#mixed bag.

[blamemma]

all the books i read in april & may <3

close to home - michael magee, 3* - prose wise, a really strong beautiful debut. character and plot wise quite weak. there was a lot of promise in this novel and for a debut it was remarkably impressive, but the storyline really lacked for me and the characters had no bite to them that i often need. a worthy read if you've got a spare few hours over the summer and you've recently finished university.

family lexicon - natalia ginzburg, 1* - i was very much not the audience for this one it seems. a really didactic way of writing meant ginzburg's writing came across as informational, as if being taught about a historical event, but by the worst teacher you've ever had. there was no beauty, no shining light, no thread to follow. just a barage of characters who weren't even insufferable, they all just had nothing about them, and a strong lack of plot.

small things like these - claire keegan, 4* - a quiet novel, that slowly unravels over it's just-over-100 pages. none of the side characters feel pointless, there's a element of suspense throughout, even though this isn't a thriller, that makes you wonder and wonder the decisions our main character may end up. at it's core it's about being human, having one life, and the decisions we make. i think it tackled those themes really well, whilst also illuminating a very dark part of ireland's history.

birnam wood - eleanor catton, 3* - such a dense novel in the beginning with around 120 pages of intense detailed character introduction and some awkward scenes. catton does well to build tension in this eco thriller. but the crescendo never comes and the ending flatlines quite quickly. some of the adjacent story lines could have done with being explored more, so that the ending could have felt more important. overall, not a dreadful novel but took me a slowwww time to get through

the bee sting - paul murray, 5* - my first 5* to a fiction novel this year !!!!!!!!!!!! this is fun, which feels horrible to say considering its sbject matter, but there's an element of soap-opera-ness to this book that makes u just keep reading onwards. it's a family chronicle, exploring the troubles they go through as their livelihoods breakdown. so many important themes covered in this one, but in such a great, different and unique way. very surprised this made it to the booker as it feels so un-booker-esque but a truly great novel!!

butter - asako yuzuki, 4* - don't go into this one expecting a crime thriller cause you'll be disappointed. it touches on this and it's the main line the plot follows, but the actual messaging behind this novel is so interesting. a really engrossing book exploring women's rights within japan and the expectations held against women. obsessed with the obsessive nature of this book and what it all means in the grand scheme of society. a fun one.

[dizzybizz]

i drew them,, with some mixed results

[kkoct-ik]

hermit+ pairing request doodle dump of varying quality

from top to bottom: grumbo, treebark, pearl/cleo, scardubs x3, mumbo/cub, (treebark)

[inkz123]

Day 3: Coffee

[nickfoo]

Told myself I had to draw for my shit-post quota whee-hee-hee

[wigglebox]

Testament [noun] evidence; something presented in support of the truth or accuracy of a claim. [x]

[crabsnpersimmons]

Happy Moon Festival! 🌕

there's a bunch of holidays today, Mid-Autumn Festival, Tsukimi, Chuseok and more! all dated on the day of the brightest full moon!

and since i had some time, i thought i'd draw all my moons and some yummy festival sweets (all prepared by chef Moon of course!)

some intros to all the moons and the dishes below the cut

some intros:

Moonie's from my chibi AU, "Rain or Shine". a rambunctious little guy who loves playing with his Sunny

Moondrop's from my hairdresser AU, "New 'Do, Same You". a Moon in a glamrock-style casing, who's pretty chill but insecure

Mooncake's from my restaurant AU, "Have You Eaten?" a hopeless romantic chef who loves cooking yummy foods!

13's from my dystopian AU. he's a sheltered, naive little Moon bot who is curious to learn about the world outside the palace

Miel is from my idol AU. she's an ex-Moon bot, turned nanny bot, turned rapper of an idol duo (she sings too tho!)

and the menu:

tsukimi dango are plain Japanese dumplings made of rice flour and glutinous rice flour, resembling the full moon

mooncakes are Chinese treat with various skins and fillings, but traditionally they are a pastry filled with lotus seed paste and a salted duck egg yolk to resemble the full moon

songpyeon are a Korean rice cake with various types of fillings—red beans, dates, sesame seeds, honey, and more!

[bomber-barbara]

Listen, I totally agree that it’s super sad that it turned out Shuro had been annoyed by Laios the whole time he’d considered them to be friends. I get it! I’ve been in his shoes, I was the annoying friend.

But I think it’s also important to not ignore the feelings of Shuro, the one who was being annoyed, at the same time. It’s possible to acknowledge how both people felt without villainizing one of them.

I feel like when it comes to outsiders hearing about a fight two people had, they’ll do this thing where they take the side of whoever they feel most bad for or relate to the most and gang up on/ignore the reasons the other person has and it kind of sucks!

And the point Shuro makes about it being worse that Laios meant no harm is probably because it meant there was no reason for him to tell him to fuck off without looking like an asshole!!

There’s no reason to blame Shuro’s inability to communicate that he wanted space if you’re not going to do the same for Laios’s social blunders.

[panic-flavored]

If the Knuckles show won't give me an Agent Stone cameo, I'll do it myself!! 😤

[cierv-o-robot-o]

Simon might be babygirl but Ice King is my gramps he's my peepaw I love him dearly he and his little bag of trail mix and his fascination for birds have a special place in my heart

[rooolt]

obsessed with the fact that “funky Kong is a libertarian” and “crash bandicoot wants to beat you the fuck up” have been readily accepted as truth into the naddpod canon

[lovisus]

i dont know about all of you, but the scarf scene will keep me fuelled for a while🤷🏻‍♀️

[bevioletskies]

gemini & fourth (in every universe) ↳ heart/li ming vs. tinn/gun vs. kongthap/atom + praying & merit-making

“If you want to make a wish, light the incense sticks as well to complete the ritual.”

[sesamie]

clementines, acrylic paint and embroidery on canvas, almost 5x7 inches but not quite!!

[clownsuu]

Art block m a n, it’s b a d, this is probably the most finished work I did today JDHDSH so take a mini master post of all the neglected shid I drew today

don’t mind all these, specially the first two smhhh

also finally decided to actually post this better ish res version of human Mob Dusty smhhhh

[maxphilippa]

EVERYONE IS GAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

HOORAY!!!!

magma bucket tag: @andeisafag

spoon tag: @si74c

cobalt blue tag: @ebbpup