#the art is so so so good and I heard the novel was really good

[dalkyeom]

Henlo I came to bother u n ask if u have any manhua recs 👁 anyways ilu! ❤️

WWW I hope this isn’t too long! I tend to get wordy so I might update with a more detailed review in the reblog (bc I love reviewing them)

ALL TIME FAVES:

*most of these are isekai/fantasy themed so the ones outside of it will have the genre in brackets

** also those highlighted in bold can be read on Webtoon app! I think some titles are in other official manhua apps like Tapas but I tend to read on non official sites (bc broke artist things)

Who Made me a Princess

Odd Girl Out [slice of life; modern]

How to Get My Husband on my Side

I’ll be the Matron in this Life

Seduce the Villain’s Father

The Villainess Flips the Script

Baby Tyrant

Surviving Romance [horror; isekai-modern]

A Stepmother’s Märchen

These are some of my fave webtoon originals too:

Cursed Princess Club

The Kiss Bet

Brass & Sass

Gourmet Hound

[killjoy-prince]

Surprise manga haul!

[emeryleewho]

Saw a fun little conversation on Threads but I don't have a Threads account, so I couldn't reply directly, but I sure can talk about it here!

I've been wanting to get into this for awhile, so here we go! First and foremost, I wanna say that "Emmaskies" here is really hitting the nail on the head despite having "no insider info". I don't want this post to be read as me shitting on trad pub editors or authors because that is fundamentally not what's happening.

Second, I want to say that this reply from Aaron Aceves is also spot on:

There are a lot of reviewers who think "I didn't enjoy this" means "no one edited this because if someone edited it, they would have made it something I like". As I talk about nonstop on this account, that is not a legitimate critique. However, as Aaron also mentions, rushed books are a thing that also happens.

As an author with 2 trad pub novels and 2 trad pub anthologies (all with HarperCollins, the 2nd largest trad publisher in the country), let me tell you that if you think books seem less edited lately, you are not making that up! It's true! Obviously, there are still a sizeable number of books that are being edited well, but something I was talking about before is that you can't really know that from picking it up. Unlike where you can generally tell an indie book will be poorly edited if the cover art is unprofessional or there are typoes all over the cover copy, trad is broken up into different departments, so even if editorial was too overworked to get a decent edit letter churned out, that doesn't mean marketing will be weak.

One person said that some publishers put more money into marketing than editorial and that's why this is happening, but I fundamentally disagree because many of these books that are getting rushed out are not getting a whole lot by way of marketing either! And I will say that I think most authors are afraid to admit if their book was rushed out or poorly edited because they don't want to sabotage their books, but guess what? I'm fucking shameless. Café Con Lychee was a rush job! That book was poorly edited! And it shows! Where Meet Cute Diary got 3 drafts from me and my beta readers, another 2 drafts with me and my agent, and then another 2 drafts with me and my editor, Café Con Lychee got a *single* concrete edit round with my editor after I turned in what was essentially a first draft. I had *three weeks* to rewrite the book before we went to copy edits. And the thing is, this wasn't my fault. I knew the book needed more work, but I wasn't allowed more time with it. My editor was so overworked, she was emailing me my edit letter at 1am. The publisher didn't care if the book was good, and then they were upset that its sales weren't as high at MCD's, but bffr. A book that doesn't live up to its potential is not going to sell at the same rate as one that does!

And this may sound like a fluke, but it's not. I'm not naming names because this is a deeply personal thing to share, but I have heard from *many* authors who were not happy with their second books. Not because they didn't love the story but because they felt so rushed either with their initial drafts or their edits that they didn't feel like it lived up to their potential. I also know of authors who demanded extra time because they knew their books weren't there yet only to face big backlash from their publisher or agent.

I literally cannot stress to you enough that publisher's *do not give a fuck* about how good their products are. If they can trick you into buying a poorly edited book with an AI cover that they undercut the author for, that is *better* than wasting time and money paying authors and editors to put together a quality product. And that's before we get into the blatant abuse that happens at these publishers and why there have been mass exoduses from Big 5 publishers lately.

There's also a problem where publishers do not value their experienced staff. They're laying off so many skilled, dedicated, long-term committed editors like their work never meant anything. And as someone who did freelance sensitivity reading for the Big 5, I can tell you that the way they treat freelancers is *also* abysmal. I was almost always given half the time I asked for and paid at less than *half* of my general going rate. Authors publishing out of their own pockets could afford my rate, but apparently multi-billion dollar corporations couldn't. Copy edits and proofreads are often handled by freelancers, meaning these are people who aren't familiar with the author's voice and often give feedback that doesn't account for that, plus they're not people who are gonna be as invested in the book, even before the bad payment and ridiculous timelines.

So, anyway, 1. go easy on authors and editors when you can. Most of us have 0 say in being in this position and authors who are in breech of their contract by refusing to turn in a book on time can face major legal and financial ramifications. 2. Know that this isn't in your head. If you disagree with the choices a book makes, that's probably just a disagreement, but if you feel like it had so much potential but just *didn't reach it*, that's likely because the author didn't have time to revise it or the editor didn't have time to give the sort of thorough edits it needed. 3. READ INDIE!!! Find the indie authors putting in the work the Big 5's won't do and support them! Stop counting on exploitative mega-corporations to do work they have no intention of doing.

Finally, to all my readers who read Café Con Lychee and loved it, thank you. I love y'all, and I appreciate y'all, and I really wish I'd been given the chance to give y'all the book you deserved. I hope I can make it up to you in 2025.

[viridescentelf]

Yandere elf x reader - Love Making

Character and Art belongs to @meo-eiru! Go follow her and love her 🫶(pushes all of you to her blog)

I am out of ideas, y‘all. I am so happy you guys love my dumb smut lol 🩷 really thank you! Idk if I‘ll do any more, unless specifically asked. Also, if meru is ok with it ✨

Warning: 18+ content, drugging, general nsfw, oral !

—————

He smothered you with his length.

You got brief respite when he exited, gasping in short bursts.

Silas was caressing your face with both of his hands, holding you in place. His soft thumb pressed lightly into your cheek.

„Good, good~“, he cooed breathily.

In his mind, he was just giving you your nourishment. He didn‘t fully understand why the milking made him feel so lightheaded, why he longed to do it over and over again. But mothers wrote in the baby books that it is a precious bonding ritual, one they never experienced before.

And surely, this was a feeling he hadn‘t experienced before.

Silas let his darling suck his teats every day, but because he was an elf, his milk was stored elsewhere. Of course!

He had a collection of instructional manuals he had consulted (Romance Novels) and they referred to this act as „love making“. What a beautiful term! Silas felt giddy whenever he thought about it. That‘s definitely what the situation in the spring was, too - it all makes sense now!

Letting out a few breathy moans, he felt you lick his tip, as he thrust gently forward. He had prepared you again, giving you long and deep kisses to fully drench you with his aphrodisiac tongue. It was impossible to stop yourself. The way his kisses made you forget yourself, wanting him. You knew now how hard you could come with him just in you. It was annoying to admit, but you wanted more.

You looked up at him and a flush of purple filled his ethereal face.

„K-keep drinking, my precious…“, he huffed. He was holding himself, pointing it at your open lips.

You let your tongue fall out. You could see him gasp inaudibly from arousal at the sight of you. It was kind of fun to tease him. He looked beside himself, whenever he was close.

Your tongue brushed his tip again and he shivered. He was gently holding the back of your head, his fingers laced within your messed up hair. You could feel him push you forward softly.

Without warning you swallowed him as much as you could. Silas yelped at the feeling of you jerking your head forward vigorously. The sounds he made were so pitiful. You couldn’t get that much of him in your throat, but the mere velocity and sudden depth made the elf convulse and shake uncontrollably. He was trying to hold back, but it was futile.

He exploded with a guttural squeal. You felt his seed plummet into your throat and you quickly released your mouth to avoid choking. More overflowed onto your face, the most of it was dripping out of the sides of your mouth though. You swallowed harshly at the load.

Silas was immobile, his arms twitching by his massive side. He didn‘t speak for a while either, so you just sat there in silence with faint sounds of dripping.

Finally, Silas sat up with a flushed face. Dried tears stained his cheeks as his lip quivered.

„Darling… y-you were hungry, weren‘t you?“ he was trying to talk in his melodic voice, but you had taken his ability to be graceful.

You brushed some semen off your chin and stared at him.

„Oh, let me!“, he grabbed a beautiful doily he had been embroidering with donkeys and cows on it. He read babies like barn animals.

He wiped your face clean.

„There! All clean,“ he beamed down at you. Still feeling a bit sticky, you asked if you could go wash your face. He clapped his hands frantically, proud of you, for whatever reason.

Silas‘s semen didn‘t smell like normal cum. It had a strange, soothing scent to it. You stood over the basin and sniffed your hand a few times. What was in his damn bloodstream that made everything about him smell so fucking divine?

In the background, you heard Silas practice some lullaby, poorly.

Evidently, it was time for bed.

[nostalgebraist]

I feel like I've had the same experience several times now: someone does a new translation of a non-English literary classic, and all the critics praise it to the moon, so I go and try to read it, and it's turns out it's just . . . bad? Like, really bad? And weirdly bad?

A while back, I wrote about the case of Pevear and Volokhonsky. Here's another example, which I encountered while doing background research for my novel Almost Nowhere.

----

One of my novel's major characters is a literary translator, famous for his rendition of the Persian epic poem Shahnameh ("Book of Kings").

To help me write this character, I tried to read the Shahnameh myself. I started out – where else? – with the translation that seemed to be the gold standard, and which was certainly the most critically lauded.

Namely, the 2006 translation by Dick Davis, in prose with occasional shifts into verse.

Here's how the Shahnameh begins, in Davis' translation:

What does the Persian poet say about the first man to seek the crown of world sovereignty? No one has any knowledge of those first days, unless he has heard tales passed down from father to son. This is what those tales tell: The first man to be king, and to establish the ceremonies associated with the crown and throne, was Kayumars. When he became lord of the world, he lived first in the mountains, where he established his throne, and he and his people dressed in leopard skins. It was he who first taught men about the preparation of food and clothing, which were new in the world at that time. Seated on his throne, as splendid as the sun, he reigned for thirty years. He was like a tall cypress tree topped by the full moon, and the royal farr shone from him. All the animals of the world, wild and tame alike, reverently paid homage to him, bowing down before his throne, and their obedience increased his glory and good fortune.

And here is the same opening, in the 1905 translation by Arthur and Edmond Warner (which I only discovered much later in the process of writing Almost Nowhere):

What saith the rustic bard? Who first designed To gain the crown of power among mankind? Who placed the diadem upon his brow? The record of those days hath perished now Unless one, having borne in memory Tales told by sire to son, declare to thee Who was the first to use the royal style And stood the head of all the mighty file. He who compiled the ancient legendary, And tales of paladins, saith Gaiúmart Invented crown and throne, and was a Sháh. This order, Grace, and lustre came to earth When Sol was dominant in Aries And shone so brightly that the world grew young. Its lord was Gaiúmart, who dwelt at first Upon a mountain; thence his throne and fortune Rose. He and all his troop wore leopard-skins, And under him the arts of life began, For food and dress were in their infancy. He reigned o'er all the earth for thirty years, In goodness like a sun upon the throne, And as a full moon o'er a lofty cypress So shone he from the seat of king of kings. The cattle and the divers beasts of prey Grew tame before him; men stood not erect Before his throne but bent, as though in prayer, Awed by the splendour of his high estate, And thence received their Faith.

Now, I can't speak at all about the source text. I have no idea how faithful or unfaithful these two translations are, and in what ways, in which places.

Still, though. I mean like, come on.

This is an epic poem about ancient kings and larger-than-life heroes.

This is a national epic, half myth and half history, narrating the proud folkloric lineage claimed by a real-world empire.

There is a way that such things are supposed to sound, in English. And it sure as hell isn't this:

What does the Persian poet say about the first man to seek the crown of world sovereignty?

Excuse me? That's your opening line? I thought I was reading a poem, here, not taking a fucking AP World Literature exam!

----

Postscript

Some of the critical praise for the Davis translation, quoted on the back cover of my copy (emphasis mine):

"A poet himself, Davis brings to his translation a nuanced awareness of Ferdowsi's subtle rhythms and cadences. His "Shahnameh" is rendered in an exquisite blend of poetry and prose, with none of the antiquated flourishes that so often mar translations of epic poetry." (Reza Aslan, The New York Times Book Review) "Thanks to Davis's magnificent translation, Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh live again in English.” (Michael Dirda, Washington Post) "A magnificent accomplishment . . . [Davis’s translation] is not only the fullest representation of Ferdowsi’s masterpiece in English but the best." (The New York Sun)

[sxorpiomooon]

What does your older self wants to say to you? A pac reading<3

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check out my other pacs and astrology stuff!!

Pile 1-

you need to let go, this is so funny to me given the pile that you guys have chosen has a tattoo of "amor fati" which literally means this. If you've chosen this pile you might have an anxious attachment and some of you need to go off a relationship that you are holding. A japanese song is playing in my head? Sometimes you only hold onto things very tightly because deep down you know that the moment you let go they are going to leave you. Your older self wants you to let go of such relations one particular scenario that I'm getting is of someone being in a toxic relationship being completely dependent on their significant others knowing that the other person might not choose to stay with them once they let go or once they are given the choice to do so. Stop being dependent on people and allow them and give them the space for them to leave you if they wish to do so the only way to understand how much they love is by giving them the space to leave then only you know that they truly do love you. The other people in this pile need to know that all relations require space and time for both individuals to grow individually too. Only when you have enough space and time to grow individually you can contribute something to the relation. Some of you might have ashlesha nakshatra. Also take care of yourself by yourself your older self really wants you to take care of your hair lmao I keep hearing "wash up wash up" I'm also seeing fishes for some reason those orange ones I don't know what they're called? You might love them now or definitely own them in the future. Your older self also wants you to know that the cycle ends with you. Breaking off from the generation trauma cycle seems to be a very important theme here. I see y'all are already very cool but are even cooler in the future man I'm not gonna lie I also keep hearing alt for some reason whether it's for songs or fashion but y'all are gonna be fucking cool in the future man. Be resilient I have full faith in you pile 1 do it for the super cool you. I also see this pile moving out of this house if they haven't alr I keep getting japan again and again but y'all gonna live a pretty great lifestyle also reminded of lucky from the blue sisters novel? Thankyou!!

Pile 2-

this pile might have the tendency to overreact at that exact moment when they are faced with a problem. Their emotions at times might make it hard for them to actually get a good grasp on the situation. Your older self wants you to learn to differentiate between illusion and intuition lmao. I also had a vision of someone journaling so I think the older self might want you guys to write it down before reacting or coming to a conclusion on any sort of situation. I also think that writing it down might make it easy or better for you to feel and understand your emotions better and the problem as well. This pile also needs to focus on their unconscious mind? If you are manifesting something you might have some biases already that you need to pay attention to. This pile might also easily interpret things and get confused. Your older self wants you to follow your heart I heard "it will lead you to the right path" and right after this "sometimes to run is the brave thing" played in my head from its time to go by Taylor swift. You need to act on whatever feelings you have some of you might write and be confused about whether it's good or not or some confusion related to it here's your answer- it is<3 go ahead and follow your heart pile two it will never lead you to the wrong path in the long end. I also heard "beauty and art is everywhere" this pile needs to follow their passion. Lord this is ending on such a good note. Your older self also wants you to know that you should not fear bc all your hardwork will pay off<3 all your hardwork and sacrifices will pay off and you'll get the success that you desire and want. This was also a pile that I chose and I needed to hear this<3

Pile 3-

The time or whatever you are going through will not be wasted. The journey is there to prepare you and give you the experiences that you need to get to the level that you want to achieve in your life. This pile might be going through some hard things. This pile also needs to know that you cannot force anyone to grow early or to change early or hurry up some process everything has its own time be patient a delay does not mean a no. This pile also needs to come face to face with their problems and fear only then they'll be able to move past it. "The only way out is through" "change is the only constant thing in life" "no one else can do it for you" are the things that I'm hearing. This pile knows what's needed to be done but might fear the unknown. A big transformation that is much needed is coming after that I see a wonderful new beginning for you<3

thankyou!!

[yuurei20]

Good morning/evening! Would you consider comparing the personalities of the twst guys in the novels to their personalities in the game at some point in the future? I’ve heard that the guys are depicted as crueler or more villainous with the extra space the novels give. Thank you!

Hello hello! Thank you for this question!

This answer is very long m(_ _)m (thank you for this opportunity to share novel 2 fan art 🦁)

Riddle (novel 1): I do not believe there were too many changes made to Riddle in the first novel? A lot of things may come down to personal feeling/subjective interpretation (re: Riddle’s desperation for his mother’s affection maybe put across more effectively in the novel? etc.).

Riddle (novel 2): Riddle’s admiration of Leona is new! And not requiring conjecture or reading between the lines, as Riddle outright says that he has always respected Leona. (Ref: Riddle on Leona: The Housewarden Meeting / Riddle’s Confession)

Riddle is also described as being envious of how Malleus is so adored by his dorm’s students, saying that he doesn’t think Malleus is a good Housewarden but there must be something he can learn from him, as he is so respected. (ref: Riddle on Malleus)

Trey/Cater (novel 1): Both Trey and Cater seem very similar to their game counterparts.

Trey (novel 2): Trey does not appear very much in novel 2, seeming very similar to his game counterpart.

Cater (novel 2): This may be a subjective interpretation, but it seemed a little as though Cater was more protective of Riddle in the 2nd novel than in Book 2 of the game, with his grudge against Leona possibly inspired more so against Leona’s insult of Riddle than his physical thrashing in the mock spelldrive match. (Ref: Spelldrive Practice Match (pt5) / Trusting Riddle )

There is also emphasis in narration of Cater’s loyalty to those around him (Ref: Cater and Yuuya).

Ace (novel 1): I wonder if maybe Ace is where the “crueler or more villainous” rumors are coming from? 👀 Ace is certainly rude to Yuuya in the first novel, calling him a bore and repeatedly yelling at him to say what is on his mind.

But unlike Game-Ace, he also apologies to Yuuya for being so aggressive (Ref: Ace Apologizes).

There is a lot more depth to Ace’s character overall, with his motivations and personality really shining! He is a great character in the game, of course, and maybe even greater in the novelization. (Ref: Yuuya and Ace / Yuuya Apologizes)

Ace (novel 2): Ace refuses outright to help Yuuya interview people about the injured students. He explains that he does not have anything else to do but he still will not be helping, and Yuuya goes to Pomefiore alone as a result.

Carried over from the first novel there is a theme of both Ace and Deuce not being able to trust Riddle and speaking disparagingly about him throughout the story.

This culminates at the end when Riddle cheers for them in the exhibition match, and it is hinted that, one day, Riddle may be accepted by the students of his dorm. (ref: Trusting Riddle)

Deuce (novels 1&2): We get to see more of Deuce’s efforts to be an honor student in the novel, such as when he sits with the lonely Yuuya at lunch (ref: Yuuya and Deuce).

He consistently tries to defend Riddle to Ace, not out of affection or respect so much as wanting to overcome his own past self. His resilience wanes as Ace’s belittling of Riddle continues throughout the two novels and he does not have much ground to stand on to defend him. (Ref: About Riddle (pt1))

Leona (novel 1): The rewriting of Leona’s introduction is maybe one of my favorite things about the first novel (ref: Meeting Leona). Rather than threatening to harm the prefect as in the game Leona goes to Yuuya’s rescue, saving both Yuuya and Deuce from the bullies that break the eggs they bought for the chestnut tart.

Leona (novel 2): There is much more to novel-Leona than was in the game, with Riddle reflecting on his dazzling confidence (ref: Riddle on Leona).

On the "more villainous" side, it is insinuated that he intentionally injures Cater during their mock spelldrive match (ref: Spelldrive Practice Match (pt3))

In the game Leona laughs in response to Lilia driving him to overblot but in the novel he loses all emotion, which Yuuya reflects on later as being far more terrifying than his rage. (Ref: The Transformation / Cheka (pt3)).

We also get much more detail about his unique magic: while we know from the game that he does not need to touch things to turn them to sand, in the novel he has the ability to kinetically manipulate the sand that he creates.

There is an amazing description of insects falling, dead, out of the sky, having been reduced to dried-out husks in mid-flight, combined with what is maybe the only description we ever receive of Leona looking afraid.

And what he is frightened of is not Riddle, Lilia or his enemies, but the adoring members of his own dorm, whom he is terrified of failing. (Ref: Leona’s Unique Magic (pt1) / Leona’s Unique Magic (pt2))

Leona’s relationship to his dormmates itself may have been rewritten for the novel, but nothing in the game seems to refute it, so it is not difficult to imagine the same situation playing out behind the scenes in the game as well.

Leona himself says in the game that he is fighting for the futures of his dorm mates, but he is always so sarcastic that it is easy to dismiss this as an excuse he is making to Jack, when he may have just been telling the truth.

Unlike in the game Leona interacts directly with the phantom that is born of his own despair and he is described as crying tears of blot. (Ref: The Overblot Battle)

I was a little more organized with the release of the second novel than the first, and have a small collection of fan art by others who illustrated the before-and-after-novel of their impressions of Leona!

(↑ How the situation at Savanaclaw appears to be vs. how it is from Leona’s point of view)

(↑ Cheka’s game scene vs. Cheka's novel scene)

Leona’s post-overblot flashback is also fleshed out very much in the novel, with added details about how hard working and isolated he had been until the birth of Cheka, which led him to giving up, and how much he hates himself. (Ref: Leona and Falena / The Flashback Monologue)

(↑ Leona’s phantom is described as nuzzling against him in the novel)

The monologue also explains a lot of his inner turmoil, how frightened he is and how he actually doesn’t have the strength to give up on his hopes and dreams, despite everyone around him talking as though he already has.

(↑ Artist’s rendition of game-Falena vs. novel-Falena)

We also receive more details about the Spelldrive match, showcasing Leona’s non-UM magical power and athleticism, and how the students of Savanaclaw still trust in him even after his mental break, in contrast to the students of Heartslabyul and Riddle. (Ref: The Exhibition Match (pt3))

Ruggie (novel 2): There is some wonderful detail added to Ruggie in the second novel, including an interesting new dimension to his relationship with Leona.

(↑ Artist’s interpretation of their impression of Ruggie and Leona’s dynamic before reading the novel vs. after reading the novel)

In the Botanical Garden scene Ruggie reflects in narration on how Leona would surely throw him away if he ever tried to stand up for himself, and how captivated he is by Leona’s ambitions (ref: The Botanical Garden Scene).

In the scene where Ruggie offers to “take care of” the troublesome Jack, we receive a look into how it is Ruggie is walking on eggshells around Leona, for his own safety. (Ref: Leona and Jack (pt3))

The scene of Ruggie running away in Book 2 also had added details, with Ruggie briefly losing his apathetic mask and revealing a hint of the trauma of his upbringing. (Ref: Ruggie Escape (pt5))

There is much more detail into Ruggie’s inner turmoil as well, and particularly in the scene where Leona confronts him for being nearly caught out by Riddle and the others. (Ref: Savanaclaw Dorm (pt2)). He reflects on Leona’s arrogance, his struggles back home, and the desperation of his situation. 

Their interaction during Leona’s overblot was also expanded upon, with an overblotting Leona threatening Ruggie with his life if he does not agree to give up on his dreams, and Ruggie refusing to do so (Ref: Leona and Ruggie, to overblot (pt2))

Jack (novel 2): We receive a little more detail in Jack’s admiration for Leona, and how Leona’s words actually do resonate with Jack, though he may try and pretend to be unfazed. (Ref:  Leona and Jack (pt1)) / Leona and Jack (pt2)) 

(↑Jack remembering how moved he was watching Leona lose to Malleus in his second year)

There is added detail to Jack’s relationships with Ace, Deuce and Yuuya, as he seeks them out intentionally before the spelldrive match. (Ref: Jack and Yuuya) 

Also unique to the novel Ruggie overtakes Jack’s body to take down Leona’s phantom, while Jack come close to refusing to participate in the spelldrive tournament and Yuuya steps in to reveal how much Jack respects Leona to Leona himself. (Ref: The Overblot Battle / Jack and Leona (pt4))

We also see Leona and Jack working together during the exhibition match, just as Jack had always dreamed. (Ref: The Exhibition Match (pt2))

(↑ Also there is Azul’s introduction to Yuuya, Ace, Deuce and Grim, added to Novel 2 while it did not happen in Game-Book 2. Ref: Meeting Azul (pt1) / Meeting Azul (pt2))

This went very much off-topic from the original question 💦 But while I do agree that there is increased villainousness in the novels, there is also an increase in depth, feeling and detail overall! ^^ Highly recommended!

[aoi1dee]

OLNF Week Day 7: Alternate Universe

@olnfweek2024 more info is down below...

Hi this isn’t a short fic because if I were to try and write a fic for this… it wouldn’t be short. But I didn’t want this day to not have anything to go with it especially since every single day has had a short fic. So… you get a bunch of ideas spilled from my brain. 

Ghost Hunter AU!!!!!

Basically this AU is exactly what it sounds like. In 2016, Qiu, Tam, and Alex go ghost hunting in this abandoned building in Golden Grove. This idea started when Alex saw this movie about ghost hunting so he spent the money from his job at the diner to get ghost hunting equipment and a backpack to fit all of it. When Tamarack got the news of such things she absolutely wanted to go with him. But when Qiu got the news, they weren’t as excited as Tam. I feel like they aren’t the type to believe in ghosts or anything paranormal. But of course they go along because why not? 

When they went ghost hunting, none of them were expecting to get their lives threatened by ghosts. They want their bodies… but not in a weird way they want to possess their bodies to do stuff (idk what yet) like none of them have a way of escaping. The doors suddenly locked and they don’t want to get charged for property damage by breaking the windows (Qiu tried. Tam didn’t let them) So this AU is basically just them communicating with ghosts trying to convince them to let them go or finding a way to help those ghosts move onto the afterlife so they can stop haunting and terrorizing people. 

This is actually probably a shock but I’m more into horror than romance visual novels. I’m currently working on a horror game actually. And I have a completely separate artstyle for my horror games. The artstyle I share is just my normal art style (if you wanna see my horror art style I WILL SHARE IT) also if you want indie horror game recommendations… ask. I have a lot.

But I will also share 2 really good indie game developers right now.

Puppet Combo and Chilla’s Art. 

I LOVE THEM!! They make really good horror games. Puppet Combo does more slasher horror while Chilla’s Art does more ghost horror. Chilla’s art made The Closing Shift if you’ve ever heard of it. It's the game about getting stalked in a coffee shop.

Anyways I can rant about horror games just as much as I can rant about the Our Life games so… if you want to see more OLNF Ghost Hunters AU please let me know… i would love to make a fic about it.

Now here are doodles I made for this.

c'mon alex you're supposed to be hunting ghosts not admiring qiu...

anyways thats it i hope you enjoyed OLNF week just as much as i did and thank you @goldengroovy for hosting it!! :3 byebye!

[irenewsky]

I recently read the Bungo Stray Dogs light novel called 55 Minutes and it has reminded me of how much I love the dynamic between Dazai and Kunikida. Their interactions are sometimes just comedic gold.

(Big spoilers for the novel incoming. Read at your own risk)

Dazai pouted as he rolled around inside the garbage can. "I was waiting for all the guards to leave. And now that the coast is clear, I'll just jump out of this and... Oops, I can't get out."

"Good. Hope you enjoy the incinerator." Kunikida glared at Dazai.

☆〜（ゝ。∂）

"What?" Kunikida's expression changed. "Is that true, Dazai?"

"If it were, would that change your opinion about me?"

"Don't worry. My opinion of you can't get any lower. Now spit it out."

"Ah, your praise brings a tear to my eye!" exclaimed Dazai with a grin.

☆〜（ゝ。∂）

Kunikida was slouching in his seat, drooping his head like an ear of rice. From the side, he looked burned-out, like lifeless ash.

"There was something... not written in my notebook..? That Atsushi knew before me..? My life is over... Just kill me.."

Kunikida moaned like a dying man, then flopped over in his seat.

☆〜（ゝ。∂）

"So you've finally given up being human," muttered Kunikida. He sounded thoroughly disgusted. "How does somebody survive even after stopping their own heart?"

"I learned how to do it during my quest to master the secret arts of suicide, naturally. Hearts don’t take long to starts back up, it’s no big deal.”

"Nothing you say ever makes sense."

☆〜（ゝ。∂）

"How does it feel to be able to listen to my beautiful voice as if I were whispering into your ear? You're so lucky. Oh, I know. How about I sing a song?"

"Just do your job!" Judging by Kunikida's roaring voice, it sounded as though he was standing behind Dazai.

"Don't be so serious. What's the worst that could happen? If we fail, we die. Big deal."

"Don't drag your sick fetishes into this. [—]”

☆〜（ゝ。∂）

"Kunikida," Atsushi said while placing a finger on Dazai's chest. "His heart stopped."

"I see... Atsushi," Kunikida said as if he was struggling to suppress something. "You know the procedure, right?"

☆〜（ゝ。∂）

”Oh, and I heard you guys had been discussing how to bring me back to life behind my back, too. Now I'll have to come up with a new plan to kill myself. But—"

"DAZAAAAAAI!"

"Oof?!"

Kunikida drop-kicked Dazai from the side, nearly breaking him in two and sending him flying to the ground.

"HOW...MANY TIMES...ARE YOU GOING TO...SCREW UP THE JOB...BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SIT STILL?!?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH...WE HAD TO GO THROUGH...TO BRING YOU BACK TO LIFE...?!?!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Kunikida, please stop kicking and choking and yelling at me!"

"The hell are you talking about?! 'Finally managed to die? You're no longer human! You don't deserve that right! If you really want to die that much, I'll kill you myself! How about this?! And this?! How about from this angle?!"

☆ 〜（ゝ。∂）

"You've got work to do!" Kunikida barked while tossing a stack of paperwork on Dazai's desk. "You need to finish your report of Standard Island, and make it snappy. The Division is growing impatient."

"Whaaat?" complained Dazai, clearly put out. "I mean, I guess I could do it, but... Kunikida, do you have any way I could cool off? Like with your skill?"

"I know a way you could really cool off, but it doesn't have anything to do with my skill. Want to give it a try?"

"Wait—really? How?"

"Stop your heart for two minutes, then let me resuscitate you."

”...I regret everything." Dazai stared at Kunikida with reproach.

This novel has made me miss the simple days when the threats the ADA faced weren’t related to Fyodor or vampires or all the other insanity.

Also, Kunikida did NOT cope well with Dazai actually dying or the stress that fighting against time to bring him back from the dead brought him. The man does care about him quite a bit - to the point that he has thought in excruciating detail about how to bring Dazai back should he actually die.

[Dialogue taken from BSD novel 55 Minutes, pages 64, 96, 108, 117, 184, 228, 230]

[midnight-vixn]

So I love being bit during sex, what do you think the brothers are like about biting? Who would like to bite where and how much? Who's got some nice sharp fangs? Would they pull you into a quick make out session just to mark you up if they felt possessive? Idk just biting in general is so hot

Oooooooooh anon you beautiful creature, a thousand smooches for you!!! I LOVE biting, and our boys do too ;) I’m gonna include all the brothers on this one, I may do the dateables too in a different post if there’s interest! Dateables found here

Love Bites

Lucifer:

The prideful first born isn’t typically prone to biting but absolutely will if it gets you to make that sultry noise again. Lucifer bites gently but in a way that makes you feel owned! Normally biting on your inner thighs or low on your collar bone so it can be covered by clothing, he can’t have the gossips at RAD Asmodeus talking about you covered in his marks all day. Then again, if his brothers piss him off, are taking up too much of your time and preventing him from spending quality time with you? He absolutely will leave visible marks, just to remind them who you belong to.

Mammon:

Listen, Mams loves to be bitten. But only by you. He’s the second highest ranking whore in the house after all, but he’s your whore. He never really cared for it before you came along, but the moment you bit down on his neck during one particularly hot make out session…his whole world changed. Mammon has the perfect set of fangs that send you half way to the celestial realm when he lightly scrapes them across the skin on your neck right before he leaves a massive hickey. Our greedy boy has also been known to pull you into an impromptu make out sesh in a fit of jealousy because some lower demon was looking at you a little too long or talking to you a little to sweetly. All areas are fair game when Mammon starts biting, but his favorite spots are your thighs, chest, lower stomach and of course neck so everyone can see his fang marks.

Leviathan:

Poor Levi is normally too scared to bite, full of “What if I hurt you?” “What if I do it wrong?” “What if you think it’s gross after I do it?” The best way to shut him up? Bite him on the side of his neck. The result will be the sluttiest moan you’ve ever heard the little weeb make…along with the brightest red blush. Eventually Levi will gain the confidence to bite you back and once he does he’s very gentle with it, applying just enough pressure to qualify as a bite but not enough to possibly hurt you. He’s too new to the whole thing to really have a favorite place to bite you but on him? Uh, totally not a gentle little nibble on his ear, that does uh, nothing for him…what a normie thing to ask…

Satan:

Satan has always loved to play fight/wrestle with you in that cute way that couples do in his romance novels, rolling around on the bed laughing at each other, but he never expected you to playfully bite him…and he never expected to moan like that either. Satan bites softly and whispers how much he loves you as he does it, even when he does bite hard during sex he’s constantly praising you and telling you how much you mean to him. Satan adores biting up and down your legs and arms, gently biting at your wrists before places kisses on the palm of your hands. He also loves when you bite his shoulders and stomach, he secretly loves to rile you up until you’re annoyed or slightly angry so you’ll bite harder, the sensation from your bite paired with you indulging in his sin a little makes his head dizzy.

Asmodeus:

The queen himself loves to bite and be bitten but ONLY in the areas that feel good, unless of course this is a punishment~~ Asmo considers sex a work of art and you are his stunning blank canvas, perfect for sinking his fangs into. He loves every inch of you but really enjoys biting those spots that make you writhe against the mattress and if those spots are easy access during a make out then you bet they’re fair game even when in public.

Beelzebub:

Our gentle giant usually bites on complete accident, getting carried away while kissing your soft lips or caught up in the way you feel as he rails you into the mattress. Beel is prone biting at your lips, the first time is usually a mistake but then he’ll do it on purpose, gently pulling and sucking at your puffy lip. He’s also known to bite down on your shoulder/neck while fucking you, between the sharp sting of his thick fangs in your skin and the deep grunts filling your ear you have to grab the bed/pillow/headboard or nearest object to ground yourself. Beel thinks it’s cute when you bite him, it doesn’t hurt but it definitely makes him feel something with how quick he is to pin you down after.

Belphegor:

In true brat fashion Belphie bites at any given time. The two of you are cuddling and you’re texting a brother for too long? Bite. You guys are sitting in class and you move making him lose his comfy headrest? Bite. Never tell him to bite your ass…he’ll do it. In fact, he actually likes doing it because he loves how you react be it annoyed, pissed off or horny. If you into biting and bite back then making out usually ends up with you two sloppily kissing and biting each other’s necks, biting a little harder each time just to see how much pain the other can take, before getting handsy and taking things to the bedroom.

[medakakurokami]

I finished over 100 visual novels, here’s a long post with some recommendations

Last month I hit 100 Finished VN’s over on the VNDB and I thought I’d shoot out some recommendations while the Steam Summer Sale is going on (even though some of these aren’t going to be on Steam)

I already have finished up some stragglers and caught some shorter titles so it’s up to 104 Finished, but all the better. I have been reading some VN’s since 2015, but it really became a hobby and a genre I was invested in during Covid lockdown in 2020. I had trouble getting into some of the popular titles, but a couple of games that were lesser known at that time really blew me away that year and I started digging more into the medium. I still have a lot to try out and other classics I’m still interested in trying, but here’s a top 10 I’m confident in recommending to most people, at least the kinda people that would follow this blog. A few of these recommendations are actually multi-part series, but hopefully accessible all around.

Planetarian ($10 on Steam and Switch, ~$5 on sale)

This is a very late entry onto this list but I think it’s an easy recommendation. This is a very short 2-4 hour visual novel that got a well received 2 hour movie adaptation in 2016, but it was strong enough that even while knowing the plot everything still hit hard. It is a story set 30 years after an apocalyptic event destroys most of the world, as a human junk-trader comes across a planetarium with a somehow-still-functional robot named Hoshino still performing her daily duties after 30 years without customers or coworkers. It can come across as a bit saccharine, but it is a quick, well made, and effective tearjerker.

Narcissu 1st & 2nd (Free on Steam)

Narcissu’s first two parts are pretty compelling stories to do with suicidal ideation within the scope of the terminally ill. Which is to say they’re also real tear jerkers, and pretty open about some harsh self-reflective emotions. They both have stellar endings, and can be quite immersive despite the very limited artwork (if the screencap looks weird, the game’s art exists within a narrow strip on the screen, with a sentence or two reading out the story underneath it). Maybe the least accessible on this list, but a $0 price tag makes it easier in some sense to get into.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni / When The Seagulls Cry (~$50 on Steam, $30 on sale)

Umineko you’ve probably already heard of, and here’s me recommending it. Umineko comes in two parts, on Steam referred to as the Questions Arc and the Answers Arc. Despite the split, the overall story follows the events of a certain day on Rokkenjima Island in 1986 as a family meets to discuss their inheritance and their family’s mysteries. Unbeknownst to them they are soon haunted, over and over again, by the revenant of the Golden Witch said to live in the woods of their family’s island.

I’m in the minority of preferring the Questions Arc, where well written and deeply human characters find themselves in deeply inhumane and nonsensical scenarios. The Answers Arc back seats some of that to start delving into an esoteric explosion of clues and backstories, and was still very entertaining even if I was more invested in the episodic stories than the overarching mystery. This may also be seen as inaccessible, $30-50 for a slightly older title and over 140 hours long on average playthroughs, but it is deeply absorbing.

Witch on the Holy Night a.k.a. Mahoyo ($40 on PS4 and Switch)

Mahoyo is me and Nasu’s marriage counselor, it really made me see the good in him. It follows a young witch co-habitating with her magic colleague and the puppy-like boy that unwittingly steps into their world at risk to his own life, just as unexplained apparent murders are witnessed in their town.

This could possibly be a higher level recommendation, though it was apparently intended to have sequels and you can somewhat feel that in the isolated feeling of its main conflict. Despite this, the game is definitely worth experiencing for its classy charm and extremely well made action sequences that at times make you forget you’re not watching a full anime film. It’s also a showcase of Nasu’s strengths in writing character interactions and comedy, and he finally lets Show take over and stops Telling you piles of mage society worldbuilding quite so often. It is also has some of the highest quality production value I’ve ever seen, second maybe to...

Marco and the Galaxy Dragon ($20 on Steam/Switch, less than $10 on sale)

Marco and the Galaxy Dragon is an explosive opera of art, energy, color, and of course music. It follows the orphaned Marco and her dragon compatriot Arco as they hunt for treasure across the cosmos, finding their way to Earth on the hunt for Marco’s mother.

If Umineko’s 140 hours seems steep, Marco has you covered with a quick 6 hour rundown of a rebellious orphan fighting back against her space alien menace to find her own sense of place and identity in the universe, along with ALL the friends she made along the way. If Mahoyo feels like an anime film sometimes, Marco actually just has fully animated FMV cutscenes that are fun as hell and have their own unique artstyle to the VN itself. Thousands of pieces of artwork and a 52-track OST fill the game’s short runtime with no cut corners and and overflow of passion from the devs. Honestly even if you don’t want to read it go buy it, it’s cheap and they earned it.

White Album 2 (You’ll have to be creative to find this one)

This is the only recommendation that’s currently only available in an adults only 18+ Rating for the English translation. That being said, it’s one of the few erotic VN’s that felt justified in its pornographic scenes. The story is split into two releases: Opening Chapter and Closing Chapter.

Opening is a short and powerfully delivered love triangle narrative following Haruki, Setsuna, and Touma as their hastily formed 3-man light music band falls into itself with feelings. It’s charming but gut wrenching and sweeps you into its drama very effectively before kicking you on your ass in the end.

Closing Chapter is a long and drawn out disassembling of their lives as they fail to heal from the wounds of the relationships seen in Opening. It, to great effect, takes the readers own experience with how fun and passionate the Opening Chapter was, and shows how trying to cling to halcyon days can make us so dispassionate about our present lives. Painful stuff! Good music, too.

The Princess, The Stray Cat, and Matters of the Heart 1 & 2

a.k.a. Noratoto ($40 on Steam for both, ~$15 for both on sale)

This is a very personal recommendation, and maybe one more easy to make on this blog where many of my followers might be receptive to sincere but slapstick ecchi comedy as art. Every route is highly different however and to me, some are pretty average for galge, while others stand out as amazing. The comedy writing as well feels like it was written by someone with actual comic writing experience, and not just regurgitating the usual ecchi manga jokes.

The general premise of Noratoto is the protagonist Nora, being transformed into a cat by Patricia the princess of the Netherworld, and he must reverse this curse via a kiss before it becomes permanent. A benign fairy tale premise, but one that somehow gives way to underlying stories about existence and finding purpose in families and where that leaves those without families or with abusive or divided families (it is from the same developers as Marco and the Galaxy Dragon, and the themes of finding identity without family match up very closely). Uniquely it is a visual novel written somewhat in 3rd person, narrated by a motherly voice as if the VN was being read to you as a bedtime story.

Like I said, it is dependent on route and some come across as your usual ecchi gal-game schtick, but some stick out, and if every route was as high quality as Nobuchina’s in the 2nd game, it would probably be my favorite visual novel.

The Original Ace Attorney Trilogy ($30 on most platforms, $10 on sale)

You’ve almost certainly heard of Ace Attorney already and have most likely played it. This is me telling any Ace Attorney fans reading that the original trilogy still reigns supreme (regardless of Turnabout Big Top). This is also me telling anyone who has held out on trying Ace Attorney to try it, and to start with the original trilogy.

Obviously this trilogy follows the Meme Man Himself, Phoenix Wright, as he defends the innocent and brings the guilty to justice acting as both lawyer and his own main investigator. While each case presents a unique mystery, the original trilogy has an underlying arc that reaches from beginning to end with a massive conspiracy that Phoenix has to breach to bring justice to the perpetrators and resolve the memory and regrets of his beloved mentor.

These games have some speedbumps as you may be banging your head against the wall trying to find the right evidence, but the experience that breaks through does so with gusto, succeeding on what it sets out to be: games that make you feel like you’ve brought justice to the world.

Utawarerumono Trilogy ($40/60 each on Steam, trilogy bundle $62 on sale)

Utawarerumono was my first proper visual novel, and it set the standards pretty high. I’ve posted about it several times in the last few years, and it remains one of my favorites. It is a labor of love on the part of the developers (the same developers as White Album 2), who developed the latter two games over the course of several years and have made this the spearhead of their company for the time being. Which makes sense, since it is about war.

The first game follows a masked man who is given the name Hakuoro waking up in a rural village with amnesia, confused about the strange population of beast-men living there. Despite not understanding his situation, his ingenuity brings the village prosperity. When the local lords try to put the village under their thumb, Hakuoro and the villagers are able to turn the tides against them. Their village grows into a kingdom as Hakuoro seeks the mysteries of himself and the world around him.

The latter two games pick up some twenty years after the conclusion of the first, and follow a man who is given the name Haku, waking up in the woods with amnesia confused about the... you get it. He is met by Kuon, a young girl on her way traveling to the capital of their nation of Yamato. Haku graciously accepts her help getting out of the cold woods, and decides to join her to the capital. As events play out, Haku finds himself under the direct command of the nation’s leader the Mikado, and carries out missions on his behalf as the nation continues to drag itself into war and conflict and Haku also seeks the truth of his identity.

These games are expansive in scope while still putting a large focus on the day-to-day lives of its characters. Around 100 hours across all three games it is impressive how much story it manages to fit in, but the pacing does bounce around between sweeping conflict and sleepy conversations. It is also in part, a strategy RPG game with the battles in the war being controlled by the player. These are decently made, especially well in the third game, but don’t ask too much of the player and the story remains the main focus and biggest portion of the runtime.

The House In Fata Morgana a.k.a. Fatamoru

($40 complete version on PS4/Switch, ~$40 main game + expansion on Steam)

I’ve gushed about this enough on this tumblr, I’ll keep it brief.

You are a formless soul who is led by the hand of a mysterious maid through the doors of a mansion on an unknown plane of existence. Through each door lies a story of the house in a different era, all following people bound together in ways that leave them cruelly and violently undone by the end of their stories. The connection between these stories, the mystery of the house and the supposed witch that resides within, and the mystery of You the wandering soul all slowly unravel in a bloody show of catharsis and soul. The game is dripping with traumatic poetic text, grating beautiful music, and all of its atmosphere geared toward being oppressive yet enticing. One of the best things I’ve read.

Honorable mentions:

Va-11 Hall-A and Endless Mondays get shout outs as some of the best Original English Language VN’s I’ve read, with cool artstyles and a mature cast they manage to be fun and relatable. Va-11 Hall-A delivers a great arc for its protagonist and Endless Mondays has great dialogue on the threat of automation of creative industries.

Grisaia Trilogy and Hatsumira are both absolutely raucous trilogies that are a lot of fun. Not wholly recommendable to all, Grisaia has some strong moments and a hilarious unique cast but is a mess overall (but we love Michiru). Hatsumira is a bit more consistent, a more stable and fantasy-oriented Grisaia.

A.I. The Somnium Files duology are detective games with highly divisive endings, but great comedy and characters that make them very easy to get through and enjoy the whole way to the end. It’s just a toss-up whether you’ll like that ending.

Sakura Wars games are finally being translated, and they are a great showing for anyone who wants to try some classic dating sim stuff but with some pizazz thrown in with the setting and mecha combat.

The Tears to Tiara duology by the same developers of Utawarerumono and White Album is also one to keep an eye out for. The first game's definitive version isn't available in English and the second game is stuck on the PS3 and no longer available digitally, but if they ever come out on Steam they are worth your time.

Nanairo Reincarnation and Kinkoi: Golden Loveriche are also two solid ecchi comedy galge. Both have surprisingly deep and genuinely heartbreaking underlying mysteries and conclusions.

I still have a lot I wanna read, Planetarian is the only Key novel I’ve read. On the docket are Labyrinth of Galleria, Little Busters, the 9 -nine- series, and Kara no Shoujo and White Album 1 releasing on Steam this year. Some classics I didn’t mention are Fate/Stay Night, Muv Luv, Steins Gate. Muv Luv I read Extra and enjoyed it, but never pulled the trigger on reading the rest, I may at some point on a whim. Steins;Gate I played through half of on PS3 and now my PS3 is in the closet, the VN is really good and has a unique atmosphere to the anime, buuuuuuut knowing the plot has made it hard to want to restart on PC or another console. Steins;Gate is good, if anyone is reading this far and hasn’t seen the anime or read the VN, do it.

[chillinglyadventurous]

Mabel Art

Listen, I love this kid. She’s such a sweetheart. I don’t understand how so many people hate her.

(Platonic!Gravity Falls x Reader)

Just a cute little story about Mabel being bored because all of her friends and Dipper are busy. The reader does arts and crafts with her.

You were lounging at the kitchen table, flipping through a novel when you heard the soft shuffle of feet entering the room. “Hey, sweetie!” You greeted Mabel, expecting her usual burst of energy. When you didn’t get an immediate response, you looked up from your book to see her lingering in the doorway, looking down at the floor. Her usual spark seemed dimmer.

“You okay?” You asked, raising an eyebrow. Mabel wasn’t one to be quiet for long. This wasn’t like her.

She nodded, but looked a little glum. “Dipper went with Ford to explore some cave. I’m just bored.” Her shoulders slumped as she shuffled over to the counter, absentmindedly spinning a stray glitter pen she’d left behind earlier.

You set the book down and rested your head on your hand, studying her. “Where are Candy and Grenda? They’re usually up for some chaos.”

Mabel sighed dramatically, flopping into a chair across from you. “Candy’s at her cousin’s house and Grenda, well, I think she’s wrestling bears again.” Mabel frowned as if it was a personal betrayal that her friends had other plans. “Stan’s busy with the Mystery Shack stuff. He said I couldn’t prank tourists again until I clean up my last ‘masterpiece.’” She air-quoted that last part with a pout.

You chuckled softly, knowing exactly what kind of masterpiece Mabel had left behind. You’d heard Stan screaming about it yesterday. He was livid his good suit was covered in glitter. Mabel had thought it was festive and would help him make more money. Stan didn’t agree.

“Well,” you pondered, tapping your fingers on the tabletop, “if you’re bored, we could always do something.”

Mabel perked up at that, her eyes sparking with hope. “Really? You mean it?” Her voice picked up, excitement bubbling beneath the surface.

“Of course,” your voice was filled with enthusiasm , pushing back your chair. It wasn’t often you and Mabel got to do something on your own. “Question is, what should we do? I’m up for anything as long as it doesn’t involve wrestling wild animals or glue-“

Mabel’s face scrunched up in thought before she shot up. A bright grin spread across her sweet face. “I’ve got it!” She exclaimed, grabbing your hand. “We can have an epic arts-and-crafts marathon! I’ll grab the glitter, paint, and googly eyes, and we’ll make masterpieces worthy of the Louvre!”

Before you could even respond, Mabel was dashing around the living room collecting supplies. You had no idea she kept a stack of glitter under Stan’s chair. You smiled as her enthusiasm rubbed off on you. A quiet afternoon had suddenly turned into a chaotic explosion of creativity.

Soon, the kitchen and living room were filled with colorful paper, scissors, paint splotches, and, of course, an unhealthy amount of glitter. Mabel was in her element, showing you how to create abstract Mabel Art, a blend of pure imagination and no rules. You weren’t much of an artist, but Mabel kept hyping you up as if every random doodle or messy craft you made was a masterpiece. You couldn’t help but laugh, feeling carefree despite the glitter slowly taking over your hair. You knew it would never wash out. Not fully.

After a couple of hours, the kitchen looked like an art studio after a confetti bomb went off, but that was the Mabel Way. You two sat back to admire your work, a collection of lopsided sculptures and a life-sized cardboard cutout of Waddles covered in googly eyes.

She grinned, leaning back with satisfaction. “Thanks for doing this with me. You’re pretty cool, you know that?”

“Anytime, Mabel. I had fun too,” you ruffled he hair, feeling the warmth of her words settle in. “Now, what do you say we clean up before Stan finds out?” You suggested, though not really wanting to move from your spot on the glittery floor.

Mabel grinned mischievously, “Or we could add a few googly eyes to his chair and see how long it takes him to notice.” She snapped her fingers, “Ten bucks says he won’t find out until tomorrow night.”

“Oh no, you’re not pulling me into that one!” You laughed, shaking your head.

[pictureofdoriaaaaaangay]

chaotic book ramble so I can stop spiraling into the abyss: dark academia books you've heard of and probably already read edition

I need to talk about books I love to stay sane please stand by <3

Bunny by Mona Awad. I love this book SO MUCH. it's beautifully written, the characters are all unhinged women, there's murder, there's creation, there's a creative writing class. it drips with insanity and eroticism. reading it is like living a fever dream. you can picture the events of the book perfectly, but could never hope to explain it to anyone.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. this book is the entire world to me. I love the characters [they're all terrible and irredeemable people], I love the story [they kill a man then they kill their friend and also worship Dionysus], and I absolutely want a friend group just like the Greek class [to reiterate: they are all walking red flags]. it's a book you have to read once, then again, and again, just to notice more and more so you can analyze it and make deductions. at the end of the day, it goes beyond the age-old "moral implications of murder" and delves into "moral implications of love". don't ask me how many times I've read it. that's my red flag.

If We Were Villains by ML Rio. it was only recently that I read this over the course of twenty four hours, and I honesty have yet to recover. I'm not a Shakespeare girlie, but I still loved the way his work was so inherently and intricately woven into the story of the iwwv characters. it was transcendent. it was a tragedy, it was a love story, it was a comedy. it depends on your perception of it, I suppose. but I digress - it's a really good bloody book. expect the ending to make you cry.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by our lord and savior Oscar Wilde. this, technically, can't really be classified under the textbook definition of "dark academia" since there's not exactly any academia (can Harry even read let's be honest here), but it goes in this list because VIBES. this is one of my favorite novels of all time, and another one I've read one too many times for it to not be a red flag. I mean, the name of my damn blog is my red flag. I love it so much. it's got everything, from art to obsession to murder to gay people to the most heartachingly profound lines you've ever read. I mean, why wouldn't you read it if you haven't already?

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever. this one snuck up on me. towards the beginning, I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but by the middle, I was hooked. by the ending, I was shooketh. reading the author note, I was sitting silently in abject horror. more gay people, more obsession, more murder - what else do I have to say?

this has been a chaotic book ramble. thank you for being here <3

[thelikesoffinn]

You play visual novel! Can you give me recommendation? I just started playing them and I'm looking for good once

Haha, yeah I do. Occasionally, at least.

I really enjoy the "Our Life" games by GBPatch Games - they're probably my all time favourite. Trouble Comes Twice by Foxglove Games, something I played recently, was also really fun.

If you can get your hands on it really dirt cheap, maybe check out Bustafellows. It's not that good, but the art is great and it does have its moments!

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is also amazing, if you're into a little law and order gedohns.

If you like Scifi, maybe check out Andromeda Six by Wanderlust Games - also a game I hold really dear - or Infinite Stars.

If you're into vampires, I'd 100% recommend both Vampire The Masquerate - Courteries of New York and Vampire the Masquerade - Shadows of New York. Thinking about it, I should probably replay those...

Fantasy-wise I really enjoyed When The Night Comes by Lunaris Games.

Scarlet Hollow and Slay The Princess by Black Tabby Games are really neat if you're into horror. And Touchstarved by Red Spring Studios is still a Demo for now, but it's already super neat! Oh and XOXO Blood Droplets by GB Patch Games is also fun to play if you like whacky, horror-leaning stuff!

And I guess that's all I have so far! Sorry it's not more, I'm sure you've heard of most of those already. I'm super picky with my visual novels so I don't play a whole lot of them, haha.

[donnerpartyofone]

What was the process like for writing the novelization for Splice? Would you consider writing a novelization of an existing work again?

Eek I'm being interviewed! I'M SO FAMOUS. There are a lot of parts to this answer. The shortest answer is that I really just watched SPLICE in tiny sections every single day for a very, very long time. I had a certain version of the script to work from, but it wouldn't contain the exact things that were said and done in front of the camera (no script would), so I just studied the movie. I scanned the sets for objects I could not identify, of which there are a LOT -- things I've never seen before, and things I've seen but couldn't name -- and searched online until I learned to describe things like hay trolleys and circulating baths. To me, the point of a novelization is that it produces an interior and sensorial experience not offered by a screen, so I tried very hard to expand on the material qualities suggested by the movie.

It never once occurred to me to change anything. Apparently this is an expectation of novelizations. I had a writeup in Fangoria that was very kind about my ability to make psychological sense out of the things people do in SPLICE, but that expressed disappointment that I hadn't added scenes or anything. I'm such an inveterate, pathetic sort of rule-follower, I didn't even ask myself about this. I did change one exact thing, regarding the kind of candy that Elsa eats, because it was meaningful and amusing to me to do so, but I don't think anybody will ever get it. I also included just a little bit of material from the script that didn't make it into the movie, because it was completely in line with my psychological interpretation, which was what I was most concerned with.

I never thought of SPLICE as a perfect film, but I had a lot of thoughts about it, and I think my main contribution was to explain what these characters are thinking and feeling as they wade into this life-changing and profoundly icky experience together. That became very personal very quickly and I was a little bit afraid that maybe this would be how everyone would find out how totally insane I actually am, but I'm told that that part worked out pretty good -- by Vincenzo Natali, among other people, who is SO NICE AND SMART AND SUPPORTIVE. Best guy! When I turned in my draft to the publisher I thought there might be a little back and forth, I did not expect them to send the raw document directly to Vincenzo and I was very alarmed when I heard from him before anybody else, but I really had nothing to fear. He's one of my favorite people now.

I would definitely do another novelization. Actually I think I'm uniquely suited to this because I have a good dose of aphantasia. I didn't even know until recently that it's statistically weird to think mostly or exclusively in words and to have a very hard time visualizing, like, almost anything. When I started telling people this about myself I was asked, among other things, "How do you do anything if you can't picture what you're going to do?" And I was like, uh...I don't know. Maybe this is connected to my extreme executive problems and my problems with goal formation and followthrough. I mean I think this is true, now. And I developed this sort of half-joking self-mythology that I have to be watching movies every second of the day because I suffer from an image deficit and I need external infusions. Like even when I used to draw (trauma took that away, long story, but I drew all the time for like half my life), almost everything I ever made was swipes -- and I think they're pretty good, like it's worthy as art. But I guess for me, art has to be made out of something external that I manipulate. All the art I've ever made without a reference point has been maybe technically OK but really lifeless, you can tell something is missing. So I think the novelization process was a lot like how I used to draw, where I had a completely concrete external referent and I would just sort of tour it very extensively until I had created a twin of it out of my interpretations. And the twin is like, the same but different, it's a clone made out of feelings and reactions. I think that's a worthy sort of art object to make.

There's a thing I'm working on now that I'm sure I won't be able to talk about for a long while, but it involves writing things from preexisting sketches and prompts, and that's a little bit the same. I don't have as much to go on, but I can tell what the shape of it could be, I just turn it over like, what if it's like this, what if it's like this, what if it's like this. And I know that what I'm turning out is really made out of tropes and archetypes, it's kind of a collage, but if the collaging is really earnest and you're feeling your way along with reasonable naturalness, it can turn into something. It's not that different from describing experiences you've had, if you really think about it. The following comment is NOT MEANT TO COMPARE MYSELF TO A GENIUS but I had this nice moment of synergy recently when I rewatched Kiyoshi Kurosawa's CURE, which to me seems so forcefully unique, but in interviews he says things like, "Well I just really wanted to make an American horror movie," and talks about how his starting point was not personal at all, he just wanted to play with the established tools and ingredients people use to build a certain kind of product. And I thought, I guess that's what I do -- not as intelligently or deliberately, but I get how you can work in a way that sounds so formal and empty, and have it produce something distinctly personal.

Thanks for your fun question!

*Virginia Madsen voice* Oh yes. I forgot to tell you. BUY MY BOOK!

EDIT: Oh I kind of lied, I changed *just some of* the music that Clive listens to, to something that would be easier to communicate to a reader. Like I wouldn't use the exact band on the soundtrack because it was too obscure and specific, but I would talk instead about his genre choices because they went with what I was trying to say about him as a person. I think all of it was still pretty in line with the sounds, and the Clive, that appear in the film.

[itbitesback]

hot mouth

summary: what happens when ohma gives you some loving after eating spicy food?

fandom: kengan ashura

pairing: tokita ohma x f!reader

content and warnings: light smut, f!receiving oral, mild injury, cursing, cohabitation

author note: no idea what i was thinking with this idea 😭 this was also supposed to be written in a more lighthearted and comedic tone but it turned out kinda serious? anyway, this is one of the first kengan fics i ever wrote and i decided to finally post it. feedback is appreciated!

word count: 1,341

sigh. what to read now? you ran your fingers over your expansive bookcase, trying to decide what book to sink into next. it was your day off from work and you had just finished a good novel; not in the mood to do anything else but read, you were trying to decide on another, but none of the dozens of books in front of you looked particularly appealing. it was your never ending dilemma that you bought books constantly but could hardly ever make yourself read what you bought. you groaned in frustration, looking even more intently at your unread book collection.

you were looking so intently, in fact, that you didn't even hear the key in the doorknob, or the steady feet on the floor padding in your direction. the soft chuckle that your lover let out behind you when he saw you so focused on your books was also lost on you. you nearly jumped out of your skin when you suddenly felt big arms wrap gently around you.

"AHH- oh, ohma? you scared me babe, god" you said, trying to get your racing heartbeat to calm down. he had just come home from training with rihito. at once, the scent of his masculine smell greeted you. his skin, his hair, and the dried sweat clinging to his body.

you held back a groan. you found his natural scent to be sexy, and he knew it. it's exactly why he held back from immediately showering after training when he was around you. this time, he wanted to use his scent to his advantage, but you weren't yet aware of that.

"back home from training, did you eat yet ohma?" you asked. he grunted in assent. a shiver of excitement went through you; with how he was still wrapped around you, you heard his deep voice right in your ear and felt the vibration in his chest against your back.

ohma, ever observant, took notice of your excitement and smiled to himself. he made his move. he subtly inhaled your scent, rubbing his nose into your skin and nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck while shifting his arms tighter around your middle.

soft kisses were planted on your jugular and you shivered to feel his teeth gently grazing your skin. ah, so he was horny. very quickly into your relationship with ohma you had learned the small differences between his simple affection and his lust. nuzzling and hugs were commonplace between you, and his only goal therein was to show his love and feel yours in return; when teeth and kisses were involved, however…

unexpectedly, he lifted his head from your neck. you almost groaned at the loss of contact. "what are ya doing?" he questioned, referring to your presence in front of the bookshelf. "did you finish that other book?"

"i did, yeah!" you answered although he confused you, did he want to have sex or not? you went on about your book anyway, "it was really good but now i can't figure out what to read next."

"ah," he sounded his understanding as you eagerly began telling him about how the novel ended. he genuinely liked hearing you talk about your interests and he would listen to you go on about them forever, but the literary arts and reading itself was lost on him so he could contribute nothing to conversations about it.

you trailed off when there was nothing more to talk about. there was a silence and tension between you two and you once again became aware of his intoxicating scent, his strong body pressed against yours. whilst you were talking he had shifted his head to rest his chin on your head.

you squirmed under his hold, impatient. "ohma," you mumbled, "give me more."

he chuckled. so then, you wanted exactly what he did.

———

a few minutes later ohma had you pressed up against the wall, naked from the waist down, moaning softly, and hopelessly wet. ohma kneeled under you and was eagerly licking at your cunt; he had begun by rubbing his face against your entire mound, gathering your wetness and the scent of your arousal all over his face. one leg was slung over his shoulder and he gently held you open with his fingers, licking and mouthing all over. he avoided your clit for now, teasing you. you heard him groan every now and then at the taste of you.

your head was thrown back against the wall and one hand was buried in his seaweed hair and the other was on his shoulder, trying to steady yourself in case you fell over (though he would catch you). soft panting moans filled ohma ears.

you were lost to the sensations. his tongue and mouth felt so good. though it kind of felt different than usual, what with the burning sensation—

—burning? why was it burning?

the pain steadily escalated and you abruptly shoved ohma away, starting to pant in fear and pain. your pussy was BURNING! you started frantically flapping your hands and kicking your feet, utterly confused and uncomfortable. what the hell was happening?

ohma could only stare at you in bewilderment from his kneeling position on the floor. “y/n? whats the matter?”

you stared back at him, still squirming with discomfort, then it finally hit you. “ohma,” you started cautiously, “what did you eat before you came home?”

“i had spicy noodles but i don’t see what- ah. shit.” his eyes widened. the terrible realization was apparent on his face.

“you damn idiot! why would you eat spicy food and then come eat me out! it fucking HURTS!”

the burning was getting worse and you didn’t know what to do. you tugged back on your shorts that ohma had discarded earlier and began pacing back and forth in the room in agitation. your breathing was frantic and you couldn’t calm down enough to figure what to do. it was all you could do to not start running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off.

ohma abruptly stood up and hurried out of the room, but you hardly noticed. he then came back; he was the only one sane enough in that moment to find a solution to your problem.

he caught you by the hips mid-pacing and once more kneeled in front of you. “y/n, calm down,” he insisted. “stay still. i’m going to help you.”

you looked down to see him with a wet washcloth in hand; he eased your legs apart and put your hands on his shoulders to steady you. gently but firmly, he pressed the cloth to the open juncture between your legs.

you flinched at the temperature of the cold water, but slowly you felt soothed and the pain eased. with deliberate movements ohma shifted his hand to make sure the cloth could reach every part of your mound. the act itself was achingly intimate.

as you finally calmed down and your body became lax, you looked down at ohma and his face staring back at you reflected the same emotions you felt: embarrassment, bewilderment, but still relief.

———

now you were laid up in your shared bed with ohma, trying to come down from the chaos of earlier. you were huddled up in the covers while your boyfriend sat on the edge of the bed, looking at you.

“i’m sorry, y/n,” he said quietly to you. the usual unshakeable tokita ohma was unsettled by this incident and the fact that he was so careless and caused you such pain. his brows were deeply furrowed; he looked away from you, still ashamed.

you sighed and sat up, resting a comforting hand on his cheek. “listen, lets just put this behind us okay? besides, i have something more important to talk to you about.”

ohma looked at you again, brow raised.

“did i taste better than those noodles?”

his eyebrows shot up in shock. then his face cracked into a rare smile, and you two laughed together.

————

tagging: @aneenasevla @ohmaswife @hoe4rairai @kengan-daddies @juliusreinholdswig @milkkicoffee @bokutosbiceps