#the theme for the 24th is ''happiness'' which works well enough for this so i'm posting today instead of waiting for free space

[shoolb]

[id: a digitial drawing of claudia from amc's interview with the vampire. claudia is a young-looking black teenager who has her hair stylized into ringlets. she's wearing the lulu costume, her smile is sharpened by visible fangs, and her red eyes pop against the blues and whites of her dress. hazy yellow light fades into the blue background from above.]

the yellow creeps through

[noahsbookhoard]

📚August 2024 Book Review (Part 2/4)📚

This batch is all over the place theme-wise but I faced some of my most terrible ennemies: romantasy, contemporary literature, saw-the-film-before-reading-the-book-and-now-I'm-biaised and the all or nothing Time Travel. This was eventful.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel

From the early 20th century in Vancouver to the 24th century on a moon colony, the same phenomenon occurs: a sudden earth shattering hallucination of violins played in an airport terminal echoing in the middle of a forest. What is it? Where does it come from? The detective Gaspery-Jacques Roberts is sent to investigate.

Did I already say that I love time travel stories? Because I love time travel stories. But I'm picky as hell, if it doesn't make sense you will lose me immediately and never get me back.

That said, this book had me hooded from the beginning (passed the wonder as to why this sci-fi novel starts in 1912) and never let go.

The pacing is relatively slow but it works out well with the eery atmosphere and the feeling of déjà vu I couldn't scraper off. And there IS an element of déjà vu, something that comes back through different times with different characters so great job bringing this so deeply in the reading experience!

It also deals with the question of pandemic too but I liked how reminiscent of Covid it was without being specifically about covid. It didn't felt forced "hot typical you need to include to be relevant". It felt lived through (which it was) but always at the level of the character rather than an bigger perspective.

The story does a great work of binding together the different timelines in one chronological order and wraps nicely at the end, it was so satisfying! If is one of my favorite SciFi read of this year.

It's Kind of a Funy Story by Ned Vizzini

Craig Gilner must succeed in life, it is the only way to be happy. He needs to get to the best high-school to get into the best college to get the best job or he will be a total failure. But once he gets into an elite high school program the pression gets to high, Craig nearly tries to kill himself. He is admitted in a mental hospital and there he will meet a cast of diverse people who aren't so different from him deep down and face his anxiety.

TW for suicide ideation and a near suicide attempt

This was a wierd reading experience for me, I picked this book because I liked the Be More Chill Musical, which I admit is a wierd reason to pick a book but here we are! I did not read anything other than the back cover before diving in. I was aware that it dealt with mental health and suicide but that was about it.

The first part was a punch in the guts, just like Craig I went through an elite program (mine was after HS) and it did not go so well. I saw a kinda uncomfortable amount of myself in Craig: the overachieving mindset, the "you can do it, so you have to" mentality, the fear of not being enough, the feeling that however loving and caring my parents could be they just couldn't understand what was going on. The loneliness even when there's a crowd around... it did not go as bad for me as it did for Craig but it was painful to remember it could have. Some quotes hits right were I was 5 years ago and I wasn't prepared for it.

Thankfully Craig gets help before it goes too far and so he ends up in the mental hospital for a few days. The characters he meets there are touching, sometimes funny. One downside note for me is the transgender character (I can't remember for sure but I think it was a trans women) referred to with the wrong pronouns - which I don't think was malicious, might be early 2000's prejudice, might be the author not knowing better but as a trans person myself, but it rubbed me the wrong way.

It was also heartbreaking to read a bit more about the author and realise that there is probably a (not so) little bit of himself in this: he also spent some time is a mental hospital, and he killed himself in more or less the way Craig almost did. That made me really emotional and I wasn't bracing for that at all.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia #1) by C S Lewis

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are sent to the country to escape the Blitz, but there's not much too do in an old house with a severe housekeeper for the four siblings. Then one day while playing, Lucy discovers a wardrobe which opens on a fantastic land trapped in perpetual winter. The inhabitants see in the children a new hope: they will help Aslan the lion to defeat the terrible White Witch who took over Narnia.

The Chronicles of Narnia are such a classic young reader novel that I'm surprised I never read them before! Turns out now I might be a little to grown up for it but nonetheless it was nice.

The Christian parallels are more obvious than in the film but the style is nice and it adds details that make the characters' actions, especially Edmund's sounds a little more logical.

Some elements are also really nice and funny with the knowledge of Lewis' friendship with Tolkien. I wouldn't have had it as a kid so for that it's good to read them as an adult.

I will probably read it all at some point but peppered through the TBR, they are nice when you have a sick day that you need to occupy or just want to chill for an afternoon. Easy, nostalgia inducing, that's perfect.

Magie et Sentiments (Les secrets de Longdawn) by Ariel Holzl

After years of war and centuries of uncertain peace, the Earth and the Moon are set to create a new alliance. This would be symbolically marked by the marriage of Nathaniel, the son of a Moon noble family and Rebecca, the daughter of an Earth Duke. Conveniently for the England Crown, Luke, Rebecca's brother, is a spy and will accompagny the affianced couple and secretly make sure of the Moon embassadors good intentions. This is without counting on Sheva, Nathaniel's beautiful but cold sister.

The title is not really subtle, "Magic and Feelings, the secrets of [pun on a city name]" is pretty much what it says on the tin: a romantasy set in a fictional England. I was very invested in the fantasy but the romance I gotta admit, was fun. This is not my favorite read of 2024 but I was not huffing loudly every few pages so that's a win for romance novels in my book! The couples are kinda cute, the pacing isn't too slow and there is enough action to keep me entertained through the romance bits.

There is also a really cool setting in the Moon Empire, with it's own culture, laws and ritual which was nice to discover. The magic system both of Earth and on the Moon are also interesting, even though the elemental one isn't super original it works well in the setting.

The earth is an uchronia, which I love, it is always fun, set in a fantastical England whose city name have been changed (see Long Dawn -> London). Sometimes it was done in a rather elegant way, but at several times the book spells out the pun in a very artificial manner ("look ah ah, the working class have SUCH a funny accent, they say Loooon-doooon, did you see what I did there??" *author winking with both eyes through the pages*) and that threw me out of the story.

This is a late Middle Grade/early Young Adult book: I think a highschooler might be bored and it's a bit hefty for an elementary schooler but middle school kid would like it qi think. No shade to the author, I was just too old for this book but maybe that's why I could appreciate it: at the very least no explicit sex scene.

[whosaskingwrites]

Forever Is A Long Time (Akaashi x Reader)

A/N: I'm alive. And finally starting my soulmate one-shots. 😔 sorry if you've been waiting for these i wanted to get the angst ones done first. Also im almost at 100 followers which means ill be having a follower special soon! So be ready for that. Anyway have a good day!

Date: Tuesday, November 24th, 2020

Details: 6.3 pages 2,308 words

Theme: Red String- There is a red string tied around your ring finger that connects you to your soulmate. It becomes visible when you are close to each other. You can also tug on the string so your soulmate feels it. When far you only see it as a red ring around your finger.

Warnings: cursing. Barely implied sexual stuff its just one sentence and its nothing explicit.

Soulmate masterlist

For as long as I could remember I had a pale red ring around my finger. I never asked questions about it since I knew what it was. My soulmate was out there somewhere but I was never curious about them.

I would have been but my mom stressed to me that I needed to be successful. Not worrying about some silly soulmate so I did. Every thought about my soulmate was pushed to the back of my mind and I slowly forgot about them. My friend Hinata always tried to get me to find them but I denied.

I ended up becoming the manager for the MSBY Black Jackals. I considered it the perfect job I wasn't as successful as my mom wanted me to be but I was happy with what I was doing.

I was always busy so my soulmate had never crossed my mind. My days were spent corraling Bokuto and Hinata while keeping Atsumu away from Sakusa's stuff. The rest of the team members like Meian and Barnes didn't need watching but they also never helped me.

Today was no different of course. Well unless you counted the fact that it was the Black Jackals versus the Schweiden Adlers. Hinata was bouncing around in excitement and Bokuto wasn't much better. Currently I was helping Sakusa fix his knee pads deciding to let Hinata be excited this once.

"Y/N!" I jumped throwing a hand over my heart as I stood up. I looked at Bokuto who was staring at me eyes wide. "Don't do that Bo!" I yelled smacking him on the back of the head. "Owww sorry it's just your hand!" I looked down at my hand and looked back up raising an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked in confusion Bokuto sighed reaching forward and raising my other hand. There around my ring finger was a thin red string. "Y/n's soulmate is here!?" Hinata yelled rushing over to see the string. "Oh cool I guess," I took my hand from Bokuto's grasp bringing it back down with a shrug.

"You're not excited about it?" Atsumu asked "Not really? Mom raised me to not worry about my soulmate so," I trailed off before I felt a strong tug on my hand. Looking down I noticed Hinata pulling on the string before someone pulled back.

I smacked his hand as he went to tug it again "quit doing that," I said moving to pick up my clipboard. "But thats how you find them! The stronger the tug the closer they are!" He shouted while I shook my head. "Hinata I'm not worried about my soulmate. The game is in 10 minutes so let's get you guys to the court," I stated looking at them.

"I don't get it how the hell are you Omi and Samu not interested in your soulmates!" Atsumu shouted as we left the changing room. "I'm just not big on the soulmate thing," I said with another shrug "I don’t really care if I find them or not," Sakusa added on with his own shrug.

"You guys are so boring! Y/n you're the first outta of the five of us to be close to your soulmate and you don't wanna meet them!?" Bokuto shouted in exasperation. "I dont see what the big idea is. I'm not interested in meeting my soulmate right now. Now go warm-up," I gently pushed the boys towards the court while I went to the bench. 

I shook my head as Hinata mouthed "Find them," at me. I sighed as I watched them feeling a gentle tug against my finger my eyes drifted to the red string before I cautiously tugged back. It brought an odd sense of comfort to feel every tug on the thread and it almost seemed like a habit for them to nervously tug the string.

My eyes shifted back to the court as the game started. My hand made notes that occasionally got messed up when a tug shook my hand. I quietly hummed when I realized they were trying to find me.

Halfway through the game the tugs had become annoying. They started hindering my writing the closer they got and the boys had most definitely noticed my annoyed state. They had come over for water and towel during a short timeout while I was finishing a note for Bokuto when my hand was suddenly tugged sharply to the side scratching a mark across the sentence id just written.

"Son of a bitch!" I quietly cursed though it was loud enough that the four boys heard me. "You alright Y/n?" Atsumu asked and I glared at him. The boys froze at the icy gaze.

"No I'm not okay. Everytime I try writing these damn notes my soulmate tugs on the fucking string and ruins it. I'm fed up with it and quite frankly I really don't want to meet them at this point," I stated angrily. "Come on Y/n its just notes-" my glare shifted to Hinata as he spoke causing him to shiver.

"Just notes? It is my job to write notes. If the notes are unreadable I have failed at my job and you know what these notes are?" I held up my clip board before slamming it back down on the bench. "Unreadable!"   I yelled before taking a breath. "Now finish your game boys and if you lose. Ill kill you," I sent them a threatening smile before they ran off to the court in fear.

___________________________________________

"I just don't get it man! How is she not excited!" I paused as I entered the shop. Hearing Bokuto yell as soon as I walked in. "I mean I get it. If my soulmate kept me from making Onigiri correctly I'd be mad," Osamu supplied waving to me as I walked in.

"Whats going on?" I asked looking at the guys Kuroo rubbed his forehead while Bokuto looked at me. "Please don't get him started on his damn manager again," Kuroo mumbled while Bokuto spoke up. "Hey Akaashi what's your idea of a soulmate?" I blinked at the sudden question "Someone who will be with you forever I guess," I said after I thought about it. 

"Our manager doesn't care about meeting her soulmate!" Atsumu yelled out throwing his hands up while Kuroo groaned. I came over and sat down across from Bokuto. "You guys are making a huge deal out of it," Sakusa said rolling his eyes.

"Well she should care! I can't believe she went home instead of celebrating just to fix her notes," Hinata stated with a huff. "What happened?" I asked my eyes flickering to Osamu when he placed a tray of onigiri down in front of me.

"Y/n's soulmate was at today's game! They even kept tugging on the string but she said she didn't care!" I paused as I processed Bokuto's words. I had been at the game when my string appeared. I tugged on it whenever I got nervous during the game.

I had eventually followed it during break only to discover it led me to the doors on court and suddenly it all made sense. "Oh," I said when I realized. "What?" Hinata questioned and I shook my head. "Nothing just...my string also showed up during the game," I stated looking back at Hinata. "Oh," he said but then his face lit up "oh!" He stood up suddenly and Bokuto joined him.

"Oh my god! You think-?" Bokuto trailed off excitedly looking at me. "You guys saying he's her soulmate?" Atsumu also stood up in excitement. While Kuroo sent me a look that screamed 'What have you done?' "Guys there was a lot of people at the game," Osamu said rolling his eyes.

"Yeah doesn't mean Y/n is his soulmate," Sakusa also said with an agitated sigh. Bokuto snapped his head over to me with a wide excited smile. "Did you follow the string?" He asked bouncing in his spot. "A little bit during break yes," I said as I automatically started playing with my fingers.

"And?" Hinata drawled out leaning towards me. "...It lead me to the doors leading on court," there was a brief moment of silence before the three boys started screaming. "Someone get her over here right now!" Atsumu shouted while Hinata pulled out his phone.

It went dead silent as he called the boys seemed to freeze in place staring at the phone that was on speaker. "What the hell do you want?" All four boys flinched at the angry tone and Kuroo shivered at it. "We think we found him Y/n!" Hinata excitedly yelled.

"Found who?" She asked in confusion causing Atsumu to sigh in irritation. "Your soulmate Y/n!" He yelled in exasperation. "Fascinating. I don't care," She had responded back in annoyance. "Y/n come on! Just come to Onigiri Miya please!" Bokuto begged his eyes got big as he stared at the phone.

"No. And don't throw puppy eyes at the phone I know you're doing it," Bokuto sighed when it didn't work frowning as he tried to figure out what to do. "Please Y/n! Five minutes! I'll do anything you want!" Hinata joined in with a frown. 

"I already said no. Now leave me alone or I block you," She stated before hanging up the phone. The three boys turned their gazes to me after staring blankly at the phone. I looked back at them slowly "...what?" I asked nervously before Atsumu smirked at me. 'Oh boy' I thought worriedly.

___________________________________________

'How the hell did I get here?' I thought as I stood infront of an apartment door. I assumed it was Y/n's since Bokuto had shoved me here and rang the bell. I was still getting my bearings when the door swung open revealing a girl with h/c hair and shiny e/c eyes.

She was wearing a black jackals hoodie and a pair of leggings. I noticed the red string trailed from her hand to mine confirming she was my soulmate. "Can I help you?" She asked with a sigh.

Her voice snapped me out of my reprieve and I gave her a shaky smile. "Hi um I think your my soulmate?" What I said came off as more of a question as she blinked at me. "Who are you?" She didn't check the string before she asked. Establishing that she wasn't lying on the phone she really didn't care. "Im Akaashi Keiji," I said holding out my hand.

She hummed as she took it shaking my hand as her eyes finally traced the string. "So. You're Bokuto's elusive friend and the one who made me ruin my notes," I flinched as she let go of my hand immediately going to play with my fingers.

"Sorry about that. I tugged on it whenever the game made me nervous," she was watching my hands before she suddenly reached out and took one. I froze at the unexpected move as she held my hand. "Sorry you were distracting me. Continue?" She asked as she laced her fingers with mine.

"I..um," I had lost my train of thought looking at the pale pink flush that had appeared on her cheeks. "A-anyway why are you against soulmates?" She shook her head at my question. "Im not it's just...my mom raised me to put finding my soulmate on the backburner and focus on my career so I did,"

She continued after a brief pause "She focused on her soulmate and ended up working as a waitress as her career. She wanted me to be successful and that meant no room for a soulmate," She shrugged like it was the most casual thing in the world to not care about a soulmate.

"So...Where does that leave me?" I questioned quietly while she hummed. "Depends...are you gonna ruin my notes again?" She asked with a small smile. I smiled back when I realized what she was implying. "Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on the day," She laughed as I spoke her eyes drifted to the side sparkling in mischief as she spotted something.

She leaned forward to whisper in my ear "Seems the three musketeers stayed to keep watch," She mumbled tilting her head as she pulled back. I turned my head slightly seeing Bokuto, Atsumu, and Hinata hiding around the corner. They were excitedly holding on to eachother and I shook my head looking back at her.

"Unfortunately," I supplied while she giggled. "Im sure you already know but my name is L/n Y/n," She said and I nodded confirming I did already know. Her eyes still held mischief as she leaned forward again. "I think we should give them something to watch," she whispered lowly.

My face flushed at the implication of what she said. "Y/n-," She cut me off with a kiss. They were soft and fit against mine perfectly much like her hand did. My eyes slipped closed as I kissed her back. I vaguely heard the screaming of the three guys.

She slid something into my free hand before pulling away. She smirked at me letting go of my other hand "Have fun with that," she threw a vague hand gesture to the boys before going inside and closing the door.

Looking down at my hand she had left a small white business card in my hand. Her number was stretched across the front and I pocketed it before walking away. As I got closer to the three guys I was suddenly tugged backwards and fell.

I looked at my hand to the string following it to see Y/n holding the string with a smile on her face. She winked at me before disappearing while I quietly chuckled.

'This was gonna be an adventure'

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TAGLIST: @wonhomarshmallow