floyd's The Wall (November 30th)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (December 7th)

1971 (December 14th)

The Jerk (December 14th)

The Black Hole (December 20th)

Mickey Mouse Disco

Anything from 1984 turns 40 this year. That includes-

The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man (January)

Night Court (January 4th)

"Rock You Like a Hurricane" by Scorpions (February 3rd)

Footloose (February 17th)

Nintendo's Punch-Out!! (February 17th)

"Eat It" by Weird Al Yankovic (February 28th)

Splash (March 9th)

Children of the Corn (March 9th)

Run DMC (March 27th)

Romancing the Stone (March 30th)

The Toxic Avenger (April 11th)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (April 13th)

My Little Pony: Rescue at Midnight Castle (April 14th)

"We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister (April 27th)

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise (May)

Marvel's Secret Wars (May)

Spider-Man's Black Suit debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #252 (May)

"What's Love Got to Do with It" by Tina Turner (May 1st)

WHAM!'s Make It Big (May 14th)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (May 23rd)

Once Upon a Time in America (June 1st)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (June 1st)

Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. (June 4th)

Ghostbusters (June 8th)

Gremlins (June 8th)

The Karate Kid (June 22nd)

Prince's Purple Rain (June 25th)

Conan the Destroyer (June 29th)

The Last Starfighter (July 13th)

The Muppets Take Manhattan (July 13th)

The NeverEnding Story (July 20th)

The Adventures of Andre & Wally B. (July 25th)

Dragon's Lair (TV show) (September 8th)

Voltron (September 10th)

Muppet Babies (September 15th)

Miami Vice (September 16th)

The Transformers Franchise (September 17th)

Murder, She Wrote (September 30th)

Thomas & Friends (October 9th)

Fist of the North Star (anime) (October 11th)

"We Belong" by Pat Benatar (October 16th)

The Terminator (October 26th)

"Like a Virgin" by Madonna (October 31st)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (November 16th)

Supergirl (movie) (November 21st)

Beverly Hills Cop (December 5th)

Hydlide (December 13th)

Starman (December 14th)

Frankenweenie (December 14th)

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (December 19th)

The Country Bear Christmas Special (December 19th)

Anything from 1989 turns 35 this year. That includes-

The Arsenio Hall Show (January 3rd)

Gotham by Gaslight (February)

SimCity (February)

LJN's Friday the 13th for NES (February)

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (February 17th)

The Toxic Avenger Part II (February 24th)

"Like a Prayer" by Madonna (March 3rd)

Quantum Leap (March 26th)

The Jim Henson Hour (April 14th)

Ranma 1/2 (April 15th)

Pet Sematary (April 21st)

Nintendo's Super Mario Land (April 21st)

Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever (April 24th)

Dragon Ball Z (April 26th)

Disney's Hollywood Studios (formally Disney-MGM Studios) (May 1st)

Disney's Pleasure Island (May 1st)

The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (May 7th)

Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES (May 12th)

Road House (May 19th)

"Bust a Move" by Young MC (May 22nd)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (May 24th)

Typhoon Lagoon (June 1st)

Dead Poets Society (June 9th)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (June 9th)

Tales from the Crypt (June 10th)

Ghostbusters II (June 16th)

Roger Rabbit in Tummy Trouble (June 23rd)

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (June 23rd)

Tim Burton's Batman (June 23rd)

The Karate Kid Part III (June 30th)

Do the Right Thing (June 30th)

Weekend at Bernie's (July 5th)

Seinfeld (July 5th)

Lethal Weapon 2 (July 7th)

When Harry Met Sally… (July 14th)

Splash Mountain (July 17th)

UHF (July 21st)

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (July 28th)

Kiki's Delivery Service (July 29th)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (August 11th)

"Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic (August 18th)

Saved by the Bell (August 20th)

"The Best" by Tina Turner (August 21st)

Little Monsters (August 25th)

LJN's Back to the Future on NES (September)

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (September 4th)

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (September 4th)

American Gladiators (September 9th)

Captain N: The Game Master (September 9th)

Beetlejuice: The Animated Series (September 9th)

LJN's Who Framed Roger Rabbit for NES (September 14th)

Capcom's DuckTales for NES (September 14th)

Doogie Howser, M.D (September 19th)

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (September 19th)

Baywatch (September 22nd)

Family Matters (September 22nd)

Penn & Teller Get Killed (September 22nd)

Capcom's DuckTales for NES (October)

Neil Young's Freedom (October 2nd)

Prince of Persia for Apple II (October 3rd)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (October 13th)

The Little Mermaid (November 17th)

All Dogs Go to Heaven (November 17th)

Prancer (November 17th)

Back to the Future Part II (November 22nd)

The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (November 24th)

America's Funniest Home Videos (November 26th)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (December 1st)

The Wizard (December 15th)

The Simpsons (December 17th)

Konami's Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse on NES (December 22nd)

Fester's Quest for NES

Anything from 1994 turns 30 this year. That includes-

You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown (January 18th)

The Critic (January 26th)

Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin (January 26th)

"Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain (February 1st)

Green Day's Dookie (February 1st)

Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for Genesis (February 2nd)

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (February 4th)

Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (February 5th)

Aladdin: The Series (February 6th)

The Busy World of Richard Scarry (March 9th)

Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (March 18th)

Nintendo's Super Metroid for SNES (March 19th)

Food Rocks (March 26th)

Thumbelina (March 30th)

Final Fantasy VI (April 2nd)

Space Ghost Coast to Coast (April 15th)

All That (April 16th)

Doom II for MS-DOS (May 5th)

The Stand (May 8th)

Weezer's Blue Album (May 10th)

The Crow (May 13th)

The Return of Jafar and Disney Direct-to-Home Sequels as a whole (May 20th)

Beverly Hills Cop III (May 25th)

The Flintstones (May 27th)

Speed (June 10th)

The Lion King (June 15th)

Forrest Gump (July 6th)

Angels in the Outfield (July 15th)

True Lies (July 15th)

Black Beauty (July 29th)

The Mask (July 29th)

The Little Rascals (August 5th)

"Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex (August 12th)

EarthBound for SNES (August 27th)

VR Troopers (September 3rd)

Street Sharks (September 7th)

The Magic School Bus (September 10th)

The Tick (September 10th)

Quiz Show (September 14th)

Léon: The Professional (September 14th)

Tekken (September 21st)

Friends (September 22nd)

The Shawshank Redemption (September 23rd)

Ed Wood (September 27th)

Earthworm Jim (October)

Spider-Man's Infamous Clone Saga (October)

A Troll in Central Park (October 7th)

Pulp Fiction (October 14th)

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (October 14th)

Sega's Sonic & Knuckles for Genesis (October 18th)

Clerks (October 19th)

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (October 22nd)

Gargoyles (October 24th)

Gullah Gullah Island (October 24th)

Killer Instinct (October 28th)

Mortal Kombat II (November)

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (November 4th)

In Search of Dr. Seuss (November 6th)

The Santa Clause (November 11th)

Rare's Donkey Kong Country for SNES (November 18th)

Miracle on 34th Street remake (November 18th)

Star Trek Generations (November 18th)

The Swan Princess (November 18th)

Spider-Man: The Animated Series (November 19th)

Disney's Greatest Hits on Ice (November 25th)

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (December 12th)

The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (December 13th)

Dumb and Dumber (December 16th)

Richie Rich (December 21st)

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (December 25th)

Anything from 1999 turns 25 this year. That includes-

Ed, Edd n Eddy (January 4th)

Batman Beyond (January 10th)

The Sopranos (January 10th)

Jon Stewart becomes host of The Daily Show (January 11th)

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort (January 15th)

Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. for N64 (January 21st)

Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (and a crap load of other Disney Channel Original movies for that matter) (January 23rd)

Zoboomafoo (January 25th)

"My Name Is" by Eminem (January 25th)

Family Guy (January 31st)

Square's Final Fantasy VIII for PS1 (February 11th)

The Planet's Funniest Animals (February 17th)

October Sky (February 19th)

Office Space (February 19th)

Konami's Silent Hill for PS1 (February 23rd)

Batman: No Man's Land (March)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (March)

Pepsiman for PS1 (March 4th)

Test Trak (March 17th)

RollerCoaster Tycoon (March 22nd)

Doug's 1st (and only) Movie (March 26th)

"Livin' la Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin (March 27th)

The Matrix (March 31st)

"I Want It That Way" by The Backstreet Boys (April 12th)

"What's My Age Again?" by blink-182 (April 13th)

Mickey Mouse Works (May 1st)

SpongeBob SquarePants (May 1st)

The Mummy (May 7th)

"Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera (May 11th)

Aliens Versus Predator (game) (May 13th)

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (May 19th)

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (ride) (June 4th)

Disney Sing Along Songs: Flik's Musical Adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom (June 8th)

Smash Mouth's Astro Lounge and their hit "All Star" (June 8th)

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (June 11th)

Tarzan (June 18th)

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (June 30th)

Wild Wild West (June 30th)

American Pie (July 9th)

The Blair Witch Project (July 14th)

Muppets from Space (July 14th)

Eyes Wide Shut (July 16th)

Inspector Gadget (July 23rd)

Deep Blue Sea (July 28th)

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (July 29th)

The Iron Giant (August 6th)

The Sixth Sense (August 6th)

Rocket Power (August 16th)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (the American version) (August 16th)

Dragon Tales (September 6th)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (September 20th)

The West Wing (September 22nd)

Capcom's Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for PS1 (September 22nd)

Freaks and Geeks (September 25th)

Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (September 28th)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (September 29th)

Journey into YOUR Imagination (October 1st)

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (October 1st)

Spider-Man Unlimited (October 2nd)

Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (October 5th)

Fight Club (October 15th)

Namco's Pac-Man World (October 15th)

The Amanda Show (October 16th)

The Nuttiest Nutcracker (October 19th)

Grand Theft Auto 2 (October 22nd)

Ubisoft's Rayman 2: The Great Escape (October 29th)

Insomniac's Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! for PS1 (November 2nd)

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (November 9th)

Courage the Cowardly Dog (November 12th)

Square's Chrono Cross for PS1 (November 18th)

Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (November 19th)

Nintendo's Pokémon Gold and Silver for Gameboy Advance (November 21st)

Toy Story 2 (November 24th)

Fantasia 2000 (December 17th)

Stuart Little (December 17th)

Wakko's Wish (December 21st)

Man on the Moon (December 22nd)

Galaxy Quest (December 25th)

Asia at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Anything from 2004 turns 20 this year. That includes-

Winnie the Pooh: Un-Valentine's Day (January 6th)

Teacher's Pet: The Movie (January 16th)

The Butterfly Effect (January 23rd)

The Lion King 1 1/2 (February 9th)

50 First Dates (February 13th)

Power Rangers Dino Thunder (February 14th)

"Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane (February 16th)

Clifford's Really Big Movie (February 20th)

Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures for Gamecube (March 18th)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (March 19th)

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (March 26th)

Home on the Range (April 2nd)

Danny Phantom (April 3rd) - Screw Butch Hartman, but this show still rocks!

Hellboy (April 2nd)

Ella Enchanted (April 9th)

Kill Bill: Volume 2 (April 16th)

Nintendo's Pikmin 2 for Gamecube (April 29th)

Super Size Me (May 7th)

Van Helsing (May 7th)

Shrek 2 (May 19th)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (May 31st)

Marvel Knights: Spider-Man (June)

DC's Identity Crisis (June)

Garfield: The Movie (June 11th)

Napoleon Dynamite (June 11th)

"My Happy Ending" by Avril Lavigne (June 14th)

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (June 18th)

Phil of the Future (June 18th)

The Notebook (June 25th)

Spider-Man 2 (June 30th)

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (July 9th)

"Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson (July 19th)

Nintendo's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Gamecube (July 22nd)

Catwoman (July 23rd)

The Bourne Supremacy (July 23rd)

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (July 30th)

Justice League Unlimited (July 31st)

Blue's Room (August 2nd)

Alien vs. Predator (film) (August 13th)

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (August 13th)

Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (August 17th)

Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (August 21st)

The Batman (show) (September 11th)

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (September 12th)

Higglytown Heroes (September 13th)

Sly 2: Band of Thieves for PS2 (September 14th)

Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (September 18th)

Star Wars: Battlefront (September 21st)

Green Day's American Idiot (September 21st)

Lost (September 22nd)

Shark Tale (October 1st)

Drew Carey's Green Screen Show (October 7th)

Surviving Christmas (October 22nd)

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (October 26th)

Saw (October 29th)

Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal for PS2 (November 2nd)

The Incredibles (November 5th)

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (November 9th)

Halo 2 (November 9th)

Naughty Dog's Jak 3 for PS2 (November 9th)

The Polar Express (November 10th)

The Sims 2 (November 14th)

Stitch's Great Escape (November 16th)

Turtle Talk with Crush (November 16th)

Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! (November 16th)

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (November 16th)

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (November 17th)

Half-Life 2 (November 18th)

National Treasure (November 19th)

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (November 19th)

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (November 19th)

Howl's Moving Castle (November 20th)

Nintendo DS (November 21st)

World of Warcraft (November 23rd)

Christmas with the Kranks (November 24th)

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II (December 6th)

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for Gameboy Advance (December 7th)

PlayStation Portable (PSP) (December 12th)

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (December 17th)

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (December 25th)

Shaun of the Dead

Anything from 2009 turns 15 this year. That includes-

Hotel for Dogs (January 16th)

Wolverine and the X-Men (January 23rd)

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (January 16th)

Coraline (February 6th)

Friday the 13th (remake) (February 13th)

Halo Wars (February 26th)

Sega's Sonic and the Black Knight for Wii (March 3th)

Capcom's Resident Evil 5 (March 5th)

Zack Snyder's Watchmen (March 6th)

Power Rangers RPM (March 7th)

Race to Witch Mountain (March 13th)

The Secret of Kells (March 19th)

Monsters vs. Aliens (March 27th)

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (April 2009)

Special Agent Oso (April 4th)

Parks and Recreation (April 9th)

Dragonball Evolution (April 10th)

Iron Man: Armored Adventures (April 24th)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1st)

Plants vs. Zombies (May 5th)

Star Trek (remake) (May 8th)

Terminator Salvation (May 21st)

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (May 22nd)

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (May 22nd)

Up (May 29th)

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (June 1st)

The Sims 3 (June 2nd)

The Hangover (June 5th)

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (June 9th)

"I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas (June 15th)

Ghostbusters: The Video Game (June 16th)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 24th)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July 1st)

"Fireflies" by Owl City (July 14th)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 15th)

G-Force (July 24th)

(500) Days of Summer (August 7th)

District 9 (August 14th)

The Time Traveler's Wife (August 14th)

Inglourious Basterds (August 21st)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (August 25th)

Rob Zombie's Halloween II (August 28th)

Disney buys Marvel for $4 billion (August 3st)

Waking Sleeping Beauty (September 6th)

Dinosaur Train (September 7th)

Walt & El Grupo (September 9th)

9 (September 9th)

The Vampire Diaries (September 10th)

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (September 15th)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (September 18th)

Jennifer's Body (September 18th)

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (September 29th) - Still the dumbest name ever 15 years later.

Zombieland (October 2nd)

Where the Wild Things Are (October 16th)

Borderlands (October 20th)

DJ Hero (October 27th)

A Christmas Carol (November 6th)

Fanboy & Chum Chum (November 6th) - BOO! This show was the actual worst!

Fantastic Mr. Fox (November 13th)

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (November 17th)

Left 4 Dead 2 (November 17th)

Assassin's Creed II (November 17th)

Planet 51 (November 20th)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (November 20th) - YUK!

Turtles Forever (November 21st)

Big Time Rush (November 28th)

Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation! (December 6th)

Prep & Landing (December 8th)

The Princess and the Frog (December 11th)

Avatar (December 18th)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (December 23rd)

RuPaul's Drag Race

Minecraft

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Anything from 2014 turns 10 this year. That includes-

True Detective (January 12th)

The Lego Movie (February 7th)

South Park: The Stick of Truth (March 4th)

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (March 7th)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (March 7th)

Dark Souls II (March 11th)

Muppets Most Wanted (March 21st)

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge (March 25th)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4th)

Rio 2 (April 11th)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (April 26th)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2nd)

Chef (May 9th)

Godzilla (May 16th)

X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23rd)

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (May 28th)

Maleficent (May 30th)

Edge of Tomorrow (June 6th)

The Fault in Our Stars (June 6th)

Phineas and Ferb Save Summer (June 9th)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (June 13th)

Shovel Knight (June 26th)

Transformers: Age of Extinction (June 27th)

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (July 11th)

Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (July 21st)

Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars (July 26th)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers's Hypnotic Eye (July 28th)

Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1st)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (movie) (August 8th)

Five Nights at Freddy's (August 8th)

P.T. (August 12th)

BoJack Horseman (August 22nd)

Destiny (September 9th)

Gotham (September 22nd)

Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition (September 23rd)

Black-ish (September 24th)

How to Get Away with Murder (September 25th)

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks (September 27th)

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (September 20th)

Star Wars Rebels (October 3rd)

Annabelle (October 3rd)

Gone Girl (October 3rd)

Alien: Isolation (October 6th)

The Flash (October 7th)

BİRDMAN or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (October 17th)

The Book of Life (October 17th)

John Wick (October 24th)

Taylor Swift's 1989 (October 27th)

Sunset Overdrive (October 28th)

Interstellar (November 5th)

Big Hero 6 (November 7th)

Assassin's Creed Unity (November 11th)

Far Cry 4 (November 18th)

Penguins of Madagascar (November 28th)

Toy Story That Time Forgot (December 2nd)

Peter Pan Live! (December 4th)

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (December 17th)

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (December 19th)

Wow, that took forever to type. Chances are I missed something, so if something you enjoy is hitting a major milestone this year, leave it in the comments below!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

[missrosegold]

Upcoming works:

Here's a list of stories I'm working on, in the order they're being worked on! Please note, some dates I've posted are subject to change, but I'm going to try and get them done for the time I have posted!

**Note: if anyone steals these ideas, so help me GOD, I'll bite your head off with my teeth (I'm only slightly exaggerating.)

1. I met the devil by the window

Rating: MATURE (may change to EXPLICIT)

Paring: Demon!Dabi x FEM Reader

TBD: October 31st, 2023 for @candycandy00 Halloween Horror collab

Synopsis: When horrendous acts of violence occur, they sometimes leave behind impressions that continue to linger long after the initial event. Rarely are they ever pleasant.

You're about to find that out the hard way.

2. Someone new

Rating: MATURE

Paring: Post-war Dabi/Touya x FEM reader

TBD: Somewhere between now and early November 2023 for @shibaraki Komorebi's collab

Synopsis: Post-war arc. It was the quiet moments that Touya enjoyed the most. Sometimes he still had a hard time believing they were real, that you were real.

You had no problems reminding him of the former.

3. I've got a blood trail, red in the blue

Rating: MATURE (may change to EXPLICIT)

Paring: Vampire!Dabi x FEM reader

TBD: Sometime between now and November 2023 for @kimkaelyn since she gave me the idea haha

Synopsis: (This is shamelessly inspired by The Lost Boys btw.)

You moved to the quiet, coastal town to escape from your past lover, only to find yourself entangled with a man with fiery blue eyes, and a grin that's slightly too sharp.

He may or may not be an immortal gang leader to a bunch of other blood-sucking degenerates, but you'll worry about that later.

4. Unnamed Dragon Prince!Touya x FEM reader fic.

I haven't started this one, nor does it have a name as of yet, but @malewifetouya and I have been working on the plot of it since I threw the idea out there a few weeks ago. We quite litterally have the whole story down from start to finish, I just haven't touched it since I need to work on the other three before I start any new projects, but it WILL be worked on!

Also, I shouldn't have to say this, but I'm going to just in case:

I, missrosegold, do not give anyone permission to edit, steal, translate, or copy my idea's or published stories. September 10th, 2023.

[navi-llera]

Where are UNI.T. Members Now? (As Of Sept / Oct 2024)

{ UNI.T. was a 9 member Female Korean Pop group. The group officially debut May 18th 2018 and Disbanded October 12th the same year.

UNI.T. were formed through a survival show called, The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project. Where it would debut 1 female and 1 male group with pre-existing idols! }

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡

1- Euijin

Euijin ranked 1st with a total of 108,066 votes. She was the Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist and the Center. On September 8th she was FREED from the abomination known as TS Entertainment, Leaving Sonamoo, And re-debuting under Mellow Entertainment, with the name Hezz.

She has 2 Instagram accounts ! @ _hongeuijin , I think is a more Personal account & @ hezz_offcl for her soloist career, In which she debut March 3rd 2022 with her single "The 8th Spring". And On Her Spotify, Hezz , She has 3 Singles. Alas, She has not released any new music since 2022. But She Made her Acting debut in the 2024 6-Episode Series, King of Saju ALSO KNOWN AS Four Lords: The Destiny Changer as Lee Ha Young.

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2 - Yebin

Yebin ranked 2nd with a total of 83,910 votes. She was the Main Vocalist. After UNI.T.'s disbandment, she went back to her original group DIA. Until in September of 2022 it was announced the group parted ways to do seperate activities (as far as I'm aware they haven't disbanded and are just doing different things).

She has 2 instagram accounts, yeah_b_film , A Photography based account (I think?) and yeb1n_100 a more personal account. On the 7th of July 2021, Yen debuted as a soloist with her single, Yes I Know.

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3 - NC.A

NC.A ranked 3rd with a total of 82,074 votes. She was the Main Vocalist. After UNI.T's Disbandment, she returned to her career as a soloist, Her latest release being in January 2024 with the song Universe. She has a instagram account, love_nca where she posts soloist stuff and other stuff!

NC.A has also acted in some K-Dramas such as, Itaewon Class, Reply 1994, Phantom School and She has appeared in much more.

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4 - Yoonjo

Yoonjo ranked 4th with a total of 78,519 votes. She was the Vocalist. She was a member of Hello Venus before Departing in 2014, Due to Pledis Entertainment and Fantagio Entertainment ending their merger, and Yoonjo chose to rejoin Pledis entertainment.

January 6th 2022, to was announced that Yoonjo signed an exclusive contract with Y-Bloom Entertainment. On November 10th, It was announced that Yoonjo would be getting married to Kim Dong-ho, The couple deciding to privately get married November 19th. Yoonjo shared her wedding pictures on her instagram _yoonjo !

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5 - Hyunjoo

Hyunjoo ranked 5th with a total of 72,090 votes. She was the Vocalist & Visual. Hyunjoo was a member of APRIL, but she left in October 2016, Due to health issues and Wanting to start an acting career!. Some K-Drama's she's starred in are: Summer Guys, Touch Me If You Can & My Father Is Strange.

Hyunjoo was apart of the April bullying Scandal, as on February 28th 2021, her ALLEGED brother came out to say that her former group members (APRIL) used to bully her when she was still apart of the group. (that is all I will be writing on that. if you want more you could find YouTube videos OR go to Lee Hyunjoo's Kpop Profile.)

She is on instagram ! hyun.joo_lee and her most recent post was in august!

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6 - Jiwon

Jiwon ranked 6th with a total of 68,193 votes. She was the Lead Vocalist. Jiwon was apart of K-pop group, SPICA until they disbanded 6th February, 2017. After that, Jiwon went back into acting!, Her latest roles being, Unpredictable Family (2023), The Witches Game (2022) & Love Naggers Season 3 (2020). Jiwon also appeared in a Musical Play, That went from Aug 10th - Sep 7th!, Called Love in Buenos Aires.

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7 - Woohee

Woohee ranked 7th with a total of 66,054 votes. She was the Leader, Main Rapper, Main Dancer and Lead Vocalist. She is a Member of DalShaBet, (A member, Serri, Stated in an interview that they had not disbanded, but the member did leave the company for seperate activities). On her Spotify, She has not released any music since 2022, with her collaboration with Kim Younggeun. And she has a instagram! woohee91.

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8 - ZN (now known as Jinye)

ZN ranked 8th with a total of 61,023 votes. She was the Lead Dancer and Vocalist. She is a current member of LABOUM ( which has not disbanded, they are on an indefinite hiatus, just looking for a new company! ). On her instagram, baejinyea , she seems to just post personal photos, And it looks like she was in a Theatre Production March 22nd - May 12!.

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9 - Suji

Suji ranked 9th with a total of 60,954 votes. She was the Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer, Vocalist and The Maknae. Suji was in the Kpop group The Ark until their disbandment in 2016. Then she joined the group Real Girls Project OR R.G.P. formed through The Idolm@ster Korea ! She has a personal instagram 1998_suji_ya. And she recently had her wedding anniversary (congrats !).

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THE GIRLS INSTAGRAM NAMES (bc I can't put links to them :( )

Euijin - @ hezz_offcl & @ _hongeuijin_

Yebin - @ yeah_b_film & @ yeb1n_100

N.CA - @ love_nca

Yoonjo - @ _yoonjo

Hyunjoo - @ hyun.joo_lee

Jiwon - @ wldnjs62

Woohee - @ woohee91

ZN - @ baejinyea

Suji - @ 1998_suji_ya

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INFO SORCES:

( IF ANY INFORMATION IS WRONG PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN CHANGE IT! )

[deadnaturalhistories]

19 September 2023 / It's been a while since I shared any bug photos! My favorite Starbucks barista and I went to the Horniman before she moved out of the UK. It was the first time I actually went into the butterfly house!

Discovered that my code for the butterflies and moths wasn't running properly, so now I have to run it all again. Luckily it should all be fixed now, and I'm going to check it every 8 hours or so to make sure. Once it's all run, I have the code for making all of the figures from this stuff already prepped.

In the meantime, I can draft 80% of the chapter this goes into - I spent all day today just getting this code to behave properly. No writing was done. :( I have a couple of textbooks to consult, amongst other things; my chapter deadline is 10th October.

I'm also going to be on the hook for some other (bee) code early next week - I'm going to try to get as many of the butterflies and moths run between now and then as I can, though the bee code shouldn't take me long to finish and run.

Tomorrow is museum volunteering day, but I'll check that my code is behaving first thing in the morning.