#i have books 3 and 4 in one collection on my bookshelf

[eyepatchdate]

Do you think some Mikado citizens ever figured out they could get their original works published as long as they threw King Aquila in there somewhere? And how much of it was actually fanfiction about Aquila, Mikado's state-designated blorbo? It'd be really funny if Aquila also got "and he'll return in Mikado's darkest hour" like King Arthur. Like technically he did!

@thonkphonk

OK......... THE FAERIE QUEENE IS AN INTEREST OF MINE. I read Books 3 and 4 for a class called 'Violence and Romance in Renaissance Literature'. We spent a lot of time on it, because iirc the only other thing we read in the class at all was some Shakespeare. So it was actually mostly a class on the Faerie Queen books 3 and 4 lol (and all of my papers were on the Faerie Queene instead of Shakespeare lol).

The whole deal with the Faerie Queene is that the titular Queene is the goal of King Arthur's quest, and yet Arthur himself only has cameos in the stories because he is the 'main plot' where all the books have different main characters (and focuses on elaborating on various virtues that each main knight upholds--Arthur is the perfect knight, who extols all virtues, whereas all the characters in the books exist to define specific virtues--ex: Britomart represents Chastity, Artegall represents Justice, etc). And Spenser never actually finished the Faerie Queene, which is why Arthur's quest never gets full attention.

To apply this to SMTIV would be extremely fun.

Absolutely I could see so many stories about King Aquila's times. Especially since Mikado is trapped in this sort of medieval stone-age ('holy times' as viewed by angels) so its not even like stories about Aquila would be dated, it would be so easy to write stories of modern times with Aquila present. Or, even easier, would be his inclusion in these 'fairy-stories' the Luxurors know.

Aquila means so much to people despite having lived so long ago, I would assume his knights are known the same way Arthur's are (with people inventing new knights all the time, as with Arthurian legends as well). So people would toss Aquila into all this often while writing their own stories about the various knights (with a focus on those knights because, like Arthur's presentation in the Faerie Queene, Aquila would be the 'perfect' character, meaning that the stories are more interesting if they can be about the flaws of the others).

But 100% Aquila would always come in to save the day, or to approve of the resolution the story reaches, etc. I am so on board with that idea.

That being said, this would mean the angels likely erase much of this when they take over Mikado, Aquila' name remains on the Obelisk, but his statue is destroyed, so I imagine many of these books are just straight up burned. A few would survive though, less objectionable ones,but the angels hate the influence Aquila still has on the people, and how he is still venerated.

Also you are SO RIGHT about the 'once and future' thing. Like. This has no support in the game because the game is so nebulous about Nanashi's birth, but I do somewhat theorize he was born in Mikado? He's literally just found in Sky Tower, so I'm like, okay was he born there and brought down somehow? I would KILL to know anything about this because like. Ok, they found a baby. How did they find him? In the hands of a demon, dead humans, or just like, on the ground? Hello? Can I have some information please?

But I've always assumed Nanashi was born in Mikado and then SOMETHING was a reason for him to be carried below, and then discovered. Because like. we don't even know why the HUNTERS were in Sky Tower--most people knew about Medusa back then and wouldn't want to go, and people even assume Medusa works for Tayama (which is false--I theorize she worked for Akira but that isn't confirmed anywhere). but if people just assumed the Sky Tower was controlled by the Ashura-kai, I don't know why anyone would approach--they KNOW Medusa kills everyone up there.

and Nanashi of course is randomly discovered after Medusa is there, he's only born well after Akira establishes Mikado, so the Hunters have long-withdrawn from Sky Tower and like. what. is happening.

But yeah a prophecy about Aquila's return and somehow that also including the need for Nanashi to go below rather than above, there's some sect of people somewhere that know something, this is just, one of those many holes left open in the SMTIV world. so we are free to make theories and headcanons and I am so with it.

Thank you for sending this, this was so fun omg. I went on a bit of a ramble.

[musicalfilm]

My absolute favourite thing about returning to this blog after a few years and getting into musical films again is finding out how many of the old ones have been released on Blu-ray in the meantime. There used to be so many movies that I never even attempted to gif because I only had them in potato quality. That’s still the case for some (especially if they don’t star one of the major performers) but... The Pirate! For Me and My Gal! Gosh I’m so happy. Not even sure how much I’ll get back into gif-making because I don’t have much time but even just rewatching these movies in good quality is such a different experience altogether. Anyway, just a random observation haha.

[harrie-cc]

The Klean Collection - Part 4

This month I focused on creating the Klean Home Office. I focused my attention on what a designer's home office would look like/contain. I have wanted to make shelving like this for quite some time & was excited to try out Sims 4 Studio to angle the slots, unfortunately many painful hours later after trying to troubleshoot why exactly the rotation didn't work in game, I managed to come up with a workaround, so that you can still snap flat books and deco items onto the slanted shelves at the correct angle. For some peculiar reason the rotated slots would not work unless I locked their orientation. As a result once an item snap into one of these slots it will stay at the 45 degree angle even when you snap it to a regular slot. If I did this for all the slots to work it would end up being very difficult for you to effectively clutter all the other shelves as all your items would snap to these angled slots instead. So I've created only 3 of these slots on each shelf to help you to orientate your deco items to the correct angle. They are located in the middle and either end of the the shelf, so you should be able to avoid them while decorating the regular slots on the other shelves. I think this issue is down to EA changing the slotting information in the game as it a very simple process to rotate these slots and both programmes I used to do so ended with the same result. Fingers crossed this is changed in the future so I don't have to irritate myself and you all with such a workaround and they just work how they are supposed to! 

Items Include:

Bookshelf configurations 1 to 5 (short & medium)

1 tile bookshelf configuration (short & medium)

Left ending bookshelf configuration (short & medium)

Right ending bookshelf configuration (short & medium)

Bookshelf post (short. medium & tall)

Desk chair

Glass desk

Statement desk/ conference table/ dining table

Design portfolio

Open design portfolio

Pantone swatch books (3 options)

RAL swatch books (2 options)

Fabric sample book

All items are Base Game compatible and you can find them by searching KLEAN in the build/buy catalogue.

As per usual textures are linked between similar items, so if you download the unmerged file, make sure to include all items from that family, so the textures appear correctly in your game.

Now Available on Patreon Early Access

Public Release: 7th April 2024

[itsaspectrumcomic]

Hey so I saw on one of your comics that you had a special interest about books and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind talking more about that

bc I think I’m autistic but whenever I’ve brought this up to my mom one of the things she argues back is that autistic people have special interests that they research and devour, and to her I was never like that as a child

meanwhile I’m over here like …🧍‍♀️…mom did you not witness the 2-year period where I only consumed the Warrior Cats series and only got out of it bc you took away my books because you thought my obsession was dangerous and then I had a meltdown where I screamed “don’t take my friends away! Those books are my only friends! Don’t take them away from me!”?

I just haven’t seen/heard of anyone else whose special interest was books and so it’s made it really hard to validate whether I’m autistic or not, so I’d appreciate anything you’re willing to share about it!!

Sure! The first book special interest I can remember having was The Magic Key books. I absolutely refused to read anything else and cried (read: had a meltdown) when I discovered I'd read all the ones available at school and I had to choose a different book (shock, horror).

These guys were my besties :)

After realising other books could also be good I started collecting series - I really liked having every book in a series and having them in order on my bookshelf. I ended up with two full bookshelves in my room of just my books, and then I read all my parents books as well. I read my favourite ones over and over, especially Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer and the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (I started reading those when I was 11 and I have a whole shelf dedicated to them :)).

I did the Summer Reading Challenge (which is an annual event in UK libraries) every year from the age of 4, and when I aged out of that worked at the library as a volunteer and listened to kids tell me about books they'd read. Like a smaller Rory Gilmore I brought a book with me wherever I went even if I wouldn't be able to read it. They were like comfort blankets to me.

No one ever picked it up as a special interest though, probably because liking books is a more 'normal' hobby compared to what a lot of people think of when they imagine an autistic person's special interest. And it's not like I know every single fact about books or trivia about characters. I just really like reading stories.

I'm sorry your mum took your Warrior Cats books away! That sounds very upsetting - I hope you've been able to continue your love of reading despite it <3

(sidenote: although it's common for autistic people to have special interests, it's not a requirement! Not every autistic person has one.)

[sophie-looks-at-things]

Some Modern Aemond Headcanons:

Hey y'all! So the votes were pretty close, but by a slim majority it looks like one post per character was the winner! 🥳 I also just have too many ideas for certain characters! So I'm going to start with my favorite, the man, the myth the legend, Aemond himself. My internet is going to be a little spotty for the next few days, since I'm going to be moving, but stay with me! I'll get them all on here at some point :)

He has a big black/gray great dane named Vhagar. I saw someone else say he’d have a great dane, and I totally agree!

He experimented with different colors for his false eye, blue, green, maybe even the signature Targaryen lavender. But ultimately he settles with the sapphire blue stone. It’s different, and makes him feel badass, but also a little pretty :)

Mans is the embodiment of dark academia, from style to work ethic. He’d be a double major in philosophy, and history. Maybe a minor in business, just in case Aegon somehow convinces Alicent and Viserys to give him the family business instead him. He’d still be the CFO or something, but CEO does have a better ring to it…

He'd get his own apartment as soon as possible. He doesn't like having roommates all up in his business. He refused to stay in a dorm room with a total stranger, so he and Aegon teamed up for once to convince Alicent to let them do an apartment together instead. But after a year or so, Aemond needed his own space… Aegon isn’t exactly neat and tidy sometimes. 

Speaking of his apartment, I think Aemond would be pretty minimalist. He doesn't super love clutter. But his office might be the one exception. Since he's a double major with a minor, he's got a lot of textbooks, and novels lying around. Unlike Helaena, he's not a collector, or a huge fan of nic nacs. But he does have his posh tea, and I think he'd have a small collection of about 3 or 4 daggers.

It would be interesting to see him with an s/o that is a collector, he'd probably end up designating a part of his house to them for all their little things. He could handle a small corner or bookshelf, but it grows on him overtime. And he gets secretly a little excited every time they bring something new home. "Hey look what I got at the antique store today!" "Add it to the shelf love :)"

Definitely a smoker. He knows it’s a bad habit, but he’s not super driven to quit either. It’s a stress reliever, and it gives him something to do while thinking. Helps him process stuff. (also it’s just kind of hot to think of Aemond with a leather coat and a cigarette, plus that motorcycle I mentioned earlier…) 

Black is his favorite color/shade, at least for clothing and interior decorating. But ever since he was a kid he's had a thing for blue, a deep ocean, sapphire blue. That's probably why he settles on the blue sapphire for his eye.

Modern boyfriend Aemond would be a secret romantic I think. He didn't really have many girlfriends if any in high school. He'd have had his first kiss and all that, but they weren't really on his radar. Part of me thinks Aemond would be with someone a slightly more extroverted than himself. They would get him out of the house a little more, even if it's just to take Vhagar for a longer evening walk than usual.

I think one of his love languages would be gift giving. He can be a little closed off sometimes, so when words seem to fail him, he'd find a way through gifts. They'd range from a bouquet of your favorite flowers, to a private dinner at the nicest restaurant in town. You saw a dress, or top you liked online? It would be nicely wrapped in a box on your bed within the next couple days.

He needs someone with patience. He's insecure about his eye sometimes, (not all the time, cause I feel like he has some days where he's totally feeling it). He might take a while to let down some walls, but when he does, you can read him like a book. You see him squint a little at something his brother said? You know he's annoyed and wants to change the subject.

Looovvessss dark chocolate. More particularly though, he loves chocolate covered espresso beans. It's his snack when studying.

He runs cold, he has an extra layer with him at all times. Sometimes it's a sweater under his leather jacket, or a scarf Alicent made him tucked into his bag.

[stitchwraith-stingers]

3, 10, and 22 if you don’t mind :3 it can be any fandom, whichever you think will be easier when answering it !!

3 - screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

"anemone is so dogshit because she became mean for some reason" ohh so close, thats a kid who was kept close by her mom all her life and got manipulated by an old guy and was scared of her own powers, honorable mention to "hazels mom is a therapist she shouldve talked to him in the finale"

10 - worst part of fanon

i cant explain it, like, how bizzare it is?? like looking at fanon discussions is so fascinting because half of the time its like being smashed in the face by a bookshelf

the rampant misogyny is one thing i talk abt often, but theres stuff like how people will bend over backwards and you look at the canon and its just so drastically different from whatever the media is, also how suddenly people just cant some up with bullshit for some characters but then others who are cardboard boxes theres 5 billion pages of yaoi in fanworks of them, like what the hell is stopping is my question

(i understand ppl who want peri to be this badass who adopts dev and everything is great and i get the appeal i also love me some found family dynamics, however to me it just sometimes feels kinda forced? not saying you cant do that its just i dont think that peri would snap at dale and hate him directly, theres probably other stuff similar to this that ive seen in works but i cant recall, this was more common during 2014-2019 though)

also just how ship focused it is, now idk if im one to say this i love me some pairs i had a huge deviantart stamp collection that was half my page of ones i liked and i still do, however theyre so wildly out of character or its so obvious to see which ones people ONLY like for a ship and not outside their own character (stares directly at hazel)

theres probably more im missing but its 4 am rn, just the way they handle characters speicifcally and how wrong they can be even if something directly happened into the camara is soooo ????/

22 - your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

i cant rlly think of anythin new so ill repeat the answer i gave to the same question like acouple of months ago

i think the fop fandom can benefit from like, paying attention to the random worldbuilding????

theres atleast 4 different ways faries power the source to their magic and if 1 is dimished so are the rest like christmas lights, theres a substitute teacher whos a pretty gnarly fairy hunter (with a published book series), theres an entire country that appeared in the middle of america the contitnent that will dissapear, theres probably afew people timmy wished up that were on the run up untill he lost his fae which ment those people dissapeared, the grim reaper works in a fairy pet shop, crocker and the princible apparently had a thing going on??? betty and gray which im still mad they dropped after 4 episodes, chloe is all almost most of the time and even when her parnts come by theyre still jackasses enough to tell her to stop having fun, KEVIN CROCKER?? WHO I LOVE BUT IS SUCH A BIZZARE INCLUSION, anti cosmo and head pixie have (implied) raised a baby themselves?, the (not rlly) alien princess mark was supposed to marry who hunted him for sport for what i assume is months, veronicas whole identity crisis spheal, a fairy actress died on stage with such an ugly outfit that not even one person watched the damn movie after that, walking dino electrician, I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH A ANIMATRONIC AND A GUY ON THE STREET ARE BUDDYS AND THEYRE LIKE A BUTCH NONBINARY LESBIAN PUNK FURRY AND A CISHET GUY IN HIS MID 50S, aliens that exist on earth plotline for the 2nd time, theres two mother natures and while yeah they couldve retconned one of them ive decided are wives, THE WELLS' LANDLORDS ARE WERIDO END OF THE EARTH DUDES AND THE PARENTS GET ALONG BUT THEIR KIDS DONT WHY HAVENT I SEEN ANYTHING ABT THIS

[hypersonic04]

Teacher!ross and reader moving in together and organizing Ross’ books to her bookshelf but realizing they’ll need more room for it all, add fluffy stuff, talking about their book collection etc

This is so sweet. You’re both big readers, maybe you a bit more so than him with the nature of your subject, so when you move in together, the book situation is definitely interesting.

One of the things that attracted both of you to the new house was the HUGE bookcase in the office - it’s one of those where it’s fitted into the wall, floor to ceiling shelves, and there’s no way Ross could walk away from it when he saw the way your eyes lit up. So now, about 4 months later, he’s looking at you stood with your arms folded, middle of the office, his t-shirt on, the cogs turning in your brain as you try to think of a way to get all 7 boxes of books onto the bookshelf. He comes up to you presses a kiss to the side of your head, ‘what’s going on in that head of yours, hm?’, arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his side.

You decide to just make a start - he hands you a book at a time, starting with his history books, and you can’t help but read the blurb of each one, asking him questions, where he bought it, what it’s about, etc. He loves it, explaining everything to you and watching as you take it all in. This does, however, mean that the job takes twice the amount of time it should on paper lol.

The two of you end up sat on the floor on the office, you in between his legs and your back resting against his chest, having conversations about the books you’re pulling out of the boxes. It’s dark outside and neither of you could be bothered to get up and turn the light on, so it’s just the landing light casting through the doorway. His voice is close to your ear, every so often pressing a kiss to the space between your hair and ear when he particularly likes one of your observations. I think you get to some of the last boxes (eventually, it’s definitely past midnight), and you’re both kind of just like where are we going to put the rest of them lol. Because he’s so unbelievably whipped, he decides that he’s going to build you a bookshelf in the living room ‘because you need more room to display all of the books I’m going to buy you’. He sticks to his word, and a few weeks later he buys you a special edition of Wuthering Heights, your favourite, writing in the front page of it: To my beautiful y/n. My Catherine to my Heathcliff. Whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are most definitely the same. You cry a little bit I think, because he is so very right <3.

[solacescastleglow]

A Case for Physical Media

I can hear it now. 'OK, you pretentious asshole, we get it. You like physical media.' But here's the thing. I'm not just like this because of personal preference. I see physical media as an important element of pushing back against the late stage captialist hellscape we're in. With a simple switch from digital to physical purchases, you too can reap the many benefits to having a tangible thing in your hand.

1. Owning, not borrowing, what you buy

There's a quote from Ida Auken: you'll own nothing and you'll be happy. Personally, I disagree with the happy bit. I cannot envision myself being happy in a situation where anything I love can be taken away from me at any moment due to copyright or censorship or just because someone said so. If I paid for something, I want to own it. This is for bigger things, like where I live, but also for more mundane things like what media I consume. With physical media, it's much harder for it to be taken away.

2. The ceremony of using physical media

For most of us, the physical media we use most nowadays would be books. So imagine the process of reading. You go up to your bookshelf with only books that you chose to have, run your fingers along the spines while you choose one, hold it in your hands, curl up in a cozy place - maybe with a blanket or an animal or a warm drink, and you start reading and the world shifts around you and suddenly you're somewhere else. That's not even considering the book buying experience, by the way.

Okay, now imagine the process of listening to music on your phone. You put your headphones on, pick a playlist out of the millions out there, press play, and it starts. That's more simple, which is great if you need music quick. But what if you wanted to have the same sensory, I would venture to even say sensual, experience with music as you do with books? As far as modern options go, you're out of luck. That's why vinyl has made a comeback, and I've become super into recording cassette tapes recently, and CDs are also an option if you have a burner.

There's just something magical about having a music collection, looking at the cover art, having to really consider the choice because it's a bit of a hassle to change it, going through the steps of cleaning the surface of the vinyl and putting the needle down exactly where you want it. The inconvenience is part of the charm, it makes you really appreciate and get absorbed into the music.

3. Taking up space is a good thing, actually

Speaking of having a music collection, or a DVD collection or whatever it is, a common complaint is that it takes up more space than digital media. That's true, but consider: your identity is reflected in your living space, and what you consume is part of who you are. Are you a Music Lover, or just someone who listens to music? Are you a Reader, or someone who reads sometimes? There's nothing wrong with digital media (besides the aforementioned subscription and planned obsolescence issues), but I don't know, for me personally I prefer to have my interests on display because I'm not ashamed of them.

3.5. Alternatives when you're tight on space

Honestly, though, sometimes you just don't have the space for physical media. What I encourage in that scenario is a series of thumb drives, one for books, one for movies, etc. This is not even close to the same as physical media in my opinion, but it means that even if your favourite TV show gets taken off Netflix, you can still watch it for free. You can also watch it without internet, which is great in a blackout. Basically, if you want my advice, never buy something that you need to be logged in to access.

4. Shareability and preservation

The first part of this is based off point 1, but also the Netflix password sharing situation from a few years ago. Physical media can be shared. Obviously, you're limited to how many copies there are, but if you really want someone to watch something, giving them the DVD is going to jog their memory way more than just telling them to watch it. It's also just really nice to have physical memorabilia of your relationships with people.

There's also the fact that the internet is not always forever, especially if you're relying on websites for your consumption rather than downloading. When I was 14, there was this one epic fanfiction I loved so much that I bought hard copies of the books. Now, that's the only way to access it because the author took it off LiveJournal and AO3. Physical media can be lost, but it cannot be changed in a way that looks seamless. If you have the equipment to play it, you will have a true relic of the past, or at least evidence that something was different at some point.

5. What can you do about it?

Go to the library! I cannot stress enough how much libraries help whole communities with a variety of things, so support them the way they can support you. Look up your local library's services, because it's often not just books they lend.

For something more permanent, second hand bookshops are amazing. They help combat the fastfashionification of the publishing industry.

If you don't know of any dedicated music shops in your area, don't worry. Ebay is a great place to find older records, as is your local charity shop or estate sales. For newer ones, they should be easier to find. Remember, building up a music collection takes years, you're not going to have everything straight away.

This is in a legal grey area but I love making playlists and recording them onto cassettes. If you have the tape deck and blank tapes, it's free, and I no longer have to rely on Spotify for all my Bears in Trees listening needs. It's mine now. That being said, I do sometimes feel bad about not supporting the artist, especially since I listen to a lot of indie music, so make sure it's not available to buy before you record.

Something illegal which you should totally not do: Yo-ho-ho, aye me hearties. I would never ever do this with TV and movies, because that would mean I could burn them onto DVDs, which would be stealing. Can you believe that some people think it's okay to put whole series on Google Drive? And to think, those are just floating around the internet, for anyone to find. Also, terrible people sometimes borrow media from, say, the library, and then plug the CD drive into a computer to copy the files. Disgusting.

[terubakudan]

SILLY GOD DISCO ~✨ Be Crazy For Me ✨ ~A Nightclub-inspired playlist ~

An EDM playlist for recreating that tense, exciting atmosphere at nightclubs. I'm super introverted and hate crowded places, so nightclubs are a no-go for me. And yet I adore the fast-paced songs played in nightclubs xD

This idea was inspired from an underrated gem of an anime called Paripi Koumei (Ya Boy Kongming!). In which they described how clubs usually start with low BPM songs then gradually ease into higher BPM songs throughout the night. I love my ballads but I think the "high" you can get from listening to EDM and metal can be attributed to BPM.

Title taken from the GazettE song, SILLY GOD DISCO.

EIKO starring 96貓 (96Neko) - Be Crazy for Me

I had the same reaction as Koumei when I first listened to this song xD I was amazed by Eiko's vocals and this song makes for a great opener and introduction of Eiko, it just blows you away. Eiko herself being a real 'diamond in the rough', you can't help but be crazy for her!

2. Yakuza 6 OST - Theory of Beauty

Composed by Saori Yoshida, the BPM of this song gives me such a high xD But the slower 'cooldown' parts of the song with piano and guitar make this song god-tier. I consider it canon that Joon-Gi Han definitely had this song blasting on the speakers when fighting Kiryu at Club Stardust.

3. UuultraC OST - uprise!!! (vocals by 川名唯 Kawana Yui)

ED1 of ADELTA's kaiju boyfriend (yes really) game UuultraC. It gives me such good vibes and as a commenter said it's 'jubilant'. It makes a perfect theme song to the relationship between Shoutarou and Kozuka in the game. I also just have to say that Shoutarou is an absolute cinnamon roll and Kozuka is such an affectionate boyfriend.

ADELTA? Sounds familiar? None other than the creator of Hashihime of the Old Book Town! (a game by which is not perfect yet one I still recommend to BL lovers everywhere - it's especially impressive considering ADELTA is virtually a one-man developer team).

4. Yakuza Kiwami 2 OST - Clan Battle

Composed by either Hidenori Shoji/Yuri Fukuda/Chihiro Aoki/Saori Yoshida, the bopping-fantastic theme to the Clan Creator mini-game in Yakuza Kiwami 2. It was such a bop that it got my little brother to finish the entire Clan Creator sidequest. He's always liked those strategic games...I on the other hand prefer beating the shit out of goons. xD

5. Manuel - GAS GAS GAS

One of the many addicting songs featured in Initial D. It just makes me want to step on the GAS GAS GAS xD

6. m.o.e.v - Gravity

The 'they didn't have to go this hard yet they still did' insert song in the Inital D parody scene from Lucky Star. I have never watched an episode of Initial D but drifting to eurobeat just screams cool. My dad used to have the whole manga collection sitting on his bookshelf, maybe another day I'll give Initial D a try.

7. GOATBED - Masculine Devil

The ED song to Trash and Garbag-*cough* Virus and Trip's ending in DRAMAtical Murder. I lovingly hate the two xD GOATBED did such a great job on the OST and it really helps build the science fiction-atmosphere of the game.

Also Masculine Devil is just such a cool song name, I also find it a fitting name for a perfume. Maybe one of these days Nitro+chiral will release a perfume line based on their games...

8. GOATBED - Ai Catch

The opening song to DRAMAtical Murder. Because somebody left a gold nugget of a comment I'm just going to leave it here:

Me too, me too.

9. Casey Edwards - Devil Trigger

It's been almost 2 years since I last played DMC5 and this song is still so damn earworm-y. Casey Edwards did such a good job on composing such a banger song and of course I recommend his other songs like Bury the Light, Fire Inside, and Vacant Surrender.

10. Rosa Walton - I Really Want To Stay At Your House (80s Remix by Levi Doron)

An absolutely lovely remix of the soul-crushing insert song from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. While the original song had a sense of melancholy, this remix just sounds like happier times.

A great closer to one night at the nightclub just hanging out with friends if you ask me.

[galacticlamps]

Hi there @1968-100a 's sideblog lol! Ty for the tag!

TBR Meme!

If you have a To Be Read list/pile (comics, books, whatever):

What title(s) are you currently reading?

Right now I'm in between Acts 2 & 3 of Shaw's Pygmalion, and for a novel I'm reading Mort - I'm doing that unheard of thing & slowly going through Discworld chronologically (don't worry, I did technically do the 'find a random installment in high school & start there' method too, but I'm a bit of a completionist and publication order feels like the best way to go at it now)

What title(s) are up next on your reading list?

Depends on when my library holds come through lol. But just going off stuff I currently have access to (& no due date for) though, my next play will be David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, and next novel either Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine or Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited (more on that one later). For nonfiction, I have Rethinking Theatrical Documents in Shakespeare's England (which admittedly is very nerdy of me & probably doesn't make a good recommendation unless we have very similar interests, but definitely has me the most excited out of any of these. It's so incredibly up my street that it might just be the only book I've ever preordered immediately when it was announced - but that was already a few years ago & somehow I'm only just now about to have time for it). I also have a Jorge Luis Borges collection lined up in the world of short stories & poetry (I sort my TBR into those 4 categories, any one of them could be next-next depending on what I finish/am looking to start).

What title(s) are your emotional support TBRs and you’re planning to get around to them. One day. When the stars align?

I've never thought of it like that before, but there are actually two books I think fit different parts of this question - the 'when the stars align' one is under the cut bc that explanation got long.

Emotional Support Answer:

So, Brideshead has been on my 'serious' To-Read pile (as in, more than just 'I'd like to get to it one day' - I already own a copy) longer than anything else still on that list. That copy (chosen especially because it looks so blandly typical-bookstore-reprint-classic-lit) was the first 'gay object' I ever brought into my (conservative, catholic) parents' house. I remember coming by it very vividly, excuses all lined up just in case - & there were at the time already two adaptations of it making the rounds on Masterpiece Classics (respectable) - it was something akin to Pride & Prejudice, then, it was Safe. And that was supposing anybody actually noticed or identified it, shoved in among a dozen equally unassuming classics on my bookshelf, which I thought was safer than hiding it because if it were discovered (always a possibility in that house) the fact that I'd hidden it would itself be incriminating. Anyway, that was over a decade ago, and somehow I still haven't actually read it, though I've never considered abandoning it either, so it's remained an ever-present pillar of my TBR.

Recently I started to think that's quite long enough though - there were a few other shorter & less emotional baggage-y titles I wanted to clear out of the way first (like Mort, and a few Dr Who novels, and potentially the Bradbury, though his stuff tends to Hit Hard these days, despite fitting with the silly scifi paperbacks on the shelf), just in case taking a long time to get to Brideshead translates to taking a long time to finish it as well - but I really think there's a good chance it's next, this time. Not necessarily waiting for any great astrological portends, though, but we'll see.

Have you taken anything out of your TBR pile recently, and why?

Atually, no - and not even because of the aforementioned completionist-ism, either.

A few years back I was really disappointed by the second book in Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Cemetery of Forgotten Books series (The Angel's Game), and frankly that turned out to be a really good thing because it led me to reevaluate what I wanted to make time to read & why. At the time I already owned the next installment, and very uncharacteristically, I made my peace with abandoning the series there & got rid of it, along with a handful of other books that I'd been sitting on and avoiding getting to for whatever reasons. Not long afterward, I made a storygraph account where I put together a more serious/organized TBR than the various lists I'd kept before, so everything on it was added with my new criteria already in mind, and so far I've only had to take things off that when I actually get to them. It has gotten pretty long & could probably do with some pruning, but purely for practicality's sake - as far as I'm aware, there isn't anything on there I wouldn't still want to read if given the chance.

---

I'll tag @uighean @seismologically-silly and @terryfphanatics & as usual if anyone who sees this also wants to answer, I obviously always enjoy hearing a good ramble about books, so please do & tag me!

(& how lovely to be forced to just focus on them as books & how they fit into our lives for once, since we can't talk too much about the stories inside ones we haven't read yet - that's definitely been interesting to think about, so thanks again for the tag @the-batacombs <3)

About that title on my TBR waiting for the stars to align:

Unlike Brideshead, there is one book that I was aware of and vaguely interested in for a while but that only made it onto the List Proper a couple weeks ago - however, given the context I acquired it in, I suspect that it might be destined for a similarly long TBR life. It's an adaptation of Cicero's De Amicitia clearly made to appeal to the pop psychology coffee-table-read self-help world, which isn't usually my cup of tea, but this one was on my radar partly to see how the new translation compared to others I'd read before (Latin & Roman history were big for me in high school & college), and partly because it was published as part of a series including material from some other less well-known texts which I was curious to see repackaged for a more mainstream market.

Well, I happened to be traveling for work, some stuff went wrong, and I unexpectedly wound up in a city I'd last visited when I was a teenager, as part of a school trip with friends. I was already having a rather emotionally loaded day - to put it plainly, I only really stayed close with one person from that particular friend group as an adult, until they recently became what I would describe as my only true ex-best friend, and I just found out their parent had just died. I was at a total loss as to what was appropriate for me to say or do under the circumstances, and at the same time coincidentally found myself walking around a neighborhood that should have been totally unfamiliar after so long, but instead surprised me with memories of them and our high school days everywhere I looked. At one point I took a shortcut through a bookstore (the same one where we'd spent a couple long afternoons way back when, because I guess I value nostalgia, symmetry, and not being late more than I value my sanity), and saw they had a little travel essentials section by the exit, which was lucky since I was running out of toothpaste - but I was also low on cash & wasn't gonna hit the credit card minimum with just that. I turned around looking for something else useful, knowing I wouldn't have time to seriously browse, and saw right in front of the register a rack full of that series: How to Win an Argument, How to Tell a Joke, How to Win an Election, How to Run a Country, How to Think About God, How to Grow Old, etc - all billed as 'ancient wisdom for modern readers' & all titles I'd known about and was mildly interested in for pretty much the same reasons that had relatively little to do with their actual content. I hesitated for a second between How to Grieve and How to Be a Friend, went with the latter, and couldn't make it through the introduction without crying in my hotel room later that night.

There's an extra room key shoved inside it as a bookmark still, but I don't really count that as having started it, so it's on the TBR pile for now - and I also still don't know what, if anything, I'll ever try to do about that friendship. Or if I even want to. Nor do I know whether or not I've grieved correctly for the parent who was consistently kind to & supportive of me for so much of my life - but perhaps neither book would have ultimately been much help with that, even if I did make the right decision. (Cicero's most famous writings about death were prompted by the loss of his daughter, after all, so presumably there's not much in there covering how to feel about not even knowing if you'd be welcome at the funeral)

So, I've got De Amiticia under the guise of How to Be a Friend, for better or worse. Maybe I'll take a long time to get to that one or maybe I'll be seized by a fit of linguistics-driven interest before then, but either way I can tell it's definitely going to be a "when the stars align" read for sure, and not an "orderly working through of my TBR" -type book.

[rentenesen]

Woven - Chapter 4

Gale x Astarion BG3 fanfiction

Summary: A/U, modern day, exploring a world where fae exist (non-dnd). Gale, once a very special child with the ability to see fae, is now a regular almost middle aged man, working as a professor. Last night, he let a strange, pale fae Astarion into his house, thinking he may have a message from his mistress. Gale learns too late that he was mistaken and it seems it won't be so simple to kick this man out, now that he's wormed his way in.

Word Count: 1.6k The early chapters of the fic are PG (including this one) but will have more adult themes later on.

When Gale awoke it was still dark out. He was sweating through his sheets, and felt a little shaky. What had happened last night? Gale felt a tightness in his chest and reached up grasping at it for relief. He had mean to sort this out yesterday but he had clearly left it too long.

Looking over at his bedside table the clock read 3:47 AM. He pushed himself up and out of the warm comfort of his bed. He would go now, into the forest and find something to help his condition. He might have to make a trade for it if he could not garner an audience in front of his mistress or her followers but he was past desperate.

Gale had fallen asleep with his slacks still on, and quickly changed into something a bit more casual and warm for the journey. He had planned on going into the University to get some work done today, but there were no classes scheduled so he would call in and let them know he wasn't coming. Gale's stomach growled loudly as he bound down the stairs. Ah, a quick breakfast would be in order before he set off.

But when he reached the landing of his home something felt… off. What had happened last night? Gale remembered had a foggy memory of a dream about a beautiful seelie man. It felt like a nice dream but the specifics wouldn't come to him. What had they been doing?

When he stumbled into his kitchen things were not as he remembered them. For one, there was food left out, scattered on the counter, a bottle of wine sat open on the kitchen island. While Gale couldn't remember if he had been drinking or not, the bottle was nice, one from his collection and he was certain he would not have simple popped it open like that on a random Tuesday. Memories started to drift back to him like whispers from last night, not a dream, the seelie man standing had been outside his house. Gale had let him in.

The man must still be here Gale thought feeling a shock of adrenaline run up his spine. But where? His head turned back to the stairs, wondering if he had somehow missed the stranger lurking in the shadows, but before he could move his body he tuned in to a faint crackle coming from the other room.

It sounded like a fire. "Seriously?"

Gale cautiously crossed his kitchen, creeping towards the door that lead to his library. Sure enough a feint glow spread from under the door onto the linoleum.

Gale took a quick breath in and opened the door to see the seelie man, squeezed into the alcove by the garden window. Astarion's long legs were stretched up onto a bookshelf, book in hand and a few more messily stacked on a little side table he had pulled close, along with a almost empty wineglass, a small fire dim, but alight in the fireplace.

"Are you drinking my wine?" Gale said in disbelief. Astarion looked up as if he'd been expecting him.

"Ah good, you're awake" He closed the book and set it atop the precarious pile, sitting up to face Gale, stretching out his body, "I was worried about you, you know. You have quite the collection, it's kept me busy enough." He wasn't wrong. Gale's book shelves took up practically the whole room, each overflowing with different tomes he had collected over the years.

Scoffing Gale couldn't believe the audacity of this stranger to make himself at home while the owner was passed out upstairs. Like a stray cat that had just let himself in. Gale couldn't help but think it was almost kind of cute before he shook the though from his head "I didn't say you could stay last night" …he hadn't right? No, of course not, Gale convinced himself, this was trespassing, plain and simple and the man needed to leave.

"Well I'm already here, aren't I? So what's the harm really" he elegantly picked up the wineglass striding toward the kitchen "Did you want some?"

Gale stared dumbfounded as Astarion slipped past him, comfortably topping up his glass. "Offering me my own wine? That's expensive you know. And i see you're wearing my clothing!" Gale looked him over, Astarion had clearly also helped himself to a shower and whatever he could find in Gale's closet. He was much cleaner now, if not a bit awkward looking as Gale's clothes sat a little short.

He shot a look that Astarion seemed to ignore simply pulling out another wine glass and holding up the bottle gesturing to Gale.

He sighed exasperated, "No, I won't have some, it's four in the goddamn morning. I should be going to work in a few hours." Gale rubbed his face with his hands. He didn't have the time or the patience to deal with this right now.

"Ah I forgot you mortals live such ridged lives. It's been a while since I've concerned myself with the day-to-day of your society." He took sip from his glass then set it down focusing all of his attention on Gale "Now. I'm not one to pry but I couldn't help but noticed you seem unwell, given you passed out in the middle of our conversation. What's wrong with you?"

Gale slumped into a stool next to the kitchen island defeated. "I have… a condition" he said cautiously "Which is why I need you to leave. I need to go get this sorted out" instinctually his hand gently rubbed his chest, where he could feel it burning. Astarion's eyes followed Gale's hand.

"It's related to that mark on your chest?" Astarion peered the spot as if looking right through him "It's magical in nature is it not? I saw it last night when I was putting you to bed" Gale could feel another blush spread through his body. Astarion took a short sip of wine then moved his eyes up to meet Gale's "You should be grateful, by the way, you're rather heavy, I was inclined to just leave you down here."

Gale rolled his eyes, "Sure, thanks" he muttered "Anyways I guess there is no use hiding it, yes, it's a condition that causes me a great deal of pain. I.. need to consume magik, to feed it and let's just say I'm running dangerously low"

"Consume magik as in…?"

"As in, the magik from enchantments, or enchanted items, which I am fresh out of unfortunately"

"Is that all?" Astarion let out a light laugh, "I told you we would make good allies," he teased, sliding a ring off his finger. He held it out for Gale to see. He could feel the energy coming off of it.

It was no powerful magik but it would more the satiate Gale's deep hunger, "Astarion I" he said, shocked by this act of generosity, reaching out to take the ring " I don't know what to say, thank-"

But before his fingers could close around it Astarion flipped the ring back, palming it, "Not so fast" he purred

Of course. Gale was so stupid. Why did he think he could so easily trust a fae, he knew how they worked. His jaw tightened as he looked into Astarion's eyes waiting for the catch

"It was very generous of you agreeing to let me stay here."

He didn't

"…but with me taking care of you and all I'd say we're about even, wouldn't you?"

No

"In which case I can't simply go around giving out favours for free, you understand."

"What do you want", Gale growled, trying to hold back his anger, at Astarion for being the little trickster he knew he was, at himself for getting tangled up with this man in the first place.

"A simple promise" he smiled sweetly "That's all. I just want to know that you'll have my back if I need you to"

"Oh is that all?" Gale mused sarcastically

"Don't be like that, darling. I won't ask you for anything big, after all this is, but a trinket, and I am not a greedy man. I simply need a guarantee that you do, in fact, wish to be my ally."

They sat there in an uncomfortably long silence as Gale contemplated his options. If he took this he would be beholden to a favour he knew nothing about. Astarion could ask for anything and fae were not known to be kind when being asking for pay back.

Still. His other options were not exactly good. There was no guarantee he would find the help he sought if he ventured off on his own. This might be the best chance he had at making a deal.

"All right" he said, reluctantly "You have my word" Gale held out his hand and Astarion acquiesced dropping the ring gingerly into his palm.

"I'm so glad we could come to an agreement"

"Uh huh," Gale replied, closing his fingers around the ring, feeling the rush of energy sink into him. He felt refreshed, awakened, better than he had in a long time. Breathing in the energy around him Gale felt new again. He opened his eyes to see Astarion studying him curiously, wide-eyed when Gale opened his hand to reveal the ring had disappeared.

"You are rather special aren't you?"

Gale, despite his common sense, couldn't help but feel a little special in that moment. He knew already, this man would be his unwinding. He had stepped down a dangerous path with no way of knowing where it was leading, only that it would not end well for him. Then again when had Gale ever done what was good for him.

"Pour me a glass of wine" he said and Astarion grinned, with teeth that looked like they could tear him apart.

[midnightcowboy1969]

My bookshelf

Hey, @beanifred <3 So, here's a big peak at my bookshelf (way too many books as I said)

Beginning with my treasures:

The "Real" Bob Steele and a man called "Brad" by Bob Nareau

The Photostory of "Battling Bob" Bob Steele by Mario DeMarco

2. The Columbo Collection

Just One More thing by Peter Falk

The Grassy Knoll by William Harrington (my enemy)

Murder by the Book by Steven Bochco

And now there's chaos:

3.

Psycho 1 & 2 and Night-World by Robert Bolch (Norwegian edition)

Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

The Body Snatcher by Jack Finney

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Trash by Dorothy Allison (lesbian but at what cost)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Buddah of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (I also have American Gods but I cannot find it)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

The Complete Short Stories: Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie

Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell

The Hunter by Richard Stark

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The System by John Burke (novelization)

Alien Nation by Alan Dean Foster (novelization)

Edge of the City by Fredrick Pohl (novelization)

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Collector by John Fowels

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (Norwegian edition)

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (novelization)

Ninteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Wanderer by Sterling Hayden (the actor)

The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy & Anthony Shaffer (Novelization (?))

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

4.

Terror by Dan Simmons

Papillon 1 & 2 by Henri Charrière (Norwegian editions)

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (book of all time)

The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Midnight Cowboy by John L. Herlihy

Shooting Midnight Cowboy by Glenn Frankel

Cape Fear by John D. McDonald (watch the movies)

The Bretheren by John Grisham (Norwegian edition)

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorgood

Glitz by Elmore Leonard (Norwegian edition)

The Big Sleep and Other Novels by Raymond Chandler (the other novels are Farwell My Lovely and The Long Goodbye)

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Client by John Grisham (Norwegian edition)

Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Legion (Exorcist 2) by William Peter Blatty

La Peste by Albert Camu (Norwegian edition)

Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffery Cranor (not read)

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg

The Day of the Dolphin by Robert Merle

Local Hero by David Benedictus (novelization)

The Glass Cage by Colin Wilson

American Psycho by Brett E. Ellis

Fools Die by Mario Puzo (Norwegian edition)

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The Sicilian by Mario Puzo (Norwegian edition)

5.

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin (Norwegian edition) + Four different Game of Thrones books in Norwegian

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card

The Betsy by Harold Robbins (Norwegian edition)

Aliens by Alan Dean Foster (novelization)

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

The Auctioneer by Joan Samson

Timeline by Michael Crichton

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Dune, The Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galxy by Douglas Adams

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

6.

Trumpet by Jackie Kay

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman (short story collection that made me dislike short stories)

Mr. Monk in Trouble by Lee Goldberg (my enemy)

Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop by Lee Goldberg (I hate him)

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Wolf

Oranges are not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Maurice by E. M. Forster

The Case of the Gilded Lily by Erle Stanley Gardner (Norwegian edition)

The Case of the Glamorous Ghost by Erle Stanley Gardner (Norwegian edition)

Something Happened by Joseph Heller

Marathon Man by William Goldman

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley (Norwegian edition)

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurt

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Norwegian edition)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey (bad)

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

Killing Time by Della Van Hise (Star Trek Spinoff Spirk book)

Star Trek: Department of Temportal Investigations: Forgotten History by Christopher L. Bennet

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Missing by Una McCormack

Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: Uncertain Logic by Christopher L. Bennett

7. Stephen King Collection

Outsider

If it Bleeds

On Writing

Blaze

Carrie

The Stand

Hearts in Atlantis (Norwegian edition)

The Tommyknockers

Cujo

Thinner (Norwegian edition)

The Shining

Night Shift

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (Norwegian edition)

Dreamcatcher

Doctor Sleep

Rose Madder

Pet Sematary

Christine

Salem's Lot

Dolores Claiborne (Norwegian edition)

The Bachman Books

The Institute

Insomnia

Misery

Finders Keepers

End of Watch

Firestarter

The Body

Needful Things (Norwegian edition)

Bag of Bones

8. Not pictured

A collection of Sherlock Holmes books

Many Hardy Boys books

Chilly Scenes of Winter by Ann Beattie

Some comic books

I believe this is approximately everything lol.

My dream is to have a small cozy rooms dedicated to the books I own. It won't happen any time soon.

[wildcard47]

13 books tag game

Tagged by @what_alchemy and am finally getting around to answering!

1) The last book I read:

Last one I finished was Linda Tirado's Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America. Most of the nonfiction I read is well done but not super cheerful. Anyway, if you don't already know how much it sucks to be poor in America, it'll give you a bit more insight into why this country Is How It Is, etc.

2) A book I recommend:

I recommended the His Dark Materials series to someone recently, as a sprawling fantasy series that would entertain a teenage girl but also their parent. This may have been the first book I read that had Canonical Gay Love in it, lmao.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

There There by Tommy Orange. The voices and relationships were so compelling that I couldn't stop reading until I knew what happened.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

More than half of the books I own are ones I've read twice or more, haha. Hm. Let's list: Good Omens, Sense and Sensibility, Love Medicine, Wishful Drinking, On Writing....there are more but I'm visually blanking on the various sections of my bookshelf and everything I've ever read.

5) A book on my TBR:

What isn't on my TBR? The stacks are endless, but I just picked up Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine during a period of insomnia. So far I like it.

6) A book I’ve put down:

Too many to count, lmao. Sometimes I go through phases where I'll pick them back up because it wasn't the right time for me to read that thing. Mostly the ones that I don't like stay unfinished. I'll give it a couple of chapters, maybe.

7) A book on my wish list:

Sharp Objects is one I've meant to read forever and still have never opened. Does that count?

8) A favorite book from childhood:

L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series, but especially Anne of Windy Poplars and Anne of Ingleside, because I loved the idea of the baby Blythe kids having all these rural Canadian adventures. Also: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. If you know me it's less weird that I was reading all of these over and over in the same year.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Depends on the friend! IMO, I don't have an automatic go-to book or author. I think the last book I gave as a gift was actually to my dad for Christmas -- Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. Also feel like I also do more book swaps with people, rather than gifting.

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own

Many poetry books in my house. The most recent poetry anthology I bought was When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came through because I love seeing what Indigenous poets do with form and style. Also picked up Fugitive/Refuge (Philip Metres) and Ancient Light (Kimberly Blaeser) at AWP this year, among others.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Just bought Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right because the author was interviewed in a newsletter I read regularly. Also: what are gay white men even doing being Republicans, etc.

12) What are you currently reading:

Ulysses, by James Joyce. And Moby Dick, although I'm not even out of the first third of the book yet.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

I have a collection by Mary Gaitskill that keeps itching at me, as well as a giant pile from AWP. Also think I'll be reading Beautyland, by Marie-Helene Bertino, very soon.

Tagging @terribleoldwhitemen @orbposting @adreadfulidea and anyone else who'd like to do this!

[bubblegum-blackwood]

13 Books Tag Game

Tagged by @mothmage 🖤

1) The last book I read:

Ghost Of by Diana Khoi Nguyen. This is a book of poetry I read for my Intro to Poetry class - it deals heavily with grief, having been written in the aftermath of the death of the author's brother, and if you like free verse, concrete poems, or stream-of-consciousness-like verse, this would definitely be something to check out. Also Othello by William Shakespeare :3

2) A book I recommend:

If We Were Villains by ML Rio! It's about a bunch of theatre kids going to an arts conservatory to study Shakespeare. People fuck, people do drugs, people get murdered, and like half the cast is gay and repressed about it. The prose is really vivid, and overall, I'm just super impressed with the story and the characters Rio created!

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. I know this is a Vampire Chronicles blog so that seems rather obvious but I truly was captivated by this book. Checking it out from the library was one of the best decisions I ever made.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

I'm going to cheat for this one and do a play instead: Hamlet by William Shakespeare. I first read it in school in junior high, then again on my own my sophomore year of high school, and I've flipped through it several times since then. As much as I love other Shakespeare plays like Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet, I never seem to run out of things to say about Hamlet. It's just so rich.

5) A book on my TBR:

Ohhhh soooo many sdljkfklfjasklfsjlkjfskl. But my friend gifted me Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth for my birthday and I figure I should get around to it at some point 😅

6) A book I’ve put down:

A year or two ago, my mother came home from Target with Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris by Anne and Christopher Rice, because she saw our goth mom's name and figured I'd appreciate it since I like the Vampire Chronicles. It's not the first in the series, and I was having a hard time connecting to these random new characters, so I closed the book after a few pages and it's been sitting untouched on my bookshelf ever since 😅

7) A book on my wish list:

Every year for my birthday and Christmas I ask for one or two Shakespeare plays because I want to collect the full set (of all the ones I'm interested in LOL). Next on the list is The Comedy of Errors.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

Ummmm I'm trying to think. I have an abridged version of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott that I read several times in fifth and sixth grade, so I'll go with that. (hilariously, I remember almost nothing about the plot of the book now)

9) A book you would give to a friend:

I'll go with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen because that is currently the book that I have been badgering my bestie to read lol

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own

The aforementioned Ghost Of but also Girl's Guide to Leaving by Laura Villareal, also something I read for my poetry class, and also something I would totally recommend!

11) A nonfiction book you own:

So many, mostly for school. Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions by Lisa Wade and Myra Marx Feree (3rd edition) is something I bought for my sociology of gender class a few semesters ago, and I would highly recommend! It is very enlightening and full of interesting facts.

12) What are you currently reading:

Blood Canticle by Anne Rice! It's wacky as fuck but you know what, I'm actually enjoying myself. I just haven't gotten very far because I'm super busy with school this semester so I haven't had as much time to read for pleasure sadtoad.jpg

13) What are you planning on reading next?

The next play my Shakespeare class is reading is The Taming of the Shrew, so I guess technically that sfdasffasdf. For VC, I'll move on to Prince Lestat after finishing BCan.

tagging: @fofoqueirah @hekateinhell @covenofthearticulate @dorianslayyy and @leslutdepointedulac

[ritzcrackee]

april tbr post yayy

rereads are marked by a ☆, new reads are marked by a ♡, and new acquisitions are bolded

physical tbr: 20

what moves the dead - t. kingfisher ♡

an education in malice - s. t. gibson ♡

juilet takes a breath - gabby rivera ♡

stories of people and civilization, greek ancient origins - lindsay powell, j. k. jackson ♡

rebel girls - elizabeth keenan ♡

the silent stars go by - dan abbet ♡

touched by an angel - johnathan morris ♡

dracula - bram stoker ♡

dune - frank herbert ♡

dune messiah - frank herbert ♡

frankenstein - mary shelley ♡

sense and sensibility - jane austen ♡

hippie - barry miles ♡

evernight - claudia gray ☆

stargazer - claudia gray ♡

the handmaids tale - margaret atwood ☆

the testaments - margaret atwood ♡

aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the

universe - benjamin alire sáenz ☆

would-be witch - kimberly frost ☆

the ballad of songbirds and snakes - suzanne collins ☆

digital tbr: 2

pandora's jar: women in the greek myths - natalie haynes ♡

wild is the witch - rachel griffin ♡

read: 7

a million kisses in your lifetime - monica murphy - dnf

i got like 80 pages in and then just,,, could not continue. no shade if u liked this book it was just solidly, solidly not my thing.

my monster valentine - various authors - 3/5

debated putting this on here for obvious reasons but i neeeeed to be accurate i guess. i only read about half of the stories in this collection and they were pretty hit or miss. it was free though so yk. vibes.

high spirits - camille gomera-tavarez - 2.5/5

this book was pretty alright! i don't have much to say about it (hence the middling rating) but i would reccomend it if you're looking for a fast read :D

the coldest touch - isabel sterling - 4/5

THIS WAS SO CUUUUTTTTTEEEEE!!! i liked the way the author portrayed the genuine hell that being stuck at 17 would be. please get me out of here i want a fully developed frontal lobe. AW and all of the characters were super likable. truly so adorable i was squealing the whole time.

im knocking a point off for the romance being a littttllllleeeee rushed and the character descriptions feeling off (it felt odd that both pov characters categorized every single person into a specific race? i think its good practice to make a characters race clear, but idk if that applies to a random teacher with no dialogue). to be so real though i loved this book enough that it didn't bother me too much.

beastly & bookish - catrina bell - 5/5

did i finish this book in one sitting? yes. did i stay up until 1am doing that? ...mind your business. honestly, im maybeee being a little bit generous giving this 5 stars but !! i really liked it!!! rom was soo mecore. i'm excited to read the rest of the books in this collection (even though they're all christmasy), and i can't wait for my physical copy to get here!!

holly's unjolly christmas - lark green - 2/5

this book was truly just fine. like, the definition of pretty alright. the tropes weren't my thing and the romance felt wildly rushed, but the writing style was easy to read and there were some funny bits. i also felt like the demon characters fell pretty flat? idk felt mid overall. (tbh the highlights of this book were when rom and noelle showed up. my babiesssss)

holidays ablaze - lucy limon - 3/5

v cute 👍 i love samite he's so autistic 💗

last months goal: finish dune

hmm ok. so i did not finish dune. i don't know why i thought i could. whatever possessed me to believe i could finish an 800 page sci-fi book in one month was truly of the devil herself. what the fuck. that was a blatant temptation towards hubris and I FELL FOR IT. anyways i hit 300 pages. everyone clap.

this months goal: finish a re-read

i have a lot of books i'd like to re-read but!!! i just never get around to it!!!! there r always newer shinier books that grab my attention!! i'd also like to carve away a more sizable chunk of my physical tbr this month because i have officially run out of space on my bookshelf TwT. everything is so so crammed in there, i truly cannot afford any more physical books. public library here i come!!

[origami-butterfly]

Prepare yourself for BOOK ASK DUMP

3. 4. 5. 9. 10. 17. 28. 30. 34. 44. 45. 46. 48.

Aaaaaaa that's a lot of questions! I'm honoured you take this much interest in what I read!

3. What is my preferred genre?

Fantasy, but I've been getting a taste for horror recently as well. I like most things though.

4. What is my least favourite genre?

Erotica.

5. What book do I think everyone should read?

I answered this on another one, so I have the same answer- Loveless by Alice Oseman. It would be nice for allos to learn about aro and ace experiences.

9. Do I have a favourite author?

Neil Gaiman... And I did like him before joining tumblr as well, that isn't the tumblr bias speaking. I also really like Ursula K Le Guin, but I haven't read much of her work.

10. What book am I reading right now?

I'm reading through a collection of short stories by HP Lovecraft, and the one I'm on is The Strange High House in the Mist.

17. Do I highlight my books?

Absolutely fucking not. For me, it feels so disrespectful to the book, and also there's always a chance I give my books away to either a charity shop, or a younger relative. I don't want someone else to see my brain splattered over their story. (I use post it notes when I want to annotate)

28. Is there a book that made me cry?

There's so many of them. I cried during my last reread of the Chronicles of Narnia, I cried reading Oblivion, by Anthony Horowitz, I cried reading American Gods, Anansi Boys and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman, I cried reading Jamie by LD Lapinski (it's a children's book, but I read it because it's about being an enby in the UK school system). I've also cried rereading Matilda because of nostalgia. I cried reading Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt (EXCELLENT book about being ace btw, highly reccomend), I cried reading Afterlove by Tanya Byrne... I think that's all, there may be more, but this is already too long lmao.

30. Is there a book that changed my life?

I said I can't think of any except the Bible when I was asked this before, and I meant it. I wish I had a better answer for you 😔

34. Do I read more than one book at a time?

Sort of. I have a book I keep in my school bag, that I read in school, and then I have one I keep by my bed that I read at home. It's just reaching the end of my summer holiday, so for the past month and a bit, I've been reading one at a time.

44. Did I read more as a child, or now?

Sadly, more as a child. I wish I could read more, but I have less time because of school and all the extra curricular I do. Also I got addicted to podcasts at some point, and I can't read and listen to different things at the same time :(((

45. Thoughts on separating the author from the work?

Depends. Is the author dead? Then it's easy to separate them. I don't really mind if some guy in the 19th century had awful beliefs, because he's no longer alive and can't use the money I use to buy the book for harming anyone. Is the author alive, and making an effort to harm people via money jk rowling then no, I won't separate them. If I got the book from a library? Fine, I can separate book from author, but I find if writers have shitty beliefs, it usually bleeds into their work, so a lot of it isn't worth reading anyway.

46. Bookshelf pic!!

I hope you know I feel extremely self conscious sharing these 😅 and yeah, I know my shelves are a mess.

48. What book would I give someone if they wanted a glimpse into my psyche?

I'll give a different answer to when I was asked this before! Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt! The protagonist's ace experience (and some of the experiences of the other aces in the book) are very relatable to mine, as well as his thoughts on allosexuals. Seriously, where do they find the time for sexual attraction?

Ty for all your questions <333