#Grendel hour

[cyber-neptune]

Getting people to play Warframe by showing them Grendel is the superior way 🙏🙏

[kaiserouo]

he's a nom nom warframe

[lovelandfrogman]

been having thoughts

[shortterm-emory]

Been listening to The Mountain Goats again

[apollo-elias]

Hi all! My final project for college was this labor of love I spent about a year on. It's inspired by The Ninth Hour (https://www.ninthhourmusical.com/) which is criminally underrated.

Basically, it's a four minute long animated storyboard following Grendel post his final fight with Beowulf. I put a lot of work into it, and so please enjoy!

(Vocal performance by Shayfer James, lyrics by Shayfer James and Kate Douglas)

[friends-w-ghosts]

I definitely never saw myself making Beowulf art but I’ve been listening to a musical based on it and I’m very obsessed, so here we are. I actually got to see Shayfer sing one of the songs live and after that I was done for lol I’ve listened to the whole album a million times.

It has a lot of great symbolism that was a lot of fun to work from! There were a loooot of thumbnail sketches as I tried to figure out what I wanted to focus on — I might actually finish one of the ones I scrapped and make it a Beowulf-only poster design.

If you want to listen to it yourself:

[latetothepartyandconfused]

I'm so normal about this

[audio description: Part of Lullaby from the Ninth hour musical, Where dying Grendel is singing to his mother. the song goes as: "Mother all my life you taught me people can't be trusted and we have to fight to stay alive we'll always be the enemy oh eye for eye and limb for limb the blood that I've been swimming in mother I've grown tired of this mother I've grown tired of this There's beauty and there's empathy some people might have cared for me I hid my heart and stayed inside instead of moving with the tide mother I've grown tired of this mother I've grown tired of this mother I've grown tired of this ...tired sorry" Grendel's voice is is hoarse and wet. His words are slurring a bit and it sounds like he has to push them out. As he nears the end, his voice becomes softer and quieter and he slurs more. His last words are barely more then a whisper. \end ID]

[patch-of-roses]

Musical recommendation that is fully available and less than 50 minutes!

I just watched The Ninth Hour: The Beowulf Story (like I finished it thirty minutes ago), and I am utterly in awe of it.

The show starts with a coin flip meant to determine the actor who plays Beowulf and the one who plays Grendel. The stage is a church. The main actors have such a commanding presence. It has one of the most homoerotic songs I have ever heard between a man and a woman.

I highly recommend watching this performance. It's fully uploaded on the Met's YouTube page. It's phenomenal.

[regicidal-defenestration]

If I had a pound for every Beowulf musical adaptation which had themes of Beowulf living forever through the stories told and also forcing Beowulf to confront the similarities between him and Grendel I'd have two quid which isn't a lot but it's odd it's happened twice

[roach-works]

i used to have to wash dishes before getting to play Creatures 1996 on the computer so sometimes ill smell a particular kind of dish soap and remember my beloved childhood digital pet, QWERTY

have you ever done things at like specific times of the year so when it rolls back out youre like damn... smells like undertale outside

[cyber-neptune]

I'm absolutely horrible at taking pictures so have this one I snatched from Prime Time.

Yes, I was Princess Grendel💅✨

[imagine-darksiders]

I feel like Grendel, I think being Santa might have fcked up my hearing. It's like I've gone deaf to high and mid frequency sounds, but I'm hyper sensitive to low frequency sound that I'm suddenly picking up in everything I do or hear. There's a vibration deep inside my inner ear. I just flushed the toilet and it was like all I could hear were the pipes rumbling. Cars drive past and it's like all I'm getting are the low pitches.

Anyone who's around excessive loud noise ever get similar problems? Is there a way to deal? This has come on about 24 hours after I was blasted by loud music from speakers all around me.

[ckret2]

bouncing off that anon's ask, who would you ship Bill with *outside* of Gravity Falls? Literally any media go ham with it

Invader Zim for exactly one reason: their voices would be sooo annoying together. Imagine it. Imagine the dirty talk. Absolutely atrocious.

This isn't a ship but I think he should hang out with Team Rocket. I mean I guess it could be a ship if you wanna find a way to fit him into the polycule. They've got plenty they can relate to each other on: complicated relationships with parents, being special in your species in a way that makes you a freak/outcast, seeking family via criminal gang, trying to accomplish ONE evil task for like a billion years and somehow no matter how many people you try to manipulate or how clever your cover stories and creative your plans you just canNOT do it...

But mainly I want him to give them terrible advice and horrible help on their criminal ambitions while trying to get them to build him a portal. They waste 50 episodes on 50 different portal-building schemes while Bill gets progressively more irate, and in turn they get equally furious at this annoying talking Ghost-type they can't touch or make go away. Poké balls work on him but he immediately pops back out even madder, which does nothing to help him persuade them that he's not a Pokémon.

Anyway within a month they'd all die for each other. In a very emotional moment when he thinks they're about to be killed and there's nothing he can do about it, he'd tell them they would have made fine Henchmaniacs; and then when they inevitably survive he immediately takes it back.

I think Bill and Unicron would hook up and I think Unicron would make Bill worse. I think he's one of the only beings in existence that could make Bill worse. Bill's got a self-destructive streak a mile wide and Unicron would exacerbate it. They'd break up cordially and then slowly grow to loathe each other more and more in retrospect. Bill would still booty call Unicron when drunk and Unicron would accept.

this isn't necessarily a ship but imagine if bill and getaway teamed up

The Princess in Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer. Bill would promise her a diamond the size of a star and she would build him a portal in less than a week. Bill would compliment her interior decor sensibilities and she might actually compliment his appearance because he's very bright, and that would be enough for them to decide they're besties. They'd get champagne, trash talk their enemies, and bully the plebs like a couple of high school mean girls. They'd make out while completely wasted and deny it when they're sober. Each of them privately thinks the other one is their pet.

Grendel from Grendel. Bill would initially hook up with him expecting him to be the monster equivalent of a party frat boy and then they'd talk philosophy in a dark cave for 18 hours straight and mutually feel like they're not alone for the first time they can remember. They'd make each other worse and then fix each other and then Grendel would die in battle and Bill would get worse again.

I think he could have something with Frankenstein's monster, too—original novel version, not movie version. Similar reasons to Grendel: strong sense of alienation from parents and of isolation from everyone else in the world; feeling of having been created as something totally singular, feeling of having a perspective no one else shares; self-identification as the monster in the narrative of their own life... Plus with the monster Bill's also got "life inevitably culminates in killing my own dad." Bill met him because he was actually trying to get Frank to build him a portal—he's like the first scientist trying to do major projects using electricity—but then ended up more fascinated by the science project than the scientist.

[bannanasrus]

Tummy Jail for crimes of overexertion

Contains M/M safe soft vore, Belching

A very silly little vore scenario that I wanted to make. And will I ever write simple vore - Nah you are getting the full story the beginning middle and end lol - generally speaking I am aware I didn’t write the actual vore for Princely Belly Cuddles (Shameless Plug), I’m getting off track I do apologise.

When you’re a Pred Bodyguard sometimes you need to save your charge from themselves

In an ordinary Law Firm’s CEO’s office a middle aged woman in a pencil skirt swept in like a Spanish Galleon.

“Mr Grendel” Began Martha Oldcapple a long serving and long suffering secretary for many a CEO of this Law firm

“Ahh” Said Cole Grendel - head of Wrightman and Partners and Wrightman - Don’t forget about Wrightman!! “Mrs Oldcapple, I haven’t forgotten anyone’s birthday have I?”

“This is not about birthday’s, and you know it, this is about the fact that you promised you would go home early today”

“Did I”

“Yes you did” she said folding her arms like a less than impressed teacher looking at her boss, who was looking up at her, he met her gaze on the level but looked like he was going to start squirming like a misbehaving schoolboy at any minute “and it is now past 6 o’clock and the sun is setting”

“You are still here”

“I have been waiting for you to go home!”

“Well I’ll just be another minute”

“You said that 2 hours ago” she replied folding her arms

“She got a point” said Andre Brighton glaring at his boss, he was Cole’s bodyguard/boyfriend/partner - he genuinely didn’t know, they lived in the same house Cole always made him dinner, though Cole himself seemed to survive on caffeine and the stress of his own job and those around him. Technically as a Pred bodyguard it was his job to eat any threats to his charge, but - he was feeling that Cole was more of a danger to himself than any assassin.

“I don’t know why you are so against me staying here a bit later, you can go home”

“Point one we are all tired of you over working yourself and point two I won’t and can’t leave this office until you do” Said Andre

“Ok” said Cole “I’ll go now” saying this he lifted a stack of papers from his desk

“No” said Martha feeling like she was scolding a naughty cat

“But I have to - ”

Martha felt like she was dealing with the most idiotic boss on the planet - it appeared intelegence had an inverse relationship with common sense. He was a nice person but his penchant for overworking himself caused more stress for her than if he was a straight up dickwad. “You have to sleep - for a minimum of 8 hours, probably more to make up for lack of it you usually have, I mean when was the last time you slept - properly”

“Well I caught 8 hours on Wednesday the 14th”

Martha almost exploded with rage and frustration “IT IS NOW THURSDAY THE 29th” she bellowed “do you mean to tell me, that you last had sleep 2 weeks ago” she growled quietly

“Yes” said Cole,smiling placidly the bags under his eyes very, very clear

“Cole, Andre what exactly is the night time routine like at your house”

“Well I get back from the office with Andre I make us dinner”

“I’m not interested in your domestic bliss Cole” interrupted Martha massaging her temples “what time do you go to bed at?”

“He says that he goes to bed at ten” said Andre glaring at Cole

“Well these last two weeks” said Cole “I have been going to bed then, but then I get a bit of work done”

“Do you get any sleep at all” asked Martha

“Well I’ve been having micronaps” said Cole “the African elephant sleeps for only two hours at a time”

“You are not an African elephant” Snapped Andre, why did his charge have to be his own worst enemy

“Cole…” said Martha “How do I put this.. delicately” she paused “oh yes - You are the dumbest Boss ever”

“What”

“I had to deal with a chauvinist pig for a boss before,and you are dumber than he was because at least he knew that he had to sleep!”

“She’s really going for the jugular” muttered one of the employees who were totally eavesdropping outside the office Her Name was Adelaide and she was head of photocopying

“She’s ripping into him like a lioness” whispered Tessa the HR assistant

“Only this time it’s as though the lioness actually cares about it’s prey’s wellbeing” hissed Blake their resident Criminal Psycologist (Do law offices have those IDK)

“Cole Grendel, you are going to sleep whether you like it or not”

“I don’t wanna go to sleep” - he almost sounded like a petulant child and had Martha not been so furious at his pigheaded obstinacy she might have laughed, as it was she turned on her head and stormed out. Andre followed her out leaving Cole sitting at his desk. All at once the employees who had been standing at the door scattered like mice.

“He is an Idiot” said Andre

“Does he have a death wish” asked Martha to no one in particular

“This is the third conversation you you’ve had with him this month about him overworking himself” said Adelaide shrugging her shoulders “Now might be the time to take drastic action”

“I have chloroform” said Blake holding up a bottle of the stuff and a cloth

“How long have you had that in your desk?” Asked Martha

“Does it matter”

“No actually I don’t wanna know”, she turned to Andre “sometimes you’ve got to save your charge from themselves” she said

“You want me to Swallow him?” Andre Replied

“Yes, at least that way he can’t run” Grumbled Martha

“You underestimate him greatly” He said matter-of-factly

“Good point”

“So Chloroform?” asked Blake

“What is it with you and Chloroform recently” Asked Adelaide

“If it is absolutely necessary” declared Martha “we’ll use it”

“So what is the plan” asked Fredrika a young athletic lawyer, crossing her massive arms across her strong broad chest she was one who looked and sounded like she’d be more at home on a vast country estate yelling at pheasants.

“We use the element of surprise - no too cliche, we lure him out of his office and herd him to a spot in the building - be mindful though he may bite if cornered”

“ironic” chuckled Andre

“Oh Cole” said Martha, “they are remaking your favourite 80s Tv show, but it’s a dark and edgy reboot that does nothing but insult the source material.”

“How could they” bellowed Cole as he stormed from his office

“NOW” yelled Martha as the rest of the employees leaped into action charging forward towards Cole who made a mad dash for the stairs

“Maybe we can chase him home?” Yelled someone in the crowd

“No need, herd him to the east corner of the building” said Martha

“Are you all crazy?” He yelled

“Pot kettle black Cole” yelled the Janitor Leland as he joined the crowd

The crowd of workers chased their boss, in a rare turn of events this wasn’t a riot caused by poor working conditions, this was a riot caused by extreme frustration at the stupidity of their boss’s lack of care for his own wellbeing. He was a nice person and a decent boss, willing to work with anyone of his employees, he was also an idiot when it came to himself, plus well it had been a bit of a slow day and they all wanted some entertainment.

“We’ve lost sight of him damn it” said Martha, spread out. This being done she hurried to the back stairs.

Fredrika was crossing over the mezzanine floor when she spotted a short dark haired man scampering across the floor, it would she considered be a waste of time to run down the stairs, instead she hopped over the railing and yelled “TALLY HO” as she leapt down, she had seen Cole who shrieked and ran for the door to the basement but became acutely aware of a groan from beneath her.

“Urgh Fredrika can you please get off me, I feel like my bones are being reorganised”

“My deepest apologies Blake” said Fredrika briskly getting off of the smaller man and helping him to his feet.

“Don’t mention it” said Blake making sure all his bones, were indeed in the correct place.

“He went down there” said Fredrika approaching the door, she heard footsteps and Andre appeared

“ I heard you jump” he said to her “Where did Cole go?”

“Down there” said Fredrika

The three of them made their way down to the basement to find Cole apparently unconscious having hit his head on a pipe “Cole, Cole can you hear me?” Asked Andre

Cole slowly opened his eyes “Andre, you look very handsome”

Fredrika, had to work hard to not laugh at the blush that appeared on Andre’s face as he lifted Cole gently and carried him out of the basement

Cole petted Andre’s chest “what are your shirts made out of?”

“He might be concussed” muttered Blake

“He actually might be safer Concussed” said Fredrika

Martha was at the top of the stairs and sighed at the concussed Cole “Mr Grendell, Cole dear would you feel better if you were swallowed”

“Yes, I have Mmmfff” he was quickly shoved into Andre’s maw and in a few short gulps was packed into his stomach “hey lemme out - , oh this is actually quite comfy , I think I’ll take a nap zzzzzzzzzz” within seconds Cole had conked out. Martha sighed

“You are all free to go Cole will approve the overtime - you have all worked very hard today, I will go and lock up the office” the employees trapsed out soon after some laughing, some sighing. “Andre, you as well” she addded as she grabbed the Keys from her desk and grabbed papers of her own “Go home”

Andre placed a hand over his stomach feeling Cole move slightly inside and hearing a little sigh “Thank you and Good evening Martha”.

He turned and left the office and passed out onto the street he felt the rain on his skin and on his stomach, glancing he saw three people who had clearly been watching the office move slowly back into the alley. His stomach gently clenched protectively around Cole, he knew exactly who these people were and he wasn’t about to let them take Cole away from him. Quickly, he made his way to where Cole had parked their car, were they in a relationship, he thought to himself yet again, Cole trusted him with the keys to his car, always made him lunch. He felt a rumbling belch make its way up from his stomach, “bourrrrrrrrrp” Cole tasted amazing he thought to himself, he wondered if they were really in a relationship, then maybe he could have this feeling again and again. Probably even if they weren’t he would have to do this to get Cole to sleep when he was supposed to. “You absolute idiot” he said to his stomach, as he clambered into the car “You need to take breaks, I understand you feel the need to work all the time, but you need to sleep for goodness sake”.

The drive back home took a little over 15 minutes, Blake’s and his abode was a small house just outside the city made of red brick with a slate roof, he got out of the car went in the house, changed out of his suit and into a tank top and shorts, the better for letting his distended gut hand out and flopped back on the sofa. Protectively rubbing his stomach. “You Cole Grendel are a first class idiot” he said to his stomach, “In fact if there was a class of idiot higher than first I would put you there, you know why I had to swallow you, because you, yes you think you’re indestructible, but you’re not” he frowned “you are not a machine and heck even machines need to be switched off from time to time” he felt Cole squirm, probably it was to get more comfy but to be honest it could just as easily be because he was hearing what was being said and was reacting to it. “I, am going to come out with it Cole, I care for you deeply, you make amazing food, both in terms of your cooking and well, you tasted pretty nice, you always laugh at my jokes, and you give me amazing hugs” he groaned and facepalmed, “what am I saying” he asked to no one in particular “you can’t even hear me” he hiccuped and burped as Cole squirmed into what was, presumably for him a more comfy position Cole sleepily said “Don’t go Andre, I wanna cuddle” Andre Blushed, Cole might have a thing for him too and if he did this had become allot more complicated, for a start Cole would panic so much about the fact that he was Andre’s charge that he would probably faint on a regular basis and secondly any feelings Cole might have had for him after being swallowed near enough forcefully.

The weight of the smaller man was none-the-less strangely comforting and Andre was reminded of the way he felt after Cole served him really good food as he lay there on the sofa watching one of their favourite shows (of course an older episode he wasn’t going to watch ahead!) his Cole filled stomach occasionally squirmed as Cole shifted himself in his sleep. He really is adorable thought Andre to himself.

Andre himself drifted off to sleep on the sofa stroking his stomach gently. When he awoke it was because of a gentle tap on the inside of his stomach. “Andre are you awake?” It was Cole’s voice, quiet and small and he almost didn’t catch the almost whimper of “please be Andre” that came after

“I’m awake” Andre said quietly

“Ahh thank you” said Cole “I’m in your stomach I believe

“You are indeed”

“Um, you can keep me if you want, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get things running with Martha in charge”

“Cole do not finish the sentence you are making”

Cole blithely continued “Anyway, if you need anything I have leftovers in the freezer and fridge that should last you a month or so”

“COLE” Andre Yelled at his stomach

“Andre” Cole replied sheepishly

“Do you think I care so little for you that I would digest you without a second thought”

“Well I”

“No Cole, I care for you a great deal more than that, god in spite of your encyclopaedic knowledge of the Law and of Obscure Board games, you are stupid”

“I, I guess I am”

“Have you slept”

“Well I looked at my watch and it’s about 12 o’clock”

“Jeeze I swallowed you at about a quarter past 6”

“I’ve been asleep for nearly 18 hours!”

“Yes and you need it quite frankly” he slowly stood up “I need to let you out now so you can shower”

“Thanks”

“Martha says you can’t come into the office until Monday and you are to take the weekend off any sort of work” said Andre reading off the message Martha had sent him, though she had included more expletives and uses of the phrase “that damn idiot”

“um Andre

“Yeah Cole”

“Can I talk to you, outside your stomach”

“Like I said you probably need to take a shower so…” he slowly but surely regurgitated Cole, out of his stomach, up his oesophagus and out of his mouth.

“Thank you, Andre” said a very sopping wet Cole “But I did mean let me out in the bathroom so I can clean up easier”

“you make a salient point”

Cole rose to his feet completely covered in stomach juices he made his way, slightly unsteadily - to the bathroom. Andre, slightly unsure followed him , just in case he fell.

“Andre, I’m not going to faint - I promise” said Cole as he reached the bathroom “Just give me five minutes ok”

“Ok”

Cole stepped into the shower room and stripped off his sopping wet clothes and sighed. He had made such an unmitigated ass of himself hadn’t he. In between sleep he had heard what he thought was Andre confessing his feelings to him, he couldn’t lie - even though it was difficult for him to admit feelings for someone who was well an employee therefore opening up a whole can of worms that he didn’t want to think about - he couldn’t lie - if Andre had been confessing, he felt the same.

Andre made him feel safe, both physically and emotionally, and he loved cooking for him and generally being around him. He also couldn’t lie - Andre was hot, he was well built with a chiselled jawline and a mop of brown hair.

He let the water wash over him cleaning him of Andres stomach juices, mostly just mucous - he was thankful that Andre didn’t decide to digest him after all - honestly though being in Andre’s stomach was nice, it was a safe space, one that he had enjoyed being kept in, near enough the second he’d been in the chamber it had felt like he was perfectly safe, not stressed in the slightest and his tiredness had hit him all at once, in that moment all he had wanted was to sleep and so he had done so, the hit on his head, he thought as he gingerly rubbed at it, probably had aided in that.

He got out of the shower and dressed quickly slipping into shorts and a tee shirt before making his way up to the kitchen. Andre was standing there buttering some toast, “Showers free” he said to Andre

“Oh thanks, here I made you toast and there’s some coffee in the pot” Said Andre hurrying back, Cole busied himself with the toast, it really was nice.

Andre got back from the shower a few minutes later having dressed himself in shorts and a tee shirt, like Cole had.

“Andre, we need to talk” Cole said “your toast was delicious by the by” he added grinning awkwardly

The “we need to talk” had made Andre worried but the second comment set his mind (somewhat) at ease. He sat down beside Cole

“Andre, I first want to thank you for swallowing me last evening, it was the right call and you and Martha were right to tell me I needed to rest, and I ought to apologise for not doing so” he looked down at his feet “but what I wanted to say was that, I no longer need your services as my bodyguard” Andre’s heart skipped a beat at that and he was about to interrupt when Cole said “I want to be your boyfriend” the tips of his ears burnt as he looked at Andre whose mouth hung open “if you don’t wanna be that’s cool I just - oh oh” he squealed as Andre lifted him off the floor with the full force of his hug, Andre scooped him into a bridal carry and peppered his face with kisses.

“Of course I wanna be your boyfriend you idiot” said Andre once he’d got his breath back and his heart had returned to a normal pace “I was thinking allot about it last night - you are amazing, and stupid and hilarious and frustrating but I adore you”

“I hope that I won’t ever force you to use that restraining technique to get me to stop overworking myself” said Cole blushing up at Andre from where he was held

“If it makes you feel any better, you tasted wonderful, a very fulfilling meal”

“That’s good” said Cole smiling slyly “because I want you to do it again”

“Oh you are on!” Said Andre laughing.

The next week when Cole and Andre were back in the office they gathered all the employees together in the large foyer to make the announcement of them being together, they had already told Martha who had merely sighed and suggested that they call the employees together.

“We have gathered you all here today because me and Cole have an announcement to make” said Andre taking the lead as Cole was far too giddy to make one bit of sense

“Me and Andre are dating” said Cole excitedly

“Congratulations” said Leland clapping sardonically “you are officially the last to know.

Blake sprinted over to Adelaide in effort to renegotiate his bet or claim that he wasn’t actually saying that Cole and Andre would be revealed as dating by the middle of the month and after all they thought they had just started.

“You’ve opened quite the can of worms” said Martha

“How did they all know we were dating before we even started dating enough to have bets on it” asked Cole

“Oh please everyone knew it wouldn’t be long before the penny dropped on your end and you would realise that you’ve had a mutal thing for each-other and have been dating for over two years, speaking of which I have to go and settle my bet with Fredrika, you two have cost me a 20” said Martha as she walked away

“Well I suppose you and I will have to settle on someone for our first official date” said Andre grinning

“Oh well can we do a night in, I’ll make a delicious dinner and we can cuddle on the sofa” replied Cole

“Oh we always do that”

“My cooking is exemplary, and you don’t like being out too late any more than I do”

“I know something that will tickle your fancy”

“Do tell”

“We go out to dinner and then we take in a show, I know how much you love theatre, and there’s a new musical opening shortly, and I know how much you love musicals”

“I do love them”

“Well that’s settled” Andre made his voice low and whispered “And afterwards I can swallow you down” he bit Cole’s ear gently and Cole playfully batted him away

“Ok but tonight I’m making dinner and we are going to sit down and watch a movie”

“What movie”

Cole thought for a second “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”

“I happen to think that’s an excellent Idea” said Andre

I really hope you enjoyed this, it was a long process to write but I’m happy with how it turned out, I definitely will do more with this pair in the future, I gotta say Tummy jail is my favourite Safe vore thing

[ripeteeth]

Hi! I hope this isn't too random or intrusive, but I discovered your blog recently due to coming across your post about reading Frankenstein when I was searching a book ask meme tag. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts about the books you like and I found I shared quite a few of your tastes and opinions as well (eg. I wasn't a big fan of Love in the Time of Cholera or Neil Gaiman's solo writing either, I really love grotesquely interesting and oddly pretty stories like Perfume).

please don't feel any pressure to answer this if you'd rather not, but I was wondering if you had any other books to recommend or talk a bit about that have really stuck with you? I'm also curious about how you usually find more good books for your future reading list – if you have any tips or advice you could share Thank you! ♡

Hi! I’m always down to talk about books I love or loathe! There’s so much out there in terms of grotesque beauty, so to speak!

I worked in a bookstore all throughout college, so I had a ton of resources there in being connected to other book lovers and had the pure luck to spend thousands of hours shelving books and having so many titles pass through my hands. Many of my favorites are here because something about the cover or summary intrigued me while I was reshelving it or finding it for someone (or pulling it during zoning to return to the publisher if it hadn’t sold). If you have a good used bookstore near you, I HIGHLY recommend just taking time to wander through and just look for something weird! Something that catches your attention, even if you can’t put your finger on why. Ask the booksellers there if they have any recommendations - I’ve rarely met a bookseller that didn’t have an opinion or five about good books to share.

I also had the benefit of having a very book-centric family, especially my mom. She’s my best friend and she introduced me to so many incredible titles, like The Stranger, Jane Eyre, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe, Lolita, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Anna Karenina, Murder on the Orient Express, and the collected hijinks of Jeeves and Wooster. So many of the books I read are ones she recommends!

Beyond that and recommendations from friends, I tend to pick up books from following publishers. Right now I’m obsessed with reading publications by the New York Review of Books and Fitzcarraldo Editions, both of which publish incredibly high-quality writing from authors I’ve usually never heard of. A lot of these books are either experimental or have never been translated into English before (or haven’t been published in decades). I really tend to just go through their catalogs and grab a book at random and I haven’t had a miss yet. Right now from NYRB, I’m reading Mourning A Breast, a memoir of living with breast cancer by Hong Kong writer Xi Xi, and I have Vasily Grossman’s Leningrad on deck. From Fitzcarraldo, I recently loved Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk and am going to start Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor soon.

Right off the top of my head, based on the few you referenced here such as Perfume and Frankenstein, I’d recommend:

Grendel - John Gardner

Along with Frankenstein, this is probably my all-time favorite book. It’s a fascinating retelling of Beowulf, all from Grendel’s point-of-view. It’s lush but in that way of undergrowth and decay, and Gardner leans into Grendel’s wretchedness and monstrosity, letting it sing. He’s not interested in rehabilitating a monster, but in giving this pathetic creature a voice. I have a deep love of retellings that move the viewfinder and give the reins to a side character or villain. (Though I admit I haven’t liked many of the recent releases in this vein. They give me the crawling sensation that they were written because it became popular, not because the author had an interest in the story or characters, which is perfectly valid - hey, it’s a capitalist hellscape we all live in, no shame in getting paid - but those aren’t the books I enjoy.)

Crash - J.G. Ballard

This is a weird one. A wonderfully messy, fucked-up weird one where the heartbeat of the story is about psychosexual car crash fetishes. Cronenberg made it into a film in 1995 and the fact that Cronenberg made a movie about it at all should tell you everything you need to know.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find and Other Stories - Flannery O’Connor

If you like dark and oddly beautiful, nothing fits that criteria more than Flannery O’Connor. Something heavy and somber hovers over her work. A sense of dread. Dry grasses. Revival tents. The dead eyed stare of a preacher. A fire you cannot escape.

[A list of recs below the cut]

A few others that come to mind as titles you may enjoy, though I can’t quite put my finger on why. These are all beautifully written, fascinating, and many are uncomfortable in the precise way I like fiction to leave me feeling.

Cassandra - Christa Wolf

The Dwarf - Par Lagerkvist

Hunger - Knut Hamsun

Solenoid - Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu

We Have Always Lived In The Castle - Shirley Jackson

Rashomon and Other Stories - Ryunosuke Akutagawa

The Passion - Jeanette Winterson

Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe

Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age - Bohumil Hrabal

Voices From Chernobyl - Svetlana Alexievich (Proof that non-fiction can be poetic and haunting)

Just Kids - Patti Smith

A Map To The Door of No Return - Dionne Brand

This Way For the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen - Tadeusz Borowski

The Street of Crocodiles - Bruno Schulz

Lote - Shola von Reinhold

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

Autobiography of Red - Anne Carson

Labyrinths - Jorge Luis Borges

If on a winter’s night a traveler - Italo Calvino

2666 - Roberto Bolaño

The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

The Pearl Diver - Jeff Talarigo

Beyond The Gates - Molly Gloss

Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood

Self-Help and Other Stories - Lorrie Moore

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Get In Trouble: Stories - Kelly Link

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

Consent - Vanessa Springora

Medea - Christa Wolf

Simple Passion - Annie Ernaux

[eyeofthestorm888]

Night Lords Kill Team, “The Witching Hour” wip

A mop up crew in essence, teleported in the rubble and dust choked city streets of Grendel’s World.

A small isolated planet, in the Ysobel Cluster on the outer periphery of the eastern fringe.

In the year 843.M34 Night Lords fell upon this planet and massacred its inhabitants out of sheer sport.

Here we see a squad, tasked with destroying and hijacking their communication systems.