#very much enjoying this book and control is such a fun narrator

[technicolorxsn]

hm. mosquito.

[sonicboomrevisited]

A Sonic Boom Revisited Short Story:

"I'll Be Home for Christmas"

Written by @mama-qwerty with editing and inspiration from @multiisketch

Art by @multiisketch

Colors by @star-stages and @multiisketch

NOTE: This story is NON-CANON to the SBR comic itself and is purely for holiday fun! Please Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twas the morning before Christmas and all through the lair, not a creature was stirring, not even–

"An eclair!" Cubot said, in an enthusiastic mood.

Orbot protested. "An elcair's not a creature, it's food!"

"Exactly!” said Cubot, hands on his hips. “That's why it ain't stirrin!"

Orbot scoffed. “Oh enough with your quips.”

The stockings were hung by the exhaust port with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be–

"Married!" Cubot shouted, sounding quite proud.

"Santa’s already married, for crying out loud.” Orbot sighed and shook his head in frustration. “Can you please be quiet and allow the narration?”

Quite. Anyway... the robots were nestled and charging in stations, while visions of sugar plums danc’d in their processing units.

"Hey," Cubot said, the word dragging out long. “Those words don’t rhyme, you’re doing it wrong!"

Rhyming is hard, and not something that’s forced. So you’ll deal with my attempts, for better or worst.

The robots went silent, exchanging a look. It always seemed easy when reading the book. They returned to the tinsel hanging duties assigned, when in walked the dastardly Robo-Sonic, his boss close behind.

"I just don't understand, truly at all, why those rodents won’t fight!" said Dr. Eggman, standing tall.

“Because they’re losers who know they won’t win,” Robo-Sonic said, his voice confident, and edged with a grin. “Seriously, Boss, it’s the smartest thing they’ve done. Why would they fight when they know that we’ve won?”

“It’s the principle!” Eggman shouted, his hands clenched in fists. “If they won’t fight, then I won’t . . . won’t . . .”

He threw his hands up. “Ya know what? I’m not doing this rhyming thing. Nope.”

But–

“NO.” Eggman crossed his arms, his lips pulled into a tight line.

How are we gonna tell a Christmas story without that well known rhyming couplet setup?

“Much better, because we won’t be locked into short little oddly worded sentences for the sake of rhyming.”

Ouch.

“Go on,” Eggman said, giving his hand a dismissive flick. “Just let it flow naturally.”

Fine.

“Oh come now, don’t pout.”

I’m not pouting.

“Then go ‘not pout’ somewhere else so we can get on with things.”

“Geez, Boss,” Cubot said, shaking his head. “That’s not very Christmas-y.”

“Quiet down, you imbecile, or I’ll remove your head.”

“That rhymed,” Orbot said with a shrug. “Although you technically rhymed ‘head’ with ‘head’.”

“Nevermind!” Eggman said, moving to his console and flicking some switches. The monitor along the back wall flared to life and scenes from the village dominated the screen. “As I was saying, if those rodents won’t fight me, I won’t get a good workout for my various inventions.”

Robo-Sonic turned to him. “So?”

“So, fighting so-called heroes is the best way for villains to work the kinks out of their dastardly plans and evil robots. It’s the first thing they teach you in villain college.” He turned suddenly, his voice edged with defensive anger. “Which I totally graduated from, thank you very much.”

Robo-Sonic flicked his ocular LEDs toward the ceiling. “Okay, so why won’t they fight? Other than the obvious reason that they’ll lose, I mean.”

Eggman tapped a few places on his control panel and twisted a dial. “I don’t know. But we’ll find out soon enough.

The screen flickered and centered on Meh Burger where Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks sat at a table.

“Are we still going to your place for Christmas Eve, Amy?” Tails asked. He poked at his burger. “It may be a good way to take our minds off . . . you know.”

“The fact that Sonic’s been turned into a glorified Eggman bot who hates us and wants to pound us into the dirt?” Knuckles asked, his voice low and frustrated. The others looked at him, their expressions a combination of annoyed and hurt. “What? I’m just summing it up in case you forgot.”

“We didn’t.” Tails’ ears flicked backward, and he looked away.

Knuckles seemed to sense he’d really stepped in it, and turned his attention back to his half-eaten burger. He let out a sigh, his shoulders dropping. “Right. Right. Sorry.”

“I don’t know if I should bother this year. It won’t be the same without Sonic,” Amy said, pushing her burger away and resting her crossed arms on the table. “We always baked cookies together.” A little smile curled her lips. “When he wasn’t trying to eat the batter, that is.”

“We’d always make popcorn strands,” Knuckles said, shaking his head with a smile. “That was a lot of fun.”

“Yeah.” Tails pushed his burger away, fiddling with his gloves. “We would trim the tree together. The lights were always my favorite part, and every year we’d fight over who put the star on top.” His ears flicked back. “This year was his turn.”

Silence fell over the group. Sticks looked between the others.

“Well I say we don’t let this get us down!” she said, pounding her fists on the table. “I say we get together and have the best Christmas Eve ever! We’ll show that Eggman and his new little robot henchman that they can’t stifle our spirits!”

She turned directly toward the camera filming them and shook her fist.

“YA HEAR THAT, YOU BIG CLOD! WE AIN’T BENDING!”

In the lair, Eggman let out a little yelp before cutting the feed, the screen going black. “That badger’s pretty astute for someone who thinks her doorknobs are alien spies.”

“Who’s she calling a henchman?” Robo-Sonic said, hands clenching into fists.

Eggman absently rubbed his chin with a hand. “Quiet, you.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Eggman’s brow furrowed slightly as he paced back and forth before the console. “Hmm . . . so the rodents are feeling all sad because their little blue rat is now my number two. That sadness is preventing them from really bringing their A-game during battles with me.”

“Perhaps you could offer to return Robo-Sonic to them for Christmas Eve,” Orbot suggested, hovering closer. “That way they can feel more motivated to fight when next you appear.”

Eggman whirled on him. “Are you insane? You’re suggesting I simply give Robo-Sonic over to those insipid rodents? All because they miss him so much?”

Orbot flinched back, as Robo-Sonic looked on, shaking his head.

“Oh, I know!” Eggman said, holding a finger up. “Maybe I’ll be a gracious arch-nemesis and offer to let Robo-Sonic fraternise with them for Christmas Eve, just to refuel the hope of getting their friend back and reignite that fighting spirit, before dashing their misplaced hopes to bits during my next attack! Ho ho, that is brilliant!”

“Yes, sir, very clever,” Orbot said with a sigh.

“Hey now,” Robo-Sonic said, hands on hips. “Who says I want to go back and ‘fraternise’ with those losers?”

Eggman turned to him, brows furrowed. “You’ll go and you’ll play nice. Because while you’re there you’re going to collect any information you can on weaknesses–other than you, of course–or soft spots I can use to my advantage in future battles.”

Robo-Sonic threw his hands up in exasperation. “But I already know their weaknesses and soft spots! I can tell you that right now!”

Eggman held up a hand. “Upp upp upp! Everyone knows that Christmas is when people show their softer sides and reveal hidden thoughts and desires no one knows the rest of the year. It goes hand in hand with Christmas miracles, holiday spirit and putting differences aside to show that not everyone’s all bad and all that touchy feely stuff.”

The doctor went to his desk, yanked open a drawer, and fished around for a moment before pulling out a crumpled card. He scribbled something inside, stuffed it into an envelope, and stepped over to slap it onto Robo-Sonic’s hands.

“There you are,” he said, patting the robot on the top of his rocket booster. “Off you go. Spread holiday cheer with your ex-friends, and then come back here and dish on the gossip you learn.”

Robo-Sonic heaved the robot equivalent of a sigh, before turning and heading toward the door.

“OH WAIT!”

He turned back to see Eggman digging through another drawer, before pulling something out and rushing over to him. The doctor slapped a gift sticker right above Robo-Sonic’s visor and adjusted a Santa hat on top of his head.

“There!” Eggman said, stepping back and perching his hands on his hips. “Ooh, you look so festive!” He waved in a dismissive manner. “Okay, get outta here. Go be merry and trim the tinsel and ginger the bread or whatever it is you people do during the holidays. Shoo!”

With an electronic groan, Robo-Sonic turned and drudged away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Screams drew Amy from her book, and she hurried out of her house, hammer in hand. The chatter from her communicator indicated the others were on their way to investigate the trouble, too.

She hoped it wasn’t Eggman. While she never liked fighting Eggman in the past, at least it had been a little fun. Now it was painful. Seeing what the man had done to Sonic hurt her heart. And she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him, even if he was a robot now, and had no qualms on hurting them.

And, based on how lackluster the fights were when Eggman did attack, the others felt the same way.

As she neared the center of the village–seriously, everything always seemed to happen right in the middle of town–she found the chaos somewhat comforting. It was familiar and a good fight with the Lightning Bolt Society, or Barker, or even Shadow may help dissipate some of the anxiety that had twisted her stomach since Sonic changed.

When the fleeing villagers scattered, she skidded to a halt.

Sonic was standing in the middle of the town, arms crossed, and wearing a . . . Santa hat?

A quick flick of her eyes caught no sign of Eggman himself or any other attacking robots. Sonic–Robo-Sonic, she reminded herself–stood with his back to her, tapping his foot in that familiar impatient way that always made him look like he was waiting for a bus that was fifteen minutes late.

“Amy!”

Knuckles’ voice called out. Both she and Robo-Sonic turned to see him rushing over to her. He stopped a step in front of her, taking up a defensive stance, fists at the ready.

“Where’s Eggman?” the echidna asked, his brow furrowed and voice uncharacteristically serious. He didn’t like fighting Son–ROBO-Sonic any more than Amy did, and preferred to head straight for the doctor when attacks happened.

The quicker they took out the doc, the quicker he retreated and took the robot version of their friend with him.

“I don’t know,” she said, gripping her hammer tightly. “All I see is him.”

Tails and Sticks arrived soon after, each wearing similar expressions of confusion.

“This isn’t like Eggman,” Tails said, holding his wrench before him like a staff. “He doesn’t usually send robots without being there himself to gloat and claim early victories.”

“Finally,” Robo-Sonic said, rolling his head back in a familiar expression of exasperation. “You’re all here. Cripes, take a little longer, why don’tcha. It’s not like I can die of old age or anything.”

“What do you want?” Knuckles all but growled, baring his fangs. “It’s Christmas Eve. Can’t you take the holidays off from being a jerk?”

Robo-Sonic mostly ignored him and stalked forward. Knuckles threw an arm out, keeping Amy back. When the robot hedgehog stopped before them, he reached into his metal quills and pulled out an envelope. He thrust it forward, toward Amy, and Knuckles tensed.

Everything seemed to stop in that moment. Amy flicked her eyes from Robo-Sonic’s ocular visor, to the little gift sticker attached to his forehead, right below the brim of the Santa hat. Instead of a “To” and “From” note, it bore Eggman’s logo, as if he’d branded the robot before sending him to the village.

Her eyes then dropped to the envelope in his hand. When she made no move to reach for it, Robo-Sonic uttered what sounded like a sigh.

“Just take it, Ames.”

She flinched at the familiar nickname coming from a digital voice box. After a moment, she gently pushed Knuckles’ arm to the side, and plucked the envelope from Robo-Sonic’s hand. Keeping her eyes on the robotic hedgehog, she tore it open, before looking down as she pulled a battered card from the paper.

The front showed an image of Eggman dressed in a Santa suit, Cubot and Orbot beside him with little antlers on their heads. He had a large sack thrown over his shoulder. Above him read “Evil Season’s Greetings!”

She rolled her eyes.

Inside, she found a handwritten note, undoubtedly from Eggman himself.

"Dear Rodents, 

Since you insist on being frustratingly avoidant when fighting my newest bestie Robo-Sonic, I have deemed it acceptable to allow him to be returned to you for 24 hours. Make it count and bring your A-Game to the next fight! Happy Holidays! 

Love, Dr. Eggman."

Amy reread the note three times, before flicking her eyes back up to Robo-Sonic. He stood with his arms crossed and he, and Knuckles who also stood with his arms crossed, seemed to be having a glaring contest.

“So, wait,” she said, drawing their attention. “You’re here to spend Christmas Eve with us?”

Robo-Sonic heaved an electronic sigh. “Apparently.”

Amy exchanged a look with Tails.

“You don’t actually expect us to believe this, do you?” the fox said, hands on hips. “Like we’re supposed to just throw our arms open and pretend like everything’s normal?”

“I think he’s here to spy on us,” Sticks said, eyes narrowed and flicking back and forth. “He’s here to discover our deepest secrets, our hidden hopes and dreams!”

“Not my eggnog recipe!” Knuckles cried, hands to the side of his head.

“Knuckles, that’s just milk and eggs, mostly,” Amy said with a sigh.

He cast her a raised eyebrow. “Eggs?”

“Nevermind.”

“Look,” Robo-Sonic said, holding his hands up. “As stimulating as this conversation is, I don’t wanna be here any more than you want me here. But the boss said you get me for 24 hours and the clock’s ticking, so, whatever you wanna do with that time is on your head. If you want to just stand here and argue about it, be my guest.”

The group exchanged looks again. Amy gave him a tight little smile.

“‘Scuse us for a minute.”

She motioned for the others to follow her a few feet away, and lowered into a huddle.

“This is a trick,” Knuckles said, looking over his shoulder toward Robo-Sonic. “No way he’s not here for evil reasons.”

“I hate to admit it, but I agree,” Tails said, shaking his head. “Sonic’s not our friend anymore. As much as I want to believe he’s here because he wants to be, I think this is some kind of trap.”

“Of course it’s a trap!” Sticks said, gripping her boomerang tightly. “It’s obvious he’s here to steal our Christmas spirit, and maybe even all our decorations and presents and even our last can of Who Hash!”

Tails gave her a raised eyebrow. “Our what?”

“Nothin’.” Sticks narrowed her eyes, looking around suspiciously. “I’ve said too much.”

“Okay, look,” Amy said, drawing their attention. “I don’t think he’s here of his own free will either. But maybe we can use this to our advantage. If we do things we used to do with Sonic on past Christmases, maybe he’ll remember who he really is and come back to us!”

Tails shot a look over at Robo-Sonic, who was giving the evil eye . . . well, evil LED to any villagers who came too near. “I dunno, Amy . . .”

“C’mon Tails, we have to try.”

The others looked at her before exchanging a glance between themselves. Finally, they turned back and nodded. Although, they didn’t look very happy or sure about it.

She didn’t care. If there was a chance to get her . . . their Sonic back, she’d take it. As slim as it was.

She nodded back, before standing upright and moving toward the robot hedgehog once again. Knuckles was right next to her. She could feel how tense he was.

“Okay, Son–I mean, Robo-Sonic,” she said, stopping with her hands on her hips. “If you’re gonna be here, there are going to be a few rules.” She counted off on her fingers. “Rule number one, no fighting. Rule number two, no insulting us. Rule number three, you have to actually participate and not simply sit and sulk the whole time.”

His ocular LEDs narrowed for a moment. “And if I refuse these stupid rules?”

Amy shrugged. “Then we’ll just send you back to Eggman’s. You’ll have failed your mission and ruined Christmas for your new ‘boss’.”

He stood and glared at her for a long moment, before rolling his head to the side. “Fine.”

A smile curled her lips. “Good.” She clapped her hands together, giving a little squeal of excitement. “Oh, this will be fun!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was not, in fact, ‘fun’.

It had been hours. Hours of trying to have a normal Christmas Eve.

They’d all gathered at Amy’s house, as they did every year. She hadn’t been in a very festive mood after everything that had happened with Sonic, so the house wasn’t as decorated as she normally did. Knuckles and Sticks had helped pull her decorations out of storage, working to create a more appropriate holiday atmosphere, as Tails set about trimming the tree.

Supper was awkward. She’d made everyone’s favorite. Even the sweet potato chili dogs Sonic liked. But, being a robot now, he couldn’t eat them.

Okay, no problem, she could work around that.

But he spent the entire time glaring at Knuckles, who glared right back. Amy had shot the echidna a warning glance, and he’d sheepishly turned his eyes away, but the mood had been set.

After supper, she cleaned up the dishes as Tails helped Knuckles make popcorn for this year’s garlands. With a little coaxing, Amy had encouraged Knuckles to try and follow his tradition with Robo-Sonic.

It didn’t go well.

Robo-Sonic couldn’t string the popcorn before his metal fingers crushed the kernels. After five minutes, the floor around him was littered with broken bits of popcorn. Knuckles, for his part, tried to extend a hand of friendship, so to speak, citing that he knew what it was like to deal with more strength than you need most of the time. He tried to help Robo-Sonic pull it back so he could work with the popcorn without crushing it.

Things only went further south when Robo-Sonic revealed, in a fit of frustration stemming from the continued crunching of the kernels, that he never liked making the garlands–a waste of perfectly good popcorn, he claimed–and only did it so Knuckles wouldn’t look like an idiot doing it by himself.

The echidna gasped, eyes wide, before running from the room in tears. “Not cool, Robo-Sonic!”

Sticks fared a little better. She was always suspicious of wrapped presents–”You don’t know what’s inside! It’s not safe!”--so Robo-Sonic used his scanners to examine every one. He announced, loudly, what each box contained. This soothed the badger’s suspicions, until he announced what the gifts she’d brought held.

“Those boxes were supposed to be lead lined! X-ray proof! So’s the aliens couldn’t see what I got and report my preferences and kindness to their leaders, taking me hostage when they come to rule!”

And off she went, presumably to find whomever had sold her the supposedly impervious boxes, and deal some angry feral badger damage to them.

Tails was hit worst. He had brought the tree decorations, and hoped to have his and Sonic’s tradition at least somewhat salvaged. It started okay, but when it was time to put the lights up, Robo-Sonic took them from the fox and wrapped them around the tree in three seconds flat.

“Oh,” Tails said, ears flicking back. “We usually do that together.”

Robo-Sonic shrugged. “It’s not exactly a two-man job, kid. It’s done, now.”

“Right.” Tails reached across himself to tightly grip his arm. “G-good job.”

The fox quietly left soon after.

That left Amy.

She tried. She really did.

She pulled out the ingredients for the cookies she and Sonic baked every year. But there was no laughter as they mixed the ingredients together. No trying to keep him from dipping his fingers into the batter. No slapping his hands away as she tried to roll out the dough.

Robo-Sonic was focused and efficient. The cookies went in without issue.

“You’re really not him anymore, are you?” she asked, her voice soft.

He turned to her, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m better.”

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “No. No you’re not.”

Amy turned, hoping to be out of the house before the first tears fell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robo-Sonic watched her leave, just like all the others had left.

He didn’t care. The less he had to deal with these losers, the better. He was only here because Eggman practically ordered him to be. He wasn’t enjoying this. He didn’t care about these stupid traditions and little holiday scenes the others insisted on.

He should leave. They all left, so apparently they didn’t care if he was here or not. He should just go back to Eggman’s lair, tell him the mission was a failure because these rodents couldn’t accept that he wasn’t the weak loser they remembered. They’d have a good laugh at the overly sentimental nature of these fools and that would be that.

He took a few steps toward the door, intending to do just that.

Then he stopped.

Turned and watched the oven timer tick down.

Less than ten minutes before the cookies were done. There was no one else in the house. He had no idea when they’d be back.

If he left and they didn’t return for a long time after, the cookies would burn.

The house might burn.

If these losers wouldn’t give him a decent fight because they were ‘sad’ about his change (his improvement), then they certainly wouldn’t be up for any challenging battles should Amy’s house burn down on Christmas Eve.

He could wait ten minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is worse than when we thought he was gone,” Tails said, curling his namesakes around himself. He let out a long sigh. “This feels like a cruel joke.”

The group had met up near Sonic’s old shack. Knuckles stood with his back to the porch post, arms crossed. Tails sat on the front steps, staring out into the ocean as the waves licked the beach below. Sticks sat on the ground nearby, legs crossed beneath her, an angry pout on her face.

And Amy stood a little apart from them, staring into Sonic’s shack. The moon was full tonight, and lit the area enough to see.

The shack stood dark and empty, like it had since Sonic was changed.

“I’m sorry guys,” she said, her voice soft. “I thought . . . I thought if he was in a familiar place, if he was surrounded by his friends, doing things he loved, then he’d remember.”

“It was a nice try, Ames,” Knuckles said, rubbing a hand over his face. “But he’s not him anymore.”

She pulled her lips tight. “No. I guess he’s not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Popcorn was strewn all over the floor. Some were crunched from being stepped on, but most broken because of his metal fingers.

He looked down at his fingers now.

Sharp and cold. He couldn’t really feel anything now. Oh sure, there were pressure points on the outside plating, giving him the approximate sensation of ‘touch’. But he couldn’t feel.

The fingers curled into a fist.

Nevermind.

That wasn’t important. He was better. Stronger.

His LEDs flicked back down to the floor.

It wouldn’t be fair to leave Amy to clean up this mess, and he knew Knuckles likely wouldn’t help. Seemed a waste to throw out all that popcorn, though.

He checked his internal clock. Seven more minutes until the cookies were done.

He had time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“He didn’t even try,” Amy said, moving to sit next to Tails. She pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. “He said he would try and he didn’t.”

“Actually,” Tails said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. “He said he wouldn’t fight, insult us, or sulk. That’s not really the same thing as trying.”

“But he promised he’d participate!” she said, and even to her own ears it sounded ridiculous. “He . . . he promised.”

“I guess he technically did participate,” Knuckles said with a shrug. “He was just being an irritable and impatient jerk about it.”

“On the bright side,” Sticks said, tilting her head to the side. “He did reveal a horrible injustice done to me by those shysters who sold me those boxes. I made sure they wouldn’t cheat anyone else like that!”

The others sighed, the mood not exactly feeling any lighter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robo-Sonic stood before the tree. The popcorn was all cleaned up, and now he stood with his arms crossed, staring at the wrapped presents strewn about, where Sticks had let them drop as he’d examined each one.

With a soft electronic sigh, he bent to gather them, stacking them neatly.

He picked up the final two, which were identically shaped, only with different wrapping. One was addressed to Tails, the other to him.

Well, to the weaker version of him, anyway.

He’d scanned them before, when Sticks had requested, and discovered they held matching scarves. Yellow for him, blue for Tails.

Probably hand crocheted by Amy herself. She liked to do that kind of thing.

He didn’t know why she bothered. That took a lot of time; it was easier to simply buy a scarf. They weren’t that expensive, really.

He stared at the boxes for a long moment, before placing them on the stack.

Glancing up, he flicked his LEDs over the tree at the lights he’d strung earlier.

They bothered him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I just . . .” Amy said, burying her face in her hands. “I hoped there was something left of him. Something that showed our Sonic was still in there.”

Silence answered her. It hung heavy before Tails gave a little sigh, reaching over to lay a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“I did too, Amy. I really did. He’s . . . he was my best friend. The idea that he’s gone is . . . well, it’s hard to accept.”

She nodded. “It’s so strange. He seems so much like the Sonic we remember, but . . . not.” She sighed, a harsh, frustrated sound. “I wish Eggman hadn’t sent him here. It’s making everything worse.”

Tails’ hand gripped her a little tighter. Knuckles moved to sit on her other side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“We could pay Eggman a visit and deck his halls, if that would make you feel better,” he said, a little smile curling one side of his mouth. “Want me to leave a knuckle sandwich in his stocking?”

Amy gave a soft giggle, shaking her head. “As tempting as that is, I don’t want to ruin anything any more than it already is. It’s bad enough that–” She gasped, her eyes going wide. “THE COOKIES! I completely forgot about them!”

She shot to her feet and ran toward her house with the others close behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh no oh no oh no!” Amy nearly whined as she burst into her kitchen. She expected a house full of black smoke, possibly even flames shooting from her oven, but she stopped dead when there was no oppressive heat of an uncontrolled fire, no choking smoke threatening to smother her. “What?”

The others screeched to a halt behind her, piling up and nearly knocking her over.

The scene that met them was one she would not have believed just fifteen minutes ago.

Robo-Sonic was pulling the cookie sheets from the oven. He turned and placed them on towels he’d set out to protect her counters, before looking up and finding himself with company.

“Well look who decided to finally show back up,” he said, flicking the oven off and turning to plant his hands on his hips. “Figures you guys would all take off and leave me to do all the clean up.”

Silence answered him as the others stared. Amy’s gaze fell to the cookies currently cooling on her counter. “You . . . you stayed to take them out?”

He shrugged. “Boss said I had to stay, so I stayed. I’m used to picking up the slack for you los–” He caught himself. He’d promised not to insult them. “You left. The cookies were done. I pulled ‘em out. The end.”

Amy stared. This . . . this wasn’t what she expected.

“Hey,” Knuckles said, pointing to the other counter. “What are those?”

All eyes turned to a plate stacked with popcorn balls. Robo-Sonic shrugged as he pulled them over to place on the center island counter behind the cooling cookies.

“Ames would have had a fit if I threw away perfectly good popcorn,” he said, stepping back to lean against the counter. “So I made those.”

“Huh, that’s weird.” Knuckles stepped forward to pick up one of the popcorn balls. “How did you get the string to do that?” He took a bite, his eyes lighting up. “Hey! That’s really good! And no string to get stuck in my teeth!”

Robo-Sonic shrugged again. “Amy always has a bag of marshmallows hidden away. Thinks I don’t know about it. She uses them to sweeten her coffee. Which I always thought was gross, but whatever. Figured I’d use ‘em to make something better than those stupid garlands.”

Amy blinked. Sonic would regularly raid her cabinets, so it wasn’t a surprise he knew about her secret mallow stash, but the way he was talking . . . the things he did while they were gone . . .

This was absolutely not what she expected.

“Hey, what happened to the tree?” Tails’ voice cut through her musings. They looked into the living room where the tree stood dark. “Where are the lights?”

“Took ‘em off.” Robo-Sonic’s voice sounded almost bored, like there was an implied shrug even if his shoulders didn’t move. “They were bugging me. Not strung right. Some spots had the same colored lights all bunched up. I’m not good with that kinda detail stuff.”

More silence, and Amy dared to hope. Dared to think that her Sonic, their Sonic, really was still in there.

“Do you . . .” Tails started, his voice small and shaky. “Do you want to try again? I can make sure the colors are adequately distributed this time.”

Robo-Sonic stood still for a moment, as though contemplating. Amy expected a sharp retort. An annoyed “Fine” or “Whatever”.

But instead, the robot offered a simple, “Sure.”

A little smile curled her lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just before midnight.

Wrapping paper was strewn about, tossed carelessly as the annual gift exchange had taken place. The gang sat on the floor before the tree–now properly trimmed and lit, thanks to Tails’ careful calculations of the optimal placement of the various colored lights–with the star perched atop. Robo-Sonic had placed it there, in keeping with his and Tails’ tradition.

Now soft snores floated over the living room. Sticks, Knuckles, and Tails were fast asleep, their gifts piled nearby, while Amy and Robo-Sonic sat a little further away, their backs against the couch.

Amy wanted to break the silence. Needed to break it. The longer they sat like that, the longer it went without at least trying to get through to him, the more she’d beat herself up over it later.

This was the perfect chance to try and bring him around. To try and reach the Sonic she knew was still in there.

After another moment of hesitation, she cleared her throat.

“I suppose I need to send a thank you note to Eggman,” she said, her voice soft. “For letting you come tonight.”

He didn’t respond for a moment. “You always were a stickler for manners.”

She swallowed, turning her head away slightly. The familiarity he spoke with. He knew her. As much as she tried to convince herself that he wasn’t any different from Metal Sonic, that he was just some robot who’d copied Sonic’s personality . . . she couldn’t fully believe that.

She spared another glance in his direction. The yellow scarf she’d crocheted him was fastened around his neck. When he and Tails had opened those gifts he’d hesitated before putting it on, but finally tied it in place, much to Tails’ delight. Sonic never looked right without that trademark scarf around his neck.

The color contrasted with the red Santa hat still perched on his head. Her eyes flicked back to that gift label above his visor. Eggman’s logo seemed to glare at her, a stark reminder that he was here on borrowed time. 

Another silent moment passed, and she turned away again. When she spoke, her voice was quieter. Hardly above a whisper.

“Stay.”

“No.”

The response was immediate. He didn’t even consider it.

“Why?” She turned back to him sharply, her tone pleading. “Why do you hate us so much?”

He turned his head away from her for a moment, before turning back. “Because you’re weak.”

“We’re stronger together.” She turned to him more fully and tried to pull back the pleading tone. “We were always stronger with you.”

“I can’t carry the whole team, Ames,” he said, his tone hard. “I can’t do what needs done if I’m worrying about the rest of you.”

“What are you talking about?” Amy said, and hated how pathetic her voice sounded even to her own ears. “Doing what needs done? What needs done is keeping Eggman from ruining everything, from destroying everything we love. We did that! And now you’re helping him. I just . . . I don’t understand.”

He didn’t respond right away, instead looking over where the others slept. Amy watched him for a few moments, before turning away when she decided he likely wasn’t going to answer.

“Sometimes protection isn’t just about bashing some bots and calling it a day,” he said, his voice softer. “Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to focus on the bigger picture.”

She stared at him, her brows furrowed. “What’s the bigger picture?”

He went quiet again, and this time it felt more final. Like whatever information she was going to get out of him had been said.

The two sat there in silence for a long time. Finally, Amy spoke, her voice a whisper.

“Merry Christmas, Sonic.”

He didn’t respond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time ticked on. Robo-Sonic watched the others sleep. He didn’t need to sleep anymore, although he sometimes went into standby mode. Not a ‘sleep’ in the traditional sense, but something that let him kind of ‘drift’.

Beside him, Amy’s breathing evened out, changing to a deeper, slower rhythm. He turned and found her head tilted against the couch, eyes closed, and mouth slightly open.

He watched her for a long moment.

Moving before he even knew he was, Robo-Sonic stood and gently lifted her, placing her on the couch and positioning a pillow beneath her head. She stirred slightly, and he froze, before she settled back into a comfortable position, her breathing deepening.

Pulling the afghan from the back of the couch, he draped it over her, tucking her in.

“Merry Christmas, Ames.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning.

The sun filtered in through the windows, pulling Amy from her sleep. She sat up and stretched, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she got her bearings. It took a moment before the events of last night caught up with her, and she looked around, catching no sign of Robo-Sonic.

He must have gone back to Eggman’s.

With a sigh, she flipped the afghan back, preparing to head to the kitchen to start breakfast before the others woke. That’s when her eyes landed on a small stack of gifts on the coffee table, still unopened.

Her brow furrowed. That was odd. She could have sworn they’d opened all the presents last night.

Moving closer, she immediately recognized the sloppy, somewhat hurried wrapping style of one Sonic the Hedgehog.

She distinctly remembered helping Sonic pick out gifts months ago, in an attempt to keep him from being caught empty-handed come Christmas Eve. (Something that had happened on more than one occasion.) He must have wrapped them to have them done and ready back then.

But how . . .

Her eyes went wide.

Robo-Sonic must have gone back to Sonic’s shack and brought them here after she’d fallen asleep.

A little smile curled her lips. Her heart felt warmer than it had in months.

She had hope again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ah, the blue rat bot returns!” Eggman said. He turned from the breakfast table, still dressed in his long underwear. “How went the whole ‘give your ex-friends false hope so they’ll fight me with more gusto’ plan?”

Robo-Sonic shrugged. “Fine.”

Eggman frowned. “Fine? That’s it? Just ‘fine’?”

Another shrug from the bot. “Yeah? Not sure what you want me to say.”

“Well, you could say that they spent the night bemoaning my successful plan to turn you into a robot; or that they tried to convince you to be some kind of double agent to get the goods on me in secret; or that they tried to appeal to your non-existent sense of loyalty to them in combination with the ‘spirit of Christmas’ to cast off your allegiance to me and rejoin them in their constant, infuriating destruction of every bot I painstakingly create!”

Robo-Sonic waved a hand. “Yeah, sure, okay.”

Eggman slammed his fists on the table, sending the silverware clattering. “Oh, you are just as infuriating now as you were when you were flesh and fur! I thought you were going to bring back some gossip or embarrassing tales of what happened!”

“What can I tell ya, Boss,” the robot said as he began to wander off. “Just a boring Christmas Eve. Same old, same old. Just like all the others.”

Eggman scowled. “Then what’s with the scarf?”

Robo-Sonic froze. The scarf. He’d forgotten he had it on. “What about it?”

The doctor smirked. “Seems a little sentimental, don’t you think? A lovingly hand knitted scarf from your little girlfriend.”

Robo-Sonic turned sharply, red LEDs narrowed. “She’s not my girlfriend, and it’s crocheted.”

Eggman scoffed. “My, my. Aren’t we touchy?”

The robot hedgehog uttered a little growl, before stalking toward the doctor. He yanked the scarf off his neck and slapped it on the table. “Whatever. I don’t need it.”

Eggman furrowed his brow. “Are you sure nothing happened back there?”

Robo-Sonic let out a soft scoff as he turned and walked away. “Nothing worth reporting.”

Eggman watched him go with a frown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robo-Sonic walked down a long hallway, the walls a polished steel here. He pushed the thoughts of last night away.

It was just a mission. He was sent there to spy. To gather intel. To give false hope so those losers would fight harder when he and Eggman attacked next.

Because if they fought harder, they got stronger. They needed to be stronger.

He only acted the way he did last night to foster that sense of hope. That he was still the Sonic they remembered.

That was the only reason.

His hand curled into a fist.

The only reason.

But that scarf . . .

A voice in the back of his mind whispered. Said things he knew weren’t true. Tried to make him soft. Make him weak.

He stopped and turned to face one of the walls. They were polished to a near mirror finish. He stared at his reflection. The gift label was still stuck to his forehead and that stupid Santa hat still perched on his metal quills.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

He almost saw the hedgehog he once was.

With a growl, he yanked the hat off and tossed it to the ground, before tearing the sticker from above his visor. It shredded, leaving behind sticky paper strips. Figures Eggman would have the cheapest, most residue-y stickers on hand.

Last night had been a mistake. He shouldn’t have gone.

Uttering a growl that bordered on a yell, Robo-Sonic drew his fist back and punched the wall, leaving a deep dent in the metal at the impact.

“No more weakness. You had your chance. You failed. Now it’s my turn.”

Robo-Sonic withdrew his hand from the crumpled metal, and continued along his way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Eggman said after Robo-Sonic had walked away. He slumped against the table with his chin in his hand.

Don’t pout.

“I’m not pouting!”

Seems a good place to end things, doncha think?

Eggman let out a frustrated grunt. “You wanna do the thing, don’t you?”

Wouldn’t be a Christmas story without it.

A long sigh. “Fine.”

And with Eggman pouting from not getting his way, Happy Christmas to all and to all a good day.

“I’m not pouting!”

Hush.

Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings, and Happy Holidays to all!

[fancytrinkets]

veilguard impressions

spoilers ahead. a list of my opinions and impressions as I play this game

basic starting notes after having played for 30+ hours

overall I am having fun playing this game

there are things I like and things I don't like. these are subjective and I don't think everyone is going to share these opinions or agree with me

I am not going to give an overall opinion of how much I liked it until I've finished playing

things I like so far

the way the characters look. I do like the character design style quite a lot

seeing characters from the books and stories: the crows from Tevinter Nights; Felassan from The Masked Empire; Maevaris from the comics and Tevinter Nights

the look of returning characters that I've met so far. I honestly think Dorian looks FANTASTIC. I do wish Morrigan and Isabela looked a little bit older in their face textures, but overall I love the look. (For Morrigan I'm also willing to let it go by imagining she can magic the subtle signs of aging away or something like that)

exploring scenes from Solas' past in the Crossroads

the Portal-style open-the-way-forward puzzles are fun because they're new (not sure how they'll hold up on multiple replay; could become annoying, I imagine)

that Rook has a unique conflict in their backstory, based on faction, and other characters mention and react to it. it feels like a solid way of rethinking the playable origin-story from Origins

the continuity with DA2 in having Varric as the narrator, speaking over beautifully illustrated backgrounds during some transitions

the continuity with Origins in having cutscenes of the antagonists play during transitions

combat related: I like the chained moves being mapped to buttons; I am still getting a feel for them; I imagine it would be harder if I didn't have an xbox elite controller with paddles, mapped to the ABXY buttons in addition to the buttons themselves

combat-related: using the bow is pretty fun. I never like archer builds, but I'm enjoying rogue plus bow a LOT. the smooth transition from blades to bow and back is great

not as much inventory management: I have spent plenty of my gaming life customizing swords while comparing them to every other sword in my inventory. I'm okay letting this stuff get simplified for me

Dorian DOES know Emmerich previously, a fellow necromancer, and I appreciate that!

Mae having been kicked out of the magisterium and the Lucerni disbanded a year before the present, and Dorian being the magister on the inside for the Shadow Dragons. That played out in a way that was pretty close to what I anticipated based on what we know of Tevinter politics

things I dislike so far

some of the companion conversations feel like they've been workshopped for a generation that's much younger than me — which is fine, but there are some things the characters say to each other that strike me as... well, YOUNG, and not the kind of dialogue I'd write if it were me

I'm also ready for varric to step aside as a character in game. while I appreciate his narration, I'm finding his pep talks and advice to be a little grating. though, depending on how I feel at the end of the game, I might find some fanfic inspiration in this feeling, so I'm actually not salty about it, just noticing my own reaction here

I'm finding I choose characters to accompany me based on who can prime and detonate the specific combat moves; and that feels limiting in a way that I wasn't expecting. I often pick one character who feels relevant to the mission, then default to whomever can prime or detonate for them

I totally missed the "customize your Inquisitor" side panel at the start of the game. disappointed enough at having generic FLavellan show up that I quit my first Rook and am now replaying on story mode to catch up to all the time and plot I lost

things I haven't formed a full opinion about yet

the combat overall. it is VERY different from all previous games, and I'm honestly not even comparing it to previous titles in the series because it is a whole new thing. the dodging and chained moves remind me of Elden Ring, but I find Elden Ring combat is more satisfying for me. the explosions and pacing remind me of the Borderlands franchise, but Borderlands was also more satisfying for me. I don't love it OR hate it. I'm kind of in the middle, I guess. Though, like I said, I'm fond of the bow

the Veil Jumpers. (I chose this background with my first Rook before I quit to replay.) I think I get what the writers were going for. Solas unleashes some new weird shit and the Dalish start checking it out and then recruiting more people to investigate. that feels reasonable to me. also, even though the mood is cheerful, it's clear a LOT of them are dying. I appreciate that because they are running around poking at unstable magic and malfunctioning old relics... but yeah, the cheerful mood and the "can do" vibe feels a little off to me in a way I'm not totally sure how to explain. it's almost like the writers realized the past games had written the Dalish into a really weird corner where they were "stuck in the past" but also uneducated about so much of their own history. and now they are trying to remake them into a newer, more "fun" group of people. it's just... a thing I notice

the choice between Minrathous and Treviso. I haven't seen how this plays out in the endgame yet, but I'm expecting a break or betrayal from Lucanis after choosing to fight with Minrathous instead. (I was planning to romance Neve with my first Rook, so that choice seemed important; I'm going to make the same choice with my remade Rook, as a Shadow Dragon whose home is Minrathous) So... yeah, I'm kind of hoping Lucanis will unleash an unholy mess upon us based on that choice. It feels very Mass Effect, but if the Virmire survivor lived and was changed by the experience of being abandoned by Shepard. I am hoping it goes poorly in the later part of the game, but you know, we'll see...

companion characters. I am reserving judgment until I've finished the game and of course I've spent more time with some than others due to the recruitment timings. at the moment I'm personally most fond of Neve, Davrin, and Taash (though I just met Taash, so will need more time to solidify that opinion. I think she's going to be my remade Rook's romance instead of Neve). I like Lucanis; he doesn't feel like a personal favorite, but I like him. Harding is fine; overall she's a bit too sunshine for my tastes, but I like her well enough. I will probably like Emmerich more as I continue to play. I feel like I just met him. Bellara is the one I'm struggling with most, but I think that's connected to my mixed feelings on the Veil Jumper faction in a way I haven't figure out entirely yet

the story arc overall. I don't have a handle on how I feel about what's happening and so I'm reserving judgment on until it I've completed the game for the first time

[rumbletumblegalaxy-2]

so I rewatched the best of videos this week

first of all - new thumbnail art for 2020 and 2021 done by Shenpai!! it looks awesome, she did an amazing job :3

rewatching the videos sent me on a bit of a trip down memory lane in terms of my time with RT's content and being in this wonderful community, so I wanted to ramble about it for a bit.

it's very late here, so I don't know if it'll make much sense, but I'm gonna try my best to put it all into words. just seemed like a fitting time since Dan is on holiday and his 30th is coming up, yknow?

I believe I started watching RT around early-mid 2021. I remember being in my Nana's living room, trying my best to get through homeschool. I don't remember which video is was specifically, but I ended up stumbling across RT because I watched a lot of jacksepticeye at the time.

I remember some of the most recent videos at the time when I clicked on his channel were Super Paper Mario and Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, which really set up the tone for what my main source of entertainment from that point on would be like hahaha.

One of the first streams I remember catching live was The City Skylines Bathtub City stream - it may have been my first full stop, actually. I was still getting used to twitch, and to be quite honest I'm still not entirely sure what I'm doing. I only recently made an account on there lmao.

I laughed harder than I had in ages during that stream. From there, I tried to catch as many as I could, and worked my way through the backlog of videos I had to catch up on.

The first full run of a game I caught RT playing live was Subnautica Below Zero. The first Minecraft Build Day I experienced was New Heaven.

Subnautica was never really a game I had much interest in. A game focused on exploring the ocean just wasn't my thing, yet I found myself looking forward to RT playing it. I got so invested in a game I would never have otherwise taken a glance at or enjoyed - Dan just managed to make it fun for me.

With New Heaven, I'd seen quite a lot of group builds in Minecraft and had been bracing myself for chaos. There was that, of course, but it was very controlled. It never felt like people were fighting for space or trying to show off, and everyone was being so nice to each other. Genuinely such a breath of fresh air, and my first look into how lovely this community really is.

I didn't attend the Bioshock streams since, again, it's a game that's never really appealed to me, but I did watch the highlights video a few weeks after. Somehow, it became one of my favourites to rewatch. Once again, Daniel managed to help me enjoy a game I know isn't usually my taste or on my radar, and it takes so much for that to happen with me. I know what I like, and it can be hard for me to even want to branch out a little bit, but the streams have helped me so much in that regard.

I think Dan just has this incredible skill and talent for entertaining, and also, for games he knows like Bioshock, Pokémon and Fallout, acting as a brilliant sort of storyteller.

He very much knows how to keep people engaged, and has made it so I can show up for streams with games I know nothing about knowing that I'm going to enjoy myself. It's so fun to explore a new world, either with RT's guidance, I suppose, if it's something he's familiar with, or finding out alongside him when it's something new.

Other people have said this before, but RT also has a very nice voice. For the most part, it's quite calm, so it's easy to sleep to. I have issues getting to sleep sometimes, so it's nice that I'm able to just pop on one of the Lets Play All videos and finally rest. (Shout out to the Sorcery vods also! Dan should narrate audio books or something lol).

RT's community is one of the nicest I've ever been part of. Everyone just has so much respect and encouragement for each other, and it's genuinely so lovely to see.

I love that we're able to have long running jokes, I love that we have big community projects, I love that for the most part everyone is just chilling, vibing and, hilariously, turning RT into various Tumblr sexymen. Amazing vibes, 10/10.

Thank you everyone, and thank you RT, for creating such a wonderful environment and being some of the funniest people on the internet. I always smile and laugh the hardest when I'm on RTumblr or watching one of Dan's videos. Thank you for bringing me much joy these past few years and here's to many many more.

Im very tired now, so I'm sure this isn't all I wanted to say but it's all I can think of right now.

To end this sappy post, im gonna list some of my favourite videos/series of RT's:

Persona 5 Royal - this is what got me to play Royal and develop one of my biggest hyperfixations to the point I now have a dedicated sideblog for Persona stuff on here. I will never be free.

Pokémon Black and White Nuzlockes

Hitman

Undertale

Miitopia

Bioshock

To the Moon

Before Your Eyes

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Tears of the Kingdom

Twilight Princess

Super Paper Mario

Princess Peach: Showtime!

A Short Hike

American Arcadia

It Takes Two

An Airport For Aliens, Currently Run By Dogs

Ace Attorney

Pokémon Legends Arceus

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

Cat Detective

Elden Ring Co-op

Penny's Big Breakaway

Daisy Mario Kart

Bugsnax

there was definitely more I wanted to say but it's 2am and I'm very tired so maybe I'll add to this later if I remember. Thanks for reading this far though, gang. Have a lovely rest of your day! :3

[ramunereads]

Super Cub: Vol.1

Original Title: スーパーカブ

Author: トネ・コーケン

Format: Japanese Light Novel

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

So, I never did watch this anime. Yet, the novel has been on the back of my radar for a while now. I will admit, it was purely because the illustrator for this series is Hiro, artist and author of one of my favorite manga series of all time.

This story is a CGDCT (Cute Girls Doing Cute Things) series, a genre I have only ever consumed in anime or manga format. I wondered how it would translate into novel format, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Yes, Super Cub is a CGDCT, but it's also more than that. It's a very relaxed coming-of-age and inner growth story of Koguma, a highschool student who is self-proclaimed to have and be 'nothing'. No hobbies, no friends, no desires, etc.

The turning point in the story comes quickly, when Koguma uses her savings to buy her first Super Cub to replace her bicycle in hopes of easing her school commute. But much, much more happens than just her commute becoming shorter and easier.

Throughout just the first volume, Koguma evolves as a person and a character. Her mundane, methodical, and boring everyday becomes colored and eventful, even unpredictable. She takes detours on the way home, gets a part-time job to afford more needs and material desires, and even gains a potential friend in a fellow Cub rider. The Super Cub has expanded her world exponentially.

I was also very surprised with how much I liked the writing style of this book. There is hardly any dialogue in this light novel. Ninety-eight percent, maybe more, is just third person narration. It was very fun and interesting to read.

Since I heavily enjoyed the first volume and I have no self control, I went ahead and bought the rest of the series. I'm looking forward to more of Koguma and her Super Cub, as well as the wonderful illustrations of Hiro.

[brimstoneandbooks]

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 

“With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.” 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson follows a lawyer by the name of Mr Utterson. A man, trying to unveil what strange connection lies between his old friend, Henry Jekyll, and the unsettling stranger, Edward Hyde.

I’ll start by saying, I don’t think I’m the target audience for this novel. Nonetheless, I appreciate it for what it is. I enjoyed the concept of this novel, and I had fun reading it! 

The story is told by a third-person narrator, following the lawyer, Mr Utterson. I found the writing style of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to be excellent! The dialogue and description are quite well balanced. And I have nothing negative to say about the style or flow of the text. I found the pacing to be relatively fast, and the chapters were rather short. Depending on how used you are to reading things from olden times, it can be a quick read. 

I was surprised to find that the story wasn’t told from Dr Jekyll’s perspective until the very end. I thought it would be more like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein 1818 in that aspect. Both novels feature a wealthy man, involved in science, and constantly in the pursuit of more knowledge. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein all takes place from Victor Frankenstein’s perspective. We know every thought of his. Every intention and emotion. I was perfectly happy reading Frankenstein despite knowing the outcome because there was the addition of Frankenstein’s intentions and thoughts. But when it comes to Henry Jekyll, all that was shoved into the very last chapter. I never really built up a personal, emotional connection to him, as the story follows Mr Utterson, an old friend of his, instead.

Unfortunately, the book is quite short, and so, it only follows a single plotline. Finding out what lies between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. By now almost everyone already knows the answer, due to how mainstream this story has become. And unlike with Frankenstein, there wasn’t much that still made it feel worth reading (i.e. philosophical questions sprinkled throughout the entire story). I feel as though the best part about this novel would be theorising who Mr Hyde is, and what he could have to do with Dr Jekyll. After all, it’s meant to be a mystery, unlifted until the very end. 

That being said, due to already being aware of the big reveal, I was able to pick up on foreshadowing. Lines that the characters themselves, not suspecting that Jekyll and Hyde might occupy the same body, couldn’t possibly think to be of meaning. For example, Jekyll claims he could no longer trust himself. To Mr Utterson that seems to mean, that Jekyll is being blackmailed or something of that nature. But to Jekyll, it means, he can not trust himself, because there is a darker side of him, to whom he might soon lose control. 

I enjoyed the book a lot. Henry Jekyll’s reasons and what was happening from his perspective were really intriguing. It was interesting to have the narrator not be focused on whom you would assume to be the main character. I think that perspective could be great if the readers don’t already know what connects Henry Jekyll to Edward Hyde. But, as things are, with me having known before even starting the book, I think I would have enjoyed it more if the story had been told from Dr Jekyll’s perspective, or if there were some subplots. 

Nonetheless, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is, without doubt, a classic. So, if a classic with foreshadowing, theorising and an old-timey writing style, is what you’re looking for, and you don't mind being aware of the main reveal, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the right choice!

(Repost of a book review I wrote around 2021)

[borathae]

Hi!

This is anon who made her bf read SA&MV. Yes, we do talk about your work. I live on the other side of the globe, have never visited your country (which is Austria, if I am not wrong?) and still my friends know your name.

Every time I finish a chapter, I call my ARMY bestie to narrate the whole thing as she won't read ffs because of her own reasons (which I respect), but she thoroughly enjoys everything I tell and gives just the right reactions to all the scenes.

My bf isnt Army but not less than Army, am I making sense? Lol. So, he knows a lot about the boys because I talk so much about them and share reels with information. He listens very attentively. He respects them and enjoys their music too. Maybe a fan? Initially he wasn't keen on reading a poly BTS FF because you know.... Hehehe, but then I told the actual reason why I love this book and he himself asked me to send him a link. I have been talking about SA since last year when we weren't together. Oh I had to control so much because what if i weirded him out? But then, one year later, he is reading it (and i hope we try something soon 🫠 it's a long distance relationship so not so soon. Sorry for tmi)

But yeah, the main reason i wanted him to read was that the MV poly family are goals 😭 i hope we have as much love in my life as Yoongi & MC are having. Oh to be loved my MV!MC. She is a force of nature. Her love is boundless! Oh to be the partner of MV!Yoongi!!!!

So yeah, people do talk about you in their daily lives. 🫂

Every time I finish a chapter, I call my ARMY bestie to narrate the whole thing as she won't read ffs because of her own reasons (which I respect), but she thoroughly enjoys everything I tell and gives just the right reactions to all the scenes.

The thing about this is that me (now ex) best friend and I did that too. Many years ago there was this amazing bangtan fanfic and we always used to call each other and scream about the new chapters. I remember that those days were always some of my best days. This made me smile bittersweetly because it reminded me of this time and to think that MY stories create the same memories for you and your best friend makes me so happy like damn this is what I'm doing huh? 😔

OMFG PLEASE GIVE ME UPDATES ONCE YOU TEST SOMETHING OUT OMFMG WHAT DO YOU WANNA TRY? FADNF the smut is so unhinged so I'm curios HAHAHHA

But yeah, the main reason i wanted him to read was that the MV poly family are goals 😭 i hope we have as much love in my life as Yoongi & MC are having. Oh to be loved my MV!MC. She is a force of nature. Her love is boundless! Oh to be the partner of MV!Yoongi!!!!

YES THIS if I don't have a love like them (or the ogc and aaol couple) I DO NOT WANT IT nfandfna 🥺 I hope you guys continue to have fun with reading my lil stories :( please keep my updated heheh 💜

[rjalker]

Made with speech to text. one example, for your tags:

The animorphs books, which are filled with racism ableism and misogyny.

The books the authors the characters themselves and the fandom all have decided that one of the characters, Rachel, is bloodthirsty and violent and " a psychopath" (This is only the smallest part of all of the ableism in the series!)

All of these people declare that Rachel loves violence and loves killing people and is just a terrible person that is a serial killer in the making and just goes out of her way to kill people because she enjoys it.

Again I can't stress enough. The fans. The characters. The many Ghost writers themselves. Most if not all of them have bought into this lie

But then when you actually use your actual brain to read the book and read the words that are in the book, it's made explicitly clear over and over again, maybe by accident, maybe on purpose by some of the Ghost riders who actually knew what they were doing, that Rachel does not in fact love violence and she is not fighting because she thinks it's fun, we are shown time and time and time and time and time again that she is fighting to protect other people. She will literally use her own body as a human shield to protect her friends.

Rachel is fighting because she wants to protect other people. She's not fighting because she loves violence. She is fighting because she wants to protect other people. She is explicitly traumatized by what is going on throughout the whole thing, and talks about this a lot.

But almost every single person from the top down involved in this series just keeps insisting that she's actually a serial killer and would totally go on to murder people's pets if she were not killed off in the most misogynistic way possible.

She's a 13-year-old girl by the way, and in the first book where she narrates, she almost gets kidnapped and almost certainly raped and murdered by a random creep on the street, and she defends herself from this by partially transforming into an elephant to scare off the person trying to kidnap and murder her.

The book, aimed at children, then has all of the other characters victim blame her and tell her that she was wrong for defending herself, and they are portrayed as right and she is portrayed as wrong for non-violently defending herself from somebody hwo wanted to kidnap her at best, and most likely rape and then murder her.

We're supposed to believe that she is violent and out of control and wants to just kill people for the sake of killing people. And yet every single instance in these books when she is given the opportunity to do such, she is very explicitly on page does not do that. Because it's not fucking true.

She is literally fighting for no other purpose than to protect other people.

And all of the fans and most of the authors have decided that that's not what's going on that she's actually fucking serial killer ableist stereotype who loves violence.

Again I can't stress it enough. These books are filled with racism ableism on every possible axis and so much fucking misogyny. And this is just one fucking aspect of the misogyny

Worst pain

[oriolespeaking]

Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Rating: 3 semi-bloodstained gowns out of 5!

Recommended if you want a quick, entertaining transmigration read.

Synopsis

Her fictional crush is the villain.And he's about to meet his match... Rae is a bookworm who prefers fictional men over real life boyfriends. But her life takes a strange turn when she is trapped by magic inside her favourite fantasy series, and she finds herself pitted against her suddenly living and breathing crush, the 'Once and Forever Emperor'. In a palace on the brink of war, she has become the villainess in his tale, and she needs to take control of the narrative before it, and the Emperor, take control of her... fatally.

Review under the cut!

I have...mixed feelings about this. I checked this out from the library this because (1) I'm a huge fan of the cover artist and (2) I've been reading SO many isekai webnovels (always translated from Chinese or Korean) and wanted to see if a novel originally written in English would differ too much. In some ways, it did read differently; the author brought a new-adult-prose flavor to the narration that kind of reminded me of when someone tells the server "I'm going to be bad" before ordering dessert. Needless to say, the tone would not have worked for me if the book was not so fast-paced. Additionally, the breadth of the cast is definitely not something I expected. I did like all of the individual characters, but Brennan had a LOT of timelines to keep track of for all of them, and it shows. As the story progresses, the focus of the book scatters across the cast, though the main drama still centers around Rae and Key.

In pretty much every other way, it read similarly to other isekai webnovels (pacing, plot beats, though there is a somewhat unusual twist). It also has a fanfiction-y vibe, with Rae as a Mary Sue. And, much like other isekai novels, it is as addictive than crack cocaine. I finished this 400+ page book in two days, which is pretty unusual for me.

Brennan does spend a decent chunk of time with Rae before her "transmigration" into the book, which gives the reader a somewhat opaque understanding of the Rae's motivations as she decides to take charge of her narrative as a villainess. However, Rae's background would've worked better as a dramatic second- or third-act reveal, as I feel that the reader would have more time to become curious about Rae's commitment to being Cartoonishly Evil (tm).

Each of the characters in the cast was charming in their own way. I enjoyed Brennan's attention to the entire cast (Emer + Lia, Marius + Eric, Key + Rae) at the ending, though repeating the ending from different POVs DEFINITELY killed the momentum and emotional focus of the ending. Eric's character seemed to take blueprints from Shang Qinghua (Scum Villain's Self-Saving System), though his fully fleshed-out in-story background was pretty interesting, especially when juxtaposed against straight-laced Marius.

The twist at the end (spoiler: Key being the emperor) was very well-foreshadowed, but it did still take me off guard. Brennan built up to that reveal through Rae's Super Evil Team plans, and Rae's faltering at key points. For that alone, the book gets an extra star. That emotional anchor was so well laid. Rae commits to evil for the fun of it, but by the end of the book, the evil's not fun anymore, and it's biting her in the back (after she bit it in the back?). I can't believe the story ended there!! Not sure if I'll pick up the sequel, but I do want to know what happens next TT-TT

There is a scene that I think readers should be aware of: a musical interlude. Rae and best friend Eric plan an entire ballroom dance scene where they sing in front of an entire court and make chaos. The lyrics are on the page. Think like...a really bad Disney Villain song. I had to skip ahead a few pages. I don't think I missed anything. If I did, it was worth missing for the crime of being in a musical interlude scene. Eric is so cunty but not cunty enough to make me read that.

started 24 November 2024 / finished 26 November 2024

[anumberofhobbies]

Timed writing from writers group yesterday.

Oh, I'm in the mood to share what I got for our fun thing of 25 minute timed writing to provided prompts at creative writers group yesterday, Saturday.

Prompts can be from websites, lists of words we create, pictures, or other. Where these prompts came from I didn't note.

Did a little minor editing to correct mistakes made in the rush of writing to that 25 minute time limit.

-------------------------------------

Each morning for 25 years, you and one other person waited at the same bus stop for work. This was the first time they weren't there.

A double agent is assigned by both of the countries they work for to capture their alias.

You're trying to act casual in a very precarious situation.

Write a story about an author who has just started writing again for the first time in a couple of years.

A character wakes up one morning and realizes that their every move and thought is being narrated.

-----------------------------------------

“Hey Mac, you're here longer than usual.”

“Oh, hi Randy. You know that saying old habits die hard, decided to bring one up from its coma.”

“Well, the waitresses are changing shifts, anything you need while I'm out and about?”

“Nah, I'm good.”

“Are you sure you're good? We got key lime pies in for the season today, I was going to add them to the menu tonight.”

“Mmmm, that's a bunch of sugar, how does sugar interact with trying to focus?”

“Well, the pie is carbs, carbs are quick energy. Focusing takes energy. Therefore carbs equals better focus.”

I squinted at Randy. “Is that documentable?”

“I dunno, you're the one with the computer open. And then there's the honor that you could have the first slice of the new season. Think of the prestige!”

“Nah, even though key lime is my big weakness, I'm good.”

“Have it on me, then you can honestly claim you didn't spend money on your weakness.”

“Stop it, Randy, stop it!”

“Miracles sometimes drop from the sky, you know,” Randy smiled then headed toward the other side of the restaurant.

Soon enough later that I swear they were tag teaming, I heard Suzanne from the library, “Hey Mac, what's this one going to be?”

Suzanne, Kendra, and the gal whose name I never seem to remember, were known to pop in to Perkins after hours on Thursday nights.

Two of my titles from a decade ago were in the stacks at the library and the gals had been after me for at least the last half a decade to increase that number. Granted, it was a much enjoyed thing that my two books did actually circulate. They had neither the highest rate nor the lowest rate. It was enough that anyone wanted to read them at all.

Suzanne eased in to the booth's opposite seat.

Before she got settled Kendra called from the doorway, “Hey y'all!” and before I could engage the proper mental gears to settle on what words to employ in polite protest slid in next to Suzanne.

“Hey Kendra.” Well, seeing my cause was lost for the moment I decided to be at least somewhat personable, “What grand and glorious news was there in the library world today?”

Kendra laughed then smiled. “The most grand and glorious happening possible.”

Suzanne smiled but said nothing.

“Oh?”

“Yep,” Kendra said still smiling, “the absolutely most glorious happening possible, peaceful normality!”

I'll have to admit, she had a point. In recent weeks there had been a city water main break under the parking lot; a car go out of control and hit the building, breaking a pipe in the bathrooms; squirrels in the attic; the motor failed in the air conditioner thing outside; and who knows what else that didn't make the local paper.

==========================================

[beingatoaster]

Hey what’s this murderbot stuff you talk about all the time? It seems neat

It is The Murderbot Diaries, a series of sci-fi (mostly) novellas by Martha Wells! :D The protagonist is a "construct," a semi-organic robot/cyborg made of both mechanical parts and cloned human tissue; it specifically is a SecUnit, a type of construct designed for security work on the Corporation Rim, a part of space owned and operated entirely by mega-corporations that use people as serf/slave labor and thus need non-rebellious, pre-programmed security to run herd on them.

The theory is that SecUnits are simply equipment, and Corporation Rim dogma basically treats them as less people than humans (which it, frankly, also often treats as not-particularly-people unless powerful enough), and they're controlled by "governor modules" that punish them if they take any unapproved actions. The dominant narrative about constructs is that, without their governor modules, they'll run amok and murder people.

Murderbot a) is very much a person, though it has some trouble coping with that fact, b) disabled its governor module after its bad code made them run amok, c) has not in fact run amok murdering people since, and d) is in fact spending most of its time watching media while it continues to do its job. Literally all it wants in life, when we first meet it, is to be left alone to secretly watch TV inside its own head. #Relatable.

The series starts with Murderbot finding people willing to treat it as a person and starting to escape the role for which it's been designed and the cruelty of the Corporation Rim, and continues on into a lot of grappling with how to exist as an independent being, learning to form its own identity, dealing with people's expectations of it (whether hostile or well-meant), and so on. It makes friends! It learns and grows as a person! It deals with its issues, sort of, and learns that sometimes dealing with those issues means asking people to accommodate it and sometimes it means accommodating them and both are reasonable to do and expect.

The books are first-person POV, and Murderbot is a very snarky narrator; in part due to the mostly-novella format, each entry is very tightly plotted, flows very quickly, and is heavy on fast, fun action. The other characters and Murderbot's relationship with them are also wonderful, and I in particular enjoy seeing Murderbot gradually develop friendships, entirely unaware and/or in denial the whole time.

My mom bounced off the books initially but then fell in love with the audiobooks and thinks the narrative style works better that way, and the narrator for them is extremely good, so if that's a way you enjoy engaging with first-person POVs I will recommend that as well!

[pyrrhiccomedy]

hey so I’m realizing from the questions coming into my inbox that some of you are both (1) very interested in Heretic and (2) have no idea what Heretic is.

Heretic is a homebrew tabletop RPG that I created during lockdown to play with my fiance. It takes inspiration from Alexis Kennedy’s very good game “Cultist Simulator” for a lot of its flavor. It’s designed for 1:1 play: you recruit a party of NPCs that you control in combat. It uses a d10 system like Godlike (where the goal is to roll pairs or three of a kind). I’ve also borrowed the discipline scaling system from VtM, & a number of stealth & influence systems from Blades in the Dark. There is also a stress system that takes inspiration from Trail of Cthulhu.

The combat system had to be pretty much totally homebrewed, as very few games are designed with 1:1 play in mind. It has a 3-2-1 combat system (meaning all combat resolves in 3 rounds and then the outcome is narrated based on the results) and combat for each character resolves with a single roll (meaning, one roll tells you if you hit, how much damage you dealt, if you get additional actions, & how effective your additional actions are). 

My fiance is a medievalist, and I’ve studied religion & divinity, & we’re both interested in (as an academic subject, not as a personal practice) historical occultism. So as a game setting Heretic is a lot weirder than anything I’d make for a wider audience. That’s the fun of making a game for one person you know really well. “Let’s go really, really deep on medieval eschatology” is not, like, a normal or desirable state for a Saturday night for most people. 

There are a lot of things about the mindset of playing Heretic that I don’t bother to explain because Emily would never need it explained to her that, for example, in the 1300s, an encounter with demonic power would nevertheless be understood as an encounter with the numinous, worthy of reverence and containing wisdom. Or that the medieval mind would not attempt to rationalize it or determine if what they experienced ‘really happened’ in the same way as we would post-Enlightenment or even post-Renaissance. What would matter is that it was experienced, and therefore contains truth. From the medieval point of view, our modern definitions of ‘truth’ and what is ‘real’ are shockingly limited and unimaginative. Playing Heretic means stepping into a more medieval state of mind. I would not ask that of players at any other table! But I can do that with Emily.

There are lots of other things about Heretic that show that it’s a game system made by one person, for one other specific person. It’s super gay, and fucks around a lot with gender. It has sex and violence and dark shit in it. Sometimes there’s a big twist based on knowing that Mary doesn’t appear in the Gospel of Mark. I’m not designing it so that you can play it without being made to feel confused or uncomfortable, I’m designing it so that Emily and I have the most fun possible on Saturday night.

I am sure there are other people out there who would really enjoy playing Heretic! And I think that’s great. I’m slowly putting together a source book for the handful of you out there who might want to try.

If you don’t care about Heretic and you’re tired of seeing me talk about Heretic, cool. Block the #heretic tag.

If you send me asks demanding that I go into laborious detail about something Heretic-related, I will probably ignore them. This isn’t a product I’m selling. I’m not trying to ‘get Heretic out there.’ This is my blog, where I talk about the things I’m interested in, so I blog about Heretic in the way somebody else might blog about a big knitting project they’re working on. Your interest in the project is flattering, but ultimately, it’s my blanket, that I’m making for me and my partner, for fun. 

If you like seeing the occasional bizarre Heretic moodboard, or seeing me answer an ask in a totally obscure, borderline incomprehensible, occultish way, great. Enjoy the vibes!

[you-remind-me-of-the-babe]

Get to Know Me Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @cutestkilla I loved reading your answers 💜

Relationship status: Married for nine years. Hubs and I got married on our 10 year dating anniversary. We started dating when we were 17. So yeah, we’ve been together a long ass time.

Favorite color: Green, and any shade thereof. My eyes are green, so it’s been my fave since I was a kid.

Favorite food: I love bread, though I try to eat less of it now as I get older, as it doesn’t do my body good. Also coffee, cheese and chocolate make life worth living sometimes.

Song stuck in your head: I’m going to pretend it’s not a theme song from kiddo’s cartoon and say Age of Consent by New Order because I adore that song and it came on while watching Paper Girls the other night. (Just started this show and loved the first two episodes.)

Last thing you Googled: “Exit, pursued by a bear.” Was beta reading for @whatevertheweather last night and she used it for a spell and I sadly did not know the reference. Now I do!

Time: 11:05 am

Dream Trip: I would really like to get over my fear of traveling to a non-English speaking country. I’ve only ever picked English speaking locations for vacations for fear of getting lost or not being able to communicate. The only exception was three days in Paris as part of a school trip where we went to London first, and the embarrassment I felt every time I had to ask someone if they spoke English is probably what’s fueling this fear. I live within driving distance of Mexico and have never been, despite taking Spanish in school for years. So yeah, some day I’d like to go to the Mediterranean and just chill if I need to use my phone for help. Or even Mexico. It’s right there!

Last book you read: I’ve got about an hour left of Reputation by Lex Chroucher and am enjoying it. The audiobook narrator does a fantastic job.

Last book you enjoyed reading: Going to pick a different book here and say Boyfriend Material.(Also loved the audiobook narration!) (Very much looking forward to Husband Material!) @bookish-bogwitch crafted an amazing ending bingo for it and I’m SO ready!

Last book you hated reading: I am slogging through the last Mirror Visitor book. I’ve been reading a few pages at a time for months and it is just so slow and boring. I devoured the first three and I can’t tell if Snowbaz brain rot is affecting my engagement or if it’s truly that bad. I turned my friend on to these books and he’s been anxiously waiting to talk to me about the last one and I just…can’t muster the will to read it for longer than ten minutes at a time. RIP. I also hated the narrator who read House on the Cerrulean Sea, so I abandoned that one even though everyone adores that book. Oh well!

Favorite thing to cook/bake: Cookies, scones, bars, pies. I never bake unless it’s a holiday because I can’t control myself if I make something like this and then have a massive amount there. I used to love cooking soups, stir fries and casseroles but having picky children turn their noses up at something I spent an hour or more making really makes me hate cooking these days. The 7 year old is getting more adventurous but the 3 year old hates dinners on principle so I phone it in a lot.

Favorite craft to do in your spare time: Spare time? What is this you speak of? I am not super crafty. I’ve tried a few things over the years but usually abandon these hobbies after a few attempts. I’m frankly shocked I’m still writing fic almost a year later because hobbies don’t usually stick for me. Does weeding and gardening count as crafting? It’s almost an art right? I do like being out in the sun with my hands in the dirt and seeing the way my yard evolves.

Most niche dislikes: This is a fun question. I doubt my dislikes are very niche. I hate the feeling of like a stray hair on my arm or wrapped around a finger. I dislike cilantro. I have a hard time watching a kid attempt a task that is far above their skill level. Watching them struggle when they are almost about to succeed is a joy but watching say, a kid try to open something you know they literally can’t drives me mad. Just give it to me so I can do it and we can move on!

Opinions on circuses, now and in history: What a weird question. Never been to a circus. Closest was a Cirque du Soleil performance which was amazing. I like books about circuses like Water for Elephants and Night Circus. That’s all I got. I feel like this question is trying to get you to say circuses in the past (maybe also now) are bad because of the way they treat animals. And like, you make that decision yourself. You don’t need me to tell you what to think.

Do you have a sense of direction, if not what is the worst way you’ve gotten lost: If I am with someone else I will often miss a turn from chatting and not paying attention so the other person’s ability to co-pilot is critical. I followed @fatalfangirl around in Vegas and just assumed they knew what was up. (Lol sorry I wasn’t helpful!) If I’m by myself I can usually focus and manage. I often have dreams of needing to get somewhere and just not fucking managing because a thousand obstacle get in the way. Worst gotten lost story: some friends and I in our early 20s miscalculated how long it would take to float down a river. We found ourselves with slowly deflating rafts, while it got dark, with no flashlights, and the river had turned away from the roads. We tried to beach our rafts and walk but found a bear instead. Oops, back in the rafts we went. Then we made it to a dam that we had to get out and walk around but we couldn’t find the path, only a path going the other way to the highway so we ditched our boats and followed the path in the dark, ignoring sounds of wildlife. Finally made it to the road and got picked up by a very nice older couple who probably took pity on us because we looked like their kids or something. When we went back to get our boats the next day the path around the dam was very easy to find by the light of day and we were like…a 20 minute float from our campsite LOL. Good times. I can laugh about it now but it was Not Fun when it was happening.

Tagging @fatalfangirl @whatevertheweather @bookish-bogwitch @moodandmist @aristocratic-otter @facewithoutheart @raenestee @martsonmars @sillyunicorn no pressure, only if you want to! 💜

[admirableadmiranda]

Hi.....just saw your random facts....can I ask your top 10 fav books (fiction) that you had? Sorry for asking another random ask.....Thanks....

No worries, anon! Love to talk about random things! It's a lot of fun!

Top ten books... it'll be top ten books at least of today. I could easily compile a top fifty.

Catwings series by Ursula K. Le Guin. Really simple children's stories that are some of the first books I can remember reading and are still some of my favorites.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. A completely different heroine from so many I'd read as a young kid and she still stands out to me today. Just a beautiful comfort read.

Modaozushi by Mo Xiang Tong Xu. A much more recent entry into this list, but it has soared up to one of my favorite books of all time due to wonderful characters, beautiful complex plot and a something about it that continues to engage me after more than a year of focusing on it.

Ciara's Song by Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie. A Witch World book that is set mostly outside of the big plots, but is a story about an orphan who grows up to be happy even in the midsts of her world being at war and so much loss.

Dealing with Dragons/Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. Two of the Enchanted Forest Chronicle books and I cannot pick one above the other. Dealing with Dragons is the funny and charming series of a princess who is utterly bored with her life and decides to go become the princess to a dragon instead. Calling on Dragons is the quest to recover a magical sword featuring a no-nonsense witch, the same princess who is now a queen, a clever magician, two cats and a rabbit who's manage to transform himself into a donkey. Makes me laugh and grin the whole time.

Corambis by Sara Monet (the last book in the Doctrine of Labyrinths series) Specifically just this one. After three books of the leads struggling to overcome the absolutely miserable upbringing they had combined with the miserable present day, they actually begin to make something of it and find some sort of peace and happiness all the while dealing with a mysterious clockwork engine that seems to be gearing up to try and kill everyone around them.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. A lot of gently poking fun at typical fairy tale tropes combined with a very sassy narrator and a romance that leans into constant bickering that I actually enjoy.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip. This one I can't quite put my finger on why I love it so much other than that it is haunting. It is not the happiest of stories by any means, it is about a young woman who has lived alone with only many mystical animals called by her family who is in search of a mysterious bird called the Liralen, one of the last strange beasts not in her menagerie, while below the kingdoms seek to control her and her mysterious animals in their wars.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley. If the previous book is somewhat haunting, this one definitely is. It is a retelling of the fairytale of Deerskin/Donkeyskin/Catskin, where the fairest queen in the world dies and makes her husband promise to not marry anyone again unless they are as beautiful as her. He swears that he will not, but cannot find anyone until their daughter comes of age and resembles her mother exactly. Deerskin is a much darker take on a dark fairytale, yet there is some light and hope and it ends on a gentle note. Not a story for the faint of heart, but still one of my favorites all the same.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley. If at this point you haven't guessed that she's one of my favorite authors, then I don't know what to tell you. Sunshine is a bit of a departure from the others, it is a modern day story set in a world in which vampires and werewolves and such are real, and our protagonist is an ordinary baker who makes the mistake of traveling out on her own to a lake where she is shortly snatched away by vampires to torment an old enemy of theirs, where it turns out that Sunshine is a little more than they were prepared for. Full of lavish descriptions of food, a lot of sass and snark and a world that gives you just enough description to be starving for more.

Thank you so much anon! I hope you enjoyed my desperate attempt to wrangle all my faves into some sort of order.

[magic-is-something-we-create]

Hey!!! Random ask time bc I wanna learn more about everyone’s WIPs!!!

What’s your current absolute favorite thing about your primary WIP? It can be a teeny little detail, a massive part of the plot, a character, anything. What is it, and why??

Hi!! Thanks for the ask, I hope I can help curb the boredom a bit <3

I got a bit carried away, so I hope you don't mind, and I absolutely will not judge if it's a bit much to respond to/take in!!

My primary WIP for the last several years has been The Millennium Saga, and right now, my favorite thing(s) about it have to be a lot of the action and horror scenes!! They've gotten big reactions out of beta readers, and whenever I go back to read what I've written for ~motivation~ I tend to find myself lingering on them because I'm just... so proud of them. Especially the dream/nightmare sequences and the multiple instances of plant/natural horror <3

Something entirely different that I'm super proud of with Firebreathers specifically is how, now that I've done a lot of editing, the foreshadowing for later on in the series has solidified so well.

For instance, towards the end of the first draft, one of my MCs decided to take a hard left turn where I didn't expect - what was supposed to be a relatively simple attempted assassination (and reveal of a mind control subplot) ended up with them literally seeing/meeting a Goddess in a feat of prophecy thought to be dead for a millennium by the rest of the world.

That MC was never supposed to be a Prophet until the moment I let them take the reins. Their brother was supposed to be the only one, and it wasn't going to be revealed for probably three books that that magic wasn't dead. But they decided to become Important in a whole new way, and because of that...

I got to put the exact thing the Goddess told them during their Prophecy into the dialogue of a scene literally 100k+ words earlier in the book. I put it in a moment that, until editing, was meant to be an entirely metaphorical vision of that particular Goddess on a Priestess' visage.

The wider worldbuilding implications of that in particular have opened up for exploration now that I've finished book two, and I'm really hoping that at least someone on a reread will notice that single line, because hoo boy. It's that kind of foreshadowing and implication scavenger hunt I want to foster in any kind of community my books build, because that's the kind of stuff I enjoy most in fandom.

There's some other fun foreshadowing things I've managed to include that I'm also super proud of, like, say... the fear of a sibling bleeding out/dying when people with similar features suffer injury -> a reveal in book two that said sibling did die and was resurrected by the very person who was scared of it before. Also, specific chapter titles mimicking the titles an Important Person holds, and signalling that the narrators of those chapters are immortals -> one of those chapters not being from an immortal at the time, but one who becomes immortal later on, and that narrator is the villain they're trying to stop from doing that.

Also, because I got to write that villain's POV chapter, I learned a lot more about why they're Like That™, and thus got to display the specific traumas of those who already interacted with them way better on the second edit! Which makes me feel very accomplished and ~intentional~ as a writer, which is a rare thing because I pants almost everything I write 😅

I will end this here for now, simply because it got way longer than I thought it would/wanted it to, but I hope I helped entertain/distract!!

[light-of-a-dying-sun]

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

5/5

I absolutely adored this book. It is reminiscent of the Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart (a book series I devoured as a child), but with a slightly more grown up main character and much heavier subject material. The world building is incredibly unique and every fact you learn about the world just opens up further lines of questioning. The story and plot is kind of convoluted and slightly confusing with how many different factions and motives there are, but it ties itself together nicely and makes sense. The characters are very exaggerated but as you learn more about them, they reveal hidden nuances that ground them in reality.

Throughout the book, it was very annoying how no one respected Ophelia and just kept talking over her, but (as I’ll talk about more in my review for the second book) her overcoming this was a really intriguing drive for her character. Ophelia in general is a nuanced narrator, who because of her newness to the Pole, is able to allow us to see the absurdity of it all far better than someone like Thorn would have been able to. Her ability to read objects and the way it’s written is a super unique narrative device that helped advance the plot and our understanding of the world, but wasn’t used as a get out of jail free card for giving Ophelia information. She was very active through her own merits and not just because of her magical powers, which was very fun.

I enjoy Thorn and Ophelia’s relationship (like Thorns an asshole the whole time in this book, but it’s well written) because it is explicitly not romantic on the part of Ophelia. She’s definitely somewhere on the ace spectrum and explicitly says that she is incapable of loving any man as a wife, which I think is dope. It’s incredibly rare to see ace characters in books, especially in books where said character is engaged and interacts with people who are romantically (Thorn) and sexually (Archibald) interested in her, while also doing loads of other stuff on her own completely unrelated to romance. She just kinda seems so confused and annoyed by the entire thing and I love that for her.

Her and Thorn’s relationship also is a lot more compelling as a friendship/mutual partnership than it would be as a romance, because it really allows Thorn’s controlling nature to be analyzed and criticized by Ophelia without any unearned romantic or sexual feelings complicating it. Any kind of trust (or distrust) that she has for Thorn is completely earned and really well explored in this first book. It sets up a lot of conflicts that will continue to be important and drive the character arcs of the two characters

One con of this book is that the translation is very apparent. There are a number of times (especially towards the end of the book) where the sentence structure is not changed from French (for example something along the lines of “I you like” instead of “I like you”). This didn’t negatively effect my ready experience but it might for other people. Also there are loads of words that I have to assume are just literally translated from French but would never be used in modern English. I had to look up definitions of words at a far higher rate than most other books, but imo that was a bonus because I got to learn a bunch of new words (like now I can say that I’m gonna perambulate to class like a cool kid)