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

[gothamcityneedsme]

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

[someonelookingpraediti]

Bookshelf Tours All for the Game

I had to rearrange my shelves recently - my CD collection was lined up on top of my laundry bin, but it just got too big, and needed a full shelf. It was the perfect opportunity to make an "All for the Game" shelf, and finally have them all lined up together!

1. This is the Italian version, and it's a gorgeous hardback omnibus edition! It's the only hardback edition I've found (so far - I can't wait for the Rainbow Crate editions!) and it's also the only omnibus edition I've seen.

2. These are the French editions. The covers are really cool, and the titles translate to "Well Hidden Secrets", "Never Give Up", and "A Reason to Live". Honestly, I love that. Such cool titles!

3. The "Pipe Dream" fanzine by @llstarcasterll is so, so cool! It's full of the most gorgeous artwork, so is totally worth buying if you can get your hands on it. If I was flush with cash, I'd buy like, six of them, so I could pull them apart and put the pictures on my wall, in my diary, in my scrapbook.

4. The Spanish covers use the same artwork as the French ones, so I probably didn't need both, but I'm obsessive. These ones have the advantage of having really awesome chapter heading art.

5. These are the Russian editions. The artwork is, I believe, by @kiiakostet. This is some of my absolute favourite AFTG artwork, and I wish they were available as dustjackets for the English editions.

6. And speaking of dustjackets: These replacement jackets are by @llstarcasterll. They're beautiful, and I love how the spines look! I'm really looking forward to getting the "Raven Cycle" and "The Sunshine Court" jackets by the same artist. No idea where they'll go, though, the shelf is full!

7. And these are the @ouijacine jackets! I also have the prints of the artwork framed on my "All for the Game" art wall, so with this book facing outwards, it just looks like I'm super obsessed with this particular artwork. Oh wait. I am.

8. The originals. The ugly, terribly designed English language originals. I love them so much. These copies are messy and well-thumbed, and stuffed to bursting with colour co-ordinated page tabs. They are more annotation than book, at this point.

9. Ok. Technically, this isn't AFTG. But these copies of "The Raven Cycle" get a space on the shelf because the jackets are also designed by @ouijacine. Also, it makes the book stack sit at the exact perfect height.

10a. Special mention for the shelves above and below. The shelf above is my "Leigh Bardugo" collection, including some collector's editions, those gorgeous Illumicrate editions of the Nikolai duology, several beautiful copies of the Alex Stern books, and "The Familiar", which I still haven't read.

10b. The shelf below is the reason for the rearrange. I needed a long shelf, and a ridiculously tall one. These are my BTS albums. Yeah, I'm that person now. I actually still have a fair few to get, so there's a chance I'm going to overfill this shelf too. You can just see a couple of my boys peeping out over the top of the CDs, in flip photo form. I want to get one for each of the members, but weverse shipping is fucking extortionate.

At the moment, these all fit perfectly on this shelf, but with the many editions of the TSC duology I'm going to be buying, and the Rainbow Crate hardback editions? Yeah, I'm gonna need a bigger shelf.

[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-stuff]

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.

[tamiisnthere]

Tami's Bedroom Tour! (a.k.a. the bedroom of my dreams) 🥰

Two weeks ago I started rendering the room by adding The Sims 4 furniture + additional other models, since I wanted some sort of background in which the models actually stand, instead of adding an image behind them and then it doesn't look good. Tami's bedroom is based on the description in my fanfic Meet the Family, but it's been changed a bit and I've added a few things + some mini-little lore from Crossverse.

Enjoy! :3

Top View

Inside of the Bedroom

Nightstand

Fun fact: I have Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide book irl, but not Remembering Cheetahs unfortunately (maybe I will order it one day).

One photo frame is just my banner artwork of TaE Family, so I don't need to explain this one.

Plushies of Altaïr and dove (models made by me! <3)

The plushie of Altaïr was given to Tami by Talidea on her 21st birthday. The freckles and beard were added after Tami started dating Altaïr to make it look more closely to him.

The old dove plushie is made by Maud, Altaïr's mother, before when Altaïr was born and it was given to him by his father Umar. It's the only relic left from his parents. Later Altaïr gave it to Tami and another years later to their daughter Sabina.

Photo of Altaïr and Tami (just posing for the photo, that's all :3)

PC Setup

Tami spends most of her time on the computer, so that's why her desk is a little bit messy. She wears blue light blocking glasses when she works on her laptop.

Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade is Tami's the most favourite book and thanks to that, she fell in love with Altaïr and his story even more.

Due to this she has hung posters of Altaïr around the bedroom.

Bookshelf

Dinosaur Figurines

The genera of dinosaurs from left to right: Parasaurolophus, Coelophysis, Spinosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Dryosaurus and Velociraptor.

Tami used to collect them from childhood.

Dinosaurs Up Close book (it's a fictional book)

Dinosaurs Up Close is a popular book photo gallery that shows close-ups of beautiful dinosaurs. It even won Book of the Year. It's one of Tami's favourite (dinosaur) books.

The Royal Celts is an independent book publishing company located in Ashte'quel, the capital of Havaykia. They mostly publish nature science and history literature.

Julius Hamphry is a famous human paleozoologist and dinosaur expert from Greentree. He wrote several nature science novels and encyclopedias.

Tessia Leafsong is a night elf photographer who was able to get too close to even the most dangerous creatures for a photo. Although her photos are professional, her family is worried for her safety as she often takes risks. But Tessia said she enjoys it.

Altaïr's statue and AC1 video game cover

Tami was ordering an Altaïr's statue that was on sale. It was around the time she started playing Assassin's Creed and becoming a fan of Altaïr.

Copy of the AC1 video game is the beginning of when Tami started to love this franchise and Altaïr.

Parasaurolophus plushie (model made by me! <3) and photo of Altaïr and Tami with Raven and Caukasa

The Parasaurolophus plushie was stitched Talidea for Tami on her 9th birthday since this dinosaur is Tami's favourite.

This photo was taken shortly after returning from their first mission together, which was a success. They were photographed by Desmond.

Tami's photos from the past

Hoodie Four in the museum - Takuya, Gavin, Tami and Emma as 14-year-old teens were on a school trip to the Cheetah Museum. They pose in front of photo of Shastasaurus, a giant ichthyosaur. They were photographed by Ezekiel.

Talidea and Tami with Beaky - The photo was taken when Tami was 8 years old. She and Talidea were photographed with Beaky, who was still a juvenile. They were photographed by Taino.

Tami holding Kamari - This photo was taken when Kamari was placed into the care of the TaE Family. It was 7 months before Tami met Altaïr for the first time. It was photographed by Elphina.

💚💚💚

Programs: Blender, ACViewer, XNALara & Fire Alpaca

Credits:

Assassin's Creed © Ubisoft

Warcraft © Blizzard

The Sims © Electronic Arts Games

Prehistoric Kingdom © Blue Meridian & Crytivo

Planet Zoo © Frontier Developments

Jurassic World Evolution © Frontier Developments & Universal Pictures

The Isle © Afterthought LLC

Credits from DeviantArt: milance941, LorisC93, ItalianUtent, XXLife-Starts-NowXx, deexie, DecanAndersen (deactivated), Spinosaurusking875, ChrisM199 & MyllaDinX

Credits from Steam: Mailer, RedChaosScrungle & Corvidius

Credits from Nexusmods: HyperSG

The Ichthyosaur and the Plesiosaur paleoart by Edouard Riou

Kaiparowits Formation (Paleoart on top right) by Raúl Martín

Remembering Cheetahs: Remembering Wildlife Book by Margot Raggett, Laurie Marker & Wildlife Photographers United Wildlife Photographers United

Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade by Andrew Holmes/Oliver Bowden

Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide by Titan Books

[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.

[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!!

[dorakonia]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN!

What's your phone's wallpaper: A fanart piece of Pantalone from Genshin Impact skdjfhsdf it's been there for the past half a year, and it's funny because I used to change my background fairly often before but nowadays I'm just too lazy to change it. So I guess he'll be there until I find something new that I really really like.

Last song you listened to: Idk man, I'm listening to music daily so songs come and go every 4-5 minute skdjhfsf But I guess I could put down the song I'm listening to right now while typing this - "You Are My Sunshine" by Johnny Cash.

Currently reading: Kuroshitsuji. I'm really bad at sitting down and reading books so I usually listen to audio books instead but I love collecting books for some reason skdjfhsdf, but keeping up with the Kuroshitsuji manga is easy since one chapter is released every month, and ngl, I would do the same to other on-going manga series but that would require me to... y'know, sit down and read a lot just to catch up skdjfhsd but I do have Vanitas no Carte in the backburner that I'll eventually get to reading in full. Same goes for the Sailor Moon manga, which I actually own the entire collection of, and I have read at least 3 volumes of it + the volumes with the bonus stories. But in general the collection is just... sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust 😭

Last movie: Uhhhh.... I used to watch movies so much but nowadays I'm too addicted to youtube content to really sit down and watch movies, because it's always such a hassle because every time a movie is over I'm sitting there like 'ok now what to watch' and then I get stuck in limbo of what I feel like watching skdjfhsd And youtube is endless. But I think that the last movie I watched was "Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution" with @jinanreona :3

Last show: ... Same thing here, I don't watch a lot of shows either. And if I do, I usually rewatch shows I'm already familiar with ksdjhfsdf I think the last show I watched in whole was The Walking Dead back in February. And a couple of weeks ago I watched a few Kuroshitsuji episodes with @dokitm! But I think that's about it skjdfhsdf

What are you wearing right now?: .... That is kind of a personal question, isn't it😏

Piercings/tattoos?: No tattoos, but I'd like to have one one day when I'm financially stable to get one skdjhfsd I've had plenty of piercings tho. I got my ears pierced when I was 7 and I still have those, and then when I was 15 I pierced them again so I had two beside each other on each ear. Then when I was 17 I got one for my nose but I let it grow away like 3 years later because I thought it always looked like I had a giant decorative zit on there skjfsd Then I got a navel one when I was 21, and I actually loved it a lot and had it for years. But then one day the jewelry came loose and I couldn't be bothered to get a new one and that one too eventually grew away. I've always wanted a tongue piercing, but it has just never really happened yet. Maybe some day~

Glasses? Contacts?: Reading glasses~

Last thing you ate: My lunch today - salmon in white sauce and boiled potatoes~

Favourite colour(s)?: For stand-alone colours my favorites are black and blue. For colour combos, my all-time favourite is black/white/red, and I also really like purple/pink/orange/yellow.

Current obsession: Uh... I'm very particular in the way I obsess about things skjdfhsdf I don't have a lot of things that I obsess over, but I have a couple that I keep switching between depending on what kind of content I'm exposed to and/or engage in at the moment. Like, for example, right now my current obsession is Breath of the Wild because I'm replaying it to get into the hype for Tears of the Kingdom that is coming out tomorrow (!!!!), and I've been obsessing about it for at least 2 months straight now just because of that. But like... even tho I've been playing a lot, I still don't play every day. And the days when I don't play, I'm obsessing over any of my other interests. And whenever I'm not obsessing over those, I'm obsessing over the one remainder thing. The other day I was obsessing over Warcraft lore because I was spending a whole day playing WoW, and before then I was obsessing over Genshin, and before then it was something else. I obsess over the same things but I do it in phases, and I rarely get new obsessions ksdjhfsdf And ofc, in-between all of these interests, I'm constantly (tho subconsciously) obsessing over Kuroshitsuji and Twisted Wonderland ( Sebastian and Malleus specifically ofc ) :'3 It's like when my mind isn't occupied with anything in particular, Sebastian and Malleus is always living rent free in my head, and I spend my time drawing fanart of them.~

Do you have a crush right now?: Nope. Thus is the life of a demi.~

Favourite fictional character: If I don't say Sebastian Michaelis here I cannot in good faith call myself the biggest Sebastian apologist to have walked this Earth.... but Malleus, Yuugi (ygo), Howl (howl's moving castle - mostly the book version because he's such a little shit there and i absolutely love it, but the movie version is what i was introduced to and it will forever hold a special place in my heart), Zhongli (genshin), Fiore (sailor moon), Mamoru (sailor moon - manga and smc have him much better fleshed out and i love it, but he 90s anime will obviously always have a special place in my heart because it is what i grew up watching ♥ ), Lady Mipha (loz: botw), and Harley Quinn (btas as well as the newer animated harley quinn series) are all ofc huge faves of mine as well ;w; There's absolutely more but.... we'd be here all day~

TAGGED BY: @gosutm , @jinanreona , @pomfiores (thank you guys!!) TAGGING: I think almost everyone has already done this one so I'm just gonna uhhhh tag some that I don't think have done it so uhhhh @casketdweller, @svmmoning, @niiveusx, @decayedhearts, @chxmpionofjustice, @universestreasures, && @ofcryptid!

[convexicalcrow]

Snowflake Challenge #6 In your own space, post the results of your fandom scavenger hunt. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

This one looked super fun, and I'm doing both physical stuff as well as a few digital things, bc for some of these I had more than one thing I wanted to share so. :D

Search in your current space, whether brick-and-mortar or digital. Post a picture or description of something that is or represents:

A favorite character

Sausage and Santa Perla oml <3

I can't list one without the other ofc. Sausage's lore captivated me in Empires s1, and hasn't let go yet. The lore he's running in Empires s2 is just incredible. It's made me cry far too many times, and I'm just so invested in whatever the hell he's got going on. Also I love a good excuse for religious world-building, and having Santa Perla to work with has been so fun. <3 I'm really looking forward to what Pearl decides to do with her side of the lore now that she remembers as well.

2. Something that makes you laugh

It's Mark Watson, Alex Horne, and Tim Key! This is collectively representing them as a group of friends and just doing stupid shit together, but also No More Jockeys, Mark's long shows, Key's works, and the non-Taskmaster stuff Alex does, though there's not much outside of the Horne Section these days lol, he's a busy boy.

For digital things, may I offer the following: - Longform: Big Fat Quiz 2015. It starts off fairly sensible then gets derailed by bad dong, and only gets more off-track from there. A classic. - Shortform: Carrot In A Box. Need I say more. rip Sean Lock, you bastard genius. </3 - TV series: 15 Storeys High, Sean Lock's sitcom from way back when. It was rec'd to me by a friend, and I don't regret finding a copy to download bc it's so good. <3 - TV series: This Is Jinsy, weird, full of songs, nonsense and whimsy, def worth tracking down a copy of this show. It's so good. Makes me laugh so much. <3 Greg Davies in drag is also a lovely touch lol.

3. A bookshelf

These are the Taskmaster books that still exist. I tore up an awful lot of them to make 1000 paper cranes a few years ago. XD Also have some Key and Horne and Watson. <3 The three books on the far left are my current reading material.

4. A game or hobby you enjoy

iykyk >_>

(and yes at some point I will be making a Dinnerbone nametag for that blue sheep :D)

5. Something you find comforting

Cub omg. <3 I just find his voice so soothing and comforting, and bingeing through his episodes or watching his streams is very comforting for me. I'm really enjoying all the daily speedrunning streams atm bc they're on when I'm awake during the mornings for me, so I can have breakfast and chill with Cub and it's so so nice. <3

6. A TV show or movie you hope more people will watch

Double The Fist is an old Aussie TV comedy that I maintain is actually a metanarrative about the intersections of queerness, homophobia, and toxic masculinity (ESPECIALLY in the second series) that I am woefully inadequately skilled enough to actually write on, but trust me bro, everyone in the main cast is some flavour of queer and I'm here for it. It's very good.

bonus shout out for Set The Thames On Fire, bc it's such a good movie and more of you need to see it frfr. <3 There were some really, really interesting headcanons going around linking Noel's character in this movie back to his character in The Mighty Boosh as a bonus if you like that kind of thing.

7. A piece of clothing you love

look I won't be able to wear these for like another four months but they are super comfy and I adore them so much. <3

also yeah I didn't take these out of my chest of drawers bc lazy and also I live in a dark cave of a room, the lighting is terrible everywhere. XD

8. A thing from an old fandom

The Prisoner! Dhani Harrison got me onto this bc he named his band thenewno2, I adored their music, and when I looked them up, discovered what it was named after, and then I dived right in and fell in love with it. I can't remember which specific episode order I prefer out of the five or so that exist, but yeah!

I've written crossovers with The Prisoner for my last 2/3 fandoms, so maybe I'll get there for Hermitcraft one day. :D?

9. A thing from a new fandom

ConVex my beloveds <3

If you want to know why they took over my brain, I would like to point you at this 3min edit of ConVex lore and let you take it all in. :D They're insane, I love them so much. XD

[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