#it's one of my fave games ever; i cannot recommend it enough

[thecodeveronica]

mwahaha I finally have them all!

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: september 2024

I'm turning in the reading roundup a little later than usual, but booooy not for lack of enthusiasm! September was such an interesting month for books, not least of all because you'll notice that things take a spooky turn towards the end of the month. in the name of whimsy I decided that October would be the perfect time to go on a themed reading kick and read through everything vaguely spooky, scary, or horror-related on my TBR, and then I thought, hey, why wait? Halloween is a state of mind, and I want to get spooked.

(have I been spooked yet? well... eh. but there's still time!)

my point being, if you want some creepy recs, hang tight because the October reading roundup is going to be great for you. in the meantime, here's what I read in September:

My Nemesis (Charmaine Craig, 2023) - cannot recommend this brief novel enough if you like very stylized prose about very insufferable people. Craig's protagonist is a memoirist who narrates her tale of woe exactly like she's writing a personal essay that's going to do numbers on twitter, intimate from a detached and analytical distance and giving the strong impression of a person who's made a living being intensely self-obsessed and can't quite manage to turn it off. it's a fascinating approach to a story about an emotionally overwhelming friendship destroying two marriages and ending in a woman's death, all without any actual adultery ever occurring. the narrator is consciously self-conscious, unreliable in the subtle and shifty way of someone trying to take exactly enough culpability to avoid being assigned more. it's a heavily interior novel, but Craig managed to keep me gasping with surprise here and there - the stomach-twisting reveal of why the narrator is actually telling her story, for one, as well as the revelation of the work within the novel that shares its name. if you like a tightly crafted character exercise, you're going to eat this up.

Raiders of the Lost Heart (Jo Segura, 2023) - this was the romance novel picked out via poll over on my patreon for September, and if I may be honest I was NOT excited! to my mind it was the dud of the group, the one amongst the four possibilities that I was most dreading. the garish cover, improbable plot summary, and blatant Indiana Jones of it all (the male love interest is literally named Ford) was a tremendous turn off, and you know what? I was wrong for that. Raiders ended up being one of the better romance novels I've read this year, and not JUST because I've been reading an endless parade of stinkers. the characters are largely free of manufactured drama and are instead believably and sympathetically rendered, with the female lead Corrie being a particular knockout; I would love to be her friend. the plot isn't nearly as cartoonish as the synopsis on the back of the book would have you believe, or at least most of it isn't; the silliness doesn't arrive until almost the very end, when Segura decides she needs some action movie stakes in here ASAP. and while the prose wasn't totally free of the genre's worst bullshit (stop reminding me that Ford's eyes are emerald, I beg), it was for the most part refreshingly no-nonsense. I wasn't even a chapter into this book when I found myself realizing I might really like it, and as of right now it's looking to claim the title of my favorite romance of 2024 in a landslide victory. having said that someone should be in thought crime prison for titling the sequel "Temple of Swoon."

Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 11 (Ryoko Kui, trans. Taylor Engel, 2022) - man you guys Dungeon Meshi is so fucking good. what the fuck. what the hell. it's so genuinely insane that Kui is still able to weave in elements of humor that feel so organic and natural to the characters at this absolutely dire point of the game, when all of my faves are actively in so much danger - largely FROM EACH OTHER - that I'm eating my fingers. christ. some of my students who are in an LGBT book club did Legends and Lattes last month and I just kept wanting to ask if anyone had read Dungeon Meshi for, you know, a very D&D-flavored story that's actually intensely interested in dissecting the tropes of the genre alongside race and class and xenophobia and the social rules of an adventurer heavy world but god. I couldn't. because it's not gay. like Senshi I just want to nourish the youngsters but I can't because it's not gay. please everyone for the love of god just read Dungeon Meshi.

The Most (Jessica Anthony, 2024) - I'm a simple man, and I added this tiny novel to my TBR based on a blurb that really gave me nothing but "a 60s housewife gets in the apartment complex's pool and refuses to get out and it freaks her husband right out." god forbid women do anything, right? anyway, at risk of showing my whole ass I think this is exactly the kind of "disaffected adultery and divorce" book that a lot of tumblr users claim to hate, and I fucking loved it. Anthony is a brilliantly sharp writer who paces her microcosmic drama perfectly, revealing everything at just the right moment like a practiced tour guide showing us around the shadowy corners of an aggressively ordinary marriage. I love adultery and I think this book in particular should be taught in writing courses. sue me.

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir (Akwaeke Emezi, 2021) - I think this year I've reread more books than I have any other year of my adult life, and I'm so glad that I took time to revisit Emezi's memoir. it's genuinely like nothing else I've ever read, one of the boldest and bravest things I've ever read. Emezi's account of godhood, of coming to understand themself as a deity trapped in flesh, is absolutely unwavering, completely grounded in their certainty of their truth and proceeding from there without ever worrying about persuading others to believe them. Emezi is a storyteller's storyteller, and their story doesn't need anyone's approval. but while it can be challenging, I wouldn't call the book confrontational. quite the opposite; in many places it's achingly vulnerable, as Emezi guides you through an unabashed tour of the very worst of their heartbreak, trauma, and alienation, and the times they've nearly succeeded in taking their own life. but god, please don't think this memoir is unrelenting misery. Emezi also speaks so, SO powerfully of opulence, of love, of the dedication to their artistry ad unabashed acknowledgement that they are a peerless talent. Emezi talks about magic of writing in a way that makes me feel like I'm being engulfed in golden-white flames; they make me want to transform myself into the artist I want to be. once again: I am an Emezi stan first and a person second forever.

The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America (Sarah Deer, 2015) - listen, I'll be straight up with you: unless you're exorbitantly interested in rape law, alternatives to carceral "justice," and legalese, this is going to be a very dry read, and there are not enough narrative segments to make up for that. for my money, Deer provides a thorough overview of the difficulties faced by American tribal nations in exercising legal power to prosecute and punish cases of sexual violence, despite the staggering levels of violence experienced by women in many Native communities. I really admired the intensely tempered view that Deer (a member of the Mvskokoe nation) brings to her work, discussing the history of Native approaches to sexual violence without pretending precolonial North America was a feminist utopia and offering thoughtful criticism of proposed substitutions to imprisonment. while the rape laws of any one of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the occupied lands of the United States could be a book on its own and Deer is constrained by the need to cover as much territory as she can in the broadest strokes possible, this is a solid primer to an ongoing social, spiritual, and legal issue that too rarely receives attention outside of Native communities.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes (Erica LaRocca, 2022) - straight up I was only trying to read Things Have Gotten worse, LaRocca's somewhat infamous story of a lesbian relationship that goes extremely wrong extremely fast, but the only copy available through my library system came with two more of his short stories (the aforementioned Other Misfortunes). I'm going to save time on the two extra stories: one is an incomprehensible exercise in religious trauma and I did not like it, and the other one was silly because I, personally, simply would not get so trapped in a sense of social obligation that I let my neighbor do stupid riddles to be until I was in a guillotine. rip to that guy but I'm different. anyway, back to the star of the show. I made the mistake of browsing some other people's thoughts on Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and encountered a truly dizzying number of people whose takeaway seems to be that it's bad not for any stylistic reason but because it depicts two lesbians being in a relationship that's deranged and unhealthy, to which I say you should probably go watch Stephen Universe or something instead of looking for #goodrep in the horror short stories. christ. for my money, Things Have Gotten Worse is messy in the most delicious way, absolutely bonkers from start to finish. escalates pretty much instantly and refuses to let up for truly even a second. cannot believe the predatory mommy dom turns out to be the reasonable one in this dynamic, that one threw me for a loop. it's not incredible but god was I entertained.

Fledgling (Octavia E. Butler, 2005) - another reread, revisiting some of my favorite little freak vampires for the spooky season! although, honestly, the most spooky scary thing about Butler's vampires is probably that vampires look like an Aryan cult and some of them are turbo racist while the other ones insist that it's totally 100% impossible for vampires to be racist and the fact that this gets quite a lot of people killed, something that I'm sure is just a weird coincidence and not any kind of commentary that Butler was making on anything at all. what else is there to say? this is one of Butler's most elaborate explorations of inverted power dynamics, dropping codependent symbiotic sexy vampire polycule cults smack in the middle of the 21st century United States instead of on an alien planet or an apocalyptic wasteland just to really drive home how crazy this shit it. and it's delicious! I love it! what a deliciously different interpretation of vampirism. imagine the utopia we'd be living in if this was the vampire novel that had gotten big in 2005 instead of Twilight.

The Low, Low Woods (Carmen Maria Machado, Dani, and Tamra Bonvillain, 2020) - first I remembered that there are horror comics that I can include in my Octoberish reading, and then I remembered that creepy queen Carmen Maria Machado has published one with DC Comics' Black Label. The Low, Low Woods follows dirtbag teen lesbians Octavia and El in the burnt out coal mining town of Shudder to Think, a town where everyone knows that something's not quite right but no one can seem to leave. the story begins with El and Octavia waking up in a movie theater with no memory of a movie, realizing that they've lost time. the ensuing investigation takes them deep into the town's troubled history, and forces them to realize it's not just the supernatural preying on the town. I love creepy Appalachia and would definitely recommend this for any Old Gods of Appalachia fans, and I will say that so far this is the only one of the spooky reads to really get under my skin and give me a full-body shiver due to the sheer overwhelming awfulness of the implications Machado raises with the revelations in her story. I'm not usually one for trigger warnings in my little roundups, but I cannot emphasize enough that if you have a hard time reading about sexual violence, you'll probably want to skip this one.

The Icarus Girl (Helen Oyeyemi, 2005) - I've been meaning to get into Oyeyemi's large body of work (in part because Akwaeke Emezi speaks quite highly of her) and where better to start than with her debut novel? and why not now, since it was tagged as horror? ultimately I'd concede that the book is creepy but don't know if I'd quite consider myself horrified, and that's completely fine since it's an astonishing piece of prose regardless. writing a believable eight year old narrator of an adult novel is a tricky thing, but Oyeyemi pulls it off beautifully with protagonist Jessamy, effortlessly selling her as an insightful, anxious, and intelligent girl who's still utterly believable as a child. the Icarus Girl revels in the same kind of "powerless child" horror as Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane, following the lonely Jessamy as she initially is befriended and then tormented by a mysterious and powerful little girl that she meets while visiting her mother's family in Nigeria. as her new friends gets increasingly malevolent and out of control, Jess struggles to account for the damage and to be taken seriously by her parents when she tries to explain what's wrong. Oyeyemi apparently wrote this book when she was only a teenager, and if she's been leveling up her craft with each subsequent novel then I have a lot of look forward to.

[chickycherrycola]

For the writer asks ❤️👻🦋🦈💕🎬💭

Seven questions in one answer post? Let's goooooo 😤🙌

From this Fanfic Writer Asks game

❤️: What is your favorite line that you've written in a fic?

I'd have to go with the following snippet from under your skin:

'He wants to be the heat emanating from her body, the hot water dripping down the planes of her abdomen. He wants to be the scars on her skin, the freckles on her face and the bruises on her legs and arms. He wants to dig his fingers so deep into her flesh that he can no longer tell where he ends and she begins. He wants to be under her skin and in her veins, the energy in her cells and the breath in her lungs.

The very life force that sustains her.'

Heheh 😜

👻: what is your wildest headcanon?

That Maka's mother was a witch. Not sure if it qualifies as 'wild' per se, but i think it's pretty damn compelling and it would explain her absence from the series and Maka's life. @victoriapyrrhi wrote an excellent fic exploring this and I cannot recommend it enough!

🦋: which character is your favorite to write?

SOUL EATER EVANS, WITHOUT A DOUBT 😭💕😩👌 I love writing a pining man. A hopelessly, disgustingly, horrendously down bad man in love (Exhibit A the snippet from the first question lmao). There's also just... a lot to unpack with his character in general. The manga kinda sidelined his character development after he became a Death Scythe imo, when there was still so much more that could have been explored - his inferiority complex, how exactly he copes with the legacy of his family/brother now that he's carving out a different legacy of his own, did he ever have any sort of relationship with his family while he was at the DWMA? How did he adjust to being Kid's weapon as well as Maka's? Where the heck does his 'loyalty to the point of suicidality' thing come from, and does it extend to Kid as well as Maka when he becomes a Death Scythe? I could write a million fics from his POV and I wouldn't tire of it.

🦈: which character is the toughest to write?

My original characters. OCs are definitely the toughest thing for me when navigating original fiction and I think this is my main obstacle that I need to overcome on the road from fanfic author to published novelist.

💕: what is your favorite fic you've written?

This answer might surprise folks cause a lot of you probably follow my work for my smut, but my fave fic that I've written is (no place like) home for the holidays. A lot of the story centered around Soul and his past and his family, so I had a lot of fun with those details (especially writing Wes, dear lord did I have fun writing Wes and crafting his whole character). I wrote Soul as transmasc for the first time as well, which is a headcanon that is important to me. I also think of this fic as a bit of a turning point in my writing journey - it originated as a series of loosely connected scene ideas that I somehow managed to weave together into a cohesive, novel-length narrative, and I definitely felt my writing skills 'level up' while working on it. When I go back and reread, this fic is where I definitely start to notice a consistent difference in my voice and writing style. I learned a lot while writing it!

🎬: if a movie or show were based off your fic, which fic would you choose and who would you fancast?

King of My Heart, 1000%. And actually, I got this question from several of you, so I'm saving it for it's own post later this week. KOMH fancast in progress 👀😎

💭: what inspires you and your writing?

I find inspiration everywhere and sometimes I truly... don't understand how my brain works. Opening a pair of Bluetooth headphones once gave me a book idea. Entering the wrong information into a flight status tracker website once gave me a book idea. Just hearing certain phrases will give me fic and novel ideas! Ideas and inspiration can come from the most surprising places sometimes. Music, in particular, is very inspiring for me as well. I maintain individual character and fic playlists, and often, just listening to a new song and really paying attention to the lyrics will give me fic/story ideas.

Holy MOLY this post got long. If you read all of that, I'm genuinely impressed 🤣

Thanks for playing!

[belleandsaintsebastian]

helllooooo i’m going to ask for rory for the character game bc i love you (and i want to hear more about her quite honestly). enjoy your train ride <3 <3 <3

HELLOO my love hello basil MWAH thank uu for stopping by and THANK YOU for asking about rory omg i love u...<3<3<3<3<3

fave thing about them: EVERYTHING. i love everything about u rory gilmore loml...but umm specifically. probably her snarkiness (which does come out in later seasons occasionally hehehe and i LIVE for it omg) + her awkwardness + her big blue blinky eyes + the fact that she carries ten thousand books w her at all times + the fact that she wears a big yellow backpack + her weirdness + her kindness + her SMILE!!!! :')))))

least fave thing: um nothing shes perfect. okay maybe just like...hmm indecisiveness maybe? probably bc. i can relate to that so bad...

brotp: RORY AND PARIS!!! RORY AND LANE!!!! RORY AND JESS!!!! and then them as a big friendship group crying 4ever and ever :'))

otp: jessrory OF COURSE!!! <3

notp: um like. dean + rory.

random headcannon: rory living in nyc will 4ever be my fave headcannon....either like a very young rory gilmore in college in nyc starting out all heartbroken and angry (umm i literally. cannot recommend enough that u read this fic by @pawnshopsblue its. the best thing in the world actually) OR like. rory gilmore s6/7ish time starting out as a journalist yk living in a cool flat :') OR like. jessrory adults or parents or smth living 2gether IN LOVE in the city. crying crying crying anyways......

unpopular opinion: shes perfect?

song i associate w them: i have a rory playlist!! but one v rory-coded song 2 me is number one son by camera obscura :))

fave picture: oh god so many...umm adding a fave rory pic and a fave alexis pic :)) or two...

^ SUCH A CUTIE :')

character ask game <3

[talos-stims]

6 & 19 for the ask game! i don't think those have been asked yet unless they are sitting in your inbox already ^_^

tho unrelated, i hope you don't mind my asking, what are some of your fave clipping songs! i used to listen to them many many years ago & i used to like them but it's been a While and i need to rlly catch up 💔

[ask game]

6. when someone asks you for a music recommendation what bands / artists do you say?

oh good lord. very hard question there's so much music in my brain but it's all weird bullshit [silly tone] i do always recommend people listen to aeroplane over the sea that album is like required reading for young music nerds. it gets hyped up enough that you would sorta assume it cant possibly be as good as people make it out to be but. it sort of is. batshit cool album. OH ALSO madvillainy. need to get everyone on earth to listen to madvillainy

19. what artist did you know about before they got big?

bbbb pulling a blank </3 there is definitely someone i just cannot think of them right now

BONUS. AAAAGDFG

ok if u have the time i would absolutely say to listen to both there existed an addiction to blood and visions of bodies being burned. but also that's two full albums that's a lot. so for starters you should listen to the song blood of the fang. i ALSO really really like the music videos for all in your head and enlacing these ones are. stunning. ough.

and then extra shit that's just me being a nerd [more] mermaid song really good. love mermaid album. true believer [older song] and till the sun down [song from this last year] are some of the prettiest songs i've ever fucking heard but also i am only saying this because i quite like harsh noise music. that is biasing my opinion here quite a bit. but also these songs are so FUCKING pretty theyre like. earth-shattering. thank you for the bonus question holy shit 🫶🫶🫶

[carcrash429]

fic writers showcase game 🥰 thanks for the tag @im-95-not-dead!!

Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason.

First Fic: Still Breathing, not even 9 months old yet but it's the first of many platonic Clint & Bucky fics and the origin of my "the Avengers find out about Clint's shitty childhood" tag. written because I could not (and still cannot!!) get @superalk's Hawkeye Timeline out of my brain and how people would react to knowing all that

Last Fic: chapter 1 of Defrosted, which will eventually be part 2 of a 2-part series I'm casually dubbing the Barton Morse Halfway House for Unfrozen Supersoldiers a la my fave series from @kangofu-cb

Only Once: almost everything so far lol, but Smile will probably be the only Clint/Duke crossover I write because it's so niche and self-indulgent (they're the same person, if you like Clint you'll like Duke, please someone chat about this parallel with me)

Popular Ship: Major Confusion is technically tagged with Steve/Bucky although it's a blink and you miss it reference that is very easy to read as platonic. also my most popular fic, probably because of that very tag lmao

More People Should Read: The Ocean. It's less than 700 words, it's basically a poem, and I am SO happy with the writing style and metaphors

Agonized Over: Star-Crossed Brothers, which originally had a much more confrontational Natasha v. Barney convo viewed from Bucky's POV. translating a scene from Bucky POV to Thor POV?? 0/10 very difficult, do not recommend

Fully Formed: the first part of king and lionheart. I could just SEE that final scene with the reveal in my head and it deserves to be visualized artistically, I just can't art well enough to do it justice. but. magical tattoos. the weight of destiny. "it means the king is dead." gave myself chills with that one, gotdamn.

Proud Of: all of them 😌 but I think Star-Crossed Brothers (for the parallel) and Hard, Glossy Armor (for the perpendicular) are good examples of me successfully making a point with a story

no pressure tags for @trashkingtater @merelypassingtime @superalk @sugaraddictarchangels @schildmehdchen and anyone else who wants to play :)

[zerodaryls]

For the ask game! 16, 37 and 43

16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?

yeah usually like cussing out my toxic family members but then i didn't because i realized it was healthier and more effective to just cut them off entirely <3 i could have verbally destroyed my stepdad with a single sentence but i am actually better than he is so instead i just don't talk to him at all lmao

37. favourite actor/actress

idk if i have one, because usually my favorite actors are just whoever play the blorbos of whatever series i'm currently fixated on, so it varies from time to time. and even then i wouldn't say they're favorites because i just like their characters, not necessarily them as a person (side-eyes d*rk and dw*ght) lmao.

hmm, in honor of the origin of my url i'm gonna say Bill Pullman.

he's just so iconic and i'm always happy to see him on screen and he gives me a whole heckin' lot of gender envy lol i have literally taken photos of him to a salon and been like GIMME THE HAIR (he has had the same goddamn hair style his entire career, i dare you to find a photo of him where his hair isn't this same basic style lol like it varies in length but it's always the same cut and i LOVE it)

he's in like. so many of my favorite movies. Zero Effect (blog url inspo), While You Were Sleeping (fave romcom), Brain Dead (fave psychological/existential horror movie), Independence Day (...one of my fave sci-fi/alien movies), Spaceballs (...I wouldn't actually call this a favorite movie of mine tbh but like it's so fucking iconic I can't not mention it), AND there's this super cringe scene in Mr. Wrong (terrifying movie, it's billed as a comedy but it's legit a horror film to me lmao, do not recommend) where he sings Hold The Line by Toto (my favorite band) really badly and it's just. So iconic. almost ruined the song for me. almost. (no one can ruin Toto for me. 'tis not possible.)

43. favourite song ever

oh come on you can't do that to me, i can't pick a fave song ever, that's not a thing, i don't know how to do that :')

but as i mentioned Toto... it's gonna be one of theirs, lol. i can't even choose one goddammit i'll do a top three (stRUGGLING EVEN TO DO THAT... THE 'TISM CANNOT CHOOSE)

gonna put Rosanna first because it's the first song I remember rocking out to when i was like 3 years old in my car seat and telling my dad to turn up the car radio

next up Can't Stand It Any Longer because EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS PERFECTION, from Joe Williams' vocals to the melody to the beat to the ALL THE MUSIC TERMS I'M NOT EDUCATED ENOUGH TO COMMENT ON IN DETAIL hskjdfhkjsdhfdjksf

aaand as much as it pains me to only choose one more i'll go with one from the Isolation album so you can hear another vocalist (the amount of vocalists this band has had... and they're all so talented in their own ways and GAWWWWWWD I LOVE THIS FUCKIN BAND SO MUCH I'M GONNA SCREAM),, anyway here's Endless:

i could literally talk about Toto all day so i'm gonna have to cut myself off here before this becomes an infodump lmao

............actually i'm gonna put one last song because it came up in the recommended sidebar and Joe is fucking adorable in this video and gives me a lot of gender envy and YES THAT'S PAULA ABDUL DANCING,, WHY WASN'T THIS ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST HITS I DON'T UNDERSTAND

....a..and... um... listen i hate listing 4 things because that doesn't feel rounded out so here's one more to make it a nice rounded 5,, featuring Steve Lukather as a BABY (okay he's like 21 but he looks like a baby) and because I can't list a bunch of Toto songs and not feature any from their 70s era:

i need those rainbow suspenders.

...okay sorry sorry i was entirely possessed by my autism for a minute there 😅 thus concludes the post. thanks for the asks and for opening up my big chaotic box of obsession lol.

[postgleeworld]

Top 5 book series 💗

ooough okay so i don't have enough Series that i've read that i actually like lmfao so i will do books AND books series for this!!!

the hunger games....nothing has ever come close to thg

percy jackson!! such a comfort series for me it's like. going back into my childhood idk

the simon snow trilogy i mean. i can't NOT MENTION this when my url is what it is.....the way simon's trauma is handled in that series is everything 2 me and also we love unlabelled queer mc's here

cemetery boys!!! i cannot recommend this book enough AND there's a sequel coming out i've heard???

the lost apothecary!!!! one of my fave reads of 2022 tbh

ask me my top 5/top 10 of anything!!

[xaturrn]

October Recap

TW/CW: weight loss

Faves

This year is 10 years since I graduated high school. In October my class had a reunion and despite feeling insecure I actually had a really great time. I reunited with 2 friends, and we’re actually gonna try to hang out! So exciting since making friends here has been a struggle since I moved back after college.

My sister has a baby, and one weekend in October I got to spend every day with him. That is the most time I’ve spent with him since he was born, and it made me so happy to just sit with him, make him smile and giggle, and see the pure curiosity on his face.

I have been on a weight loss journey, and have lost a good amount. In October alone I lost about 11 pounds!! I can already see changes, and am so proud of myself for actually doing it! I’ve even gone beyond the weight that I got stuck at the other times I’ve tried to loose it.

I went on a date! One of my goals for the year was to start dating more, and I actually got a date. I was so happy and excited for it. It went good, but more to come on that later.

Lastly, I got myself a nice, big purse and I’m so in love with it. It truly is great to have something to just throw things into.

Lows

Thankfully since I didn’t keep up with my list too much in October, I can only think of one low. The guy who I went on a date with actually ghosted me. We met about 10 years ago and I’ve thought he was cute ever since. We have history too, but it didn’t work out that time. And while I remember things from that time that really frustrated me and I can totally see ending this sooner as being a good thing, it still hurts to be ghosted. But then again he’s not that good at communicating so why am I so surprised?

Looking Forward To

I’m a big Hunger Games fan, and am SO excited for the new movie to come out in November! I still need to read the book, but if it’s any good as the rest of the series then I’ll finish it in no time. I normally hate reading, but cannot get ENOUGH of the Hunger Games! If anyone has any recommendations for series that are similar, or get you as enthralled please let me know!

Hope this month review was a fun read! I plan to try to do one every month. If there’s any other categories you think I should add to this, let me know! Next time I want to plan this out a bit more and include pictures as available. Just didn’t have enough things to include pictures of this time.

[butdriampagliacci]

🤔, 👻, 💻, 🍰, and ✏️ for the ask game!!

🤔 What is the hardest part of writing fic?

The hardest part is finding new ways to make my blorbos kiss haha Or just new ways to say things in general. I'm really conscious of being too repetitive.

👻 What is one WIP you think you may never pick back up?

I started writing a canon-verse kaeluc fic that used a 2nd person POV that I probably won't go back to, since I've cannibalized a part of it for wildfire, and I had no idea where it was going lol

💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done?

Absolutely. I've had to do quite a bit of research for wildfire. I've looked up a lot to do with crime and investigations and what happens to a dead body, etc. etc. Just enough to make it believable hahaha Hard to say what the deepest dive I've ever done is, but I did recently check up on a commune I visited while I was in undergrad just to see how they're doing and got distracted reading their website. They had some critical essays about their founding philosophy, very cool~

🍰 Name one of your fave comfort fics (doesn’t have to be your all time fave).

I don't talk about it here since this is the kaeluc circus, but... I quite like Persona 5 and have read this account's tweets are protected more than once. It's like a warm blanket at this point.

✏️ Do you write every day?

100%! I try to get in a little every day. I'm lucky to have a job with some downtime that I can use to write, though I also write at home. I'll write on my computer, on my phone, even in a notebook. I cannot recommend this lifestyle however XD I have hurt my wrist before

[fallenlightsif]

Do you have any if recs or demos you're excited for? What genre is your favorite to read?

Oh boy, do I have recs, anon. I started out reading IF before I started writing it, so I've compiled quite the list lol.

My Absolute Faves

Blood Moon by @barbwritesstuff (Werewolves are my weakness and the writing is so good, highly recommend Marco's and Vicky's routes but all of them are perfect tbh)

A Mage Reborn by @mage-parivir (The very first IF I ever read, absolutely crushed my heart, I still rush to play when updates are released)

Mindblind by @mindblindbard (Just...so good. Literally amazing. Not enough good things can be said. I would totally die for Gray.)

Raiders of the Caravan by @leftski-if (So much great writing and all the characters are very loveable. Highly recommend for some nice hurt/comfort but mostly comfort (so far at least))

Diaspora by @diasporatheblog (Very badass and very good writing, again has very loveable characters to the point that I can't easily pick a favorite (would probably end up being Sang if forced tho) also the world-building is just perfect)

OFNA: Birds of a Feather by @ofna (Bird cult. Need I say more? Seriously though, the plot of this is just A+ and check out their blog for info on the birdtrayer who I will likely never guess and also forgive after .2 seconds)

The Exile by @exilethegame (Pretty sure everyone knows about this one but it's amazing so I have to mention it. Top tier, so much angst, I get to romance a god living in the player's head, what more could I ask for?)

The Golden Rose by @anathemafiction (I replayed this so many times, I literally cannot wait until it's fully published. So good, 10/10, couldn't recommend more)

Attollo by @attollogame (I think everyone knows this one too but I have to mention it. I honestly couldn't describe Attollo in a way that would do it justice, you just need to go play it. I'm definitely gonna almost get killed a variety of ways in this game, but I'm okay with that.)

The Chosen One by @kal-writesif (Again, just go play the demo. So good. 10/10. I literally love that there's only one LI whom I would already die for btw.)

Thrill Seeker by @thrill-seeker-if (Literally catch me romancing Hannie, Oli, and N. The writing is so good and I highly recommend it! My MC in this one is very traumatized tho.)

Northern Passage by @northern-passage (Again, I'm pretty sure everyone knows this one, but still mentioning it because it's one of the first IFs I played and still one of my favorites)

Golden by @milaswriting (The writing is really immersive and absolutely sucks you into the story. Also, all the ROs are super interesting.)

Scandal by @nightingale-interactive (Recently began reading this and it's so good. It also focuses on romance a lot too which I love.)

Demos I'm Supremely Excited About

The Moonless by @moonless-if

Spilt Milk by @spiltmilk-if (I lurk on this blog so often lmao but I love every single romance option and cannot wait for the demo)

The King's Hound by @the-kingshound (The same author as The Chosen One, I absolutely cannot wait to romance Arthur)

This got way too long. Oh well. I might've missed some because I'm dumb and don't keep a comprehensive list of IFs I've played, so if it's not mentioned it's not on purpose I just have a horrible memory!!

[zorcskhakis]

I was tagged by @justapalspal for a get to know you tag game!

Favorite time of year: Autumn! I love sweater weather and fall colors 💕💕💕 winter is great too, I like cozying up inside when it's snowing and having soup and hot drinks

Comfort foods: Gumbo, spaghetti and meatballs, and curry!

Do you collect anything: everyone here has seen the bakura hoard skfnskfnd but I also collect leatherbound and special edition books! The crown jewel of my collection is the Easton Press edition of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. I am also an enamel pin FIEND

Favorite drink: I like ginger and orange tea and lemonade!

Favorite musical artists: I have entirely too many, but my top faves are Black Hill, Estatic Fear, Malice Mizer, Linkin Park and Hozier

Current favorite songs: Krwlng, Circles out of Salt and Red Sky - Black Blood

Favorite fics: okay my first answer has to be a non ygo one: Go Not Gently by Guardian1 is literally my favorite piece of literature ever written. If you're a FF9 fan I cannot recommend it enough.

For ygo, Impasse and Eulogium by @im-not-a-monster made me BAWL. I also absolutely love @melffy-puppy 's Puzzle System!

I tag @ectoplasmer, @im-not-a-monster, @melffy-puppy, @facets-and-rainbows and @zorckura, only if you want to!

[atsukashii]

ily and ur writing so much 🥺🥺 I'm caught up on practically everything u've posted, so while I wait (im)patiently for new works NO RUSH THO, can u rec any writers u may follow that post stuff u just lOVE to read???

I usually use fics as a distraction from anxiety/panic attacks and my heart doing the palpitating thing which actually makes me wonder if my heart med is working??? bc its happening rn yay 🙃 so I usually go for fluff or h/c stuff

holy shit everything?!?!? 😮😮 aaahhhhh thank you so much 💕 i’m so glad that my writing can give you some sort of escape. send you all the hugs in the world anon!!!

also can I rave about my fave writers on a public platform? ummm fuck yes I can.

These are in no particular order and I think I’ve missed some people but if you check my recommended tag there are even more there too!! Oh I’m also recommending fics here!

haikyuu!

@elysianslove (sfw + nsfw) - sal writes some of the best hc’s and drabbles ever, and the way that she writes for kuroo has my heart going boom boom every time.

faves : unintentional flustering things & the little things

@kotarotea (sfw) - guys don't get me started on alyssa's writing okay, because her blog has made me laugh and cry more times then i can count (I'm looking dead at you in another life) her writing is top notch and is definitely one of my absolute favourite people on this site. Oh also her fake texts are pretty neat!

faves : the waiting game (read it ages ago and is one of my fave iwa fics to this day) & random text with bf iwa this one gives me all the feeeelllsss

@hvnlydmn (sfw)- ains writing can heal all of the worlds problems i stg. her atsumu is simply divine and i frequently read her writing. but seriously she will make anyone into an atsumu simp and you'll thank her for it.

faves : haikyuu boys comforting you & haikyuu boys reactions when they accidentally wake you up from a nap its just too fucking cute i can't not share it

@adoringhaikyuu (sfw + nsfw) - if you don't know who they are then y'all aren't living. their drabbles are honestly some of the most amazing haikyuu pieces i've ever read. And they write for a whole lot of people - also the angst will kill your soul

faves : when they realise they want to marry you & rejects you and regrets it - this made my heart actually hurt when reading it

@taurue (sfw) - jin has written my favourite iwaizumi fic that i have ever read (bad news) and is one of the main reasons i love that man with my heart and soul. she also writes for mha as well as haikyuu so literally you're getting double with this one. shes a treasure and her writing is *chefs kiss* perfection

faves : bad news (iwaizumi x reader) seriously read it, you'll thank me later & down bad (atsumu fluff that is so fucking precious i love it with all my soul)

my hero academia

@dimplesum (sfw) - faye writes for both mha & hq, but it doesn't matter what you read, her work is god tier. her blog is so aesthetically pleasing and her writing even more so, she's one of my top recs for suuurrreeeee

faves : i'm not your fangirl (bakugou x reader) & baked love (bakugou x reader)

@myherowritings (sfw+ nsfw) - sof is the king of bnha x reader as far as i'm concerned and her smau's are on another level. even if you aren't a massive fan of the character of one of her smau's i promise you will be by the end, no joke this is what happened to me in her shinsou smau turn on your airdrop.

faves : number neighbour (bakugou smau) & turn on your airdrop (shinsou smau)

@katsuverse (sfw + nsfw) - i cannot say enough about this talented girl. I have been watching mich's blog grow since day one and the way that her writing and style has evolved is really fucking beautiful. her writing is the bomb dot com and her katsuki is ✨ f l a w l e s s ✨

faves : bakugou's reaction to his crush's haircut, made with love (bakugou x reader) & hypothesis honey (bakugou nsfw smau)

Also i cannot stress this enough, if one of these blogs requests that under 18's do not interact or if they state that under 18's should not view some of their content please for the love of god respect their wishes.

thank you.

[larentsaloud]

holding myself accountable ie ADHD guide to watching dramas:

korea:

What’s wrong with secretary Kim (three more ep to watch)

LOST 2021 (ONLY THE BEST SHOW TO EVER EXIST???? )

Romance is a bonus book (one more ep to watch)

Just between lovers (actually the writing here is superb. must go back)

Lucky romance (and again I clocked out around the 12th)

She was pretty (yep I waved them goodbye at ep 12)

Memories of Alhambra (almost to the end...almost)

I am not a robot (umm...you guessed it. ep 7 I think)

Coffee Prince (YES MY BABIES. I think I completed this one)

Www search (SO GOOD. the cast the female energy is SPOT ON. did I finish it? no.)

Emergency couple (finished and rewatched!!!!)

I married an anti fan (dropped out ep 12)

Crash landing onto you (I have three more episodes to watch)

Bride of Habaek (love this so much but also spoilers there is a scene in later ep where they do the THING and it took me OUT. did not complete the series.)

Uncontrollably Fond (watched almost to the end, but not finished it for ‘reasons’)

Pinocchio (got half way through) 

Oh my Venus (did not finish, left at penultimate ep)

Squid game (watched 5 ep)

Flower of evil (dropped out at penultimate ep, but amazing series must finish it) 

Meteor garden (half way because I fell in love with the cast if not for that would have stopped sooner)

Boys over flowers (I managed to cram about 16 ep but then angst happened and I needed space)

Secret garden (half way thru)

Mad dog (half way thru)

The king the eternal monarch (three quarters in)

Where the camellia blooms (could not stand it watched two ep)

1% of something (amazing chemistry yes half way in)

Jumping girl (I sort of want to watch it??? first ep)

Hello me! (such good series but I cannot finish iiiittt)

Do you like Brahms (I FINISHED IT I LOVED IT SO MUCH)

Cheese in the trap (I FINISHED IT I HATED IT SO MUCH)

Suspicious partner ( I could not finish it. pray for me)

Healer (same)

K2 (yep)

Crowned clown (you guessed it)

Rookie historian (yeah...)

Home town cha cha cha (dropped out on ep 15 because well. idk)

Dol Sol (I FINISHED IT AND HATED THE ENDING WHY DID YOU DO ME LIKE THAT???)

Devilish joy (I love their chemistry they were incredibleeeeee. did not finish. looked like traumatising ending too scared)

Into the ring (yaaay my fave couple. did not finish it. not enough angst.)

Tale of the nine tailed (too much angst)

My roommate is a Gumiho (ANGST PERSONIFIED)

Vagabond (UGH. need to finish. such good series)

I’ll go to you when the weather is nice (literally love the cinematography but,,)

Doom at your service (ANGST IN YOUR FACE. uff. too perplexing. loved it. best kiss YET.)

Kill me heal me (lmao, I did not finish it because she screamed so much but HIS ACTING)

Mask (oh yeah this is amazing. should see how it pans out. love the actors)

Secret love (I COMPLETED THIS AND THIS SHOW BROUGHT ME TO MY KNEEEESSS ARGH I LOVED IT SO MUCH AKSJSKJSAJKD)

Take of nokdu (IN LOVE. MUST GO BACK)

Marriage not dating (so funny if you want FUN this is it. they are both so yummy. did not get to the ending but would recommend)

Blood (OHHHHH. if only there was less blood)

Descendants of the sun (ok but how can anyone watch this without enrolling to medical school to meet HIM?)

Weight lifting fairy (I love it? I do. I just...yeah)

Korean odyssey (my god. why won't they kiss properly I cannot take it)

Come and hug me (these two own my heart. too much to handle tbh)

Beautiful Kong Min Shi (such an underrated show. yes. but also no)

Masters Sun (please how can anyone like this its so 90s Buffy. I mean I leak Buffy. but also wtf)

Behind your smile (???)

Falling into innocence (YES but then he cut his hair so I left. im fickle)

Abbys (they were lush together amazing plot amazing everything I did not get to the end. little predictable for ADHD. not enough angst. you need the right amount of angst.)

W— two worlds apart (I love them together ok? but I could not get there)

You are my spring (a bit??? dunno)

It’s ok not to be ok (my early K drama! did I finish it? no)

My love from another star 

While you were sleeping (great story I just didn't like their chemistry) 

You are beautiful (ahaha the 2010 hair) 

That winter the wind blows (they are mesmerising together I just have too many feelings about the bro and sis situation help) 

Red sleeve ( I found out about the ending. glad I did not finish it)

Lawless Lawyer (THIS SHOW PLS WATCH IT. I should too. ep7)

Touch your heart (I love them <3 did not finish it)

True beauty (I don't remember???)

My shy boss ( amazing showww, one more ep I think)

Cinderella and four knights (why why why did you not let her end up with the SL. you got it wrong show no.)

Love alarm (FUCK YOU TO THE WRITERS. FUCK OFF. NO. THIS IS WHY I DONT WATCH THE ENDINGS. YOU DO THIS TO ME?????)

You are my destiny (LOVED THE KOREAN VERSION)

Because this is my first life (MY COMFORT SHOW WILL NEVER BE OVER IT)

Don’t dare to dream (the triangle was ridiculous. but the KISSINGGGG)

Run On (should I watch to the end? kinda like it)

Nevertheless (aghsakhjdjakhasjkhsdajhk YES WITH MY WHOLE CHEST I REWATCHED IT ABOUT THOUSAND TIMES ONLY)

Mysterious Love (OH YES. BUT HARD TO COMPLETE might the c drama)

Vincenzo (WELL STILL NOT WATCHED IT TO THE END PRAY FOR ME)

My name (I don't know?)

Itaewon class (oh yeah, I like this but also I don’t?)

Heirs (meh? I was rooting for the wrong characters damn it)

Healer (did not see the ending)

Goblin (could not bring myself to see the ending)

Dali and the cocky prince (meh? ep 8)

Stranger (this show is so goooooooood why did I not watch the second series yettt)

Blood (too much blood)

Crowned clown (oh...yeah)

Navillera (so good if only I can get past ep 8)

When my love blooms (no idea what this was)

Happiness (love love love but also too scared to go back and watch)

Let me be your knight (my fav actor! yes!)

Now we are breaking up (meh)

Madame Antoine (BEST BEST BEST BICKERING ALERT)

Imitation (HER HAIR PLS I WILL CRY.NO)

Love: ft Marriage & divorce (...)

VIP (mom forced me to watch it. did not

Where the stars land (love them <3 will finish this one actually) 

Monthly magazine home (YES great drama will try to get there)

Hotel del luna (currently watching)

Mermaid one with lee min ho (YESSSSSS watched over and over)

Yumi’s cells ( great casting. great story. dropped ep 6)

I have a lover (dear god this show was all the cliches and I actually love to hate it) 

Strong girl (ugh I could not finish this guys)

thai:

Tharn Type (yeah fine I didn't)

2gether (same as above)

Bad Buddy (yep)

You are my sky (aksjhdsakjh)

F4 (I will love this show until the day I die, it will be on my grave) 

bromance (the best gender bender out there)

China

Put your head on my shoulder (??? I literally remember nothing. dropped early)

Falling into your smile (idk. they are so pretty but thousand episodes not something I can do)

Find yourself (hated the second ML. sorry)

Please feel at ease Mr Ling (hmmm, too much like other shows)

My unicorn girl (MY FAV C DRAMA<3)

Love me if you dare (if only I could watch this show. I do love the cast tho)

Across the ocean to see you (lovely show. lemme try to watch again)

To fly with you (YES)

Skate into love (loved) 

Why women love ( currently watching) 

Japan 

My beautiful man (will rewatch forever) 

Case of Incurable Love (almost almost finished it and loved it)

Mischevious Kiss (Tokyo) (ooooh I should finish this its so cute y'all) 

From five to nine (this show is on crack I love it) 

My love mix up (adorable) 

Hana- kimi ( I love gender benderssss)

Coffee and Vanilla ( wtf was this I had question marks the whole time)

[thedaythealienscame]

(for the ask game!) i wanna know absolutely all of them for tf2 tell me about those guys ❤️(or just as many as you wanna do)

OH BOY! god i can't wait to show you im going to go through the comics to take screenshots of some of the characters so you can see because i LOVE these guys

not everyone is on here because some people just don't fit the categories (😔) but rest assured i love them all, to the point where i need to add. a read more

blorbo: DEFINITELY sniper. partially because he reminds me so much of myself (i'm self-centred) but also because he's the world's most guy. it's kind of because he's a hypocrite, it's kind of because he's got a weird sense of what's normal or not, it's kind of because he still holds his parents' opinion in high regard. all in all. he's my definite fave i love him so much

skrunkly: basic answer here but pyro. i love the way that they're shaped, i love the way that they move during taunts, i love their voicelines where you can barely hear a thing but they still manage to sound like lines taken from the other mercs. i've never wanted a plushie more

soldier also belongs here honestly because he's such a funny guy and is ALSO so shaped. he's very square as opposed to pyro's round, pear-like suit. hes just?? he's hard to describe but he's one of the best characters ever i cannot recommend the comics with him and merasmus enough

scrimblo bimblo: demo. even in the few minutes it takes to watch meet the demoman it is SO clear that he's such a well rounded character and i wish he got more attention. he's beautiful and caring and so full of problems and he can wield a sword like it's nobody's business. he's probably the most down-to-earth merc as well, even though he might not seem like it at first. AND?? HAS SUCH A MESSED UP BACKSTORY FOR HIS EYE??? 10/10 what a guy. objectively the best character right alongside heavy.

gulp shitto: MAGGIE. SAXTON HALE'S EX-GIRLFRIEND <3 we don't ever learn much about her beyond that but she's so??? she's obviously not happy when we first see her in the present but she's got such light in her? very funny, love her to death, and she's very complex for what little we see of her.

poor little meow meow: hard to have an unproblematic fave when we're talking about mercenaries BUT... the administrator. she's the announcer who you hear during the game and meet the spy. she is... just so cunning and mysterious. she's been in almost every single comic and we only know her first name. it's just <3 wow. and while immortality is a classic villain thing, i love how they chose to do it with her.

horse plinko: SPY FOR SURE. not even a solid reason for this, he's just french and pretentious. and while he does have the occasional moment of true good/softness (usually with scout), he's also a bastard. very funny though i'd slap his bald head any day

eeby deeby: also the administrator, but we'll add grey mann to the mix because, while they're fighting each other, um. they still suck! both of them do and i won't say anything against that. AND classic!heavy while we're at it <3

[shrinkthisviolet]

🤡😭✏️ for the ask game!

🤡: What’s the dumbest thing you’ve written?

Well I wrote some REALLY dumb stuff when I was 13, one of which was a Warrior Cats fanfic with all original characters, concerning two sister cats raised by the same mom, where one was super favored and turned out spoiled, while the other was hated and thus had self-esteem issues. It was HEAVILY based on another fic, and...ooh boy it was a doozy. I don’t miss my FFN days at all 😂 everything I wrote there was amateurish and cringy. But you live and you learn!

😭: Have you ever made yourself cry writing a fic?

Yes indeed I have 😭 writing that nightmare scene in Chapter 11 of my KK1 fic? PAIN (“if you’re my daughter, I’m never having kids!” TOOK ME TF OUT, I had to emotionally recover after writing that)

✏️ What is your fave fic from another writer?

My answer to this changes all the time honestly 😂 but my bookmarks/recs are always a solid choice for fics I love unequivocally.

For now though, I’ll pick two: your fic, Run Away (EVBBY 🥰), and “behind all your stories is your mother’s story”! It’s by @variousqueerthings and I CANNOT RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH EVER (even after making a post about it already 😂)

fanfic emoji ask game!