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johnwickb1tsch · 1 year ago

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bittersweet ~ a yandere!John Wick x fem!reader sunshine/grump coffee shop AU... Part 7 all chapters

I knew the pleasure of vexing and soothing him by turns; it was one I chiefly delighted in.

–Jane on Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

-It's no real mystery, why you dig out your beloved old copy of Jane Eyre. From the early 1900s, it had seen better days when you’d scored it in the local used book store, many years ago. You’d been a teenager then—and those days were long behind you. It seems you never outgrew your liking of a dark and broody anti-hero.

It’s safer to read about it though, than pursue the real thing.

Lately every time Mr. Wick comes into the shop you feel slightly agitated, as though you don’t quite fit into your own skin. You remember the sensation of his fingertips on yours, like a burn.

Mr. Wick sees you reading your tattered novel on your break, but doesn’t comment. You’ve seen him with old classics in hand and reckon he must be something of an aficionado.

You put it away in your shoulder bag in the back after the break.

The next day, it’s gone.

You know you left it in your bag. Where the fuck could it have gone? Why would someone fucking steal it?

A couple of weeks later, it reappears on the counter by the register you favor.

You hardly recognize it at first, for it has received an encompassing makeover. It has new leather covers with gorgeous embossed gold lettering, and marbled end papers, and the tattered thread of the binding repaired. There are gilded arabesques on the spine and delicately drawn climbing flowers on the cover. You wouldn’t have even thought it the same book, if not for the intricately printed title page unique to your edition, with an old pencil mark in the corner you recognize.

Such a restoration would have cost a fortune.

You knew, because you’d looked into it.

Further compounding the mystery, there is a beautiful jacquard embroidered ribbon bookmark inside. It’s on the page where Rochester has sat Jane down in the arbor, and is telling her that she has rejuvenated him from his unhappy existence without actually admitting anything, asking in the most roundabout way possible if it would be so very bad to take a second wife who would make him a new man, while his first is still living, the big idiot.

“Is the wandering and sinful, but now re-seeking and repentant, man justified in daring the world’s opinion, in order to attach to him for ever this gentle, gracious, genial stranger, thereby securing his own peace of mind and regeneration of life?”

Jane tells him, of course, that a man shouldn’t base his redemption on another person, but within himself. You are not sure you would have had the strength to speak so frankly to a man you secretly loved.

Well, maybe you would.

You are utterly mystified by the whole thing, to say the least.

But later, you are browsing the local book store, and the owner is reading Anna Karenina in what looks like freshly bound leather. The style looks familiar.

“Did you have that restored?” you ask, feeling like Nancy Drew hot on the trail of a fresh lead.

“Yeah, that new guy in town, John Wick did it for me. He says he’s just a hobbyist, but he does amazing work. Usually you have to send off to Florence for quality like this, seriously. It’s a dying art.”

Darren lets you look at the book, and you are impressed by the craftsmanship.

The spine decoration matches yours. There is a plate in the back that proclaims: Bound by John Wick.

The sneak.

You are touched to the tips of your toes, your heart filled with butterflies. Was the bookmark purposely left on that page, or just a random placement?

You hardly dare hope, and tell yourself it’s an invention of your own fancy. The gift of the book is magnificent enough. No need to further muddle things with secret communications that aren’t really there.

The next day you approach Mr. Wick’s table with hands on your hips, affecting annoyance. “You stole my book.”

He actually has the grace to look sheepish about it, casting those lovely dark eyes downwards.

“Yeah.”

“Thanks. I really love it.” It’s the understatement of the century.

He looks up through his hair, the surprised sparkle in his eyes taking your breath away. Suddenly, he looks ten years younger.

“Yeah?”

The corners of your mouth twitch. This man speaks like he’s paying five cents per word, you swear. “Yeah. Why didn’t you tell me you bind books?”

He just shrugs, and you cannot help but laugh.

“I’ve never owned anything so fine. Thank you, truly.”

He nods again, and you sense that you’re maybe making him uncomfortable with your gratitude. You suspect it’s not why he did it at all.

“Will you show me sometime? How you do it?”

There is a flash of something dark in his eyes before he turns his attention back down to his own book. It feels like dismissal, but you have no idea what he’s hiding underneath it all.

Still waters run deep.

“Anytime you want,” he offers as you turn to go.

You smile at him over your shoulder as you go back to your station, a secret lightness fluttering in your heart. On your break you flip through your refurbished book once more, taking even more pleasure in it knowing that John poured over every detail of it. You don’t know much about bookbinding or leather work, but you suspect he freehanded the little flowers on the front, and that moves you to your toes.

You flip to one of your favorite scenes because you find it so funny, when Jane puts out the fire that nearly burned Rochester up in his sleep, because undoubtedly he’d drank too much earlier to easily rouse, the lovesick scoundrel. Afterwards he doesn’t want her to leave but can’t outright keep her in his room without behaving an absolute blackguard.

“Strange energy was in his voice, strange fire in his look.”

You cannot help but glance up at your tall dark bookworm in the corner, an aching warmth spreading in your heart for the sight of his furrowed brow, his concentration (you think) focused on the tome in his hands.

You know you are a ridiculous thing.

#john wick #john wick x you #john wick x reader #john wick x y/n #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves #john wick fic #bittersweet john wick imagine #yandere john wick #yandere! john wick #yandere john wick x you #i nerded out so hard on this chapter im soorrryyyyy!!!#jane eyre

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ndconceptarchive · 3 months ago

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Adventure Classic Gaming Interview with Megan Gaiser, Carolyn Bickford, and Sheri Hargus

Adventure Classic Gaming was,

"the premiere website dedicated to classic and retro adventure gaming. We seek to be a comprehensive online resource on classic adventure games and interactive fiction. Our site covers all gaming platforms, both computers and consoles. We cover games by both independent and commercial developers."

It appears that it's now defunct seeing as the most recent articles were uploaded in 2014, but you can still access the website even though it appears to be missing a CSS file.

Here is an interview from the website with Megan Gaiser in promotion for Stay Tuned for Danger published on June 12, 2000:

Founded in 1995, Her Interactive has taken a pioneering role in attracting girls to computer technology through attractive role-playing. The mission of this Washington-based publisher is to design, develop, and market intelligent interactive games for girls.

In 1997, the company has obtained a license from Simon & Schuster to develop an interactive mystery game series based on the legendary teen detective Nancy Drew. Its flagship titles, Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill and Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger, have received high praises from both critics and parents.

In this exclusive interview, Megan Gaiser (President), Carolyn Bickford (VP Sales and Marketing), and Sheri Hargus (Development Manager) speak about the company's unique mission, the popularity of Nancy Drew, and what holds in the future for this interactive series.

Sheri Hargus, Development Manager; Carolyn Bickford, VP Sales and Marketing; Megan Gaiser, President (left to right).

What (or who) is the inspiration behind the idea of taking Nancy Drew onto the computer screen?

Megan Gaiser: There are many reasons why we chose Nancy Drew to star in her own computer game series. History was one. Nancy Drew has fascinated girls for generations. We remembered as girls how eagerly we looked forward to getting our hands on the next Nancy Drew book - and realized that if we could create the same kind of anticipation for our games we would have major hits. Also, Nancy Drew is a powerful role model - she's brilliant, intrepid, and successful.

The Nancy Drew mysteries fit our search for content that was non-violent and that didn't rely on gender stereotypes. And, last but not least, mysteries make a great foundation for intelligent entertainment. Their complex plots provide infinite opportunity for adventure, exploration, and problem solving. There's a ready-made sense of community, as players seek help and advice from characters inside the game, from friends and family, and from online resources. Community is key to our plans to enhance our online presence.

Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger is developed and published by HerInteractive.com. HerInteractive.com has a unique mandate in developing non-violent games specifically for girls. Can you explain more fully about your company's unique mission? How do you plan to accomplish this mandate?

Megan Gaiser: Indeed, we are the only developer in the U.S. focused exclusively on the girls market, which is rather bizarre. There are more than 70 million girls in our target age range, and they have about $45 billion to spend each year. All of this potential has been largely ignored by the computer game industry, which found it could sell a lot of violent action games targeting the male audience, and has stayed in that rut ever since.

The market penetration for male-targeted games is near the saturation point. But there's still a wide-open opportunity to target the female half of the population. A recent study published by the American Association of University Women found that girls were largely turned off by the violent and repetitive nature of most games. If they're not buying games in large numbers, it's not because they don't like to play games, it's because few developers are designing games that appeal to them.

And those that do tend to rely pretty heavily on pink packaging, boy-talk and clothes. To assume that those are the only things girls are interested in is absurd. Our games don't use gender stereotypes to appeal to girls. Instead, they rely on the intrigue of a good mystery, and a smart, gutsy heroine. We believe that there should be as many types of games as there are types of girls. That creates such an exciting opportunity, and Nancy Drew is just the beginning.

For those readers who are unfamiliar with Nancy Drew, can you tell us a bit about the background of the legendary teen detective?

Megan Gaiser: Nancy Drew has been solving mysteries and inspiring millions of avid fans for 70 years.

Back in 1905, a writer named Edward Stratemeyer started a company that developed series of books for children. Edward would dream up plots and characters, and hire ghostwriters to write the books under pen names. He created the Hardy Boys in 1927, and just a few years later, he created Nancy Drew. When he died, his daughters ran the company and continued the Nancy Drew tradition.

Edward Stratemeyer's daughters, Harriet Adams and Edna Stratemeyer, made all decisions about what would happen with the Nancy Drew character. This was back in the 1930s when it was highly unusual for women to run a business. Their first ghostwriter for Nancy Drew was a strong, independent woman named Mildred Wirt Benson.

She was an athlete and a journalist, and she wrote Nancy to be just as adventurous as she was. As a matter of fact, at age 94 she's still a journalist, writing for her small town paper. HerInteractive.com sent her a copy of our first title, Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill - and she loved it! "Your computer game does exactly what I did when I was writing the books," she wrote. "It makes girls feel like they ARE Nancy Drew!"

In 1979 the Stratemeyer Syndicate signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to publish new books in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. In 1982 Harriet Adams died, and in 1984 Simon & Schuster purchased the Syndicate, becoming both owner and publisher of Nancy Drew. Pocket Books gave the heroine a new look and updated the setting to appeal to Nancy's most recent generation of readers.

Her loyal girl friends Bess Marvin and George (Georgia) Fayne are still at her side, as is her boyfriend, Ned Nickerson. Nancy Drew's popularity spans the globe — she is currently translated into French, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, German, Brazilian, Portuguese, Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Malaysian. Over the years, she has been featured in movies and on television, and even had her own board game.

The core of the Nancy Drew publishing program, the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, continues to be published six times a year by Pocket Books' Minstrel Book imprint. There are several other Nancy Drew series currently in publication, and a hot market exists for out-of-print copies of the original Nancy Drew books.

In 1998, HerInteractive.com brought Nancy Drew to the computer screen with the publication of Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill, followed in 1999 by Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger. Our goal is to make sure that the legendary teen detective clicks with a new generation.

Obtaining the license to use Nancy Drew must be a triumphal accomplishment for the company. How did you do it?

Megan Gaiser: We made a strong case to Simon and Schuster, convincing them that we had the talent, and the passion, to faithfully adapt their teen icon to the computer screen. The critical success of our earlier work played a big part. We have a highly qualified development team.

In addition, we demonstrated a clear understanding of what girls were looking for in computer games, based on extensive focus group research and input from our Teen Advisory Board.

Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill and Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger are two titles from the Nancy Drew: Interactive Mystery Games series. How many titles are planned for the series? At what stages of development are they now?

Megan Gaiser: Nancy Drew: Message in the Haunted Mansion is in development and scheduled for a September release. There are over 140 books in the Nancy Dew series - so we certainly have a wealth of content for future games. We believe that we can create a new generation of Nancy Drew fans who eagerly await each new interactive mystery. And now broadband and the Internet offer Nancy a whole new environment to explore, and we intend to take her there.

How long did it take to develop each game? Are all designing tools developed in-house?

Sheri Hargus: It takes from nine months to one year to develop each game. This is the total time from game conception to shipment. The entire team participates in the design process and we spend a good deal of time up front in developing the plot, characters, environments, puzzles and game flow. We have found that early attention to the entire design allows us to stay on schedule and create a superior product.

The art team uses mostly off-the-shelf tools such as Photoshop and 3D Studio Max. The programming is done in C++ and is built upon a proprietary game engine that has been developed internally. DirectDraw is also used and installed as part of the game installation.

At what age of audience do your games aim? What do you feel are the key attractions of the Nancy Drew Interactive Mystery Games?

Megan Gaiser: Our games are designed for girls ages 10 - 15. We are finding that their appeal is actually much broader than that; younger girls are playing them with their sisters or their moms.

And women who grew up devouring every Nancy Drew mystery are eagerly buying the games for themselves. Many computer games portray women in very limited roles - women are too often just the "prize" or the damsel in distress. Nancy Drew breaks many of these molds — she's smart, self-reliant, adventurous — and in the end she is always successful.

In the gaming industry, until recently, girls were never really asked what they wanted in computer games. We asked, and heard they were not satisfied with the status quo of computer gaming: the violence, the lack of storylines, the secret rules. This led us to breakthrough ideas that are a step forward for the gaming industry as a whole. We incorporated all of this knowledge into the Nancy Drew games. And we listen carefully, and then act on, all of the feedback we get from every game.

What is the style of game play in Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger?

Sheri Hargus: The game is a visually stunning single-person adventure and problem-solving interactive mystery. The player navigates smoothly through different game locations, seeing everything through the eyes of Nancy Drew. Each location has rooms and environments to explore; it's loaded with clues, puzzles and other characters. Interaction with characters is through a dialog box where the player is allowed to select different responses and questions while engaged in conversations with the game characters.

The player has the ability to turn completely around in any node by clicking on the left or right sides of the game window. Player input occurs through mouse clicking on hotspots with occasional keyboard input also needed. The player can fail the game in several ways but it is always possible to restart and try again from the same game position. On the average, it takes 10-20 hours for a player to successfully solve the mystery and complete the game.

Both Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill and Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger won numerous praises from critics, but what kind of feedback have you got from parents?

Megan Gaiser: We just found out that Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger is the winner of this year's prestigious Parents' Choice Gold Award for software in the 10 - 18 age group. That reflects the positive reception we've received from so many parents. Our games are cool without cruelty, the perfect answer for parents who would like to give their teen a non-violent game that's not totally lame.

We have heard from moms and daughters who have had a great time solving our interactive mysteries together. It takes on average about 15 hours to crack the case, and two heads are always better than one. Mothers tell us they really like sharing the Nancy they grew up with their daughters. Plus, they have a lot of fun playing the game. We have found that moms (and even dads) are avid participants in many of the online chats about the games - so we know that girls aren't the only people playing our games!

How can we order these games? Are they available only online (rather than retail sales)? If so, why?

Megan Gaiser: The games can be ordered through our own website, http://www.herinteractive.com They are also available through many online retailers, including Amazon (where Nancy Drew Stay Tuned for Danger has been in the Top Ten Children's Titles ever since it's release), eToys and Beyond.com.

Bricks and mortar shelf space has been hard to come by; we're a very small publisher in an emerging category. But we are making progress toward obtaining broader distribution by this Christmas — the critical and online sales successes of our first two titles are starting to open some doors.

What holds in the future for Nancy Drew (i.e. sequels)?

Megan Gaiser: Looking beyond the September release of Nancy Drew: Message in the Haunted Mansion; we have a long list of Nancy Drew stories that would translate into fabulous interactive games. We're also looking at other licenses to expand the game playing options "for girls who aren't afraid of a mouse." There are lots of different types of girls, and there are so many wonderful characters that could star as our next interactive idol!

#interview #nancy drew games #her interactive #promotional material #stfd #stay tuned for danger

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whisperingspinesliterary · 27 days ago

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Hello, everyone! Welcome to the library.

As far as wrap-ups go - I'm a little late. And as far as intro posts go, well - I'm not quite sure this is the best way to start. But here we are. You may call me Whisper; I'm 28, a life-long reader, self-taught writer, an avid gamer, and a movie enthusiast. I've been in a years-long reading slump, and finally managed to crawl my way out of it in early 2024. Trust me when I say, my love of reading is something I never want to forget about myself again. So here I am!

I had a blog years ago, but I couldn't even tell you what I used to write about. I decided, in order to keep in my rediscovered booksphere, why not start a blog to log my adventures in reading and maybe even talk about my own books that I'm crafting and movies that I love? A catch all place for story lovers. I'm also starting a YouTube channel, which you can watch HERE. It has some new videos, as well as some old writing videos from last year when I originally started posting on it.

I'm so excited to be diving into this endeavor!

As a whole, 2024 was a hell of a ride. Both in life and in books. I spent most of 2024 unemployed, which hasn't happened since I was a teenager. (I still am unemployed; it is a rough market out there...) But I also found some new favorites and read books that I will gladly never touch again. I started tracking my progress on StoryGraph (you can follow HERE). It's an app and website that was created and is owned by a black woman. I find it much more intuitive and user friendly than GoodReads. It also gives more in-depth breakdowns of your reads up to the current! Honestly, I can hardly navigate the GoodReads app.

Last year, I tracked 12 novels, 29 manga, 1 audiobook, 2 novellas, roughly 17 short stories, and only DNF'd 2 books. Pretty solid for just rewetting my feet. My goals this year are to read 25 novels (about 2 a month), 3 complete manga series, and double the amount of short stories I read. I think they're pretty reasonable goals, and I'm looking forward to challenging myself!

I have a bad habit of judging books based off their covers. My very first read of last year caught my attention because of its stunning cover. It was the whole reason I bought it. A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poison is a detective novel set in 1920s London. It follows 23-year-old Saffron Everleigh as she struggles with being a woman botanist working at University College London in a time when women in the sciences weren't respected. She finds herself wrapped up in a mystery when a department head's wife is poisoned at a party she's attending, and the professor she works under is the main suspect.

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons is Kate Khavari's debut mystery novel. Honestly, you can tell a bit in the writing, and especially in the way that Saffron handles certain aspects of her mystery. But overall, I really enjoyed the book. I found Saffron delightful to follow and her seedling romance with Alexander Ashton to be adorable. I liked it so much that I bought and read the subsequent sequels - A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality and A Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets. I'm looking forward to A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge, which is releasing later this year.

I'm a huge fan of Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, and Franklin W. Dixon’s Hardy Boys. So these books absolutely tickled my fancy. Each mystery gets more intriguing, and the world around Saffron keeps growing and getting richer. My only issue is that in Flowers and Fatality and Society and Secrets Saffron just seems to get angry for no reason. Everything irritates her, and her character is slightly changed from her original personality in Parties and Poisons. As a whole, I give the series a 3/5 and definitely would recommend giving it a read!

I followed Up A Botanist's Guide with a complete genre leap. I dove head long into My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. It was her debut book, which may be why it falls a bit flat. Just as the title suggests, we follow Korede as she cleans up after her sister, Ayoola, who has a tendency to kill her boyfriends. As a massive horror fan, I was so disappointed in this book. I really, really wanted to like it. It was such a good premise, and the beginning was so strong. But that's all it has going for it in my eyes.

Ayoola decides to go after the man that Korede has a crush on at work. We're supposed to follow Korede's moral push and pull in the wake of another of her sister's murders while keeping the man she loves from being killed. However, it's never really felt. It's just a bit of wishy-washy back and forth inner dialogue. The climax didn't really hit a screaming pitch. It just kind of...comes and goes and then the book is over. Leaving us with an unsatisfying ending. You end up right back at square one, where the novel began. This is one book I would say not to waste your time on.

Luckily, I wasn't disappointed for long. I discovered a new favorite completed series. It was advertised comparing it to Howl's Moving Castle - which is my all-time favorite book and movie. I didn't think twice before I bought the first book. The Lord of Stariel is a gaslamp fantasy series. It has a historical type of fantasy setting, where magicians, enchanters, and illusionists practice true magic. Fae are still creatures of myth, but it doesn't stay that way for long.

The series follows Hetta Valstar, the estranged daughter of the Lord of Stariel. When he dies, she has to go back home to the estate of Stariel - a sentient Fae land that bonds with a person. The first book suffered similar to A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons - when the climax came, they talked it out instead of it actually being climactic. But each subsequent book in the series gets better.

It has dangerous magic, a swoon worthy suitor, and an utterly whimsical world to get lost in. It even has a spin off book, A Rake of His Own, which follows Hetta's brother, Marius. I devoured all five books in about two months. I simply could not get enough. As a series, it's a 5 out of 5 and I can't recommend it enough if you like fantasy.

Sometimes, in the middle of reading a long series, you need a bit of a pallet cleanser. I broke up my reading with a book set in our own world. My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine is a monster romcom, a genre I didn't even think existed outside of comics and manga. The book follows Cassie Greenberg, who's an artist struggling to make a living. She finds an advertisement for an apartment and quickly learns that her roommate is a bit of a weirdo. It definitely gave me a chuckle and had a bit of unexpected spicy. There are parts where the story gets serious, and the tone shift can make it a little muddy. But it's one of those books I'd recommend for anyone looking for a light read. The companion novel, My Vampire Plus-One, recently came out and I can't wait to sink my teeth into that one!

In real life, I don't have ton of friends who read books and most of those who do don't read the same books. So, I was surprised when my friend's wife let me borrow her copy of The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. And even more surprised by how much I loved it. It's a cozy, enchanting story about a man named Linus Baker, who works at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He goes and evaluates orphanages that home magical youth. Every day he trudges through a never ending, grey storm. But one day he's summoned by Extremely Upper Management and sent to a house on an island, where he must decide if the children there are too dangerous.

I cannot put into words how charming this story is. I love all the characters, how warm the world feels, and the soft, subtle way that Linus and the head of the orphanage, Arthur Parnassus, fall in love. This was another book that I absolutely devoured. I can't sing its praises high enough. It's just a fun, feel good read. I loved it so much that I bought the recently released sequel - Somewhere Beyond the Sea. I haven't read it yet, but it's on my TBR. I can only hope that it lives up to the same standards as the first one.

Right at the end of December, I managed to squeeze one last book. I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones was my final read of 2024. It's a memoir written by adult 30-something-year-old Tolly Driver as he reminisces about 1989 - the year he became a slasher. I liked the idea; seeing everything from the killer's point of view, finding out what was going through their mind. However, I was sorely let down.

Tolly's narration is a stream of consciousness. Apparently, the whole thing is supposed to be type out on receipt paper. He bounces around from 1989, to previous years, to his present adult self and back. There were spots I had to read three or four times before I released which time period everything was taking place in. There were spots where the sequence of events or the actions of the character were unclear.

As a whole, I found the whole thing a bit ridiculous. It's supposed to be a horror thriller, a serious story about a serious character. But reads like a parody/comedy horror that's taking itself way too seriously. There were supernatural elements that could've been interesting. Tolly's transformation into a slasher was like an infection and the "powers" it gave him just pulled me out of it. I just found that the whole story fell flat. I read the whole book because I was too curious what ludicrous thing was going to happen next.

I'm normally a huge fan of horror comedies, but not when I go in expecting it to be a real, solid horror story. Anybody looking to read a decent horror book, I'd say pass this one over. But if you're looking for a horror parody, then you came to the right place. I'm disappointed since I've heard such good things about Stephan Graham Jones as a horror novelist. However, this was just not the book for me and ended up with a 2/5 on my StoryGraph.

As you can see, 2024 was definitely a wild year for my reading list. I found new series that I absolutely love and some books I will happily never read again. I'm looking forward to many more adventures this year, and I can't wait to see where those books take me. I especially can't wait to bring you all along for the ride!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you again soon!

- Whisper

Let Me Know: Have you read any of the books in my wrap-up? If you did, what did you think? What books did you read in 2024?

____________________

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argonianprince · 7 months ago

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I’m really sorry to hear about the new Nancy Drew game. I’ve been sitting on a few of those games and never got around to playing them, but I read tons of Nancy Drew as a kid and love the character. It’s sad that HerInteractive seems to have fallen apart like that.

As for the older games, are there any in particular you’d recommend? Or an order I should play through? I got pretty much all of them for crazy cheap in a bundle a couple years ago, so could definitely use a pointer from an expert :)

Omg yes @mallosoar, there are some great starting places with the original games!! I like to recommend them based on setting preference and overall educational theme, out of a few standout ones that I think really encapsulate what the series is like in spirit (and have excellent story, characters, puzzles, and secret locations to find, and a nice balance thereof):

Creepy woods (forestry and American gangster history): Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake

Foggy seashore (marine science and conservation): Danger on Deception Island

Southwestern US ranch (Old West and ancient peoples, animal care): The Secret of Shadow Ranch

Tokyo (Japanese culture, horror, lots of logic puzzles): Shadow at the Waters' Edge

The list of games I would actively steer a new player away from is relatively short tbh. Play order doesn't matter at all, except that some cute little callbacks to prior games might be missed. The first 2 in the series are fun, but they didn't have the formula down yet, so they are a little different. If you really want that OG Nancy Drew experience from the books, Secret of the Old Clock is set in the 1930's. It's a combination of the first ever book of the same title, and Mystery at Lilac Inn. All the games are based on one or two of the books, so if there was a book you remember really fondly it might be worth seeing if there is a correlating game (there is an easy list of the books each of the games is based off on the Wikipedia page). My school library growing up only had like 8 of the books but I remember being ENGROSSED.

Outside of starting with one of the really great entry points above, just choosing play order based on title/cover or description is totally valid. You'll have an idea of where in time each game was published as Nancy's technology level changes (whether she has a dumb- or smart-phone, what kind of computers are usable in the game, etc)

If you play any, I would be OVERJOOOYED if you'd let me know which one you start with and what you think of it!!!!!

Thank you for the condolences ❤️❤️❤️ I'm genuinely crushed ;--; they did our girl detective so dirty ;---;

#nancy drew games #clue crew #best ask ever fr

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typingtess · 9 months ago

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youtube

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch: “Blood Bank”

The basics: A shootout on a yacht owned by Arkady Kolcheck gets NCIS’s attention.

Written by: Samantha Chasse co-wrote "Kill Beale Vol. 1" and wrote "Impostor Syndrome" and “Murmuration”.

Directed by: Benny Boom directed "Ghost Gun", "767", "Fool Me Twice", "Pro Se", "Hail Mary", “Groundwork” and “Perception”.

Guest stars of note: Duncan Campbell returns as NCIS Special Agent Castor from “Let It Burn”, Vyto Ruginis joins season 14 as Arkady Kolcheck. Matty Cardarople returns as Danny, who sold pastries in season 10’s “Into the Breach” and computer supplies in “Imposter Syndrome” in season 12,. Kathleen Garrett as Miraslava Borisova, Dalia Rooni as Riffat Murad, Nikolay Moss as Kostas Orlov, Jonathan Kells Phillips as Rupert Richardson and Emily Morales-Cabrera as Assistant

Our heroes: Deal with more Russian nonsense.

What important things did we learn about: Callen: Giving a deposition. Sam: Running a taskforce. Kensi: Nancy Drew on the boat. Deeks: Swedish nobility. Fatima: Late. Rountree: Bodyguard. Kilbride: Appalled by Arkady’s safe house.

What not so important things did we learn about: Callen: Now working on Sam’s taskforce. Sam: Absent. Kensi: Wields a mean serving tray. Deeks: Wields a mean sword. Fatima: Coffee fan. Rountree: Lost the excuse book. Kilbride: Found the excuse book.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? Not a mention, though I bet she knew Mira Borisova.

Who's down with OTP: Kensi dropped her “Mom Tone” when she had to separate Arkady and Mira Borisova. Kensi and Deeks were fine.

Who's down with BrOTP: Fatima and Rountree have plans for covering for each other. Fatima made a friend waiting for coffee.

Fashion review: Callen wears a dark blue, long-sleeve tee. Kensi has on an oatmeal pullover sweater that probably looked better in person than on the TV. Deeks started the episode in a pale pink tee before wearing his Swedish Nobleman blue suit. A red quarter-zip for Fatima. Rountree started the episode with a black tee and what looked like a blue lightweight rain jacket before wearing his all black bodyguard gear. Tell me if you’ve heard this before – blue suit, pale blue dress shirt, medium blue tie for the Admiral. He also wears a trench coat and looks fantastic.

Music: "Makaha” by the Tikiyaki Orchestra is playing in the bar when the Admiral arrives to rescue Arkady. Deeks and Arkady walk into the auction house with “Rasputin” by Boney M. playing. A bit of the “Titanic” soundtrack pops up at the end.

Any notable cut scene: Not today.

Quote: Arkady: “Grisha?”

Kilbride: “Guess again. What sort of a moron decides to make a safe house from...whatever this place is?”

Arkady: “Am I alive?”

Kilbride: “Judging by the looks of this table, barely.”

Arkady: “Listen, a Russian would not look for another Russian in a bar that serves rum-based drinks. It is a brilliant and delicious plan.”

An Arkady-Kilbride spinoff would have worked.

Anything else: On a yacht, a Russian woman is showing off the 43rd of the Czar’s Fabergé Eggs to buyers. There are only 42 known eggs, she has the 43rd which “no longer exists, yet, there it is.” She is looking for $7 million for the egg.

She wants to share champagne with her buyers but when she calls for one of her yacht staffers to bring a bottle, there is no answer. The buyer and his bodyguard pull out guns and shoot the woman and her security staff. They race off with the egg.

The woman, however, is not dead. The large necklace she wore acted as a bulletproof vest.

Walking into the office, Kensi and Deeks are debating Rosa watching a dating reality show. Kensi assures Deeks that Rosa knows the show isn’t real. This is news to Deeks, who thinks the program is real. The two debate the contestants, including a “meatball specialist”. A very amped up Rountree joins them, asking about going into the burn room. Since it is 9AM on a Monday, neither Kensi or Deeks have a reason to do any early week burning. Rountree tries to exit but is forced to explain the notebook he shares with Fatima. It is a track of their excuses for when they are late. “It’s the only way we can keep our stories straight!”

Kensi mentions texting each other but Rountree thinks Kilbride would find a digital trail. Fatima is late and he’s not sure what the excuse of the day will be. And he needs that right now since Kilbride is looking for Fatima. Rountree starts with a car appointment but that would mean Fatima scheduled it during work hours, angering Kilbride. He changes to medical appointment but that worries Kilbride. Suddenly Fatima has a dog – for an undercover operative, Rountree is bad at this. And the dog was hit by a car. Kensi and Deeks offer thoughts and prayers.

Fatima, however, is getting coffee. Fatima chats with a woman waiting for coffee. Riffat works for an agency finding housing for refugees from Afghanistan. After trouble with the barista, Fatima is on her way.

Kilbride walks into an empty Ops, except for Rountree. Based on the case that just arrived, Rountree wanted to do the debrief alone. Two Russians were found dead on a yacht in Marina del Ray. Demetri Fedrov and Simeon Babanin, former Russian military and now with the Wagner Group, are persons of interest in moving cultural and historical pieces of art. The boat, the Diamond of the Ocean, belongs to Arkady Kolcheck. “Why am I not surprised?”

Kensi and Deeks enter Ops with news that Arkady was attacked. They know nothing about what happened on the boat the way Rountree and the Admiral know nothing about the attack on Arkady. There is a “Who’s on First” vibe going on. Arkady was attacked at his house that morning but was able to move to a safe house. He contacted Callen, who wants Kensi and Deeks to ping Arkady’s burner phone. Callen is giving a deposition so he’s unavailable.

Deeks thought Arkady was out of the spy business but Kensi thinks it could be his past causing Arkady trouble. The Admiral isn’t so sure that Arkady is out of the spy business. Rountree offers to call Callen but the Admiral is going to find Arkady himself.

In a Tiki bar, a rather overserved Arkady is looking for “Grisha” but gets Kilbride instead. Kilbride is wondering what kind of “moron” makes a Tiki bar a safehouse. Arkady is wondering if he is alive. Explaining himself, Arkady tells Kilbride that a Russian would not look for a Russian in a place that serves rum-based drinks. “It is a brilliant and delicious plan.”

Ignoring what has led the two of them to “this idiotic moment”, Kilbride wants to know what happened. Leaving his house that morning, two men with guns came up to Arkady’s car. He high-tailed it out of there, running over one of the gunmen’s feet. Kilbride asks if that’s what caused the shooting on Arkady’s boat. Arkady is confused, he hasn’t owned a boat for 40-years. “Must be another Arkady Kolcheck.” Saying he is just a typical ex-KGB Agent who defected to America, “who could want me dead?”

On the maybe not Arkady’s yacht, the original thought is murder-suicide. Looking at the lack of blood spatter behind one body and the way the blood pooled, Kensi thinks this is a set-up. The investigation says there was no video but that doesn’t make sense. A boat this big and fancy would have security cameras, according to Kensi/Nancy Drew. Deeks tries a mirror but it is one way, not two. Kensi found a camera in the smoke detector – “Nancy Drew you did it again.”

In the boat shed, Arkady is finishing a call with Anna as Callen pours some coffee. Arkady isn’t a fan of the boat shed because it smells like a crab shack. His safe house has blended drinks. On the plasma screen, Rountree and an arriving Fatima have the footage from the camera Kensi found. Most of the footage is useless, it was over there table where the Russian woman was showing the egg. The woman, however, drags herself into the camera’s range. Fatima has facial rec but Arkady already knows – “Mira.” And he claims to know her biblically.

Mira is Miraslava Borisova, a Moscow museum curator turned black market antiquities dealer. With Borisova’s access, Arkady was able to put her in contact with people interested in buying what she could provide. But that was 40-years ago. Callen wants Arkady to set up a meeting.

Outside of a fancy hotel in Beverly Hills, Callen is surprised Borisova would hide in such a public place. Being a well dress, wealthy woman, Arkady thinks she’d fit right in. He’s a bit nervous about reuniting with Borisova. Callen offers some advice and help but Arkady remind him that he was doing this before Callen was born. The roach coach is now a plumbing company van with Kensi and Deeks inside with a lot of surveillance equipment. Callen tells them that Arkady dated Borisova before he met Anna’s mother.

Rapping on the door, Arkady finds it opened. He calls for Borisova as he walks inside. She has a rather heavy coffee table book and starts beating him with it. Callen asks Kensi and Deeks what’s going on and they’re not sure. Back in the room, Borisova is furious that Arkady finally calls and it the day she was almost killed. To get her attention, Arkady pops her with a couch decorative pillow. She returns the favor.

Kensi yells that “they’re fighting” – Borisova thinks Arkady set her up in Malta and set her up today – while Deeks is enjoying the “geriatric WWE”. Kensi wonders if they should go in. Callen isn’t sure. Deeks brings up the time Arkady made them de-booby-trap his car because Arkady couldn’t remember how he booby-trapped it. Kensi brings up a failed mission in Chechnya. Callen talks about Arkady cursing his engagement to Anna. They’re going to let Arkady and Borisova work things out for a while.

After Borisova picks up the luggage rack, getting NCIS’s attention, Arkady threatens to remove the tag from a rare Beanie Baby. When he does, Borisova really starts knocking him around. Callen, Kensi and Deeks walk into the hotel room just as Arkady goes flying.

Near Ops, Fatima runs into the Admiral while she tried to evade him. She apologizes for her tardiness. Fatima tells him her dog is doing well. The Admiral, a dog lover, wants her to bring in the dog as he recovers. In fact, he insists.

In Ops, Rountree apologizes for freaking out and going with the dog. Fatima is more concerned about finding a dog. On the big screen, Kensi and Deeks are in the boat shed. Rountree identified the missing object from the yacht – it is one of eight missing decorative eggs, made for the Russian royal family. While killing Borisova to steal the egg makes sense, why go after Arkady? Fatima sends a picture of the egg to Callen, who is interrogating Mira. Arkady is on the back deck in a time out.

Callen shows Borisova the egg. She plays dumb but knows she’s been caught. Callen asks why was the boat registered to Arkady. Again, Borisova plays dumb until Callen says he’s going to turn the yacht over to the DOJ. They have a special taskforce that confiscates Russian belongings. After explaining it is her boat, Borisova tells Callen that she has put Arkady’s name on everything she’s bought – from condos in Cape Town to safe deposit boxes. For all the world knows, they’ve been partners in crime for 40-years. It is the perfect revenge – “petty but effective.”

Bringing up the attack on Arkady, Callen believes someone going after Borisova tried to kill Arkady as part of her fake partnership. Since the men who robbed her thinks she dead, she’s not interested in talking. Callen is – the men are still after Arkady and it is Borisova’s fault.

The men on the yacht were new clients and vetted by an auction house. Callen is surprised – why would an auction house be involved. Antiquities have to be stored carefully not in a storage locker rented by the month. The only people who knew about the sale were the auction house, buyers and the seller, Alexey Pasternik. Pasternik was motivated – he wanted the sale. Moving the item quicky meant selling at a discount. And that means he’s the problem.

Alexey Pasternik died three-days earlier. He “threw himself” from a 12-floor condo by going through the window. A suspicious death. Fatima has a map of billionaires like Pasternik who left Russia days before the Ukraine invasion. More than half are dead.

Callen tells Borisova about Pasternik’s untimely fall. She tries to joke about the Russian national bird being a flightless bird because of all the falling Russians. Callen wants to know what Pasternik was trying to get away from. Borisova explains that the billionaires had their loyalty bought by the Russian government. Lots of money was given to these people and now with the sanctions causing financial pain in Russia, the government wants the money back.

The government was hiding their wealth with the billionaires – they are blood banks. Since the government was not happy with the way Borisova was selling off the assets, they went after her and her partner, Arkady.

Doing a ton of exposition, Deeks explains that the money given to the billionaires to invest and spend was reclaimable. Once the billionaire dies, the money goes back to Russia. All the murders of the billionaires all over the world was to get back the money. “This is so much bigger than we thought.”

In his office, Kilbride tells Kensi and Deeks on his smaller plasma screen that the DOJ will not be cooperating with NCIS. With tactical nukes on the table, NCIS has to be involved in a discreet investigation. An investigation without Callen, since he is joining Sam’s joint task force. It is Kensi, Deeks, Fatima and Rountree on this one.

Since they don’t know the gunmen or how to smoke them out, Deeks thinks they should approach the auction house since the auction house still thinks Borisova and Arkady are in business together. Arkady could approach the auction house to get an item and the insider in the auction house could tip off the gunmen.

Borisova is willing to help but only if she’s running things. The auction house will have rules for wealthy clients and a well-dressed Deeks – fancy suit, tie, and a medal of some sort around his neck – is just that client as Swedish nobility. She reminds everyone that the auction house protects objects, not people. The fire suppression system removes all the oxygen in a room to stop a fire. If there is a person there, well, that’s a problem for the person. For her cooperation, Borisova wants a second chance.

Dressing in the boat shed restroom, Borisova brings Arkady a special suit. He apologizes for leaving her in Malta. She sort of does the same with today’s assassination attempt. “Let’s just call us even.”

Walking into the auction house wearing a tan three-piece suit, a light blue dress shirt and a red paisley tie, Arkady introduces himself to the woman in the reception area. He is followed by Deeks and Rountree, who is all in black, dressed as a bodyguard. Asking for Rupert and giving his account number, provided by Borisova in the plumbing van with Castor, Arkady and Deeks welcomed in. Rountree must wait in the reception area – company policy.

In a waiting area, Rupert is excited to greet Arkady after working with Borisova on his behalf for years. Rupert starts speaking to Deeks in Swedish – that goes poorly. Rupert is going to speak to Deeks while Arkady opens his locker. Arkady is freaking out – he doesn’t have the key. The earwigs are failing – the building is secure. When Kensi asks about Borisova, Castor is shown out cold and Borisova is gone.

In the vault area, Arkady is met by an armed Borisova.

With no response from Arkady or Castor, Kensi and Rountree are going to move into the auction house.

Entering the locker behind Borisova is Arkasha, the man who shot her on the boat. Arkasha thought he was going to have to kill Borisova twice that day but she cut a deal with Arkasha today. She would kill Arkady, turn over her client list and she gets back the egg and her freedom. Arkasha suggest she shoot Arkady in the head. She doesn’t. Instead, she knees Arkasha where it hurts, turns on the CO-2 suppression system and sets off all sorts of alarms.

Making his way through the building, Rountree gets to the vault but can’t open the door. Rountree shoots open the vault door to find Arkady.

When the alarm goes off, so does Rupert. He pulls a sword from the wall before Deeks can get his gun out.

Rountree finds Arkasha and subdues him before they both suffocate.

Arkasaha’s men have Arkady and Borisova. Kensi causes a distraction and takes one henchman out.

Deeks finds his own wall sword and he and Rupert duel. Deeks wins in a way too short scene.

Kensi is stuck between Arkasha’s two men. Arkady tosses her a silver platter and a vase. She takes them both out before Deeks arrives. Promising to make a scene to distract Kensi and Deeks, Arkady wants Borisova to flee. She’s not going anywhere. Kensi puts her in cuffs.

Back in the office, Rountree asks Fatima for friends dinner - tacos or udon. She has to pass - she’s having a friends dinner with Riffat. Rountree thinks that’s great. He also found a shelter that lets people borrow pets – she could use that for the Admiral. Fatima is just going to tell the truth. That’s when the Admiral arrives with the excuses notebook. He also noticed all the same frappuccino cups in Ops so Fatima needs to come on time.

On the back deck of the boat shed, Kensi asks Arkady if he is alright. He has Anna, Grisha – his family. He wouldn’t rewrite one minute of his life if it meant he wouldn’t have them. Kensi asks about Borisova. She will always be on his credit score with all the accounts she took out. Besides, that means she is thinking of him. He shows her the beanie baby. Kensi tells him she knows it is worthless and so does he. She says goodnight.

Arkady watches Kensi leave and pulls the beanie baby apart. Inside is a very expensive necklace. With the soundtrack from “Titanic” playing, he holds it over the water. Then decides it was too expensive to drop into the water. Instead, Arkady takes it with him as he leaves. Anna calls. Suddenly, he wants to talk about the open bar at the wedding.

What head canon can be formed from here: There is a continuity issue because in “Answers”, Deeks joked about writing for a reality series. Now he’s shocked to find out they are scripted.

My goodness this was a chatty episode. TV should be show, don’t tell. This was all tell, tell, tell. And a generic tell, tell, tell. This episode works completely in season three. In season six. In season nine – you get the point. A mention of Callen’s wedding here and there but otherwise, Hetty could have picked Arkady at the bar, Sam or Callen could have been on bodyguard duty instead of Rountree.

And I know the lack of Sam (all) and Callen (a lot) in this episode has to do with the upcoming crossover episodes but just have Sam up on the big screen in Ops telling Callen to drop everything, he’s needed.

It wasn’t a bad episode – and anytime Arkady shows up, the fun level goes up, up, up – but it just wasn’t much of an episode.

Episode number: This was episode nine of season 14 (though it was filmed after “A Long Time Coming”), episode 311 overall.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #NCIS Los Angeles #ncis la

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moonlightreal · 2 years ago

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Why the Nancy Drew Games are so Great

I searched the internet for articles about “why the Nancy Drew games are so great” because they are great and I was sure someone out there had articulated why. I found an article or two, but nothing that quite covered what I was looking for. So I banged together this list.

Why the Nancy Drew games are so great, by Cupcakedoll

I think it comes down to “they are so very wholesome and pure.”

-Nancy is relentlessly upbeat. Even when scary things happen Nancy is only a little bit nervous. Her friends are always supportive. Ned worries about Nancy but never tries to make her give up her sleuthing. There is no friend or boyfriend drama. Even the villains are rarely trying to cause real damage. Many of the cases are based on misunderstandings or good intentions gone awry. After the first game nobody dies and the rest of the cases are mostly about Nancy investigating sabotage or mysterious events, a few missing person cases but you know they’re going to be fine.

-Nancy is happy to do your chores. Need someone to dig clams, update your website, paint reproductions of masterpieces, cook any meal, clean hotel rooms, sheer sheep, teach English, assemble a model skeleton, catch gophers, gather gear for a disaster kit, go ice fishing, mix (nonalcoholic) drinks, dance onstage in a catsuit, gather bait, sort bug parts, or feed a tracking device to a pigeon? Nancy Drew is ready to help!

-The games are weirdly feminist by being unfeminine. Nancy never voices any particular interest in fashion, makeup, or being on stage. When you can choose Nancy’s clothes the outfits are as goofy as they are pretty, and she famously has mom jeans in her suitcase whenever we can look in her suitcase. Even in Danger by Design there’s no attention to “prettiness.” Nancy sounding like a responsible adult adds to this lack of teenage girlosity.

-The world of the games is full of repeating characters and products. With the games made basically on top of each other the creators could throw in lots of references back and forth creating a world that feels like a world. You can phone Nancy’s friends in the games and they’re always the same so you get to know them and look forward to hearing what they’re up to while Nancy is off solving mysteries. Between this and the environments, the games are really immersive.

-The minigames and puzzles are fun. Well, mostly. In every game there’s at least one that I decide must be bugged because I can’t figure it out. But there’s often also one I come back to because it just has this nice meditative feeling to it.

-They try to be educational but really… aren’t and it just comes off so charmingly out of touch.

-There are a million of them. The games were coming out two a year so every time I went to the office supply store I could pick one up without really thinking about it. They’re all different enough, different vibe, characters and setting, that there will be some you just love. And they’re all the same enough to feel comfy and you don’t have to learn new mechanics.

Alas that is the series’ past; there have been changes at HerInteractive that may mean the series has ended or may just mean we need to wait several years between games, like with every other game studio.

If you play the games you may never know the strangeness surrounding them. There do be some strangeness.

Lani Minella voiced Nancy in all game but one… and Nancy sounds so mature because Lani was in her sixties when she stopped voicing the character. She had some kind of magical 4-octave voice so she can do that. She also did some roaring for monsters in Subnautica, among many, many other game credits. But about the time Ms. Minella stopped voicing Nancy she made a post about “chemtrails,” suggesting she may have gone a little batty in her senior years.

HerInteractive also made a Vampire Diaries game, proving that everything is six degrees of separation from LJ Smith.

And the games were, for a long time, not making money. The company was funded by a Mysterious Benefactor who thought that the games were worth putting into the world. Nobody knows who that was, and they’ve probably stopped benefact-ing nowadays since HerInteractive has shrunk down the way it has.

For more, this video:

youtube

My favorite game, so far, is Shadow at the Water’s Edge, because Japan. White Wolf of Icicle Creek also holds a place in my heart. I haven’t played Midnight in Salem, a game I approach with some trepidation after seeing reports that it isn’t just like all the other ones. Really, what we want are games that are just like all the other ones!

#nancy drew games #her interactive

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