#still though i would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy that's absolutely ridiculous

[stuffbybean]

you ever re-read a book and go WOW there are themes i did not see properly when i was a kid, now i have to go read the rest of the books to see if there's anything more i missed

and it's exciting but also worrying because you remembered it with kid-tinted lenses and recommended it to people with no real recollection of the themes and details present in it? well shit

[brooklynboysficrecs]

Ria’s Top 10 Shrinkyclinks Fics

I will admit this isn’t my preferred AU -- I won’t immediately jump on a fic just because it’s pre-serum Steve and WS Bucky. I gotta like the plot, or the premise, or be really, really intrigued by the tags, but to be fair, that’s how I am with everything that isn’t Modern Bucky and Cap Steve, so. That being said, I have read some truly fantastic shrinkyclinks stories, and I do very much love Steven “Fight Me” Rogers at his scrappiest. And these fics also tend to feature protective!Bucky which is another personal favorite of mine. Oh, but also: shrinkyclinks generally refers to pre-serum Steve with actual Winter Soldier Bucky, but a lot of people use the tag just to imply body types, and when they say WS Bucky they mean he’s all huge and muscled and sometimes has a metal arm, though that isn’t required. That’s the definition I’m going with as well, so hopefully nothing’s confusing!

1. If Wishing Made It So by leveragehunters. Before I get into anything about the actual fic, let me say this: leveragehunters is probably my favorite stucky writer. Like, hands-down, I read almost everything they write, and they’re big into fantasy stories, which is a great bonus for me personally. So, so, so many good shrinkyclinks fics by them (Even Underneath the Waves, a mermaid AU that features equal amounts of pre- and post-serum Steve, and A-mage-ing Grace with mage Steve are two of my other favorites, and they would’ve been on the list, but I try not to put more than one story per author, ya know? And IWMIS kinda wins out above the others for me, so). This story features jinn!Bucky who finds himself in the baffled hands of Steve Rogers, who is perfectly prickly and stubborn and good. Bucky’s got a terrible past with humans in general (and Hydra in particular, what a shocker) that he and Steve have to overcome as their relationship progresses, but that progression is frankly beautiful to watch unfold. I come back to this story time and time again because of how much I love these versions of Steve and Bucky getting to know one another, learning to trust each other, supporting each other through the worst the world has to throw at them. Plus, there’s a few more stories in this series if you get as hooked as I am, which is always great!!

2. Roots Have Grown by AustinB. I remember reading this and just... completely feeling what Bucky is going through. Not everything -- he’s an agoraphobic veteran, and I can’t relate to either of those, really, but he’s so... awkward about his crush on Steve. And that’s -- that’s relatable to me. But it’s precious, really, how he tries to help Steve even though he’s afraid to actually meet him initially; he becomes Steve’s sort of... anonymous benefactor? Guardian angel with money? Like, it’s definitely a sugar daddy type deal originally but I doubt Bucky would describe it like that. I don’t know, it’s cute, though, and I loved seeing Bucky opening up to Steve as they became closer. 

3. Through The Woods by VenusMonstrosa, alby_mangroves. Okay, hear me out: werewolves. I fucking love werewolves in fiction; I mean, not really the romance novels you’ll see in the grocery store, but. Werewolf mythology is one of my favorite things, so seeing it in fanfiction almost always manages to lure me in. And I was so not disappointed with this story! Steve’s living alone in a cabin in the woods, which of course sounds like the opening to a horror movie, but here it leads to love. Werewolf Bucky is both charming and terrifying, to a degree, he’s a wolf, but he and Steve are fantastic together. This is another story that goes in on the trust aspect of their relationship and I for one am a big fan of that. There’s some violence, minor character death and the like, but it’s definitely not undeserved so. If you can handle that (and the sex, because there is sex in this) then I highly recommend this one!

4. The Joy of Little Things by obsessivereader, Sealcat. And so we move from werewolves to dragons. Yup. Dragons. Another of my beloved mythical creatures that I obsessed over when I was kid. Bucky’s capable of shifting into a human in this, but primarily he’s a big ol’ dragon that surprisingly doesn’t want to eat the scrawny sacrifice from the local village. Steve ends up working for Bucky, instead, and from there hilarity ensues. Steve’s obviously wary of Bucky, but Bucky isn’t at all what he’d been expecting, and they grow closer the longer Steve’s staying in Bucky’s caves. There are a couple of stories with Dragon!Bucky, but this is my personal favorite; it’s cute and heart-warming and, well. I just really like it. 

5. I Just Want to Love You in My Own Language by agetwellcard, inediblesushi. So this one has Cap!Bucky (Bucky!Cap?) but again, sometimes it’s more about how Bucky looks rather than his role as the Winter Soldier. Anyway, I remember my biggest take away from this story was how adorable Bucky was in his quest to win the affections of sassy Nurse Steve, who patches him up after missions and is probably playing hard to get. Bucky uses terrible pick-up lines, absolutely awful, and he is completely unashamed of that fact. Which is, as I said, adorable. Steve, initially, does not agree with my assessment, but he gets there eventually. After some requisite drama, of course.

6. Tint & Shade by forestofbabel. Oh, god, this one hurt me, I remember that pretty clearly. Bucky is the Winter Soldier in this, and Steve is a 21st century art therapist who just so happens to resemble his late grandfather, Captain Joseph Rogers, who fought in -- you guessed it -- WWII. Like I said in the intro, if I really like the premise of something I’ll usually read it regardless of the configuration of pre-/post-serum Steve and pre-serum/WS Bucky, and this was definitely one of the fics I got into for that reason. Having actual WS Bucky interact with a modern pre-serum Steve is always interesting, given how much they don’t have in common, generally (there isn’t even really the veteran status that modern Bucky sometimes has in fics), and it’s a journey to see how and why they connect. Having Steve resemble his WWII era grandfather caught my attention, and the fic itself made me grateful that I decided to go for it in the first place. This is another one where is trust is key to their relationship, considering the mental/emotional state Bucky is in at the beginning. Very good story overall!

7. Fourth Floor by dirtybinary, mithborien, picoalloe. So dirtybinary has written some amazing stucky fics, which is why I was so excited when I saw this being posted initially (a few years ago, but still). There’s magic! Mystery! Suspense! Some NatSharon! Looking this over, I’m wondering if I should’ve saved it for the Urban Fantasy list I wanna do (and If Wishing Made It So, if I’m being honest) but I do like it for the shrinkyclinks list. The writing is great, the characterization of Steve and Bucky is great, and like, they live in what is essentially a magical apartment complex, so what’s better than that? 

8. my heart tells me you are lonely, too by FanGirling. Alright, so I read this one as it was being published, and the slow burn about killed me. You know, in a good way, though. Bucky lives in Steve and his mother’s apartment building, trying to figure out where to go with his life now that he’s broken free of Hydra and gotten his autonomy back. He’s obviously wary, skittish, but he takes a liking to Sarah Rogers when she reaches out to befriend him, surprised anyone wants to be near him let alone take the time to get to know him. Steve... is not so easily sold on Bucky. And I’m not gonna spoil anything here, but the shit these two go through is intense, and I cried a lot during this fic, sometimes out of frustration because they’re both ridiculous about their feelings (of course Bucky’s fears are valid, the man has been through literal hell, but also I was internally screaming a little as Bucky continually talked himself out of getting closer to Steve.) I wanted to wrap the both of them in about thirty blankets for pretty much the entire length of the fic. God. They’re just -- they’re so incredibly sweet in this one, once they work past their issues (Bucky and Steve are both more than a little messed up from their respective circumstances, but they make it work). Mind the tags on this one, also, especially because there is a chapter that deals with attempted sexual assault against Steve (obviously not with Bucky!), but Bucky handles the situation before anything truly nasty happens, that I can promise. 

9. Local Raccoon Befriends Angry Chihuahua by charlesdk. This is yet another author I really love; they have a fantastic farmer!Steve/Modern!WS!Bucky story that I love to bits, as well as other great fics. But anyway, this one. The title sold me the second I saw it, honestly, I can’t even pretend that wasn’t the deciding factor in me reading this. I don’t think I can really do any better than the summary in explaining why I recommend it; feisty tiny Steve and lovestruck grumpy Bucky are a winning combination in my book. This one does feature the boys dealing with homophobia and ableism, though I can’t recall how severe it is. So I’d just mind the tags, and if you’re alright with them, thoroughly enjoy this story. 

10. The Road to Hell is Paved with Tony’s Good Intentions by pinlilli. Bucky as a mail-order Russian bride. That’s the detail that pretty much demanded I click on this fic, and oh my god, it was even better than I ever could’ve expected. Tony, in a bid to help Steve get over his awful ex-boyfriend (fuck Brock Rumlow in every universe, honestly), literally orders him a husband -- in the form of beefy James Barnes, who is a fucking gem and I will not hear one bad word against him. He does chores, it’s lovely and adorable, and you will definitely fall just as hard as Steve does. There’s some canon-typical violence in this one that relates to James’ past, but nothing super graphic as far as I remember. Again, Rumlow is a dick and should be treated as such, but he’s hardly the most important part of this fic and I urge everyone to take a look at it if they’re as intrigued by Bucky being a mail-order husband as I was. 

[ducktastic]

2020 Gameological Awards

Over on the Gameological Discord, we have an annual tradition of writing up our games of the year not as a ranked list but rather as answers to a series of prompts. Here are my personal choices for the year that was 2020.

Favorite Game of the Year

I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into Paradise Killer. I knew that I liked the vaporwave resort aesthetic from the game’s trailer and figured I was in for a Danganronpa-style murder mystery visual novel with an open-ended murder mystery at its core. Those assumptions were… half-right? The game definitely plays out like the exploration bits of Danganronpa set on the island from Myst but with far simpler puzzles. What I didn’t expect was to fall so deeply in love with the environment—its nooks and crannies, its millennia of lore, its brutalist overlap of idol worship, consumerism, and mass slaughter. It makes sense that the world of Paradise Killer is its strongest feature, since the cast of NPCs don’t really move around, leaving you alone with the world for the overwhelming majority of your experience as you bounce back and forth between digging around for clues and interrogating potential witnesses. And despite what the promo materials indicated, there IS a definitive solution to the crimes you’re brought in to investigate, the game just lets you make judgment based on whatever evidence you have at the time you’re ready to call it a day, so if you’re missing crucial evidence you might just make a compelling enough case for the wrong person and condemn them to eternal nonexistence. Am I happy with the truth at the end of the day? No, and neither is anybody else I’ve spoken to who completed the game, but we all were also completely enthralled the entire time and our dissatisfaction has less to do with the game and more to do with the ugly reality of humanity. I’ve always been of the mindset that “spoilers” are absolute garbage and that a story should be just as good whether you know the twist or not and any story that relies on surprising the audience with an unexpected reveal is not actually that good a story, but Paradise Killer is a game about piecing together your own version of events so I feel that it’s vital to the gameplay experience that people go in knowing as little as possible and gush all about it afterwards. Just trust me, if the game looks even remotely intriguing to you, go for it. I’ve had just as much fun talking about the game after I finished it with friends just getting started as I did actually solving its mysteries myself.

Best Single Player Game

I honestly missed out on the buzz for In Other Waters at launch, so I’m happy I had friends online talking it up as Black Friday sales were coming along. The minimal aesthetic of his underwater exploration game allows the focus to shift more naturally to the game’s stellar writing as a lone scientist goes off in search of her mentor and the secrets they were hiding on an alien world. It only took a few hours for me to become completely absorbed in this narrative and keep pushing forward into increasingly dangerous waters. In Other Waters might just be the best sci-fi story I experienced all year and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi novels, regardless of their experience with video games.

Best Multiplayer Game

Look, we all know this year sucked. 2020 will absolutely be chronicled in history books as a fascinating and deeply depressing time in modern history where we all stayed inside by ourselves and missed our friends and family. It was lonely and it was bleak. Which is why it made my heart glow so much more warmly every time I got a letter from an honest-to-goodness real-life friend in Animal Crossing New Horizons. Knowing that they were playing the same game I was and hearing about their experiences and sending each other wacky hats or furniture, it lightened the days and made us feel that little bit more connected. Sure, when the game first launched we would actually take the time to visit one another’s islands, hang out, chat in real-time, and exchange gifts, but we all eventually got busy with Zoom calls, sourdough starters, and watching Birds of Prey twenty-two times. Still, sending letters was enough. It was and still is a touching little way to show that we’re here for one another, if not at the exact same time.

Favorite Ongoing Game

Zach Gage is one of my favorite game designers right now, and when I heard he was releasing a game called Good Sudoku I was sold sight unseen. The game as released was… fine. It’s sudoku and it’s pleasant, but it was also buggy and overheated my phone in a way I hadn’t seen since Ridiculous Fishing (also by Zach Gage) seven years ago. Thankfully, the most glaring bugs have been fixed and I can now enjoy popping in every day for some quick logic puzzle goodness. Daily ranked leaderboards keep me coming back again and again, the steady ramp of difficulty in the arcade and eternal modes means I can always chase the next dopamine rush of solving increasingly complex puzzles. It’s not a traditional “ongoing” game the way, say, Fortnite and Destiny are, but I’m happy to come back every day for sudoku goodness.

Didn't Click For Me

With Fortnite progressively losing me over the course of 2020, finalizing with my wholesale “never again” stance after Epic boss Tim Sweeney compared Fortnite demanding more money from Apple to the American Civil Rights movement (no, absolutely not), I dipped my toe into a number of new “battle pass”-style online arena types of games, and while Genshin Impact eventually got its hooks into me, Spellbreak absolutely did not. With graphics straight out of The Dragon Prince and the promise of a wide variety of magic combat skills to make your character your own, the game seemed awfully tempting, but my first few experiences were aimless and joyless, with no moment of clarity to make me understand why I should keep coming back. Maybe they’ll finesse the game some more in 2021, or a bunch of my friends will get hooked and lure me back, but for now I am a-okay deleting this waste of space on my Switch and PC.

"Oh Yeah, I Did Play That Didn't I?"

I remember being really excited for Murder By Numbers. Ace Attorney-style crime scene investigation visual novel with Picross puzzles for the evidence, art by the creators of Hatoful Boyfriend, and music by the composer of Ace Attorney itself?! Sounds like a dream come true. But the pixel-hunt nature of the crime scene investigations was more frustrating than fun, the picross puzzles were not particularly great, and the game came out literally a week before the entire world went into lockdown which makes it feel more like seven years ago than just earlier this year. I remember being marginally charmed by the game once it was in my hands, but as soon as my mind shifted to long-term self care, Murder By Numbers went from hot topic to cold case.

Most Unexpected Joy

I was looking forward to Fuser all year. As a dyed-in-the-wool DropMix stan, the prospect of a spiritual sequel to DropMix on all major digital platforms without any of the analogue components was tremendously exciting, and I knew I’d have a lot of fun making mixes by myself and posting them online for the world to hear. What I didn’t expect, however, was the online co-op mode to be such a blast! Up to four players take turns making 32 bars of mashups, starting with whatever the player before handed them and adding their own fingerprints on top. It sounds like it should just be a mess of cacophony, but every session I’ve played so far has been just the best dance party I’ve had all year, and everyone not currently in control of the decks (including an audience of spectators) can make special requests for what the DJ should spin and tap along with the beat to great super-sized emoji to show how much they’re enjoying the mix. Literally the only times my Apple Watch has ever warned me of my heightened heart rate have been the times I was positively bouncing in place rocking out to co-op freestyle play in Fuser.

Best Music

Only one video game this year had tunes that were so bumpable they were upgraded to my general “2020 jams” playlist alongside Jeff Rosenstock, Run the Jewels, and Phoebe Bridgers, and that game was Paradise Killer. 70% lo-fi chill beats to study/interrogate demons to, 20% gothic atmospheric bangers, 10% high-energy pop jazz, this soundtrack was just an absolute joy to swim around in both in and out of gameplay.

Favorite Game Encounter

It’s wild that in a landscape where games let me live out my wildest fantasies, the single moment that lit me up in a way that stood out to me more than any other was serving Neil the right drink in Coffee Talk. Over the course of the game, you serve a variety of hot drinks to humans, werewolves, vampires, orcs, and more, all while chatting with your customers and learning more about their lives and relationships. The most mysterious customer, though, is an alien life form who adopts the name Neil. They do not know what they want to drink and claim it doesn’t make a difference because they cannot taste it. Everybody else wants *something*. Neil is just ordering for the sake of fitting in and exploring the Earth experience. It’s only in the second playthrough that attentive baristas will figure out what to serve Neil, unlocking the “true” ending in the process. Seeing the typically stoic Neil actually emote when they tasted their special order drink? What an absolute treat that was.

Best Free DLC of the Year

It’s still only a couple of days old at the time I’m writing this, but Marvel’s Avengers just added Kate Bishop, aka Hawkeye, and THANK GOODNESS. Almost every character in the game at launch just smashed the endless waves of robot baddies with their fists and that looks exhausting and uncomfortable. Hawkeye (the game calls her Kate Bishop, but come on, she’s been Hawkeye in the comics for over 14 years, let’s show her some respect) uses A SWORD. FINALLY! Aside from that, I’m just having a blast shooting arrows all over the place. She and Ms Marvel are the most likable characters in the game so far, so I hope they keep adding more of the Young Avengers and Champions to the game, and if the recently announced slate of Marvel movies and tv shows are any indication (with America Chavez, Cassie Lang, and Riri Williams all coming soon to the MCU), that seems to be what Marvel is pushing for across all media

Most Accessible Game

Nintendo is, first and foremost, a toy company. They got their start in toys and cards long before video games was a thing, and they still do more tests to ensure their video game hardware is childproof than anybody else in the industry (remember how they made Switch cartridges “taste bad” so kids wouldn’t eat them?). This year, Nintendo got to rekindle some of their throwback, simplistic, toys-and-cards energy with Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, a Switch collection of timeless family-friendly games like Chess, Mancala, and Backgammon, along with “toy” versions of sports like baseball, boxing, and tennis for a virtual parlor room of pleasant time-wasters. The games were all presented with charming li’l explainers from anthropomorphic board game figurines, and the ability to play quick sessions of Spider Solitaire on the touch screen while I binged The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix made Clubhouse Games one of my most-played titles of the year. Plus, local play during socially-distant friend hangs was an excellent way to make us feel like we were much closer than we were physically allowed to be as friends knocked each other’s block off in the “toy boxing” version of Rock’em Sock’em Robots.

"Waiting for Game-dot"

I get that everyone loves Disco Elysium. I saw it on everyone’s year-end lists last year. I finally bought it with an Epic Games Store coupon this year. This year was a long enough slog of depressing post-apocalyptic drudgery, I didn’t want to explore a whole nother one in my leisure time. I’ll get to it… someday.

Game That Made Me Think

Holovista was an iPhone game I played over the course of two or three days based on the recommendation of some trusted colleagues on Twitter and oh my goodness was I glad that I played it. What starts as a chill vaporwave photography game steadily progresses into an exploration of psychological trauma, relationships with friends and family, and the baggage we carry with us from our pasts. In this exceptionally hard year, I badly needed this story about spending time alone with your personal demons and finding your way back to the people who love and support you. Just like with Journey and Gone Home, I walked away from Holovista feeling a rekindled appreciation for the people in my life.

[crystaiskiess]

An Angel in Hell (or the front office)

Part of the Our Photo Album series - does not need to be read in order but is recommended Series Masterlist

AO3 Link 

Summary: “Dan?” Phil questioned and Dan’s snapped out of his fantasy, turning a deep shade of scarlet as he realised he had been caught staring. “P-pardon, sorry?” He stammered and Phil smirked slightly, cheeks still heavily flushed but more relaxed than before.

Also known as The teacher and receptionist au series that literally nobody wanted but I'm writing anyway

Author’s Notes: Welcome! To this crazy series that I basically started for self indulgent purposes (I wanted to write fluff damn it!) and decided to post it anyway. It's going to be completely out of order so welcome to the crazy journey of teacher dan, who literally just wants to kiss the cute receptionist (guess who) phil. So I hope you enjoy the first story in this series, please let me know what you think!

I would adore to receive requests for this series because seriously I'm not smart enough to come up with enough ideas on my own so if you have something you want to happen in this universe please please please please (I'm so annoying) PLEASE send in a request it would make my day!

The first day at a new school was always terrifying Dan decided, it was terrifying when he was a student and it was just as mind numbingly scary as a teacher. Even when you were working at the school students would stare at you as though you were an alien. He gently brushed aside his messy curls and inhaled deeply through his nose, stepping into the office building and naturally receiving a lot of weird looks. “Hello!” A bright voice echoed through the room and Dan started in shock, nearly elbowing a child in the head as he did so.

There sitting at the reception desk wearing a quirky smile was, what could only be described as, an angel, Dan felt his heart skip a couple of beats as the receptionist brushed his black hair out of his eyes. “You must be the new teacher?” The receptionist, Phil his name tag read, cocked his head to the side, it wasn’t patronising, but curious and it made Dan’s heart flip in a way he didn’t think was possible. Dan felt himself nod sharply as though on reflex, his brain muddled by the intense blue of the other boy’s eyes. “I’m Dan,” he managed to blabber.

Phil smiled and it made his whole face light up, Dan felt the same strange flutter in his chest, like a wild animal was trying to escape his insides but instead released a horde of butterflies. “Phil,” the receptionist said as he pointed to the name tag, displayed on his chest, “Do you need your timetable and classes?” He asked and Dan nodded awkwardly. He watched as Phil scooted himself closer to the computer, brilliant blue eyes dancing towards the computer, “And what’s your last name Dan?” The way Phil said his name made shivers run down Dan’s spine. “H-howell,” he spluttered and quickly chastised himself for being so awkward, but Phil merely grinned and nodded, pale lanky fingers skittering across the keyboard expertly.

With a few more clicks Dan heard the printer whirl to life, and suddenly those bright blue skies were focused back on him, “So what brings you to Lanbourne High?” Phil’s lilting voice asked and wow Dan didn’t know you could get a crush so quickly but here he was. It took him a few deep breaths to find his voice, and he could feel a blush colour his cheeks, Phil didn’t seem to mind, staring at Dan as though he had all the time in the world, “I love teaching,” Dan shrugged and Phil nodded as though this perfectly simple answer needed the ridiculous amount of time Dan had taken thinking of it. “I get that,” he replied with a beam that melted Dan’s insides and made his knees shake.

Before Dan could embarrass himself by collapsing he choked out, “What about you?” Phil’s eyes widened slightly, as though he wasn’t used to receiving attention back, only giving. Dan watched as his mouth opened and closed ever so slightly, only just enough that Dan could see it before he replied, “This isn’t exactly what I was dreaming for in life, but it’s nice to meet people…” he trailed off, and Dan was left wishing he could know what Phil had dreamt, once upon a time. Eventually Phil broke the comfortable silence between them, “You don’t have a photo in your file,” he said, colour brushing along his cheekbones, in an entirely too endearing way. “Oh,” Dan heard himself mumble and quickly added, “Do I need one?” Judging by the red that was creeping up Phil’s neck and the awkward cough he gave in response, the answer was yes, however Phil answered anyway, “Er yes. I need one so I can print your ID,” he explained. The blush had spread across Phil’s face now, making the incredibly light freckles stand out against his milk coloured skin. Dan watched as Phil threaded his fingers through his dark black fringe, gently pushing it back behind his ear so that it was neater. How did he achieve such a perfect fringe, in such little effort? It framed his face perfectly, making his blue eyes pop with colour.

“Dan?” Phil questioned and Dan’s snapped out of his fantasy, turning a deep shade of scarlet as he realised he had been caught staring. “P-pardon, sorry?” He stammered and Phil smirked slightly, cheeks still heavily flushed but more relaxed than before.

With a tap of Phil’s lanky fingers Dan realised he was holding a camera, if machines that old could really be known as cameras. It didn’t appear to even have a screen, so the idea of this ancient machine having the same name as the fancy Canon Dan had back home (it used to belong to his father but now it was Dan’s and he wasn’t sure what to do with it) seemed highly ridiculous. “Can I take one for your ID?” He asked and Dan’s face became impossibly hotter. With a nod Dan smiled sheepishly, Phil held up the camera to his eye, squinting slightly as he peeked through the viewfinder. Dan couldn’t help but feel that Phil was born to hold a camera, the way his hands shaped it comfortably, as though the machine was part of his body and not a separate entity, made Dan’s heart flutter once again. Seriously, how could anyone be so enamoured after only ten minutes of meeting someone?

There was a snap, followed by a flash of light, and Phil was peeking out from behind the camera, “Let’s hope that was good,” Phil shrugged as he plugged the prehistoric camera into the computer and slid the chair backwards towards the printer. Dan couldn’t help the giggle that escaped his lips as Phil rolled across the room, crashing the chair into the bench. He stood mesmerized as Phil gathered his documents and timetable into a manilla folder, his fingers gentle and experienced as he smoothed them out so they wouldn’t be crinkled.

Embarrassingly Phil seemed to notice him staring, as a gentle smile tugged at the corners of his lips, which Dan were definitely not staring at thank you very much! He was also definitely not thinking about how those soft, pink lips would feel pressed against his lips, absolutely not. “See something you like Howell?” Phil was smirking, and oh my god Dan had officially died and been sent to Heaven, because nobody could look that pure when they smirked! It’s impossible, and unnatural! “I-I I uh I’m,” Dan stammered awkwardly which just made Phil’s smirk widen because he wasn’t denying it, in fact Dan couldn’t even remember how to speak, let alone denying the truth.

As Dan continued to flounder awkwardly, Phil returned his attention to the computer again, a smirk still quirking at his lips, which admittedly gave Dan a higher chance of functioning, as those beautiful eyes weren’t focused on Dan and his every move. He attempted to gather his thoughts and calm his racing heart, to no avail. Out of nowhere Phil whistled at the screen, drawing Dan’s attention back to those beautiful lips that he definitely shouldn’t be looking at, “God Dan, how do you manage to make such a quick photo look so beautiful?” Phil gaped at the screen, bringing colour automatically back to Dan’s cheeks.

“It helps when you have a beautiful photographer,” he mumbled before the thought had fully registered, and when it did there was no way he could take it back. However, as Dan died internally, Phil smiled widely, a heavy flush adorning his cheeks and neck, “Jeez you’re one to talk,” He said in a hushed voice, as though it was a thought that wasn’t meant to exit his mouth. Judging by the look on his face it just mightn’t have been. Dan felt a strange bubble in his chest, it seemed to fill him with an obscure confidence he’d never felt before, “Maybe we could catch up sometime and debate over it?” He could barely believe that he had thought that with his own brain, let alone said it with casual confidence, but he did.

Phil’s mouth dropped open, and for a half second Dan felt his confidence wilt, until Phil beamed at him, wide and honest. “Sounds awesome,” he said with that smile that seemed to stab Dan in the chest while simultaneously wrapping him in a warm blanket, “Saturday work for you?” Dan nodded vigorously, his heart pounding at a million miles per hour, “Saturday’s great!” He squeaked, confident demeanour gone and returned to his usual awkward gay self. Phil didn’t seem to mind, he grinned once more, handing over the folder with a brush of their fingers and saying, “I’ll come drop off your ID at around midday.” Clutching the folder to his chest as though it could contain his rapidly beating heart Dan replied, “Can’t wait!” He scurried away with only one thought running through his mind,

I have a date!

Next Part

[blackforestbasilisks]

This tag was originally created by Jenn @ Jenniely. I was tagged by Keikii at Keikii Eats Books and figured I’d participate with a post of my own. I’m a sweater person in every weather, since I am secretly a lizard person who is incapable of generating my own body heat. Other people without this deficiency seem to have some fairly radical ideas about how high the air conditioner should be turned up during summer, so I’m all about sweaters and cardigans year round.

HOT CHOCOLATE – WHAT IS YOUR COMFORT BOOK?

I adore comfy slice of life style books when I’m looking for a pick-me-up. Sourdough by Robin Sloan is a particular favorite – it’s just so ridiculously optimistic and pleasant to read! I may or may not have a sourdough kit at home waiting to be started so I can bake my own from scratch bread… though hopefully mine is a bit less temperamental than Lois’ persnickety little starter.

Although it’s heartbreaking, I think The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes also deserves a mention here. It’s about a stuffed triceratops detective in the Stillreal, where imaginary friends who are still real exist. It’s tragic, but it’s so wholesome to see everyone truly trying to do their very best by one another. It’s so very kind in the face of fear and pain.

PUMPKIN CARVING – WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CREATIVE OUTLET?

Outside of blogging, I really enjoy creating pixel art! It’s a hobby I don’t have quite as much time for as I’d like, but here are a few examples of my art. A few are still WIPs, but I figure that okay for this post 🙂

FALLING LEAVES – CHANGES THAT APPEAR BAD BUT YOU SECRETLY LOVE?

Probably new reddit. Although I detest most of new reddit’s layout, I adore the fact that I can now copy-paste formatting in to a text post. It has made cross-posting reviews to r/Fantasy sooooo much easier. I still use old reddit for my normal browsing, however.

PUMPKIN SPICED LATTE – SOMETHING YOU LOVE THAT OTHERS TEND TO JUDGE

Not so much my immediate friend group, but I’ve definitely seen judgement elsewhere towards playing video games – especially the type that I tend to love. I simply adore Stardew Valley, but some folks in the broader world view it as a time waster. Too bad, since I’m gonna grow by turnips with or without their approval!

BONFIRE NIGHT – WHAT MAKES YOU EXPLODE WITH JOY?

I work as a project manager in the audio visual industry. There is absolutely nothing better than a project that pulls together exactly the way it should, with everyone working together to integrate it without a hitch!

FRIGHT NIGHT – FAVORITE SCARY BOOK OR FILM

I’ve already been gushing about it elsewhere, but I looooooved A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs. It’s frankly incredible. It’s eery, unsettling, and utterly seamless. I was filled with revulsion, yet I couldn’t look away. Highly, highly recommended.

HALLOWEEN CANDY – FAVORITE THING TO EAT

Favorite Halloween Candy: Werther’s Original Hard Caramels. They’re so good, guys. I know they’re the quintessential “grandma candy” but by god do I channel my inner grandma when I eat them.

If we’re just talking food in general, I think I’d have to go with a perfectly seared lamb chop.

SCARVES – YOUR AUTUMN ‘MUST HAVE’ ACCESSORY

Uh. Well, this one is easy, and appropriate to the section title – it’s literally just scarves. I love scarves. They are wonderful.

FIRE – A BOOK OR FILM THAT BURNS YOUR SOUL

Perhaps a cliche answer, but Grave of the Fireflies is a film that will always destroy me. It’s so tragic and horrible. The characters face everything with so much optimism, yet they’re crushed down again and again by the oppressive war machine.

On the books side, I’d have to go with The Ten Thousand Doors of January. It burns, but in a wonderful way. It broke me, but it also picked up the pieces and patched me together again by the end.

TOFFEE APPLES – A BOOK OR FILM THAT SEEMS ONE THING BUT REALLY HAS A DIFFERENT INSIDE

Velocity Weapon by Megan O’Keefe is one hell of a ride. For the first half, I was convinced I was reading a typical space opera. By the time the second half rolled around, I was in full on holy shit I did not expect that mode. To say more would spoil, but yes, excellent book.

I TAG:

Timy @ RockStarlit Book Asylum

Kristen @ superstardrifter

Beth @ BeforeWeGoBlog

And anyone else who would like to join in!

Autumn Tag: Sweater Weather is Every Weather When Your Office Loves to Turn Up the AC... #bookblogger This tag was originally created by Jenn @ Jenniely. I was tagged by Keikii at…

[randomsofmine]

Best 15 books of 2016

These are the books I loved the most in 2016. I was really lucky and read some really fantastic books but these are the ones I enjoyed the most. In no particular order:

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children series, book 1) by Seanan McGuire

Seanan McGuire is one of my favourite authors. Her InCryptid series is one of my top 10 favourite series.This is a short quirky and dark novel surrounding children who have been to other worlds, worlds like Narnia and Wonderland, and who have come back unwillingly to this world.It could definitely been longer but there are going to be other books in the series which makes me very happy.

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic series, book 1) by V.E. Schwab

Frankly its the whole series. I just loved it. This was a perefect start to a fantasty series. The world-building was just so intriguing. I'd love to explore Red London. The characters were flawed and interesting and I just want Kell's coat. I finished the first book on one bus and by the time I was on my second bus, I'd downloaded the second book and pre-ordered the 3rd (thank god for mobile data!)

Just One Damned Thing After Another (The Chronicles of St Mary's, book 1) by Jodi Taylor

This series is just mad. Completely and utter bonkers. Think Monty Python bonkers. Its hilarious and full of adventure and heartbreak. It baffles me how the Jodi Taylor managed to blend humour and history and sci-fi and these absolutely dark moments so perfectly (I suspect magic). I would give out trigger warnings for the first book but I still would highly recommend this series to anyone.

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

I’ve read all of Jane Austens main works but I’ve never gone into her juvenilia or her unfinished work.This is possibly my third favourite Austen now.Its a short piece,extremely witty, full of brilliantly absurd characters and written in the epistolary style.A must read for any Austenite. And it was such a joy to read something of Austens that I have never read before.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

I am a hardcore Pride and Prejudice girl, always have been. But this book is now a very close second. Before this year, it was possibly my 5th favourite of her works but for some reason this time it suddenly became so much more interesting and I actually almost cried on a bus at the letter bit.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I can understand why this became such an instant hit.It spoke to me on so many levels, even though I’m not the target audience.This will be one I can see myself coming back to repeatedly. And I really enjoyed Carry On which is linked to this book.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Let me get this out of the way: I love the BBC version of this book. My love for Richard Armitage stems from this series. I love the book just as much. I've always put it off just in case it didn't.......and that was just a ridiculous fear. The BBC series isn't a perfect match for the book but its pretty damn close and kicked off my love for Elizabeth Gaskells writing. She has a very realsitic take on the working mans life, particulary in the north of England for that period of time.I also highly recommend Mary Barton, which almost made the list.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, book 1) by Becky Chambers

This is a brilliant example of good sci-fi. Its got amazing world building, a brilliant and diverse set of characters and a gripping storyline. I've got the sequel sitting at the top of my tbr pile right now and I can't wait to dive back into the world.

The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen, book 1) by Alison Goodman

A paranormal historical mystery.A promising start to a series. I love a good historical mystery with paranomral elements. Its hasa good slow burning romance between two of the characters.The second book is due out soon and will be read as soon as its in my hands.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

I already posted a review of this: http://randomsofmine.tumblr.com/post/149042407092/review-simon-vs-the-homo-sapiens-agenda-by-becky

Poison City by Paul Crilley

This is an urban fantasy set in South Africa.It had all the tropes that I enjoy from the urban fantasy genre but they all felt fresh.There were some genuinely laugh out loud moments and some pretty dark moments.Hopefully the series continues.

The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs

I received this as part of a book subscription service. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I saw it at my local bookshop.Its a very odd blend of historical fiction with steampunk and paranormal elements.As though the Roman Empire decided to become cowboys in a very Australian-esque land with demon-powered ferries and weapons whilst trying to fight off magical creatures that are not happy they are there.

How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran

joined Our Shared Shelf bookclub and this is one of my favourite picks so far.Caitlin Moran gives an unvarnished look into her life along with pearls of wisdom about womanhood.Definitely do not listen to this without headphones and the knowledge that at points you will be rolling on the floor laughing if you’re listening to it in public.

The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

I picked this up thinking it would just be something cozy and fluffy,which was just what I needed at that point.There was coziness and fluff....and some very dark bits of history.Its set after WW2 on the Isle of Guernsey, which had been occupied by the Nazi's during the war. Its written mostly as a series of letters between the people of the isle and a writer in England. I learnt quite a bit from this book about WW2 and its effect on people on both sides of the war. I would recommend reading this with a box of tissues.

The Martian by Andy Weir

What can I say that hasn't been said before about this book.Loved it and the movie (which is a rare thing).A really gripping storyline, I adore Mark Watneys humour and the science was written perfectly. I can’t wait to see what Andy Weir creates next.