#I'd give it at least a 4.5

[resplendent-dwellings]

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 4.5: Morning Period.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)

[n30n-l1ghts]

Tokyo revengers basic NSFW headcannons pt. 1

characters- Mikey, Draken, Mitsuya, Baji, Kazutora, Chifuyu, Hakkai, Nahoya, Souya, Hanma, Kisaki

Read the second part here

Proofread by my lovely partner @nxll-n4m3

Mikey-

Packing a respectable 5.8 inches, with a light pink tip and a couple of small bluish purple vains that aren't really noticeable unless he's painfully hard, he doesn't really curve to one side or the other, but he has a subtle upward curve. He doesn't strike me as the type who tries too hard with grooming, but he at least tries every now and again. But the hairs down there are the same pretty strawberry blonde as his hair, pretty thin and a little wispy with a slight curl towards the end.

Draken-

PUH-LEASE. This boy is fucking HUNG and he knows how to use it too. Curves hard left as well. He doesn't have the most experience as I can't imagine him sleeping around much, but he's heard the girls at the brothel complain enough that he generally knows what to do and what not to do. 7.9 inches holy GAWD. I think he stays pretty on top of grooming, manscapes at least once every other week. Also blonde, but I think he's got more curls than Mikey. Definitely a lot thicker. Also, completely random, but I feel like he'd totally fuck with coconut body wash and shampoo.

Mitsuya-

Another man who's got a rather mid-sized length, I'd say probably like 5.4. The prettiest pinkish lavender tip, and oh my god I mean it when I say this man's cock is beautiful. It deserves to be worshipped. Not all that big, BUT he makes up for it by knowing all the sweet spots. Not to mention he's the KING of foreplay and aftercare. He for sure stays on top of his grooming game, he can't stand feeling like he looks sloppy. He's got a pretty tuft of curly white hair right at the base of his dick, very well maintained and usually actually smells pretty good. Again, this man is on top of his hiegene and he wants all of him to smell good and look good at all times. (Not that he could ever look bad)

Baji-

I'd guess about 6.3 in size for him, and his tip is red and angry like his face (I'm joking. Mostly, but he does get painfully hard very quickly) there's a thick ass pinkish vein that runs from base to tip, and he will full body shiver if you lick the whole thing. I'm sorry, but I cannot for the life of me imagine that this man gives a singular fuck about grooming down under. He might trim a little or shave on occasion, but that's only if it gets annoying. However, his hair is effortlessly shiny and beautiful no matter where it is on his body. I have no idea how he does it. But, if it bugs you, he would (begrudgingly) start manscaping more often.

Kazutora-

LITTLE DICK SUPREMACY

Okay- little known fact, but I kind of have a thing for subby guys with little dicks, that and I want to give some variety so I'm not making them all unrealistically huge. So I'm gonna say this man sits at about 4.2. Not rediculously small, but definitely not big either. But it's okay, because he'd much rather be under you anyways. Slightly unrelated but this boy has trust issues so please be kind to him, hold his hand and tell him how good he's being, he will absolutely start crying. Never really even thought about his hair down there, never paid any mind to it, and probably wouldn't unless you brought it up. But I see him being super understanding and chill with it if you want him to groom more often.

Chifuyu-

Another one on the slightly smaller side, probably only around 4.5 to 4.6 with a sort of muted pink tip. He's actually kind of self conscious about it, so he's a bit sensitive if you make fun of him for it, but he'll fold instantly if you praise him in any way, shape, or form. I feel like he's the type to get all embarrassed and blushy super easily despite trying to play it cool. Would not admit he's a bottom out loud but everyone can pretty much tell anyways. Honestly pretty clean, I feel like pubes might bug him. He might try to keep a small tuft down there just because he feels it's more masculine, but I'd reckon he'd prefer it clean shaven. Less of a hassle and it doesn't get on his nerves that way.

Hakkai-

Oh, this poor sweet boy. So much dick that he has no idea how to use 🥺 I can't imagine him topping for the life of me, so it's almost adorable how his monstrous 8.3 inches just hangs there uselessly hanging as he gets pounded into his next life, squealing like a little bitch, whimpering and whining and pleading and- *AHEM* anyways. I imagine he's pretty alright with grooming, mostly because he super looks up to Mitsuya, who had told him at some point or another that it was important to look clean everywhere. But I don't think he's quite that good at manscaping though to his credit, he does at least try. He's got a decent sized tuft of thick, curly black hair that he trims maybe once a month or so when he remembers. But he'd get better about it in a heartbeat if you asked him to and gave him some basic block of instruction. Smells like vanilla though, so there's that.

Nahoya-

Nahoya's got a relatively solid 6.2, with a slight curve to the left and a pale tip. I feel like he'd probably be more experienced with it than his brother, even though his twin is a little bigger. He just strikes me as much more of the playboy type. (Probably gets hard after a good fight, I don't make the rules) super duper curly hair down there, ginger just like the hair on his head. Probably keeps it moderately well groomed. Enough to be presentable for the ladies (and the lads-)

Souya-

Similar to his brother (no shit they're identical twins) but with slight differences. For starters, he's ever so slightly bigger, measuring up to about 6.6, and he curves pretty hard right instead of slight left. He's not too experienced, but he strikes me as a rather quick learner. He doesn't normally care to groom all that much, but after getting into a relationship, especially if you guys are sexually active, he will actually start to manscape on occasion. Also super duper curly hair, but it's light blue instead of ginger, again matching his hair.

Hanma-

(Definitely gets INSTANTLY rock hard after a good fight, I don't make the rules) 7.9, same as Draken, difference is that Hanma has less girth. A tall, skinny dick for a tall, skinny boy. But he knows how to break you and he will go hard when he's domming. Or alternatively, when he's in the mood to sub, he gets a little bratty (just give his cock a rough squeeze and he'll shut right up) dark brown almost black hair, thick and curly. Contrary to popular belief I feel like he would put at least some effort into grooming, though he does forget sometimes.

Kisaki-

Oh, this boy. Solid middle of the road (just like his height- jk this boy short asf) but I think he'd have maybe around a 5.3 or 5.4 length wise. Pretty average around too, not particularly skinny but not particularly girthy either. Would absolutely fight you for dominance every time, and lose every time. This boy would rather die than ever admit he's a bottom, and he's 100% a brat until you edge him to the point he's sobbing. DEFINITELY clean. Well kept, grooms just about every day to every other day, and I feel like there's a fifty fifty chance he also dyes his pubes blonde. I can see him doing that. But this man hates being dirty at all. And tell me why I feel like his hipster ass smells like pumpkin spice all year round? All in all, a well kept, bratty little bitch.

[frythatrice]

Guys I'm fucking losing my mind. Is Toriko blonde? More specifically, does Sorawo actually know Toriko's natural hair color?

In volume 1, when they meet for the first time, Sorawo describes Toriko's hair as "pretty for a dye job". This is the only instance in the whole series that implies her hair is dyed, it's never mentioned again. In volume 8, we see a video of primary/middle school Toriko, and her hair is blonde.

This implies one of the following statements is true:

Miyazawa intended for Toriko's hair to be dyed blonde originally, but changed his mind at some point.

Miyazawa intended for Toriko's hair to be dyed blonde originally, but straight up just forgot about it.

Toriko does dye her hair, as well as her eyelashes (which are described as blonde), and has been doing so since primary school, and all is right in the world.

Toriko, aside from her blonde hair and blue eyes, looks ethnically Japanese enough for Sorawo to falsely assume that she dyes her hair blonde.

Option 1 is possible but is both boring and feels unlikely given how insanely easy it would be to confirm Toriko's hair color if her natural hair color was intended to be unambiguous.

Option 2 would be really fucking unfortunate for my current and future mental state.

Option 3 feels unlikely for multiple reasons. If she's actually dyeing her hair, she's also doing it at such a frequency that Sorawo has never seen a hint of her natural hair color at the roots as her hair grows. Her dying her hair in primary school isn't totally out of the question, but it's still incredibly suspicious.

Option 4 would kill me, I think, and I'm seriously worried this is the correct answer. Given how astronomically dense Sorawo is, it's absolutely not out of the question that she saw someone who looked Japanese and just naturally assumed that she dyed her hair blond, and then never bothered to question this idea.

Option 4.5, aka she thought Toriko dyed her hair, forgot about that assumption, and just carried on thinking she's a natural blonde, honestly wouldn't be too out of character either, but it's also boring.

The idea that Sorawo might not know Toriko's natural hair color, as minuscule as that possibility really is, makes my fucking head hurt. The fact that it wouldn't be out of character, either, is too much for me. There's as many instances of Sorawo being dense in Otherside Picnic as there are grains of sand in the universe. If you picked up an omnibus and flipped to a random page, I'd be shocked if it didn't contain at least one. Some of them are genuinely groundbreaking.

If option 4 is true, and Sorawo brings it up in a future volume, there's a non-zero percent chance Toriko Nishina will materialize in the real world and beat Iori Miyazawa into a fine paste with her bare hands for making Sorawo the way she is. Just writing about the possibility is giving me psychic damage, if it comes true I don't think I'll be able to hold on to my corporeal form. At this point, I think the printers would fucking explode if they tried to put that possibility to paper.

It would mean that for 8 volumes or more, Sorawo has been comfortably sitting with the assumption that Toriko, the single most important person that has or ever will exist in her entire life, dyes her fucking hair, when she doesn't. Does it actually matter whether she does or not? Not at all, which is why to not spare even a single, fleeting thought to such a small detail and just carry on with a false assumption for 8 volumes straight might make Sorawo the single scariest entity in the universe, fictional or otherwise. At the very least I think Toriko would be teleported to the nearest hospital on hearing such information.

If option 2 is true, I'm going to be in fucking limbo forever.

If you have any information regarding Toriko's natural hair color, I'm fucking begging you, please share. My life is at stake here, and I don't know how exaggerated that statement is. Please drop me the relevant passage that completely dismantles this unhinged theory, or point out the obvious leap of logic I must have made at some point in this post, otherwise I might not be sleeping any time soon. Otherwise, help me find a way to get in touch with Miyazawa so I can smack him with wads of cash until he coughs up the answer.

[codecicle]

ur one of the qsmp guys (in my mind at least) so i figured id ask u this but do u think itd be like achievable to like get into some of the qsmp stuff at this point. idk how crazy it got lore wise or how long it got but its always looked cool, issue was jrwi hyperfixation had me shackled. but its released its hold a little so i was just curious :3

Of course!!!! Fair warning that the QSMP is a HUGE project! So there's a lot of content to consume and understand. However, I think it's very very achievable if you'd like to try :-)

Starting off, QSMP actually planned for this to happen! They knew it was a huge project, so to help people get caught up they made a channel called "QSMP Info"

This exists to summarize the major lore/story beats of the island. It doesn't give you the full experience, but it definitely explains a good chunk of the plot ^_^

I'd also like to mention that the appeal of the QSMP was found in the various languages and constant streams. You could wake up to see the morning crew going live, then go from there to the usual daily streamers, then the evening group would log on, etc etc. There was always somebody live and having fun on the island with their friends :], so there's lots and lots of vods 2 sort through

I'd recommend picking a group of streamers from each and sticking with it. For me, I tried watching just one or two streamer(s) per language. Slimecicle, cellbit, baghera/etoiles, and roier/mariana were my mains! You don't have to stick with this (and I'm pretty sure this isn't the approach everyone went with), but it definitely helps it feel less overwhelming

Here's a good reddit post with tons of links and info:

Here's the major vods document:

Here's links to organized/in-order vods:

[ACT 1] [ACT 2] [ACT 3] [ACT 4] [ACT 4.5] [ACT 5]

I'd say pick the streamers that look the most interesting or appealing to you and just roll with it! (lmao) I'm obviously biased (my url is a qslime reference, and my special interest is his character + juanaflippa and codeflippa), but don't let me influence you on which POVs to settle on :-) everyone on that server was talented and funny as hell, and ABSOLUTELY worth a watch.

Welcome to the island!

[dizzyjaden]

Oh, to be loved by an artist... ✧˚ · .

Albedo x gn! Reader

♤ Summary: Your bf Albedo makes you pose for his painting then u cuddle <3

♤ Warnings: JUST PURE FLUFF !

♤ A/N: In celebration of this man finally getting a rerun in version 4.5

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

In the warm firelit glow of the room, dimly emphasized with orange hues by the setting sun peering in through the windows, Albedo's eyes graze over every inch of your body fervently, he sits stationed behind an easel and canvas where he is painting you. Sketching for him is a hobby that came about from his line of work. It is more often than not that sketching things he frequently studies or needs to understand better benefits his experiments. Painting, however...

Painting is more of a love language.

Albedo sketches whatever interests him, it does not take a long time to do, and it requires little material and effort. With painting, one must really stress the details to bring everything together. He paints things out of appreciation for them. To really see every feature and memorize it all.

Ever since the two of you started dating, the only thing occupying his thoughts is you. Anytime he attempts to pass the time with sketching, you're the first subject matter to advance in his mind. It only makes sense to dedicate hours to an entire full-length portrait of you. You are important to him after all.

The pose he asked you to take is candid and simple, nothing dramatic. However, you had begun to appear restless with frequent unintentional twitches across your figure. He smiles sympathetically.

"Try to focus on your breathing. It will make it easier to hold still."

A slow exhale passes through your lips. Truthfully, remaining motionless for hours is more difficult than you assumed, but you couldn't grow tired of this position you are in. Your lover is not a very affectionate person, at least not physically. He of course never turns you away when you are the one to initiate, but he rarely does so himself. You've realized over time that it isn't because he loves you any less than you love him, but the way Albedo prefers to show his affection is simply exactly what he is doing now. Penetrating through your skin with his gaze, his lips slightly parted and his eyebrows furrowed while he ingests each little characteristic on your body that has built up and brought him you.

"I'm impressed by you, my muse." He teases. "Most people struggle to maintain such a striking demeanor throughout the entirety of the session. I hope you do not mind me taking my time."

"Striking? What do you mean by that?" You hum curiously. He sighs as he struggles to find words for it.

"Some people just look... Posed." He attempts. "But you are naturally scenic... Though perhaps I'm biased. You could do anything and I'd find it devastatingly attractive."

You smile playfully and roll your eyes, realizing he has not actually touched the canvas in a moment.

"Not to rush you, but yes to rush you, I'd like to breathe soon."

Albedo nods.

"I am finished."

Your eyes widen.

"Oh, really?" You prompt, subtly asking for confirmation that you are allowed to move.

He smiles.

"I have been finished for some time. I just wanted an excuse to stare at you a while longer."

You give him an annoyed scoff as a response and immediately stretch your limbs out. The painting had to have taken at least six hours. You saunter over to where he is seated and allow yourself to practically fall into his lap. He gives your forehead a quick kiss as you nestle your head against his shoulder to observe his work on the easel.

"I think it turned out rather well." He states in satisfaction. "Though, I'm not sure the most talented artist alive could do you justice."

You are blown away by how casual he is about what he just put on that blank board you're staring at with your jaw on the ground. It's you, absolutely you. Terrifyingly realistic yet still captured in the most flattering way imaginable.

"It's... Incredible..." You mutter.

"It's a painting." Albedo sighs. "To be honest, I did like the idea of having something for me to look at when you are not around, but at the end of the day, it's still just a painting."

Once again, you're blown away by his indifference as he wraps his arms around you.

"A really good painting." You affirm. "It's very... Good-"

"You are so warm..." He murmurs quietly, seeming to have already moved on. You sigh.

Sometimes it seems Albedo does not give himself the appreciation he deserves, if you squint you'll notice that he doesn't think of himself highly in any regard. Despite his alchemical advancements, he still believes himself to be average at best when it comes to intelligence. Despite his borderline inhuman artistic skills, he does not think his work is anything of note. It makes you sad.

You don't want to bring this up now and potentially spoil the moment, though. You'll get on his case about not knowing how amazing he is later. Albedo is always busy, he is always running back and forth to get something done, but now he is quiet and still as he brushes a hand through your hair.

"Are you tired?" You ask him. He nods slightly.

"It will be dark soon..." Albedo yawned. "I'd prefer not to waste what little day is left by going to sleep early."

Thankfully you speak Albedo, so you know when he says something like that he fully intends to stay up very late, working. You yank away from him to glare in irritation, he laughs.

"I will not stay up all night, love. Promise." He smiles. You hate how adorable his smile is, you're trying to be mad at him.

"If you don't sleep, it will negatively impact my own sleep schedule." You say in an assertive tone of voice. "I cannot sleep if you aren't next to me."

Albedo doesn't seem to fully believe this since you've fallen asleep on your own nearly every day of your life until the two of you moved in together. Nevertheless, he contemplates.

"I will come lay next to you until you fall asleep-"

"No." You cut him off. "Let's go to bed."

He sighs in defeat and picks you up as he stands from the chair.

"Fine, fine." He mumbles, rolling his eyes at your victorious expression. He carries you to bed and collapses beside you instantly. His sluggish behavior warrants a giggle from you.

"I suppose today was longer than I anticipated." He admits, pulling the blankets over the both of you. "Although, I am glad we got to spend some time together towards the end of it."

You shuffle closer to him which brings him to immediately wrap his arms around you, pulling you into his chest with a sigh.

"Are you comfortable enough?" He asks. Something about Albedo is that he never stops fussing over you, he'll probably ask you the same question another twelve times before falling asleep.

"Yes." You respond simply, reaching your hands up to play with his hair. This is the best technique when it comes to shutting Albedo up. His eyes quickly flutter shut at the sensation and you smile.

"Love you Bedo." You profess. His grip around you tightens slightly at your words.

"Love you too..."

[waokevale]

Soo when you say wilson is of shadow origin and has always been weird, is there any sort of reason? Like was he born like that just because of Their natural influence that was happening even before the codex? Or was it more as in his power started as a child ( since thats when the whole codex thing happened) and he just got cursed by it? Or a mix of the two with the merge of the constant and the real world simply accelerating/ boosting the corruption he already had?

( also i'd love to know everyone power on a 1-10 scale like you did for charlie and maxwell 👉👈 )

Love your AU btw!

Well...Let's say he was always 'special', since his parents got involved with a very peculiar group before he was born, but the release of the constant's magic did in fact trigger those powers to expand. So you got that right.

And hmm, I guess I could give away a couple of those power comparisons, but I should also take in consideration their combat abilities, since one's isn't power isn't all that there is.

Wendy & Abigail – 3/10 (In combat it's usually Abigail in charge of the body since she's more skilled, while Wendy bullies the opponents shadow basically )

Webber - 4/10 (His Venom helps although he rarely uses it since he's scared of killing ppl)

Wurt (when she's in a body of water) 4/10, otherwise 3.5/10

Walter – 3/10 (if he knew about his abilities more, that would've been at least a 6.5)

Warly – 4.5/10 (3/10 otherwise) While his abilities don't help with combat, he focused on his agility and weapon throwing.

Wes – 4.5/10 He had to get better at combat, since Maxwell keeps sending him on missions, Max claims he could've easily been a 6/10 if he tried harder.

Winona – 5/10 her gadgets and combat ability make up for her power.

Wickerbottom – 5/10 (if she used her spells more often, would've been about a 7)

Maxwell – 5.5/10 (has more limitations set than Charlie)

Charlie – 6/10

Wigfrid – 6/10

Wolfgang – 6.5/10 (has at least 15 years of military training on him + his power certainly enhances those abilities)

Woodie – 6.5/10 since he's more in control of his various forms and their quirks

WX-78 – 6.5/10 when equipped with Winona's upgrades, without them, 4.5/10

Wortox – 6.5/10 (though he rarely engages in combat, his teleportation and life draining ability certainly helps. if he did, he would've probably been a 7 at least)

Willow – 7.5/10 though she's normally restrained into using only some of her abilities so 4.5/10

Wormwood – 7.5 4/10

Wilson – normally a 2/10 has little combat skill and is one of the newest hires. (In a monster form, which he can't control he's around 8/10)

Wanda – if she wasn't constantly supervised she would've easily been a 10/10, shes limited to being about a 6.5/10

[ofliterarynature]

JULY 2024 WRAP UP

Overall this was a very good month, so rather than italicizing everything I decided to note my favorites :)

[loved liked ok nope bookclub* (reread)]

Come Tumbling Down • Fly Trap • In an Absent Dream • The Orchard • (Beneath the Sugar Sky) • Vanishing Monuments* • Fly by Night • What Feasts at Night • The Woman in White • (Down Among the Sticks and Bones) • A Grave Robbery • (Every Heart a Doorway) • Dandelion Fire

* * * * *

Dandelion Fire (4 stars) - book 2 of the 100 Cupboards series. Not much to say, honestly - it's an interesting story, but the writing doesn't always give it the life it needs and drags sometimes. A solidly serviceable mid-tier middle grade fantasy that hasn't aged too poorly.

Every Heart A Doorway/Down Among the Sticks and Bones/Beneath the Sugar Sky/In an Absent Dream (4 stars) - I've been meaning to catch up on this series forever (I only read the first 3 books? really?), and luckily I can count at least 5 of them towards my physical tbr goals, so here we go! I don't think they shine quite as bright as they did in my memory, but honestly I don't think I've tried any Seanan McGuire that I didn't enjoy reading. In An Absent Dream is the earliest one I hadn't yet read, and it was ok - seeing individual character's stories is proving interesting, but there's something about the ensemble novellas that I think just hook me more.

A Grave Robbery (4.5 stars) - what can I say, it was fun! I'm coming to realize that this series is pulling plots from a very specific type of sensational classic novel that I don't know enough about to name, but I very much want to read some of them.

The Woman In White (4 stars) - my second Wilkie Collins! If I could rate this based ONLY on the portion narrated by Marion this would be my new favorite book, 5 stars, no notes. Unfortunately we do have Walter, blandly nice and polite and heroic Walter, narrating most of the book, and he is SO boring, and I hate that his role as a love interest is supposed to be this great moving thing? I'm glad the book skipped most of the "romance" actually, but ultimately I was extremely uncomfortable with the circumstances under which he and Laura eventually marry (did I also kind of want him and Marion to get married instead? Maybe). Also extremely disappointed in how Laura and Anne were both completely sidelined in a story that is ultimately theirs (if anyone knows of a retelling that improves on things let me know!!). The highs were high and the lows were low, but overall I did enjoy reading this. Now to figure out what Wilkie Collins to read next now that I've read the two I'd heard of.

What Feasts at Night (4 stars) - I didn't reread the first book so I can't really compare them, but I liked it! A good spooky time that I did partially listen to while walking through the woods, which was maybe not my brightest idea haha.

Fly by Night/Fly Trap (4.5/5 stars) - FANTASTIC. I've discovered that there's a specific blend of things that I look for in middle-grade books these days (as an adult), and these completely nailed it - characters (not just kids!) who are flawed and selfish and petty but capable of kindness or doing the right thing, and writing that is not only smart and intelligent but funny! There are (maybe) too many layers going on in Fly by Night, but I still really enjoyed it (and Mosca's attack goose), and I think where Fly Trap really pulls ahead is that it has all of the introductory spiel out of the way and the story is allowed to be much more focused. Did we really need a second book? No, but I'm glad we have it and would be happy to read more!

Vanishing Monuments (4 stars) - This month's read for book club, by the author of previous favorite, My Volcano! It felt deeply personal, intimate, dark, and harder to process all the intense emotions, but still showed as much depth of craftsmanship and artistry in its writing. I didn’t love it as much, but I hope someday I’ll feel smart enough to understand it more. cw for unreality, mental illness, and all kinds of gender stuff.

The Orchard (4 stars) - this the (unfinished!) memoir of a young woman who tried to single-handedly run her family's orchard during the Great Depression, and the events that lead to the manuscript's publishing are nearly as interesting! I didn't leave myself notes, so I'd say positive feelings, but I'm learning I don't really like memoirs the hard way (I'm always a sucker for tough women doing the hard things though).

[ae-neon]

Attempting to sum up my feelings and thoughts on Deadhouse Gates

4.5/5

Non-Spoilers.

What a sequel. I thought Gardens of the Moon was probably the best thing I'd ever read but somehow Deadhouse Gates was better?? Like objectively speaking the writing leveled up but also the feel of the novel was more cohesive too.

I never quite understood what people meant when they said "the setting was its own character" but from Hissar to Raraku, Seven Cities feels so real and is ever relevant to the story. It colours the pages and actions and plot in its own hue. And Erikson's layers of history and culture add a visceral and powerful weight that deepens the stories set there.

I honestly don't think I can say I read this book. I experienced it, and what an experience it was. As the fans say, I have walked the Chain of Dogs.

Once again, there is no shortage of wonder (from a ghost ship operated by the dead to a city of people turned to stone) the fantasy is as high as ever - but Erikson forced me, again and again, down to earth with the best parts of this story being the study of humanity.

Any book this grim and especially in the current political climate could come off as unpleasant or flimsy if not downright distasteful, but Erikson has left me in awe, heartbroken and shaking my head at futility but somehow never feeling hopeless. He is not trying to be dark for the sake of being dark. He is showing you humanity in all its shades.

It is not lightly that I say this book shows the actual nuance of conflict, the only way it can be: through the individual human lens. It confronts these characters with their own bias, with hypocrisy, with betrayal, with being wrong and with the humanity of their enemies and the futility of their actions.

And the characters?? Good lord, I don't understand how Erikson can have such huge but distinct characters. Even the animals have personality! Moby, Apt, the Ghral horse and of course the Wickan dogs! Felisin, Coltaine and Icarium were the standouts for me though it would be unfair not to give Erikson props for the insanity that is Iskaral Pust.

Once again, my biggest gripe boil to Erikson not being good at developing romance.

All in all, Deadhouse Gates - from it's insane prologue to the very end is a once in a lifetime experience and even if I never picked up another Malazan book (literally reading MoI rn) I would still be happy I got this far. If GoTM were not needed for context and a general understanding of Erikson's style, I would recommend Deadhouse Gates even to those who have no interest in Malazan.

Spoilers

Coltaine, Kulp and Lorn. Erikson has me 3 for 3 on killing my favourite characters. At least my Coastal Marines seem to be fine.

How so many can read this book and hate Felisin has me disappointed but not surprised. Not only was she completely valid in her feelings, but she was also hilarious in her jabs. It's so sad that one of the first memories transmitted to Felisin from Sha'ik is the implied sexual assualt at the hands of the man who raised her. And there's something so bittersweet about Sha'ik Reborn giving the name Felisin to her daughter in hopes that the girl she was and the girl she has will fair better than Felisin Paran did.

The Chain of Dogs will stay with me always. As a person who lives in the Global South/Third World and was born only 3 years into my country's independence, fear of civil unrest, war and general collapse of law and order have been very real fears in my life. I tend to stray away from documentaries and movies centered around these topics because of the anxiety it creates in me.

But Erikson never took things too far, he was blunt and honest in his portrayals - though I will say I wish we had seen more of Seven Cities natives who objected to violence and sexual assault especially as tools of war. I know that these things often happen but the same is true of objection, of restraint, of a want to see justice play out in a more lawful way.

Again, I am saying this as someone who was born into a newly independent country, so much of the immediate aftermath was trials in which families got lawful justice and acknowledgement of the wrong done to them and their loved ones under the former regime.

I am glad we got the nuance of Duiker and Kalam being natives who align more with the Empire - their reasoning is well done, nuanced and even more amazing when, in Kalam's case, he must face the possibility of viewing the Empire in a gold haze or rose-tinted glasses.

On the topic of Kalam, I will be honest and say my like of Kalam and Ben as a duo might have skewed my initial reading of Kalam and Minala's interactions, but I have never and will never be the type of person who villainizes or dislikes a female character for "coming in between" the relationship of two male characters.

I want to make it clear that I don't dislike Minala at all. However, Erikson has failed, once again, to make me believe in this romance. I don't buy Minala leaving her sister in the middle of life-changing rebellion to follow a man she barely communicated and connected with. Especially so soon after escaping her abusive husband's grasp which she only endured because it benefitted her sister.

Pearl had better chemistry with Lostara, hell, he had better chemistry with Kalam as Salk Elan than Kalam and Minala had. It would have been more believable to have Kalam stay and raise Shadowthrone's child army as a sort of repayment to Apt and Panek.

Speaking of, I always knew Kellanved/Shadowthrone was a bit...off...just from the stories he's heard but it's another thing entire to see Cotillion have doubts. VERY INTERESTING.

The Wickans piqued my interest from the moment they stopped the Red Blades at the docks but Coltaine and Bult speaking up in favour of Laseen had me instantly on their side as I never appreciated the nostalgic, boys club view that so many of our veterans had of the Laseen v Kellanved story. I always believed she would at least be fleshed out. And when Erikson had Chalice dash Crokus' idealised dreams and Murillio see the hollowness in his victory and the humanity in Simtal at the end of GotM, I knew he wasn't going to be the type of author to give us hollow, one note female characters.

Fid, Crokus and Apsalar - my darling family, also verrrry interesting that Fiddler returned to Seven Cities instead of Genabackis

Seeing as the title of the next book is Memories of Ice, I was immediately entrigued by the glimpses of Jaghut and Imass history we got. I LOVED Lorn and Tool in GotM so getting more on the T'lan Imass but especially on otataral was such a treat.

I was, in some ways, mentally prepared for Coltaine to die as part of him being this larger-than-life figure and inevitable tragic hero BUT I will never forgive Erikson for Kulp WHYYY

I cried through Mappo's confession to Icarium but I was already bawling at Duiker leaving the remains of the 7th behind to see the refugees to Aren. I took a ten minute break from reading after the gates closed, thinking that was the end of it. But Erikson had more in store for me and I was almost as wrecked by grief as Nil and Nether at end of chapter 21 and I set the book down for a day and half, once again foolishly thinking that was the end.

Malazan fans say "you walked the Chain of Dogs" but, tbh, it dog-walked me, I was wrecked.

PS

I love how everyone in the book and even me in this rambling review, completely brush past Heboric pulling Fener onto the mortal plain. I found otataral interesting just from Lorn's sword but this has brought me a million questions

[frmtheroombelow]

okay so tell me yall wouldn't be losing your shit in my position at work [a work rant]

so i just did 4.5 of borderline mandatory unpaid overtime - and i say borderline mandatory because it wasn't explicitly asked of me but if i didn't do it there's no way i'd make the absolute inhuman deadline that i have for tomorrow (and im still freaking the fuck out over it bc even with all the extra work i dont think its humanly possible to achieve still but it HAS TO BE DONE)

they refuse to hire someone to assist me (im the only one at the company doing my job) and they refuse to give me a raise and have given me major excuses every time i've asked (like having to make up a new job description and go through HR and shit and this has been the excuse for 4 years - even before me)

they forced me to move teams away from my angel of a boss and now i'm making major mistakes because im doing the jobs of at least 3 people with zero fucking support AND im being paid scraps !! i'm living paycheque to paycheque bc they refuse to give me a raise !! they dont think what im doing is worth more than what i was making as a fucking summer student 6 years ago!! ITS SICK !! the person who used to do this job quit because they were burnt out !! i feel like im going insane i cant afford to quit either like haha :D imagine working so fucking hard and having nothing to show for it no savings and ur broke as fuck like whats the point !!

LIKE WOULD YOU ALL NOT ALSO GO BATSHIT INSANE

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Blurb:

Since she was a girl, Vanessa Morelli has trained for two titles: CEO of Morelli Construction, and more importantly, head of the Morelli Crime Family. So far, it’s going well; business is booming, and the city’s criminals fear and respect her. Or at least she thought they did, before shipments start disappearing, construction sites blow up, and—most annoying of all—the older women lay on the pressure for her to marry and make an heir.

When an ill-advised date with her Godson’s math teacher goes horribly wrong, she brings him under her protection while she figures out who’s sabotaging her operation.

Nate, the goofy, dog-owning teacher, wants nothing to do with her after learning that she’s the queen of organized crime in the city. But when the choice is life or death, he chooses to accept her help and move in for the summer. Bored out of his mind, though, Nate offers his services on the hunt for a suitable husband, interviewing every eligible mafioso in Massachusetts.

But when more sparks begin to fly between her and Nate instead of her and her suitors... she starts to wonder. Can they work and live together, without falling for each other along the way?

Review:

He's a math teacher and she's the head of a mafia family... he needed a date for a wedding and she needed a husband... and after one teacher meeting their lives are both entwined. Vanessa Morelli is the eldest Morelli daughter and has inherited her family's crime business. She's both the CEO of the Morelli Construction and the Morelli Crime Family... but after her father's death there's been pressure for her to get married and make a heir. Vanessa doesn't want to marry just anyone, she wants a partner, someone she could love.... and when she agrees to sub in for her sister at her sister's parent teacher conference she meets Nate. Nate is a goofy charming math teacher who isn't afraid to talk back to Vanessa (well that was before he knew she saw her kill two dudes). What was suppose to be a cute date ends up with two dead bodies and people now gunning after Nate since they think he might be a possible suitor for Vanessa. Vanessa has to keep Nate alive and try and get some of her less savory suitors to back off. Nate and Vanessa come up with a new deal: he helps her vet her potential husbands and she protects him while he lives with her for the summer. But as sparks begin to fly maybe the perfect husband for Vanessa is the one living with her right now... if only he could convince her that he could fit into her world. Looking for a fun rom com with a amazing protagonist who definitely isn't afraid to protect the people she lives and a soft love interest? If you loved rom coms like Ghosted, Hitman, Mr and Mrs. Smith, absolutely give this book a go. I can't wait to read the next book and see what happens to the next Morelli sister! It was a really cute read and I loved the dynamic between Vanessa and Nate so much, she's tough but sweet and he's soft but dependable. It's a cute read and one I'd absolutely recommend!

Release Date: September 26,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Happily Booked for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[milkywaystarboy]

🦋🐚🪐🍦 for the writers truth or dare game!

🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately

this is kind of a loaded question, since i am unfortunately the type who overthinks and has a lot of fixations on things that cause me anxiety, but i will try to keep it to a light topic. hmmm. well, actually, i've been thinking a lot lately about how lucky i am and how much i love the people i've ended up living with. my life has been kind of a rollercoaster the last year, give or take a few months: i ended my relationship with the partner i'd been with for 4.5 years but still had to live with them and their other partner since we'd just renewed the lease a month before, plus the job i had hardly paid me enough to have food, much less be able to live on my own. my friends that i live with now spent a year helping me plan and prepare for a move across the country to live with them, and i honestly don't know where i'd be without them, because my prospects looked so bleak before. (i didn't have any friends in the area where i lived with my ex, and i was striking out on every job application.) as the world and especially the us seems to be devolving into a place where someone like me isn't safe to exist, having people support me through the roughest part of my life so far has meant more to me than i think i'll ever be able to truly express

🐚 ⇢ do you like or dislike surprises?

i like surprises a normal amount i think! at least good surprises. like, surprise gifts or parties are usually pretty nice, it lets me know people are thinking of me. as long as it doesn't cause too much disruption to things i might have already planned, i like surprise trips too

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

first thing is that i finally got a job! i've been unemployed for a couple months because of moving to a different state, but i'll be starting my new job at the end of this month. second good thing is that i'm finally feeling settled in to my new home and roommate situation, and third is that my roommate made fresh bread a few days ago, it's a simple pleasure but i appreciate it every time

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

this is tough bc i actually don't usually hate characters, it really takes a lot to make me hate a character, and also it's not very clear about what sort of "good things" i should list. i think i'll go with il dottore from genshin impact, though, since he's the exception that proves the rule. three good things about him: he is actually incredibly knowledgeable and skilled at what he does; he was willing to trade extremely rare knowledge and kill his clones in a deal that hardly benefited him personally; and he doesn't actually have much screen time in the game overall

[aotopmha]

Done with FF14 patch 5.2.

I think there are two issues I have with it:

1) How Ardbert's body managed to stay preserved for 100 years for Elidibus to possess it.

2) The filler.

In terms of the first point, usually they address these things in some form, be it in main or side dialog, and I did not get to every piece of side dialog.

(So if anyone knows and can find anything on this, I'd gladly be corrected on whether they do clarify it in some form or not.)

It makes sense for the Cardinal Virtues because their bodies lived on as Sin Eaters.

But as far as we know, Ardbert's was buried for a hundred years. It should be dust.

I think it's a very similar situation to Minfilia's entire plot thread involving the idea of one having to consume the other and the Scions not really putting any effort into trying to separate the two instead, which is a really obvious idea that's never really brought up.

I can fully understand how these can be overlooked writing-wise because the entire situation with Minfilia gives the characters and audience an interesting moral quandary and the situation with Ardbert's body some really nice weight to Elidibus as a villain and character.

And to be fair, I think the implication with Minfilia has always been that they just couldn't find any other solution since as said, one has to absorb the other to be at full power.

The situation with Ardbert's body is tougher because the most we have is the implication of finding his Crystal of Light and returning it to Seto and that the crystal might have preserved the body, but as said, it's never really spelled out directly how his body stayed fine enough for Elidibus to possess.

(I do find it funny that Elidibus supposedly shaved, though.)

For the second point, with the story getting so much better with making sure everything matters in Shadowbringers, some of the side stuff, particularly the subplot with the two guys wanting to become Warriors of Light felt timewaste-y, it reinforces Elidibus' plan, but I feel like that whole aside with them before the dungeon didn't really need to be there and these really stand out in a story with actually decent enough pacing.

I've also been watching a FF7 playthrough recently and it struck me so heavily how concise and straight to the point, but still meaningful that game is with its dialog even through some of the awkward translation.

I love FF14 deeply, but its prose can hurt, especially in the ARR to StB era.

Brevity is the soul of wit, they say and I'm happy Shadowbringers and Endwalker not only much improved the storytelling, but also the prose of the story itself.

I actually felt the difference in prose the most between 3.0 and 3.3-3.5 and 4.0 and 4.1-4.5 earlier on, but Shadowbringers and Endwalker are the true big step forward and I don't mean just not in terms of wasting your time, but also in terms of making the smaller, slower moments just as substantial as the big turning points.

They're still not perfect (oh boy, the lead up to Mt. Gulg and the entire final section before the Atiascope in Labyrinthos), but the story makes sure the slow stuff at least matters by the end. The Moogle quest in HW could be almost entirely removed and nothing much would change, same for the Company of Heroes/wine quest in ARR and most of the chores in StB, particularly the ones involving the Ruby Sea.)

That's what I really like about the Endwalker patches. They're all super evenly paced, always keeping things going within the narrative they're telling. You never linger too long at any point in my eyes. In fact, I feel 6.5 might've needed a little more breathing room with some elements.

But tl;dr, I just really appreciate how much the game has improved narrative pacing-wise despite still not being perfect with it. It's really nice.

[kamreadsandrecs]

Title: Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Vols. 1-19 Author: Yoshinaga Fumi (mangaka), Akemi Wegmuller (translator) Genre/s: historical, alternate history Content/Trigger Warning/s: rape, attempted rape, incest, murder, poisoning, physical and emotional abuse, natural disasters, starvation, fatal illness, parental death, death of children, miscarriage, killing of pet animals Summary (from publisher's website): In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country’s men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by 75 percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the shogun’s Inner Chamber… Buy Here: https://www.viz.com/ooku-the-inner-chambers Spoiler-Free Review: It's been years since I read the first three volumes of this series, but then I found out that the first season of the animated version was on N*tfl*x so I decided to give that a shot, as well as find the rest of the series. Took me a while to get all the volumes, but once I had them all it was easy to do a speedrun, so to speak, and finish it. One of the first things I need to say about this series is that it is bittersweet. Tragedy abounds in this series, as does heartbreak, and all manner of desires and goals remain unrequited and unfulfilled. That being said, I still thought this was a great read. I can understand why some people would choose not to pick it up because of the potential triggering content, or just because they don't want to read something that'll put them through the emotional wringer (as it were), but I found that I liked how tragic this whole story was - not for tragedy's sake, but because of the characters. They're a complex lot, and not all of them are good people, but I enjoyed reading about how the choices and decisions they made affected not just themselves and those around them, but the characters who came after them - a plot that's allowed by the long scope of the manga's story (from the reign of the third Tokugawa shogun, all the way to the dawn of the Meiji period some two hundred years later). if there is any other media I could compare this to, at least on the surface, I'd say it comes pretty close to Game of Thrones - up until Season 5, since the show infamously loses the plot after that point. Fortunately this manga has a much more coherent storyline, even as it features many of the same beats such as forbidden romance and court intrigue. The alternate history aspect, wherein Japan is ruled by women instead of men, is interesting not because it drastically changes the way the world works, but because it showcases how so many things actually remain the same. Women are still people, after all, and power is still power, and people in power do things in similar ways regardless of their sex or gender, with similar outcomes both for good and for ill. Overall, this was a pretty good read, even if it was heartbreaking in a lot of places, and even if there's plenty of content that made me flinch, and which will very likely trigger other readers. If there's one thing that I found a bit off-putting about this, and which other readers might find off-putting if the trigger warnings don't, was the use of Shakespearean-style English, especially in the first half of the series. I suspect it was an attempt by the translator to mimic the more old-fashioned Japanese in use during the 1600s-1700s, but it can be rather jarring in certain scenes. One gets used to it after a while, but it can take one out of the moment sometimes. Rating: four kimono and one uchikake (4.5)

[ask-obt]

An author ask for woo, if we did get pmd5, what would you like to see in it?

// this question is a bit difficult to think about since I feel like PMD as a franchise and my own personal preferences have gotten to a point where they're going different directions- I suspect there probably won't be any future PMD games that entirely be ideal for my tastes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. but some things I'd like to see are...

Good variety of pokemon (if we get another Gates in this regard I will be Sad. It doesn't have to be literally every pokemon that's shown up but 151 is a bit sparse...)

On that same train of thought, more hero/partner options that aren't just starters. I want weird shit in there like Machop and Phanpy again, give me some stuff that makes me go "why is that here?"

Good mix of accessibility mechanics and challenging gameplay (I think along the lines of Explorers and Super. Settings to toggle mechanics like the auto-movement would also be nice. And PLEASE bring back the standard A attack I'm begging you)

A UI that is generally clean and compact would also be nice- in the post where I talked about my problems with DX I attributed the busyness of the UI to only having a single screen to work with on the Switch, and I conveniently forgot PMD started on a single screen console with the GBA. I don't consider Rescue's UI to be visually crowded at all, so I'm back to the stance of "they should fit everything on the screen better".

If they simply MUST use 3D models and don't want to render new ones, then I just want portraits to emote again. Looking at Gates it seems they had a pretty emotive portraits. I imagine DX looking as bland as it did was because they ported portraits directly from PSMD, which had like, 720 pokemon all with at least 3 portraits (which was understandable for that game, I'm just appalled they didn't even bother remaking portraits for important NPCs in DX). Like look at this little guy he's crying out of his ear. His ear hole shrinks when he's shocked. He's hilarious and I want more portraits like this.

Something new with the story would be nice :,) ESPECIALLY the ending. Please I am begging. After 4.5 games (DX is only half a game to me since it's a remake) where it ends with the hero vanishing into light and the partner crying about it, it starts to lose its punch. And ngl when I got to the farewell scene in PSMD I was fully expecting another farewell, and I said to myself "if the partner leaves this time I'll bust out laughing". You can guess how that ended. I feel like PMD could offer a lot of different points of exploration in a story that aren't just "natural disaster threatens to blow everyone up" or "everyone was too sad :/ and now the world is blowing up". (Not that those are bad bases for a story, but PMD games tend to have very simple writing that doesn't explore stuff in depth, so it's hard for them to put a new spin on those takes.)

And that's about all I can think of off the top of my head! Unfortunately for you all I have a new crack theory to impart upon you that may be upsetting. I think the Pokemon Presents will not announce a new PMD. They'll mention the Gameboy Virtual Consoles, and show off a list of games that will be on it. Red Rescue Team will be there. And that'll be the end of PMD news. Enjoy this cursed theory.

[crownshattered]

TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE

rules: fill out how many stars you would rate your muse for each type of intelligence, and if you'd like, explain why~ keep in mind that these types of intelligence are a SPECTRUM; we all have them to varying degrees!

Linguistic: (ease of understanding words) - ★★☆☆☆ - Maybe if Neth had more reading opportunities growing up, she'd be better linguistically. But words aren't really her thing. I would give her a 1 but that seems like too much, sooooo imagine a 1.5 XDD

Musical: (ease of understanding music) - ★★★★★ - I want to say that Faenethra has at least near perfect pitch. She's a self-taught musician, and a good one at that. She could probably pick up any instrument with relative ease, but she's good with just her lute and her voice. In a different life, she would have been a bard.

Logical / Mathematical: (ease of understanding logic) - ★★★★☆ - This is less about the math part, but Neth is just really smart. Although she isn't educated (for the most part), she's very logical. She just rarely shares her thoughts, so it's hard to tell at first.

Spatial: (ease of understanding space) - ★★★☆☆ - She isn't bad at spatial reasoning at all, but it isn't exactly a strength of hers either. She's just okay, leaning on good.

Bodily / Kinesthetic: (ease of understanding one's own movements) - ★★★★☆ - I almost want to give this a 5, so let's just say this is a 4.5~ XDD She can wield two swords at one time and has pretty great aim with a shortbow/crossbow. She isn't strong like Karlach by any means, but I'd say she's just as adept in combat just because her movements are so precise.

Intrapersonal: (ease of understanding oneself) - ★★☆☆☆ - Yeah, Neth isn't too great at feelings at all XDD Not her own, and not others either. But she does have her moments, so I don't want to give this a 1. But still, not very good with the feelings~

Interpersonal: (ease of understanding others) - ★★☆☆☆ - Same as above, but I do think she's a bit better at understanding the emotions of others around her than herself. She's just not good at it XDD But at least she'll try if you get close to her~

tagged by: myself, i wanted to do this again~ XDD tagging: YOU!!