#YAS&MAU

[occasionally-victor]

idk some designs an au (good ole Sun&Moon type of story) that i maybe will be developing more, but i might just never talk about it ever again

couple of notes:

1. Grian and Pearl have wings because they are Sages of Sun and Moon respectively (note one thing: its not "becoming a Sage -> getting wings", its "being born with wings -> you can become a Sage if you want and theres a place". Something something, wings - closer to sky - closer to god, tho they cant fly, maximum glide) (Also, in a main story of an au whatever that means, Pearl does not become the Sage until the end so yeah) (maybe i will elaborate on who the fuck are Sages anyway)

2. Also, it the moment of the start of main story, the relationship between Moon region and Sun region (i forgot to give them names apparently oh well) are... not good, and not good for a long time. Maybe, i dunno, some conflict happened between those two a long ass time ago, and now theres disconnect (this is important because its not hatred (at least, for a lot of people). disconnect is more accurate in here) between. Might expand on the whole thing later.

3. also i did a little line up so i could give them some shoes lmao (literally the only reason)

[kheyys-worms]

Delulu time <3 (and happy birthday to me).

[bloodfiendarling]

i got it out of my mind .. i can finally sleep .... hue

[maus-trapz]

*hits your eldritch god with my Maid Dress Beam (The Maidinator 9000)*

((OOC: gonna just uhhhh add the meta tags dw bout it))

[florenzics]

god i haven't drawn in a bit, but i hope im getting my mojo back because i draw this fast as fuck and now im feeling better about myself :) .... even though it's a meme redraw-

[dullahandyke]

Maybe borrowing library books will be what gets me reading actual shit again. Well regardless I've got 3 of em

[indihome-suck]

[ID: A black sleeved hand holding two comic books; Dawn of DC Primer issue 1 special edition and Galaxy The Prettiest Star free special edition. /End ID]

anak baik dapet freebie <3

[chiisana-lion]

if nobody got me ik @just-a-random-hooman got me can i get an amen

[surreal-duck]

messing around a bit

[mau-creates]

Currently reading my second LGBT fantasy/sci-fi book of the year. I'm really enjoying it so far, though I'm only a few chapters in. I don't really read much YA anymore, but I don't regret picking this one up (it's on KU, for those subscribed!). It really feels like reading an action adventure manga, but as a book. The playing card thematics are fun, and the setup, like in a lot of good manga, is quite intriguing. Leaving a quote and a summary of the book below!

"Then there were those who walked the line somewhere in between—people like Iori, who weren’t quite sure where they belonged. But in a society obsessed with black and white, gray didn’t fly. Gray was unpredictable."

A girl full of heart  A thief touched by darkness  A boy with a fiery temper  An unwitting servant of evil

The era of magic was once thought to be a myth, but after the Reemergence ushered forces both dark and light into the mundane world, it has since become a harsh reality. Now those affected by this strange power—a specialized group of Empowered called Jokers, known collectively as Cardplay—must protect their world from the darkness that threatens to consume it, all the while fighting for equality in a society clinging to normalcy.

But the Reemergence was only the beginning.

When another influx occurs on the seventh anniversary of that fateful event, an unfortunate encounter at ground zero lands Iori Ryone, a teenage boy in possession of a corrupt and legendary magic, in the care of recent Joker graduate Ellen Amelia Jane. From him, she learns the Reemergence may not have been the inevitable natural disaster it first seemed.

Someone is trying to tear down the barrier that separates the magical realms from the mundane. The question is, can Cardplay stop them before it’s too late?

[occasionally-victor]

gem & impulse, I dunno, looking up a map i guess + gem explaining something to a crowd + some bodymarks (they are kinda like birthmarks and dont hold much meaning, i just thought it would be funky)

before i do anything actually related to the main plot i decided to do some exposition stuff

So, as i was saying in previous post, the relationship between Heliocross and Lunaris (i actually gave them names) regions are what i would describe as disconnected (even tho they are literally neighbours). It was a result of practically unresolved conflict from like 500 years ago which barely ended up in an official war (you could say that Sages basically dragged their Heads of Region to sign up a peace treaty). Im not going to say much about who was the baddie, it was pretty much the type of conflict that could have been avoided if the Heads weren't such stuck-up dismissive bitc- anyways. For some time after it was still really bad - people of both regions generally wanted to do nothing with the people of the other. It did mostly cool off with time, but unfortunately, the lands created by Gods were seemingly irreparably divided. For example, the biannual celebration of Equinoxes was no longer held (imagine New Year, but actually twice a year, and its like, the collaborative effort of both Heliocross and Lunaris. The March one (im not thinking of original names for fucking months) is more grand tho because its the The New Year, yknow?); some economics shit because most of the trading now happens through the third party (we will talk about the other region that is also there later tho); just overall unawares of what's happening on the other side of border. The only thing that stayed pretty much the same is whatever Sages are doing; and one if the things they are doing is ritual every solar eclipse (because yadda yadda moon close to sun) (i will expand on Sages later tho).

Talking about Heliocross specifically, one of the big problems here is hundreds of years of Not Admitting You Have Also Fucked Up about the whole thing. It's, once again, not outright hatred for Lunaris, but but ever since forever history books in Heliocross would mention mostly fucking ups from the other region. As of recent tho, it mostly now affecting the older generation, because those who younger are having access to less biased information due to the worlds equivalent of Internet (basically, how its it kinda irl now lmao). This also one of the factors of creation of special organisation [i will. create a name for it later. its not really important now anyways]. One of the main objectives it has is the rebuilding the relationship between Heliocross and Lunaris. That org is divided in two separate wings, one is more legal work focused (Usually related to traveling between regions for on or another reason. Its not illegal, but its really hard), the other is more social work leaning. Im not going too deep into that, neither into structure of it. I haven't thought of the name of it yet, but i made a logo:

Gem is a Managing director, concurrently is pretty much in charge of her department (her's is one of the ones that in the capital of the region). She also travels to Lunaria a lot (its pretty much part of the job). Impulse got spontaneously hired as "helper of Manager" (its supposed to be this vague). Those two are pretty much coworkers turned besties, since Gem insisted on dragging Impulse on various trips and visits.

[vrgssmncht]

oh oh a rant post.. ohhh

mulai gila aing mah, aduh mutuals ku tercinta kadang aku kasian kalian harus melihat rantku yang panjang.. pasti kalian pusing walau hanya melintas. jadi sekarang aing pake bahasa indonesia aja hahahahahaaa... jadi.. gua rant di tags aja ah hahahaaaa..

[prettyboyminky]

i want an edm tattoo so bad y'all send me pics in ask

[urlocalbedhead]

Aduh

[caramello-styles]

stay in your own lane ‘cos I’m about to swerve.

[queerauntie]

December Reads

As the end of the year comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on my latest hyperfocus- books! It's been a lot of fun the past few months diving in deep and enjoying a wide variety of stories, and December was no exception. This year rounds us out with a total of FOUR books! And the titles are, in order of when I read them:

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

I Think I Love You by Auriana Desombre

Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Every Body Shines Edited by Cassandra Newbould

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

ain't i a woman by bell hooks

Let's start with the Shades of Magic series. This series was absolutely phenomenal. I couldn't put it down, that is to say, my friend and I sat in silence for 12+ hours (for each book) so I could get through them. From the characters to the plot twists, this book is God Tier and definitely is going in the "Read Again" file of books to enjoy when I feel like revisiting that magnificent world. After reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue I was sure I would enjoy the series and was more prepared for the world-building I knew would require my attention. It did not let me down!

Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby was a really enjoyable read, it made me learn some things about myself, connecting those childhood dots to their adult patterns. My friend always asked me if Gadsby's special, Douglas, made me feel as autistic as they did when I watched it, and while I didn't quite get what they meant, in this memoir, I completely understood what they were asking. Hannah goes into even more depth about how their diagnosis came around (and all the signs that should've been picked up on) and it hit very close to home. It was frustrating and hilarious and heartbreaking. It gave me even more respect for my queer elders and the road they've paved for us. For any fan of comedy, autism, and lesbians, I highly recommend this book.

Now, I Think I Love You was a completely different tone shift from the previous books this month, I picked it for two reasons. I saw it here on tumblr looking for lesbian love stories. and secondly, because of all the books I saw, this was the only one that was available instantly in the Libby App. All that to say it wasn't one I was extremely invested in and therefore I didn't pay extreme attention to it. Similarly to sitcoms, I tend to zone out on additional characters and scenes and then tune back in when it's the main character talking, the plot is pushed forward, and conflict is being created and resolved. I did enjoy this story, while some teen fics hit me hard, this one did feel like it was for the younger (middle school) grades. But while no tears were shed, I did enjoy this sweet story!

Witchful Thinking was a book I put on hold around October (Halloween theme). It was another book I saw at Target, so now we're getting a feel for the Target Tier as I am now calling it! I would say it's a 3.75 on my personal scale. I really really like the books, but I just can't say that I loved them. This book was right in there, and I honestly don't even believe it's the book's fault. I am quickly discovering that books that don't include or center queer characters are really boring. The trials and communication problems that cishet characters go through are a little tired out for me. I love a will they won't they, but when it's high school sweethearts and he's too cool to commit, and she's scared to get what she wants... It's like nah that's not my vibes thank you though! Now what I was NOT expecting was for the breeders to get hot and HEAVY! Suddenly nipples were getting hard and thrusts were being matched, I was wholly unprepared and thankful I was in private 😂. All in all, it was a fun ride and I'm certainly glad the girl got her happy ending. Good for him too I guess but who cares about a MAN?! I swear we're going for all non-male protagonists for next year lol I can't stand myself!

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was a book that caught me off guard a bit. I don't read the book trailers or try to learn anything about a book before getting into it, I like the surprise you know? I thought this book would be very relatable, and it was, but it wasn't from my perspective, family dynamically speaking. While I am the oldest, the third parent, and the one whom all the expectations were put upon, my character was dead. So, this book felt a lot like reading from my younger sister's perspective. When my parent's gaze falls off me, who would they have next to target? It worked through a lot of cultural family dynamics that were very relatable. Julia goes through the hardest thing imaginable and doesn't come through unscathed.

Every Body Shines was a random book that I picked up because I saw a teacher that I follow on twitter was hosting the book club for this book, and I had a day to read it so, challenge accepted! What I didn't know is that it was a series of short stories, not a non-fiction about body acceptance. Now, I have tried reading collections like this but the short stories just always fall a little flat for me, that being said, there were a few stories that stuck out to me so it was worth the read after all. What was the most disappointing was I couldn't find out access to the book club so I ended up not getting to read others' thoughts which was what I was really looking forward to!

I came across The Complete Maus at the library and grabbed it without a second thought. I remember when the last school year started and certain (read antisemitic and racist) people were trying to ban this book in schools. I ended up reading over 70% of it in one night and finished it the next morning. It was beautifully told, devastating to witness, and immensely kind. I have continually used that word to describe books, but it's the highest compliment I can give a story. In this age of shock culture, it's a popular trend to create untrustworthy stories and be deceitful as writers. It's been ongoing for years now, and it's scary when you don't know if you can trust that a writer will be mindful of your emotional journey. But Spiegelman does a phenomenal job showing his capturing of the story within the story. It helps the reader to ease in and out of these extremely difficult and dark moments. It was also beautiful to be able to get into the author's head a little more as he tells his story. I think it's insane that it was ever attempted to be banned and instead believe it would be a great alternative to The Boy In The Stripe Pajamas which is taught in middle school! Regardless, it's a very good piece of writing and art.

We're here, the last book of the year! I finished ain't i a woman by bell hooks earlier today and will definitely need to read it again because i was distractedly cleaning while listening. But it was a really good read, discussing how Black Women have been left out of both Black liberation movements and White Women's feminist liberation movements. I don't know what I could say that hasn't been said far more eloquently and it's just the tip of the iceberg for me, so keep an eye out for more thoughts as I get through her writing. But just from this first exposure, I can already tell that hooks is going to be a brilliant teacher in the next upcoming year.

Well, that's it y'all! 32 books in 6 months! I am very impressed with myself, this has been such a fun journey and I am so excited to continue this lovely hobby into the new year. This averages around 5-6 books a month which is so wild and very sprinty of me, so I'm going to be subtly ambitious with my first intentional reading goal: 50 books in 2023! I'm looking forward to sharing them all with you and getting much better at these reviews along the way! If you have any suggestions for me please feel free to drop an ask or send a message!

Happy New Years to everyone celebrating the gregorian calendar and I hope we all have a fantastic adventure ahead of us!

Yearly Book Count: 32/32!!