#anyway I'm normal about fictional characters

[meticulousfragments]

Book Bingo Update! Prompts from @batmanisagatewaydrug

Two more prompts filled, and my first Bingo! (And overall I'm now at 45 books for the year, so even with writing my thesis I'm making more time for fun reading than I did last year).

Now we're getting into the prompts that I'm putting some effort into finding titles for, instead of ones that were on my reading list anyway. (Annoyingly, I am 56% of the way through my 'animal on the cover' prompt--The Buffalo Hunter Hunter--but I got super busy and my library loan was due so now it's on hold again and I'm waiting another month to finish it). Specific reviews under the cut.

The two new books on the list might both be in my top five for the whole year.

The Unmapping, by Denise S. Robbins, for "literary fiction." This book was wonderful. What if one day, early in the morning, every bulding in New York City swapped places with another. How do you manage disaster response, missing persons, the electrical grid? How do you learn to deal with the new normal when this happens again every night? What is happening with those fake Christmas trees and also maybe a cult? Climate anxiety in the form of literary fiction. I really loved how big the cast was, even when some POVs were only a single chapter--it contributed to the sense of The Unmapping being far reaching and overwhelming. I don't always like a story that leaves unanswered questions, but again the choice felt like it fit the themes of the story and actually made it more satisfying rather than less.

Could have also counted for the 'indie publisher' prompt, but I'm planning to do that with a release later this year from the same imprint. Which, sidenote, is a model I'm really curious to keep following and see how the next few years go--Bindery is essentially one indie publisher with multiple subimprints curated and managed by what they're calling "tastemakers;" people in the book review/influencer space. The ones I've followed so far are those whose taste in reviews I've liked, and who put an emphasis on work from underrepresented voices. (And I guess also could've been the debut author fill, but again I have an upcoming release picked out for that).

Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey, for "horror." Also loved this one. I've read other work from Gailey, and really enjoyed it every time (also--did not realize until this book that River of Teeth and The Echo Wife were from the same author). I love a book where the family trauma may or may not be something supernatural, but is definitely Looming and Dark. (Are these halls haunted, or are they Haunted?) The main character comes home to her dying mother in the home built by her serial killer father, and has to reckon with how similar she is to both of them and what that means about who she is. I love reading horror, I think having to fill in some of the imagery for yourself creates really memorable dread, and this book delivers on that. A gory read, but not in the way I expected.

[absolutelybatty]

The rumour comes out: Does Larry Johnson Is Trans?

Happy (early!) TDOV, everyone :)

[avephelis]

every time someone mischaracterises jay ferin as the therapist friend a fairy loses its wings btw. put some respect on her emotionally-constipated ass.

[tyriongirl]

Genesis 4:1-5, translated by S. R. Driver, from The Book of Genesis, 1905

A Clash of Kings, Prologue - Maester Cressen

Emanuel Krescenc Liška – Cain (1885)

Claus Westermann, Genesis : a commentary, 1984

Arthur Segal - Kain und Abel (1918)

A Clash of Kings, Prologue - Maester Cressen

Natalie Diaz, A Brother Named Gethsemane, from When My Brother Was an Aztec

Lovis Corinth - Kain (1917)

Genesis 4:6-9, translated by S. R. Driver, from The Book of Genesis, 1905

A Clash of Kings, Chapter 33 - Catelyn IV

Odilion Redon - Cain and Abel (1886)

A Clash of Kings, Chapter 33 - Catelyn IV

Genesis 4:9-14, translated by S. R. Driver, from The Book of Genesis, 1905

A Clash of Kings, Chapter 31 - Catelyn III

St. Omer, Benedictine Abbey of St. Bertin; c. 1190-1200

A Storm of Swords, Chapter 36 - Davos V

S.R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, 1905

A Clash of Kings, Chapter 42 - Davos II

Lazzaro Pisani - Death of Abel (1885)

S.R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, 1905

A Clash of Kings, Chapter 42 - Davos II

A Clash of Kings, Chapter 42 - Davos II

Cain and Abel - City of Zeven - 2015 (source)

Genesis 4:14-16, translated by S. R. Driver, from The Book of Genesis, 1905

[lakesparkles]

Okay, now a sillier vent because I can't take it out of my mind. First of all, I'm totally aware this doesn't make sense!

I kinda miss Gideon. I want to draw him again. But, at the same time, I feel bad to do so because I feel... I'm not allowed to. Like Gideon "isn't mine anymore"

Like I said, it's totally silly. I wish I could stop thinking like this and treating fictional characters too seriously... but I can't

[0xeyedaisy]

Aw man...

[bigy-bigley]

i'm obsessed with the ORAS character design sheets that were discovered in the Teraleak

SPECIFICALLY this image of the TEENIEST TINIEST SILLIEST little roxanne you have ever seen in your life.

literally just a mipy. a little blorbo. bouncing her around in my head like a tennis ball in a gymnasium

[seriousturd]

Ellis Mayfield is giving you a Thumbs Up!

[shikai-the-storyteller]

There are SO many cool interactions and lore things we can look forward to now that Rubius says he'll come back to QSMP (not only as an angel / demon, but potentially as a human too!), but that little detail reminded me of something:

Even though q!Vegetta and q!Rubius were mutually interested in each other wayyyy back in the beginning of the series, as an Angel / Demon, Rubius said he can't have relationships with humans because it's against the rules.

But a bit ago on stream, Rubius said that he's thinking about having a "human" side so he can build and do more things on the server as a regular player. I'm excited because this means he can have more casual interactions with people and we can see him interacting with his friends more (and he can experience The Horrors), but also...

I think we're in for some very interesting drama in the next few weeks.*

* ( Assuming Rubius doesn't get harassed off the server by toxic shippers and weird fans of the Eggs again. Please be nice to Rubius and welcome him back kindly, he's a very cool guy and his character is SO interesting )

[falderaletcetera]

feeling inordinately soft at the realisation that at the end of the Father Brown cult ep (really not my favourite), when sid and susie say they've heard that mrs mccarthy stole her strawberry scone recipe and mrs m (quite fairly) takes their scones back and has to chase sid off-screen for his, father brown quietly offers his one to susie.

context is that susie is officially hired by them to clean the presbytery and she has a rough time in this ep, and father brown generally takes any and every opportunity to have sweet things (good for him dot png.)

inordinately soft about it

[sorrowveined]

I AM SO INTERESTED IN LIKE, HOW THE AFTERLIFE WORKS AND THE CONCEPTS OF THE DIFFERENT GODS/BELIEF SYSTEMS CO-EXISTING IN CASTLEVANIA BTW.......... like how does it all work? i'm gonna be taking notes while watching the first castlevania series too as well (starting that tomorrow!) but i'm curious about you've all interpreted what's presented in the series so far re: all that??? idk.

[shinozaki-ayumi]

having an issue where the more i discover games/books/movies that completely nail what i like, the pickier i become with stuff that doesn't reach those heights. starting to feel like i have to dig extremely deep to find the "good stuff" and my tolerance for things i find "meh" is practically nonexistent :(

(mostly with books actually. movies i've always been picky about so nothing's changed there, and video games keep hitting home runs for me.)

[zooblesbutchpuppygirl]

I look like this right now trying to convince myself that the dream I had last night wasn't real and that Folly wouldn't leave me

[melancholyheartss]

(I haven't read the books yet be nice to me about how outrageously wrong this half-joke headcanon is.)

If I HAVE to include Edwin Murray in my FNaF AU, then i'm making him Trans.

Don't "oh it was the 80s" me. Lgbtq+ people still existed in the 80s.

Don't "but he had a bio kid with a woman!!" Me either. There's a mimicking robot advanced enough that they had to lock it in its parents basement. Edwin and his wife can have a bio kid.

[navree]

gonna be entirely honest the ten shitmillion 'can't believe they abandoned adding queerness to alicent because she has sex with a man' takes accompanied by all the screaming and crying and throwing up absolutely REEK of biphobia, and that's not a good look for y'all during pride

[adhd-merlin]

I wanted to finish my Bliss & Blunder WIP before going on my trip tomorrow but I don't think I'll manage, so have a snippet (because I need to feel like I neglected work for something)

it's mainly about Wayne's weird ménage à trois since it's Green Knight season (aka creepy bisexual adventures season. yes there are ghosts) <3

‘What exactly is the deal between you and Vern?’ Mo asks Wayne once, leaning conspiratorially over the bar. He’s an inquisitive boy, Arthur’s son. More perceptive than you'd think. ‘I work for him, he pays me a wage,’ Wayne says as he pours Mo’s beer. ‘It’s called having a job. I can see why the concept would confuse you.’ It's a snippier answer than those Wayne would usually give Mo, but the boy’s lips twitch in amusement. He rarely takes offence to anything. Or at least he doesn’t show it. ‘You know that isn’t what I meant.’ Wayne puts Mo’s glass in front of him. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mo.’ And then, eager to change the subject, ‘Shouldn’t even be serving you. We could get fined, you know.’ A laughably empty threat. Lou chooses that moment to come in from the beer garden. Tea towel slung over her shoulder. Notepad and pen in hand.  Wayne and Mo both turn to look at her as she walks to the till. She sticks her pen behind her ear, starts clacking away at the keys to work out someone’s bill. She's not the kind of woman who turns heads, but she's still easy on the eyes. ‘Well,’ Mo says. Wayne turns back to him. There’s a sly smile on his face. ‘We all do things we shouldn’t. Spice of life, innit?’ He glaces pointedly at Lou before picking up his glass and taking a sip. Too perceptive, sometimes.