I'm already touching the lizard
Hi!
My friends! It’s cold and rainy, I have my house to myself, I got a full night’s sleep last night, and I’m still riding that election high. Feels good, feels very different from where I was this time last year.
There’s a huge used bookshop about 40 minutes from me which I’d never been to despite knowing of its existence for several years, because when you live in an area as congested as mine, a 40 minute drive is hell. But I finally ventured out there!
I like used bookshops for hunting down big art/architecture books and books that I’ve borrowed from the library but love enough to own, and this trip WELL DELIVERED. Plus, I traded in a bunch of books for credit, so none of these cost me a dime. Still riding this high too, tbh.
Notable Breakfast
Dog Thing
Leilani and I highly recommend the inflatable e-collar, both for her comfort and my entertainment.
Mixed Media
A little while back, after I finished listening to The Adventure Zone: Balance, I decided to check out Campaign, which is another actual play RPG podcast. I liked it, but didn’t feel immediately taken with it, so I was listening to it little by little. Well, in the last couple weeks my interest got very hooked, and I’ve been barreling my way though. I love this podcast.
Campaign is set in the Star Wars universe, in between the prequels and the original trilogy. They’re specifically playing the Edge of the Empire system (I’ve played the later Force & Destiny system, and they’re both very cool and easy to comprehend even if you’re not familiar with RPGs). What makes Campaign so fun is that the people playing it are all experienced improv actors, so they’re great at character voices, making creative narrative decisions, and above all rolling with the punches. The Game Master, Kat Kuhl, is also fantastic.
The thing that gets me about this podcast is that it hits on one of my two very favourite tropes: found family in space. The crew of the Mynock are a varied group, and individually they’re very weird, but they love each other and that shines through. The quirks are what makes the show: they’re completely incapable of going shopping without knocking something over, they have an A.I. which will only answer questions if they’re phrased in a way that relates to cooking, one of them probably can’t read, and they have a complicated system of dares and vetoes with which they (sometimes) get things done.
Also they have a dog, his name is Tony and he’s a 400 lb psychic space wolf with above human intelligence. You’ll love him.
Campaign updates weekly!
I watched Stranger Things season 2 and enjoyed it! I didn’t find it as scary this time around, but still watched it mostly in one go. That show has some fantastic lady characters and I wish that they got to interact more than they do.
I read Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones and enjoyed it! I got bogged down during some bits where characters just could not see eye to eye and the conflict frustrated me, but in the end found it satisfying. I read The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag, a book I’ve been eagerly awaiting. It did not disappoint. It tells the story of a boy who lives in a society where all men are shape-shifters and all women are witches, but doesn’t allow for the possibility of a boy who can’t shift but can do magic. It was a really lovely way at looking at gender and the consequences of locking yourself into a binary.
I’ve been listening to the Thor Ragnarok score, which is great and which reminded me of the existence of the Hunt for the Wilderpeople score, which is better. So I’ve been switching between them.
I saw Thor Ragnarok! I loved it! I’ll probably see it again! It’s the first superhero movie I’ve seen in a very long time that didn’t feel even a little bit like work. Taika Waititi is a great director, and it’s a great film.
Anxiety Pyjamas
Fics I Shouted About
Nonverbal Cues by Shaples // Ookiku Furikabutte, Abe/Mihashi. Abe notices that Mihashi seems off, but it doesn’t occur to him that he might be the cause.
The Lay of Homecoming by Rosie_Rues // Power of Three, Gair/Hafny, post-book. I cannot tell you how THRILLED I was to find, after finishing Power of Three, a book published in the 70s, that someone had written a fic about my fave pair for yuletide 2011. And it’s excellent. Gair goes to live among the Dorig.
calling me to come back by aknightley // Voltron, Keith/Lance, magic AU. Keith owns a magic shop and is an expert curse-breaker. Lance is a kid under a very bad curse. Simple, right?
Quick Pro Quo by vands88 // Campaign, Leenik/Tryst. I am completely taken with this extremely sweet fic about asexual Leenik and sex-obsessed Tryst navigating their budding relationship.
Wasted Away Again by Odyle // Campaign, team fic. The Mynock crew goes to the beach! This is very simple, extremely in-character, and a good time.
Lastly
That’s all from me!
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