#kj compilation

[swallowedabug]

One gif per episode | Dutch + Season 2

[unidot]

Some Fade Valorant headcanons from my twt

-Since her powers are not mind reading and not clear, she also uses her psychology knowledge to base assumptions on people and use their fears against them more affectively

-Fidgets with her hands a lot. She either uses an object to keep her hands busy or uses her nightmare tendrils

-Doing henna and drawing are some kind of meditation for her. They help her to keep herself grounded when the nightmares and visions get especially bad

-She prefers bitter coffee

-Born in the city of Bursa, later moved to İstanbul

-She doesnt have a cat of her own, mostly takes care of street cats

-She loves homemade food but is not that good at cooking so she mostly goes to restaurants that makes homemade like food

-She is around 172 cm (5'8") tall and is 27-28 years old

-since its confirmed that the nightmare is not a seperate entity, the prowlers act on her most basic emotions deep down (playing with people she likes, hissing at people she dislikes etc)

-She cant shut down her powers because they work like a 6th sense in a way. She constantly feels the fear and discomfort around her but choses to not focus on it

-Designed her own nazar symbol

-She is really bad at singing

-likes photography and she is good at it thanks to needing to take a lot of photos in her job

-Knows hacking because she hacked into Cypher's computers and compiled all the information on the protocol without being detected

-she sometimes plays chess with Cypher

-Her favorite color is blue (color of nazar, her vest and her ult)

-does coffee fortune telling for her friends

-her favourite food is mantı

-didnt really had a good education but has a lot of knowledge on stuff thanks to reading a lot and doing a lot of research on stuff she is curious about

-She was really skinny when she joined vp (mostly because she didnt really took good care of herself as she did research for her blackmail attack) gained some fat and muscle after vp's food and training

-she learned some German in middleschool and highschool. With that vp has 2 agents who both knows Turkish and German (Kj being half Turkish from her mothers side)

-Omen and her dms are full of cat videos they found

-her prowlers name is Karabasan

-her favorite book genres are books that explore the human mind or detective books

-she tans easily

-she dislikes swimming. Prefers to read a book on the beach

-she is generally tidy but can get messy when she is focused on a mission. Her desk especially becomes a mess

-she smells like coffee and burnt sages

-she doesn't really care about other agents' opinions on her. She is still friendly sometimes and civil to them, but if they don't forgive her, she honestly doesn't give a shit. And agents that still dislike her are mostly civil towards her

-if she is feeling down, she often goes on walks outside. Helps to clear her mind

-its hard for her to care for something or someone. But if she does, she cares so much

-she has a motorcycle back home. It's easier and more efficient for her since Istanbul traffic can be hell

-she is great at gambling or games like gambling since she is observant and can just feel the peoples fear or anxiety of losing

-she sometimes falls asleep (passes out) on random places if she hasn't slept in a really long time

-Omen knit a sweater and a scarf for her

-she gets along with Harbor really well. They share books and talk about their experiences with working in Realm while drinking tea or coffee

-she can really relate to Neon with not being able to control her powers fully and that affecting her life and relationships. She doesn't admit it, though

-she plays backgammon with Cypher and Harbor

-she spends a lot of time and effort on her "messy" appearance

-she is one of the busiest agents. She gets a lot of assignments (mostly intel work)

-she knows all of the agents' most secrets and fears but she honestly couldnt care less. Your secret is safe with her (If you are on her good side)

-she prefers to use a Phantom than a Vandal

-she finds Dizzy cute because she looks like a sleepy kitten

-she is still secretly salty about KAY/O catching her

-she and Skye dont really like eachother that well but they see eachother often during the early mornings (Skye going for a morning run and Fade still not sleeping) and Skye's tiger and Fade's prowlers likes to play so they end up seeing eachother more than they would like

-Used to go to clubs and bars often. Mostly to stay awake and keep her mind busy

-She is actually kinda rich. Her bounty hunter job paid her well

-Secretly wants Neon's black cat plushie but would never admit it

-she is really great at reading people but she is bad at interacting positively towards them. Her compliments or her comforting words can be awkward or just not appropriate

-other than cats, one of the other animals she really likes is octopuses

-she and Chamber trade expensive coffee

-she has a lot of scars on her body

-she is not that psychically strong compared to other agents

-she has high alcohol tolerance

-names all the cats she looks after on the streets. Either gives them cute names or just normal human names

-she is superstitious. Mostly about nazar

-her hand writting is really messy

-she was born left handed but she is now ambidextrous

[edwinspaynes]

New Pinned Post!

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I'm 28 and I love to post about THE LAST HOURS BOOKS by Cassandra Clare and DEAD BOY DETECTIVES, the Netflix series.

MY INTERESTS

Art all by @illustratinghan !

My favourite-ever characters (in no particular order) are:

Matthew Fairchild (TLH)

Cordelia Carstairs (TLH)

Alastair Carstairs (TLH)

Thomas Lightwood (TLH)

Edwin Payne (DBDA)

Charles Rowland (DBDA).

Other characters I love an abnormal amount (in no particular order) are James Herondale (TLH), Niko Sasaki (DBDA), The Cat King (DBDA), Tessa Gray, Will Herondale, Sophie Collins, and Gideon Lightwood from The Infernal Devices, and Lum, Ataru Moroboshi, and Shuutaro Mendou from Urusei Yatsura.

When it comes to ships, you can expect to see a lot of my OTPS:

Thomas/Alastair (TLH)

Edwin/Charles (DBDA)

James/Cordelia (TLH).

I also love and post about Ari/Anna and Grace/Christopher from TLH + Will/Tessa and Sophie/Gideon from The Infernal Devices.

In addition to loving The Last Hours, I really enjoy The Infernal Devices/The Mortal Instruments/The Eldest Curses and all of the short story content associated with them. I'm a Shadowhunter book fan through and through! However, if you're a TDA fan, you may want to block #anti tda, #anti blackstairs, and #anti julian blackthorn. I'm happy to have you here, but just FYI! I use these tags!

I also post less frequently about a hodgepodge of other interests like Taylor Swift, KJ Charles books, other things I'm reading, Urusei Yatsura, Good Omens, and Crazy Ex Girlfriend.

MY FANFICTION

^ Actual footage of me reading! (Real!)

I write a lot of fanfiction on my Ao3, thegirlofthorns. You can find my dashboard here.

I have various collections I sort fics into for the characters and ships I write most:

Matthew Fairchild

Thomas Lightwood & Alastair Carstairs

James Herondale & Cordelia Carstairs

Charles Rowland & Edwin Payne

I also have a collection compiling my favourite Shadowhunter Chronicles fics from other writers and a collection compiling my favourite Dead Boy Detectives fics from other writers.

My current main project is a canon-compliant version of Dead Boy Detectives Season 2. It's called Now We're at the Starting Line (I Did My Time). Told you I was a massive Swiftie!

This fanfic will update every month on the 15th. There are also little side-fics to go with some of the chapters. Most chapters have a small Edwin-and-Niko companion oneshot. There will also be a couple of other goodies for those who follow the series!

Nice meeting you! I hope you'll come hang out with me!

[syoul]

FAN CONTENT : 　 no. 1 junnipurr ! on youtube.

[ INTRO ] 　 today is february 13th, which means it’s our favourite pocket sized lyricist and producer’s birthday! to celebrate, i’ve decided to compile a few moments of kj that live in my head rent free 🫶🫶 this can be seen a continuation to my “my viewers’ favourite kj moments” vid! 

[ ROBOTIC VOICE OVER ] 　 i really just wanted to talk more about kj’s talents as a writer and producer. like, i get why oliver said he’d want to perform a lobotomy on kj. i do too tbh.

exhibit a: our beginning. the group’s debut album was worked on by all the members but kj wrote and composed basically all of our beginning by himself and it fucking wrecks me everytime like???? AND IT'S ONLY A B-SIDE???? oh to be loved by this man… their two title songs already had me interested but from the moment i heard that song i just had to stan. 

exhibit b: his skills have been recognized not only by bang chan, but woozi of svt as well and even other senior producers in the industry. his knowledge and ear for music can only be described as unrivaled in the industry. i mean, we’re talking about someone who ENJOYS music theory and does it for fun. no sane person does that. 

but anyways, enough of my rambles. enjoy!

　　 SEOJUN’S SOLO LATE-NIGHT VLIVE. 

[ CONTEXT ] 　 a fellow yu challenged seojun to make a song using only the word “taco”, which he took seriously. 

seojun eyes flick across his computer screen set up behind the camera, mouse clicks and the occasional typing on his keyboard filling the room. brows furrowed, he stretches his arms above his head and sighs at the way his back pops.  

“aish yunies,” he says, a teasing but also annoyed tone in his voice. he runs his tongue over his teeth and sucks in a breath.  [ he’s so hot when frustrated. sue me. ]  “i’m not too sure about this one.” 

“this part here works—” he makes a click on the mouse and the start of a song starts to play. “—but i can’t get the rest to line up nicely.”  

he turns in his chair, moving closer to face the camera, and shakes his head. adjusting the baseball cap on his head, seojun opens his phone and scrolls through the comments. 

“‘the great seojun has finally been defeated’ yah! i haven’t given up yet.”

he scratches his neck and leans back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling and letting out a deep sigh.  [ this isn’t a png, guys. my man was tired 😭 ]  he stares at his phone again. 

“do you guys think kai-yah will answer me if i call him?” he stands up out of his chair and paces around the room to stretch his legs before squatting down to look into the camera, holding his phone up to show the time. “it’s three am right now but i bet he’s still up.”  [ boy 🤨 ] 

seojun sits back down and scrolls before ringing up kj with the phone on speaker. after the third ring, the man of the hour picks up. 

“hello?” kj says quietly, audibly tired.  [ his voice is so 😓 you don’t understand ] 

“kaiyangi~” seojun coos sweetly into the phone, “i’m live right now.” 

“oh.” there’s some shuffling heard over the phone. “hyung, it’s a quarter past three.” 

“yeah and?” seojun says blankly. “did i wake you?” 

kj responds with a loud sigh and seojun laughs. 

“no… i was still up.”  [ someone please get these guys some melatonin… ] 

“do you think you can help me with something really quick?” the older asks, setting down the phone and turning to his computer. 

[ insert seojun explaining the problem at 2x speed. i have no idea what he’s yapping about even after translations 💀 ] 

there’s a moment of silence after seojun is done before kj chimes in with a small, “ah, i see.” 

“i’ve been working on this for two hours.”  [ never thought i’d see seojun get stumped on a track until this live 🫢 ]  a slight whine seeps into the leader’s voice. “yunies keep teasing me and saying to give up.”

“you should give up. go to sleep.”  

“yah! that’ the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to say,” seojun pouts, nose scrunched for a brief moment. “where’s my ‘you can do this, hyung! i believe in you! fighting!’?” [ his impression of kj kills me everytime 😭 ]

“not here, that's for sure.” 

the older slumps in his seat with an annoyed whine, taking off his cap and running a hand through his hair again, as kj chuckles in the background. 

“you’re such a child, hyung.” there’s a moment of pause before he speaks up again, “have you tried…”

[ insert kj talking about more music knowledge that hurts my brain at 2x speed. god i wish is was musically gifted. ]

“ah,” seojun drawls out, fingers working fast along the keyboard. pressing play once again, he listens to the adjusted sound and leans back with a smile before pausing it and grabbing for his phone again. 

“it sounds way better, kai-yah,” he says with a large grin on his face, “thank you, jun number two.” 

“mhm, anytime,” kj responds softly. “can i ask what this is even for, hyung?” 

“oh. a yu challenged me to make a song using only the word taco,” he answers with a smile still on his face. shuffling can be heard again through the other end of the phone. seojun sits up straighter and raises an eyebrow at the delayed response. 

“hello? kaiyangi? kai-yah? my favourite child?” 

“go to sleep, seojun hyung,” kj sighs, exasperated. “you’re delirious. i’m hanging up.”

“what? wait no don’t go just yet. keep me company for a bit longer my sweet apple tart, my baby hone-” the end tone beeps before seojun it enveloped in silence again. 

he looks at the phone as if it had offended him and cursed his bloodline and slowly raises his head back to stare dead on into the stream camera. 

“he actually did it.” 

　　 CODE NAME: SO(U)L  — EP. ???  [ i forgot sorry 😭😭 ] 

normal – korean 　 italics – english 　 bold – other specified language

oliver is busy talking to the camera during his one-on-one interview when seojun quietly comes up beside him in frame, hands slowly sneaking up to unbutton the other’s shirt. 

“and that’s wh- yah!” oliver swats at seojun’s hand; the leader had managed to undo two, revealing the then blonde’s collarbones and just above when his pecs start. “stop that!” 

“hot sexy guy oliver in the house!” seojun shouts before running off, leaving the older of the two shaking his head with a sigh and redoing his shirt. 

“that guy i swear,” he tsked, looking at the camera sternly. oliver goes to say something else but is cut off by another voice.

“ah men.” the camera quickly pans to the side. kj is sitting in one of the dressing chairs, the stylist fiddling with his hair ducking her head into her arm with laughter as he catches the camera from the mirror’s reflection. “this is why you don’t trust them.”  [ 💀💀 ]

“you are a man!” oliver retorts with a laugh. 

“yeah, and i don’t trust myself either.” he raises a brow. “your point is?” 

oliver shakes his head with a sigh and a tired look to the camera. 

“gong kaijun, everyone.”

　　 ISEUL’S 26TH BIRTHDAY LIVE 

“yo wait, hyung,” ryo says through a mouthful of cake, nudging iseul with his elbow as mars tries to frantically save the younger’s image, “hyung, how old are you now?” 

“aish this kid,” he mutters. “i’m twenty six now.” 

“wow, hyung’s half fifty two,” kj mumbles to himself, head angled downwards as he pokes at a piece of cake on his plate with his fork. “he’ll have to be put in a nursing home soon.”  [ i snorted so hard at this 🖐️😭 ]

seven barks out a loud laugh, slapping a hand over his mouth  [ someone save him ] and ducking his face out of the frame, and ryo joins in soon after. kj looks up, confusion written on his face.

“oh, i said that out loud, didn’t i?” 

“you’re going to be the end of me.” with a roll of the eyes, iseul hits the back of kj’s head lightly with a scowl.  

“i mean…” the younger takes on a thoughtful look, index finger tapping his chin, “as long as you put me in the will…”

[ iseul looks so done this poor poor guy 😔 ] 

　　 MULTILINGUAL BADASSERY W/ FO SQUAD

“i’m curious.” lou looks up from the tablet in his hand. “what language do you guys use in the dorms?” 

oliver, mars, and kj all hum in understanding. 

“one of your members, ryo?” oliver nods. “is japanese and you—“ lou gestures to kj. “—and mars are chinese or half chinese. 

“you, kj, and oliver are also fluent in english. do you guys all only talk in korean or does it depend on the member?” 

“well,” oliver sighs, brows furrowed and rubbing his chin, “gosh man.” 

“it’s hard to explain, but we usually talk in korean. sometimes english too. all of us can understand it to various levels,” kj chuckles. 

“he speaks six,” mars says, patting kj on the arm. “kai is very smart.” 

“you speak six languages?” one of the hosts states at kj with his mouth agape as the other laughs. 

“mhm,” kj says with a nod, “but i’m only fluent in four.” 

“‘bUt i’M oNLy fLuEnT In FoUR’ bro what?��  [ #literallyme when kj said that 😭 ]  ous tosses his hands and leans back in his seat. “don’t even play that game with me right now.”

oliver throws his head back with a cackle and kj laughs into his hands. 

“i usually respond in the language that the person started the conversation with,” he says, fanning his face to calm down. “like, if mars talks to me in chinese, i’ll respond in chinese.”  [ we love a guy who can communicate ] 

“how does your brain function, what?” ous covers his mouth and sighs. “holy man…” 

[ i didn’t include this part in the clip (because it would be almost the entire interview if i did-) but kj later says he tries to pick up on different languages on tour to talk to yunies 🥹😓😓 so technically, he knows more than just six. ]

[ ROBOTIC VOICE OVER ] 　 there were so many more i wanted to include but then this video would be an hour long 💀💀 anyways, in conclusion, stan kj, stan syoul, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR WORLD PRODUCER!! 

[solarsleepless]

kj + death

that's right folks, i've made a compilation of all the moments where kj is involved w death in some way, whether that be from killing or talking about death or one of her friends dying, because i find her relationship w death over the season very interesting :)

ill put it under a read more because there's a Lot™

wow there are Too Many Images™ so the last three will be on a reblog

[lukesvangelista]

i need someone to make a compilation of kj fiddling with his mouth guard IMMEDIATELY

[thepeculiarbird]

I finished watching Good Omens, it was great. I'm also watching the adaptation of Paper Girls, I'm only at episode 2 (or 3 Idk) but I'm really disappointed. I can't continue or I'll be spoiled since I haven't read the compilation of the last 3 comics.

Spoilers on paper girls :

It just went really fast, a lot of important scenes were removed and others were added which didn't make really sense. They changed a character's entire personnality which makes her similar to another character. For the people who read paper girls, you know that it was Mac's step-mother who "shot" Erin, well in the show, she wasn't even there and it's Mac who shot her in the stomach. It's a small detail but it would've made more sense for the mom to shot so Mac and Erin are not awkward when they're talking and stuff but instead Erin just forgave Mac, like, who forgives someone who almost killed you ?? Also the adult version of Erin came way too soon. I liked how the girls and her met in the book. They changed the year, it was supposed to be in 2016 and the story happens in 2019.

I was waiting for the scene when they're in the basement, the pterodactyls in the sky, Mac's iconic pink/ginger hair (she looks so cool like that), the old guy, the alien-teens who helped the girls (like they immediately died, 2 mins of screen time and they're already gone), all the weird monsters, KJ being super brave, all the stuff happening in the sewers, fighting scenes, the other Erin (might appear later) etc....

You may think I'm overreacting but it's all those details above that makes the story interesting, removing them just don't let me enjoy the story as it should.

[dapurinthos]

those poor cultists on exegol iksikhar*, wrapping bandages over their face and wearing black robes when they could've had this (naga sadow's bitching meditation sphere). tales of the jedi og version** is the peak of character design, really.

now i'm headcanoning that dooku's bitchin' airship the windrunner is a ship of theseus, where the original was constructed back during serenno's initial colonization (conveniently in the 5000 - 3000bby range) and has been in the family for millennia, just being upgraded all the time and kept to look the way it does, as originally seen in agent of the empire: hard targets. you know, that comic where vader was just 'so if you want to keep your titles and money and planet, you'll just all murder your parents in front of me right now, k?' to the eldest sons of the current aristocracy of serenno immediately post-clone wars. mmmhmm. that was the cleansing of serenno. disney star wars would never dare.

* tsis does not have a g despite several words containing it, so it's clearly an evolution from a k or q sound (i'm leaning toward it being a development from qh or kj, of which kh is the paired phoneme, and it shows up in a bunch of location names. also the word sith itself doesn't work because there isn't a native /θ/ because you try making an inter-dental sound when you have those sharp, pointy teeth. that has to be an aspirated t there. it's [sitʰ] (or seetʰ if you're not ipa). NOR DOES IT HAVE AN 'X' APPARENTLY but it's got both 'k' and 's' so we're fine there.

** why'd you have to go and call your compilation something already in use hatman.

[patroclusdefencesquad]

OH YES. *checks notes*

for historical queerness, I'd recommend are KJ Charles, Cat Sebastian (they write more m/ms though), and E.E Ottoman (they're novels are a trans delight; The Companion is so.) I also read and loved Infamous by Lex Croucher (the author of Gwen and Art are not in love!!!). Also Alexis Hall (particularly A Lady For a Duke, it's so good!!!), who is very funny. Also Neil Blackmore, whose writing is decent. ALSO (this is the final one, I promise!!!) Molly House by A. R. Pip. I really should not have read it when I did, because it hit me like a ton of bricks. I plan to reread it someday.

For more modern stuff, I'd recommend Anita Kelly (though I've only read one book of hers, but it was great). I was confused half of the time of my reading of After Sappho, which is a compilation of the stories of historic sapphics (I'm pretty sure?). For non-Western queer stories I enjoyed Under The Udala Trees (which, heavy TW), Cupid Calling and Finding Joy (I do have more than slight beef will the the author of aforementioned book, namely the demonization of corsets, but it doesn't come up in the book for obvious reasons). I've also heard good things about Vagabonds! (the exclamation mark is part of the title)

I feel like I should apologize for sending a long ask,but I know there's no need to, and I have to add a closing remark anyways, so this is a compromise. Have fun reading!!!

thank you so much! i will keep these in mind when i finish what I'm reading at the minute!

after sappho i think i keep seeing in the bookshop? i always pick it up because i see "sappho" and then i read the blurb and get confused as to what it's about, and your description doesn't sound like what i thought it was so i really have no idea lmao, maybe i'll give it a shot after all!

[swallowedabug]

KILLJOYS 2.04 // 3.05

[urdeadbestfriend]

kj apa best acting (men screaming) youtube compilation

[lemurblog]

I think I accidentally found a Jover/Clover song.

really listen to the lyrics and tell me it doesn't remind you of Clover.

YESS I've been waiting for this. (old style lyric video here.) I will cry this song is perfect 4 them. CLOVER I LOVE YOU

My fav lyrics: "If you knew how long I've been alone / how I wanted someone to come along and change my life, the way you've done" -> Taking me back to those most powerful Season 1 feelings. there is no story better to me than Clover's life being frozen over all those years before KJ brought her spring. nothing will ever top it. Then it's mixed with how Clover's desperate for someone to love her and be her man, like out of her romance fantasy. i don't think she was asking for too much.

"Feels like I'm all the way back where I come from" -> This is a personal pet-favorite jover motif I haven't really posted about, so it's extra perfect. but something I really love about jover is how Julien fills the space in Clover's life that's been empty since Rose died.

"Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong" -> The Clover Motif About Belonging. WAH.

"I can almost see through the dark there is light" -> WAH. 'almost' is so good in this lyric too. Clover has a hard time seeing the light through the darkness. It's easy for her to slip back into those dark places. But she can almost see it. She wants it more.

This song fits in with the great jover songs re: Clover's feeling of finding a home in KJ after being lost so long. reminds me of Better Place, Stray Italian Greyhound, Drummer Boy, etc. And you wouldn't know this but I've been compiling 90s and 00s songs for my clover playlists lately too

[starry-hughes]

i feel like people think mooch is dating like half the nhl by now… like kj, jamie, cole, marino, nico, etc. and mooch is like, “god forbid a girls and boys have platonic relationships!”

she makes a funny video over the summer or over the season where it’s a video or picture compilation of all the guys people have assumed she’s dating to make the announcement one and for all, that she has absolutely no interest in anyone but Tyler

she definitely fucks with the media about how she’s “dating” half the nhl but she gets super clear about how she has no interest in anyone besides tyler

[junkshop-disco]

Books!! Thanks to @magicalrocketships for the tag 💖

An estimate of how many physical books I own: I have two floor-to-ceiling walls of books, and random piles elsewhere, so probably somewhere between 750 and 1000? I'm always scouring charity shops and flea markets for interesting books.

Favorite author: is there anyone who can pick just one? Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, Paul Auster, Ali Smith, Graham Greene, Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut, off the top of my head.

A popular book I've never read and never intend to read: never say never and all that, but it'll be a cold day in hell when I crack open a Thomas Hardy voluntarily.

A popular book I thought was just meh: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell. I wanted so badly to like it, but it was a struggle just making it through the first couple of chapters and I gave up.

Longest book I own: I do have War & Peace, Vanity Fair, and Bleak House, all of which are an endurance workout for the wrists. I also have The Norton Anthology of Poetry, which is a compilation of most poets and poems, ever, which is a struggle to get off the shelf.

Longest series I own all the books to: is the wider Terry Pratchett universe considered a series? If so, those.

Prettiest book I own: I have an early edition of Virginia Woolf's diary which has a cover illustrated by Vanessa Bell. I'm very fond of the design of that.

A book or series I wish more people knew about: I really wish more people had read the Widdershins books by Jordan L Hawk, so I had someone to exclaim 'but what about the bit when the librarians [spoilers]!!!' to while they yell back 'Christine my beloved!!'. So that's my rec, if anyone is looking for a series of, say, 11 books packed with magical historical fantasy shenanigans featuring archaeologists, but also aliens (no, really), that doesn't take itself too seriously but also delivers more convincing magical world building than a lot of books that do.

Book I’m reading now: I just finished The Half-life of Valery K and I'm halfway through a book of Emily Dickinson poems. I think I have a romance queued up next for a bit of a breather. Maybe a KJ Charles.

Book that’s been on my TBR list for a while but I still haven’t gotten around to it: my TBR is like four shelves high. The one that gives me the greatest pang of regret every time my gaze alights upon it is probably The World Broke In Two, which is about the impact of WWI on art and writing.

Do you have any books in a language other than English: I have some Spanish copies of Lorca I think.

Paperback, hardcover or ebook?: I mix it up. I usually buy secondhand books when I'm buying physical copies so I'll go with whatever looks in the best condition, but most of my actual reading I do on my Kindle because I don't put the lights on in the evening to help with my insomnia and real books don't have handy self-adjusting ambient lighting.

[frostbeees]

what if i just made a compilation post (or series of posts bc lbr there’s probably enough content) of just kj’s mouf

[aspiringpolymath]

Mid Year Reading Check In

I compiled this at the end of June, so it's not up to the minute accurate, but a good indication of how my reading year has gone so far. I tweaked the questions a bit to suit my reading style. If anyone sees this and wants to answer them PLEASE tag me so I can see what you are reading!

Mid Year Book Check In Questions:

Did you set a reading challenge; if so, how’s it going? (AKA How many books have you read?)

Best book(s) you’ve read so far?

Best sequel or book in a series you've read so far?

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

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

Biggest disappointment?

Biggest surprise?

Favorite new author? (Debut or new to you)

Newest favorite character (for whatever reason)?

Book that made you cry or saddest book you’ve read?

Book that made you happy?

Favorite review you've written this year? (Can be glowing or a takedown)

Favorite cover for a book you've read this year?

What books are your priority to read by the end of the year?

Answers:

According to GR, I’ve read 239 books (tho I prefer ‘title’ since some are pretty short. I read a mix of novels, novellas, shorts and manga/comics.) My GR goal is 365, so I’m ahead of schedule!

Bests

Manga - Restart After . . . duology by Cocomi

Graphic novel - Mamo by Sass Milledge (ff ya)

Non LGBTQ+ romance book - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (still casually queer)

Short book - Bisclavret by K.L. Noone

Standalone mm romance book (there are not a lot of these, lol) - We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian (I didn’t want it to be over, so I really took my time.)

3. Three way tie between The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian, Malibu by Emmy Sanders, and Out of the Wild Night by Marina Vivancos. Oh, and Muscle Cub by Slade James!

4. Loads, but I still haven’t read The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles and I really need to get on that.

5. I’m looking forward to the next volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide by Mone Sorai. Oh, and Gentle Chaos by Tyler Gaga (ghosthoney on IG and TikTok)

6. I was most recently disappointed by How To Say I Do by Tal Bauer - not hugely, just wasn’t what I was hoping for.

7. I was really pleasantly surprised by Show Me How to Trust by Ray Celar. I didn’t have high hopes after book 2, but this one really took the time it needed to with the characters. Not a perfect book, but really lovely.

8. I’ve read a couple of short things by her in the past, but this year Crystal Lacy has become a new go-to author.

9. Sal from The Demon’s Mate by Delaney Rain, and maybe Collin from Off-Ice Behavior by Hannah Henry.

10. Some I’ve already mentioned made me cry, but I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain by Will Walton made me cry no fewer than five times. It’s a weird prose poem YA book about grief and generational addiction, I thought it was so well done. A book that made me cry mostly happy tears was Keep Me by HJ Welch.

11. The audiobook of Heartbreak Boys by Simon James Green made me legitimately lol.

12. Well, the one that has gotten the most likes on GR is my 1 star of The Right Wrong Number by Katie Warren, but I did like my pithy review for So These Rude Grumpy Arrogant Jerks Fall In Love and It’s Gross by TJ Land. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5353619286

13. The Roger Crenshaw books by Taylor Titmouse have amazing covers, and illustrations inside, too.

Also, Haunt, Heart, Havoc by Freydís Moon has a super striking cover.

14. I’d like to get back to In Memoriam by Alice Winn. I started it, but there were holds and I knew it was going to get very sad. Oh, and this probably should have been listed above, but I also want to get to Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly soon.