don't matter if I break I gotta be on my own
hi!
how are y’all doin? If you subscribed after reading my Voltron explainer in Elizabeth & Gav’s Rec Center newsletter, welcome! I’m very happy to have you. If you’re an old hand at getting these newsletters, you’re probably nuts but I am also very happy to have you.
Last week, I backed into my television set, knocked it over, and broke it. This was a major life occurrence because I learned two important things about myself: I really, really do not like change (even minor tv-replacement change), and I am not comfortable replacing items until they are physically falling to pieces. This latter epiphany involved a lot of recalling of shoes I’d worn until the soles fell off.
But I moved past this crisis of hardware and self, and broke the new tv in the best way I knew how:
Notable Breakfast
oatmeal and fruit, always always always
Dog Thing
Mixed Media
A few weeks ago, during the height of my manga kick, my friend handed me Cross Game Volume 1. Sports manga are a whole subgenre unto themselves, and I had recently given a different sports series a try and wasn’t impressed. “You’ll like this one,” he assured me, and he knows me well, so I tried it. I’ve now bought and read all 8 volumes in the series, so I guess he was right.
Cross Game, by Mitsuru Adachi, is one of the most deft and beautiful series I’ve ever read. The first volume, which takes place when the protagonists are 10 and 11, feels dreamy. Reading it is a little like recalling a movie you watched a bunch when you were a kid. For me, it felt like The Sandlot, and only a little because of the baseball.
The story follows Ko Kitamura, whose family owns a sporting goods store. He’s not really into sports himself, but he spends lots of time at the nearby batting cages, owned by the family of his best friend, Wakaba. Ko is a talented batter, but he doesn’t much care about it, to the great frustration of Wakaba’s younger sister, Aoba, who cares about baseball a lot (and is incredibly good at it, even at 10 years old). Ko and Aoba both love Wakaba deeply, and are nearly always in conflict. The first chapter ends with a death that sends shockwaves through everyone’s lives, and the resulting grief informs the story going forward.
The story skips forward 4 years, and it becomes on the surface about the journey of a ragtag team to the biggest high school baseball tournament in Japan, Kōshien. But the really great story stuff is the slice-of-life, the gradual coming-of-age of Ko, Aoba, and their teammates. I hesitate to even call it a romance, although it is that, simply because it’s such a slow build, a story told in glances and pitches and baseball games.
And the baseball is great. I’m a fan of baseball, but I’ll concede that games are slow and sometimes boring. They can be a test of endurance for players and spectators alike. Adachi uses the unique pace of games to good effect, emphasizing conversation and strategy-making during the lulls and using quick, exciting panels for the action. It’s easy to follow the ball, so you never miss a play. During a scrimmage in the 2nd volume, I realized my heart was pounding with anticipation.
All in all, Cross Game is probably my favourite thing I’ve read this year, and it’s been a great year for books. The whole series is in print, and available digitally.
Also:
I caught up on both Dark Matter and Killjoys, and I’m loving the new season of Dark Matter a lot. They’re really leaning into the found family thing that is my great weakness when it comes to tv.
Hayley Kiyoko released a new single, which I love, and it led me back to her previous EP, This Side of Paradise. I’ve listened to both many, many times this week. I’ve watched this video of Cynthia Erivo singing “I Can Do Better” from the musical The Last Five Years in a bar maybe 100 times? She’s incredible.
Anxiety Pyjamas
Fics I Shouted About
Signal Towers and Children’s Songs by cosmic_llin Star Trek Beyond, Jaylah & Uhura, Gen. Jaylah and Lt. Uhura bond over language. I loved this, especially since it gave me the Jayhal & Uhura interaction that we didn’t get in the movie.
Standing right outside my door by eleanor_lavish Check Please!, Nursey/Dex. Nursey is spending Christmas alone, and Dex realizes that bothers him a whole lot.
Lightning in a Bottle by amillionsmiles Voltron, Keith/Lance. There are a lot of fan theories about Lance, and the predominant ones have it that he’s from a big family and lives somewhere near an ocean. This fic takes the whole crew home to Lance’s family, gives us a fun beach story, and also fleshes out Lance’s home life without making it too much about original characters.
untitled by goddammitstacy Star Wars TFA, Finn/Poe. There’s been a falling-off of Finn/Poe fics in recent months, so this delightful little ficlet is like manna from heaven. Finn wishes Poe would just put on a dang shirt.
it’s all in my head by aknightly Voltron, Keith/Lance. The paladins learn that the more they pilot Voltron, the more they’re going to be able to feel one another’s emotions. This is distressing to Keith, for a few reasons.
i miss you sideways daily by amillionsmiles Voltron, Pidge, Gen. I’m a sucker for Pidge character studies, and this one is excellent. A jumbled timeline of their life and family.
Lastly
y’all have watched the Hidden Figures trailer, right?
The Mummy is my favourite movie, so this post about what makes it great was a sheer delight to read.
good job, everyone! now hit the showers and I’ll see you again soon.
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