#score: 4-

[misireads]

Empuzjon (The Empusium) by Olga Tokarczuk

[ physical book, read in finnish ]

a polish engineering student travels west to receive treatment for tuberculosis in a health resort in early 1900s. he lives in a men-only guesthouse and listens to the other guests' longwinded conversations and debates all day long, the topics mostly circling around politics, philosophy, and supremely misogynistic takes on women. he befriends one of the less argumentative (and more sick) guests who also happens to be gay. the main character is rather dainty himself, as well as socially anxious from having lived all his life controlled by his cruel father.

from the other men, the main character hears superstitious tales about women who were banished into the mountainous woods years ago and still haunt the place, as well as stories about one person dying in the woods every year around november, his body found torn violently to pieces. all the while he keeps hearing strange noises coming from the attic above his room, and the guests keep jugging down a strange liquour made of shrooms.

🦠⛰️🍷

➕ what a book! that was a wild experience. i knew not to expect very conventional horror (because this was recommended by a friend who said so), but i'd call this a horror novel all the same. the horror comes from the atmosphere, the constant ominous mood and the feeling of something being a bit amiss, something lurking in the shadows in the wilderness, and all the other guests and their conversations being rather strange. the true horror of course is the misogynistic horseshit that the men keep confidently spouting because it's all based on reality

➕ i knew i'd love the way this is written the moment i read the first sentence on the first page: it starts with (my freeform translation from finnish) "Now the scenery is obstructed by the clouds of steam from the train." i know i'm gonna love a book when the very first sentence starts with the word "now". also the way the main guys as a group are described for the first time by introducing what their feet and shoes look under a table. it's brilliant.

➕ the occasional use of "we" in the narration is unique, and at first i thought it was just a gimmick to break the fourth wall and make the story seem like we, the readers, are watching it through a lense, for a cool little added effect… well, (spoiler) turns out there's an actual reason for this PoV, and also for why it comes and goes instead of being a consistent thing. because women just come and go in this narrative

➕ mieczysław! (spoiler) at first i was like, is he gay? is he gay? then i was like, oh we got an ace king here yessss! AND then turns out not just that, but an intersex king?! who, at the end of the novel, puts on the dress of a dead woman and fucks off from the health resort. wow! my mind was blown a little

➕ this made me so cultured about europe, the historical borders of countries from this era are kinda fuzzy to me. the main character is said to be from "lemberg", and for a good long while i was like, that's a town in poland? that's a very german name for a polish town but well, maybe it's next to germany somewhere. well, turns out that's the german name of lviv actually! in ukraine in other words! that's crazy

➖ now, i didn't rate this more than three stars on goodreads and i'm having a bit of a hard time articulating why to myself, but it's like, a vibes thing. this was interesting, it's well written, it's thought-provoking… but it's not really the kind of book that particularly excites me. it was more interesting than likable per se for me. nothing wrong with that, but my personal scoring system is just such. the pace of the story is really really slow, and the conversations between the male characters drag and go on tangents i could have lived without. i felt no sense of culmination or reward from reading it all, but apparently it's a reference to thomas mann's der zauberberg, actually this whole novel is a reference to it but i'd never heard of it before so that was obviously lost on me, so. i can appreciate that retrospectively but while reading it gave me nothing

➖ i'll be the simpleton that i am and admit i didn't fully understand what happened at the end. and there were some things that i just felt didn't get any closure and it bothered me. not sure what the significance of them jugging down schwärmerei was either

➖ kinda just wanted all the cishet men to die tbh. no matter how excellently it works within the narrative, i hated reading about these arrogant assholes

⭐ score: 4- -- a bit on the fence about whether this is a 3½ or a 4-, but i decided on the latter when i looked at other books i've scored so on this blog, the vibe is pretty much the same. i'll end this with a totally fucking raw quote from the doctor character (my translation again): "Once a person considers themselves excellent and thinks they've found their fulfillment, they should kill themselves"

[yippee-optimistically]

ii think i have . a crush. but u know i had to redraw tha panic attack scene 🗣️🗣️🗣️

+joy bc she is cute! and the og sketch for one of them bc shes so funny 2 me

inside out 2 was soo good i have a crush on maya hawke i thinkg

[charactercandyart]

♪ help you put on your lipstick ♪

♪ lean close, and help you ruin it ♪

[formulanni]

Dear lord please double Logan Sargeant’s misfortune and give it to the British this weekend 🧎‍♀️

Tag list: @st-leclerc @rubywingsracing @saviour-of-lord @three-days-time

[mattymartin]

↳ TYSON JOST SCORES HIS SECOND OF THE SEASON | CAR v. NYI | 12.17.24

[elbiotipo]

Perhaps the worst game design choice in Skyrim is when you are told to go kill nameless bandits who you can't talk to and just exist as random enemies, and then when you're fighting one they yell "I yield" and you're okay, that's fair, I'm just here to get some random sword I don't actually want to kill you and after all, the game tips say that if they yell "I yield" you can sheathe your sword and they'll stop fighting

Then you find out that's COMPLETELY FALSE, the game does NOT allow you to do that, the nameless bandits like all enemies in the game are programmed to fight to the death, and that's what you do, you fight them to death, because they have no names no lives or anything, they are there to keep attacking you and fight to the death for a chest with 124 gold and boots with a bonus to enchantment.

Or what's worse, the game makes them yell "PLEASE NO MORE" or "I YIELD" JUST as you deliver the killing blow. It would be an interesting comment on violence in videogames if it wasn't just a fakeout because the nameless bandits aren't actually coded to do anything but to fight you to death.

Okay, that's a bunch of poor game design choices, not just one.

[seyvia]

It's giving 90s/early 2000s suburban hot mom in a sitcom right? RIGHT!?

default skin: cartoony skin by @somewhereinstrangetown

default eyes: soft eyes by squeamishsims

[wileys-russo]

good afternoon to everyone who celebrates victory

[skruttet]

them using snufkin's theme for the joxter is the best decision and also makes me want to lie on the ground and cry for the rest of time

[lynzishell]

Prev // Next

Transcript below the cut:

Spencer: Mom! Can I sleepover at Amy’s on Saturday night? Iris: Did her parents say it’s okay? Spencer: They said it’s okay if you say it’s okay. Iris: That’s fine with me. Just remember we have Aspen’s birthday party on Sunday, so I’ll pick you up at ten am sharp.

Spencer: Yay! Thanks mom! Iris: Hold on, come back here and give me a hug, I’m leaving. Spencer: Where are you going? Iris: I told you; I’m going out with a friend tonight. Spencer: When will you be home?

Iris: Late, probably after you’ve gone to sleep, but I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning. Spencer. Okay. Iris: Be good for grandma, and no tablet until you’ve done your homework and practiced your violin. Spencer: I know. Iris: Alright. Hug?

Iris: Love you. Spencer: Love you too.

Iris: I’m heading out. Megan: Bye sweetie, have fun! Alexander: Iris, will you send your brother in on your way out? Iris: Sure.

Iris: Hey, dad wants you inside. Asher: ‘kay. Where are you going? Iris: Out.

Asher: Ezra again? Iris: Yeah. Asher: Must be going well. Iris: It is. But I haven’t told anyone else about him yet, so keep your mouth shut, okay?

Asher: Relax. I’m not gonna say anything. Iris: Okay. I have to run. I’ll see you later. Asher: See ya.

Asher: This is beautiful, what is it? Alexander: You like it? Asher: I love it. Alexander: Good. It’s yours. Asher: Wha- Really? Alexander: Yep.

Asher: Atlas, c’mere. Are you hearing this? Atlas: What is it? Asher: It’s the score for our game.

[misireads]

Mistä maailmat alkavat ("Where worlds start from") by Joel Haahtela

[ physical book, read in finnish ]

the life story of a young man (and later, not so young) who, after seeing a movie about vincent van gogh, is deeply inspired to become an artist and suddenly views the world around him through art. he starts taking art classes and meets other likeminded people, such as befriending another young man and his sister who becomes his girlfriend. he does a study trip to italy, and eventually gains great success with his first personal exhibition. he learns more and more about both art and humanity throughout his life.

🎨🖌️🖼️

➕ i'm so so so pleased with this little gem of a book that i randomly picked up!! it's like a little piece of art itself. this is a fairly short book, and it's not super grand or anything, but rather what made this for me was that it's a collection of scenes and moments that just hit somewhere deep.

➕ i really could relate to the way the main character sees everything through beauty and art. it's difficult to explain and i don't even have haahtela's ability to put the feeling into words anyway.

➕ very essentially a helsinki novel! set in the historical parts of the town centre. and this also included real historical people from the finnish art scene, visa studies in a real art school that actually still exists in helsinki, so that was a nice touch.

➕ my favourite part was the beginning when visa is still a teenager and realises he's beginning to drift away from his past life but that's okay because what lies ahead is so beautiful.

➖ this lost a bit of the magic touch towards the end, but then again that makes sense. visa grows up and becomes an adult and lives through more tumultuous decades, more socially aware. i didn't love the latter half but it fit the overall arc.

➖ that said i didn't hugely like how we linger in visa's 18~late 20s for the majority of the story, then it gallops forward like crazy over the last few pages and covers like, 50 years suddenly.

⭐ score: 4- -- a strong little book, and i'm sure many of its magical moments will remain in some corner of my heart.

[3416]

he looks so good i might die

[hypogryffin]

just a kuma kinda mooda

[whirlpool-blogs]

Q: Who do you think will score the first goal tonight? Jack: I’m gonna say… I’m gonna go: Matthew Tkachuk, or Jake Guentzel.

[samssims]

Bonus:

[morrigan-sims]

The Moon

upright: intuition, uncertainty, confusion, secrets reversed: fear, deception, anxiety, misunderstanding

[right-side-up version of the reversed version under the cut]

Of course I had to do a tarot card for Carrion, but I wasn't sure what one to do until my dear beloved friend Angel (who happens to play Valeska, the little warlock who has completely disarmed Carrion) suggested the moon.

Not only is this card perfect for Carrion, I love it because I get to play with and subvert the typical idea of a moon + transformation combo, a werewolf. (Carrion's transformation isn't tied to the moon, but yk.) For example, his "monstrous" form is pictured with the new moon, and his "normal" form is pictured with the full moon, which is the reverse of the typical werewolf lore. Which is fitting given that Carrion's "monstrous" form is the hidden secret.

The meanings of the reversed card are just so fucking perfect for Carrion and his transformation. He's dead set on killing his former mentor who left him for dead in chains. But the whole thing is at heart a huge misunderstanding, because Theodore really didn't have any other option. (He was duty- and oath-bound to protect the rest of the Order, and given that Carrion Reverence had just attacked a member of the Order, he had to choose between Reverence and the many other people he was sworn to protect. It wasn't an easy decision, to the point where he literally lost his divine magic because of regret from leaving Reverence behind, but from the perspective of a Knight Commander, it was the right one.)

And the fear and anxiety are pretty self-explanatory. People are afraid of Carrion's transformation, but he's maybe even more afraid of their reactions. He doesn't want to be experimented on or killed or locked away somewhere. While he hated his transformation at first because he thought it made him a monster (and he still carries more internalized self-loathing than he'd ever admit out loud), now he sees it as a tool, a weapon, a way to protect himself and keep himself safe from anyone who might want to hurt or capture him. (Ignoring the fact that without the transformation no one would want to do those things to him...)