#god i'm glad though the tracks they're on are lovely

[pyrussprite]

yALL. FUCKIN. YALL. https://alonetone.com/cedarhillrefugees/playlists/turn-back-turn-back/mose-melton i'm thrashing, i'm shrieking into my hat you don't understand i thought this album was never coming out and i find out 6 years later???

[aromanticasterisms]

got most of the way through emilie's story quest before maintenance started and ough. it was made for me

[valiantstarlights]

Which Hob Gadling Are You? Quiz

Instructions: Get a pen and paper (or open your notes app) to keep track of your answers and scores. Select one response and add +1 to your tally. At the end, the letter with the most number of tally marks is your result. There are 8 possible results, as there are 8 versions of Hob. Enjoy! 😊✨

--

1.) How well do you flirt?

Not sure. There's no one to flirt with. (A)

Fucking terrible. (G)

Not trying, not interested. (E)

Somewhat of a disaster, but I'd like to think there's hope for me. (B)

Not sure. I think I'm decent at it, but... (C)

I'm often not sure if I'm being flirted with, but if the person is my type, then I'll do my best to flirt back! (H)

I know what I'm doing, and hopefully it's my date tonight. ;) (F)

Honestly? I'm at a point in my life where I don't care if I'm good at flirting or not. (D)

2.) How much do you wanna fuck/get fucked by your date?

0% - Not right now. I have other priorities. (E)

25% - I'm not actively thinking about it, but if they're interested, then I'm game. (B and D)

50% - Why not? My date is super hot and I'm very interested in them. But if they're not in the mood, then that's fine, too. (H and C)

75% - Look, I'm making an Effort here. It would be nice if my date could show some interest. (G and A)

100% - OH HECK YEAH (F)

3.) Finish the sentence: "How..."

did you know that I'd still be here? (B)

long should I wait? (A)

did you know my name? (H)

wonderful to see you again. (D)

the hell did I fuck that up? (C)

rude! (G)

do you want me? ;) (F)

much longer until my order gets here? (E)

4.) Pick one word from the list:

Life (E)

Patience (A)

Change (F)

Courage (H)

Wonder (B)

Contentment (D)

Friendship (C)

Prosperity (G)

5.) Do you hate Shakespeare?

Ugh. Do we have to talk about him? I have more important things to worry about. (E)

I'm so glad you asked. Here, make yourself comfortable. I have a 6 hour presentation on why he sucks. (D)

I'd rather read a phonebook. (A)

I don't know who that is. (B)

(sighs) If I say no, will you leave me alone? (C)

THAT FUCKING BASTARD (G)

I watched one of his plays. Still think he's overrated, though. (F)

What's a shake spear? Is that a weapon or something? (H)

6.) How likely are you to say stupid shit?

Everything I say is stupid shit. (G)

Only when I'm drunk. (H)

I have no filter, so... (B)

I'd like to think I have learned not to be so careless. (E)

Fuck! I thought I had it! Apparently not. Gods motherfuck I'm never speaking again. (C)

I'm trying, okay? I really am. (F)

I said stupid shit once and I regret it until now. (A)

Very likely. Just wait and see. Any second now. (D)

--

YES OR NO QUESTIONS: If your answer is yes, +1 to the letter indicated.

7.) Do you believe in love at first sight? (H)

8.) Do you get excited over things/topics that others consider boring? (B)

9.) Are you content with the life you have right now? (G)

10.) Do you still feel hopeful, despite the horrors? (E)

11.) Are you always DTF (Down To Fight)? (F)

12.) Have you ever fallen in love with a friend? (C)

13.) Would you wait/Have you waited for hours for your friend/s to arrive? (A)

14.) Are you willing to wait however long it takes for the love of your life to appear in your life? (D)

--

15.) BONUS: Which is your favorite Hob?

1389 (H)

1489 (B)

1589 (G)

1689 (E)

1789 (F)

1889 (C)

1989 (A)

2022 (D)

--

RESULTS:

Mostly A's = 1989 Hob

Mostly B's = 1489 Hob

Mostly C's = 1889 Hob

Mostly D's = 2022 Hob

Mostly E's = 1689 Hob

Mostly F's = 1789 Hob

Mostly G's = 1589 Hob

Mostly H's = 1389 Hob

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 171 spoilers and thoughts but i'm mostly just going "YAY I LIKED THIS MOMENT" and more below the cut

.

.

.

DEMON KING LLOYD HELLO. HELLO?? WHAT. WHY?? BUT WOW. HOLY SHIT. I REALLY REALLY LIKE THIS

I LOVE WHEN CHARACTERS GAIN WINGS AND HORNS AND . GHGHHGHGHHG AAAHHH ITS MY FAVORITE THING if you didn't already know dragon lloyd was like one of my favorite all-time panels so this is VERY AWESOME FOR ME YAYYY YAAAAYYY HAHAHA

LIKE SERIOUSLY LOOK HE GOT FANGS N SHIT AND. OH MY GODD THE SMOKE SLIPPING PAST HIS LIPS IM SO??? THAT'S SO COOL. I LOVE WHEN THEY DO THAT WITH SMOKE AND MONSTROUS FORMS OF CHARACTERS

genuinely i need to draw this asap. pacing issues aside i am obsessed with how sick this is. i love this a LOT

ok ok back to the top bc theres some stuff i wanna touch on from before demon king lloyd got revealed! because...

"master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us".

EXCUSE ME WHAT

YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT OFF SCREEN, LLOYD TOOK TIME OUT OF HIS BUSY ASS DAY. TO TEACH THE KIDS HOW TO PLAY SOCCER. AND THEY HAVE PLAYED ENOUGH TO BE FAMILIAR ENOUGH TO PLAY ON THEIR OWN. WHICH MEANS THAT LLOYD . PLAYED SOCCER WITH THEM . AND WE FIND THIS OUT. NOW?? I. GGHH. THATS SO. CUTE. IM GOING TO BITE HIM. THE FUCKER. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

the fact that they go up to ask him im going to EXPLODE?!?!?

he looks so nonchalant abt it here im cryinf

AND LOOK AT THEM GO THIS IS SO SO SWEET IM VERY GLAD LYRA GOT TO PLAY WITH THEM I LIKE THIS A LOT

this scene, and the beginning scene where the adults were just so casual with her and treating her as a living person with feelings and someone that they can talk to was so so heartwarming i oooghhh my heart

AND THEN THERE HE IS. SMILING IN THE BACK. YOU ASS.

I SEE YOU BEING KIND AND EMPATHETIC AND SELFLESS LLOYD. YOU LOST THE NONCHALANT WAR. YOU CAN'T ESCAPE

christ. i fucking HATE him /j /aff

it is also VERY silly that they're so casual abt. destruction like that HELPPP they got it from someone sob sob, though i imagine since most of the estate consists of people who have done construction it probably isnt that big of a deal when things get destroyed every now n then

and lyra looks so damn happy,,, god im so glad she had a good experience, she really needed one :')

also i completely LOST it when the kid got mad at lyra for not responding with a yes or no HELPPP JESUS CHRIST

again they,,, got it from someone HAHA though honestly i think it tracks. kids can be straightforwardly brutal in their language, especially when they don't really have biases or cares for who they are speaking to. as crazy as this instance looks (LMFAO) i think this fits well with the context of the straightforwardness of children and considering the person who they look up to at the estate. i think it was good for lyra to meet a human child her age who can speak straightforwardly and not skirt past things, if that makes sense? i hope it does!

AND THE DEMON KING TRANSFORMATION i already talked abt it above but i wanna point out this blue system box here

a power outside of the system?!?? what does this mean for the protagonist of the new prequel bk_moon is writing?? is the weather forecasting included in this???

my first assumption right now is that the demon king power is just an in-world power system while everything else (ie the weather forecasting) is external, blue-textbox system. maybe? so lloyd got the demon king power which comes with skills separate from the ones that the system can provide? that would explain why there's no indication of lloyd trying to use the weather forecasting, he probably can't use it,,,? except i dont know why artanis can use it in that case. most likely i am overthinking it LMFAO

semi-related, i am a little confused as to why artanis did this? i guess she really, really trusted him w this power? or maybe her weather forecasting noted that this would be something good to do i have no idea,,, it Does feel a bit sudden i won't lie, i'm not sure how earned this is

also javier and everyone else not reacting that much to the demon king status. SENT ME HAHA "... nothing's changed." LOL

deadpan humor never fails to make me giggle ily javier

also loved the moment where the two of them were bein serious for a sec,,, they've got a job to do they've got people to protect. lloyd will stop fate and javier will be right besides him...

i think showing them at emily's wedding really cements how much they really, REALLY need to fight fate now. the novel events happening is very very bad, but it feels like now that so many people, emily especially, have found THIS much happiness in their lives,,, failing to stop fate will hit even harder. i really like the analogy of a taut bow that the dragon king used when he first described it, bc it's really REALLY showing how much the repercussions will hit if they fail. im praying they succeed,,, please,,, i need a happy ending or i will curl up and turn into an actual shrimp irl.

and now the demons have to build the pantara railroad,,, artanis's expression omfg

she really didn't,,, know,,, she trusted him that much,,,, girl,,,

but it's ok. it'll be a net positive trust! that's how lloyd does things!!! and then soon we'll get the happy ending where we can get the eye of summer and beat up fate and then silly fun times YAYY <- probably copium

some other thoughts of note that i had with a dear mutual (hi sprout :3) about this ep:

we were talking about how the plot seems to be paced right now, and honestly i'm of the opinion that while yes its Technically moving, the way they're ending each ep in this current arc makes it feel like it's going both very slow and very fast, that is to say it feels like it's not moving at all

bc they're like "okay NOW we're gonna do the build project" and it's been like that for several episodes now. pieces are moving but we're going past the point of it all too fast (especially the whole demon king thing. mentioned this before but while cool, doesn't feel as earned simply bc we're both tackling each point and yet blowing past all the points, so it's a lot less satisfying than it should be (despite how awesome it is,,, oh lloyd you give me so much internal conflict </3))

it does make me a lil worried that they're gonna timeskip the hell out of the pantara railroad build. however this episode, although it still has a weird pacing/movement issue, does feel a little bit better than the last two imo, so i have hope that it'll turn out okay, that it'll start heading up! i'm actually really excited to see where they go with this and i'm sure that even if the pacing is still goofy i'll have some kind of fun with it (seriously the panels this ep were wonderful HAHA)

anyway that's all for this week! extremely excited for the next ep,,, ill see yall then,,, lets go pantara railroad arc!!!

[maleyanderecafe]

The Yandere Angel is obsessed with a good-natured succubus (Oneshot)

Created by: aironiro

Genre: Smut

This one was really difficult to word properly and I'm not really sure why. It's not because of the angel and demon words that I don't know it's just kind of weirdly translated. That might be on my end because I finished this one while I was still sick. Hopefully it makes enough sense that it's still enjoyable though, I did like the backstory that the yandere had in this one. It's pretty interesting. If you are interested in a sequel, please donate to kofi.com/lovesicktranslation to fund it.

The story starts out with Lilith being recognized by her fellow succubus, Meribel, who hasn't seen her since the French Revolution. Meribel talks about how there's a corrupted angel attacking people, including the reaper, Yvette. While talking, Meribel is threatened by Cyril, the corrupted angel she was talking about, and Lilith is able to shoo her away. We see that Cyril has been chasing after Lilith for a while, to the point of attacking other Reaper. Cyril asks to have sex with Lilith, which she accepts because she it's kind of her nature, but is basically overwhelmed by it, something that she is confused and horrified by as Cyril ravishes her body. She passes out and recalls her first encounter with him, having gone to an orphanage to corrupt a priest, only to meet Cyril as a child. Cyril seems to be bullied at the orphanage, and Lilith defends him from spirits that want to take his pure soul away. She talks to him a bit, about how she's actually quite fond of humans. She remarks that because his soul is so pure, he will likely become an angel, and that the two will never meet again, and that even if they did, she would eat him. Lilith ends up waking up at her human friend Akari's place after having passed out. She's worried that Cyril might attack Akari and gets a note from Cyril on where to meet. Cyril upon meeting Lilith again, apologizes for what he's done, and states that he wants to be corrupted so that he can be with Lilith again. The two have sex again, and apparently the reason why Lilith feels so good while having sex with Cyril is because it's a taste of true love (?) something that succubus don't taste as they usually charm the people they're targeting. After all that, Lilith takes a liking to Cyril, even planning to allow him to meet and sort of make sure that he doesn't cause any problems.

I'm not super used to oneshot yandere smut splitting up the actual sex part into two sections, but this one does do that and it kept on throwing me for a loop while I was translating. Personally, I think the idea of a succubus feeling intense pleasure when they are actually loved seems kind of stupid, since I feel like there are people who do fall in love at first sight, so a succubus should be used to that type of feeling, or at least have experienced it once before. The lore of the angels and devils aren't made that clear in this story, which might be because this is part of a second series, with the first one introducing Togo and Akari. I guess it doesn't really need to be because it's a smut, but it does leave a lot to be desired. The most interesting part for me is the backstory, since we do get to see how and why Cyril became so obsessed with tracking her down, even if there is seemingly a weird age gap between them since I believe Lilith would have been around 200 years old when meeting Cyril who died at age 14 according to the end profiles (which is never mentioned at all in the story but alright).

Cyril as a yandere is pretty obsessive, having basically ignored the orders of god so much that his halo and wings ended up getting corrupted just so that he could track down Lilith, and even ended up attacking and wounding Yvette (who supposedly is difficult to kill) and nearly hurting Meribel had Lilith not stepped into saving him. He also seemed to have kept his virginity up to this point. I mean I am sort of glad they have a reason to why Cyril a virgin is able to make Lilith a succubus feel good, but it's still pretty stupid in my opinion. I still don't really get why Lilith ends up keeping Cyril at the end, but I guess it's better than letting a yandere angel run around for a bit. Always cool to see a yandere angel though since that's not something you'd normally see in this scenario. Yandere demons seem to be more common and for good reason.

Anyways, hopefully you enjoy this oneshot. The artwork in it is pretty loose so I could get away with the cleaning easier. The fonts kind of irked me because the original Chinese I was basing it off of uses way too many different fonts.

[waihtie]

I am very lazy today, so let's watch some Supernatural

Season 2 Episode 7 - The Usual Suspects

○ Oh, please tell me this isn't one where they get in real trouble with the legal system. As I said once in Season 1, these situations give me way more anxiety than anything that happens in supernatural situations.

● God damn, it is

○ Sam's only 23 here. That feels so young, even though I know he went through worse much younger.

● It probably just sticks more bc I know them as full grown adults, but here, he's my age

○ The filter is strong. Not a huge fan of it.

○ DANASHULPS. I'm trying to figure it out before they do, but I doubt I will.

● They are each in their own interrogation rooms, writing it out to figure it out. It's kinda funny how they don't even seem worried about being arrested for murder.

^ Definitely brothers lol

Also, I'm glad Sam's hair looks the way it does (read Sam section for context). It's adorable.

○ I'm curious how they get out of the police station. I see 3 options.

1. They escape during a distraction (although this has been done)

2. They are let go from lack of evidence or something (unlikely, they have a large criminal past)

3. The lead cop sees some supernatural shit and believes their story (most likely option)

○ Dean's "confession" starting off like a dating site 😂

○ Dean gets pushed up against walls / objects often. I'm not complaining. I should keep track of this shit (I would too if I had the information from all the previous episodes on it)

○ Ding ding ding, we have a winner. They used Option 1 for Sam's escape. Dean tricked the lawyer into giving Sam a note, then used his confession as a distraction. Brilliant.

● But for real, how do they have a window in an interrogation room??

○ Damn. I was right. Option 3 is how Dean gets out.

○ How they find each other when they're separated is pretty smart (tho it may need to be updated once "Yellowpages" is all thing of the past)

○ Hell yeah, another one where the killer is just a person. I love those. Unlike last time, this one did have a supernatural element - the spirit was pointing out her killer Ghost Whisperer style. It even ended like that show would (they didn't have to salt and burn her body, she got peace after her killer was caught)

○ Amazon Prime Trivia: "This is the first episode Dean doesn't refer to Sam as 'Sammy'"

○ I'm starting a "tied-up or handcuffed" count. This puts Dean at one for being handcuffed by police, Sam at one from 'Bloodlust' for being bound and gagged. (For the season)

Rewatch Context (why can I still pick every colour to make these words but pink??)

[chronicallyblyrie]

Tmagp 18 live thoughts, spoilers ahead!

Alright let's go I'm ready hit me with it

- TEDDYYYY

-teddy what's wrong my boy

- Alice I don't think he's trying to get with the oiar workers

-WEIRD IN A HOT WAY??

-im with Alice teddy definitely has an obsession with Sam fr

-stalk him.

-lmao Lena trying to socialize like a normal person is lovely

-Sam be glad she doesn't talk to you more

-yes, ask.

-THAT MAKES SENSE VABANSNA

-WH AGUSTUS??

-oh uh corpse description nice

-what.

-WHY ARE MORE CORPSES TALKING

-holy shit IS IT THE SAME GIRL OR A SIMILAR VICTIM??

-SHES RECITING A STORY TOO WTF

-oh my god old house?? Too many rooms? Getting lost?? SPIRAL??

-Church street?? Why does that sound familiar

-holy shit why does his voice sound so much more real

-uhh clouds?? Lonely?? This is insane

-this is giving the house from the lonely domain in season 5, laced with fog? Can't find your way out??

-oh uhh the house is inside you? Why are you eating wood bro??

-SOME FIGURE ASKING QUESTIONS IN AN ALLEY?? WHAT??

-this is more disturbing than the others wowie

-UMMMM THIS IS SO LONELY CODED WTF

-UDBWKDB HIS VOICE WAS SO REAL THEN IT WENT STRAIGHR ROBOT AT THE END UFBWJSMA

-TRAPPED IN GREATEST FEAR?? BRUH WHAT IS THIS

-alice he's trying to help respectfully stfu and listen to him

-OH MY GOD ALICE INTERACT WITH THE HORRORS MORE FOR THE PLOT

-gwen what's up girly

-you sound depressed

-tell them about the monsters.

-Gwen tell them about mr.bonzo and his reading skills

-"like the monsters?" Yes, exactly

-SAM SHES NOT JOKING

-oh okay she's crying oh

-WOAH GEORGIE WAIT WHAT WHATWHAT d hamw

-UMM JUMPSCARE

-BABYYY oh my god the fictional baby sounds so cute

-HOLY SHIT WHAT

-I AM ABOUT TO CRY I MISSED GEORGIE SO MUCH

-"I'm not!" *lying glitch sound effect*

-celia is not a government spy georgie she's just from another universe

- yes she goes outside in her pajamas quite frequently

BRUH THAT WAS FUCKING WILD

okay so georgie doesn't remember anything from the past that's evident, celia definitely does though and she has to remember georgie for sure. We got Augustus again and WOW he sounds like such a real voice it's insane, they're obviously not text to speech voices like that's just proven by now. We also know Teddy isn't dead but he's avoiding texting alicenfor some reason. Gwen is on the verge of a mental breakdown, Colin is still MIA, Sam is just confused all the time, Lena is bring Lena, and Celia is still waking up and almost dying by roads and train tracks. Wowie.

[lunarspiral1127]

X-Men 97 episode 5 *SPOILERS*

The interviews

The reporter seemed nice and doesn't act like a typical controversial one. And, seeing Beast blush was adorable. But, Scott's interview was a doozy. What he said when he lashed out, well....he ain't wrong. I just thought Magneto would be the one to say those things, not Scott. Still, not wrong.

Jean/Scott/Madelyn/Logan drama

UGH! I hate love triangles that bring out so much stress and drama. And, I'm worried that Jean and Scott will break up because of the crap Mr. Sinister pulled. I wasn't expecting Jean to kiss Logan, and it was HIM who told her to go talk to Scott. Despite his feelings, he's still trying to be respectful to their relationship. But, seriously, Jean, why did you kiss him?!

Then apparently, Scott and Madelyn were checking up on each other telepathically, which I get why Jean would be mad at that. But, Madelyn during her time at the mansion WAS Jean and Scott thought that was her! They're the same! At least they were? Then again, they're in contact for a month and Jean kissed Logan once....UGH! I hate this drama. SINISTER THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!

Genosha

Beautiful. It was a paradise for mutants. They deserve this. The gala looked pretty, I liked the statues of Charles and Magneto, I was not expecting the Hellfire Club to be a part of this council cause I don't trust them (especially the crap they pulled in the previous show). Lots of cameos from other characters that I couldn't keep track on, but the place was lovely. It's a shame though on what happened later on....

Nightcrawler

This lovely, precious German Christian man. 🥰 I love Nightcrawler and I'm glad to see him in this show. The original voice actor who played him in the previous show still does a great job voicing him. And, he approves of Gambit and Rogue (adopted sister) being together, so that's extra bonus points. He got a new look compared to his previous one, but I still like it. Then when the massacre happened, I was so worried that he was gonna die. Thank goodness he survived, but I hate seeing him so hurt.

Gambit/Rogue/Magneto drama

I hate this love triangle SO MUCH! We get an explanation on how Rogue and Magneto got together, and I'm questioning how old she was when they first met and whether Magneto was influencing her in a bad way. Either way, still don't like this ship. Even when them dancing looked good animated, I STILL don't like it. Plus, it still doesn't make sense cause they've been against each other in the previous show, where there was no signs of the two having that past relationship.

Anyway, I'm glad Rogue finally told Gambit the truth, and I feel so bad for him. But, he knew what she wanted and how much it hurt, even going as far as to distance himself, which he showed a lot of emotional maturity, so respect to that. But, that thing where he'll lead Genosha if Rogue stays as his "queen"? DA FUQ?! Look, I like Magneto, but I did not like that. Still wish Rogue could've gotten one of those collars to nullify her powers so that she can touch Gambit. Would've solved a lot of drama, just saying.

I was SO relieved though, that Rogue said that he was right, and rejected Magneto, but I wish she could've done that without kissing him right where Gambit can see it. Either way, it seemed like she'll choose Gambit and not stay with Magneto in Genosha, THANK GOD!

So, you think this would be the end of that love triangle right? Well, yes and no? Cause what happened afterwards hurt like hell.

Genosha Massacre

So, a giant Master Mold thing showed up, killing mutants and destroying Genosha. It was cool seeing Cable again trying to stop it and seeing his mom after so long, which is a glimmer of hope but I'll get to that later. So, many people died. Sebastian Shaw, Calypso, Banshee, Marrow, pretty sure that was Dazzler or Moira not sure, and three more that hurt me so much.

Magneto. Okay, I may not like that love triangle, but I didn't hate the guy. Dude was fighting that Sentinel with a train as a whip, that was pretty cool. And, he tried to protect the Molocks. He tried to protect Leech! He got Rogue and Gambit out of the way. What hurt the most was he told Leech not to be afraid IN GERMAN! Again, didn't want him to die. Although, I wished he could've used his magnetism to push the Molocks away like he did with Rogue and Gambit, but nope. They all died!

Leech. Precious innocent Leech. He was just a kid, man! And, he got to hang out with other mutants his age. He was making friends. Only for this to happen. And, not a lot of people talk about Leech and what happened to him. But, I liked him, and that hurt.

And, finally, the one that hurt the most.....Gambit.....Remy.

He went out like a hero. He sacrificed himself to destroy that Sentinel from killing even more mutants. "The name's Gambit, mon ami. Remember it." Well, now we know why this episode is called Remember It, cause it was Gambit's last words. And, if that wasn't enough, Rogue holding onto him, crying over his body, finally able to touch him....only to not feel him.

THAT. FREAKING. HURT. SO. BAD!!! 😭 Gambit was one of my favorite X-Men characters, and I legit was crying seeing that end. It really hurt to see that happen to him, but at least he went out saving people. However! There is that slight glimmer of hope! Cable. He tried to go back to stop this, who's to say he won't try again? Time travel shenanigans will happen and he can team up with Bishop and the rest of the X-Men to prevent this from happening. It happened many times before, it can happen here. And, maybe, just maybe, Gambit, Leech, Magneto, and all those people won't have to die. This may the denial talking, but I'll be so pissed if Gambit's dead and he Rogue won't be together for good anymore, cause that would be bullcrap.

God, how am I gonna be okay when we're getting Storm and Forge vs. The Adversary next week?! And, jeez, if things keep up like this, Storm is gonna return to the whole mansion on fire. I can't imagine what her and everyone's reactions are gonna be when they find out about Gambit and even Magneto.

Anyway, good episode. Much better than last week's. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find a way to cope from all of that.

[zincbot]

hit tag limit uhoh

mario movie made me emotional more at 10

[gcantread]

August 2024 reads

[loved liked ok nope dnf bookclub*]

My Lady Jane • The Wild Robot • Our Hideous Progeny • The Hero and the Crown • The Screwtape Letters • The Seventh Veil of Salome • Our Shouts Echo • Villette • The Lies of Alma Blackwell • The Mercy of Gods • Mistress of Lies • Lady Macbeth • Go to Hell • Lucy Undying

I read 14 books in August! (Well, ok, I'm on track to finish the last two today.) It was a busy reading month for me due to tons of ARCs and new releases (8/14 of this list!), which resulted in an "all my library holds are ready at once ougsfshfh" situation. I also once again checked out a few books in order to see if they're worth reading in future years of @bellasbookclub.

My Lady Jane ★★★☆☆ - A very silly time that often reads more like upper-middle-grade than YA. A skip for TV show fans, but the tween furry community should be overjoyed.

The Wild Robot ★★★★★ - An adorable (and yet surprisingly death-y) kids' book that (🤞) should make a fantastic movie. The illustrations alone bump this one up a few stars.

Our Hideous Progeny ★★★★☆ - The last (?) of my BBC Summer Reading Challenge 2024 picks! Has a slow start but man, if you give me an undead abomination plesiosaur who is also a cute little guy, I am seated. Could have been a five star read if it were just a lil gayer and more Creature-forward!

The Hero and the Crown ★★★☆☆ - Read this one to screen it for @bellasbookclub, so I shan't say any details (yet.)

The Screwtape Letters ★★★☆☆ - Another BBC screening but nope nah I'm not gonna make us read The Christianity Book. Did not make me repent of my godless Jezebel ways even a little bit, but gets three stars because it's nevertheless a fascinating glimpse of C.S. Lewis as a person. Next time I'll stick to The Good Place though.

The Seventh Veil of Salome ★★★★1/2 - Speaking of godless Jezebels: Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I have the same biblical blorbo!! I haven't loved any of Moreno-Garcia's work since Mexican Gothic, but finally, this one was another slam dunk for me! As a Salome (1893) enjoyer and understander I'm so glad SMG is one of us. The main (Hollywood Golden Age) parts were also deftly rendered—this was the first truly well-executed Karen Villain I've encountered.

Our Shouts Echo ★★★★☆ - A really sweet and enjoyable contemporary YA coming-of-age + romance that somehow pulled off its nuanced optimism without being preachy or precious. Dare I say...actual hopepunk? An ARC from ALA Annual.

Villette ★★★☆☆ - Another book club screening. [Helga voice] I hated this book but I loved this book but I hated this book but I loved this book. Dammit, it's just so memeable. See you in hell 2025 probably

The Lies of Alma Blackwell ★★★1/2☆ - A decent YA ghost story with immaculate creepy, witchy, & haunted house vibes and some fun tropey romance (sure, why not?) Another ARC.

The Mercy of Gods ★★★★☆ - Ensemble-driven alien invasion story in which a team of wet babygirl science geeks must prove their worth to their new Giant Fucked Up Bug overlords and also one of them is a parasitic hivemind but we don't know which. Unsinkable concept but the writing makes it even better. One for the grown up Animorphs kids (Yes I know I rated it less than Wild Robot, but Wild Robot is a 5-star quality kids' book, while Mercy of Gods is an imperfect but riveting adult novel that I connected with on a more personal level.)

Mistress of Lies ★★★☆☆ - 2nd-to-last in my self-imposed (Review-) Bombed Books Week Challenge. A generous rounding up to three stars because I like the concept and it had a strong start before...plateauing for 200 pages. (Where were the titular LIES?) Very little actually happened and yet my laconic review is somehow "do less."

Lady Macbeth ★★★★☆ - More of an original story with some names in common than a retelling (Macbeth fans be forewarned. Y'all remember the dragon? You know, the dragon that's in Macbeth?) I tired of how repetitive the assault-as-motif became, but there were some very cool plot choices and Ava Reid's prose is gorgeous as ever. Kind of Green Knight vibes!

Go to Hell ★★★1/2☆ - Another ARC, this one a nonfiction travel guide to IRL destinations that are either associated with Hell/underworld mythology or just hellish places in general. Taught me a lot more folklore and history than your average travel guide!

Lucy Undying ★☆☆☆☆ - Hilarious of me to read two retellings in a row. Unlike Macbeth, I feel deep personal affection for Dracula, which meant this book wold have made me silver_linings_playbook.gif it out the window if I hadn't been reading on my phone. If I had never read Dracula, I miiiight have liked this? (jk I finished it and can now definitively say I would not have.) The prose was decent and I liked Lucy's modern-day love interest, Iris, but this author clearly graduated from the "lesbians must hate and deride all men all the time and be proven right in this view when every single man tries to harm them" school of writing sapphic characters, and since the book was basically encouraging me to paranoid-read, it set off both my "clumsy writing" and "...is this a t3rf?" alarms. tl;dr Mina and Jonathan and Van Helsing and Seward and Arthur and Quincey and Berserker the wolf and even Mr. Swales (slandering Mr. Swales?? Is nothing sacred??) deserved SO much better. Now I'll have to reread Dracula to cleanse myself

DNFs: None! Although Lucy Undying certainly tried my patience.

August superlatives

Next up:

September is another new release-filled month! I'm on track to finish my Bombed Books Week Challenge with The Empire Wars by Akana Phenix and then the unreleased Crown of Starlight itself, so I can satisfy my intellectual curiosity of how it compares to the books its author tried to sabotage. (Which attempted sabotage was an abhorrent action I 100% condemn. Toss aside those large rocks, I've been supporting the targeted authors at my local bookstore and library.)

In less dramatic goals, I've got an ARC of Ruin Road by Lamar Giles I'm eager to check out, and I can't wait for Long Live Evil to be ready at the library. We've also got our first official Bella's Book Club read of Season 3, which should be fun (hint: it's an Austen!)

previous months:

july

[takerfoxx]

Well, it's been a full week since Gundam: The Witch From Mercury has ended, and God, I miss it already.

This was a special show to me, and no joke, it might have made my top five anime of all time. There was just something wonderful about getting invested in a series while it was still running and tuning in week by week and having time to really digest what I've seen before the next episode hit. Granted, I marathoned all of season one and only checked it out because of the SLAP, but even so. It was a wild ride.

And not in the least because wow, a canon wlw couple in a massively mainstream franchise like Gundman, one that ends up getting unambiguously married, and it's not treated like a joke, not played for fanservice, and doesn't portray one of them as a horny molester. That is kind of huge and groundbreaking. And yeah, I am ride or die for SuleMio. They're like number two of my favorite anime couples, second only to KyoSaya, and they actually have the advantage of bursting out of the subtext into undeniable TEXT.

What's funny is that I remember being a little put off by their dynamic in season one. Despite all the hype, there was this weird distance between them, one that was very unromantic, to the point where I started to wonder if they even liked each other in that way, or if it was just a political thing. But then they had their WONDERFUL zero gravity argument, where it was revealed that this was actually a deliberate writing choice, and Suletta and Miorine's differences in backgrounds, ways of thinking, toxic upbringings, and difficulties communicating were going to be obstacles that they had to overcome. And watching them struggle with those problems and make multiple mistakes was honestly far more captivating then a cliched lovey-dovey relationship would have ever been. And seeing them finally come together and get their happy ending was well worth the wait.

But even beyond the main couple, this show fucked. The mech fights were all hype, everything was gorgeously animated, all the side characters were all unique and likeable (seriously, I was making an effort to remember everyone's names, even the throwaway characters with barely any lines), the music was OUTSTANDING (Red: Birthmark still gives me chills) and I still hold that Lady Prospera was not only one of the best and most interesting antagonists in a long time, but she is still one hundred percent Grade A Space MILF.

Still would.

Did it have it's problems? Of course it did. I agree that the last few episodes did feel really rushed, with stuff like the Calibarn and the big space laser suddenly showing up and being super important despite never even being mentioned. All the names of the different organizations were hard to keep track of, even though it was really important to the plot, and there was a lot going on that I felt could have stood to have room to breathe. Honestly, I don't know why WFM only got half the usual amount of episodes for a Gundam show, as it could really used a few more.

And yes, I would have loved to have seen the wedding and a kiss. I know, it's Japan, and Gundam doesn't usually have kissing, but after all that build up!

Still, what we got was still wonderful, and I'm glad that for as shaky as it got, it still stuck the landing.

I'm gonna miss this show. I'm really gonna miss it.

[alpimerealmsystem]

You Can Recover

ED recovery is the best thing I've ever done. I've struggled with orthorexia and then anorexia almost my entire life, it only got severe about a year ago though. About 4 months ago my best friend and honorary sibling more or less forced me to recover. It's been a long journey to say the least. 

When I started recovery I thought I'd never be able to go back to eating normally. My brain would always be running as a calculator. It still is, I can tell you a rough estimate of how many calories I've eaten today and tell you how many cups of cereal is in a bowl because I've measured my food so many times. It still hurts, but now? I'm not obsessively looking for calorie menus of places, and if I can't find one I'm not trying to calculate every thing that went into it.

ED recovery has been one of the most mentally challenging things I've put myself through, but my life has improved so much. Here are some of my favorite things about recovery

I just went to a family dinner and didn't make all the food because I needed to know the calories (still had to make some cause food allergies but y'know)

Choosing the foods I like, not the healthy or low cal versions

CARBS CARBS CARBS (speaks for itself)

I'm not a bitch cause I'm hungry all the time

My periods? They're regular now, I'm not skipping four months at a time (tmi BUT DAMN)

I'm not lightheaded cause I didn't eat and my vision isn't blurring because I didn't eat LIKE THATS AMAZING

SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR

Eating when I want, not what the clock says

I have gone 2-3 weeks without weighing myself (I EVEN LOST TRACK WHICH IS A HUGE DEAL) AND I DONT PLAN TO WEIGH MYSELF TOMORROW

The number on the scale doesn't equal my happiness, I am not mad because I gained 0.2 pounds

I've gained 20 pounds BUT IM HAPPIER WITH MY BODY I love my squishy stomach and back rolls and cellulite and chonky face because it means I am not starving

I don't feel worthless because I'm "too heavy" or "not pretty"

I don't have to buy new clothes every two weeks because my old ones were way to big <3

I'm no longer trying to make sure others see me eat so they don't worry

KEEPING MY STUPID ED BLOG A SECRET (god glad those days are over)

And so much more. Recovery is possible. Recovery is the best thing that happened to me. I know you may be struggling, but it gets better. Everything's not hopeless, even if it feels like it is. Feel free to DM me if you need support or send an ask ^^

I love you, for everything you think is a flaw, for everything you hate about yourself, no matter what it is.

[pertinax--loculos]

Books Read in 2024 (so far)

(Looking at my Goodreads, where I've been keeping track of this, I apparently only started keeping track in March? But I guess that's fair, there's a chance I didn't read anything before that. So let's go with that. ^_^)

The Foxhole Court, Nora Sakavic

The Raven King, Nora Sakavic

The King's Men, Nora Sakavic

-> These kicked off my reading binge for the year. Also, how have I never read them before? Because my god. Instant favourites. Don't talk to me.

Like Real People Do, E.L. Massey

-> My attempt to recapture the All for the Game vibes. It failed. The book was okay, though.

John Dies at the End, Jason Pargin

This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It, Jason Pargin

What The Hell Did I Just Read, Jason Pargin

If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe, Jason Pargin

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, Jason Pargin

Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, Jason Pargin

Zoey is Too Drunk for This Dystopia, Jason Pargin

-> Some of these are technically rereads; JDatE, Spiders, and the first Zoey book. Regardless, Pargin is an insta-buy for me.

Leech, Hiron Ennes

-> Tumblr recommendation off a random post. Very good.

American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis

-> I enjoyed this. If you can say that about this book. Taking it as what it is, I thought it was very well done.

Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry, Alex Ritany

-> Go check out @aritany if you haven't already! Wonderful human, incredible writer, new book coming out soon!

Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One, Jack Townsend

-> Trying to recapture some of Pargin's bizarre humour. Pretty similar, and I did enjoy it, but I was starting to move away from that vibe, and to be honest this just wasn't as good as Pargin.

Maze-Born Trouble, Ginn Hale

-> My only complaint with this book is it was too fucking short. 😠 Astonishing worldbuilding and a very rich story for what amounts to a novella. Love.

Altered Carbon, Richard K. Morgan

-> Following on from the scifi of Pargin's Zoey series and Maze-Born Trouble. This was good. I doubt I'll read more in the series because from the blurbs they're quite disparate, but holy hell the world that was built was incredible.

Mystic River, Dennis Lehane

-> Complicated reason why I read this that actually has to do with OOC. Also technically a reread, from a while ago. Love Lehane, though, and this as a standalone is very good. Has some examples of omniscient POV that I would almost classify as head-hopping that actually works, and as a thriller, so an interesting read for a writer as well.

Educated, Tara Westover

-> The beginning of my brief nonfiction binge.

I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jenette McCurdy

-> Because, obviously.

Eggshell Skull, Bri Lee

-> Highly HIGHLY recommended. Some heavy stuff regarding sex offences and the legal system, and quite centred in Australia, but a brilliant nonfiction read.

The Sunshine Court, Nora Sakavic

The Foxhole Court, Nora Sakavic

The Raven King, Nora Sakavic

The King's Men, Nora Sakavic

-> Why yes, I did see that The Sunshine Court had been released and immediately read it, then immediately reread All for the Game, because what the fuck else was I gonna do? Not reread it? C'mon.

Icebreaker, A.L. Graziadei

-> Note the author there, cuz I know there's another book by the same title. This one was excellent. Still not the AftG vibes I was seeking, but closest I've found reading something immediately after finishing that series.

The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley

-> I know everyone's talking about it. Read it anyway.

Summer Sons, Lee Mandelo

-> currently reading. Currently loving.

...and that's 27 so far this year -- 23 if you don't count rereading books I read for the first time this year. 0.o Still, not a bad effort!

If you'd like more info or just wanna chat about any of this books, feel free to hit me up. Also if you've got this far without being intimidated by my awful formatting choices, congrats! And thankyou. ^_^

[mylittleredgirl]

m*a*s*h season three continues!! disc two!!

"alcoholics unanimous" is so funny oh my god

the scene where trapper, hot lips, and hawkeye are all lit and making each other laugh is note perfect i want to live in it forever. i can't decide if "who was that guy?" was scripted or if loretta swit just went for a one-shot kill after the scene was over but i live for these bits when margaret accidentally ends up on team 100 proof

it's also nice of them to periodically remind us that frank has a huge wang. i'm glad he's got that one thing going for him

they're really softening hot lips this season 💕

they're styling her much younger, too. the barrettes! the ponytails!!!! i might never recover from the ponytails.

and the scene where she is reading a that letter to radar while he's in the hospital, and she has that little giddy smile at the end! it's so sweeeeeet it's killing me come on

i have a lot of thoughts about frank and margaret, and like five of them are about the phone call in the nurses episode

"knowing you'd kill me makes my life worthwhile" see. with the laugh track off, this joke turns into just margaret staring dreamily in soft focus and the realization that ohhhh. oh no. she really means that. she's like in love in love with this clown, that's so embarrassing for her

(also from that episode: the afterlife song is stuck in my head! the nurse song with the halfhearted montage though like. what happened in the editing room there.)

(also hilarious that trapper misses his wife for the first and only time when every woman in the camp is gone)

"adam's rib" - i like how everyone universally thinks hawkeye's quest is dumb, but they climb aboard the shenanigans because they have nothing else to do

WE LIED TO MILDRED!!!

i don't think i've mentioned how much i love henry and radar together. their comic timing is flawless. that bit of talking over each other never gets old. and then whenever they love and defend each other!!! i love a professional substitute dad

time for "bombed"!!! blow that pyrotechnics budget babyyyyy! blow shit up! break windows! light stuff on fire!!

the trapper/hot lips ship watch on this blog turned into a ship warning just in time for the two of them to get locked in a supply tent and not bang

you gotta admit the long-running ust potential here is pretty great (they hate each other) (but he's a little obsessed about hating her) (and she lusts after him) (and they're both hot)

SADLY for my cause there was no booze in there, because every time she gets drunk she's like "regrettably, there's frank" but sober she wants to marry him

no wonder he wants to outlaw alcohol in the camp

"we held hands and said the pledge of allegiance together" okay they are genuinely so funny sometimes though

i'm also falling hard for hawkeye/trapper but they would never be exclusive so multishipping is built in

last on the disc is "bulletin board"!!!

an episode about nothing is so soothing after all the explosives. the balance of action and Just Hanging Around in this series is really enjoyable

trapper writing a letter to his daughter 🥺

"korea? the war still?" and the rest of that little pillow fight scene. so much sibling energy in the swamp.

henry losing that patient hit well. i hate to be like "i'm rooting for patients to die" because it's not that, but they save them so successfully that it's dramatically satisfying whenever they don't. and i like how it silently affects henry through the rest of the ep while the rest of them have fun

that long beautiful shot of all of them running back to camp!!!!

ok this post took me like three days to write somehow because i rewatched everything ENJOYYYYYY

[eepwtf]

(Spoilers for arcane s2 if anyone else is reading)

Different anon from before but Now that we're talking about arcane, how did we feel about s2 compared to season one? Still very beautiful of course, arcane is pure art but I was sort of disappointed with a few things 😭 like how they didn't flesh out vis character so much and how Cait was like kinda wicked for a second and forgot about it all. I feel like it needed to be longer, even just three more episodes would have done it some good. And gosh the ending. When I watched it the first time I didn't really cry I think, I was pretty content but thinking about it I'm so devastated about jinx and vi. Like they're finally a family again and them boom! That happens, like jesus christ man. I yelled at vi to jump like a million times like bro JUMPPPPP OVER. Obviously she was traumatized and in the moment but God I just miss those two so much, it was always them ☹️ did you like the ending? Jayce was my favorite part of the entire season honestly, I'm so glad everyone switched up because as the #1 jayce fan I was fighting for my life when season 1 came out

(It's so funny that I'm upset about jinx dying actually though because before s2 I wanted that mf gone. I was literally telling my friends that I hope she dies. I don't even remember why I didn't like her??? Guess you could say i.. heh...☝🏾 jinxed it)

oh anon, your whole message has me cackling. (now that i’m typing it out cackling is such a funny word, makes me feel like a witch like wth is wrong with you, get out) moving on… from my existential dread the “jinxed it” line? i see what you did there.

but seriously, i feel you on season 2. the art? still stunning, like watching a masterpiece in motion. but yeah, the pacing could have been better. vi and caitlyn’s arcs felt rushed, and don’t even get me started on how they just glossed over cait’s momentary erm…(bad choices) like it didn’t happen. its like they tried to cram too much into too little time. three more episodes would’ve been a game-changer for fleshing out characters like viktor, who really deserved more focus.

the ending, though… oh my god, the ending. i thought i was okay when it first hit, but the more i dwelled on it, the more it crushed me. vi and jinx’s dynamic has always been the heart of the show for me, and just when you think they might finally be okay… BAM. i was practically screaming at the screen with you, like, “VI, JUMP!!” but the trauma? yeah, it tracks. still hurts like hell, though.

and jayce getting his redemption arc this season? oh.. well we love to see it. i hope you feel vindicated now, #1 jayce fan, because the slander he got in season 1 was wild.

[echotunes]

okay dumping some final thoughts. calamidade was a REALLY GOOD season.

there were so many episodes that I liked so so much but special shoutout to 6 and 8. those ones were my favourites. and 9 was also really good

I loved the new characters (or new-ish in Rubens's case)! Of course characters are always a huge part of what makes a season what it is, and I really liked the cast in this one. good team!!

I really really liked what little of Joui and Arthur we got. made me miss Kaiser of course but I loved what they had going on. those arguments in episode 8 live in my brain. spinning them so fast in my mind

also generally spinning Arthur in my mind god he's such a character I adored him this season. the way we saw how the events of Desconjuração, but also the entire year's timeskip that followed, changed him, was really good. I loved how he grew into the leadership role after how unsure he was at the start. and I'm thinking about him + his relationship with loss + the way he reacts to it by the end of Calamidade so so much...

somewhat related to Arthur & Joui: the irl aspect added so so much to this season. especially how physical Luba and Guaxi were with each other really added a lot to those scenes. the documents being printed out irl for the players to look at was really good - especially the reveal with the UV torchlight showing hidden messages!! very very cool thing. and the other items too! the book! the box! the

speaking of the book: that was just a really cool part of the final battle I loved how effevtively Bagi used it. very fun mechanic

I like how much influence the previous seasons had on this one (OSNF!!! so much OSNF) and how dead, or at least not-on-screen, characters were still so very relevant. shoutout to Kaiser and Johnny...

I didn't like the villain POV episodes as much just because I never really got into any of the characters, but I did like them for what they were, in the sense that we got to see a little of what the other side had going on. Luis's acting as Damir in episode 7 was fun though

Ordo Calamitas was so fucking cool. I LOVE the concept and the execution was really well done too. the players having fun with the new characters was very fun to watch too - I maintain I would've liked to see more of Bagi playing Gaius but what can you do; and especially Rakin as Remus and Luba as Celestine were very fun. and the games themselves were so cool it's such a good idea for something to have your players do in a TTRPG I like it so much

I LOVED CARINA!!! especially when Bagi was acting out her furious screaming that was always fun. she's good at it <3 but the way she took to heart what Liz told her during her initial 50% paranormal exposure transcending ritual, and the fact that she internalised that so much to the point of applying it to Damir, of all people, was just really really good. what a great way to use how meta that mechanic is. I just love what Bagi did with her she's such a good character

speaking of Bagi: I loved how much she was always paying attention to the in-universe mechanics with the entities!! I'm very glad she applied her knowledge of that in-rp as much as she did. very rewarding when you as a viewer were also paying attention to that

I did also really enjoy the way Rubens and Balu's relationship developed. they're a fun dynamic and I really like how it ended up!

of course shoutout to the OST. I love the Ordem OST a lot and this season was no exception to that. O Anfitrião remains SUCH a cool fucking track

speaking of O Anfitrião: great villain!!! loved him. I loved seeing more of him and generally Energy after the taste we got in Desconjuração ep 7. I love his music, I LOVED the battle and how creative it was mechanically, loved the reveal at the end of episode 6... just a really good arc I liked it a LOT

I'm still not very interested in Dante as a character sorry but his powers this season were pretty cool. shoutout to the marionette what the fuck was that

speaking of weird death things: episode 10 was a fun way to integrate more of Death into the season and the sphinx monster was very cool. the battle was less interesting than some others this season but I did like the riddles mechanic

and on the topic of battles the Minotaur one in episode 7 was also a very cool idea. doesn't help with me not caring for the characters but putting them in the labyrinth was a nice move

I think the final battle was a little weaker than Desconjuração's admittedly. maybe I'm just biased because I've rewatched both "CINERÁRIA" and Gal's introduction in OPD 20 so many times, but despite all that it was this one did not feel quite as climactic to me. and Joui's death did not have the same impact on me that Kaiser's did. by no means was it a bad final battle but I do think Desconjuração wins out between the two

...and I think that's all my thoughts for now but yeah. tldr calamidade was really really good. <3