#I decided to do posts like this instead of book reviews

[duyuforu]

Destiny Matrix Future Spouse ⊹₊⟡ XI- The Strength

©duyuforu All Rights Reserved; Do not copy work.

Picture & Divider from Tumblr, credits go to owners.

Calculate your Destiny Matrix Chart here.

Destiny Matrix is an Esoteric tool that explores the 22 Arcana's of the Tarot to see a different approach of yourself and your life, as a Chart, similar to Astrology. It's a tool that also enable you to develop your full potential as an individual. Numbers and Chakras are used instead of signs, houses and degrees. Here we are gonna look at the number under the heart in your chart to know about your future spouse (this image below).

If you have number 11, this post is for you.

Disclaimer: This Number (11) can be seen as The Strength (as it is the 11th Arcana in Tarot de Marseille), but it can also been as Number 8, as it is also the Arcana number 8 in some other Tarots Decks.. If you have Number 11 or 8, check both The Strength & The Justice. I decided to take the interpretation of the Tarot de Marseille.

⋆˚࿔ Possible Placements of Future Spouse: FS could have Earth Big 3, FS has Feminine energy, FS could have Leo/ 5H placements.

⋆˚࿔ Characteristics of Future Spouse: FS could be someone very strong, hot headed, FS could also have power. FS could be a true leader, perhaps a CEO or a boss. FS could own a company, be the child of someone who is powerful in the country, FS could be rich, comes from a powerful family. FS can be very strong physically but also mentally, FS can also like to work out. FS could be quite confident as well and has a strong mind. FS is brave, courageous, has a lot of self-control, mature, independent, confident or seems confident. Yet, FS can also be selfish, have pride, FS can also be violent perhaps, or brutal. FS could be impatient too. FS could have a hard time to control their emotions or just to have self control.

BOOK A READING

Current February Sales

email address: tarotjunoboda@gmail.com

Soft To You presentation and Q&A ᡣ𐭩 rules ᡣ𐭩 private readings reviews

astrology menu ᡣ𐭩 tarot menu ᡣ𐭩 special astrology & tarot readings

support the creator: paypal ⟡ buy me a coffee (tip)

[carriesthewind]

Ok. I am maybe kind of losing my mind just a little bit.

A few days ago, I mentioned in a post that the IA only cares about information being digitized, not about actual digital access. And I mentioned that access includes patrons being able to actually find what they are looking for, and suggested IA did not prioritize that critical aspect of access. But I didn't really go into any more detail.

So someone over on bluesky linked to this write-up of a talk Brewster Kahle gave about using so-called AI. And one of his reported statements made my mouth drop open in shock.

...and then I read further in the article and realized it was incorrectly reporting basic facts around Hachette, so I had to go and listen to the whole speech myself.* (And I want to say, briefly - he raises some legitimate potential uses for LLMs! He's kind of a dick about some of it ("it's up to us to go and keep [Balinese] culture alive"), but some of the things he's talking about actually seem useful.)

*Incidentally, while Kahle doesn't lie about the ALA brief in the speech, he absolutely misleads about the nature and facts of the case and deliberately omit the part of the story where the IA decided to suspend the one-to-one owned-to-loan ratio thing, despite repeatedly emphasizing that one-to-one was what the IA was doing with their lending program.

And oh my god. He really said what the article reports. (This portion starts around 20:10.)

He says that the IA has scanned over 18,000 periodicals. And that they used to have professional librarians manually create descriptions of the periodicals in order to catalog them. (Sidenote: there are existing directories, but he describes their licensing terms as "ridiculous." This is not a field I know much about, but I spoke to one person who agreed, though for different reasons. His reason is that you can only license, not purchase, the directory descriptions. The person I spoke to was instead focused on the prices demanded for the licenses. Regardless, the idea of creating an open, free directory seems both like an incredible amount of work and an amazing resource...if it was accurate.)

But according to Kahle, it took 45 minutes to an hour to create a description and catalog each periodical.

And so now, instead, they're using AI to make the descriptions and so it only takes 7-10 minutes!

"And yes it hallucinates, and it has some problems, and whatever — but it’s a lot faster than having to write it yourself!"

Oh. My god.

Just.

YOU ARE KNOWINGLY INTRODUCING AI HALLUCINATIONS INTO YOUR CATALOG?!

(And yes, he says that they are "confirmed by a librarian" but it can't really be, not if it's only taking 7-10 minutes! Maybe the librarian can do a quick check for super obvious errors, but actually checking a AI's summary work requires actually going back to the source and reviewing it yourself!)

I just....

I need to emphasize for those of you for who aren't familiar - if a book or article is miscataloged, it is effectively lost. Because it doesn't mater if a library or an archive owes it - if someone can't find it when they are looking for it, it is not only inaccessible, the only way to find it again is through chance. Imagine if you went into a library, but instead of organized shelves (where if even if you can't find what you're looking for, the librarians know where to look), every single book was just piled in a heap.

If a book is miscateloged, it still exists, but it is lost, not truly accessible. And they know that this is happening, "but whatever." Because Brewster Kahle doesn't actually care about real, practical, digital access. (Much less non-digital access.)

(And then to top it off, he goes on to criticize the Library of Congress for not being "access oriented.")

I just. 18,000 periodicals. And they've knowing, recklessly lost who knows how many of them. I feel like crying.

18,000 periodicals.

[the---hermit]

how I take notes on non fiction books

I recently made a post on my study method, and decided to make a whole separate post on my note taking method. The structure of the notes I write doesn't vary too much from my lecture notes to things I might have to read. A couple of useful informations you might want to know before I start actually talking about note writing is that I am mainly focused on studying history (tho I have had other humanities exams in my degrees), and that I study for oral exams in which the material is mainly composed of non fiction books, but sometimes include articles as well as lecture notes. Somehow I have also failed to mention that I am speaking about HANDWRITTEN NOTES. I only do handwritten notes, I don't work well digitally, so keep that in mind. And with this being said brace yourselves for a very long post. The bullet points I will be making are not really in a specific order and I will be including a few pictures too.

The first step when I am working on the materials for an exam is to figure out in which order I will be reading (and writing notes) the books. This hasn't really much to do with the notes themselves, but it's important to know which of your materials is more general and what other things go more in depth, so that you don't struggle too much while studying. Another plan related thing I always do is to write down each chapter of the book I have to study on my bullet journal and how many pages it is so I can plan my studying more comfortably. If the chapters are very long, and divided in subchapters I sometimes also write those down.

The goal of the notes I write is to fully take the place of the book, so they tend to be very detailed and long. I do this because the very act of writing is part of my study method, and working on things I have written down in my own words is just much better for the type of learner I am. So basically I read the book only once, then it goes back on the shelf and I work exclusively on the notes. This means my notes need to be detailed and well organized.

My method is to read a chapter, underlining important stuff as I am reading, and then right after I am done reading I work on the notes for that chapter before moving onto the next. I do this because it makes the note writing more effortless, I am fresh with informations I just read and I basically just need to skim over what I have underlined.

On underlining, since it is so important. I underline everything I will be including in my notes, it might seem much as sometimes it consists of full paragraphs, instead of key words. But this is okay because my notes I don't just copy and paste.

To create useful notes you need to be re-elaborating the informations. You need to read, understand what you read, and be able to write it down using your own words. That way the notes will be easier to review, they will often be composed of shorter sentences, and by doing so you are also actively making writing part of your studying and not just a mindless activity.

Personally I don't work well with full pages summaries, I need the text to be visually broken into sentences/small paragraphs, and I use a lot of symbols as well as abbreviations.

Symbols and abbreviations are in a way part of your very own language when you are writing notes, you tend to develop these with time, but they are so useful. I personally use different types of arrows, all caps words, position of the text in the page, different methods of highlighting and abbreviations (usually for words that come up often like country names, for example Italy becomes ita, France becomes fr, etc.).

Your notes need to be useful for you, they don't have to necessarily be comprehensible for another person (which means you can and will fuck up sentence structure because sometimes skipping a couple of words makes the notes shorter and still understandable), and they do not have to be pretty. They should be as tidy as possible, but again that might change from person to person, I have some very messy looking notes that make total sense to me. With time you'll learn what works best for you.

I have a visual memory so as I mentioned titles, highlighters, all caps, the placement on the page and other similar things are very important in my notes. I cannot fully exapain some of these things because some definitely only make sense to me in the moment (like the words I choose to write in all caps, or the way I highlight things).

I like to have a clear chapter and subchapter break (so that in case I need to refer back to the book it's super effortless). I like to write those with a red pen, usually the chapter title is in all caps and the subchapter in coursive, but it really depends.

I use only two highlighters in each set of notes yellow for dates, and the colour I associate with the book/the subject of the book (I have synesthesia I don't make the rules when it comes to colours). This of course might change depending your preferences and on the element of your notes you want to focus on. I like to have spacific colour for dates and time periods, because of course while studying history that is a fundamental element. If you are focusing on other subjects you might want to have a specific colour for names, or other elements.

I like to leave a big side margin to add either key words (especially in lecture notes since they might be messier and jump around informations more often), or additional information in a second time (sometimes it happens, after you read another book, or attended a particular lecture you have to add a couple of sentences and I rather have a blank space that never gets used rather than no space at all for emergencies).

I honestly mentioned everything that came to mind right away, but since note writing is now basically a mindless skill I have been practicing for years I surely forgot about something. I might end up adding to this post in the future or write another one. My note-writing method has also changed a lot thought the years from high school to university, it's a skill I have been perfecting for the past decade. This to say that depending on what you are working on things might change, and by experimenting with different things you might find out things that work very well for you. If you have any questions on specific things I didn't mention or that wen't clear my inbox is always open and I am more than happy to help.

Since this post is already very very long I am adding the pictures below the cut

Example of a page of notes before and after highlighting

Example of symbols and structure of the notes and the way I highlight things (in which you'll hopefully be able to understand my handwriting, and in which there might be some spelling errors but alas that often happens in my real notes as well so if there are any it's for the sake of accuracy lmao). If I end up adding informations on the margins I always use a pen of a different color so I can tell which informations I got from what source (ex. main notes from lecture, colorful notes from additional article).

Example of messier notes in which the main text in black are the notes I took during lectures and the additional colorful text was added while writing the materials (I rarely do this, it usually happens when the lectures follow a book precisely, which happens when we have to study books or summaries written by the professor). As you can see I often use post it notes to add more writing space, and sometime I even use them to create visually separated sections. If I end up adding some drawings I also usually like to have them on post it notes so they stand out more (and if you are wondering why the hell would an history student need drawings it's usually either because I need a map or a region/state to mark things out, or when studying for archaeology exams I often needed visual references, for example to identify different types of vases or decorations).

[locusfandomtime]

fake book covers based on Cub’s museum gift shop and the signs he posted with fake book titles! This was a lot of fun haha. I know there are more fake books, and now he’s getting signed books from hermits, so I plan on making more soon! May even make a Reddit account just to post these guys on the subreddit

design notes under cut!

The Diamond Pillar Saga: Hotguy(TM) Flies Again - this title evoked such a visceral image of something you’d find in a Scholastic book fair so I went for sort of pre-teen superhero action novel, the kind with a bunch of pictures and stupid chapter titles. I imagine in-universe Scar is trying to sell as much Hotguy merch as possible so whilst he has stuff for the adults (shirtless calendars) he’d also have comic books and novels for the kids. There’s a concorp logo because I like to think the Hotguy brand is owned by concorp and it was just a cool touch

Grian’s Theory of The Mind - have you ever seen books on like psychology and breaking habits and behaviour, that kind of stuff? They always look like this. There’s a yellow background, a simple abstract design, a bunch of book awards/reviews, and a single sentence hook. This one was the easiest and most fun to design!

Joe Hills: Transformative Poems - this was based on the “Joe Hills Poetry Corner”. Transformative poems is from “transformative works” meaning… fanfiction basically. Joe has written fanfic before and I thought an Iliad/Hermit crossover would be something he’d do. Joe made the cover himself so it has a dyed leather cover and a simple design. He tried to ask Cleo for a review so he could put one on the front but she was kinda mean about it and laughed at him so he wrote a fake one instead

Ren the King: A Complicated Legacy - this one had no explicit author but I decided Cleo made the most logical sense. Historical non-fiction books often have these B+W photo backgrounds with some dramatic, fancy text overtop, so I painted the Crastle and added then messed around with text. There’s a reduced sticker over Cleo’s name because this is Cub’s gift shop and he wouldn’t want to give her credit (but still wants to stock up his shop)

[earlycuntsets]

tech reviews from ray toro on mychemicalromance.com 2009

"Jailbreak your shit.

Bob, I feel your iPhone pain. Ever since my iPhone threw itself into the toilet, it hasn't been the same. Missed calls, no service, crap battery life, the list of muck-ups goes on.

I've been wanting to go to the Apple store to try and exchange my suicidal phone, but knew i'd be greeted by the same smugness and uppity attitude you dealt with. Every time I step foot in that store, I feel like they're doing me a favor selling me their plain aluminum products and their white earbuds. I think I bought a pair of earbuds, and inside the package was an extra pair of them crap buds.

Angry at the lack of basic functions on the iPhone, and wanted to stick it back to the man, so I did the only thing a sane man would do...I jailbroke the thing.

For those who don't know what this is, basically you're "freeing" your phone from Jobs' shackles. Now I can copy and paste, personalize the theme on my phone, record movies, answer texts without constantly having to switch programs, search my emails, run programs in the background, send pictures in texts, quickly change settings without going through a million menus, play NES games, save Youtube videos, the list goes on. The crowning jewel is when I used my cell connection on the phone to download an e-book before a flight.

This shit is fun, and now I feel the iPhone lives up to it's pricetag. Do a search for quickpwn to get started, install winterboard, backgrounder, pdanet, sbssettings, and whatever else catches your eye. Most of all, enjoy your new found freedom."

"Ray's favorite iPhone apps

Whether you're a Blackberry man or iPhone (wo)man, you gotta admit the App store is pretty rad. I've been using the iPhone for a good while now, and have come to rely on a few apps that make my daily life easier, keep me busy while driving (yeah I know its illegal, sue me), and suck up any remaining free time I might have left in a day. Here's a short list of stuff you should check out if you're so inclined...

1. Pocketmoney ($9.99) Not only does the app's icon make me think of delicious pork bacon, it also helps to keep your money straight. You can set up checking and savings account, and keep a running ledger of your spending so you don't have any more of those all-too familiar, embarrassing moments where you're trying to buy a bag of cheetos and a Quik but don't have any loot left on your card. Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking right now. "I have a perfectly good paper register the bank gave me when I signed up for my checking account, and that shit cost me $0.00." To that I say, "But your register doesn't have a sick ass pig icon!"

2. NetNewsWire (The world is going to end soon FREE as fuck!) This program is great! You know when you're having an important conversation with your wife about what you're making for dinner that week, and she's trying to write out a shopping list, and all you can think about is the latest post on Gizmodo detailing what GHZ the new intel iCore7 processor tops out at after overclocking with Nitroglycerin? Yeah, that happens to me too...Well now instead of just thinking about it, you can take out your iPhone in mid-conversation, pissing off your wife in the process, and read all the latest RSS feeds that you can stand. It even works for our site too! Huzzah!

3. Super Monkey Ball (I paid $9.99 for this??? I'm a sucker) Ok, I bought this because it was the #1 app for weeks straight. It had to be good right??? RIGHT? Well its not. I mean it has good graphics, but the controls suck. They really, really suck. Driving your dad's Nova after ingesting 10 beers at the college kegger, trying to balance a tall glass of Sunny D on your head while headbanging to Stone Cold Crazy is exponentially easier than controlling this mess. After maybe 5 tries playing the game proper, I decided it'd be much more fun to send Baby and Gongon repeatedly and utterly to their death. I hate this game. But it sure is a great time waster...

And there you have it. Three essential iPhone apps! Have fun, be safe, and Happy Thanksgiving!"

02/25/2009 12:39pm mychemicalromance.com 2009

[gunsatthaphan]

.₊ ⟡ ݁ 🏆 2024 Top 10 🏆 ⟡ ݁₊ .

hello! I got tagged by a few people for various kinds of tier-list-posts for this year, so instead of making separate posts that will probably end up being repetitive, I decided to combine them all into one Top 10 list of my personal favorites in 2024. My watchlist was not very lengthy this year, partly because I was busy with work and partly because the quality of many shows was not to my liking. I started a bunch of things and dropped them shortly after, which also included more widely popular ones, for which I did not share the general public opinion. In the course of that, I have become more hesitant to share my thoughts online, as with every mildly critical POV came a number of anonymous people breathing down my neck. Which isn't new for me but by the end of the year I have gotten tired and was debating whether or not I should make this post but then I decided that this is my blog and idgaf about butthurt anons lol. I'm trying to carry this mindset into the new year.

So here is my Top 10 of BL/GLs that I have started and finished this year. A very special shoutout goes to The Heart Killers which owns my ass 100% and I totally would have added it but since we're only on ep6, I feel like it wouldn't be fair to include it in this list - also because I sort of consider it a category of its own lol.

I had no trouble picking this as my number one, simply because it's an outstanding production with an S-tier cast and a very powerful and well executed script. I've always loved Up but Poom took the cake for me in this, I was absolutely starstruck by him and his screen presence, he's a big surprise for me and has become one of my personal favorites this year in terms of acting. I could fill books with reasons why I love this show.

I had to include this even though it's not finished but I'm really blown away by it. The GLs I previously watched were okay but did not strike me quite as much as this one. I knew I would love Film and Namtan together from the moment they got paired as they're both insanely skilled and I was not disappointed. They understand the assignment 100% and so does Snap25 and it really shows. I'm obsessed.

Speaking of masterpieces, this is another one. It didn't get much attention sadly, mostly because TayNew did not deliver the dynamic the general BL population was hoping for. Their loss. This is an amazing production from start to finish, the 4 of them are the best possible casting choice for their characters, the found family trope is one of the best I've seen and especially TayNew delivered another gem with this one. I shall never doubt them again. This is how you do bromance. Certain other shows could never. send tweet.

Ah yes. No year goes by without the obligatory Mame guilty pleasure lol. What can I say. FortPeat as annoying southern scuba boy meets snobby whiny writer on a beach. How can I look away. I genuinely enjoyed this, it feels like the story was written for them, it's a perfect fit for them and their range I think plus I'm glad that Aya finally found a GL partner that matches her energy lol. I loved both couples and even though the plot did lack sometimes, you can count on MMY to serve S-tier chemistry no matter what. A+.

This is my personal hidden little gem, a small production with not a ton of attention, let alone good reviews but sometimes those are the best ones. The beginning was a bit slow but it quickly picked up. I decided to give it a watch mostly because I was curious about Charles' followup bl role and ended up getting very attached lol. So much softness and deep emotions and mutual healing that happened here and that I appreciated a lot. This was also my first Taiwanese BL in I think 3 years(?) I loved it.

I was very excited to watch this and see what Change 2561 came up with after Pit Babe and even though I'm not the biggest fan of cooking plots, I ended up enjoying this a lot! I've been a SailubPon and GarfieldBenz connoisseur since Pit Babe and it was so nice to see them in the spotlight in this. I saw a bunch of people drop it because they found Plawan annoying but I disagree lol. I had a very good time.

I initially tuned into this for Seng and Best, just to see what they're up to these days and it ended with me eating the whole thing up lol. The unapologetic approach to topics like sex education mixed with the sweet love stories that came with it is one of the things I appreciated + enjoyed a lot. I was a big fan of Peak and Thanwa and would definitely watch another show with Seng and Best as I really love their dynamic. Latte and Almond had a good start but fell a bit flat towards the end. Still a very deserving 7th place for me.

I was sooo excited for this and overall it did not disappoint, though I think it could have been better in some aspects. The comprehensive vibe was juvenile but not in a bad way. I anticipated gmmtv would choose a trope-y plot for their first GL to test the waters and it seems they succeeded. The main reason I put it as number 8 is the AylinLuna side story which I very strongly disliked for multiple reasons I won't get into here. But MilkLove did a fantastic job and this was a very nice debut for them. Thumbs up!

This might be the most unexpected gem for me this year. I started watching it because I was bored and nothing else was on and I was curious to see Dunk in his first solo gig. Surprisingly he did a big leap forward with his acting in this and White was by far my favorite character. Lune on the other hand was my least favorite which was another surprise as I previously loved Phuwin as Peem in We Are so I'm not sure why Lune was so unlikable. But anyway this was a very nice combination of different cute little stories, LuneStar were very trope-y but White saved a great deal of it by being the third wheel lol, plus the BL sideplot was pure sugar. I'm sad we won't see Ryu and Java together again and I resent them not giving us that well deserved WhiteIvy endgame but overall I enjoyed this a lot!

Never thought I would put a Siwaj production in my Top 10 but I'm tired of pretending I didn't secretly love this lmao. So much chaos but so much fun. It's a typical ensemble show, mostly aimed at a domestic audience with lots of slapstick and horseplay comedy, but I ended up being quite fond of all the couples. The main crystallization for me was that this is PondPhuwin's territory, this is the type of show they belong in imo. They excel at this kind of comedy and they seemed very careless and joyful in this, which I enjoyed and which made them a decent main couple. The QToey plot was a bit draggy and even though it's a big cast, 16 episodes were not necessary, which is why it gets the 10th place. But overall it still deserves to be in this list.

Thanks again to everyone who tagged me; in this and other things over the year, I appreciate you thinking of me!! 🥺🧡 I didn't manage to reply to every tag but know that I see them all and I try to do as many as possible! Also a big thank you and much love to all the lovely people I talked to this year, especially @lattexalmond, @mayalunas @bl-recs-and-reviews and @my-wandering-rabbit, I love and cherish each one of you! 🧡 Happy New Year to everyone who read this far, here's to a kind and successful 2025 with groundbreaking shows lol. I'm hopeful.

xxxx

[victoriansecret]

Servants and Upward Mobility

This is focused on paid servants in England in the mid-late 18th century. One thing I find fascinating about the structure of domestic service roles was the existence of what essentially we might call a career ladder today. It was not uncommon for a servant to start their career near the bottom of the hierarchy as, say, a boot boy who cleans the shoes and boots of the household, or the scullery maid who does all the dirty kitchen work like scrubbing iron cooking vessels or plucking chickens, but progressively move up the list to better positions.

Part of why this was the case was that it was typical in England to hire servants for one year terms at a time. Often they'd be hired at festivals on the quarter days of the year, which as part of the festivities would often include what today we'd call a job fair. For some reason, Michaelmas (September 29) seems to be the most common as far as I can tell. I had never really thought about why that might be until I started planning this post, and I now wonder if it might have something to do with that being right around when harvest time usually comes in England. I could easily imagine people, especially young people, being on the cusp of another labourious harvest and thinking that maybe they could find another job instead. Related tangent: There are a number of remarks in the period that servants from the northern parts of England were considered to be much more respectful than servants from more populated, urban areas. Those communities were (at least considered to be) a lot stricter about remembering one's place and respecting your social 'betters', and their behaviour as servants was believed to reflect that. Some people would actively have their agents look to hire people from those rural areas, and apparently it was easy to attract potential employees: there are a number of remarks about how when a fancy carriage would drive through a small town, with the fancily-liveried footmen riding on the back, it would bring young people to stare in awe and want to be part of that. Which as someone whose interest in domestic service started in part because of my obsession with livery, I can understand. Anyway, back to the main point: because they often served one-year terms, there was an annual chance for both parties - the servant and the served - to review and determine how to move forward. A servant who was favoured might negotiate for a new position in the household, at least one step higher on the ladder (if not more), and they had leverage because they could leave the field entirely or possibly go off to a new household and find a higher position there. There was also a practice of asking for your master or mistress to provide a "character", essentially what we would today call a reference: a letter to show potential employers detailing their behaviour and skill in their role. Certainly there were times that some employers refused to give a good character, and sometimes that was explicitly because they wanted to keep the servant because they were a valuable asset to their household, but it was considered part of the obligation of the master class to be honest in these.

And it is not at all uncommon to find people who have served many different people/households throughout their career. The most I have seen is 28, although that's slightly misleading: that was a man who decided he wanted to travel, so hired himself to gentleman going on journeys for the duration of the trips, many of which were only a couple months. (The book he published, which he wrote about his travels and the "exotic" places and people he encountered, is interesting, and for my purposes super helpful because he turned out to be a narcissist and wrote a lot about himself, including his career as a servant. It's the only quasi-memoir of a paid servant from this time I am aware of. I might write a post about it/him sometime. I digress.) [continued in next post]

[internalloops]

Dragon Age The Veilgard is going to be my last BioWare game. I thought I could get past the world state issue, even with the poor graphics and combat changes, but I can't, and in light of recent spoilers and Skill Up's review, it really is the final nail in the coffin for me. Skill Up and Gameranx are my go-to for game reviews, and it seems Gameranx wasn't given a review copy?

Everything I feared would happen in this game happened, from the combat, which is mass-effects combat with mass-effect problems (enemies are bullet sponges ), to the poor graphics and an even weaker watered-down story that is made worse by the lack of world states.

The HOF and Hawke's fate (if they live) are completely abandoned. Both Varric and Isabella (whose fate can be decided by Hawke and be romanced) do not mention him at all, as if they don't even exist. (And don't get me started on Isabella's outfit)

I thought I was prepared for my inquisitor being OOC (I even made a post about it), but I clearly didn't prepare enough, it's worse than Hawkes return in DA:I. At least one of my DA:2 playthroughs could match to a certain degree how they made Hawke in DA:I, but NONE of my inquisitors can fit into what we are given in DA: TV. And my hopes for a proper solavellan reunion has gone out the window, cause I won't even be able to see how I played out the relationship with Solas, I have to see how Bioware wanted them to play out instead.

Solas himself seems to have been watered down from what I've seen .. but (and this is the only glimmer of hope that I still have for this game and why I'm still getting it) it only seems to happen in act 1 and then something big happens in act 3. That's the one thing that all the reviews ( both negative and positive) have, that the ending is good and soft reboots the entire world/game. Which will make leaving this franchise easier for me.

15 years. That's how long I've been in this fandom. 15 years, countless of hours, books, comics, and more while watching EA turn Bioware into a shrill of what it was, abusing workers, lay offs without service pay, and taking everything that made them unique among the other companies, and turning them into generic one that cares about nothing but making a profit. All the while this fandom gets split into 2 groups, the toxic positivity side where you must ignore all the BS that this company has done and any form of criticism or the woke is bad, any form of entertainment that doesn't look like me or cater to me is wrong BS.

I'm done with it all, I'm soo freaking done with it all. Sigh*, $70 down the drain, so my hyperfocus can be scratched and I can get this out of my system and then it's over. Time to move on

[android-and-ale]

2024 Spirk Fic Year In Review

After a five year dry spell, I finally started writing again in late 2023. Creating fanfic has been a shock and a joy to me this year. It's incredible going into 2025 once more feeling confident in my ability to assemble words into sentences.

This year I added another 50K words to One Daily Shoulder Pat, posted 12 short stories (complete fics under 10K words), wrote my first Spirk poem, and created some very special pasta art.

It's interesting to look back and see trends in my own work. This has been a year of ridiculous Vulcan names, bemusingly wholesome dirty talk, and flipping the script on reliable tropes.

Here's a list of links to all of it. If you're following me for One Daily Shoulder Pat, I humbly invite you to take a peek at some of my short work to hold you over while waiting for new chapters.

FANFIC

Not in Front of the Klingons rated E, 6766 words

Old Married Spirk completely destroy a hotel room with middle aged sexual shenanigans. There are also Romulans and one very disgruntled Starfleet Admiral.

T'Ruth and Consequences rated T, 2354 words (no Spirk)

The bored teenage daughters of a Vulcan and Romulan diplomat decide to swap clothes for the night.

External Existence rated E, 2457 words

There are a lot of stories about Jim freaking out when he sees Spock's alien junk for the first time. In this fic, it's Spock's turn to be shocked by what Jim's packing.

Discounts at Starbase One rated M, 3654 words

My most popular fic this year! Y'all really like my zany take on an accidental bonding story!

And Filled With Tomorrows rated E, 5886 words (not fluff)

My "City on the Edge of Forever" fic won a silver at this year's Philon awards. It's a soft, gentle story in a cold, hard world. Plus, there's a bonus scavenger hunt for classic book titles embeded into the text!

The Herald of Surprise rated M, 5165 Words

This sequel to Replicator Roulette is full of S'chnanigans. Spock sends Michael Burnam a pic of her Spencer's Gift Troll level holiday present in action, setting off a sibling drama spiral.

Featuring art by @celestialvoyeur!

Lie Back and Think of Vulcan rated E, 8455 words

Part 3 of the "Panic at the Disco" fics. Fluffy relationship shenanigans ensue as Kirk visits Spock on the Enterprise. Reading the earlier ones adds some backstory, but this can be enjoyed entirely on its own.

Featuring art by @celestialvoyeur!

Formerly Pinky's Pleasure Planet rated T, 9956 words

Pre-Relationship Jim and Spock, two men unable to enjoy shore leave at the best of times, face off on a relaxing pleasure planet in an attempt to solve a mystery first. Meanwhile their respective crews are there for the cheap drinks and beach games.

Featuring art by @justveeing!

Sulu's Secret Stash rated T, 3547 words

With only three days left before a dreaded shipwide inspection by an admiral with a grudge, Kirk and Spock must face the ire of the crew in order to rid the Enterprise of its most popular contraband.

Space Sirens rated E, 5683 words

Kirk plays Odysseus among the Sirens in my Aliens Made Them Do It fic.

The Admiral's Toaster rated T, 6839 words

Instead of taking disabled Pike to Talos, they take him to Omicron Ceti III - better known as the Pollen Planet.

Featuring art by George Henry!

Illogical Consequences rated T, 2624 words

An illicit tabloid recording of Jim and Spock alone on shore leave lands them in front of Starfleet Command.

ART

Imagine the Pastabilities

12 types of pasta 2 iconic Space Husbands 1 K/S Advent prompt

POETRY

Numerological Fallacy

While Jim sleeps, Spock ponders what their future together will mean

[bloody-wonder]

2024 reading wrap up

january is almost over and yet the ghost of reading year past shall not rest untill i rank all the books👻📚

*the tiers are once again named after different things from the books featured on this list - see explanation below🙃 **the following series i read in full are represented only by one book respectively: doctrine of labyrinths, her instruments, the riverside trilogy, the memoirs of lady trent, the cemeteries of amalo, the stolen heir, the summer hikaru died, evander mills, page & sommers ***usually i don't rank rereads but since this year i had only two - the three musketeers and swordspoint - and they both ended up on the top tier i decided to add them for completeness' sake

so in 2024 i broke all my previous records in regards to the amount of books/pages read. my secret? being unemployed lol. but now that i have started my phd and got a full time job my reading is bound to decrease dramatically which is probably a good thing bc i feel like, while reading so much definitely helps you find more good books and authors faster, the downside is that stories stand out less, regardless of their quality. altho i do love every book i put on the top tier dearly, compared to the previous year's (smaller) selection this one seems quite homogeneous and sff focused. and 3 out of top 5 books/series are straight! who is responsible for this?!🤨

i did well on almost all my nerd ass challenges: finishing and continuing series, starting new ones, not neglecting standalone sff, reading widely in terms of genre and language, not putting off big intimidating books etc etc. i even completed my oldest challenge for the first time by finally managing to read five chunky classics in the span of one year - this won't be happening again any time soon😅 in the future i want to shift my focus to difficult historical novels instead bc i sure don't have enough brain space for both. where i "failed" on the other hand was reading nonfiction: i realized that no matter how much interest i have in the topic the only way i'm able to process factual information is if a trans youtuber dressed as a dominatrix or a cat or some sort of jester is telling it to me in an asmr voice. i'm not very good at encouraging myself to reread the things i want to reread either - hopefully that will change in 2025 so that i can finally reread aftg🪄

last year i tried blogging more about my current reads and it was fun while it lasted - now i sadly don't have time to do that anymore :( so my 2024 reading updates must remain unfinished. in any case, just by looking at this tier list i can come to the same conclusions i would've come to if i had reviewed each and every one of these books: niche sff is where it's at for me, older books are better written, and simply queer is not enough for me anymore - i need intricate mind games and rituals that transcend sexuality lol.

so if you know such books please rec them to me! and tell me about your reading year - by making a tier list, or writing a post or just sharing your fave 2024 reads like @oliviermiraarmstrongs tagged me to do. thank you btw😌💜

@figuringthengsout @fugitoidkry @pinkasrenzo @fandomreferencepending @counterwiddershins @magpiefngrl @sugarbabywenkexing @weirdsociology @theodoradove @doh-rae-me @venndaai @sixappleseeds

p.s. it just came to my knowledge that my year in books is still active. tagging everyone who wants to do this! :D

goodreads │ old yearly wrap ups 2020 2021 2022 2023 │ my book tag

✨explanation of the tier titles under the cut✨

obligation d'âme is a spell a wizard can cast on a person in sarah monette's doctrine of labyrinths that binds them "closer than lovers". it's very bdsm-coded and a tiny bit problematic bc the enchanted then has to do everything the wizard commands and they may or may not be referred to as slave🫢🙈 on the bright side tho it's very hot and gay🤷‍♀️ just like obligation d'âme these books have put me under their problematic spell🪄

peltedverse is the unofficial name of mca hogarth's sci fi universe populated by humans, human-animal hybrids, space elves and aliens, which has been steadily growing on me ever since i discovered the dreamhealers. in 2024 her instruments completely charmed me by its cast of loveable characters, wacky adventures and fairy-tale romance. it's not the best thought-out world but it has this home-cooked quality to it which i prefer to carefully calculated lore that makes 100% of sense all the time. and these books, while not as good as the ones in the upper tier, have still captured my heart😌

racallio ryndoon is an episodic character in george r.r. martin's fire & blood. he's a chaotic crossdressing bisexual pirate captain with purple hair who likes to be spanked by his wives, gives severed heads as a courting gift and will sell the right of safe passage through his waters for a kiss. all in all, a perfect character who is sadly present only for one short episode. i remember him fondly but i wish he had more to give - just like these books☠️🦜⛵

calliagnosia is a procedure ted chiang invented in his short story liking what you see: a documentary which enables people to turn off their perception of physical beauty - leading to less lookism-based discrimination at the cost of finding nobody hot lol (at least in their looks). the story follows the controversy around making calliagnosia obligatory in certain environments and just like the characters who can't seem to decide whether finding people hot or stopping discrimination is more important, i am of two minds on whether these books are actually good or not😅

gong bath is the preferred method of patient treatment of the sex therapist the main character of jen beagin's big swiss is working for. meaning: the patient rests on the couch while the therapist chants and strikes the gong he has in his office. just like gong bath, these books didn't harm me - but they didn't cure me either😐

the philosophers' colloquium is the crusty dusty male centered science academy that kept refusing to admit lady trent despite her outstanding contributions to the natural history of dragons😠 disappointing, overrated, ill-shampooed - just like these books🧐

life-sickness is something the inhabitants of hope mirrlees' lud-in-the-mist didn't realize they suffered from until they tried forbidden fairy fruit. these books were so disappointing, boring, annoying or offensive that they made me brain-sick, depressed and upset about the state of Literature😩

[hugsandchaos]

He’s In The Walls!

Summary: Uhh, I did the writing version of doodling last night and forgot to post it. Once again, the ranch hand tries to trick Danny into getting some sleep. Key word: tries.

Word count: 1,235

Twilight peered into the room and internally let out a mixture of a sigh and a groan. Just like he saw earlier, Danny was still awake, sitting by the fireplace, still reviewing and studying the same textbook over and over. His red notebook was left open and folded in half next to the small, but rather thick book with blue and black colors wide open. Danny called it “Algebra Two”, which was something he was supposed to start learning in over two months from the day he ended up tagging along with them.

He was determined to use any free time he had while on this adventure to get a head start, though, because according to him, math wasn’t his strong suit and Algebra is apparently part of math. It made sense, but at the same time, it frustrated Twilight a bit that it was his first thing to do when he had free time.

Unless it was nighttime. He’d instead be found outside stargazing. Except tonight.

Tonight, Danny had been reading and doing practice problems since before the sunset, right after he finished helping around with chores and dinner. It was as if he didn’t notice day had already passed by. Twilight wouldn’t be too surprised. The young teen could get pretty deep in the zone if he was left to it for long enough.

Danny reached for the mug placed on the carpet next to him and lifted it up to take a sip of the contents, but then he paused and looked inside.”Huh, must’ve drank faster than I thought.” He muttered to himself. Twilight’s mood was lifted and a smile briefly appeared on his face when he heard that. Before he could try to put his plan into motion, however, Danny stood up. He yawned and turned to go into the kitchen. There was the sound of water and movement before he came back to sit down next to the books again.

He lifted both arms up and groaned a little before letting his arms fall back down. Danny just sat there for another few seconds, eyes staring at the fire in a tired daze, then looked back at the books. Twilight decided now was the time to make his move.

The ranch hand wordlessly entered the room and began walking towards Danny. Surprisingly, he went unnoticed until he came close enough to kneel down and put the blanket around Danny’s shoulder.”Twilight? I appreciate it, but I’m not cold—“ Danny stopped his response when he noticed that the ranch hand had actually wrapped it around his shoulders. Twilight lightly pushed him down and reached one arm down so he could get his legs, too.

“Hey, what are you going?!” Danny asked, a little irritated. He moved his legs around and tried to worm out the arms that were now pinned against his sides, but he was tired after everything that transpired over the last few days.

It affected all of the members, really. Twilight had just gotten up for some water, but when he saw Danny, he went and got a spare blanket. Now he was going to use it to wrap around him and finally ensure he’d get his sleep.

Danny wriggled around in protest, but his movements didn’t have even half as much strength as usual. When Twilight successfully managed to wrap his entire body in the blanket, Danny had finally stopped fighting, but the glare he shot Twilight’s way had a small fire that wasn’t extinguished yet. The ranch hand wrapped his left arm around Danny and picked him up. As he left the room and took a turn to the right, the kid’s irritation grew with his stuff now left behind.

“Are you going to explain?” Danny asked.

“Kid, you’re falling asleep at the books and it’s midnight. You’re going to bed.” Twilight said. He turned his body and maneuvered through the doorway meant for one person, not one person plus another wrapped in a blanket.” ‘N don’t bother tryin’ to get free anymore. I know that your strength’s spent, ‘n that tea you were given actually helps with sleep, not stayin’ awake.” He added.

The hallway itself was luckily wide enough for three people, so the ranch hand was able to carry Danny without worrying about hitting him against the wall. The long window following down half of it allowed faint moonlight from the unseen moon to paint the hallway in a very dim, calming white light. It was a little quiet for a few more seconds, and Twilight had allowed himself to hope that the cozy cargo he was carrying had fallen asleep already.

“Smart move, cowboy.” Danny said. He said it in that kind of note where it’s half spite, half genuine respect. Twilight breathed out a very brief laugh from his nose as he crossed the hall towards the door on the other side, which had an unclaimed bed inside.“You know what the only problem is?” Danny asked.

Feeling a little smug about how things turned out, Twilight couldn’t help but think that whatever he was about to say or do wouldn’t be an actual problem. Sure, the kid was stronger than he looked, but any sudden bursts of fighting energy had likely already been spent. Still, he wanted to know what he was going to say for the sole purpose of seeing him when it didn’t work.”What’s that?” Twilight asked confidently. While he was focused on opening the door, he failed to notice the white light coming from Danny.

“I’m already gone.”

As soon as he started speaking, Twilight noticed the lack of weight where Danny once was. He could no longer feel the young teenager against his body and the blanket that he’d previously used to secure him fell from his arm and onto the floor. The ranch hand looked down bewildered to see nothing but empty space where Danny was supposed to be. Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as he looked around almost frantically, genuinely concerned about how the kid had disappeared and where to.

As he glanced around, his enhanced hearing picked up on a small laugh coming from the right. When he turned, he couldn’t see Danny, but something told Twilight that some kind of presence he didn’t notice before had just left the narrow room through the wall right in front of him.“He’s in the walls...” He muttered. He then picked up the blanket again and held either side in both hands. He readied himself and relied on the very odd sensation his wolf senses picked up as he ran back down the hall. He already knew that the books were probably already gone.”He’s in the goddessdamn walls!” Twilight repeated, but kept his voice down to a whisper.

When Time looked out his window to see Twilight running across the field and out of view of the window, his first thought was that something was incredibly wrong and sat up. Then, just as quickly, he saw the ranch hand return carrying a sleeping Danny into the house. He smiled a little and laid back down to go back to sleep.

The next day, he’d confirm with Twilight that Danny stayed up late studying again, and Malon would hear them and swear to have a word with him.

“Hylia help him.” Twilight joked.

“Oh, pup, Hylia would only be able to stall her for a few minutes.” Time said

[orchid-merryweather]

Ehh I guess I should make an intro post

Genderfluid (Woman [at this point even that's subject to change], demiboy, stargender, nonbinary). Pronouns: he/her/star/they/it/any prns really but I jest listed some that I specifically like (Star/stars/starself is higher up here than it would be irl because it is so much easier to use neopronouns on the internet than in real life ☠️)

Omnisexual and aspec + possibly arospec idek anymore

Minor (oh God oh fuck I'm seventeen what do you mean I'm gonna be an adult next year iM NOT READY)

Instead of listing all the things I'll just say haters dni. We all know who that means

I post fandom stuff and sometimes book reviews and lots of shitposts

I don't really use any specialized tags for my posts but I will be using "Orchid's gender talks" whenever I decide to ponder my gender on Tumblr dot com again because I seem to do that a lot

I also run @author-orchids and @fixing-breaking-fixing-bad-posts pretty sure both are self explanatory

I have other blogs but if you want to connect my gimmicks to my main you have to hunt me down

This blog supports queer people! That DOES include, aces and aros and that DOES include the people that are queer and straight (trans and straight, ace and straight, etc) and that DOES include people who are attracted to multiple genders who are in a straight relationship

This blog stands with Palestine

This blog stands with Ukraine

And this blog does NOT support trump

This blog supports The Claims Adjuster (ALLEGEDLY, allegedly Luigi is a hero)

Deny, Defend, Despose.

"War does not determine who is right, only who is left" -(if anyone can tell me who first said that quote, I'd really appreciate it, Google isn't being helpful rn)

It's the roaring 20's again, but instead of some roar of progress, it's the roar of some great beast.

[fand0mswithbunny]

this is so different from the other posts i do but fuck it. descendants 4: rise of red review, spoilers ofc, we still boycott disney's ass, pirate this movie like uma and her crew ate the intro of this movie instead of watching this from disney+

keep reading if youve seen it or dont care about spoilers but tldr: if you havent seen it and see this as a spin off movie instead of a 4th installment, i say go watch it. its basically how i feel about the 2024 mean girls movie, im just here for certain characters, dynamics and songs, and a bit of the actual plot, its fun but definitely not for everyone, i liked parts of the movie/plots tho

okay honestly overall, despite the fucking terrible rushed ass ending, i still honestly enjoyed a lot of aspects of this movie.

songs, generally i liked. yeah its all pop-y but yk, none of them were unbearable, i loop red, whats my name (red vers.) and love aint it what about it

the editing was. a choice at times. like it will cut at the most random moments and when red was being transported and fell from that. pipe. thing in the castle it was so. disney channel editing core LIKE OKAY I KNOWW OFC IT IS but grahhhhhHH

the cg was good, direction was. also a choice at times. idk how to explain it but it felt like every scene was being directed like a music video and not like a MOVIE esp the lighting oh my god idk what it is but its so GLOWY AND WEIRDD

the characters themselves, i love the main cast, red, chloe, ella, bridget, etc. were all cool. IM A FIRM RED/CHLOE SHIPPER THEY ARE GIRLFRIENDS IDC and i also liked the dynamic they have with their past moms it was nice

oh yeah i dont mind how they wrote mal, evie, jay, and ben outta the story, i mean they gotta explain their absence yk. and i loved the carlos tribute, you can tell china was genuinely not acting in that tribute scene.

the vks were. okay. i dont mind that literally every villain/princess/disney protag goes to high school. this whole series basically feature length fanfiction anyway, idc personally about that. its weird URSULAS SISTER was the main antagonist. like i get having a completely new villain aside from the vks parents or something but. ursulas. sister??? besides you could tell me shes ursula and ill believe you.

its nice seeing filipino prince charming thats it thats all i gotta say RAHHH PHILIPPINES BABYYY 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 MY MANS GOT THAT 'PINO RIZZ OKAYYY

the plot was actually fun, but yeah I WISH WE COULDVE SEEN CASTLECOMING WE WERE ROBBED OF THAT i knew when red and chloe got the book there was like 10 minutes left in the film but cmonn we couldve had Morgie, I DONT KNOW somehow freeing the rest of the vks and them STEALING THE POCKETWATCH AND RED AND CHLOE HAVING TO GET IT BACK, GET ANOTHER 30 MINUTES IN THE FILM MAYBE, ANOTHER ACTION SEQUENCE, CASTLECOMING. but its finee im sure theres a fanfiction in the works somewhere that has that exact premise because thats what fanfic is for babyyyy

imagine. during the dance chloe and red are scrambling to find the watch, they see the vks, they find bridget crying because her best friend isnt there, she thinks ella bailed on her, they have to find the watch but, they gotta make her feel better right? red comforts her while chloe chases after them to find the watch, ella comes to the dance late after deciding, fuck my stepmom, get your hands dirty parallels, something something, the four of them all stopping the vks together, THEN they travel back.

i should just write a fix it fic for this movie at this point damnn i impressed myself

but yeah the ending does leave a lot of plot holes, if bridget didnt change from the past WHO DID, if Red even CONSIDERED a VK in this timeline? if not then WHO IS IT?? IS IT CHLOE?? its hella rushed, its ass, but i guess we'll find out in the 5th movie ig

also i thought they were totally setting it up for Ella to be the one that humiliated Bridget in the past, like the "I saw through her" in Love Ain't It we NEVER GOT ANY CLOSURE FROM THAT WHAT HAPPENED?? sighhh its okay its fine

i see this movie as a spin off movie rather than a 4th installment of the universe because it pretty much is, like its basically its OWN universe with the lack of the og cast and new characters. i unofficially coin it as the "Descendants: Redverse" because it just makes more sense

so many questions, mainly WHY, but yeah, still liked it, would rewatch. certain. parts of it. but honestly? a 7/10. leaning towards a 7.5

is this a recommendation? not sure, depending on who you are you could totally love this film or hate it, i say give it a chance and completely ignore the busted ass ending <3

anyways KENDRICKKK FANFIC WRITERSSSSSS- DROP SOME MORE CHARMINGHEARTS FANFICS/D4 FIX IT FICSSS. AND MY LIFE, IS YOURRSSSS

[lilianne-tarot]

𐙚⋆.Lili's Paid Tarot Readings Shop 𐙚⋆.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　

Hey loves! Welcome to my tarot shop, where I provide insightful, intuitive, and heartfelt tarot reading. I’m so grateful you’re here, and I hope you find exactly what you need. May the universe and your guides always lead you in the right direction! Sending you a lot of love and good luck! ♡♡

Every reading I do is crafted with care, honesty, and a sprinkle of my personality. if you want to see the kind of readings I do, you may check out my PAC readings on this page! My goal is to provide you with a safe space to ask your deepest questions and receive intuitive, heart-centred guidance. So, let’s dive in!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

⋆˙⟡ How to Book Your Reading?

Super simple! Just follow these steps:

Pick your package from the list below. If you’re unsure which one fits your needs best, feel free to DM me—I’m happy to help you choose! 💌

Submit Your Question – After deciding your pick, send me a DM with your question(s), name, email ID, zodiac and any specific context you’d like me to know.

Please send payment before I start your reading. once done, send me a DM with a screenshot of your payment.

Send payment before I begin your reading (details below). Once I receive your payment, I’ll confirm your booking and let you know when and what to expect for your reading!

If you'd like to read reviews from my previous paid readings, check out this post for paid reading feedbacks!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

⋆˙⟡ About Payments

Payments are made via: PayPal, Ko-fi, wise and google pay.

Please send the payment before I start your reading.

For PayPal, wise & Ko-fi payments, a small processing fee ($3 for standard readings (upto 50$ ones), $5 for deep-dive readings) applies

Since tarot readings are a service, no refunds will be issued once the reading has been confirmed. However, I always strive to provide valuable insights and make my reading as personalized for the person as possible and if you have any concerns, let’s discuss them!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

⋆˙⟡Tarot Reading Packages

Basic Packages

Yes, No? – $8

a simple yes/no answer with a brief explanation on what cards are saying to you.

Good for quick decision-making.

In-depth answer for any question- $20

if you have one burning question and want all the tea, this is your go-to. instead of a surface-level response, this reading will break down the energies at play, and future possibilities. Great for when you need clarity about one question.

Add-on: Additional follow-up question (+$4)

Daily Vibes – $18

In this reading ill tell you about today’s energy, what to embrace, what to avoid and what to expect from the day overall.

(This reading will be delivered in 6 - 8 hours, so if you want it for a particular day then it's advised to order it a day before it)

What’s Blocking You? – $30

A deep dive into subconscious and external obstacles, shadow work insights, and actionable advice on overcoming them. This is for when you feel stuck and need to break free.

Main Character Energy – $50

a detailed and in-depth reading uncovering your core strengths, hidden talents, and how to step into your power to become the best version of yourself.

Healing & Closure Reading -$30

If you're struggling to let go of something or someone, this reading will help you find peace, healing, and emotional closure.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Love Packages

Crush vibes – $25

Find out how your crush feels about you, their current energy, if they see potential, any obstacles, and advice for your next move.

great for when you need a brief insight on what your crush thinks of you

The Situationship Decoder – $30

Are you stuck in an undefined connection? This spread will break down their feelings, intentions (serious or just vibing?) , hidden truths, obstacles, advice, and the future of the connection.

a deep insight into your both connection when everything feels confusing.

Ex-Check – $30

This reading will tell you if your ex is still thinking about you, their emotions right now, the possibility of reconciliation, where will this connection lead, and whether it’s worth your energy and advice for you.

The “Is This My Person?” Test – $35

This package is for people already in a relationship. A deep dive into your relationship potential, mutual feelings, how they secretly feel about you and think about you, your compatibility, hidden issues, future energies, and the ultimate outcome of this connection.

This reading analyze the enrgies of both people involved.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?– $30

deeply exploring the pros and cons of leaving a person/job/situation.

Perfect for people who are indecisive. made for more serious decisions of a relationship/job/situation.

Your Future Spouse’s First Impression of You – $35

The moment they first lay eyes on you—what’s going through their head? What do they notice first? This reading uncovers all their thoughts and feelings when they meet you.

Love Triangle Drama – $50

Caught between two people? This reading will deeply explore both options, their energies, what each person truly wants from you, their secret desires and intentions with you, how will the future be if you choose any of them and which connection is the healthiest for you.

This reading involves checking energies of all the three parties involved, their individual thoughts, intentions etc.

Your year-long Love Forecast – $70

A year-long love prediction! Find out the key themes, potential lovers entering in your life, predictions about the current people in your life, heartbreaks(if any), surprises, and milestones in your love life for the next 12 months

Your situationships, serious relationships etc in the coming nect year and when it might happen, who it might be.

Your Wedding day Energy Reading – $45

A tarot vision of your wedding day—vibe, theme, the energy, your energy and thoughts, how you’ll feel, and a message from your future spouse on that day.

The Ultimate Love & Relationship Spread – $120

A full breakdown of your love life. The reading Covers: Past love patterns, Your current love energy, your Future spouse’s traits, personality and looks, how would they treat you, their background, Relationship dynamics, the Timeline of meeting, how will be your first meeting like and your first impression of each other, the green flag and red flags, how will his family perceive you etc

as this reading would be much more detailed than the others, it might take up to 5 days to deliver so please be patient :)

This reading requires an additional $6 fee for PayPal/Ko-fi payments.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Career And Money Related Packages

The Hustler's Path – $35

This tarot spread analyzes your current career trajectory. Insights on what’s working, what’s holding you back, and where you should focus. Advice on skills or mindset shifts needed for success.

Perfect for: If you’re questioning your job or looking for direction, people who want career guidance for the time being.

Money Flow Check – $35

this tarot spread diving into your current financial energy, What’s blocking your money flow & how to remove those obstacles, and Guidance on increasing wealth and financial stability.

Perfect for: If you’re feeling financially stuck at the moment and want to manifest more abundance.

What’s The Next Big Opportunity Coming Your Way? – $50

A forecast of the next major career, business, or financial opportunity entering your life. the timeline and advice you need.

Next 6 months Career Forecast – $55

this super detailed and in-depth tarot spread breaks down your entire career journey for the next 1 year, Major breakthroughs, promotions, or changes to expect, Advice on how to maximize opportunities, and how to avoid any problems(if any)

as this reading would be much more detailed than the others, it might take up to 5 days to deliver so please be patient :)

This reading requires an additional $5 fee for PayPal/Ko-fi payments.

advice on your situation.

Yearly Career Forecast – $85

this super detailed and in-depth tarot spread breaks down your entire career journey for the next 1 year, Major breakthroughs, promotions, or changes to expect, Advice on how to maximize opportunities, and how to avoid any problems(if any)

as this reading would be much more detailed than the others, it might take up to 5 days to deliver so please be patient :)

Rich B*tch Energy – $80

a detailed in-depth 20 cards on what exactly you need to do in this lifetime to achieve your desired career, how to have the money mindset, the key to your financial growth, the timeline for this etc.

as this reading would be much more detailed than the others, it might take up to 5 days to deliver so please be patient :)

This reading requires an additional $5 fee for PayPal/Ko-fi payments.

Spiritual & Life Purpose Packages

Your Spirit Guide’s Message – $40

A direct message from of your guides—who they are, what they want you to know, and how to connect with them.

Have You Met This Person in a Past Life? – $45

Curious if you and someone else go way back? This reading uncovers your past life connection, how it affects this life, and the unfinished karma between you.

What’s Your Toxic Trait? – $30

A fun (but slightly shady) self-awareness spread about your most problematic habits and how they affect love, friendships, and success.

Who’s Watching You? – $30

Ever feel like someone has their eye on you? This reading reveals who’s been thinking about you, why, and whether it’s friendly, romantic, or competitive energy.

Your Lucky Streak – $35

A personalized reading on how to align with luck, what attracts good fortune to you, and which months, colors, or symbols bring success.

Your Star Power – $50

A deep dive into what makes you shine. Whether it’s talent, charisma, or a unique skill, this reading highlights your strengths and how to use them, how people perceive you, the first impression you give off, and what others secretly think about you.

The ‘WTF Is Going On’ Spread – $55

a detailed and in-depth reading for the time where your life feels chaotic AF and you need deep insight into everything, advice, deeper meaning and a step-by-step game plan.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Celebrity Reading packages

Due to high demand from my querents, I’ve finally added this package to my list!

Casual Situationship Package – $22

Which celebrity type aligns with your energy (I'll pick based on vibes—just tell me if you want a pop singer, Hollywood actor, K-pop idol, or C-drama star.)

What’s their first impression of you?

Would they find you attractive?

Your compatibility level.

You and [celebrity] connection Breakdown– $40

What do they notice first? Looks? Aura? Personality?

Would they vibe with you? (Would they find you fun, intriguing, annoying, or just another fan?)

Would they REMEMBER you after the meeting?

Would they feel a strong connection?

How would they react to your energy? (Would you intimidate, charm, or confuse them, etc?)

What type of energy would your meeting have? (Awkward, flirty, chaotic, wholesome etc?)

If You Actually Dated [Celebrity] full detailed breakdown – $55

do you have a chace to date them?

How would they treat you as a partner?

Would your relationship be public or private? (Are y’all getting paparazzi or is this a secret fling?)

What are the biggest challenges you’d face dating them?

Would they get jealous or be protective over you?

How would your fights & make-ups be?

Would they introduce you to their friends/family?

What’s the long-term future of the relationship?

the kind of dates y'all would go on?

Their love language with you?

How would the industry/fans react to your relationship? (Supportive or messy?)

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

⋆˙⟡ Delivery Timeframes

Quick Reads: 24 hours

In-Depth Reads: 1-4 days

Premium Reads: 5-7 days

Urgent Readings: (+$8). this one is only for the detailed readings(30$+ ones), the less expensive ones will be done quickly.

If I anticipate delays due to any reason, I’ll always communicate with you!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

⋆˙⟡ Word limit/ Number of pages for various packages

This is something my querent are most curious about. So there you go. this would tell you how much details and depth you will get in each type of package:

Small packages(upto 25$ ones): 600- 1000 words (3-5 pages)

Mid-tier packages (30$ to 40$): 2000-3000 words (5-8 pages)

High teir packages (50$ to 90$): 3500- 5000 words (9-13 pages)

Premium packages (90$+): 6000- 8000 words (15- 22 pages)

✨Regardless of the no of pages, the quality will never be compromised. so you don't have to worry about that 😇

⋆˙⟡ Special Requests

If you have a super specific question or want a reading that doesn’t fit into a set category, I offer custom readings based on your needs! Pricing will depend on the depth and length of the reading—just message me and we’ll figure it out together.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

⋆˙⟡FAQ (Because I Know You’ve Got Questions!)

When will I receive my reading? I try my best to deliver readings within 48-72 hours depending on my schedule. If I ever need more time, I’ll let you know ASAP! 💕

Can I ask follow-up questions? Yes! I offer one free clarification question after your reading for some packages. If you need a deeper follow-up, we can book a mini session. 😊

How detailed are your readings? Super detailed! I don’t do quick, vague readings—I give you everything Spirit wants you to know, with clear insights, explanations, and guidance. you can see in my PAC readings the level of depth I go into. You won’t ever feel like i compromised with your reading in any way!

What if I don’t like my reading? Honesty is my priority, so I will always tell you what I see (even if it’s not what you were hoping for). But my readings are meant to empower you, not discourage you! If anything feels unclear, I’m always happy to clarify.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

⋆˙⟡ Final Notes & Boundaries

What I DON’T read on: Health, legal matters, Loss of life, Legal matters, Pregnancy-related topics, Anything that could potentially harm another person emotionally or psychologically.

Patience & Delays – Life gets busy sometimes! If your reading is delayed, please know that I might be caught up with something. Feel free to send me a DM and give me a gentle nudge. I truly appreciate your patience!

You must be 18 or older to receive a reading. Readings for minors are strictly prohibited unless a trusted adult is guiding you.

Once payment is made, no refunds will be issued. I will begin your reading after I receive a screenshot confirming your payment. Thank you for your understanding!

If for any reason the cards don’t provide clarity on your situation, I will always let you know. This can happen due to the phrasing of a question, the timing not being right, or an energy block. If that’s the case, I’ll gently work through it with you in the best way possible.

I pour my heart into every reading, and I kindly ask that my space, time, and energy be respected in return. Foul language or unkindness will not be tolerated. This is a safe and uplifting space for both of us.

Everything we discuss remains completely confidential. Your reading is just for you, and I deeply respect the trust you place in me.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

[electronickingdomfox]

"Killing Time" review

Novel from 1985, by Della Van Hise. Published right after Ishmael, it involves again time-tampering. Only this time, the villains (here Romulans) are successful in their attempts to rewrite history, so most of the novel is set in an alternate universe. The basic difference is that, in this new universe, the Federation was founded by Vulcans instead of humans, so Spock is the starship captain, while Kirk is a mere Ensign with a troubled past.

The story presents some interesting concepts, like the flow of time and history being somehow ingrained in the very fabric of the universe, so no matter the alterations, it tends to revert to its original course, or rip itself apart (a concept which, in some shape or another, was also present in The Entropy Effect and the previous novel). There's also much discussion about "alternate selves", paths not taken in life, and whether these versions of ourselves still exist somewhere and can be reached through dreams. Sometimes, the "mechanics" of time-alteration are a bit iffy, or poorly explained. For example, it seems very unlikely that people like Uhura or Scotty would have the same exact post in the alternate universe (shouldn't they be replaced by Vulcans?). And since it's explained that travelling at warp drive makes one immune to the time alterations, why aren't more starships (the Enterprise included) spared from the effects? Anyway, this is just to be nitpicky; after all, the story doesn't require much more suspension of disbelief than other TOS novels.

Other than a bit of purple prose here and there, I didn't find the writing bad. And characterization is pretty fine. The portrait of Kirk as a rebellious Ensign is a curious precedent for the 2009 movie Kirk, and his grief is quite moving. Spock and McCoy's interactions are spot-on. And so far, this novel has the best, most complex portrayal of the Romulan Commander (from "The Enterprise Incident"), as a cunning, powerful woman, and yet vulnerable in her love/hate for Spock. It's perhaps the latter who comes off most out-of-character; at times Spock seems a bit too emotional and soft, though not to the point of being unrecognizable.

On the other hand, the structure is a bit clumsy. A good chunk of the book keeps going over and over the effects that history alteration has on the mind, turning people crazy, or inducing dreams about the original reality. Since the Romulan scheme is fully revealed quite early on, these chapters don't have all that much interest: we already know what's happening, we already know why people are having those dreams... (So no, I'm not interested in the content of Ensign Kirk's dreams, since I already know what's there; stop trying to put him in that vid-scan thing, McCoy). However, the plot takes off once the characters finally decide to do something about all this mess, and get involved in further Romulan schemes. The later chapters, thus, are more interesting, and there are some pretty emotive scenes towards the ending.

In conclusion, this isn't one of the best novels, though it has its high points. It would have been rather unremarkable among the long string of TOS novels, were it not for the controversies surrounding its publication. For those, see the "Spirk Meter" at the end.

Spoilers under the cut:

The Enterprise is patrolling the Romulan Neutral Zone, when several crewmembers start experiencing disturbing dreams. A common theme in those, is seeing Spock as the Captain, in a somehow changed Enterprise. While Kirk sees himself as a mere Ensign. There are also some rumors about an experiment going on in the Romulan Empire...

After an abrupt change, the next chapter presents a totally different reality. Kirk is now an Ensign recently assigned to the "VSS ShiKahr", commanded by Spock. Having been in prison for the murder of an Academy teacher (of which he has no recollection), Kirk was subjected to the Talos Device, which left him having frequent nightmares and addicted to drugs. He was given the choice between a rehabilitation colony, or forceful draft into the Fleet. Anyway, he has little interest in serving in a starship, or life in general, since he knows he'll never get his own command due to his past. His life is made even more miserable by his bully roomate Donner. Soon thereafter, strange phenomena are experienced by some crewmembers. Spock gets fleeting glimpses of another reality, that leave him dizzy. And one crewman succumbs to madness, and tries to blow up the entire ship, after sabotaging the matter/antimatter valves. After performing some scans on the insane man, McCoy discovers that his brain has two separate sets of brain waves, as if they belonged to two different persons altogether. Further cases of insanity throughout the galaxy are suspected, when a Vulcan Admiral orders the ShiKahr to invade the Romulan Empire in a suicidal mission. Spock, of course, stalls the order as long as he can.

The narrative changes focus then, to present what's going on in the Romulan ship "Ravon", where Commander Tazol remembers his recent confrontation with her wife Sarela. She was strongly opposed to the Praetor's plans to interfere in Earth's past, and assassinate three key figures in the founding of the Federation, so it never comes to be. Sarela is afraid the plan will be a total failure, like all the other plans of the Praetor to tamper with timelines. Nonetheless, Tazol is a complete blockhead, and proceeds with the plan. The idea is receiving the Praetor aboard (a mysterious, hooded figure that only his close advisors have ever seen face to face), and then enter warp drive to avoid the history-altering effects. That way, everyone aboard the Ravon will keep intact their memories of the so-called First History, along with its records, to later compare them with the situation in the Second History (the altered timeline). It turns out that, as Sarela expected, Second History isn't all it's cracked up to be... The Federation wasn't founded on Earth, true, but in its place, a similar Alliance of planets was started in Vulcan. The Romulan Empire has hardly benefitted from this, and now its enemies are mostly the tough Vulcans, instead of humans. The Praetor orders Sarela to his quarters, for a private discussion of the situation, much to Tazol's chagrin.

Meanwhile in the ShiKahr, McCoy has been performing vid-scans (a kind of visual recording of people's dreams) on several persons. Some of them show dreams of a "golden-haired Captain". While others show disturbing "negative scans". McCoy is a complete genius, because from this flimsy evidence he concludes, correctly, that reality has been shifted. And those that have ended in different positions in life, will become maladjusted to the changes, and eventually turn mad. Also, those showing negative scans now, are persons who are already dead in the original timeline (and this opens up an interesting ethical dilemma when reverting the changes, since it will mean instant death for those persons; sadly, this isn't further explored). For his part, crazy Admiral is still doing his crazy thing, and now orders the ShiKahr on a diplomatic mission, on a planet of savages that weren't expecting diplomats at all. The landing party is attacked, Donner is killed (good for him) and Spock is injured.

Cutting back to the Ravon, Sarela discovers that the Praetor is actually... a woman! Something that's not allowed in the Romulan Empire, thus the need for the permanent hood in public (and it also explains why all the Praetor slaves are now pretty boys...). Automatically, Sarela's respect for the Praetor goes up tenfold (huh, wasn't the Praetor a complete idiot a second ago, with all those stupid plans? The fact she's a woman should change nothing!). Well, as it turns out, the stupid plans weren't hers, but came from her father. She just went ahead with them because it was too late to back out, and also because she still expects some good to come out of it. Thea (the Praetor) explains that she's going to use Spock to sign a peace treaty with the Alliance, and introduce Surak's teachings among Romulans, to further the cause of peace (doesn't sound like a very evil plan, if you ask me). By kidnapping Kirk, she'll blackmail Spock into doing all this, while disguised with the hood as if he were the real Praetor. She still holds a grudge towards Kirk and Spock, since in First History, those two stole a cloaking device from her, revealing thus that she's the Romulan Commander from the series. Thea suspects that the Vulcans will, sooner or later, discover the time tampering and revert it, but some effects of Second History (like the peace treaty) will be indelibly embedded in the universe, anyway. Sarela agrees to help her, specially after she receives her own pretty boy slave.

For his part, Spock instructs Christopher Pike (here still a happy captain of a ship) to stop the crazy Admiral, before he causes all-out war. After this, the ShiKahr intercepts a Romulan shuttle, apparently crippled and adrift, and takes it aboard. The only passengers, apparently, are Thea and Sarela, and they're taken into custody. However, hibernating inside the shuttle, and thus not detected as life forms, were Thea's slaves. They wake up a while later, disguise themselves as Vulcan guards, and order Kirk to the briefing room. Sensing a trap, Kirk attacks them, but the Romulans subdue and kidnap both Kirk and his new roomate: Richardson. They depart in the Ravon, and leave the two hostages stranded in a desolate planet, with just basic survival gear. Spock learns about this too late, so he has no alternative but cooperating with Thea. Secretly, though, he plans to infiltrate the Romulan Empire to get the secret of time travel (unknown to the Alliance), and the details to revert the timeline.

Spock, dressed as the Praetor, McCoy, half-dressed as his...slave, and S'Parva, some kind of dog-girl with telepathic powers, accompany Thea back to the Ravon. Spock, as many other people, is also succumbing to madness, which in his case manifests as pon farr. He covers it up as a simple infection, and requests the medical assistance of slave-McCoy to create a distraction. The moment is seized by S'Parva to get inside the computer system. Later, Spock reviews the data, learning about the slingshot effect to travel through time. Both Spock and S'Parva receive also telepathic transmissions from Kirk and Richardson, respectively (S'Parva having formed previously a mind link with Richardson through an experiment). This way, they learn the location of the hostages. Nonetheless, Spock ends up losing consciousness due to the worsening of his symptons. Thea, who still loves Spock in some way, forms a temporary bond with him, and helps him out of pon farr (that is, they fuck).

Once in the Praetor's palace in Romulus, Thea learns about all the incidents of madness happening in the Empire. And finally, after a lengthy conversation, Spock manages to convince her of the necessity of reversing the changes. If this goes on, soon half the galaxy will be destroyed by madness. Spock regrets that he can't stay with her, as his present persona will disappear along Second History. Nonetheless, he will bring Kirk along to the past, to restore the timeline; that way, both of them will keep some remembrance of this alternate history, and will later use their influence to realize Thea's plans for peace. Thea relents, and after rescuing Kirk and Richardson, they make a slingshot maneuver in the shuttle, arriving in Earth's past. However, Thea leaves them to their own devices from now onwards.

Having arrived in San Francisco a while before the assassination, Kirk, Spock and Richardson enter the conference room, where the three politicians are due to make a speech. Kirk creates a distraction by revealing Spock's alien features to the surprised humans, and this prompts the assassins to reveal themselves. In the commotion, everyone escapes to safety (including the politicians), while Kirk and Spock confront the assassins. These are actually human-looking androids, and after a difficult fight, they destroy them, though Richardson is killed in the process. Then Spock takes out a disruptor to destroy the android remains (his excuse for not using the disruptor earlier being that Kirk needed to reassert himself as Captain by getting into a fist-fight, which is... a bullshit excuse, really). After this, Kirk and Spock (also mortally wounded in the fight) go to the rooftop. And there's a pretty sad scene, where both wait for their current selves to disappear in the reality shift, thus dying in a sense.

Everything is back to normal, though Kirk, Spock and Richardson keep having dreams about their alternate lives. Kirk also finds a ring that belonged to his other self, and reflects with melancholy about the fate of "Ensign Kirk". After a mind-meld with Spock, both of them get a clearer view about the events of Second History, and decide to cooperate with Thea to achieve peace. In the end, Kirk leaves the ring behind, knowing it will disappear and return to its real owner, somewhere.

Spirk Meter: 10/10*. Now, this novel is generally regarded as the K/S novel par excellence. Is it very slashy? Yes. But is it something completely in a different league? Well, no. Most of the Marshak & Culbreath novels are as slashy as this one (and The Price of the Phoenix definitely more). Hell, a good deal of this stuff is just taken from TOS episodes, and while in "Amok Time" Spock got out of pon farr by rolling around with Kirk, here he uses the more conservative approach of sex with a woman (and Kirk is totally okay with that, not showing the slightest jealousy). I suspect that most of this fame is simply due to the novel's publication history, and not to the actual content. I've encountered two versions of this incident. The most popular one tells of readers being so scandalized by the novel's first edition, that some higher-up (even Roddenberry himself) had to intervene, and censor the novel for subsequent printings. Della Van Hise's version (presented in several fanzine articles, that you can read in sites like Fanlore) tells a much less exciting story: Basically, the editor made some cuts here and there, she approved of the changes, and then sent the novel for printing. There was an error, and the unedited version was printed instead. When the publishing house noticed it, they corrected the mistake in the second edition, which was the one supposed to see the light from the beginning. In my opinion, Van Hise's version sounds more realistic. I have difficulty believing that the same public who received Triangle a couple years before without batting an eyelid, would start a riot for this. Let alone that Gene-t'hy'la-means-lover-Roddenberry would give two shits about it (was he even that involved in the franchise by 1985?). Apart from this, the edits seem very cursorily: a slight toning-down of some affectionate scenes, cutting curse words here and there, removal of partial nudity (even in medical settings that have absolutely nothing to do with K/S), etc. They really don't look like the kind of heavy censorship of someone set against K/S after a scandal.

Now, for the slash elements (I read the first edition, so this is based on that version): Kirk and Spock are quite affectionate, often reassuring each other with a touch on the shoulder or the hand, or confiding things that they wouldn't trust to anybody else. The mental link between them (which is a staple in many novels and comics, and thus not that remarkable) is given, however, a special relevance, with them often using it to transmit warm feelings, and even communicating over great distances. The link is so strong, that some effects of Spock's pon farr start affecting Kirk. And when the reality first shifts into the alternate universe, Kirk experiences great anguish, upon feeling the link broken. It's also noteworthy that other characters that share this kind of link (Spock and Thea; Richardson and S'Parva) are in romantic relationships of sorts. Apart from the permanent link, Spock performs several mind-melds with Kirk. The first time, when he finds the Ensign sleeping in the garden and suffering nightmares, he attempts a meld to soothe his mind (similar to "Requiem for Methuselah") but Kirk rejects it. Spock, who's already starting to go crazy, attacks Jim then, and forces a mind-meld with him. The fight and Kirk's submission are vaguely homoerotic, and this was by far the most censored passage in the book. The second meld happens when they're both waiting for "death", Spock resting his head on Kirk's shoulder, and the Vulcan uses it to bring Kirk to the other reality along him. The third meld was already covered in the plot summary. Apart from this, when Spock receives glimpses of his previous life, he misses a companion by his side, once wondering if the man he sees there is his t'hy'la. And when Kirk visits his quarters at night to get his medication, Spock interviews him while still shirtless, and understands that he can't keep secrets from him. But perhaps the most blatant examples aren't what Kirk and Spock actually do, but what other characters think about them. Thea is unreasonably jealous of Kirk, and kidnaps him with the belief that Spock will do anything to rescue him, since he's his treasured human and dearest to him in all the combined universes. Actually, this isn't the real reason why Spock complies with Thea, but he agrees with her assessment that "James Kirk is even deeper in your blood than Vulcan". Richardson, as well, has the impression that Kirk and Spock belong together in any universe.

Although this is definitely a K/S novel, there's also a bit of Spones, and it's kind of hilarious that it went totally unnoticed by censors, considering the sexual element is more blatant, compared with the rather spiritual relationship of Kirk and Spock. For starters, when Kirk is first having dreams about Spock as a Captain, McCoy dismisses it as just a typical fantasy of wanting to be under Spock's authority (which totally seems like McCoy projecting there, since that's not the real cause at all). Once Spock gets the first symptoms of pon farr, McCoy is very stubborn about going with him to Romulus to treat his illness, even if he has to be his slave to do so (and as previously seen, those slaves are also the Praetor's lovers). And when Spock gets worse, McCoy confronts him about being so proud and rejecting something that should be pleasurable, pointing out that many people would want to sleep with him... while blushing himself. Finally, McCoy refuses to leave Thea alone with Spock to do her thing, and has to be brought out basically by force (like, what was his alternate plan?). It doesn't help either that McCoy is said to care for Spock more than professional ethics should have permitted.

Also incredibly explicit is Kirk's relationship with Richardson. Kirk comes out from the shower totally naked in front of him. And later they both swim naked in a pond, while Kirk experiences the heat of pon farr through his link. Not enough? Well, Richardson often calls Jim "Juliet", while Kirk calls him "Romeo". Yup.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[fintenciate]

Reading Year In Review 2024

I've decided to do one of these! I made it my New Years Resolution last year to read more, and in 2024 I read 23 books!! Which is more than I've read in years! I'm very proud of myself and would like to reflect on it, so here goes! (I also couldnt find a template for these so I made up my own categories)

Favourite re-read: Blackout by Mira Grant (aka @seananmcguire) - I'm a real sucker for the Newsflesh trilogy, as well as the side stories. I''ve always been a fan of zombie fiction, and I've loved these books for many many years. That love has extended to her entire bibliography, next years list will probably have Into the Drowning Deep in this exact same spot!

Favourite translated book: Butter by Asako Yuzuki - A really interesting book about a journalist getting sucked into the orbit of a convicted serial killer. It's about manipulation and feeling trapped, and about learning how to live instead of just surviving. I loved this book, and it was easy to get swept away alongside the main character, Rika. I also got some new recipes out of it!

Favourite book published before 2000: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler - Published in 1993, this certainly isn't the oldest book on my list, but it remains incredibly poignant. Set in a post-apocalyptic 2024 (ouch), this book goes into the themes of social inequality and climate change, and is a must-read if you haven't already. The sequel, Parable of the Talents, is my first book for 2025 and I can't wait to get stuck in.

Favourite book published in 2024: The Anonymous Letters of C Forestier by Felicia Davin (aka @morethanslightly) - I hadn't read the previous books in the French Letters series, but that didn't hold me back in the slightest. The characters are so incredibly charming, and I absolutely adore the inclusive world that Davin has created here. I plan on diving into the rest of the series, and I recommend you do the same!

Favourite book of the year!: Faebound by Saara El-Arifi - This book really snuck up on me! It was the last book that I read this year, starting it on Saturday the 28th and finishing just before the new year! A wonderfully written fantasy, it is the first in a trilogy and I very much look forward to reading the next book, Cursebound, when it comes out!