#is Alexis getting a little TOO invested in this?

[clumsiestgiantess]

Chapter four of the Other-world Universe; Alexis tries (and fails) at being helpful.

all chapters linked here

[The power of a pile of free cash] The cycle of realities repeated itself yet again, and soon I was bored enough with my own reality to swap worlds.  I was curious to see how the young woman was coming along with the money I'd given her.  Before I got home however, one of my friends stopped me in the hall.  “Are you ok?” they asked me.  Apparently, I seemed rather distracted lately.  “There’s just a lot of things going on at home,” I replied.  It was technically true.  “Don’t worry about it.”  Giving me another concerned look, they told me they would be there if I needed to talk, and I nodded, trying my hardest to focus on them when my mind had already begun to wander through thoughts of the other-world.  Eventually, they sighed and moved on to a different topic as we walked down the hall together.  They'd clearly given up on getting any more information out of me, having already tried a few less conspicuous ways to get something of an answer from me, but obviously I couldn’t tell them the truth.  

When I got home, I immediately dropped my backpack by the basement couch and prepared for another trip to the other-world.  I can always do homework when I get back.  I have all the time I need to do it since this little pit stop will only take a few seconds in my world.  Traversing the lay of the land so many times, I’d pretty much mapped out the easiest and least destructive way to the city.  There was only one slightly sketchy detour I took through a skate park to get to the field behind the young woman's building.  

However, when I returned to her apartment, everything was a mess.  The money had downright vanished; nothing had changed.  Her apartment had apparently been paid off, but the rest of the money was gone.  Or so I thought.  When the young woman returned, she arrived with a fancy new car and outrageously expensive-looking outfit.  I’d just brought her car back to her and now she’d gotten rid of it.  This was definitely NOT what I gave her the money for.  The heck is wrong with you? I mentally asked as she disappeared into her apartment.  You’re supposed to use my money wisely, not blow it all on things you didn’t need!  

Things only got worse from there.  Through various ways of sneaking around, I started following her to find out what she’d done with the rest of my money.  I gave her so much, how could she have possibly spent it all already?  Never underestimate the power of a pile of free cash.  The young woman had visited both the mall and the downtown shopping area by the end of the day.  I was also fairly sure she quit her job, relying entirely on the money I’d so foolishly given her.  I hadn’t seen her go to work at all since I started watching her.  

Every day I watched her, every day she drove herself further into the ground.  I'd even witnessed her steal her ex’s car and have it crushed at a junkyard.  The incident was so baffling that I almost controlled her simply to stop her from doing it.  I suppose I could’ve deemed it an emergency so I could control her without breaking my own rules, but it didn’t matter.  Eventually the money ran out, and she ended up in more debt than she started with.

I wanted to scream, and I did, but in my own world where no one could hear me.  Alright, I calmed myself, this time I’m going to have to change things.  There was still a decent amount of money left in the bank from the space set, and I’d brainstormed a few ideas on how to keep her from wasting it.  Determined to set things straight, I grabbed more tiny bills from the set.  I made sure to only take a reasonable amount of cash, not whatever I could grab like last time.  

The space set was boxed up on the shelf for now, but if Liam ever took it down to play with again, he’d probably wonder where all the money went.  Maybe he’ll just think he lost the pieces.  There were a few other set parts missing, which was why it was left on the shelf to begin with.

My new and improved plan was this: Instead of leaving the young woman on her own with the pile of cash, I’d put the money out and wait right there until she came and found it.  The other steps are a work in progress, but I’ll probably just make them up as I go.  Basically, I’d be monitoring her a lot more closely than just handing thousands of dollars to her and walking away.  I returned to the other-world, money in hand, and made my way back to the apartment, carefully placing the bills into a heap on the floor just like last time.  Then, I waited for the young woman to come home.  

When she finally came back from who knows where, I slid over to the balcony doors to watch.  She’d barely stepped into the apartment before realizing something was off.  Turning the tight corner by the doorway, she walked into the living room and stopped short, staring at the new bills that seemingly appeared from nowhere.  The young woman stepped cautiously over to the pile in a daze.  Slowly, she turned to the balcony.  Oh no, I left the door open!  I quickly backed away from the doorway as she stepped out onto the small metal outreach.  Looking around baffled for a moment, she spoke to the empty alleyway below her.  “I don’t know who keeps doing this or why, but..” she glanced backwards into her apartment, “This better not be a test.. or a bribe.. but thanks.”  Finally, she turned and closed the balcony door behind her, giving me a chance to let out the breath of air I'd been holding.  Soon, she began collecting the money stacked up on the floor.  Don’t thank me yet, I thought smugly.

The young woman stayed in that night, and I waited outside for the morning to come so I could set my plan into motion.  A few ideas had popped up while I sat around waiting for her, and I was eager to try them.  I yawned, suddenly very tired.  I’ve been awake in both worlds for a long time now.  It won't hurt if I rest a while, right?  Just because I’m on a stakeout doesn't mean I can't close my eyes for a bit.  I sidled backwards to the far end of the small field, giving myself another whole foot of room.  Despite the tight space, I was asleep in no time.

I couldn’t really tell how long I’d been out, but I was suddenly woken by something slamming into my side.  A truck had crashed into my leg; its whole front bumper was completely caved in.  My leg must’ve fallen across the road in my sleep.  A man stumbled out of the driver’s seat, and I sleepily backed off, retreating further into the old baseball field.  I waited as a tow truck came and wheeled away the crushed vehicle, while whoever was driving the damaged truck kept complaining that there was nothing he could've possibly hit; the road was completely empty.  Well, at least he knows not to drive back here anymore, I thought sleepily.  I'll be sitting here more often now; maybe it's for the best he learns not to be here.  

The sky was just beginning to fade into the dazzling oranges of early morning, and with so many cars and buildings reflecting its light, it was almost impossible for me to go back to sleep.  So much for getting a good night's rest.  I sat in the field, bored, waiting for something to happen so I could put my plan into action.  Finally, the apartment lights flickered on, and I sidled over to the window excitedly.  Nothing had actually happened yet, she only got up to make a cup of coffee, and afterwards the young woman picked up a few outfits and laid them out, trying to decide between them.  I huffed disappointedly, finding this part of the morning a bit boring, but when she pulled her pajama top over her head, I recoiled away so harshly I nearly fell over backwards.  Though these people and their city were surely fake, they certainly looked real.  I stepped over the building to watch by the street instead.  

As I sat off to the side of the road, I realized I didn't even know the young woman's name.  Controlling a passerby to get close to the building, I managed to read the nameplate next to her room number, which I’d caught in the reflection of a hall mirror.  The name read ‘Erica Anderson’.  Satisfied, I returned to my spot and released the stranger.  Erica drove off a bit later, and I followed her car from a distance, simply because I couldn't get much closer to the city.  Eventually, she parked in a garage connected to one of the fanciest shopping malls I'd seen in the other-world.  Then again, I hadn’t really seen much beyond the city and the mountain range.  What is out there in the rest of this strange world?  I assumed it ended at the end of the table holding it all up in my world, but the highways branching out of the city had to go somewhere.  I'd have to find that out later.  Right then, I had to stop this poor woman from wasting any more of my money.

No way are you spending all of it on clothes and mall stuff, I thought resentfully.  Carefully placing a hand over her, I had her drive to a large city-owned building instead.  A sign outside the door read: Addicted Spenders Therapy Sessions room 105.  It was really a genius plan.  I'd been watching the billboard ads while I was bored, and an advertisement for this lecture popped up, ironically right after an ad for a new line of expensive luxury items like handbags and the like.  I had a feeling the ad placement was somewhat intentional, though.  

I made Erica go to the room and sit in for a class, letting her go right before she entered the building.  Quickly remembering I would no longer be intangible without a person to control, I latched on to someone in an office building nearby.  It was much taller than me, which was a bit unsettling.  Most of the buildings around me were taller than me, and most of the ground beneath me was filled with moving people and cars.  It was all a bit overwhelming and strangely claustrophobic.  I sat literally in the building, having no room elsewhere, letting whoever I had in my control just continue with their work.  Sitting through the steel frame of the building was probably one of the strangest feelings I’d ever had.  The entire building almost seemed like a hologram — a projection of light that wasn’t actually tangible, though really it was me that was the intangible one.

About an hour later, Erica came rushing out of the meeting, looking confusedly up and down the street as if she were unsure how or why she was there.  Apparently my control only lasts so long without me there to keep it running.  By the looks of Erica's confusion, it seemed as though she didn’t even know where she was.  I latched back onto her, releasing the office worker, and internally reminded her that she wanted to go to each session of these classes.  Her confusion slowly seemed to disappear with my assurance.  

There, I thought, that wasn't so hard, was it?  Once everything was set up, I left her to her own devices for a while.  I hadn’t given her nearly as much money as the first time, so later in the week I set her up with a decent job as well.  Since I had no clue what she did prior to when I'd first given her the money, I decided to put her into a simple customer services-type job.  Surely she could manage it.  All she had to do was talk on a phone, how hard could that be?  Alright, this is going well, I don’t think she’ll do anything stupid again, right?

Wrong.  Very wrong.  I left for a few months to deal with things in my own world, however; so I didn’t even know it for a while.  My team won the state volleyball tournament, that was fun.  I failed a math test, that was less fun.  During winter break, my family drove out to an island in our camper van.  For a few blissful days, my life seemed perfect — collecting shells on the beach and riding rollercoasters on the pier by day, lighting bonfires and stargazing by night.  I felt like I was set for life.  Our family loves the beach; I’m surprised we don’t live closer to one.  I made a mental note to find a nice oceanfront whenever I returned to the other-world.  

All good things come to an end though, I suppose.  After a week on the island, it was time to make the return trip home.  It was always a melancholy experience, leaving the beach behind.  The time we spent there was always fun, but the island was so small, there were only so many things to do before you’d done them all.  Back at home, there was now only one little weekend left before break was over.  However, I’d saved the last two days for finishing school assignments, so my break was basically over right then and there.  If only there was a way to stop tomorrow from coming, I thought wryly.  It really was rather nice to have another world all to myself.  

My good mood was instantly shattered when I returned, though.  I found Erica in jail for drunken driving.  She managed to pay off her bail, but the fees left most of her bills unpaid, again.  What do I have to do to get you to be responsible for once?  It’s only been what, a month, I think, since I left?  Erica had also been sentenced to community service, which I overheard her complain about when she arrived home.  

Sitting in the field out behind her building, I thought, again, about how to deal with this.  I was far too invested to give up now.  Maybe if I move her further from the city, she won’t keep getting into these situations in the first place.  I knew Erica wouldn’t like it if I made her randomly move, but it was for her own good, and the job I’d given her would likely allow it.  Even if her boss wouldn’t let her, I could always control them and suggest that they change their mind.  

I decided to search for a house when it got dark, that way less people would be out, and less people would be in my way.  Once the sun set, I began my trip out to the suburbs beyond the city, closer to where I first zapped into the world.  None of the homes really stood out to me, though.  Try as I might, I couldn’t find a good enough house in suburbia; all of them looked almost the same.  

While I was searching through the many cookie cutter homes, I noticed a modern mansion sitting seemingly untouched on top of a cliff overlooking the city.  Whoever owned the mansion was currently selling it for a ridiculous amount of money, but it wasn't that hard to scrounge up enough to easily outbid any other offers with the help of a rich-looking puppet.  It was perfect.  Erica wouldn’t be too compelled to move back to the city if she was living there, and the cliffside allowed me easier access to the house.  The next day, while Erica was out doing her forced community service, I quite literally took things into my own hands.

I got a few movers and a truck to come over and get her things, and watched as they drove everything over to the new place.  It took a while for them to get all the way out to the cliffside, and even longer for them to move everything inside the mansion.  I couldn't even leave and come back because I had to keep all of the movers at least somewhat under my control.  Eventually, the job was done and I released them back to their normal lives.  Realizing how late it was, I rushed back into the city as fast as I could.  I didn’t dare run, knowing I would cause both tremors and destruction if I did.  

Watching the movers had caused me to lose track of time.  When I finally made it back, I saw with a pang of guilt that Erica's car was already out front.  I raced to the back deck and watched as she looked around her empty apartment, devastated.  I opened the balcony to reach in and control her, but before I could do anything, Erica marched out onto her deck and I quickly backed away.   "What the hell?!  I thought you were supposed to be giving me money and helping me out and shit!" she yelled angrily at the field I sat in.  "Is this some kind of punishment for my arrest, because if it is..  Where the hell is my stuff, huh?"  

For a long moment, I sat frozen.  Can she see me?  Erica grumbled and stormed back inside, pacing the length of her now empty apartment.  I realized that she'd addressed 'whoever was doing this' before, when I’d mistakenly given her a hint to where I was.  She didn't actually know that I was there.  All she knew was that the door to the deck was open at the same time money kept appearing.  Still, it was unnerving, like she was actually yelling at me.  

Carefully, I reached through the open patio door again and took control.  I had her go back outside and drive to her new house, walking silently next to her car the whole way.  Since I had her under my control, I no longer had to avoid everything that I could potentially trample.  It was nice being able to walk around without fear of demolishing anything.

When Erica finally pulled up to the small mansion, I released her.  She slowly wandered inside, where she stood speechless, looking over the boxes of her things that had miraculously been moved there.  She found the keys to the house on one of the boxes by the door.  Dazed, Erica stepped out onto the lawn overlooking the cliff, then circled back to her car.  "I don't know if I'm going crazy, or if there's someone or something behind everything that's been happening to me," she mused.  "Maybe this is a secret social experiment or something.  But god, you-  you didn't have to go and get me this."  Shaking her head with a chuckle, Erica looked back over her shoulder at the mansion.  "I really am just going crazy, aren't I?"  She shrugged, “Well, as long as good things keep coming my way, I honestly don’t care how any of this happens.”  Erica stepped back into the new house, and I left her to get settled in.  Maybe, finally, she would change.

I was hesitant to leave Erica alone again, knowing what happened the last few times, so I stayed and watched her for a bit every day.  However, after a few weeks or so, I was getting bored of watching similar things happening daily.  She hadn’t done anything too out of the ordinary while I was there, so eventually I left — confident that this time Erica could handle herself without me.  Every once and a while I’d come back and check on her, but she’d been doing pretty well for a while now, and I was beginning to move on to other things.  About five months had passed since I’d first met Erica, and more than once I thought about showing her the truth.  Where the money came from, who was actually helping her out, but that was an increasingly bad idea the longer I thought through it.  Showing Erica everything would only leave her with way too many questions than she needed answered.

[propaganda-inc]

Thought I'd post some more propaganda, since people are really getting mad at ONLY /u/Spez for this. For the people in the back that are still using Reddit- this is ultimately the reason why I left Reddit.

TL;DR: Yes, /u/spez is the CEO of Reddit, but now he's beholden to the true owners of Reddit- Literal white supremacists, Chinese businesses looking to subvert American democratic values, and businesses that are desperately looking for new ways to make money after a pandemic has gutted the people dry of all the money it could take.

Let's get a little Pepe Silvia in here, shall we? Setting mood music:

Reddit was originally founded by /u/Spez (real name Steve Huffman), Alexis O'Hanion, and Aaron Swartz (RIP). In 2006, Conde Nast bought Reddit. So, if you read Vogue, Pitchfork, Wired, Vanity Fair, & the New Yorker, you may have gotten some of the same content owned by the same company- just through a magazine rather than Reddit. Also, since June 2020, Conde Nast has claimed that their advertising revenue has gone down 45% have gone down dramatically since the pandemic, alongside the cancellation of major publications by Conde Nast. Buut in 2017, Reddit was made into an independent subsidiary by Advance Publications. Sounds like an innocent enough name, until you look at which companies these lovely people own:

That Charter Communication, is just a fancy name for the lovely ISP known as Spectrum- Better known to some of our older folks as Time Warner Cable. You know, one of the ISPs so hated in the United States that they actively changed their name so that people wouldn't recognize them doing their dirty work again?

Isn't it interesting that one of the main complaints by Huffman is that Reddit isn't getting it's due in advertising revenue? Huh. I wonder where he's getting that from. But that's only one section of the shit sandwich. Let's talk about some of the lovely* investors that Reddit's had on aboard since 2006. The list is.... interesting. 2014: A group of investors, including Marc Andressen (an investor in nearly all of the major social media networks that exist), Peter Thiel (a literal white supremacist), and for some reason, Snoop Dogg and fucking Jared Leto. 2017: Advance Publications buys Conde Nast and subsequently Reddit, raising its valuation to about $1.8 billion. 2019: Tencent (you know, the CHINESE VIDEO GAME COMPANY THAT HAS BANNED PLAYERS FROM THEIR GAMES FOR SUPPORTING HONG KONG DEMOCRACY DEMONSTRATIONS) buys a 5% stake in the company. Did I mention that Tencent is also the largest gaming company in the world? 2021: Fidelity Investments(??? an insurance firm and mutual fund????) decides to add another $700 million to the pot, giving them a whole stake as well too. So, let's tie this all together. Yes, /u/spez is the CEO of Reddit, but now he's beholden to the true owners of Reddit- Literal white supremacists, Chinese businesses looking to subvert American democratic values, and businesses that are desperately looking for new ways to make money after a pandemic has gutted them dry. Of course Huffman is going to stay the course on this one- his job literally depends on it in the first place. All of the people that make this site (what other social media network do you know that doesn't pay it's mods and is valued at $10 billion dollars) ? have been tossed to the side in favor of making money. Remember this:

Reddit and its investors do not give a fuck about their community.

They do not give a fuck about their moderators. They do not give a fuck about disability rights. Most of all? They don't give a fuck about you.

[gentleoverdrive]

[November/1 of 2] Let's go on a journey!

Let's talk about ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department.

(How to hook your audience right the hell out of the gate: with an incredible banger of an OP) ---- ACCA 13 (I'm just going to call it that from now on) is a manga written by the unbeatable Natsume Ono, the same trailblazer behind the heart-wrenching Not Simple, the charming Ristorante Paradiso and many others, and personally one of my favorite anime of all time. ---- No, this is not hyperbole: I mean it 100%

(I'm aware my taste is a little bit on the "oldie" side of things, but again, just presenting evidence; you can make your own topster here) ---- Natsume Ono is a master of her craft and will often get you invested in narratives that you might have otherwise given a pass to (an all-too-common problem with anime and manga, unfortunately) and nowhere is this more evident than in ACCA 13, which concerns itself with the story of one Jean Otus.

(Smoking is a filthy habit, but damn if our pretty man du jour doesn't make it look cool as hell) ---- Jean is a 28-29 year old man who works as the second-in-command of the auditing branch for the ACCA organization. ACCA is the Dowa Kingdom's civilian organization in charge of its Thirteen Territories' governance, and our man here is often the one in charge of making sure that no one is cooking any books, fleecing its subjects, etc. Basically he watches the watchmen. ---- Jean is easily recognizable for his blond hair, piercing blue eyes, perpetually even-tempered disposition, being a smart cookie, and his chain-smoking. He's also extremely good at ruffling the feathers of many a person without meaning to. ---- Following him in the weird life he lives is his little sister Lotta...

(Yes, she is voiced by the always delightful Aoi Yuuki (JP) and Alexis Tipton (EN), what gave it away?) ---- Ray of sunshine, high-schooler, building manager and baked goods enthusiast. Jean being who he is worries her but she also knows that her brother is far more perceptive than he's given credit for. ---- To finish with the "main trio". we have Nino...

(Hotter men have likely existed in anime, sure; few, if any, have ever carried themselves with the sheer natural swagger this man does) ---- Nino has been a family friend of the Otuses for a while, and often makes it a point to check in on the siblings and see what's up, especially since the siblings are otherwise all the family they have. He fancies himself a freelance reporter/photographer... or does he? ---- And that's one of the charms/strongest points about ACCA 13: Some things/people are not always what they seem, and it's always good to keep your eyes and ears peeled to find your way around life, a philosophy often espoused by the other "secret" main character in this shindig, ACCA Director-General Mauve...

(Speaking of sheer charisma, swagger and handsomeness/beauty) ---- Voiced by the late Atsuko Tanaka in Japanese and Rachel Robinson in English, Mauve is a character who recognizes that not all that seems well is actually well, but she also strives in making sure things end up going well, which is how she gets the ball rolling in our story. ---- Natsume Ono, like many other idiosyncratic writers, likes to stick to certain themes and narrative devices, and ACCA 13 is no different in this regard. What is also true is that you'll always get something really special with her, since she often likes to address different topics and circumstances of people. And while many characters come and go in this series, they're all pretty memorable...

This is a series that, in my opinion, you cannot go wrong with either the original Japanese, the localization of the dub or even the original manga. 12 episodes/6 volumes that are a sheer joy from beginning to end and a cast that delivers in spades. Fantastic music, storyboards, cinematography and outstanding performances regardless of which language preference you may have. ---- Shingo Natsume & Tomohiro Suzuki (the director and head of the writers' room for this) were coming out of a hot streak that came from working on Space Dandy and the first season of One Punch Man and you can tell that they're firing on all cylinders with this incredible adaptation. ---- Again, there's a reason I really like this show and put it on my "all time faves" list, even if I admit that I have cooled off considerably wrt Re:Zero and Free!, so maybe I need to update that list, but I pretty much stand for everything else, including this absolute jewel. Anyway, enjoy yourselves and I'll read you on the next one!

[stellaluna33]

Question for you, had Jess came back in S7 and Logan just gone for good (never to be mentioned ever again) and had he & Rory got back together? How do you think Richard & Emily would have treated Jess?

Hmm! Well, I have a few more questions, I guess... In this alternate reality, have Milo and Alexis broken up yet? And was Milo not busy with Heroes? Also, were the Palladinos still involved with the show or not?

For simplicity's sake, let's just pretend that Milo was available and still dating Alexis and somehow still willing to be involved with the show that had been taken away from his close friends, the original creators of the show. The only difference is that Matt Czuchry had other commitments instead. (I'm sorry if all these practicalities are irrelevant to you, haha! But I feel like so many of the writing decisions on this show were directly related to situations with the people MAKING the show)

With all other writing circumstances being the same, I feel like a natural point of reconnection would be Jess coming to help out Luke after the diner got crashed into and/or looking after Luke in the aftermath of the breakup between Luke and Lorelai. They would also bring Jess back to get him involved with Liz's pregnancy and meeting his little sister, probably. Who knows at what point on that timeline they'd progress from Friends to More than Friends, but a lot of fanfics have dealt with those storylines and those seem to work pretty naturally. How would Richard and Emily treat Jess? Oh, well... I don't think they'd like him very much, haha. He is lower class and not college-educated, and those things mean a lot (too much) to people like them. I don't know, maybe they'd start to reluctantly thaw a bit if Jess showed up at the hospital when Richard had the heart attack and they saw how much he cares for Rory and vice-versa. Maybe Richard would grow to have a begrudging respect for Jess's intellect. (Now I'm picturing Richard wanting to invest in Truncheon (the way he wanted to franchise Luke's diner) to try to ensure that Jess would at least be able to "support" Rory, and how uncomfortable and torn Jess would be about it, haha. But I don't know if the Season 7 writers would have thought to go there?). Yeah, I don't know exactly!

[pagesandpothos]

Pansies by Alexis Hall

Official Synopsis:

Alfie Bell is...fine. He's got a six-figure salary, a penthouse in Canary Wharf, the car he swore he'd buy when he was eighteen, and a bunch of fancy London friends. It's rough, though, going back to South Shields now that they all know he's a fully paid-up pansy. It's the last place he's expecting to pull. But Fen's gorgeous, with his pink-tipped hair and hipster glasses, full of the sort of courage Alfie's never had. It should be a one-night thing, but Alfie hasn't met anyone like Fen before. Except he has. At school, when Alfie was everything he was supposed to be, and Fen was the stubborn little gay boy who wouldn't keep his head down. And now it's a proper Fen might have slept with Alfie, but he'll probably never forgive him, and Fen's got all this other stuff going on anyway, with his mam and her flower shop and the life he left down south. Alfie just wants to make it right. But how can he, when all they've got in common is the nowhere town they both ran away from. This dynamic, emotional LGBTQIA+ romance contains never-before-seen content and exclusive bonus material.

My Thoughts:

Pansies is the latest in Alexis Hall's "Spires" series to get a re-release, and I've been really excited to read it. I love everything by Alexis Hall, so it's not surprising that I enjoyed this one, too. 

Alfie and Fen are interesting characters with a complicated history. When they meet again as adults, the two men are immediately attracted to each other, but their past and personal struggles complicate their deepening relationship. 

I found myself rooting for Alfie and Fen pretty quickly. Both of them are funny, complicated, and have satisfying character arcs. Their relationship starts off rocky but grows into something incredibly sweet and healing. 

Like the other books in the "Spires" series, this deals with some heavy topics in a realistic but sensitive way. It's also seriously spicy and very funny!

Pansies is one of my favorites in the "Spires" series. It has great characters (both the two leads and the supporting players), and a relationship that I got seriously invested in. 

I genuinely love this series and can't wait to read Alexis Hall's future additions to it. 

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tropes/Tags: queer, Achillean, romance, contemporary

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5. There are many spicy scenes that are "open door".

Content Warnings: Alexis Hall has full content warnings here. They do contain spoilers!

If you like this I think you will like Pansies: Fans of spicy m/m romances, fans of Alexis Hall, fans of emotional romances with depth

Links: Storygraph | GoodReads | quicunquevult.com

Pansies was released on November 5, 2024, and is available to order!

Thanks to NetGalley, I received an advanced copy of this book for free. The above are my honest feelings about the book provided. I don’t have any affiliate links in this post, and I do not make any money from my reviews. I review books simply because I love to read.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

I'd love to know what the other Barians are up to in the college AU!

YESSS like i said when i was talkin about Vector, I rly wanna properly draw all these guys sometime this year, theyve been bumping around my brain for Months now. some tidbits about the other guys:

Shark/Nasch: MISTAH TRANS MASC HE/THEY OF ALL TIME. Has a really dense Carrd covered in sea predator gifs and dA stamps. I thiiink I assigned him Pursuing a Marine Biology degree, naturally--he spends a lot of time at the aquarium wishing he worked there (he works at a country club currently. he drives golf carts to go pick up errant golf balls. his little nametag says 'Reginald'.) Does really well in his classes but is becoming. a Little Bit Burned Out trying to deal with them And work And whatever bullshit his current and ex-roommates are entangling him in. Vector stole his Ikea blahaj plush and tied it to a ceiling fan. Frequents Not-Lawrence State University's esteemed Smogon Club (usually because Yuma begs and begs for him to come,) and runs a nasty Walking Wake led Monotype team.

Rio: I NEED TO DECIDE ON HER MAJOR WAHHH Atmospheric Science would be kind of insane... invested interest in meteorology and winter events. I know she's dabbled in a bunch of campus sports and ice skates at a very skilled level, probably is banking on maybe doing that professionally if she can qualify. She's also buddies with Alexis! :3 Works at a bougie gelato place not far from the country club Shark works at so sometimes she will come bother him on her break. Has a modest interest in birding and sometimes meets up with the town Birding Group. All in all just likes being active and stylish and is closing in on a date with Miss Anna Kaboom~ lord dont get me started on butchfemme annario i aint got no brakes

Girag and Alito: THE BESTIES. THE ROOMIES OF ALL TIME. They actually live in the same apartment complex as Primo and Claus so they hang out and shoot the shit sometimes. Alito I feel is majoring in something like English, he's not super attached to it, what he really is banking on is a boxing career (whether or not that pans out for him remains to be seen.) He goes and spars at a local gym frequently! Girag is a history major with a focus on feudal Japan and he's also a furry. The boys' r/malelivingspaces ass apartment is a haven for the other Emperors if they dont want to be in the Nightmare House for a hot minute. Don't mind the giant knockoff red panda squishmallow taking up half their couch. Also Ponta is still there he's still a little spirit guy that Girag is nebulously aware of but Alito isn't.

Mizar: OH MIZAR..... one of my favorite zexals in the College AUverse tbh. my failwoman. Tentatively out transfem overdramatic fake blond trying out she/they pronouns for the first time. Has a big expensive gaming desktop that lights up (it looks vaguely like Tachyon Dragon lol) and uses it primarily to get into heated furry drama online and write extensive papers and lab reports for her Physics degree, usually while under some degree of white knuckle meltdown stress. She and Dumon were dating for a while but broke up and truth be told Mizar's still got a couple hangups about it. Gets into a LONG, STUPID beef with Kite over their fursona designs "being too similar" that culminates in them having a brawl on the roof of a hotel mid furry-convention. Yes they were both in fursuits. No you can't tell anyone you saw Kite in a fursuit keep you voice down shh!!!!!!! They end up having some kind of t4t qpr-ish situationship i think. not avoiding the mizakai allegations i fear HDFHSFGF

Dumon: WHO UP STUDYING THEY MEDIEVAL TEXTS. god. I love college AU Dumon. little library dyke. dweeb he/him butch kind of sort of dating clark's Paula From Earthbound and they are having In Depth discussions about a podcast they just listened to. Medieval lit major who knows more about knights than you ever will in your entire life. He was born in Utah. Organizes the finances of the Barian Rental House and takes it all dead seriously and Vector still owes like three months of back rent and he kind of wants to strangle him over it. Type of guy who spends all day at the campus coffee shop nursing the same matcha latte for five hours. Mizar is his best friend and they still hang out post-break up and they're both just kind of constantly putting up with Vector's bullshit. i mean all the Barians are but STILL.

Shark, Rio, Dumon, and Vector also all have the distinction of having known each other when they were kids, before they all moved off on their separate ways (until reconnecting in college) As you can imagine, Vector and Shark's playground wars would get. Violent. 🥴 Dumon has had a bit of a crush on Shark since they met but has absolutely never disclosed this. Because I think it is funny.

The funniest detail about them as a whole in college AU to me is theyre all transfer students from NLSU's sister-campus in Barian, Indiana. WOE! Midwestern be upon ye! And also the previously mentioned nightmare queer housing situation they live in under Don Thousand The Dogshit Landlord (or, well, at this point it's just Mizar, Dumon, and the Kastle twins living there. The situation has improved Somewhat after Vector got kicked out HHDFDF he still loves fucking with all of them though in true 🥕 fashion)

[magicalyaku]

After the first week of February I decided I would only read sequels. I made true on that for a few books until my library app fucked me over and didn't download Simon Snow 3 which I intended to start reading during my break at work (where I have no internet). I was so mad! 8D I was sulking afterwards and started a different book once I got home and the resolution was broken. Instead the theme of the month can easily be "I have never read so many books with adult characters in a row."

Das Verbotene Kapitel / The Lost Plot (The Invisible Library 8) (Genevieve Cogman): I honestly wasn't too invested in this. I was like for the first two days, but the writing style of this series always takes so long to read for me. I used to like it, but right now I just lack the patience. Also, it's the eighth volume. High time for it to end, really. Halfway through I switched to the audiobook to listen to while gaming and well. I'm not good at listening while doing other things. Maybe I'll pick the book up again in a few years to give the second half a proper read. I was content though with what I heard of the end.

The High King's Golden Tongue (Tales of the High Court 1) (Megan Derr): I said "I need more fantasy buhu *sad face*". And then I looked at my TBR and realised that out of 50 books only 3 have absolutely no magic, ghosts, different worlds or planets or whatsoever. Uhm. Well. Errr ... That didn't stop me from going through this recommendation list for queer fantasy books. uAu" Found this book. Sounded alright. Read the preview pages. Sounded alright. Looked it up in the library, uhuh available immediately! Borrowed it. Read it for the remainder of the day and a few hours of the night. uAu~ I can safely say I had fun reading this book. It's not fantasy with magic and creatures, just old kingdoms full of queer people. The worldbuilding is good, with all the different regions and languages being a major plot point. I liked the adventure, the characters (Sarrica's and Lesto's friendship is great), the pining. Good times!

The Pirate of Fathoms Deep (Tales of the High Court 2) (Megan Derr): The follow-up to Golden Tongue! I was unsure at first if I wanted to read the sequels (there are of 5 volumes in the series at the moment), but vol 2 is about Lesto who was my favourite character in vol 1, so no choice. It's like that 5.5 chapter of a boys love manga though. In the 5 chapters of the main story everything is tame until the bonus 5.5 chapter where they can finally do things. In High Court 1, there's exactly one smut scene. In vol 2, there's a million. And the book is only half the size! D: There is a small adventure going on and given the setting it makes sense that it progresses the way it does, but the 3 books afterwards are full length again, so why is it only this one character who gets the short one? u_u He's happy in the end, so all is well, but I would have liked a little more. I guess I have to continue reading the next volumes in the hopes to get a few glimpses. u3u

Husband Material (Forever Material in the German edtion) (Alexis Hall): After two books with middle-aged man and their (amourous) adventures, we slowly inch back to the younger generation. From end-thirties to mid-twenties! Books written by adults for adults, you know. Adult problems. Brrrr. At least, it's funny. Silly even. Was the first one this silly? I think, Oliver and Luc did well sorting through their various issues. I enjoy Luc’s narrative voice. And I loved the ending! xD It must be such a sore point for many people but I was like HELL YEAH!!!

Out of Nowhere (In the Middle of Somewhere 2) (Roan Parrish): I already read the first and third volume of this series, so reading volume 2 was inevitable even though Colin was not the most likeable character in vol 1. And well, he has issues let me tell you. Daniel of vol 1 was a mess but he managed to get a new start and build something for himself in that place. Will of vol 3 may not have the healthiest lifestyle but he was not unhappy with the direction of his life before meeting Leo. Whereas Colin is absolutely miserable and has no idea what to do about it. It was intruiging to read how he and Rafe managed. You know, there's this thing about this kind of books where the characters meet exactly the kind of person they need to survive and to thrive. Even with all the shit going on in this particular one, it's still comforting. xD

Wayward Son (Simon Snow 2) (Rainbow Rowell): The gang is 20, so it doesn't break the streak! I had fun reading this. Curiously, I liked it better than volume 1. Not quite sure why. (Maybe because of Suffering Boys.) Volume 1 was interesting in the way it felt like the 8th season of a series you haven't seen any episodes of before. Now this is the rare look at what happens to the heroes after the series ends and I'm here for it. I also found it remarkable how Baz was described as that utmost evil and ruthless being at first and turns out now he is the most loving and patient boyfriend of all times. xD

Pictures of You (Tina Winter): German author here. It's very basic in the theme and kind of predictable. But in a comforting way. Sometimes it's nice to know where everything will go so you can just lean back and enjoy the ride. The characters were pretty good and the setting was well illustrated. I mentioned last month that my visualisation abilites are not very good but I had no problem seeing the photos the protagonist takes which was pretty neet! I also very much appreciated how all the important conflicts actually happen and are resolved! That’s not a given. xD

Ring of Solomon (Aden Polydoros): I like Mr Polydoros' other books and I appreciate very much how all his books are different from each other. This one is contempory middle grade with a touch of magic. It was pretty okay, but I think it could have been a little bit deeper, a little more ambitious or challenging or complicated. Just more. Yes, it's middle grade but kids are always smarter than adults give them credit for, right? I feel, if you really want them to adore a book you have to give them something challenging that is a little bigger than themselves so that they can grow into it.

Reforged (Seth Haddon): Another gay king+knight story that made me realise I very much have a weakness for this kind of setting. xD Which is so weird because when I look through YA books and see a heroine who is a queen or princess fighting for her kingdom I immediately click away ... Well. This was a solid book. Not quite as joyful as A Taste of Gold and Iron or The High King's Golden Tongue but still solid (also it's a debut). The author clearly put thought and love into his main characters and probably the worldbuilding. Sometimes it was just written in a way that confused me at first, because the actual thing was named late. There's that other paladin guy who works alongside our hero. When he's introduced, it's written "They never got along." and then 90 pages later: "Now that XX was dead, he was his closest friend" And I was like "What?! I thought you hate each other? Did I read wrong? Let me leaf back real quick!" I mean, there is the possibility that among all those people he doesn't get along with this one is still the best but ... that's kinda sad. 8D So, there's small things like that. But the overall story and intrigue was well done I think.

Keeper of the Lost Cities 2: Exile (Shannon Messenger): I stayed at my parents's place for a few days to take care of the cats and thus my commute to work was twice as long as usual, so this came in from the library at just the right time. I listened to the audiobook though, so it was still a struggle for the first 8 hours. I'm so bad with audiobooks. 8D But the beginning was also very slow. It picked up speed around the halfway point, I'd say and also Keefe is my favourite character so I appreciated hearing more of him. I still find it a little odd how some of the characters' attitude towards Sophie is. Guys, she's only thirteen and didn't know about her powers for the longest time! How do you expect her to be perfect at everything and solve everything this very second? Geez. I'll probably continue with the 3rd volume at some point but I should really think about reading it instead of listening. :'D

On to the next month! As of writing this I already have read the best book of March, I swear. xD I’m possibly still high enough to even make a fanart happen.

[drrutherford]

What are the 5 Important female relationships in Gideon's life?

Taking out family cause that's too easy, as well as characters that are not currently in play like Nora (bff) and Diana. Also taking out Amélie for this one (sorry Amélie) bc she's in a slightly different category in relation to Gideon at this point in time than the ones below. In no particular order, then, the following ladies come especially to mind:

Eleanor — He's known her almost as long as he's known the Rutherfords themselves. Somehow, looking back, he sees Eleanor in most of his childhood memories, smiling in the periphery. Always trailing after Lara and Adri, undoubtedly, but always there. Always a friend to the family, always a constant. As they've gotten older, he's keen to make it known that the feeling is mutual, and that he'll always be a constant for her too, should she ever have need for it. After catching Olivier Fontaine threatening her during the Awards After-Party, that protective instinct has surfaced more overtly in him, and he's determined to figure out what kind of trouble she's gotten herself into, and if there's a way he can help. @eleanorxshipley

Cassandra — They go back ages, they have a complicated history and a connection that's often been described as a love/hate dynamic by others. There's a lot of ingroup loyalty there, despite all the jokes about nepotism and elitist educational experiences. He also has a lot of respect for her political career and her outspokenness on ethical topics. Even though I suspect if he were to find out about some of her sympathies for the French/mob-affiliated French, he'd consider it to be hypocritical on her part and would lose some respect for her political stances accordingly. That said though, his loved ones are his Achilles' heel, and Cassandra, whether she knows it or not, has earned a spot in that circle that would take a lot for her to lose. @cassandra-acton

Ayda — A newer and far more recent entry to the list, and because of that the depth of this connection is (inevitably) a little less invested than the rest. But that doesn't mean he doesn't care about her. They've spent time together on and off over the last few months, and there are a lot of qualities he cherishes in her. He's rooting for Ayda, and she's someone he'd like to see happy. He's also made a promise to her brother to keep an eye out for her, and whether or not he trusts Hasan, he intends to keep his word. For her sake, and out of respect for the uphill battle that she choose by leaving behind a life of crime, even if she's still loyal to her people. But this also makes their connection a little bittersweet, because he's mindful of the fact that life may pit them against one another or force them eventually to take sides. @ayda--demir

Jessica — They've had their ups and downs, but somehow the downs have only brought them closer. This isn't something Gideon takes for granted, as many of his friendships have fallen apart exactly when the going got tough. In a humbling way, what's won him over the most when it comes to Jess' character is her capacity for forgiveness, even when he didn't deserve it. Heck, even when he was too proud to ask for it. Although he's not the type of man to make explicit declarations of fuzzy feelings, this experience was one that's ultimately earned Jess his hard-won trust, and his fidelity to their friendship. The other stuff; their shared commiseration of working in the NHS, the hospital banter, common traumas they've survived, are merely additional layers on that foundation. @jessi-reyes

Alexis — What is it about some of the oldest connections in his social circle that get so damn complicated?? This might seem a surprising entry for the list, but it isn't, not to Gideon. There's a lot of bad blood between them, a lot of misunderstanding, and lot of ways in which he's felt hurt by Alexis, too. That said, there's little he wouldn't do for her, if push came to shove. He'd defend her against any naysayers and protect her to the best of his ability, if needed. A lot of this does come down to loyalty to his best friend, Spencer, but that isn't to say it'd be his only motivation for sticking his neck out for her. Spencer's also been with women in the past that Gideon did not respect and would not protect. But he respects Alexis; he always has. She's smart, funny, and she can go toe-to-toe with Spencer as few people can. Selfishly, Gideon wishes she had a better opinion of him, but that doesn't change the fact that she's important to him, even if the feeling isn't mutual. @alexislarsson

[kiwiana-writes]

3, 8, and 18 for the meta writer asks! And I hope the rest of your day goes better than the too-early morning. 💕

[Fun meta asks for writers]

Ugh, sadly it did not. Zooms that could have been emails, and all of that. ❤️

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

Ooooh this is an interesting question because I write so much short slice of life stuff that I do often just throw that stuff out there as little, like, mini ficlets! I have been sitting on a great joke my spouse made while watching the film where I was like "god I need to write that into a fic" but I just recently figured out what I was doing with that one, so now it's in the WIPs.

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

Yes, but there's also stuff I like to read that I don't like to write (looking at you, anything that requires serious world-building.)

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

At some point after it's finished publishing we should talk about the outline @ships-to-sail wrote for the Actor AU, because it was really good and when I decided the structure of the fic needed to match Much Ado About Nothing I ended up gutting a ton of it. Luckily she loves me (allegedly)

But for now let's talk about something totally unrelated: the Schitt's Creek 50 First Dates AU and the plotline I lowkey accidentally abandoned (that shit had no outline and no plan other than, like, the film and the show) and always meant to come back to in one of the alternate POV one-shots but never quite got around to. Totally set it up and then ditched it, whoops. But basically, Ronnie was part of the volunteer rescue team that found David and Alexis after the car accident, so she was WILDLY protective of David and deeply fucking suspicious of Patrick.

I went and looked because I was sure I'd scribbled a bit of this down and I'd actually written like 500 words of Alexis' POV! So have those below the cut:

Alexis’ head hurts.

That, in and of itself, isn’t weird. Between hangovers and jet lag and being knocked on the back of the head while being kidnapped — a totally amateur move, and a sign that her kidnappers really weren’t investing properly in their henchmen — she’s more than used to waking up with a throbbing pain in her temple. What is weird is that those days are behind her. No more taking the jet to Europe because she’s bored, no more trips to the embassy to pick up a new passport and a disguise so she can get across the border. So she doesn’t know—

“Alexis?”

The voice is vaguely familiar, but she doesn’t want to open her eyes yet, sure that when she does the full ache is going to turn into something much more immediately uncomfortable. 

There’s a sharp rapping sound, far too close to her ear, and she winces. 

“Shit, I think she’s waking up. Alexis? Come on, open those eyes for me. You can do it.”

In the distant background, she can hear sirens, and her eyes fly open in shock. 

“There you are, princess.” Despite the usual sarcastic drawl, when Alexis turns to face the window, Ronnie’s expression is full of concern. “Ambulance is nearly here. Think if we get this door open, you’re up for getting out, or do you want to wait for them?”

“David.” It’s all coming back now — the trip to Elmdale, fighting over the music, the cow. “Where’s David?” She turns to the passenger seat, ignoring the way it makes her ears ring, ignoring the pain radiating up her left arm. Her brother is slumped motionless in his seat, the window on his side of the car shattered and half the door crumpled in. There’s a huge gash across his forehead and wildly, irrationally, Alexis’ first thought is: He’s going to be so mad he can’t do his skincare routine. 

“Alexis, listen to me.” She doesn’t realise until Ronnie’s voice cuts through the fog that she’s sobbing his name, and she sucks in a shuddering breath. “We don’t wanna move him until the ambulance gets here, in case he’s injured his neck or his spine. What about you? What hurts?”

“Um.” She closes her eyes, trying to concentrate on anything other than the panic clawing its way up her throat. David is so still. “Just my wrist, I think. And a headache.”

“I think you might have whacked it on the steering wheel.” Ronnie’s eyes flick up to her forehead for a moment. “You’ve got a bit of a shiner, but I think we’re okay to get you out.”

It takes Ronnie and a man she doesn’t recognise — Elm County volunteer firefighters, they tell her cheerfully — to get the driver side door of the Lincoln open. By the time Alexis is standing on the side of the road, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her now throbbing wrist tucked carefully against her body, she can see the ambulance tearing down the road towards them. 

She won’t let any of them look at her until David is safely out of the car. Ronnie stands next to her the first hole time, her hand on Alexis’ shoulder far more gentle than Alexis could have guessed it would be, while they cut open the car door and strap up his neck before manoeuvring him onto a stretcher. 

[gobbluthbutagirl]

I’m not either of the anons but THANK YOU. I just didn’t really care about any of the characters and it all just felt a little flat. David was so extra it felt like they overbalanced by giving his partner no personality whatsoever. And there’s no real redemption? All of the characters were mean and awful at the beginning and now they’re still mean and awful but the townspeople just consider it quirky. The closest anyone got to character development was Alexis

yessss like i kept watching in part because i wanted to see david and Some Guy(i forgot his name too lol)’s relationship because i was like. Well i hate everything about this show so far but maybe having a gay couple will make it better. and it DIDN’T!!! and it’s honestly because they failed to get me emotionally invested in any of the characters. it’s like yeah it’s cute…ish…at times but like…that’s it??? and Some Guy really did only exist to be david’s partner. like he had nothing going on outside of that whatsoever. he felt less like a character and more like a vehicle for saying, “look! we’re depicting a gay relationship on our tv show!” and i think they kind of thought like, oh well people love david, people relate to david, look here’s a relationship for david with a happy ending! except that like… i did NOT love david. i thought he was kind of annoying. and then Some Guy was just like…nothing. so you’ve got a guy who’s kind of annoying and a guy who barely even exists and if you already don’t like the show that really does nothing to redeem it.

i think there’s a post i reblogged sometime in early 2021 where someone articulated this way better than i can but schitt’s creek is basically like if you took arrested development season 3 episode 9 “S.O.B.s” and removed all the irony. even in the very first episode it’s like, “oh no!!! it’s not their fault they lost all their money!!! their lawyer(or whoever) was corrupt and they didn’t even know!!! ):” and then they proceed to just be awful and it’s like. Come on man. if you’re gonna have a family of rich bastards at least lean into it. don’t give me all this corny shit about “heartwarming” and “life lessons” and “they’re not actually bad people” and whatever. like genuinely HOW do you take the concept of a rich family losing everything, which has so much potential(as evidenced by arrested development, which had already aired 4 of its 5 seasons by the time schitt’s creek aired its first), and turn it into something so lackluster???

[halflingkima]

Mid-Year Book Freakout

Books read: 65 Pages read: 20,485 Average rating: 2.91 (help) Primary Genre: Fantasy (wild)

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2024?

I have had a total of six 5-star reads this year; 3 are comics, and 2 are rereads. Anyway. A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland.

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2024?

Speaking of the comics, I think Die, Vol 3: The Great Game technically counts. But also All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows.

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to?

I don't keep up with new releases very much, content to wait for library copies and preferring to hear some others' reviews first. That being said, we are halfway through the year, and there's plenty of 2024 releases my library doesn't have yet. Some of these I'm most itching to read are Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary, Significant Others by Zoe Eisenberg, and (just this month) Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

Because I don't keep up with the newest of new releases, I don't usually know about titles before they come out, save for my very favorite authors. Case in point: I'm intrigued by Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. I'm also keeping my eye on The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava – a romance coming out in August featuring a Chickasaw main character. That's the tribe my family's related to, and I almost never see them mentioned, even in Indigenous-focused literature. I'm also just excited for a regular romance novel featuring Native characters.

5. Biggest disappointment?

I hate to hate on the Kingdom of Bones series bc as far as internet fiction turned book deals goes, it's a respectable effort. But both Crossbones and Dark Tides by Kimberly Vale are absolutely my biggest disappointment so far this year. The premise sounds so cool but the execution is absolutely flat. I'm heartbroken that they're not the books I wanted them to be.

6. Biggest surprise?

I have fallen off of young adult stories (predictably) as I've aged, but I wasn't ever really that into middle grade as a whole, but I quite liked The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer. I found it engaging and original without doing anything specifically gimmicky. The writing voice really carried the story, and I didn't feel condescended to at any point. (There was even a plot twist I didn't catch!) A sweet story that I plan on following with the sequels at some point.

7. Favourite new author (debut or new to you)?

Easily Foz Meadows – the Tithenai Chronicles may not be my favorite books of all time, but they are the most fun(? investment? pleasantness?) I've had with books this year. The plots maybe leave a bit to be desired but I like the characters and I'm obsessed with the worldbuilding. I will absolutely auto-read anything in this universe, but I'm also planning to look into their backlist until more is written. Honorable mention to Alexandra Rowland for similar reasons to just a bit lesser degree.

8. Newest fictional crush?

[Julia Lepetit voice] I don't- I don't... I don't.

9. Newest favourite character?

I suppose someone in A Taste of Gold and Iron or the Tithenai Chronicles... the men are too messy, but I quite like their powerful sisters (the sultan in the former and the tiern(a?) in the latter)

10. Book that made you cry?

Admitedly, All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows did get me at the end there. Ironically, the acknowledgements/author's notes at the end really hit me. Also, some bits at the end of Die, Vol 4: Bleed. Both happy tears lol

11. Book that made you happy?

In addition to those I've already mentioned, I finished KD Casey's Unwritten Rules series and god, I love those books. Also really loved A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandana.

12. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)?

I've only gotten a handful of new books this year, and only preordered three. The newly published edition of For Real by Alexis Hall wins this one this year.

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I'm a smidge behind with my 24 in 24, but most pressing is Mortal Follies and 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall. Preorders from my presumed favorite author that I haven't touched for. Over a year now. Upsetting. And they're only getting more ominous...

[tinx-methinks]

Big update because I haven't done this in a while! I mentioned I had eye problems and I ended up needing glasses and I took a reading break to work on wedding planning and it's been a whole thing. But I have got a lot read in spite of that.

KA Applegate: The Exposed, The Experiment, The Sickness, and The Reunion. Oh boy these are getting HEAVY. In order I think we had Rachel gets asked by an evil Eldritch power to murder a cousin to join the evil side and live, Ax has to morph a cow and go to a slaughterhouse, Cassie has to do emergency brain surgery on Ax and Marco has to kill his own mother. YIKES.

Leech by Hiron Ennes: This is one of my stand out favs this year. It was a crazy good book. I can see why tasmuir was the front quote. I don't even know what I could tell you about it that would make you read it but just trust me you should.

The Ivies by Alexis Donne: wasn't too bad but I think I found all the characters unlikable.. but it was saved by the fact that the narrative recognized it. I'm unlikely to look for more from the author but I didn't hate this book.

The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by VE Schwab: I didn't like this book at all. I hated both characters by the mid point of this book and it never really got better... It felt very dry and there was too much detail that felt erroneous and I never really got invested.

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager: I was so bummed I didn't like this one. I've enjoyed all of his other books as sort of mindless thrillers but the end on this one sorta just bummed me out.

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon: This book was insane. I think there were lots of places where the story lost me but by the end I was so enthralled and I never want to read it again. I think this is the type of book I can never reread or else I'd need to run a wikipedia on it and be the world's foremost expert and I just don't have the time to invest. I don't know if I'll pick up the sequels... I think I feel good about this story ending here. The pay off for some of those angsty moments was so good but the worldbuilding was hard to follow and the large about of original terms and staggering povs makes it a hard sell to others The bookclub didn't love this one.

Demons of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison: I ordered this one in hard cover and it did not disappoint. I always look forward to her newest release. I love Al.

Out of the Ashes by Kara Thomas: I think I liked this book overall because the main character really paid for her ill behavior and the complexity of the characters, the feel of the setting, and the thrilling moments all really shone through. However I didn't like it as much as most of the author's work. The main character is a nurse with tendency of using it like the superpower of diagnosis which I found tedious. Also what the FUCK was up with that divacup scene???

The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: Hey this is a booktok book that's heavily influenced by military glorification and claims to have diversity but when you really think about it for a minute very little of that forces the characters to learn grow or change so does it matter? However I liked it. It was fun in a way that a lot of YA is but with some sexual bits and an abundance of swearing. I'd have loved it as a teen. As an adult I'm less forgiving but I wouldn't be upset if bookclub wanted to pick up the second one.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher: Oh I loved this. It's based on the Fall of The House of Usher but I read this one first and I think it's better. It was so much fun. The nonbinary swag of the main character charmed me in a way I've never been charmed before. My heart flutters just to think of them. Insane.

The Creeper by AM Shine: This one was fun but nowhere near as good as the Watchers. This one relied on some of those tropes in horror that tilt into ableism, and heavily used body horror in a way that just wasn't fun for me. The main guy was such a wet noodle of a man which was funny enough. But it was a good enough read I'm still looking forward from more of this author.

Other things I've "read"

I dunno if I mentioned this one before because I annotated a copy as a gift but I read The Turn of the Screw and I really enjoyed it- which I didn't expect because I hated the last thing I read by Henry James but it was just so good. I can see why it was a classic and good lord what was that ending?

My fiance has been reading me the Chronicles of Narnia before bed some nights and we finished The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and started the next one.

I finished the Dracula Daily podcast. Which means I kinda finished Dracula again. Looking forward to their Carmilla. Also been doing the Around the World in 80 Days Hourly one and god I love it so much I didn't realize how much of a master of words Verne was. Eagerly looking forward to more.

And lastly short stories!

Some Other Animal's Meat by Emily Carroll: we read this because we enjoyed Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities but ended up enjoying the episode much more than the comic

Pickman's Model by HP Lovecraft was a hard pill to swallow because we did genuinely enjoy it. Thankfully we followed it up with Dreams of the Witch House which was a total snooze.

The Lonely Inukshuk was a short story from my childhood we revisited.

Looking Back by Guy De Maupassant: was one I enjoyed but Luke didn't. It had this dull kind of sorrow that to me didn't feel mean but did to him.

The Man Higher Up by O.Henry: we both really liked.

The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse by William Sayoran was a good one for me but Luke loved it.

The Other Two by Edith Wharton felt like a real nothin burger to us.

Theft by Katherine Anne Porter left us both bitter at the author

A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor was one I remembered from school so I expected it to be mid so I ended up being almost mad that it was so good and I liked it so much.

The Man of the House by Frank O'Connor had me worried that we were going to punish our protagonist but it ended up being quite fair in the end and we both enjoyed it.

The Man Who Shot Snapping Turtles by Edmund Wilson wasn't good.

The Gioconda Smile by Aldous Huxley was okay I guess but neither of us would revisit it. It felt very trite and overdone but we weren't sure if that's because our opinions were tainted by media that came after it.

The Curfew Tolls by Stephan Vincent Benet might've been good if I liked war stories or knew anything about Napoleon but alas.

Father Wakes Up the Village by Clarence Day listen- was it a bad standard of masculinity to set? perhaps. but he was a fun guy. I liked it well enough.

Ivy Day in the Committee Room by James Joyce: Unlike The Curfew Tolls I didn't feel like learning what I needed to know to understand this story was a chore and once I had I think I felt it was an important enough story to tell that I liked this story even though I didn't get it on my first pass. However I don't think I'd read it again.

The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck: I hate hate hated this one.

The Door by E B White: I think this one was jarring on first parse but I landed on it being ok... but I didn't get anywhere near as much from it as Luke did.

All You Zombies by Robert A Heinlein: Hey I didn't expect to like this one but actually it was pretty great. I think the places where it could've been bad it was vague enough to at least skirt the issue and was a genuinely fun bit of timeloop media. I don't like the title however.

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: Genuinely a shock. The first time I've felt so let down by Poe. I didn't like this one at all and I think Kingfisher did the story better, frankly it was a nothin burger.

PHEW. Ok that's it. Now we're caught up.

I started putting them off because I got behind but I *really* want to finish it for the whole year. So better late than never, right?

Update to this post: tinx-reads-2023

Books I've read since last time:

K.A. Applegate: The Change, The Unknown, The Escape, The Warning, The Underground, The Decision, Megamorphs 2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs, The Andalite Chronicles, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, The Departure, The Discovery, The Threat, The Solution, The Pretender, The Suspicion, and The Extreme. GOD she does Aliens SO WELL. I care about her Aliens SO MUCH argh. I didn't think I would like the Andalite or Hork-Bajir Chronicles at all but now they're all I can think about ahhhh!!!

Hide by Kiersten White wasn't super good... it felt kinda like the author was trying to rub her own back and the novel wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped.

The Legend of Beacon Swamp by Jacob Peyton had it's moments where it could have been interesting but it was so poorly written that any joy you could still derive from it vanished into the murk.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells was the STAND OUT FAVE from this group of books. All my homies love Murderbot.

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk wasn't bad and would've been more enjoyable if I'd just read it for what it was but I was thinking about some of the weirdness in the world building the whole time. I think the angels in this universe are evil and also the main character is kinda really bad.

Consequences by Aleatha Romig was pitched to me as erotica. Which it wasn't. Tried to make me think it was romance. Which is wasn't. And then the ending would've been good and interesting if the entire book hadn't been wayyyy too fuckin' long.

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn was a bookclub book that became a real slog. The main character was smug and mean and I really hated the twist in this book. I thought the author was English but it turned out she was from Texas which really shook me though.

Deadly Kiss by Ariel Marie was the first one in a romance series about lesbian vampire princesses. It was alright, but felt a little confused at times. I think I might take a look at the second one in the series though... it was charming and had some decent erotica.

As for Short Stories...

Kakekomi Uttae by Dazai Osamu was super interesting because I read No Longer Human last year and felt like this piece had SO much of the author's personal voice in the place of Judas.

Graveyard Rats by Henry Kutner which I read cause I'm hunting down the short stories from Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities with a friend. Neither of us thought this was very good, however. We both preferred the netflix adaption.

The Autopsy by Michael Shea was fantastic. I enjoyed this one a bunch. I ended up going through the episode again because of it and I love the changes that were made from the text but for me the text had sooo much more to offer with little details in mannerisms. Plus some of the thoughts about death as a personification just really worked for me. I liked this one a lot.

[magicalyaku]

Finally the month of summer I've been waiting to have: Just sit back and read. That's all I've done. Or all I remember. I'm pretty sure I was kinda exhausted inbetween but I'm opting to ignore that.

Because I read so many gay boys the month prior, I started off with a YA fantasy adventure, The Song that moves the Sun by Anna Bright and it reminded me why I started reading gay boys in the first place. I have no patience for these girls! 8D Throughout the book I kept wondering "Is it just me or is it the book?" I'm not even sure why. One girl was smart after all, the other one overcame her trauma. Nice! But why do the two girls have to fall for the boys who happen to be two as well? I can see one pair, but why both? Also the pacing was terrible, especially towards the end. The chapters switched viewpoints each and were so short later on I had hardly time to adjust to the scene. How are you supposed to get emotionally invested when you don't even get a minute with these guys before being thrown somewhere else? I hate that in movies too. D: Also this:

He smells like the beach somehow, like sweat and boy.

(Emphasis as in original.) What. Who thought this would be a good thing to write? I'm aware that not every sweat smells bad and I assume not every boy does either. But sorry, that line just does not sound good! What is boy-smell anyway? Is there girl-smell too? (The one distinct smell that comes to mind is not a good one ...) They also cuddle a few chapters later after explicitely telling me that they washed their clothes but not themselves. Why would you tell me?! I don't want to knowww!! I don't think the book is a bad one. I just got frustrated. 8D

The next bunch was more fun: Icebreaker (R.L. Graziadei): Not quite what I expected but in a good way! 40 pages to the end I wondered whether they would really wrap it up or need another volume. Thinking about it now I would not mind a 2nd book. uAu Thanks a lot, Universe (Chad Lucas): The wildest Middle grade book I read so far! You know that when the first episode of an anime series is all nice and dandy and then there's that insane after-credits-scene? The beginning of this felt a little bit like that. And it just continued! And it was so nice. The Loophole (Kaz Kutub): I liked it. Felt a bit different from usual. Reggie was a handful and is was glorious. But f*** that "I thought about it for months but I'm upset with you because you cannot decide within three seconds"-Farouk. uAu Boyfriend Material (Alexis Hall): Good characters and that humour that actually reminded me of Earnest by Oscar Wilde (must be because both involve British nobility). 8D Looking forward to volume 2! (I read the German edition, so vol2 will be in January!) Der Heilige Fisch (Dia Lane): A detective novel by a German selfpublishing author with illustrations by Livanya. I bought the book at her artist alley table at Dokomi this year. :D I usually don't read mystery and I could never write any, so my respect to the author. A solid read, I'd say. uAu Small Town Pride (Phil Stamper): More Middle grade! Nice and sweet. I believe this would be a good read for parents as well, because the adults in this have just as much growing up to do as the kids and it'd probably provide a good insight into the perspective of a queer kid. A Little Bit Country (Brian D. Kennedy): I know nothing about country music and I would never have listenend to it by my own free will before but the nice thing about good books is how they can give you a reason to like something you never knew before, right? Not that I actually went and listened to single song but I did open my mind and will be benevolent when I ever come across one. uAub The book was solid and I liked how it all came together (and yes, I bought it for the cover). The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried (Shaun David Hutchinson): The Past was my SDH book of the month and it was that book about friendship I've been screaming to read these past months. That's why I feel a little bad I didn't like it as much as some of his other works. 8D But I did like July. Much like Jenny from A Complicated Love Story. They are probably not girls I would like to engage in real life but reading about them is so much better than these boring whiny emotional soft girls. /D I probably said it before, but I just like how Mr. Hutchinson wraps his serious thoughts in these weird ideas and just goes with them. Last was another one by SDH, The State of Us, which I borrowed from the library. I was hesistant about this because the “Red White & Royal Blue” comparison and such, but as you can figure I like the author's other books so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I don't care about US politics so that might've made it easier for me to enjoy. It was far from groundbreaking, but I had fun. I also liked that Dean was on the ace spectrum. uAub

And ... I guess tumblr does do brainwashing after all. I just borrowed The Foxhole Court from the library. We'll be going to Seoul in a few days and it will be a very long flight, sooo ... uAu~ (I also have “A Far Wilder Magic” und “A Taste of Gold and Iron”.)

[rmd-writes]

Patrick and David!

"David has never required noise the way his sister has; he kind of likes the quiet, as long as there's enough to occupy his mind, steering him away from thoughts that have, historically, not been great for his mental wellbeing."

Look, I did two cos I wrote a sad one and then I felt bad about it so wrote a soft one as well:

David has never required noise the way his sister has; he kind of likes the quiet, as long as there's enough to occupy his mind, steering him away from thoughts that have, historically, not been great for his mental wellbeing.

Tonight there’s nothing to distract him though - no Alexis chattering away, no buzzing notifications on his phone from Patrick or Stevie, even his parents are quiet next door; there’s nothing to stop him from reliving the moment he realised Patrick has lied to him for months. Whatever Patrick has said or done before, the truth is this: Patrick has never trusted him.

Why would he?

He’s not worth investing trust in, he knows that. It’s why no one else has ever stayed, it’s why he never truly expected Patrick to stay, didn’t dare hope for him to, not really; maybe a little.

Not anymore.

—

David has never required noise the way his sister has; he kind of likes the quiet, as long as there's enough to occupy his mind, steering him away from thoughts that have, historically, not been great for his mental wellbeing.

Patrick is away and the house is quiet, too quiet. David could put some music on, or the tv just for some background noise, but that isn’t what he craves.

What he wants is to hear Patrick humming as he does the dishes, the rustle of him shifting on the couch so that David can tuck himself along his side, the way he mutters to himself about the sportsball, or plucks away at his guitar while David sketches, his quiet huff of laughter at David’s expression when he gets a text from Alexis.

It’s not even that he needs the distraction from his own thoughts anymore, those are rarely an issue - he’s happy now; safe and secure and loved, and he knows it.

David just likes those noises, the backing track to the life he never knew he wanted, the one he never thought he’d have. His phone rings and it’s Patrick, “baby I can’t sleep, just talk to me so I can hear your voice.”

So David talks about anything and nothing, until all he can hear is the quiet wheeze-whistle of his husband asleep at the end of the line.

Send me a ship and a sentence and I’ll write the next five

[redheadgleek]

Books read (July-September)

July: Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal. My last of Chris Colfer’s audiobooks and his first book. Not sure that a journal really was the best format, but I’m going to miss his voice. The Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the Discovery of DNA’s Double Helix. In honor of the 70 year anniversary coming up, I’ve been reading a lot of books on the discovery of DNA. There was some uncomfortable fixation of Rosalind’s sexuality (much like Brenda Maddox books but she came to a completely different conclusion), and I truly loath James Watson now. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher. Oooh. A short, dark fairy tale. Highly recommend. Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo. The last book published (so far) of the Gishaverse. Definitely not a stand alone novel, but overall, a satisfying end to the series and leaving room for more books. On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi. There really aren’t that many good fictional books about being a doctor, much less about going through medical school. This really captured the stress and drama of med school. The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrows. Reimagined history, some strong characters (although maybe a wee bit too much of leaning into the maiden, mother, crone archetypes), beautiful story telling. Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World by Nina Kraus. Audiobook. Fascinating insights into how our ears and brain receive and perceive sound, and how it influences our language and cognitive development, if a bit redundant at times. Orphan Black: The Next Chapter. Maybe a little bit of a cheat, since it’s a  episodic podcast, but it was on goodreads. I rewatched Orphan Black this spring and was eager to listen. Tatiana’s voices were amazing and I loved the new characters (her male voices were the weakest. 

August: Heat Wave (The Extraordinaries, #3) by TJ Klune. An excellent conclusion to the trilogy and so much familial love. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. I’m not a big horror person, but I adore T’s writing. A retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher, with some cool biological explanations. A Middle-Earth Traveller: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor  by John Howe. I loved his work for the Lord of the Rings movies, so I thought this would be a good introduction to my next audio project. Lovely sketches, some lovely behind the scenes insights. Orphan Black: The Next Chapter (Season 2). This time, Jordan, Kristian, and Evelyn returned to voice their roles. I hope there’s another. A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall. A fun little regency romp involving a trans heroine. Lots of feelings. Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall. The story opens with one of my least favorite tropes: lying outrageously and then getting caught and I almost didn’t finish it, but I’m glad I stuck with it, because it really had all of the charm of the Great British Bake Off in a novel. Husband Material by Alexis Hall. (All of my library books became available at the same time, so I read three of Alexis’s books in a week period). I had been charmed by Boyfriend Material; it wasn’t the best fake dating book that I’ve ever read, but I was invested enough that I looked for the sequel and I liked it even better than the first one. Laugh out loud hysterical, following the plot of Four Weddings and Funeral while still giving it at twist. Looking forward to Father Material. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, read by Andy Serkis. This will be my listening project for the next year probably. Andy Serkis’s voice is amazing – deep and rich in timbre. I haven’t reread this one since early in college, it was much darker than what I remembered. You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar. Terrible stories, presented in a light-hearted, easy to approach manner. I’m planning on introducing it to my family and friends because it’s a really great way to highlight the pervasiveness of racism.

September The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin. I really wanted to like this book as it was written by an emergency medicine doctor about a group of medical school friends. And I didn’t. There were parts that truly resonated, such as when one of the main characters loses a patient, but the drama was so over the top. Ramón and Julieta by Alana Albertson. Just a sweet little Romeo and Juliet retelling. A fluffy, easy to read romance which was just want I was craving. The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin. I checked out all three of her books at the same time, so I was really hopeful that this one would be better. And it was, but it still felt lacking. It also felt like the author was trying too hard to emphasize that “not all Christians” are homophobic, but there was still homophobic and transphobic views (one character was the definition of sassy gay friend) that belied that conclusion. East by Edith Pattou. A reread because I found out that a sequel had been written and it had been literal years. Almost as good as I remembered, an excellent retelling of the fairy tale “East of the Sun West of the Moon. West by Edith Pattou. I’m not sure that East really needed a sequel, but this one was well done and it completed the story. Felix Silver, Teaspoons & Witches by Harry Cook. My god, did this book need better editors. So many sloppy mistakes. So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo. I started reading this 2 years ago and got distracted. A practical book, with some great real-time examples, but I’m not sure that it really made it easier to talk about race with some of my white relatives for example. Doctors and Friends by Kimmery Martin. I almost didn’t read this because I had been so disappointed by her previous books, but I’m so glad that I did because it was the best of the 3. She started writing this book back in 2019, about a pandemic that affected the world, and it was a much deeper, emotional story than the other two (although many of the same characters were in it). George (Melissa’s Story) by Alex Gore. Picked it up as part of Banned Books Week and you guys, I’m just tired of fake outrage. It was cute. The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani. Sequel to Thorn, which I read earlier this year. Thorn was good, but this really developed the world. I’m excited for the 3rd book. I may make it to a 100 books this year. *crosses fingers*