#mystery & detective

[thepenmuse]

Book Blitz: The Gariboldi Affair

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary, mystery & detective, amateur sleuths Date Published:  June 2024     Crime – Murder – Guilt – Redemption   Colonel Emilio Gariboldi is a complex man. He is also a veteran of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. An idealist as a young man, he had hoped to emulate his hero Italo Balbo and hence joined the Italian air force. A fatal encounter with an enemy intruder…

[dzelonis]

Richard Montanari - The Skin Gods (Jessica Balzano & Kevin Byrne #2)

Links uz grāmatas Goodreads lapu Izdevniecība: Arrow Manas pārdomas The Skin Gods par aptrakušu maniaku devējamā ļaundarim šķiet dzīvē nav paša neveiksmju vai pat citu tā ceļā liktu šķēršļu dēļ nepiepildīts sapnis, kas saistīts ar kino un filmu pasauli. Jo tālāk kriminālromāna sižets rit uz priekšu, jo vairāk piezogas aizdomas, ka tam pat ir zināma baile būt pašam par sevi, jo pat ikdienišķās…

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

Author: Emiko JeanPublisher: Simon & SchusterReleased: May 7, 2024Received: Own (BOTM)Find it on Goodreads | BOTM | More Thrillers Book Summary: Detective Chelsey Calhoun is good at what she does – she helps people find the answers that tear their lives apart. There are only two that haunt her to this day. The first is the disappearance of her sister nearly twenty years ago. Then there’s the…

[bargainsleuthbooks]

Book Reviews: The Faculty Lounge; After OZ; Charlotte Illes is Not a Teacher; Squanto: A Native Odyssey; Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp #NetGalley #ARCReviews #NewBooks

Time for another round-up of ARCs I've read lately. Most of these books have just been released! #NetGalley #ARCReview #Bookreview #Mariaanovelofmariavontrapp #charlotteilles #squanto #thefacultylounge #afteroz #gordonmcalpine

I’m cruising along and getting through all my Advanced Reader’s Copies from NetGalley and Edelweiss. In order to keep up with blogging about them all, I’ve decided to do more roundups like this. Most books can be found at the affiliate links below or try your local library when they are released! (Amazon US) (Amazon CA) (Amazon UK)  (AbeBooks) (Barnes & Noble) (Booksamillion)  (Audible.com)…

[pebblegalaxy]

Solving Crimes in the Heat: A Detective's Journey Through the Labyrinth of Justice in a Smoggy City #ShortStory #fiction #contemporary

The afternoon heat lay thick upon the city, a smoggy blanket smothering everything, pressing down, making every step feel like wading through some slow-moving, unseen current. In the office, the fan stirred the stale air listlessly, papers fluttering like the weak heartbeats of a caged bird dreaming of skies. I sat there, lost in the files before me, each a story, each a life torn apart, brought…

[esonetwork]

'The Scorpion's Tail' Book Review By Ron Fortier

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/the-scorpions-tail-book-review-by-ron-fortier/

'The Scorpion's Tail' Book Review By Ron Fortier

THE SCORPION’S TAIL By Preston & Child Grand Central Publishing 401 pgs

This is the second thriller in the Special Agent Pendergast spin-off series starring two of his best supporting characters. The first being Archeologist Nora Kelly who was around from the first Pendergast adventure teaming up with his young protégé, newly minted FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. Though why the publisher opts to label this the “Nora Kelly” series is beyond my logic. It really should be the “Kelly – Swanson” series. Oh well, the eccentricities of publishers.

Like the first, this one also focuses on historical mysteries with these set in the western state of New Mexico. A young, extremely likeable town Sheriff named Homer Watts encounters a would-be looter at work in a high mountain ghost town. When he confronts the fellow, the perp tries to shoot him. Much to his dismay as Watts is a fast draw crack shot and wounds the varmint. But that isn’t what sets alarms off. Rather it is the fact that the two-bit artifact thief was in process of uncovering a dead body; a dead body buried on government land. Enter the FBI and Agent Corrine Swanson.

Realizing the excavation of a body is beyond her considerable expertise, Corrie recruits Nora Kelly to assist her and pretty soon the trained archeologist finds herself pulled into the mystery. Not only is the corpse weirdly mummified, but in his possession is an ornate, bejeweled cross that dates back to the days of the Spanish conquistadores. Could the dead man have been hunting lost Spanish gold mines rumored to be hidden in those mountains? And what connection does the dead man have to the White Plains Desert Military base; home to the first atom bomb test?

Once again, Preston and Child weave an intricate, pretzel-twisty plot that mushrooms multiple new questions whenever one is answered. Enough to keep both Nora and Corrie hopping back and forth from one end of the state to the other looking to solve not one, but several historical puzzles all seemingly intertwined. Along the way, they encounter some truly colorful Western characters ala Sheriff Watts and a descendant of Geronimo. In the end, “The Scorpion’s Tale” is another grand Preston & Child outing and one we heartily recommend. Kelly and Swanson may not be Pendergast, but they sure are the next best thing

[thebookinheritance]

Whose Body?

Diving into my mom's beloved detective novels, I've rediscovered comfort in their pages. "Whose Body?" by Dorothy L. Sayers reignites my love for the genre's charm. 🕵️‍♂️💼 Join me in this cozy literary journey. #DetectiveNovels #CozyReads #BookLove

Britannophiles, unite! Money wasn’t scarce growing up, but it also didn’t grow on trees. Movie theatres were a rarity: we waited until the release on VHS. The only “official” movies we had were gifts. Rarely, very rarely, we would rent a film from the local video rental shop – before it turned into a Blockbuster – but more often, we would borrow films from our favorite library. In order to be…

[sheilajsn]

Libros nominados al Premio Agatha 2022

Durante el mes de abril decidí leer los libros nominados al Premio Agatha 2022 en la categoría de mejor primer misterio. El plan era leer los seis libos nominados antes de que se anunciara el ganador a fin del mes de abril. Spoiler alert: no lo logré. Vine a terminar de leer todos los libros a mediados de mayo. En caso de que no estén familiarizados, el Premio Agatha (Agatha Award), en honor a…

[mysticstronomy]

IS THE LARGEST STORM OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM IS MOVING??

Blog#445

Wednesday, October 16th, 2024.

Welcome back,

New observations of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot captured by the Hubble Space Telescope show that the 190-year-old storm wiggles like gelatin and shape-shifts like a squeezed stress ball.

The unexpected observations, which Hubble took over 90 days from December to March, show that the Great Red Spot isn’t as stable as it appears, according to astronomers.

The Great Red Spot, or GRS, is an anticyclone, or a large circulation of winds in Jupiter’s atmosphere that rotates around a central area of high pressure along the planet’s southern midlatitude cloud belt. And the long-lived storm is so large — the biggest in the solar system — that Earth could fit inside it.

Although storms are generally considered unstable, the Great Red Spot has persisted for nearly two centuries. But the observed changes in the storm appear related to its motion and size.

A time lapse of the images shows the vortex “jiggling” like gelatin and expanding and contracting over time.

Researchers described the observation in an analysis published in The Planetary Science Journal and presented Wednesday at the 56th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences in Boise, Idaho.

“While we knew its motion varies slightly in its longitude, we didn’t expect to see the size oscillate as well. As far as we know, it’s not been identified before,” said lead study author Amy Simon, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in a statement.

“This is really the first time we’ve had the proper imaging cadence of the GRS,” Simon said. “With Hubble’s high resolution we can say that the GRS is definitively squeezing in and out at the same time as it moves faster and slower. That was very unexpected.”

Astronomers have observed the iconic crimson feature for at least 150 years, and sometimes, the observations result in surprises, including the latest revelation that the storm’s oval shape can change dimensions and look skinnier or fatter at times.

Recently, a separate team of astronomers peered into the heart of the Great Red Spot using the James Webb Space Telescope to capture new details in infrared light. The Hubble observations were made in visible and ultraviolet light.

The study, published September 27 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, revealed that the Great Red Spot is cold in the center, which causes ammonia and water to condense inside the vortex and create thick clouds. The research team also detected the gas phosphine within the storm, which could play “a role in generating those mysterious” red colors that make the Great Red Spot so iconic, said study coauthor Leigh Fletcher, a professor of planetary science at the UK’s University of Leicester, in a statement.

Originally published on https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, October 19th, 2024)

"WHY DOES OUR UNIVERSE EXIST??"

[yourbustedkneecaps]

something i dont think people — esp new writers — understand is how to actually write basic horror/thriller. like normally i see shit thats just straight up murder, gore/blood, and (not great) “psycho” antagonists or whatever and it never really hits the way its meant to.

first, lets define the horror vs thriller genres.

Thriller: generally relies on feelings of suspense, surprise, anxiety, and fear, and treats the audience as an accomplice. they normally make use of red herrings, plot twists, and unreliable narrators (think detective or crime fiction)

Horror: often relies more on blood and gore to disturb, scare, disgust, or repulse the audience, and treats the audience as victims. (think psychological/medical/lovecraftian horror as an interpretation of a metaphor on society)

makes sense? obviously these genres can have a ton of overlap depending on the direction of the story. either way, i personally try to follow these general rules to set the groundwork for my project of one or both genres:

go easy on the blood and gore — i get it, every popular entertainment medium has blood pretty much everywhere. it’s a horror staple! unfortunately, it also is easy to desensitise your audience to The Goop (blood/gore) before you’ve even introduced the main plot. keep it light to start and amp it up every so often to add some ambience to the setting! if its everywhere all the time, it will become expected wallpaper instead of a real scare. remember! blood and gore are tools to create something horrifying, not the horror genre itself!

“why is this here?” — to shape the start of your project, use the environment to unnerve your audience and set the stage. put things in uncommon places to intrigue your audience as you introduce your characters and story. the weirder, the better! for example, stab a kitchen knife in the wall of a random hallway, or an old tree. put a doll where a child may have had to work hard to place it there, like a top shelf, or hang it from a staircase bannister or light fixture. add small touches of blood, gore, or general bodily fluid/parts sprinkled around the area where it may not be all that visible, like fingerprints on a light switch, door handle, the edge of a bookcase or half-cleaned stains along the floor. there’s a reason developers often put little notes throughout their game alongside corpses, weapons, and key items!

define your plot, audience included — who cares how things are happening? give me a “why” first! all characters, background, main, minor, etc. should have a reason for doing what they are doing where they are doing it. if you want to spook or disturb your audience you need to define where they stand with the characters! are they the detective’s accomplice in revealing the mystery, or are they running from certain doom with the main character?

*note: reasons dont have to be complex! humans are odd in that sometimes they do things “just because”, “why not?”, or “because of a feeling”. dont stress it!

develop rules for your story — a good character can save a bad plot, so make up some general rules to follow when putting them together! why cant someone or something happen, even if it’s easier? why is someone or something the way they are, and what steps did it take to get to this point? everything should lead to your climax(es), judgements of the characters included. its because of the characters and environment that unreliable narration, red herrings, and plot twists occur. what information is missing that pushes the story along?

the bang — this steers more towards horror than thriller, but “the bang” or the general climax should feel bigger than what has happened before. this is where you can go ham with The Goop and any extra disturbing imagery or info to give your audience! if there’s more than one climax, make sure there’s always something up your sleeve that either A) repulses or scares the characters/audience again or B) makes the situation 5% Worse within each new climax.

the end — your characters are not going to come out of this unscathed!! that is the entire point of horror and thriller! as much as you may want a character to girlboss their way through the plot (regardless of if they die in the end or not), it should always end with your character’s mental/physical stability being somehow worse than when they started. demonic possession or run-of-the-mill PTSD, it doesn’t matter. the story should change/impact your characters and audience after experiencing it.

*please note that i am not advocating for traumatising people willy-nilly just because thats how these genres “work”. always put a TW of some kind so those who dont want to experience it have a choice not to!

using these general steps/tips, i’ve been able to create some spooky stuff myself! i lean more toward body horror, psychological horror, and crime thriller genres-wise, and they’re never perfect, but the skeleton of many projects has been enough to surprise, disgust, or generally scare me and my friends when keeping these things in mind.

[mr-laveau]

i have a question UM and i don't know if you've already answered it but do you have any recommendations on where to start if i want to listen to the NeXus storyline? :3

Hi so here's the fun thing! I would reccomend you start from the begining despite how low quality those audios are (because they are and I was new to this but those were proof of my growth), the begining is what really sets the pace for what NeXus is, you can start here from NeXus: The Whole Story in my playlists:

BUT if you want some quick ways to get into NeXus, let me intro you to a few fun storylines: If you like vampires and the balance between being magical and normal society as well as the conflict of when the two clash, I reccomend the Blood Moon storyline which will be getting its own event soon:

If you like DAMN or magical schools as a trope then I reccommend the AMP storyline, it's got a nice touch of familiarity where people can see some similarities with Redacted but it's its own thing and it's currently set to continue again in September when people are also going back to school:

If you however want something else with a more urban detective feel that includes magic and has cowboys and just fun things in it then I reccomend NeXus New York, it's the shortest of these picks, it's got some good audios and it's quick and dirty/lh:

For anything else, I reccommend you check out my playlist section and you can either go by storylines or characters! I hope this helps!

[leverage-ot3]

What are your k drama recommendations??!? I need new ones

omg my time has come thank you anon for giving me the opportunity to ramble about shows

I ended up talking WAY too long so I'm putting everything after the first one under the cut

all of us are dead- show about high schoolers as a zombie apocalypse starts. very funny and relatable, literally they call the police and are like 'have you seen train to busan?' bffrrn. has a lot of social commentary and there are references to the sinking of mc sewol (a cruise that sunk where the captain deserted it and left a large amount of high schoolers to drown). commentary about how adults save themselves first/leave youth to fend for themselves. one of my comfort shows and although they didn't intend for more seasons, it was received so well that they have been renewed! I am also an ot4 truther and sometimes talk about them on my international shows sideblog: @nam-on-jo

sweet home- (disclaimer: I am not caught up and have not yet seen s2 which came out a little while ago) honestly I have no idea how to explain this so I'm gonna copy-paste the blurb: as humans turn into savage monsters, one troubled teenager and his neighbours fight to survive and to hold onto their humanity. basically people turn into monsters for [redacted] reasons and everyone in his large apartment building is stuck inside trying to fend for their lives.

my name- I'm just going to paste the blurbs going forward because it's easier: Following her father's murder, a revenge-driven woman puts her trust in a powerful crime boss -- and enters the force under his direction. bro some of these twists I expected but others caught me off guard. I love the main character and am a little gay for her but I think that's valid because she's a bamf. there was a plot point at the end of the second to last episode that I really didn't like and made me very upset. narratively I get why they did it but it made me sad so I'm still pissy. might get around to writing a fix-it fic one day when motivation strikes because my girl deserves better things.

the guest- a detective, a catholic priest, and a psychic join forces to fight crime caused by supernatural forces. not to say they are my ot3 but they kinda are. (other ppl interpret it is a lesbian and her two bi/gay bffs which I also accept but. ot3 tho). LOVED every twist and turn and how the three of them go from not trusting one another to being family. genuinely one of my favorites from all the kdramas I've watched over the years and I want to rewatch it again soon

happiness (tvn)- The residents of a high-rise apartment fight for their lives against a deadly infectious disease while Sae-bom and Yi-hyun try to find the person because of whom the virus spread. bro I adored this. some characters annoyed me (which means they were written effectively) but it has so much. fake dating/marriage (they wanted a better apartment lmao). annoyances to lovers. mean/rude woman soft for sunshine man. what you will do for the people you love. morals and humanity during a catastrophy. *smacks show* you can fit so much into this. no but seriously, I thought this was a really interesting take on the zombie virus! so some of the time you come off completely asymptomatic and 'normal', so people can get away with acting normal and hiding the disease around other people, so the paranoia and mystery is REALLY amped up. had me guessing a LOT. sae-bom and yi-hyun are both cops/detectives and you find out really early (ep 1/2?) that sae-bom is immune which gives a really interesting dynamic that leaves her (to yi-hyun's exasperation and heightened blood pressure levels) to be kinda reckless in the pursuit of truth and salvation. I'm rambling now because this is making me watch to rewatch but yeah as a zombie/dystopia/apocalypse lover this was a good watch. it's more story-focused than violence-heavy which was a cool and refreshing twist

alice in borderland- okay y'all I am aware people had mixed feelings about s2 but overall I did enjoy the series. 'Obsessed gamer Arisu suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo in which he and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive.' what can I say, I love a dystopian-esque setting.

the silent sea- imma be real, I only watched it for loml bae doona from sense8. 'During a perilous 24-hour mission on the moon, space explorers try to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility steeped in classified secrets.' basically earth is in severe crisis mode as they run out of water to drink. water has recently been found on the moon, and although there was a mysterious tragedy that happened previously to researchers looking for water in a base on the moon, they have reached a level of desperation where they have another mission to look for moon water. mystery, paranoia, a couple of good twists ensue. I thought it was pretty good even though I have some mixed feelings about the open ending.

semantic error- yes I am sliding a bl into this list. bitch you thought. of course my bl-loving self would mention this (I forgot about it until I looked up good kdramas to remind myself of stuff I have watched). 'A strict, rule-abiding computer science major must work together with an artist with a polar-opposite personality to his.' confident cool boy meets bitch boy. it's great.

and of course...

leverage con artists- I would be fired from running this blog if I didn't mention the beloved korean spinoff of leverage. 'The series follows the story of Lee Tae-joon, a former insurance investigator who forms a team of thieves and con artists to target the rich and wealthy. The team was also formed to avenge Tae-joon's son's death.' I've posted about it before so I won't go super into it but it's VERY camp, a good time, and the ot3 is alive and well. debatable more overt than their predecessor!

other mentionables:

I tried watching kingdom (again for bae doona) but couldn't really get into it. might try again later because it's critically acclaimed (I think) and has even gotten a spinoff series

my roommate really liked mr queen. I didn't really pay attention when we were in the same room and they were watching it but it's fruity

the island on amazon prime was good! interesting plot but not in my top 10 or anything. worth a watch if you're looking for a kdrama to watch in your spare time. features girlboss businesswoman being thrown into a world of the supernatural because [redacted]. supernatural black horse man keeps her safe while keeping a life-changing secret.

let's fight ghost was a thai show that I saw and loved that was adapted into a kdrama called bring it on ghost, but honestly I couldn't get through it because I liked the thai one better.

train to busan is technically a movie but it's iconic and well-known and I highly suggest watching it if you like zombie/apocalypse movies. disclaimer: kdramas do not have the slow 'walker' zombies. they are fucking fast and the stuff of my nightmares. would probably just jump off a bridge if this actually happened ngl

I did think that extraordinary attorney woo was cute. I never finished it and know that there are VERY valid criticisms about the perpetuation of media portraying people with autism in the stereotypical savant ways. however, I liked how the love interest accepted her for who she was, loved her because of who she was and made efforts to accommodate and learn how to comfort her in ways that would work for her

business proposal was pretty decent if you like lighthearted romance- I didn't finish it but would like to at some point

tale of the nine tailed was another one that my roommate and I started watching but never finished. it was alright! just lost interest

shows on my watchlist:

black knight (netflix)- 'In a dystopian future devastated by air pollution, the survival of humanity depends on a group of deliverymen known as the Black Knights who navigate the wastelands using unconventional means.'

copycat killer-

hellbound (netflix)-

shop for killers (hulu)- 'A nephew who lost his parents and grew up in the hands of an uncle who runs a shopping mall faces a new truth after his uncle's sudden death.'

the legend of the blue sea (viki + hulu)- 'A magistrate's plan to release mermaids into the ocean backfires when they're caught by fishermen.' (legit I just miss mermaid media)

gyeongseong creature (netflix)- 'In the city of Gyeongseong in 1945, a group of young people thinking only of their own survival encounter a monster born of human greed and ask themselves what humanity is.'

dark hole (viki)- 'A mysterious black fog from a petrochemical factory's sinkhole turns people into bizarre figures; people who are not infected try to survive in this middle of pandemonium.'

the cursed (multiple)- 'An enthusiastic social issues reporter, fighting against the evil hidden behind an IT conglomerate, meets a teen-age girl who is possessed by a spirit and has special abilities.'

blood (multiple)- 'Dr Park Ji Sang believes in the sanctity of human life, and struggles to treat terminally ill cancer patients and save lives while at the same time being a vampire.'

the ghost detective (viki)- 'In this horror thriller drama, a detective who catches ghosts tries to solve the case of his younger sibling's death with the help of his assistant.'

possessed (netflix)- 'A smart-mouthed detective and a reclusive psychic medium join together to get rid of the ghost of a murder who was executed 20 years ago.'

connect (hulu)- 'A man is kidnapped and one of his eyes removed by a gang of organ hunters; his eyes was transplanted into body of a serial killer; the unwilling donor now has terrible visions as he witnesses terrifying attacks on the residents of Seoul.'

and now just because so many of these only have het romances, I looked up k-dramas with lgbtq representation... (some of these recommendations were from articles from screenrant, movieweb, this subreddit, herzindagi (bl-focused), allkpop)

schoolgirl detectives (viki)- 'Five teenage girls join together to investigate mysterious incidents that occur at their school, as well as help classmate deal with bullying, depression and other crises.'

be melodramatic (netflix, viki)- 'Three 30-year-old best friends, Jinju, Eun-jung and Hanju each pursue different paths in both career and love. Despite life's difficulties, the three friends can always return home at the end of the day and support each other.'

lily fever (available w/subtitles on youtube)- 'The story revolves around the budding relationship between Kim Kyung Ju and Jang Se Rang who meet when Kyung Ju can't find her passport and has to go to her friend's house to try and find it.'

love alarm (netflix)- 'In a world in which an app alerts people if someone in the vicinity likes them, Kim Jojo experiences young love while coping with personal adversities.'

nevertheless (netflix)- 'The story of a romance between a man who is annoyed with relationships but likes to flirt and a woman who wants to date but does not believe in love.' (wlw side couple romance)

[iantimony]

BIG tuesday

i skipped last tuesday because i was working on a take-home exam and simply did not have the time nor the inclination, so: beefy tuesdaypost today!

listening: my brother recommended 'dead magic' by anna von hausswolff and boy what an album. gothic, punchy, very vibey. the kind of album you let wash over you like an ocean wave.

pulled 'mostly kosher' from my to-listen list. fun, funky, very jewish, good vibes. ikh hob dikh tsufil lib

i've continued to mainline borodin symphonies 1 & 2. idk they're just hitting right.

and the new pieces for the orchestra i'm in - very french this time round: debussy's fêtes: kinda spooky and ominous and also fluid in a fun way! lots of buildup that seems to resolve into nothingness. horn parts for this are pretty good, not too difficult but are definitely Heard. chabrier's españa: really bumpin horn parts. fun bouncy motifs. what's not to like.

pocasting-wise, i'm up to partizan 38. 10 episodes left!!! the home stretch!!!!! it's so good but things are definitely amping up in the end-of-fatt-season way.

i've also listened to my friend b's gotham tv show podcast 'jim gordon must die'. very good and funny. i laughed out loud at some of the episode 3 descriptions.

reading: i was stuck in Bad Airport Times this past saturday (flight delayed 3 hours, then sat for an hour on the tarmac, arrived at 10pm when i was originally supposed to arrive at like 630) so i blasted through all ~150k words of 'freefall' by Kunoichi21 and xoTsundoku. bog-standard mafia au, but with a fun little circus arts twist; fun background fengqing; i do not like that they made beefleaf wholesome. give me my toxic beefleaf god damn it. but otherwise it was a fun read, sappy romcom-style. the fic itself isn't quite done but it's in endgame. the author notes have peak fanfic culture energy of "hey guys! sorry i didn't update, i started nursing school and my dad died" bro .... ;___; goddamn. please take care of urselves

watching: we are almost done with kill la kill! last two eps!!! so tonight we're doing that and also watching last week's dunmeshi together.

friend and i finished comrade detective. incredible. no notes. so funny. we started 'endeavour' which is a detective morse prequel thing and goddd the british-isms, and also started serial experiments lain. i don't know what i was expecting but god it was not this. i literally thought this was a cute fun hacker mystery show in the energy of cowboy bebop. it is Not That. not even close. it's good though i'm enjoying it. currently staggering through life going uhhhhh like lain does in the first few eps.

playing: fallow. i am re-installing disco elysium on my computer though. ive been wondering if i should try to keep going on the save file from last year or if i should just start over because i barely got in there at all.

making: many things. pottery!! some good some not as good.

so this design came out SO nice but the underglaze is so gd streaky! i hate it !!! i don't think it's really fixable either, i tried the hairspray trick to put new solid glaze over top the inside so at least that would look less like shit but i could not get it to work. maybe sanding it down? idk. it's ugly. it was supposed to be a bright teal but the woman who runs the studio mixed the batch up wrong so it's like. a really drab gray and not in a fun or intentional way. idk.

some new bisque:

teacups came out! still mismatched but cute nonetheless! gonna do them in a sort of celadon-type color with white flowers to match the teapot that my SO has :)

i don't feel like adding more photos for these lol they're very boring. the pot for my mom came out fine i think. gonna go in with normal white glaze over top to paint in some trees or other botanical designs. i sponged the underglaze on so hopefully the final result won't be streaky. sponged red on my seder plate to hopefully accomplish the same thing. mugs came through the bisque with no issues but i didn't do anything fun with underglaze on one of them so no new pics of that, but the other i did this tree thing again:

i KNOW it'll be streaky as hell. i just know. so i'm considering how i want to do it. perhaps putting some slightly transparent green over the top of it all to meld it together? unsure.

some new stuff: made a citrus juicer, this was attempt number 2 and just barely got it to work, attempt 1 was a total disaster. also made another mug type object, hopefully it'll still be wet enough this weekend to slap a handle on.

two mugs with red clay, i really loved the lascaux mugs that jessica bartram put up for sale last year but i didnt snag one in time so i was like. fuck it. i will make my own. gonna let them dry to leather hard before going in with black underglaze.

i've been trying to draw again but. idk. i just feel very uninspired. i start drawing and it's like :| :| :|

eating: i was on my own food-wise for much of the last week because my roommate was babysitting for the rabbi, so i did not eat nearly as extravagantly as i normally do, LOL. i made a lo mein recipe that was kinda just a stir fry. this could have been my fault because i added a bunch of extra shit like bok choy and mushrooms. i also didn't use the correct type of noodle, and i didnt have oyster sauce so i used worcestershire, etc. many substitutions so it's probably not fair for me to say it was Just Fine. will have to try again at some later date actually following the recipe. herb and radish salad with feta and walnuts: delicious. 10/10. i tossed in some extra arugula and that was also good. and i made the tofu brussel sprouts tahini/hoisin sauce thing again because it's easy and tasty.

misc: visiting my grandma right now ...... entrenched in the ennui .............. spring break ........................

[jjspina]

Books for Halloween for both MG/PT Girls and Boys - Magic, Mystery, Suspense, Ghosts, Haunted House, Time Travel and more! Better than candy!!

[bargainsleuthbooks]

What Disappears in Vegas... (Nancy Drew Diaries #24) by Carolyn Keene #BookReview #SeriesBooks #NancyDrew #SimonandSchuster

I'm finally back to reading #NancyDrew books after a long hiatus. #WhatDisappearsinVegas is the latest in the #NancyDrewDiaries series, and it's a vastly different reading experience than the other books. #BookReview #Simonandschuster #CarolynKeene

Bess and George’s cousin Veronica is getting married to extreme sports enthusiast Xavier Redd, and as a close friend of the family, Nancy has been invited to the wedding. Given the groom’s big personality and love for the extreme, the wedding will take place in Vegas, and the couple plan to take advantage of local sporting opportunities in the week leading up to the big event. Not everyone in…

[pupmusebox]

Been thinking of a SEES au verse for Ryoji lately and such, although the odd idea of Ryoji being a family friend of Makoto is questionable but having another member to the team is welcome. Although the odd eerie sort of unspoken teamwork between Makoto and Ryoji is quite odd given it supposed to be their first time but it's not quite so due to past experiences before coming to the island.

Especially when seeing Makoto having that brief moment of summoning Orpheus but only for Ryoji to call upon Thanatos when Makoto overdoes it with Orpheus attacking, the rare brief glimpse of Death having lapse of feral protectiveness due to the shared mysterious history they have and yet collapsing along with Makoto. Mainly due to it been a long time since having done that and coming around with said sleepyhead Wildcard about the same time when been out for a long time.

Ryoji's knack for Shadow detection is something as is when having foreboding words before each full moon as well, also being an enigma to Mitsuru and others due to scans being inconclusive of Ryoji which leads to much skepticism of this family friend of Makoto. Though seeing Ryoji's handling of a scythe is a deadly sight in itself when Shadows seem to quiver in fear before him before swept off with scythe attacks and how Ryoji is sad of this but never says why.

Though Ryoji never really does things unless Makoto is there as a silent package deal really and it be annoying at times but Death clings to this Wildcard be it if he knows it or not, not mention the whole thing with Itsuki is a crazy one when mentioned dark royal be spoke about but only making Death chuckle at that for it be a hurdle to overcome when the Fall looms. Also not taking kindly of how the madman has Makoto and others strung up to crosses either while giving the glimpse of an eldritch being to scare the man off the building to their death leaving a shocked impression on many.

Safety of Makoto is priority on Death's mind while compliant to letting others free and reverted back to being human, odd complex mix of humanity and Shadow that be Ryoji when revealing hard truths yet saddened of how this had to be but having Makoto be the only one to make a choice. While the route be shifted compared to canon one it has a similar ending but granting insight of how Shadows be when seeing Ryoji using them in combat like how Makoto uses the vast personas he holds.

Same when dealing with Strega as well which amps up that protective instinct of Ryoji's when they bother the group.