#but yeah season 5 was pretty neat

[vshushmshu]

btw i just watched season 5 of lmk .can that guy catch a break holy shit

[jewishcissiekj]

Oh waitttttt I love Medstar

[sehtoast]

That episode was insane. I’m getting tired of Firecracker’s ass she needs to get on somewhere. The racism the human centipede references the SA jokes like wtf..? I think that was one of the worst ones in the show.

Yeah, i’m… not entirely sure what the point of that episode even was beyond trying to expand their shock factor?  Hands down my least favorite episode to date, and i didn’t think i’d ever have an episode that stood out like that bc i’m honestly a pretty easy-to-please viewer. Hell, till now i’ve felt like s4 has been pretty strong with just a little bit of wavering in ep 5, but this was just… straight up bad. Sure, it feels like a season of pure filler, but the filler was at least strong– especially episode 4 since it gave us such incredible background on homelander.  Anyway, spoilers for s4e6, talks of SA, etc. following under the cut:

I haven’t been a fan of firecracker’s since she walked on screen, and i don’t think that’s going to change. Her character is incitement for the sake of it, which, given the state of the US irl, isn’t unwelcome commentary.  There was a flicker of hope when she did her little “i say this stuff because this is what the people who have nothing else in life need to unite.” For a fraction of an episode, she was interesting!  She was a strong show of how political grifters prey upon ignorance with outrage to turn otherwise normal, lonely people who are desperately seeking unity into the just… trainwrecks they’ve become today.  And then they dropped it. It’s like she lost the awareness of it just as much as the writers did.  She could’ve been really neat, but she’s nothing more than your average outrage manufacturing machine.  I mean… “jewish space lasers?” C’mon man.  Combine it all with the anti-trans rhetoric and it just is… overall sour (i have many thoughts on the anti-trans and other shit they’ve had homelander say insofar as how little he even believes in the shit he parrots [and i do mean parrots, because he has no idea what to do or say when it doesn't work, which we saw again very clearly in today's episode] for the sake of preserving his demos and appealing to politicians, but that’s for another time– maybe?)

As far as the racism and anti-trans stuff (hell, even the word for word parody of that politician who said “legitimate r*pes can’t become pregnancies because the body has ways of shutting it down,” or whatever it was verbatim)-- i think we’re to the point where the writers and kripke have begun to forget that these are things done and said to real people in real time. I understand the point is to show the audience how foul these things are, but there comes a point where it crosses a line and ricochets back to hurting the audience.  For myself, i’m trans. Every other episode containing a line that directly correlates to the real world dehumanization of us for political points is a stomach dropping moment because we’re being actively reminded that our rights are under constant attack. All three times have had like… non existent context relation to anything going on in the show and just feels… baffling? And then it feels bad.  And then it hurts.  The show has done this a couple times where they try to make commentary on the oppressive and cruel shit said about marginalized people (race, gender, etc) and it falls flat and just becomes a slap in the face to the viewer who it was perhaps trying to represent.

The human centipede deal with splinter, i could cope with. I actually laughed, because i can see people with cloning powers doing wild shit like that.  It didn’t seem far off from the context of the show that superhumans with superpowers will do wacky shit with said superpowers.  What we got in today’s episode was… not that. And it wasn’t good.  What we got today was an episode riddled with sexual abuse via CNC that was played as a joke the whole way through.  No, tek and ashley did not know that hughie was in that suit. However, hughie started yelling random words at one point. I’m not versed in kink culture particularly well, but i would think anyone partaking in that sort of act would recognize that as perhaps the sub has forgotten their safe word and they would call it off. That they’re yelling out random, out of context words would be a major, major red flag to cease. But they didn’t. So what we got was extremely unsettling, especially as it settled in more, and it gets played as a joke until hughie cracks at the very end.  Maybe the goal is to make people understand the gravity of sexual abuse toward men since society does tend to treat it as a joke. Maybe, and that’s strong if so! But i’m finding it difficult to understand how a show that put school sh**ting warnings in Gen V, warned of b*astiality during the Deep’s shit, and even just, y’know, hinted at what herogasm would be, could somehow not manage to warn that viewers were about to see someone sexually abused to such an extent.  I have an extremely strong stomach for media. I’ve seen a lot of fucked up shit online that i wish i could unsee, but it’s never made my gut churn like it did after this episode.

I have… a lot of feelings about this episode. I could even probably go into detail on why i think the whole breast milk thing at the end was less than stellar as well (which i'm almost positive i'm standing alone on), but i don’t want to stray too far off the ask content.  I’m just… yeah. This was hands down the worst episode i think the show has, with like two exceptions for a-train's scene with the kid and how hard i laughed at the webweaver shit (but the thing is, WW WANTED help boofing that stuff!!!! difference!!!). Based off critic reviews, i think the next two will be floating around the same degree of bad as well.  Given the last few episodes set the aftertaste of everything, i think the reviews being so negative are probably based upon eps 6-8 being awful.

As usual, we’ll fix it in fanon.

edit: i also need to know what the fixation is this season in making important things happen off screen. starlight gets pregnant off screen, has an abortion. it is central to the plot of starlight v. firecracker, but we're not shown a lick of that exposition. homelander and sage are plotting internment camps??? but we're TOLD, not shown-- which is the ultimate sin in storytelling. like... what is this season actually trying to do beyond just compound shock value?

[altocat]

now that it’s been a few days, what is your general opinion on the first soldier part 1?

Overall? It's pretty good. I'm not going to act like it's flawless. I have a few critiques.

The P0 trio is...well flawed. Glenn is likable enough for me, but he still does some pretty fucked up shit over the course of the story. Matt and Lucia...honestly should have just been one character. They become less and less relevant as the plot moves forward and starts to focus more on just Seph-Glenn. I like that there's some moral grayness with all three of them, but it probably should have been a bit more tactful with certain concepts. The Rhadorans supposedly were culpable in fighting against Wutai on Shinra's behalf only to turn on them. But we rarely see/hear about that. So it makes our protagonists pretty sketchy. Rosen was nice though. I wish we could have seen more of him. And maybe an extra episode or two to just have more onscreen bonding before the shit hits the fan. But they did a good job compressing everything with decent pacing in a relatively short amount of time. So kudos for that.

Also the bit with the locket was stupid. Not the endgame outcome but it just suddenly appearing right the hell out of nowhere. Seph shouldn't have lost it--it should have just fallen off when Glenn was shaking him and THEN it gets kicked away.

Filler monsters/impossible bosses...yeah, that's a problem with the game's mechanics and less on the story. So I won't bother with that. The actual gameplay sucks. But the story itself is pretty neat.

Overall though, the portrayal of Seph is surprisingly endearing and compelling. He's very well developed and humanized and I like that they covered his strengths and flaws as a character, as well as expanded on concepts that were always there but needed more attention. Sephiroth is very easy to care about and you do end up really feeling for him. And I think he'll make for a good protagonist in Season 2 when he gets the spotlight.

I'd give it like a 7.5 out of ten overall. Maybe a solid 8. If I was counting gameplay it would be a 5/10 lol. But like I said, not counting that. It's got a few clumsy spots and a few things I would have reworked. But it's a pretty refreshing new addition to the Compilation. So I'm really glad.

[geronimomo-spd]

here is a list of what was in this show, and in what ways they updated/changed the pieces of music they played, and what they never played before. with a dash of commentery:

i am the doctor is the first track, neat, they did the Proms version, which combines the Pandorica speach theme right at the end

all the strange strange creatures, which yeah another Proms staple, it had a few touches of fresh violins in the end we did not hear before

they did a suite for the entire classic who themes they did play that night, apperently the two people behaind the rediophonic workshop were there to play it as well! that's neat, the 60s cyberman theme, (i love it dearly, got obsessed with it pretey recently lol), they also did some stuff that i would not know to recognize if there is anything new about them: the sea devils theme, the city of death, and the 5 doctors! the same classic who themes they played i the proms 2013, either way they sound very nice, the orchestra really nicely blends in with the syntonizer and it feels like a loving hug.

oooh and they have a mini interview with mark and peter from the radiophonic workshop!

Abigail's Song (Silence Is All You Know) is very neat as well, no changes but its very nice. and they dedicated the piece to Michael Gambon, that's sweet

omg Steven Moffet hello, i did not remember seeing him on the cast list. they are using the season 4 intro as like an in between piece to welcome guests on stage by the way, his interview in nice but short, mostly talking in short about his time as a show runner and the diffrence between Matt and Peter.

sylvester mcCoy is here in the audiance apperently!

This is Galiffray is next, pretty standard but again beutifully played

the long song is next, no child singer, the same singer as Abagail's song as well, but gosh!! they included in it the part of the theme of this song that played when 11 regenerated?? and the new singing then payerd over it. it is the same theme part that played when the actual speech of the long song played, in front of the living planet, but without the speech itself it really takes you back to his regeneration in my option, they then layerd the singing part over it in a very nice harmony that made me tear up 😭 . once again just like they did in the proms 2013, but this version feels very updated

the companions suite, they went Rose - Amy, which sad no clara, bill or any other companion, but its nice to hear those themes again, also Martha's theme got a little bit more Wind Instruments and violins then usual! which extended it a little and that was very nice. it also felt like Donna's theme was a little bit quieter then usual, they also combined Amy's theme little starting notes to fuze organicly into the theme itself, the xylophone very imbeded into the theme instead of it standing out like in earlier performances. and gave it a little bit of extra notes right at the end.

Emily Cook interview! she apperently played in the orcestra in the show as well with the saxophone. and talking about the doctor who lockdown project! (i cannot believe i never knew about this thing's existance??? holy shit,)

Doomsday, had a fancy and really funky gaiter solo, much similer to when it was preformed at the proms in 2008, but this time its very distinctive, not playing along singing at all, just pure gaiter goodness, really enjoyable

Vale Decem was really funky! nothing new but as bombastic as ever, screaming its way to your ears

Am i a good man!! very nice to see a Peter theme finally making its way to the fold, though a lot of them were preformed at Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular 2015, it was a much smaller scale as to the proms and this show is definitly bigger, god i used to be so obsessed with this themeee its not even funny, the version is very similer to there and you can reallly feel the drums punping at the start and its really energetic

omg twice upon a time?? damm, actual music released from something past season 9??? insane about this actually, oh i have never heard this before, its so gentle and remenicit of am i a good man in such a beautiful way, giving them theme a call back with emotinal and more action based end, it also adds the known and notable singer and some stuff from rtd era doctor theme?? and some funky violins from i am the doctor?? all leading to a fine finish?? i am in shock and aw. its like a finishing theme from Marry Gold to his era of the show. damm (if you are worried about The Shepherd's Boy, that will come later!)

a chris chibnall and Segun Akinola interview! Chris talking about the scrutiny he got for his era, and excitment about the whole thing, and Segun Akinola talking about the stress of the job and the freedom he got. THEY ARE ALL SO EXCITED FOR THE FACT THAT HIS THEMES FOR DOCTOR WHO ARE FOR THE FIRST TIME BEING PREFORMED AND I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT AS WELL HOLY SHIT

FINALLY the woman who fell to earth suite! confirmed to have: the woman who fell to earth, spyfall, power of the doctor, and a few suprises?? 👀 god i am once again becoming emotinal, i love 13's theme so much. the spyfall theme is so recognizable for its bond influence and so fun!! 13 era loves will know a lot more then me on the rest of it but god its so fun. DEMONS OF THE PUNJAB!! TRADITINAL INDIAN MUSIC WITH A FANTASTIC SINGER, god i wish we could watch this visualy. 13s regeneration theme is so GOOD IM CRYING, what can i even say, they didn't have the libraty of changes as this was the first and might be the only preformance of these themes, as little changes as possible for what i've noticed, but still, what a rollercoster of emotions

The Life of Sunday (Ruby's Theme) ...oh? piano? a lone and qiuet piano? a quiet and sad sounding theme? oh it expands! omg the slowely building violins?? the violins are truly the stars of this evening, and then the hopeful theme ends and now the violins are not celebrating the piano, they are moving towards a sad but nice main part. oh we are jumping forwad a little! oh wow, this is truly like a valce. the piano is the star but to what end? its slightly hopeful but very mournful existance

a lot of the versions had a little bit of a rytham change in most of the peices, little bits where you would think "oh is it out of rythem?" but no, its just a slight change in tempo, i guess to make the versions played here to stand out a little.

Marry Gold interview! hello! omg its so weird to hear his voice again. talking about his new era and coming back to who.

Fifteen, WHAT THE HELL THIS IS STARTING LIKE A SUPERHERO THEME?? oooh we are leading to an action based middle, the bassons are controling the theme! the trumpets!! its bloody danceable!! i am stimming all over the room! its fucking danceable!! it feels very action based very much like i am the doctor, a lot of rising violins, usually singeling hope, this feels like... such a fresh and new doctor. but it doesn;t sound... excited, it feels like a man on the run, it has a very clear dessperation going in, and i am neglecting to find any quiet moment if and they exist at all. the rising of the hope comes very sparadicly, much like Ruby's . it feels like they are contredicting each other simply by nature, but both of them are constantly searching for hope and i guess happines? accept he feels like he is searching for... quiet, peace, DAMM i gotta relisten to this to get more understanding of it

russel t interview! ok talking about his his history with who and coming back, mostly about appreciating the music in the show overoll

The Shepherd's Boy!!! FIRST TIME PREFORMING. god i am emotional once again, you can clearly hear the diffrent instruments individually at the start, the violins are lovely the chelos and everything else is really beautifully building up itself, the drums. the choir! all rising! they added the chior to the part right before the end!! added chior overoll andmakin it much more stand out as opposed to the soundtrack version. the drums were eceptinal!! in all of peter's era music. god its great

Doctor Who Theme (2023 version), lets go! the pianos! the quiet violins!! people have pointed out its similer to the movie middle eight and that's very true, the piano is truly the star of this theme and it shows!(edited) i am buzzing this was as great and better then i expected

[chaotically-genderfluid]

Because of hyperfixation we’re gonna analyze Season 5 of LMK

You now have a spoiler warning, go watch the season before you read this. It’s worth it, trust me on this.

By the way this is only episode 1, image limit kills me from the inside. I’ll link the others as they come out.

- Episode 1 -

Due to episode one showing how everyone is just doing after uhh

yeah uh huh…

We start with a more chill-ish episode before things get deep pretty quick, what with the MonkeyMK being mentioned and the rock thing.

Wukong so far has shown genuine concern for MK. MK is obscenely tired, he’s pushing himself too hard, and with how the last bit has been going, can’t blame Wukong for being worried. Throughout the show we see Wukong and MK grow closer, which is why a specific scene in episode 9 hits as hard as it does for me.

I just find it sweet that he cares, as well as Macaque being shown to at least care a bit.

While one could argue that Macaque is more concerned about the lack of a Jade Emperor, I personally chose to believe that Macaque is also trying to look out for MK. Macaque just going from an antagonist to actually caring for people is just amazing to me, leave me alone…

Back to Macaque, he has a point in this scene. It’s kind of odd that everything that’s happened the past 4 seasons has happened, and all starting after MK came from the rock. All of the Azure Lion stuff, the scroll, it’s quite odd that it happened now instead of maybe before MK was (hatched? born? EMERGED?? I don’t know) from the rock. This is touched on later, but thought I should still mention it.

tHEY MADE HIM A NEW HOUSE!!

I also really like the touch of different scenes being shown as photos inside, just a neat detail I noticed.

Dadsy. No more explanation needed.

Episode 2 will get into some heavy stuff so before that—Macaque is the monkeys favorite it seems.

This was a good start to the season. We got the calm before the storm, and the viewer clearly is told information that will be vital to the season. Good start!

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

[onesidedradiostatic]

helluva boss s2e3-5 reaction

wow the episodes are actually maintaining the 20ish minute length unlike season 1

episode 3

oh my god WHAT

ah I see he's moxxie's dad

LMAOOO him being both their exes is hilarious

OH MY GOD and that's what led him to meeting blitzo LMAO

oh geez

NOT THE FUCKING DILDOS???????

also verbal "I'm bisexual" that's neat!!!

OH MY GOD was that his mum???? oh man....

oh my god

man....

NOT BLITZO AND CHAZ GETTING IT ON?????? LMAO????

awww

oh?????

DAAAAAMN moxxie

millie's very cool

"now we aaaall fucked the same guy" oh my fucking god blitzo

episode 4

okay cool! I get to hear her have some semblance of calmness LMAO

OKAY NEVERMIND THAT DID NOT LAST AT ALL

"what does he look like your highness?" "sexy?" "that's STRIKER sir" I'M CRYING????

and got to a scene I've seen a clip of already, can't say I'm a fan of the ableism here but I'm sure it's been criticised to death by others already, I'll move on

daaaaaamn

well. I'm glad I get to see stella with another character that she's not shouting at

yeah I'm glad we're getting something more than a pompous laugh and anger from her

"harder" oh my god

oh yeah um the "he can get hurt?" scene is something I've already seen

saw it on a clip on twitter before, figured it had to do with injury via angelic weapons, cool to see the context now though (even though I was somewhat able to guess the more I learnt about the show)

it's cool that you can see stolas is giving blitzo some space and suggesting not doing sex stuff

awwwww

really nice to see blitzo showing concern for him

episode 5

this one is seeming a lot more lighthearted but I wanna put 6 and 7 together so I'm just gonna put this here

A SING-ALONG LMAO????

THE KEYSMASH??????

NOT THE FUCKING SING-ALONG LYRICS MOCKING HIM NOW TOO?????

woah what's that

something that's not the grimoire opening a portal???

is "the voice of an angel" really a compliment when you live in hell?

okay I thought the "barbie" person might've been blitzo's sister

OH GOD NO. NO. NO. NO. NO.

WHY DID THEY EVEN PRETEND TO BE SIBLINGS THEY SHOULD'VE JUST SAID THEY WERE DATING.

well then! I've been fighting with the 30 image limit probably was a mistake to put 5 together with 3 and 4 after all but whatever!! anyways

first two in the set, pretty good character moments, last one although was more lighthearted but definitely had its serious moments with moxxie and millie

I see fizzarolli in the thumbnail for the next 2 episodes, I have been WAITING for this, gonna be very very promising

[textsfromthetva]

WIP Wednesday (it's 2AM, so it counts)

my good ol' friend seasonal depression is really setting in right now. it actually came sooner than usual this year, and I haven't written a goddamn word for weeks. it sucks. for comfort I've been editing my old WIPs, because at least that feels tangentially like writing, you know?

anyway, during this I rediscovered that trippy X-5/Sacred Timeline!Brad Wolfe fic, and it's still pretty good for a first draft! so that's what you're getting. with no context, because explaining what the fuck is going in this fic would take all night. onward!

The parcel arrives by courier, which X-5 finds mildly amusing when he opens it and concludes that it’s something as boring as a movie script. “It’s standard protocol these days,” Brad says. “Industry safety measures, you know.” “In case someone gets a hold of the top-secret plot of-” he squints at the title page. “Zaniac.” Brad shrugs. He’s in the process of cooking a breakfast that’s so late it’s probably brunch by now, hence why he’d made X-5 answer the door. “That’s how it works. The fact that he didn’t make you sign a proof of delivery was a major slipup. I mean, you could be anybody.” X-5 arches an eyebrow. “Yeah, we look nothing alike.” Brad laughs quietly and starts piling food on their plates, just as the kettle starts whistling on the stove. “Did you learn to fake my signature though, darling?” As a matter of fact, yes, yes he did, and he’s getting good at it too. Which isn’t something Brad needs to know, and lying to him is getting difficult, so X-5 changes the subject instead. “So what’s it about?” he asks, sitting down by the kitchen table. Brad puts a plate in front of him and pours him a cup of tea. X-5 thanks him with a nod. “Think Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” he replies as he sits down himself. “Kinda.” X-5 flips open the script and starts scanning a random page in the middle, absentmindedly picking up a piece of toast. “It’s a horror movie,” he concludes after a page and a half. “It’s not,” Brad insists. “It’s an elevated thriller.” X-5 snorts. “God you’re pretentious.” “No, the producers are pretentious.” He takes a sip of his tea. “Look, it’s not high art, but it has the potential to really cement my name in the public consciousness. People love this stuff.” “You’re already famous,” X-5 points out. “You can always get more famous,” Brad says. “And the production company is going to try to build a whole franchise, multiple mediums and all that. This apartment doesn’t pay for itself, you know.” He pauses, then cracks a smile. “Plus, I’m currently living with someone who is putting my grocery budget to the test.” X-5, who had been in the process of shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth, goes perfectly still. “I’m joking, darling,” Brad says, gently reassuring. “It’s flattering, that you like my cooking. I’m assuming you’re not used to good food.” “I’m not,” X-5 admits. Another thing the TVA really doesn’t prioritize.  “Well, that’s in the past now. Feel free to take advantage of your improved circumstances.”

I had forgotten how utterly fond I am of Sacred Timeline!Brad Wolfe, a character I made up entirely in my own head. I just think he's neat.

[deathsmallcaps]

Adam The Raven Cycle Headcanons

I think we all underestimate how much Adam’s rural poverty affects his looks and history, especially towards the beginning of the series.

1. Rural Appalachians often have mostly British ancestry. The British often have narrow mouths that are prone to overcrowding. This sort of problem takes money to fix. Therefore, Adam probably did not have nice teeth at the beginning of the series. He might be fixing it as an adult in college, but that really depends on how much money he has and/or is willing to throw at it right now. He may smile close-lipped a lot, or has the urge to cover his mouth with his hand. They might be yellowish, they might be crooked, he could have an under or overbite.

2. Adam most likely kept his hair really short for a good amount of his life, because lice. And/or, he had a mullet at one point, just because they’re good at keeping hair out of your face if done well, and keeps your neck warm when it’s cold. This practice likely changed once he entered Aglionby for fitting in purposes, but yeah. He may have mustache, if he can grow one (I don’t remember), because that’s very popular for young men in the South. And certainly taking scissors to it to ‘style’ it occasionally is cheaper than buying razors all the time. There’s a good chance he cuts all of his hair.

3. His hands are likely still calloused from all his jobs. It’s said in the books his hands are dry and cracked, and that he used to lick them to try and soothe them. Maybe he bought lotion once in a moment of ‘weakness’ (because he doesn’t want to waste money) and his friends top it off occasionally and hope he doesn’t notice it’s a different color or smell. Because he’s not going to buy more.

4. He’s either a huge neat freak or genuinely doesn’t know a lot about cleaning. That’s how you cope if you live in a trailer year round. You either keep everything as neat as possible, looking cleaning tips like a bored housewife. Or you leave crumbs and cooking scraps because having roaches in your kitchen is just a part of life.

5. I’m going to do some math, skip down to END OF MATH if you don’t care :/

Virginia’s minimum wage in 2012, when the books started being published, was $7.25. If Adam SOLELY used the money from his jobs for the reminder of his tuition ($18,423), that means he had to work 2,541 hours and 7 minutes a year to make that money. Let’s round that up to 2700 because he might need schoolbooks or food or occasionally pay for transportation.

Considering he has to make $18,423 a year, he’s skirting the next tax bracket pretty close *unless* he is working under the table. Since it’s already crazy that he’s doing this shit, let’s assume he’s working under the table. Because otherwise this gets even more miserable. In any case, if he needs to work 2700 hours to make it, he‘ll end up grossing $19,575.

Average American summer is about 8 weeks. So if transportation to each job is 45 minutes, including getting up and ready, etc, because of weather and iffy transportation options, and let’s say he’s working two shifts at two jobs, maybe eating lunch during work or transportation, that means if he allowed himself 6 hours of sleep a night during the summer, he would be ‘transporting’ 2.25 hours a day (I’m going to round it up to 2.5 to account for lunch and to make it easier), that’s a 15.5 hour day.

7 days a week times 15.5 hours times eight weeks is 868 hours, he’s made $6,293 out of the $19,575 needed. Leaving $13,282 to make.

Winter break is about 2 weeks in southern states like Virginia. A week for Spring. Three weeks. Assuming he can get similar hours at his jobs as he did in the summer, that’s 325.5 hours, and $2359.875. I’m going to round it down to $2359. So now he *just* needs to make $10,923 (lol).

Now, using those season break numbers, that leaves 41 weeks in a year for school. However, the average school week is 5 days, and school years in VA are 180 days. So if there never were any holidays and snow days, etc, school would take 36 weeks to complete.

In the interest of not going crazy, let’s work with the average school week of 5 days and say there’s 36 of those. I’m sure Adam worked holidays, but this will roughly amount to the same thing.

I think I remember Adam did early morning shifts and pulled 16 hours on the weekends during the schoolyear. So we’ll work that into his average school day.

Adam still needs to make $10,923. If he works 15.5 hours on a weekend day (using the same numbers as the summer calculations)(Saturday and Sunday that’s two days) for 36 weeks, that’s $8,091 out of the $10,923. That kid works to the bone. Leaving just $2,832 to make to reach that necessary minimum.

$2,832 comes out to about 390 hours and 37 minutes left needed to work. Let’s round it to 391.

That means if spread out over 36 weeks, he needs to work 10 hours and 52 minutes a week. Let’s bring it up to 11 hours.

The average high school day is 7.5 hours, including lunch. So that leaves 16.5 hours in Adam’s weekday.

HOWEVER. He still needs to do schoolwork. The average American teen spends 3.5 hours of time on schoolwork. I think Adam could probably power through it, and not really get distracted like ya girl but also it’s a private school and he’s taking all the hard classes. And hard classes like to pile shit on. So let’s go with 3.5 hours, every weekday. Yes he skips school for injuries a lot, maybe he gets more schoolwork done or job work done during that time. That’s harder to account for.

So that leaves 13 hours for non school activities.

He likely works in 2-3 shifts to cover the eleven hours each week, or maybe it depends on the week - maybe this week he has to work all 5 mornings, maybe the next week he works none. But let’s assume he splits it over all five days for averages sake. That means that 11 hours a week is 2 hours and 12 minutes a day (let’s bring it up to 15 minutes.). So 2.25 hours. Meaning he now has 10.75 hours left in the day.

Assuming transportation including getting ready and going to bed etc is as usual 45 minutes, that means he’s going to work, to school, to home every day. That’s another 2.25 hours. Now he has 8.5 hours left in the day.

Let’s assume he dedicates one third of his available weekday hours to friends. At 8.5 hours for non school non work non homework non transportation time, that means he spends 2 hours and 50 minutes with friends. Let’s round it to 3 hours. Because having fun with friends really does take that kind of time! And he’s really close with those peeps.

END OF MATH

That means he’s getting at most 5.5 hours of sleep on the weekdays.

I don’t remember if he works like this *throughout* all the first series’ books or just the first book. But your boy is tired as fuck. His skin is terrible. His eyebags have eyebags. He probably has a lot of wrinkles and grime under his nails. And he’s going to look even more haggard after ‘breaks’ and on Mondays especially.

I don’t remember how he affords that apartment in later books.

In any case, our boy does not look well at all.

6. This is going to fuck him up severely once he hits college too. I don’t remember if he got loans or scholarships or what. But even if he got a full ride, he’s going to be recovering sleep and health wise for years to come. He probably struggles to eat a salad sometimes. He needs to, for sure, but it’s so outside his taste buds’ usual range and his wallet’s usual range. And no one ever helped him figure out what dressing or vinaigrette made it tolerable for him. That boy has been living on canned food sales and ramen forever. He might get a meal plan and get sick from trying new foods or still act like he’s paying for each piece of food at the grocery store.

7. Very good chance he’s a coupon clipper and still has a little trouble convincing himself that he doesn’t need to buy 6 cans of beans just because they’re $5 all together. Instead of the just one can that he needs this week.

[nitrozem]

OC Deep Dive Questionnaire

Thanks for the tag @natolesims ! I love doing these.

Think I'll do my werewolf boi, Ajay this time (I did Miguel for the last one)

1. What uncommon/common fear do they have?

The dude acts fearless but he has one fear and it's stink bugs. Why? Well werewolf pups like practicing their hunting on small insects and stuff that cross their path and young Ajay decided to pounce on a stink bug and had a very bad time lol

bonus pic of smol pup Ajay

2. Do they have any pet peeves?

He doesn't like it when people move his stuff around. He's not organized but it works for him cause he has his weird disorganized places he keeps his things.

3. What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

his werewolf toy, this crystal light shaped like a moon that Sid made for him, something random he may have dug up during a rampage and forgot about (usually shoes, rocks and trash)

4. What do they notice first in a person?

Their smell, werewolf super smell and all. He can figure out if a person is an occult by the smell.

5. On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance?

A 10, he's been in so many werewolf brawls, and running through the forest, it takes a lot to actually get him to be very bothered by pain and he heals quickly. He wears his scars like badges of honor lol

6. Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

Fight fight fight! He likes fighting and hates to appear like a wimp.

7. Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

No, he was an only child, had a mom and dad and that's it. He has a big family now though. (4 children, his husband, and his father who is still kicking) I would say he is a family person, he loves all his kids and is protective over them and his husband.

bonus family photo :)

and grandpa (ajay's father, Ravi) cause we love him and his terrible dad jokes

8. What animal represents them best?

Well...a wolf

9. What is a smell that they dislike?

Vampires have a necrotic undead smell he hates like most werewolves. He also hates coming across somewhere that was "marked" by another werewolf and gets territorial.

10. Have they broken any bones?

Nope

11. How would a stranger likely describe them?

Depends. If he's dressed nicely and calm, people see he's sure of himself or confident. When he's high fury/wearing his torn or rocker clothes, he still has that confident vibe but in a more intimidating way.

12. Are they a night owl or a morning bird?

Night Owl because werewolves are nocturnal, he'll be up in the morning anyway because he doesn't sleep much.

13. What is a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

He hates all artificial fruit candy, as for a flavor he loves, a steak, seasoned right (and very very rare)

14. Do they have any hobbies?

Yes, he likes to knit and paint mostly. He likes to read and likes tor forage/hunt for crystals or mushrooms that Sid might need

15. Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises?

I'd say he's pretty stoked

16. Do they like to wear jewelry?

Yeah, his moon necklace his mother gave him and other bracelets Sid makes him

17. Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

It's actually very neat!

18. What are two emotions they feel the most?

Energetic and confident

19. Do they have a favorite fabric?

really soft fleece, he'll fall asleep real quick in a pile of fleece sweaters lol

20. What kind of accent do they have?

subtle indian accent (mother had an indian accent, father has a southern usa accent so it's a mix of that)

The closest voice claim I have for him is Dr. Carrington from Fallout 4 I like imagining that he sounds very eloquent and chill (well at least until his fury gets high enough, then he's just loud, rough sounding and growly)

If you just want to talk about yours OC's just do this and say I tagged you or w/e, use all excuses to talk about your OC's and stories 👍🏼

(that and I'm not very active on here atm due to not wanting to play sims, social media detox and attempts at better habits in life.)

[frayna-of-the-hollow]

IM ON SEASON 5!!!

On the episode where viren is having those weird mf dreams, and sorren died and he was really sad, I just said "he's so pathetic" and two of my siblings just looked at me like 👁_👁 "YEAH HIS SON JUST DIED HOW DO YOU EXPECR HIM TO REACT"

This probably doesn't sound funny at all, but it was KILLING me because my brain has just..not processing things lately. So I didn't process that he was acting like that cuz his son died

IM PROBABLY GETTING TO WORDY UGUFHHHH WHATEVER ITS WHATEVRR, ANYWAYS!!!!

The dream sequences were AWESOME, im really enjoying this MRHSHHF

Also I KNOW there are Viren and Aaravos simps. As a raging, hardcore lesbian, I find both of them very pretty (I wouldn't way "attractive". I'm not sure how to explain it but they're just... really pretty to me). -sigh- I don't think I even wanna know

ANYWAYS UM THE SYMBOLISM IN THE DREAMS??? OF CLAUDIA WALKING IN VIREN'S FOOTSTEPS?? HELLOOO???? THATS SO NEAT?

Anyways I think im done talking

YAYA!!!!!!

Honestly he's just pathetic period even without his son dying

The Dark magic dreams are some of my favorite scenes in the showtbh

Also yes. They so fuckinf are.

[housewarningparty]

top 5 horror book recommendations? it's spooky season and i need to get my read on...

Hell yeah! Gonna break this down a little. First an obligatory rehash of books I always recommend for this, these are like all-time faves for me

Wounds/North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud - can't choose between these two, so they're tied for my favorite single author short story collection. Nathan Ballingrud is one of my favorite writers of all time

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado - a very very close second for my favorite single-author short story collection. Machado is a beautiful writer and finding an author writing such powerful horror from a queer woman's perspective was world changing for me.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - COME ON!!!! You might have already read this but consider reading it again! Absolute classic.

The Cipher by Kathe Koja - dark, fucked up meditation on art and addiction and toxic relationships. I think about this book all the time. A guy finds a weird hole in his apartment basement and then everything goes wrong (first slowly and then very very quickly)

Red X by David Demchuk - talked about this a lot before too but I really do love it. Fictional story inspired by real life serial killings that took place in Toronto's gay village over decades. The author inserts essays throughout the book that makes it part memoir as well. A supernatural story about real queer trauma.

--

Okay with that out of the way, here's some recommendations for stuff I think would be fun for Halloween specifically

Echoes edited by Ellen Datlow - OKAY CHEATING I ALSO RECOMMEND THIS ALL THE TIME BUT IT'S A PERFECT OCTOBER BOOK!!! Fuck-off huge ghost story anthology. Huge range of tones, pretty diverse group of contributing authors, it's my all-time favorite anthology.

Slewfoot by BROM - this one's got major autumn vibes. It's a story of a woman in Puritan New England who's accused of witchcraft. It's also a story about the devil. Kind of. The print version has really amazing paintings by the author, but I've heard this is also good in audio.

Come Closer by Sara Gran - this is a great little novella. Possession story that really packs a punch. I can't really say much more than that, but it's not a huge time investment and I think it's really worthwhile.

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu - if you can, get the version edited by Carmen Maria Machado (she adds in some great footnotes and it has some neat art too). This is a classic and also quite a brisk read. The original lesbian vampire story.

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - here's a new release for you! I always watch a ton of horror movies in October, and if you're anything like me maybe you'll want to read a horror novel about horror movies. This story follows a female film editor in 90s Mexico and her washed up actor friend as they help a retired filmmaker complete his famously unfinished last film, which he had been making with a former Nazi occultist before strange misfortunes and the occultist's mysterious disappearance forced production to shut down.

Okay that was double the amount of recommendations requested so I'm stopping here. Haha don't look in the tags don't worry about it there's nothing there you're crazy

[kimiko24]

Hiiii Kimiko ^^

What are your top 5 favorite stands? (´• ω •`)

(You can put hamon or “spin” in your list if you want, even though it’s not a stand its a “power” so its ok to put i guess)

Omg hii~!! And yay jojo! I'm a bit sleepy but I wanna answer this! 😤

Killer Queen

Killer Queen is definitely my fav stand! It's such a fun stand, and it's awesome watching it in action in the anime. It's absolutely terrifying tbh (besides Cream), mostly because of the bomb ability it has. I often find myself rewatching the Sheer Heart Attack episode too! The threat that Killer Queen and Kira imposed throughout DiU was just👌🏽 Araki did so well with them. Not to mention uumm ✨KITTY✨, also plant cat🌷🐱, and the way Kira says "BITES ZA DUSTO!!" Really tickles me. Yeah but Killer Queen is a incredibly intimidating stand to face and I absolutely love it.

Star Platinum

Bro it's just badass enough said. Literally the perfect stand. Like it's primary attack is to just punch the shit out of you and it just works lmao stopping time is pretty neat too ig. Both Star Platinum and Jotaro were actually my favorite before I watched DiU and VA. but I think that goes for most ppl

Sticky Fingers

Sticky Fingers is such an efficient stand and Bruno was honestly very creative/resourceful using it's ability. You wouldn't think the ability to place zippers on things would be that versatile but I was proven wrong and found myself impressed with it's speed, power, and how it was utilized in general. <3 Both it's abilities and design are such a good reflection of Bruno's character, but honestly I feel that way about all the stands in part 5

Echoes

First off it's abilities are really unique, my fav out of the acts is Echoes Act 2 and its ability to put sound in writing and whatever sound is written is produced when activated. Pretty cool! I enjoyed Echoes dynamic with Koichi and how it reflected his growth/progression throughout the season. Plus stands with different acts are cool in their own right. But overall I just enjoy that it really brought Koichi's character full circle.

Golden Experience/GER

I love love love the design of Golden Experience, it's so clean and very aesthetically pleasing. The ability to create life btw is a bit op but reflects Giorno's character really well, and GER IS completely op too, though sentient stands are really interesting to me in general. Also I sometimes think about how both Josuke and Giorno's primary abilities with the whole healing verses creation thing are a bit similar. Because Giorno can heal as well? And Ik that some ppl say that Golden Experience is just a better Crazy Diamond. But I'm not opening that can of worms lol. Anyway I wish we got to see more of Requiem but eh..

Thank you for the ask!! :3

[daychiie]

For the manga ask: 1, 11 and 17

HIIII HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

AND ALSO THANKS FOR NOT ONLY SENDING ME A ASK BUT SENDING ME THIS TWICE SINCE I ACCIDENTALLY BLOWED UP THE FIRST TIME TEEHEE <3 <3 <3 odeio escrever coisa pelo celular augghh

Anyway I'm answering those questions here!!!

1. Your top 5 reads of 2023

Meme for symmetry lol

No Home - NO HOME MY BELOVED MY BESTIE NO HOME,HOW IT CAN BE SO WELL WRITTEN IT MAKES ME INSANE BRO... COMICS OF ALL TIME. I have no words to explain... I do want one day stop being a coward and write out some analysis on it, buuut--oh well~~

Dungeon Meshi - I got into the party almost "too late". Well, I don't really believe that starting something after if finished is getting into it too late,but I do get that you lose some experiences if you get into something late than other... And in my case I got into it some weeks before it officially ended lmao. Always heard about it and finally gave a try, it's extremely funny and charming, can't wait for the anime this week :]

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - I saw the anime back when it was releasing, enjoyed it and...that was it. Hoped for season two (kinda still wish for it),but yeah... Then finally said fuck it and OHH IT GETS SO MUCH BETTER. LIKE ITS NOT THAT THE ANIME IS BAD BY ANY MEANS BUT WELL...it only covered one part of it and it always keep getting funnier and funnier! Wakamatsu is so much more insane and dumb... The characters we never got to met there. I do have some issue here and there but in general I have a pretty fun time :]

Ikoku Nikki - yeah maybe sometimes see that something gonna end next week really pushes me to read it lol. Anyway I do want to re read again sometime soon,but it was a very emotional read!! Makio women of all time, a aro icon <3 she everything!!!!

After School Lessons for Unripe Apples - another fun read!!! Don't think I have too much thoughts but I really enjoy Mi-ae and Cheol dynamic <3

Just making clear that in this top 5 I put stuff I started reading in 2023,so like ... No Skip to Loafer here lol even thought I enjoyed the new chapters that were released in 2023,in the rules my head made it didn't count lmao.

11. Your favorite covers

Suddenly I actually never read anything in 2023 :) GJJSAJFN ok guess Hirayasumi covers are very neat!!! I love the painting of it.

But yeah I noticied I remember chapter covers much more than I remember volume covers, so originally I was going to show some of my favorite chapter covers...but then 10 photos limit. Even thought I was sure nowdays is 30 idk if its because I'm stuck in mobile but whatever,I spend two hours looking covers on my phone I gonna show it on a rb or something lmao

17. A manga you didn’t expect to like

Hmnm ... I don't remember lmao. Like at least not anything that I felt that extremely "omg what pleasant surprise!!!!!" ? The best I could think of is kisses x kiss x kisses that ...well does have a cringe name that kinda put you expectations at low I guess lol

It's nothing amazing, it's a finished romance comic, that is very sweet. I liked the contrast of the protagonist and his love interest being like, boy with big family all living together and boy that lives alone with parents in another country lol. It is a cliche and not gonna pretend they do anything groundbreaking with it, but it's still a nice storyline. Lowkey big spoilers ahead I guess but: I liked that while the protagonist dream of living completely alone changed a little (cause come on its a fluffy romance lol), he still got separates room cause he does want be able to experience and enjoy not sharing a room,having more privacy and stuff. It's kinda small overall, but it's nice that his dream and his goals didn't do a complete change because of love.

[a-smol-storm-gt-nomfs-blog]

A not so secret, secret santa

@onthefreighttrain hehe >:D Jimmy and Joel had been, to put it lightly, at each other's throats, although most of the antagonizing was coming from Joel’s behalf. The so-called ‘God’ had started to push his boundaries though. Before you ask, no, it’s not the pranks. In fact, Jimmy has a good laugh at those. He even has to admit that the wall around his empire was actually neat looking. The small man blinked a couple times and opened his eyes. He stretched out his arms and his eyes glossed over at the patchwork. Yeah, exactly what he meant. Whatever Joel had done was changing him. Jimmy slid his sleeve down; his eyes traced the work gloves scar had given him. He had become more and more interested in trying them, but he hated how they felt. They were used to help reduce calluses on builders, but they always made his hands super sweaty. It made sense. The material was thick to protect the builders hands, and well, he lived in a desert. Thinking about it, Scar seemed to use them for his building all the time. He didn’t seem to have a problem with the heat. Though, most of the time he used the shadows of the stuff he had built to hide from the sun. It made sense. Scar had built twice, well once really, in deserts. Back in hermitcraft season 5, Scar had done a similar thing to what Jimmy was doing now. And well, 3rd life was pretty much all Grian. Jimmy started towards the door before sighing, stepping back, and picking up the gloves. He should probably go resource gathering anyways. He slid them on and tested finger movements. It was smooth. He kneeled down and picked up his axe from where it laid against the wall. “Wow,” Jimmy said quietly to himself. He expected the axe to slip, but he held it perfectly as if he weren't wearing the gloves at all. “These are well made. Scar was right!”It also explains how the hermits built their tower so quickly. Honestly, the building gloves weren’t used as much on empires before this. Sausage, Joel, and Scott were the only ones with a couple pairs before. That made sense though. They make the most, building wise, and it would have just been easier on them. It’s honestly when Jimmy first used them. It felt fine out in the open plains, but back at the desert it was just too hot. Jimmy headed up the stairs towards his portal. He ran his hand over the obsidian. He couldn’t feel the heat that normally would come with it. Soon he stepped in, the nauseating feeling hit. It wasn’t really all bad, you got used to it. His feet slid onto the ground, and he started towards the portal closest to spawn: Joel’s. The chance of getting face to face with the god was little to none, though. Oh boy was he wrong. The second he stepped through the portal, the man stood there talking to Grian. Of course, the two people he didn’t want to see. Grian’s head snapped towards him with a smirk on his face. “Well hello Tim,” Grian cooed teasingly. “What nowwww…” Jimmy groaned. “Aww what? I’m not even doing anything.” “Oh please, Grian, it’s you, you can’t not do anything.” “You think so little of me,” Grian says, turning his head playfully upset. Joel let out a laugh as Jimmy stepped out of the portal and into the snow. “Wait, you guys got snow?” He asked confusedly, snapping the others out of their giggle fits. “Oh yeah, I suppose you don’t get that down in the badlands, do you?” Joel said. “Well, that's why Grian was here. I was talking about ideas on how to stop it from covering all the paths while also making it look good. I didn’t think about it when making plans.” Jimmy let out a little laughing huff through his nose. “Well I was going to get wood, not sure if I could- er, well, should do that now.” Jimmy lowered his axe. Grian’s eyes traced his movements. “You started wearing the gloves?” The avian remarked. “Oh yeah,” Jimmy said, showing his free hand. “I’m kinda glad I did, again because of the snow.”“Wait, why are you wearing the gloves?” Grian asked, Jimmy paused for a second. “I was starting to get calluses. Might need to fix my axe as well. It has a couple splinters in the handle.” Grian shrugged, seeing no reason to disagree, but Joel smiled. “Are you sure that’s the only reason?” Joel asked, placing a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. It took a couple seconds but Jimmy yanked himself away with his right hand grabbing at his far shoulder. The sheriff turned his head, teeth biting his lip in pain. Joel had that same smirk, but Grian’s was faltering. Jimmy’s vision blurred, and as it did, he started to fall. The sheriff could barely make out the parrot running at him, worried and calling out his name. He felt something soft and warm catch him. His head felt awful and there was loud calling surrounding him. Something soft touched his back and he pulled into it letting out a pained groan due to the headache. After what felt like a couple munities his headache began to clear. His eyes opened and he saw they were holding a familiar red fabric. He looked around slowly. He was cradled in what seemed to be Grian’s arms. The avian was fluffed up and seemed to be shouting- wait, he was shouting at Joel. Jimmy let out a pained moan and Grian’s arguing stopped. The avian looked down at the tiny in his hand. “You okay?” the larger asked, voice shaking a little. “Headache,” Jimmy said. There was some shuffling, and the tiny saw the avian stand. His eyes slid over to Joel, whose head hung in defeat. Jimmy’s head flipped between the two. He knew Grian was defensive, but he rarely yelled at anyone. “Where are you taking me?” Jimmy asked, starting to get scared. Grian looked down at him with a saddened expression. “To Tango. I’m not sure what Joel did to you, and it’s best you’re with someone who won’t hurt you more.” Jimmy blinked a couple times, confused, but nuzzled into Grian’s sweater more. “Mmkay,” he murmured before looking down. Wait, why wasn’t he cold? There was snow, but he didn’t feel cold, in fact he couldn’t feel the heat from Grian’s body like he had before. Jimmy pulls up his sleeve and sees his whole arm full of stitches. Same with his legs when he rolled up his pant’s sleeve. “What?” Jimmy asked aloud. Grian looked at him and saw what the smaller one was looking at. Jimmy heard the growl and looked up to Grian whose teeth bared as he gave one last angry look to Joel before spreading his wings. Although Grian wasn’t really built for the snow, he shot through the air, aiming for the cave. “Grian, I- I’m scared. I don’t want him to see me like this.” “He’ll take care of you though. He wont judge you for this. In fact, I think he’d murder Joel.”Jimmy relaxed at that. “I wouldn’t mind that,” he jokes, making Grian laugh a little. The avian’s flying slowed as the cave showed up. Soon the parrot was on the tracks and making his way in on the rails. Grian’s wings opened again as he slowly descended. A familiar blue light showed and Grian headed towards it, landing nearby. Tango turned to greet Grian, pulling the goggles off his eyes. “Hiya buddy? What’s up?” Grian smiled and moved the stiff Jimmy into his hands. “I have something for you.” Tango looks down at Grian’s hands and lets out a happy squeak. “Just be careful with ‘em, ‘mkay?” Tango nodded, pulling the small toy into his chest. Jimmy’s face flushed and he looked at Grian slowly, who just smiled widely. “Well, I’ve got some stuff to get. Have fun with that!” Tango nodded and walked back into the bamboo farm. He made a comfy chair and placed Jimmy in it. “I’ll be back for you. I’ve got some redstone to take care of first.” Jimmy watched out of the corner of his eyes and Tango jumped down into a hole. The clicking and jittering of redstone machinery was on and off. The doll figured he was fixing something that broke. Soon Tango re-emerged, redstone staining his clothes and sweat dripping down his face. Jimmy sat there in stunned silence, a good stunned silence. Jimmy knew Tango was built already. The man carried deep slate everywhere, and it was heavy stuff! Tango looked over to his small friend and smiled. Jimmy could barely not smile as Tango took off his larger coat, leaving him in a black tank top. It didn’t help when Timmy was picked up by the hot man and held close to the large hermit’s heart. The sound of it beating was relaxing, but he was being pushed gently into the large abs. Though now, he could see all those muscles at work as well. Oh wow, it was hot. Well, Tango was a fire demon, but that’s not exactly what he was trying to point out. The demon gently slid his fingers down the tiny’s face, who leaned into it a little. Tango smiled and headed back to his hut. “Man, I really wish I could talk to you.” Tango says to the plushy. “I miss you.”Jimmy went to respond, but was surprised when nothing came out. ‘W-what?’ Jimmy thought to himself. He was just speaking with Grian hours ago, was he choking on something? Again, he tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth. His throat felt fine, his breathing felt normal, so why?Jimmy’s spiraling thoughts stopped as he was placed on a large red bed. It was a really nice bed, too. It was thick but super soft. It made sense though, as the cave would be pretty cold and damp. All Jimmy could really do was watch as Tango disappeared behind a corner towards what the smaller assumed to be his bathroom. The tiny let out a sigh. At least he got to spend time with Tango. And well, Jimmy wouldn’t trade that for the world.

[e-b-reads]

Books of the Month: Sep 2024

Whoops, should probably do this before it gets any closer to Halloween. Interestingly, and unusually, my reading seems to have slowed down a little in terms of sheer number of books after the summer, but I think this is partly because 1) the fall has still been pretty busy (still plenty of work, though less than during summer camp season, with added school stuff) and 2) I've had the mental energy to read some different, longer books instead of lots of mindless, quick murder mysteries. (Still plenty of mysteries, though). Here's the books from September that I think are worth reading:

The Curse of Chalion (Lois McMaster Bujold): Had an odd experience reading this book: I didn't exactly know what was going to happen, but after I hit some fairly major plot points, I would think, "Oh yeah, that's right," as if I'd been expecting them. (There's some neat twists in this book! I was not expecting them all!) Anyway, I do read a lot and sometimes forget what I've read, so it's possible I read this a while in the past (sometime before I started tracking my reads, 3 years ago) and then forgot most of it. I don't plan to forget it this time, because I really enjoyed the experience! Good writing, and I do like a main character who's already seen a lot of shit and would ideally like to just live a quiet life (but also sighs and takes responsibility for things pretty regularly). Sad to see that the sequel is not also focused on Caz. (I'll read it someday anyway, because again, good writing!) (I'm not sure the etiquette on this, but to give credit where due: I had a few reasons to check this book out of the library, but one was that I've seen @wearethekat rec it convincingly multiple times!)

Broken Ice (Matt Goldman): OK, so this is actually book 2 in the Nils Shapiro mystery series (I read book 1 in August), so I recommend starting with book 1, but I'm more recommending the series than any individual book. Each mystery is interesting and original, but none of them stands out to me in particular; what I like is that the main character could very easily be a loner, sad, possibly alcoholic, slightly sexist private detective, but instead he builds up some healthy relationships over the series (romantic and other), and generally is someone I think I would get along with. There are 4 books so far, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a book 5 someday but I see nothing online promoting one.

Overture to Death (Ngaio Marsh): I don't think I've recommended this Inspector Alleyn mystery before, anyway? I think it's one of her better-crafted ones (they're all pretty good tho, imo), with some fascinating characters. (Though I feel I should mention, I reread it this time because of @oldshrewsburyian mentioning that 2 of the spinster-ish characters were at least somewhat - unflatteringly - based on Dorothy Sayers and wow, they're even worse than I remembered!)