#am reading dracula daily so dracula is on the list and now jekyll and hyde and (a reread of) frankenstein have joined

[encryptidarchivist]

HAPPY ARTFIGHT!

hey you should go read my comic

and do your daily clicks

my blog description is getting absurdly long so woe, intro post be upon ye (and rip to the previous pinned post it will be missed)

is this also just an excuse for having a bunch of blinkies and graphics? haha nooo why ever would you think that (flash warning for under the cut)

hey there! i'm cryptid, encryptid, archie, or any variation, they/it/he, i'm transmasc nonbinary and a-spec among other things (at this point i'm collecting queer labels like oh so many shiny rocks), i'm 17, i'm neurodivergent, i have chronic pain and pots also

things i like: fiction podcasts, so much music, my ocs (ask me about them and my life is yours), poetry, classic lit, history, medical science, philosophy, space, the deep sea, creatures of all varieties, the paranormal, media analysis, and silly memes

fandoms include but are not limited to: the magnus archives/protocol, red valley, welcome to night vale, malevolent, severance, the good place, dead poets society, house md, puppet history (and watcher as a whole but especially puppet history), dropout, the brian david gilbert extended universe, mcr, neon genesis evangelion, outer wilds, sonic, frankenstein, dracula, the strange case of jekyll and hyde, shakespeare (especially hamlet. talk to me about hamlet), the mechanisms, several weird 80s and 90s movies

music i like gets its own (non-exhaustive and constantly growing) list because there's so much: mcr, stomach book, sir chloe, the smiths, radiohead, the cure, vundabar, jhariah, car seat headrest, the scary jokes, lemon demon, will wood, tally hall, jack stauber, ratbag, dwellings, alex g, the beatles, the weakerthans, belle and sebastian, boygenius and its members, the mechanisms, chappel roan, billie eilish, and my shiny rock collection of random emo/indie/rock bangers from bands i know max 3 songs by

i do make my own posts sometimes if you can believe it, my tag for that is #encryptid says things

i also draw things, such as my comic, and copious amounts of fanart and oc doodles. my tag for that is #encryptid draws things or you could just go to my art only blog, @encryptidartchivist

on the rare occasion i do some writing i use the tag #encryptid texts

sometimes i use audacity for evil, the tag for that is #encryptid audio

i also have #encryptunes for music (there isn't much in there at the moment but there will be more eventually)

as may have been implied by now i am very [not] normal about my ocs! they are my silliest of guys, my most beloved of blorbos, my fucked up losers, i think about them all the time <3 my main tag for oc stuff is #encryptid's homemade blorbos. the only other specific tags i use are #zrin story universe for one particular story/collection of characters and #ivy and barbed wire for the various incarnations of/insane ramblings about my beloveds devon and valerie. there are a few ocs i tag with their name because i actually bothered to come up with a full name for them but most of the time they're not individually tagged. i may try to go back and change that at some point.

i have a lot of ocs! and a lot of stories! and lore! i will make a big document/s with all of their information at some point and it'll get linked here when it's done. stay tuned.

in the meantime you can check some of them out on artfight

#🧊 is the tag for posts i think my friend who does not have a tumblr account but goes through my blog every now and then like the newspaper (his words) would enjoy. all hail the cube

i try my best to tag trigger warnings but i do forget sometimes so if there's anything you need to be tagged just let me know

also send me asks!! i love getting them :] and if you want to message me go ahead!

[dragonmuse]

This proves, once again, that I cannot do anything without a firm deadline (or two). A bout of covid in summer and a couple of long road trips and train rides meant I got through many more audio books than I usually would. So I'll limit myself to my favourites here and give a short teaser each instead. Just because I really want to. Hope that's alright.

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer. Avery and Bett are both 12 years old and live with single gay dads. That's excactly everything they have in common. Otherwise they couldn't be more different. Only now their dads have decided to fall in love and to send the girls to the same summer camp so they can get to know each others as "new sisters". This cannot stand! A reverse Parent Trap, if you will. Utterly hilarious and very heartfelt. Also the most realistic 12yo I've come across in fiction ever, I think.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss (Part 1 of the Athena Club series). When Mary Jekyll's Mother dies, Mary is left with no family, a lot of debt and a household staff she'll have to let go. When she comes into possession of a bank statement in the name of "Hyde" she is reminded of the cruel Mr Hyde who used to work for her late father and the high reward set for his apprehension. So, as one does when faced with mystery in Victorian London, she enlists the help of one Mr Holmes and the good Doctor Watson. You know how in gothic literature women are usually sidelined to wives, daughters, victims or monsters? Well, this is their story. And by "their" I actually mean "all of them"'s story. Readers of "Dracula Daily" will also encounter familiar names, especially in the second book. Brilliant, brilliant series!

The Fetch Philips series by Luke Arnold (of Black Sails fame), starting with The Last Smile of Sunder City. My current obsession. Detective noir novel set in an urban fantasy setting with a twist. Very cool world building and character development.

Identitti by Mithu Sanyal (translated from German by Altal Price) Nivedita's life is turned upside down when superstar postcolonial and race studies South-Asian professor Saraswati - her supervisor, mentor, idol and crush - is discovered to be actually… white. One of the most brilliant books I'v ever read, I think. A very, very darkly funny take on identity, race, academia and finding a place in the world. It makes you constantly go "Come on, the case is crystal clear now!", only to make you go "Huh. Or not." two pages later. You will also learn A LOT.

Now.. saving the best for last. Stories Beneath our Skin by Veronica Sloane. I will not give a summary here, because that simply feels too weird. But I loved it so damn much! This was my comfort while I was in bed with covid for over week. The found family dynamic reminded me quite a bit of Becky Chambers' books, and I mean that as the highest praise. I listened to it before Smut Nights became a thing so I was a bit suprised by the steamier bits, but that is in no way a complain ;) Can recommend it highly to anyone following you here!

Thank you for this reading program! It was a lot of fun! And thank you, just, for everything I guess!

omg omg you read my novel? I am torn between joy and wanting to hide under the bed. Just as a note to anyone who reads it now, please know I don't think it's cool for white guys to have dreads. It was really ridiculous that I wasn't aware of that in 2013.

I actually HAD to write the smut bits back then because the press (now defunct, hence it being self-published at this point and quite messy) required a certain steam level for novels.

AND MY MOTHER READ IT. She called me her 'little pornographer'. Truly a dark day.

But uh, being compared to Becky Chambers makes me want to ugly sob because I love all of her books very deeply, thank you.

And I love all of your reviews, my TBR list is now longer!

ANYWAY, please excuse me experiencing all my emotions at once, on to

YOUR POEM:

I wish I were a bonsai tree

so carefully tended

to be coaxed and trimmed

taking on a perfect shape

Would that I could give such peace

just by growing my tiny leaves

and reaching for the light

To be loved like that

for myself alone and the things

we make together