#so it's like packing 'what if i want fantasy' 'what if i want a classic' 'what if i want my fav books'

[therealjammy]

The hardest part about packing for me is deciding what books I'm going to take

[sprintingowl]

What Non DnD TTRPGs Feel Like

Okay, quick thread about what playing different non DnD ttrpgs feels like.

--

Pathfinder

This is DnD. It feels like DnD. It's like going to a slightly different church. Some of the words used during the service are different, but at the end of it the pulpit turns out to be a mimic and you cast Entangle and summon your direwolf.

--

Fate

This is Rule Of Cool with additional rules. The GM has powers to one-up you or lead you into temptation, but you have powers to one-up the GM, and all these powers use the same kind of token that you ultimately shuffle back and forth.

--

Savage Worlds

Handwave-style DnD (positive connotation.)

The GM has a lot of freedom to pick genre and setting, and the gameplay is sleeker, rule-of-cool-ier without losing meaningful combat or character building.

--

Call Of Cthulhu

You may not be an old librarian, but you sure are built like one. Most acts of violence can flatten you in a couple of hits, but violence doesn't happen often. It's the punctuation mark at the end of a long sentence. Atmosphere and pacing rule over this land.

--

World Of Darkness

This is a game about getting deep into your character's headspace. It's about figuring out who they are and roleplaying them passionately. Your backstory choices and powers have a huge affect on how you interact with the world around you.

--

Warhammer Fantasy / Dark Heresy

You are Scrumbles McGrumbles, a walking heap of morbidity and washed-up soldiering. You are trying to find your place in a world that's having an even worse day than you are. Your best friend is a ratcatcher. Together you will be heroes.

--

OSR (Mork Borg, Mausritter, Into The Odd, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Labyrinth Lord, Cairn, tons more)

DnD boiled down to two components: GMing + Making A Guy. GMing is made as easy as possible and PCs are somewhat disposable, so the story is the hijinks you get into together.

--

Powered By The Apocalypse (Masks, Nahual, Monsterhearts, Pasion De Las Pasiones, tons more)

The goal is to get into trouble and stir up drama. Succeeding on a roll with no consequences is rare, but when you fail you fail forward into even bigger, messier drama.

--

Blades In The Dark

You go on missions and then return to your base. The missions are about choices as much as about rolls, and you build your base together to make yourselves more powerful as a squad.

--

Trophy

Your goal is to lose. Specifically, it's to lose in a dramatic and harrowing fashion that sticks with everyone at the table. Think movies like Annihilation, but as oneshot games.

--

Golden Sky Stories

You like everyone at the table with you. When someone does something adorable, you can award them exp. The highlight of the session is someone getting flustered and/or speaking in a squeaky voice.

--

Ryuutama

You are going on a journey and helping other people along the way. Important choices include packing lunch, wearing appropriate clothing, and completely filling your canteen. Combat is a cozy, pastel color jrpg.

--

The Indie

There are so, so many games that are just completely their own thing, and that I can't squeeze into a single thread. If you discover you like game mechanics and you want to Get Weird with seeing what they can do, there is an entire scene here waiting to welcome you.

--

Stuff I Missed

There's lots of stuff I haven't played, or didn't remember in the moment, or absolutely love but it would take a whole thread to explain why I love it. I will do more game recommendations in the future, but you can also comment systems you like below!

[terapsina]

Ask Game for us Self-proclaimed BOOK WORMS 📖🐛

Name the best book you've read so far this year.

Favorite fantasy book(s).

Favorite fantasy sub-genre(s). (high fantasy, urban fantasy, portal fantasy etc.)

Favorite science fiction book(s).

Favorite science fiction sub-genre(s). (dystopian, superhero, aliens etc.)

Favorite romance novel(s).

What kind of common romance tropes do you enjoy and what kind do you dislike?

Favorite queer fiction book(s).

Favorite detective novel(s).

Favorite classical literature.

Favorite historical fiction.

Favorite horror book(s).

Favorite thriller(s).

Favorite humor and satire book(s).

Which genre(s) are your favorite?

Favorite trilogy.

Favorite finished book series.

Favorite unfinished book series.

Do you read new and less known books or only the big bestsellers?

Where and how do you find new books to read?

The book(s) on your school reading list you actually enjoyed.

Favorite example of a Chosen One trope in a book.

Favorite heist story book(s).

Favorite Young Adult book(s).

Favorite Middle Grade book(s).

Favorite novella(s).

What was the first book you remember reading as a kid?

Goodreads or StoryGraph (or something else)?

How many books do you have on your 'to-be-read' list?

How many books do you have on your 'currently-reading' list?

Do you mostly read through e-reader; reading app on phone; on your laptop; a physical copy; or by audiobook?

Name your favorite author(s).

How often do you read by listening to audiobooks?

Favorite book narration voice actor(s).

Least favorite trope in your most favorite book genre.

Your absolute most favorite character(s) from any book you've ever read.

The only example of your least favorite trope being written in such a way that you enjoyed it.

How many books have you read this year?

Do you read reviews before picking up a book?

Did you ever want to be a writer?

When you get ready for a week long trip to somewhere how many books do you download/pack inside the suitcase?

Do you buy hardcover book copies for previously purchased paperbacks and library books you enjoyed reading?

Title of a book you own that's in the worst physical condition you have. Explain what happened to it. Post a picture if you want.

The book(s) whose stories have become part of your very makeup.

What book(s) would you sell your soul to get a TV or movie adaptation of?

I like _____, recommend me a book to read, please (insert a book, or trope, or character, or... anything you like before asking for this one).

What are the last three books you read?

Do you leave reviews for the books you've read? How often?

Do you prefer hopeful, humorous, very emotional or darker books?

What kind of book have you never read but always hope to find at some point in the future?

[g1rld1ary]

lifeguard!James Potter but its just him shamelessly flirting with reader whilst she stands there stunned.

lifeguard!james potter x reader 4

prev

wc: 1874

cw: horny again

anon i love you ur a genius. this kinda ran away from me lol but i will def be using this again so look out for future parts of flustered r if this isn't quite what u meant!!

the next time you saw james wasn't for a few days. there'd been a few days of colder wind coming from the north -- not enough to be cold necessarily, but unpleasant enough you didn't particularly fancy sitting by the pool.

after two days of mediocre, sunless weather, a real storm came in. rain beating down from the time you woke up, you spent breakfast pondering how to spend the day. you didn't particularly want to spend the whole day rotting away in bed doing nothing and so called up marlene, begging her to pick you up in her parent's car to drive everyone to the shopping village. she was easy to convince, and soon enough you were all packed into the much too small car, singing loudly to the songs on the radio.

the village wasn't anything special, most of the stores were uninteresting, but it was all undercover which was ideal for a rainy day.

the group of you had already wasted an hour in the oxfam, trying on the most ridiculous outfits you could put together. sirius had even managed to turn a truly hideous cheetah print belt into something that looked honestly cool on him, much to the annoyance of everyone else. he tended to do that, though, it meant you had to work even harder to give him awful clothing items. the only one he truly couldn't pull off was a horrendous orange hand-knitted cardigan.

that easily became boring though, and you could tell the cashier was getting annoyed that clearly none of you intended to buy anything. so you left, wandering aimlessly until lily pulled you all into the bookstore. it was warm inside so no one put up much of a fight, splitting up to find their preferred genre. peter went to the historical fiction, lily to literary fiction, remus dragged sirius with him to the classics, marlene to science fiction and mary to fantasy. that left you to wander over to the romances. you weren't much of a reader, preferring the lighter subjects to lily's more serious.

finding the brightly coloured covers you began browsing before catching a glimpse of a mop of dark curls over the next shelf and narrowed your eyes suspiciously. there was no way...

"are you following me?" you asked, no edge in your tone. james looked up with a start, breaking into one of his golden retriever smiles.

"you're the one approaching me," he said, closing the book he'd been checking out.

"touché." you grinned, looking around for the first time to observe what section you were in -- plays. "i didn't know you were a shakespeare nerd under all that muscle. doesn't seem fair you get brains and brawn."

"graze on my lips, and if those hills be dry stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie." james looked much too pleased with himself and his shakespeare quotes, and you couldn't deny it was having some effect on your own 'pleasant fountain'. you stammered for a moment, lost for a response. no boy had ever quoted shakespeare to you before, and certainly not of such explicit content. truthfully, you didn't realise the world's most revered playwright wrote like that.

"what's that from?" you asked, desperate to get away from his innuendos before you did something you'd regret. plus, you really were curious, the only shakespeare you knew was from when you studied romeo and juliet in year nine and clearly that was becoming insufficient.

"venus and adonis, one of his poems. doesn't continue as happily, but i thought the line was nice enough."

"yeah," you managed through gritted teeth, "really nice." james only laughed at you, evidently enjoying having the upper hand in your banter. it was a testament to his goodness, though, that he didn't continue to hold it against you. instead, he settled down, going back to browsing and letting you hover next to him, answering whatever questions you had about the plays patiently. it was nice, you realised, looking over at him fondly before you caught yourself. you barely knew james, and just because he was a pretty face and a decent brain didn't mean you had to go boy crazy.

you stayed there for what felt like ages, quietly looking at the books until sirius came strutting around the corner.

"since when have you ever read a play in your life -- oh," he said, catching sight of james next to you. "who's this?" you could have sworn sirius gave him a flirty once over, but maybe you were just projecting.

"this is--"

"james," he finished, sticking out an enthusiastic hand. sirius raised an eyebrow, a flicker of recognition in his eye that made your stomach drop.

"james the lifeguard? the one you thought was, and i quote, 'hotter than robert plant i swear to god' and who you would 'pay to suck his dick'? nice to meet you mate!" you wished the ground would open up and swallow you whole as the boys shook hands, james looking significantly more confused than sirius (though not displeased).

"i hope you sleep with one eye open, black," you muttered, trying desperately not to make eye contact with either or let your blush show. you had an inkling you were failing.

"so james, you doing anything today?" sirius asked, and you could only feel the dread spreading throughout your body. james shook his head, quickly slotting the book he was holding back onto the shelf. when sirius invited him to spend the rest of the day with your friends your body had a physical reaction, an embarrassing half-flinch-half-jump that had both boys laughing at you.

you all reconvened outside the bookshop, only a few new books bought between you all. james had been introduced to remus and peter and the girls were all pleased to see him. it seemed like it was only you who was flustered, which seemed to be more common each time you saw him. you missed the first time you spoke when you had all the power.

sirius was the one who dragged you all to the record store, begging to check out their new stock.

"you know," james said as the two of you fell behind, "if you wanted to suck my dick you could've just asked, no payment required." this had to be the worst day of your life. you couldn't bear to look at james, already knowing the shit-eating grin you'd be met with.

"shut up," you mumbled weakly, "sirius is a dreadful dramatic."

he thankfully gave you a bit of a rest in the record store, taking the opportunity to talk to the boys as they perused the albums on offer. you definitely heard james and remus bonding over a love of bowie (not that it was a particularly niche interest) which made you smile.

while you were sure peter was being kind to james to his face, every time he turned away to look at something peter was quick to tease you, fanning his face like james was a supermodel or imitating a crude makeout. you responded with a firm middle finger, but it held no effect.

"i love that album," you said, pointing at the one james had picked up. it was bruce springsteen's born to run, a record you played in your room on repeat.

"i'm stupidly uneducated, i think i've only heard the singles. maybe we can listen to it together sometime, you can teach me his ways." you grinned, honest james was much easier to handle than flirty james.

"only if you're ready to listen to me fantasise about bruce," you said, "his eyes really do something for me."

"i have eyes," james said, pulling a giggle from both you and mary.

"guess so." it wasn't one of his better attempts at flirting, but it still drew a smile from you, so james didn't look too upset.

you didn't really talk to him again until you'd retired to the food court, all desperate for lunch. sirius had made sure you two were seated together, and you were suspicious of how much of a matchmaker he was being. you only wanted to jump his bones, you weren't looking to get married.

you'd just told an impeccable pun -- you knew it was good as the whole table began berating you -- and had caught james' eye by accident. he'd smiled at you in his lopsided way and rolled his eyes light-heartedly.

"i didn't picture you to have such terrible taste in jokes," he said, and you exaggerated a frown.

"and yet you're still talking to me," you countered, "so what does that say about you?"

"that i'm lucky." your mouth dropped open without your brain consenting. james had well and truly caught you off guard, an irritatingly perfect combination of earnestness and shameless flirting all rolled into one. you could feel yourself floundering, mouth opening and closing as you searched for anything to say. james was clearly enjoying his victory, cocky grin on display for anyone to witness. you couldn't bring yourself to look at him, flushed with embarrassment (and lust) and not a single inkling of thought in your head.

you'd ended up on james' lap. it started with marlene offering james a lift home, not wanting to leave him walking in the rain. that led to the realisation you had far too many friends for seats; five available in the car and eight people. sirius had dibs-d remus' lap before the rest of you had even caught up to his train of thought, and lily and mary teamed up together shortly after. you were consequently assigned to james by the others, marlene obviously driving and peter refusing to even take part. you had sympathy for james, only an hour or two into meeting half the group and already pushed into doing their bidding because of remus' easy "you don't mind, do you, mate?"

and so you were sitting on his lap, not uncomfortable but definitely nervous. you'd imagined your first time being in his lap being slightly more sexy and autonomous.

"i'm not too heavy, am i?" you asked, hating how insecure you sounded. james just laughed softly.

"weren't you the one pining after my muscles? have a little faith in me!" james was unbelievably confident today, even more so than you remember him being in your previous meetings. you were the opposite, never having felt so meek around him.

you figured you couldn't be the only one experiencing the torture and so rolled the window down, pushing your upper half out and into the wind, laughing as you felt the rain on your skin. whilst enjoyable for yourself, it also required you to shift your position on james' lap and stretch out your torso, giving james a good view of your bra from under your sloppily done, homemade crop top. the combination was clearly effective if the development in his crotch was anything to go off. plus the way he held your hips to keep you concealing his little problem was telling you all you needed to know. another little wiggle from you and his grip tightened to almost bruising, but far from unpleasant. maybe james could flirt, but you had tricks you weren't above using.

[guywrestlingaddiction]

Everything Great About a Match: Joshua Goodman v Randy Stanton (bgeast.com)

Everything Great About a Match: +8

Joshua Goodman v Randy Stanton (bgeast.com)

SPOILER ALERT: I highly recommend viewing this match in its entirety before reading this post.

So let's begin: 

+1: For the fan fantasy match.  It starts off as a wholesome outing with star-struck Randy being led to the wrestling mats by his idol and obsession, Mr.Joshua.  Randy looks like he cannot contain his excitement at being offered a chance against the man, the myth, the legend himself.  That's right, out of all the men on this planet, he picked you Randy - this is going to be an epic day for you.

Randy: *Gulp* This is hot, what you got in here?!

+1: Definitely worth a point to spotlight Mr.Joshua and Randy's chiseled, statuesque bodies. Mr.Joshua is a ripped, muscled mountain of perfection and while Randy's got muscles for days, standing next to Joshua is a exercise in futility - the guy puts everyone to shame.

Joshua: Hey. Six packs are for amateurs, this my friend is an 8 pack!

Randy: Hey I'm working on it...

+1: Joshua play wrestling with the fan. I love how Mr.Joshua gives his fans the full heel treatment by letting them think they have the upper hand only to crush them. In fact, Randy even rallies a come back or two.  I mean, we are talking about Mr.Joshua here, the guy is a wrestling god and to see him lure an unsuspecting rookie, later to crush his dreams and discipline him like a misbehaving child is worth a point. 

Mr.Joshua: Yeah feel that chest. You like that don't you?

Does Randy have the upper hand or is this a trap ready to spring into action?

Mr.Joshua: It hurts, it hurts. Randy: Now you know what I felt like. 

Mr.Joshua: Damaging my pecs?! I'm going to kick your ass for that. 

+1: Dirty talk.  Mr.Joshua knows he's the man.  He knows when a guy wants him and he knows that Randy is aching for this domination.  We all want Mr.Joshua but Randy gets some 'special' treatment here.  I can't recall him indulging his opponent with seductive talk as much as he does here. 

Mr.Joshua: I know you like that.  You like those balls in your face! Who's the man? Randy: ... You are...

Mr.Joshua: I bet that gets you going. Those big thighs.

Randy helplessly squirming under the domination. Mr.Joshua: I know you like that. You like that, it turns you on! 

Mr.Joshua: Look at you.  Look at that package in the mirror...

+1: Mr.Joshua forces him to worship the body that dominated him.  Randy is hurt and curled up in the fetal position only to be dragged back to his senses and forced to worship the man.  

Mr.Joshua: That's it.  Good.  Worship that body.

Randy is looking mighty small against the adonis Mr.Joshua!

+1: Some of us wait for a perfect sunset, others wait for that perfect moment during the match.  It's that moment when Mr.Joshua graces us with his sexy signature move - the "Adjustment".  

+1: Randy gets owned in all the best ways.  There's a moment, around submission #50 when Randy simply goes with it all.  This match is not going the way he wanted it to go and he clearly has no chance against the muscle adonis, Mr.Joshua.  So instead of fighting back, he is overcome with defeat and simply offers himself up to his dominator.  Mr.Joshua says pose for me and Randy eagerly complies.  

[+1] Bonus point for Randy's reaction to it all.  The guy is in unconscious ecstasy here and nearly begs to be put away by Mr.Joshua.  

Randy: *Muffled* Fuck... I submit.  

Mr.Joshua: Flex for me.  Show me your best pec. 

------- Everything Great About this Match: +8

So there you have it. This is an instant classic match with a brutal beat down. While Randy might be sore in the morning, all he'll remember is Mr.Joshua giving him the time of his life.  Randy follows Mr.Joshua on to the mat hoping to put through the ringer and our heel does not leave him hanging.  By the end, all those tips from Mr.Joshua about building muscle are thinly veiled distractions to pump up our jobber only to have his world crash around him like a huge set of biceps chocking him out.  

And with that I leave you with our final 'Adjustment' for the night.

Mr.Joshua: If only you were awake to see this...

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Favorite Books I Read in 2023

I read a ton of good novels last year- 36 in all (and uh, 78 manga/graphic novels, but we'll examine that in another post). Here's a link to my Goodreads year in books (the manga is at the beginning, the novels start with Siren Queen) and my storygraph wrap up.  

I reread a ton of Discworld this year, and it's as spectacular as ever. But what about new reads?

Well, here are my favorite books I read in 2023!

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

This is an autobiographical memoir about the abusive relationship the author went through with her ex-girlfriend. It's absolutely gut-wrenching, and at times, achingly beautiful. Machado uses the house she shared with her girlfriend, which she calls the "dream house", as a back drop. It's a place she always wanted and also a place she became trapped in, Machado's language is beautiful as she explores the relationship from different lenses-- The Dream House as Lesbian Cult Classic, the Dream House as Noir, the Dream House as Creature Feature, the Dream House as Stoner Comedy....All facets of the relationship are explored in a way that grips you by the throat and makes you remember everyone who ever tried to suffocate you-- but it also explores the hard work of moving on, of picking up the pieces, of living and embracing tenderness along with hardship.

I especially related to Machado's struggle to talk about abuse between queer lovers because of her fears of giving homophobes more ammunition...and when she says "we deserve to have our wrongdoing represented as much as our heroism, because when we refuse wrongdoing as a possibility for a group of people, we refuse their humanity", I felt that deeply.

This wasn't just one of my favorite books this year, it goes on the list of all-time favorite books. I wish I had this kind of writing style. I'll be returning to this again and again.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

A middle-grade novel about a Chinese-American teen who feels a bit alienated from his heritage, which becomes a bit of an issue once he finds out the First Emperor of China has possessed his A.R. Gaming Headset. Now he needs to close a portal to the underworld with the help of other kids possessed by emporers.

This was a whole lot of fun, and often quite poignant. I was unsure if I could really enjoy middle-grade books as an adult, and this absolutely proves I can. There's a lot of really interesting Chinese history blended with action-packed fantasy, and exploration of the complicated feelings a kid can have about their own heritage . The dynamic between Zachary and Qin Shi Huang was so entertaining with the Emperor being villainous, heroic, charismatic, detestable-- and Zachary realizing how his complicated feelings about him mirror his relationship with his culture at large. There was also a lot of fun with other historical figures, and Xiran's take on Wu Zetian is a joy. (Also, if you like Yu-Gi-Oh!, you'll probably like this, since Xiran says it was one of their influences).

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Rose is young woman who's raised in a fundamentalist Christian household, and she's a devout, obedient daughter. But some weird things are happening. She's seeing a terrifying demon everywhere, insects are coming out of her mouth....and she's possibly having feelings about other girls. What's going on?

Yes, this is by the Chuck Tingle who makes all those Tinglers. But THIS one... will make you tingle with fear! It's a great horror novel! It's skin-crawlingly creepy at times, but also does a great job digging into how fundamentalist dogma harms queer people, and the hypocrisy of such beliefs. The conversion camp aspect is handled tastefully, and overall it was a great spooky read that's also ultimately very affirming, cathartic, and hopeful.

Qualia the Purple by Hisamitsu Ueo

You might go into this thinking it's just a quirky yuri light novel about a schoolgirl and her crush who sees everyone around her as robots (like literally, when she looks at someone she sees a robot instead of a human). But it quickly becomes surreal queer psychological horror steeped in absolutely wild applications of quantum mechanics and thought-provoking time travel.  Some of the quantum mechanics  exposition dumps were a bit much but I deeply enjoyed having my mind cracked open by this book. 

It's one of the most interesting takes of time loop stories I've seen. But it definitely covers a lot of rough subject matter, including a relationship with a serious age gap and extremely messed up relationships, so be cautious if you have triggers.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

This book follows Miri, whose wife goes missing on a deep-sea submarine mission for six months. Miri thought her wife dead, but she miraculously returns one day...but her wife has changed. She's like a stranger. She may have bought the horrors of the sea home with her.

This is a gripping exploration of grief and loss combined with a delicious, slow horror that creeps under your skin. There's excellent Lovecraftian and body horror elements to the novel, but it works very effectively as a metaphor for a loved one going through trauma, and a relationship starting to crumble because everything seems different. A moment that really stuck out to me is when Miri copes with her wife's disappearance by frequenting an online community where women roleplay as wives with husbands missing in space. The way the online drama of the community interacted with her grief was  both funny and heartbreaking. 

This is another example of a book that makes me deeply jealous with its lyrical writing, and another one for the ever-lengthening all time favorites list.

Otherside Picnic Volume 8: Accomplices No More by Iori Miyazawa

The latest entry in a series about two girls exploring an alternate dimension full of creepypasta monsters, while also falling in love with each other. See my other reviews here and here.

This volume has the payoff to a lot of careful character work and relationship building, and it was completely satisfying. In fact, it was...show-stopping. Spectacular.  Incredible. I loved the exploration of how love, sex, and romance are so different for different people and it's impossible to put it in neat boxes. The frank and messy conversation our leads have about their relationship was perfect and so was that absolutely  bonkers, wonderful finale. This is another one for the all times favorite list, and I loved it so much I wrote a extremely long review/recap here. 

Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer

This was a well-researched, well-crafted, easy to read book that explores queerness (mainly homosexuality, bisexuality, trans and genderfluid expressions in animals, and even the question of if and how animals can related to gender) in the animal kingdom. Though it's definitely aimed at teens, I learned a lot from it (who knew female bonobos were such life goals) and it presented its information in a fun way. It included some interesting examinations of how proof of homosexuality and bisexuality in animals was historically suppressed and filtered through homophobic assumptions. If you want to learn a little animal science in an accessible format, definitely check this out.

Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin

The story follows Mia, a woman in her 20's living with her vampire mother. Her whole life revolves around not drawing suspicion towards her Mom. She also has to make sure to feed her Mom some of her blood every night--lest her mother fall back in with her abusive boyfriend and start hunting humans.  But when Mia meets a cute girl, she starts to dream of living her own life...

It was a really interesting use of vampirism as a metaphor for both living with a parent struggling with addiction and having an abusive parent. It's just a well-told, heartwrenching tale that got deep into the character's mindsets. I thought the ending was bit abrupt and rushed, but it did make more sense once I realized this was the first in a duology. It's a fascinating take on vampires, and I'm interested in seeing more.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

This novel follows a middle-aged Muslim female pirate living around the Arabian Peninsula. She's supposed to be in retirement, but wouldn't you know it, she's lured in for one last job! I she rescues a kidnapped girl,  she'll have all the riches she needs to set her family up for life. So Amina begins her adventure of fighting demons and monsters and ex-husbands. But the job might not be all it seems.

This novel is full of all the entertaining swashbuckling action and shenanigans that any pirate story should have. It's a rollicking good time, and feeds my craving for middle aged women going on quests and kicking ass. Amina's journey is a fun, wild ride full of dynamic characters and interesting mythology!

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Juniper is friends with a successful Chinese-American author, Athena Liu, and has always been deeply jealous of her. When Athena dies in front of her, Juniper decides to steal her manuscript rooted in Chinese history and claim it as her own. But plagiarism might catch up with her...

This is a strong example of a book I thought was really well-done, but one I'm probably never going to read again. The way it depicted Twitter drama is just too accurate and I got anxiety. It did such a good job putting you in Juniper's awful shoes so you can feel the pressure close in along with her. The book's commentary on the insidious racism of the publishing industry was effective, and it made a horrible character's journey fascinating to follow. I was so intrigued yet anxious I had to force myself to finish the last few pages.

Bonus read:

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldtree

A very cute novel about an orc named Viv who decides to retire from the violent life of a bounty hunter and run a coffee shop instead. She ends up getting a lot of assistance from a succubus named Tandri...and my, is that a slow-burn coffee shop romance brewing? This book reminds me a lot of various cozy slice-of-life anime, and it's nice to be getting more of that feeling in book form. I wish there was a little more specific to the fantasy world rather than making it a coffee shop that line up 1 to 1 to a modern day shop, but it was definitely a sweet read.

[writers-potion]

No, you’re NOT a real reader. I’m so sick of all these people that think they’re readers. No, you’re not. Most of you are not even close to being readers. I see these people saying “I read over 52 books this year! That's one book a week. I'm so smart!” that’s nothing, most of us can easily read 176 books or more in a year. I see people who've only read Daniel Green and claim to be readers. Come talk to me when you pick up Atlas Shrugged, then maybe we can be friends. Also DEAR ALL WOMEN: Fantasy is not a real genre. Romance is not a real genre. Omegaverse is not a real genre. Forced Proximity is not a real genre. Romantasy is not a real genre. Coleen Hoover is NOT. A. REAL. WRITER. put down the baby books and read something that makes your brains hurt for once. Stephanie Meyer and Jane Austin don't count. :) Sincerely, all of the ACTUAL readers.

I don't know where to start, because you've called me out on too many occasions in this paragraph. Here are my (probably unpopular) thoughts on this:

Agreed that the sheer AMOUNT of books you read doesn't make you a good reader - it's what you understand/learn/feel about them that gives you the right to comment properly on a book.

Excuse me but fantasy and romance are genres??

Omegaverse, forced proximity and romantasy are subgenres/tropes in romance that I don't have anything against. If you don't like romance in general, well no wonder you don't like them.

Jane Austen was the author that got me into reading classics. What the hell do you mean when you say she doesn't count???!!

Stephanie Meyer - okay, the first book in the Twilight series wasn't bad, the rest went downhill....don't like her much but I can see why she's popular...

For me, as long as you read, you're a reader.

I believe the purpose of reading (apart from being entertained) is to expand our horizons, step into someone else's head and look into how others see the world. Throughout my reading journey, I've learnt to be better than to judge others on the honestly quite narrow subset of the human experience I've had.

Sure, not all books/genres are "helpful" per se. But novels are meant to allow readers to experience a diverse range of emotions that they otherwise wouldn't, and if reading give someone pleasure, why not? Even though I personally don't like romance too much, I can see the appeal of just wanting to read something for the fun of it. As long as they don't confuse reality with the six-packed, tall & rich billionaire heroes, I respect everyone's reading lists.

NOW, one last note:

Coleen Hoover IS TERRIBLE. Commercial success aside, I hate how to turns literal CRIMINALS into romantists (which doesn't even work).

COLEEN HOOVER IS NOT A REAL WRITER. I'll agree with you on that one.

[johnslittlespoon]

i have been dealing with the brainrot of twink college student john and biker gale but then the other half of the post jumped me in a dark alley and all i can think about is john's friend who is used to their friends having crushes on their dad but it's whatever. weird, but whatever, as long as they don't get vocal about it they can just use it as something to tease them about at the worse. john looking up at gale with big doe eyes isn't the first time they've seen a friend do that, they've seen other people who are considered more age appropriate do worse when faced with the gale cleven effect. only it never occurs to them gale feels like he can't breathe right and like is organs are too big for chest whenever he looks at john and feels like he's something too soft than he should allow himself to be but around john it doesn't feel bad, maybe it's a good thing he can unapologetically be soft for someone.

cue the ladies who thought they might be able to win over the quiet, intimating and rugged dilf biker seeing that his heart was stolen by none other than john clarence egan, the son of mr and mrs egan who everyone is sure are moments away from a heart attack.

the au post | GOD same it has notttt left my mind. and you GET ITTT you captured the vibe i was picturing for that version perfectly ugh.

literally 1k+ words of brainrot below the cut... deeply sorry. any excuse to talk about them and i'm spinning in my chair apparently LOL <3

like john takes one look at gale and knows he's not the only one who swoons over him, spends an ungodly amount of time pining from day one. but any fantasies are only fantasies, because he knows (thinks he knows) he doesn't stand a chance, both for the fact that he's his son's friend, and that gale probably thinks he's too immature, and that he's, y'know, not a girl.

but gale is gone too from their first meeting, he's just a lot better at hiding it (and finds it so endearing how bad john is at hiding it despite how well john thinks he's doing lol.) once he and john start tentatively feeling things out, and even before that really, the way he feels when he looks at the doe–eyed boy scares him– a vulnerable softness and urge to protect that he's been just fine with not feeling.

of course there's the conflict when he tries to shove down these feelings at first, because he knows how mad his son (who i headcanon as ken because he and leaving!john would be precious dorky besties) would be if he were to ever indulge in them, regardless of how much john wants it. and there's the guilt of feeling like john would be happier with someone his age, but john is the most persistent, stubborn person he's ever met, and the way he folds so quickly for him is terrifying.

and yet he falls for the attentive softhearted absolute puppy dog of a boy that john is, finds himself as fond of his moments of angsty bite and bristle as he is when he's docile at his side, melting under gale's gaze. there's no proper confirmation ever made to others about their status, no reason to need one, because they're attached at the hip and people learn quickly not to so much as look at john the wrong way, because gale's never far behind him.

and the angsttt of john's parent's disapproval– yeah, he's an adult and he's independent and is off doing college and all, but his parents aren't chill with "that gay shit" and he gets the classic "so long as you're living under our roof, you're not to see that man" talk, and what's an angsty rebellious lovesick john to do but get better at sneaking out of his window and jogging down the street to meet gale at his motorcycle so his parents don't hear it pull up?

i'm sure eventually it would come to a head because they'd find out he's been going behind their back when they catch him sneaking back inside late one night, and he's given the good old "stop seeing him or pack your bags" ultimatum. it takes gale a wild amount of self control to not storm into the house and chew out john's parents when he picks up the phone to a sniffling terrified john at two in the morning less than an hour after he'd dropped him off down the street.

it takes even more self control when he sees the angry red of a handprint on john's cheek when he pulls up and finds him sat on the curb with a hastily stuffed backpack, and his heart shatters when john starts apologizing, as if he'd ever be upset with him. but then, cue domesticity (and a different kind of sneaking around) as john temporarily moves in with him and ken. all ken is told is that john's parents kicked him out and he knows how badly they treat him so he doesn't ask many questions, so shitty circumstances aside, he's over the moon at getting to have his best friend stay with him.

john promises to find someplace to rent a room in as soon as he can because he feels awful for intruding, but gale finds that he really likes having john around, insists he stays with the two of them at least till he's done with his semester so he doesn't have to worry about paying rent. lots of nuance to sort out there but you get the gist. <3

also. john wearing gale's leather jacket sighhh. finding any excuse he can to steal it, face going all pink when gale drapes it over his shoulders when they're out on dates, beaming when gale lets him wear it home with the promise that he'll return it the next day, falling asleep with his face pressed to it, drowning in the smell of gale's aftershave and cigarettes and diesel.

+ slight tangent but the things that could come about from the sneaking around?? minor spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen callum's show 'leaving' that his character in this au is loosely based off of, but there's a scene where he and his milf not–gf are fooling around in his room and his parents get home early.

i have this scene in my head where john thinks he's meant to have the house to himself for the night, invites gale over, they end up in the shower and they hear the front door slam mid–fuck. there's a moment of panic, both of them freezing, john whispers that "dad's probably forgot his wallet or something," assumes gale will stay unmoving until they hear the door slam again.

only gale suddenly rolls his hips forward, and john chokes on a moan, gale's hand coming up to quickly cover his mouth, his other hand squeezing john's hip as he kisses his shoulder and murmurs "you can be quiet, can't you, sweetheart?"

anyway. yeah, this au has me in a chokehold so hard still, i'm 100% still planning on writing it post–dog fic <3 i do love this whole cliche best friend's dad route of this au, but i'm also not sure i feel like tackling the conflict of john having his friend find out about the two of them, and i feel like that would be kinda inevitable to have to write about if i took that route for the fic lol </3 so i think that version of the au will be limited to brainrot like this and when i write the actual fic it'll just be the college student x bikerider vibe, but honestly there's so much overlap with the two concepts anyway that it won't make too much of a difference!

thx for unintentionally encouraging my yapping i love this version of these two so much and i am apologizing in advance for the person i will become when i see the bikeriders in theatres xoxo

[theresattrpgforthat]

Do you happen have anything that's about food, but in the way that Dungeon Meshi is about food? (defined to me as, classic(TM) adventure but with food as a central feature) Generally food-centric games would be welcome too!

Theme: Dungeon Meshi, Food Adventures.

Hello friend, I am very excited about this week's request! I have some recommendations that have been simmering in the back of my head for a while now - a few of which can be used in the game of your liking!

Bakto’s Terrifying Cuisine, by Roll 4 Tarrasque.

"The entrance to the Kitchen Arena appears only to those hungry or foolish enough to find it. Perhaps a dusty pantry in a backwater restaurant, or a forgotten refrigerator in the basement of a busy hotel. The door closes behind you—it never opens again. At the bottom of a long set of pristine stairs, Bakto awaits."

Bakto’s Terrifying Cuisine is primarily an adventure for The Vanilla Game, which is free to play, but it strikes me as pretty system-friendly. You are all responsible for creating a dish for a hungry demon, and are provided with a dungeon map as well as descriptions of what waits for you in each room. The pamphlet also comes with 10 terrifying ingredients and 6 possible treasures, as well as a d6 table of random encounters. There’s so much packed into just 2 pages!

While this is probably only good for a one-shot or a two-shot, I think it’s definitely worth it. If you end up liking this game and want more from the same creator, you can also take a look at To Catch A Hellforged Swine, a system-agnostic adventure about hunting a cursed pig.

Gourmet Street, by theunlawfulneutral.

Gourmet Street is a setting that can be plopped directly into any world or adventure and serves up an extra side of gonzo fantasy. It is populated with street vendors serving every possible food you can conceive as well as a fascinating accoutrements of culinary artifacts, edible monsters, and bizarre dishes.

Another setting rather than game, Gourmet Street is great for OSR games like Knave or The Black Hack, but also works in games such as AD&D. It’s a street vendors’ alley, rife with rival factions and dangerous foods, as well as a series of custom, culinary-related monsters to throw at your players. There’s roll tables for dishes and their effects, as well as some descriptions of major food factions, including their defining characteristics, their advantages and disadvantages, and a quick summary of their values or goals. If you want the culinary process to be stick, dangerous, unpredictable and full of slime, this is the setting for you.

Iera Entera, by Nathan Blades.

In this world, Divine Beasts roam the land. Delivered to us from otherworldly realms, they lord over the grounds they manifest on. They’re incredibly violent, are replaced in mere days after being removed, and are capable of supernatural powers.

They’re also delicious.

This game takes the idea of eating monsters and turns it up to 11. You’re not just eating dungeon creatures - no, you’re hunting down Divine Beasts. The game is split into two sections - working out how to bring the Divine Beast down, and then figuring out how to cook the damn thing. If you are playing with folks who are familiar with Dungeon Meshi, I imagine they would have a lot of fun ideas about how to cook the entrails of a great beast, but there’s also three or four suggested beast hunts in the game itself to get you started.

Cook & Hero, by Raul Fontoura.

You’re an aspiring master cook, in a face off competition amongst worthy rivals to create the perfect dish. Unfortunately, you’re supposed to make it out of scary and scaly monsters in very dangerous underground conditions.

This is another pamphlet game, similar to Bakto’s Terrifying Cuisine, but the tone is very different. In Bakto’s, players are on the clock to satisfy a dangerous enemy. In Cook & Hero, the art conveys a more lighthearted competition, even if your character decides that it’s a matter of life or death. The 2-page game comes with some simple character creation, and the resolution uses a roll-under mechanic with a d10. It feels like it takes a number of cues from Honey Heist, but it’s definitely a distinct game.

Ghastronomy, by Timepool.

You are a ghastronomer, a chef that doesn’t cook for the living— but for the dead. You have been hired to help guide a ghost to the afterlife, by collecting the lost pieces of its soul and cooking ghostly grub to make it whole again.

Alongside your co-workers, you will arrive on the scene and use your cooking credentials and what you learned from each of your ghastronomy schools to find, obtain, and cook a wayward spirit's remaining traces. With proper planning, teamwork, and a little bit of luck—  you might just piece its soul back together before it fades away forever.

Ghastronomy looks fairly easy to learn, with an interesting apron mechanic in which your apron is also a shield. You’ll also probably all have different styles of cooking, as each character will come from a different culinary school. If you like the idea of cooking for more than just survival, and you want to incorporate the paranormal into your game, this might be for you!

Lutong Banwa, by Sinta Posadas / Diwata Ng Manila.

Lutong Banwa is a cooking game, where you set out to adventure and find ingredients from Spirits and recipes from old civilizations. Embark on this anti-canon storygame adventure with its own custom system and play to find out just what sort of zany adventures you can get up to in this weird, wild world. Do whatever you want.

Lutong Banwa feels like a cozier game than some of the others on this list, and I enjoy the perspective it brings to the genre. You are playing tamale, the successors of the earth after Humans have faded to history, trying to replicate old world dishes. Your characters will use a number of different-sided dice, depending on which stats they use, and what strengths they have. Rather than character death, your characters simply have a limited number of chances to complete a task before they are forced to rest for a day or so. Altogether the game encourages creative thinking and playing outside the box. I think this is an extremely charming game and you absolutely should check it out.

[myrandomscribbles]

One Short Day in the Emerald City: My Review of Wicked (2024)

For my first post, I think it would be perfect to kick it off with a movie review - which, by the way, this blog will be 90% filled with lol - so here it goes!

It's been more a week since my friends and I saw Jon M. Chu's Wicked (2024) in theaters. It was opening weekend so you can expect the cinemas to be jam-packed. But probably my favorite part pre-movie (aside from the popcorn!) was the ongoing trend of people showing up at the cinemas in costume or following the theme of the movie. This trend is one of the reasons I love going to the cinemas versus just streaming it at home. So imagine, we arrived about 15 minutes before the start and the lobby & popcorn lines were filled with people wearing pink & green. I myself was wearing a green knitted top and pink shorts! As funny as it sounds, it literally gives life to the meme of the cinema ticket person asking what movie the person is seeing and the camera pans to the moviegoers in costume. Absolutely hilarious. (And I thank Avengers: Infinity War for starting this trend & the Barbenheimer craze for heightening it!)

Also, I wanted to add that this experience was personally special because I bumped into my favorite high school teacher of all places! We haven't seen each other in years, so this was really a delight.

(By the way, this may be a spoiler-ish review when it comes to the technicalities but in terms of the story - unless you haven't seen the Broadway musical or seen the 1939 film, then I don't know what to tell you lmao)

Now on to the movie itself... The title card!!! From there, I knew right away that this film was not just going to pay homage to the timeless classic that is The Wizard of Oz (1939), but to create a new world of Oz for this generation without losing the magic of the original. We see right away the iconic quartet walking down the famous yellow brick road, snippets of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in the music, and the dazzling Emerald City. For a semi-theater kid (I say semi because I grew up with musicals, just didn't get involved with acting in any of them at school or anything lol), I was already having goosebumps in the first few minutes.

Of course, Wicked is known for its many iconic songs that legends Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth have made timeless, but my personal favorites are "What Is This Feeling?", "Dancing Through Life", "For Good", and of course, "Defying Gravity". Now obviously with the exception of "For Good", the other three musical numbers really lived up to expectations. "What Is This Feeling?" now has the dance routine as an online trend everywhere, "Dancing Through Life" just made you want to marry Jonathan Bailey right there, and "Defying Gravity" was just mind-blowing. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande nailed it, especially with the fact that they were apparently singing that number live! I also loved Ariana's version of "Popular"; she sounds so much like Kristin but still made it her own! (Plus not to mention she feels like Sharpay Evans in another universe in that scene lol)

Now before the film came out, it was already met with a lot of criticism especially with how dull the lighting and coloring was. Now I'm not a technical expert nor do I have any kind of film knowledge in that sense, but I agree that in many scenes, the lighting and coloring could have been better. This movie was meant to be a colorful world and most musicals are supposed to be vibrant (unless of course the musical is Les Miserables or Sweeney Todd lol). I agree in that sense wherein it could've been better. Though I read somewhere that the director, Jon M. Chu wanted it to feel like a "real place" that the audience can visit so it has a more realistic rather than fantasy vibe - but if you ask me, this defeats the fact that, my brother in Christ, Oz is literally a magical land. On the other hand, I admired the fact that many of the scenes were practical sets and minimal CGI was used. For a film that pays homage to and is a prequel to one of the first films ever in technicolor, they slipped a bit on the color part but did good on the set production part.

Look, I'm biased here okay. I love Wicked so much, it's one of my favorite musicals ever, just behind The Sound of Music and Les Miserables. Seeing it come to life on the big screen has been something I've been asking for for years. I first saw the theater musical in 2013 and immediately fell in love with it, especially since it was connected to the story of Dorothy. Imagine, there is only a teeny tiny portion of the world's population who's still alive today and saw The Wizard of Oz in 1939, so this film is a whole new experience for today's generation. Jon M. Chu was the perfect director for this; after Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and In the Heights (2021), he's clearly meant for vibrant (in the literal and fictional sense) stories that pops. I'm still in awe of Cynthia and Ariana's vocals; I didn't know Ariana could hit opera-level octaves, wow. I'm so excited for Part 2 next year, and I can't wait to see what awards season will bring for this film. And I may sound like an overused tape recorder, but I have been changed for good after seeing this!

P.S. Enjoy a photo of a sticker I made on the official backdrop; isn't it prettyyy 💚

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 3.2: Condition Green (1986-1990)

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time, we covered the first half of the 80's with a bit too much of a focus on the works of one Ryousuke Takahashi. If you remember from the last post, I also covered one series in particular: Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I'm bringing it up here so that it'll be fresh in your head: Galactic Heroes would be one of many Original Video Animation (OVA) series that would be released in this time.

It should also be noted that, unlike last time, there would be a new medium for mecha stories to flourish in: video games! While video games existed at least since the late 70's, it would be in the 80's where they would become mainstream.

Anyways, let's get down to business. Now, before I throw each and every one of you into the bay!!

The Five Star Stories (1986)

Created by Mamoru Nagano, the Five Star Stories would be his first major solo project after leaving Sunrise due to the higher-ups constantly blue-balling him. Covering at least five books and a couple of OVAs, the Five Star Stories is one of the true classics of the canon of mecha.

Now if you want to get an inkling of what he did before the Five Star Stories? I'll cover that next time.

Metal Armor Dragonar (1987)

Coming off the heels of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Sunrise was eager to fill in the void that Gundam left in its wake. And that's where Metal Armor Dragonar comes in. While I felt weird referring to Layzner as being Gundam-like, here I don't. Dragonnar was made first and foremost to fill in for Gundam, especially after the lackluster performance of ZZ.

Robocop (1987)

Also in 1987, we would see the release of Paul Verhoven's Robocop. Robocop is a part of that generation of 80's films where the original movie's deep scathing criticism would be watered down by corporate America's need to constantly make money off of each and every remotely popular series. And while that may be true, the original Robocop still holds up as a scathing criticism of American capitalism in the 80's.

Rockman/Megaman (1987)

(I just found this gif on Tenor. If anyone knows who to source it to, please let me know.)

1987 would also see the release of Capcom's Megaman, one of the icons of the halcyon days of gaming. Sporting his arm-mounted Mega Buster, Mega Man would run through multiple stages in an attempt to stop Doctor Wily and his army of Robot Masters. Megaman would become one of the more iconic of Capcom's roster of characters, though over time he'd be left behind in favor of other characters like Ryu from Street Fighter, Dante from Devil May Cry, and my personal favorite, Rathalos from Monster Hunter. Fortunately, the Blue Bomber would never truly be forgotten, especially with the surprise release of Mega Man 11 in 2018.

Warhammer 40,000 (1987)

Man, 1987 was a packed year for mecha, wasn't it.

In 1987, Games Workshop would release the first edition ruleset for Warhammer 40,000, the sci-fi spinoff to their popular Warhammer Fantasy setting. The grim dark future of the 41st millennium is filled to the brim with all sorts of mechanical monstrosities, from the hulking Imperial titans, to the crimson-robed tech priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the mechanical hordes of the Necron.

A fun thing to also note is that, due to both series having a big modelmaking scene, Warhammer 40k tends to see an overlap in fanbases with Mobile Suit Gundam. It certainly helps when both peddle in plastic crack, and as someone who is addicted to the Gundam variety, game respects game.

Patlabor (1988)

Created in 1988 by the collective known as Headgear (which includes famed director Mamoru Oshii among its ranks), I would consider Patlabor to be one of the greatest love letters to mecha ever created. Patlabor is a series where a lot of worldbuilding was added to justify the existence of the giant robots that the creators love so dearly. Something to take note of while watching Patlabor is the general optimism the series brings to the table, even though the series is often grouped together with shows like Armored Trooper VOTOMs.

Most of the series would release between the the end of the decade, but one entry in this franchise would release during a rather rough moment in Japanese history. I'll cover it at some point when I get around to the 90's. Let's just say that if you know what the phrase "Kill Wyvern" is, you'll probably recognize what it'll be.

Also, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I did a write about Patlabor back in the day. So feel free to check that out as well if you have the time.

Cyberpunk 2020 (1988)

(Footage from Cyberpunk 2077)

In 1988, Mike Pondsmith would release the first edition of the Cyberpunk 2020 ruleset, because this is the 80's and tabletop RPGs are kind of the thing (Satanic Panic notwithstanding). In a move that will surprise no one, this series would help to codify a lot of tropes associated with the cyberpunk genre, including at the very least the concept of cyber psychosis.

In 2012, former Internet darling company CD Projekt Red would announce that they would be working on a video game adaptation of Cyberpunk called Cyberpunk 2077. Let's just leave it at that, as I don't really have nice things to say about CD Projekt Red.

Dragon's Heaven (1988)

From mechanical designer Makoto Kobayashi comes 1988's Dragon's Heaven. This extremely stylish and artistically unique OVA is a product of what happens when you give someone who's career started with building garage kits the budget to make an OVA. You want to know where the budget went to? It went into making the models for the main mecha of the OVA. Don't take my word for it? Here's Kenny Lauderdale talking about exactly that.

And in case anyone's wondering, Makoto Kobayashi has, in fact, worked on Gundam before. He's the one who designed Zeta Gundam's Baund-Doc and The O.

Ghost in the Shell (1988)

Also releasing in 1988 is the manga Ghost in the Shell. Created by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell would become an important series in the worlds of cyberpunk and anime, especially with the film that would release in 1995 directed by Mamoru Oshii. Specifically, this movie along with Akira would be some of the first anime that would really show that people outside of Japan had an interest in anime. Ghost in the Shell would also come to be one of the more influential works out there, as it would be the basis for the Wachowski's iconic movie The Matrix.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989)

1989 would be greeted with the introduction of two (of many) culturally important mecha OVAs. The first is Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, which is also the first Gundam series to be directed by someone not named Yoshiyuki Tomino. War in the Pocket would be a great reminder of why Gundam works as a story, but it would also be one of the Gundam stories with, in my humble opinion, the strongest anti-war messages of the franchise.

Gunbuster (1989)

The other would be Studio Gainax's first official (meaning not the Daicon short) animated series, Gunbuster. Arguably one of the most hot-blooded mecha series out there, Gunbuster is a series that tries to ground itself with real world physics before going "eh," throwing it all in the waste paper basket, and deciding that all we need is HOT BLOOD. This would be the first of many of Gainax's hits, and it would be the first of what I'm going to be referring to from here on out as Gainax's Elite Four.

Conclusion

We've covered a lot of series, but you might be asking yourself things like: "What was going on with Nagano?"

Don't worry, my friends. We still have one more part for the 80's. And in case you're wondering why I saved this part for last, it's because Tomino's output in the 80's is pretty legendary due to how iconic pretty much every series is. Granted, not everyone talks about these series in this day and age, but anyone who's talked about mecha in any capacity will more than likely be able to recognize at least one of these series.

You will see the tears of time.

[iwanttoswimintheswanepoel]

Candice’s Advice

(heavily inspired by @entice333 ‘s “adriana’s advice” on youtube and a thread made by @YVESOTICA on X. i also watched as many candice interviews as i could to collect some parts of this so enjoy :p)

beauty

-“i sometimes go a little bit overboard in the morning with my perfume”

-“everything is in the eyes”

-[what makes you feel the sexiest?] “being on the beach in the sun and in the water. i feel sexiest when i’m tanned and free”

-“a great tan will always make you feel better”

-“a bombshell is all about a voluptuous woman, not being afraid to put on an extra bit of makeup. a nice eye, a red lip. just embracing being a woman and being more powerful”

-“i feel sexy and glamorous if my skin feels great, like moisturized. go for a great facial.”

-“i do like to take time and do a look its kind of like a ritual. doing your makeup i think its a moment for yourself as a woman to just tune into you and make yourself feel good”.

-“the bushier the better [eyebrows]”

-“the trick to get the messy mascara bits is dipping the q tip in concealer.”

-“[contour]i went in on the eye, i go into the hairline as well and into the jaw.i would be nothing without contour.”

-“i like the hula benefit it gives you a great tan”

-“i like to put a lot [bronzer] on my forehead because thats where the sun would hit the most. i didn’t go to Greece but thats not a problem because i can fake it.”

-“on a day when i don’t have any time this [lip tint] is the only thing i would put on”

-“instead of doing a liner you can kind of paint it onto your lips to look a little more pouty”

-“i’ve always felt freckles look really youthful and like you’ve been in the sun”

-“if you want to look a little more awake you use a cream pencil on the inside of your eye here it just opens up your eyes and you put a shimmer in the corners. it just kinda pops”

-“i’m drawn to the classic bombshell women who are unapologetically themselves. women who really played on femininity and grace. thats our superpower”.

-“for me i like very floral scents and soft scents nothing to strong”

-“if you want to look a little more awake you use a cream pencil on the inside of your eye here. and you put a shimmer in the corner it just pops”

lifestyle

-like candice swanepoel i understand the beauty and importance of mother nature.

-i am a spiritual being that aligns my chakras and my needs to obtain my greatest desires

-i’m always described as a kind, positive and lovely girl by everyone around me

-i’m that one bitch that collects crystals except they actually do solve all of my problems

-like candice swanepoel i love being an extremely intuitively feminine woman. i love to surround myself with like minded beautiful women

-“i’m very kind of a spiritual person, a lot of the time i listen to my heart”

-“my summer fantasy is to just be on a beach somewhere , relaxing. drinking a nice coconut water and being active on the beach”

fitness

-i eat antioxidant rich foods like candice swanepoel’s “beauty smoothie” which contains coconut oil, banana, protein and antioxidant rich fruit like berries

-little workouts are better than nothing

-i truly feel best when i’ve taken the time out of my day to sweat out my bodies impurities at the gym

-i love squats, yoga, ballet, boxing & pilates more than i love to bed rot

-i always pack resistance bands & ankle weights in my bag lol i can’t rest if i haven’t done a set of squats

-my legs have to look long and toned and my butt has to look as round as a cherry because what if rhianna looks???

-i’ve found a balance of wellness that i’ve grown to love in my daily life. a constant dedication to myself and my absolutely divine body

-i choose to travel and stay in hotels that will accommodate my gym and wellness needs.

-david goggins hope core? nah bruh i just need a cute alo set for motivation

-i love to eat dairy products. its almost like i grew up on a dairy farm

-i’ve truly found active activities i enjoy that make me feel my best

-“if i only had five minutes to workout i’d do squats”

-i love avocado, bananas, blueberries, strawberries and make lots of smoothies at home

-“if you want to stay away from sweet stuff, frozen grapes”

-“i’ve been focused on boxing. doing a lot of weight stuff to build some thighs and a good butt. and a lot of (resistance) bands”

-“i’ve been working out for years my body is like a machine it just has a lot of muscle memory and i get muscle quickly”

-“try to run on the beach if you can, i have certain weights to take with me to the hotel. whatever works”

-“i think its really important to have beautiful strong legs and a nice full butt”

lingerie

-“lingerie is the perfect way to show someone you love them”

-“who doesn’t want an extra push up?”

-according to candice swanepoel the key to feeling sexy is lingerie and fragrance

-“whats important is what you wear underneath. a little something sexy”

-“i have great motivation i’m in lingerie all day”

-“buy yourself some sexy lingerie just to say i’m a woman. i’m feminine”

-“i have a crazy collection of lingerie”

-“always having the feeling of great lingerie under what you’re wearing. that gives you a sense of i’m a sexy woman you know?”

[+]

- i always have silly names on my personal products “do me baby? nice!”

- “the ultimate candice swanepoel beauty secret is literally coconut oil” -YVESOTICA on X

-i use coconut oil to remove my makeup and have luminous glowing skin like candice swanepoel’s

-i understand the power of an at home exfoliator like one using coconut oil, coffee & sugar. and one using sugar & coconut oil for my plush lips.

-i owe my glowy skin to using coconut oil for that luscious dewy sheen

-i owe my silky locks of voluminous hair to my coconut oil hair mask

-rose water keeps my skin silky smooth and my aura bright

-everyone can automatically associate my desired fragrance note to me. i’ve made it specifically my own and entirely one of a kind.

-i wouldn’t be caught dead without sun protection in my bag

-i roll out of bed with perfect beach waves because like candice swanepoel i’m just that girl

-i always have the perfect beach ready sun kissed tan like a swimsuit model

-my fragrance is an extension of my personality as is my style

-i travel with a hydrating mask because i won’t be caught dead with dry flakey skin

-i radiate the same beauty and appeal as candice swanepoel

-i’ve acquired my desired humidifier to keep my skin hydrated at night

-i have feline like eyes like candice swanepoel

-i take care of my body through acts of self care and devotion like candice swanepoel

-i have the same sex appeal as candice swanepoel

[suzannahnatters]

My 2024 In Books!

After struggling with my reading in 2023, this year I slightly exceeded my 2-books-a-week reading goal, with a total of 106 for the year. I also had a lot more fun with my reading - narrowing down my year-end best-of to just 10 fiction and 5 non-fiction was extremely tough, so apologies to all the wonderful books that didn't make the cut. Without further ado...

TOP 10 FICTION WHAT MONSTROUS GODS by Rosamund Hodge (re-read) I featured an earlier draft of this book on a previous best-of list, but the finished version published this year and I love it even more now if possible. This lush, romantic YA fantasy is a story of sticking stubbornly by your faith, refusing to abandon it even as you disentangle the lies, half-truths, and old wounds that have become a part of it. Spectacular.

CITY OF SERPENTS by Christina Baehr (re-read) I still actually haven't read the final published draft of this book but the second draft made me yell with delight. This entire series has been perfect but this book, with its themes of faith versus fear, the meek inheriting the earth, and its banter, mad science, and suffragism, may be my favourite.

THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND by Jonathan Stroud I Can't Believe I Didn't Write This Myself, it's so precisely my thing. Not just an action-packed thrill ride: this story of a magician's apprentice stealing a powerful djinn for revenge has solid characterisation and gloriously unsparing themes about power and privilege.

BABETTE'S FEAST by Isaak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) I was familiar with the classic film, but the original short story is even richer and more profound. Blixen's theme has to do with how faith is enriched by the experience of art and pleasure, as a small sect of Lutheran ascetics are given an artistic experience of God's grace that then flows from them, enabling them to extend that grace to others out of joy rather than duty.

THE BANDIT QUEENS by Parini Shroff This black comedy about a widow in rural India being blackmailed by the other women in her village into helping them become widows, too, deserves a lot of content warnings for domestic violence, SA, trauma, and language. Yet it's both hilariously funny and surprisingly nuanced.

LONG LIVE EVIL by Sarah Rees Brennan A young woman with terminal cancer gets sucked into the world of her favourite fantasy series and proceeds to break fourth walls, examine fantasy tropes, and have a rip-roaring fantasy adventure while revelling in perfectly purple prose. Along the way it discusses what it really means to be a villain and why we let our main characters get away with murder. I am already pining for the sequel.

THE SILMARILLION by JRR Tolkien (re-read) How to cope with the post-RINGS OF POWER hangover? Group SILMARILLION re-read! This is quite simply one of the most beautiful, moving, good, and true books I have ever read or ever will read. I am consumed with regret that, as deeply as it has influenced me, I will never hope to equal it.

THE HOBBIT by JRR Tolkien (re-read) Still great, and imbued (to a greater extent than I ever noticed before) with Tolkien's perennial themes of artistry and sub-creation.

EMPIRE OF SHADOWS by Jacquelyn Benson Imagine a swashbuckling archaeology adventure like Indiana Jones or THE MUMMY, except with a formidable amount of real Meso-American history and a romantic male lead you don't want to punch in the eye, and you'd have this book. And then the resolution hits, and it's numinous and cathartic and lifts the whole book to a new level. Delightful!

ELLA ENCHANTED by Gail Carson Levine I missed reading this book till now, but I'm not sorry because now I can appreciate it properly. This book isn't just an delightful fantasy adventure with a wonderfully convincing romance - it also has profound themes about obedience and conscience and maturity. Light years better than the movie, and wholeheartedly recommended to readers of any age.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS Because I read so many more than just ten excellent novels this year, I want to THOROUGHLY recommend the following: THE SAVAGE DAMSEL AND THE DWARF by Gerald Morris THE PRISONER'S THRONE by Holly Black A CRANE AMONG WOLVES by June Hur THE HEDGE WITCH OF FOXHALL by Anna Bright THE NECROMANCER'S APPRENTICE by Beverley Twomey SPLINTERED MIND by WR Gingell

- TOP 5 NON-FICTION I didn't read so many non-fiction books this year, owing to spending much of the year plowing through one audiobook that I didn't really love. But the ones I did read were great, and these are my top picks:

WOMEN AND THE GENDER OF GOD by Amy Peeler This short but meaty theology book focuses on what the Incarnation can tell us about the way God values women and also about the gendered ways in which God makes himself known to humanity, despite being far beyond any human conception of gender. It managed to be both orthodox and mind-blowing.

SHAKESPEARE: THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT by Judi Dench I inhaled this book inside 48 hours: a legendary Shakespearean actress records the lessons (and anecdotes) of a lifetime spent playing 28 different roles across 20 different plays by one of the world's greatest authors. I learned so much about Shakespeare, acting, and the dramatic art from this book.

THE LOST HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY by Philip Jenkins For centuries, during the early and high middle ages, a vast, now-vanished church flourished across the entire Asian continent as well as the northeastern parts of Africa. This lost history has much to teach us about how the Church can grow, flourish, and remain faithful as a cultural minority - contrary to the demands of many loud voices within western Christianity today.

TO BE A MACHINE by Mark O'Connell Subtitled "Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death". The transhumanist movement has fundamentally the same life goals as Ar-Pharazon the Golden, final king of doomed Numenor, and O'Connell tackles his subject with the outrageous wit it demands, so I had the time of my life.

THE SEXUAL REFORMATION by Aimee Byrd A study of what the Song of Songs has to tell us, not just about the sexes, but also about God's love for his church. So rich that I'll be re-reading it periodically in the future just to grasp all its implications - but it's already had a profound impact on me.

HONOURABLE MENTION THE GOLDEN MOLE by Katherine Rundell - a delightful collection of bite-sized essays about the wonder of the natural world, gorgeously written if somewhat (and understandably) doom-laden.

[silverzoomies]

okay but like i am very much in love with peter maximoff as well he’s just. How can you NOT love him?

With his adhd do you think he has hyperfixations? What would they be? He can’t sit still for too long so I just wonder what he WOULD sit still too.

(my hyperfixation is a video game and im in love with the character that has white hair-i may or may not have a type….)

OMG HELLO ILYSM !!!!!! most rewarding part of running a blog dedicated to a silly lil guy is getting asks like this !! ty !! 💗💗💗

i get you completely btw. every time i see characters with white/silver hair now, i'm always like 😳😳😳 !!! you are not alone !! i'm curious, is it astarion from baldur's gate? or a final fantasy character, perhaps?

cracks knuckles. I'VE THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT HIS POTENTIAL HYPERFIXATIONS TOO SO BEAR WITH ME WHILE I RAMBLE !!

we know he loves music, first of all !! not just classic rock, but he's pretty in-tune with whatever's relevant for the times. he seems to love rush especially. and i'm not just sayin' that because of the shirt. rush shows up a lot in reference to him !!

this is why i fell in love with him tbh !! that's so neato !! dsgjgfdkhdfh

somethin' else that's always stuck out to me is the stereo belt he wears !! i love that little detail. it's got pockets for his cassettes and battery packs and everything !!

i think this explains why the music he listens to runs at whatever speed he wants. it's safe to say he rigged his walkman to do that !!

he even plays pong at high speed !! i bring this up because i think his hobbies go beyond music and games alone. he definitely has a talent for tinkering with old tech. mans probably knows the guts of an arcade cabinet like the back of his hand. he strikes me as the kinda guy who finds a busted old record player or radio at a yard sale, and takes it home just to fix it up again !! that's my guess, anyway !!

sorry for rambling so much !! i could seriously talk abt him forever !!

[pomplalamoose]

hii do you think you could write some pure fluff for dilf!luke??🫶 i love your work btw🩷

Omg anonnn, you're so real for requesting this, especially because it made me notice that I didn't do that yet?! I'm appalled and we're SO getting that fixed today😤 thank you so much for your ask <33

⭐modern day AU Dilf!Luke x gn!reader⭐

post summary: a few fluffy headcanons about dating Dilf!Luke and a REALLY fluffy little drabble that's definitely not based on something that happened to me like yesterday

cw for slight mentions of smut

A/N: much thanks and love to @dailydragon08 and @eveningserenityyy who shared with me some of their ideas a while ago🩵

⭐• even when you weren't living together yet, even before your relationship, Dilf!Luke did his best to make sure you'd feel welcome and at home at his place

• not only because he desperately wished for you to visit more often, but because he wanted you to feel taken care of as well

• your favorite snacks are always stocked up on

• there's always a pack of your favorite tea in one of the kitchen drawers

• one or two of your cups are definitely deposited in a cupboard somewhere, forever clean and waiting for you to come over

• he's under the impression you like one of his sofa pillows best? It always rests on your spot together with a fluffy blanket he hopes you'll like

• even bathroom essentials show up without you having to ask for them

• somewhere, hidden away, Dilf!Luke keeps a toothbrush for the first time you'll hopefully spend the night

• Dilf!Luke really enjoys listening to classical music

• he owns a big CD collection of his favorite compositions and concerts and always has something playing in the background when he's doing his daily tasks or has to drive for longer durations

• sometimes, when he's in an especially good mood, he hums or whistles along

• he'll be so happy if you show an interest and gladly introduce you to pieces he thinks you'll like

• if you want to, he'll show you how to dance along as well

• he's a great dancer

• especially in the very beginning of your relationship it's one of his ways of getting close to you

• it's something he spends thinking about a lot in general

• though he did so even more when you weren't dating yet

• for a while it seemed to him like he was spending the entirety of his creative energy coming up with reasons to spend in your vicinity

• (his kid is appalled at his awful flirting techniques)

• suddenly, whenever you visit, he desperately needs help with his phone or laptop, pretending he doesn't know how they work at all

• please sit next to him and take a look, it won't take long

• would you like to try the food he's preparing for dinner?

• he'll feed you a little bit with a spoon or fork, his hand carefully placed under your chin to prevent anything from spilling over your shirt, sometimes using his thumb to wipe away remains out of the corner of your mouth

• you know, it's probably too much to ask of you, but would you mind terribly to hold a flashlight for him while he fixes (insert anything that could ever need fixing)?

• at some point even he has to admit his reasonings are turning somewhat ridiculous but he can't help himself

• in the end he knows he won't get over a wasted opportunity to have you by his side, to put his arm around you, to lean closer, like lost in thought

• to smell your hair

• he teases you if you blush, as if he isn't the one totally excited, as if his heart isn't beating out of his chest

• despite his rather high libido and what takes place in his very active sexual fantasies, Dilf!Luke is very sweet, almost shy, when he makes love to you

• he absolutely refuses to call it any other way either

• during the first few times he's so careful, so gentle, as if afraid of accidentally breaking you

• rarely he'll let his urges to fuck you roughly take over

• not when he's so grateful to be touching you at all that sometimes it nearly moves him to tears

• sex with Dilf!Luke is soft and cuddly as he bestows his adoration upon you

• everything about it, down to his breathy reassurances and praises, drives you insane in the best ways possible

⭐"Oh no, what is it, sweetheart?", Luke asks when, upon his return from work, he finds you a little unhappy heap in the kitchen.

His gaze worriedly searching for your eyes, he's by your side in seconds, not even stopping to take off his jacket before leaving a gentle kiss against your temple.

Though when you don't react as eagerly to his attentions as you usually do, he draws back again, brows furrowing in confusion and worry.

"My dear, what..."

You don't dare to look up at him but feeling your shoulders slump in defeat you shyly gesture across the room to where, amidst the chaos, sits the culprit of your woes.

The embodiment of everything that went wrong today.

And surprisingly it's only then, following the direction of your tired hand, that Luke properly notices the state of his kitchen and immediately after, with tendrils of steam still curling around it, the exceptionally ugly, slightly burned cake sitting proudly enthroned atop the counter.

At the sight his eyes widen dumbfoundedly and involuntary you find your body tensing, waiting for an angry outbreak, as you listen closely to the way he draws in a deep breath.

You've been dreading this exact moment the whole day.

To be precise, since the minute you decided to do something nice to surprise him and failed spectacularly.

You had hoped to clean up the mess in time, but didn't succeed and now...

A loud laugh escapes Luke, though he quickly clamps his mouth shut when you shoot him a look.

For a while both of you fall silent.

Not that you said much to begin with.

"Don't laugh at me.", you finally mutter indignantly, the first sentence today not consisting of several curse words.

Still you are more than relieved he isn't cross with you.

You know there's no reason for you to have been this afraid but apparently it's how they say. Old habits die hard.

Slowly you get up from your spot on the floor and make an effort to clear away the aftermath of a battle lost despite your highest efforts.

Oh, where to start?, you wonder until, upon closer inspection and to your immense horror, you suddenly spot traces of baking ingredients across your face and in your hair.

With a barely concealed smile Luke watches you freeze and then hurriedly bustle around the kitchen as if nothing happened.

His heart feels like it's about to burst from how endearing he thinks you are.

From how much he loves you.

From how much he loves that monstrosity of a cake.

He knows you won't listen to him now, aren't capable to do so in your current state of mind, but he says it anyways just because he can.

"I am so in love with you."

[nitrosodiumrapidproto]

Making Enemies

I did most of this on Friday, but I'm posting it now because I couldn't send the image of my notebook to myself at college. These are eight enemy designs I have come up with.

The Hell Bat is a fairly simple creature - two wings, a tail, and a big cyclopean eye in the centre of the skull. Gameplay-wise it would be a 'horde' enemy, low health but high speed, and rushing you in packs. I was inspired by the Cacodemon from Doom, but I wanted to make it clearer that it was flying, so I added the bat inspirations.

The Scorpion is the same school of thought as the Hell Bat, but in insect form. It would fill the same gameplay position as the Bat, but just be a ground variant. It is somewhat redundant, however. I was a little inspired by the Brains from Hero Factory Brain Attack, a staple game of my childhood.

The "Orcoid", or what I would eventually just call an Orc internally, is meant to be the stock enemy type which would be encountered the most frequently. Orcs are a classically evil race in fantasy, so I figured it would make sense - but I also wanted to explore why they are evil. I also gave them a helmet resembling the Roman style, with the mohawk-like crest on top; and a javelin for a weapon to continue the theme. In fantasy settings you often get races being "coded", meaning they are based on real-world cultures, and something I don't see much of is Roman-coded orcs. Consider that the ancient Romans were expansionist, militaristic, and fairly brutal when you get down to it; all traditionally orcish qualities.

The Bone Giant is what I had planned to either be a very large enemy or the boss of the game. The reanimated skeleton of a giant, clad in the rusted remains of centuries-old armour, and holding a blade the size of a tree trunk. Lore-wise I had the idea that the Giants were employed by heaven to construct the Crucible, somewhat like the giants building Valhalla in Norse and Germanic myth. The forces of evil are then bringing their corpses back to life, to serve them. The actual design of a skeleton in rags is akin to the enemies in Sinister, which I didn't actually mean to invoke, but apparently did so anyway.

The "Glutton Orc" was another idea for a heavy yet slow enemy, but this one was decidedly less threatening. A morbidly obese creature dressed in nothing but a loincloth, brandishing a comically oversized femur bone. I was averse to this design for a few reasons, but one was that I already had an Orc enemy in the game, and I was going for variety above all else. The general shape was inspired by the boss Prince Chan from Serious Sam 2, but more orcish.

The Lizardman was going to be what I had called in my notes a "shock trooper" enemy; fast, tanky and damaging all in one. They'd show up infrequently as a sort of mini-boss, forcing the player to prioritise or die. Lore-wise I wanted them to be the captains of the evil army, commanding small squadrons of orcs. To explain their high defence and also hint to their higher rank, I gave them visibly better armour and a shield. Their look was inspired by the Lizardmen from Fear and Hunger, who can notably block attacks with their shields, and will skin you alive upon a game over.

The Rock Elemental was another tank enemy, but I also wanted this one to be a bit of a surprise for the player. Their idle sprite would be a big pile of rocks, the same as would appear inert in other parts of the map. But as soon as you got close, it would rise up as a golem and begin chasing you. My inspiration for this was a very old game called Bionicle: Quest for the Toa. As a kid, I remember going into the Onu-Koro section (caverns) and facing boulder monsters that formed out of rubble mounds.

Finally I designed Dark Dwarves. These would be identical to the dwarf sprite, but dark. The original Norse dwarves, mostly called dvergr (which interestingly also means dark elves) were black like coal, and were associated with maggots and other rotting things. In the Norse creation myth, the gods used various body parts of the titan Ymir to create Earth, and the dwarves were made from the maggots festering in his corpse. My thought is that they'd be either a rival dwarven faction, or the corrupted remains of the original craftsmen.

Because I didn't want to make loads of sprites, and also have redundant enemies in the game, I asked people what designs they thought were best, and what they thought were worst. I wanted them to form opinions very quickly, as that is how players would respond - they would swiftly end the encounter, by killing or being killed, and then they would judge on what they thought of it. Immediately people disliked the Scorpion as it was uninteresting, but very much liked the Lizardman. The other enemies were given middling opinions. Notably, the Bone Giant was derided as a generic enemy, but I think when sized up to a giant stature, it will be more unique. It's just harder to judge from a 2d image. In the end I chose five enemies: the Hell Bat as a rusher (high speed, low health, low damage), the Orc as stock (medium speed, health, damage), the Lizardman as a shock troop (high speed, medium health, high damage), the Rock Elemental as a tank (low speed, high health, high damage), and the Bone Giant as a boss (low speed, super high health, super high damage).

I did not manage to make the Lizardman or Elemental sprites on Friday, and as I do not have PhotoShop at home, I cannot make any more until Wednesday.