hello everybody i am going to talk about the things that i saw played and read last month as a way to hopefully anchor myself more completely to the passage of time and also avoid my work
books/written media/comics:
dont pick up boyfriends from the trashbin: this is like the riverdale of serialized romance to me. ok so its about a guy that has to go through different worlds with shitty boyfriends and he possesses the shitty boyfriends’ boyfriend in order to make them feel as much regret as possible. but also this guy (chi xiaochi) is basically a widow who has been pining after his dead friend for years. BUT ALSO the system helping him is a mysterious and amnesiac stranger..? ok this is getting into webnovel lingo pretty fast but literally the only QT transmigration premise ive actually liked i also think falling in love w the system itself is extremely novel. satisfying in that faceslapping kind of way you know pretty addictive
on earth were briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong: this has been on my shelf and ive been reading it off and on for like 4 years lolll god the prose is so good. the storytelling is compelling of course..at the risk of sounding callous its really one of those standouts in terms of “asian americans and parental relationships coming of age story” but really what it made me think about is how to put words and sentences in order. also just like idk life in places ive never seen you know. very cool
yellowface by rf kuang: thriller about a white author who plagiarizes her dead chinese american bestseller friends book. godddd this book is crazy. like read it in one day cant put it down crazy. i was talking about this w neil earlier but like it feels like miss kuang is closer to the audience than ever in this book which is awesome but its also through this warped filter of juniper hayward. Really good unreliable narrator
a wizards guide to defensive baking by t. kingfisher: coming of age YA about a girl who can bring bread to life. sooo freaking cute. definitely YA but like also very charming you know…. a bit um idk liberal in its politics but thats kind of a given idk i liked the bread
against access: very interesting short essay about accessibility! i think its a good idea to read if you care about accessibility or if you ever write an image caption. i dont know any ASL much less protactile but i think the movement is super interesting from what ive heard (especially as someone whos very not touchy haha. its interesting to take out as much of that emotional element and have it be more just.. practical?) ive seen some discourse about how people caption images and this helped codify my thoughts a bit
the entire fairyland series by catheryne m valente: coming of age series about a girl travelling to fairyland that plays on a bunch of fantasy tropes and stories with vivid worldbuilding yay! this was my shit as a kid but i didnt get to read the last couple books! very much stress reading material haha i was surprised at how well these held up, honestly. im still on the last half of the last book. idk i just really like it still i think the bittersweet parts are very good any fantasy needs some of that
sandman by eta hoffman: short story about a man haunted by the shadows of his childhood. but how real were they really….? i freaking loved this story sometimes you just want to read something a little bit messed up! maybe mind the content warnings though. idk i love how much room for interpretation on multiple levels there is and also the characters and the enlightenment vs romantic conflict and also clara and also divorce! divorce!
what happens next: ongoing webcomic about a tumblrina who kind of, sort of, was an accomplice to murder in his teens and how that follows him all through his early adulthood. really captures that early 2000s tumblr culture (+ true crime stuff) in a vivid and horrifying way that nothing else does, and pairs it with like. the dead serious way in which people sabotage their lives and each other . very bingeable
movies/tv:
centaurworld season 1: weird ass show about a horse from a fantasy-war story gets isekaid into friendship and magic land. as someone who didnt particularly enjoy most of adventure times comparatively light brand of XD WEIRDNESS, most of the jokes felt less like “things i was meant to laugh at” and more like genuine tests of my willpower. lol but the rships are so compelling…horse…. also the understated horror is fun to me yayy and also the character designs and music are good. the whale princess was really super cool
the truman show: what a classic movie :3 the only thing i have to say is “Thats Jerma!” i was surprised that the audience is also portrayed as positive even though theyre like benefiting off of trumans fake life? but i guess its like since the show/corporation makes its money off of selling stuff to them both parties are like. getting manipulated by the true enemy (corporation)
avataro sentai donbrothers: yeah man. its hard to describe donbros because it has so many plot threads many of which get completely dropped. but ultimately its about friendship between the weirdest people and also fighting the monster of the week in colorful suits. inoue also works pretty well in writing an entire show rather than collabing i think loll momoi tarou feels like a tendou-like character, but he nailed the writing much better than he did in his eps of kabuto.
games:
limbus company by project moon: gacha game about a bunch of morally loose “sinners” looking for treasure, and their amnesiac manager who can bring them back to life. yayy limbus company! have not been playing as actively but im excited for the new season. the chicken event was very cute and its nice to be somewhat involved in a Community. i think its the most gentle introduction into the world of projmoon to date and the story mode combat is honestly pretty fun! sinclair my guy. i love to see him covered and blood and screaming also im soo excited for yi sangs chapter
library of ruina by project moon: deck building strategy game about books and helping a girl who wants to get revenge on the world. its me roland from library of ruina for the nintendo switch. what a fun and epic and punishingly difficult game! ive been playing this for a bit although ive hit um one of LORs famous difficulty spikes. the gameplay is a little bit janky and many mechanics are explained once and then you have to figure it out but still very interesting. the most important things are definitely the story and the music. the way it tackles like long term trauma and forgiveness and revenge and being human is sooo fun and cathartic tbh and im excited to see how it ends (if i get there).
it gets so lonely here by ebihime: i went into this pretty excited, honestly. wow a visual novel about toxic gay women! the art is very beautiful as well. unfortunately the writing style ended up not really being to my taste and the writing felt a little repetitive (although you could say this was towards a purpose?). in the end, however, i think its worth checking out if it seems like its up your alley! its free and pretty short, after all. also the ending was honestly really fun i always enjoy that sort of reveal
optimal conditions for a sacrifice by mossinasi: same artist as the previous one! i enjoyed this one because i lovee metanarratives and breaking the fourth wall and little experimental indie games about sacrifice and choice. would recommend! definitely my favorite out of the indie vns i ended up playing
house flipper: yayyy i love house flipper thank you to my friend who bought it for me <3 its so nice and meditative but i get stressed out trying to color coordinate. its a chill game where you put together sinks and paint walls and decorate rooms lol
parasite in love: sorry, but this vn didnt really hit for me.. it was neither scary nor romantic enough for me? oh well. i think im pretty picky about writing styles and it jumps out more when there isnt more gameplay to focus on.. the pregnancy? horror? was kind of interesting though
bustafellows: on the other hand, im enjoying bustafellows (visual novel based on american crime procedurals) a lot! it is just very cute :3 very charming protagonist and the plot is very engaging if a little bit silly. oh my god he got EBOLA and they have to QUARANTINE TOGETHER
anyways now that my job is over and also school i had so much more time to read books (many of which i loved!) and play games (some of which i did not love). also i do a lot of shit during finals lmfaoo anyways if you finished reading this congratulations? took longer to write than i thought but it was interesting to look back… like wow i remember that!
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