#it captures exactly the sort of atmosphere I’d imagine between the two during that time | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ladyherenya · 3 years

Photo

Books read in September

I had a moment of intense self-centredness and, internally, wailed: Why isn’t the world filled with more books that appeal exactly to me???

I’ve concluded that it’s like I have an inner story-troll sitting inside me shouting: Tell me a story! I try to appease it by presenting it with books, one at a time, and seeing how it reacts.

Favourite cover: Flyaway.

Reread: The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley. (I also reread From All False Doctrine at least twice.)

Also read: The Disastrous Début of Agatha Tremain by Stephanie Burgis and Snow Day by Andrea K Höst.

Still reading: The Time-Traveling Popcorn Ball by Aster Glenn Gray and The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett,

Next up: I have borrowed The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, Taking Down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosu, and Between Silk and Cyanide: A Code Maker’s War, 1941-45 by Leo Marks. And maybe I’ll finally get around to The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams?

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakroborty (narrated by Soneela Nankani): I think this Middle East-inspired fantasy was just not the story I was in the headspace for -- it was longer, with more complicated worldbuilding and fewer answers. Possibly I’d have followed the political intrigue of Daevabad better had I read this in one gulp (I got halfway through the 20-hour-long audiobook before it was due back and I read other books before picking up the ebook). I liked the two protagonists, enough that I’m curious about what happens to them next, but the second book is 23 hours long and undoubtedly won’t resolve everything either. Maybe another day.

Tuyo by Rachel Neumeier: Ryo is left as a “tuyo” -- a sacrifice to be killed by an enemy -- as a sign that his tribe will withdraw from the Ugaro’s war with the Lau. But his captor doesn’t want to kill him, he wants Ryo to help him stop the war. Neumeier effectively creates tension between people who are polite, honest and honourable, and shows an intriguing relationship, defined by mutual respect, fealty and something more familial. There’s also some unusual magically-defying-physics-as-we-know-it worldbuilding but apparently I was far more interested in the character dynamics. I enjoyed this. Sequel, please?

From All False Doctrine by Alice Degan: My favourite book this year! Toronto, August 1925. Elsa Nordqvist, who hopes to write her MA thesis on a recently-discovered Greek manuscript, is at the beach with a friend when they meet two foster-brothers. This meeting deftly sets up everything which follows. The cover says “A Love Story” but this is also like a cross between a Golden-Age mystery novel and a fairytale retelling, with bonus academia and Anglicanism. I really like how much these characters value their friendships, their lively, intelligent and often honest conversations, and the way the romance unfolds. It also feels like a story written just for me and a hard one to review because my reaction has been very personal.

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark (narrated by Julian Thomas): Set in the same city as A Dead Djinn in Cairo, this novella follows two agents from the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities as they investigate a possessed tram car. The world-building is vivid and cleverly, thoughtfully, imaginative. But, perhaps because of the mood I’m in and because this story isn’t interested in exploring the personal lives of its detectives, I have no feelings about this.

The Angel of Crows by Katherine Addison: Sherlock Holmes wingfic involving Jack the Ripper murders. Not what I’m looking for in a Holmes retelling. But I was sufficiently intrigued by something the author wrote. I really like Crow and Dr Doyle (arguably more than their original counterparts). My interest wavered a bit during the second half. It closely mimics the style and structure of the original mysteries in many ways and that’s not my favourite style. I wanted fewer cases to solve, and more of Crow and Doyle interactions. I liked the ending, enough to be glad that I hadn’t given up halfway through.

Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nsowu: Australian YA. Alice plans to spend her final year of high school staying invisible and studying hard, but is thrown into the spotlight after someone posts a video of her dancing with Teddy Taualai. I loved how intensely this captures Alice’s emotions and perspective, and how the story explores that people have different emotions, perspectives and needs. Alice seems to me like someone who might be on the autism spectrum -- and whether or not that’s what the author intended, it’s great to see characters like her represented. I wish it had unpacked her relationship with her parents more, but that didn’t negate how much I enjoyed this.

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han (narrated by Laura Knight Keating): I can’t remember why, after I read To all the boys I’ve loved before and P.S. I still love you in 2017, I decided against reading the third book. It turned out to be my favourite. I loved it! I had a different experience of finishing high school and applying for university, but I find Lara Jean’s perspective intensely relatable: she has strong opinions about aesthetics; she’s nostalgic, introspective, stressed by uncertainty; she enjoys spending time at home with her family. I liked how this book captures her wonder at the intimacy of knowing another person well, and how, although she sometimes worries about their future, she has very few doubts about Peter himself. I haven’t come across very many YA novels in which a teenage girl is so secure being in a relationship.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley: After her sister dies, Eva stays with family friends in Cornwall, where she and Katrina spent summers years ago. I wasn’t expecting time-travel. I like time-travel stories, and I like how Kearsley handles it here. Eva’s choices make sense, given her situation, and the story emphasises that, even though she cannot control when she travels in time, there are still many choices she can actively make. So Eva becomes fascinated with 1715, because of the people she meets there and the relationships they develop... but I wanted to spend more time in the present-day Trelowarth, with its rose gardens and new tea room.

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings: After she receives a mysterious note, nineteen year old Bettina flouts her mother’s rules for ladylike behaviour and embarks on a roadtrip with a couple of forgotten friends in search of her brothers, who disappeared three years ago. I loved some of the descriptions, especially seeing a rural Australian setting for this sort of fantasy. Jennings creates a wonderfully eerie atmosphere and the mystery kept me reading. However, the folktale parts of the story are dark, uncomfortably so. Very successfully Gothic, just ultimately not really my brand of Gothic.

The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan: There’s something so incredibly soft about this romance -- yet at the same time, it’s about two people who work fiercely towards their goals, worry about things, and are acutely aware of the discrimination they and other they love face as Chinese people in late 19th century England. Chloe and Jeremy’s relationship is characterised by banter and gentle teasing that reveals just well they know and accept and care about each other. Moreover, they have friends and relatives -- and a community -- who are supportive. I really enjoyed reading this and appreciated how low-angst it is.

The Threefold Tie by Aster Glenn Gray: Very tender. The characters convinced me that they were capable of communicating honesty with each other and making an unconventional relationship work. I liked the prose, which is no great surprise.

Hamster Princess: Whiskerella by Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher): This time, adventure finds Harriet at home: her parents are throwing a masked ball so she can “meet some nice young princes without terrifying them”. But the princes are all preoccupied with a beautiful stranger, and Harriet is distracted by the mystery: who is this hamster, how did she get in without an invitation and what sort of magic is behind her glass slippers? I think this is my favourite of Harriet’s adventures (so far). I loved the humour in this one.

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer: When Echo finds her missing father unconscious and half-frozen in the woods, she is given a choice by the white wolf. A retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” with elements from “Beauty and the Beast” and “Tam Lin” thrown in, this has so many things which appeal to me, including an unexpected and wonderful library. Yet I found it frustrating and slow; the prose and the characters are rather straightforward, and I predicted nearly all the twists (bar the finale). But I believe that this tale could delight a younger, or a less critical reader.

The Disastrous Début of Agatha Tremain by Stephanie Burgis: In the two years since she turned sixteen and dismissed her governess, Agatha has been free to disregard ladylike behaviour, studying the books in her father’s library and teach herself magic. But then her aunt arrives and insists upon Agatha making a social début. This novelette is another story that I suspect I’d like more if it had been longer, if some of its ideas had been expanded upon and some of the relationships been given more space to develop. Agatha’s aunt and her motivations were unexpected, and I wasn’t entirely comfortable or satisfied with how that was resolved.

Snow Day by Andrea K. Höst: This novelette takes place after the Touchstone trilogy, more specifically after In Arcadia. Two outsiders get to see Cass and her family on Snow Day, and reveal a bit about their upbringing on Kolar. This feels very much like fanfiction which just happens to be written by the author. It is fun to see familiar characters through others’ eyes and the expanded worldbuilding is interesting, but as a narrative, it seemed somewhat incomplete. (Maybe she’s planning something more with these characters?)

#Herenya reviews books #Rachel Neumeier #Alice Degan #Katherine Addison #Poppy Nwosu #Susanna Kearsley #Ursula Vernon #Joanna Ruth Meyer #Jenny Han #Katheen Jennings #Courtney Milan #P. Djèlí Clark #Stephanie Burgis #Andrea K Höst #S. A. Chakraborty #Aster Glenn Gray

11 notes · View notes

ivisite · 4 years

Note

For the drabble meme, 33 with Anruin?

Anruin is petty with a capital “P” and I’m all about that.

#33. “I saw you staring at each other, I just wasn’t sure if it was sexual tension or murderous rage.”

It wasn’t often that Anruin managed to successfully read his map well enough to make it to his destination and it was even more rare for him to stumble upon something worth writing about. Besides studying half-diligently at the two colleges of Skyrim, the small Bosmer found himself enthralled with his own personal journey. He wanted nothing more than to become the greatest bard and with his Mer blood giving him a few extra years to hold over the common man, he was happy to say he had plenty of time to accomplish said feat.

Bards of old simply spoke tales they’d heard from others but Anruin was determined to do the opposite. Based strictly on rumors he picked up while coaxing about local Inns, he managed to catch wind of a new figure emerging- or two, rather. One such figure was the Last Dragonborn, a Nord woman with hair as fiery as the souls of the dragons she captured and the other was a mysterious hooded figure that few had ever actually seen, a harbinger of thieves and larceny that guards whined about in the days after the it was supposedly spotted in the area. Amused by the notion but bribed to say otherwise, Anruin knew far too much about any given person anyways but in particular he knew quite a bit about the newest soon-to-be hero of old.

“Can’t you guys get some incense? Just because it is a sewer doesn’t mean it has to smell like it- and it’s far too humid, too. Humidity isn’t good for singing..” Anruin rambled, walking about the infamous Ragged Flagon that everyone spoke ill of.

At the counter, the owner of said makeshift bar wiped down tankards with an annoyed flair. He was a surprisingly decent looking man, all considering where he set up shop and his so-called lady friend wasn’t too bad on the eyes either. Both, however, watched the Bosmer parade about with the last of their nerves ticking away.

“Woof Elf, I’ll ask again, what do you want? Shouldn’t you be prancing around an Inn or something?” Tonilia rather pointedly asked. She was a Redguard, Anruin presumed and had a tough demeanor about her. Pretty enough but perhaps too domineering, Anruin could see why her little friend the bar keep might like her so much. Docile by contrast, the barkeep was a good balance to her more assertive nature.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping with your actual lover instead of literally everyone else?” Anruin coolly snapped back, taking out his journal and scribbling something down.

Both the barkeep and Tonilia’s mouth fell agape. The rabble that lived in the sewers weren’t exactly posh and well-mannered but for some stranger to waltz down on his merry way to gods know where just to bother them was infuriating in both both and practice.

“Why you dirty little bast-” The Redguard woman started to say, cut short by a rather loud throat being cleared.

“Can someone please be so kind as to tell me where all my workers are? I’d really appreciate it.”

The man in question was of average height but made up for any short-comings in the area by his gruff voice and permanent look of annoyance that chiseled itself onto his face. The man haphazardly glanced between the three other people in the Flagon only to shake his head and take a seat at a table off to the side. Grumbling about needing something to drink, the man motioned his hand at the barkeep.

“And what in Oblivion do you want, elf?” He spat, looking to Anruin rather hatefully.

“A hearty drink with warm company, of course. Why else would I have come to such a lovely establishment with such inviting patrons?” Anruin cooed back, smiling at the irritated knitting of the man’s brow.

“If you must know, though, I’m looking for Saoirse. Had a gut feeling she might be around here when not dragonborn-ing.” The wood elf said slyly. In truth, he knew all too well of Skyrim’s rising hero. She wasn’t much of one from what he could see, at least not based on the great, bulky heroes of the past and had a bit of a dark side to her that she bribed him with gold and food to not tell anyone about.

“Oh, well then, that makes two of us.” The grump of a man retorted, rolling his eyes as he drank from his tankard.

“Ah, Mercer! Delvin and Vex are out on jobs with a few of the other stagglers from the Cistern. Brynjolf and Saoirse are probably killing each other or something. Delvin sent them on another job together.“

From his spot behind the bar, Vekel must have seen a lot of thing and for that Anruin could respect. Barkeeps and Bards knew everything about everyone that walked by them and were dangerous in their own right. Either type could twist a rumor just a bit and have the whole hold gossiping for weeks on end.

"As long as the job gets finished first, what’s it matter afterwards.” Mercer grumbled again.

It grew quiet in the small tavern after that, an odd but welcoming atmosphere if you squinted and tried really hard to find it. Persistent, Anruin took a seat at a table that was situated on what he called the dock, for lack of better words. If she were out on a job, she would have to come back eventually and he had a million things to ask as soon as she did.

Despite popping up at a bad time during a dragon attacking a nearby settlement, Anruin and Saoirse managed to get along rather well. She wasn’t pompous or haughty like he imagined someone with her title would be and seemed to put up with his presence on most occasions. Perhaps only because he was so insistent on the friendship, the two and whomever happened to be following her around at the time were quite the gaggle to behold.

After what seemed like hours, the Flagon was greeted to the oncoming hum of what sounded like people screeching in the ratways coming towards the entrance of the tavern. While Vekel seemed amused by it, muttering something about his end of a bet going well, Mercer groaned and rubbed his temples.

“You bloody bastard! How dae you except me to be able to read your damned mind?! Ruddy haired son-of-a bi-"

”-Look who’s calling the kettle full, you ruddy haired wench! When Mercer heres about this, he’s going to kill me and I’m going to push you in front like a human shield!“

Bickering as they walked into the tavern, Saoirse and another red head that Anruin couldn’t help but give a second glance towards made their way over to the seating area. They hadn’t noticed the other patrons just yet but they made good time in grabbing their alcohols of choice and taking seats as far away from each other as possible. Saoirse found herself sitting at the bar and her accomplice sat pretty with the grump from earlier. As quickly as the storm rolled in, it seemingly settled as soon as they had a drink in hand and back to one another.

Anruin watched the two for a moment before taking a seat next to his favorite muse, nudging her playfully in hopes of striking up a conversation while the men across the way talked business in hushed voices. Others started pouring into the tavern soon afterwards, as well, filling the seats and talking loudly while chasing what was left of daylight with various meads and wine. It was oddly comforting, Anruin noted, despite the general ambience leaving something to be desired. He was a muscian and a story-teller at heart and a bustling tavern was where he belonged.

As brazen as he might have seemed, Anruin could read a room in seconds flat. Despite the rumblings of several different conversations and boisterous laughter here and there, he couldn’t help but notice a stale bit of air sitting stagnant overhead. The other red head from earlier seemed to have lightened up once a few drinks settled on his stomach, carrying on with a balding man, a hateful looking blonde and this Mercer fellow from earlier. In contrast, Saoirse was uncharacteristically quiet, even having moved down a few seats from the Bosmer after muttering about not being in the mood.

It was absolutely tantalizing. Like a moth to a flame, Anruin took out his journal again, placing it on the counter along with a quill and ink bottle much to the barkeep’s amusement. There was always something to make a song out of and if the dragonborn had some sort of edge to her, he was about to write every observation on the matter down in his notes. The song of the era would need to be detailed and Anruin was more than happy to include this odd moment of stagnant tension in the hero’s journey in the song.

Not paying mind, he managed to draw a few curious onlookers attention towards him. Another Bosmer of the more cliche archer sort took a seat nearby while a dark haired man with a nicer disposition than the others sat on the otherside of Anruin. Both were quiet as they watched the bard scribble but couldn’t help but interrupt after a while passed.

"What’re you writing, kinsman?” The other Bosmer asked, peering over Anruin’s shoulder while the darker haired male squinted to read the pages.

Anruin loved attention, so when it was given he was to engage, though kept a certain watchfulness about him so not to miss anymore note worthy things. Smiling, he put his quill down and dusted off the corner of the page he was writing on.

“It’s a song. I’m trying to write about our dragonborn over here but she’s too busy moping about to get anything noteworthy out of.” He playfully chimed, pushing the journal into better view for his onlookers.

They seemed intrigued by the notion if not amused as they both skimmed the pages. Strangers they might have been but patrons never-the-less. If they wanted to hear a story Anruin would gladly oblige. While the pair quietly muttered and read through the pages of notes, Anruin let himself study the room. Nothing really changed since his last glance around but from the corner of his eye he did manage to catch a glimpse of something worth taking a moment to ponder on.

From across the way at the table full of important looking members amongst the rabble, Anruin watched as the red headed man gazed at Saoirse when he thought no one was looking. He would let his eyes linger on her for no more than a moment before flickering them back to his own company but wouldn’t let himself go too long without looking her way again. His expression was neutral as far as Anruin could tell from his peripheral vision but the gazes were intense. He wasn’t the target, but he could almost feel the weight of it pass over his shoulders en route to the woman nestled at the edge of the bar.

“Curious…” He thought to himself before turning his attention to Saoirse down a ways from him. She sat quietly at the edge, tinkering with a fork while her bottle of mead sat sparsely touched.

She, too, seemed to notice the weight and made quick to let her own eyes wander towards the other red head from time to time. It was another hard read but Anruin could feel the weight of her gaze passing over him just as much, if not more so than the red headed male’s. They seemed to dance around each other, glancing in perfectly timed intervals so not to catch one another and Anruin found it rather amusing. It was as though they were bickering still, taking non-verbal shots at one another before passively looking away to await the other’s response.

Picking up his quill and dipping it in ink after several moments of watching the two, Anruin raised his brows nonchalantly and let a coy smile make its way across his lips. His notes were rather bland as of late, mostly based on rumors and the odd sighting but in this instance he decided to toss a bit of grease on the fire. Fingers popped and legs crossed just so, Anruin cleared his throat and caught the attention of the tavern. Pleased with spotlight, he chuckled and looked between the red heads on either side of the room.

“I saw you two staring at each other, I just wasn’t sure if it was sexual tension or murderous rage. Care to elaborate or should I just write down that it’s both? That would make for a good line in my song….” He cooed.

Horror struck the faces of both people that had been singled out and every pair of eyes in the tavern began to waver between the two. Anruin, however, couldn’t help but chortle at his feat as he dipped his quill in the nearby ink well. With both red heads at a loss for words by the sudden call out, Anruin shook his shoulders happily and began writing.

"Oh good, it’s both then. The plot thickens and the tension rises! This is going to be the best song ever….”

Anruin is the messiest ho in all of Tamriel and I couldn’t be more proud.

#oc ask #anruin : oc #bosmer #anruin needs a squad of other messy ho's #they could have a black book with everyone in Skyrim written in it with juicy gossip #solitude #skyrim oc

4 notes · View notes

wordydelights · 7 years

Text

Lovely Souls

The chill in the air nipped at Noelle’s exposed fingertips, painted with a deep blood red which was already starting to chip off on the edges. Her worn black sneakers crunched on dead leaves as she neared the whitewashed door. Even before opening it she could already smell the distinct fragrance of cannabis seeping through the cracks. She smiled as she turned the metal knob, inhaling the aroma with every step taken. Following the sounds of distant chatter, she made her way up the creaky wooden staircase covered in carpeting to cushion her dainty footsteps. At the end of the messy hallway she opened the door to Morgan’s room.

“Finally you’re here!” Morgan exclaimed without taking her eyes off of her phone. She was sitting on her unmade bed along with her twin sister Valley and older half-sister Luna, facing the flashing television on the opposite side of the room. Strands of Morgan’s long, almost silver like hair framed her heart shaped face. The color complimented her fair, porcelain complexion and piercing light blue eyes. Noelle had always thought that if there is a heaven it would be in the vast skies within Morgan’s eyes.

“Sorry, my mom went to bed a little later than usual.” Noelle replied as she sat herself down next to Calvin who was on the floor leaning against the mattress. Fixated on the TV, he only blinked when necessary as if to capture every detail possible. Calvin was like Luna’s boyfriend but not exactly. It was obvious the two had a connection, the constant eye contact, flirtatious language and subtle touches were a dead giveaway. Yet their relationship remained almost too platonic to be considered a couple. Either that or they were just very skilled on keeping it a secret. Luna glanced up towards Morgan, “Should I start rolling the blunt?”

A few moments of hesitation passed, Morgan nodded her head to each side as if weighing out the options in her mind, “Yeah.” Luna proceeded to rip open a fresh packet of cigars without hesitation and began dumping the tobacco inside into a plastic cup. After meticulously placing the buds of weed then carefully rolling the brown paper, she sealed it with her tongue. Noelle eyed Luna’s hands as they went to work, attempting to visually learn the art behind the task. In fact, Noelle paid close attention to everyone’s actions, absorbing the information gathered and retaining it for future reference. Not in an emotionless, robotic way but almost like a survival tactic, a way of blending better into the environment around her and understanding individual personalities to a greater extent.

The satisfying sound of the lighter being flicked was like music to Noelle’s ears. Luna obviously took the first hit and passed it on to Morgan, who was sitting closest to her, setting off a counter-clockwise rotation. Noelle, acting as if she was caught up in the stereotypical plot of the low budget indie film being played, mentally prepared herself for the inhale. She always wondered whether or not she was breathing correctly at first.

Maybe I hold it in a bit longer.

I just need to breathe normally, stop overthinking it.

“Noelle.” Noelle snapped her head up to meet Valley’s outreached hand with the lit blunt between her index and middle finger.

“Thanks.” She cautiously took the blunt out of Valley’s grasp and raised it to her lips. She breathed in. The warmth filled her lungs like a wildfire rushing throughout a dry forest. Her eyes began to slightly water as she tried to savor the crisp feeling within. To prevent coughing, she shut her eyes and slowly released the smoke into the air. It poured from her mouth like a raging waterfall into a tranquil stream, leaving that toasty, burning sensation in the center of her chest behind to be remembered by.

“Would you rather have no one show up to your funeral or no one show up to visit you on your deathbed?” Noelle smirked, her voice now more raspy and crackled. Morgan tilted her head, giving the impression of pensive thought while resting her chin on her index finger as she considered.

“Deathbed,” Luna and Calvin replied in unison. Noelle looked back at them as if they were crazy, “What!?”

Morgan nodded. “Yeah I agree. Deathbed.”

“Why?” Noelle defensively asked, with her arms folded.

“Well…,” Calvin began taking a hit from the blunt then whipping his sandy colored hair to the side as he exhaled. “I’d want to know I’m loved and remembered when I die.”

“But you wouldn’t care because you’d be dead. Think about it, you’re alive, lying in a hospital waiting for your loved ones to come and wish you farewell, but no one comes, so you die alone, lonely and heartbroken. You wouldn’t feel the emotional pain of no one arriving at your funeral because dead people don’t have feelings.”

“Yeah, but having no one show up to your funeral is kind of worse in a way. You are just forgotten and it just shows no one really cared about you in the first place.”

“But you’re dead so you wouldn’t know. Also, if people didn’t show up to visit you in your final hours but did during your funeral doesn’t it show how fake they are? Why would you want them coming to your funeral anyways?”

Luna decided to jump into the debate, “You could say the same thing about the people who visited you in the hospital but didn’t during your funeral. Wouldn’t you rather die knowing the truth?”

Valley, who had remained unbiased from the beginning of the discussion, mostly quietly observing, taking into account the different arguments, finally chose to voice her opinion, “I think both scenarios equally suck and I wouldn’t want either to happen to me.”

Everyone agreed. Valley didn’t usually say much. She was a shy, more reserved individual. Mostly lost in her own thoughts, but when she had something to say it was worth listening to. She was the kind of person most looked past, not appreciating her unique persona or beauty. Her hair in contrast with her personality was colored with a firey red dye. Its silky waves almost seemed to move like the ocean and her lips like two soft petals from a delicate rose. “When’s Raquel coming?” Noelle pondered, looking to Morgan for a response. “Not sure but she’s been acting weird lately,” Morgan started, and then looked up from her phone. Before Noelle could ask for further details Morgan continued. “She always makes plans then flakes the last minute or has to go suddenly because of her dad…apparently.”

“Oh please, we all know it’s because she just wants to go fuck her shitty boyfriend,” Luna added in a half joking but completely serious way. Her voice was so full of emotion that when she spoke you could never truly pinpoint it to one specific tone. It wasn’t a confusing voice. It was simply a voice so whole and varied, that one could get overwhelmed in its dimension and novelty.

Noelle nodded, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “She’s done that before and lied about it so I wouldn’t be surprised. It just sucks always being second place to that asshole.” She shrugged, “But, what can you do.” Morgan quickly released the smoke in her lungs, attempting to not disrupt the flow of the conversation. “I don’t understand her taste in guys. They are always not that attractive, complete douchebags plus extremely controlling.” “The worst part is that she bows down to them like they’re her fucking god and lets them walk all over her, practically worshipping the ground they walk on.” Noelle paused, taking a frustrated puff then passed it to Calvin. “I just wish she knew she’s better than that.”

A few silent moments passed, Calvin decided to chime in, “She’s looking for love in all the wrong places,” he half-sang with a goofy smile across his bearded face. Luna, Valley, Morgan and Noelle looked at one another as if trying to comprehend the humor.

“Oh come on, you guys never heard that song?”

“No one cares Calvin,” Luna playfully teased, snatching the navy blue beanie from off his head, her low cut shirt exposing more cleavage as she leaned forward. Noelle liked to think that Luna had something special one might refer to as an ‘old soul.’ She had these tender eyes, consumed with blazing passion that told their own story. Sort of like looking into a veteran’s eyes, seeing the heavy melancholic weight they carry, attempting to imagine the unspeakable horrors they’ve witnessed. But Luna’s were different, because not only did they appear to have endured times of tragedy, anguish and suffering, they also seemed to have experienced true joy, erratic, intense love and pure bliss. Every emotion known to man was trapped within her eyes, like a shaken snow globe, a whirling pool of vivid uncertainty. Suddenly, breaking the mellow, comforting atmosphere, an aggressive, hollow banging echoed throughout the house.

“What the he-,” Morgan managed as she pulled herself up off the bed. Noelle and Calvin exchanged confused looks while Luna followed Morgan to the open window after ashing the remnants of the leftover blunt. Valley remained unscathed by the disruption, continuing to blankly stare at the patterned sheets of the bedspread. “Mom’s going to be pissed,” Morgan half-whispered, holding the curtain in one hand, as she looked down towards the front door, with Luna closely behind. The banging continued, this time along with senseless shouting and hushed laughter. Luna let out an aggravated sigh as she looked back up from the cluttered window. “Oh my god.” The curiosity spiking her interests, Noelle began making her way towards the commotion. “What? Who is it?” She asked, despite being only a few steps away from discovering the answer.

Morgan finally turned, with an irritated expression painted across her face. “I’m going to fucking kill Raquel.”

“Dan, could you stop being so obnoxious man?” Ocean asked, the question phrased more like a demand, as he pushed his brother’s flailing hand away from the door. Danny slowly turned his head towards Ocean, looking him dead in the eyes with a psychotic smile and replied by shrieking at the top of his lungs what sounded like what was supposed to be an odd rendition of ‘Mary had a Little Lamb,’ while simultaneously slamming his fists against the wooden door. Raquel and Eliza snickered, only encouraging Danny’s juvenile behavior. Ocean, realizing there was nothing he could do to stop Danny from acting like a complete ass, gave up and started walking away until he felt someone grabbed his upper arm.

“Come on Ocean…lighten up,” Eliza pouted as she slid her hand down to his elbow. Her pungent perfume almost suffocating him as she brushed her body against his. Hastily, dismissing her advances Ocean wandered off towards the driveway, to silently wallow in the regret of allowing his insufferable brother to convince him into coming. The tips of Ocean’s wavy, chestnut hair barely touched his shoulders as he looked up towards the open window where he saw moving shadows and heard the scurrying of feet. A freckled face emerged from the floral printed curtains. His deep blue eyes locked with her amber gems for what was probably about half a second but felt like an eternity. Her wild strawberry curls, held back behind her ears, began falling into their original place as if to demonstrate how they could not be tamed. She swiftly glanced away, her cheeks slightly pink and adverted her eyes towards Danny’s noisy antics. Ocean remained gazing in her direction with a half-smile on his face until she disappeared beneath the curtain’s mask of obscurity. It was like listening to a good song. You can’t just stop in the middle, disrupting the rhythm and ambiance, you have to complete the journey, allow it to sweep you into a new state of mind, the lyrics broadening your perspectives on life. And those blazing amber eyes could alter the most tenacious of minds.

The front door burst open. “My mom is trying to sleep, what is your problem?” Morgan fumed in a snappy whisper. Raquel moved forward, her golden ponytail swinging to each side in time with her footsteps, “Sorry, Danny gets a little too excited someti-“

“Why are they here?” Morgan abruptly interrupted, clearly not in the mood for small talk. Realizing the harsh implications one might make from her question and tone, she decided to elaborate. “We were only expecting you.”

“I may have forgotten to mention a few details.”

Morgan rolled her eyes as far back into her skull as humanly possible, “No kidding.” Raquel’s short, red dress, flattering her rosy undertones, danced with the wind as it flowed by. Her bold lipstick which was somewhat smeared around the corners of her mouth gave the deception of fuller lips and her tawny wedges extenuated her already tall, slender figure. Attempting to radiate the illusion of elegance and poise, her insecurity and desperation were too apparent to oversee. Mascara, which was faintly smeared underneath her eyes, indicated she had been crying not that long ago. Noelle walked in from behind Morgan, her brows knitted together with confusion, “What’s going on?”

Danny, wrapping his arm around Raquel and Eliza, decided to answer the question, “Let’s just cut the bullshit alright. We have beer and are cordially inviting you to join us on this momentous occasion and bask within our splendor.”

Noelle and Morgan exchanged suspicious glances.

“Pay no mind to him,” Raquel said, pushing Danny aside. “Look, me and Kevin broke up today and I-,” she anxiously bit her bottom lip, her voice coated with sincerity. “I just wanted to have a good time with you guys, so please…come.”

#young adult #fiction #literature #my words #excerpt from a book i'll never write #well actually im pretty determined so #lets change it to #excerpt from a book i might write #smoking #teens #story #prose #friends #love #:)#grunge #writers of tumblr #writelr #writeblr

3 notes · View notes

barbosaasouza · 5 years

Text

‘Monster Garden’ Developer Talks About the Healing Power of Play

Zack Wood, developer of Monster Garden, shared some of their design thoughts about their monster-befriending game, and how play and imagination can bring about personal healing and care.

What got you interested in exploring friendship with a game?

Zack Wood, developer of Monster Garden: When I played RPGs growing up, I loved getting new characters and choosing which would be in the party for different missions. I wanted them to interact with each other and for the unique combination of characters in my party to affect major story events, but in most games it didn’t seem to matter much at all.

Harvest Moon 64 was the first game I played where befriending characters was a major part of the game, so I naturally loved it and other games in the series. But in the end, friendship is just a secondary element in Harvest Moon games, and you can pretty much ignore it if you want to.

So, for a long time I wanted to make a game where meeting and making friends with characters was really the core of the game.

Why do so using monsters? What was the importance of making friends with gaming’s most maligned group?

As an artist, monsters are a chance to get imaginative and have fun with character designs, so I always appreciate it when games create some nice monsters. But for me, having to fight them clashes with the sense of delight and wonder they inspire. I want to savor that feeling of encountering something mysterious, so I often wish fighting monsters to the death wasn’t the only way most games let you interact with them. I’d rather help them, get to know them, or just let them be.

A game like Pokemon might seem different since the monsters are allies instead of enemies, but trapping monsters in balls and only releasing them to do your bidding in battle isn’t actually very nice either, when you think about it.

And I don’t think it’s by chance that monsters tend to be either a threat that must be destroyed or cute creatures to capture. It’s because monsters represent the unknown. That’s why they’re so much fun to design, but also why they’re used as a generic stand-in for scary and bad things. Anyone who’s played enough RPGs has heard it before: “There have been more monsters in the forest lately. Something must be wrong…”

It makes sense as a convention since unknown things can be scary, but they can also be met with play, curiosity, or all kinds of other approaches, which I think opens up a lot of new area in game design.

In my game Monster Garden, I wanted to add a sense of mystery and surprise to dialogue by letting the player choose which of their monsters will talk without knowing exactly what they’ll say. I think this makes the monsters feel more autonomous and the dialogue feel more surprising than if the player just chose from a list of pre-written responses.

So, to answer your question, I wanted to show monsters some love and respect for a change, and also to savor the element of the unknown that makes monsters so much fun in the first place. If you’re interested, I wrote about why games need more “monster love” in this post on Gamasutra as well.

Of course there are also games like Undertale where players can choose between killing monsters or being pacifist, and I think that’s a positive change from many games. But in Monster Garden, I wanted to embrace monsters with a more thoroughly loving approach. Instead of just choosing whether or not to kill monsters, I wanted to let players choose different ways of peacefully interacting with them and getting to know them better.

You seem to have a great interest in ‘healing games.’ What would you define as a healing game, and can you tell us some examples you’ve found?

One way I think games can be healing is by inviting the player to explore, play, and experiment with its world without having to worry about being caught in a proving ground and punished. It’s hard to feel anything like healing when you’re busy just trying not to make a mistake and lose.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn comes to mind as a game that manages, despite being an action platformer, to be thoroughly forgiving and never really put you on the spot. I don’t know if I’d call it deeply healing, but it’s definitely going in that direction.

These days there are also lots of walking sims and similar games with no way to lose, and although I think that can definitely be relaxing, I also think that a special type of healing is possible when there are challenges in a game, but when you aren’t punished for approaching them in the wrong way.

Of course, that’s next to impossible in large games with multiple overlapping systems where there’s no way to account for all the things that the player might do. So it helped that Monster Garden is only 30-45 minutes long and very simple. That enabled me to account for every way the player could possibly interact with the game’s three levels and to make something fun and different happen in each case (usually introducing a different monster).

Another way games can be healing is by explicitly focusing on personal healing experiences (which I think can be just as healing for the developer to create as for the player to play).

Two games come to mind as examples (although I haven’t played either one, unfortunately): Papo y Yo, a game about a boy dealing with an abusive alcoholic father based on creator Vander Caballero’s own experiences, and That Dragon, Cancer, a game about struggling with a child’s cancer diagnosis.

I’d personally love to see more games that combine playful, non-punishing gameplay with content that draws on personal healing experiences.

What unique power do you feel that games have to ‘heal’? How can games capture a kind of soothing interaction?

Once I asked for examples of “healing games” on Twitter, and people mentioned many games that I wasn’t expecting (Way more people responded than I expected, too, which reflects how much people appreciate the healing side of games).

Some of the games people mentioned involved winning and losing based on player skill like Celeste and many Legend of Zelda games, while others simply had a relaxing atmosphere like Viridi. Others were games people had played during a tough time in their lives that gave them a much needed break or connection with other players.

The variety of responses made me realize that all kinds of games can be healing, and that it naturally depends a lot on the individual player.

But in all cases, I think the key to games’ unique healing power is the that they let us play. When you’re at play, you feel more relaxed and open to change and seeing things in a new way. It might sound contradictory, but I think fun and play can be the key to serious healing.

What draws you to explore healing power in games with your own work?

I didn’t set out to make a “healing game” when I started working on Monster Garden. Initially, I just wanted to learn how to use RPG Maker and to design and animate a bunch of pixelated monsters. What I was consciously trying to do was make a more “playful” game in terms of being less punishing and more gentle, with a focus on characters and friendship.

Also, around the time I started working on Monster Garden, I had been learning a lot about play and playfulness at indie game events where physical games were presented alongside digital ones. I had been realizing that I just like playing around and having fun with people more so than competing and winning or any of the things normally considered core to games (like mechanics, narrative, etc.).

I had also discovered the work of Bernie De Koven, a proponent of fun and play whose work in the 1970’s is one of the reasons Physical Education programs in schools in the US use more games and playful activities (Stuff like that big rainbow parachute thing that everyone wooshes up in the air and then runs and sits under. I remember that being so much fun in elementary school, but in retrospect it was so simple, not even a game at all…which I think was one of Bernie’s main points, actually).

He had a background in theater and worked to spread theater warm-up games, childrens’ games, and “folk games” throughout his life. I had also done some improv theater and loved the warm-up games more than actual “scenes” or acting, so I appreciated his approach and writing a lot.

It turned out that he was a proponent not only of playing physical games with other people, but also of playing with yourself in your imagination. He wrote about exploring the “inner playground” of your imagination, and I love imagining things, so I was naturally intrigued. But it turns out getting in touch with your imagination and learning to let it guide you is actually kinda tough and takes a lot of practice. You have to learn how to trust yourself and get past obstacles you encounter along the way that stop you from letting yourself play – in other words, it can be a deeply healing experience.

Through that process I imagined a lot of fun, silly, and sometimes scary things. So, when it came time to work on Monster Garden and I needed content beyond the basic idea of a playful RPG about monsters, I used these experiences as the foundation for the game’s structure and story.

In a sense, you could say Monster Garden is about the healing process of learning to see scary, unknown things as fun friends instead of frightening foes.

Why do you feel it’s important to explore this sort of play and interaction in games?

Lately I’ve been seeing myself as a “playful artist” more than a game designer because I realized I just want to make things that invite people to play, whether its through a game with other people or a silly moment they enjoy all by themselves.

For me, play, playfulness and the healing and fun that come with them are the real treasures that games have to offer. I wish we had more playful games, which I think would also mean more healing games. Games that are thoroughly warm and welcoming instead of cold and confrontational, where you don’t have to worry about the fun suddenly ending because you messed up.

I think this is still new territory in game design, but trends like “wholesome games” and “care wave” in indie games show that people want more of these types of experiences. It’s an exciting time to make and play games, and I’m personally looking forward to seeing what new ways people come up with to have deeply healing fun!

The post ‘Monster Garden’ Developer Talks About the Healing Power of Play appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

‘Monster Garden’ Developer Talks About the Healing Power of Play published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

0 notes

recentanimenews · 5 years

Text

Bookshelf Briefs 7/10/19

Haikyu!!, Vol. 33 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – The game ended! It was an incredible finish too, and once again I praise the author for having a good feel for keeping the pace exciting and yet also making the action clear. Hate to spoil it, but our heroes win the match, though we end up following the losing team right after the game, showing how this defeat is going to make them get stronger. I really liked the twin (you know, one of them) telling Hinata he was going to set for him one day—it’s a reminder that they could take this past high school. But the break is brief, as by the end of the volume we’re in another battle against Nekoma, and I get the feeling that this one will also take several volumes. Still, I’m up for it. This remains a terrific sports manga. – Sean Gaffney

Himouto! Umaru-chan, Vol. 6 | By Sankakuhead | Seven Seas – OK, it turns out Ebina’s “confession” was that she’s been searching for her brother, who left home to become a chef. I wasn’t too happy with the suggestion that she’s got a crush on Taihei as he reminds her of her brother, but other than that this was pretty sweet. We’re also given yet another cliffhanger ending, as it turns out that while Umaru is best in the class for the normal kids, there’s an accelerated program with someone who’s shorter, cuter, blonder and smarter than Umaru. I sense a new rivalry coming. Which is somewhat inevitable given Umaru has converted everyone around her into friends already. This is still a bit slight, but it’s cute and fun. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 9 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – This volume is filled with plot, and it’s all about Ishigami. At last we get his backstory and find out what happened to make him into the beaten-down misanthrope he was introduced as. As you might imagine, it involved scapegoating and punishing the wrong person, completely breaking his spirit. Fortunately, there’s an athletic festival going on, and when one member of his team hurts their ankle, he has to fill in. Does he win? That’s less important than that he tries hard, gets his team to root for him, and—and this was fantastic—sees their faces, which till now have been “faceless” people around him. If there’s one drawback, it’s that the balloon chapter made a poor closer. But overall, a fantastic volume. – Sean Gaffney

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 4 | By Waco Ioka and Midori Yuma | Viz Media – It was never going to be as simple as opening a nice restaurant. Aoi’s new place is beset by sabotage and trickery, from signs pointing in the wrong direction to assassins trying to kill her to literal BANANA PEELS on the steps. We also see Aoi learning about food, in the best foodie manga tradition, and also learning more about her grandfather and his relationships with the other spirits, and just how long-lived they are. There’s a bit of romantic tease when they tour the local izakayas, but for the most part Kakuriyo is content to be a slow-burner that is interested in Aoi and food, not necessarily in that order. That’s fine with me. – Sean Gaffney

Monster and the Beast, Vol. 1 | By Renji | Yen Press – Cavo is a hideous monster with a pure heart, so when he witnesses what appears to be a sexual assault in the forest in which he lives, he intervenes. Liam, the apparent victim, proves to be charming and sexually voracious (he’s the beast of the title) and immediately propositions Cavo. After discovering that Liam is unreliable, Cavo guides him to a nearby village and falls in love with him on the way. So far, so sweet. What I thought was interesting, though, is that once they reach the village, Cavo must remain in hiding while Liam goes out every night and beds various people. We learn that he’s well aware that Cavo loves him, and is content enough to remain together, but also has no desire to change. That’s not the outcome I expected, so I’m interested to see where this goes. – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 2 | By Kohei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi | VIZ Media – This is soooooo much better than the first volume of the School Briefs light novels. Set just before and during the training camp arc, the stories depict the kids during their free time as they try to distract a motion-sick Aoyama on the bus, throw a slumber party, have an arm-wrestling tournament, etc. There’s lots of intermingling between classes 1-A and 1-B, which I appreciate very much, especially the slumber party at which the girls would rather contemplate which of the boys’ quirks they’d like to try than which boy they’d like to date. Mineta continues to be even more awful than he is in the source material, this time in a premeditated and predatory way that’s genuinely alarming. Aizawa lectures him off-camera at least, but he really ought to’ve been expelled. In any case, I’m sufficiently swayed enough to come back for volume three! – Michelle Smith

The Right Way to Make Jump! | By Takeshi Sakurai | VIZ Media (digital only) – Four years after Takeshi Sakurai gave up on manga and became an onigiri maker instead, he gets a call from his former editor suggesting they collaborate on a nonfiction series about how Jump! is made. This one-volume manga is the fascinating result. Sakurai and his editor interview people at the printers and paper manufacturer as well as cover and logo designers and various editors. There are pictures of the editorial offices in Japan as well as VIZ headquarters in San Francisco, and a brief visit to Kohei Horikoshi’s studio. It’s all super interesting—I particularly loved learning about all the neat machines that were invented specifically to handle producing Jump!—while being fun and amusing, as well. I’d recommend it to any manga fan, but especially to Jump! fans. – Michelle Smith

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 2 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Shirayuki passes her exam, which means she’s now working for the Prince. And you know what that means—it’s time to solve crises by working yourself until you nearly die without bothering to tell anyone, in the best shoujo heroine tradition. Fortunately, she has other people around her. Unfortunately, she also has the First Prince, who has returned to the kingdom and apparently is intent on making his brother miserable, and also making Shirayuki do pointless tasks. I’m sure eventually she’ll win him over, but that point is not yet. There’s also a lengthy short story at the end, set in modern times and about a trio who become a duo after tragedy strikes. It was decent, but I wish these were full of Shirayuki. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 2 | By Sorata Akiduki | VIZ Media – Shirayuki begins work as a court herbalist apprentice, and her very knowledgeable boss also happens to be twelve years old. She wins him over with her powers of empathy, and I appreciate that she manages to be both nice and very clever, as she’s able to figure exactly what’s been making the soldiers ill at a fort under Zen’s command. The back cover calls this a love story, and I’m sure we’ll get there eventually, but I really appreciate that what we’ve got so far is a mutual inspiration story. Both Shirayuki and Zen are compelled to help people and end up spurring each other on. “I need to be the sort of man she’ll never turn her back on,” Zen resolves. And then his crappy older brother comes home and begins to interfere. This is a fun series so far! – Michelle Smith

Versailles of the Dead, Vol. 2 | By Kumiko Suekane | Seven Seas – Two volumes into Versailles of the Dead I’m not sure that I actually understand what’s going on, but I still feel oddly compelled to read more. In part this is due to the fact that Suekane really knows how to create an atmosphere. While dark and unsettling, Versailles of the Dead can also be surprisingly sensual, Suekane’s artwork capturing both the horrific and the beautiful—at times simultaneously—to great effect. The decadence of the 18th-century French court and the gruesome death and undeath both inside and outside of it are all strikingly illustrated. The second volume develops existing plotlines (while ignoring others) and introduces new elements to an already full story. Versailles of the Dead has so much going on that it hasn’t quite managed to pull everything together into a cohesive whole yet, but it might be starting in that direction and I can’t seem to look away. – Ash Brown

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf