#this design and play style is VERY good
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also this guy fuckin rocks
#outlast#this design and play style is VERY good#the metaphorical 'dot dot dot' that happened when i first saw him like#oh that guy has night vision goggles thats dope as hell great design#...#oh wait SHI-#outlast trials
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I’d invite machete and vasco to my animal crossing village
They're a package deal, you have to take them both.
#own art#own characters#CanisAlbus#Vasco#Machete#answered#wowwforever#this is as good a time as any to admit that I've never played any of the Animal Crossing games#consoles are just so expensive and I have a bizarre personal vendetta against buying electronics unless I'm 110% sure I *need* them#so these days unless a game gets a pc release I'm unlikely to ever get my hands on it#but the art style is very appealing and the character designs are vibrant and clever so I've been admiring them from a distance for a while#I love it when I have a chance to draw Vasco with these specific bean eyes#they make him look benevolently mischievous#also just now noticing that I made Machete's tail machete shaped
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Atlus won't put Sophia in P5D, so I have to do it myself ‼️‼️‼️
#persona 5#persona 5 strikers#persona 5 dancing in starlight#p5s sophia#okay confession i actually haven't played any of the dance games but ive watched most of the p4 and p5 ones and i think they are really cut#persona 5 scramble#this was half for fun half style study but i think i did pretty good? 🥹#persona 5 Strikers Sophia#what i would give to see a dance between these 3#or individually#i just miss Sophia#ca3 art#slso saw a few others making designs for her very cute#p5d
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Trying my hand again at some digital art once again cuz I really wanted to draw Gem with her season 10 aesthetic :) I’m really excited to do some watercolor pieces of her base too!
Here’s a version with no fish:
#hermitcraft#hermitcraft season 10#geminitay#my art#this piece is also dedicated in part to my sibling who I managed to get hooked on gem’s videos :3#I want to play around with gem’s design at some point too it’s on my very long list of things to paint#I think her aesthetic this season will be a good challenge for me with dull colors and learning to paint buildings and water#also ma look at me doing digital art! I’m slowly getting more used to it and finding a process and style similar to my traditional one#this fish seem like a very psychedelic thing so I also want to experiment with that and I would love to do an animation with them
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"all the characters in hades are just sooo sexy" how can you say that. are you insane. none of them even have kinky hair or wide noses and I'm supposed to believe they're hot? I'm supposed to be attracted to these things? get out of my face
#nnstuff#rambling#yes yes the art style is very cool and good but the designs aren't all that inspired#so many portraits and so many similar body types and facial features#idk why but every now and then i get pissed about this again lmao i dont even play hades idc most of the time#but every now and then im lijke... FUCK THOSE GUYS... and then i return to normal
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What's Masks?
love languages don't exist but if they did this exact question would be mine
Masks is a rules lite ttrpg that recreates the "Teenage superhero" genre, stuff like Teen Titans and... uh. Spiderverse? I'm gonna level it's not my favorite genre, which says a lot about how good the game is that I still adore it more than anything else.
It's easily, easily my favorite ttrpg of all time, and it's extremely obvious how much it has influenced the way I approach ttrpgs and the way I write my own games. Every part of the core systems is so fucking smart. The way your stats are in flux as your identity shifts and you grow as a character, the way that the Moment of Truth system literally lets you hijack control of the narrative away from the GM, the way that every character has a natural timer until they have to become an adult and leave the narrative - it genuinely just Works. I adore this game with all my heart.
#this is not the best pitch i could give but i am tired and it's been a long bad day#on a very large level it is extremely emblematic of the very mid-late 2010's era of indie ttrpg design#being simultaneously limited by and excelling because of the stock pbta framework it exists within#which like. your mileage may vary on that but as someone who started writing and playing ttrpgs in 2016? it's a style i have a deep love fo#the good AND the bad
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PLAYABLE ZELDA PLAYABLE ZELDA PLAYABLE ZELDA PLAYABLE ZELDA PLAYABLE ZELDA PLAYABLE ZELDA PLAYABLE ZELDA *inhale* PLAYABLE ZELDA PLAYABLE Z
#zelda#echoes of wisdom#I still can't quite believe it's finally happening tbh! took ya long enough nintendo#anyway how are you!! sorry for the radio silence lately haha#my 7-year-old computer actually chose the week I was trying to finish my piece for the magic book zine to give up the ghost entirely#(luckily I just barely managed to coax it into hanging in there until after the deadline haha!)#so all my drawing lately has been like... experimenting to figure out how to use the newer versions of everything#I am old gandalf. I know I don't look it but I'm beginning to feel it#had a really good time drawing this though! playing around with new ways to do the light effects made me positively GIDDY#and zelda's design! I've seen people saying the game's visual design looks too simple but imo that's actually a good thing?#because the simpler the canon art style is the more creative input we have in our own interpretations of it#medieval tailoring is my special interest so my take on it is very loosely based on like mid-late 14th-century kirtles#as far as I know they didn't really have split skirts or that shade of purple back then but eh it's fantasy haha#I wasn't super clear on how the cloak fastens so I based it on the one frodo wears at the start of lord of the rings. you know the one#the outer edges have tabs at the top that sort of cross over each other and attach with brooches to the shoulders#I guess it's kind of like how marth and lucina's cloaks work?#but anyway I shall see you anon! hopefully before the game actually comes out haha#only 98 sleeps to go though! ARE YOU EXCITED BECAUSE I AM
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Yeah of course I’m still thinking about plushies, what else (Patreon)
Most specifically thinking about magnets again - there’s the obvious of putting it in their hands so they can hold hands!
Of course if they’re on the same side i.e. right hand gets south polarity, left gets north, they’d only be able to hold opposite hands, so no handshakes (but I think that’s fine personally haha)
But on top of hands they could also have magnets behind their mouth! Kiss-magnets! My only real concern is the fabric pulling and developing kiss-wrinkles from being pressed against each other haha
They’d also be able to giggle with their palms to their mouths hehe, how cute! It’d depend on their kiss polarity
Which would of course depend on ship compatibility! Max has to be able to kiss Dex and Caleb, so if that makes it that Caleb and Dex can’t kiss, I mean that’s just an unfortunate side effect haha
#Doodles#SCII#Helix#Max Vyer#Dexter Favin#ZEX#And kinda-sorta Caleb under the cut - mostly construction speculations#Gah I want themst as plushies so baaaad#Baby steps thataway - I'm still unsure with the fabric I'm using but everything testing! Every little step forward!#Just the thought of getting to play with them hehe ♪#Also personally-funny haha - that black shirt has a gold zipper pocket on the front so it's a little like VUX medals to me hehe#Fun fun#I'll get to play with them eventually!!! I will!#Until then the speculations are still enjoyable :) About the different accessories to have on offer hehe#Since they'd have static faces what would be a good way to imply sleepies? Too scary to be tucked in with wide eyes lol#A sleep mask makes him look sleepy <3 I wonder what his PJs are like :0 Even when I drew him wandering around at night#I still defaulted to his usual shirt style but I've seen him in a T shirt! :0 Comfy cozy#Guess it depends on the season as well haha tho I imagine the Vyer estate has central air hmmm#Anyhow lol - poor ZEX! It'd be too easy to cover his plushie in stitches to denote Them and his MU and everything :')#I also like the idea of little velcro/magnetic accessories to attach to the face - so like he has the empty socket and a little patch aw#Would like very much to try dry-dying(?) his hair with the green tips as well - like putting that plush-blush on the cheeks but hair instead#It should be possible right!#Speculating hair shapes for Max - I think bangs embroidered right to the face are very cool! But I like the idea of flipping his bangs up#Not like Super long to give him an emo fringe or anything lol but just enough to cover like his upper lash line :)#Attachment parts are interesting for sure - almost gotta make like a wig-style design to go over his head! :0#But imagining the final version with him so cute and self-pleased and squishy and throwable haha <3 He's too cute!#All the stuff under the cut is fairly well-contained explained I think haha#Looks strange in a kind of x-ray breakdown but hopefully it'd be invisible once they're constructed! No weird pulling hopefully hopefully#Sure doesn't make polyships any easier sheesh - what if I want them all to kiss! What if I want them to kiss everyone!!!#Magnets and their binary polarity smh just gotta invent a dual-attraction haha
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Seeing Kafka in overtly revealing ("sexy") dresses in fan arts: I just... don't see why? Me over here: The most 'revealing' thing that I can imagine her in, if I envision her without a coat draped over her shoulders, is something like this. Am I just weird; where am I supposed to see this 'overtly revealing' nature of hers that oozes 'sexy'? That woman has class, and in that, I think she's sexy (f I have to use the word). And where do I get that impression from? Her entire default attire screams it at me from the rooftops.
#[ mini study. ] she must have sought something extraordinary. everything she does comes at a great cost.#[ class. class. /class/. ]#[ she's refined. everything from how she walks; to her mannerisms; to how she phrases her sentences. all of it plays into it. ]#[ that's also /why/ she's so good at unnerving everyone in my opinion; it's because she has a certain stature to her. ]#[ i swear. she wears high-waist shorts. yes. but can we remember that the /high waist/ element is very important? ]#[ that was literally an element in the 1960s when these shorts became more mainstream to counteract the concept... ]#[ of bare legs. ensuring the waist was covered. even if with high-waist; the waist gets cinched which is inherently an 'attractive' thing.#[ yes. ]#[ but still; that keeps her shorts also within a realm of some semblance of attire conservatism/classiness. ]#[ and then out of everything she could 'collect'-- it's COATS. ]#[ an item of clothing that is often the first thing we judge a person by; and often is tied to perception/judgement of elegance. ]#[ sophistication and even a level of... professionalism. and if we look at public figures-- we often account status by their presentation.#[ or hell; their sense of style. and the first element of someone's presentation is often derived from their coat. ]#[ i feel like i need to stuff this post into the longer meta tag as well for sheer reference for myself. but i just!!! ]#[ i hate the super overtly fan arts of her. i don't understand where this perception comes from. ]#[ meta. ] the mara's tether is firmly in her grasp. she will not pull upon it before the designated time; nor shall she relinquish it.
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I think it’ll be really neat to see how Matt Mercer fares with the Dimension 20 format. Matt tends to favor attrition-style encounter design (lots of smaller, narratively inconsequential combats meant to drain party resources ahead of the Final Fight). This style is sort of the default for how 5e assumes you’ll play (hence why Short Rests exist), and it’s a perfectly valid style choice, especially for home play and for long-form campaigns.
While I don’t mind playing that style, I find it way less engaging as a viewer when it’s used in Actual Play. As a viewer, I generally prefer the D20 format of (what I refer to as) Set Piece Encounters. Big, story-relevant fights where the PCs have most if not all of their resources and abilities from the start, often with multiple paths to victory that the PCs need to discover as they interact with the encounter.
To be clear, it’s not like Matt CAN’T do this, there are tons of examples of this kind of encounter design across all 3 campaigns (C1 BBEG fight, C2 Cathedral Fight, C2 BBEG fight, C3 Museum Heist), it just tends to be reserved more for special occasions rather than being the default. But that makes sense because Critical Role is long-form as opposed to Dimension 20′s limited-run seasons.
(I really can’t emphasize enough that Dimension 20s limited-run nature is what makes it possible for every Encounter to be a big Set Piece Encounter.)
And because Dimension 20 has SUCH a strong format of alternating Roleplay and Combat episodes, because Dimension 20 seasons are limited in scope, and the Encounters are worked out with the production team ahead of time, I’m hoping that Matt really leans into it. I’m so excited to find out what he does with a limited-run season (REALLY can’t wait to know how many episodes there will be). I’m really hoping to see him flex his Set Piece Encounter design skills in the dome.
#dimension 20#critical role#Matt Mercer#Look I could write a whole comparative analysis of Brennan's Encounter Design sensibilities vs Matt's#both are VERY good at what they do#but Brennan's style is WAY more suited to playing for an audience and it SHOWS#I watched Calamity with a friend who doesn't watch D20#and he was blown away by how engaging Brennan's combats were#(he's used to mostly checking out during combat and playing video games while we watch)#And I Get It#But I don't think that Matt CAN'T design combats that way#I just don't think it's a realistic thing to expect in a long-form campaign
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Just beat Gascoiiiiiiiiigne
The farming really did help, I took the time to do some of the challenges I thought up last night and it was a good time! Kept me entertained as I ran around in circles, and it motivated me to target the big guys for extra echoes. Bought the axe and was able to upgrade my gun!
I even managed to play the music box this time, which I think was vital to beating him. It's hard to tell what he's doing when I'm in close, cuz of all the blood spray and frenetic movement, so I went for a more hit and run tactic than I usually do - I often sacrifice health to land big hits, which is absolutely coming back to bite me if I don't fix it soon. Already has a bit with Gascoigne.
I struggled a lot with the beast phase again, but this time I didn't attack at the start and instead let myself be chased around so he'd destroy enough of the graves to level the playing field. Made it MUCH easier when I was safely able to disengage after a strike and quite literally gave me space to heal.
And!! I got a visceral finish, and that felt AWESOME.
#bloodborne#Oedon feels absolutely haunted and the new enemies creep me out so bad DO NOT LIKE#I know the big grave keeper looking guys with the purple lanterns get extra attacks later in the game but they're big and scary#I slunk around them and as I was hiding in a corner I heard the rattle of chains and the BIGGEST thing I've seen in this game yet#Came shuffling round the corner right past me. Pure white. I recognised the church garb. Completely frozen as it lurched past.#Very immersive very scary#Found Alfred and opened the crypt but I'm only just leaving the tutorial area and already I feel like I'm not supposed to be here lmao#One thing I love about this game is that it isn't stealth based but it will accept it as a play style to an extent. Matches well with the#Slow pacing of cutscenes and dialogue. Makes the rush of fights or chases so much more fun when you can solemnly unclench after#You can hide behind walls and get stealth crits and lure enemies around and use traps and the environment or retreat to avoid patrols#If you try and rush even a basic enemy in this game you will die and now I've defeated Gascoigne this is back to being good game design XD
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as a huge spyro year of the dragon fan i Hate the reignited trilogy they took all the charm and nostalgia out of it BUT ... spyro's walking/running animation ? they perfected that.
#qktalks#world's most satisfying animation i could watch him hop around like that for hours. he's so ........ noodle-like#but they also took away his slow wing-flap animation from the original#like the one that's used when he's just standing there. he flaps his wings out very slowly in a constant rhythm#they took that away too. garbage game 0/10 /silly#they also made hunter .......so fucking ugly ?? whyd they do that to him . he didn't deserve this#for people unfamiliar with spyro look up spyro 3 original hunter vs reignited hunter you'll wanna vomit#idk i feel like reignited just didn't need to be made ?#a port of the original woulda been fucking BOMB. im of the opinion that old games don't Need to be remade#they just need to be ported/remastered or Whatever. and maybe tinkered with a Little if some aspect of the game was horrid for any reason#but also im of the opinion that u CAN do a good remake. if ur careful.#i don't think spyro needed all those graphic upgrades or that cartoonish realism#yeah the environments r pretty and they did a fine job w that i don't have an issue with the environments i have an issue w the characters#overall i think ?? bianca was done pretty well. she looks similar enough in face-shape to 3's original design#can't rly pinpoint anything in particular that's strange abt her. maybe her eyes? but idk what they coulda done differently#the sorceress is fine ... i kinda wish they made her head a little wider and kept the gradual change in scale color intact but#she's okay too#the fairies look bad<33333#spyro himself .... he looks okay ?#there's something Different about his face shape i kinda wish they'd kept everything a bit .... smaller? idk how to describe it#but it doesn't bother me that much i think they did a good job. lord knows they did better than skylanders .............#i also have an issue with the animations in general#idk how to explain it but the Way the characters move ............. it irks me#it's just so unnatural ? how they move and gesture when they talk? it's not Bad Animation it looks rly good graphically speaking#but idk. this isn't a spyro thing in particular it's just that animation style that i dislike#playing reignited just makes me sad. playing the original comforts me. playing reignited makes me sad that im not playing the original#u can remake an old game made of approximately 18 polygons and make it look good AND make it look like the original#u just have to be careful about the geometry and the level of detail and the eye shapes
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what am i supposed to do till fashion dreamer comes out
#i dont have any games (minus og style savvy and one of the 3ds titles) that fill the same niche#and i keep looking at the vids and screenshots theyve put out as promo so far#and its making me go INSANE#i need to make cute characters with cute outfits and makeup and hair NOW!!!#and as much as i love the ds titles... seeing what were gonna get on the switch makes me less excited to play them 😭😭😭#like aesthetically fashion dreamer is the most perfect version of style savvy#and nintendo HATES fun so there arent any good fashion games on switch#or the very few that do exist and jp only releases#so no english translations + u have to pay for the ahipping from jp which is really expensive#and as much as i adore animal crossing. the art style does not make the fashion very exciting for me#like i love it but ac for me is muuuuuch more about the interior design than the fashion#OUGHHHHH
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Conversation idea under the cut…
Sniper: Nice view, ain’t it?
Spy: I’ve seen better.
Sniper: Really? What’s your favorite place you’ve seen?
Spy: Le Jardin des Tuileries.
Sniper: Really, Spook? You’ve never seen anything better than France?
Spy: Non, not particularly.
Sniper: How come?
Spy: My work never left me much time for sightseeing.
Sniper: Ah, ain’t that the truth.
Spy: (sighs)
Spy: Though I suppose that would make this the second-best view I’ve ever seen by default.
Sniper: (laughs) You’re a proper riot.
Chillin’
Aka I listened to toby fox’s roast chicken song on loop because I’m normal and then I experienced a Thought :)
(Just in case click for better quality.. tumblr loves to butcher my posts)
#tf2 sniper#tf2 spy#team fortress 2#tf2#deltarune_explosion.gif#that’s me. right now. watching this#i love everything about this…i like how you’ve kind of chibi-fied them but in a way where it’s still very much your art style#they look like little soft dolls that i could pick up and play with…time to make them hug /j#i know this is a small thing but i also enjoy how you’ve given them different nose shapes#and also how you’ve drawn spy’s mask going over his nose—it just looks so Good and i don’t know how to explain it#in general the fact that you’ve managed to keep their character designs so accurate even while simplifying them is fantastic#YOU’RE SO GOOD AT ART!!!! EVERYBODY COME LOOK AT MY FRIEND WHO IS SUPER TALENTED AND DOES GOOD ART!!!!! /GEN#also also!! the way sniper’s expression does a little bounce when he laughs is so adorable…waaaaaaaaa#AND I KNOW I TOLD YOU THIS ALREADY. BUT THE WAY SPY LOOKS OVER AT SNIPER AND THEN LOOKS DOWN AT HIMSELF#WITH THOSE BIG WIDE EYES#BEFORE STARTING TO SWING HIS OWN LEGS AND SMILING#UGH MY HEART IS FULL!!!!! SPY GETS TO EXPERIENCE WHIMSY AND JOY REAL NOT CLICKBAIT!!!!!!!!!#i like how it’s implied that spy delivered his joke in such a deadpan manner that sniper was confused at first#but then spy smiles at him and he’s like ‘oh yeah that spy just fooling around haha’#oh and i said this before too but in case anyone else is looking the way that you made sniper’s hat shift with his head movements is so goo#BUT ALSO you’ve done such a good job getting him to emote even with the glasses hiding his face!#i love his little >:> expression it’s adorable!!!#this whole thing is adorable. i’m going to go watch it again right now#WAIT IS THIS TECHNICALLY YOUR FIRST ANIMATION#SINCE THE OTHER ONE WAS JUST MOVING JANE’S HAND BACK AND FORTH MANUALLY#WHOA BUSH FIRST ANIMATION!!!!!! LOTS OF APPLAUSE!!!!!#/GEN THAT’S SERIOUSLY SO COOL :D#okay now i’m going to go watch it again for real :3#(ACTUALLY. I WAS REALLY CLOSE TO THIRTY TAGS WHAT THE HECK IT WAS SO EASY TO TYPE OUT 28 LIKE IT WAS NOTHING#I’M MAXING OUT THE TAGS WITH THESE LAST TWO EHEHEHE)
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2025 book bingo time 📚
want a completely arbitrary set of reading goals for 2025? want to try something new in your literary diet but don't know where to start? just like a challenge for the sake of a challenge? just love a good game of bingo?
boy do I have something for you!
for anyone planning to participate, please know that I LOVE attention and talking about books, so I would be STOKED to be tagged on any and all updates about what you're reading or planning to read. I'm so, so excited to see all the different ways these prompts get filled, especially if and when they bring people away from the kinds of things they normally read. not to mention snag some new reading recs myself, hopefully!
and of course, I want to know whenever somebody gets a bingo - and ESPECIALLY if somebody fills the whole board! I don't have any prizes for you, but I can offer a sense of accomplishment :)
note that this is designed to be played as 1 book = 1 space, so even if you read, say, a fantasy graphic novel published in 1923 from an indie publisher that has a bat on the cover, you'd only cross off one space. I'm not a cop and I'm not in charge of what you read, so if it sparks more joy to check off multiple spaces per book then go nuts, but I am throwing that disclaimer out there.
EDIT: the 2025 book bingo challenge is now also on storygraph, thanks to @obi-wann-cannoli!
wondering what some of these spaces mean? seeking a couple recommendations to get you started? no idea what a zine even is, let alone how to make one? worry not! I have a guide to all 25 prompts, including recommendations + an example of what I'll be reading throughout the year to fulfill each space. read on beneath the cut!
Literary Fiction: I find that a lot of people are reluctant to check out literary fiction, as it’s often written off as not being about anything but adultery and divorce. If this is you, I implore you to take a chance, acknowledge that adultery and divorce are compelling sometimes, and also remember that lit fic has a lot more to offer than that. At Writer’s Digest, Michael Woodson describes literary fiction as “less of a genre than a category,” which “focuses on style, character, and theme over plot.” My recommendations include Raven Leilani’s Luster, Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and Melissa Broder’s Milk Fed.
I’ll be reading: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
2. Short Story Collection: You know, a bunch of short stories together in one book? It doesn’t get much more self-explanatory than that. Could be a collection of stories by a single author or an anthology—it’s up to you! I recommend checking out Mariana Enríquez’s The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (translated by Megan McDowell), Nalo Hopkinson’s Falling in Love With Hominids, and Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century.
I’ll be reading: Your Utopia by Bora Chung and translated by Anton Hur
3. A Sequel: It could be one that you’ve been meaning to get around to, one that’s not releasing until 2025, or the sequel to something you read to cross off another space on this very bingo sheet!
I’ll be reading: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao, sequel to 2021’s Iron Widow
4. Childhood Favorite: Go back and read a book you loved as a child, tween, or teen! There’s no wrong answer here; anything from a YA novel to a picture book would be just lovely, and I can’t wait to see what people pick for this option! I’m not sure which of my old favorites I’ll be revisiting yet—should I go for the warm and fuzzy Casson Family series, or straight towards the mindfucky sci-fi of Interstellar Piggy? Or maybe I’ll go see how Artemis Fowl holds up...
5. 20th Century Speculative Fiction: For those not familiar with the term, speculative fiction can encapsulate science fiction, fantasy, and anything else that falls into the unreal. You’re spoiled for iconic choices here: the 20th century gave us Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness, Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Kindred, L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, the beginning of Pratchett’s Discworld series, Diana Wynne Jones’ Howls’ Moving Castle, and countless others.
I’ll be reading: Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, love of my literary life 💜
6. Fantasy: Fantasy comes in a thousand different shades, from contemporary urban wizards with day jobs at the office to high fantasy spellslingers chasing dragons away from castles. Some examples I’ve adored are N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon, C.L. Polk’s Witchmark, Fonda Lee’s Jade City, and Nghi Vo’s Empress of Salt and Fortune.
I’ll be reading: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
7. Published Before 1950: This one could not be more straightforward if I tried. You have all of human history (or at least, all the parts that have surviving literature), just not the last 75 years. Dig deep!
I’ll be reading: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1938
8. Independent Publisher: Did you guys know that just five publishing companies (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette Book Group) are responsible for 80% of books published in the US each year, and 25% of books globally? Break away from the big five and see what some small presses are putting out! If you need some ideas about where to start, check out this list of nearly 300 independent publishers with notes on what kind of books they put out!
I’ll be reading: Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translated by Lin King, from Graywolf Press
9. Graphic Novel/Comic Book/Manga: Despite my personal obsession with Batman, the world of comic books is sooo much wider than Gotham City—or anything else that DC and Marvel have to offer. If superheroes aren’t your speed, check out the Southern gothic of Carmen Maria Machado and Dani Strips’ comic The Low, Low Woods, splash around in Kat Leyh’s graphic novel Thirsty Mermaids, or stop waiting for a new season of Dungeon Meshi and go read Ryoko Kui’s manga, translated to English by Taylor Engel.
I’ll be reading: The Fade, by Aabria Iyengar and Mari Costa
10. Animal on the Cover: Yes, yes, don’t judge a book by its cover—but do go find one with a critter on the cover and give it a read! Absolutely no other requirements here, get silly with it.
I’ll be reading: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
11. Set in a Country You Have Never Visited: Fiction or nonfiction, doesn’t matter so long as it gives you a little glimpse of a country you’ve never visited in real life. If you’ve somehow visited every country currently recognized in the world, then I guess you get to go read something set in space.
I’ll be reading: A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon and Kim Sanho, translated by Anton Hur
12. Science Fiction: A genre just as diverse as fantasy, with a little something for everybody! I recommend Becky Chambers’ Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for those who want to kiss an alien in the stars and Jessamine Chan’s The School for Good Mothers for those who want a surveillance state dystopia that hits much closer to home.
I’ll be reading: Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase
13. 2025 Debut Author: Read a book by someone who’s releasing their first book in 2025. Fic or nonfic, any genre, no further requirements. Not quite a free space, but pretty close!
I’ll be reading: Liquid: A Love Story by Mariam Rahmani, coming out March 11
14. Memoir: Per Wikipedia, a memoir is “any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author’s personal memories.” Some are funny, some are heartbreaking, some are both! I recommend Carman Maria Machado’s In the Dream House and Roxane Gay’s Hunger, because I tend to lean heartbreaking!
I’ll be reading: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Again, I like heartbreaking!
15. Read a Zine, Make a Zine: Not familiar with zines? No problem! Check out some of these digital archives for inspiration, and then craft your own zine with this simple guide (or do it your own way, I’m not in charge of you).
Internet Archives: https://archive.org/details/zines
Gay Zine Archive Project: https://gittings.qzap.org/
POC Zine Project: https://poczineproject.tumblr.com/
Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/zine-web-archive/
16. Essay Collection: Like a short story collection, but it’s nonfiction now. Some of my favorites include Samantha Irby’s We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, Elaine Castillo’s How to Read Now, Aimee Nezhukhumatathil’s World of Wonders, and Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings.
I’ll be reading: A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib
17. 2024 Award Winner: What award? Any award you like! And boy, there are tons to pick from. Any book that won any award in the year 2024 is free game. If you need some places to start looking, check out some of these:
Lambda Literary Awards, for excellence in LGBT literature: https://lambdaliterary.org/awards__trashed/2024-winners/
The Alex Awards, for adult books with crossover appeal for teen readers: https://www.ala.org/yalsa/alex-awards
Ignyte Awards, celebrating diversity in speculative fiction: https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/2024-results/
Women's Prize for Fiction (self explanatory) https://womensprize.com/prizes/womens-prize-for-fiction/
Others: https://www.bookbrowse.com/awards/
I’ll be reading: Biography of X by Catherine Lacey, winner of the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction
18. Nonfiction: Learn Something New: I know very little about archaeology, anthropology, or any other fields that involve studying ancient cities, but Annalee Newitz’s Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age was some of the most fun I had with nonfiction in 2024, because every page brought a brand new discovery. For 2025, find a nonfiction book about a topic you don’t know ANYTHING about, and learn something new!
I’ll be reading: Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity, and Hawaiian Refreshment by Hi’ilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart
19. Social Justice & Activism: Read a book about a social issue, the history of an activist movement, or brush up on a guiding philosophy or ideology. Arm yourself with knowledge, besties, because I have a feeling we’re going to need it! if you need a good place to start, why not try Angela Davis' Race, Women & Class, Mariame Kaba's We Do This 'Til We Free Us, or Molly Smith and Juno Mac's Revolting Prostitutes?
I’ll be reading: White Feminism: From Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck
20. Romance Novel: Listen to me. Fucking listen to me. I mean a ROMANCE. NOVEL. Not a novel that incidentally has a romance in it. Romance novel, motherfucker. Go check out the romance section and have some whimsy as two people fall in love through the most contrived series of events ever conceived. If you really need a romance that makes you feel smart (that’s still sexy and messy as hell), try Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty.
I’ll be reading: Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasche
21. Read and Make a Recipe: Could be a cookbook, could be a recipe you yoinked from the New York Times, could be something your grandparents lovingly wrote down by hand. Could be as complex or as simple as you like, just make something tasty! Some cookbooks I’ve enjoyed are Sohla El-Waylly’s Start Here, Dan Pashman’s Mission Impastable, and John Wang and Storm Garner’s The World Eats Here.
22. Horror: Slashers, zombies, haunted houses, creeping paranoia, you name it! It’s time to get spooky and scary with all kinds of things going bump in the night. Maybe this is the year to finally keep up with Dracula Daily? Not for me, I'm not doing that, but you could!
I’ll be reading: I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
23. Published in the Aughts: A throwback, but not too far back. Read something published between 2000 and 2009. Maybe it’s time to finally get into Twilight? (For legal reasons, that’s a joke.)
I’ll be reading: The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, published in 2004
24. Historical Fiction: You know, fiction that takes place in a bygone era! Please remember, this isn’t just about reading a book that’s old; we have a separate prompt for that! This is about reading something that takes place in the past relative to the time it was written. Pride and Prejudice is historical to us, but was contemporary when Austen wrote it. Think of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, or history + a bit of fantasy in book's like R.F. Kuang's Babel.
I’ll be reading: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Bookseller or Librarian Recommendation: This one is fun, and something I always like to do when I’m travelling and visiting a new bookstore. Ask a bookseller or librarian to recommend something they’ve liked, and check it out! If going in person isn’t feasible, many bookstores and libraries have staff picks on their websites, and the Indie Next List is a monthly list of independent booksellers’ favorite new releases.
I’ll be reading: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich, which I bought at Erdrich’s bookstore, Birchbark Books, this summer :)
lastly: tagging people who asked to be tagged to make sure they didn't miss this! @thebisexualwreckoning @perfunctoryperfusions @reallyinkyhands come get your bingo sheet!
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One of the best parts about working at a sex shop is the employee discount, and yeah that means excellent deals on sex supplies but that's not the big brain part.
You come to my house. Something is cooking in the kitchen- it smells wonderful. What is it? It's novelty dick-shaped pasta. I've set up a sensual sexy Italian dinner. There are candles set up on the table. They're melting too fast, dripping everywhere- they're low temp waxplay pillar candles. For dessert, I serve you a delicious ice cream topped in penis-shaped rainbow confetti sprinkles and strawberry body paint drizzle, and afterwards, serve coffee with roasted hazelnut warming lube.
We play a board game while we drink. It's sexy monopoly. It's your turn. You roll the dice. They come up as 'whisper into' and 'butt'. I lost the original dice. We're using the sexy dice. You move four spaces.
After dinner, I run you a bath. A bubble bath. The bubble gel? Sensual ocean breeze. There are candles lined up around the tub. The scent is overpowering. Why? They're three-in-one fruit flavored massage oil candles. I'm using so much. It's so wasteful. Do you want to shave? I have conditioning shave cream that smells like limes. And an electric body razor, but you can't use that in the tub.
How about a bath bomb? You toss one in. It's cherry blossom scented. As it dissolves, three sexy bath sex suggestion cards fall out. They're all variations on doggy style, probably because fucking in a bathtub is probably the easiest way to break your hip.
The water cools. You get out an dry off with a novelty towel. If you wrap it around your chest, it looks like you have gigantic tatas bursting through the fabric like the Hulk.
You walk into the bedroom. I'm there, reading an instructional book titled "The Housewife's Guide To Every Day Stripping". I'm wearing a neck pillow designed to look like a massive curved weiner. Also a pair of fake leather bondage leggings and an oversized men's christmas T-shirt that says "Jingle My Bells" across the front.
I see you come in. I put down the book, take off the pillow. Offer you a massage. You accept. I already burned up all the massage candles so I pop a new bottle of CBD massage oil that says something wrong about Chakras on it. It's very gritty. That's because there's little chunks of amethyst in it for some fucking reason. It's fine, though. You say you don't mind.
I don't do massages very often. It's bad. You end up more tense than before. One of your muscles starts to cramp- it's okay. I whip out a bottle of Lidocane topical masculine performance numbing spray. You immediately feel like your shoulder went to the dentist. It's not ideal, but it's better than cramping.
You're not in the mood to bone after that. Which is good, cause I'm actually pretty asexual, but it hasn't come up yet so I'm relieved to avoid the conversation. Instead we get ready for bed. (The weather is terrible, and I insist you stay over.) I set up the futon, then realize it smells like cigarettes from the previous owner and shyly ask if you wanna cuddle in my room. You're down.
I crawl under the covers, placing my penis-shaped pink glitter pride bottle on the side table in case one of us wakes up thirsty. Once you're settled in, I turn off the glowing bare ass night light and the room goes black.
It takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust, but when they do, you look up at the ceiling. It's dotted all over with little green flourescent lights. Are they plastic stars? No. I've pinned up a thousand glow in the dark condoms. God bless
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