#LIBBY IS THE PROTAG

[obscurecharactershowdown]

Obscure Character Showdown FINALE

[image ID: the first image is of image is of No Significant Harassment, a shadowy figure standing behind a sleeping pink-red, fox-like creature. their green hands seem to be holding up the floating creature. the second image is of Granger, a girl with green eyes and short, wavy or curly black hair. in her hair is a red hat or ribbon. she's wearing a black turtleneck sweater, blue overalls, and a green coat. end ID]

No Significant Harassment

[NSH has beaten Akama (The Idiot (1951)), Libby Day (Dark Places), Sally Swing (Betty Boop), Shrimp (The Upturned), Oopsy Bear (Care Bears (2007 series)), Hikaru (Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu), and Diggory Graves (Hello from the Hallowoods)] They're just a silly little guy. A jokester. Significant harassment if you will. Anyway, a more in depth run down: They're a city sized supercomputer built by a Buddhist adjacent society to figure out how to transcend the 'Great Cycle' (semi-metaphorical cycle of death and rebirth) in a safer way than the previous method (submerging oneself in the 'void sea' which is a mysterious golden liquid that dissolves whatever it touches). Despite being built for this express purpose NSH never really shows a pressing interest in ascension, even cracking jokes about those who are still looking for a solution. Whether this is due to indifference, dislike of, or humor to cope with being unable to ascend is not clear and really up to interpretation. Example: NSH: I wish them super good luck in that endeavor. How is it going to happen? Have the overseers gnaw through bedrock until their entire can crashes down in the void sea? BSM: Please be respectful when speaking of the Void Sea. Grey Wind, where did you hear this? CW: I really shouldn't say. He's going to attempt some sort of breeding program. Thought you might want to know. NSH: Haha with the slimers, lizards and etceteras? Surely the answer was in a lizard skull all along! He's very flippant, but does care very intensely for those close to him. NSH: Moon? It's me again. NSH: I do not know if you are receiving these. Please signal in any way you can. NSH: I need to talk to you. I need to know you're okay. NSH: … NSH: Its difficult for us to assist you over this distance. NSH: Even more difficult for us to do anything in the midst of these tantrums. NSH: Were going to try everything that we can. NSH: Just hold on a little longer. (Context for previous convo: They genetically engineered a super organism of a slugcat (the species you play as in Rain World) to help reset his coworker/sibling after her collapse and restart her systems. He was so desperate to fix her that he accidentally messed up the slugcat's (Hunter) genetic code and as a result it became riddle with the Rot (relatively similar to aggressive cancer) :( which parallels his other coworker/siblings condition who also has the rot. ) He canonically uses he/they pronouns too! Nonbinary swag! NSH has major internet troll vibes. He has sent a data pearl of "something distasteful" to his neighbors on several(?) occasions and causes chaos. If he had access to the wider internet he'd probably be an influencer So…yeah! Vote NSH this website likes the allure of heavy machinery and stuff like that so… there you go. Kind of a blorbo. End post.

Granger

[Granger has beaten Chopfyt (Oz), Wolfman (Darkwood), Gaap Goemon (Mairimashita! Iruma-kun), Forest Friend (Gris), Turnip (Chicory: A Colorful Tale), Gary (Faith the Unholy Trinity), and Stag Malinay (Krystar First Fragment)] so granger is the main character of the indie game "NeverHome" Chapter one, which is only $1 on Steam, is called NeverHome: Hall of Apathy. if ur a fan of young protags being put in RPG maker horror games, then this is the game for you!! so granger is just that… she wakes up to find herself in a strange, hostile world. she, along with the friends she makes, must solve the various puzzles before them while creatures are out to kill them… and along the way they can uncover the secrets of these never ending halls… her dynamics with the cast is also super fun… each character gets their moment or moments with granger. and what's so cute is that there's unique art for each pair that highlights the fact you cant get through these halls alone!! she also has her own theme song!! here!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_vwtmIj5cw it's called cyclical tragedy AND HERE IS AN ANALYSIS OF THE THEME!! MUSIC THEORY!!! written by my good friend @HIEMIOLA "cyclical tragedy" embodies the protagonist, granger, through the music theory behind the track and ties itself back into the main track as well. to begin with an overview of the track, the key is D minor and hte time signature is 3/4. the piece begins with a broken minor third starting from the tonic. that is, it begins on the main note and moves along the main chord, D to F. the next set of notes are C to E, which is shifted down a step. the phrase repeats again, this time D to F, then G to E, which is an inverse movement from the original sequence. even in this first part, we could tell that the protagonist begins from square 1 with a simple pattern, then tries it again when it works. however, the inverse breaks that expectation of repetition, thus showing the diverse variations of solutions she comes up with using just the tools she has (the two notes moving in thirds). just like the game, she is given a handful of objects as well as a knife to defend herself and solve the mysteries of the world she exists in. with her creative uses of the items given to her, she continues on her way through the plot. we will keep moving. the melody begins. true to the title of the track, the melody cycles around the same beginning note, D, that she always returns to at her square 1. this is a nod to the save states she is allowed to keep to make sure that we the players don't lose the game, but it also references the health bar that appears as a circle around her avatar. the melody, mapped out, is also moving in an up-down wave movement across the sheet music. granger is creative with the knife she has and the quest items she obtains throughout the story, but she is not entirely reckless. rather, she knows when it is time to return to the safe rooms to rest. to time her returns requires skill because she must run to cover without being caught by varying her path so the enemies don't corner her as she tries to return to the room. most of the time, she is successful, shown through the consistent return to the beginning note. let's keep going. i would like to turn your attention to the main theme briefly. in the bass notes, you can hear arpeggios and outlined chords. this makes up the bulk of the accompaniment in the main game theme. [mod note: the rest of the essay, and some more propaganda, is continued under a cut because tumblr will not process more text than this in an indent. sorry to split it up, please continue below for the rest of the essay and additional propaganda (including art) !]

the third variation of granger's theme also has arpeggiated chords in the accompaniment while the melody features broken chords. at this stage, the pattern switches to eigth notes instead of the quarter notes at first. with greater movement and heightened senses, she runs throughout world and befriends other people, thus interacting further with the environment. while she isn't exactly someone we would call open, she is respectful to the people she first meets and has no problems with asking them for help when she needs it. because of her openness to working together, she speeds up her progress by asking for aid at obstacles that would be too difficult for her to overcome on her own, such as asking a teammate to break things, move things, or reach into smaller holes. fusing the main theme elements with her own theme marks this step as the inciting incident that sets her on the path to escape from this world. we'll continue.

continuing the same part, we hear some secondary fifths. i'm not entirely sure if this is what you call it, but it is a nod to the parallel key, D major. depending on what theory class you take, this could also be considered the other half of the key. i dont know how else to describe it, but i digress. these are glimpses to different dialogue options she could take, glimpses to a different key or a different ending. because this game only has one chapter ending so far, we are unsure of what other paths granger will end up in; we only know that there are certainly other endings she will experience, only to begin the cycle again when the save state is loaded for players to reach another ending. both A major and G major are chords that signify different choices that may lead her elsewhere only for her to return back to the tonic or main note, D. despite this, she keeps going, as will we.

at the midpoint of the track, we see a quick shift in patterns. instead of upward leaps in the notes, the melody falls in stepwise motion. true to the plot, this is another turning point of the game when she is forced to make a choice: continue or stop. after facing the spoiler event, her once determined personality is challenged as she struggles to keep herself and her team together. despite being the headstrong protagonist who spearheaded solutions, even now she finds herself doubting and taking smaller steps, smaller risks.

even after all of this, she rises to the challenge as the melody returns to its beginning sequence. true to a protagonist she gets up again despite the events that transpired and keeps her team moving in their lowest points. the thirds return as she finds more objects to solve more puzzles to open more rooms to save more friends. this repeating part of the track only solidifies her resolve as the piece ends with a broken chord in the main key, her key, of D minor. despite everything that transpired, she stayed true to herself."

the game is also so, so charming with the art, music, and story made by the same person… its so clearly loved and full of passion!! i love listening to the game's ost on occassion!! since it's all on youtube!

ok one last thing thing!! on may 8th, the game hit 100 downloads (on both steam and itch.io). you can see the creator of the game celebrate that with this lovely drawing of granger: https://twitter.com/NeverHome_Game/status/1655761270694633472

so at most, only a bit over 100 people have played the game… id like to say that makes it obscure!!

anyways granger and neverhome!! we love to see our protagonists put in horrific situations and isn't she super cute with a lil bow on her head? she is my daughter…

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[quaranmine]

i'm trying to read more again! i have started using libby for audiobooks but i also have too many physical books i keep buying and not reading around my apartment. help me pick which i should start next now that i have finished fire season by philip connors. notes:

1. is related to my interests in environmental science/public health, could even help me in my job even though i don't deal with lead in water

2. i like historical geology and there's something very chilling about piecing together mass extinction events in earth's past.

3. just a fun time probably. might be a book to read more in sections than all at once, though

4. i want to like this book and it seems so interesting. so much potential. i just want to wring the pov character's neck. i hope he dies. but i haven't gotten far enough into it--maybe the author WANTS me to hate him idk

5. this book is good. why didn't I finish it? I'm like halfway through. everything douglas adams touches is entertainment gold and it's relevant to my interests in environmentalism

6. i've had this book since probably pre pandemic and it seems like a nice read i just have brain worms and have never started it

[random-bi-writer]

sorry if ths is weird but can you do your danganronpa fic but with the wheel trend?

Danganronpa: Disney's Heroes High but the Wheel decides their fate? Well, can't say I'm not interested but I'm going to do this by normal Danganronpa rules and not include what happens in my fic or the self-murder stuff.

I'm going to leave my reactions in this. (They'll make sense if you read the fic.)

Protagonist: Molly

The fact that this landed on Molly is hilarious.

But in all seriousness, I think Molly has enough skill and brain to lead a class trial.

Support: Mabel

Hmm...Okay, look. Molly can be smart when needed and Mabel is actually helpful and sometimes even smarter than Dipper but-

This two are way too chaotic to be left alone.

Antagonist: Willow

For a moment, I thought this was going to land on Libby-

Willow being an antagonist is kind of weird, the only reason I think this would work is how stressed she was during season 3.

Chapter 1 Victim: Luz

...Wow Luz is forever stuck in Chapter 1, huh?

Chapter 1 Blackened: Huey

The first motive must have been insane if Huey is the blackened.

Chapter 2 Victim: Hunter

...If this wheel is going where I think it's going, then Antag Willow is starting to make more sense.

I'm not actually sure how anyone would kill Hunter, he's the most alert out of everyone.

Chapter 2 Blackened: Marcy

NO! I do not want to imagine Marcy's execution!

Chapter 3 Victim number 1: Mabel

Shit. Well, Support Mabel was nice while it lasted.

It's also kind of weird because Mabel was originally going to leave the group after Chapter 3.

Chapter 3 Victim number 2: Dewey

Wow- you just decided to kill two of the most charasmatic of the class? Shame on the wheel.

Also weird, considering that Dewey was supposed to die in Chapter 3.

Chapter 3 Blackened: Sasha

I honestly expected her to survive longer.

I have no idea how this murder would play out.

New Support: Webby

Okay...Webby is smarter than Mabel.

But I think she's more chaotic than Mabel, and no one is ready for a Molly and Webby team up.

Chapter 4 Victim: Libby

Okay. Using the bestie on the angst chapter. I hate it here.

Not gonna lie, I was kinda expecting Libby to fall on the mastermind tag.

Chapter 4 Blackened: Anne

None of the Calamity Trio survived? That's so sad.

Along with the fact that they all got executed.

Chapter 5 Victim: Webby

Seriously? Another dead support?

Well...the murder had to be intentional on both sides, if this is Webby we're talking about. Maybe the murder was like Kokichi's levels of plan?

Chapter 5 Blackened: Louie

...Yeah, definetely Kokichi kind of plan. The murder was probably going to be involve with tricking the mastermind.

New Support: Dipper

Okay, Dipper makes more sense as a support than the other two.

Especially with the way the story goes with protag Molly. Losing three best friends in a row would be rough on her and Dipper would understand what she's going through and try to comfort her.

Alright...the moment we've all been waiting for...

Who is The MASTERMIND?

It's....Dipper.

...Are you serious?! After my speech on you being the new support!?

Okay...only way for Mastermind Dipper to make sense if it's Bipper.

And the survivors are; Molly, Willow, Amity, and Gus.

And the summary of their dynamic is a girl who killed the God of Death being friends with three kids traumatized by genocide and ended up getting more traumatized with the killing game.

[cupidenigma]

More Libby, but as an edgy protag from that one series that I still play because is funny to me.

Not the best I could make, but fuck it, I made two drawings before 2pm, I take this as a moral victory over my laziness.

[clementine-kesh]

was browsing libby for some schlocky romance to read while stuck in travel hell and really appreciate that this one immediately establishes the protag as a gay farmboy who reads uklg. he’d do numbers on here

[obbiwonk]

i was tagged by @npdclaraoswald !

rules: tag 9 people you wanna know better

(i hope i have 9 mutuals lol)

last song: i cut off "kitchen light" by xana bc i finished my shower and didn't want to make too much noise; last full listen was "lavender bones" by stand atlantic !

currently watching: it's probably been weeks since i last watched tv actively, i cannot binge watch to save my life i keep leaving the room with the tv but my bf has been rewatching Malcolm in the Middle and i've been in the room a lot for that. we also started Bones a while back and i really like that show. i swear the title character her assistant are some dort of autistic and it makes me happy

currently reading: "Ask The Dust" by JRS, a friend from my dad's writer's grouo, this book isn't publicly available yet im beta-reading it for him. but i did just get the libby app so im also working on The Left Hand of Justice by Ursula K. Le Guin. My first big sci fi book, im more of a fantasy guy but i should be smart enough to get it !

current obsession: i've been working on a portal 2 mass choir project with a new mutual who started it needing a composer: im working on a trans rights piece which is voice and string quartet and im trying some experimental composition techniques and improv. i swear this is draft 3 of it bc i never feel like i can change the world with my music but i have to try, even if it just changes my personal world or one mind; it's summer so i have a women and sexuality class and im reading some pdfs in that one but i enjoy learning the names of all the feminist concepts; i also have time to write my book again, it started off as immortal people misbehaving but then i decided an entity was making them all immortal (copying the idea of The Hand from Marvel Defenders i think was the series?) and the lady in charge of that entity wants to use her immortalizing tech and mind control to make an unstoppable army so now the protags are misbehaving to save the world lol. (i'll let mutuals read it if you can take notes on each chapter and not expect immediate edits, i write down the critiques from writer's group and keep writing without editing bc this is the baby first draft and if i stop to edit i'll never finish it); excited to start calc 3 in june too! I have my whiteboard all clean; music and Scene Queen's work in general are also obsessions and im going to try to learn to scream like her, although from her insta stories, she's not screaming healthily so if i figure out a healthy scream im tempted to send her to those tips bc i want her to keep her voice!

tagging: @savetheearthbros @bitegore @toothsheeran @lovingtogetic @orikeepitasecret (idk if we're mutuals but you pop up a lot in my notifs) @oleandy (same hat here idk if we're mutuals but you reblog a lot of my posts so you're cool) @h8woti8 and anyone that wants to join in bc i can't think of 9 mutuals

[elektranxtchiios]

libby and toby being dual protags is so slick and smart bc libby serves as a pov for rachel and always manages to keep her in a sympathetic light libby as rachels foil while her relationship is tobys pre-split oh and libby when shes like yeah i have everything and i should b happy but im not

[princesscolumbia]

Folks, fellow gentles, peers, brethren, (non-gender-specific)bros...

The answer to almost all of these is "The Jane Jameson/Half-moon Hollow series." Seriously, by Molly Harper, go look 'em up. It starts with, "Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs." It's a play off the cultural trope of "Nice girls don't [insert patriarchally enforced hypocrisy here]" and nearly every book violates some sacred cow of the vampire mythos or urban fantasy. It even takes potshots at werewolves and shifter romance. It has some of the most hilarious lines you'll ever read in text and the audiobooks are some of the best narrative performances I've ever heard. I have them in Kindle and Audible and they got me hooked on the author AND the narrator. If you're the kind of person that thinks audiobooks "aren't really books," Amanda Ronconi will change your mind.

Additional bonus; the books are a FABULOUS queer experience analog. The author isn't even subtle:

Mama’s first question was “Have you tried not being a vampire?” To which I responded, “Yes, for the first twenty-six years of my life.”

Being trans and a mother, I absolutely love one of the later books in the series, "The Single Undead Mom's Club," where the book's protag, Libby, has to make the choice to "transition" for the sake of living long enough to see her child grow up without being subject to the hyper-conservative, near-cult-like child-rearing methods that her in-laws would use. (I'm not saying I was suicidal, but...)

The "physical transformation" things don't apply in this particular urban fantasy universe (so no bat transformation, no turning to mist) and the "can't see themselves in mirrors" is an old wives tale for the setting, but you get the added bonus of "the Great Coming Out" where vampires are proven real to the world by an accountant and a friggin' lawsuit.

Vampire that’s dirt poor, doesn’t have a sprawling manor or vast riches accumulated by interest. Can’t afford those black leather boots they really want. Travels as a bat to save money not cuz they like it.

[graveyardbard]

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately so heres my reviews on the books I’ve been into;

Fangirl

I finished the first graphic novel for Fangirl. I have never related so much to a female protag. I feel for Cath, I really want to finish it! Maybe I’ll grab the novel from the library. I did say on twitter that I would like to purchase the books for my bookshelf but now I’m even more sold on it since it’ll cost me roughly $40 US. I think it’s kind of added a fire to my drive for writing again. I hope to get back to haunted and maybe post some original stories as well.

Blood Like Magic

I... Yall... I’m trying so hard with this one. I’m not even a full 3 chapters in and I feel like I’ve been socked in the jaw repeatedly. Now if yall don’t know this is a book about a black witch and her family, and their search for a missing friend and blah blah blah. SO up to the point that I’ve read has been. “I’m black, I’m very black, blackity black black.” Like every few sentences are about HOW black the mc is rather than it being a passive factoid. It feels somewhat devoid of concept right now because its focusing so heavy on the blackness. This is coming from a black person btw i’m not just pulling this out of my ass. I truly hope it gets better because I only have a few more days to read it.

I’m gonna throw the Libby app on my laptop and read it from there.

Next up to read;

My Brothers Husband

The Poet and The Flea

Carry On (I need to finish this one lol)

Tastes Like Candy (on order from the library its not in yet but its a horror/slasher novel)

[quaranmine]

Book Reviews with Quara

Since I keep talking about audiobooks, now I want to do a sort of mini book review of the books I've read since starting to "seriously" pick up reading again last year. Also I just like typing about things. I'm skipping Fire Season by Philip Connors and Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams because I've spoken about them already. Keep in mind I am not super-super critical of reading material; generally if I enjoyed it I'm giving 5 stars. If I disliked it though I get a lot more critical because then I want to start analyzing what didn't work for me. Now go forth and learn about what my reading taste is when I'm not reading/writing angsty mcyt fanfic!

Books I loved, aka 5 stars:

Cold Storage by David Koepp

This was the first book I checked out from Libby and it was a banger. I am still trying to replicate that high tbh. When I gave my mom access to my library card in Libby (her rural library has nothing and my city library has everything) I made her check it out too. The narration on the audiobook is fantastic. My mom raved about the narration and basically says she doesn't want to check anything out that wasn't as good--regularly her reviews to me are "good narrator, not as good as that Cold Storage book" lmao. You may know David Koepp as the guy who wrote the Jurassic Park screenplay. This is his first novel.

It's about a mutated fungus that is a sci-fi version of the very real Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which is more commonly known as the zombie-ant fungus. In this book, a version of Cordyceps can infect all lifeforms, including humans, and has been locked away deep in a former US military vault that has since been sold and converted into an underground storage facility. The plot follows two unlikely protags who work in the storage facility, as well as the two retired military people who are the only ones to have seen the fungi in action, as they try to prevent it from being released into the world. It's funny, horrifying, and gory.

They are making a movie of this book. The release date is tentatively 2024, but I worry about it because I have heard so little news on it. They did do filming though. I have high hopes because they cast Joe Keery as a main character, which I think is perfect casting for the guy in question. I have low hopes because they cast Liam Neeson, a white man, as a character who was originally Hispanic and (as I just noticed while writing this) changed the character's name to be more white. Ugh. Who is Robert Quinn and what did you do with Roberto Diaz???????

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

What if you got kidnapped and woke up in a parallel world where everybody knew who you were, but they think you're someone else? What if you're just a quantum physics professor, but this other version of you is a successful theoretical researcher? What if your wife never married you in this universe, and your son was never born? How do you get back home? This book is constantly pulling out interesting new questions, twists, and places to explore. Also I liked that while it does feature romance pretty prominently, it's about a guy who just really loves his wife of 15 years and wants to see her again. I just like it when men love their wives.

Also, a fair amount of Goodreads reviews poke fun at this author for having way too much fun hitting the enter key on his keyboard, but since I listened to the audiobook I never had to deal with any annoying formatting choices lol

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

I feel like we all know about this one already, tbh. If you don't, heavy tw for child abuse and eating disorders. Tread carefully. It's worth it though if you are confident you won't get triggered. If you haven't read it I recommend the audiobook specifically because Jennette narrates it herself and that gives the book so much extra. It was a 6 hour audiobook and I was gripped by it all day.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

BACKWARDS TIMELOOP BABEYY!!! This one was great. It's about a Mom who witnesses her teenage son kill a man. Every day she wakes up in the past again until she can solve why this happened, the mystery leading up to it that entangles her family, and try to prevent it. First she ways up the day before, then two days, then three, then a two weeks, then a few months, then a few years--until her son hasn't even been born yet. I enjoyed it. Also a plus for British accent narrator (can you tell I'm American....)

A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong

This one was fun. I checked it out because it was longish and I had to drive like 8 hrs roundtrip for a work trip, so I listened to this the entire way. It's about a (Canadian) woman named Mallory who was a police detective in the modern day, who gets attacked while out for a jog in Edinburgh, Scotland. The attacker strangles her and she goes unconscious. When she wakes up, however, she finds herself in someone else's body--in the Victorian era. She's now a 19 year old housemaid, and has to adapt as quickly as possible to avoid suspicion. She quickly finds out that she works for a man named Dr. Duncan Gray, who is a medical examiner. And there's a person who's been murdered in a very similar way to how Mallory herself was attacked. And she's quickly finding out that the person who's body she's in was not well-liked.

My favorite part about this one is the emphasis it has on early forensics in Victorian Scotland. Dr. Gray is a fantastic character and it is so interesting to see him doing his lil cutting-edge forensics research (which Mallory, being educated in modern times, wants desperately to help him with.) Also the narrator, while being Canadian, does Scottish accents for all the Scottish characters. I'm not the best person to ask as someone who isn't Scottish but I thought the accents sounded pretty good lol

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

My mom recommended this one to me. It's also a lot of fun. The title is, mostly, accurate. Ernest Cunningham (protag) is a writer, who mostly creates how-to books for mystery novelists he sells on Amazon. No, he doesn't write mysteries, he just writes the how-to books. But he's very well-versed in the "rules" of how to write a classic mystery! He promises that, as the narrator of this story, he will always be an entirely reliable narrator. The book itself is obviously fiction but within the narrative of the book, it is being told like a nonfiction account of something that the main character is writing down. This book is sort of a bottle mystery--strange murders while everyone is snowed in at a ski resort during a family reunion, anyone? The main character is funny and breaks the fourth wall often. I am convinced that there is a separate audiobook specific version since the narration within the book references it being an audiobook. The main character will be like "so, you probably realize this isn't the real killer, since we still have 4 hours of the book left to listen to" lol. I almost want to check out a print copy of this to see if the text is different.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

First one on the list that I didn't listen to as an audiobook. Honestly, I probably read this book in 4 hours flat. Three of those hours just dead-focused while on a plane (with the book's hold expiring as soon as I landed and took my phone off airplane mode.)

I don't really know how to explain this one. I don't think I understood what it was about until I actually got like 4 chapters in and then I couldn't stop. It's just off-the wall ridiculous. There are talking cats. There are dolphins that want to unionize. There is a volcano lair. There are explosions and assasination attempts. There is a reasonably bleakly accurate capitalist picture of what "villainy" means in our world. There is a poor main character in over his head as he learns he's inherited all this from an uncle he never saw. This book is like...satire comedy. Comedy and outlandish but you're also depressed about billionaires a little while reading it.

Books I thought were Okay (3-4 stars but actually I gave both these 4 stars I think)

The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong

The second book to the book I mentioned above. Honestly, I remember very well what the first book was about (i typed the summary by memory) but I have trouble remembering specifics about this one. It's a bit too long as well, at 14 hours. I don't have anything bad to say about it, I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first one.

But honestly I do remember it was still a good time. I just really like Dr Gray as a character and the setting, early forensic science focus, etc. These books are also setting up to be an EXTREME slow burn romance between Gray and Mallory, which I don't mind. (Literally by book 2 the most we have is that she thinks he's attractive, so at this rate it will take us 3 more books to get anywhere lol.) I will be checking out the 3rd book when it is released this spring.

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moines

Also a book that suffered from being too long. It's a 12 hour audiobook but I think that it could have been 8 or 9 hours and gotten the same point across. My mom recommended this to me. It's narrated by Daisy Ridley, who does a good job. I enjoyed it, but I also started to feel like I really wanted it to be done?

Also unsure how to describe this one. Slightly-contrived-but-cute plot about how a bag switch up in a gym connects two women's stories. One is a, frankly quite annoying, American woman who married rich but has now been completely cut off from her money (and even passport) by her ex-husband who's cheating on her with a younger woman. One is a British woman with low self-esteem and a bad job who is struggling to keep her family afloat while her husband suffers from severe depression. I think my favorite was a side character named Jasmine who brought light to every scene imo.

Books I disliked (2 stars but after writing this review I almost want to make it 1 star)

Aurora by David Koepp

David I really believed in you after Cold Storage. But imo, this book isn't it. It throws away every interesting part of its apocalypse-level plot to focus on the characters. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a good character-focused plot, except I never connected with anyone in the book. I just kind of didn't enjoy any of them. This is a story that is supposed to be about a solar flare taking out all electricity and communications for most of the world. And it only covers like a few days after the disaster AND THEN TIME SKIPS LIKE 8 MONTHS UNTIL EVERYTHING IS HAPPILY SOLVED NEIGHBORHOOD UTOPIA STYLE. I'm sorry????? Assuming I can believe that this little suburban Illinois cul-de-sac has managed to set up subsistence farming in a few months and is living perfectly happily, why would you....not show me how that happened.....

Also the "everything fits together" character moment at the end felt unearned. I was like yeah, okay, I guess this slots together. But the author didn't earn that moment for me. Instead of connecting with the characters and the plot and getting invested I felt like I was just being....told that everything worked out?? Or told that this was an important moment instead of actually Feeling the moment? It's hard to explain but I was like ok great thanks let's all go home now.

Sigh. I just can't get over the whole "throwing away the most interesting part of your setting" part. Again. Why would you spend a significant time setting up the science and how much of a disaster the solar flare is and then not show any of the characters figuring out how to survive it long-term....?

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

This book has such a high rating. It's very popular right now. It took me like 12 weeks of waiting for my hold to come up, and that's with the library having 7 copies.

It is, supposedly, about a smart octopus named Marcellus who helps an elderly lady solve the mystery of her son's disappearance at sea when he was a teenager.

In practice, it is about one minute at a time of Marcellus (the best part of the book) and extended sections of characters that I don't care about at all. I assume all the pieces of the story were supposed to come together later, but I was just highly bored. I was so bored that I DNF'd at 25% when my hold was up. I do not care enough to wait weeks to check it out again. Based on the one star reviews I read, the characters I didn't like did not develop into better people later and remained similarly annoying. Now, I don't need characters to be good people of course. But I do expect to be interested in them. I still don't know how the son's disappearance factors in because I felt like I heard barely anything about the supposed main character woman.

I feel vindicated because my coworker also checked out the book and told me a few weeks ago that she was at 50% and there still wasn't anything happening in the plot. I will ask her tomorrow if she finished it or not and if it ever got better.

Write an entire book for Marcellus the octopus and I'll check it out...

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

This book had so much potential. It's about a group of four women who were formerly assasins but are now retiring at 60. To celebrate retirement, they go on a cruise and then realize that they're the new targets for assasination, presumably because they know too much about the organization that used to employ them.

In execution....very meh. I actually had a Libby glitch on this one, where I think I missed about 1.5 hrs of narration total because the book skipped twice. I have no concept of which parts I missed. What I do know is that, the book was already so cobbled together before the first skip that I didn't realize I had missed anything until the end. Like sure, parts didn't make sense, but I was ready to accept that it was just Like That since the rest of the book was like that. After reading a bunch of reviews of this book I am convinced that there is NO way that all of its flaws can be explained by me missing a small part. After all, I did listen to 8.5 hours of it still.

The characters never felt their age to me. I felt like they either acted like they were 80 or 90, or like they were 20. It just seemed odd to me. The characters also felt very 2D, like the author wrote down three traits per person and called it good. There's a younger woman who appears to know the main character and conveniently helps the group, but I literally never figured out where their relationship originated or how they knew each other. Maybe I missed that too. By the end of the book I still didn't know who anyone was and couldn't remember which person was the main character. The plot jumped around to new locations constantly and often with little transition--this happened even on the parts where I definitely didn't get a skipping glitch. The main villain was a guy I literally had barely heard anything of til that point, although perhaps he came up in the 1.5 hrs I missed. They described the same painting in excruciating detail THREE separate times. It was...too feminist? Feminist in a contrived way where I have to be reminded every 5 minutes the characters are women? Like, I know, I am reading a story about women. Please don't mention it several times a chapter. There are ethical and moral considerations about their profession and chosen organization that never really get given the weight required. There was a love interest for the main character that I hadn't heard of once until he was introduced like an hour from the end--maybe I missed more about him in the parts I skipped? Unknown.

ANNND THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!

[jenroses]

The first book in this series, The Curse of Chalion, is possibly one of the best books I've ever read, and IMO should absolutely be read first. But Paladin of Souls is also absolutely amazing. I believe they're also available on audiobook via either Libby/Overdrive or Hoopla, which means public library may be a good way to get the audiobook versions. I've read this book, and heard this book read aloud, AND done the audiobook for it. It is so fucking good.

Bujold has this knack for nuanced, complicated people who are not cookie cutter hero types. The Curse of Chalion is told from the POV of a middle aged man who has been broken by life, finding his way through darkness to find renewed purpose in life. Paladin of Souls is told from the POV of a woman who has been essentially dismissed and discarded, who walks away from cushy safety and into finding her own agency.

In the science fiction realm, the two main protagonists (not the only protags but the primary ones for the majority of books) in her Vorkosigan saga are a fully adult woman and later her son, who is severely physically disabled, and nevertheless a badass in many ways. There are abundant complex gender issues explored in these books, sometimes tangentially, sometimes as a core issue--note publication date if the "take" seems odd, she was writing about nonbinary people and trans people before there was significant mainstream understanding. Anyway, I don't think Bujold ever wrote a bad book, but she takes up easily 5 or more of my top 20 favorite books of all time.

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

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[monochromatic-ahhhh]

Arrow has amazing timing on updating two different fics today...

ARROW GIVE US A MINUTE ITS ONLY BEEN 24 HOURS SINCE KING'S TIDE

anw I'm glad the watch fic update was a lighthearted one (that call out dhhd)

THE FIRST (technically 2nd) CHAP THO OF THE DANGANRONPA FIC JKSABHSJ IT WAS LIBBY OMG IM SO EXCITED IT TOTALLY SUITS HER TOO

(THIS RESPONSE HAS BEEN IN THE DRAFTS FOR HOURS BC I KEEP GETTING INTERRUPTED WHILE TRYING TO FREAKING READ)

[obstinaterixatrix]

also... reading it from the libby app... guys there’s a whole new world out there, the libraries treasures are mine to plunder then respectfully return because it automatically gets sent back at the due date

[homoqueerjewhobbit]

Impulse bought a paranormal romance on audible (turns out Libby doesn't carry a lot of audiobooks about horny gay witches, sorry) and I'm probably going to have to return it bc one of the protags is a soldier who complains that he has to fill out too much paperwork after he gets to kill people for the government. He enjoys the murder, just not the paperwork.

I'm OK with fictional murder, obviously (check my Hannibal tag) just not in the service of the US Government. If he was an assassin with the same complaint, I'd be all over it.

I'm giving it 10 more minutes.

[ginger-snap-talkin-nonsense]

Being the latest bloomer of your friends and feeling left behind is something I remember feeling as a kid and this is one of the best representations of that I’ve seen in media. Says the things I would’ve liked to hear back then.

It actually talks about period shit even though the bit is Molly DIDN’T start her period.

Andrea gets her first real chance to show off being a protag and her ability to slide into that role without losing any of what makes her Andrea was refreshing and great, she honestly works better as a kid with good intentions but a tendency to accidentally come across backhanded than as a straight antagonist, and we didn’t just blank slate her.

Libby is adorable the entire episode.

One of the best songs in the show, easily.

The episode is abs hysterical from the B plot being a nonstop riot, to Darren’s runner being funny, to the rapid fire blink and you’ll miss it gags in the A plot this episode is jam packed while still delivering a heartfelt message to its target audience about how your friends love you for a reason and that we all grow at our own pace.

What would you say your favourite episode of tgamm is so far?

I think the period episode

[random-bi-writer]

Can you give us hints about who the supporter and antagonist on your danganronpa fic?

:)

The same reason as why I chose Libby as the protag; just following the trends.

The supporter is the most helpful person in the trials, making them quite noticable, yet they are also the most quite in the trials as well. They also tend to know more than they let on.

The antagonist, as everyone knows the people who makes the trials more confusing. But I know for a fact that they didn't notice this trend; The only reason why they keep confusing us is because they want someone or something to win the killing game, they also have a lack of understanding in everyone's feelings.

I've seen everyone guess on who the support and antag are.

The question is, is it the right person? :)