#i need to buy the graphic novels btw

[b1gwings]

i am not immune to waiting until i finish my finals to finish listening to the suffering game........

#taz balance #GOOD GOD i just listened to chapter 4 last night #THE FUCKING TRUESIGHT SPELL??? #i kniow this is old news by now but im listening for hte first time #i need to buy the graphic novels btw #i need to draw them. im exploding them with my mind #it's so fucking good. i can't believe it's taken me this long to get into taz

[sayitaliano]

Hi!!

I went to Florence this summer and came across a gorgeous graphic novel I just had to buy! It doesn't axist in any of the languages I speak so I'm translating it to English right now because even though I'm fluent in Spanish and I can kind of understand some bits, I barely speak Italian. I'm having trouble translating a few things... I was wondering if you could help?

The first is "Osteria, che spavento!" which is said after a character gets scared by a monster. I understand he's saying something like "what a scare!" but I don't understand what "osteria" means in this context? I thought it was a type of restaurant... Is it slang for something?

Then there's this monologue:

"… e grazie ad Arianna e a Hermes è finalmente arrivato il pittore…con lui ci siamo tutti, c'è persino il fratino rompicoglioni. è vero che manca il vescovo di roma, ma a tutto c'è un limite. C'è suo nipote, a ogni buon conto, e in ottima compagnia a quanto pare."

So far what I understand is "Thanks to Arianna and Hermes the painter has finally arrived." I kind of understand what the rest means but I've been especially struggling with '"con lui ci siamo tutti, c'è persino il fratino rompicoglioni". The translations I look up don't really make sense to me - some say "rompicoglioni" means "pain in the ass" but others say "stepbrother" so I'm unsure.

Thanks in advance for your help and I hope you don't mind if I bother you with any more translations in the future 😅 If you need help translating something from Spanish to English or vice versa I'd be happy to help!

Ciao!! Sure no problem, send in whatever you may need about your translation! I'm revising Spanish so I will keep in mind about your offer (thanks!) :)

From the bits you wrote, it seems a very funny novel. Anyway, let's move onto your translations.

Osteria -> you're right, in general it's a type of restaurant that you can find across Italy in which you generally can eat local and traditional dishes. In this case though, it is used as an exclamation of surprise (and it's not vulgar, which is why we may often use it... I think mostly in the center-north of Italy but honestly I think it is known all around the country). So you can translate it as heck, geez, hell... something of this kind. It is really good to say it as an exclamation cause it's a type of word that makes your mouth full (as a real osteria should btw) and it's pretty of help in letting out stress. It reminds me of another exclamation "Ostia/Ustia" which I think may be used also in Spain? If so, same mood. Oh and yes "Che spavento = what a scare", you're right.

Rompicoglioni -> I love how you found stepbrother as a translation! I bet someone really likes theirs to spread such an info... Anyway, the real meaning of this word is never kind (but can be used "jokingly", in specific occasions and with people you know very well); "pain in the ass" is the most common translation I found. A "rompicoglioni" is someone who is really really REALLY annoying either cause they talk too much or anything else. Literally translates as "breaking balls", so you have an idea. I bet this "little/thin monk" must be really loved by the speaker in the novel haha.

You said you kinda get the rest of the monologue so I'm not going to add anything else for now, but let me know about any other doubt you may have.

Have a great day/night!

#it #italian #langblr #italiano #italian language #italian langblr #language #languages #traduzioni #parole words #domande asks #tw swearing words

[ouisrslyneed1feralacadamiablog]

Now that Sandman is kinda trending I thought I might give my shitty list of things, that were written by Neil Gaiman, for people to read. Enjoy. Or not. (Btw I did not read every single thing he wrote, 'cus that's like a lot and i have somewhat of a social life and other hobbies, but a part of my bookshelf is dedicated to his books so idk maybe I am semi qualified like my old PE teacher who was 100% stoned at all times and wasn't even a real teacher). Also I kinda left out good omens since I think it doesn't need to be mentioned anyways, its a work of art go read it. Additionally I have zero knowledge with comics so yeah u can Google his involvement with comics on ur own.

- the ocean at the end of the line.

I love it. Was genuinely horrific at points. Loved that. ( insert essay on how the book feels like a children's book written by him, but at the same time it's not and dont give your children that to read. Or do. Am i ur mom) anyway there is a very pretty version of it out with lots of pretty pictures in black and white.

10/10 will not read again I already have sleeping problems

- a study in emerald

As a lover for cosmic horror and sherlock homes, this was amazing. U can read it for free online. There is a comic/visual novel(? Idk it is all pictures and text) it's very good.

Can someone explain y most of Neil Gaimans work is illustrated. It's cool but ot doesn't seem very common with other authors.

10/10 more green slimy things yes pls

- his children's books r cool I guess

Coraline, the milk one, I am to lazy to get up from my bed but u know which one if u google it, and the graveyard book. Again all illustrated and/or haver graphic novels(whats the difference between graphic novels and comics/gen)

10/10 they make me feel like I had a cozy and happy childhood

- the sleeper and the spindle

Did I buy this one because it had two pretty lady's kissing? Maybe, but I am just too gay not to. Again illustrated. Chris Riddell did great with this one(I got up from my bed for this, btw it's 'fortunately the milk' for the book that I mentioned before) it's surprising to say the least. A twist on a classic tale.

10/10 pretty pictures, pretty ladies and a pretty story what else do u need

- the view from the cheap seats

Tbh I bought it on sale because no way am I paying 30 euros for a collection of essays and forewords. It was interesting? I guess. I enjoyed it. Half the time I didn't know what he was talking about. But maybe that was just me being on painmeds at the time of reading.

10/10 got some nice book recommendations that I probably never gonna read.

- American gods and anansi boys

So I know that American gods is kinda known and so on, but I never see much about the 'sequel'( it's not really a sequel as much it is just a different tale in the same universe with one reoccurring character. But he dies in like the first few chapters lol. Kinda.) Anyways. I enjoyed it a bit more. Take that with a grain of salt, because I can't remember shit from the books. Again it's either my very horrible memory or the painmeds. But I remember they were entertaining.

10/10 don't give Blowjobs to people who r driving a car. That's irresponsible. Just don't. (How is that pretty much the only part I remember) there is a short story that acts a bit like an epilogue or side story for American gods. Its good. Again I can't remember the plot, I just remember that it contained an important piece of lore that's finally got confirmed with the side story.

- his short stories

Mmmmmmmh. Read at own risk. I still wake up in sweat at night because of that one short story about narnia. It disturbed me. Alot. I remember Neil Gaiman wrote about this short story in the collection of essays. I hope he loves fucking with people's heads, because he certainly gave me a serious brainfuck. Then again one of the books with a collecting of sort stories is called 'trigger warning' so maybe read that as a real warning lol.

10/10 I am too stupid to understand some of his short stories (certified idiot). But a fool doesn't need to know the intentions of things, he can make fun of it regardless. Anyways. They good. They make idiot happy or sad. Depends on the story. Most likely sad and depressed. Read at ur own risk.

#neil gaiman #feral academia #academia #feral #chaotic academia #feral academic #literature #book recommendations #i am praying to the gods of gay dont make him see this #the sandman #sandman #i guess #i am not proofreading #do i look like an english major? #i minor in italian

[livepoultryfreshkilled]

i have a couple comic runs planned if dc ever lets me in. the first that comes to mind is my leslie thompkins villain-ish thing, inspired by gotham but in a different universe, where she becomes “the doc,” who is first a bioterrorist against the rich running the exploitative medical industry but is turned into a kind of paragon of disease who is attempting to speed up the whole “meek inheriting the earth” thing by doing, essentially, reverse-eugenics. like killing all the healthy people. it’s a lot inspired by my experience with the medical industry and as a chronically ill person and also i think it would be so cool. 

the other is “hip to be square” which is a lot more planned out and would probably be a vertigo house run, not a graphic novel like serious house on serious earth but definitely self-contained. i have a lot of thoughts onit which i need to make more cohesive so i would actually love asks or dms about it (answering questions makes me better at explaining) but in it the villain is like, this kind of YIMBY/gentrifying force taking over gotham and making it “normal.” productive, profitable, clean, MARKETABLE. as opposed to like the other exploitations of the poor in batman it would be about how modern gentrification takes away the culture and soul and individuality of the world completely, cleans it out, and how that would destroy everything about gotham that MAKES it gotham. they dont just stick to the poor, they also attempt to get rid of all the rogues. they’re after the eccentrics too, people who do not behave in a way that is conducive to exponentially increasing profits and being as marketable as possible. they are significantly more successful than batman in getting rid of the rogues because they convince the middle/upper middle class of gotham to exchange privacy for “security” and let them literally sell/buy away their privacy for the sake of PREVENTING crimes. you know how this happens in real life? the way we no longer trust each other because everyone is a potential threat so we pay companies to keep us safe? this is the first part. theyre working with batman and batman has to pretend he is fine with this and that he DOESNT need the rogues to continually break out and fight him again (he soo does, this one does at least) but they eventually turn on him too for being too violent and not working within the confines of the law and refusing to be regulated. also for being a little weirdo creep. bruce is NOT a playboy in this btw he is a creepy greasy little recluse and selina is a weird cat lady (and she has facial hair because how have people not given CATWOMAN whiskers yet, also its cool) and they have weird creepy love. there is riddlebird in this as well. oswald is kept as a kind of oddity/mockery for a period of time, but ed gives up the riddler persona, so does jonathan, and they both conform lest they be killed. which they do btw. there’s a whole mob execution of two-face, condiment man, lots of batman’s villains, they raid hugo strange’s laboratory and kill all of his “children”. joker is killed alone in a back room with no cameras, and he begs to have them kill him in public so he can at least be seen, but they shoot him and burn his body without ceremony. batman is burned at the stake with his suit on and his mask melts into his face but he doesnt die because selina saves him. it’s kind of like earth one in that waylon jones (my dear beloved waylon jones) is in the sewers, as is strange and selina, and they revive him. then its all the surviving rogues (oswald eventually is taken to be killed but he escapes #cockroachqueen and he attempts to recruit edward, they have a thing, there’s an additional arc between them. ed and jonathan have a thing that’s kind of about masking and conforming to a capitalist world even when it kills you, its also kind of trans. jonathan kills himself but ed is like FUCK this love is love im the ridler baby) and they also get the gothamites, the real gothamites, to do what they do best: be insane and wear a hat about it. all the gothamites becomes rogues themselves and they kill/drive out the betterment association (gentrifying group) and all the yuppies. thats the gist of it

the third is one where, due to a couple factors, batman is a villain in gotham. i believe that the joker/batman dichotomy would exist regardless of who represented “good” and who represented “evil”, as joker is not evil but instead the abject of batman (using julia kristeva’s definition of the object/abject relationship.) so batman, instead of order, becomes a figure for control, meaning that joker forms as a figure for freedom (instead of chaos.) they retain their personalities/ideals, but with different values: joker believes in #1 COMMIT TO THE FUCKING BIT. #2 be as annoying as humanly possible. #3 fuck cops suck cock and also that taking a life is the ultimate repression of freedom and also NOT even funny, batman believes that the only way to save gotham (and prevent something like his parents death happening again) is to gut out the sickness by force. dick grayson is taken in by joker (not immediately like he was with batman, but instead joker sees his parents die and is like HA. fucked up but i lold. sorry kid but eventually comes across him in the foster system and is like whoa i HATE systems. systems are my LEAST FAVORITE. i’m stealing this gymnastic tween) and dick becomes the flying squirrel instead of robin. gaggy the clown is batmans robin equivalent but let me be clear. gaggy is a full grown man. he is potentially even older than batman. but he is also his tween son. alfred is not there because alfred is the reason why bruce grew up to be good (alfred not being there was one of the factors of batman being evil.) gordon has to work with joker but oh he hates him so bad. joker is so ay and weird and annoying but gordon hates corruption more than he hates this fucking gay clown. sadly. harvey will be very interesting to explore but i havent figured out quite how yet.

anyways what do u all think? thoughts? ideas?

#aries.doc #dc #batman #mywriting #<- for future reference if anyone asks me about it again

[quinnick]

New jack blank books announced btw, three new graphic novels, first one focuses on skerren as main character!

:O Wooo!! Skerren main character moment !! Can't wait to possibly get these... (I still need to buy the original books so I can reread them)

#ask #moots #quinnick answers

[duckuwu]

this is everyone's warning, i'm giving superman & lois another go. yes yes i know i was starting the descent into deep space nine last week, but i've been told by multiple different people who i dont really know, but who are professional writers and / or house of el people, that i'm missing out as a house of el fan for not watching.

i explained to them (yes all of them) that it was just too depresso in the beginning so i gave up trying.

but apparently all i needed was to get to episode 4. lol jfc.

...honestly, the tipping point was the guy who works at the comic book store i prefer. a couple weeks ago i went in to buy the Dreamer one off comic. and he saw it, as he was ringing it up, and went off on his love for dreamer. and how adorable son of kal is. especially jon's moment coming out to his father. (and also the moment where dreamer lets jon know his dad's okay). and i was like 'i like this guy'

then this past weekend i went in hopes of getting a physical copy of supergirl: woman of tomorrow. (they didnt have it. in fact, me asking for it made them realize that it's been out for a year and they were horrified at not knowing that AND at not having the book. adorable.((it's a fantastic graphic novel btw. just in general. but especially if you love the house of el, and especially if you love kara))) his friend was hanging out and had been looking for the individual issues. so the three of us instantly bonded. i ended up leaving with a different supergirl book.

anyway he's ringing me up and somehow the tv show gets brought up and we both agree that there was so much missed potential. that the quality diminished once it went to the cw. and then he asked if i was watching superman & lois and i was like 'no.' AND HE LOOKED SO HORRIFIED AND BETRAYED. (he even said he felt so betrayed by this information lol)

and anyway i eventually got him to understand how i do love hoechlin in the role, and i tried watching it, but it was just too depresso. and it clicked and he was like 'oh, yeah no it gets way better. give it another go'

and that's where we are, some random adorable guy in a spiderman tee, who i know loves the house of el as much as i do, telling me i need to give it another go. lol

we'll see how long this random friendship lasts... will it break if i inform him of my dislike for the last guy who played superman in the movies? (listen. it was a combination of the actor and the tone of kal's story. okay. i could've put up w the actor if they were at least getting kal right) or will we bond further.

it's funny 'cause i'd been feeling quite lonely lately. a need to somehow go out and meet people and make friends. and like i'm not saying this was / is that. i mean who knows. but it's just a bit surprising to unexpectedly run into someone who is just having a blast being who he is. honestly most of the people i've met out here are actually quite nice and genuine people.

and it's weird to recognize my envy at how freely they're giving their love and sharing their joy w/ the world. like i was working remote for years before the covid happened, and i'd try to go out and make friends at board game events or whatever (it was in a different location) and it was hard. people weren't really particularly nice either. they were either there to compete or sell things. anyway. i moved and just became quite isolated. i've got the three people i know irl here, and they're great i love them, but also like... i need to expand my pool. lol

i'm an introvert but i thrive off of being around other people. and but also it really would be nice to get a significant other, you know, an eventual spousey. a teammate for life as i like to think of it.

anywho i've been kinda sadge lately. (and apparently dealing with high bloodpressure issues) so happening across these friendly and helpful and kind guys in a comic book store really was a nice surprise and pick me up. but also super refreshing to just talk about something you love with complete strangers and know they understand and feel the same way. that's just neat.

#duck thoughts #rambles about life under the cut

[writingquestionsanswered]

I WANT TO END ME!! I've been working on this amazing story for 4 years and today I knew that there's a story way more successful and cooler than mine!! The plot is the freaking same!!! HELP

Freaking Out About Plot Similarities

Answering this out of order because I saw it come in and it’s a writer emergency. I don’t want Anon to sit with this all day/night...

Anon, take a DEEP BREATH. Good. EXHALE.

This happens to writers all the time. ALL the time. I’m going through it right now. One of my CPs went through it last week. You’re hardly alone and this isn’t the last time it will happen to you.

But here’s the thing: while the similarities feel glaring to you right now, I promise it’s not as bad as you think it is. Your plot cannot possibly be “the same” as an existing story unless you deliberately set out to copy that story, which I know you didn’t.

Plot similarities always feel ten-thousand times worse than they actually are, because we all want to believe every idea we come up with is a unique little snowflake unlike any other idea that’s ever been thought up before. We want to be the first to think of a particular character, a name, a setting, a plot point, a line of dialogue... but the reality is humans have been creating stories since time immemorial. There are literally MILLIONS of books in the world, not to mention all the short stories, poems, songs, fan-fiction, video games, comic books, graphic novels, movies, TV shows, plays, musicals... you get the point. It just isn’t possible for every idea--or any ideas really--that you have to be 100% unique. It just isn’t. And when there are millions of stories out there (33 million titles are available for sale on Amazon right now...) you are absolutely bound to find your ideas in existing stories. 

But here’s the good news: similar stories are everywhere and no one cares. In fact, people actually LIKE similar stories, because when they read a story and love it, they want to read more stories like it. That’s why books like Twilight and The Vampire Diaries (VERY similar stories, btw...) brought on a slew of supernatural romance novels. It’s why the popularity of books like The Hunger Games brought on more books like... The Hunger Games. (And, well before THG there was Battle Royale...) 

My point is, don’t panic. Not only is your story not as similar as it feels like it is... I promise the differences outweigh the similarities... but there’s nothing wrong with similarities. Similarities are actually good. Here’s a post I did about Diversifying a Story That’s Similar to Existing Story if you feel like you need to make some changes to yours, but honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s not as bad as you think, I’m sure of it. :) ♥

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[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: January 28th, 2021 (Part 2)

Here we’ve got asks that aren’t to ask a question but are just really nice messages. Thank you all for sending us such kind comments ;v;. It’s seriously heartwarming to see so many people having good experiences with the game. I don’t even know what to say to such sweet responses.

We’ll keep doing our best and thank you again to each and every one of you for giving Our Life a chance ❤!

Hello! I've been following this account and have been following the development of 'Our Life' for a few months now, and I just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work and dedication you have put into the game. It astonishes me how much choice you have during the sequence of Our Life and am excited to play the full version now, I am downloading it as I write this message. I've had a great time seeing the demo transition into to the full game and just wanted to write two words. Thank you.

Anhhhhffbgdfbhujk!!! Congratulations on the release, I’m playing the game right now! Thank you all for your hard work and I can’t wait for the Step 3 DLC to come out, I’ll probably wait for the Step 3 DLC to come out to experience everything, but until then, I still have a lot to play. Thank you once again!

finished my first playthrough just now. it just felt so wholesome ??? 100/10 would do it again. i laughed. i cried. i got angry. i felt second-hand embrassment— i got so into it i was left in literal tears after getting my first ending. the art, the storyline, the music, and COVE HOLDEN– UGH IT WAS LITERAL PERFECTION ❤ THE WAIT WAS WORTH IT. THANK YOU FOR MAKING SUCH AN AMAZING GAME 🥺😭 this made my 2020 better, i can't wait for step 4 in 2021 ❤❤

So I was following you guys on itchio for years and uhh did I stay up til 6 am on a school night to finish the game? Yes. Did I sob my eyes out during step 3 as a 20 year old having doubts about life and adulthood? Absolutely. I can't form proper sentences right now due to lack of sleep but just wanted to say thank you for making it. I honestly feel lighter and I feel like it changed my views on future to be more optimistic... I can't wait to replay it! Thanks again!

I love how Our Life turned out!! I keep replaying it and can't stop squeaking and giggling!! Thank You for creating it ♥

okay i have actually fallen in love with cove and cannot WAIT to marry him 😭

Hi! I played through 'Our Life' yesterday and  I just wanna say how refreshing it was to be able to have Cove be 'high initiative' and also have so many opportunities to initiate affection from the player character! As a pretty flirtatious/affectionate person myself, I notice that a lot of VNs don't give players that agency, and affection can be kinda 'carrot on a stick' if that makes sense. You guys did an awesome job! I look forward to seeing if there are more of those moments in Step 3 & 4 :)

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the option to choose Cove's level of initiative in step 3! As much I love the option to choose I personally enjoy have the romanced character take the lead without my input so when I got to step 3 and had to option to make it so that Cove initiated affection without as much input from me I was really happy! You guys seriously added so much freedom in terms of choices, it's almost baffling that the only thing you have to pay for is optional DLC!

I absolutely loved everything about the game and I really want congratulate the team for making the game such a satisfying experience.

I look forward to step 4

❤️❤️❤️❤️

* and sorry for my bad English

Just finished my first play through and I loved it! I've been looking forward to the game and it definitely was worth the wait. Thank you all for your hard work and can't wait for the extra dlc!

Till then, hope you guys gets some well deserved rest🤗

Love you guys, thank you so much for your hard work. :)

Ok, so I just finished Our Life and, wow. I have never cried at a video game before, ever. Thank you so, so much! Its one of my favorites.

this isn't a question, but i just wanted to say how much i enjoyed our life 🥺 i've been patiently looking forward to the full game for a few months now, and i couldn't be happier with it! i've only played through it once so far but the outcomes of the choices i made were all so soft and wholesome 💗 i can tell that everyone who was involved really worked hard and you all did an incredible job! i can't wait to see what else is in store 👍

i’d just like to say how addictive our life is!!! i constantly played it during quarantine and now playing the full release is so amazing to me!! i love that i’m still discovering dialogue bits with different personalities and actions!!! i have to admit that i’ve been wishing the day to pass faster all day during school so i could go home and play again. mentally i’m not the healthiest and our life being released has boosted it up so much, thank you for creating such an amazing game!!!!!

Hey, I just wanna say I played our life two times and it still give me the same feelings. I was really looking forward to this game before it came out and I kept on replaying the demo. This game is such an amazing experience and I feel so happy playing it. I am not really a person good with words unfortunately but I do honestly love this more than anything in the world. Thank you for making it and I hope that you will continue to make more games like our life. This game really makes me happy and I can't thank you enough

Just wanted to say that Our Life really made me feel seen as an 18 year old trans man who's been struggling with change as of late and I can't thank you guys enough for it. I just finished the main story and currently released DLC's and gosh, I can really only say... woah. Just, woah. The messages are somehow exactly what I needed to hear right now, and they brought me a lot of comfort in this really weird and confusing time in my life. Can't wait to see what comes next in this lovely story <3

I am honestly in love with Our Life. The graphics, the soundtrack its just *chef's kiss* It was so worth the wait for it. I can't wait for step 4. Keep up the good work GB Patch!

good people i have just finished Our Life and let me say, it was beautiful. rarely have such non-fantastical moments (and even some fantastical moments) brought me to tears like this game has, and i don't even have the dlc (yet). i don't know how you did it but it felt like i was playing a slice of life anime. i had waited with baited breath to play this since i played the demo and my expectations were not just met but surpassed. from the bottom of my heart thank you for this game

I found the game by chance and I am so so glad I did. It’s so inclusive and made me feel so incredibly seen. Seeing that my gender identity and sexuality were possible just meant the absolute world to me. I’ve never seen something like this and it just made me so incredibly happy. Thank you for the absolutely amazing game and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Hello! I downloaded Our life earlier this week and I'm only now getting the chance to play it (Very busy and stressful week) I'm so excited to play and I wanna say thank you for making this adorable game!

I just finished my first playthrough of Our Life and I can't even express how much I love it. Cove is absolutely precious and has killed me several times, and the art and soundtrack is beautiful. I love all the small different choices. I'm very interested in the Derek and Baxter DLCs and the rest, can't wait!!!!!!

thank you for "Our Life Beginnings & Always" it has to be one of the best visual novels i ever have played and i just dont want it to end (i know it will, but damn it! i want to have a wedding night, have children and die of old age with cole! XD) when i play it it always makes me tear up (in a good way) and i am most definetly going to buy all the dlc that you make! thank you for this lovely game and all the work that went into it! (ps: i also loved "lake of voices" )

You guys are incredibly talented and im very proud of you all! You've really outdone yourselves w/ OL and i cant wait to see whats next to come for you all :)

i really love that you can be trans in Our Life! not a lot of games do that so i just wanted to say thank you!

Guuyyss!! I just wanna say! Thank you sm for the headscarf option in the MC creator! I especially loved that little detail where MC quickly slips the headscarf on before greeting Cove, I've never felt so immersed :'D Not that the rest of the game wasn't immersive btw, but since I wear my hijab most of the time that little addition really felt like something I would do! So thank you for that <3

I've been watching "Our Life: Beginnings & Always" development for quite some time, and I gotta say its wild to see it finally release. Its so unique in the way relationships work- even character creation. I've cried multiple times over this game while playing. I can't thank y'all enough for a game with these kind of mechanics, and representation. its rare I get to feel im really playing as myself in games like these. Everyones outdone themselves. this'll certainly be one I keep coming back to.

I've been following the development of Our Life from way back when the first demo dropped and it still blows my mind how many choices and customizations there are (love that update for the MC's bedroom btw!) and the fact that the game remembers them - it really feels like your very own coming of age story! I was so immersed I cried at the end :') Can't believe I experienced this game for free lol. I can't wait for future DLCs and Step 4! Good luck with all your upcoming projects dev team!!

Just wanted to say I love Our Life and I'm thankful it exists. Thank you so much! I love the little world you created and all the people in it. Especially Cove! This game makes me so happy!

Just poping in to say hi and that ilu guys ^^, remember to take care of yourselves!

Hi!! I just wanna thank you for creating such an amazing game. Our Life is one of the few dating sims I’ve found that let’s me be a male mc, it’s really hard to find dating sims that let me be gay. Our Life is my new favorite dating sim to just sit down and playthrough whenever I’m having a bad day so I just wanted to let y’all know how much I appreciate all you’ve done. 🤍

Fan from australia here

Just wanted to reach out and let you know how important this game has been to me. I came across it at a really rough time ( that I’m still going through ) and it’s been one of the things that’s driven me to get up and out of bed sometimes.

This game and cove both hold a very special place in my heart and I can’t wait to see more of him in the DLC and Step 4

Much love ♥���

I know this isnt exactly the main focus of the game, but i really love how we can customise the mc personality wise! This is the first time i've played a game like this where the mc actually does and says exactly what I would do and say in certain situations and its such a breath of fresh air!! It's also so cool how the other characters can pick up on it!!

Cove Holden saved 2020 (my 2020 anyways) I would die for him

Sorry for this being out of the blue, but after playing through Our Life I wanted to thank you for the experience. I don’t know if I’ve ever played a game that has made me cry happy tears TWICE lol. It’s beautiful, scenic, inclusive, and absolutely amazing..have a great rest of 2020 and I honestly cannot wait for the rest of it :,) (ps. The ending song is stuck in my head)

I think you guys might've ruined visual novels for me forever. I'm not sure I'll be able to play another without comparing it to Our Life and I know if I do that I'll be disappointed every time because of how amazing it is. I bought the DLCs before playing the base game it's one of the best impulsive purchases I've ever made

Thank you so much for making our life! It's my favorite visual novel ever and I just can't articulate how much being able to just be honest with my responses instead of going for whatever would make the love interest happy means to me? I reccomended it to evry friend I have that plays visual novels because this is the best one I've ever played!

Just wanted to say that I absolutely adore this game! The childhood friends tropes is my favorite thing and this game delivers! Cove is the sweetest thing, infact all the boys are good boys. Super excited for all upcoming dlcs!

Hi, I just want to thank you for making such an amazing game like Our Life. Tbh, I was following the game’s development for a while, but me and my family moved away from my childhood town just a few days before release, so I really connected to this game. You all did amazing!

hey just wanted to know that i completely loved ol: b&a and it was so good and love cove more than i’ve liked any fictional character, it’s now my comfort media. thank you so much

hi i just wanna say i really enjoyed all of the representation in our life b&a! there were characters with a lot of different body shapes, pic characters, lgbtq+ characters, and you get to choose your own pronouns and sexuality!!! so tysm!!

This isn't a question, I just wanted to say that Our Life is incredible. Ever since I finished it, I've been looking for other visual novels to play so I don't play OL so often that I start memorizing the lines before all the DLC comes out, but I keep coming back to it. It's really one of a kind, I think you all ruined other visual novels for me because I haven't enjoyed another VN like I have this one since I read it ❤.

i think our life b&a is the first game where i felt like cove loved me, not the character i play as which is really nice for someone with kinda low self esteem so THANK YOU

I’ve been playing Our Life practically nonstop since yesterday. I just want everyone who worked on it to know how much the LGBTQ inclusivity means to me. As a closeted trans ace guy in an unsupportive household, I can’t emphasize how much of a comfort this game has been to me. Everything about it is so wholesome and heartfelt. I’m excited to see what other games you make in the future 💙

- A demibiromantic ace transgender man who may or may not have cried over the option to be myself in a game for the first time ever

Csn i just say i really appreciate how you handled MC deciding to use they/them at different stages. Mainly because alot of games don't pay much attention to the body the mc was assigned at birth if they player chooses nonbinary like it does with male/female. And it was just nice to be able to play an mc who just thought gender was kinda 'meh' for them but still felt good about the body they were born with (like myself). I guesd it boils down I'm really appreciative of the hard work it must've taken for you to make all those options possible & still have them matter.

I just wanted to thank you all for Our Life. My mental health hasn't been in a good place recently and it has become my favorite form of escapism/way to cheer up. It's idyllic setting and fantastic characters are such a good way to wind down, I love it. Also, I've been dreading 2021 due to classes starting and general stress, but the DLC and your next project have given me something to actually look forward to :). I'm so excited for them and now I actually have a reason to be happy that it's 2021. Sorry if this message is a bit weird, I just wanted to thank the team for their hard work and for creating something so incredible <3

I've gotta say this is one of the most repayable games I've ever played, if not the most. Usually after i do a playthrough or two of a game i have to wait awhile before playing again otherwise it feels stale. But i haven't had that problem with our life because of the sheer ammount of player agency. Everyone who works on tbe game should feel incredibly proud of themselves because you've created something amazing.

I just wanted to say thank you for Our Life. I'm sure you get this a lot, but it really pulled me out of a mentally tough spot in my life. So thank you.

who needs therapy when you have our life: beginnings and always? haha no but seriously this game is my comfort game, and even though i can’t join your patreon at the moment please know i am always supporting you and i am so excited to see everything you have in store! everyone who works on the games is so so talented

All DLCs have nice content. 😡😡

And I love them all!!💗💗💗💖💖💖💕💕💕

#our life #Our Life Beginnings & Always #ourlifeba #ask #gb patch #gb patch games

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

I love that we as a fandom have declared the clem comic an noncanon lmao. i'm curious tho, do you believe clem will get a new love interest? do you think it will be amos or someone else?

Yeah, gotta love seeing a fandom come together to agree on something.... even though that something isn't exactly invoking happy feelings, y'know? Like yeah, the comic sucks and at this point I doubt the trilogy will be much better unless Tillie suddenly starts to understand Clementine and makes some impossibly massive improvements..... but it's nice to see all of us mostly getting along?

As for the whole love interest thing, I'm like 98% sure that Clementine's going to get a new girlfriend in the comics. That's my prediction.

During the dumb xpo thing, Tillie talked about how she's excited to explore Clementine as a queer character in the apocalypse and considering Tillie's other works, I will bet literal cash that Clementine gets a new girlfriend. I don't think Amos will be the love interest, and if he does end up being that for Clem or if Clem gets a boyfriend, then I will genuinely be shocked.

.....Y'know what, I need to get this off my chest and this seems relevant enough-

I was talking with my roommate about this the other night actually. I told her all about my predictions for Clem getting a new girlfriend and how annoying this whole comic is, but also how annoying people are being to Tillie over this and like.... everything is a mess.

My roommate, who knows that literally everything is wrong in the 12 page comic and who I told about the xpo where Tillie talked about Clem being queer is important, asked me how I would feel if she ended up getting Clementine's canon bisexuality wrong, and what if she decides to make Clementine a lesbian?

And like...... I actually stopped what I was working on because this wave of dread crashed through me at the thought of that, and I could actually imagine it happening because she already got everything else wrong and if she hasn't actually played the games and is pulling this shit out of her ass.... I can't even describe to you the feeling I felt...

I want to believe that Tillie would at least know and respect the fact that Clementine is a canon bisexual. From what I've gathered, Tillie herself is wlw and I don't believe she would erase a bisexual character. She knows that Clementine is a queer character. Clementine's bisexual.

Like obviously, if I'm right and Clementine gets a girlfriend, she'll still be bisexual. Nothing will ever change that.

But I'm going to tell all of you this right now because just thinking about it upsets me.... if for whatever reason, if Tillie Walden actually erases Clementine's bisexuality and makes her a lesbian in the graphic novel trilogy while "exploring what it means to be queer in the apocalypse," I'm done.

I will have nothing left for Tillie. I will no longer support anything she does. I won't condone harassment towards her because that makes you just as shitty, but I will absolutely call that bullshit out and then never support her again. I will never talk about the comic again because how dare you think you can get away with that and still expect me to waste brain cells on your comic? Hell, I will probably be so fucking livid that I'll drive my ass all the way to barnes and noble just to return the books I bought of hers.

Dramatic? Yeah, but y'know what? I've never really touched on this outside of a few "Clem being bisexual is important representation and we love it" but her being bisexual means so much to me. It truly does, I mean.... after the dumb "btw Javi is bi, we just wrote him straight and threw in a line of flirty dialogue with jesus so we can have our cake and eat it, too-- the straight homophobes will still buy our game and the lgbt+ community will love us, win win," I cannot explain the joy I felt when Clementine was written as a bisexual woman and that she was given two love interests that meant so much to the players.

Like.... I dunno, I never got any real bi rep in games or books or movies, especially bi girls, when I was a teen trying to figure shit out. In jr high and high school, I could never find stories that has bi women as a lead because I was too afraid to look anything up. I didn't wanna be caught reading/watching things that were lgbt+ because I had a shitty boyfriend at the time and our friend group were heavily religious and judgmental. My best friend [who I haven't spoken to for years now] was one of those people who claimed to support lgbt+ people.... but also once told me that she thought lesbians were okay but gay men were lowkey gross and probably only into other dudes because girls wouldn't date them. Oh, and I'll never forget the time she told me that bi people don't actually exist because you either like one or the other.

That's a great thing to here from the best friend you've know since you were an infant after you've realized that you aren't only attracted to boys.

But now I'm out of that environment and I haven't talked to anyone from high school since I graduated, and I've felt more free to intake all the things I wish I could've before...

I just.... Clementine is important to me for a lot of reasons. I've played these games forever, I've gotten to watch her grow for years, and she's just so well-written and amazing in tfs, and the fact that the writers wanted to write her as a bisexual woman means so much, I just.... even though it's not canon, I can't help but take this disaster of a comic personally. Just from those 12 pages, everything about Clementine is destroyed and it sucks. It hurts..... but I'm still not holding anything against Tillie herself. Her comic is bad, but that doesn't mean she's bad..... however, erasing Clem's bisexuality would be the last straw for me.

.....This turned into a rant. Sorry about that. You asked a simple question and I dumped my life story on you but I dunno, I needed to get that off my chest because it's been bothering the back of my mind.

I do wanna add once more that I don't think Tillie's actually going to do that... she should know that both Louis and Violet are canon love interests, plus Clementine canonically had a crush on Gabe in ANF. I think if she's going to get anything right, it'll be the fact that Clem is bi.... I'm just expressing a major fear I have and what it would do to me, and others, if it happened..... y'know?

#asks #twdg clementine #twdg louis #twdg violet

[pollys-manganime]

Confinement day... eh... MANGA!

As of this week bookstores can open to one client at a time. So, in order to go to the bookshop you need to make an appointment previously. This morning I called my comic bookshop (I don’t own it, it’s just the one I’ve been goint to for years) to ask if I could go tomorrow or on friday... the bookseller just said: “you don’t need an appointment, you’re like family, come whenever you want.

I love my booksellers, they’re uncle and nephew and even if they know everything there is to know about comics and graphic novels... even if they are guys... when they see that you are a girl/woman buying comic, manga, whatever... they don’t judge you, they don’t patronize you, they’re just cool. 

I live in a very small town, there is only one other comic bookshop... but I don’t buy there, not even if they have the last copy of whatever. Because the guy who works there is the typical comic guy you see on films, I don’t feel welcome there. He’s a loser.

btw I bought two volumes of Bride Stories, there are no new mangas just yet, they say they’ll be coming next week. 

#Confinement journal #Bride Stories #manga

[theyearoftheking]

Book Fifteen: Cycle of the Werewolf

“But she plans to leave the Mills by summer...this wolf business has begun to scare her...”

I don’t know what I was expecting with this strange little book, but it sure wasn’t what I read. Truth be told, it was a delightful (and relevant!) way to spend an hour on an airplane. 

BTW: I’m not a monster trying to passively spread Coronavirus all over the world. We had booked a trip back in January, and when we left for NOLA, they were not advising against travel. And I drank plenty of alcohol to kill any and all germs in my system. And then I poured some Tito’s on my hands to make sure they were completely disinfected. That’s how it works, right?

Calm down, people; I’m totally kidding.

 I wouldn’t waste good alcohol that way. 

Anyway, Cycle of the Werewolf is more of a graphic novel, with each chapter a month of the year that Tarker’s Mills, Maine, is terrorized by a werewolf. Each chapter is full of quirky little illustrations, and tales of how the werewolf has killed another resident.

This illustration really had me pause for a second; it looks like the ultimate battle of good vs. evil. So much of our world is drawn in black and white these days. If you believe THIS, you’re obviously against me. If you believe THAT, you’re on my side and an ally. There is very little room for middle ground right now. Whether it be the presidential election, Trump’s presidency as a whole, and even people taking sides about Coronavirus. 

If you leave your house and potentially spread germs, you’re a MONSTER and you obviously hate humanity. If you stay home, you’re obviously buying into fear and panic. Maybe there’s some middle ground. Maybe there’s some gray area for us to all come together in. 

But I think we can all agree anyone buying fifteen cases of toilet paper and not leaving any for families in actual need is a real asshole. Ha! No pun intended, but now totally intended.

Yes, I got all of that from just the one illustration. Steve, he really makes my brain work overtime. 

So, then we get to July. And then shit gets more real. 

“They cancelled the Fourth of July. Marty Coslaw gets remarkably little sympathy from the people closest to him when he tells them that. Perhaps it is because they simply don’t understand the depth of his pain.” 

I think a lot of people wanting to drink green beer and listen to some bagpipe music this past weekend can relate to Marty’s plight. 

Marty is a plucky kid, he’s wheelchair bound and pissed about missing out on fireworks. But his bad-ass Uncle Al shows up with some contraband fireworks for his favorite nephew. Marty waits until everyone goes to bed, and then sneaks outside to light them off. Marty is putting on the fireworks show of his dreams when the werewolf appears! Marty doesn’t think twice, and throws a firecracker right in the beast’s face. 

Boom, bitches.

Sadly it doesn’t kill the wolf, just blinds it in one eye. But score one point for the good guys. Marty tells the police what happened, and describes the beast as having one eye. The police scoff at this. The only one-eyed man in town is Reverend Lester Lowe. It can’t be!

Spoiler: it is. 

Marty starts sending him charming little anonymous notes urging the Reverend to kill himself. Or leave town. Or maybe kill himself. The Reverend is confused, he has no idea why someone would send him such horrible notes! He’s got a little bit of the Jekyll/Hyde thing going on. He has no idea he’s actually the beast going around killing everyone. 

Oops he does it again.

But don’t worry, Marty’s got a plan. Christmas time rolls around, and he asks Uncle Al for a shotgun and silver bullets. Uncle Al asks the requisite amount of questions, and then makes his favorite nephew’s Christmas dreams come true. 

The werewolf appears on New Year’s Eve, Marty shoots it, the end. Peace and sanity is restored to Tarker’s Mills.

I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope our current pandemic situation doesn’t last until January. Although, it’s exactly what my food and alcohol hoarding husband has been dreaming about. We might finally find the bottom of our chest freezer, praise the Lord. 

No Dark Tower references, no Wisconsin references; just good old graphic novel pandemonium. But it was a fun, quick read. My eleven year-old has been asking for a Stephen King book, this might be the perfect one for her to start with. 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 14

Total Dark Tower References: 10

Book Grade: B-

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

Different Seasons: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

The Dead Zone: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Christine: D

Next up is The Talisman, one of my all-time favorites. Jack Sawyer is bae. As I type this, I wonder if I’m going to be working next week, and how quickly I’ll be able to read it. 

In the meantime, be kind to one another. Leave resources behind for people who need them more than you. Donate a few jars of peanut butter to the local food pantry. Offer to host a (small) homeschooling co-op with your neighborhood parents. Wash your hands, use sanitizer, and sneeze into your elbow. 

This could be the moment that elevates our level of humanity again. I for one am all in on that movement. Who’s with me?

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Rebecca

#cycle of the werewolf #stephen king #coronavirus #werewolves #constant readers #new orleans #nola #death

[seriouslycromulent]

So I’m catching up on Legends of Tomorrow...

I missed the last 2 weeks because I’ve been so busy at work (still am actually), but I finally got around to watching episode 7 - “Hell No, Dolly!” 

But before I watch the midseason finale, I just want to share a few thoughts -- not related to, you know, John breaking the timeline and sending us all into a world of cheesy TV parodies.

Here we go ...

I was a bit nervous when it looked like they were going to bring Dez into the Constantine storyline on Legends. Mainly because Dez’s end in the comics is a pretty gruesome one, and it mirrors what’s been happening around the States, Brazil, and many parts of Europe with the current rise of neo-fascism. And frankly, most CW shows don’t want to touch on those heavy issues in an authentic way because it would betray their teen-friendly content that always has a happy ending with a message of hope at the end. (The only one I trust to actually give that topic its due is Black Lightning, but that’s a different conversation.)

For those who don’t know, in the Hellblazer comics, Dez gets murdered by members of the National Front. He’s literally tortured and sliced open until he bleeds to death. Like I said, it’s gruesome and John takes it hard. Now, by this time in the graphic novels/comics, John has established a reputation of getting people close to him hurt or killed on a consistent basis. He knows it and he keeps his friends to a minimum because of it ... and well, because he’s a bastard too.

So Dez’s death shakes him because there’s no two bones about it. He was killed because he was with John when the National Front picked them up and because he was black.

In a way, I’m glad that the Legends of Tomorrow’s Dez isn’t that guy. Or if he is meant to be, they changed his character’s backstory so much, devoted Hellblazer fans can pretend that it’s not the same guy. Yeah, it sucks that this Dez -- the LoT Dez -- is still killed because of John, and John knows better than to get close to someone, but I’m still glad they didn’t follow the story in the comics. 

With that being said, I’m also disappointed that they kind of shoe-horned in this romantic relationship for John that feels very much out of place for him here. John doesn’t fall for anyone easily. Not romantically. And he doesn’t rent a flat (not an “apartment,” this is JC for Pete’s sake!) to shack up with someone after a few weeks together. Not without some serious chemistry.

And that’s just it. This Dez doesn’t work for me because the actor playing Dez doesn’t seem to have any real chemistry with Matt Ryan. To be fair, we don’t get to see much of them interacting, but it still isn’t there even for what we get. It was strongest on-screen at the end of the episode when John tried to push Dez away to save him. (I say “tried” because I have a feeling how this storyline is going to wrap up.) But ultimately, I’m not believing that these 2 met and John just went against all his common sense, past experiences, and known caveats to be with Dez in a long-term relationship. I need to see more of their story or at least feel some genuine chemistry between the 2 actors before I’m buying John throwing caution to the wind.

There’s also a part of me that wishes they had kept LoT Dez and skipped the romantic relationship that doesn’t quite gel, or simply chose a different character from John’s past that he did have a romantic relationship with. Or better yet, gave him a new pre-LoT/post-NBC Constantine lover to dog his memory.

But with this storyline, it just feels like they wanted to show Matt Ryan lip-locking with a male actor and play service to those who only care about John as a bisexual character and little else. Which unfortunately, on Tumblr, is like 95% of the so-called Constantine fans. 

My point is John deserves better. He deserves to have his character treated with the full appreciation of his past and every aspect of who he is -- not just who he shacks up with. I know this is an ensemble show, so it can’t all be about John. But it has a reputation of putting people together as a couple who have no real chemistry (::cough:: Ray & Hawkgirl ::cough::). So clearly when it comes to John, I want something better for him.

I want to give the Berlanti-verse a chance here because I do believe they are trying, especially within the confines of the Legends of Tomorrow style and tone. But this piece of John’s story just didn’t work for me. I thought they did a great job a few episodes back with the scene in the pub in Liverpool where he meets his mum and tries to kick his dad in the balls. And I’m willing to give them a few credits for references and lines thrown here and there, but this LoT Dez just feels a bit too forced. (Plus, random references to bits and characters in the comics is something any poor writer with access to a Wiki can do.)

And look, before anybody comes @ me, I’m fine with changing things up. I mean, if they don’t adapt anything to fit the era we live in now, then John should still be in the UK, a good 20-25 years older, and making references to his wife by now. So please, don’t think I’m a purist.

But I really want the writers to do John justice if they’re going to spin him off to his own show on the CW like Matt Ryan said they’re considering. And I know that it’s hard to do him justice given the much lighter, frivolous tone of LoT, which I kind of like btw. In the end, Matt Ryan asked us die-hard Hellblazers to hang in there because he’s working his butt off each episode to make sure we feel that it’s the character that we know and love from the comics. And I appreciate that, so I’ll keep watching and ... hoping.

Now, about that shattering the timeline thing, John ...

#john constantine #constantine #legends of tomorrow #lot #matt ryan #hellblazer

[elliot-orion]

Writing Update 5/19/19

Word Count: 4709, about 3000 from ATDADT and the rest from the Empath.

Favorite line: Showing up in the middle of his own living room with no backup and no one knowing where I was, would actually be the stupidest thing I could possibly do. So of course I do it. 

Update: I stg you can see Vincent’s last fucks drifting away in the wind the second Dusty buys him tea. Just like... whoops... there they go... Anyways, been a while for one of these, so why not do one at 10 at night when i said i’d go to bed an hour ago but stayed up writing. fun! I’ve been working on the Empath which i introduced about here, Btw, with a book cover that i am ABSURDLY proud of creating (i didn’t use a single template for that, btw, all me. graphic design is my passion guys ;) ) I love it, so much, but its been slow going just because... i dont actually know. ive been busy so we’ll blame it on that but really ive been writing it in 1500 word chunks which is slow for me. And then i completely fucked myself over while writing the tags for that post over there by thinking hey maybe i should turn atdadt into a novel because its shit as it is and i love the characters and could easily make it into a novel so maybe... and then i couldn’t STOP thinking about it during dinner and i showered and started planning the first scene and... now it’s two hours later at 10 at night, 3000 words later, and my fucks have gone out the window along with Vincent’s. SO. That’s how my night has gone. It’s turning out really good tho, ngl im really happy with it, and so like. yea. probably going to work on that more although i really want to push myself to finish the Empath too, since i’ve got like... one scene? and a half? planned to finish this, probably only 5000 words unless i get particularly wordy? so like, i need to FINISH THIS but it’s going to be hard now that my brain has locked onto ATDADT. i’ll try my best tomorrow but i’ve got work so that’s tough too. It’ll happen. Promise. But uh... that’s pretty much it. I need to sleep....

#writing update #im not doing more tags because for all i know ill give myself another book idea ffs

[jenroseyokel]

Awesome of the Year 2018: The Books

Happy New Year! ‘Tis the season for year end lists left and right as we attempt to figure out the best of everything from 2018. And of course, as a fan of books, music, and movies, it’s only right to get in on the list-making. Over the next week or so, I’ll be sharing my 2018 favorite lists. First up: books! This year, I set my Goodreads reading challenge at 40 books, and actually passed it. I’ve been setting arbitrary book goals for years, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve succeeded since 2007. Probably because of all the graphic novels and comic trades I read this year WHICH TOTALLY COUNT BTW. Ahem. Anyway. This isn’t really a best of 2018 list so much as a Here’s a Bunch of Books I Really Liked in 2018 list, split up into categories. I hope you’ll find something interesting here, especially if you’re looking for ways to spend bookstore or Amazon gift cards you got for Christmas… ;)

Newish Books by Rad Christian Women:

Every Arbitrary Book Goal should have a small correlated goal attached. This year mine was to make sure I read at least 50% women authors… and there have been a lot of GREAT new books from women writers in the past few years. If the “Christian women” section of your local bookstore makes you cringe a little inside too, check out these three wonderful books, all released in the past couple years:

Courage, Dear Heart by Rebecca K. Reynolds (NavPress, 2018)

Anyone who has read Rebecca’s writing knows she needed to write a book. She has a sharp mind, a poet's soul, a scientist's eye, and the most beautiful, tender heart. Also, she's an incredible writer who loves her readers with a love that radiates off every page. Buy a copy for everyone you know.

Wearing God by Lauren F. Winner (HarperOne, 2017) Girl Meets God was a formative book in my early 20s, and I’ve always meant to read more from this author, but somehow haven't. I finally picked up this one and oh man, for a solid month afterward I couldn’t stop thinking about it. With the eye of a scholar and the heart of a poet, Winner draws on personal stories, deep Biblical study, and a love of language to explore lesser known metaphors for God. Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren (InterVarsity Press, 2016)

Several years ago, James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom helped me see liturgy in a new way, as not just religious practice, but the embedded routines that shape us. In this book, Tish Warren brings that idea to life as she walks through an ordinary day explores the holiness in our most mundane moments of living. You may not look at brushing your teeth or losing your keys the same way again.

Good Stories

This year, fiction reading was… all over the place? I don’t know if I read much that was OMG amazing, but here are a few that were fun…

The Fairyland Series 2-5 by Catherynne M. Valente (Feiwel & Friends, 2012-2015)

I am notoriously awful at finishing book series. I read the first Fairyland book maybe… two years ago? Yikes. Just finished the last one and wow, so fun. Colorful characters, a whimsical narrator, crazy locations, and a whole lot of heart make this Victorian fairytale meets contemporary fantasy a delight to read. 

Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Harcourt, 1956)

Lewis’ contemporary retelling of the Cupid and Pschye myth through the eyes of Psyche’s jealous sister Orual. Second read for me, and even better this time around. Pretty sure this is Lewis’ storytelling at his best.

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw (Orbit, 2017)

This was a year to embrace fun, nerdy reads. So there was the Star Trek spoof Redshirts (with a plot twist I totally saw coming... and I am not good at guessing plot twists) and my first trip into the Star Wars extended book universe (or whatever the heck they call it these days) and… this. A story about a doctor for the undead in London, trying to solve the mysteries surrounding a murderous cult and keep her monster friends safe. Not the greatest, but a fun Halloween read. I’ll get to the sequel eventually. (See also: bad at finishing book series.)

Poetry for Everyone 

Another new reading practice this year: always keeping a poetry book on the bedside table. Poetry books are best for leisurely dipping in and out rather than reading cover to cover. If you think poetry is only for the ivory towers, give these writers a try and think again.

A Child's Year by Christopher Yokel (Independent, 2018)

Okay, I’m biased here, but hey! Chris quietly released a new poetry book into the world this fall, and I’m a big fan of Chris AND his poems. A Child’s Year is a season cycle, sort of like his last book A Year in Weetamoo Woods, but this time it’s anchored by a four part poem recalling the journey of seasons through childhood eyes. And according to our friend Kirsten’s 7-year-old son, he gets the experience right. ;) 

The Jubilee by John Blase (Bright Coppers Press, 2017) For his 50th birthday, John Blase released his first poetry book, with a poem for every year of life. It’s rare for me to make it through an entire collection start to finish but these were just so good. There are poems about aging — the author’s and his parents’ — and poems that evoke wide spaces and natural wonder. There are psalms and parables, and meditations on dying and, yes, living. All of them finely tuned with wisdom, gentle grace, and a touch of humor in all the right places. How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson (Dial Books, 2014)

When I heard Marilyn Nelson read her poem “Thirteen-Year-Old American Negro Girl” on the On Being podcast, I was captivated. And when I found this lovely hardcover in a used bookstore back home in Florida, I knew I needed to read more. This is a memoir in poetry about growing up in a black military family during the American Civil Rights era, told with gentle lyricism, warmth, and humor. Plus, the book itself is lovely with whimsical illustrations and family photos.

Comics!

I’m always on a quest to get more comics in my life. Plus knocking out a whole series in a couple weeks is a solid way to pad out your Arbitrary Book Goal.

Amulet 1-7 by Kazu Kibuishi (Graphix, 2008-2016)

After their father’s tragic death, Emily and Navin move with their mom to a strange old house that belonged to their great-grandfather… and so the adventure begins. In this fantasy series, the two kids find themselves in an underground world of demons, robots, talking animals, and a dangerous and powerful Amulet. A captivating and beautifully illustrated fantasy tale. Ms. Marvel 1-5 by G. Willow Wilson (Marvel, 2014-2016)

Y’all, I super want to be a Marvel nerd. But alas, I can't keep up, so I get my sister to loan books to me. Ms. Marvel is my new fave. A Pakistani-American girl from Jersey City has the power to grow, shrink, and stretch her body at will. So she’s trying to fight crime, keep up at school, and well, stay out of trouble with her parents. So fun. (Dear Disney: I really want this kid to show up in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before it gets canceled kthxbye.)

The Legend of Wonder Woman by Ranae De Liz and Ray Dillon (DC Comics, 2016)

Weren’t we all mildly obsessed with Wonder Woman after the 2017 film? Another one I borrowed from my sister. A solid take on Diana’s origin story that’s accessible for comic n00bs (ahem, like me) who can’t figure out where to begin with beautiful art and a lot of heart.

The Classic I Finally Read 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen I always try to tackle either a thick intimidating novel or an unread classic in the wintertime. This year, I worked on my Austen deficiency and discovered I relate a little too much to Elinor Dashwood.

What’s Next?

In the new year, I think my goal is less about numbers and more about reading widely. I liked the 50% women authors goal because it helped me actively choose to support women writers. This year, hoping to read more books by authors of color, explore some new ideas and genres, and hopefully do a better job reading deeply and taking notes. I’ve got my eye on Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge too, perhaps as a way to dig into new things I wouldn’t normally notice. And yeah... perhaps a monthly reading life update is a thing I can do here on the blog. :)

If you’re curious to see the full list of What I Read This Year and follow along with me in 2019, feel free to follow me on Goodreads!

What were some of your favorite reads in 2018? And what are your goals for the new year? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

#art #books #reading #awesome of the year #readers of tumblr #reading list #favorite books #best of 2018 #readers are leaders yo

[valntinemorgenstern]

i’m sorry but I have such a LIST OF GRIEVANCES against cassandra clare (and s&s) lately and i have to get this out my system 

firstly there’s the debacle surrounding release dates of TLH/Ghosts of the Shadow Market/QoAaD/the graphic novel/COB 10th anniv. ed. - frankly, organisational chaos. whoever organises/administrates this shit in s&s needs to fucking sort their department out. cassandra keeps promising things that she/her publisher cannot deliver, or that later on, inevitably, gets pushed back. it’s unfair because fans are being consistently allowed to get their hopes up, and then being let down -- without the consideration of an explanation. it’s getting to teh point where i literally feel like the best policy going forward is: take everything cassandra promises with a pinch of salt 

in lieu of TLH (which we have been teased with for going on, hmm, nearly 6 years now? somewhere in that region) i was holding onto the tlh short stories to tide me over -- really looking forward to it early next year. and then i hear that not only are they going to be narrated by jem (not a tlh main character and also not someone i’m hugely invested in), but also a few of the stories are going to have nothing to do with tlh and centered around a place that, as far as we know, also isn’t related to tlh. so the original premise has evolved into something very different, despite what cassie pitched it as. brilliant. again, underlining the point that tlh is being consistently de-prioritised. 

10th anniversary ed of cob - again, i was really looking forward to this when it was first announced. gold edges, an extra short story, extra info on the characters, and new design....not only was the publication date bungled (pushed back 2 weeks or so i think), but the cover design was, frankly, unimpressive; the short story was detracted, the edges (in the uk ed) were printed plain and there was no new info on characters -- just old/out-dated info that has been repackaged. and s&s are charging £15 for this?? i’m pleased i hedged my bets and didn’t buy this in the end. 

qoaad cover design: not only does the cover resort to that old, tired (sexist) trope of ‘heroine in a ball gown dress for no apparent reason’ on the front cover (that, btw, isn’t even slightly historically accurate), the colour scheme completely clashes with the previous two. that vermillion red? i know they’re very obviously trying to signal danger/villainy here but, really, there were ways of doing that would have tied in far better with the palette of the prev two? even a dark teal or black dress would have been better? (in fact, if i am being historically accurate about it, there ain’t no way annabel would wear a dress that red). the whole design is, i feel, very simplistic and looks quite amateurish/very CGI/cartoonish. walking past, it wouldn’t arrest me in the same way that tid did, or LM did. it’s honestly surprising bc cassandra being this popular and successful -- usually authors who are proven money-makers get money ploughed into their marketing/cover design, but at the moment, it feels like investment has been taken away. oh, and then! qoaad has been pushed back -- again. now it’s OVER A YEAR AWAY (which, yes, means that tlh has also been shuffled a bit further along into the future -- becoming ever more ghostly in my opinion). not only have we (again) been given no explanation for this, but, even more bafflingly, the fandom at large seems to be entirely at ease with this news. I just ????!???

i’m so so bitter guys. i desperately need some good news from cassie because bit by bit by bit i’m getting more and more aggravated with every single announcement she makes 

#sorry this is such a rant #and also quite long #long post

[beckettsthoughts]

How do you choose which clothes to buy when shopping/ how did you develop your "style"? (Btw I really love the way you dress, you look awesome!)

Ooh, this is such an interesting question! I think I might have to write this in two parts; how I developed my style and how I choose what to buy now. Also, thank you, I love when people compliment my style because I put quite a lot of effort into it and I’m proud of the point I’m at now. I appreciate it

My style, up until about three years ago, was the style everyone has where I live before they develop their own taste, really. Blue bootcut jeans, plain or graphic-printed t-shirts, nondescript hoodies from camping stores, cheap trainers. All girls’ or womens’ section, mostly chosen with the help of my mother. Colourful, but somewhat muted. It’s like a young teenagers’ uniform, here. There were hints as to what I wanted to look like, how I wanted to present myself, but not many. 

I’d developed an interest, as a young teen, in subcultures. Especially internet subcultures or subcultures that made a home for themselves on the internet. And in the late 2000s and early 2010s, that was scene and emo. As a young teen I passionately hated anything deemed “mainstream”, from popular YA novels to Top 40 chart hits, so these alternative styles were fascinating to me. I spent all my time reading classic novels and reading articles about how bad Twilight is, I listened to popular (but not chart-topping) singer-songwriters like KT Tunstall, listened to classical on my phone on the bus home from school. I wore my school uniform and I insisted on wearing it properly, with my top button done up, my tie long and my blazer neatly fitted. I also secretly listened to the Now! albums whenever I happened across one and would vehemently deny that I owned and frequently listened to the High School Musical 2 soundtrack, but that’s irrelevant at this time.

In 2013, however, my interests were more in line with my current interests, when it came to style. What I lacked was the means in which to express that. Until, that is, I went to Manchester. In Manchester, I bought the most punk, the most outrageous item of clothing I’d ever bought: half-tartan jeans. I got them from an alternative shopping centre called Afflecks, and they’re the same pair of skintight half-tartan jeans that every newbie punk in Britain seems to own, but they were so risky back home. We didn’t have young punks, back home, because we didn’t have the scene or the industry to support it. I was alone in my expression of style when it came to these jeans, but I was not alone in mindset. As more people my age started buying their own clothes on holiday, bringing punk gear back from the mainland, it suddenly became an acceptable, accessible route for me to take. I bought what I could from the same shops I always had, substituted my dark-wash bootcut jeans for skinny black ones, bought black hoodies instead of rose pink or navy blue. I swapped out patterned and plain t-shirts for band merchandise, though it happened slowly. You couldn’t get any band merchandise here easily, so I had to order them and it wasn’t cheap. I cut my hair progressively shorter, something I’d been doing for years but finally threw myself into with full-force, I started dip-dying it at first, when it was longer, always returning to my natural colour every term for school. 

I finished my GCSEs, I left the strict rules of school uniform behind and I finally got the chance to wrap myself in androgyny and casual-wear that made me comfortable. I cut my hair again, shorter than ever this time, and I dyed it silver for prom. I cut it again later that summer, and when time came for me to head back to school I bought suits and ties rather than dresses and it made me the odd one out but I was comfortable, so comfortable in my ability to choose. My suits were bad, they didn’t fit me very well but they made me feel good regardless. I had a couple dresses, wore them once or twice to school but hated it more than ever. After a year or so of dressing almost exclusively masculine I felt comfortable enough to start experimenting with makeup and femininity. I bought a skirt, long and black and pleated. I can wear it with knee-socks, with combat boots, with a t-shirt or with a suit. I bought some makeup, things I wear maybe only once a month but I enjoy when I do. I focused more on streetwear that can double as office attire or formal, what I needed for school and what I felt comfortable in outside of it. Then we reach the end of my A Levels, the point where I made the last metamorphosis into my current style as I would identify it today. 

And that is where I will leave you on this part, but I’m about to start the second, hopefully shorter and less rambly part about how I choose my clothes both in the shop and how I put outfits together on a daily basis. Thank you so much for asking, this was super fun to talk about ^^

#b replies